Proverbs 8:22-31/ Romans 5:1-5/ John 16:12-15
There are many laws and principles that govern nature, and it is these laws and principles that help to make the world go round in an orderly and logical manner.
Many of these laws and principles have been discovered and thereafter they were put into a scientific and mathematical formulation.
For eg, we have heard of the Archimedes Principle. It is a simple formulation of fluid mechanics, which states that an immersed object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it actually displaces.
It is said that Archimedes discovered this principle when he immersed himself in a bathtub.
It is an everyday occurrence and can be so obvious, and yet it has to be discovered.
Another law of nature is the law of gravity and it was Isaac Newton who discovered it.
The story was that Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree and an apple fell on his head and thereafter he thought of the Law of Gravity.
Again that is an everyday occurrence and it is an obvious fact, and it has to be discovered.
But besides mathematical and scientific formulations, there are also a whole slate of laws and principles that give a reflection of the reality of life.
We would have certainly heard of Murphy’s Law. It’s that famous formulation: What can go wrong will go wrong. (We will certainly agree!)
And besides that, there are also funny and humorous “laws”.
Law of the queue: If you change queue, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.
Law of telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged tone.
Law of the bath: When your body is coated with soap lather, the doorbell will ring.
Law of encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with (a warning for those who are two-timing).
Law of coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until your coffee is cold.
Enough of humorous reflections about the “laws” of life.
But whether it’s the law of gravity or the Archimedes Principle or Murphy’s Law, it is about the reality of life.
And the reality of life has a fundamental truth to it. When we discover and understand this truth, then we will be able to handle life and be at peace.
In the gospel, Jesus told His disciples that He still had many things to say to them but it would be too much for them.
But He will send the Spirit of truth to lead us to the complete truth.
Today, as the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday, that is the one truth that has been revealed to us.
The fact is that in the whole Bible, we can never find the word “Trinity”.
Nor is it said anywhere in the Bible that God is three Persons, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Yet, that is the truth about God, and it is revealed to us by God Himself. But we need to reflect on it and discover the meaning of it in our lives.
But the essential truth of the Trinity is that God is united in a loving relationship of the three Persons, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
That is the truth about God. And what about ourselves? What is the truth about ourselves and our lives?
One of the golden rules about life is that whatever you do to something, it does back to you, ie. An action follows with a reaction.
It may be people, it may be situations, it may be objects.
There is a story of a father and his son walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams, “Aaahhhh!!!” To his surprise, he hears a voice repeating, “Aaahhhh!!!”
Curious, he yells, “Who are you?” He receives the answer, “Who are you?”
Angered at the response, he screams, “Coward!” He receives a reply, “Coward!”
He looks to his father and asks, “What is going on?”The father smiles and says, “My son, pay attention.”
Then he shouts to the mountain, “I admire you.” And the voice answers, “I admire you.”
Again the man shouts, “You are good.” The voice answers, “You are good.”
The boy is surprised and does not quite understand. Then the father explains:
People call this the Echo, but really this is life. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in this world, then have more love in your heart. If you want more peace in this world, then have more peace in your heart.
This fact applies to everything, in all aspects of life. Life will give you back everything you have given to it.
The Law of Echo is so obvious; it has been discovered and yet we need to be reminded of it.
God who is Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, loves each other and they are united in love.
The echo of Their love resonates constantly in our hearts so that we can love others in the same way that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit loves each other.
So on this Trinity Sunday, let us remember the Law of Echo.
Life gives back to us what we have given to it.
So, let us be loving, and love will be given back to us.
Weekday Homilies
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
7th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 25-05-13
Ecclesiasticus 17:1-15 / Mark 10:13-16
Mankind have invented and created a huge array of wonderful and marvelous and awesome things.
Many of these inventions and creations have contributed to the good of mankind.
Yet there are also many inventions and creations that are detrimental and even destructive to mankind.
Regardless of which is which, for all that mankind can invent and create, man cannot create himself.
He may even try to push the moral parameters of science and research to clone himself but he knows that he can't create himself.
As a matter of fact, man can't even create the earth from which he came forth. And that is what the 1st reading is reminding us.
"The Lord fashioned man from the earth, to consign him back to it". And more than that, man's ways are always under the eye of the Lord, and they cannot be hidden from His sight.
So for man, it is from ashes to ashes, from dust to dust. Yet in the time between coming to life from dust and turning into ashes, man has that ability to rise to his best or sink into his worst.
So as we reflect on the reality and the finality of ourselves and our lives, may we realize that the best that we can be is to be obedient children of God our Father.
