7th Sunday of Easter, Year C, 29.05.2022

 Acts 7:55-60 / Apocalypse 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 / John 17:20-26

When it comes to personal hygiene, one of the habits that we would observe is what we put into our mouths. 

If we are what we eat, then we need to be careful about what goes into our mouths because it will go into our digestive system. 

So, other than good clean food, and things that are good for our body and health, there shouldn't be much else that would go into our mouths. 

With that being said, let us now think about what comes out of our mouths. 

If only what is good should go into our mouths, then what comes out from our mouths should only be good. 

If what goes into our mouths is good, but what comes out is bad, then obviously there is something wrong. 

We have the ability to speak, and what comes out of our mouths are words that are a means of communication with others. 

The number of words we use in a day is interesting, but even more amazing is the power of the words we use. 

Because words can make or break a person, and words can create a situation or environment that is comfortable or irritable. 

The gospel passage is about a long prayer of Jesus. In that prayer, Jesus prayed for His disciples and also for those who through the words of His disciples will come to believe in Him. 

As Christians, what comes out of our mouths are prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God. 

So, what comes out of our mouths are good, it is for worship and prayers. 

But it is not only in Church that we do that. Outside of Church, what comes out of our mouth should be for the good of others and help them to be better persons and to get on with life. 

We must reflect on what kind of words are coming out of our mouths. Are our words kind and gentle, or are they angry and abusive? 

Do our words help others and give them hope, or do we badmouth others and end up arguing and quarrelling with them? 

Jesus reminds us of the power of our words. By our words, others will either believe in Him or turn away from Him. 

Jesus prayed for us and also for those who by our words will come to believe in Him. 

May our words always be a prayer of worship, praise and thanksgiving to God. 

May the words that we speak to others be a prayer for them. 

When we speak to others, let it be a form of prayer that will help them and lift them up from the troubles of life and give them hope. 

May what we say to others help them to come to believe in Jesus. 

In other words, let us pray to God and let us pray with others. 

When the words that come out of our mouths are prayers to God and prayers for others, then the voice of God's love will be heard in Church and in the world.

6th Week of Easter, Tuesday, 24-05-2022

Acts 16:22-34 / John 16:5-11    

It is often said that whenever God closes a door, He will open the windows.

But it would be more correct to say that whenever God closes a door, He will open all the other doors and all the windows as well.

God won't take away something and leave almost nothing in turn.

In His plan for us, God is more generous that we can ever think or imagine.

This is what Jesus meant when He told the disciples that it was for their good that He was going away, because unless He goes, the Advocate will not come to them.

So in going back to heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the Church to be her Advocate.

And the Holy Spirit is in each of us, and united in the Holy Spirit, we will be able to use our gifts for the glory of God and for the mission of salvation.

So whenever something is taken away from us, or when we lose something, let us know that God is telling us this.

Something better will be given, or that something better will happen.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, to guide us so that we can see the wonder of God's gifts and to give thanks to God for it.

6th Week of Easter, Monday, 23-05-2022

Acts 16:11-15 / John 15:26 - 16:4   

Life is like a cycle of day and night.

During the day, we walk with confidence under the sunshine.

In the night, we would rather stay put as we do not know what dangers are there out in the dark.

We can say that such is the cycle of our faith too.

It is like a cycle of day and night.

In the 1st reading, as the disciples preached the Good News, they were warmly welcomed by devout people who offered to take care of their needs.

But in the gospel, we hear of Jesus telling His disciples of persecution and expulsion and martrydom..

But Jesus tells us that we must hold firm in order that our faith will not be shaken.

So, there will be the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the ups and the downs.

But just as in the cycle of day and night, may we also know that when thing change, let us put our faith in God who is changeless and everlasting.

He will guide us along the day and protect us in the night.

6th Sunday of Easter, Year C, 22.05.2022

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 / Apocalypse 21:10-14, 22-23 / John 14:23-29

The presence of evil in this world is an undeniable reality. That evil is manifested in the bad and evil happenings that we see around us. 

There are wars and violence where many innocent lives are lost and much blood is shed. And then there are murders and killings, greed and poverty, cheating and stealing, and the list goes on and on. 

And if ever the question is asked as to what is the origin of evil in the world, then obviously it all points to the devil, who is the prince and the instigator of evil. 

But that does not mean that we are innocent. As much as we see the bad and evil happening around us, we too have to admit that we have collaborated with evil and committed sin. 

So, there is evil around us and there is evil within us. When we sin, then evil is manifested in us and we add on to the big, bad and ugly reality of evil. 

But not all is so dark and gloomy because goodness is also a reality in the world. 

