Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Year 1

Tuesday of Week 14 Year 1

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In ministry, we cannot please everybody. No matter how hard we try, we are bound to encounter people who appreciate what we do, some will be jealous or unhappy with us no matter what we do, and others could not care less or are not bothered with what we do, possibly because they are more interested in themselves or in matters which interest or benefit them. In different situations, those who like us may become annoyed with us and those who were annoyed with us may like us. Such is the kind of people we encounter and minister to.

That is why, if we look in the Gospel, we can see how the people and the Pharisees had some sort of love-hate relationship with Jesus. In the Gospel, we read: “A man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.'” The people loved Jesus for what He said, the healing He did and the casting out of devils he did. The Pharisees were constantly at loggerheads with Jesus, as they were jealous with His increasing popularity and the words He said hit them hard and pricked their conscience, but they refused to change and risk losing their status and position.

What about us? Are we still trying to please everybody and water down the faith to accommodate certain people, or are we willing to be bold and not be affected with what others think of us? Jesus was not the least bit concerned about His popularity or position, since He was more interested in loving and serving the people, as the Gospel tells us: “Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.” May we follow the example of our loving saviour, and be happy, determined and loving bearers of the Good News to all the ends of the earth.

Monday of Week 14 Year 1

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There are times in life some of us may have felt as if God has abandoned us. Some of us may be feeling this way because of constant illness which seems to have no cure; or perhaps we may be suffering from some form of persecution, depression or grief; or some of us may be suffering from some kind of substance abuse which we may be finding difficult to come out of. Whatever the situation may be, how should a Christian respond?

In today’s reading, God assured Jacob: “Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you before I have done all that I have promised you.” Not only that, today’s Gospel reassures us that God will not abandon us when He cured the woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and brought the official’s daughter back to life. What is important to note here is we need to have constant, unwavering faith in God, and trust that He will do what is best for us. God can help us according to His time and for His glory. It is a question of whether we are willing to be humble and patient in waiting for His help.

Thursday of Week 13 Year 1

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Among the many sicknesses and diseases people are fearful of, one which ranks quite high is paralysis. When a person is paralysed, the person is unable to do anything on his or her own, and has to depend on family and friends for practically everything. The person’s freedom is non-existent, as his or her life or death is totally dependent on the love and generosity of others. Moreover, depending on the reason why a person had become a paralytic, there may be no cure and the person would have no choice but to live in paralysis till death.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus came to his own town. Then some people appeared, bringing Him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Jesus was impressed with the faith of these people, who had confidence and trust that He would heal the paralytic, and that is exactly what He did. The man was able to get up on his own and went home. Jesus had given back the man his freedom.

Perhaps another form of paralysis should be seriously considered here, and that is the paralysing effects of sin. Sin paralyses us slowly, until we come to a point we are no longer able to care for ourselves. We may even become indifferent towards God and towards others, as the sins we have committed engulfs us in a poisonous cloud, and blocks all our senses, preventing us from hearing God’s voice. This is why we must never allow sin to continue to remain in our soul, since its stain would eventually ruin our relationship with God. Instead, we should make every effort to go for confession, and let God heal us and cleanse us from our sins. If we value our eternal future, let us not procrastinate or take things for granted, for our time here on earth is short, and God is constantly inviting and reminding to come back to Him.

Wednesday of Week 13 Year 1

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What does it mean to be possessed by an evil spirit? Some people think that a person behaving strangely or displaying weird antics is crazy or even possessed by an evil spirit. Some people think that they have the so-called power and authority to drive away such evil spirits from others. What these people often fail to realise is that not every person behaving strangely or displaying weird antics is necessarily possessed by some evil spirit, since sometimes the person could be suffering from some sickness or mental condition which could cause such behaviour. Also, if a person is suspected to be possessed, not just any Tom, Dick or Sally can attempt to drive the evil spirit out, since what we could be dealing with here is not just any ordinary thing. In other words, don’t play play when it comes to evil spirits.

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. 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. 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?

Tuesday of Week 13 Year 1

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If God were to ask you to do something, would you do it? Or would you find ways and means to try and avoid doing what God wants of you? Some of us say that we will do what God wants us to, but some may not be saying so wholeheartedly. Are we willing to do God’s will and have complete trust in Him, or have some of us doubted God and tried to look back or go back to our previous ways?

In today’s reading, the angels urged Lot: “Come, take your wife and these two daughters of yours, or you will be overwhelmed in the punishment of the town… Run for your life. Neither look behind you nor stop anywhere on the plain. Make for the hills if you would not be overwhelmed.” Lot managed to convince the angels to allow his family and he to escape to a town called Zoar. However, “the wife of Lot looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt.” Why did she do so? The reading does not tell us specifically. Perhaps Lot’s wife had become too attached to her old life, and she looked back in regret for what she was losing. Perhaps she was curious and wanted to see whether everything would be totally destroyed. But whatever the reason may be, she had disobeyed God and suffered the consequences. As Jesus cautions us: “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:28-33).

