11th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 18.06.2023

  11th Sunday OT A-2023                                                                                       18-06-2023 

Exodus 19:2-6 / Romans 5:6-11 / Matthew 9:36; 10:8

Last Friday, we celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is also our Parish feast day. 

In preparation for the feast day, we had a triduum, in which we had Masses, Devotion to the Sacred Heart and Holy Hour. 

We prepared the “Jesus invites” in which there is a petition slip to write our petitions, which are to be offered during the triduum and feast day. 

And there was also the “Roses for Jesus”; it is for us to contribute to the roses that will decorate the sanctuary on the feast day. 

It was quite a bit of preparation, and there is quite a bit of work involved to get these ready. 

The “Jesus invites” were folded by loving hands of the members of our Parish community. 

The roses had to be trimmed and arranged within a short period of time to be ready for the feast day. 

But in preparing all these for the feast day celebration, we also wondered what the response would be. 

This would be the first focused feast day celebration after nearly four years of restrictions. 

We sensed that some people have lost the routine and the rhythm of their faith. 

We were uncertain whether people were as fervent as they were before the pandemic. 

But still, we embarked on the feast day preparations as a means of inviting people to come back to the Church and to renew their faith in God. 

And over the triduum and feast day celebrations, God showed us something. 

To quote from the words of today's Gospel, God saw that His people were “harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd”. 

God wanted His people to come back to Him. 

He needed laborers for His harvest, and the harvest is rich indeed. 

And over the triduum and feast day, we saw how rich the harvest is. 

We saw that the people needed God as they offered up their prayers and petitions. 

We don't know what were written in the petitions, but when people took the trouble to write prayers on paper, those are certainly prayers of the heart. 

So, despite being harassed and dejected, the people still have faith in God. 

Their devotion and their prayers show that they need Jesus as their Shepherd to lead them in the road of life. 

And from the offerings of the “Roses for Jesus”, it showed that people want to be part of the Church, and may even want to offer themselves in service to the Lord. 

So, over the triduum and feast day celebrations, God has revealed and showed us something. 

One of which is that people need God, and they have faith in Him. 

And we, as labourers of the harvest, are to help them to come back to the Lord. 

We are to pray for them and to pray with them, and to accompany them to come for Mass and for the Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart. 

And just as laborers deserve their wages, God will reward us with His blessings. 

He will answer our prayers so that our faith in God will be strengthened and deepened. 

Then we will be able to witness to others that being labourers in God's harvest is indeed a blessing and a reward.

Corpus Christi, Year A, 11.06.2023

 Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16 / 1 Cor 10:16-17 / John 6:51-58

We know what the Sunday obligation is, and that is we have to come for Mass on Sundays. 

So, we will come to Church on Sundays to say a prayer, as well as to listen to the Word of God in the readings, and receive Holy Communion. 

For most of us, coming for the Sunday Mass is a weekly routine, and also a part of our weekend schedule. 

Then the pandemic came along, and that routine and rhythm was broken.

The Sunday obligation became an option of either on-site Mass or online Mass. 

Although the Sunday obligation has been reinstated, the pre-pandemic routine and rhythm have been broken. 

Some have a difficulty fitting in the Sunday obligation into their weekend schedule, while some have lost it all together. 

For most of us who observe the Sunday obligation faithfully, we may need to reflect on what we are doing. 

The Sunday obligation can become a habit and a routine that we are familiar with. 

We may begin to take things for granted, because routine can be the death of reverence. 

Today, as the church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi, we need to ponder and reflect. 

The Mass is not just about going through some religious ritual. 

At Mass, God speaks to us through the Scriptures. So, we hear the teaching from heaven to tell us how to live holy lives on Earth. 

And then we will receive Holy Communion. What we received at Holy Communion is something holy from heaven. 

We are receiving the Body of Christ, and Jesus enters into our hearts, and makes His home in our hearts. 

So, something very holy is happening at Mass. It can be said that heaven comes down to earth at Mass. 

And we participate of the Divine banquet, in which we partake of the Body of Christ at Holy Communion, and hence this Feast is called Corpus Christi. 

Jesus gives us His heart at Holy Communion, so that our hearts can be like His, and that we can live our lives like Him. 

But all these profound aspects of the Mass take the form of the simple and humble and ordinary. 

The Sacred Host, or the Blessed Sacrament, looks so simple and ordinary, that we might lose reverence for it and treat it casually. 

But that Sacred Host, the Blessed Sacrament, the Body of Christ, is nothing less than the very Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

We are given the faith to believe that, and we must have utmost reverence for the Body of Christ in that humble form. 

