30th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 28.10.2012

Jer 31:7-9/ Hebr 5:1-6/ Mk 10:46-52

Over this weekend, in the town of Rawang, in Selangor, Malaysia, there will be crowds of people.

And a good number of Catholics from Singapore will be there too.

The crowds would be streaming to a Catholic church there called the Church of St. Jude Thaddeus.

The feast day of St. Jude Thaddeus, who was one of the 12 Apostles, is on the 28th October.

And since this year the 28th October falls on a Sunday, then the crowds would be larger than ever.

That is because St. Jude is a popular saint – he is the patron saint of the desperate and hopeless cases.

Maybe “hopeless” is not quite the correct word to use here.

But certainly the word “desperate” is something we are familiar with and that we can identify with.

In the Catholic Church, St. Jude is venerated as the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.

St. Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter (Letter of Jude) stressed that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh and difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them.

So it is a very encouraging and consoling letter.

That is just one of the reasons why St. Jude is invoked as the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.

But in the past, many Catholics have mistakenly confused St. Jude with Judas Iscariot because their names sound similar in Latin as well as in other languages.

As a result, the faithful avoided venerating him or invoking him for prayers.

Therefore, St. Jude Thaddeus is also called the “Forgotten Saint”.

But because veneration of St. Jude was minimal, hence only people in the most dire of circumstances would call upon him, those that are termed as a “lost cause”.

And surprise, surprise, when those in a really desperate situation or a lost cause turned to St. Jude, their petitions were answered.

Hence, the veneration of the “Forgotten Saint” was revived, and St. Jude has become one of the more “popular” saints.

In the gospel, the blind man Bartimaeus (or son of Timaeus) was a desperate case as well as a lost cause.

Regardless of whether he was born blind or afflicted with blindness, his blindness was a lost cause – there can be no cure.

Besides his blindness, he also had quite a desperate situation.

He was “forgotten”. He was only known as Bartimaeus, or son of Timaeus. People had forgotten his name!

His blindness had enveloped him in darkness, and his “forgotten” status pushed him into desperate loneliness.

So here is a classic desperate case and a lost cause – a blind beggar, with a forgotten name, only known as the son of Timaeus.

But when he, whose name was forgotten by people, heard that Jesus was passing by, he cried out to Him by an ancient and royal name : Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!

It was an acclamation – Jesus, Son of David, and followed by a lamentation – Have pity on me!

And for that, he got scolded by the crowd and told to shut up.

Because people like to hear acclamations, but they frown upon lamentations. People get disturbed by the cries of lamentation.

As far as most people are concerned, the afflicted are to suffer in silence.

To cry out aloud in lamentation is rude, it is not proper and it disturbs the peace. And it doesn’t sound religious.

But that is not what the Bible teaches. In fact in the Bible, there is a book called the Book of Lamentations.

In other words, the Bible teaches that the religious response to suffering is not to suppress it or hide it or to keep quiet about it.

Because remaining silent and hiding it is as good as making suffering a hopeless case, and that there is no possibility of change, because God doesn’t care at all.

But that is not true! Because when that son of Timaeus called out to the Son of David, something happened. Yes, Jesus stopped and called for him.

Yes, God listens to the lamentations of His people, the cries of suffering, the groans of anguish and distress, the screams of pain.

Lamentations express the hope that God will listen and that things will change.

Certainly God does not forget those who are suffering and who cry out to Him.

God will stop and listen, just as Jesus stopped and called for the son of Timaeus, that blind beggar whose name was forgotten by people.

Well, St. Jude Thaddeus knows what it feels like to be forgotten. 

And as the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes, St. Jude reminds us that those who are suffering in pain and anguish must not be forgotten.

St. Jude will gather the prayers of those who are suffering and present them to Jesus.

And what better day to pray to St. Jude Thaddeus than on his feast day as we come for Mass.

After Mass, let us just spend some time in thanksgiving, and let us ask St. Jude to pray for us.

We have our desperate situations and high anxieties, especially as our children are having their exams, and not only they are stressed out, we are also stressed out.

Or, we may also know of persons whom we think are “hopeless cases” – they are addicted to gambling, drinking or in some kind of sinful attachment.

Let us remember that with God, there is no such a thing as a hopeless case. 

But of course, without God, then everything is hopeless.

