Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 / Romans 8:14-17 / Matthew 28:16-20
There is one thing that most of us carry around and we often take it for granted. Most of our gadgets depend on it and it does a lot of background work although it is not prominently visible.
The age of mobile technology would not be possible if not for this one thing – the battery.
The battery is quite an amazing thing. It is actually portable power, without which we can’t move around with our mobile devices and gadgets.
It is in all our stuff – mobile phones, cameras, laptops, torchlights, remote controllers, mini-fans, hearing aids, pacemakers, etc.
Also advancements in battery power technology have made it possible for high-power consumption. So it is the battery that powers those e-scooters, electric bicycles, and even electric cars.
And even at home, there are vacuum cleaners that are battery-powered. Although a vacuum cleaner can only run for about half an hour on battery power, it is perfectly fine for those people with short attention spans for doing cleaning. :)
Having said these praises about batteries, it is also obvious that batteries do not stand alone. Batteries do go flat, and hence they need chargers to power them up again. Also a charged up battery can’t do much unless it is placed in a device or gadget.
So the battery does not stand alone. It needs the charger for it to be recharged. And it has to be placed in a device or gadget so that it gets those things working and going.
Today the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday. The Church takes a day to reflect and meditate on the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
And whenever we talk about mystery in the context of faith and religion, we talk about mystery as not something that is unknown. Mystery is about what is revealed and keeps revealing; it is an on-going mystery that does not stop.
So even though God has revealed Himself as the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it does not mean that we can fully understand the Holy Trinity or that there is nothing more to know about it.
In fact, there is a lot more that God wants to reveal of Himself to us, as we reflect on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Yes, God keeps revealing Himself to us and we are drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery and the relationship of the Holy Trinity in our lives.
As we know it, in the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are intimately and deeply connected to one another. Each does not stand alone and apart from the other.
It is the Father who creates us, it is the Son who saves us, and it is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us.
The Holy Trinity cannot be reduced to earthly analogies, but nonetheless earthly analogies may help us understand the mystery and the relationship of the Holy Trinity.
Just as in the battery mentioned earlier, the battery does not stand alone by itself. It needs the charger to recharge it, and then it needs to be connected to the device to power it up and make it work.
And as we prepare for the feast of the Sacred Heart in two weeks’ time, we have also prepared these “Jesus Invites” for the triduum in preparation for the feast day.
These “Jesus Invites” can be another analogy to help us understand the mystery and the reality of the Holy Trinity in our parish and in our lives.
At present, we have folded about 6000 of these “Jesus Invites” and we have given them out last Sunday and will be giving out again this Sunday.
These “Jesus Invites” are folded by the loving hands of our Catechism class children, and by members of our parish community.
Just as God the Father created us, we have “created” these “Jesus Invites”. But these “Jesus Invites” are not to be left at the bulletin stands or at the corners of the church.
Just as Jesus saved us, we also must go forth and proclaim the saving love of Jesus by distributing these “Jesus Invites” to those who are in need of the love of Jesus or those who have yet to know the love of Jesus.
We are to be missionaries and heralds of the Good News of salvation and these “Jesus Invites” are the means for us and it is for us to tell others about Jesus and His love for all.
And it is only when these “Jesus Invites” have been distributed out that the Holy Spirit can do His work. How the Holy Spirit works on those who have received these “Jesus Invites” is certainly beyond our understanding, but we keep praying that those who have received these “Jesus Invites” will be enlightened and will be led by the Holy Spirit to come and offer their prayers to the Heart of Jesus.
So in a way, the mystery of the Holy Trinity is practically understood as we prepare to celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart.
In the gospel, Jesus commissioned us to go forth and make disciples of all the nations.
Like batteries, we are powered up in the Eucharist, we have a mission with these “Jesus Invites”. Let us go forth and connect Jesus with others.
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Saturday, May 26, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Pentecost Sunday, Year B, 20.05.2018
Acts 2:1-11 / 1 Cor 12:3-7, 12-13 / John 20:19-23
Usually the meanings of words don’t change much, or at least not so much of a drastic change. Anyway if the meanings of words change too much and too often, then language is no more a means of communication. Nobody will understand each other anymore.
Yet there are some words that have a totally different meaning or a new meaning from what was originally meant.
Today’s feast of Pentecost is one good example. “Penta” is the Greek word which means “five”. “Pentecost” means “fiftieth day”. But it points to the Jewish “feast of the harvest”, which is 50 days after the Passover feast.
But for the Church, the feast of Pentecost does not have any of those meanings. Rather for the Church, Pentecost means the day that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles as we heard in the 1st reading.
