Holy Family, Year B, 27.12.2020

Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6, 12-14 / Col 3:12-21 / Luke 2:22-40    

There are a couple of words that will stir the heart. And not just the heart, but also the mind. 

It may just be words, but somehow there is a feeling to it, and it brings out some emotions in us. 

One of those words is “home”. The other word is closely associated with it, and that is “family”. 

Yes, home and family. Two words that will stir up some thoughts in the mind and some feelings in the heart. 

And especially at this time, some of us may feel it more. Because of travel restrictions and other factors, we can’t go home and to be with family. 

But it is also especially at this time, that home and family are very much in the focus because we are at home more often and we spend more time with family members. 

Now, that should be a good thing isn’t it. After all, people often say that they wish to be at home more often and to spend time with family. 

Well, there is always a flip side to things and some quirky comments have come up over this situation: 

- My family is temperamental: half temper, half mental.

- What is the point of cleaning up the home, if these people are going to keep staying here. 

- If I were to shake my family tree, I’m sure that a bunch of nuts will fall out. 

But before we go too much into the quirky side of the family, let us remember that this weekend, the Church is celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family. 

It is a feast that is very near and dear to us, because it is a celebration of who God is, who Jesus, Mary and Joseph are as family, what the Church is, and what we are as family. 

God is family, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus came into this world and He was born into the family of Joseph and  Mary. 

The Church is a reflection of who God is and what the family is about. 

And these profound aspects of life and love flows down to us and into our families. 

Our families are to be like that of Holy Family, united in love, so that we can be signs of the unity and the love of God who is Trinity. 

But we know how challenging family life can be and how difficult it is to love our family members. 

In fact, the ones who can be the most difficult to love are the very ones who are closest to us, i.e. our family members. 

They can be difficult to love and they can also hurt us the most. The most painful tragedy of the family is when resentment turns into hatred resulting in division and even violence. 

And it can and usually start from small and petty things like dissatisfaction and unhappiness. 

Joseph could have thought: I don’t want any more dreams. I want a peaceful life. I’m tired of taking care of Mary and Jesus. 

Mary could have thought: I did what God wanted me to do. How come life is not smooth and comfortable? I feel so insecure. 

And if baby Jesus could talk, He might have said something like: This is not my idea of a crib. Couldn’t Joseph and Mary do better than this? 

They could have thought that way, but they didn’t because they chose not to. 

They chose to love and with love as their decision, they accepted each other and their situation and hence the Holy Family reflected who God is and what our families should be like. 

Yes, never let resentment against family members lead us into sin. The sunset must not find us still angry. Do not give the devil his opportunity. 

Rather with every sunrise, let us pray that the life and love of God will fill the hearts of our family members, so that united in heart and mind, there will be peace and joy, as well as kindness and forgiveness. 

May the Holy family also pray for us, that we will have the strength and courage of Joseph, the tenderness and faith of Mary, and may Jesus protect our families from all evil and danger.

Christmas, Year B, 25.12.2020

This year’s Christmas is a Christmas to remember. Because it is a Christmas like no other, as far as most of us can remember.

For us who came for Christmas Mass in the past, whether on Christmas Eve or on the Day itself, we know what it was like.

We would be sitting side by side, and standing shoulder to shoulder. 

Well, this Christmas we are all spaced-out, literally spaced-out, but we won’t be down and out.

Someone, or some people, came out with this rather amusing protocol for the setting up of the Nativity crib for Christmas 2020, and it goes like this:

a. A maximum of 5 shepherds will be permitted in the crib.

b. All will have to wear masks and observe social distancing.

c. Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus will be able to stay together as they form a family bubble.

d. The ox and donkey has to be certified for non-contamination by the health authorities.

e. The Three Wise men will be subjected to a 15-day quarantine, hence they are not present in the Crib.

f. The straw and other decorations must be disinfected with alcohol.

g. All non-essential persons are not allowed to be at the Crib.

h. Pontius Pilate will explain to all authorised participants how to wash their hands.

We will certainly smile at this. Yes, mask or no mask, we will smile because that is what Jesus came to bring.

Whatever the situation is, Jesus came to be with us, COVID-19 or whatever.

Jesus is the Emmanuel, the God-is-with-us, the Word-made-flesh, the Saviour who comes to bring light to us who are now in a kind of land of deep shadow.

The deepest darkness disappears with the faintest light. 

Jesus is the true Light that shines through the dark, a light that the darkness could not overcome.

Covid-19 has stopped a lot of activities. But thanks be to God, it didn’t stop Masses from resuming, it didn’t stop Christmas from happening, and it shouldn’t stop us from smiling and giving thanks to God for His blessings!

Come to think of it, the greatest gift that God has given us this Christmas is that we are able to see, whether on-site or online, that our Saviour was born in the little town of Bethlehem.

He was born in the midst of unfavourable conditions, His birth was celebrated in the midst of wars and disasters, and His birth is now celebrated in the midst of this pandemic.

We learn from our forefathers that the celebration of Christmas gave them hope and they survived and lived on to celebrate more Christmases.

We too want to celebrate Christmas, we too want to have that hope, that with the grace of God, we will overcome and look forward to more Christmases to come.

Our homes are now little Bethlehems, and it is for us to make room for Jesus to celebrate His birth.

There are certainly no restrictions for us, to come before the Nativity Crib in our home to contemplate the beauty of our Saviour and to ask Him to bless us with peace and joy.

May we be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the wise men, and the love they had for the Child Jesus.

May we too be filled with that love and may this Christmas, be a Christmas to be remembered. 

4th Sunday of Advent, Year B, 20.12.2020

 2 Sam 7:1-5, 8-11, 16 / Romans 16:25-27 / Luke 1:26-38

One of our desires in life, besides wanting to be happy, is that everything would be peaceful and smooth sailing. 

We don’t like it when life becomes bumpy and rocky and stony. In other words, we don’t like to be disturbed in life, whether by situations or by people. 

When we are disturbed, we will get irritated and frustrated, and we will grumble and complain. 

What we have undergone, and are still undergoing, is a great disturbance. We can call it the disturbance of our generation. 

The only consolation is that everyone, in fact the whole world, is affected by it. We have not heard anyone say “I love this pandemic” or that “I was looking forward to this”. For anyone to say that, they must be crazy. 

Oh yes, this time has been a time of great disturbance. 

But when we think about it, since when life is without disturbance. 

From the moment we came into this world, it is one disturbance after another. Life is like a series of disturbances. 

Today’s gospel passage is commonly known as the Annunciation. It is a message of the good news of salvation. 

But when we read it again, we will notice that when the angel Gabriel greeted Mary, she was disturbed, and deeply disturbed. 