Let us ask St. Jude to pray for us. We will face desperate situations, but there is hope that things will change.

Because God won’t leave us desperate and hopeless. 

God will not forget us. Because our names are carved in the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49:16)

Mission Sunday, Year B, 21.10.2012

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

Church of St Teresa 1928

This church was built in 1928. So even after 84 years it still looks as elegant and beautiful as when it was first built.

Officially known as the Church of St. Teresa (of the Child Jesus), we would also fondly call it the “Kampong Bahru church”.

This is also the first rural church that was built in Singapore, keeping in mind that was in 1928, and “Kampong Bahru” in Malay means “new village”.


So we can say that this is the first outstation church in Singapore at that time, because the other churches were in the city area.

As for the locality and the design of the church, we will have to look at the two founding fathers of the parish – Fr. Emile Mariette and Fr. Stephen Lee. 

Fr Emile Mariette

Fr. Mariette credited the acquisition of the land through the intercession of St. Teresa who was canonized in 1925, and hence this church was dedicated to her.

The architecture of this church was inspired by the Romano-Byzantine design of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris.

Since the church was on a high ground, the founding fathers thought that it should be a stately gracious white building with steeples and a dome topped with a cross.

Probably Fr. Mariette and Fr. Lee had hoped that the church would be what was described of the Temple of the Lord in the 1st reading.

“The mountain of the Temple of the Lord shall tower above the mountains and be lifted higher than the hills. All nations will stream to it, and they will say : Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, the Temple of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.”

Certainly, this church stands as a witness to God’s presence and an instrument for the proclamation of the Good News of salvation.

Today as the whole Church celebrates Mission Sunday, we are reminded of the Great Commissioning.

Jesus commissions us to proclaim the Good News to the whole world and that He will confirm our message by the signs that will accompany it.

And today we are gathered as the People of God; we are also gathered as a sign and we are also gathered in the sign.

And what is this sign? Well, this church is the sign. This church was built and pioneered by Fr. Mariette and Fr. Lee and the Catholic community that grew from it and grew with it.

Yes, we must not forget them and we must remember the faith that they had even in the face of challenges and difficulties and even tragedies.

Well, to build a church like this in those days certainly required a princely sum. But it was certainly well built, as we can see it even today.

Certainly raising money for the land and subsequently for the building wasn’t easy but it was indeed an act of faith that was expressed in charity and generosity from Catholics that made it possible. It was a sign, a good sign.

Yet having said that, there were also setbacks and tragedies. Fr. Mariette who was the driving force behind the church-building project died tragically when a falling plank hit him on the head while he was inspecting the construction work.

Certainly his tragic death was a setback but the work has to go on and Fr. Stephen Lee immediately took over.

Yes, the mission to build a place of worship for Catholics continued, and Fr. Lee even managed to establish a school nearby and also the Carmelite Monastery.

Again we could see the Lord giving signs to encourage the Church to continue with the mission.

In the pastoral area, Fr. Lee kept detailed dairies of his work and events and everything that went on around him. We have him to thank for in this unfolding of the rich history and missionary work of the Church of St. Teresa.

There is this rather interesting entry in one of his diaries :
“Margaret Tan who was baptized with one of her sisters at the Church on 24th December 1929, was from July 1930 gravely ill from unknown causes, and thought to be possibly inflicted by evil spirits. I was called for and gave her confession, Communion and administered Extreme Unction (anointing of the sick). After this she became delirious and groaned pitifully. She was immediately sent to the hospital where the doctor said that “she was suffering from typhoid and pneumonia which was so serious, there was very little hope of recovery”. She was sinking rapidly and her mother begged me to make a Novena to St. Teresa to cure her daughter. I then gave her a relic of the hairs of St. Teresa. Seeing this, Margaret began biting at the relic cover, and soon after that got better and fully recovered. Thanks to St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, for in reality all hope was lost of her recovery.

Call it amazing, call it incredible, but certainly in the early days of the parish, there were signs of repentance and conversion, deliverance and healing.

Fr Stephen Lee

Such was the missionary spirit of this parish in the early days and when the Church in Singapore was still rather young.

The missionary work of Fr. Mariette and Fr. Lee and the early parish community must not be forgotten as they laid the foundations, and on this Mission Sunday we remember them and give thanks to God.