In fact, goodness should be the bigger reality in this world because God created this world and saw it as good and beautiful. 

And when God created man in His image, man was the best and most beautiful of God's creation. 

So, when we say that we believe in God, we are also saying that we have the ability and the capacity for goodness and to be that expression of God's love and beauty for the world. 

In the gospel, Jesus said that anyone who loves Him will keep His word. 

So, we the People of God, come to church, we listen to God's Word of love and we unite ourselves with Jesus, the Word of God in Holy Communion. 

We may have sinned and given in to temptation, but God's Word lifts us up so that we can love again and be the goodness of God. 

God's Word wants to make its home in us and fill our hearts with love so that we can have peace. 

Yes, we are troubled and afraid by the bad and evil in this world. But the world is also crying out for peace and love. 

And we, the People of God, who have heard the Word of God, must rise up in love in the face of the bad and evil. 

God's Word teaches us to be humble, and that is how we will be able to stop the pride of the devil. 

God's word teaches us not to return evil with evil, but to return evil with good, so that in being the goodness of God in the face of evil, we will bring about God's blessings into a troubled and fearful world. 

And God's Word teaches us to offer the sacrifice of love by bearing the faults and failings of others just as Jesus bore the pain of our sins on the Cross. 

God's word will always remind us of the power and beauty of love, that will overcome evil. 

Yes, God's Word of Love gives us peace because God wants us to be happy. 

And we will be happy, not because everything is good, but because we see the good in everything.

5th Sunday of Easter, Year C, 15.05.2022

 Acts 14:21-27 / Apocalypse 21:1-5 / John 13:31-35

Among all the precious stones and jewels, there is no doubt that the diamond stands at second to none. 

In stories and in movies, the diamond is often used to represent beauty and value and even desire. 

Even if we don't own a diamond, we would have come across a saying that “diamonds are a girl's best friend”, maybe because diamonds are forever. 

The diamond can be said to be forever because it is a very hard stone. Besides being a precious stone, it is also used in industry for cutting, drilling and polishing purposes. 

As a precious stone, the diamond catches the attention and admiration, because it sparkles and glitters at every angle. 

But the diamonds that we see and know of, is actually the end product of a long and intricate process of cutting and polishing by master craftsmen. 

So, it is only in the hands of a master craftsman, and a long process of cutting and polishing, that the diamond becomes beautiful and have value. 

But if there is anything more beautiful and precious than a diamond, then certainly it is love. In fact, diamonds without a love story, is just a pretty thing without any meaning. 

Love makes everything beautiful and precious, so even a humble simple stone can be precious because of a beautiful love story. 

In the gospel, Jesus gave us a new commandment. It does not begin with “thou shalt not … “ 

Rather, Jesus says this: Love one another; just as I have loved you, you too must love one another. 

What is new about this commandment is that it is based on love, and the source of that love is Jesus Himself. 

To follow that commandment of Jesus is certainly not easy at all. Because we know that to love and to be loving is difficult and tiring and draining. 

Furthermore, we are faced with the bad and evil things of this world and we can become affected by it. 

We want to love and to be loving, but instead we become tarnished, disfigured and contorted by the bad and the evil. 

But Jesus comes to renew our hearts and to cleanse and heal it of the bad and evil. 

Oddly enough, the gospel passage begins with “when Judas had gone … “ 

We confess that our hearts are tarnished, disfigured and contorted; we confess that we have betrayed and denied the love that God has put into our hearts. 

But Jesus is the Divine Healer who will cleanse and purify our hearts of sin and impurities. Jesus is the Divine Craftsman who will polish our hearts like how a master craftsman will polish the diamond, and Jesus will make our hearts shine with His love. 

But just as a diamond needs to be cut and polished to make it sparkle and glitter, Jesus will use the cross to purify our hearts and make it shine. 

Because on the Cross, Jesus showed how beautiful and precious God's love is for us. 

When we accept the crosses that come into our lives, let us remember that Jesus is cleansing and purifying our hearts. 

When we embrace the crosses of our lives, then our hearts will shine brighter than any precious diamond. 

And the new commandment from Jesus becomes a new love story shining from our hearts, a story that will tell others of God's beautiful and precious love for the world.

4th Sunday of Easter, Year C, 08.05.2022

 Acts 13:14, 43-52 / Apocalypse 7:9, 14-17 / John 10:27-30

The five senses that we have are very useful and necessary in life. 

To be able to see, hear, smell, taste and feel, helps us to interact with our surroundings and the people around us, and respond accordingly. 

It is difficult to say which of the five senses is the most important or is an absolute necessity. Obviously, all the five senses work together to help us understand others and to have a better understanding and relationship with them. 

