Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Wednesday of Holy Week, 01-04-15

Isaiah 50:4-9 / Matthew 26:14-25

In a battlefield scenario, the decision to fight or to take flight depends almost on one factor - the strength and the size of the enemy.

No soldier in a normal state of mind would go into battle to face certain death or decide to die on the battle field, except maybe those kamikaze pilots of WWII.

But whether soldier or pauper, in the face of certain death, the most obvious thing would be to take flight, to flee, so as to live and fight another day.

For Jesus, He knew He was going to face certain death. On top of that He was also going to be betrayed by one of His disciples. It would be better for Him to flee and take flight and forget about it all.

But as He said in the gospel, "the Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will". So there is no option of fleeing or taking to flight.

But it was not some suicide mission or that He was obsessed about dying. For Jesus it was a battle with evil and He was prepared to take its full force.

The 1st reading gives us an insight into the mind of Jesus as He prepares to face His suffering and death - "For my part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard. I did not cover my face against insult and spittle".

But in the battle against evil, Jesus was not alone. And neither are we. Because the 1st reading says this - "The Lord comes to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults. So I set my face like flint, I know I shall not be shamed".

Jesus showed us how to face and fight evil. He was victorious against it. So will we when we stand by Him especially in the next few days of the Holy Triduum.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Tuesday of Holy Week, 31-03-15

Isaiah 49:1-6 / John 13:21-33, 36-38

Is there such a thing as a meaningless task or doing something that is a total waste of time?

It is not likely that we would ever embark on a meaningless task or do something that would be a waste of time.

Whatever task that we embark on certainly has a meaning and we would be prepared to invest time in doing it.

But maybe along the way, when faced with failures and disappointments and frustrations, we lose direction and motivation and then the task at hand becomes a burden and end up as meaningless and a waste of time.

For whatever reason that Judas betrayed Jesus, it can be said that he didn't see any more purpose or meaning in following Jesus.

And Jesus knew that he was going to betray Him. He could have just cut Judas off and let him suffer the consequences of betraying Him.

Yet, Jesus offered him that piece of bread at the Last Supper. It was an act of appeal to Judas for reconsider what he was planning to do.

It seemed meaningless for Jesus to do it because in the end Judas was fixed on his intent.

But as much as it was meaningless for Jesus to do it, He still offered Judas that last bit of possibility of changing his mind.

Similarly, Jesus is always prompting us with His love and mercy to nudge us to get back on the right path of life.

Not to heed the promptings of Jesus would only make us face the consequence of a meaningless and wasted life.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Monday of Holy Week, 30-03-15

Isaiah 42:1-7 / John 12:1-11

If we were asked to fill in the blank with the phrase that begins with "freedom of ... " what word can we think of that will follow that?

We might probably think of "freedom of speech" or "freedom of choice". These two phrases are what we often hear of.

But "freedom of speech" and "freedom of choice" may not be as free as what we might presume it to be.

As much as there is "freedom of speech", the freedom after the speech may not be guaranteed.

Similarly with the "freedom of choice", the freedom after the choice may be curtailed.

In the gospel, we heard about what Mary did for Jesus. She anointed His feet with a costly ointment. She exercised her freedom of choice to do what she did for Jesus.

But her choice of action brought about criticism and Jesus came to her defence and spoke up for her.

Jesus used His freedom of speech with this intention - to bring true justice and to serve the cause of right.

And that is what we respond with at the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer when the priest says "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God" and we respond with "It is right and just"

So for us, the freedom of speech and the freedom of choice should be geared towards what is right and what is just.

When we say and do what is right and just, then we give glory to the Lord. When we say and do what is truly right and just, then we will live in the freedom as God's children.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Palm Sunday, Year B, 29.03.2015

Isaiah 50:4-7 / Philippians 2:6-11 / Mark 14:1 -15:47

During the last couple of days of national mourning for the founding father of our nation, there were long queues to the Parliament House where the body of the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is lying in state.

On Friday when the numbers swelled by the thousands, there was an astonishing announcement by the State Funeral Organizing Committee.

Singaporeans were “strongly advised” not to join the queue to pay their last respects as the waiting time in the queue could be as long as 8 hours or even 10 hours!

Then on Friday night the queue to pay last respects to the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew was suspended until further notice for the safety and wellbeing of those in line. 

What was astonishing was that Singaporeans were advised NOT to join the queue to pay their last respects.

It was astonishing because the higher the number of people paying respect, the more impressive it would be in terms of publicity.

But the huge crowds made it too overwhelming for crowd control.

But it is understandable that Singaporeans want to pay their last respects to the man who made what Singapore is today.

In the gospel we hear of another man whom the people had cheered and then later on jeered at.

In the gospel passage on the entrance to Jerusalem, the people spread their garments on the road and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields as Jesus rode on a colt.

The crowds cried out “Hosanna!” to acknowledge Jesus as the Saviour.

But Jesus didn’t ask for the adulation of the crowds or for their tribute.

Then in the long gospel passage on the suffering and death of Jesus, we heard of the crowd again. And this time they cried out “Crucify him!”

The crowd had turned against Jesus and even His disciples had abandoned Him.

In the depths of His distress, Jesus even cried out “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”

The man who sacrificed His life to save humanity was abandoned, mocked and humiliated to a shameful death on the cross.

Today, we the Church honours and praise Jesus for saving us through His dying on the cross.

As we enter into Holy Week and into the Holy Triduum, what Jesus is asking of us is to stay close to Him as we recall His suffering and death.

If our nation can be overwhelming in paying respect and tribute to the man for what he did for us and for our country, then all the more we must unite ourselves more fervently with Jesus in recalling His suffering and death.

Jesus suffered and died to save us because of His love for us.

Suffering and dying without love is futile and worthless.

