Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 / Luke 11:1-4
One of the sports that is really amazing is gymnastics.
The graceful and yet gravity-defying movements are really astonishing and wonderful to see.
We will certainly admire the gymnasts for what they can do on the exercise floor, the parallel bars and the roman rings.
Yet, we can also be sure that they have put in many hours of practice, many hours of sweat and pain.
All that just for the sake of sports and maybe for a medal.
Jesus was looked upon by people as a teacher with authority, a healer, a miracle-worker and some may even see the divinity in Him.
More than that, when the disciples saw Him praying, they also knew that the wonderful work He was doing flowed from His prayer.
They too wanted to feel that power and hence they also wanted to learn how to pray and what prayer He used.
Jesus taught them the prayer of the "Our Father" or the "Lord's Prayer".
That is the heart of all the Church's prayer. Obviously, it is not meant to be said occasionally or sporadically.
We have to "practise" that prayer constantly - we have to pray it. And it has to go from just saying that prayer to living out that prayer.
We will have to have rigours of "practice" - the monotony, the boredom, the frustration, the doubt.
But when we are faithful to it, we too will experience power flowing out of our prayer, the power of love that flows through our lives towards God and others.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Monday, October 6, 2014
Our Lady of the Rosary, Tuesday, 07-10-14
Acts 1:12-14 / Luke 1:26-38
The story of how the Feast of the Holy Rosary came about is indeed interesting.
Back in 1571, the powerful Ottoman Turks decided to attack Europe from the East.
The stage was set for a decisive naval battle at the Gulf of Lepanto, off the coast of Greece.
A naval victory for the Turks would secure an opening for the Turkish army to overrun Christian Europe.
The pope at that time, Pope Pius V, called for a crusade against the invading Turks.
But at that time, the Church was already weakened by the Protestant Reformation and only a few countries responded.
In fact, the Christian fleet was outnumbered 3:1 and was no match for the mighty Turkish armada.
But Pope Pius V also called for a Rosary crusade to help the Christian forces.
On this day, 7th Oct 1571, the two parties fought and the mighty Turkish armada was miraculously defeated.
It was said that the Christian soldiers fought with swords in one hand and rosaries in the other.
And it can also be said that the battle was won, not with arms but with praying hands.
Indeed the simple, humble and powerful prayers of the Rosary can achieve miracles and work wonders.
Because Mary, the mother of Jesus, the mother of God prays with us when we pray the Rosary.
The story of how the Feast of the Holy Rosary came about is indeed interesting.
Back in 1571, the powerful Ottoman Turks decided to attack Europe from the East.
The stage was set for a decisive naval battle at the Gulf of Lepanto, off the coast of Greece.
A naval victory for the Turks would secure an opening for the Turkish army to overrun Christian Europe.
The pope at that time, Pope Pius V, called for a crusade against the invading Turks.
But at that time, the Church was already weakened by the Protestant Reformation and only a few countries responded.
In fact, the Christian fleet was outnumbered 3:1 and was no match for the mighty Turkish armada.
But Pope Pius V also called for a Rosary crusade to help the Christian forces.
On this day, 7th Oct 1571, the two parties fought and the mighty Turkish armada was miraculously defeated.
It was said that the Christian soldiers fought with swords in one hand and rosaries in the other.
And it can also be said that the battle was won, not with arms but with praying hands.
Indeed the simple, humble and powerful prayers of the Rosary can achieve miracles and work wonders.
Because Mary, the mother of Jesus, the mother of God prays with us when we pray the Rosary.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
27th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 06-10-14
Galatians 1:6-12 / Luke 10:25-37
To "go with the flow" is the mantra of the world and it has always been as such.
To find your way up and about, to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful, to be with the "in" circle, one may have to give up some principles and go with the flow.
Not to go with the flow would mean to swim up-stream and there we will face the powerful torrents and undercurrents.
But to go with the flow is like being a dead fish; dead fish and other lifeless things go with the flow.
In the 1st reading, St. Paul was astonished at the promptness with which the Galatians had turned away from the Good News that he had preached to them to follow another version of the Good News.
That other version may well be the "good news" of the world, which tells them to "go with the flow" and to "seek approval" from the world.
St. Paul gave a severe warning - anyone who preaches a version of the Good News that is different from what he and the apostles preached is to be condemned.
Even when it comes to being a neighbour to someone in need, we will be tempted to "go with the flow". Like the priest and the Levite in the gospel parable, we may just want to pass on the other side and move on and go with the flow.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is about loving God and neighbour. It will mean that we have to swim up-stream and feel the force of the torrents of the world.
To go with the flow of the world would mean that we are like dead fish or debris.
To "go with the flow" is the mantra of the world and it has always been as such.
