1st Sunday of Advent, Year C, 28.11.2021

 Jeremiah 33:14-16 / 1 Thess 3:12 – 4:2 / Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

One of the easily available nutritious tropical fruit is the humble papaya. 

The papaya has a sweet taste and a vibrant colour and the wide variety of health benefits make the papaya a popular fruit. 

It is available at most times of the year and it is also not that expensive. In fact, it may be called a budget fruit. 

And it can be eaten in many ways. It can be sliced up and refreshing to eat when it is chilled. It can be added to salads, or blended into smoothies, or for toppings on the ice cream, or even added into soup. 

The nutrients found in the papaya are thought to have a range of health benefits, and may help to protect against a number of health conditions. 

But of course, having said all that, as in everything that is good and beneficial, it has to be eaten in moderation. 

What is usually done when we want to eat the papaya, is to cut it up and the roundish black seeds are removed and discarded. 

But here is where we might just want to take a moment to do a reflection. 

The seeds, unlike the skin of the papaya, is not useless just because we don't consume them. 

In fact, each seed, if planted and nurtured, has the potential to germinate and grow into a tree and bear fruit. 

So, each seed is a sign of life, and it is up to us whether we want to do something about it. 

In the gospel, Jesus talked about signs when He said that there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. He goes on to give a disturbing and terrifying picture of what might seem to be the end times. 

But Jesus also added by saying that it is in those times that the Son of Man will come in a cloud with power and great glory. 

With that, Jesus tells us what we should do for now, and that is to watch ourselves, or our hearts will be coarsened with the unimportant things of life. 

Jesus ends off by urging us to stay awake, praying at all times and to stand in confidence. 

Yes, we have to watch ourselves and stay awake and keep our hearts from being coarsened and hardened by the cares of this world, and ignoring the signs that God is showing us. 

As we begin the season of Advent, we light the first candle of the Advent wreath. This first Sunday of Advent marks a new beginning in the liturgical life of the church. 

The lighted candle is a sign for us to reflect deeper about life, so that we can see more signs that are pointing to life and love. 

There is this story of a traveller who came upon an empty plot of land. He noticed an elderly man walking about in the barren land with a metal pipe in his hand. 

As he walked around, he would stop now and then to poke the metal pipe into the ground and then he would drop a seed from the other end of the pipe. 

The traveller was curious and asked the elderly man what he was doing. The man replied, “When I came into this world, there were fruit trees and I enjoyed the fruits that others before me had planted. I want to do the same, so that the next generation can have fruits to enjoy.” 

So, the next time when we cut up a papaya, let us take a moment to look at the seeds. 

We may know the number of seeds in a papaya, but only God knows the number of papayas there can be in a seed. 

The signs that God wants us to look at are not in the sun or moon or stars. 

God wants us to look at the signs in the people that we encounter. 

God wants us to see that in each person, there is a potential to bear fruits of life and love. 

When we can see that, then the season of Advent would prepare us for a joyful celebration of life and love.

Christ the King, Year B, 21.11.2021

 Daniel 7:13-14 / Apocalypse 1:5-8 / John 18:33-37

Whenever the word courage is mentioned, there is usually something inspirational that comes along with it. 

The meaning of courage is the ability to do something that is frightening, and that ability may come all of a sudden, or after a decision. 

So, it can be something like running into a burning building to save people, or having that strength in the face of pain or suffering. 

It can be anything as dramatic as a battle scenario where the outnumbered soldiers held the line against the onslaught of an overpowering enemy. 

Or it can be as quiet as a candle in the wind, holding on to its flame. 

These are inspiring images of courage, and often it is in a time of crisis that courage is put to the test. 

Hence, it is said that crisis does not build character. It only brings out the character. 

Another example of courage is to speak out against a powerful person or organisation. 

Quite often, it is only when the person or organization is no more in power or disposed of power, that criticisms come out against that person or organization. 

But it takes real courage to speak out against a powerful person or organisation, and knowing that there will be serious consequences for doing so. 

In the gospel passage, there are just two characters, Jesus and Pilate. Pilate was the one in power and he interrogated Jesus with the first question: Are you the king of the Jews? 

It was a question of curiosity. Pilate was curious as to why others called Jesus the King of the Jews. 