So on that day, while the Jewish feast of the harvest was going on, a new Christian feast was about to take place. And we can say that it really began in a dramatic way.
Well, at first the apostles met in one room and they didn’t expect anything much to happen, or so they thought.
Then suddenly, there was a powerful wind from heaven. And then something appeared to them like tongues of fire that come to rest on the head of each of them.
Somehow they knew they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak foreign languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them the gift of speech. And they went out preaching about the marvels of God, and the people heard them in their own language.
So it was a dramatic happening day as the Church burst into birth and that’s why Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church.
But today as we gather in Church for the feast of Pentecost, there are no apparent dramatic happenings. In fact it is solemn and sober. Yet the feast of Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit no less.
So where is the presence of the Holy Spirit? In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is commonly manifested in five forms.
First is the powerful wind as we heard in the 1st reading, or the breath of God which gave man life as recorded in Genesis 2:7. It was the same breath that Jesus breathed on His apostles as He said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
The second form of the Holy Spirit is fire. It was the pillar of fire in Exodus 13:21 that guided the Israelites in the desert. In the 1st reading it was the tongues of flame that rested on the heads of the apostles.
The third form of the Holy Spirit is oil. In the Old Testament, oil was used to anoint priests, prophets and kings. In the New Testament, oil was used to anoint the sick and to bring about healing.
The fourth form of the Holy Spirit is water. Water is a profound sign of the Holy Spirit as it quenches thirst, cleanses and washes wounds and impurities.
The fifth form of the Holy Spirit is in the form of a dove. After the flood, it was a dove that brought an olive branch to Noah (Genesis 8:11) and he knew that the waters have subsided and the earth was dry. The Holy Spirit also descended on Jesus after His baptism in the form of a dove. The dove is also a sign of docility and humility.
So the feast of Pentecost reminds us that the signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit are always present to us. As we come into the church, we mark ourselves with the sign of the cross with Holy Water. That’s already an acknowledgment of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Water.
As we look around at the sanctuary, we see the lighted lamps fueled by blessed olive oil. Fire and oil are signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The breath of God proclaiming the Word of God gives us the Word of life, which in the Eucharist becomes the Bread of life for us.
And docile to God’s will, we worship God with humility, and filled with the Holy Spirit, we go forth to proclaim the wonders and marvels of God.
And with that we become the most profound sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit. But the indicator of whether we are a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is to look into our hearts and see if we are at peace.
In the gospel, when Jesus appeared to His disciples, His first words are “Peace be with you.” They were filled with joy and then Jesus breathed on them the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus wants our hearts to be at peace. He wants to forgive our sins and heal our wounded hearts. He wants to fill us with joy so that as He breathes the Holy Spirit upon us, we will be raised to a new life with meaning and with direction.
All the means are available to us for our hearts to be healed and to be at peace – the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist, and all those other signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who comes to help us in our weakness.
So let us breathe in the breath of God, and to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that we will proclaim the wonders and marvels of God, with peace and joy in our hearts.
Usually the meanings of words don’t change much, or at least not so much of a drastic change. Anyway if the meanings of words change too much and too often, then language is no more a means of communication. Nobody will understand each other anymore.
Yet there are some words that have a totally different meaning or a new meaning from what was originally meant.
Today’s feast of Pentecost is one good example. “Penta” is the Greek word which means “five”. “Pentecost” means “fiftieth day”. But it points to the Jewish “feast of the harvest”, which is 50 days after the Passover feast.
But for the Church, the feast of Pentecost does not have any of those meanings. Rather for the Church, Pentecost means the day that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles as we heard in the 1st reading.
So on that day, while the Jewish feast of the harvest was going on, a new Christian feast was about to take place. And we can say that it really began in a dramatic way.
Well, at first the apostles met in one room and they didn’t expect anything much to happen, or so they thought.
Then suddenly, there was a powerful wind from heaven. And then something appeared to them like tongues of fire that come to rest on the head of each of them.
Somehow they knew they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak foreign languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them the gift of speech. And they went out preaching about the marvels of God, and the people heard them in their own language.
So it was a dramatic happening day as the Church burst into birth and that’s why Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church.
But today as we gather in Church for the feast of Pentecost, there are no apparent dramatic happenings. In fact it is solemn and sober. Yet the feast of Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit no less.
So where is the presence of the Holy Spirit? In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is commonly manifested in five forms.
First is the powerful wind as we heard in the 1st reading, or the breath of God which gave man life as recorded in Genesis 2:7. It was the same breath that Jesus breathed on His apostles as He said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
The second form of the Holy Spirit is fire. It was the pillar of fire in Exodus 13:21 that guided the Israelites in the desert. In the 1st reading it was the tongues of flame that rested on the heads of the apostles.
