Wisdom 7:7-11 / Hebrews 4:12-13 / Mark 10:17-30
Whenever the word “freedom” is mentioned, many ideas of freedom will start to arise.
- Students want freedom from exams (maybe the parents too)
- Prisoners want freedom from the jail
- Teenagers want freedom from their parents
There are more than enough examples that say the same thing, and that is, people want freedom from restrictions, or freedom without restrictions.
But can there really be freedom without restrictions? And can there really be freedom from restrictions?
There can be freedom of speech, but can we say whatever we like? In fact, freedom of speech can reveal who are the fools and who are those are wise.
Modern people like to think of freedom as the complete absence of any constraints or restrictions. But let us think of the fish. The fish absorbs oxygen from the water, not from the air.
If the fish wants to be “freed” from the water, and go on the land to explore the freedom there, then it will surely not be able to live. It will die.
So freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions, but to understand the right restrictions, those that help us to grow and to be joyful persons.
In a way, it can be said that the rich man in the gospel was searching for freedom and the joy of life.
He ran up to Jesus (that showed how earnest he was) and knelt before Him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Eternal life can be understood in many ways, but primarily it is a life of peace and joy, the kind of life that we can even live here on earth, so that we can have a foretaste of what eternal life is about.
The rich man told Jesus that he had done whatever he could but he was still not satisfied. Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him. And then He gave him this direction: to sell off everything he owned and give the money to the poor.
Jesus promised him an eternal treasure in heaven, and then he will have the freedom to follow Him.
But at this, the man’s face fell and he went away sad for he was a man of great wealth. He wanted to do more, but he couldn't live with less. His great wealth was also his great restriction.
We may not have great wealth, but we surely have possessions. More than just material possessions, we have our ambitions, our obsessions, our compulsions, our desires.
These can be our restrictions and if we can understand this, and control them, then we will have the freedom to live joyful and peaceful lives.
Back to the fish and here is a story about fishing.
A man was fishing by the river. He had been fishing for a few hours under the hot sun and had a few beers. Soon, he dozed off.
Suddenly, there was a strong tug at the end of his fishing line. A big fish had taken a bite and was hooked to his line. The sudden tug woke the man up and in his confusion, he lost his balance and fell into the water. The man struggled in the water, with the fishing rod in his hand and the fish still hooked to his line.
A boy who was strolling by the river with his father, was bewildered by the strange sight of the man and the fish both struggling in the water. He turned to his father and asked, “Daddy, is the man catching the fish or is the fish catching him?”
Yes, what are we catching? Or putting the question in another way – what is catching us? Usually what we possess can in turn possess us.
Today, at St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis will canonize Pope Paul VI, and also Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador.
Pope Paul VI died of a natural death but Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot to death by a single bullet to the heart when he was celebrating Mass.
Archbishop Oscar Romero served during a time of intense political turmoil and religious persecution in the country. He spoke out against the injustice, corruption and crimes of violence of the government.
Although he received death threats, he continued persistently to speak with the voice of God.
He even said this: If they succeed in killing me, I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realise they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the Church of God, which is the People of God, will never perish.
And with that his life came to an end on 24 March 1980, which is the eve of the feast of the Annunciation.
Archbishop Oscar Romero may not possess much, but even the life he had, he gave it up courageously. And he is rewarded with eternal life.
His message still persists even in our times, with those words: Hopefully, they will realise that they are wasting their time.
Well, hopefully, we will not be wasting our time thinking too much about our possessions or what we possess.
Let us ask the Lord to grant us the wisdom to know what true freedom is and to let go of what is restricting us from that freedom.
As the 1st reading puts it: I prayed and understanding was given to me. I entreated, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
May the spirit of Wisdom lead us to true freedom so that we can be witnesses of a joyful and peaceful life, and also be witnesses of the eternal life.
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Saturday, October 13, 2018
Saturday, October 6, 2018
27th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 07.10.2018
Genesis 2:18-24 / Hebrews 2:9-11 / Mark 10:2-16
The month of October can be called a “spiritual” month, and it is spiritually inspiring as well as spiritually exciting.
October began with the feast of St. Therese “The Little Flower” who taught us the spirituality of doing little things with great love.
Following that, is the feast of the Guardian Angels, and it is comforting to know that each of us have a “PA” – Personal Angel, to light and guard, to rule and guide us.
And then towards the end of the month is the feast of one of our favourite saints, St. Jude, the Patron Saint of desperate cases.
But besides being dotted with the feast days of great saints, the month of October has a special dedication. The Church dedicates the month of October to Our Lady under the title of “Our Lady of the Rosary”.
Today is the 7th October, and if it is not a Sunday, it would be celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
This feast has its origins in the year 1571, when on this day, the small and outnumbered Christian fleet defeated the mighty Ottoman armada at the Gulf of Lepanto, thus stopping the invasion of Europe by the Ottoman empire.
That victory was dubbed as miraculous and credited to the intercession of Our Lady, as the Pope at that time, Pope Pius V, called for a Rosary Crusade to help the Christian fleet. It was said that the Christian soldiers fought with swords on one hand and rosaries on the other.
Hence the 7th October was dedicated to Our Lady and later it became the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and then later the whole month of October became known as the Rosary Month.
It is obvious that the Church is telling us something about the power of the prayer of the Rosary. It is simple enough even for children to pray it, and at the same time, it has the depth for those who wish to deepen their spiritual life.
But as much as the Rosary is a simple prayer, at the same time, it is also one of the most difficult prayers. We cannot assume that simple equates to easy. In fact simple can be difficult and challenging.
For those of us who have prayed the Rosary, we know how difficult and challenging it can be. The simplicity can turn into monotony and a lethargy, and we begin to think that nothing is happening and we can find it boring.