Jesus addressed Pilate’s curiosity and also answered Pilate’s question. 

But Pilate was not prepared for the answer that Jesus gave, that He is a king, He was born for this, He came into the world for this, to bear witness to the Truth, and all who are on the side of Truth listen to His voice. 

That reply of Jesus threw Pilate into a confusion. Pilate thought he was in control but now he was confused. 

Pilot was curious to know who Jesus is, and maybe to learn more about Him and to understand why Jesus was handed over to him. 

It takes curiosity to learn. 

And it takes courage to unlearn. 

Learning requires the humility to admit what we don't know today. 

Unlearning requires the courage to admit that we were wrong yesterday. 

Learning is how we evolve. Unlearning is how we keep up as the world and the people around us evolve. 

We may not be powerful in terms of might and strength, but pride is a powerful force that blocks out what we don't want to see and hear. 

If pride and might are the obstacles that we have put up as our security blocks against others, then humility and courage is what we must pray for if we want to be truly human. 

Deep within us, we want to be loving, kind, compassionate, forgiving, patient, gentle and also courageous. 

If we truly acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and King, then we will want to be humble and learn to live as a human being who carries the image of God within. 

Let us also ask Jesus our Lord and King for the courage to change, and to be that person who lives in truth and in love.

33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 14.11.2021

  Daniel 12:1-3 / Hebrews 10:11-14, 18 / Mark 13:24-32

There are a few ways to make it known to others that we are in need of help. 

The most obvious way is to call out for help, or if it is a desperate and urgent case, then it will be to cry out for help. 

Another way is to write, or text a request for help, but that is usually done when help is not required urgently or immediately. 

There can be situations where help is required desperately, but it cannot be communicated verbally and the written form may not be quite enough to obtain the desired response. 

Just a couple of days ago, there was an article in the newspapers with this caption: “Teach children hand signals to seek help if they face abuse as Covid-19 curbs limit social interactions.” 

The article covered a symposium held a few days ago about child abuse. It said that Singapore recorded the highest number of child abuse cases in a decade last year. 

The pandemic has made it harder for children who are victims of abuse to seek help, as home-based learning and more time stuck at home have limited their social interactions. 

Hence it is more important now than before to let children know about non-verbal ways to ask for help. 

So now, there is a campaign to adopt a hand signal as a non-verbal way that victims can use to get help. 

That hand signal is done by first showing one hand, and then tucking the thumb into the palm, and then holding the other four fingers down over the thumb. 

This signal will be a way to seek help for those, whether children or adults, who cannot safely express their need for help verbally. 

When we listen to what Jesus said in the gospel, we would imagine that it was a frightening time. 

There is distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness and the stars will fall from heaven. 

With those terrifying signs, we would certainly cry out for help. 

And the consolation is that Jesus promised that He will come with great power and glory, and that He will send the angels to gather His chosen from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven. 

But as for that day or hour, we don't know when, and nobody knows it too.

But we don't have to wait for that day or hour to come and then ask for help. 

Now is the time to prepare for it and learn how to ask for help. Of course, we will ask for help in our prayer, and we are able to verbalize our intentions with words and we can also write down our petitions. 

But we have to prepare for a time when darkness clouds our minds and the distress overwhelms our hearts and no words of prayer come out of our mouths. 

That happens when grief and fear leave us paralyzed and we felt like we are frozen. 

Yet it is interesting to note of the several ways of non-verbal prayer, like kneeling and clasping hands in a prayer posture, or stretching out our hands to the One who has the power to save us. 

The most profound act of faith and prayer is when we come forward to receive Holy Communion. 

With one hand over the other, we receive the Body of Christ. Other than saying “Amen”, no other words are necessary as we received Jesus into our hearts, and there He makes His home in us. 

Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus will always come and stay. 

We just have to stretch out our hands and say “Amen”. 

That is all that is needed for us to profess that Jesus is our Saviour, and He will come to help us and save us.

32nd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 07.11.2021

 1 Kings 17:10-16 / Hebrews 9:24-28 / Mark 12:38-44

One of the annoying and disappointing things to read is the notice with the words “out of stock”, and it is usually written in red capital letters. 

And that is usually applied to things that are popular, or even needed, and it is like on almost everyone's “must get” list. 