The third form of the Holy Spirit is oil. In the Old Testament, oil was used to anoint priests, prophets and kings. In the New Testament, oil was used to anoint the sick and to bring about healing.
The fourth form of the Holy Spirit is water. Water is a profound sign of the Holy Spirit as it quenches thirst, cleanses and washes wounds and impurities.
The fifth form of the Holy Spirit is in the form of a dove. After the flood, it was a dove that brought an olive branch to Noah (Genesis 8:11) and he knew that the waters have subsided and the earth was dry. The Holy Spirit also descended on Jesus after His baptism in the form of a dove. The dove is also a sign of docility and humility.
So the feast of Pentecost reminds us that the signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit are always present to us. As we come into the church, we mark ourselves with the sign of the cross with Holy Water. That’s already an acknowledgment of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Water.
As we look around at the sanctuary, we see the lighted lamps fueled by blessed olive oil. Fire and oil are signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The breath of God proclaiming the Word of God gives us the Word of life, which in the Eucharist becomes the Bread of life for us.
And docile to God’s will, we worship God with humility, and filled with the Holy Spirit, we go forth to proclaim the wonders and marvels of God.
And with that we become the most profound sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit. But the indicator of whether we are a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is to look into our hearts and see if we are at peace.
In the gospel, when Jesus appeared to His disciples, His first words are “Peace be with you.” They were filled with joy and then Jesus breathed on them the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus wants our hearts to be at peace. He wants to forgive our sins and heal our wounded hearts. He wants to fill us with joy so that as He breathes the Holy Spirit upon us, we will be raised to a new life with meaning and with direction.
All the means are available to us for our hearts to be healed and to be at peace – the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist, and all those other signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who comes to help us in our weakness.
So let us breathe in the breath of God, and to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that we will proclaim the wonders and marvels of God, with peace and joy in our hearts.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
6th Sunday of Easter, Year B, 06.05.18
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 / 1 John 4:7-10 / John 15:9-17
The difference between human beings and machines is that no matter how much artificial intelligence and programs and sensing devices a machine or a robot may have, it does not have feelings like that of a human being. Or at least not yet.
To differentiate the matter even further, machines and robots are more predictable and easier to handle. Human beings are more temperamental because of their feelings.
For example, if we go to an electronics shop to buy a laptop, we will look around and try out the various models on display. Whichever model we finally choose, it won’t display any elation, nor will the others display disappointment. It’s business as usual and that is quite predictable.
Not so for a human being. Finding acceptance and facing rejection will result in a spectrum of emotions and feelings.
This is quite evident in a job application. If we are called up for an interview, we will feel happy because we are being considered as suitable. When we go for the interview, we will feel tense and anxious because it will be a test of our worth.
After the interview, only two things can happen: acceptance or rejection.
If we get accepted for the job, then we will feel happy and good about ourselves because our worth is recognized. But if we get rejected, then we might feel sad and dejected and maybe even depressed.
So in short, it can be said that often our happiness is dependent on being accepted and recognized for our worth. On the other hand, our sadness is the result of feeling rejected and we see ourselves as useless and worthless.
But is that really so? Is our dignity and our worth dependent on how others see us and whether they accept or reject us?
The bad news is that we cannot make people like us, love us, understand us, accept us or to be nice to us. The good news is that it actually doesn’t matter much.
But more than that, if we live for people’s acceptance, then we will die from their rejection. Our dignity and our worth don’t depend on the assessment of others.
But the really good news is what Jesus tells us in the gospel: As the Father loves me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love.
And to add to this good news is that Jesus chose to love us. So Jesus not only accepts us in our unworthy sinful state, He chooses to love us with the same love that God the Father loves Him.
Jesus tells us this so that the joy of His love will be in us and that will make our love and our joy complete.
So when we realise that Jesus chose to love us, that God’s love is given to us in full, and that His love makes our joy complete, then we will realise who we really are, and that we will want to remain in God’s love.
Then we won’t live on other people’s acceptance nor will we die from their rejection. God’s love is enough for us and we only want to remain in His love.
A story goes that the children in a catechism class were calling each other names and making fun of each other and some were hurt by all the name calling.
The catechism class teacher decided to take this opportunity to teach the children about who they are and how much Jesus loves them.
After she had quieten down the class, she took out a $50 note and asked, “Who would like to have this $50 note?”
