Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18 / Ephesians 5:21-32 / John 6:60-69
One of the things that make human beings unique from the rest of the other creatures is that we have logic and we also have emotions. In other words, we are rational as well as emotional.
Although we are rational and emotional beings, the relationship between logic and emotions are often inversely proportional. In other words, if we handle a situation logically, we are less likely to be affected emotionally. But when emotions run high, the logic goes way down and we can act illogically.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean that what is cut and dry logical is devoid of anything emotional. An example could be this:
Wife: I have a bag full of used clothing that I would like to donate.
Husband: Why not just throw in the trash? That would be much easier.
Wife: But there are poor starving people who could really use all the clothing.
Husband: Look, anyone who can fit into your clothes is not starving.
(Husband is recovering from a head injury)
The conversation was logical and rational but somewhere emotions got involved. Now if something that is logical and rational can trigger the emotions, then something that is illogical and irrational will all the more disturb our emotions.
Not everyone is that logical and rational all the time, but everyone has emotions. In fact, our primary emotions can be put into the acronym H.A.S: Happy, Angry, Sad.
So, everyone HAS emotions.
And these emotions are stirred especially when we are confronted with something illogical and irrational.
And as we read the gospel, which is what seems to come across between Jesus and His listeners.
Jesus had been saying that He is the bread of life and that the bread He gives is His flesh for the life of the world.
His listeners began asking questions like: How can this man gives us his flesh to eat? They were not amused by it, on the contrary, they were confused by it and even angered by it and hence they said: This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?
Jesus was aware of it, but instead of quelling and resolving the situation, He prodded His listeners further with a provoking question: Does this upset you?
And in the end, many of His disciples left them and stop going out with them. They were certainly not happy with His intolerable language. They were angry and sad that it had to come to such an end.
If such intolerable language could cause such an upset, we can imagine the consequence of intolerable actions and behaviour.
Well, actually, there is no need to imagine. The recent reports of abuse by the clergy in the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania, USA has left many bitter, upset and angry.
It came out at a time when we thought that everything was flushed out and healing and reconciliation can begin, and then came this report. Is there any more reason needed to leave the Church?
Not only are the people of God hurt by what was stated in the report, the members of the clergy are also hurt, just that they can’t say or do anything about it and neither can they leave the Church although it is not impossible to do so.
But recently one priest wrote about his feelings and reflections about the repercussions of the reports and the following are excerpts from what Fr. Jonathan Slavinskas wrote:
Every morning when I put my collar on I pray for a deeper awareness of the great responsibility and magnitude of what it represents. I am aware of my sinfulness and unworthiness to even touch it. Some days more than others it should probably burn me.
Having been a high school and college student when the scandal first broke in the Northeast, I probably should have questioned my sanity on why I would move forward with a response of “yes.” Nonetheless, I knew the constant scrutiny and the shadow that would be cast. I knew firsthand the eyes of suspicion that would follow from the moment the title “Father” would be used. I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
As each year passed from the first initial reports, I felt as though healing had begun and the Church could move forward learning from the past and focusing on transmitting the light of Christ in a new way.
This week I have been walking around with a heavy heart. I have been completely angry and frustrated as a result of the Pennsylvania abuse reports and the McCarrick situation. My continual prayer has been with the victims. These feelings of disappointment and sadness have brought a feeling of paralysis. My honest questioning of “why stick around” has run through my head.
As each news story continues, my heart is torn more apart as I hear about the pain that was perpetrated. As a result of grave sin, the collar has become the complete opposite of what it is supposed to represent. As I walked around with the collar today, I wondered how many people had been keeping up-to-date with it all. How many people would glance at my collar and simply wonder, “Is this one too?”
This morning, I didn’t want to put my collar on. I was ashamed. I was tired. I was angry. I didn’t want to be painted with the same brush that it has now come to represent.
This morning, as I visited sick parishioners in the hospital, I walked by a room with a woman standing outside. As I continued to the elevator, she came from behind, asking if I was a Catholic priest. I was ready to take the hit... but as I turned and said “Yes,” with tears in her eyes, she asked if I would anoint her 50-something-year-old brother who was actively dying with cancer. No matter what I have thought about the collar these past few days, she saw it as a sign of hope and the presence of Christ. If I decided not to wear it, her brother would not have received the Sacrament he needed and her entire family might not have experienced a sense of comfort in Christ as we gathered in prayer around him.
The collar is not about me. It is about Jesus Christ. It is about us remembering that we are not journeying alone while in this world. Again, I am certainly unworthy to wear it, but I realize I’m called to wear it not for myself, but for the sake of others. As I put it on, I now must remember that I must fight harder and stronger to grow continually into a holy priest of God, being a bridge and not an obstacle.
Just some excerpts from Fr. Jonathan Slavinskas about how the scandal had affected the Church and him.
Yes what had happened was intolerable, we are upset, angry and sad. Is there any more reason to continue to stay with the Church?
We have logic and emotions, and with that we have to make decisions.
For Fr. Jonathan Slavinskas, he decided to stay. For Joshua in the 1st reading, and for Peter and the rest of the Twelve, they too decided to stay.
As for us, we know that the Church is not perfect, from the clergy to those in ministry, right down to the ordinary laity.
Yes, we know all that, we can even feel all that. But in the end, what is our decision?
Let us believe that the message of salvation and eternal life are still proclaimed by the Church, and let us stay on in the mission of healing and reconciliation.
Click the links under My Blog List to get to Chinese and English weekday homilies.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Saturday, August 18, 2018
20th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 19.08.2018
Proverbs 9:1-6 / Ephesians 5:15-20 / John 6:51-58
Ever since the earliest human beings uttered a sound from their mouths in order to express something, the art of communication was born.
And that art of communication is constantly evolving and refined, from the oral to the written, together with the tools of communication, like letters, telephone, emails and video-conferencing.
But even with modern and advanced means of communication, there are those perennial problems of miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Although miscommunication and misunderstanding can be serious problems, there are also funny sides to it, like this one:
Wife asked her husband to give her the newspapers.
Husband: How backward you are! Technology has developed so much and you are still asking for the newspapers? Here, take my iPad.
Wife took the iPad and with it slammed it on a cockroach.
Husband fainted!
Moral: Whatever the wife ask, give her without arguing. Show your smartness in the office, not at home, otherwise there can be serious consequences.
