My dear brothers and sisters,
The priests of the Archdiocese of Singapore will be having their annual retreat from 15th July Monday to 19th July Friday.
I will also be at this retreat and I am really looking forward to it for a time of silence and prayer.
As such, there will be no weekday homily postings for this week. The next post will be for the 16th Ordinary Sunday.
Requesting prayers for myself and my brother priests that we will be renewed and re-focused so that we will continue to faithfully serve the Lord and His holy people.
Thank you. May God bless you!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013
15th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 14.07.2013
Deuteronomy 30:10-14/ Colossians 1:15-20/ Luke 10:25-37
We can’t help it but we are always attracted to what is free.
Be it free service, free upgrade, free flow of drinks, free WiFi. Yes, whatever that is free, we will go for it, like bees to honey.
But as we may know by now, nothing in life comes for free. So we will just have to settle for what comes next, and that is whatever that is good, cheap and fast.
Especially when it comes to service. We would like to have cheap, good and fast service.
But we know by now that good and cheap service won’t be fast.
And good and fast service won’t be cheap. And of course fast and cheap service won’t be good.
So, it means that in life, we can’t have it all, and much less can we ever have it free.
Yet, in the area of information technology, there are certain things that can come for free – free apps, which are available for free download.
It all started when some clever and generous people decided to use their talents and create some open-source programs and applications and offer it to those who might have use for it.
So now what is available free on the internet are programs and apps that really come for free – free anti-virus, free operating systems, free email (even free encyclopedia).
Yes, we have used these free programs and apps and they have benefitted us.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, these clever and generous people have given us an example that there are people in this world who are willing to help others – for free!
And that their contributions can make a difference and indeed have made a difference.
In the gospel, we heard Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The parable was a response to a lawyer’s question of “Who is my neighbour?”
And the parable shook the ground of the listeners because of the dramatic twist in the story.
Because the hero of the story is not one of their own people.
Rather, it was an outsider. In fact, an enemy of the Jews, someone who was despised and written off by the Jews.
But why would Jesus want to bring in a Samaritan into the parable and risk the possibility of turning away his listeners and maybe even hardening their hearts?
But the point of the parable was to awaken His listeners.
The implicit question here is that are they not going to help their own people in need? Can they just walk away from those who are half dead and let the outsiders and even enemies take care of them?
And that is also the question for us as the People of God. Are we not going to help our own people in need? Can we just walk away and leave them to outsiders?
Today we are reminded of the law that is written in our hearts – To love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind, and to love our neighbour as ourselves.
It is with that kind of love that we can restore the hope of our own people and the hope of humanity.
We may have heard of this word “ubuntu”. For those who are geeks among us, we know of it as a free, open-source operating system for computers and electronic devices.
But there is a story behind the word “ubuntu”.
An anthropologist had been studying the habits and customs of an African tribe, and when he finished his work, had to wait for transportation that would take him to the airport to return home.
He'd always been surrounded by the children of the tribe, so to help pass the time before he left, he proposed a game for the children to play.
He'd bought lots of sweets in the city, so he put everything in a basket with a beautiful ribbon attached. He placed it under a tree, and then he called the kids together.
He drew a line on the ground and explained that they should wait behind the line for his signal. And that when he said "Go!" they should rush over to the basket, and the first to reach it would win all the sweets.
When he said "Go!" they all unexpectedly held each other's hands and ran off towards the tree as a group. Once there, they simply shared the sweets with each other and happily ate it.
The anthropologist was very surprised. He asked them why they had all gone together, especially if the first one to reach the tree could have won everything in the basket - all the sweets.
A young girl simply replied: "Ubuntu! - How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?"
The anthropologist was dumbfounded! For months and months he'd been studying the tribe, yet it was only now that he really understood their true essence.
That also makes us think. How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?
Ubuntu also means, "I am because we are." Ubuntu is a Zulu or Xhosa word, and a traditional African concept. It's a term for humaneness, for caring, sharing and being in harmony with others and all of creation.
If ubuntu means “I am because we are”, then how about the word Christian?
Christian would mean “I am love because God is love”.