But the monotony of the Rosary has a calming effect and gives our tired hearts and minds the peace and rest that we long for.
At the same time, the prayer is also slowly etched and seared into our hearts. For those of us who have prayed the Rosary long enough, we can already pray it by heart. Yes, the Rosary is already etched and seared into our hearts.
A priest was sharing his vocation story. As a cradle-Catholic, he went through Catechism classes and all that, but dropped out of Church in the late teens and early 20s. (it’s the usual case with cradle-Catholics)
He went on the wild side and was having a time of his life when he “hit the wall” and everything started to crumble with one setback after another.
Feeling lost and afraid, he decided to go back to the religion of his childhood days, and he went to a church and tried to pray. But he was just too tired and disappointed to pray.
Then he heard the Rosary being prayed and then he remembered those early years when his family prayed the Rosary every evening and he was surprised that he could still remember the prayers. Well, it was the beginnings of the stirrings that led him eventually to the priesthood.
But that was because the Rosary was already etched and seared into his heart during his childhood days.
That’s why it is so necessary to teach our children and our youth to pray the Rosary (whether they like it or not!) We must give them the means of prayer, so that in the time of crisis, they will know how to go back to God.
Some have argued that teaching young children to rattle off the prayers is nonsensical and meaningless. Well, besides the etching and searing effect of the Rosary prayer, there is another spiritual effect.
In Psalm 8, there is this verse: Your majesty is praised above the heavens; on the lips of children and of babes, You have found praise to foil Your enemy, and to silence the foe and the rebel.
Yes, the prayers of children and of babes are heard by God, and brings about blessings and protection for us when we teach them to pray the Rosary.
As Jesus said in the gospel, it is to the little children that the kingdom of God belongs.
Well, the Rosary brought about a miraculous victory in 1571; it will also do the same for us now. Not just only for us, but also for the Church and for the world.
Well, we know that the Church and the world are in quite a messy state.
That is why Pope Francis is calling for a “Special Prayer Campaign for the Church” for the whole month of October, with a great emphasis on the prayer of the Rosary.
He is calling on us to pray for the protection of the Church from the attacks of the devil, as well as for forgiveness and healing for the sins of the Church and to fight abuse.
And we also need to pray for the sanctity of marriages and for the unity of families. As Jesus said in the gospel, we need to go back to “the beginning”.
Yes, we need to go back to the beginning, back to our faith origins, and begin to pray, especially the Rosary, whether as an individual, as a family or as a community.
As Pope Francis said: This is our power; not to dominate or to cry out more loudly according to the logic of this world, but rather to exercise the gentle power of prayer.
Yes, let us begin to pray, let us pray the Rosary, and God’s protection and blessings will be upon us.
The month of October can be called a “spiritual” month, and it is spiritually inspiring as well as spiritually exciting.
October began with the feast of St. Therese “The Little Flower” who taught us the spirituality of doing little things with great love.
Following that, is the feast of the Guardian Angels, and it is comforting to know that each of us have a “PA” – Personal Angel, to light and guard, to rule and guide us.
And then towards the end of the month is the feast of one of our favourite saints, St. Jude, the Patron Saint of desperate cases.
But besides being dotted with the feast days of great saints, the month of October has a special dedication. The Church dedicates the month of October to Our Lady under the title of “Our Lady of the Rosary”.
Today is the 7th October, and if it is not a Sunday, it would be celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
This feast has its origins in the year 1571, when on this day, the small and outnumbered Christian fleet defeated the mighty Ottoman armada at the Gulf of Lepanto, thus stopping the invasion of Europe by the Ottoman empire.
That victory was dubbed as miraculous and credited to the intercession of Our Lady, as the Pope at that time, Pope Pius V, called for a Rosary Crusade to help the Christian fleet. It was said that the Christian soldiers fought with swords on one hand and rosaries on the other.
Hence the 7th October was dedicated to Our Lady and later it became the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and then later the whole month of October became known as the Rosary Month.
It is obvious that the Church is telling us something about the power of the prayer of the Rosary. It is simple enough even for children to pray it, and at the same time, it has the depth for those who wish to deepen their spiritual life.
But as much as the Rosary is a simple prayer, at the same time, it is also one of the most difficult prayers. We cannot assume that simple equates to easy. In fact simple can be difficult and challenging.
For those of us who have prayed the Rosary, we know how difficult and challenging it can be. The simplicity can turn into monotony and a lethargy, and we begin to think that nothing is happening and we can find it boring.
But the monotony of the Rosary has a calming effect and gives our tired hearts and minds the peace and rest that we long for.
At the same time, the prayer is also slowly etched and seared into our hearts. For those of us who have prayed the Rosary long enough, we can already pray it by heart. Yes, the Rosary is already etched and seared into our hearts.
A priest was sharing his vocation story. As a cradle-Catholic, he went through Catechism classes and all that, but dropped out of Church in the late teens and early 20s. (it’s the usual case with cradle-Catholics)
He went on the wild side and was having a time of his life when he “hit the wall” and everything started to crumble with one setback after another.
Feeling lost and afraid, he decided to go back to the religion of his childhood days, and he went to a church and tried to pray. But he was just too tired and disappointed to pray.
Then he heard the Rosary being prayed and then he remembered those early years when his family prayed the Rosary every evening and he was surprised that he could still remember the prayers. Well, it was the beginnings of the stirrings that led him eventually to the priesthood.
But that was because the Rosary was already etched and seared into his heart during his childhood days.
That’s why it is so necessary to teach our children and our youth to pray the Rosary (whether they like it or not!) We must give them the means of prayer, so that in the time of crisis, they will know how to go back to God.