Also, words may not be necessarily understood at face-value. When the mother or wife says “Fine”, better think again – it may not be that fine at all.
Or when the boss says “Up to you”, it actually means that you better ask him, because it is up to him, not up to you.
So with all the complexities of miscommunication and misunderstanding, we may get an idea of what was going on between Jesus and His listeners in the gospel. Well, actually not what was going on, but more like what was going wrong.
For the past couple of Sundays, we heard Jesus saying that He is the bread of life. His listeners understood it as ordinary bread, though they would have wondered why Jesus calls Himself the bread of life.
But in today’s gospel, Jesus goes on to say that the bread that He shall give is His flesh for the life of the world, and that His flesh is real food and His blood real drink.
That really stumped His listeners and hence their objecting question: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat.” Yes, how can it be possible?
On the logical and rational level, there seems to be some kind of miscommunication and a lot of misunderstanding. As it is said, the longest distance between two people is misunderstanding.
But Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said, and both in the literal and mystical sense.
While His listeners understood the bread in the ordinary sense, Jesus was talking about His flesh as bread in the mystical sense.
Because human intelligence can only grasp that much about the bread that Jesus was talking about. It was a case of understanding a bit and misunderstanding a lot.
And that was why the listeners asked that question “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” They have come to the edge of the cliff of their understanding, and they can’t go further, and they won’t go further. They just cannot believe it.
But we believe, and hence we can understand what Jesus said about the bread that He gives is His flesh. And that’s why when we come forward at Holy Communion to receive the Body of Christ, we respond with an affirmative “Amen”.
Yes, we believe that we are receiving the Body of Christ, we are receiving the flesh that is from the Heart of Christ.
But it is not just mere human intelligence and logical understanding that led us to believe. It is by the gift of faith and divine guidance that led us to believe.
And if we truly believe, then we would be coming for Mass every day to partake of this Divine Bread, so that our faith will be strengthened and we will let Divine Wisdom guide us to recognize the will of the Lord and to live our lives according to that will.
The will of God is that we come into communion with Him through Jesus our Bread of life, so that we can be in communion with the people around us.
But communion can only happen when we address the problems of miscommunication and misunderstanding. So we have to think before we talk. And there is a rather funny logical way to it:
If the person is junior to you, count to 10 and then talk.
If the person is equal to you, count to 30 and then talk.
If the person is your senior, count to 50 then talk.
But if the person is your mother or your wife, keep counting; better not talk.
The logical way is counting. But the mystical and spiritual way is praying.
And what better way to pray than to come for Mass daily.
When we believe that Jesus is our Bread of Life and when we come into communion with Him, we will live in Him and He in us.
Then we will be ready to face the miscommunications and misunderstandings of life and bring about an understanding and a communion.
Ever since the earliest human beings uttered a sound from their mouths in order to express something, the art of communication was born.
And that art of communication is constantly evolving and refined, from the oral to the written, together with the tools of communication, like letters, telephone, emails and video-conferencing.
But even with modern and advanced means of communication, there are those perennial problems of miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Although miscommunication and misunderstanding can be serious problems, there are also funny sides to it, like this one:
Wife asked her husband to give her the newspapers.
Husband: How backward you are! Technology has developed so much and you are still asking for the newspapers? Here, take my iPad.
Wife took the iPad and with it slammed it on a cockroach.
Husband fainted!
Moral: Whatever the wife ask, give her without arguing. Show your smartness in the office, not at home, otherwise there can be serious consequences.
Also, words may not be necessarily understood at face-value. When the mother or wife says “Fine”, better think again – it may not be that fine at all.
Or when the boss says “Up to you”, it actually means that you better ask him, because it is up to him, not up to you.
So with all the complexities of miscommunication and misunderstanding, we may get an idea of what was going on between Jesus and His listeners in the gospel. Well, actually not what was going on, but more like what was going wrong.
For the past couple of Sundays, we heard Jesus saying that He is the bread of life. His listeners understood it as ordinary bread, though they would have wondered why Jesus calls Himself the bread of life.
But in today’s gospel, Jesus goes on to say that the bread that He shall give is His flesh for the life of the world, and that His flesh is real food and His blood real drink.
That really stumped His listeners and hence their objecting question: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat.” Yes, how can it be possible?
On the logical and rational level, there seems to be some kind of miscommunication and a lot of misunderstanding. As it is said, the longest distance between two people is misunderstanding.
But Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said, and both in the literal and mystical sense.
While His listeners understood the bread in the ordinary sense, Jesus was talking about His flesh as bread in the mystical sense.
Because human intelligence can only grasp that much about the bread that Jesus was talking about. It was a case of understanding a bit and misunderstanding a lot.
And that was why the listeners asked that question “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” They have come to the edge of the cliff of their understanding, and they can’t go further, and they won’t go further. They just cannot believe it.
But we believe, and hence we can understand what Jesus said about the bread that He gives is His flesh. And that’s why when we come forward at Holy Communion to receive the Body of Christ, we respond with an affirmative “Amen”.
Yes, we believe that we are receiving the Body of Christ, we are receiving the flesh that is from the Heart of Christ.
But it is not just mere human intelligence and logical understanding that led us to believe. It is by the gift of faith and divine guidance that led us to believe.
And if we truly believe, then we would be coming for Mass every day to partake of this Divine Bread, so that our faith will be strengthened and we will let Divine Wisdom guide us to recognize the will of the Lord and to live our lives according to that will.
The will of God is that we come into communion with Him through Jesus our Bread of life, so that we can be in communion with the people around us.
But communion can only happen when we address the problems of miscommunication and misunderstanding. So we have to think before we talk. And there is a rather funny logical way to it:
If the person is junior to you, count to 10 and then talk.
If the person is equal to you, count to 30 and then talk.
If the person is your senior, count to 50 then talk.
But if the person is your mother or your wife, keep counting; better not talk.
The logical way is counting. But the mystical and spiritual way is praying.
And what better way to pray than to come for Mass daily.
When we believe that Jesus is our Bread of Life and when we come into communion with Him, we will live in Him and He in us.
Then we will be ready to face the miscommunications and misunderstandings of life and bring about an understanding and a communion.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
19th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 12.08.2018
1 Kings 19:4-8 / Ephesians 4:30 – 5:2 / John 6:41-51
Human beings have very simple and basic needs, and they are food, clothing, and shelter. When these needs are met, then the next level of needs come in and they are security, achievement and affection. And then finally it could be self-fulfillment and contentment. That’s a simple way to put it.