And maybe even before that, and if we do some imagining, we may picture the angel Gabriel being rather disturbed when God told him to go and announce that message to Mary. 

We can imagine that as Gabriel came to Nazareth, he was a bit anxious and a bit nervous. 

Would Mary accept what he was going to tell her? It sounded so out of this world, so impossible. 

And true enough, Mary was disturbed, deeply disturbed. And Gabriel had a lot of explaining to do. 

But in the end, Mary accepted. But that doesn’t mean that the disturbance has ended. In fact, more was to come. 

As we hear this passage on the last Sunday of Advent, we would not think of it as a disturbing message. 

After all, Christmas is just a few days away, and we want to be happy and forget about the disturbances of life. 

But actually, disturbances are a source of growth and we can draw strength and experience from it. 

We see in nature. When the winds blow, the trees are disturbed, but they grow stronger from it and they hold on firmer to the ground. 

This time of great disturbance has affected all of us, and especially the seniors. 

Today is the day that Fr Paul Tong celebrates the 67th anniversary of his priestly ordination. 

We would want to celebrate for him and he would have loved to see us without wearing masks and without having to observe safe- distance. He would have loved to see us celebrate without any restrictions. 

At 93 years old, this situation has affected and maybe even disturbed him. 

But 67 years ago, when he said “Yes” to the Lord, the Lord gave him the strength to face the challenges of the ministry and the disturbances of life. 

Oh yes, Fr Tong has had his share of challenges and disturbances: he couldn’t go back to his family and his country when there were persecutions against the Church; he had to adapt quickly to different life-styles and learn different languages; he had to keep believing when the going was rough. 

Fr Tong has shown us what perseverance and resilience is about when we say “Yes” to the Lord. 

So like Mary our Mother, and like Fr. Paul Tong, let us also say “Yes” to the Lord. 

We will face challenges and disturbances, but we will overcome and we will grow stronger and be happy in life.

3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B, 13.12.2020

 Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 / 1 Thess 5:16-24 / John 1:6-8, 19-28

As we begin the third week of Advent, there is a certain anxiety as well as an expectation. 

In less than two weeks, it will be Christmas, but it doesn’t look like Christmas is around the corner. 

Even in and around the parish, we couldn’t quite put up the decorations yet because of the repair and repainting works. 

We didn’t want the white paint to drip on the decorations and make it a white Christmas, literally. 

Even putting up the Nativity scenes inside and outside the church was done with a bit of hesitation, and precautions had to be taken. 

Still, we will move on towards Christmas. We must move on towards Christmas. 

Even though there are cancellations of festive events, the celebration of Christmas is our expectation and there will be no cancellation. 

And with the lighting of the third candle of the Advent wreath, which is the rose- coloured candle, it signifies the lighting of hope, that there will be rejoicing. 

Because this beautiful time of Advent is to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and to open doors of hope. 

The gospel of this Sunday is a bit similar to that of last Sunday in that it features John the Baptist … again. 

John the Baptist may seem to be a rather out-of-place figure in our preparation for the Christmas celebration. 

But he is an important figure in the Advent season, because as the gospel says, he was sent by God, to be a witness, to speak for the light. 

He preached a message of repentance and the baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 

And that is actually the essence of our Advent preparation isn’t it?

Because repentance and forgiveness of sins will lead to a rejoicing and fulfil our expectations of a meaningful Christmas celebration. 

The rose-coloured candle of the Advent wreath reminds us that we are given the Holy Spirit who will help us to be witnesses like John the Baptist was the witness. 

We are to bring good news to the poor and bind up hearts that are broken. 

We are to turn the situation of darkness and gloom into light and make it bright. 

Yes, the darkness and gloom have broken our hearts and we long to hear good news of hope and rejoicing. 

We have been spammed with the gloomy news of the spreading pandemic, rising infections, closing of businesses and increasing stress and anxiety. 

But the 2nd reading reminds us to be happy at all times, to pray constantly and for all things to give thanks to God. 

With this call to mend broken hearts and to be witnesses of hope, let us begin with the messages that we send to others. 

Some messages are seen as spam and in the email it may end up in the spam folder. 

But let us send Spirit-filled messages and change the understanding of spam into an acronym: Special Prayers And Messages. 

Yes, we must send out Special Prayers And Messages so as to bring hope and mend broken hearts. 

This weekend, the Archdiocese launches a year-long celebration of 200 years of the existence of the Church in Singapore, also known as Catholic200SG. 

The mission of the church is to bring hope and to mend broken hearts. That is also our mission. 

Let this Advent be an Advent of Special Prayers And Messages. 

Let us remember that God has called us to this mission and He will help us to be witnesses of Hope and to be menders of broken hearts.

2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B, 06.12.20

 Isaiah 40:1-6, 9-11 / 2 Peter 3:8-14 / Mark 1:1-8

It is around this time of the year that we hear a particular type of music. It is a type of music that is so peculiar that we hear it only at this time of the year, and yet it is so easily identifiable. 

Obviously, we are talking about Christmas music, which usually can be heard as early as mid-October. 

It can be anything as pop as “Jingle Bells” to as sacred as “O come let us adore Him”. 

Year in and year out, we hear that Christmas music and we are familiar with it and we will sing along with it.

At times it may get a bit overplayed but we still get along with it because it gives us the mood for the season. 

The music is somehow “imprinted” into us.

This year, with all that is happening, the festive mood is rather subdued and toned down. 

The Orchard Road light up was almost like a non-event, and the lights and decorations are less fanciful and less lavish. 

Anyway, the Christmas decorations this year are generally much lesser and maybe even the Christmas music is softer. 

But for us there is a void that needs to be filled. 

Although the Christmas feeling is rather toned down and seems lesser, but maybe lesser can be better for us. 

At least the festive commercialization of Christmas is lesser and the reason for the season gets clearer. 

And maybe because the Christmas music is less and softer, we feel that something is missing. 

And indeed, there is something missing. There are no practices for the Christmas carols because the choirs have gone silent. And there is also no public carolling. 

But we want to hear the Christmas music. At least we hope that the music can lift us up from the gloom. 

We want to hear that music, because it is imprinted in our hearts. Christmas is going to look or sound strange without those Christmas carols. 

Our consolation is to turn to our CD collection and hear those carols. 

It is not just to get into the mood. We are beginning to realize that those Christmas carols give us hope, that the yearly cycle of life and love is renewed. 

There is a voice in those Christmas carols that tells us who God is and who we are to Him. 

In the 1st reading, the prophet Isaiah was the voice of God to the people as he says: Console my people, console them, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her. 

In the gospel, it was John the Baptist who was the voice of God to the people, a voice that cries out in the wilderness to prepare a way for the Lord and to make His paths straight. 