In meditating and uniting ourselves with Jesus in His suffering and death, may we also offer up our lives to Jesus and die to ourselves so that we will discover the meaning of love and sacrifice.

May the love of Jesus overwhelm us so that we will be able to offer our lives for the salvation of others.

Jesus did it. The late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew did it too. Will we be willing to do it too?

(The Roman Catholic Church, along with the rest of Singapore, mourns the loss of our nation’s founding father, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. In memory of the late Mr Lee, Archbishop William Goh celebrated Mass at St Joseph’s Church (Victoria St)  on Friday, 27 March. A copy of his homily "The Founding Father as a Befitting Title Given to Mr Lee Kuan Yew" can be found here)

Friday, March 27, 2015

5th Week of Lent, Saturday, 28-03-15

Ezekiel 37:21-28 / John 11:45-56

Other than rhetoric questions, generally questions probe for answers and the question will remain until there is an answer.

Today's gospel ends with questions, and those questions will have to be answered.

It was a questioning time for Jesus as His hour of reckoning approaches.

As He retreated to the countryside with His disciples, He could have just put those questions on hold. He could have decided to remain there.

He could have gone on with His work of healing and teaching in a quiet way, and those disturbing questions would slowly fade away with time.

Also many people would have supported Him and kept Him safe.

But Jesus knew that that was not the Father's will, so He moved out of His safety zone,  and it will be a move that will cost Him His life.

Hence whenever we talk about doing God's will, we have to remember that it involves risk.

It involves moving out of our safety zone and moving out of our comfort zone.

But it is only in moving out that God moves in.

It is only when we move out to face the questions of life that we will begin to see what God's will for us is.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

5th Week of Lent, Friday, 27-03-15

Jeremiah 20:10-13 / John 10:31-42

There are so many similarities between what the prophet Jeremiah of the 1st reading went through and what Jesus suffered.

Both had so many enemies disparaging against them. Both felt terror from every side and suffered abandonment and humiliation, even from their friends.

Jeremiah called upon God to be his vindicator and to deliver him from the hands of evil men. He even hoped to see the vengeance that God will inflict upon his enemies.

That is also often our reaction to those who do evil and wickedness against us. Whether aloud or under our breath, we will call retribution upon these wicked people.

Like Jeremiah, how else can we react to the ungratefulness for the good we did. How else can we react for being blamed and punished even when we are innocent?

We may not want to admit it, but the thirst for vengeance has a deep root in us.

Jesus also believed in vindication. He believed that His Father is with Him always and will eventually glorify Him.

Yet, Jesus did not ask that vengeance be exacted on His enemies or those who abandoned and betrayed Him.

In fact, He forgave His enemies and those who did Him wrong. He didn't even asked that His enemies be punished.

So there is a difference between vindication and vengeance.

We need to believe that in the end God will vindicate us i.e., God will reward us for our faith and perseverance.

There is no need to ask for vengeance. If we are vindicated, what good will there be of vengeance?

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

5th Week of Lent, Thursday, 26-03-15

Genesis 17:3-9 / John 8:51-59

Whenever Jesus uses the phrase "I tell you solemnly ... " it means that He is giving a serious teaching.

It means that what he is going to say must be remembered because it is going to mean a lot to us.

In the gospel, Jesus used this phrase twice.

Jesus said that whoever keeps His word will never see death.

And He also solemnly proclaimed that He is the "I AM" which is the mystical name of God.

God's Word, especially His promises, are eternal, and His Word also gives us the sure hope of eternal life.

Hence, even though we heard in the 1st reading that God made the promise to Abraham, yet Abraham never saw the fulfillment of the promise.

But believing in God who made that promise to him, Abraham knew that there would be life after death because the belief at that time was that the ancestors would have eternal life as long as there are descendants.

So Abraham and the prophets are not dead, as the people said in the gospel.

Yet, it is only in believing and keeping God's word that we will have life.

Jesus promised us that when we keep His word and walk in His ways, we will have life, here and hereafter.

Let us believe in Jesus because His word is spirit and life and they have the message of eternal life.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Annunciation, Wednesday, 25-03-15

Isaiah 7:10-14 / Hebrews 10:4-10 / Luke 1:26-38

St. Augustine was quoted as saying: God does not ask of us the impossible. He may ask us to do the difficult thing, but He will make it possible.

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the proclamation of the Good News of salvation.

It is not only a joyful event, it is also a very profound event in God's plan of salvation.

Yet for Mary, it was not just an event; it was for her a mission.

And if she said "Yes" then it was going to be a life-long mission. And it was going to be difficult.

But God assured her it was not going to be impossible.

Mary put her faith and trust in God as she accepted her mission.

We live in difficult and fragile times. We have wars here and epidemics there and all sorts of things everywhere.

Trying to believe and live out the Good News is not only difficult, but seemingly impossible.

Believing that there can be peace that there can be joy, that there can be love, can be difficult.

But let this celebration of the Annunciation, the celebration of the Good News of our salvation, remind us that difficulty is not synonymous with impossibility.

We join Mary to say "Yes" to God because we want to believe that God is greater than any difficulty and impossibility.

Monday, March 23, 2015

5th Week of Lent, Tuesday, 24-03-15

Numbers 21:4-9 / John 8:21-30

For some kind of understanding between persons or between people to happen, there must be a common factor or a common denominator.

For e.g. in Singapore, where there are many races with their own languages and dialects, there must be an official language.

The official language not only facilitates communication, but also in many ways, the official language promotes understanding and racial harmony.

In the gospel, Jesus did not speak a different language to His people.

Yet, as much as they heard Him, they did not understand Him or even misunderstood Him.

Maybe before the last word left the lips of Jesus, the people were already thinking of what to refute or retort.

We all know that this can never lead to a sensible communication or to a deeper understanding.

We may know who Jesus is. But more than knowing about Him, Jesus wants us to understand Him from the heart.

