13th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 30.06.2024

 Wisdom 1:13-15 / 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15 / Mark 5:21-43

There are three ideals in life that we wish for. We want to be healthy, we want to be wealthy and we want to be free of worry. 

If we can ever have these three ideals in life, then we will be happy, then we should be happy. 

But happiness in life comes and goes. And that is because health and wealth come and go, and we worry about both. 

And the folly of life is this: we spend our health trying to gain wealth, and then we spend our wealth trying to regain our health. 

Regardless of our status in life, no one is exempted from the worries of health and wealth. 

With all these worries in life, we may wonder what is the purpose and meaning of life. 

More so, when we are afflicted with sickness and struggling with financial difficulties, we will be desperate for solutions. 

And it is in times like these, that God speaks to us. 

In today's gospel, we hear the Good News of God's love and care for us, especially in our suffering.

There was the synagogue official, Jairus by name, and then there was that unidentified woman who was suffering from haemorrhage for 12 years. 

Both of them were from different social status, and backgrounds. But both had a need. 

Jairus came before Jesus, fell at His feet and pleaded earnestly for his daughter, who was desperately sick. 

The woman, who shouldn't be in public because of her condition, came up behind Jesus through the crowd to touch His cloak, hoping to find a cure. 

In the gospel message, there is like a story within a story. 

But the gospel passage also has this Good News to tell us. 

That regardless of status, personality or background, God cares for all and hears every prayer. 

Jairus came before Jesus, fell at His feet and pleaded with Him for his daughter. 

The woman, on the other hand, came up quietly from behind Jesus to touch His cloak without telling him. 

The Good News is that in the end, both received what they hoped and longed for. 

And Jesus pointed out what it was that their prayers were answered. 

Jairus and the unidentified woman both had faith in Jesus. 

Today's gospel passage serves to reinforce our faith in God. 

The 1st reading also tells us that God created us in the image of His own nature. 

So, we are created in God's love and created with God's love. 

Regardless of our status, personality or background, when we come before the Lord with our needs, He will hear our prayer. 

So, in the sunshine of our confidence, let us give thanks to God with a grateful heart. 

In the darkness of our doubt, let us be humble and plead with the Lord. 

Whether we are like Jairus pleading with Jesus, or like the woman who came up from behind Jesus to touch His cloak, God knows our needs. 

More than health or wealth, God wants us to have faith in Him. 

With faith in God, we know our prayer will be heard, and with faith we wait for God to grant us our needs.

12th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 23.06.2024

 Job 38:1, 8-11 / 2 Cor 5:14-17 / Mark 4:35-41

One of the main worries and concerns in life is over our safety and security. 

No matter how confident or how strong we think we are, we also know this:

That accidents can happen anytime and that danger and trouble can flare up unexpectedly. 

It is tiring and draining to be always on the alert and to keep looking out for danger or what might go wrong. 

So, we will protect ourselves by getting whatever means of safety and security. 

We will get good locks for the doors of our homes and offices. 

We will get good antivirus software for our mobile phones and computers. 

We will buy insurance on what we think is valuable to us, so that when something drastic happens, at least there can be some financial recovery. 

We want to have all these safety measures because life is so fragile, and we need to have some security. 

The reality is that trouble and danger can happen anytime, and it can happen when we least expect it. 

In the gospel, when Jesus and His disciples went by boat to the other side, the weather was initially calm. 

It seemed that all was well and good and calm, such that Jesus can even sleep in the boat. 

And then, without much of a warning, it began to blow a gale, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that it was almost swamped. 

Obviously, the disciples were more than frightened, as they know that they were in big trouble, and they were in danger of losing their lives. 

And in the midst of all the chaos, there was Jesus soundly asleep, with His head on a cushion. 

That was just too much for the disciples, and they woke Him up and said to Him: Master, do you not care? We are going down! 

Well, those words were certainly not said calmly or gently. In fact, the disciples were scolding Jesus. 

Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the sea to be calm and to be quiet. 

After which, it was His turn to ask the disciples: Why are you so frightened? How is it you have no faith? 

And we might be thinking, the disciples had Jesus in the boat, and they were still frightened. 