But for us, where or who is the voice of God? Could it be in those Christmas carols that we hear year in and year out, but never really took notice? 

But now that the Christmas carols are lesser and softer, we long to hear more and to hear it louder. 

The voice of God that is “imprinted” in those Christmas carols is slowly awakening our hearts to listen. 

We want to listen and to be consoled.

Over this period of time, we have learned to live with lesser, we have learned what is necessary, we have learned what is important. 

We want to listen to the message of repentance and make our own paths straight for the Lord who is the Giver of life and love. 

We want to listen and the season of Advent tells us that in order to listen, we have to be silent. Anyway, the word “listen” and the word “silent” have the same letters. 

Oh yes, listening to Christmas carols will bring us some consolation. But it also calls for reflection. 

And there’s one peculiar thing about music and more so about Christmas music. 

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between the notes. The great composer Mozart said that, and he certainly knows what he is talking about. 

So, as we listen to those Christmas carols, let us also be silent. 

May it bring us consolation from God, and may the paths of our hearts be straightened for Jesus to come and dwell in us.

1st Sunday of Advent, Year B, 29.11.2020

 Isaiah 63:16-17; 64:1, 3-8 / 1 Cor 1:3-9 / Mark 13:33-37

Whenever we talk about memory, we would presume that it is associated with the mind. 

Yes, the mind has a memory, but it is not about how much memory and certainly different from the computer memory which can be measured in gigabytes. 

The memory of the mind is about how deeply things are remembered, as well as how often things are repeated, so that they go deeper and deeper into the memory. 

It is from the memory of the mind that our habits and routines are formed and the more we do them, the more our lives are shaped accordingly. 

That is how dancers remember the choreography. They listen to the music, they learn the steps and the movements, and then they practice until the dancer and the dance become one. 

Sometimes it is called “muscle memory” where each part of the body responds to the music accordingly. 

But it is not just in dancing. It is also in speech and in singing. The mind remembers how the words are pronounced, or what the note sounds like, and then subsequently and consequently the tongue and the vocal cords produce the sound. 

So we see “muscle memory” being activated in speaking, in singing and in dancing, and also in the wider spectrum of our habits and routines. 

And with repetition, there will come about a union, where the person and the action become one. 

Today’s Gospel passage is so appropriate as we begin the new liturgical cycle of Year B. 

Jesus says this: Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. 

That message of Jesus is so appropriate for us the Church, because for a number of months this year, our habits and routines have been drastically disrupted. 

It is not just our daily habits and routines that are disrupted and changed. Our spiritual habits and routines have been disrupted and changed.

The churches have been closed for some time earlier this year, and we can’t come to church for our weekly Sunday Mass or for other religious activities. 

Even though Masses have resumed, we can come only once or twice a month for Mass. 

And even then, Mass is not like before. There is no singing and we can’t sit at our favourite pews. 

Yes, so many things have changed and things keep changing, so much so that we are forgetting what it was like before. 

Yes, we are slowly forgetting our spiritual habits and routines. We are also slowly forgetting the names of our fellow parishioners because we have not met them for some time already. 

Yes, we are forgetting and forgetting, and then with nothing much to remember, we are slowly getting sleepy and then we start sleeping and sleeping. 

So on this 1st Sunday of Advent, Jesus does not ring the “Jingle Bells”, but He rings the alarm bells. 

Jesus tells us to be on our guard, to stay awake, to keep watch and prepare for a joyful renewal of our faith and our lives. 

And we must cry out to the Lord in the words of the 1st reading: Lord, do not leave us to stray from Your ways and harden our hearts against fearing You. 

And we also implore the Lord: Oh that You would tear the heavens and come down. 

So let us remember the Advent hymns, and we cry out: “O come, O come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel”. Oh yes, remember how we have been like captives in our own homes. 

We remember as we sing “O Come Divine Messiah, the world in silence waits the day, when hope shall sing its triumph, and sadness flees away. 

The Lord will hear our cries and He will tear the heavens and rain down abundant blessings. 

So let us not sleep and forget. Let us stay awake and remember. 

Let every tongue cry out to the Lord, and let us prepare to sing “Joy to the World” as we look forward with hope that our hearts will dance in celebration of the birth of Jesus our Saviour.

Christ the King, Year A, 22.11.2020

 Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 / 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28 / Matthew 25:31-46

One of the things that can be said about food is that everyone likes to eat but not everyone likes to cook. 

One of the reasons is that it may just take 3 minutes to eat something but 30 minutes to cook it. 

Of course, the exception is instant noodles. But if we were to take 30 minutes to cook instant noodles, then we need to go back to basic cooking class, and start to learn how to boil water first. 

But if we are the type who like to cook and think that we can cook quite well, then we need to watch the people who are eating the food that we cooked. 

If they have to say “Grace before meals” before eating, and then they have to say “Grace after meals” after eating, then we will know what our cooking tastes like. 

But seriously. If we think we can cook, and can cook quite well, then we may want to compete with those stalls at the hawker centres. 

Hawker food may be considered as some kind of staple food, often sold and eaten in a practical but not necessarily a comfortable environment, and affordable to the pocket of the ordinary man in the street. 

Being a hawker may not be considered a high status, and also requires long hours of hard work. 

Obviously it is a sweaty job, and we have to make sure that the sweat doesn’t go into the cooking and the food. 

But a few days ago, the humble hawker culture was in the news, as it was sent in as an application to be inscribed in the official UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, with a recommendation by an expert body. 

So there is a high chance for the Singapore hawker culture to be recognized internationally.

Where once the hawker culture is seen as lowly and often taken for granted, it is now looked upon as a national heritage, a lifestyle and a shared experience among Singaporeans.

Although not glamorous in cooking or dining styles, hawker food is comfort food for the hungry tummy. 

Today as the Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King, the gospel reminds us of the poor and lowly and needy. 

The Feast of Christ the King is not about pomp and ceremony but about simplicity and humility. 

In the gospel parable, Jesus looks at the simple and humble deeds like feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and those in prison. 

Those are not specifically religious and pious deeds. In fact, they are more like ordinary and mundane. 

But in the gospel parable, the king highlights these deeds as important and even essential in this life, as well as for entry into eternal life.

These simple and humble deeds point out once again that spiritual saying, and that is, doing little things with great love. 

It also points out the existence and importance of the poor, which is obvious but often overlooked and left aside. 

And just like how the hawker culture is raised to prominence, Jesus our King, tells us to love the poor and how to serve them, for the poor will inherit the kingdom of God. 

And like how Pope Francis said it, the poor will guarantee our eternal income. That is his way of saying it, but we get the image. 

Yes, the poor will be the ones who will tell Jesus Christ our King about the people who have helped them on earth to go through life in spite of their difficulties and poverty. 

