26th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 29.09.2024

 Numbers 11:25-29 / James 5:1-6 / Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

One of the essential aspects of building relationships is that there is a common interest. 

Individuals would instinctively gather themselves in groups when there is a shared common interest. 

These groups are usually informal or casual, and it can consist of several members. 

There is no written constitution or stipulation about leadership or membership. 

The individuals gather together as a group because of a similar interest, and that is also the basis of their relationship. 

Sometimes these groups are called “kakis” in our local Singlish. 

For those who like playing mahjong, they are called mahjong khakis. 

And there are others like jogging kakis, cycling kakis, dancing kakis, music kakis and of course makan kakis. 

These groups usually gather to enjoy the common interest. 

But, they can also become exclusive and ambitious, in that they compete against other groups and criticize other groups. 

When Jesus chose the Twelve, they were not called a group or a club. 

They were called “Apostles” as it was Jesus who called them and sent them to preach the Good News.

He also gave them authority and power to cast out devils and to cure the sick. 

In the gospel, John, who was one of the Apostles, saw a man who was not one of the Apostles, casting out devils in the name of Jesus, and wanted to stop him. 

But Jesus said: You must not stop him. No one who does a miracle in My name is likely to speak evil of Me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. 

Jesus said that because John's complaint was a telltale sign that the apostles were beginning to see themselves as an exclusive group. 

And they were also beginning to think that only they were specially entitled to have the power and authority to cast out devils and to cure the sick. 

It is like as if they had the monopoly to that power and authority. 

Anyone, or any other group, who does what they are doing is not legit, and so has to be stopped. 

Jesus had to bring the Apostles back to their calling and their mission. 

It was He who called them, and they responded because they loved Him. 

But Apostles were beginning to think that they were exclusive and elite. 

Pride and ego were setting in, and they felt threatened and insecure when others were able to do what they were doing. 

As for us, we are Christians because Jesus loved us and called us to belong to Him. 

And we have responded because we love Jesus, and we must always remember that our love for Jesus is the essence and foundation of our unity. 

Because we love Jesus, hence we want to share with non-Christians the living waters of salvation by journeying with them to know and to love Jesus. 

Because we are Christians, we will cut off our pride and ego, and to let simplicity, humility and charity be the foundations of our unity. 

And because we love Jesus, we too will love one another with forgiveness, compassion, patience and kindness. 

In his recent Apostolic visit to Singapore, Pope Francis reminded us that ultimately, life always brings us back to one reality, and that is, without love we are nothing.

In all we have and in all we do, there must be love, without which everything is futile. 

Jesus is our love, and He unites us in His love. 

With Jesus, we will be able to share that cup of living water with a world that is thirsting for God's love.

25th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 22.09.2024

 Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 / James 3:16 – 4:3 / Mark 9:30-37

Everyday, our ears do a lot of hearing and listening. 

In the early morning, our ears hear the ringing of the alarm clock, and we wake up for the day. 

We listen to the voices of our family members in order to know how they feel and what they need. 

At work, we listen to the boss in order to know what is required of us and what we need to do. 

We also have to listen to our colleagues in order to have a better understanding and working relationship. 

So, every day our ears do a lot of hearing and listening. 

And when we listen to what others are saying, we also want to understand what they are saying. 

When we understand what others are saying, then we are able to respond with words and actions. 

But quite often, even as we are listening to others speaking, we are already thinking of how to reply. 

So, even before others have finished speaking, we already know what we want to say. 

We may even interrupt when others are still speaking, which is a telltale sign that we are not really listening. 

That happens specially in an argument, when emotions are running high. 

In an argument, everyone is talking, but no one is really listening, and words are rough and sharp. 

In the gospel, Jesus told His disciples that He will be delivered into the hands of men, He will be put to death, but He will also rise again. 

The disciples did not understand what Jesus said, and they were afraid to ask Him. 

Indeed, it was difficult to understand what Jesus said. 

And then, almost at the next moment, the disciples began a discussion that led to an argument. 

They did not discuss about what Jesus told them. 

Instead the topic of their discussion was about who among them was the greatest. 

There could be many reasons as to why the disciples enter into that discussion. 

It could be about who deserves more merit and credit. 

It could be about who did more work than the rest. 

It could be about who had the highest qualification, or who had earned more money in the past, or about who was more popular. 