Some have argued that teaching young children to rattle off the prayers is nonsensical and meaningless. Well, besides the etching and searing effect of the Rosary prayer, there is another spiritual effect.
In Psalm 8, there is this verse: Your majesty is praised above the heavens; on the lips of children and of babes, You have found praise to foil Your enemy, and to silence the foe and the rebel.
Yes, the prayers of children and of babes are heard by God, and brings about blessings and protection for us when we teach them to pray the Rosary.
As Jesus said in the gospel, it is to the little children that the kingdom of God belongs.
Well, the Rosary brought about a miraculous victory in 1571; it will also do the same for us now. Not just only for us, but also for the Church and for the world.
Well, we know that the Church and the world are in quite a messy state.
That is why Pope Francis is calling for a “Special Prayer Campaign for the Church” for the whole month of October, with a great emphasis on the prayer of the Rosary.
He is calling on us to pray for the protection of the Church from the attacks of the devil, as well as for forgiveness and healing for the sins of the Church and to fight abuse.
And we also need to pray for the sanctity of marriages and for the unity of families. As Jesus said in the gospel, we need to go back to “the beginning”.
Yes, we need to go back to the beginning, back to our faith origins, and begin to pray, especially the Rosary, whether as an individual, as a family or as a community.
As Pope Francis said: This is our power; not to dominate or to cry out more loudly according to the logic of this world, but rather to exercise the gentle power of prayer.
Yes, let us begin to pray, let us pray the Rosary, and God’s protection and blessings will be upon us.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
26th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 30.09.2018
Numbers 11:25-29 / James 5:1-6 / Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
The following is a short description of a comic-book superhero: he is big, he is angry, and he is green all over. Who is he? – The Incredible Hulk!
He doesn’t seem to talk. He is often growling and roaring, especially when he on the rampage against the bad guys.
Why is he green, there is of course a reason and we can find out if we wish.
But the colour green is also often associated with jealousy (green with jealousy), and again there seems to be reason for that.
Jealousy, as well as envy, are very strong emotions that can make us growl and roar and even go on a rampage. But generally it is hidden and expresses itself in deceptive ways.
A story has it that at the entrance of a boutique, an impatient looking young man approached an attractive lady and said to her, “Would you mind talking to me for a few minutes?”
“Why?” the lady asked suspiciously.
The man explained, “My wife has been in this boutique for a long time. But I know that if she sees me talking to you, she will come out immediately!”
Well, jealousy, and envy, are certainly signs of personal insecurity. But not many would admit to being jealous. Most people would think that it is about self-preservation and self-protection.
In the 1st reading, when Joshua told Moses to stop the two men from prophesying, Moses answered him: Are you jealous on my account?
Certainly Joshua was stumped by that reply from Moses. Because Moses had pointed out the jealousy in him.
More than that, the jealousy of Joshua had that ulterior motive of stopping someone from doing a good thing.
The intensity of jealousy becomes cleared in the gospel when John reported to Jesus: Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name, and because he is not one of us, we tried to stop him.
So jealousy had reared its ugly head to bite on an exclusive right to the favour of Jesus. John wanted Jesus only for himself and his own people. He is not willing to share Jesus with others.
But with that comes a teaching from Jesus as He says: You must not stop him. No one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak ill of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.
Jesus goes on to teach about those who are obstacles to the faith of others, that they would be better thrown into the sea with a millstone round the neck.
Now, that was actually a very severe punishment, because it meant that even a burial for the body was denied.
So it is obvious that jealousy is not a minor sin. Actually it is one of the seven deadly sins. The rest are pride, greed, lust, gluttony, anger and sloth.
It is a deadly sin because jealousy is an obstacle to those who have faith and want to do good for others.
But it is an obstacle as well as a stumbling block to those who want to do good because they could not understand why they are stopped or prevented from doing good. They may be given a whole load of petty reasons, but they would not be told that it was out of jealousy.
Because jealousy is a sin that would conceal and disguise itself, just as evil would conceal and disguise itself, and then ambush or sabotage people who want to do good.
So jealousy is a sin that is an obstacle and a stumbling block for others. It is a sin that we have to check ourselves on, and we have to tear out and cut off that cover of jealousy, lest we become obstacles and stumbling blocks for others.
Just as Moses asked Joshua if he was jealous, we also need to ask ourselves if we are jealous about other peoples’ good deeds or good works. Or it can even be very banal things like other people’s success, achievements, intelligence, talents, looks.
When we can address the jealousy in ourselves, then we become stepping stones for others to help them to do good for others and to help them in their journey to heaven.
Talking about stepping stones, the Primary 6 students are still having their PSLE exams. It is an exam that is like a stepping stone to their future education.
In the PSLE, the students are tested on many things that they have been taught.
PSLE stands for “Primary School Leaving Examinations”. A spiritual acronym for PSLE can be “Prayer Sanctifies Life Experiences”.
Everyone will experience jealousy now and then (hopefully not too often). So we must teach our children how to recognize the feelings of jealousy and to admit to it, and not to allow it to be an obstacle or stumbling block.
Let us teach our children to pray, so that with prayer, they can become aware of the sin of jealousy that is lurking in their hearts, and to cast it out with prayer, so that prayer will clean and sanctify their hearts and make them stepping stones for others who want to do good for others.
May we also pray and clean out the jealousy from our hearts, so that we can be a good example and be a stepping stone for our children.
That will be our PSLE.
The following is a short description of a comic-book superhero: he is big, he is angry, and he is green all over. Who is he? – The Incredible Hulk!
He doesn’t seem to talk. He is often growling and roaring, especially when he on the rampage against the bad guys.
Why is he green, there is of course a reason and we can find out if we wish.
But the colour green is also often associated with jealousy (green with jealousy), and again there seems to be reason for that.