Understood in that way, the very basic needs in life is to have something to eat, something to wear and somewhere to go back to. Generally speaking, we all have that, so it can be said that our basic needs in life are met.
When these basic needs are met, then comes the longing and yearning for security and comfort, for achievement and success, for affection and love.
Come to think of it, the Singapore National Pledge has elements to these when it says: “to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”
So in life, we must know what the essential and primary needs are. When these needs are met, then we can be happy and contented and we will begin to realise who we are and understand the meaning of life.
So we know and understand the basic and essential needs of life and that will enable us to find happiness and fulfillment in our lives.
What is not so easy is to understand is this desire for more, this feeling of not having enough, and not being enough. As much as this “not enough” may drive us to strive for more, yet we must also be careful that it does not draw us down the slippery slope of greed and selfishness.
But in the 1st reading, we read that the prophet Elijah said this: Lord, I have had enough. Take my life.
Certainly, it was not because he was feeling contented, that he had enough, and so he wants to go back to the Lord.
On the contrary, he had no food, no shelter, no safety as the troops were hunting for him. As a prophet, he had his success – he worked miracles, he stopped the rain for 3 and a half years, he called down fire from heaven in his victory over the false prophets.
But now, being stripped of everything, except his clothing, and in danger of losing his life, he cried out to the Lord, “I have had enough”. With no meaning and direction, with no safety and security, with nothing left, then it would be better to end it all.
So he sat under the furze bush and he wished he was dead. He went to sleep and maybe wishing that he won’t wake up.
But an angel came along with bread and water woke him up and told him to eat. He ate but then he went back to sleep again. But the angel woke him up again and told him to eat and drink and get moving.
So he got up, ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he made that 40-day journey to Horeb, the mountain of God, where he will experience the power and might of God, and regain his direction and mission as the prophet of God.
When Elijah thought of ending it all, God provided him with a simple meal of bread and water and that was enough for him to get up and get going.
So if that simple bread and water was enough for Elijah, then what will it be to make us know that we will have enough and that there is nothing more we shall want?
Jesus tells us in the gospel that He is the living bread that has come down from heaven. He even says “I am the bread of life” and “anyone who eats this bread will live forever”, and “everybody who believes this will have eternal life”.
Now isn’t that more than enough? When we come up for Holy Communion, we partake of this living bread from heaven, this bread of life, and if we believe, we will have eternal life and live forever.
But that is if we believe. So do we truly believe? Because if we do, then we will also know that all our needs are fulfilled and we too would want to tell others about this living bread, this bread of life.
And the meaning and directions of our lives would also be clear, as we know where we are heading towards and who we are heading towards.
There is this story of a student who came before a holy man and asked him to pray for him for good exam results.
The holy man replied, “Sure, I will pray for you for good results. When you get the good results, then what?”
“Then I will go to the university.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will study hard and get a good degree.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will look for a good job with a good pay.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will work hard and get promoted.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will get married and have children.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will save up for my retirement and enjoy life.”
“Then what?”
“And then … and then …”
So when our physical and material needs are fulfilled and we have enough in life, can we truly say that we are contented and happy with life?
Jesus says that He is the living bread which has come down from heaven, that He is the bread of life.
So even if we have enough in life, or when we, like Elijah, feel like shouting “I have had enough!”, Jesus will come to us offering us the bread of life.
This is the only bread that will give us the strength to journey from this life to eternal life.
Let us receive worthily this bread from heaven, and let us also tell others about this bread of life.
Human beings have very simple and basic needs, and they are food, clothing, and shelter. When these needs are met, then the next level of needs come in and they are security, achievement and affection. And then finally it could be self-fulfillment and contentment. That’s a simple way to put it.
Understood in that way, the very basic needs in life is to have something to eat, something to wear and somewhere to go back to. Generally speaking, we all have that, so it can be said that our basic needs in life are met.
When these basic needs are met, then comes the longing and yearning for security and comfort, for achievement and success, for affection and love.
Come to think of it, the Singapore National Pledge has elements to these when it says: “to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”
So in life, we must know what the essential and primary needs are. When these needs are met, then we can be happy and contented and we will begin to realise who we are and understand the meaning of life.
So we know and understand the basic and essential needs of life and that will enable us to find happiness and fulfillment in our lives.
What is not so easy is to understand is this desire for more, this feeling of not having enough, and not being enough. As much as this “not enough” may drive us to strive for more, yet we must also be careful that it does not draw us down the slippery slope of greed and selfishness.
But in the 1st reading, we read that the prophet Elijah said this: Lord, I have had enough. Take my life.
Certainly, it was not because he was feeling contented, that he had enough, and so he wants to go back to the Lord.
On the contrary, he had no food, no shelter, no safety as the troops were hunting for him. As a prophet, he had his success – he worked miracles, he stopped the rain for 3 and a half years, he called down fire from heaven in his victory over the false prophets.
But now, being stripped of everything, except his clothing, and in danger of losing his life, he cried out to the Lord, “I have had enough”. With no meaning and direction, with no safety and security, with nothing left, then it would be better to end it all.
So he sat under the furze bush and he wished he was dead. He went to sleep and maybe wishing that he won’t wake up.
But an angel came along with bread and water woke him up and told him to eat. He ate but then he went back to sleep again. But the angel woke him up again and told him to eat and drink and get moving.
So he got up, ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he made that 40-day journey to Horeb, the mountain of God, where he will experience the power and might of God, and regain his direction and mission as the prophet of God.
When Elijah thought of ending it all, God provided him with a simple meal of bread and water and that was enough for him to get up and get going.
So if that simple bread and water was enough for Elijah, then what will it be to make us know that we will have enough and that there is nothing more we shall want?
Jesus tells us in the gospel that He is the living bread that has come down from heaven. He even says “I am the bread of life” and “anyone who eats this bread will live forever”, and “everybody who believes this will have eternal life”.
Now isn’t that more than enough? When we come up for Holy Communion, we partake of this living bread from heaven, this bread of life, and if we believe, we will have eternal life and live forever.
But that is if we believe. So do we truly believe? Because if we do, then we will also know that all our needs are fulfilled and we too would want to tell others about this living bread, this bread of life.
And the meaning and directions of our lives would also be clear, as we know where we are heading towards and who we are heading towards.