Whatever it is, the discussion is about boastful comparisons that led to petty arguments. 

The 2nd reading has a teaching for this as it says: 

“Where do these wars and battles between yourselves start? 

Isn't it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? 

You want something and you haven't got it, so you are prepared to kill. 

You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy, so you fight to get your way by force.” 

That is a reflection of what is happening in the world where the is violence, war and bloodshed. 

In short, it is about the desire to be the greatest, the strongest, the richest and the highest. 

In the jarring noise of this world what are we listening to? 

Yes, we need to listen to the Word of God. 

And in order to listen, we need to be silent. 

The famous classical musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart said this: 

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between the notes. 

When we understand that, then we will also know that we listen to the Word of God in the language of silence. 

And that would also lead us to listen to what others are saying with a heart of silence. 

Yes, to listen is to be silent, and we will be able to understand what others are saying. 

And we will also be able to listen to what God is saying to us.

24th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 15.09.2024

 Isaiah 50:5-9 / James 2:14-18 / Mark 8:27-35

When it comes to choosing a leader, there are some expectations of what a leader should be. 

A leader is one who has the ability to unite people and lead them forward into the future. 

A leader should also provide for the needs of the people, and protect them from danger. 

A leader should also be strong and is able to defeat his enemies. 

These are some of the expectations of a leader, and there can be many more. 

Also, a good leader would want to have these qualities in order to prove his leadership skills. 

When we look at the expectations and qualities of a leader, an image may come to our minds. 

The image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, would meet the expectations and qualities of a leader. 

Yes, the Good Shepherd leads His flock to green pastures, He takes care of the weak and wounded, and He protects His sheep from wolves and other dangers. 

In the gospel, when Jesus asked His disciples who do they say He is, Peter spoke up and said this: You are the Christ. 

The word “Christ” means the Anointed One of God. 

It means that Jesus is sent by God to lead the People of God towards salvation. 

Jesus came to forgive sins and to heal the wounds caused by sin. 

Jesus came so that we can hear the voice of God, a voice that speaks of peace, a voice of life and love. 

Jesus is the leader who we want to follow, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

And Jesus has also anointed a leader for us to continue the leadership and the mission. 

During the past week, we welcomed Pope Francis in his Apostolic visit to Singapore. 

In the person of Pope Francis, Jesus came to visit us and to unite us in faith and to strengthen our hope. 

Pope Francis brought the Good News of love to our country and to the Church in Singapore. 

In Pope Francis, we see how much Jesus loves us and cares for us, especially in the joyful celebration of the Eucharist at the National Stadium. 

In his meeting with the clergy, Pope Francis urged us, the priests, to be good shepherds of the People of God. 

He said that as shepherds of the flock, we are to be at the front of God's people, as well as in the middle, and also at the rear. 

At the front, we are to hold high the Cross of Christ for the people to keep their focus on God. 

In the middle, to have the sense and the smell of the sheep, so as to understand their worries and anxieties, the struggles and the troubles of the flock. 

To be at the rear, so as to help the least and the last, the sick and the aged. 

To be at the rear, is also to listen to the echoes of the voices of those in need, and to discern the directions of the flock. 

The message of the gospel and the visit of Pope Francis tells us this: we keep our focus on the Cross of Christ, because it points us to God. 

The Cross of Christ is heavy and it calls for sacrifices to be made. 

But the priests and the People of God are to put their hands on the cross and to carry it together. 

Carrying the Cross together, we will be able to go far. 

Carrying the Cross together will unite us in hope, and God will help us with His blessings of love.

23rd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 08.09.2024

  Isaiah 35:4-7 / James 2:1-5 / Mark 7:31-37

This church, like many other churches, has a high ceiling. 

A church, or a building, with high ceiling, makes it look grand and spacious. 

And a church with a high ceiling would make us think and reflect further and deeper.

With a high ceiling, we would likely look up and see what is at or around the ceiling. 

So, we see the triangular pediment and the cross, and the unique cornice design. 

There is a place in which we will certainly want to look up at the ceiling. 

The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City has a high ceiling with a fresco painted by Michelangelo. 

That ceiling fresco has a series of nine paintings showing God's creation of the world and man, God's relationship with mankind, and mankind's fall from God's grace.