Jesus had said : You received without charge, give without charge. In other words, we received love freely, we too must give love freely.
In loving God and loving our neighbour, we will truly understand the meaning of happiness.
Because when others are happy, then we in turn will be happy. As that little girl told the anthropologist: How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?
So let us be a loving neighbour to one another and help those in need and share the happiness of life with one another.
Let us make a difference in this world that tends to be indifferent.
With that we will restore the hope that humanity can love freely and generously, just as God has loved us, freely and generously.
We can’t help it but we are always attracted to what is free.
Be it free service, free upgrade, free flow of drinks, free WiFi. Yes, whatever that is free, we will go for it, like bees to honey.
But as we may know by now, nothing in life comes for free. So we will just have to settle for what comes next, and that is whatever that is good, cheap and fast.
Especially when it comes to service. We would like to have cheap, good and fast service.
But we know by now that good and cheap service won’t be fast.
And good and fast service won’t be cheap. And of course fast and cheap service won’t be good.
So, it means that in life, we can’t have it all, and much less can we ever have it free.
Yet, in the area of information technology, there are certain things that can come for free – free apps, which are available for free download.
It all started when some clever and generous people decided to use their talents and create some open-source programs and applications and offer it to those who might have use for it.
So now what is available free on the internet are programs and apps that really come for free – free anti-virus, free operating systems, free email (even free encyclopedia).
Yes, we have used these free programs and apps and they have benefitted us.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, these clever and generous people have given us an example that there are people in this world who are willing to help others – for free!
And that their contributions can make a difference and indeed have made a difference.
In the gospel, we heard Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The parable was a response to a lawyer’s question of “Who is my neighbour?”
And the parable shook the ground of the listeners because of the dramatic twist in the story.
Because the hero of the story is not one of their own people.
Rather, it was an outsider. In fact, an enemy of the Jews, someone who was despised and written off by the Jews.
But why would Jesus want to bring in a Samaritan into the parable and risk the possibility of turning away his listeners and maybe even hardening their hearts?
But the point of the parable was to awaken His listeners.
The implicit question here is that are they not going to help their own people in need? Can they just walk away from those who are half dead and let the outsiders and even enemies take care of them?
And that is also the question for us as the People of God. Are we not going to help our own people in need? Can we just walk away and leave them to outsiders?
Today we are reminded of the law that is written in our hearts – To love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind, and to love our neighbour as ourselves.
It is with that kind of love that we can restore the hope of our own people and the hope of humanity.
We may have heard of this word “ubuntu”. For those who are geeks among us, we know of it as a free, open-source operating system for computers and electronic devices.
But there is a story behind the word “ubuntu”.
An anthropologist had been studying the habits and customs of an African tribe, and when he finished his work, had to wait for transportation that would take him to the airport to return home.
He'd always been surrounded by the children of the tribe, so to help pass the time before he left, he proposed a game for the children to play.
He'd bought lots of sweets in the city, so he put everything in a basket with a beautiful ribbon attached. He placed it under a tree, and then he called the kids together.
He drew a line on the ground and explained that they should wait behind the line for his signal. And that when he said "Go!" they should rush over to the basket, and the first to reach it would win all the sweets.
When he said "Go!" they all unexpectedly held each other's hands and ran off towards the tree as a group. Once there, they simply shared the sweets with each other and happily ate it.
The anthropologist was very surprised. He asked them why they had all gone together, especially if the first one to reach the tree could have won everything in the basket - all the sweets.
A young girl simply replied: "Ubuntu! - How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?"
The anthropologist was dumbfounded! For months and months he'd been studying the tribe, yet it was only now that he really understood their true essence.
That also makes us think. How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?
Ubuntu also means, "I am because we are." Ubuntu is a Zulu or Xhosa word, and a traditional African concept. It's a term for humaneness, for caring, sharing and being in harmony with others and all of creation.
If ubuntu means “I am because we are”, then how about the word Christian?
Christian would mean “I am love because God is love”.
Jesus had said : You received without charge, give without charge. In other words, we received love freely, we too must give love freely.
In loving God and loving our neighbour, we will truly understand the meaning of happiness.
