Romans 8 : 1-11
Luke 13 : 1-9
It is during this time of the year that there is a spike in the offering of prayers and Masses.
The reason for this is because of the exams - PSLE, 'N' level, 'O' level, 'A' level
Obviously the purpose of these prayers and Mass offerings is to ask for blessings that the students will do well and get good results.
Another spike in the offering of prayers and Masses will come about just before the results are out.
It is a yearly affair ; an annual pattern.
Yet after these prayer spikes, things seem to cool off almost instantly and life goes on as usual.
For those who received God's blessings, I wonder if there is also fervent thanksgiving.
But if fervent petitions are not followed by fervent thanksgiving, then we may be taking God's blessings for granted.
It may mean that we are only interested in the unspiritual things of achievements and satisfactions, but we forget about the spiritual things of thanksgiving and trust in the Lord.
But because the Spirit has already been given to us to help us look beyond the unspiritual, we now look to the life in the Spirit.
When we live and move in the Spirit, our lives will bear fruits of thanksgiving and holy love.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
29th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 23-10-09
Rom 7:18-25a / Lk 12:54-59 (2021)
Just imagine this, a person is all alone at home and in bed.
In the middle of the night, suddenly there is the smell of smoke and the fire alarm goes off.
But instead of getting up from bed, that person buries his/her head under the pillow and refuses to do anything.
This may sound ridiculous, but that was what Jesus was saying about the people of His time.
They know how to interpret the signs of nature. But somehow they just ignore or refuse to heed the signs of the kingdom of God.
Jesus had said that the kingdom of God is within us.
That was why He asked the all-important question : Why not judge for yourselves what is right?
In the 1st reading, St. Paul made a good assessment of himself when he said that though the will to do what is good is in him, he acts against his will because of sin.
So instead of doing the good he wanted to do, he ended up doing something evil.
Despite this self-judgment, he also acknowledged who can save him from this wretched state.
Only Jesus Christ. He is THE sign of God. Let us heed this sign and act on it.
Just imagine this, a person is all alone at home and in bed.
In the middle of the night, suddenly there is the smell of smoke and the fire alarm goes off.
But instead of getting up from bed, that person buries his/her head under the pillow and refuses to do anything.
This may sound ridiculous, but that was what Jesus was saying about the people of His time.
They know how to interpret the signs of nature. But somehow they just ignore or refuse to heed the signs of the kingdom of God.
Jesus had said that the kingdom of God is within us.
That was why He asked the all-important question : Why not judge for yourselves what is right?
In the 1st reading, St. Paul made a good assessment of himself when he said that though the will to do what is good is in him, he acts against his will because of sin.
So instead of doing the good he wanted to do, he ended up doing something evil.
Despite this self-judgment, he also acknowledged who can save him from this wretched state.
Only Jesus Christ. He is THE sign of God. Let us heed this sign and act on it.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
29th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 22-10-09
Romans 6 : 19-23
Luke 12 : 49-53
Reading the Bible may not be as plain and simple as some people make it out to be.
Though there are simple and profound truths in it, there are also some confusing paradoxes.
What Jesus said in today's gospel is a good example.
Isn't He the Prince of Peace who came to unite all peoples?
Yet He said that He came to bring division and chaos.
So what is it now, unity or division? Peace or chaos?
Or could it be both? Well, it is like asking if the stairs go up or down.
They go both ways, and it depends on where we want to go.
So the teachings of Jesus depends on what we want to make out of it.
St. Paul, in the 1st reading, gave a good example of how the teachings of Jesus can be applied to us concretely.
He said that our bodies can be used for vice and immorality, or we can use our bodies at the service of righteousness and holiness.
So the teachings of Jesus is indeed like the stairs.
To reject it will inevitably lead to sin and the wages of sin is death.
To accept it and to live by it, is to have life, and eternal life with God.
Luke 12 : 49-53
Reading the Bible may not be as plain and simple as some people make it out to be.
Though there are simple and profound truths in it, there are also some confusing paradoxes.
What Jesus said in today's gospel is a good example.
Isn't He the Prince of Peace who came to unite all peoples?
Yet He said that He came to bring division and chaos.
So what is it now, unity or division? Peace or chaos?
Or could it be both? Well, it is like asking if the stairs go up or down.
They go both ways, and it depends on where we want to go.
So the teachings of Jesus depends on what we want to make out of it.
St. Paul, in the 1st reading, gave a good example of how the teachings of Jesus can be applied to us concretely.
He said that our bodies can be used for vice and immorality, or we can use our bodies at the service of righteousness and holiness.
So the teachings of Jesus is indeed like the stairs.
To reject it will inevitably lead to sin and the wages of sin is death.
To accept it and to live by it, is to have life, and eternal life with God.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
29th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 21-10-09
Romans 6 : 12-18 / Luke 12 : 39-48 (2023)
In any battle or war between two forces, there is a clear separation between the two forces, as in who is on which side.