Let us be like those little children in the gospel whom Jesus embraced and blessed. That would be the most wonderful, marvelous and awesome thing that can happen in our lives.
Mankind have invented and created a huge array of wonderful and marvelous and awesome things.
Many of these inventions and creations have contributed to the good of mankind.
Yet there are also many inventions and creations that are detrimental and even destructive to mankind.
Regardless of which is which, for all that mankind can invent and create, man cannot create himself.
He may even try to push the moral parameters of science and research to clone himself but he knows that he can't create himself.
As a matter of fact, man can't even create the earth from which he came forth. And that is what the 1st reading is reminding us.
"The Lord fashioned man from the earth, to consign him back to it". And more than that, man's ways are always under the eye of the Lord, and they cannot be hidden from His sight.
So for man, it is from ashes to ashes, from dust to dust. Yet in the time between coming to life from dust and turning into ashes, man has that ability to rise to his best or sink into his worst.
So as we reflect on the reality and the finality of ourselves and our lives, may we realize that the best that we can be is to be obedient children of God our Father.
Let us be like those little children in the gospel whom Jesus embraced and blessed. That would be the most wonderful, marvelous and awesome thing that can happen in our lives.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
7th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 24-05-13
Ecclesaisticus 6:5-17 / Mark 10:1-12
In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a Letter to Chinese Catholics, in which he asked that May 24 each year be dedicated to a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.
He chose May 24 because it is the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, who is venerated at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.
In honor of the first celebration of the World Day of Prayer for China, in 2008, Pope Benedict composed a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan and asked that Christians throughout the world recite it on May 24.
Indeed, it is an occasion in which the whole Church would “demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude” (care and concern) for the persecuted Church in China by acts of prayer and penance.
So it is a call for action on the spiritual dimension, something that we the Church can do, and yet we seem to have neglected it.
There seem to be this disturbing "spiritual divorce" within the Church in that we have not heeded the call for unity and solidarity and solicitude for our Catholic brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.
The 1st reading talks about friends and particularly what a faithful friend is. A faithful friend is a sure shelter, whoever finds one has found a rare treasure. A faithful friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth.
Let us be united in this kind of friendship with the Lord and with each other. And let us offer the love of this friendship to our brothers and sisters in the Church in China by offering the prayer below for them, especially on this day that is dedicated for prayer for them.
May the Lord guard and protect the Church in China, and may He give them strength and courage in the trials and difficulties that they face.
Prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan (A Prayer for Chinese Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI)
Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title "Help of Christians,"
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother's care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.
When you obediently said "yes" in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God's eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously co-operated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.
From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God's loving presence.
Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!
In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a Letter to Chinese Catholics, in which he asked that May 24 each year be dedicated to a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.
He chose May 24 because it is the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, who is venerated at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.
In honor of the first celebration of the World Day of Prayer for China, in 2008, Pope Benedict composed a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan and asked that Christians throughout the world recite it on May 24.
Indeed, it is an occasion in which the whole Church would “demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude” (care and concern) for the persecuted Church in China by acts of prayer and penance.
So it is a call for action on the spiritual dimension, something that we the Church can do, and yet we seem to have neglected it.
There seem to be this disturbing "spiritual divorce" within the Church in that we have not heeded the call for unity and solidarity and solicitude for our Catholic brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.
The 1st reading talks about friends and particularly what a faithful friend is. A faithful friend is a sure shelter, whoever finds one has found a rare treasure. A faithful friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth.
Let us be united in this kind of friendship with the Lord and with each other. And let us offer the love of this friendship to our brothers and sisters in the Church in China by offering the prayer below for them, especially on this day that is dedicated for prayer for them.
May the Lord guard and protect the Church in China, and may He give them strength and courage in the trials and difficulties that they face.
Prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan (A Prayer for Chinese Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI)
Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title "Help of Christians,"
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother's care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.
When you obediently said "yes" in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God's eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously co-operated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.
From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God's loving presence.
Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
7th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 23-05-13
Ecclesiasticus 5:1-8 / Mark 9:41-50
We have been taught that there are two categories of sin - mortal sin and venial sin.
Mortal sin is grave and serious. It results in a complete separation from God and warrants eternal damnation.
Venial sin, or "forgivable" sin, does not concern a grave matter, or that it is committed without full knowledge, or that it is not committed with both deliberate and complete consent.
Having said all that, it still cannot be denied that sin is sin, and the fact is that sin and God cannot co-exist!
Yes, sin, regardless of whether it is mortal or venial, is serious and woe to us if we take it too lightly because that would mean that we have fallen into the devil's deception.
