Category Archives: Sunday

Every once in a while, I get people coming up to me asking me to bless their car, their rosary, a picture of some saint, the crucifix that they would like to wear or they would like to gift to someone, a statue of Mary or some saint, some holy medal attributed to Mary or some saint, or even their house or workplace. Sometimes, I have people young and not so young coming to me asking me to bless them because it is their birthday, or their wedding anniversary, or they are hoping to conceive, or they are sick, about to go for some important treatment or feeling troubled, or they are about to take an examination, or to bless their children, or for some other reason. But the question is: What exactly is a blessing? Do you know why you ask for a blessing? Some people do not seem to really understand what a blessing means, and some people may think that it is a means of protection from evil or a means to obtain good luck, like a talisman or a good luck charm. But this understanding of what a blessing is, is wrong. It becomes a form of superstition, since the blessing ends up appearing to be some form of magic (like murgaga or hokus pokus).

So what exactly is a blessing? A blessing, as today’s Gospel reminds us, is a form of consecration. In the Gospel, Jesus prayed a prayer of blessing, where He said: “Consecrate them in the truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.” A consecration means the person or object now belongs to God. It means the person or item is moved away from the world and towards God, as the person or item is set apart for God, and the fate and the life of the person or object is now in the hands of God, to be dealt with according to His will. When something or someone is consecrated to God, the object or the person is now set apart to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ, which is to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to give glory to God in all things.

So what does this all mean? It means that, when a house is blessed, the family in that house must give glory to God by living a life of unity, charity and love. When a sick person is blessed, he or she gives glory to God through his or her sickness, regardless of whether he or she recovers or not. When a person asks for blessings before an important exam, the person is saying that he or she will do his or her best and give glory to God, regardless of whether he or she does well in the examination or not. When holy medals and rosaries are blessed, these objects become symbols reminding us to give glory to God through our prayers, through our deeds, and through the way we live our lives each day. When vehicles and workplaces are blessed, we are saying that such vehicles or workplaces would be used in an honest and proper way, for the good of all and for the glory of God.  So as we can see, asking for a blessing is not a small matter or a laughing matter or for play play. Are we prepared to carry out what the blessing requires?

Let us be reminded that God does not force us to have a relationship with Him, and we should love freely and willingly. Instead, God is inviting us to enter into a loving relationship with Him, as the second reading reminds us: “God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.” When we ask for a blessing for whatever reason, let us be prepared to consecrate our entire lives to God, so that we may live in His love and allow Him to live in us. Are we really, truly and happily prepared to do this for the greater glory of God?

Among the different religions in the world, one thing which makes Christianity different is that love is part of being a Christian, and being a Christian mean one needs to love. In other words, love is part and parcel of being a Christian.

But what does it mean to love as a Christian? In the second reading, St. John reminds us: “My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.” Not many of us realise the implications of what love means. Some of us think that we are loving the way God loves us, but actually more often than not, our love has got strings attached. Our love tends to be a selfish love, a “what’s in it for me” love, or a love with conditions attached.

We are capable of loving the way God loves us only because we know and remember how much God loved us. Before we can begin to learn to love as Jesus did, we must be aware of how much we are loved by God. Love is never easy and is something we constantly struggle to do. But we need to remember that love isn’t about liking or disliking someone. Love is a decision, a choice and a commitment. We can decide and commit ourselves to love someone, even when we do not like that person. That’s love. This is possible only if we are reminded of how God loves us even when our love for him is not perfect and regardless of who we are. As Peter came to realise in the first reading: “The truth I have now come to realise is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.” God accepts and loves all of us, He does not love selectively as some of us may do.

Loving others is only possible when we remain in Christ’s love, and we can remain in Christ’s love when we keep his commandments. Today, Jesus reminds us in the Gospel: “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.” Let us thus set aside our pride, our ego, and our prejudices, and truly love the way God loves us, so that Jesus’ own joy may be in us, and our joy be complete.