It is for us now to continue what they have built up so that this parish will be a sign and an instrument of the Good News.

But what are we to do? What are our ideas and hopes and dreams in this missionary work?

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. "I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!” The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. “I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.” 

Years, passed. The rain came, the sun shone and the little trees grew tall. One day three wood cutters climbed the mountain. The first wood cutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. The first tree said "Now I shall make a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!". 

The second wood cutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It's perfect for me." With a swing of his shining ax, the second tree fell. The second tree thought, "Now I shall sail mighty waters! I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" 

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last wood cutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the wood cutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax, the third tree fell. 

The first tree rejoiced when the wood cutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, or treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the wood cutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and awed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river, instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the wood cutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. " All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..." 

Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. Her husband whispered, "I wish I could make a cradle for him." The mother smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and sturdy wood. "This manger is beautiful." She said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world. 

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and a thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awoke. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, "Be still!" The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew she was carrying the king of heaven and earth. 

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten wood pile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hand to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

So actually each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.

So when things don't seem to be going our way, always know that God has a plan for us. We just need to have faith and trust in Him. 

Church of St Teresa 2012

We don't always know what God's plans for us are. But we know He has a mission for us. 

Let us keep praying and be prepared for whatever God wants us to do.

28th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 14.10.2012

Wisdom 7:7-11/ Hebrew 4:12-13/ Mark 10:17-30


By and large, we human beings are quite predictable creatures and that is because we are creatures of habit.

From what we do, to what we say, to how we think, we can be habitually predictable and predictably habitual.

Which can be a good thing because that will put some stability and regularity into our lives.

Being creatures of habit, we will form a routine in our lives that is familiar and comfortable for ourselves.

So we will wake up at a particular time, and get up on a particular side of the bed; we will have a particular pattern of washing up and a particular way of having breakfast and a particular way of starting the day.

Not only are we creatures of habit when it comes to routine, we are also creatures of habit when it comes to sinning!

We have heard of people saying: I always commit the same sins! (At least I have heard of that before)

Well, if you always commit the same sins, then it may mean that you a habitual sinner, ie. you are a creature of habit.

Because if you commit new sins every day, then you would need serious spiritual help. 

Anyway, whether it is sin or other things, we have this habit of attachment.

Yes, we are attached to our habits because we have this habit of attachment.

We are attached to what is familiar. That’s why changing jobs can be a chaotic experience.

Just overnight and our working environment is so new to us and we have to start from scratch to prove our worth.

Shifting to a new house can be equally chaotic and even traumatic for the older people.

You lose your things, you lose your way, and if you don’t settle down quickly, you may even lose your mind.

Yes, we are all creatures of habit and our main habit is the habit of attachment.

We attach ourselves to what is familiar, to what is comfortable, to what is stable and secure.

To move out of these so-called “comfort zones” is to enter into a possible “danger” zone, where things can be chaotic and even traumatic.

In the gospel, we heard of a rich young man who was pretty comfortable in life.

He was also religiously habitual, as he faithfully kept the commandments, which he had kept from his earliest days.

So why did he want to go to Jesus and even knelt before Him and say, “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

That rich young man was pretty comfortable and secure, materially as well as religiously.

He was already having a good life here on earth. But he also wanted to do something to secure eternal life. And he was sincere about it.

And that’s why Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him.

That rich young man was a sincere seeker and was humble enough to kneel before Jesus and ask what he should do to inherit eternal life.

Yet when Jesus told him what to do, his face fell.

And the reason was that, as much as the rich young man was willing to do more, yet he can’t do with less.

And with that, he went away sad. And we will not hear of him again in the gospel.

The rich young man had a habit – a habit of attachment. He was attached to his possessions, and in a sense, he was possessed by his attachment.

His habit is undeniably also our habit. We are attached to our possessions, and we become possessed by our attachments.

We may not possess great wealth, but it may be our health, our achievements, our promotions, our reputation, our enjoyment.

Yet the wisdom of life tells us that life is a journey of progressive poverty – we will, slowly but surely, lose our youth, our health, our memory, our eyesight, our hearing, and in the end we will lose everything.

There is a story of a rich landowner by the name of Carl, who often rode on his horse in his vast estate, so that he can admire his great wealth.

One day while riding around his estate, he saw Hans, an old poor tenant farmer, and he was unpacking his lunch and saying grace before meals.