So logically speaking, a soldier should know clearly who are the friendly forces and who is the enemy.
But many battles and wars have been won or lost because of an undiscovered danger. And that is the enemy within.
Or what is commonly called "traitors". A traitor betrays his/her own country to the enemy, so that the enemy can conquer the country.
In essence, a traitor is the enemy within.
In the 1st reading, St. Paul talked about offering ourselves to God as a weapon fighting on the side of God.
Yet he also warned that though we may not be slaves of sin or unholy weapons, we are not free from the clutches of sin.
In other words, if we are not careful, we will betray God, we will be traitors of the Body of Christ, we will become the enemy with the Church.
Similarly in the gospel, the unfaithful servant betrayed his master and is the traitor to the household. He is the enemy within.
In this Mass, let us offer ourselves to the Lord to be His instrument of holiness, and His weapons to fight against sin.
Let us also ask for God's grace to be on guard against unfaithfulness. May we never become the enemy with.
In any battle or war between two forces, there is a clear separation between the two forces, as in who is on which side.
So logically speaking, a soldier should know clearly who are the friendly forces and who is the enemy.
But many battles and wars have been won or lost because of an undiscovered danger. And that is the enemy within.
Or what is commonly called "traitors". A traitor betrays his/her own country to the enemy, so that the enemy can conquer the country.
In essence, a traitor is the enemy within.
In the 1st reading, St. Paul talked about offering ourselves to God as a weapon fighting on the side of God.
Yet he also warned that though we may not be slaves of sin or unholy weapons, we are not free from the clutches of sin.
In other words, if we are not careful, we will betray God, we will be traitors of the Body of Christ, we will become the enemy with the Church.
Similarly in the gospel, the unfaithful servant betrayed his master and is the traitor to the household. He is the enemy within.
In this Mass, let us offer ourselves to the Lord to be His instrument of holiness, and His weapons to fight against sin.
Let us also ask for God's grace to be on guard against unfaithfulness. May we never become the enemy with.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
29th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 20-10-09
Romans 5 : 12,15,17-21
Luke 12 : 35-38
The word "tomorrow" is a common word. But it is also a very versatile and a volatile word.
It is versatile in the sense that it can make us look ahead to the next day, to a fresh beginning and a new start.
But it is volatile in that we can begin to delay and procrastinate the things that we must do today.
The word "tomorrow" can give us this notion that we still have time and we begin to lose the sense of urgency.
In the gospel, Jesus reminds us about the sense of urgency, especially in doing the necessary.
No doubts about it, when we make a serious reflection on our lives, we will know what is necessary.
Yet that is precisely the problem. We keep delaying in making time for a serious reflection in prayer.
Our excuse is that we are too busy and hence we have no time.
And we put off to tomorrow what we need to do today. Unknowingly, we have fallen into the trap and the seduction of the devil.
Yet the 1st reading reminds us that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Rom 5:20)
Sin lures us to say that we will pray more tomorrow ; grace urges us to pray now.
Indeed, God's time is now. He is knocking at our hearts. May we open our hearts to Him ... now!
Luke 12 : 35-38
The word "tomorrow" is a common word. But it is also a very versatile and a volatile word.
It is versatile in the sense that it can make us look ahead to the next day, to a fresh beginning and a new start.
But it is volatile in that we can begin to delay and procrastinate the things that we must do today.
The word "tomorrow" can give us this notion that we still have time and we begin to lose the sense of urgency.
In the gospel, Jesus reminds us about the sense of urgency, especially in doing the necessary.
No doubts about it, when we make a serious reflection on our lives, we will know what is necessary.
Yet that is precisely the problem. We keep delaying in making time for a serious reflection in prayer.
Our excuse is that we are too busy and hence we have no time.
And we put off to tomorrow what we need to do today. Unknowingly, we have fallen into the trap and the seduction of the devil.
Yet the 1st reading reminds us that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Rom 5:20)
Sin lures us to say that we will pray more tomorrow ; grace urges us to pray now.
Indeed, God's time is now. He is knocking at our hearts. May we open our hearts to Him ... now!
Monday, October 19, 2009
29th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 19-10-09
Romans 4 : 20-25
Luke 12 : 13-21
It is necessary, even crucial, to have a faith-vision, because a faith-vision will help us to look beyond the present situation and to put our faith in God who is master of the future.
Just like Abraham continued to believe and to trust in God even when things did not look good at that moment, nor was it looking good for the future.
There is this story of two altar-boys.
One was born in 1892 in Eastern Europe and the other, three years later in a small town of Illinois in the US.
Although they lived thousands of miles apart, they had an almost identical experience as altar servers.
Both had an accident with the wine while serving Mass. They spilled some of it on the floor during the offertory.
That's where the similarity in their story ended.
The altar-boy in Eastern Europe was harshly reprimanded for being so clumsy and was told to stop serving Mass.