The 1st reading urges us - Do not say, "I have sinned, and what happened to me?" for the Lord's forbearance is long.
Yes, the Lord is loving and forgiving and merciful and compassionate.
But the 1st reading also warns us not to delay our return to the Lord, do not put it off day after day, for suddenly the Lord's wrath will blaze out and it will be tragic for us.
In the gospel, Jesus is no less serious about sin when He used words like "if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off" and "if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off".
Yet it still must be reiterated that the Lord is loving and forgiving and merciful and compassionate. And that should make us repent and detest sin, because God and sin cannot co-exist.
As St. Therese of the Child Jesus said : A pure heart knows no evil.
We have been taught that there are two categories of sin - mortal sin and venial sin.
Mortal sin is grave and serious. It results in a complete separation from God and warrants eternal damnation.
Venial sin, or "forgivable" sin, does not concern a grave matter, or that it is committed without full knowledge, or that it is not committed with both deliberate and complete consent.
Having said all that, it still cannot be denied that sin is sin, and the fact is that sin and God cannot co-exist!
Yes, sin, regardless of whether it is mortal or venial, is serious and woe to us if we take it too lightly because that would mean that we have fallen into the devil's deception.
The 1st reading urges us - Do not say, "I have sinned, and what happened to me?" for the Lord's forbearance is long.
Yes, the Lord is loving and forgiving and merciful and compassionate.
But the 1st reading also warns us not to delay our return to the Lord, do not put it off day after day, for suddenly the Lord's wrath will blaze out and it will be tragic for us.
In the gospel, Jesus is no less serious about sin when He used words like "if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off" and "if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off".
Yet it still must be reiterated that the Lord is loving and forgiving and merciful and compassionate. And that should make us repent and detest sin, because God and sin cannot co-exist.
As St. Therese of the Child Jesus said : A pure heart knows no evil.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
7th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 22-05-13
Ecclesiasticus 4:11-19 / Mark 9:38-40
Whenever someone tells us that something is tried and tested, we will certainly have more confidence in it.
More so, if we ourselves have tried and tested something and it is to our satisfaction, then we will be able to speak about it more confidently.
So it may be a gadget or a method or a product, if it has been tried and tested, and has proven effective and successful, it will also be able to command some confidence from others.
But if "tried and tested" is about persons, then these persons will certainly have the trust and confidence of others.
Yet to be tried and to be tested and to be trusted certainly comes with a price.
The 1st reading says that Wisdom brings up her own sons, and cares for those who seek her. Whoever obeys her judges aright and whoever pays attention to her dwells secure.
But Wisdom will also take a person at first through winding ways, bringing fear and faintness on him, plaguing him with her discipline until she can trust him, and testing him with her ordeals.
But in the end she will lead him back to the straight road and reveal her secrets to him.
That is what it means, and the price to pay, to be tried and tested and trusted. Yet the reward is the priceless wisdom to live life and to walk in the ways of God.
In the gospel, Jesus taught us a basic and yet fundamental wisdom of life: Anyone who is not against us is for us.
May we be for others a tried and tested and wise servant of God so that we can lead them to God and in the wisdom of His ways.
Whenever someone tells us that something is tried and tested, we will certainly have more confidence in it.
More so, if we ourselves have tried and tested something and it is to our satisfaction, then we will be able to speak about it more confidently.
So it may be a gadget or a method or a product, if it has been tried and tested, and has proven effective and successful, it will also be able to command some confidence from others.
But if "tried and tested" is about persons, then these persons will certainly have the trust and confidence of others.
Yet to be tried and to be tested and to be trusted certainly comes with a price.
The 1st reading says that Wisdom brings up her own sons, and cares for those who seek her. Whoever obeys her judges aright and whoever pays attention to her dwells secure.
But Wisdom will also take a person at first through winding ways, bringing fear and faintness on him, plaguing him with her discipline until she can trust him, and testing him with her ordeals.
But in the end she will lead him back to the straight road and reveal her secrets to him.
That is what it means, and the price to pay, to be tried and tested and trusted. Yet the reward is the priceless wisdom to live life and to walk in the ways of God.
In the gospel, Jesus taught us a basic and yet fundamental wisdom of life: Anyone who is not against us is for us.
May we be for others a tried and tested and wise servant of God so that we can lead them to God and in the wisdom of His ways.
Monday, May 20, 2013
7th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 21-05-13
Ecclesaisticus 2:1-11 / Mark 9:30-37
For every question that is asked, there is an answer to it. Even for rhetoric questions, we already know what the answer is.