We don't need to be bitten by fiery serpents to know that He loves us deeply and that He wants us to be persons of love too.

When we understand who Jesus is, we will also understand the meaning of love and what it means to be a loving person.

With love in our hearts, we also join our nation in mourning for the founding father of our nation. May the sadness we feel in our hearts over the passing on of Mr Lee Kuan Yew unite us regardless of race, language or religion and continue the work for a society that is based on justice and equality and understanding  so as to grow and progress as a nation.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

5th Week of Lent, Monday, 23-03-15

Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 / John 8:1-11

The name Daniel in Hebrew means "My God is judge" or "My God is justice".

And true to his name, the prophet Daniel brought about God's justice and saved the innocent Suzanna from being executed.

When we talk about God's justice, we often see it as judgement, as in punishment for evil and vindication for good.

Indeed, the two evil men in the 1st reading got what they deserved for trying to harm an innocent woman in order to cover up their evil deeds.

In that sense, it is true that justice means judgement.

But God is a judge, not merely in the sense of passing sentence over our evil deeds.

The biblical understanding of God and His justice is that He looks at the good we do and the good that we are capable of doing.

Because God, in His justice, is essentially mercy and love.

He affirms our goodness with His mercy and love.

With His mercy and love, He increases our capacity for goodness.

Jesus is the true light that brings about God's love and mercy to us.

Let us open our hearts to the light of Christ and reflect it to others in order to help them do good and increase their capacity for goodness.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

5th Sunday of Lent, Year B, 22.03.2015

 Jeremiah 31:31-34 / Hebrews 5:7-9 / John 12:20-33

Whenever we come across this phrase “life-threatening situation” what would we think it would be?

It would certainly be one that would cause bodily harm or that our life is in danger from an external hostile and aggressive force.

One typical example would be that when we are walking alone in a dark alley and a robber jumps out and points a knife at us and growls with that typical line: Your money or your life!

In a situation like this we will have to make a snap decision as to whether it is our money or our life. We won’t have time to say – Let me think about it …

Or if the robber were to say – Give me all your money or I will cut off both your ears, we are certainly not going to bargain by saying “Does it have to be both?”

Whatever it is, let us pray that we won’t have to undergo such a traumatic experience of a life-threatening situation.

It is certainly not a joke when life is being threatened with a mortal danger.

We may not know when we are going to die but if death were to jump at us like a robber and stare at us in the face, then we have to make snap decisions.

It is then that we will realize how precious life is.

Today’s gospel passage begins with some Greeks approaching Philip with the request that they would like to see Jesus.

Probably those Greeks have heard about the great things that Jesus was doing and so they want to see who He is.

And so Philip and Andrew went to tell Jesus about this request.

And from there on we got a bit lost. Because Jesus didn’t give an answer to the request. He didn’t say yes or no, or that He was busy or that He will see them later.

He practically went on a monologue that begins with “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified”.

If we were those two disciples, we would have reacted as they might have, with that “Huh?” kind of look. Just what are they going to tell those Greeks.

If those two disciples were confused by what Jesus said, then we have the advantage of context and perspective.

Because by now we should understand that Jesus was facing a life-threatening situation. 

His hour has come and He says that His soul is troubled. It is the agony in the garden told in a different way.

He was like talking to Himself and asking Himself if He should ask the Father to save Him from this hour. 

And He answered His own question – But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour.

So by now we should understand what Jesus meant by saying that unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain. 

By now we should understand what Jesus meant when He said that anyone who loves his life loses it and anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.

For Jesus, His life was precious to Him. And as He sees death approaching, His soul is troubled. He is distressed by it.

But as He teaches us to die to ourselves, then He too must show us how to do it.

Jesus indicated the kind of death he would undergo when He said – And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all men to myself.

Indeed by dying on the cross, Jesus showed us the meaning of life.
A wise man was asked this question – What is the greatest difficulty in life? 

His answer is this – To have no burden to carry.

It may sound rather intriguing, but not to have any burdens in life to carry is like saying that life has no meaning to live for.

Over the past week, we would be anxious, or at least concerned over the medical condition of a politician.

Known as the founding father of the nation, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s medical condition had deteriorated and many Singaporeans had expressed their well-wishes and prayers for him.

There is a line that he wrote in his book “Hard Truth”: I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.

A Singaporean posted this reflection – “My late father raised me. My Church fathers guide me. The founding father had given me a nation to call home.
The first gave me life. The second teach me to live. The third, he gave me a living.”

The point is clear. When we give up our lives for others, when we carry their burdens, and offer our lives as a sacrifice for others, then we are indeed following Jesus who came to serve and not to be served.

The life-threatening danger is that we choose otherwise – we want to be served and not to serve.

To have no burdens to carry is indeed the greatest life-threatening danger.

There is no need to think about it. If we truly believe in Jesus, then we will do like He did. 

We will offer our lives for the salvation of others, as well as for our own salvation.

Friday, March 20, 2015

4th Week of Lent, Saturday, 21-03-15

Jeremiah 11:18-20/ John 7:40-52

One of the most convenient ways to come to a conclusion is to make an assumption.

In logic, an assumption is a proposition that is taken for granted, as if it were true based upon presupposition without preponderance of the facts.
So whether it is a correct or an incorrect assumption, we usually begin by saying "I think ..."

But when the assumption is wrong, then the conclusion is also wrong.

In today's gospel, there were a lot of assumptions made about Jesus and specifically about His identity.

In the midst of these assumptions, an unexpected challenge came from Nicodemus.

He challenged the people to give Jesus a hearing and to discover for themselves who Jesus was.

But the assumptions far outnumbered and eventually drowned out the challenge.

We too have our own assumptions about who Jesus is. We also need to verify our assumptions about Jesus.

It is about moving from "I think that Jesus loves me" to saying "I know that Jesus is loves me".