That boy grew up to become an atheist and a communist. His name is Josip Tito, who was dictator of the former Yugoslavia for 37 years.
The altar-boy in Illinois was consoled with these words from the priest : It is alright my boy. You will do better next time. You may even serve God as a priest.
That boy was the famous Bishop Fulton Sheen.
Many reflections can be made out of these two stories. But looking at it from the aspect of the faith of Abraham, then it is about having a faith-vision of a hope for the future.
Both altar-boys had a similar unfortunate experience of making a mistake, though one was punished and the other was not.
But one lost his faith-vision and took control of his future, which turned out to be a tragic one, while the other was given a faith-vision and put his future into the hands of God.
So it is a question of where our future lies.
If it lies in the self-made security of our riches and wealth, we may have to re-think our future.
If it lies in the hands of God, then despite the trials and turmoils of the present, we will still have hope for the future. Because we know that God is in control of our future.
Luke 12 : 13-21
It is necessary, even crucial, to have a faith-vision, because a faith-vision will help us to look beyond the present situation and to put our faith in God who is master of the future.
Just like Abraham continued to believe and to trust in God even when things did not look good at that moment, nor was it looking good for the future.
There is this story of two altar-boys.
One was born in 1892 in Eastern Europe and the other, three years later in a small town of Illinois in the US.
Although they lived thousands of miles apart, they had an almost identical experience as altar servers.
Both had an accident with the wine while serving Mass. They spilled some of it on the floor during the offertory.
That's where the similarity in their story ended.
The altar-boy in Eastern Europe was harshly reprimanded for being so clumsy and was told to stop serving Mass.
That boy grew up to become an atheist and a communist. His name is Josip Tito, who was dictator of the former Yugoslavia for 37 years.
The altar-boy in Illinois was consoled with these words from the priest : It is alright my boy. You will do better next time. You may even serve God as a priest.
That boy was the famous Bishop Fulton Sheen.
Many reflections can be made out of these two stories. But looking at it from the aspect of the faith of Abraham, then it is about having a faith-vision of a hope for the future.
Both altar-boys had a similar unfortunate experience of making a mistake, though one was punished and the other was not.
But one lost his faith-vision and took control of his future, which turned out to be a tragic one, while the other was given a faith-vision and put his future into the hands of God.
So it is a question of where our future lies.
If it lies in the self-made security of our riches and wealth, we may have to re-think our future.
If it lies in the hands of God, then despite the trials and turmoils of the present, we will still have hope for the future. Because we know that God is in control of our future.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
28th Week, Ordinary Time, Sat , 17-10-09
Rom 4:13, 16-18
Lk 12:8-12
There is always this question about the meaning of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit and what does that entail, because Jesus said that such a thing cannot be forgiven.
For us, we believe that the Holy Spirit is one of the Persons of the Triune God and that He is sent by the Father and the Son into our hearts to lead our lives and to direct us in the truth.
But if we knowingly and constantly ignore the call to faith and outrightly suppress the truth within us, then we are obstinately rejecting the Holy Spirit, which is actually rejecting God Himself.
But this is not likely that we are absolutely that stubborn.
However, to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is a more serious matter.
Because that would be to ascribe the working of the Holy Spirit and something holy to that of the working of the devil and the unholy.
Those who commit it persist in it even though they know what they are doing is not right at all.
It is like their eyes and hearts are so tightly closed to the goodness of divine power, so much so that the light of goodness had become darkness, and good had become evil.
Yet people like St Ignatius of Antioch have exposed the darkness of evil.
He stood up for love and goodness and truth, and for that he was thrown into the amphitheater and devoured by lions.
Yet his courage in witnessing for Christ and for love and truth lives on to this day.
May our faith gives us the courage to witness to God's truth and love.
Lk 12:8-12
There is always this question about the meaning of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit and what does that entail, because Jesus said that such a thing cannot be forgiven.
For us, we believe that the Holy Spirit is one of the Persons of the Triune God and that He is sent by the Father and the Son into our hearts to lead our lives and to direct us in the truth.
But if we knowingly and constantly ignore the call to faith and outrightly suppress the truth within us, then we are obstinately rejecting the Holy Spirit, which is actually rejecting God Himself.
But this is not likely that we are absolutely that stubborn.
However, to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is a more serious matter.
Because that would be to ascribe the working of the Holy Spirit and something holy to that of the working of the devil and the unholy.
Those who commit it persist in it even though they know what they are doing is not right at all.
It is like their eyes and hearts are so tightly closed to the goodness of divine power, so much so that the light of goodness had become darkness, and good had become evil.
Yet people like St Ignatius of Antioch have exposed the darkness of evil.
He stood up for love and goodness and truth, and for that he was thrown into the amphitheater and devoured by lions.
Yet his courage in witnessing for Christ and for love and truth lives on to this day.
May our faith gives us the courage to witness to God's truth and love.
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