Because when others are happy, then we in turn will be happy. As that little girl told the anthropologist: How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?
So let us be a loving neighbour to one another and help those in need and share the happiness of life with one another.
Let us make a difference in this world that tends to be indifferent.
With that we will restore the hope that humanity can love freely and generously, just as God has loved us, freely and generously.
Friday, July 12, 2013
14th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 13-07-13
Genesis 49:29-33; 50:15-26 / Matthew 10:24-38 (2021 / 2023 / 2025)
If we were to ask ourselves this question - Am I afraid of death? - how honestly can we answer that question?
Whatever the answer may be, it is inevitable that that is some apprehension, if not fear, about death.
Because no one whom we know of (except Jesus of course) ever came back to tell us of what lies beyond the door of death.
In the 1st reading we hear of two people who knew that the time of their death was coming up.
And they even said it as a matter of fact - Jacob said : I am about to be gathered to my people ; and later Joseph would say : I am about to die.
They seemed to talk about and take death as a part of life. They don't seem to be apprehensive or fear death. Maybe because they know who they would be returning to when their life on earth is over.
In fact the ones that seemed to fear death are the ones who are left behind on earth.
Joseph's brothers feared that with the death of their father, Joseph would now take revenge for all the harm they had done to him before.
In the gospel, Jesus urged His disciples not to be afraid (3 times even).
We become afraid when we forget who is looking after us and what we should do in life in order to prepare for death.
Yes, in forgetting we fear. So let us remember what Jesus has taught us about life, and He will remember us when we face our death.
If we were to ask ourselves this question - Am I afraid of death? - how honestly can we answer that question?
Whatever the answer may be, it is inevitable that that is some apprehension, if not fear, about death.
Because no one whom we know of (except Jesus of course) ever came back to tell us of what lies beyond the door of death.
In the 1st reading we hear of two people who knew that the time of their death was coming up.
And they even said it as a matter of fact - Jacob said : I am about to be gathered to my people ; and later Joseph would say : I am about to die.
They seemed to talk about and take death as a part of life. They don't seem to be apprehensive or fear death. Maybe because they know who they would be returning to when their life on earth is over.
In fact the ones that seemed to fear death are the ones who are left behind on earth.
Joseph's brothers feared that with the death of their father, Joseph would now take revenge for all the harm they had done to him before.
In the gospel, Jesus urged His disciples not to be afraid (3 times even).
We become afraid when we forget who is looking after us and what we should do in life in order to prepare for death.
Yes, in forgetting we fear. So let us remember what Jesus has taught us about life, and He will remember us when we face our death.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
14th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 12-07-13
Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30 / Matthew 10:16-23
Stories of courage and bravery in the face of danger and death are usually very inspiring.
Those kind of stories, especially when they are real life stories, stirs in our hearts the sentiments that people make in self-sacrifice and makes us think about whether we would do the same if we were in their shoes.
In the gospel we heard Jesus beginning His instruction of the Twelve with this line: Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.
Following which is a description that will make us shrink if we were to imagine that it would really happen to us.
But we may silently ask ourselves if it is that worth it to go through all this.
Can there be another way out in that we just live our lives quietly and have just some faith to do good to others? Can that just be enough?
But as Jesus said, the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. Yes, when we stand firm in the face of difficulties and danger, we will be rewarded.
In the 1st reading, we hear how Joseph was rewarded for his perseverance in all his trials. He was finally reunited with his father Jacob after more than twenty years, and when they finally met, Joseph threw his arms around Jacob's neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder.
It was indeed a very moving moment of reunion and the pain of trials and difficulties and danger don't seem to matter any more.
So let us stand firm in our trials on earth. Eventually when we are reunited with God our Father, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Stories of courage and bravery in the face of danger and death are usually very inspiring.
Those kind of stories, especially when they are real life stories, stirs in our hearts the sentiments that people make in self-sacrifice and makes us think about whether we would do the same if we were in their shoes.
In the gospel we heard Jesus beginning His instruction of the Twelve with this line: Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.
Following which is a description that will make us shrink if we were to imagine that it would really happen to us.
But we may silently ask ourselves if it is that worth it to go through all this.