As for us, yes, we have faith, but we certainly won't be sleeping when we are faced with trouble or mortal danger. 

Like the disciples, we will be frightened, worried and anxious. 

That boat-in-the-storm experience revealed who Jesus is to the disciples, and that also made them want to discover more about Jesus. 

As for us, the image of Jesus sleeping while it was storming, is teaching us something. 

In the book of Genesis, God put Adam into a deep sleep as He took one of Adam's ribs to create the woman Eve. 

So, there is a spiritual meaning in the act of sleeping - something is being created, something is being revealed. 

To sleep is also to be still, and God says in Psalm 41: Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme on the Earth.

And Jesus tells us this: Come to Me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. 

The spiritual meaning of sleeping is to rest in the Lord. 

It is in resting in the Lord that He will reveal something to us. 

It is in resting in the Lord, that He will save us from our troubles and the dangers of life. 

Let us rest prayerfully in the Lord, and He will keep us safe and secure.

11th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 16.06.2024

 Ezekiel 17:22-24 / 2 Cor 5:6-10 / Mark 4:26-34  

From the moment we came into this world, we embarked on a learning process. 

We learn to recognize our parents and the people around us. 

We learn how to get attention when we are in some kind of need. 

We learn how to use the things around us for our benefit. 

Life is a learning process and it is a lifelong learning. 

And we go to school to acquire knowledge, and we get to understand more about people, about the world, and also about ourselves. 

But no matter how much we learn and how much knowledge we acquire, there will always be something that we don't know or understand. 

For example, we use our mobile phone so often, but we don't really know how it works. 

We ride on vehicles like cars, and trains and airplanes, but we don't know how they work. 

We hear an amplified voice of a person at a distance, and we don't know how a microphone or a sound system works. 

But, we don't have to ask all those questions when those things work, and there are no problems. 

We will only ask questions when things don't work, and when it becomes an inconvenience or a problem for us. 

In the gospel parable, we hear of a man who throws seeds on the land. 

Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the sea is sprouting and growing. How, he does not know. 

But of its own accord, the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain of the ear. 

And when the crop is ready, he loses no time. He starts to reap because the harvest has come. 

All that sounds like nature's manufacturing process, and the results are expected. 

But there are five words that call out for our attention and reflection. 

Those five words are: How, he does not know. Those five words reveal the limitation of human knowledge and understanding. 

And those five words reveal the wonders and the marvels of the mystery and the power of God. 

Yes, it is God who creates, who gives life, who brings about growth. 

And human knowledge and understanding cannot fully grasp the mind of God and His ways. 

In the 1st reading, the Lord God has this to say: Every tree of the field will learn that I, the Lord, am the One who stunts tall trees and makes the little ones grow, who withers green trees and makes the withered green. 

Indeed, who can fully understand the mysterious ways and the power of God. 

But we know that the Lord God looks with favour on the lowly and humble, and those who put their faith and trust in Him. 

On the side altars of our Lady and St. Joseph, there are more than 5,000 petitions gathered from the triduum and feastday celebrations.

We do not know how God is going to answer those prayer petitions, but we do know that God will answer them. 

There are many things about life, about people, about the world, and about ourselves, that we do not know or understand. 

And when we are faced with trials and tribulations, and we do not have the solution, let us say the “I don't know” prayer. 

Let us come before the Lord with our struggles and troubles, and humbly say that we don't know how to handle the situation. 

We just have to say: Lord, I don't know, but You know.

Yes, the Lord knows, and He will show us the wonder and the marvel of His knowledge and His power.

10th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 09.05.2024

 Genesis 3:9-15 / 2 Cor 4:13 – 5:1 / Mark 3:20-35  

One of the means of communication is with words. The primary form of interaction with others is through the spoken word. 

Although text messaging is popular, the human social inclination is to meet up and have a face-to-face interaction. 

In such interactions, words are spoken to express thoughts and emotions. 

Whether it is a casual or formal conversation, there is a need to be aware of what we say. 

There is a Chinese saying that we can be reckless with what we eat, but we have to be careful with what we say. 

But actually, we also need to be careful with what we eat, so as not to have digestive problems. 

So, we have to be careful with what we eat, as well as to be careful with what we say. 