So, when a new handphone model is available, quite quickly it will go out of stock. Well, that can be expected as there is always this craze for new feature-filled gadgets. 

But there are also other things that can go out of stock that leaves us quite puzzled. 

For example, about a year ago, toilet rolls can go out of stock, and there were pictures circulating around of some people with shopping trolleys that are stacked with packets of toilet rolls. 

It seems funny now, but no one was laughing then, and it left us bewildered and frustrated. 

It was also around that time when the shelves of the supermarkets were cleaned out of dried and canned food. There was no need to even put the sign “out of stock”. It was obvious enough. 

At that time, a few other things were also out of stock, like face masks and handheld thermometers. But that is in good supply now. 

Currently, one of the must-have items is the Covid self-test kit. Let us hope that that will not go out of stock. 

But seriously, even if certain things can really go out of stock for a while, yet it must also be remembered that there is enough for everyone's need but never enough for everyone's greed. 

Greed comes from selfishness, and that is essentially a lack of consideration for other people, and concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure. 

And selfishness manifest itself most obviously in a time of need, when everyone just wants to think of themselves. 

In the 1st reading, the situation was that there was a famine and food was scarce. 

When the prophet Elijah asked the widow for some bread, she was already at her last meal and then she and her son will just wait for starvation to overcome them. 

But Elijah assured her that God will provide, and so out of her last meagre meal came forth a miracle. 

But the widow in the gospel passage did not have such an assurance. 

Jesus observed that the two small coins that she put in was all she had, all she had to live on. 

There was no further mention of that widow, or where, or when she would get her next meal. 

But we believe that God will provide for her, just as God had provided for the widow and her son in the 1st reading. 

The gospel message for us is that God sees our actions and knows our motives. 

When we give in to greed and selfishness, the world will be poorer, hungrier and sadder. 

But it doesn't have to be like that. In fact, we can change that. 

It calls for us to have faith In God's providence, that He will give us what we need, because He cares for us. 

Yes, God cares for us and He is calling us to care for others by sharing our resources with those in need. 

There is always enough for everyone's need but never enough for everyone's greed. 

The widow in the 1st reading with her last meal, and the widow in the gospel passage with her last two coins, have shown us this truth: 

When we are down to nothing, God will come up with something. 

Let us believe that, and God's miracles of generosity and providence will be shown to the world.

31st Ordinary Sunday, 31.10.2021

 Deut 6:2-6 / Hebrews 7:23-28 / Mark 12:28-34

As the month of October comes to a close, it may seem that this month has been a rather long month. 

There were a few things that weighed us down and we may feel that the going is rather heavy. 

The exams are ongoing and certainly the students and their parents are anxiously waiting for it to end. 

Then the “Stabilizing Phase” has been extended for another month, and we sigh and we can forget about trying to predict how things will turn out. 

And then last weekend, our church has to close and suspend Masses because of a Covid positive case, but thank God we are cleared for this weekend. 

All these are like “knee-jerkers” in that we want to go on but we had to jam the brakes and then start picking up again. 

If October seems long and heavy, then November may be the silver lining in the dark clouds. 

Next Thursday is a public holiday so that is something to be happy about. 

And then on Monday is All Saints Day, a day to remember our favourite Saints and to ask them to pray for us. 

And if we ever had that privilege of encountering a Saint, then it is truly a blessing. 

We may remember that Pope John Paul II visited Singapore in 1986 (November 20th 1986) and he is now a Saint. 

Mother Teresa also visited Singapore in 1987. If we had a personal encounter with those two Saints, it would have been a life-changing event. 

That brings us to the next day which is All Souls Day, and we remember our departed loved ones. They too had made a mark in our lives and we will surely remember them. 

Whether it is a personal encounter with a saint or a fond memory of the departed, we remember with love, and it makes us turn to God who is the source of all love. 

In the gospel, Jesus states the two great Commandments, and the first is this: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. 

And the second is this, that you must love your neighbour as yourself. 

These two Commandments complement each other. They are like the two sides of the same coin. 

To love God is to love neighbour. To love God whom we can’t see is to love our neighbour whom we can see.