Can there be another way out in that we just live our lives quietly and have just some faith to do good to others? Can that just be enough?
But as Jesus said, the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. Yes, when we stand firm in the face of difficulties and danger, we will be rewarded.
In the 1st reading, we hear how Joseph was rewarded for his perseverance in all his trials. He was finally reunited with his father Jacob after more than twenty years, and when they finally met, Joseph threw his arms around Jacob's neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder.
It was indeed a very moving moment of reunion and the pain of trials and difficulties and danger don't seem to matter any more.
So let us stand firm in our trials on earth. Eventually when we are reunited with God our Father, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
14th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 11-07-13
Genesis 44:18-21, 23-29; 45:1-5 / Matthew 10:7-15
St. Benedict whose feast day we celebrate today was born in AD 450. Although he lived and studied in Rome, he could not take the meaningless life of the city and he went to live a life of deep solitude as a hermit in the mountains.
His reputation spread, and some monks asked him to be their abbot, but when they could not take the discipline he imposed, they tried to poison him.
But his later followers were more matured and sincere and disciplined and with them, St. Benedict began founding communities which developed into monasteries.
Eventually he founded the famous monastery of Monte Cassino which became the roots of the Church's monastic system.
His beliefs and instructions on religious life were collected in what is now known as the Rule of Saint Benedict and it is still directing religious life after 15 centuries.
St. Benedict realized the strongest and truest foundation for the power of words was the Word of God itself: "For what page or word of the Bible is not a perfect rule for temporal life?"
St. Benedict instructed his followers to practice sacred reading. In this lectio divina, he and his monks memorized the Scripture, studied it, and contemplated it until it became part of their being. Four to six hours were set aside each day for this sacred reading.
We who live such a hectic stressful urban life will even wonder if we can ever manage to have four to six minutes a day to read scripture and we could hardly remember what we have read as busyness overwhelms our minds.
But just as Jesus instructed His apostles on the mission ahead, through the Sacred Scriptures, Jesus is also instructing us on the Way, the Truth and the Life.
In St. Benedict's words : "For what page or word of the Bible is not a perfect rule for temporal life?" May we take some time out in the temporary life to read about and prepare for eternal life.
St. Benedict whose feast day we celebrate today was born in AD 450. Although he lived and studied in Rome, he could not take the meaningless life of the city and he went to live a life of deep solitude as a hermit in the mountains.
His reputation spread, and some monks asked him to be their abbot, but when they could not take the discipline he imposed, they tried to poison him.
But his later followers were more matured and sincere and disciplined and with them, St. Benedict began founding communities which developed into monasteries.
Eventually he founded the famous monastery of Monte Cassino which became the roots of the Church's monastic system.
His beliefs and instructions on religious life were collected in what is now known as the Rule of Saint Benedict and it is still directing religious life after 15 centuries.
St. Benedict realized the strongest and truest foundation for the power of words was the Word of God itself: "For what page or word of the Bible is not a perfect rule for temporal life?"
St. Benedict instructed his followers to practice sacred reading. In this lectio divina, he and his monks memorized the Scripture, studied it, and contemplated it until it became part of their being. Four to six hours were set aside each day for this sacred reading.
We who live such a hectic stressful urban life will even wonder if we can ever manage to have four to six minutes a day to read scripture and we could hardly remember what we have read as busyness overwhelms our minds.
But just as Jesus instructed His apostles on the mission ahead, through the Sacred Scriptures, Jesus is also instructing us on the Way, the Truth and the Life.
In St. Benedict's words : "For what page or word of the Bible is not a perfect rule for temporal life?" May we take some time out in the temporary life to read about and prepare for eternal life.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
14th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 10-07-13
Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7, 17-24 / Matthew 10:1-7 (2019)
The hardships of life often has the effect of hardening our hearts.
And as we face the hardships of life, it is inevitable that what arises in our minds is the person or persons that caused our hardships.
So it may be our boss or supervisor, our colleague or peers, our subordinates or family members, but with resentment and bitterness we will blame them for our predicament.