We also need to be careful about making assumptions. For as the 1st reading puts it: But You, Lord of hosts, who pronounce a just sentence, who probe the loins and heart.

Making assumptions are not just out of convenience; we may not want to face the facts that are within us.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

4th Week of Lent, Friday, 20-03-15

Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 / John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

We might presume that people who work for peace and justice will be respected and even treated with honour.

But the reality is that these people are persecuted and even in the most offensive sense.

For example, Archbishop Oscar Romero who championed the rights of the poor was shot to death while celebrating the Eucharist.

Rev. Martin Luther King pleaded for equal rights and he was assassinated. Gandhi also advocated non-violence and he was also innocently assassinated. Pope John Paul II urged peoples and nations to be reconciled and someone tried to assassinate him too.

Enough of examples to reiterate what the 1st reading said about the thoughts of evil people - Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man; let us test him with cruelty and with torture; let us condemn him to a shameful death.

But the 1st reading denounces such evil thoughts by saying that they are misled, their malice makes them blind. This is the lot of the godless with their misguided reasoning.

But the persecution of those who work for peace and justice, those who embark on works of charity and charity missions, shouldn't come as a surprise for us.

In the gospel, we heard that people even wanted to kill Jesus, even though He had done nothing wrong.

Jesus suffered persecution and a violent death, but the victory of His resurrection brings us hope and gives us courage.

Let us stand firm on the side of what is right and just, and when we stand firm to the end, we will see the fruits of our perseverance.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

St. Joseph, Spouse of the BVM, Thursday, 19-03-15

2 Sam 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 / Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 / Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24

St. Joseph is the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus.

His important mission in God's plan of salvation is to be legal father of Jesus and hence Jesus will be inserted into the line of David from whom, according to the prophets, the Messiah would be born.

Most of what is known about St. Joseph comes from the opening two chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel. No words of his are recorded in the Gospels; he was the "silent" man; indeed it is quite a virtue.

There was no known devotion to St. Joseph in the early Church. He was later venerated in the Middle Ages. Pope Pius IX (1870) declared him patron and protector of the universal family of the Church.

About him the Gospel has little more to say than that he was a just man - an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God's greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.

The greatest trial of his life and also the most confusing episode of his life was when he first learned of Mary's pregnancy.

But precisely in this time of trial that Joseph showed himself great. His discernment and his willingness to accept God's plan of salvation showed that he was a man of faith and sensitive to the will of God

St. Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Saviour's virgin birth. So this humble title of being the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a very profound title that has deep spiritual meanings.

Let us ask for his prayers that when the Lord speaks to us, whether in dreams or in whatever means, we will be sensitive to discern the Lord's voice and fulfill His will so that God's work of salvation will be continued in us.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

4th Week of Lent, Wednesday, 18-03-15

Isaiah 49:8-15 / John 5:17-30

One of the emotional afflictions that people suffer from and yet will not want to admit it is this feeling of loneliness.

They may be the life of the party but when the party is over and when they are left all alone, they feel like a used paper bag.

And when the feeling of loneliness and emptiness is too much to bear, they may want to numb the feeling  by resorting to other forms of entertainment or excitement like chatting with strangers over the internet or other means of social media.

The longing for companionship and love in the emptiness of loneliness can make a person do something quite questionable and adverse.

The question is that in times of loneliness, where do we look for companionship and love, and who do we look for it.

In the 1st reading, the Lord spoke in these words - Does a woman forget her baby at her breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.

This is one of the most endearing and tender expressions of the love of God for us.

Moreover Jesus said in the gospel - My Father goes on working, and so do I.

It means that God labours on to be with us and pours His love into us so that we won't look for love in the wrong places.

And if we look at God for love and companionship, we can never say that we are lonely.

Monday, March 16, 2015

4th Week of Lent, Tuesday, 17-03-15

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 / John 5:1-3, 5-16

Waiting can be boring and tiring. If we have just missed the bus or the train, the wait for the next one is anything from being enjoyable.

And in the fast-moving high-speed life in Singapore, waiting is seen as unproductive and wasted time.

The man in today's gospel passage waited for 38 years for that chance to get into the pool, but it had yet to come.

And after 38 years, that man's illness had become a way of life. He had almost no hope of ever being cured, and had lost the desire to help himself.

Life had become a waiting for something that will not happen, and with that life had become hopeless.

So it is understandable why the man did not give a direct answer to the question of Jesus as to whether he wanted to be cured.

The answer would be an obvious "Yes" but the man moaned and groaned about his sad and hopeless situation. It was like waiting for nothing to happen.

But Jesus showed how gracious He is by giving the man what he desired. Jesus understood that the man had his hopes emptied so life had become a "waiting for nothing".

Jesus is our healer and He wants to heal us from this "nothing" syndrome - a waiting for nothing; a living for nothing; a doing for nothing; or even a praying for nothing.

Jesus is the living water that nourishes our arid hearts so that our lives will bear fruits of goodness and bring God's healing to those in need. There is no need to wait any longer for that to happen.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

4th Week of Lent, Monday, 16-03-15

Isaiah 65:17-21 / John 4:43-54

Whenever we talk about problems, just what kind of problems are we talking about?

There are some problems that have a straight-forward solution. For example, if the problem is paying off a debt, then the obvious solution is having the money to pay off the debt.

The debt would cease to be a problem when there is money available. The bigger problem would be where to get the money and how to get the money.

At the wedding at Cana in Galilee, when the wine ran out, the solution was to get more wine from wherever. If no wine was available, then it would be a great embarrassment to the wedding couple.

And Jesus was at hand to work the miracle of changing water into wine, with some mediation from His mother.

When the court official approached Jesus to come and heal his son who was at the point of death, the solution to the problem wasn't a straight forward one.