There are many accounts of the Miracles of the Eucharist, and there is one about St. Anthony with the Blessed Sacrament and the hungry donkey. 

The story goes that there was a man who openly mocked those who believe that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament. 

St. Anthony tried to convince that man, but he was stubborn. So St. Anthony prayed and received an inspiration.

He challenged that arrogant man, “If the donkey you ride adored the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, would you believe in the truth of the Blessed Sacrament?” 

The man agreed, but decided to raise the stakes. He would starve his donkey for three days and then bring it to the town square. 

St. Anthony would bring the Blessed Sacrament to that same square. The donkey then would be put in front of a pile of hay and St. Anthony would stand a few yards away with the Blessed Sacrament. What happened next would decide the victor.

To prepare for the challenge, St. Anthony fasted for three days, and the man in turn told everyone in the town of the contest. He was convinced that the donkey would think nothing of the Eucharist and ravenously eat the pile of hay.

On the day of the contest, the man brought his donkey and placed the hay under the donkey’s nose. 

St. Anthony came and stood a distance away with the Holy Eucharist. 

Defying all odds, the donkey turned its head and walked over to St. Anthony. When the donkey was near, it bent its front legs and knelt in adoration! 

When the man saw this miraculous change of events, he immediately knelt down and professed his belief in the truth of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

For us who believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, let us not think of coming for Mass as an obligation.

If animals can sense the divine presence, may we have utmost love and reverence for Jesus who comes to us in the humble Sacred Host.

Trinity Sunday, Year A, 04.06.2023

 Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9 / 2 Cor 13:11-13 / John 3:16-18

There are many things in life that we think we know and understand quite well. 

But it is only when we encounter difficulty that we begin to think deeper about it. 

Then we may realize that there is so much more to discover and to learn. 

For example, the English language is something that we use daily. 

We use it to converse, to read and to write. We use it to express ourselves and to communicate with others. 

So, we know how to use the English language and may even know how to use it effectively. 

But can we say that we understand it well, or that we are an expert on it? 

For example, how do we explain eggplant which has no egg in it, or pineapple that does not have any apples, or hamburgers that don't have any ham? 

Or, why is it said that the nose runs, and the feet smell? It should be the other way around, isn't it? 

When it comes to singular and plural, if more than one tooth is teeth then why is more than one booth not beeth? Or if more than one mouse is mice, then why is more than one house not hice? 

So, we speak, read and write English everyday, but we may not really understand the language that well. 

Today the Church celebrates Holy Trinity Sunday. We know that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

But we may not really understand why God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

In fact, it would be easier to understand and believe that God is just One. 

Of course, there are many ways to explain that God is Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

But the mystery of the Holy Trinity cannot be understood just logically or rationally. 

What we need to believe is that God loves us, He wants to save us and to bring us back home to heaven. 

So, God the Father loves us, He sent His only beloved Son to save us, and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to unite us in faith, hope and love. 

So, as much as the Bible did not explicitly mention that God is Trinity, yet in the same Bible, God also revealed the intimate relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

The key to the understanding of the mystery of the Holy Trinity is in the intimate relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

To believe in God the Holy Trinity is to believe that God wants to have an intimate love relationship with us. 

And just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are intimately connected with each other in love, we too are called to love like God, and to be united with each other in love. 

To be like God is like how the 1st reading puts it: to be tender and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness. 

To be like God is also to be like Moses, who pleaded with the Lord God to forgive the people for their faults and sins. 

And in the 2nd reading, St. Paul urged us to be united in love and live in peace with each other so that God of love and peace will be with us. 

So, when we are united in love and peace, we are also reflecting the intimate relationship of love and peace between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

To refuse to believe in God is to refuse to accept love from others and also refuse to love others. 

But, when we, who believe in God, strive to live in love and peace with each other, we are already professing our belief in God who is Father, Son and Holy spirit. 

By our unity in love and peace, we will witness to others that God also loves them, and wants to give them the peace and joy of salvation.

Pentecost Sunday, Year A, 28.05.2023

  Acts 2:1-11 / 1 Cor 12:3-7 / John 20:19-23

In the whole spectrum of creation, human beings stand out as the most unique. 

Human beings have intellect and will. Their intelligence strives for development and new inventions. 

They know generally what is right and wrong. They exercise their freedom of choice to do what they wish. 

So, human beings can decide to do what is right or wrong. They can choose to be kind and gentle, or to be cruel and hostile. 

They can choose to be generous or selfish. They can choose to be truthful or deceitful. 

In other words, a person can choose to be whatever kind of human being he or she wishes to be. 