The ceiling fresco is an awesome sight, and we would just keep looking up at the scenes in the fresco. 

Each scene has something to tell us about who God is, as well as about ourselves. 

In the gospel, when Jesus healed the man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, He did some rather interesting actions. 

He put his fingers into the man's ears, and touched his tongue with spittle. 

And then before Jesus said “Ephphatha” which means “Be opened”, He did a seemingly ordinary action. 

Jesus looked up to heaven and sighed. 

Jesus looked up to heaven to tell the man that God is sending the healing grace from heaven. 

That sigh is a reminder that in the creation of man, God blew His breath into the man's nostrils and man became a living being. 

What Jesus did, that looking up to heaven, and that sigh, also teaches us something. 

We are to look up from the things of earth to what is above, to where God is. 

God sends us His blessings of healing and answer our prayers when we turn our eyes to Him. 

And that sigh of Jesus reminds us that God gives us the breath of life and sustains us with His love. 

But in Jesus Christ, we are reminded that God came down from heaven to be among us. 

This coming week, we prepare for the visit of Pope Francis to Singapore. 

As the successor of Saint Peter, the Pope is a sign of God visiting us and sending God's blessings on us. 

Indeed, the visit of Pope Francis is a wonderful gift and a marvellous blessing from God. 

We may wish to be up close to the Pope and to shake his hands, and to ask him to pray over us and to bless us. 

But just as Jesus looked up to heaven to invoke God's healing grace on the man, we too can do likewise.

With faith and with prayer, let us look at the Pope, whether it is up close, or from a distance, or on the live-stream. 

Jesus is visiting us in the person of Pope Francis. 

With the breath of prayer, let us offer to Jesus our needs, for healing, for forgiveness, for reconciliation, for peace. 

Yes, blessed be the Lord our God who is coming to visit us and to bless us. 

Let us be spiritually prepared and be open to receive God's blessings. and the answer to our prayers.

22nd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 01.09.2024

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 / James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 / Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

It is certainly a good thing in life to have a religion. 

Religion teaches us to live good and upright lives, so that we can have peace and happiness. 

Religion also teaches us to live in harmony with other people who do not share the same religious beliefs. 

Religion also teaches us about the truths of life, and the fundamental truth is love. 

In the Catholic religion, we believe that God gave us the 10 Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the Commandments about life and they teach us how to love. 

And God even became man in Jesus Christ to teach us how to live life with love. 

Essentially, the 10 Commandments teach us the fundamental truth, and that is to love God and to love neighbour. 

All the religious practices flow from this fundamental truth. So whether it is worshiping God at Mass, or praying the Rosary, or abstaining from meat on Fridays, all that is done to express our love for God and for neighbour. 

In the gospel, the scribes and Pharisees had a contention with some of the disciples of Jesus who were eating with unclean hands. 

The act of washing hands before eating is certainly a good practice for hygiene. But a practical hygienic practice was turned into a religious ritual and became a religious tradition. 

So, anyone who eats without first carrying out that ritual cleansing of hands is accused of not respecting the tradition of the elders. 

When the scribes and Pharisees questioned Jesus about that, He pointed out the motive of such a practice. 

Jesus said that such practices are formulated by human impositions that do not express the love for God and neighbour. 

Jesus also quoted from the prophet Isaiah, that the Commandment of God was even put aside in favour of human traditions. 

So, the fundamental purpose of the Commandment of God was blurred and even lost with the embellishment of elaborate human practices. 

There is this story that illustrates the absurdity of human practices that turned into religious rituals. 

There is an abbot of a monastery who had a pet cat. But that cat was causing a distraction to the monks during prayer time. 

So, as a solution, the abbot tied up the cat during prayer time, and it became a regular practice. 

As time went by, the abbot died, and the practice of tying up the cat during prayer time continued. 

After some time, the cat died, and the monks then found another cat to tie up during prayer time. 

As time passed, the practice of tying up a cat during prayer time became a religious practice. There was even a devotion to the string that is used to tie up the cat, and it became a religious object. 

As much as that story sounds absurd, it also makes us think about our understanding of religious practices. 

Our religious practices should express our love for God and for neighbour. 

Let us remember the fundamental Commandment of God which is love. 

May our religious practices express that love for God and for neighbour, and may it also help us to live holy lives.