So, we are reminded to treat the poor with respect and with love. 

Jesus wants us to do that, because when it comes to loving our neighbour, the poor is the first on the list. 

Yes, let us love and serve the poor, for in the Kingdom of Heaven, the poor will be cooking for us the feast of the eternal banquet. And what a joyful feast it will be.

33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 15.11.2020

 Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 / 1 Thess 5:1-6 / Matthew 25:14-30

Every situation has pros and cons. Every situation has advantages and disadvantages. In other words, there is no perfect situation. 

Besides pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, there are also conveniences and inconveniences. 

For example, attending Mass online is convenient. We don’t have to dress up and get out of the house, we don’t have to take the transport to church and go through the trouble of booking for Mass and to scan this and scan that. 

But of course, coming to church for Mass is an experience. We get to see familiar faces (or at least familiar eyes), we get to pray in a conducive environment, we get to receive Holy Communion and we get a feel of some spiritual normalcy. 

So the fact is that there is no perfect situation, there are pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, conveniences and inconveniences. 

And no matter how we try to solve or reduce the disadvantages and inconveniences, we also need to remember that if that is no perfect situation, then there is no perfect solution. 

And since there is no perfect situation and no perfect solution, then obviously there are no perfect persons. 

The first reading has this to say: A perfect wife - who can find her? 

Oh yes, can we ever find a perfect wife, or perfect husband, or perfect children, or perfect in-laws? 

Everyone has their flaws and imperfections. That’s the reality of the situation. 

Even the gospel parable gives an example of an imperfect situation. 

The master entrusted his three servants with a large sum of money, or talents, each in proportion to his ability. 

The first servant went and traded with them and made double the amount. The second servant did the same. 

It would have been a perfect ending if the third servant had done likewise. However, that servant went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 

And when the time for the accounting came, the master denounced that third servant for being wicked and lazy. 

So, among other things, the gospel parable shows the imperfection of the situation, and also the imperfection of persons. That is the reality of life. 

The attention is often drawn to that third servant and his deserve punishment for being wicked and lazy. 

But let us not forget the first and second servants for their goodness and faithfulness and that they were faithful in little things. 

They used whatever they were given and they made it into a better situation. 

We too are entrusted with the goodness of God and we are called to make it better.

There is this story of a boy had a very bad temper that was getting out of hand.

His father thought about it and prayed about it and came up with this idea to help him.

He gave his son a hammer and a bag of nails, and he told his son: Every time you lose your temper, go to that wall and hammer in a nail.

So the boy did just that – every time he lost his temper he took the hammer and hit a nail into the wall.

And if you have tried hitting a nail into the wall, you will know it is not that easy. Because you often end up hitting your thumb.

After a while, the boy thought that it was easier to control his temper than to keep hitting nails into the wall.

Then one day, the boy told his father that he could now control his temper because he had stopped hitting nails into the wall.

The father said: Well done, my son.  Now for every occasion that you felt like losing your temper but managed to control it, pull a nail out of the wall.

The son thought it was strange but did as he was told. So slowly the nails came out of the wall. And after some time, all the nails were pulled out of the wall.

The son reported this to his father, and the father brought the son to look at the pock-marked wall.

He said to his son: My son, every time you lose your temper, it is like a nail being hammered into someone’s heart.

You may have apologized and the nail taken out, but the crack and the hurt remain, like this pock-marked wall. But learn this lesson, and you will be a better person.

It is interesting to note what the father did. He thought about it, prayed about it, and then he called upon whatever wisdom and experience he had to help his son overcome his bad temper. 

Today’s Gospel parable reminds us that God has given each of us all the goodness, wisdom, experience that we need to make the most out of life.

That is God’s gift to us. Our gift to God will be to use His gifts to us to help others make the most of their lives.

In other words, we are not called to bury hopes and joys. Rather we are called to share life and love.

Life and love are God’s gifts to us. What we do with that life and love is our gift to God and to others.

32nd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 08.11.2020

 Wisdom 6:12-16 / 1 Thess 4:13-18 / Matthew 25:1-13

We have heard about people who say how God speaks to them. We heard it and we wonder and ponder about it. 

Some people say that they hear the voice of God telling them what to do. That is quite unique and unusual. 

Others would say that they heard an inspirational talk or something profound from someone, and they kept thinking about it. 

Others would say that as they read the Bible, a verse would catch their attention and they would meditate deeper about it and sense that God is speaking to them. 

Oh yes, God speaks to us in many ways so as to show us how to carry out His will and His plan for us. 

But what concerns us is that when we pray, we want to know how our prayer is answered. 

We want to know if God has heard our prayer and what He will do about it. 

But let us also believe that every prayer uttered is also every prayer answered. 

If God says “Yes” then the answer is obvious. We get what we asked for and maybe even get it immediately. 

If we pray and then we have to wait for our prayer to be answered, then God is telling us to be patient and to trust in Him. 

If we pray and don’t get what we are praying for, then maybe God is telling us that instead of giving us what we are asking for, He has something better for us. 

But the question is, what is God saying in His answer to our prayer? 

In the gospel parable, we heard of 10 bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 

The parable tells us that five were foolish and five were sensible. The foolish ones took the lamps but they brought no extra oil, whereas the sensible ones took their lamps as well as flasks of oil. 

And there lies the lesson. The foolish bridesmaids would have seen the sensible ones bring flasks of oil. But they did nothing about it, until it was too late. 

The sensible ones thought about it and prepared themselves for the unexpected and they were rewarded. 

The sensible ones can be said to be wise enough to know what to do to be prepared. 

But as we think about it, we are all given that wisdom to be sensible enough to see what God is showing us and even to hear what He wants to say to us. 

There are many good examples to follow but do we want to see it? There are many good advices to listen to but do we want to hear it? 

It is the foolishness in us that blinds us from seeing what God is showing us and also blocks our ears from listening to what God is saying to us. 

Foolishness, in the spiritual sense, is actually a turning away from God. Foolishness, as we heard in the gospel, has a disastrous end. 

One of the main causes of spiritual foolishness is unforgiveness. Because unforgiveness hardens our hearts, blurs our eyes and blocks our ears.

Unforgiveness is really foolishness and that is why fools can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the sensible and the wise, because they have learnt it from God. 

As the 1st reading says: For those who love wisdom, she is readily seen, and found by those who look for her. Quick to anticipate those who desire for wisdom, she makes herself known to them. 

Let us be sensible, let us be wise, let us be forgiving and loving.

And let us pray for wisdom with this prayer:

God, grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference. 