Jealousy, as well as envy, are very strong emotions that can make us growl and roar and even go on a rampage. But generally it is hidden and expresses itself in deceptive ways.
A story has it that at the entrance of a boutique, an impatient looking young man approached an attractive lady and said to her, “Would you mind talking to me for a few minutes?”
“Why?” the lady asked suspiciously.
The man explained, “My wife has been in this boutique for a long time. But I know that if she sees me talking to you, she will come out immediately!”
Well, jealousy, and envy, are certainly signs of personal insecurity. But not many would admit to being jealous. Most people would think that it is about self-preservation and self-protection.
In the 1st reading, when Joshua told Moses to stop the two men from prophesying, Moses answered him: Are you jealous on my account?
Certainly Joshua was stumped by that reply from Moses. Because Moses had pointed out the jealousy in him.
More than that, the jealousy of Joshua had that ulterior motive of stopping someone from doing a good thing.
The intensity of jealousy becomes cleared in the gospel when John reported to Jesus: Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name, and because he is not one of us, we tried to stop him.
So jealousy had reared its ugly head to bite on an exclusive right to the favour of Jesus. John wanted Jesus only for himself and his own people. He is not willing to share Jesus with others.
But with that comes a teaching from Jesus as He says: You must not stop him. No one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak ill of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.
Jesus goes on to teach about those who are obstacles to the faith of others, that they would be better thrown into the sea with a millstone round the neck.
Now, that was actually a very severe punishment, because it meant that even a burial for the body was denied.
So it is obvious that jealousy is not a minor sin. Actually it is one of the seven deadly sins. The rest are pride, greed, lust, gluttony, anger and sloth.
It is a deadly sin because jealousy is an obstacle to those who have faith and want to do good for others.
But it is an obstacle as well as a stumbling block to those who want to do good because they could not understand why they are stopped or prevented from doing good. They may be given a whole load of petty reasons, but they would not be told that it was out of jealousy.
Because jealousy is a sin that would conceal and disguise itself, just as evil would conceal and disguise itself, and then ambush or sabotage people who want to do good.
So jealousy is a sin that is an obstacle and a stumbling block for others. It is a sin that we have to check ourselves on, and we have to tear out and cut off that cover of jealousy, lest we become obstacles and stumbling blocks for others.
Just as Moses asked Joshua if he was jealous, we also need to ask ourselves if we are jealous about other peoples’ good deeds or good works. Or it can even be very banal things like other people’s success, achievements, intelligence, talents, looks.
When we can address the jealousy in ourselves, then we become stepping stones for others to help them to do good for others and to help them in their journey to heaven.
Talking about stepping stones, the Primary 6 students are still having their PSLE exams. It is an exam that is like a stepping stone to their future education.
In the PSLE, the students are tested on many things that they have been taught.
PSLE stands for “Primary School Leaving Examinations”. A spiritual acronym for PSLE can be “Prayer Sanctifies Life Experiences”.
Everyone will experience jealousy now and then (hopefully not too often). So we must teach our children how to recognize the feelings of jealousy and to admit to it, and not to allow it to be an obstacle or stumbling block.
Let us teach our children to pray, so that with prayer, they can become aware of the sin of jealousy that is lurking in their hearts, and to cast it out with prayer, so that prayer will clean and sanctify their hearts and make them stepping stones for others who want to do good for others.
May we also pray and clean out the jealousy from our hearts, so that we can be a good example and be a stepping stone for our children.
That will be our PSLE.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
25th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 23.09.2018
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 / James 3:16 – 4:3 / Mark 9:30-37
When we were in primary school, especially in the lower primary, there were two ways to gauge our language proficiency.
One was spelling. The teacher would dictate a word or a phrase, and we would scramble to spell it out.
As we moved on, we will come to composition. The teacher would give us a topic or subject to write on, with a quota of words, and with a given time limit.
Among the many topics that are given for composition, there was a common one, and the topic was: What do I want to be when I grow up? What is my ambition?
Of course that topic was meant to help us to be imaginative and to think about our future career.
So there will be those who would say that they want to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, manager, and pilot.
The more imaginative and adventurous ones would say that they want to be a footballer, actor, singer, wrestler or even an undertaker (must be joking).
But jokes aside, nobody ever said they wanted to be the Pope, a priest, or a religious.
So it is interesting to see that even in primary school, we were already influenced and programmed to be ambitious, to be the best and nothing less, and to aim for the top.
Nothing really wrong with that actually, except that it is not just a cliché, but it is like a law in itself. Just like when it is said “When you drink, don’t drive”. It is not a cliché; it is a law.
To be the top, to be the best, that is the unwritten but understood law of survival in our society.
Right from a tender age, we are programmed to go for No. 1. Nothing wrong with that, except that it can breed some bad attitudes.
Surely, as we all know, there is only a limited place at the top.
So inevitably, there will be competition, and the 2nd reading from the letter of St. James tells us of the consequences.
St. James said: “Whenever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony and wicked things of every kind being done.”
And then he moves to something more serious: “Where do these wars and battles between yourself first start?”
And he points out: “Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves! You want something, and you haven’t got it, so you are prepared to kill, and to get your way by force.”
In a way, that was what the disciples were doing in today’s gospel. They were said to be arguing among themselves, but it encompasses jealousy, ambition and desires.
They were arguing among themselves to see which of them was the greatest. They too, like ourselves, were programmed to be ambitious, and to go for the top, even if it means pushing others aside, even if it means to step on others.
And Jesus took the opportunity of the situation to teach a lesson, a lesson of life.
A lesson in the form of a child. Putting a child in front of them, Jesus said: “Anyone who welcomes a child in my name, welcomes me.”
To welcome means to be open; to welcome means to be teachable.
A child is open and teachable. So the question is “What are we teaching our children?”