So he called out to him, “How are you Hans? And what are you doing?”

Hans looked up and replied, “Oh, it’s you sir. So sorry that I didn’t see you. My sight is getting poor and my hearing is also not that good. Oh, I am giving thanks to God for my food.”

Carl looked that the lunch of coarse rice and vegetables and he didn’t thought much about what to be thankful for.

Then the old farmer said, “It’s strange that you should come by today, because I had a strange dream last night. In my dream all was bright and beautiful, and then I heard a voice telling me – The richest man in the valley will die tonight. I don’t know what it means, but since you came by I thought I’ll share this with you.”

Carl snorted and said, “Dreams are nonsense!” and he rode off. But when he got home, he could not forget those words – The richest man in the valley will die tonight.

He was obviously the richest man in the valley, so he called his doctor to his house that evening and told him about what Hans said.

The doctor gave Carl a thorough examination and then said, “Mr. Carl, you are as strong and healthy as the horse you were riding on. There is no way that you are going to die tonight. But for good measure, I’ll stay with you tonight in case you need my help.”

The night went on into morning and Carl had breakfast with the doctor and thanked him for staying over. He apologized for causing the doctor the inconvenience and for being upset over an old man’s dream.

Carl felt relieved. And then there was a knock on the door. A servant opened the door and the messenger said, “I am looking for the doctor. It’s about old Hans. He died last night in his sleep.”

So indeed, the richest man in the valley did die that night.

And the wisdom of God tells us that the richest man is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

We need to pray and ask God to help us change this habit of getting more, to that of letting go.

But it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for us to let go of the habit of our attachment to our possessions.

Yes, it is not easy, but it not impossible.

With the cross of Christ, everything is possible.

We only need the cross of Christ to inherit eternal life. 

27th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 07.10.2012

Genesis 2:18-24/ Hebrew 2:9-11/ Mark 10:2-16 


Today is the 7th October. If the 7th October is not a Sunday then the Church would be commemorating a special feast. And that is the feast of “Our Lady of the Rosary”.

This feast was instituted by Pope Pius V in honour of Our Lady for her intercession for the naval victory at Lepanto in 1571.

Lepanto is a place on the coast of western Greece. So what was so significant about the Battle of Lepanto that became a feast for the Church?

A great naval battle took place on the 7th October 1571. A hastily gathered coalition Christian fleet from European Catholic states set sail to face the mighty main fleet of the Ottoman Empire which was sailing in from the east.

The Christian fleet was outnumbered by the Ottoman armada. The Pope at that time, Pope Pius V, called on the Church to be united in a Rosary crusade to help the Christian soldiers in that battle.

Because defeat for the Christian fleet would mean that Christian Europe would be overrun by the Ottomans and that would mean the end of Christianity in Europe.

Furthermore the unity of the Catholic Church was severely weakened by the Protestant Reformation which began in 1517.

So by 1571, the Pope could only call upon a handful of loyal Catholic states to unite and fight the invading Ottomans.

Also the Ottomans took advantage of a disunited and weakened Christian Europe to launch an attack and was confident of a victory.

So the two forces clashed at the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea. And after 5 hours of intense fighting, the Ottomans were decisively defeated, and the Ottoman advance was halted and the Mediterranean Sea was freed of Ottoman occupation.

But before the Christian fleet set sail, all the soldiers were given rosaries and it was said that the Christian soldiers fought with swords in one hand and rosaries in the other.

The victory was credited to the Virgin Mary’s intercession, and even Pope Pius V, who was hundre
ds of miles away from the battle scene, had a foreknowledge of the victory when he gave thanks for victory even before the battle ended.

Though the victory was termed “miraculous” yet it does not mean that no lives were lost or that no blood was shed.

About 7500 Christian soldiers died, and on the Ottoman side there were about 20,000 dead, or wounded or captured.

The Christian fleet lost 17 ships, but the Ottomans lost 50 ships, and 137 ships were captured and about 10,000 Christian slaves rowing the Ottoman ships were freed.

Certainly a major defeat for the Ottoman Empire from which they never recovered and it was indeed a miraculous and religious victory for the Church.

Yet having said all that, the fact remains that war, in any form, and whether religious or otherwise, does not determine who is right. War only determines who is left.

And in a war, there are no unwounded soldiers. In other words, in every war, there will be casualties.