There is this story of a student who came before a holy man and asked him to pray for him for good exam results.
The holy man replied, “Sure, I will pray for you for good results. When you get the good results, then what?”
“Then I will go to the university.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will study hard and get a good degree.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will look for a good job with a good pay.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will work hard and get promoted.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will get married and have children.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will save up for my retirement and enjoy life.”
“Then what?”
“And then … and then …”
So when our physical and material needs are fulfilled and we have enough in life, can we truly say that we are contented and happy with life?
Jesus says that He is the living bread which has come down from heaven, that He is the bread of life.
So even if we have enough in life, or when we, like Elijah, feel like shouting “I have had enough!”, Jesus will come to us offering us the bread of life.
This is the only bread that will give us the strength to journey from this life to eternal life.
Let us receive worthily this bread from heaven, and let us also tell others about this bread of life.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
18th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 05.08.2018
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 / Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 / John 6:24-35
In a few days’ time, we will be celebrating National Day. That should be obvious enough as the Singapore flag makes its annual appearance and there are six flags fluttering prominently at the front of the church.
As Singapore marks its 53 years of independence, it can be said that Singapore has grown into a fine country, in almost every sense of the word.
And some would agree that it is a fine country, at least in a funny sense: “No littering – Fine $1000”, “No smoking – fine $1000”, “No eating and drinking – Fine $500” (inside MRT), “No jaywalking – Fine $1000”, “No spitting – Fine $1000”.
The law and order imposed with a fine, makes Singapore a uniquely fine country. Maybe that’s also a tourist attraction as others would like to see how fine Singapore is in carrying out its law and order. (What a fine way to put it).
Whatever we might want to say about it, it is a sort of legacy that we have inherited and it has shown results, in that we would think again before we throw something out of the window, or jaywalk across the road.
In short, when we are about to commit an offence, there is a “fine” way to deter us. It may be a uniquely Singaporean way but it works fine.
But can that also be applied to other aspects of Singaporean habits? Like for example: “No complaining – Fine $500”. Singaporeans give the impression that they are like spoilt brats and are always complaining about the ERP that never fails, and the MRT that often fails, and everything in between.
But we can have the consolation that to complain is a human tendency. We complain because there is something better to compare with. This so-callled “better” thing may just be an illusion or even an imagination, but still, it spurs us on to complain.
Even the Israelites in the 1st reading succumbed to this human tendency. We read that the whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
The point of contention was that as slaves in Egypt they had enough to eat, whereas now they are freed, there was nothing to eat.
It is said that a hungry man is an angry man, but a hungry man can also be a crazy man. Hunger drove the Israelites to think that slavery with a full stomach is better than freedom on an empty stomach. Such is the delusive power of hunger – it makes a person angry and crazy.
But it doesn’t just stop there. Besides making a person angry and even crazy, hunger can also make a person greedy.
And that’s what Jesus told the people in the gospel – “I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs, but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.”
So at first, they were hungry for bread, but having been fed to the full, they are now greedy for more. They looked for Jesus because they wanted to see what else they can get out of Jesus. So at first, they were hungry, but now they are greedy.
And greed has a sibling called selfishness. Oh yes, they come together, just as angry and crazy come together. But whether it is being angry and crazy, or greedy and selfish, they have an appetite that cannot be satisfied. What’s more, they eat away at us until we become an ugly person, or an ugly Singaporean, or an ugly Catholic.
Jesus tells us not to work for food that cannot last, but to work for food that endures to eternal life.
And just as Jesus is the bread of life for us, then we are also called to share the bread of life with others. That will be the food that endures to eternal life.
This year’s National Day theme is “We are Singapore”, and in a competition held by The Straits Times, participants were asked to identify a hero in a photo and describe why the heroic act matters.
One of the submissions was from the 18 year-old Beatrice Chao, daughter of the late Dr Alexandre Chao.
Beatrice Chao lost her dad when she was just three years old - but she has taken comfort knowing he was a hero.
Dr. Alexandre Chao died from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) while serving in a hospital fighting the deadly virus.
Dr Chao, a 37-year-old Singapore General Hospital vascular surgeon, had voluntarily cut short his holiday in the United States to join his colleagues to fight SARS in 2003.
Beatrice said that when she saw her father's photo in the newspaper, she was very moved. She was surprised and touched that people still cared about her father's story and hopes that they will adopt his philosophy of always placing others before himself.
The legacy that Dr. Chao left for his daughter is also a legacy left for Singapore and for all of us.
It’s a legacy that will inspire more similar legacies that will turn us always from complaining about hunger to being a provider, to stop being a problem and to becoming a solution.
Jesus has given Himself to us as the bread of life; there is nothing more that we shall want.
And let us go forth to share the bread of our lives with others so that they too will know that besides the hunger in the stomach, there is a hunger in the heart that only Jesus can fill.
That will be the legacy that we will leave behind.
In a few days’ time, we will be celebrating National Day. That should be obvious enough as the Singapore flag makes its annual appearance and there are six flags fluttering prominently at the front of the church.
As Singapore marks its 53 years of independence, it can be said that Singapore has grown into a fine country, in almost every sense of the word.
And some would agree that it is a fine country, at least in a funny sense: “No littering – Fine $1000”, “No smoking – fine $1000”, “No eating and drinking – Fine $500” (inside MRT), “No jaywalking – Fine $1000”, “No spitting – Fine $1000”.
The law and order imposed with a fine, makes Singapore a uniquely fine country. Maybe that’s also a tourist attraction as others would like to see how fine Singapore is in carrying out its law and order. (What a fine way to put it).
Whatever we might want to say about it, it is a sort of legacy that we have inherited and it has shown results, in that we would think again before we throw something out of the window, or jaywalk across the road.
In short, when we are about to commit an offence, there is a “fine” way to deter us. It may be a uniquely Singaporean way but it works fine.
But can that also be applied to other aspects of Singaporean habits? Like for example: “No complaining – Fine $500”. Singaporeans give the impression that they are like spoilt brats and are always complaining about the ERP that never fails, and the MRT that often fails, and everything in between.
But we can have the consolation that to complain is a human tendency. We complain because there is something better to compare with. This so-callled “better” thing may just be an illusion or even an imagination, but still, it spurs us on to complain.