So more than just acting on instinct, to be a human being is to make decisions, and to decide on choices. 

That is what makes human beings so different from animals and other creatures. 

But what makes human beings so unique is what is revealed by God in the Bible. 

The Book of Genesis tells us that God made man in His image, and it was the best of all His creation. 

So, humanity stands right at the top, over and above all other creatures and creation. 

In other words, humanity is the glory of God. 

But here comes the difficult part. If humanity is the glory of God, if humanity is made in the image of God, then why is there so much sin and evil in the world? 

Humanity seems to be on the road of self-destruction, as well as the destruction of creation. 

There are violence and hostility, bloodshed and genocide, pollution and the destruction of nature. 

And on the personal level, there is greed and selfishness, exploitation and disregard of the human dignity. 

And at times, human beings seem to be like worse than animals. That can be quite shocking and disgusting. 

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost. At the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples to empower them to proclaim that Jesus is Lord, and the Good News of salvation. 

As we celebrate this feast, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts to empower us as He did at the first Pentecost. 

And Holy Spirit descends on the Church and on the world to reclaim and renew the image of humanity that God has created in His likeness. 

The Holy Spirit wants to empower us to be living images of God's love so that we can be signs of God's presence in the world. 

And the Holy Spirit wants to do so much in us and for us. 

The Holy Spirit wants to help us to pray, so that we can discover the power of prayer that will help us see God's will and be able to do it. 

The Holy Spirit wants to bless us, so that we are able to turn adversity into opportunity. 

The Holy Spirit wants to show us signs and wonders, so that there will be conversion and repentance, and sinfulness will give way to holiness. 

May the Holy Spirit reclaim and renew our hearts and make us living images of God's glory. 

Then we will discover the particular way in which the Holy Spirit is given to each of us. 

And may we let the Holy Spirit lead us to proclaim the marvels of God in our lives, so that we will see the signs and wonders of God in the Church and in the world.

7th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 2023.05.21

Acts 1:12-14 / 1 Peter 4:13-16 / John 17:1-11

If we were asked, what the Church is about, what would be our reply? 

Of course, that is a rather broad question, and we can try to respond from the Catholic perspective. 

For a start, we can say that the Church is a building, yet it is not just an ordinary building. 

The Church is the House of God, and we come to Church to offer worship and prayer. 

So, the Church, as a building, is a holy place, where those who are tired and troubled go to for refuge and solace. 

We can also say that the Church is an organization with a hierarchy. 

But, it is not just an organization with a human hierarchy of ranks and titles. 

The Church is the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the Head, and we are the members of His Body. 

And as members of the Body of Christ, we form a community. 

But the Christian community is not just governed by precepts and statutes. 

More than just precepts and statutes, the Church is guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. 

So, the Church is the sign of God's presence in the world. 

And the Church is also the sign of God's salvation for the world. 

When we look at today's readings, we will see the essence and the foundation of the Church. 

In the 1st reading, the Church is portrayed as a community of disciples united in prayer. 

Praying together with them was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other disciples. 

As it was then for the early Church, so must it be for the Church in today's world. 

Because, being united in prayer is a powerful sign that God is present in the Church. 

Whether it is individual prayer or community prayer, when the Church prays, God grants His abundant blessings. 

And Jesus assures us of God's blessings, because in the gospel, He says that He prays for us, His Church. 

We are His body, He loves us, He cares for us, He saves us.

And He sends us into the world to be witnesses of His saving love for others. 

As the 2nd reading tells us, in this world we have to be prepared to face sufferings. 

It is only with prayer that we can give a Christian response to suffering. 

The 2nd reading says that if we can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, we ought to be glad, because we will enjoy a much greater gladness when His glory is revealed. 

In other words, when we accept sufferings, we will receive blessings. 

But like Jesus who raised His eyes to heaven and prayed, may we also raise our eyes and hearts to heaven in prayer. 

Let the voices of prayer be heard in the Christian homes, as we pray for God's blessings on husband and wife relationships, and parent and children relationships. 

Let the voices of prayer be in the workplace, although it may be silent prayers, so that all will work for the glory of God. 

And may the voices of prayer be always heard in the Church, as we pray, that filled with the power of the Holy spirit, we will go into the world to proclaim and witness to God's saving love for the world. 

The world is in need of prayers, in need of salvation, in need of God's love. 

Let us bring God's love and salvation into the world with our faithful and fervent prayers.

6th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 14.05.2023

 Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 / 1 Peter 3:15-18 / John 14:15-21

We know that it is an obligation to come for Mass on Sundays. 