A catechist was recalling this instance when she overheard a young girl using a four-letter word (obscene).
So she thought she better have a word with her. So she said: Hey, where did you learn that word from? The girl replied: “From a movie.” “And why did you watch that movie?”
The girl replied, “My father was watching it.”
So what can we say? If we mourn about the values of the young, it is simply that we are reaping what we have sown. They are only doing what we have taught them.
The children are taught all the skills to make a living. In school, the “Primary Threes” are taught how to use power point.
But if our children are just taught how to make a living but not how to live life, then it may just be power but no point.
So what values are we teaching our children?
Children learn a lot from story-telling. So what stories are we telling our children?
Sometimes, the only stories we ever tell our children are ghost stories. But telling ghost stories only create fear in the hearts of children. And not only that, ghost stories glorify the devil. It makes the devil look powerful.
Yet, do we tell our children stories about Jesus, or stories about the saints?
Looking at the week ahead, there is the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There are many inspiring stories about them that we can share with our children.
For example, the story of St. Raphael and how he was sent by God to the young Tobias to guide him and help him along the thorny difficulties and also brought healing to the eyes of the older Tobias.
So archangels also teach us and that though they stand before the throne of God, they also walk humbly with us as our servants. In them we see what it means when Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last and servant of all.”
Let us teach our children to be like angels, so that in turn we can learn from them how to welcome Jesus.
When we were in primary school, especially in the lower primary, there were two ways to gauge our language proficiency.
One was spelling. The teacher would dictate a word or a phrase, and we would scramble to spell it out.
As we moved on, we will come to composition. The teacher would give us a topic or subject to write on, with a quota of words, and with a given time limit.
Among the many topics that are given for composition, there was a common one, and the topic was: What do I want to be when I grow up? What is my ambition?
Of course that topic was meant to help us to be imaginative and to think about our future career.
So there will be those who would say that they want to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, manager, and pilot.
The more imaginative and adventurous ones would say that they want to be a footballer, actor, singer, wrestler or even an undertaker (must be joking).
But jokes aside, nobody ever said they wanted to be the Pope, a priest, or a religious.
So it is interesting to see that even in primary school, we were already influenced and programmed to be ambitious, to be the best and nothing less, and to aim for the top.
Nothing really wrong with that actually, except that it is not just a cliché, but it is like a law in itself. Just like when it is said “When you drink, don’t drive”. It is not a cliché; it is a law.
To be the top, to be the best, that is the unwritten but understood law of survival in our society.
Right from a tender age, we are programmed to go for No. 1. Nothing wrong with that, except that it can breed some bad attitudes.
Surely, as we all know, there is only a limited place at the top.
So inevitably, there will be competition, and the 2nd reading from the letter of St. James tells us of the consequences.
St. James said: “Whenever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony and wicked things of every kind being done.”
And then he moves to something more serious: “Where do these wars and battles between yourself first start?”
And he points out: “Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves! You want something, and you haven’t got it, so you are prepared to kill, and to get your way by force.”
In a way, that was what the disciples were doing in today’s gospel. They were said to be arguing among themselves, but it encompasses jealousy, ambition and desires.
They were arguing among themselves to see which of them was the greatest. They too, like ourselves, were programmed to be ambitious, and to go for the top, even if it means pushing others aside, even if it means to step on others.
And Jesus took the opportunity of the situation to teach a lesson, a lesson of life.
A lesson in the form of a child. Putting a child in front of them, Jesus said: “Anyone who welcomes a child in my name, welcomes me.”
To welcome means to be open; to welcome means to be teachable.
A child is open and teachable. So the question is “What are we teaching our children?”
A catechist was recalling this instance when she overheard a young girl using a four-letter word (obscene).
So she thought she better have a word with her. So she said: Hey, where did you learn that word from? The girl replied: “From a movie.” “And why did you watch that movie?”
The girl replied, “My father was watching it.”
So what can we say? If we mourn about the values of the young, it is simply that we are reaping what we have sown. They are only doing what we have taught them.
The children are taught all the skills to make a living. In school, the “Primary Threes” are taught how to use power point.
But if our children are just taught how to make a living but not how to live life, then it may just be power but no point.
So what values are we teaching our children?
Children learn a lot from story-telling. So what stories are we telling our children?
Sometimes, the only stories we ever tell our children are ghost stories. But telling ghost stories only create fear in the hearts of children. And not only that, ghost stories glorify the devil. It makes the devil look powerful.
Yet, do we tell our children stories about Jesus, or stories about the saints?
Looking at the week ahead, there is the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There are many inspiring stories about them that we can share with our children.
For example, the story of St. Raphael and how he was sent by God to the young Tobias to guide him and help him along the thorny difficulties and also brought healing to the eyes of the older Tobias.
So archangels also teach us and that though they stand before the throne of God, they also walk humbly with us as our servants. In them we see what it means when Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last and servant of all.”
Let us teach our children to be like angels, so that in turn we can learn from them how to welcome Jesus.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
24th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 16.09.2018
Isaiah 50:5-9 / James 2:14-18 / Mark 8:27-35
The skyline of Singapore, as well as the landscape, has changed tremendously over the past 30 to 40 years.
Many old buildings have been torn down and big gleaming high-rise buildings now stand in their place, though some old historical buildings and sites are preserved.
But one of the places or sites that won’t be slated for preservation is the cemetery.
In Singapore where land is scarce, resting in peace is not a certainty.
But with the old cemeteries like Bidadari being reclaimed, then gone are those grand tombs, and the sentimental, and at times, enigmatic epitaphs.
At Chao Chu Kang cemetery, where there are many grand tombs, there was an enigmatic epitaph on a tomb. Formed by mosaic and on the side of the tomb are these words: Life is but a dream.