In the gospel, the Pharisees approached Jesus and asked if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. They asked this only to test Jesus.

Yet, they don’t seem to know the severe implications of that question.

Because it was almost like asking if it was lawful for a man to declare war on his wife? Or even vice versa.
And just as in a war, so it is in a divorce – there will be casualties. And the first casualty in a divorce is love – God’s love.

Because logically speaking, a man and a woman won’t get married unless they are in love.

And that was why Jesus revamped the question of divorce by stating what it was in the beginning.

Jesus said that in the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. And what God has united, man must not divide.

In other words, marriage did not evolve in society nor was it instituted by secular practice. Marriage is God’s creation.

God intended marriage to reflect His own love for His people, a love which is faithful and a love which does not fail.

And that is where lies the difficulty in marriage. Because marriage is the challenge to be like God, to love as God loves.

Yet there are problems and difficulties in marriage, and I admit that I don’t have all the solutions.

Married couples wish to live happily ever after, but in some cases it can be like happily never after.

And at times, some marriages are like a war in which enemies sleep together.

But the original plan of God in marriage is not to force married couples to conform to some kind of idealistic concept of marriage.

Because things can go wrong. People make mistakes. Pain and hurt are inflicted. Anger and resentment strain the marriage.

But the call of Jesus for married couples is to reclaim their first love, the love that was planted in them by God that brought them together in marriage.

One direction (or solution) is that married couples pray for that healing love in their troubled marriage.

But perseverance and persistence is necessary. Well, talking about perseverance and persistence, St. Monica prayed for 30 years for the conversion of her son St. Augustine.

I really hope it won’t take that long to pray for the conversion of a wayward or abusive spouse.

Nevertheless, I must state that married couples have God on their side, simply because it was God who instituted marriage.

If God can grant a miraculous victory at the Battle of Lepanto, then God will surely grant a miracle in a troubled marriage.

And just like Pope Pius V who initiated a Rosary crusade to petition for victory, married couples must also invite Our Lady of the Rosary to come into their marriage and to make it loving.

May Our Lady who was there at the marriage in Cana pray for married couples that the stagnant waters of their marriage be turned into rich sweet wine that brings joy.

And just as the Christian soldiers at the Battle of Lepanto had rosaries in their hands, may married couples also pray the Rosary together.

And may Our Lady of the Rosary intercede for married couples that they will find love and peace in their marriage.                   

And may we the Church join Our Lady in this Rosary Crusade.

St. Teresa of Lisieux (Parish Feast Day) 30.09.2012

Isaiah 66:10-14/ Matthew 18:1-5


Generally speaking, our hand has five fingers. And we can assume that each finger has a significant purpose.

First of all, there is the thumb. It is often used to give the “thumbs-up” to mean that things are good and alright.

It is also important for the thumb-print for some legal documents.

The index finger is generally used to point in the general direction of things. 

To index means to point out or to show something, so that is why the second finger is called the index finger.

The third finger, or middle finger, which is the longest of the fingers, is used to help delicate functions like writing and typing. 

Then there is the fourth finger which is also called the ring finger.

And the last, which is also the smallest of all the fingers, is called the little finger, or also called the pinkie.

That little finger has this unique name because it originated from the Dutch language where the word “pinkie” is used to describe something tiny or small.

Hence the word “pinkie” would best describe the little finger.

So those are the names of the five fingers of the hand – the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger and the pinkie.

Of course, all the five fingers have a purpose. But which finger would we assume that has the least important function?

Without thinking too much, we might assume that it is the last finger, the little finger, the pinkie.

After all, in the Japanese organized crime, or the Yakuza, there is the Yubitsume ritual, or the cutting of one’s finger, as a form of penance or apology.

The transgressor must cut off the tip of his little finger, and give the severed portion to his boss.

But why the little finger, or the pinkie, and not the other fingers? Is it because the pinkie is the least important, and hence not much of a use?

Actually, on the contrary, the pinkie is the strongest finger of the hand.

In the traditional way of holding the Japanese sword, the last three fingers of each hand are used to grip the sword handle tightly, with the thumb and index fingers holding it loosely.

The little fingers of the two hands must grip the handle of the sword tightly. Because, surprisingly, the little finger is the strongest finger of the hand, in terms of gripping.