Some of us would even come for Mass on weekdays, although it is not an obligation to do so. 

An obligation means that it is a requirement, a duty or a commitment. So, an obligation is not an option.

But, why is it that we must come every Sunday for Mass? Why can't it be fortnightly, or monthly, or quarterly, or whatever? 

The main reason can be found in the Bible, that God, after His work of creation, rested on the 7th day. 

Sunday is also the Day of the Lord, in which we celebrate the Day of Resurrection. 

So, Sunday is a day of rest, where God calls us to come to Him and to celebrate. 

We come for the Sunday Mass to offer worship and to give thanks for God's blessings of life and love. 

We come for the Sunday mass to celebrate relationships - our relationship with God, and our relationship with one another. 

And we come for the Sunday Mass to offer prayers of intercession as we pray for ourselves, for the Church and for the world. 

So, the Sunday Mass obligation has the tone of a divine commandment. 

But as with all Divine laws and commandments, we know that it is for our good, it is for our benefit. 

In the gospel, Jesus says this to us: If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

We know what the Commandment of Jesus is based on - it is based on love. It is a commandment of love. 

Jesus loves us and He calls us to love Him and to love others. 

So, love is a commandment, love is a commitment and love is also a revelation. 

When we obey the Commandment of love, Jesus promises us a gift of divine love. 

Jesus promised to give us the Holy Spirit to be with us forever. The Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of Truth, will come upon those who live by the Commandment of love. 

The Holy Spirit will reveal to us the reality of the truth of love in our lives. 

When we choose the way of love, the truth is that we choose the way of God. 

And the ways of God is beyond the ways of man, and beyond the thinking of man. 

In choosing the way of love, we choose to be life-giving. So, we will choose to love, to forgive, to be compassionate, to be kind, to be gentle, and to be humble. 

We will put God first in our lives, and that means we will pray and we will entrust to God our plans and our choices, and to let God direct our lives. 

And when we face difficulties, despair and distress, we know that the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, will help us and protect us from danger and from losing faith. 

All that is the truth of life, and that truth is revealed to those who follow God's commandment of love. 

So, coming for Sunday mass is not just an obligation. 

It is a celebration of love, it is a revelation of truth. 

With the gift of the Holy Spirit, we will know the truth of love, we will know how to live our lives.

And we will also help others to live their lives in truth and with love.

5th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 07.05.2023

 Acts 6:1-7 / 1 Peter 2:4-9 / John 14:1-12

The amazing thing about life is that what does not stop us will make us stronger. 

The human ability to move on despite tragedies and disasters is actually quite astonishing. 

Just going back to recent history, humanity has survived two major wars on a worldwide scale. 

And the recent worldwide pandemic has finally been accepted as an endemic. 

Although what does not stop us will make us stronger, we also know that gain comes with pain.

The mega troubles of a worldwide scale have caused despair and distress. 

Similarly the personal troubles on a personal level will also cause despair and distress. 

But we want to move on and we know that we have to move on. 

But what are we moving on to? Are we moving on towards more troubles and more despair and distress? 

If what does not stop us will make us stronger, then we also must stop and ponder. 

We ponder about what has happened, and we wonder about what will happen. 

In pondering and wondering, we may come to see that if we can't handle the small troubles in life, then we will really be in despair over the bigger troubles. 

In the 1st reading, we hear of the early Church facing a rather small problem, and that is about the distribution of food to the poor in which some widows were neglected. 

It may seem to be a small problem compared to persecutions, but the apostles had to look into it. 

It was not just an administrative matter, because it also has spiritual implications. 

The apostles realized what their priority was, and after prayer, they appointed seven men to do that admin work. 

It may seem to be a small administrative matter, but if the apostles do not prioritize their spiritual duty, then there will be big troubles. 

In the gospel, Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled. 

He tells us to trust in God, and to trust in Him. 

He tells us that He has prepared a place for us and that He will bring us there. 

When we think about what is troubling us, it comes down to our security. 

We are anxious and we worry about our basic necessities of life, like food, clothing and shelter. 

We are anxious and worry about our financial security, our job security, our relationships and family, our health, etc. 

So far, we have survived and moved on. 

Although the troubles of life have not stopped us, yet we must ponder. 

In spite of the troubles of life, what is it that we hope for? 

Yes, we hope for a better life. But more than that, we hope for an eternal life. 

It is an eternal life with Jesus, where He will wipe away the tears from our eyes, and troubles of our hearts. 

So, we journey on towards the future, with our hopes on the eternal future. 

We journey on with Jesus, who is our Way, our Truth and our Life.

We journey on towards that eternal dwelling that Jesus has promised us.