It was kind of enigmatic isn’t it – “Life is but a dream”. Were those words what the deceased wanted on the tomb, or were they used to describe the deceased.
Whatever the case may be, how are we going to describe our lives when it is all over? Or what will others say about us when our lives are over and done?
That is why what is said about the deceased at a funeral service can be rather sensitive. It can even be embarrassing if the wrong thing was said.
At a funeral service, the priest was delivering the homily. So he began: Well John (the deceased) was a good husband and a good father. He was a patient and a kind man, loving and understanding towards his wife, always helping her with the housework, …
Now, the wife of the deceased, as she was hearing all this, she slowly elbowed her son who was sitting next to her. And she whispered to him: Go over and open the lid, and see if that is your father …
So it’s safer to say something in general. Or sometimes, it may meant to be something profound, but it can be misunderstood as something profane.
But seriously, what do others think about us? What are they saying about us?
It is a sensitive question, and we may not even want to know what others think, or say about us.
But yet, that is preciously what Jesus asked His disciples in today’s gospel: Who do you say I am?
It is a very direct and personal question. They can’t borrow answers from others. They have to give their own answers.
So who do we say Jesus is? Who do you say Jesus is? Who do I say Jesus is?
Oh yes, we can say all those profound things about Jesus, and we will agree with Peter that Jesus is the Christ.
Until we encounter suffering, rejection and death. When Jesus talked about that, Peter started to disagree and even remonstrate with Jesus. And he got rebuked for that; Jesus even called him “Satan”.
But that is how seriously Jesus wants us to understand Him and to know who He really is in our lives, especially when our faith is put to the test.
The suffering, rejection and death that Jesus talked about can be summarized into one word – the Cross.
If we want to understand Jesus, if we want to know who He really is in our lives, then we must go through the Cross.
Because Jesus Himself said that if we want to follow Him, we must renounce ourselves and take up the cross and follow Him. When we know the cross, then we will know Christ.
There was once when I was called to go to the hospital to administer the Anointing of the Sick to someone who had not much time left.
When I saw him, he had a ventilator on so he couldn’t speak at all. After giving him the Anointing of the Sick, I took out the Cross to bless him and told him that Jesus will be with him.
Without saying a word, he stretched out his hand and clutched the Cross. For a good minute or more, we were just like that – I was clutching to the cross, he was clutching to the cross, I was like “Let it go” and he was like “I am not letting go”.
Although he couldn’t speak, his eyes were fixed on the cross. So reluctantly, l let go of the cross, and he then immediately placed the cross on his chest, and then closed his eyes
And I was thinking – there goes my cross. Even as I was leaving, I stopped at the door and turned to see if he would let go of the cross, but no way. He seemed to be holding it firmly against his chest.
On the way out, his son told me that his father was not really a religious man, actually more like a wayward Catholic, and he has never seen his father hold on so firmly to the cross.
Well, a few days later the son came and told me his father had passed on. He also came to give me back the cross, because his father’s last words were “Give the cross back to Fr. Yim”.
For a man who was on the ventilator and who couldn’t speak, those last few words were very profound.
More profound was the effect of the cross on him. He knew the cross, he knew who was on it, and he knew that Jesus was going to bring him home.
May we also know the cross in our lives, and through the cross may we follow Jesus faithfully, so that we will find life, and by our good deeds, may we show others who we are following.
The skyline of Singapore, as well as the landscape, has changed tremendously over the past 30 to 40 years.
Many old buildings have been torn down and big gleaming high-rise buildings now stand in their place, though some old historical buildings and sites are preserved.
But one of the places or sites that won’t be slated for preservation is the cemetery.
In Singapore where land is scarce, resting in peace is not a certainty.
But with the old cemeteries like Bidadari being reclaimed, then gone are those grand tombs, and the sentimental, and at times, enigmatic epitaphs.
At Chao Chu Kang cemetery, where there are many grand tombs, there was an enigmatic epitaph on a tomb. Formed by mosaic and on the side of the tomb are these words: Life is but a dream.
It was kind of enigmatic isn’t it – “Life is but a dream”. Were those words what the deceased wanted on the tomb, or were they used to describe the deceased.
Whatever the case may be, how are we going to describe our lives when it is all over? Or what will others say about us when our lives are over and done?
That is why what is said about the deceased at a funeral service can be rather sensitive. It can even be embarrassing if the wrong thing was said.
At a funeral service, the priest was delivering the homily. So he began: Well John (the deceased) was a good husband and a good father. He was a patient and a kind man, loving and understanding towards his wife, always helping her with the housework, …
Now, the wife of the deceased, as she was hearing all this, she slowly elbowed her son who was sitting next to her. And she whispered to him: Go over and open the lid, and see if that is your father …
So it’s safer to say something in general. Or sometimes, it may meant to be something profound, but it can be misunderstood as something profane.
But seriously, what do others think about us? What are they saying about us?
It is a sensitive question, and we may not even want to know what others think, or say about us.
But yet, that is preciously what Jesus asked His disciples in today’s gospel: Who do you say I am?
It is a very direct and personal question. They can’t borrow answers from others. They have to give their own answers.
So who do we say Jesus is? Who do you say Jesus is? Who do I say Jesus is?
Oh yes, we can say all those profound things about Jesus, and we will agree with Peter that Jesus is the Christ.
Until we encounter suffering, rejection and death. When Jesus talked about that, Peter started to disagree and even remonstrate with Jesus. And he got rebuked for that; Jesus even called him “Satan”.
But that is how seriously Jesus wants us to understand Him and to know who He really is in our lives, especially when our faith is put to the test.
The suffering, rejection and death that Jesus talked about can be summarized into one word – the Cross.