To find your way up and about, to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful, to be with the "in" circle, one may have to give up some principles and go with the flow.
Not to go with the flow would mean to swim up-stream and there we will face the powerful torrents and undercurrents.
But to go with the flow is like being a dead fish; dead fish and other lifeless things go with the flow.
In the 1st reading, St. Paul was astonished at the promptness with which the Galatians had turned away from the Good News that he had preached to them to follow another version of the Good News.
That other version may well be the "good news" of the world, which tells them to "go with the flow" and to "seek approval" from the world.
St. Paul gave a severe warning - anyone who preaches a version of the Good News that is different from what he and the apostles preached is to be condemned.
Even when it comes to being a neighbour to someone in need, we will be tempted to "go with the flow". Like the priest and the Levite in the gospel parable, we may just want to pass on the other side and move on and go with the flow.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is about loving God and neighbour. It will mean that we have to swim up-stream and feel the force of the torrents of the world.
To go with the flow of the world would mean that we are like dead fish or debris.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Parish Feastday, 05-10-14
St Therese of the Child Jesus
Isaiah 66:10-14 / 1 Cor 13:4-13 / Matthew 18:1-5
How our country got its name is rather interesting and amusing.
History has it that when Sang Nila Utama landed on this island, he saw a strange-looking animal and it ran off.
Upon inquiry, he was told it was a lion and in his language, it was called “Singa” so he called this “Singapura” which means “lion city”.
(A joke about this is that if he had seen a large prawn, he would have called this country “Tempura”.)
As Singapore the “Lion City” developed and progressed, the image has also evolved.
Singapore is still the “Lion City” but it has also acquired other names and the well-known one is “Garden City”, because of the greenery in our country.
Our city state is often described as “clean and green” and so indeed it is, and hence, “Garden City” is quite appropriate.
As in a garden, we can see plants, shrubs, trees and vegetation of various kinds.
Yes, we will see a lot of greenery, and yet we may miss out the most obvious greenery.
We may notice and admire all the flowers and plants, all the shrubs and trees, but we will take the grass for granted.
The grass is like the backdrop of the whole greenery. And they are so inconspicuous and plain that we hardly notice them.
In fact, we step on the grass and we wipe soiled things on the grass. We seem to ill-treat the grass!
There is hardly any recognition given to grass except the saying that when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
But the 1st reading did give some prominence to the grass when it said: At the sight, your heart will rejoice and your bones flourish like the grass.
Even in its lowly and down-trodden state, grass is a symbol of the strong will for life.
Even after a bush-fire, the first signs of life in the razed land will be the appearance of grass.
We don’t know where they come from, but it seems that we cannot get rid of the grass.
Today our parish celebrates the feast of our patron saint, St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Her actual feast day is on 1st Oct.
She has been called the “greatest saint in modern times” (Pope Pius X), but it can be certain that she wouldn’t want to be known as such.
In fact, ever since she entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux, she never left the convent.
Two words can be used to describe her life as a Carmelite nun – obscurity and oblivion.
Even that great spiritual classic “The Story of a Soul” which is her autobiography, it was not written on her own accord but in obedience to her superior’s orders.
In her life-time, she was like the plain grass in her convent.
She wasn’t among those who were like the flowers or plants or shrubs.
She didn’t do great things, but she did little things with great love.
And if we were to meet her now, she would introduce herself as “Little Therese” instead of St. Therese.
And her humble, little and simple spirituality flourished like grass after her death.
It was like the same imagery that the 1st reading gave when it said: Your bones will flourish like the grass.
In the gospel Jesus said that the one who makes himself as little as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Being little is actually a very great challenge. Even St. Therese had to remind herself with these words : I must remain little.
In our “Garden city” the admiration goes to the pretty flowers and plants, literally as well as figuratively.
Because people are also a bit like flowers and plants – they want to stand out and win the praise and admiration of others.
But the flowers will bloom and fade away. Plants will wither and die.
But it is the plain and lowly and humble grass that will continue to flourish.
Grass is like the carpet of the garden that softens the ground.
In our “Garden city” St. Therese has shown us what we should be.
We should be like the lowly grass that carpets the “Garden city” and softens it with love.
We are called to be like St. Therese – little, humble and lowly.
By being that, we can turn our city into a garden of love.
Isaiah 66:10-14 / 1 Cor 13:4-13 / Matthew 18:1-5
How our country got its name is rather interesting and amusing.
History has it that when Sang Nila Utama landed on this island, he saw a strange-looking animal and it ran off.
Upon inquiry, he was told it was a lion and in his language, it was called “Singa” so he called this “Singapura” which means “lion city”.
(A joke about this is that if he had seen a large prawn, he would have called this country “Tempura”.)
As Singapore the “Lion City” developed and progressed, the image has also evolved.
