Category Archives: Wednesday

Do we ever see radiance emitting from certain persons? When a bride is walking the aisle during the wedding, we see the bride’s face radiant and exuberant, as she is experiencing one of the many happy moments in her life. When a penitent has made a good confession, we see his or her face radiant, because a heavy load of sin has been swept away. When a woman finds out she is pregnant, her face shows radiance, as she is excited and joyful of the possibility of becoming a mother. So, we see many situations in life where radiance can be seen on our face.

In today’s reading, Moses’ face was radiant after speaking with the Lord. When we come for Mass, our faces ought to be radiant after we have “spoken” with and listened to the Lord. But is this the case in church? Do we emit radiance after Mass, or do we remain as we are and some of us even put on a sour face or monkey face as we leave the church, due to some reason or another? May we come to realise the presence of the Lord, and like Moses, let our radiance shine for all to see and give Him the greater glory.

Every once in a while, we hear of people migrating from one place to another, because they have heard wonderful stories about the other place, and they think that they would benefit much from the other place. Some even migrate from one country to another, because they think that the other country would offer better opportunities for them. People migrate in this way because they think that “the grass is always greener on the other side.” But the reality is, the other side is not always as wonderful as it seems.

In today’s reading, the Israelites had their freedom from slavery in Egypt. But now out in the wilderness, they began to complain about hunger and the lack of food, and they were saying that slavery in Egypt was better than freedom in the wilderness.But is slavery really better? God brought the Israelites out from Egypt after they had endured much suffering and hardship, and now that the Israelites were free, they were still complaining about what they lacked. But despite how difficult, obstinate and stubborn the Israelites were, God did not give up on them. He gave them food even though they were ungrateful. Even though the Israelites still had much to learn about God’s love and generosity, God was patient with them.

What about us? Do we still think that “the grass is always greener on the other side.” May we not be so easily duped by what others say or what we read, because sometimes, the other side may not be so wonderful after all. Sometimes the other side may lead us to slavery, while we may have some or even much more freedom at where we are. May we come to discover how loving and patient God is to us, and let Him be our help and guide.

What is a vocation? A vocation is a calling from God to serve Him in a certain way, and we can choose to respond to the calling or not to respond. God does not force us to respond to His call, but sometimes what God is offering us is far better. Sometimes God could be calling us in a spectacular way, sometimes the call may not seem that out of the ordinary, but when God calls us, are we able to identify His voice and respond? Are we willing to respond to God’s call or would we try to ignore it, or make all sorts of excuses to try and escape from doing His will?

In today’s reading, Moses was called by God to bring His people out of Egypt. Moses was already living quite a comfortable life looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. Moses was initially quite reluctant to leave his present life and even said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”But God persisted and said: “‘I shall be with you,’ was the answer ‘and this is the sign by which you shall know that it is I who have sent you… After you have led the people out of Egypt, you are to offer worship to God on this mountain.'” With God being so persistent and constant, Moses found it difficult to say no and answered God’s call to do as God wanted.

What about us? If God is constantly calling us with such persistence, would we still insist in saying no? Would we try to run away and hide or try to ignore His voice? May we be humble and docile enough to respond to His call and do His will for His glory.

Every once in a while, I come across people who say that they have volunteered themselves to go to some seemingly remote country or place to preach the Good News. While it is commendable for people to offer their services and even their lives in such an endeavour, I sometimes wonder: what about the very people in our community, our own backyard, our own housing area, who may have not heard about the Good News? Have such aspiring missionaries made the effort to reach out to them? Or have some of these aspiring missionaries given up on their own people?

In today’s Gospel, we are told: “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ What Jesus is telling us is that basically, charity begins at home. While it may seem commendable to make big plans in  trying to preach the Good News to others, what about reaching out to our own families and friends first? Are some of us preaching the Good News selectively, thinking only of achieving a great success rate? Or are we preaching the Good News for the glory of God, regardless whether we are successful or not?

Casting out devils and evil spirits is not a task which anyone can do, since it requires extensive preparations, including much prayer and fasting. If we are not properly disposed, prepared and ready, it is best we refrain from attempting such things, since we ourselves could be possessed, or cause more complications to others and even to ourselves, or some could be quite badly injured, or even face the possibility of death.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus drove away devils from two demoniacs with little resistance. It is interesting to note that the devils actually pleaded with Jesus to be cast out into a herd of pigs instead of Jesus casting them out and sending them to a fate far worse. Jesus was merciful enough to grant them their request. Jesus is God and He can easily drive devils away. But for the rest of us, we should not straight away jump into conclusions that a person is possessed, since there are certain procedures to be followed and one should consult the bishop of the diocese to determine the next course of action. Ultimately, let us check our intentions. Are we casting out evil spirits to show how great we are, for our personal gratification, or to feed our ego? Or are we truly, humbly and cautiously doing so for the greater glory of God?

