Category Archives: Sunday

Some people go through life without knowing exactly what they really want, what they really desire. Some people think what they really want is happiness, some think what they really want is peace and prosperity, others think what they really want is to marry a girl or a boy who would be a lifelong companion. The list could go on and on, and there may be so many things we want or desire. But do we really want or desire these things? More often than not, the things that we want or desire may change according to the circumstances we are in. Even though we may have gotten what we wanted or desired, quite likely it would only be a temporary thing or short-lived experience, since there will always be something else that would catch our attention. No matter how hard we try to fulfil our wants, we would only attain temporary gratification and satisfaction.

In the first reading, the Israelites had already been rescued from slavery in Egypt by God. Not only that, they had Moses to lead them. But were the Israelites satisfied and grateful for what God had done for them? No. They complained and complained. When in Egypt, they complained about being enslaved. When brought out of Egypt, they complained that they had no food in the desert. God still provided the Israelites with bread from heaven, even though they had been constantly unsatisfied and ungrateful. Even with bread from heaven, the Israelites still complained and complained. Such difficult people to please indeed.

What about us? Are some of us like the Israelites in some way? If our lives are constantly dictated or enslaved by our wants and desires, there will never be an end to our dissatisfaction, unhappiness and complaints.We will always be dissatisfied, unhappy, and unfulfilled even if we have supposingly attained all our wants and desires, because it is never enough, and even all is not enough. That is why St. Paul reminds us in the second reading: “You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of truth.” What is this new self all about? It is a new self in Jesus, as Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.” If our lives undergo a “spiritual revolution,” if we are able to allow Jesus to be at the heart and centre of our lives, then there is no need for us to crave for anything else. There is no need for us to run after riches, wealth, happiness, recognition, success and fame, since we have Jesus, and Jesus is enough.

Today, let us look at the kind of lives we are living. Some of us call ourselves Christians, but in spite of receiving Jesus, some of us still want more. If we believe that Jesus is the bread of life who satisfies our every want and need, then why do we still look for other things? Is Jesus not enough for us? This does not mean we should not do our part to survive in this world, but it means we should consider what is it we ultimately want and desire. May we choose wisely what is it we really want and desire, for the betterment of our eternal future.

What sort of world do we live in these days? Is the wealth of the world fairly and evenly distributed? Most likely, the wealth of the world is controlled by a few, maybe about less than ten percent of the entire world’s population. Some countries have got lots of resources, but these countries are often unwilling to share such resources with poorer countries, unless there is some benefit or advantage in it for them. For example, certain countries produces more than enough grain or other foodstuff to feed many of the poor in the world, but how much of these is shared? What is the problem here? It is basically greed and selfishness. Some people only think of themselves, are unwilling to share with others, are more concerned about protecting what is theirs, and in some cases even to the point of trying to increase what they have at the expense of others. Likewise, we see the same matter in our churches. There are many people who are skilled or talented in one way or another, but some people seem to be interested in using their skill or talent only if there is some sort of benefit, advantage or perk attached. It is like as if “what’s in it for me” is more important than “how can I be of service to glorify God.” It seems quite difficult to get some people to volunteer their talent or offer their help happily and willingly, since such people rather spend time shopping, going to the movies, making holiday trips, and sleeping, than spend that time serving in the church or helping someone else. Such people prefer to take care of their own needs and have time only for themselves and not for others. But as Christians, what sort of stance or attitude should we be having?

In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us to “bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience.” Today’s Gospel goes further by giving us a wonderful example of the kind of miracles that may happen when one is generous to share what little we possess. Many people think that the gospel story is merely a miracle where Jesus took five barley loaves and two fish and performed a miracle so that all five thousand men (not counting the women and children) could have enough to eat. But if we look closer, we would discover that the Gospel is more than that. It is about the generosity of the small boy who offered all that he had, five loaves and two fish. The disciples were not prepared to share. They felt that they had only enough for themselves to eat. But the boy was prepared to give up his food for others. He was not embarrassed about the amount that he had. He was prepared to give all that he had, although it may seem little to others. And what did Jesus do? He did what others thought was impossible, He fed so many with so few. Miracles happen when people are willing and happy to share what they have with others. When people are willing and happy to do so, there will always be enough. When we are prepared to share, God blesses us with much more. But for those who are not willing to share because they feel as if there is not enough to go around, no matter how much they try to amass and protect their resources, there will never be enough. They will never be satisfied, even if all has been given to them.

As Christians, we are supposed to be examples to others in our families, our community and our country. We are supposed to “bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience.” But if we take a good hard look at our lives, our behaviour, our attitude, and our conduct, are we living good Christian lives and practising Christian virtues? Are we following the example of Christ? Or have we become more and more immersed with the ways of the world, where greed, power, ego, ruthlessness, selfishness, impatience, intolerance and other kinds of vices seem to be more and more dominant? What is it that ultimately matters to us: the ways of Christ, or the ways of the world? May we be wise, careful and prudent with our choice, for our eternal future and happiness is at stake.