But it seems like we are more discerning with what we eat than what we say. 

Because there are instances when we are so careless with our words. 

There are many reasons why we are careless with our words. 

It could be when we are angry and we lose our temper. And when we lose control of our temper, we also lose control of our tongue, and we say mean and hurtful words. 

Or, we may want to be sarcastic so as to insult and put down others. We will use words that are sharp and cutting and make others cringe and feel disgusted. 

By and large, we become careless with our words when we lose control of ourselves and give in to temptation. 

That's when we will say things that are false, or tell lies, or even to the extent of saying things that are outright evil. 

In the gospel, Jesus says that all men's sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies. But let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and he will never have any forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin. 

Jesus said that because some people were saying that an unclean spirit is in Him. 

To say that there is an unclean or evil spirit in a person is a grave and serious matter. 

More so when it is not a factual statement, and it is said to criticize a person out of jealousy or to discredit or out of some malicious intent. 

We may not say something that grave and serious. 

But, we may give in to the temptation of cursing, and say things like “that person can go to hell”. 

That is certainly not a casual statement and it implies that a person is evil. 

As Christians, such words or phrases cannot come out of our mouths. 

Because from what fills our hearts, our mouths will speak. 

Let us remember that evil can only multiply when we lose control of ourselves and give in to temptation. 

We will speak words of evil and sow words of evil into the hearts of those who hear it. 

But when our hearts are filled with the Holy spirit, we will speak what is good and loving, what is right and true. 

The Holy Spirit leads us to do the will of God. 

To do the will of God is to speak about the will of God. 

And the will of God is that we speak words that are gentle and kind and compassionate. 

We speak words that encourage, words that affirm, words that heal. 

And may the Holy Spirit help us to speak words of Truth and Love.

Corpus Christi, Year B, 02.06.2024

 Exodus 24:3-8 / Hebrews 9:11-15 / Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

Human beings have a wonderful and amazing ability in them, and it is also fascinating. 

We use this ability so often that we expect to have it always. But when that ability doesn't function well, or when we lose it, then we will realize how important it is. 

Human beings have a memory, and we use it to remember and to recall so many things. 

With our memory we remember occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. 

With our memory we remember experiences that shaped and formed us. 

With our memory we remember our relationships with others and how they have influenced us. 

We may forget some things here and there, and we may get some things mixed up. 

But we will remember what is necessary and what is important. 

But there is also such a thing called erasing the memory, and it is used to exterminate a race or a nation. 

So, the aggressor will begin by destroying the books, the culture and the history. 

Then new books will be written, and a new culture will be imposed, and a new history will be invented. 

In a matter of time, the race or the nation will begin to forget who they are and what they are. 

So, the struggle of humanity against oppression and extermination, is the struggle of keeping the memory from being erased and forgotten. 

We come to Church every Sunday. Coming to church is more than just a ritual or a habitual thing to do. 

We have come to recall and remember an important and fundamental aspect of our faith. 

We come for Mass to recall, and to remember God's love for us. 

And at Mass, we receive Holy Communion, we receive the Body of Christ, and we recall and remember those words of Jesus: Do this in memory of me. 

More than just recalling the historical event of the Last Supper, it is also a living memory. 

We remember how much Jesus loves us as we receive Him in Holy Communion. 

Today's feast of Corpus Christi, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, is the celebration of the living memory and the loving presence of Christ in the Church, and in us the Body of Christ. 

One of those who are baptized at Easter was sharing with me how happy she was to be baptized and to receive Holy Communion. 

She said that in receiving Holy Communion, she felt a belonging to Christ and to the Parish Community. 

That is quite an amazing and profound statement from a newly baptized. 

And that is also a reminder for us Catholics to keep this belonging by keeping the memory and remembering what Jesus gave us at the Last Supper. 

Because the distractive and corruptive trends of the world are powerful enough to erase our memory. 

We see it in Catholics who have stopped coming to Church, and in those who have forgotten what their faith is about. 

But let us not forget, and let us always remember and recall who we are and why we are here at Mass. 

We must remember that we belong to Christ, and that we are members of the Body of Christ. 

And let us always remember what Jesus said to us at the Last supper: Do this in memory of me.