Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Year 1

Wednesday of Week 23 Year 1

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What does it mean to be a Christian? Being a Christian means our lives should have been totally transformed from our old ways and put on the ways of Christ. It means we are making much effort to love God and neighbour, not just with words, but also through our actions. It means that we are doing our utmost best in living a virtuous life, free from pride, prejudice, ego, malicious intentions, and a willingness to love, be humble, be docile, forgive and reconcile. All these sounds nice and good, but are we really living a Christian life, or are we only Christians in name, but living worldly lives and doing worldly things like everyone else?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand… That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator…”

Some may say that it seems impossible to live a true Christian life, but we must not forget that to God, nothing is impossible. Yes, we will stumble and fall along the way, but we should get up and strive on, making steady progress in becoming more and more like Christ, while depending on His Grace and providence. Let us be reminded: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3).”

Monday of Week 23 Year 1

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Most of us are busy people, but we should take care not to overdo things. Sometimes we do too much at the expense of something else. Perhaps the something else could be our health, and all the effort in doing so much ends up in poor health or hefty medical bills. Perhaps the something else could be our strained relationship with family and friends. Or perhaps the something else could be our deteriorating relationship with God. We ought to remember that the Lord’s day or the Sabbath is for all Catholics to gather for Mass to be nourished by the Lord. Just as God “rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done,” human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.

That being said, we come across the scribes and the Pharisees in today’s Gospel who had extreme views about the Sabbath. Any logical and decent human being would have concurred with Jesus by doing good and to save life on the Sabbath, if and when the need arises. But not the scribes and Pharisees, since these folks were so extreme and stubborn that not a single thing could be done during the Sabbath. Jesus was amazed with their attitude, and He still went ahead to cure the man with the withered hand. Naturally, this did not go well with the scribes and the Pharisees, and they began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.

Sometimes we too could be just as guilty like the scribes and the Pharisees. Some of us could be doing unnecessary things on the Sabbath, while others may be doing absolutely nothing, not even good things, like the scribes and the Pharisees. Have some of us forgotten that ultimately, what God wants is “mercy, not sacrifice?”

Friday of Week 22 Year 1

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Change and progress is never easy for some. Some people generally prefer to remain as they are, keeping the status quo, doing as they have been doing for donkey years, sticking to what is familiar. Such people view new insights or new teaching with much suspicion, and they would often put up their defence mechanism to protect their old ways. The problem is, such people may have become so set in their old ways, that they have become a hindrance to allowing God’s voice to be heard and for true conversion of heart to take place.

That is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about not putting a new cloak to patch an old cloak, and using only new skins to store new wine. Jesus is telling us to move on from old ways to new and better ways of growing in relationship with God. He is telling us not to be too focused in only meticulously observing the law, as the scribes and Pharisees do, but to refocus in the law of loving God and loving neighbour, which was the whole idea and purpose of the law in the first place. The scribes and the Pharisees had taken what was supposed to be quite a simple law, and transformed it into lots of rituals and practices, which cause people to be bogged down in mere external practices. But Jesus, like new wineskin and new wine, was showing them and all of us too, a new and better way of living, by living the way of love.

Sometimes we too could be guilty in following the ways of the scribes and the Pharisees in what we do and how we behave towards others. Some of us are so focused in prayers and practices, which are like the old ways of the scribes and the Pharisees, instead of focusing in the new way of Christ, the way of loving all, just as God loves all. May we be humble and willing to change, so that we would be free to listen to God’s voice again, and grow deeper in relationship with Him.

Thursday of Week 22 Year 1

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Each and every one of us has got a different calling from God. Some of us are called to remain single, some are called to married life, others may be called to be priests or religious. All of these callings are not from our own efforts, but a vocation, a gift from God based on His plan for us. We can choose to respond to His call or to avoid it, for God does not force us to respond to a particular vocation or way of life.

In today’s Gospel, we come across the call of Simon Peter. When Simon Peter saw the huge amount of fish caught, “he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.” Notice that Simon Peter and his companions did respond to Jesus’ call, since they left everything and followed Him. Simon Peter might have been unsure or hesitant at first to respond to Jesus’ call, but what made him take the plunge is when Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

If we are called today to serve the Lord in a particular vocation, let us take heed and be assured by Jesus saying, “Do not be afraid.” We may experience different storms in life, and some of us may be tempted to abandon our calling, but let us not give up or run away, since we have Jesus as our help and guide. Let us with good cheer and enthusiasm respond to our calling, so that we too in our own way, be fishers of men.

Wednesday of Week 22 Year 1

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Good and capable doctors or healers are not easy to find. When we come across one, we would do our utmost best to try and ensure the person remains in our village, town or even city. Many would flock to such a person for treatment, making it less likely for the person to want to move elsewhere, since such a person’s services is sorely needed. But sometimes, due to reasons other than economics or popularity, such a person may eventually need to move.

When it comes to priests and religious, they too may be quite sought after, especially when they are good and capable preachers, counsellors, teachers or spiritual guides. We try to get them to remain with us, and some may go so far as to even write to the bishop or superior petitioning that they stay, but ultimately, they may still need to go elsewhere to serve.

In today’s Gospel, the crowds went to look for Jesus, “and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.”