Living one day at a time; 
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; 
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life 
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.  (Reinhold Niebuhr)

Feast of All Saints, 01.11.2020

Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14 / 1 John 3:1-3 / 1 Thess 1:5-10 / Matthew 5:1-12

There are more than 10,000 saints that the Church has canonized. By that, it means that the Church has officially declared that these saints are in heaven. 

But of course, beyond that, the 1st reading tells us how many saints there are in heaven – a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language. 

If it is impossible to count, then it is also quite impossible to imagine how packed Heaven is with saints. 

But despite this countless number of saints, we do know some of them, or at least we must know one of them. 

There are the more well-known saints like St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Jude who is the patron saint of desperate and hopeless cases, St Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony whom we invoke for lost articles, and other saints that we may have a Devotion to. 

But at least we must know one particular saint, and that is our patron saint. 

Some of us may be thinking, “Our who?”. Yes, our patron saint, the saint we took as our patron and it is in our baptism name. 

So, from our baptism name, we would know who is our patron saint. And we can get to know our patron saint by checking out whatever information about the patron saint. 

But if for some reason our baptism name is not taken from a saint, then maybe God wants us to be a saint! 

But seriously, getting to know our patron saints is really helpful for the spiritual life. 

We can turn to our patron saints for intercession in our needs. We look to our patron saints as a model of faith and as a model for life and for inspiration. 

So, if your name is Damien, then your patron saint is Saint Damien of Molokai, or also known as St. Damien the leper. 

St. Damien offered to go to Molokai to serve the lepers there, and unfortunately, he contracted the disease and died from it. 

But from his own writings, he revealed the ordinary human struggles he had to endure in order to overcome his initial revulsion for the day-to-day life with his flock of lepers. 

He constantly thought of how Jesus reached out to the lepers and he wanted to do the same. 

Indeed, St. Damien is a model of self-sacrifice, of perseverance and of love for God and for the lepers. 

If your name is Therese, or Teresa, then your patron saint is St. Therese the Little Flower, who taught us how to do little things with great love for God. 

She inspired St. Mother Teresa who took on the motto of “doing little things with great love” in serving the poorest of the poor. 

So, the saints, especially our patron saint can be our model of faith and model of life. 

A lady by the name of Rita was asked if her husband has any faults. She replied, “Oh, as many as the stars at night.” 

When asked if her husband had any virtues, she said, “Oh, not much, maybe only one, like the sun in the sky.” 

When asked how she was able to cope with her husband’s faults, she replied, “When the sun shines, its brilliance covers all the stars.” 

But she also added that she had wondered what her name Rita meant, and she found out about St. Rita, and how she converted her wayward husband with her love, patience and forgiveness. And she wanted to do likewise. 

So, it was St. Rita who inspired her to be a more loving and understanding wife. 

So, on this Feast of All Saints, let us find out more about our patron saints.

Our patron saints want to help us in our need, but more importantly, our patron saints want to help us to journey towards heaven by living a life of love and gentleness, mercy and forgiveness, peace and righteousness. 

Like the saints who have gone before us, we too will face difficulties and opposition and even persecution. 

But let us persevere in faith and love. We may experience sorrow for doing what is right and loving. 

But as Jesus promised us, we will rejoice with the saints. 

That is our eternal reward in heaven. 

May the saints, and especially our patron saints pray for us.

--------------------------

First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

6 Nov Friday 8.30pm Singapore time (GMT +8)

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30th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 25.10.2020

Exodus 22:20-26 / 1 Thess 1:5-10 / Matthew 22:34-40

All things have a shape and a colour. 

By the shape and the colour, we would generally be able to identify what the object is. 

Though some things may look a bit similar initially, but upon closer inspection we would be able to make the differentiation.

For example, a rose and a carnation may look alike from afar, especially if both are red in colour. But a closer look will tell the difference. 

But generally speaking, most things can be identified by their shape and colour. 

And our ideas and concepts are also influenced by these shapes and colours. 

When we talk about love, the shape of love that might come to our minds is the shape of a heart. 

So in celebrations of love, like marriage, there will be heart shapes all over, from balloons, to the cut-outs, and maybe even the shape of the cake. 

And usually the colour of love is red, to signify the power and the passion of love. 

So a red-coloured heart shape would generally mean love. 

In the gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus this question: Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law? 

It is not that the Pharisees don’t know the answer. They know the Law through and through. 

But they asked Jesus this peculiar question to disconcert Him. They just wanted to ruffle Him, and to make Him perturbed and disturbed, so that they could catch Him on something wrong that He might say. 

Nonetheless, Jesus gave them a straightforward answer, and in the process He also make them think about their understanding of the commandment of love. 

Similarly, the question of the Pharisees and the reply of Jesus would make us think about the commandment of love. 

As Jesus said: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbour as yourself. 

That is clear enough for us to understand. But when we think deeper about it, it may not be that easy to put it into practice. 

When we think of love, we think of red coloured hearts, with all the ribbons and roses. 

We like to think of love in a romantic way, love that is beautiful, love that is soft and warm. 

Yes, when we think of love, we think of a red-coloured heart. 

And that is also the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

But when we look at the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we will notice the cross on top of the Heart, and also a crown of thorns around the Heart, and also the Heart was pierced and bleeding. 

These are images of pain and suffering and they are there in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

That image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus tells us that God’s love for us came at a price. 

Jesus suffered, died on the cross and His heart was even pierced with a lance, to tell us that God’s love for us is a sacrificial love, and that sacrifice was made by Jesus on the cross. 

That would tell us that if we truly want to love God and to love our neighbour as ourselves, then a sacrifice has to be made. 

The people that we are called to love may not look like little red hearts with ribbons and roses. 

If we say we truly love God, then He may not send us the people that we want to love, but the people that needed to be loved.

These people may take the shape of a heavy cross and painful thorns that will pierce our hearts. 

But love is beautiful and powerful. If we truly love God, then God will fill our hearts with the power of His love to love those that needed to be loved. 

Let us look at the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us meditate on the beauty of the love that flows from His Heart.

And then let us go forth to love those that God wants us to love.

Mission Sunday, Year A, 18.10.2020

 Isaiah 2:1-5 / Ephesians 3:2-12 / Mark 16:15-20

Having something that is multi-purpose seems like a good idea. 

Multi-purpose sounds more versatile than single-purpose, and also more economical too. 

For example, having a multi-purpose cooker would mean that the kitchen can be cleared of all those pots and pans that are used for various types of cooking. 

Because a typical multi-purpose cooker is able to boil, simmer, bake, fry, grill, roast, stew, steam and whatever we can think of.

That would be a chef’s dream kitchen appliance and every homemaker would desire for it. 

But before rushing off to get one, let us remember that multi-purpose may also mean that it may be a “jack-of-all-trades, but master-of-none”. 