From our senses, others may be able to guess what we are doing and even thinking. 

So, others will know from our eyes if we are staring at something, or staring at someone or staring into space. 

And even by looking at our eyes, others may know what is going on within us, as it is said that the eyes are the windows to the heart. 

But it is not that easy to know what a person is hearing or listening to just by looking at the ears. 

Furthermore, we have the ability of selective hearing, so it does not mean that the loudest sound or sweetest voice will capture our attention. 

In the gospel, Jesus said that the sheep that belong to Him listen to His voice. He knows His sheep and they follow Him. 

The unique relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is that the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. 

So, even if two or three flocks of sheep were mixed together, the shepherd just have to call out and only his sheep will follow him. 

But it may not be the case with human beings. In this world, there are many sounds and voices that we hear. But what is it that we are listening to? 

We will listen to someone when we know that the person cares for us, protects us and loves us. 

That is why one person that we will listen to is our mothers, although many a times they may wonder if we are listening to them. 

But the fact that we do listen to our mothers, is that every now and then we will say that “my mother told me”. 

And as we celebrate Mother's Day, it is certainly good to let the mothers know that their children do listen to them. It will certainly give them some consolation. 

Yes, our mother's voice is the voice that we heard while we were in her womb and her voice will have an influence on us somehow. 

And from our mother's voice, we hear the voice of Jesus, and through our mothers, we feel the care, the protection and the love of Jesus for us. 

This Sunday is also known as a Vocation Sunday. It reminds us that Jesus is calling us to a particular state of life as He has a particular mission for each of us. 

On Vocation Sunday, we highlight the call to the priesthood and also to the religious life. 

In seven weeks’ time, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Deacon Simon Ho will be ordained to the priesthood. 

He has heard the call of Jesus and responded to His voice. And it can be quite certain that his mother's voice also echoed the call of Jesus and helped Deacon Simon to deepen the call.

We pray that the voice of all mothers also echoes the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd. 

May mothers speak in a way that their children will want to listen to them, and may they listen in a way that their children would want to speak to them. 

And may mothers help their children discern the call of Jesus, and to help them find their vocation in life.

3rd Sunday of Easter Year C, 01.05.2022

 Acts 5:27-32, 40-41 / Apocalypse 5:11-14 / John 21:1-19

Life can be meaningful when there is a purpose. 

So, in life, we do things with a purpose and for an objective. The purpose and the objective can be anything from the ordinary to the necessary, and from the practical to the noble. 

So, we work at our jobs in order to get paid, or to fulfil an ambition in life. Or we may participate in some voluntary or social work, so as to make good use of our time to serve and to give back to society. 

So, in whatever we do in life, there is a purpose and an objective that gives fulfilment and meaning to our lives. 

In the gospel, we heard that the disciples went fishing all night, but somehow they caught nothing. 

Fishing was their profession before they followed Jesus, but it seems that what they were good at before, now they couldn't get anything out of what they were doing. 

They may have yet to realize that as disciples who have encountered the Risen Lord, they have to move on from their former way of life. 

They are not to be fishermen anymore but to be fishers of men. Their new way of life is the way of discipleship and to be witnesses of the Risen Lord. 

And as it was the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after rising from the dead, the disciples had better get moving to what they were called to do. 

They had to get on with that purpose and the 1st  reading gives a picture of how the disciples had moved on. 

In the confrontation between the Sanhedrin and the apostles, Peter said that obedience to God comes before obedience to men. 

Peter had the courage to say that because he himself knew what obedience was about. He had denied Jesus three times during the Passion, and after the resurrection, Jesus asked him three times if he loves Him and will obey what he was told to do. 

Obedience to the way of love is obedience to God. 

The voice of God is echoed in the call from the Archbishop to the faithful to come back to church after a disruptive two years when faith became sluggish and some may have lost the routine and the regular practice of coming for Sunday Eucharist. 

Like the disciples, we are called and sent to those who need a gentle nudge to remind them to come back to Church and to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist. 

Certainly, we must not criticize them for losing faith or not having faith. 

The past two years would have taught us to be more patient and tolerant with ourselves and with others. 

These past two years have been disruptive and shaken our lives. 

The lesson learnt from these past two years and from the gospel is that when we complain and criticize, it shows that we don't understand nor sympathize with others. 

Jesus understood Peter's pain and regret. Jesus did not criticize Peter but called him to the way of love. 

When we obey the call to love and live the way of love, that would give meaning and fulfilment to our lives. 

The way of love is not to complain or criticize. 

The way of love is to understand and to sympathize. 

That is the way of discipleship. That is to be our way of life.