Yet if a question is asked, and no answer is given, then there could be a couple of possible reasons for it.
It is either that no one really knows the answer but they will have to say so, or that the answer is so stark that it is too embarrassing to say it.
In the gospel, when Jesus asked His disciples what were they arguing about on the road, they said nothing.
They surely knew what they were arguing about - which of them is the greatest. But now they are like small boys hanging down their heads and not wanting to say anything.
Certainly when grown men argue like small boys, it is really embarrassing, and more so when they were the disciples of Jesus, and even more so when just before that, Jesus was telling them about the suffering and death He had to go through.
And it was here that Jesus showed those big "small boys" what greatness really is. He set a little boy before them and gave them this profound teaching: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.
The 1st reading gave us such a startling teaching that we would rather not hear about it. It says: My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal.
It continues with this: Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire, and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation.
So if we were to ask what greatness is, we also know what the answer is. May we be willing and humble enough to accept that answer.
For every question that is asked, there is an answer to it. Even for rhetoric questions, we already know what the answer is.
Yet if a question is asked, and no answer is given, then there could be a couple of possible reasons for it.
It is either that no one really knows the answer but they will have to say so, or that the answer is so stark that it is too embarrassing to say it.
In the gospel, when Jesus asked His disciples what were they arguing about on the road, they said nothing.
They surely knew what they were arguing about - which of them is the greatest. But now they are like small boys hanging down their heads and not wanting to say anything.
Certainly when grown men argue like small boys, it is really embarrassing, and more so when they were the disciples of Jesus, and even more so when just before that, Jesus was telling them about the suffering and death He had to go through.
And it was here that Jesus showed those big "small boys" what greatness really is. He set a little boy before them and gave them this profound teaching: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.
The 1st reading gave us such a startling teaching that we would rather not hear about it. It says: My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal.
It continues with this: Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire, and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation.
So if we were to ask what greatness is, we also know what the answer is. May we be willing and humble enough to accept that answer.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
7th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 20-05-13
Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 / Mark 9:14-29
The relationship between a master and a disciple is like that between a father and a son.
The master imparts all he knows to the disciple and the disciple assimilates all he can from the master.
Yet, just as there are times when the son thinks he knows better than the father, the disciple will also be tempted to think that he is better than the master.
Things only become clear, maybe even painfully clear, when the truth is shown in the challenges of life.
In today's gospel, we hear scorching words from Jesus to His disciples: How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you?
A man had brought his son to his disciples to be delivered of an unclean spirit of dumbness but they were unable to.
To make matters more embarrassing, His disciples ended up arguing with some scribes. So instead of healing, the disciples got engaged in arguing.
Hence when Jesus arrived and asked why they were arguing, they didn't respond, maybe because they knew they had detracted and lost focus on what Jesus would have done.
Later when they had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately as to why they were unable to cast that unclean spirit out.
The answer Jesus gave would certainly make the disciples, as well as us, do some serious thinking. Jesus said: This is the kind that can only be driven out by prayer.
Indeed, without prayer, the disciple can never be like the master. But with prayer, the disciple will gain the wisdom of the master.
As the 1st reading puts it: All wisdom is from the Lord ... and He conveyed her to those who love Him. If we are serious about learning from Jesus our Master, then we need to be serious in prayer.
The relationship between a master and a disciple is like that between a father and a son.
The master imparts all he knows to the disciple and the disciple assimilates all he can from the master.
Yet, just as there are times when the son thinks he knows better than the father, the disciple will also be tempted to think that he is better than the master.
Things only become clear, maybe even painfully clear, when the truth is shown in the challenges of life.
In today's gospel, we hear scorching words from Jesus to His disciples: How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you?
A man had brought his son to his disciples to be delivered of an unclean spirit of dumbness but they were unable to.
To make matters more embarrassing, His disciples ended up arguing with some scribes. So instead of healing, the disciples got engaged in arguing.
Hence when Jesus arrived and asked why they were arguing, they didn't respond, maybe because they knew they had detracted and lost focus on what Jesus would have done.
Later when they had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately as to why they were unable to cast that unclean spirit out.
The answer Jesus gave would certainly make the disciples, as well as us, do some serious thinking. Jesus said: This is the kind that can only be driven out by prayer.
Indeed, without prayer, the disciple can never be like the master. But with prayer, the disciple will gain the wisdom of the master.
As the 1st reading puts it: All wisdom is from the Lord ... and He conveyed her to those who love Him. If we are serious about learning from Jesus our Master, then we need to be serious in prayer.
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