What about us? When we were baptised, we were supposed to have died to our old selves and put on a new self, becoming children of God and maintaining a good relationship with Him. But some of us, perhaps, may have been tempted to “look back” or doubted whether God would really provide for us. Let us not be fooled into thinking that God does not care for us or has abandoned us. Rather, let us continue to trust Him, knowing that He knows what is best for us and will provide for us according to His time and for His glory.

Friday of Week 12 Year 1

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When we are sick or having some sort of trouble, we would try to find help from the various options available in modern medicine. Different doctors may give us different prognosis and suggest different kinds of treatment, some cheap, some quite expensive. In our efforts to be cured, what if, after all the different medical procedures have been attempted, we are still not well? How would we respond to such a predicament?

In today’s Gospel, the leper had suffered much, since at that time, lepers were ostracised from society and had to live on their own or within a leper community, as they were considered unclean. There seemed to be no cure and the leper, in desperation and with hope, dared to venture towards Jesus, bowed low in front of Him, and pleaded to Jesus for a cure. Even then, the leper did not force Jesus to cure him, as he merely said: “Sir, if you want to, you can cure me.” The leper had placed his full confidence and trust in Jesus, and as a result, he was cured.

How many of us are like that leper in today’s Gospel, willing to have full confidence and trust in God? Sometimes in our efforts to find a cure, we may have forgotten or neglected to seek God’s help, thinking that we can find a solution or a cure on our own. But let us not forget that God can and will heal us, if we are willing to be patient and place our trust in Him. Are we willing to be humble and let God care for us according to His time and for His glory?

Thursday of Week 12 Year 1

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There are some people who seem to think that they can get by as Christians by doing the barest minimum. Some of these people know how to talk, know how to make lots of suggestions, know how to complain and grumble when things are not in their favour, but that seems to be all they know. When they are asked to help improve on the situation, or offer their services to make things right, these people would begin to make lots of excuses or distance themselves, refusing to get involved and do their part.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to his disciples, “It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.” It is easy for people to talk, but not so easy for them to do things, especially when it comes to doing God’s will. Are we Christians only in name, preferring to be complacent and remain in our comfort zone, refusing to do our part for the glory of God?

Tuesday of Week 12 Year 1

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Many of us like to get things done as easily and as quickly as possible. We do not like to be stuck in a task or a situation for too long, and would try to find ways and means to get it done and get it over with. For example, when we are on the road and we notice a traffic jam coming up ahead, we would try to look for an alternative road to avoid the jam, so that we could reach our destination sooner. Many of us would use the highway to get to our destination quickly, since the highway usually has more lanes and is supposingly easier and faster to drive on. But if we consider for a moment, taking the highway or the alternative road may seem easier and faster to drive on, but it may not necessarily be safer. The alternative road may have much larger vehicles using it, and attempting to overtake such vehicles could be dangerous or even fatal, since it could be harder for us to see other incoming vehicles. The highway could tempt some of us to speed, and we may be at risk of getting a speeding ticket or even get into an accident.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus cautions us: “Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Just as taking the highway or the alternative road may not be good for us, taking the wide and spacious road may lead us to perdition. This is because we sometimes try to cut corners and look for shortcuts in our spiritual life and in our relationship with God. We forget, fail to realise or refuse to admit that the alternative road or the highway seems easy and convenient, but we may become complacent, become distracted with other things, or slack in our concentration towards consistently and faithfully maintaining a good and healthy relationship with God. May we take heed and be alert of what sort of road we are using, and change course accordingly, lest the road we take leads us to our doom.

Monday of Week 12 Year 1

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It is easy for us to look at other people with coloured vision. Some of us see only the good in others, and fail to take notice of their not so good points. This may sometimes happen when, for example, a person is deeply or crazily in love and is not in a rational state of mind, and the person longs or pines for the other, even though the other person may not necessarily be a suitable partner. Some of us see only the bad in others, and we may pick on every minute detail, every imperfection the other has, and make it seem as if it is a big deal. But how many of us are humble enough or willing to accept a person for who he or she is, without looking at the other through our own filtered or coloured vision?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus admonishes us: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How dare you say to your brother, “Let me take the splinter out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.” We sometimes find fault with others because we are trying to make them change according to our standards. Sometimes we find fault because we are unwilling to admit our own shortcomings and project our shortcomings on another person. But let us be reminded that all of us are not perfect, all of us are made differently, and sometimes what we think are imperfections are actually perfectly imperfect. Thus, let us be mindful not to allow our filters or coloured vision to take control of us, and let the Lord guide us, so that we would truly be thankful and appreciate others for who they are.

Friday of Week 11 Year 1

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As Christians, we are often tempted to be attracted to wealth, riches and property. The advertisements that we see on television or hear on the radio, the various posters and billboards that we see next to the road, all seem to bombard us with the message that wealth ought to be our ultimate purpose and goal in life. How do we survive and avoid such constant attacks and temptations?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Jesus reminds us that all the wealth, riches and property in the world are temporary, can be corrupted, can be stolen, and merely illusions. Such riches do not satisfy or bring us happiness, since we will never have enough of it. Instead, we should be focusing more on building a good relationship with God, since being with Him should be our ultimate goal. The question is: are we merely looking for that which is temporary, or are we looking for that which is eternal?