Even the Israelites in the 1st reading succumbed to this human tendency. We read that the whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
The point of contention was that as slaves in Egypt they had enough to eat, whereas now they are freed, there was nothing to eat.
It is said that a hungry man is an angry man, but a hungry man can also be a crazy man. Hunger drove the Israelites to think that slavery with a full stomach is better than freedom on an empty stomach. Such is the delusive power of hunger – it makes a person angry and crazy.
But it doesn’t just stop there. Besides making a person angry and even crazy, hunger can also make a person greedy.
And that’s what Jesus told the people in the gospel – “I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs, but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.”
So at first, they were hungry for bread, but having been fed to the full, they are now greedy for more. They looked for Jesus because they wanted to see what else they can get out of Jesus. So at first, they were hungry, but now they are greedy.
And greed has a sibling called selfishness. Oh yes, they come together, just as angry and crazy come together. But whether it is being angry and crazy, or greedy and selfish, they have an appetite that cannot be satisfied. What’s more, they eat away at us until we become an ugly person, or an ugly Singaporean, or an ugly Catholic.
Jesus tells us not to work for food that cannot last, but to work for food that endures to eternal life.
And just as Jesus is the bread of life for us, then we are also called to share the bread of life with others. That will be the food that endures to eternal life.
This year’s National Day theme is “We are Singapore”, and in a competition held by The Straits Times, participants were asked to identify a hero in a photo and describe why the heroic act matters.
One of the submissions was from the 18 year-old Beatrice Chao, daughter of the late Dr Alexandre Chao.
Beatrice Chao lost her dad when she was just three years old - but she has taken comfort knowing he was a hero.
Dr. Alexandre Chao died from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) while serving in a hospital fighting the deadly virus.
Dr Chao, a 37-year-old Singapore General Hospital vascular surgeon, had voluntarily cut short his holiday in the United States to join his colleagues to fight SARS in 2003.
Beatrice said that when she saw her father's photo in the newspaper, she was very moved. She was surprised and touched that people still cared about her father's story and hopes that they will adopt his philosophy of always placing others before himself.
The legacy that Dr. Chao left for his daughter is also a legacy left for Singapore and for all of us.
It’s a legacy that will inspire more similar legacies that will turn us always from complaining about hunger to being a provider, to stop being a problem and to becoming a solution.
Jesus has given Himself to us as the bread of life; there is nothing more that we shall want.
And let us go forth to share the bread of our lives with others so that they too will know that besides the hunger in the stomach, there is a hunger in the heart that only Jesus can fill.
That will be the legacy that we will leave behind.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
17th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 29.07.2018
2 Kings 4:42-44 / Ephesians 4:1-6 / John 6:1-15
Whenever we want to go for a meal, the big question is where to go. If we have friends who are “foodies”, as in they seem have in their minds a catalogue of places to eat somewhere, then they will surely recommend places and what to eat.
But in case we don’t have such friends (which is unlikely) then we can turn to our good friend “Google” and type in “hungry go where”, and we will be spoilt for choice.
But if we are hungry and lazy, then it’s not “hungry go where”. Now it’s “hungry call who?” With food delivery as a new option, there are no worries if we are hungry and lazy, because there are food delivery companies.
And when we go to their websites, we see so many variety of food that it looks like some kind of buffet spread and we feel like trying everything in one go.
There are just so many choices, from Western to Indian, to Korean, from Chinese to Japanese, and there are also search options to look for some kind of popular dish. There are just so many choices that making a choice can be quite challenging.
And once the order is placed, the food will be delivered in 30 to 45 minutes. So, if we are hungry and lazy, there are no worries. Just need to have money.
But the situation of the crowds in the gospel was quite different. They were hungry, they didn’t know where to go, they don’t know who to call and they had no money. It was a rather lousy situation to be in.
Yes, Jesus was there, but so far He had shown that He could cure the sick. But could He feed the hungry with just 5 barley loaves and two fish?
For a hungry person, he may be impressed with miraculous signs but the most impressive would be to place some delicious food before him. As it is often said, it may not be very effective to preach about God’s love to a hungry person. More effective would be to place food before him and that will be the sign of God’s love for him.
We read in the gospel that Jesus looked up and saw the crowds. He then asked Philip where to buy bread for the people to eat. We were told that this was to test Philip. Philip replied with not where but how much money was needed to buy the bread. Obviously we need not ask how many marks Philip scored for the “test”.
Jesus looked up and saw the hungry crowd. But He also looked up to His heavenly Father, the God of which the 1st reading quoted as saying: For the Lord says “They will eat and have some leftover.”
Jesus wanted to teach His disciples and the people that His heavenly Father will provide for them what they need, even when the odds are overwhelming.
We might think it is impossible but for God everything is possible. But just as God provides for us, He also expects us to be generous with what God has blessed us with.
We have these “5 loaves and 2 fish”. They may not be much and as Andrew said “what is that between so many?”
But with that Jesus looked up to heaven and with that small boy’s offering, the five thousand were fed.
It does sound impossible and some speculations say that others began to bring out what they had and so eventually there were more than enough.
But it is not so much how the bread was multiplied but why it was multiplied. It was a sign of God’s providence and care for His people and how generous God is with His blessings.
And God also expects us to be generous with what He has given to us and that we share it with others too.
We may remember that back in 2015, it was a crunch time for the Church in Singapore. Three big churches were undergoing renovation – the Cathedral, Sts. Peter and Paul, Novena. At the same time, the Church of Transfiguration was being built.
We might think that it’s bad planning, but the fact is that it all happened at the same time. In retrospect, we can say that God did this to “test” the Church in Singapore, to see how generous we are in building God’s house.
Well, we have fared quite well, with the four churches renovated and built and the outstanding bills were paid.
Now the Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese is appealing to our generosity for regular donations and this is to prepare the Church for the future. The projections are staggering, but again it is not impossible.
Just to share a short story about generosity.
There was a rich man who complained to his friend: “The people do not like me. They say I am stingy and greedy; but I have made my will and have willed my entire property to a charitable institution.”
The friend replied: “A pig came to a cow and complained: ‘People speak so well of you. It is true you give milk. But they profit from me much more. They have meat and sausages of different types. Even my feet and hands they eat. Still nobody loves me as much as they love you. Why?’
The cow reflected and said: ‘Perhaps it is because of this: I give while I am alive.’
So let us not postpone the good and the generosity which we can do here and now.