What do we mean when we say we love? Do we really love others? Do we love our brothers and sisters? Do we show our Christian faith by living a life of love in our families, BEC, community, housing area, and at church? Besides people in our Christian community, do we also show love towards others who are not Christians? It is easy to say we love, but do we mean what we say by our actions, or are our words nothing more than mere words? St. John in today’s second reading reminds us: “Our love is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and active.”

Yet we cannot genuinely and truly love others unless we are rooted in Christ. Today’s gospel reminds us that Christ is the Vine and we are the branches, and “whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.” It would be not possible for us to love unconditionally, genuinely and wholesomely on our own, since we can only love in such ways if we are rooted in God’s love.

There are some who think that they can love without God, but more often than not, such love would merely be an ineffective or inadequate attempt. We come across friendships, relationships and marriages that end up failing or breaking down because of the absence of God in our love and in our lives. This is because the kind of love that we humanly profess is imperfect, we love because we expect to receive love or something else in return. Genuine love is when we are able to love totally, without expecting anything in return. Could we ever accomplish such genuine love on our own? No. Only God is able to love totally, and we can only love the way God loves us when we are connected and rooted to Him.

Love does not mean we will be living in some sort of utopia or some fantasy place, where there is no conflict or problems. Love does not mean that others will like us or appreciate our love. Take for example St. Paul in today’s first reading. In the first reading, Paul, then known as Saul, went around with the disciples, “preaching fearlessly in the name of the Lord.” Not everyone was happy with him and some even tried to kill him, but because he was rooted in Christ and had experienced God’s love, he was willing to endure challenges and hardships to bring the Good News of God’s love to all. Love does not mean we must become popular, rather it means we must do what is right, what is true, what is just, and what is loving, even if it means we would become unpopular or not liked.

Today, some of us may be experiencing difficulties and trials as we try to show our love towards others. But as Jesus reminds us: “every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more.” We are being pruned, so that we will grow and remain closer to Jesus. In this way, we would become stronger and be better witnesses of God’s love to all.

What sort of motivation do we have when we are given a task to do? Some people would do a task because it is their job to do so, and they expect to be well paid and receive other rewards for the work done. Such people may be motivated by better income, better job security, better promotion prospects, or even approval and recognition from others, especially from the peers and the boss. But what if the task at hand happens to be unglamorous, few others are keen to do, and prospects and recognition are limited or non-existent? Would you still be willing to take on such a task and give it your all?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd. He also contrasts between a good shepherd and a hired hand. Is Jesus trying to tell us that a hired hand, or a person who is paid to perform a task, is bad or not any good in any way? No! Jesus is not concentrating on the payment, because from time to time we do hear of hired hands who are just as committed as the good shepherd. What Jesus is focusing more about is the attitude and the level of commitment of the shepherd. That is the main aspect Jesus wants to differentiate. Why so? We should be aware that sheep are quite different from other animals. Animals generally have a leader of the pact or head which they follow and depend on. For most other animals like monkey, tiger or lion, the animal can be a leader or a follower. But not sheep. Sheep are not able to lead other sheep but depend on a shepherd to survive. If sheep were left on their own, they may get into trouble very easily and quickly.

We come across many sheep in our society who are unable to care for themselves. In this case we need someone to guide them. That someone is a shepherd. Some “shepherds” are paid to take care of the sheep and such people are called hired hands, especially since they are only doing a job and they are more attracted to good rewards and other perks. If trouble comes, for example a wolf, fox or bear is about to attack the sheep, such people may quite likely run away, as they would not dare to lose their life for an animal. But if it is the shepherd who is caring for the sheep, then the sheep have a better chance of survival, as the shepherd would be willing to lay down even his life for his sheep. To a good shepherd, caring for sheep no longer becomes merely a money making activity or to gain recognition or popularity, it becomes a vocation.

Therefore, we need to ask ourselves honestly: Have we become more and more materialistic and self-centered, that our wants and needs have taken precedence over the needs of our community and our parish church? Do we expect only the priests and religious to be the shepherds and we just step aside and take things easy? Or have we begun to become more like the good shepherd, doing our part to care for the flock and willing to make sacrifices for the good of all?