Singapore is still the “Lion City” but it has also acquired other names and the well-known one is “Garden City”, because of the greenery in our country.
Our city state is often described as “clean and green” and so indeed it is, and hence, “Garden City” is quite appropriate.
As in a garden, we can see plants, shrubs, trees and vegetation of various kinds.
Yes, we will see a lot of greenery, and yet we may miss out the most obvious greenery.
We may notice and admire all the flowers and plants, all the shrubs and trees, but we will take the grass for granted.
The grass is like the backdrop of the whole greenery. And they are so inconspicuous and plain that we hardly notice them.
In fact, we step on the grass and we wipe soiled things on the grass. We seem to ill-treat the grass!
There is hardly any recognition given to grass except the saying that when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
But the 1st reading did give some prominence to the grass when it said: At the sight, your heart will rejoice and your bones flourish like the grass.
Even in its lowly and down-trodden state, grass is a symbol of the strong will for life.
Even after a bush-fire, the first signs of life in the razed land will be the appearance of grass.
We don’t know where they come from, but it seems that we cannot get rid of the grass.
Today our parish celebrates the feast of our patron saint, St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Her actual feast day is on 1st Oct.
She has been called the “greatest saint in modern times” (Pope Pius X), but it can be certain that she wouldn’t want to be known as such.
In fact, ever since she entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux, she never left the convent.
Two words can be used to describe her life as a Carmelite nun – obscurity and oblivion.
Even that great spiritual classic “The Story of a Soul” which is her autobiography, it was not written on her own accord but in obedience to her superior’s orders.
In her life-time, she was like the plain grass in her convent.
She wasn’t among those who were like the flowers or plants or shrubs.
She didn’t do great things, but she did little things with great love.
And if we were to meet her now, she would introduce herself as “Little Therese” instead of St. Therese.
And her humble, little and simple spirituality flourished like grass after her death.
It was like the same imagery that the 1st reading gave when it said: Your bones will flourish like the grass.
In the gospel Jesus said that the one who makes himself as little as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Being little is actually a very great challenge. Even St. Therese had to remind herself with these words : I must remain little.
In our “Garden city” the admiration goes to the pretty flowers and plants, literally as well as figuratively.
Because people are also a bit like flowers and plants – they want to stand out and win the praise and admiration of others.
But the flowers will bloom and fade away. Plants will wither and die.
But it is the plain and lowly and humble grass that will continue to flourish.
Grass is like the carpet of the garden that softens the ground.
In our “Garden city” St. Therese has shown us what we should be.
We should be like the lowly grass that carpets the “Garden city” and softens it with love.
We are called to be like St. Therese – little, humble and lowly.
By being that, we can turn our city into a garden of love.
Friday, October 3, 2014
26th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 04-10-14
Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 / Luke 10:17-24
We like things to have a happy ending. If it is a story book or a movie, a happy ending will earn our approval.
Even in life, whatever we undertake, be it projects or assignments or whatever tasks, we would like it to have a happy ending, so that we would earn the approval of others.
In the 1st reading, we have finally come to the last chapter of the book of Job. The book of Job has often been the assigned reading for those who have questions about innocent suffering.
Well, the book of Job closes with a happy ending with the fortunes of Job restored and he lived to a ripe old age and full of days.
Yet, Job did not find the answers as to why he had been afflicted with sufferings and tragedies. His consolation, besides his restoration, was his realization of who God is (but now I have seen You with my own eye ...)
He realized that everything happens under the watchful eyes of God, and God's plan for us is always for our good and not otherwise.
In the gospel the 72 disciples came back to Jesus rejoicing that even devils submit to them when they use the authoritative name of Jesus.
But the time will come when the whole strength of the enemy will come at them, and they will be persecuted and they will even have to face death.
It may not be that kind of happy ending that people wish for, yet for whatever ending it will be, they will accept it willingly.
Because the true happy ending will be that their names are written in heaven. May we willingly accept our difficulties and sufferings in life and realize who God is, so that our names will also be written in heaven.
We like things to have a happy ending. If it is a story book or a movie, a happy ending will earn our approval.
Even in life, whatever we undertake, be it projects or assignments or whatever tasks, we would like it to have a happy ending, so that we would earn the approval of others.
In the 1st reading, we have finally come to the last chapter of the book of Job. The book of Job has often been the assigned reading for those who have questions about innocent suffering.
Well, the book of Job closes with a happy ending with the fortunes of Job restored and he lived to a ripe old age and full of days.
Yet, Job did not find the answers as to why he had been afflicted with sufferings and tragedies. His consolation, besides his restoration, was his realization of who God is (but now I have seen You with my own eye ...)
He realized that everything happens under the watchful eyes of God, and God's plan for us is always for our good and not otherwise.