God has blessed us with what we need. Let us also generously share God’s blessings with others.
Whenever we want to go for a meal, the big question is where to go. If we have friends who are “foodies”, as in they seem have in their minds a catalogue of places to eat somewhere, then they will surely recommend places and what to eat.
But in case we don’t have such friends (which is unlikely) then we can turn to our good friend “Google” and type in “hungry go where”, and we will be spoilt for choice.
But if we are hungry and lazy, then it’s not “hungry go where”. Now it’s “hungry call who?” With food delivery as a new option, there are no worries if we are hungry and lazy, because there are food delivery companies.
And when we go to their websites, we see so many variety of food that it looks like some kind of buffet spread and we feel like trying everything in one go.
There are just so many choices, from Western to Indian, to Korean, from Chinese to Japanese, and there are also search options to look for some kind of popular dish. There are just so many choices that making a choice can be quite challenging.
And once the order is placed, the food will be delivered in 30 to 45 minutes. So, if we are hungry and lazy, there are no worries. Just need to have money.
But the situation of the crowds in the gospel was quite different. They were hungry, they didn’t know where to go, they don’t know who to call and they had no money. It was a rather lousy situation to be in.
Yes, Jesus was there, but so far He had shown that He could cure the sick. But could He feed the hungry with just 5 barley loaves and two fish?
For a hungry person, he may be impressed with miraculous signs but the most impressive would be to place some delicious food before him. As it is often said, it may not be very effective to preach about God’s love to a hungry person. More effective would be to place food before him and that will be the sign of God’s love for him.
We read in the gospel that Jesus looked up and saw the crowds. He then asked Philip where to buy bread for the people to eat. We were told that this was to test Philip. Philip replied with not where but how much money was needed to buy the bread. Obviously we need not ask how many marks Philip scored for the “test”.
Jesus looked up and saw the hungry crowd. But He also looked up to His heavenly Father, the God of which the 1st reading quoted as saying: For the Lord says “They will eat and have some leftover.”
Jesus wanted to teach His disciples and the people that His heavenly Father will provide for them what they need, even when the odds are overwhelming.
We might think it is impossible but for God everything is possible. But just as God provides for us, He also expects us to be generous with what God has blessed us with.
We have these “5 loaves and 2 fish”. They may not be much and as Andrew said “what is that between so many?”
But with that Jesus looked up to heaven and with that small boy’s offering, the five thousand were fed.
It does sound impossible and some speculations say that others began to bring out what they had and so eventually there were more than enough.
But it is not so much how the bread was multiplied but why it was multiplied. It was a sign of God’s providence and care for His people and how generous God is with His blessings.
And God also expects us to be generous with what He has given to us and that we share it with others too.
We may remember that back in 2015, it was a crunch time for the Church in Singapore. Three big churches were undergoing renovation – the Cathedral, Sts. Peter and Paul, Novena. At the same time, the Church of Transfiguration was being built.
We might think that it’s bad planning, but the fact is that it all happened at the same time. In retrospect, we can say that God did this to “test” the Church in Singapore, to see how generous we are in building God’s house.
Well, we have fared quite well, with the four churches renovated and built and the outstanding bills were paid.
Now the Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese is appealing to our generosity for regular donations and this is to prepare the Church for the future. The projections are staggering, but again it is not impossible.
Just to share a short story about generosity.
There was a rich man who complained to his friend: “The people do not like me. They say I am stingy and greedy; but I have made my will and have willed my entire property to a charitable institution.”
The friend replied: “A pig came to a cow and complained: ‘People speak so well of you. It is true you give milk. But they profit from me much more. They have meat and sausages of different types. Even my feet and hands they eat. Still nobody loves me as much as they love you. Why?’
The cow reflected and said: ‘Perhaps it is because of this: I give while I am alive.’
So let us not postpone the good and the generosity which we can do here and now.
God has blessed us with what we need. Let us also generously share God’s blessings with others.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
16th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 22.07.2018
Jeremiah 23:1-6 / Ephesians 2:13-18 / Mark 6:30-34
We know what the letters RIP stands for. It is often engraved on tombstones and on niches. Of course in that context, it stands for “Rest in Peace”.
So it seems that only those who have passed on, those who have died, only they are entitled to rest in peace.
But for the living, and that is all of us, we also would like to “RIP”, but our “RIP” is in another sense, and that is “Rest If Possible”.
Especially in a dense and urban city like Singapore, we are plagued with not enough time and not enough rest, and our tagline is “busy busy busy”.
In fact, we can be so busy that RIP can also mean “Ripped Into Pieces”.
So even when we are in the toilet (the toilet is sometimes called the restroom), it may not be that we can do whatever in peace. Because someone will come along and knock on the door and say things like “Are you still in there? Can you hurry up?” Especially when it’s rush hour.
As we read the gospel, the sentence that will appeal to us is probably what Jesus said to His disciples “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.”
Oh, how we yearn for that! Oh yes, how we wish we could leave everything behind and don’t have to worry about anything, and just eat and sleep and rest. And of course not forgetting to bring along our mobile devices and battery chargers.
Jesus said that to His apostles because He had sent them out to preach repentance, cure the sick and to cast out devils. And they came back and told Him all they had done and taught. They saw how the authority that Jesus gave them had worked wonders and they probably wanted to go on and on.
But here is where Jesus told them to stop, to come away to some lonely place and rest. In other words, Jesus wanted them to stop, rest and pray.
Because the temptation here would be to go on and on, spinning faster and faster, and getting all heated up and then end up being burnt-out.
Jesus also wanted to remind His apostles that rest and prayer are critical because without Him they can do nothing.
Jesus used a rather interesting phrase in what He said to the apostles. He told them to “come away”. It is a rather strange way to use those two words. Usually it would be to “go away” or “come here”. But “come away”?
So Jesus is telling His apostles to “come away” from all their busyness and to come to Him. And here we will recall in Mathew 11:28, Jesus said: Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.
While the apostles might have found their mission exciting, and saw things happening, it may not be the same for us.
The anxieties and worries of life have taken their toll on us physically, and we yearn for a good rest in the comfort of our beds.
But more than just physical rest, what we really yearn for is that our hearts are at rest. In other words, our hearts need to rest in peace.
When our hearts are not rested in peace, then physically we will be always feeling tired and drained out and even burnt-out.