A religious nun was writing about her vocation story and she recalled a childhood experience that probably planted the seed for her vocation. She wrote: 

I never liked Tracy, though she lived two doors from me, and she is about my age. I thought she looked funny and strange (later I came to know that she has “Downs Syndrome”). I never liked to talk to her, much less play with her.  

One day, my mum invited her and her mother over for lunch. My mother made me sit directly across the table to Tracy. I frowned and showed my displeasure but my mum glared at me and she was not going to change the seating arrangement.

I sulked over my lunch. After lunch came the dessert which is mango pie, which was my favourite. My elder brother knew that I was sulking and to taunt me further, took a double share of the pies. There was a piece for everyone at table, no more, no less.

When the tray of pies was handed to Tracy, there was only one piece left and it was obviously for her. Tracy looked around the table and she looked at my empty plate. And then she passed the tray with that last piece of mango pie to me and said only two words, “You take”.

I felt terrible then, but I took it. But something in me made me cut that piece of pie into half and I gave one half to Tracy.

When I did that, something strange happened to me. Tracy didn’t look funny anymore, neither did she look strange. She has become my friend. That was one of my early experiences of love for neighbour.

It is a nice and heartwarming story that tells us that when we love our neighbor, God’s love will grow greater in us. Yes, love for God and love for neighbor are the two sides of the same coin.

Our departed loved ones may bring back fond memories for us. We will also remember those moments when we could have loved them more but we were either too busy or in a hurry. 

Those phone calls from our parents, especially from our mothers, are moments that they want to tell us that they care for us. 

But our conversations with them are often brief and hurried, and we will recall those moments when we cut it short by saying, “Sorry Mum, but I am busy now. I have to go.” 

We remember now, how our mothers would have felt, especially when they have passed on. 

But whether it is our mothers, or fathers or neighbours, let it be written in our hearts that we must love them. 

How we love on Earth will be echoed in heaven. 

Let us remember that nothing is as important as loving God in our neighbour.

When we do that, Jesus will tell us that we are not far from the kingdom of God.

Mission Sunday, Year B, 24.10.2021

 Isaiah 2:1-5 / Ephesians 3:2-12 / Mark 16:15-20

There are a few important days in our lives that are significant and hold special meanings for us. 

There are, for example, birthdays and anniversaries. Those days bring back memories, and make us think about the way we were then, and the way we are now. 

It is said that there are two important and significant days in our lives. The first is the day when we were born, and the other is when we find out why. 

Certainly, we will remember our birthdays, and we will celebrate our birthdays, whether publicly or privately. 

That day has a fixed date, month and year, so in that sense it is unchangeable. And that day holds memories for us and we may also have photographs with our loved ones and friends. 

The other important and significant day, is the day that we find out why we are here in this world, and that may not have a fixed date, but we would certainly have an experience and an enlightenment. 

So, it would be good to think about and recall if we ever had such a day, or a few such days, when we become aware of the meaning of our existence. 

Today as the Church celebrates Mission Sunday, we are called to reflect upon the meaning of our lives as Christians. 

It all began with our baptism, and it would certainly be good to know the date of our baptism and where we were baptised. 

Jesus said in the gospel that he who believes and is baptized will be saved. So, it means to say that since we are baptized, then we are saved. But it may not be as simple as it sounds. 

We are called to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the world. And that is where the challenge comes in. 

To do that means that we believe in Jesus Christ Our Saviour, and we also know the meaning of our lives as Christians. 

For the disciples of Jesus, they knew what they were supposed to do. They will have the gift of tongues, they will pick up snakes in their hands, be unharmed should they drink deadly poison, they will lay their hands on the sick who will recover. 

And so, they went out to the whole world, preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that accompanied it. 

It was an experience for the disciples, and with each experience, the meaning and conviction of their lives as Christians deepened. That was what Christianity meant for the disciples. 

So, what does Christianity and our baptism mean for us? 

Generally speaking, we were baptized with water. So, what does the waters of baptism mean to us?

A story goes that a lady went to the priest and said, "I won’t be attending church anymore."

He said, "May I ask why??"

She said, "I see people on their cell phones during the service, some are gossiping, some just not living right, they are all just hypocrites."

The priest thought for a while and he said, "Ok... But can I ask you to do something for me before you make your final decision?"