Jesus could have easily been happy and comfortable to remain in one place and do His teaching and healing there, but that would mean that He was only satisfying His personal needs. Instead, He chose to do the will of God by going to other places to teach and heal, since He was sent to proclaim the Good News to many places, not just remain in one. In the same way, we too need to realise that when a priest or religious is transferred to another place, the priest or religious would move on because he or she is doing the will of God. Instead of making it difficult for him or her to move, let us be thankful for the gift of the priest or religious for having been with us for all these years, and let us continue to pray for him or her, so that he or she would remain faithful to his or her duty and vocation.

Tuesday of Week 22 Year 1

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Life is such that we can never predict what is going to happen tomorrow. Today we may seem healthy and full of vigour, tomorrow may be a different story. Things can happen all of a sudden, and we may not have time or opportunity to prepare ourselves for any eventuality. This is why we need to always be ready and be consistent in our preparations to be with the Lord, if that is what we hope for.

In today’s reading, we are reminded: “But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober. God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him. So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already.”

What does it mean to stay wide awake and sober? It basically means we have been consistently making effort to remain in good terms with the Lord and growing in our spiritual life. At the same time, we are also reminded, as the reading tells us, to “give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another” so that together we would be with the Lord. Thus, let us not slack or be caught sleeping, but stay wide awake and sober, so that we may be live united in the Lord.

Monday of Week 22 Year 1

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It’s very hard to lose someone that we love very much. Death is hard to understand or to accept. But we know that, sooner or later, we will need to face the reality of death. No one lives forever, as our bodies are not made to last, even the things we own do not last for long. Some people view death as the end, that they cease to exist. Others fear death because of the unknown. But how should a Christian respond to death? What sort of attitude should a Christian have towards death?

In today’s reading, St. Paul tells us: “We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him.” The important thing we need to note here is we need to have died in Jesus, by letting ourselves go through a conversion process where we let go of our old selves and put on a new self with Jesus as our help and guide. If we have been faithful and consistent in building a good relationship with Jesus, we have no reason to worry or fear, for God will bring us to Him. The question is: have we been doing our part to remain in the Lord?

Friday of Week 21 Year 1

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It is easy for some of us to be distracted with so many things in life here on earth, so much so that we may have neglected in our efforts to be prepared to meet the Lord. Some of us think that we still have much time to grow in relationship with God, and we procrastinate, thinking with confidence that we would eventually return to the Lord’s ways. But do we really have that much time?

In today’s Gospel, we come across ten bridesmaids: five were foolish, five were sensible. All ten were supposed to meet the bridegroom, but the foolish ones only brought their lamps without bringing extra oil, whereas the sensible ones brought both. The bridegroom was late and the lamps of the foolish bridesmaids were running out of oil. So these foolish bridesmaids had to go and buy more oil, and in their absence, the bridegroom came. As a result, the foolish bridesmaids ended up being locked out of the wedding hall.

Just as the foolish bridesmaids ended up being locked out, we too could find ourselves being locked out of God’s presence, if we have been foolish enough to be unprepared to meet Him. God has given plenty of chances for us to grow closer to Him, and it is up to us to be sensible enough to do our part. So let us not procrastinate any more but stay awake, because we do not know either the day or the hour.

Thursday of Week 21 Year 1

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Being sleepy during the day time could be hazardous to our health and could also lead to fatalities. We have seen how some people have fallen asleep at the steering wheel of the vehicle, only to end up in disastrous consequences. Even at the workplace, we may land ourselves into trouble or dangerous situations, if we are caught falling asleep by the boss, or if we fall asleep while operating dangerous equipment. This is why we need to be disciplined and get enough rest, so we will be alert and ready to do our work and other duties.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is cautioning us to stay awake for a different reason. Instead of our physical  sleepiness, Jesus is warning us about our spiritual sleepiness. We may have been sleepy in being regular in attending Mass, or sleepy in going for regular confession, or sleepy in being regular with our prayers and meditation. When we are spiritually sleepy, we may be caught off-guard or unaware if Jesus were to come and call us to give an account of our lives, since Jesus has cautioned us: “Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Thus, we have a choice: do we still wish to remain spiritually sleepy and risk our eternal future, or are we making efforts to remain alert and be ready for the Lord?

Wednesday of Week 21 Year 1

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Appearances can be deceiving. When we observe a person, especially when we do not know the person at all, or know very little about the person, we could be tricked or fooled into thinking that the person is friendly, good or holy. The person may appear to be prayerful, come for Mass, get involved in many church activities or even be friendly towards others, but is the person really doing all these and serving God for His greater glory? Or could there be a hidden agenda? Some of you may ask, aren’t we too quick to judge a person? The issue here is not about judging a person, but about being cautious and not be too quick in accepting a person as a friend or a confidant or confidante. This is because there are some people who could be putting on a show, just to win the support and admiration of others for a certain purpose or reason, and we could sometimes eventually discover their true intentions.

In today’s Gospel, we come across an example of how appearances can be deceiving. The scribes and the Pharisees were being given a good run down by Jesus, because of their attitude, behaviour, the amount of pretense at the way they portrayed themselves, and much more. Despite all Jesus had said and done, the scribes and the Pharisees chose to obstinately remain as they are, and throughout the Gospel, we can clearly see what sort of people they have become. We too could fall into the same trap as the scribes and the Pharisees, when we choose to remain stubborn and prefer to do things our way, while lording it over others. Are we willing to listen to Jesus’ warnings and have a change of heart, before it is too late?