Will Jesus do it? Can Jesus do it?  Is Jesus seen as just a solution? Or is there more to Him than just being a problem solver?

Jesus made a remark in today's gospel passage that calls for our reflection - So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!

Maybe the problem with us is that we want quick and fast solutions to whatever problems we face.

When we can't get the solutions, we turn to Jesus to solve our problems. But Jesus is not just a problem-solver; Jesus is our Saviour.

He saves us by creating a new heavens and a new earth within us so that will be "Joy" and "Gladness" in our hearts, as we heard in the 1st reading.

So if we don't feel the joy and gladness in our hearts, maybe it is time to have a long chat with our Saviour.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

4th Sunday of Lent, Year B, 15.03.2015

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 / Ephesians 2:4-10 / John 3:14-21

If we were to look at the little red book that is in the pews, it is called "The Order of the Mass". And at the bottom, in smaller letters it reads “New English Translation”.

The artwork on the cover is a symbol of the cross, and on the spaces in between the arms of the cross are the letters IC, XC, NI and KA.

IC, XC are the initials for Jesus Christ.

But what about NI and KA? Actually it is one word NIKA. It is a Greek word, and it means victor or conqueror.

So the letters around the cross stands for Jesus Christ the Victor or Jesus Christ the Conqueror.

We may not have known what NIKA stands for because it is a foreign word. But we know of a word that is derived from it “NIKE” a famous brand in sports.

So we know what NIKA stands for and what Nike might mean (besides the “Just do it”). But we may not know what the name Nicodemus means.

It is a foreign sounding name, and not many people have that name, and maybe for a good reason.

In today's gospel, the man who came to look for Jesus at night is called Nicodemus. He was also a Pharisee.

 But what does the name Nicodemus stands for?

There are two parts to the name : nico and demus.

Nico means "victory", and demus means "the people".

So Nicodemus means "he is the victory of the people", or "he who claims victory for the people".  

So it is actually a meaningful and also a powerful name.

Yet the Nicodemus in the gospel came to see Jesus under cover of darkness because he was afraid for his reputation and status as a Pharisee.

The man whose name means “victory of the people” has come to see the man who is the Victor and the Conqueror.

And out of the strange meeting in the night, a very profound and enlightening truth is proclaimed.

In fact, this truth is often called the summary of the whole Bible, the very gist of the good news of salvation.

And it is this: God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that anyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life.

For God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that through Him the world might be saved.

That is the powerful and profound truth. That is also the truth about God and His deep love for us.

Jesus shines His light on us so that we live in the light of truth and love.

Some of us are afraid of the dark. The dark can be quite frightening. 

But are we afraid of the light? We may not think so. But our reaction to the light can tell us otherwise.

We shield ourselves from the light; we squint or even close our eyes from the light.

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” (Plato)

When men are afraid of the light, then tragedy happens as what we heard in the 1st reading.

The heads of the priesthood right down to the people added infidelity to infidelity and defiling the Temple that the Lord had consecrated for Himself in Jerusalem.

The Lord God tirelessly sent them messenger after messenger since He wished to spare His people and His house.

But they ridiculed the messengers of God, they despised His words, they laughed at His prophets, until at last the wrath of God rose so high against His people that there was no further remedy.

Their enemies burned down the Temple of God, demolished the walls of Jerusalem, set fire to all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value in it.

It was a national tragedy that went down into history.

As Jesus said in the gospel – though the light has come into the world, men have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil.

An interesting fact is that “where the light is brightest, the shadows are deepest” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe).

This coming Friday evening, our parish is having the Reconciliation service. The priests of the City District are coming to our parish to hear our confessions.

An often-asked question is this - Should I go to confession if I haven’t committed any sins since my last confession?

A rather candid answer given is this - No, you should stay at home and wait for your canonization papers to arrive! 

But seriously, if it’s been several weeks since your last confession, you have probably not examined your conscience very carefully. 

“The just man falls seven times a day” (Prov 24:16). So if we’re thinking that we don’t have any sins to confess, then Jesus has got nothing to conquer and there will be no victory for Him.

But we know that under the light, there will be shadows, and the brighter the light, the deeper the shadows.

Jesus is the light that will scatter the shadows of our sins. 

When we confess our sins and are reconciled to God, we turn away from tragedy and with Jesus we march into the light of victory.

Friday, March 13, 2015

3rd Week of Lent, Saturday, 14-03-15

Hosea 5:15 - 6:6 / Luke 18:9-14

One of the preparations before going for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is to use the 10 Commandments for the examination of conscience.

Breaking any of the 10 Commandments is indeed a grave sin.

Hence, not going for Mass on Sundays, disrespect for parents, stealing, adultery, all these are grave sins. Blatantly grave.

But what is blatant can be equally destructive as what is subtle.

We avoid obvious grave sins, yet we can forget that there are sins that are not so obvious that will cause us to trip and fall.

In today's gospel parable, the Pharisee was proud that he did not commit any grave sin; in fact he did credible deeds.

But why was he not at rights with God?

As always, pride comes before the fall.

His problem was spiritual pride - he called another person a sinner without acknowledging to be one himself.

He propped himself up, at the expense of another person.

It was subtle, but evil. So we need to watch ourselves.

If we think we are virtuous, are we also getting self-righteous?

We can make sacrifices and perform credible deeds.

But what the Lord wants is not sacrifice. What He wants is our love for Him and for those around us.

And if we should fall, then we only need to turn to God and say: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

3rd Week of Lent, Friday, 13-03-15

Hosea 14:2-10 / Mark 12:28-34

We address God with very transcendent and lofty names and it is only rightly so, names like "Almighty and ever living God", "Lord God of hosts".

We use these names for God and we must also understand what they stand for otherwise those names will be devoid and empty of meaning.

In the 1st reading, we heard the Lord telling His people: Provide yourself with words and come back to me.