If we want to understand Jesus, if we want to know who He really is in our lives, then we must go through the Cross.
Because Jesus Himself said that if we want to follow Him, we must renounce ourselves and take up the cross and follow Him. When we know the cross, then we will know Christ.
There was once when I was called to go to the hospital to administer the Anointing of the Sick to someone who had not much time left.
When I saw him, he had a ventilator on so he couldn’t speak at all. After giving him the Anointing of the Sick, I took out the Cross to bless him and told him that Jesus will be with him.
Without saying a word, he stretched out his hand and clutched the Cross. For a good minute or more, we were just like that – I was clutching to the cross, he was clutching to the cross, I was like “Let it go” and he was like “I am not letting go”.
Although he couldn’t speak, his eyes were fixed on the cross. So reluctantly, l let go of the cross, and he then immediately placed the cross on his chest, and then closed his eyes
And I was thinking – there goes my cross. Even as I was leaving, I stopped at the door and turned to see if he would let go of the cross, but no way. He seemed to be holding it firmly against his chest.
On the way out, his son told me that his father was not really a religious man, actually more like a wayward Catholic, and he has never seen his father hold on so firmly to the cross.
Well, a few days later the son came and told me his father had passed on. He also came to give me back the cross, because his father’s last words were “Give the cross back to Fr. Yim”.
For a man who was on the ventilator and who couldn’t speak, those last few words were very profound.
More profound was the effect of the cross on him. He knew the cross, he knew who was on it, and he knew that Jesus was going to bring him home.
May we also know the cross in our lives, and through the cross may we follow Jesus faithfully, so that we will find life, and by our good deeds, may we show others who we are following.
Saturday, September 8, 2018
23rd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 09.09.2018
Isaiah 35:4-7 / James 2:1-5 / Mark 7:31-37
One of the inventions that had and still has, a great impact on our lives is the radio. Indeed, the radio has come a long way.
Long enough to say that for some of us present here, we know the price of listening to the radio.
Because during the Japanese Occupation in WWII, anyone caught listening to the BBC broadcast will have chopsticks rammed into his ears.
Even when television came into the scene, the radio was still the primary source of news and entertainment.
And it can even be an instrument for vocations.
A priest was sharing his vocation story and he was saying that although he had enough of signs to tell him that God is calling him, he decided to ask God for one more sign, and a rather difficult one.
And he was like telling God: If, during the next one week, if I see a blue moon, I will enter the seminary.
Well, as the story goes, he was sitting at his desk doing some work, the radio was on, and then he heard this song being played.
“Blue moon, you saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.”
Well, he didn’t see a blue moon, but he heard one, and that was enough for him.
It seems that, many a times, hearing is more powerful than seeing.
And by that same token, we can also say that being deaf is more an impediment that being blind.
In the sense that blindness is quite obvious; whereas it takes a while before we realize that a person is deaf.
And along with deafness, comes a speech impediment.
Because it is strange but nonetheless true, we can only proclaim what we have heard.
In today’s gospel, the people’s admiration of Jesus was unbounded as they proclaimed: “he has done all things well, he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”
That was their proclamation. But did they hear anything in the first place.
Yes, they saw the deaf and dumb man being cured. But the fact is that Jesus asked them not to say anything about this.
But why? Why be so secretive about this spectacular event.?
Well, simply because the spectacular often takes the meaning out of the miracle.
There is a meaning and a purpose behind this healing of the deaf and dumb man.
And it is in those two words that Jesus said: “Be opened.”
And that was what Jesus said to the people then. And we who are here today, and as we listen, do we also understand.
“Be opened,” Jesus said. “Be opened” to what, we might ask.
Today’s gospel account of the healing of the deaf and dumb man is not just about a miracle that Jesus worked.
Rather it is a simple but powerful proclamation of the sound of grace, the sound of God’s grace.
And that is what we are to be opened to – to be opened to the sound of God’s grace.
To be open to the sound of God’s grace so that we can reproduce that sound.
So what is this sound of God’s grace that I am talking about?
Firstly, in our homes. The sound of God’s grace takes the form of the sound of prayer.
So is the sound of prayer heard in our homes? Do we have family prayers at home?
God’s grace is waiting to be poured into hearts that are opened at prayer.
And whenever prayer is being said, faith is being built.
Because faith comes from hearing, hearing the faith that is being expressed in prayer.
One of the elements of the faith crises that the Church is facing today is that there are people who do not know how to pray.
Because they have not heard the sound of prayer at home.
And hence they do not know the language of prayer. Their tongues remain tied when it comes to prayer.
So, vocal prayers like the Rosary prayer and other devotional prayer might seem rather elementary.
But they are indeed necessary when it comes to conveying the sound of God’s grace.
Today Jesus also wants us to listen to a particular sound, the sound of His love, the sound that will open ears and loosen tongues.
The sound of His love that will overcome the irreversible and the impossible situations that are created by deaf ears and stiff tongues, situations that resist the voice of God in prayer.
So we just have to tune into the sound of prayer. Let the sound of prayer just flow in from our ears and into our hearts.
Let us listen to the sound of God’s love so that we can reproduce that sound of love.
God does not speak to us like once in a blue moon.
Whenever we pray, we immediately tune into the sound of God’s love.
And we become God’s radio station that will open ears to the sound of love, and loosen tongues to speak words of love.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
22nd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 02.09.2018
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 / James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 / Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
As we begin the month of September, we also begin a time when temperatures start to rise. We may think that the weather is already hot enough, so is it going to be hotter, or what?
But we are not talking about the weather. We are talking about a “fever” – the exam fever.
In fact it has already begun. The PSLE Oral exams are just over; the written exams will start at the end of September. The Sec 4s just finished their prelims and the “N” levels and “O” levels are the next big thing that is coming up.