That was why the crowds were looking for Jesus. They had a need – it could be looking for a cure from some illness, or being disturbed by evil, or being oppressed or harassed.
Physically they were worn out by anxieties and worries. Spiritually they were burning out of hope and wearing out thin on faith.
When Jesus saw the crowds, He didn’t have the heart to turn the boat around and look for another place. Rather, He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and He set Himself to teach them at some length.
Jesus wanted to teach the crowds that besides physical and material needs, there are also spiritual needs. As much as the body needs to rest, the heart also needs to be at rest. When the heart is at rest, then that will make a difference in our lives.
The following poem will express what this difference is about:
I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn't have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
I wondered, "Why doesn't God help me?".
He answered, "You didn't ask."
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me.
He said, "But you didn't seek."
I tried to come into God's presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My child, you didn't knock."
I woke up early this morning,
and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.
Well, RIP can stand for “Rest In Peace”, or “Rest If Possible”, or “Ripped Into Pieces’, but when we take time to “Rest In Prayer” then we will truly be at peace.
And what a wonderful rest it will be for our lives.
We know what the letters RIP stands for. It is often engraved on tombstones and on niches. Of course in that context, it stands for “Rest in Peace”.
So it seems that only those who have passed on, those who have died, only they are entitled to rest in peace.
But for the living, and that is all of us, we also would like to “RIP”, but our “RIP” is in another sense, and that is “Rest If Possible”.
Especially in a dense and urban city like Singapore, we are plagued with not enough time and not enough rest, and our tagline is “busy busy busy”.
In fact, we can be so busy that RIP can also mean “Ripped Into Pieces”.
So even when we are in the toilet (the toilet is sometimes called the restroom), it may not be that we can do whatever in peace. Because someone will come along and knock on the door and say things like “Are you still in there? Can you hurry up?” Especially when it’s rush hour.
As we read the gospel, the sentence that will appeal to us is probably what Jesus said to His disciples “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.”
Oh, how we yearn for that! Oh yes, how we wish we could leave everything behind and don’t have to worry about anything, and just eat and sleep and rest. And of course not forgetting to bring along our mobile devices and battery chargers.
Jesus said that to His apostles because He had sent them out to preach repentance, cure the sick and to cast out devils. And they came back and told Him all they had done and taught. They saw how the authority that Jesus gave them had worked wonders and they probably wanted to go on and on.
But here is where Jesus told them to stop, to come away to some lonely place and rest. In other words, Jesus wanted them to stop, rest and pray.
Because the temptation here would be to go on and on, spinning faster and faster, and getting all heated up and then end up being burnt-out.
Jesus also wanted to remind His apostles that rest and prayer are critical because without Him they can do nothing.
Jesus used a rather interesting phrase in what He said to the apostles. He told them to “come away”. It is a rather strange way to use those two words. Usually it would be to “go away” or “come here”. But “come away”?
So Jesus is telling His apostles to “come away” from all their busyness and to come to Him. And here we will recall in Mathew 11:28, Jesus said: Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.
While the apostles might have found their mission exciting, and saw things happening, it may not be the same for us.
The anxieties and worries of life have taken their toll on us physically, and we yearn for a good rest in the comfort of our beds.
But more than just physical rest, what we really yearn for is that our hearts are at rest. In other words, our hearts need to rest in peace.
When our hearts are not rested in peace, then physically we will be always feeling tired and drained out and even burnt-out.
That was why the crowds were looking for Jesus. They had a need – it could be looking for a cure from some illness, or being disturbed by evil, or being oppressed or harassed.
Physically they were worn out by anxieties and worries. Spiritually they were burning out of hope and wearing out thin on faith.
When Jesus saw the crowds, He didn’t have the heart to turn the boat around and look for another place. Rather, He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and He set Himself to teach them at some length.
Jesus wanted to teach the crowds that besides physical and material needs, there are also spiritual needs. As much as the body needs to rest, the heart also needs to be at rest. When the heart is at rest, then that will make a difference in our lives.
The following poem will express what this difference is about:
I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn't have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
I wondered, "Why doesn't God help me?".
He answered, "You didn't ask."
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me.
He said, "But you didn't seek."
I tried to come into God's presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My child, you didn't knock."
I woke up early this morning,
and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.
Well, RIP can stand for “Rest In Peace”, or “Rest If Possible”, or “Ripped Into Pieces’, but when we take time to “Rest In Prayer” then we will truly be at peace.
And what a wonderful rest it will be for our lives.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
15th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 15.07.2018
Amos 7:12-15 / Ephesians 1:3-14 / Mark 6:7-13
Some people say that football is an amazing game. For those of us who love to watch football or play the game, we will certainly agree.
But for some people, football is an amusing game. It is amusing because there are 22 people on a pitch chasing after a ball, and when the ball goes into the net, they will celebrate it by jumping all over each other, though some will despair.
But whether it is amazing or amusing, the World Cup 2018 will reach its climax with the final match tonight (15th July). It will be between France and Croatia, and one of them will lift the trophy as the World Cup champions.
Since last week when France and Croatia emerged as the finalists, the tagline is “France vs Croatia”.
Maybe it is just a manner of speech; it’s easier to say France vs Croatia than to say Croatia vs France, but maybe it also reveals who is the favourite and who is the underdog.
France is more well-known in every aspect, from French loaf to blue cheese, and even the national team is known as “Les Blues”. They have won the World Cup once, in 1998, a few other trophies.
On the other hand, Croatia, only after checking the map, then we know that it is a small country in central Europe.
They had no World Cup championship honours, and it is the first time that they are in the World Cup finals. Probably the only other thing is that most Croatian names end with “ic”. Just look at the names of the Croatian footballers and you will know what I mean:
Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mario Mandžukić, Ivan Perišić, Nikola Kalinić, Mateo Kovačić, Danijel Subašić, etc.
And not just the footballers, the name of the coach also ends with “ic”. By the way his name is Zlatko Dalic.
Most of the time, football is about fame and fortune and religion has hardly any part in it. But with Z. Dalic, and maybe unintentionally, a bit of religion is put into the game.
Z. Dalic spoke about his faith on the Croatian Catholic radio when World Cup began. (85% of Croatia’s population is Catholic).
He said that his current success is due to his faith in God and that he always carries a rosary to hold on to in difficult times.
He said this: Everything I have in my life and in my profession and career, I owe it to my faith and I am grateful to my Lord.