But the words that we use should also express our faith and our belief in who God is.

God is the God of power and might but He portrayed Himself as a God of tender love and compassion, always forgiving and going even to the extent of pleading for His people to return to Him.

We see this when we hear God saying this in the 1st reading: I will love them with all my heart; I will fall like dew on Israel; I hear his prayer and care for him.

Indeed, God is love and we may not be able to fully understand the length and breadth, height and depth of what it means to say that God is love.

But in the gospel, Jesus puts that meaning in very practical and understandable terms - you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And you must love your neighbour as yourself.

We must also remember that it is God who gave those two commandments and He would have fulfilled it first by loving us with all His heart, with all His mind and with all His strength before asking us to do it in return.

When we understand that God is love, we will understand the names that we use to address God. And though we may not understand it absolutely, we are surely on the way to the kingdom of God.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

3rd Week of Lent, Thursday, 12-03-15

Jeremiah 7:23-28 / Luke 11:14-23

The devil, or any evil spirit for that matter, is one who has rebelled against God and hence in doing so has cut himself from God eternally.

Even though that is the case, still the devil and those evil spirits are not their own masters. Because in any case, when God orders them, they will have to obey.

As in the case in the gospel account where Jesus was casting out the devil, it does not stand a chance against Jesus.

The devil, and his accomplices, may be strong but they had to bow down to God's command, and if Jesus orders them to get out, they will have to get out.

Yet, we heard in the gospel that some people said that it was through the devil that Jesus cast out devils!

That may sound ridiculous but it is as ridiculous as some people saying that there is no God and that everything happened with a big bang.

But if devils had to obey the orders and the commands of God, then we would think that human beings should have no problems with submitting to the will of God.

But that is not what we heard in 1st reading. We heard God saying - These are my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you and you will prosper.

But they did not listen, they did not pay attention, they followed the dictates of their own heart, they turned their backs on God.

The devils won't listen to God but they will ultimately have to obey God. Let us listen to God and follow His ways, so that we will be for Jesus and not against Him, and so that we will gather with Him and not scatter.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

3rd Week of Lent, Wednesday, 11-03-15

Deut 4:1, 5-9 / Matthew 5:17-19

Children often have some resistance with the things that we ask them to do.

Things like washing their hands before meals, brushing their teeth, going to bed early, etc.

They don't seem to be convinced that what we tell them is really good for them.

But how different are we from children when it comes to keeping God's law?

Do we really understand what it means when Moses said in the 1st reading: Observe them, that you may have life.

Yet, we know that whenever God's law is not kept, problems arise and tragedies happen.

That was why Moses added: Tell it to your children, and your children's children.

And Jesus said in the gospel: I have come not to abolish but to complete the Law.

God's law is our life-line. Jesus is not only Law-giver. He is also the Life-giver.

In keeping the Law of God, we will have life. Till heaven and earth pass away, that is God's promise to us.

Monday, March 9, 2015

3rd Week of Lent, Tuesday, 10-03-15

Daniel 3:25, 34-43 /  Matthew 18:21-35

To be poor is really to be in an unfortunate situation. A way of expressing it is to live from hand to mouth, with nothing for spare or for savings.

But maybe a worse situation than being poor is to be bankrupt! Because being bankrupt may mean that you not only have no money at all, you even have debts to pay and whatever money that comes your way is not going to be yours.

You will probably spend the rest of your life paying the debts and having nothing to live on.

Such was the situation of that first servant in today's gospel parable. The amount of money that he owed is beyond imagining, and to meet the debt will mean that he and his wife and children will have to be sold, along with all his possessions.

But the parable seems to be heading for a happy ending when the master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.

So if the debt is beyond imagining, then so is the generosity of the master. If the parable ends there, that would be a happy ending.

But after this came the twist - this same servant did not cancel the debt of another fellow servant.

That first servant was poor, but in not cancelling the much smaller debt of another fellow servant, he became bankrupt and maybe even bankrupt for life.

Jesus came to redeem us from the debt of sin and freed us from being condemned by our sins.

If we can't forgive others the wrong that they do to us, then we are a tragic bankrupt.

So when we pray "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us", let us mean it.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

3rd Week of Lent, Monday, 09-03-15

2 Kings 5 : 1-15 / Luke 4 : 24-30

When it comes to choosing a name for baptism, or for a religious purpose, the primary source to look into would be the Bible.

There we will come across the names of biblical heroes or persons of faith.

Yet, there are biblical characters whose names are not mentioned.

In today's 1st reading, the little Israelite girl who was captured and became a slave was a nameless person.

But how was it that Naaman believed in her?

Naaman and his wife must have seen or sensed something in that little Israelite slave girl that prompted them to believe in her words.

They probably saw that even though freedom was taken away from her, she still kept her faith and trusted in God.

It was her little actions of faith that impressed Naaman and his wife.

Most of us are not big shots or big names in society or in church.

Yet, like the little nameless Israelite slave girl, our actions of faith count, not only before God but also before others.

In fact, our actions of faith speak louder that our words.

It is through our simple and loving actions of faith that will lead others to believe in God.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B, 08.03.15

Exodus 20:1-17 / 1 Cor 1:22-25 / John 2:13-25

Whenever we come into contact with a group of strangers, the first impression that we will make is the way we introduce ourselves.

Firstly will be the how, and of course we will use our best tone of voice, or our “broadcasting” voice, a voice that is mellow and clear and steady.

Following that will be the what, as in what are we going to say about ourselves, and how are we going to describe ourselves.

Having a name that is easily pronounceable is helpful. (But when you have a name that is spelt STEPHEN, and if someone else were to introduce you and he is unsure about the pronunciation, then you will hear your name as “Ste-fen” or even “Step-hen”.)

And then of course you want to be impressive and probably give a 3-minute résumé that others will forget in three seconds.