We are more familiar with the old-fashioned pot and pan and we know what we could do with it and we can be quite certain of how the food will turn out. 

With a multi-purpose cooker, there are multiple settings for various types of cooking. 

But use the wrong setting for the cooking and the fire-engine might come over and the firemen looking at your cooking, or whatever remains of it. 

Anyway, as the Church celebrates Mission Sunday, the Church may also seem to be like a multi-purpose cooker, and like the settings, there are so many aspects of the Church’s mission in the world. 

There are missionaries sent out to foreign lands, the Church is involved in social work and charities, building schools and hospitals, and a variety of activities that are under the term “mission of the church”. 

Yes, these are expressions or signs of the Church’s presence and mission in the world. 

The Church is following the command of Jesus to go out to the whole world and to proclaim the Good News to all creation. 

Then Jesus talks about the signs that will be associated with believers. They will cast out devils, they will have the gift of tongues, they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison, they will lay their hands on the sick who will recover. 

These are certainly very spectacular and wonderful signs of the mission of the Church. 

But we may have to admit that it is like reading the description on the box of a multi-purpose cooker and we are impressed by what it can do. 

Being impressed is one thing. To be able to get the cooker to cook what we want is another matter. 

Just like how the pictures in the recipe book don’t look like anything we cook. 

So, what is the relevance in what Jesus said in the gospel? Are those signs still associated with the Church now? 

A man asked a priest, “How can we perform those miraculous signs that Jesus talked about in the gospel?” 

The priest replied, “If you teach a person to read the gospel, you have opened the eyes of the blind. If you teach a person to help the poor and needy, you have healed the paralyzed. If you help a person to go to Church, you’re healed the crippled. If you lead someone to repentance, you have raised the dead. Now go and perform these miracles.” 

The world needs to see these miracles, these signs, and Jesus has commissioned us to do it. 

And we can do it when we practice love and forgiveness. 

With the simplicity and humility of love, the Lord of love will work with us and show us these wonderful signs. 

With forgiveness, we will cleanse ourselves, and the world, of the poison of sin and bring about the joy of salvation. 

Our mission is to help others learn the ways of God and walk in His paths of love and forgiveness. a

That is the vision of Isaiah, son of Amos, in the 1st reading. Let that also be our vision.

28th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 11.10.2020

Isaiah 25:6-10 / Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 / Matthew 22:1-14

Having a choice does sound so much more attractive and appealing than having no choice at all. 

Somehow, we like choices. It is like going through the menu and looking at all the pictures of the scrumptious food. 

But we know that we could only choose one item from the menu especially when there is some kind of special offer. 

And especially when there is a special offer, all the choices look so attractive and appealing, but we can only choose one. 

So as much as choices may make us feel like we are the masters, and that we are spoilt for choice, yet we also like slaves of choices. 

We have become like the slaves of the choices and it takes so much of our time and thinking just to make one choice. 

So, having too many choices may not be that attractive or appealing after all. 

Today’s gospel parable sounds like an awkward story. It begins with a king who sent out invitations for the feast of his son’s wedding. 

The awkwardness of the parable is that the invited guests would not want to go for the feast. 

The parable goes on to say why they would not go for the feast. It was because they were not interested. 

They had other personal things to do. One went out to his farm, another to his business and others even turned violent against the king’s servants. 

And then, in place of the invited guests, others who were not in the original guest list were collected, literally collected, from the road-sides to be the guests at the wedding feast. 

The parable does sound rather awkward, but just what is the parable telling us?

Among other things, it highlights the free-will to make a choice. 

But it was not a choice between two equally desirable alternatives. 

It is a choice for our destiny and also about our eternal destiny. 

It may look like an obvious choice to make but actually it can be quite a challenging choice. 

The 1st reading may give a clue as to why it could be quite a challenging choice. 

The 1st reading begins with this: On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food and fine wines, food and wine which is rich and juicy. 

If we were invited to such a banquet, and it is the Lord’s banquet, then obviously we would certainly want to go. 

But then, it is high up on the mountain, and we think about the tiring climb up the mountain and our initial fervour begins to waver. 

So even before setting off to the mountain, we already feel tired, and then other things begin to come in to distract us. 

So, in the end like the invited guests in the parable, we lose interest and we may even say it is not worth it. 

The month of October is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and also the month in which Our Lady made her last apparition at Fatima on the 13th of October. 

The Rosary and the message of the Marian apparitions at Fatima point to prayer, penance and sacrifices so as to obtain God’s mercy for the salvation of souls. 

It is not a new message and it has been a repeated message over the years. 

It has been a repeated invitation to go up to the mountain of prayer and to obtain God’s blessings for ourselves and for the whole world. 

And on that mountain of prayer, God will wipe away the tears from our eyes so that we can see that when we make the choice for God and for salvation, we will rejoice in His love. 

With faith and perseverance, let us climb that mountain of prayer with penance and sacrifice. There is no other better choice.    

27th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 04.10.2020

 Isaiah 5:1-7 / Philippians 4:6-9 / Matthew 21:33-43

It is often said that “you reap what you sow”. Even the Scriptures would say that too in the letter to the Galatians 6:7. 

That is not too difficult to understand. Simply, it means that you have to face up to the consequences of your actions, and that future consequences are inevitably shaped by present actions. 

As we may know, especially if you are a parent, that exam fever has begun. The PSLE exams began late last week. 

Exam time is certainly a time of intense prayer. Do we know what is the difference between a prayer in church and a prayer in an exam hall? In an exam hall you really mean what you pray. 

Yes, among other things, exams can be an example of that saying “you reap what you sow”. 

And if there are bad results, the blame certainly cannot be on the teachers. 

Blaming the teachers for bad exam results is like blaming the doctors for people getting sick. 

As much as that is the truth, yet when there are problems, the blame game well kick in because no one wants to take responsibility. 

And that is the message of the 1st reading and gospel. 

In the 1st reading, there was a story of a man who had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug the soil, clear it of stones, and planted choice vines in it. He expected it to yield grapes, but sour grapes were all it gave. 

So just what happened on? It was a contradiction to that saying of “you reap what you sow”. 

The matter becomes clearer in the gospel parable when again, there was a man who had a vineyard. He leased it to tenants, but when the time came to collect his produce, it was not sour grapes but sour tenants, who just wanted what was not rightfully theirs. 

So the problem is not with the landowner or with the vineyard. The problem was the greedy tenants. 

Translating that into the educational system, it is not teachers who are to blame for bad exam results. 

Their sowed their best. They can only hope that their students will do their best. 

God is like a good teacher who has given us His best. He chose us to be His people. He cares for us and provides for us and He blesses us so then we will be faithful to Him and walk in His ways. 

We are the vineyard of the Lord and we are to bear a good harvest for the Lord. 