So by cutting off part of the little finger, the hand loses the proper grip of the sword.

And that would also symbolize a form of penance and apology and also submission to the boss.

But even in practical terms, just try to hold a hammer without the little finger gripping the handle. It won’t be that easy to hit a nail into the wall.

So it is surprising how much strength and power the little finger has, isn’t it?

It may be the smallest of all the fingers, it may be the last finger in the hand, it’s just a little finger, but it certainly has considerable strength.

In fact, losing the little finger can be very inconvenient. It may mean losing the grip of things, practically as well as symbolically.

So with this, we may be able to understand what Jesus meant when He said in the gospel: The one who makes himself as little as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

It may not seem logical as to how the little ones are the greatest.

But that is the way of God. God’s ways are above man’s ways, His thoughts are above our thoughts.

In fact, God will cast away the proud and mighty, and He will raise up the little and the lowly.

Today we celebrate the feast-day of the patron saint of our parish, St. Teresa of Lisieux.

Her religious name is St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. And her way to holiness and eventually to sainthood is known as the “Little Way”.

She believed that God shows love by mercy and forgiveness. The way to approach God is to be like how a little child approaches its parent – with open arms and complete trust.

In fact, St. Teresa wrote that she could not understand how anyone could be afraid of a God who became a child in order to live among us.

St. Teresa showed how she lived out that “Little Way” by taking on all the lowly and humble tasks in her convent.

She worked as a sacristan taking care of the altar and chapel. She served in the refectory and in the laundry room. She took care of the old and sick sisters.

Her life was just so routine, mundane and ordinary. But she did small things with great love.

She even had another name – The Little Flower. Because in all she did, she offered it as a little flower to Jesus.

She was just so child-like in her faith, but within 28 years of her death, she was canonized and is now a great saint.

St. Teresa was like that last finger of the hand – small and little, yet strong and powerful.

St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, the Little Flower, has taught us and shown us that in the small, little and lowly, God’s mighty love and power is shown.

That will also remind us that in Psalm 8:2, there is this verse that says : From the lips of children and infants, you Lord, have built a fortress against your enemies and to silence the foe.

Hence it is of great importance to teach our children to pray and to help them pray in a simple and little way.

Yet it is in the simple and humble prayers of children and even of infants that will turn on God’s mighty love and power.

It is in their simple and humble prayers that we will find the solution to our problems and difficulties.

It is in their simple and humble prayers that we will realize that power is found not in the thumb but in the last little finger.

And that should make us want to be like little children because God favours the lowly, the little and the humble.

So all the more we should want to pray with our children because their prayer is mighty and powerful.

Jesus said that anyone who welcomes a little child in His name welcomes Him.

St. Teresa took that little way and she found Jesus.

As for us, it’s either the little way, or no other way.

25th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 23.09.2012

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


There is a peculiar phenomenon that is happening in the entertainment scene.

We see it in TV serials, in live concerts, in movies – it’s like an invasion on the entertainment scene.

I would just want to generally term this as the “K-pop”.

Well, it all began with Canto-pop in the 70s, followed by Mando-pop and then J-pop (Japan) and now K-pop from Korea is riding the waves.

In the similar styles of the “pop” tradition, K-pop usually features boy-bands and girl-bands, whose members are young and good-looking and with very slick dance moves.

What is amazing is that we may not even know they are saying or singing. Of course I presume that we do not know the Korean language.

Take for example the song “Gangnam Style”. I really don’t know what the singer is singing or rapping away with.

Yet, it is the hottest video on Youtube with more than 225 million hits.

But if the rise of the K-pop in phenomenal, then there is something else from the land of South Korea that is is also phenomenal, but it not on the entertainment scene.

The rise of Christianity in S. Korea has indeed been astonishing as well as amazing.

But that does not mean that it has been easy for Christianity to take root in that land, or that Korea has always been favorable to Christianity.

Because ever since missionaries entered Korea in the 17th century, there had been fierce persecutions against Christianity especially during the 19th century.

In 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized 103 martyrs of Korea, but it was estimated that there were more than 8000 who were killed for their faith.

In fact the relics of one of the martyrs St. Laurent Imbert, who was a French missionary, is entombed in our Cathedral of the God Shepherd.

Yet it must be remembered that the fierce persecutions were not because the Christians were causing social unrest or creating political trouble.