All the children put up their hands and said, “I want, I want!” Then the teacher crumpled the note and said, “Who would like to have this now?” All the children put up their hands and said, “I want, I want!”
Then the teacher threw the crumpled note on the floor and stepped on it, and then asked, “Who would still like to have this $50-dollar note now?” All the children put up their hands and said, “I want, I want!”
So, the teacher asked, “Why? I have crumpled it, stepped on it, and you all still want it?” And the children all replied, “Because it is still a $50 note.”
And then the teacher said, “Yes it is still a $50-dollar note. You have been taught that everyone is created in the likeness of God and that God loves everyone, and no one can take that from you.
Even if others make fun of you and call you names, God still loves you because you are created in His image.
And you should not make fun of others or call them names because God loves them and they are created in God’s image too.”
The children got the point, and we would have gotten the point too. Yes, Jesus loves each of us with the love of God the Father so that our joy can be complete.
We need to remain in His love so that we can bear fruits of love for others to receive God’s love and come to know who they are.
Jesus chose us and He loves us. Let us in turn bear the fruit of love for others so that they will open their hearts to Jesus and that their joy be complete.
The difference between human beings and machines is that no matter how much artificial intelligence and programs and sensing devices a machine or a robot may have, it does not have feelings like that of a human being. Or at least not yet.
To differentiate the matter even further, machines and robots are more predictable and easier to handle. Human beings are more temperamental because of their feelings.
For example, if we go to an electronics shop to buy a laptop, we will look around and try out the various models on display. Whichever model we finally choose, it won’t display any elation, nor will the others display disappointment. It’s business as usual and that is quite predictable.
Not so for a human being. Finding acceptance and facing rejection will result in a spectrum of emotions and feelings.
This is quite evident in a job application. If we are called up for an interview, we will feel happy because we are being considered as suitable. When we go for the interview, we will feel tense and anxious because it will be a test of our worth.
After the interview, only two things can happen: acceptance or rejection.
If we get accepted for the job, then we will feel happy and good about ourselves because our worth is recognized. But if we get rejected, then we might feel sad and dejected and maybe even depressed.
So in short, it can be said that often our happiness is dependent on being accepted and recognized for our worth. On the other hand, our sadness is the result of feeling rejected and we see ourselves as useless and worthless.
But is that really so? Is our dignity and our worth dependent on how others see us and whether they accept or reject us?
The bad news is that we cannot make people like us, love us, understand us, accept us or to be nice to us. The good news is that it actually doesn’t matter much.
But more than that, if we live for people’s acceptance, then we will die from their rejection. Our dignity and our worth don’t depend on the assessment of others.
But the really good news is what Jesus tells us in the gospel: As the Father loves me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love.
And to add to this good news is that Jesus chose to love us. So Jesus not only accepts us in our unworthy sinful state, He chooses to love us with the same love that God the Father loves Him.
Jesus tells us this so that the joy of His love will be in us and that will make our love and our joy complete.
So when we realise that Jesus chose to love us, that God’s love is given to us in full, and that His love makes our joy complete, then we will realise who we really are, and that we will want to remain in God’s love.
Then we won’t live on other people’s acceptance nor will we die from their rejection. God’s love is enough for us and we only want to remain in His love.
A story goes that the children in a catechism class were calling each other names and making fun of each other and some were hurt by all the name calling.
The catechism class teacher decided to take this opportunity to teach the children about who they are and how much Jesus loves them.
After she had quieten down the class, she took out a $50 note and asked, “Who would like to have this $50 note?”
All the children put up their hands and said, “I want, I want!” Then the teacher crumpled the note and said, “Who would like to have this now?” All the children put up their hands and said, “I want, I want!”
Then the teacher threw the crumpled note on the floor and stepped on it, and then asked, “Who would still like to have this $50-dollar note now?” All the children put up their hands and said, “I want, I want!”
So, the teacher asked, “Why? I have crumpled it, stepped on it, and you all still want it?” And the children all replied, “Because it is still a $50 note.”
And then the teacher said, “Yes it is still a $50-dollar note. You have been taught that everyone is created in the likeness of God and that God loves everyone, and no one can take that from you.
Even if others make fun of you and call you names, God still loves you because you are created in His image.
And you should not make fun of others or call them names because God loves them and they are created in God’s image too.”
The children got the point, and we would have gotten the point too. Yes, Jesus loves each of us with the love of God the Father so that our joy can be complete.
We need to remain in His love so that we can bear fruits of love for others to receive God’s love and come to know who they are.
Jesus chose us and He loves us. Let us in turn bear the fruit of love for others so that they will open their hearts to Jesus and that their joy be complete.
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