Or you can try to be cheeky and even funny if you are daring enough. An example could be this : Hi I am Fr. Stephen, I have just finished my first movie… and after Mass I will go over to the cinema to watch the next one : )

Whatever it might be, when we introduce ourselves, we can be anything from passive to impressive. It depends on how much we want to reveal ourselves.

Well, Jesus needs no introduction surely. From what we read and from what we heard, we know Jesus is kind and compassionate, loving and forgiving, and almost everything is nice about Him.

But today’s gospel gives us that rare glimpse of Jesus that we might not want to hear about or imagine.

The gospel begins by telling us that Jesus went up to the Temple and He found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons and the money changers sitting at their counters.

And then making a whip out of some cord, He drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers coins and knocked their tables over.

And then comes the reason for His actions as He declares: Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.

No doubt we can imagine that anger of Jesus as He takes that whip and drove out those merchants and cattle and sheep out of the Temple.

This instance is often termed as “Jesus cleansing the Temple.”

And as we hear this, we may feel rather uncomfortable about this angry and even violent side of Jesus.

But as we reflect deeper about it, we will also know that there is something in us that needs some cleansing. 

1 Cor 3:16 tells us this - Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?

So each of us is the temple of God and it is the Spirit that makes us temples of God’s glory. And united in Jesus we become the Church that is the sign of salvation.

But we have let sin defile the temple in us. Instead of cattle and sheep and money changers, we have let selfishness and greed and impurity into our hearts and we forget who we are and what we are called to be.

And so when we introduce ourselves to others, we take pride in making an impression on others with whatever we think is impressive.

But as the gospel tells us, Jesus could tell what a man had in him. Yes, Jesus knows the state of our hearts, and He knows that we all need cleansing.

Someone who needs no introduction is Pope Francis.

In an interview after he became Pope, he was asked this question: Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio? 

And his reply was this: I am a sinner. This the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech; I am a sinner, a sinner on whom the Lord has turned His gaze.

The Pope could have said other things to describe himself, and he has enough of impressive things to say about himself, but that would not mean much to us.

But in saying that he is a sinner, Pope Francis has identified himself with us and in turn we too can identify ourselves with him.

And even though he calls himself a sinner, Pope Francis speaks with a voice of authority that flows from his authenticity and honesty.

It is here that Pope Francis follows the footsteps of none other than Jesus his Master.

Even the enemies of Jesus acknowledged His authenticity and honesty, even though they tried to trap Him in the question of paying taxes to Caesar.

Because this is what they said to Him – Master, we know that you say and teach what is right; you favour no one, but teach the way of God in all honesty.

That was what the people saw in Jesus, including His enemies, and that was why they know that His teaching carries authority, an authority that flows from His authenticity and honesty.

When we acknowledge ourselves as sinners, as Pope Francis did, then we are letting Jesus cleanse the temple of our hearts.

What we need to be cleansed are the lies that come out of our mouths, lies that spring from the sin of pride that lurks in our hearts.

When our hearts are cleansed of the sin of pride and lies are driven out of our mouths, then we will be able to speak the truth, and speak the truth all the time.

Then we don’t have to tell people who we are or even tell lies to impress them.

By our words of truth spoken in honesty, they will know who we really are and that God indeed dwells in us.

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B, 08.03.15

Exodus 20:1-17 / 1 Cor 1:22-25 / John 2:13-25

Whenever we come into contact with a group of strangers, the first impression that we will make is the way we introduce ourselves.

Firstly will be the how, and of course we will use our best tone of voice, or our “broadcasting” voice, a voice that is mellow and clear and steady.

Following that will be the what, as in what are we going to say about ourselves, and how are we going to describe ourselves.

Having a name that is easily pronounceable is helpful. (But when you have a name that is spelt STEPHEN, and if someone else were to introduce you and he is unsure about the pronunciation, then you will hear your name as “Ste-fen” or even “Step-hen”.)

And then of course you want to be impressive and probably give a 3-minute résumé that others will forget in three seconds.

Or you can try to be cheeky and even funny if you are daring enough. An example could be this : Hi I am Fr. Stephen, I have just finished my first movie… and after Mass I will go over to the cinema to watch the next one : )

Whatever it might be, when we introduce ourselves, we can be anything from passive to impressive. It depends on how much we want to reveal ourselves.

Well, Jesus needs no introduction surely. From what we read and from what we heard, we know Jesus is kind and compassionate, loving and forgiving, and almost everything is nice about Him.

But today’s gospel gives us that rare glimpse of Jesus that we might not want to hear about or imagine.

The gospel begins by telling us that Jesus went up to the Temple and He found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons and the money changers sitting at their counters.

And then making a whip out of some cord, He drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers coins and knocked their tables over.

And then comes the reason for His actions as He declares: Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.

No doubt we can imagine that anger of Jesus as He takes that whip and drove out those merchants and cattle and sheep out of the Temple.

This instance is often termed as “Jesus cleansing the Temple.”

And as we hear this, we may feel rather uncomfortable about this angry and even violent side of Jesus.

But as we reflect deeper about it, we will also know that there is something in us that needs some cleansing. 

1 Cor 3:16 tells us this - Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?

So each of us is the temple of God and it is the Spirit that makes us temples of God’s glory. And united in Jesus we become the Church that is the sign of salvation.

But we have let sin defile the temple in us. Instead of cattle and sheep and money changers, we have let selfishness and greed and impurity into our hearts and we forget who we are and what we are called to be.

And so when we introduce ourselves to others, we take pride in making an impression on others with whatever we think is impressive.

But as the gospel tells us, Jesus could tell what a man had in him. Yes, Jesus knows the state of our hearts, and He knows that we all need cleansing.

Someone who needs no introduction is Pope Francis.

In an interview after he became Pope, he was asked this question: Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio? 