The Christians were just ordinary men and women who were fervently living out their faith.

But because their faith shaped their lives and actions and practices, they were viewed by their fellow countrymen as detractors of the national culture and even as insurgents.

The 1st reading gives the reason for this attitude towards Christians – The godless say to themselves, “Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life. Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his endurance to the test.”
“Let us condemn him to a shameful death since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.”

It is very amazing how the 1st reading managed to read into the minds of evil people and express their evil intentions.

Yet it is also quite disgusting to know that such are the thoughts and the deeds of evil people towards good and virtuous people.

It is simply illogical, irrational and absurd. Yet it has happened in the past, and it is still happening and it will continue to happen.

In other words, evil does not need a reason to make the good suffer. 

Evil is just out to exterminate the good.

We often say that Jesus died to save us from our sins.

Yet it must also be said that it was evil which nailed Jesus to the cross and killed Him.

Jesus knew what evil could do to Him, and that was why He said in the gospel: The Son of God will be delivered into the hands of evil men. They will put Him to death but three days after He has been put to death, He will rise again. 

So Jesus knew that evil was out to get Him. In spite of all the good He does, He will be persecuted and persecuted unto death.

He came to save us but who will save Him? We may not like to hear this, but God did not save Jesus from death on the cross!

But that is not the end of it. Because Hebrews 5:7 says this -  During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty,
aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.

Yes, God did not save Jesus from a horrible death on the cross. But God saved Jesus out of death. Jesus rose from the dead. That was God’s promise to Jesus.

So in the face of evil, or in the midst of tragedy, God will promise to save us, just as He promised to save Jesus.

In 1989 an earthquake measuring 8.2 almost flattened Armenia, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes.

In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife securely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.

After the traumatic initial shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: "No matter what, I'll always be there for you!"  And tears began to fill his eyes.  As he looked at the pile of debris that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his commitment to his son.

He began to concentrate on where he walked his son to class at school each morning.   Remembering his son's classroom would be in the back right corner of the building, he rushed there and started digging through the rubble.

As he was digging, other forlorn parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: "My son!"  "My daughter!"  Other well-meaning parents tried to pull him off from what was left of the school saying: "It's too late!", "They're dead!", "You can't help!", "Go home!", "Come on, face reality, there's nothing you can do!"
"You're just going to make things worse!"

To each parent he responded with one line: "Are you going to help me now?"   

And then he proceeded to dig for his son, stone by stone.

The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off of the school's debris, saying, "Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening everywhere.  You're in danger.   We'll take care of it.  Go home." 

To which this loving, caring Armenian father asked, "Are you going to help me now?" 

But no one helped.
   
Courageously he proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead?"

He dug for eight hours . . . 12 hours . . . 24 hours ... 36 hours . . . then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son's voice.  

He screamed his son's name, "ARMAND!"  He heard back, "Pa!?!  It's me, Pa!  I told the other kids not to worry.  I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved.  You promised me, 'No matter what, I'll always be there for you!' 

"What's going on in there?  How is it?" the father asked.

“There are 14 of us left, Pa.  We're scared, hungry, thirsty."

"Come on out, boy!". "No, Pa!  Let the other kids out first, because I know you'll get me!  No matter what, I know you'll be there for me!"

So it was a happy ending for that father and son. It was also a happy ending for Jesus and His Father. 

His Father saved Him out of death. His Father did not give up on Him or left Him for dead.

Neither did God the Father leave the martyrs for dead. Because they are now with God in glory.

As for us, the reality is that evil will make us suffer. But we don’t have to return evil for evil.

But like Jesus, let us return evil for good. And for the good that we do, God our Father will save us out of death and from every evil.

24th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 16.09.2012

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


I am going to mention a few names and you tell me what their job-title is.

The names are Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, the Fantastic Four.

So what is their job-title? Answer – Superheroes!

And these Superheroes have been making a comeback on the movie scene, the latest was Batman with “The Dark Knight Rises”.

And a few months ago there was also a movie about Superheroes called “The Avengers” and it featured Superheroes like Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America and Thor.

Yes, those are the Superheroes, and they usually wear colourful tight suits over muscular contoured bodies.

So their job-title is Superheroes. And what about their job-description?

It is to fight against the bad guys and to save the world from some kind of devastating danger, and also to stop the bad guys from taking over the world.