In the gospel the 72 disciples came back to Jesus rejoicing that even devils submit to them when they use the authoritative name of Jesus.
But the time will come when the whole strength of the enemy will come at them, and they will be persecuted and they will even have to face death.
It may not be that kind of happy ending that people wish for, yet for whatever ending it will be, they will accept it willingly.
Because the true happy ending will be that their names are written in heaven. May we willingly accept our difficulties and sufferings in life and realize who God is, so that our names will also be written in heaven.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
26th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 03-10-14
Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 / Luke 10:13-16
If nothing happens by coincidence, then it is only natural that we want to know what is the link between the various events and experiences of our lives.
We would want to know why such an event happened in our lives and why we had certain experiences.
Although we know that everything that has happened has a meaning and a purpose, yet we can be rather impatient to know the answers immediately.
Especially so when misfortune and tragedy happens. We won't be just asking for answers; we will be demanding for answers and demanding it furiously too.
For the character of Job in the 1st reading, he too was demanding for answers from God as misfortune and tragedy befell upon him one upon another, although he had insisted that he had not done anything wrong.
And this time God spoke. From the heart of the tempest, the Lord gave Job his answer. Yet, the answer was a series of question that began with "Have you ... ".
In the end, Job realized who he was and in his own words "I had better lay my finger on my lips. I will not speak again."
When we can realize what Job had realized, that God had a perfect plan for everything in our lives and that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts, then we too in humility would lay our finger on our lips.
If we ever open our lips, then it will be to praise and thank the Lord. And may those who hear us glorify the Lord, be edified and do the same too.
If nothing happens by coincidence, then it is only natural that we want to know what is the link between the various events and experiences of our lives.
We would want to know why such an event happened in our lives and why we had certain experiences.
Although we know that everything that has happened has a meaning and a purpose, yet we can be rather impatient to know the answers immediately.
Especially so when misfortune and tragedy happens. We won't be just asking for answers; we will be demanding for answers and demanding it furiously too.
For the character of Job in the 1st reading, he too was demanding for answers from God as misfortune and tragedy befell upon him one upon another, although he had insisted that he had not done anything wrong.
And this time God spoke. From the heart of the tempest, the Lord gave Job his answer. Yet, the answer was a series of question that began with "Have you ... ".
In the end, Job realized who he was and in his own words "I had better lay my finger on my lips. I will not speak again."
When we can realize what Job had realized, that God had a perfect plan for everything in our lives and that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts, then we too in humility would lay our finger on our lips.
If we ever open our lips, then it will be to praise and thank the Lord. And may those who hear us glorify the Lord, be edified and do the same too.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
The Holy Guardian Angels, Thursday, 02-10-14
Exodus 23:20-23 / Matthew 18:1-5, 10
Among the many religious items that I have is a figurine of a guardian angel with wings spread wide and with hands reaching downward.
I do pray to my guardian angel, whether as a devotional prayer, or whenever I am driving.
Because in one section of the Creed, we profess the existence of not only the seen but also the unseen, the visible and the invisible, or what we call the spiritual world.
Yet somehow, whenever we talk about the spiritual world, what may come to mind may be ghosts and haunted places.
Today as the Church celebrates the feast of guardian angels, we also acknowledge the existence of the spiritual world.
But it is a spiritual world of angels whom God has sent to protect and guard and guide us.
What God has assured His people Israel in the 1st reading, i.e. the protection of an angel, He also assures the Church and each of us.
This is also what Jesus is affirming in the gospel. And He even says that our guardian angels are always in the presence of God in heaven. And they are also here by our side.
So let us pray daily to our guardian angels whom God has sent from above.
If you know this traditional prayer to the guardian angel, then let us pray together :
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom God's love commits me here.
Ever this day be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.
Among the many religious items that I have is a figurine of a guardian angel with wings spread wide and with hands reaching downward.
I do pray to my guardian angel, whether as a devotional prayer, or whenever I am driving.
Because in one section of the Creed, we profess the existence of not only the seen but also the unseen, the visible and the invisible, or what we call the spiritual world.
Yet somehow, whenever we talk about the spiritual world, what may come to mind may be ghosts and haunted places.
Today as the Church celebrates the feast of guardian angels, we also acknowledge the existence of the spiritual world.
But it is a spiritual world of angels whom God has sent to protect and guard and guide us.
What God has assured His people Israel in the 1st reading, i.e. the protection of an angel, He also assures the Church and each of us.
This is also what Jesus is affirming in the gospel. And He even says that our guardian angels are always in the presence of God in heaven. And they are also here by our side.
So let us pray daily to our guardian angels whom God has sent from above.
If you know this traditional prayer to the guardian angel, then let us pray together :
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom God's love commits me here.
Ever this day be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.
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