And his reply was this: I am a sinner. This the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech; I am a sinner, a sinner on whom the Lord has turned His gaze.

The Pope could have said other things to describe himself, and he has enough of impressive things to say about himself, but that would not mean much to us.

But in saying that he is a sinner, Pope Francis has identified himself with us and in turn we too can identify ourselves with him.

And even though he calls himself a sinner, Pope Francis speaks with a voice of authority that flows from his authenticity and honesty.

It is here that Pope Francis follows the footsteps of none other than Jesus his Master.

Even the enemies of Jesus acknowledged His authenticity and honesty, even though they tried to trap Him in the question of paying taxes to Caesar.

Because this is what they said to Him – Master, we know that you say and teach what is right; you favour no one, but teach the way of God in all honesty.

That was what the people saw in Jesus, including His enemies, and that was why they know that His teaching carries authority, an authority that flows from His authenticity and honesty.

When we acknowledge ourselves as sinners, as Pope Francis did, then we are letting Jesus cleanse the temple of our hearts.

What we need to be cleansed are the lies that come out of our mouths, lies that spring from the sin of pride that lurks in our hearts.

When our hearts are cleansed of the sin of pride and lies are driven out of our mouths, then we will be able to speak the truth, and speak the truth all the time.

Then we don’t have to tell people who we are or even tell lies to impress them.

By our words of truth spoken in honesty, they will know who we really are and that God indeed dwells in us.

Friday, March 6, 2015

2nd Week of Lent, Saturday, 07-03-15

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 / Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Anecdotally speaking, we can say that there is a black sheep in every family.

Usually that is referred to one of the children. That particular child is always out of step with the rest and seems to be marching to a different tune.

That 'black sheep' is the bane and the burden of parents.

Some parents will resort to renouncement of the relationship with that child, others will resort to punishment which may actually be just a way of venting out their frustrations on the child.

In today's gospel parable, we hear of yet another way of dealing with the 'black sheep'.

The father gave in to his younger son's request, but yet further on in the parable, we hear of the father waiting and looking out for him to return.

What made the son came to his senses was that he recalled how kindly his father treated his servants. That was enough for him to get moving.

No matter how far a person has gone over to the dark and destructive side, the memories of love and kindness and goodness can never be erased from him.

It is these memories that will make a person come to his senses and bring him back to the light.

So when we come across the odd one, the black sheep, the sinner, let us be the reflection of God's love to that person.

The 1st reading describes God taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever but delighting in showing mercy.

Let us be that image of God for others to help them come to their senses and return to God.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

2nd Week of Lent, Friday, 06-03-15

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 / Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Family feuds are not just something that we see only in movies and soap operas.

It happens in real life. We read about it in the papers, we hear about it from friends, it may have even happened to us.

One of the main causes of these family feuds is over money and property.

Over money and property, children have brought parents to court and vice versa. Over money and property, sibling rivalry can become so ugly that blood relationships can become like dirty water.

It had happened from the earliest times in the story of Cain and Abel.

It happened between Joseph and his brothers as we heard in the 1st reading.

That coat with long sleeves was a symbol of favour and blessing.

Over that coat, Joseph's brothers came up with evil thoughts like murder, and then mugging and then slavery.

It was also over money and property that the tenants in the parable of today's gospel resorted to violence and murder.

It can be frightening to know, and even to realize, that money and material possession can have such a destructive grip over us to the extent that we can even lose our sense of integrity and morality.

Hence, the Lenten practice of alms-giving has that purpose of helping us break free from this grip of being money-minded and being possessed by materialism.

The Charities Week envelope is a means of helping us in this Lenten spiritual exercise.

Let us see if we can give cheerfully. After all whatever we have is given to us from above, and we are only stewards, not owners.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

2nd Week of Lent, Thursday, 05-03-15

Jeremiah 17:5-10 / Luke 16:19-31

Back in 1939, at the beginning of World War II, Nazi Germany signed a pact with Russia.

It was a pact of non-aggression towards each other, and in it was also a secret agreement to invade Poland and to divide the spoils between each other.

It was a very wicked and devious pact and furthermore, it was one that was aggressive towards a third party.

Yet two years later, the pact was broken when Germany invaded Russia.

Indeed the words of the prophet Jeremiah in the 1st reading rang true: A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on the things of the flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.

Still the human heart continues to be selfish and devious and perverse.

We must realise that when our hearts are turned from the Lord and from the neighbour in need, we only bring eventual destruction to ourselves.

But when we put our trust in the Lord and look into the welfare of our neighbour who is in need, then we will have faith in the Lord who will give each man what his conduct and actions deserve.

As the Responsorial Psalm puts it - Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

2nd Week of Lent, Wednesday, 04-03-15

Jeremiah 18:18-20 / Matthew 20:17-28

In our very urbanized country, things have changed so much and so fast that we can even get nostalgic over things like a charcoal stove.

We certainly can remember waiting for the kettle of water to boil over the charcoal stove, and how we can squat there or do other things while waiting.

But with everything changing so fast and so much, it seems that life should be more convenient and we should have more time.

Yet, the irony is that with life getting more convenient, we also begin to avoid discomfort and we don't see any meaning in it.

On a deeper level, we also want to avoid suffering because suffering is negative and meaningless.

Even in the 1st reading, the prophet Jeremiah was asking the Lord to deliver him from his adversaries and from suffering.

In the gospel, James and John also wanted the glory, but Jesus asked them if they could take the suffering as well.

The same question is also asked of us: Can you drink of the cup that I am going to drink?

Just as water has to be boiled before it can be fit for drinking, we too will have to go through the sharpening fires of suffering before we can find its meaning.

There is meaning in suffering. It is called redemptive suffering. It is the kind of suffering that Jesus showed us when He was nailed to the cross.

May we too offer up our suffering in love like Jesus did, for our redemption as well as the redemption of the world.