He added: I am happy with my life, but without strong faith and that motivation, it would be very difficult to achieve it.
He continued: When a man loses hope, then he must depend on our merciful God and on our faith.
In a game that is often associated with popularity and money, it is quite rarely that we find an element of faith and religiosity.
But Z. Dalic is certainly not embarrassed about it nor is he silent about his faith in the game of football.
But that was also what Jesus summoned His disciples to do. He sent them forth giving them authority over unclean spirits and they set off to preach repentance. They cast out devils and cured the sick.
So repentance is about turning back to God, and repentance is about reclaiming our faith in the various aspects of life.
Because the excitement and the anxieties of life can have the power to subdue our faith and we just continue aimlessly in life without God and without faith.
So repentance is about reclaiming our faith in the midst of life so that God can manifest His presence through our faith and bring about healing and cleanse the world of evil.
Last week, the attention was on which football teams will reach the World Cup finals. But there was also attention on another football team, but it was how to reach them and rescue them.
The “Wild Boars” football team of 12 boys and their coach were trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand with rising flood waters, and that made it very difficult to rescue them.
But finally all were rescued. Thanks be to God. The coach said that in the midst of cold and hunger, he taught the boys meditation and that helped them to stay together with hope. Now, that is a religious dimension in the whole rescue operations.
And that might make us recall that in 2010, in the country of Chile, 33 miners were trapped for 69 days when the mine collapsed. They too prayed together, and the Pope then, Pope Benedict XVI sent them rosaries that he blessed.
Obstacles and impossibilities gave way to the power of prayer. The dates were also significant. The mine collapsed on 5th August, the day of the dedication of the Cathedral of St. Mary Major in Rome. The last miner was rescued on the 13th October, the anniversary of the last apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. Again we saw the powerful religious dimension of faith in the rescue operation.
This dimension of faith in our ordinary life can be powerfully brought out by the act of repentance. Repentance is about turning back to God, repentance is about reclaiming our faith so that God can work wonders.
For the Croatian coach Z. Dalic, it may mean clutching his rosary for 90 minutes this evening. And that’s just for the World Cup.
We too, must clutch our rosaries and pray that God will bring about healing and cleansing for ourselves and for the world. That is what repentance is about, and it is a powerful religious dimension of faith, and our world needs to see it.
Some people say that football is an amazing game. For those of us who love to watch football or play the game, we will certainly agree.
But for some people, football is an amusing game. It is amusing because there are 22 people on a pitch chasing after a ball, and when the ball goes into the net, they will celebrate it by jumping all over each other, though some will despair.
But whether it is amazing or amusing, the World Cup 2018 will reach its climax with the final match tonight (15th July). It will be between France and Croatia, and one of them will lift the trophy as the World Cup champions.
Since last week when France and Croatia emerged as the finalists, the tagline is “France vs Croatia”.
Maybe it is just a manner of speech; it’s easier to say France vs Croatia than to say Croatia vs France, but maybe it also reveals who is the favourite and who is the underdog.
France is more well-known in every aspect, from French loaf to blue cheese, and even the national team is known as “Les Blues”. They have won the World Cup once, in 1998, a few other trophies.
On the other hand, Croatia, only after checking the map, then we know that it is a small country in central Europe.
They had no World Cup championship honours, and it is the first time that they are in the World Cup finals. Probably the only other thing is that most Croatian names end with “ic”. Just look at the names of the Croatian footballers and you will know what I mean:
Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mario Mandžukić, Ivan Perišić, Nikola Kalinić, Mateo Kovačić, Danijel Subašić, etc.
And not just the footballers, the name of the coach also ends with “ic”. By the way his name is Zlatko Dalic.
Most of the time, football is about fame and fortune and religion has hardly any part in it. But with Z. Dalic, and maybe unintentionally, a bit of religion is put into the game.
Z. Dalic spoke about his faith on the Croatian Catholic radio when World Cup began. (85% of Croatia’s population is Catholic).
He said that his current success is due to his faith in God and that he always carries a rosary to hold on to in difficult times.
He said this: Everything I have in my life and in my profession and career, I owe it to my faith and I am grateful to my Lord.
He added: I am happy with my life, but without strong faith and that motivation, it would be very difficult to achieve it.
He continued: When a man loses hope, then he must depend on our merciful God and on our faith.
In a game that is often associated with popularity and money, it is quite rarely that we find an element of faith and religiosity.
But Z. Dalic is certainly not embarrassed about it nor is he silent about his faith in the game of football.
But that was also what Jesus summoned His disciples to do. He sent them forth giving them authority over unclean spirits and they set off to preach repentance. They cast out devils and cured the sick.
So repentance is about turning back to God, and repentance is about reclaiming our faith in the various aspects of life.
Because the excitement and the anxieties of life can have the power to subdue our faith and we just continue aimlessly in life without God and without faith.
So repentance is about reclaiming our faith in the midst of life so that God can manifest His presence through our faith and bring about healing and cleanse the world of evil.
Last week, the attention was on which football teams will reach the World Cup finals. But there was also attention on another football team, but it was how to reach them and rescue them.
The “Wild Boars” football team of 12 boys and their coach were trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand with rising flood waters, and that made it very difficult to rescue them.
But finally all were rescued. Thanks be to God. The coach said that in the midst of cold and hunger, he taught the boys meditation and that helped them to stay together with hope. Now, that is a religious dimension in the whole rescue operations.
And that might make us recall that in 2010, in the country of Chile, 33 miners were trapped for 69 days when the mine collapsed. They too prayed together, and the Pope then, Pope Benedict XVI sent them rosaries that he blessed.
Obstacles and impossibilities gave way to the power of prayer. The dates were also significant. The mine collapsed on 5th August, the day of the dedication of the Cathedral of St. Mary Major in Rome. The last miner was rescued on the 13th October, the anniversary of the last apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. Again we saw the powerful religious dimension of faith in the rescue operation.
This dimension of faith in our ordinary life can be powerfully brought out by the act of repentance. Repentance is about turning back to God, repentance is about reclaiming our faith so that God can work wonders.
For the Croatian coach Z. Dalic, it may mean clutching his rosary for 90 minutes this evening. And that’s just for the World Cup.
We too, must clutch our rosaries and pray that God will bring about healing and cleansing for ourselves and for the world. That is what repentance is about, and it is a powerful religious dimension of faith, and our world needs to see it.
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