In this current situation, where the church is partially open, or partially close, God has also opened a church in every home. 

Every home is to be a house of prayer where the voice of prayer must be heard, the voice of prayer for blessings, for healing, for deliverance, for joy, for peace, for love. 

Oh yes, these are worrisome times, but as the 2nd reading tells us, there is no need to worry, but if there is anything we need, we ask God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard our hearts and minds. 

As we enter into the month of the Rosary, the Rosary reminds us not to worry, because Mary our Mother is there to pray with us and for us. 

Let us sow with the prayer of the Rosary and we will reap abundantly. 

Let us be God’s harvest of joy, so that we can bring peace and love into our worried and troubled world.

26th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 27.09.2020

 Ezekiel 18:25-28 / Philippians 2:1-11 / Matthew 21:28-32

We may have heard of this expression: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. 

Of course, that is more like a childish rebuttal when being teased or scolded or a reaction to some gossip. 

But in reality, it is more like: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will continue to haunt me. 

So, whatever we may think about words, whether it is too many words, or too few words, the power of words cannot be under-estimated. 

Words may not have the force to tear the skin or to break the bones, but words make their way into the heart and are locked in there. 

Kind and encouraging words strengthen the heart and lift up the spirit. 

Harsh and hurtful words contaminate the heart and make it bitter and resentful. 

We will remember that Jesus said this: From what fills the heart, the words will flow. 

But in today’s gospel parable, there seems to be some kind of contradiction. What is being said and what is being done is so different. 

In the parable, the first son was asked to go and work in the vineyard. He said “no” but afterwards thought better of it and went. 

The same thing was said to the second son and he answered, “Certainly, sir,” but he did not go. 

What we often encounter is the second son’s response. Some people will say “yes” to anything that is asked of them, but whether they will accomplish it or fulfill it, that’s another question. 

But the first son’s response and subsequent action is something for us to ponder upon. 

His response is something that is unpleasant to hear. To get a flat and sharp “No” from our children, our employees, our subordinates, it is certainly irritating and insulting. 

Our instinctive reaction would be to use words that hurt and haunt that person until we get compliance and submission. 

This is where the gospel parable teaches us about the ways of God, about His love, His mercy and His compassion, especially for those who disobey Him and turn away from Him. 

God didn’t use lightning and thunder to force them to repent and obey. Of course He could have, but He didn’t. 

Instead God sent John the Baptist to preach the message of repentance. And surprisingly, it was the lowest of sinners, those hopeless sinners, those tax collectors and prostitutes, those were the ones that listened to him and repented. 

And Jesus added on to John the Baptist’s message of repentance with these beautiful words:
For God sent His only Son into the world, not to condemn the world but that through Him the world might be saved. 

We have said “no” to others and it has made them felt hurt, pain, anger and bitterness. 

But let us listen to those loving words of Jesus and repent and do what God wants of us so that there will be peace and Harmony. 

For those who have said “no” to us, let us not use harsh and hurtful words to rebuke them. This will only cause bitterness and resentment. 

Just as God is loving and merciful and compassionate to us so that we can repent, let us also use kind and encouraging words to help others to do what God wants of them.

Let us use words that heal, loving words that come from our heart, so that others will experience the love of God by our words.

25th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 20.09.2020

 Isaiah 55:6-9 / Philippians 1:20-24, 27 / Matthew 20:1-16

Whenever there is a presentation that has a few points, we will often hear this when it comes to the last point: “And last but not least …”.

That is to emphasize that the last point is just as important as the first point and just as important as the preceding points. 

So, we generally understand what is “last but not least”. It is a sort of a figure of speech to emphasize the equal importance of the last point to the other preceeding points. 

Most of the time it is applicable to presentations as a figure of speech. 

However, in the reality of life, things may be quite different. 

In this world, we are categorized by our financial and economic worth, we are graded by our abilities and capabilities, we are classified by our intelligence and academic qualifications. 

And that would obviously mean that first is first, and last is last, and in between there would be a huge gap that also makes a big difference. 

We know what it means to be first. There will be medals and trophies, offers and benefits, attention and the limelight, applause and cheers. Being first is certainly a good feeling. 

And if the winner takes it all, then the loser will have to stand small. And if the loser is the last, then there might be nowhere to stand at all. 

As we listen to the gospel, there are many things that the gospel is teaching us. 

Essentially the gospel is teaching us the ways of God, which often is so different from the ways of the world. 

As the 1st reading reminds us, and it is the Lord who speaks: Yes, the heavens are as high above the earth, as My ways are above your ways and My thoughts above your thoughts. 

That would also make us think about the last line of the gospel when Jesus said: The last will be first, and the first, last. 

More than just some kind of reversal of fortunes, it shows who God is and how He looks at the last, the lost, the lowly and the losers. 

The last, the lost, the lowly and the losers often find themselves at the bottom of the barrel and they are often rejected and devalued. 

The world may not look at them or listen to them, but God listens to them. 

Because for the last, the lost, the lowly and losers, they have no one to turn to but God alone. 

And God is close to all who call on Him. 

The gospel teaches us the ways of God and the thoughts of God. The last, the lost, the lowly and the losers also have something to teach us. 

Let us look at them and listen to them and learn from them.

Because they might just be the ones that God has sent to teach us His ways.

24th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 13.03.2020

 Ecclesiasticus 27:30 – 28:7 / Romans 14:7-9 / Matthew 18:21-35

When we look at life and ask ourselves what is it that we want in life, the answer can be quite obvious. 

Over and above everything else, we want to be happy, and like how all fairy tales often end, we want to live life happily ever after. 

But it seems that life is never ever happy!

So, whether we are studying or working, single or married, junior or senior or retired, happiness in whatever state of life seems so elusive. 

And because we are not happy in life, we get tired and weary with the burdens and struggles of life. 

But what is really the cause of our unhappiness in life? 

Actually, human beings can take a lot of hardships in life and still be happy. 

But it is the hardness of heart that makes us unhappy. 

And here, the 1sr reading points out what it is that causes that hardness of heart. 

The 1st reading begins with this: Resentment and anger, these are foul things, and both are found in the sinner. 

And from resentment and anger flows other foul things like vengeance, hurt, unforgiveness and even hate. 

Yes, all these are foul things, and these foul things make us unhappy, and we also make others unhappy. 

And these foul things cause the heart to be hardened and unhappy. 

Foul things are like rubbish in the house. We need to clear the rubbish in the house, otherwise there will be a bad rotten smell and of course, there will be pest infestation. 

Similarly, we need to clear the foul things in our lives so that our hearts can be clean and happy. 

But we know how difficult it can be. Even the 1st reading has this to say: Mere creatures of flesh, he cherishes resentment. 