She said, "What’s that?"

He said, "Take a glass of water and walk around the church two times and don’t let any water fall out the glass."

She said, "Yes I can do that."

She came back and said "It’s done."

He asked her three questions:

1. Did you see anybody on their phone?

2. Did you see anybody gossiping?

3. Was anybody living wrong?

She said, "I didn’t see anything because I was so focused on this glass, so the water wouldn’t fall."

He told her, "When you come to Church, you should be just that focused on God , so that you don’t fall.”

Yes, we come to church to focus on God and to renew our baptismal commitment to God. 

Each of us is like holding a glass of water and we are called to share that water with others, because it is the waters of salvation that brings about healing and forgiveness. 

Some may use the waters to wash their hands, some may use it to wash their face to look refreshed, some may use the waters to wash their eyes so that they can see what they need to see, and then some will use it to wash their lives in order to experience salvation and healing. 

Whatever it may be, we hold that glass of water, the water of salvation, the water of baptism, and we give it to others for them to find out the meaning of their existence, and may they also come to know who is their Saviour. 

Let us also renew our baptismal commitment Jesus, and may our lives be refreshed with living water. 

Then let us go forth to share that living water, and the Lord Jesus will work with us, and we will see the signs that will deepen the meaning of our lives as Christians.

29th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 17.10.2021

 Isaiah 53:10-11 / Hebrews 4:14-16 / Mark 10:35-45

By a simple definition, Christians are disciples of Jesus. And connected to that, Christians are a people of prayer. 

The Church is often called a House of Prayer. At the same time, Christians gathered and united in prayer are also called the Church. 

So, whether we are called Church or Christians, the fundamental denominator is prayer. 

So, as Church and as Christians, what is it that we do at prayer? There are four movements in prayer and it can be expressed in the acronym ACTS. 

A is for adoration - We praise and worship the Lord our God. 

C is for contrition - We confess our guilt and ask for forgiveness. 

T is for thanksgiving - We give thanks to God for His blessings and we also want to see everything as a blessing. 

S is for supplication - We offer our needs and petitions to the Lord. 

So, when we pray and when we follow that format of the acronym ACTS, then our prayer will be focused and directed towards God. 

But when we have urgent and pressing needs, then we tend to forget that ACTS format and go straight to supplication. 

Undoubtedly, when our needs are urgent, then our needs would come first and we “storm heaven” for our needs. 

But the acronym ACTS reminds us of the first things first, and that is Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication. 

In the gospel, we heard of James and John approaching Jesus and saying, “Master, we want you to do us a favor.” So James and John jumped straight into a request or petition. 

When Jesus asked them what was it that they wanted, they asked to be seated in glory at His right and left. 

And Jesus told them this: You do not know what you are asking. 

In other words, Jesus is telling James and John that what they are asking for is only for themselves and not for the good of others. 

And that also made the others feel indignant with James and John. 

But Jesus also went on to teach His disciples what to pray for, and that is, to be a servant for others. 

Because He Himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to even give His life as a ransom for many. 

And as disciples of Jesus, we the Church, will have to follow our Master, and to offer our prayers for others and our lives in service of others. 

This weekend, the local Churches all over the world, celebrate the inauguration of the Synod that was begun by Pope Francis in Rome last weekend. 

There is this phrase, “to keep an ear to the ground”. If we remember watching those old western movies, the Native Americans would go down on their hands and knees and put their ears to the ground to listen for movements in the area. 

In a sense, the Synod is a process in which the whole Church goes down on her hands and knees and listen the voices on the ground. 

But the Church can only listen clearly when her knees are knelt in prayer and her hands reach out in humble service to the poor and the lowly. 

So, in our prayer, we put aside our needs and we pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance in the Synod process, and also for those in need of God's help. 

That is also our service to others. When we pray for others in their need, God will also grant us what we need. 

When we do God's work, God will also help us to accomplish our own work.

As the Church and as disciples of Jesus, let us fulfil our calling as Christians. 

Let us lead the world in adoration of the one true God. 

Let us acknowledge that we are sinners and we pray for the conversion of sinners. 

Let us give thanks always for God's blessings so that we can be humble and grateful. 

Let that be our prayer and God will help us to take care of the rest.