At some point of our lives, some of us may have encountered doubt. Some of us doubt about where we are heading in life, some doubt about our abilities, and some of us even begin to doubt about whether God cares. In our doubt, some of us may have the tendency to look inwards at ourselves, and we begin to ask questions centered on ourselves. The danger of muddling in such doubt is that, for some of us, we may remain stuck in our inward selves, constantly wondering and pondering, and we seem to be not getting any answers or solutions to such doubt.

In today’s reading, Abram seemed to be having such doubt and began looking inward. The reading tells us that Abram wondered and questioned: “What do you intend to give me? I am childless and You have given me no descendants!” But God did not let Abram remain stuck in a rut. God took Abram “outside” to look up at heaven and count the stars, to help Abram come out of his introspective and narrow-looking attitude, so that Abram could see further and believe deeper.

In a way, God is inviting and leading us too to come out of our inward looking, and begin looking outside at the heavens and count the stars. Let us not doubt any longer, but come to realise that we are in God’s hands, and that we must remain in faith, trust and confidence in His care and providence.

Some people can be quite tight fisted or stingy or calculative with their wealth and time. Such people have no qualms about demanding and expecting the church to give them all kinds of things, or offer them all sorts of services, but they themselves are quite reluctant to give or offer their services in return. Some even put on a monkey face or sour face when giving or offering their services. I recall one incident where a group of people kept on insisting that the church be air-conditioned, since the weather is quite hot and they felt entitled to better facilities in church. When I asked whether they would be willing to sponsor some aircons and even help pay for the electricity bill, they quickly backed down and tried to change the subject. Easy to demand and suggest indeed, but not easy to help or contribute.

In today’s reading, St. Paul cautions us: “Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver. And there is no limit to the blessings which God can send you – he will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance, and still have something to spare for all sorts of good works.”

Are we giving because we are being pressured or forced or coerced to? Or are we giving happily and willingly? God is generous to each and every one of us by being our providence and guide, and what He grants us is far more substantial than what we could ever give. If that is the case, why do some of us still give so culculatively, or grudgingly? Are we not willing to be as generous as God is to us?

In each country which practices some form of democracy, there is a set of laws which do not change so easily. We call such laws constitutions, since such laws are fundamental principles or established precedents that determine how a country is to be governed. Such constitutions are there to ensure that all persons, regardless of their faith or upbringing, share the same rights and privileges (at least, that is what it is supposed to ensure.)

In today’s Gospel: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.'” Jesus said this probably because His disciples were thinking that Jesus was starting a revolution against the religious system at that time, and they were looking forward to some radical change. Instead of the kind of change the disciples expected, Jesus was actually helping his disciples and us too to return to the original meaning of the Law and the Prophets, sort of like the original constitution so to speak, since the original meaning had been diluted and interpreted to suit the scribes and the Pharisees.

What about us? Are we adhering to the original meaning of our faith, in loving God and loving neighbour? Or have some of us tried to change the original meaning of our faith to suit our needs and purposes? May we adhere to the original meaning of our faith, and in all we do, give God the glory.

What do you do when you are experiencing difficulty in life? What if you are experiencing misery or great pain or great suffering? For some of us, it would seem easy to give up or end it all, because the misery, pain and suffering seems too great for us to bear. Some of us may try to seek help from other sources, only to discover that these other sources are not much help after all. How many of us are willing and able to presevere, and wait patiently for God to help us?

In today’s reading, we come across Tobit’s prayer of lamentation. In his prayer, Tobit felt he was all alone in his suffering and said: “Therefore, Lord, remember me, look on me. Do not punish me for my sins or for my heedless faults …” Also, in the reading, Sarah was insulted by one of the maids, and she grieved and sobbed and even contemplated suicide. Fortunately, Sarah came to her senses and did not go ahead in killing herself, but decided to seek help from God. God indeed heard their cry, and sent Raphael to bring remedy to both of them.

What can we learn from this? We can discover that God indeed hears the cry of the lonely, the lost, the least and the last, because these are the ones who have no one to turn to and they only have God to help them. When we turn to God for help, we are putting ourselves in His care, knowing and trusting that He would do what is best for us. Are we willing to humbly beg for His help and let Him be our providence and guide?

Many of us are so used to getting things done quickly, so much so that we do not like to wait. Even if we need to wait, we do not want to wait too long. For example, if we go for a hair cut at the barbers, and we find that there are one or two persons ahead of us, we may decide to wait a while, especially if the barber does a good job in cutting hair. However, if the barber is taking quite some time, especially if the customer the barber is servicing is very fussy or particular about the way his or her hair is being cut, some of us may decide to go look for another barber. How long we are willing to wait when it comes to such circumstances depends on our tolerance level towards waiting time.

However, in today’s reading, Noah had to wait for 40 days of rain, another 7 days for the water to subside, and then another 7 days for the surface of the earth to dry up. Likewise, the blind man in today’s Gospel had to wait before his sight was fully restored. What does this tell us? It tells us that ultimately, everything happens in God’s time and we have to trust in God and wait. Some things take time, and we need to learn to be patient and carry on waiting. Are we willing to leave it in God’s hands, wait with patience and hope, and let God do what is best for us?