Family members these days seem to be getting busier and busier with their own thing. Parents are busy with work, socialising with their friends, doing all sorts of errands, and other matters to attend to. Children are busy with school, college or university, socialising with their friends, doing errands entrusted to them, and other matters that crop up. Work, study and personal interests have become more and more important, at the expense of family life, family bonding and couple bonding. If left unchecked, family relationships suffer. We hear of more and more cases of couples divorcing, children developing social problems, and when these children grow up, they move away and abandon their aging parents, or even become misfits in society. The reason for these problems is that family members just do not seem to have time for each other, they have lost that bonding or loving feeling, they drift apart.

When it comes to our relationship with God, we too could be drifting away from Him when we pray less, when we seldom come to church, when we don’t hear His word in the bible, when we do not spend much time listening to Him in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and when we do not get involved in the various church activities. We become more and more engrossed with the ways of the world, while becoming less and less connected to God. We begin to lose our ability to listen to His voice, until one day, we may find that we have become alienated from Him. Why? Because we have, through our actions, attitude and behaviour, chosen to abandon Him, even though we may not always realise it until it is too late. On the other hand, God has not abandoned us. In fact, He is constantly looking out for us, earnestly and tenderly calling us to return to Him, but we have neglected or have become less and less sensitive to listen to His voice.

In today’s gospel reading, we see how the apostles themselves were so enthusiastically caught up with their work that they had forgotten the need to spend time with one another and with Jesus. Work is good and important, but spending time with one another and with God in prayer and reflection is more important. We sometimes forget that we are not superman or superwoman, since without prayer, we will not have the spiritual strength, stamina and energy to face the many challenges of life which come our way. We will soon experience burnout, fatigue and frustration.

In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah has issued a stern warning to all of us, clergy, religious and laity alike: “Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered… You have let my flock be scattered and go wandering and have not taken care of them. Right, I will take care of you for your misdeeds…” Each and every one of us have been called and chosen to be shepherds in our own situations, and we have been entrusted to the moral, educational and spiritual development of not only ourselves, but also of those under our care. If we fail or neglect to take care of the pastoral needs of all under our care, then God will “raise up shepherds to look after them and pasture them.” We will face the consequences of our neglect. Are we aware of this? Have we taken the necessary steps to address this before it is too late?

Being a shepherd caring for God’s flock is certainly no easy task. Moreover, the shepherd is not only the clergy, since each and every one of us are called to be shepherds in our own way and in our own circumstances. We must follow the example of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, but if we have been so caught up with our own busy schedule that we have no time for God, for our families or others, then how are we going to be effective shepherds and effective witnesses of the Gospel? No. We cannot nourish others if we ourselves are malnourished or stressed out. That is why we must heed Jesus’ voice, beckoning us in today’s Gospel to “come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.” Let us not take lightly or play play with Jesus’ invitation. Rather, let us seize the opportunity to rest a while with the Lord and with each other, so that we will be rejuvenated and recharged to become effective shepherds in our different situations, following after the example of Jesus, our loving and Good Shepherd.

From time to time, we come across people who do not seem to have an ultimate direction or purpose in life. Some of these people think that this life is all there is to it, and they try to live this live to the fullest and try to enjoy this life as much as possible, with the view that once this life is over, they would be finished, cease to exist, as they believe that there is nothing to look forward to after this life. But what about us Christians? What do we really believe in? What is our true purpose in life?

In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved, in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.” What does this reading mean to us? It means that we have been chosen for God’s own purpose which is; to be holy and spotless; to live in love; to be His adopted children; and to praise the glory of His grace.

We have been chosen for God’s own purpose to be holy and spotless. This does not mean that we must be perfect or have certain qualifications. In today’s first reading, the prophet Amos tells Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, that he is only a humble shepherd and one who looked after sycamore trees, and that he was just an ordinary man whom God had chosen for his purposes. Holiness, therefore, means depending on God’s care and grace. This is why in today’s gospel, Jesus sent out the twelve apostles and tells them to carry nothing with them: no money, no extra clothing. They are to depend on God’s providence. We have been chosen for God’s own purpose to live in love. Life without love is meaningless and that is why we must not make hatred, resentment, success, riches and power as our life goals. Instead, we should make love our goal, since we make God present when we love. We have been chosen for God’s own purpose to be His adopted children. This means we should behave like his children by living in the light: our lives must be marked by honesty, love, and purity. Finally, we have been chosen for God’s own purpose to praise the glory of His grace. This means that each of us has been given a mission to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God and to speak of His love by telling others that God loves them too.

What do all of these mean? It means that we have an ultimate direction or purpose in life. We have been chosen for God’s own purpose and to be cared and loved by Him. By knowing how precious and important we are in God’s eyes, we should celebrate and give thanks for His providence, and share this wonderful news with others, and invite and encourage them to join us to do the same.