"People can live through great hardships and yet perish from hard feelings." (Solzhenitsyn)
In the 1st reading, we hear about Joseph who had the authority in Egypt to sell grain to all comers during a time of great famine.
It was this Joseph that his brothers had sold into slavery much earlier and he went through many hardships before God raised him to fame and authority.
And now his brothers were bowing before him though they did not recognize him. So it could be pay back time and Joseph could give his brothers a greater hardship than the famine they were facing.
But Joseph did not give in to resentment and bitterness against his brothers. In fact, after hearing their conversation, he left and wept.
In the gospel when Jesus called the apostles and sent them off to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, it was going to entail great hardships from difficult people.
But for the sake of the kingdom and because the kingdom is close at hand, they cannot give in to resentment and bitterness.
Neither can we. Because the kingdom of heaven is close at hand, let us soften our hearts so as to let the kingdom of heaven take root in us.
The hardships of life often has the effect of hardening our hearts.
And as we face the hardships of life, it is inevitable that what arises in our minds is the person or persons that caused our hardships.
So it may be our boss or supervisor, our colleague or peers, our subordinates or family members, but with resentment and bitterness we will blame them for our predicament.
"People can live through great hardships and yet perish from hard feelings." (Solzhenitsyn)
In the 1st reading, we hear about Joseph who had the authority in Egypt to sell grain to all comers during a time of great famine.
It was this Joseph that his brothers had sold into slavery much earlier and he went through many hardships before God raised him to fame and authority.
And now his brothers were bowing before him though they did not recognize him. So it could be pay back time and Joseph could give his brothers a greater hardship than the famine they were facing.
But Joseph did not give in to resentment and bitterness against his brothers. In fact, after hearing their conversation, he left and wept.
In the gospel when Jesus called the apostles and sent them off to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, it was going to entail great hardships from difficult people.
But for the sake of the kingdom and because the kingdom is close at hand, they cannot give in to resentment and bitterness.
Neither can we. Because the kingdom of heaven is close at hand, let us soften our hearts so as to let the kingdom of heaven take root in us.
Monday, July 8, 2013
14th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 09-07-13
Genesis 32:23-33 / Matthew 9:32-38
Life has its ups and downs, its moments of excitement and monotony and drudgery.
As much as we would like life to be exciting and to get up and about, yet there is also the lethargy in us to just want to sit around and waste our time and our life away.
And then we complain that life is boring and meaningless and we may even end up looking for "excitement" in the wrong ways.
But just taking a casual look at the two readings, we can sense and feel that there is a lot of action and excitement.
In the gospel we hear of Jesus doing an exorcism, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And in the 1st reading, we hear of Jacob wrestling for a blessing with a mysterious character and even getting a dislocated hip in the process.
But all this action and excitement would not mean anything to us if we are not going to get up and get involved.
Jesus said that the harvest is rich but the labourers are few. The labourers that Jesus is talking about is none other than we.
If we don't labour for the harvest, then evil will only multiply, the Good News will be silenced, and the suffering will not find relief or compassion.
To labour for the harvest would be like Jacob wrestling for a blessing. It calls for perseverance and at times it will be painful.
But it will be exciting and it will give meaning to our lives.
Life has its ups and downs, its moments of excitement and monotony and drudgery.
As much as we would like life to be exciting and to get up and about, yet there is also the lethargy in us to just want to sit around and waste our time and our life away.
And then we complain that life is boring and meaningless and we may even end up looking for "excitement" in the wrong ways.
But just taking a casual look at the two readings, we can sense and feel that there is a lot of action and excitement.
In the gospel we hear of Jesus doing an exorcism, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And in the 1st reading, we hear of Jacob wrestling for a blessing with a mysterious character and even getting a dislocated hip in the process.
But all this action and excitement would not mean anything to us if we are not going to get up and get involved.
Jesus said that the harvest is rich but the labourers are few. The labourers that Jesus is talking about is none other than we.
If we don't labour for the harvest, then evil will only multiply, the Good News will be silenced, and the suffering will not find relief or compassion.
To labour for the harvest would be like Jacob wrestling for a blessing. It calls for perseverance and at times it will be painful.
But it will be exciting and it will give meaning to our lives.
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