Watching the Superheroes movies gives us a good feeling because it is always a happy ending.

Oh yes, the bad guys will seem to win a bit at the beginning and even give the Superheroes a tough time and cause some damage.

But in the end, the good guys will win and the bad guys get a trashing, and the Superheroes will continue to protect the world.

And that’s the way we like it. We feel good about it. Whether we admit it or not, we like the Superheroes.

That might be because we are looking for a real hero.

We want someone to fight our battles for us whenever we get bullied, we want someone to protect us whenever we are threatened, we want someone to save us whenever we are in danger.

And the need becomes more intense especially when the bad guys seem to be over-running and over-powering the good guys.

Such was the case during the time of Jesus. The people were waiting and yearning for the coming of the Messiah.

The belief was that this Messiah would free the people from the oppression of their enemies, which at that time was the powerful Roman army.

The Messiah would be a mighty and invincible warrior and he would trash the enemies and crush them thoroughly.

And this Messiah would bring the people to a glorious independence and live in peace and freedom.

Such were the thoughts of Peter when he proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, which is another title for the Messiah.

Not only Peter had these ideas. The rest of the disciples, and the people too had similar ideas.

When people are desperate for a Saviour, they wouldn’t want anything less than a Superhero.

So we can imagine their reaction when Jesus began to teach them that the Christ was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and to be put to death. And after three days to rise again.

For the Christ, the Saviour, the “Superhero” to suffer and even to die was totally unacceptable to them.

So Peter began to remonstrate with Jesus. To remonstrate means to make a forceful protest and to object violently.

Because this cannot happen to the Christ! It should not happen. It goes beyond all logic and expectation.

Because if the Saviour were to suffer and die, then they would be finished. There will be no more hope.

That would not be a good ending, and that would not give a good feeling. Never mind about that “after three days will rise again”.

What the people, and also what we want to see, is that the bad guys get trashed and our enemies get hell for doing all that evil.

And better still, we stand victorious over the bad guys, and have them beg for mercy.

But if we really want to understand Jesus and about carrying the cross and following Him, then we have to let go of this illusion of victory.

The true victory does not belong to the make-believe Superheroes or to the mighty and powerful bad guys.

The true victory belongs to the humble and the lowly and also to the unlikely.

Well, recently, the arrival of two giant pandas brought about some kind of “panda-monium” in Singapore.

For me it made me recall an animated movie called “Kung Fu Panda”.

Somehow the title already tells us that it’s a joke because kung fu and pandas don’t go together, for obvious reasons.

The movie is about an obese, clumsy and bouncy giant panda who finds himself designated as the prophesied Dragon Warrior, much to his own disbelief and also the disbelief of the other highly trained martial arts exponents.

His master was tasked to prepare him to stop an evil powerful snow leopard from destroying the inhabitants.

The master thought that it was a hopeless and futile task but nonetheless there was this Dragon Scroll which was said to teach limitless power, and the evil snow leopard was out to get it too.

Well the master and the big fat panda managed to get to the Scroll first, but they were utterly disappointed because there was nothing but a blank reflective surface on the scroll.

With all hope lost, the master sent panda and the rest home, and the panda blamed himself for being a useless nothing.

When panda reached home, his adopted father, who is a goose and runs a noodle shop, consoled him and revealed that the secret ingredient to his famous noodle soup is actually “nothing”!

He explained that things become special only when people believe in them.

Then panda realized that this “nothing” is precisely the secret of the Dragon Scroll. (As for rest of the movie, please watch it :-P)

And that is also the secret of the cross – to be nothing.

In the words of Jesus it is to renounce oneself and take up the cross and follow Jesus. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it and anyone who loses his life for Jesus and for the sake of the gospel will save it.

No Super-hero can save us; after all they are just make-believe.

Yet salvation and victory comes in the most unlikely and unexpected form of the cross on which Jesus is crucified.

The cross is about emptiness and nothingness, and yet in that movie, the big fat panda discovered that nothingness is indeed the secret to the limitless power and victory.

But the secret to the limitless power of the cross and its victory over evil, demands that we empty ourselves of false hopes and expectations. 

It’s in being nothing that we will receive everything. Because power and victory will be given to those who have nothing. 
Let’s believe it because that is what Jesus and the cross is all about.