And across the board, the students are preparing for their year-end exams. So the fever is going to rage.
And just as fever is usually felt around the head, exam fever is also felt around the head. Exams are about the measurement and grading of the memory and the academic ability. It is about how good the head can perform when subjected to exams.
So it can be said that the purpose of exams is to grade the students on their academic abilities with the objective of making them clever and smart.
And that is because the world rewards those with high academic qualifications. The world rewards those who are clever and smart.
And we need to have a head that is clever and smart if we want to make it in life and succeed in this world.
So for those who don’t have much in their heads, they will have to make up for it by working hard with their hands. One way or another, we will have to express who we are and what we can do with either head knowledge or hard work.
In the gospel, there seems to be some argument over the head and the hands. The Pharisees and the scribes who have a head filled with the knowledge of the Law and the religious traditions, questioned Jesus as to why His disciples do not respect the traditions of the elders and eat their food with unclean hands, i.e. hands that were washed in ritualistic way.
But Jesus moved the question of the state of the hands to the state of the heart, as He quoted from the passage of the prophet Isaiah: “This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless”.
In effect Jesus is telling the Pharisees and the scribes that they may be clever and smart when it comes to the Law and the traditions.
But what about their hearts and what about the worship that they offer to God?
In this world, whether it is in the area of education or business, it is about how clever we are and how smart we are. It is all about the head.
But Jesus turns our attention to our hearts. Are our hearts with God, or are they far from God? So it is not just about clean hands; it is about clean hearts.
Well, talking about clean hands, we know that there is a life-sized statue of Jesus the Sacred Heart at entrance of the church. It is quite a unique statue.
The hands of that statue are stretched downwards, and within our reach, if we are tall enough. If not we can still touch the feet of that statue.
There have been comments about the hands and feet of that statue, especially the hands. Some have commented that the paint on the hands are worn out and looks “dirty”, so why not repaint the hands at least.
Yes, people touch those hands of the statue of Jesus, and hence the paint gets worn out and it does look a bit soiled, though we clean those hands every day.
Those soiled hands may not look that pretty, but there is a teaching point in them. Jesus is like reaching out to us and asking us to touch His hands and to give Him all that is unclean in our hearts.
And Jesus tells us what are the things that are lurking in our hearts: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly.
Yes, all these evil things come from within and make our hearts unclean.
We have at least one or more of those sins. Jesus is asking us to touch His hands and to give it to Him. He came to take away our iniquities and to carry our diseases.
Jesus came to cleanse us, to heal us and to make our hearts like His. Let us look at His Heart and let us ask Him to make our hearts clean, to heal our hearts of sin, so that we can offer God a pure and worthy sacrifice.
As we begin the month of September, we also begin a time when temperatures start to rise. We may think that the weather is already hot enough, so is it going to be hotter, or what?
But we are not talking about the weather. We are talking about a “fever” – the exam fever.
In fact it has already begun. The PSLE Oral exams are just over; the written exams will start at the end of September. The Sec 4s just finished their prelims and the “N” levels and “O” levels are the next big thing that is coming up.
And across the board, the students are preparing for their year-end exams. So the fever is going to rage.
And just as fever is usually felt around the head, exam fever is also felt around the head. Exams are about the measurement and grading of the memory and the academic ability. It is about how good the head can perform when subjected to exams.
So it can be said that the purpose of exams is to grade the students on their academic abilities with the objective of making them clever and smart.
And that is because the world rewards those with high academic qualifications. The world rewards those who are clever and smart.
And we need to have a head that is clever and smart if we want to make it in life and succeed in this world.
So for those who don’t have much in their heads, they will have to make up for it by working hard with their hands. One way or another, we will have to express who we are and what we can do with either head knowledge or hard work.
In the gospel, there seems to be some argument over the head and the hands. The Pharisees and the scribes who have a head filled with the knowledge of the Law and the religious traditions, questioned Jesus as to why His disciples do not respect the traditions of the elders and eat their food with unclean hands, i.e. hands that were washed in ritualistic way.
But Jesus moved the question of the state of the hands to the state of the heart, as He quoted from the passage of the prophet Isaiah: “This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless”.
In effect Jesus is telling the Pharisees and the scribes that they may be clever and smart when it comes to the Law and the traditions.
But what about their hearts and what about the worship that they offer to God?
In this world, whether it is in the area of education or business, it is about how clever we are and how smart we are. It is all about the head.
But Jesus turns our attention to our hearts. Are our hearts with God, or are they far from God? So it is not just about clean hands; it is about clean hearts.
Well, talking about clean hands, we know that there is a life-sized statue of Jesus the Sacred Heart at entrance of the church. It is quite a unique statue.
The hands of that statue are stretched downwards, and within our reach, if we are tall enough. If not we can still touch the feet of that statue.
There have been comments about the hands and feet of that statue, especially the hands. Some have commented that the paint on the hands are worn out and looks “dirty”, so why not repaint the hands at least.
Yes, people touch those hands of the statue of Jesus, and hence the paint gets worn out and it does look a bit soiled, though we clean those hands every day.
Those soiled hands may not look that pretty, but there is a teaching point in them. Jesus is like reaching out to us and asking us to touch His hands and to give Him all that is unclean in our hearts.
And Jesus tells us what are the things that are lurking in our hearts: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly.
Yes, all these evil things come from within and make our hearts unclean.
We have at least one or more of those sins. Jesus is asking us to touch His hands and to give it to Him. He came to take away our iniquities and to carry our diseases.
Jesus came to cleanse us, to heal us and to make our hearts like His. Let us look at His Heart and let us ask Him to make our hearts clean, to heal our hearts of sin, so that we can offer God a pure and worthy sacrifice.
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