Putting it bluntly, and we have to admit it, we like to keep the foul things of resentment, anger, vengeance and unforgiveness, although that doesn’t make us happy at all. 

Jesus came to cleanse us of these foul things so that we can be happy in life. 

On the cross Jesus did not let any of these foul things get into His Heart and He even prayed: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. 

On the Cross, blood and water flowed from His pierced side to cleanse our hearts. 

Let us look at the Cross, and let us embrace the Cross, so that Jesus can heal us with the blood and water from His Heart.

May the blood and water from the Heart of Jesus cleanse us and make us happy and make us holy, so that we too can make others happy and help them to be holy.

23rd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 06.09.2020

 Ezekiel 33:7-9 / Romans 13:8-10 / Matthew 18:15-20

It is said that a problem isn’t really a problem if it can be solved by money. 

That is quite true because as long as the solution to a problem is money, then the question is whether there is the money or not. 

So if the problem is hunger and what is needed is food, then what is needed will be money to buy the food and the problem is solved. It is almost as straightforward as that. 

That can be applicable to almost any physical and material problem. If money can solve the problem, then it is not really that big or that serious a problem. 

But a more complex matter would be human relationship problems.

 

As we know by now, human relationships are so complex and if there are problems, money may only solve part of the problem but certainly not the whole problem. 

Especially so when we try to correct someone or tell that person that what he is doing is wrong. We all know how difficult it can be. 

In the gospel, Jesus gives a rather straight-forward method of correcting someone or telling him that what he is doing is wrong. 

Initially it is one-to-one, and if that doesn’t work, then two or three others are to be called upon, and if that still doesn’t work, then it it will have to involve the community. 

And finally if all that doesn’t solve the problem, then that person is to be treated like a pagan or a tax collector. 

That seems straight-forward enough. But does treating that person as a pagan or a tax collector means to cut him off and don’t bother about that person anymore? 

We need to listen to Jesus as He says this: I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them. 

What Jesus said makes us aware of the power of prayer and the power of intercession, even if it is only two or three who are gathered in Jesus’ name. Because He promised that He will be there. 

The mission of the Church and our mission is for the conversion and the salvation of sinners and those who do not believe in God. 

We must believe that such prayers for sinners and non-believers are heard by Jesus because He said that when two or three agree to ask anything, then it will be granted by God. 

More so when it comes to trying to correct a person or tell him that he has done something wrong. 

We must have recourse to the power of prayer and also have recourse to the power of community prayer. 

Let us trust in Jesus and in His promises. Let us offer up our prayers at this Mass as well as during the online community prayers. 

The world needs to experience the saving love of God specially in these times. 

Money cannot buy that love. Only prayer and especially community prayer will open heavens and God will hear our prayers and rain down His love on us and on the world.

22nd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 30.08.2020

Jeremiah 20:7-9 / Romans 12:1-2 / Matthew 16:21-27
The word “domestic” gives the idea that it is relating to the home, the household, household affairs or the family. 

And from that word comes another word and that is “domesticated”, and it is usually referred to animals and plants. 

So a domesticated animal can be a pet that is usually kept at home or livestock that is on a farm. The same can be said of plants. 

The word domesticated is not usually used on persons, unless it is meant to be a joke, as in “he was a wild man but after he got married he was domesticated.” 

Nonetheless, domesticated has a positive meaning, and that is to nurture, to cultivate, to groom, and to form. 

Over the past few months, there was a sort of domestication, but it was a kind of forced domestication. 

We have to stay at home, work from home, learn from home. 

Domestication usually results in a change of behaviour, a change of lifestyle, a change of mentality, and an overall change. 

So has these few months brought about any change in us? And has it been a positive change? Has it been a creative change? 

When Jesus called His disciples, it wasn’t for the purpose of domestication, in that He wanted to be a master and treat them as His slaves. 

Rather He wants to form them in the ways of God and He will even set the example for them.

So when Jesus told His disciples that He was destined to suffer grievously and to be put to death and raised up on the third day, Peter started to remonstrate with Him. 

But with that Jesus taught His disciples about the difference between God’s ways and man’s ways. 

And the other lessons also followed, like the cross and the renunciation of self, and what has a man to offer in exchange for his life even if he gains the whole world. 

Over these months, there were many safety measures and regulations that we have to comply with. 

Do we observe them, or do we flout them whenever we can? 

We want freedom from rules and regulations, whether in society or in the Church. 

But we have to realize that true freedom lies in obedience to God and also in compliance to the rules and regulations of society that are for our good. 

Jesus does not want us to be like domesticated slaves who will only obey when punished. 

He wants us to exercise our freedom by being obedient and being faithful to God. 

May we be obedient to the ways of God and by our lives of faithfulness, may we also teach others what is right and what is good for them.

21st Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 23.08.2020

Isaiah 22:19-23 / Romans 11:33-36 / Matthew 16:13-20
The knowledge of the reality that we see around us is usually accumulated from what we were taught, what we were told and from what we experienced through our senses. 

So whatever we know is either based on facts, on accounts from others or from the testimonies of others. 

But there are also some things that we accept without questioning, like the existence of places that we have never been to, events that happened in history, right down to the acceptance that we are born of a particular set of parents. 

Hence, much of our knowledge is actually based on faith, faith in the broadest sense of the word. 

Without faith in that sense, we will be burdened by doubts and paralyzed with questions. 

In today’s Gospel, we come to know of something that would require a specific kind of faith, and that is faith in the religious sense. 

When Jesus asked His disciples, who do they say He is, Simon Peter spoke up: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. 

But how did Simon Peter know this? How did he find it out? 

And here we are presented with another source of knowledge, which is called a revelation. 

And Jesus says where Peter got this knowledge from: It was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 

And from that revelation, Jesus went on to speak about two realities. 

One is the Church, which Jesus said: You are Peter and on this rock I will build My church. 

That is also a revelation, that the Church is not just a mere human institution but also a Divine institution, founded by Jesus Christ. 

And there is also another revelation when Jesus said this: The gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. 

So it means that the Church will triumph over evil and evil cannot destroy the Church. 

But the Church is divine as well as human, just as Jesus is divine as well as human. 

As much as the divine nature of the church cannot be destroyed by evil, very often it is the human nature of the church that is subjected to weakness and sinfulness from the temptations of the evil one. 

But to focus and criticize the sinfulness and the weaknesses of the church is just looking at one side of the coin. 

The Divine aspect of the Church is a revelation from God. When we believe in this divine revelation, then we will be united in the divine mission of salvation. 

When we truly believe in that divine revelation, then that knowledge can dissolve fear, just as light scatters the darkness.

Let us live in the light of God’s revelation and be courageous members of the Church in the mission of salvation.