Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32 / Matthew 19:13-156
There is truth in the proverb quoted in the 1st reading: The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; and the children's teeth are set on edge.
The truth is that children learn from their parents, and in those Biblical times, the father is the head of the family and he sets the example and so naturally the children learn primarily from him.
Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord said that this proverb will no longer have any reason to be repeated, because now, the man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.
So it will have to be a personal accountability, and no one can no longer say that he sinned because his father had sinned and the sin is passed down to him.
But as much as there must be a personal accountability, then fathers, as well as parents and teachers and those who have an influence over children must also be accountable for what they are teaching the children.
This accountability becomes greater and heavier when we read what Jesus said in the gospel about children: Let the little children come to me, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.
So let us be aware of what we teach to the little children. Our responsibility is to teach them the ways of the Lord and to show them God's love and mercy.
When we have fulfilled our responsibility, then it will be for them to be accountable when they come of age.
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Thursday, August 16, 2018
19th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 17-08-18
Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63 / Matthew 19:3-12
We are familiar with the proverb "Great oaks grow from little acorns". Indeed, everything has a humble beginning.
Great cathedrals were once started from a single block of stone. If Rome wasn't build in a day, then everything will have to grow and be built day by day.
Humble beginnings must always be remembered, so that however glorious or whatever greatness is achieved, one won't get too proud or conceited.
In fact, as nature would show us, the taller the tree, the deeper the roots. The greater we become, the more we must remember how we began.
In the 1st reading, we read how God favoured His people and blessed them with abundance. But as the 1st reading tells us, they became infatuated with their own beauty. Their vanity made them think that it was all their own achievement and that also made them turn away from God and turn to the other nations for more wealth and fame.
They forgot that it was God who provided for them and it was His blessings that made them famous and prosperous.
Because they forgot their humble beginnings, God treated them as they deserved - they were covered with shame and reduced to silence. They were humbled so that they can remember the covenant that God made with them and turn back to Him.
Similarly for us, in whatever state of life, we must remember our humble beginnings and remember that it is God who brought us to this blessed moment.
So whether in marriage, or as a single, or as a religious or priest, minor or governor, peasant or president, let us continue to turn to the Lord our God for His blessings and guidance in life.
It is God who will make us great and prosperous; we just need to be humble and remember our humble beginnings.
We are familiar with the proverb "Great oaks grow from little acorns". Indeed, everything has a humble beginning.
Great cathedrals were once started from a single block of stone. If Rome wasn't build in a day, then everything will have to grow and be built day by day.
Humble beginnings must always be remembered, so that however glorious or whatever greatness is achieved, one won't get too proud or conceited.
In fact, as nature would show us, the taller the tree, the deeper the roots. The greater we become, the more we must remember how we began.
In the 1st reading, we read how God favoured His people and blessed them with abundance. But as the 1st reading tells us, they became infatuated with their own beauty. Their vanity made them think that it was all their own achievement and that also made them turn away from God and turn to the other nations for more wealth and fame.
They forgot that it was God who provided for them and it was His blessings that made them famous and prosperous.
Because they forgot their humble beginnings, God treated them as they deserved - they were covered with shame and reduced to silence. They were humbled so that they can remember the covenant that God made with them and turn back to Him.
Similarly for us, in whatever state of life, we must remember our humble beginnings and remember that it is God who brought us to this blessed moment.
So whether in marriage, or as a single, or as a religious or priest, minor or governor, peasant or president, let us continue to turn to the Lord our God for His blessings and guidance in life.
It is God who will make us great and prosperous; we just need to be humble and remember our humble beginnings.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
19th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 16-08-18
Ezekiel 12:1-12 / Matthew 18:21 - 19:1
It is very humiliating when others treat you as some kind of commodity. It is not just humiliation but also a total disregard for the human dignity and for the human person.
When we are treated as a commodity, it means that we can be bought and sold for a price and the owner can do whatever he wants with us.
In other words, it means that we are not human beings; we are just things that are to be used and when we are of no use, we can be thrown away.
When Jesus told the parable of the servant who owned an enormous amount of money, the king had intended for him and his family to be sold in order to pay the debt.
That servant was treated as a thing but when he pleaded for mercy, the king cancelled his debt and treated him as a human being.
Well, that servant ought to have treated his fellow servant who owed him a much lesser amount, with the same dignity that the king treated him.
It has been often said that to forgive is divine; yet to forgive is also human.
Yet when we don't forgive, we become less human, if not inhumane.
And when we take forgiveness for granted, then we will become like the people in the 1st reading.
They took God's mercy and forgiveness for granted and hence they were exiled and were treated like things and not like human beings.
As we are forgiven, so too must we forgive, if we want to live and be treated as human beings.
It is very humiliating when others treat you as some kind of commodity. It is not just humiliation but also a total disregard for the human dignity and for the human person.
When we are treated as a commodity, it means that we can be bought and sold for a price and the owner can do whatever he wants with us.
In other words, it means that we are not human beings; we are just things that are to be used and when we are of no use, we can be thrown away.
When Jesus told the parable of the servant who owned an enormous amount of money, the king had intended for him and his family to be sold in order to pay the debt.
That servant was treated as a thing but when he pleaded for mercy, the king cancelled his debt and treated him as a human being.
Well, that servant ought to have treated his fellow servant who owed him a much lesser amount, with the same dignity that the king treated him.
It has been often said that to forgive is divine; yet to forgive is also human.
Yet when we don't forgive, we become less human, if not inhumane.
And when we take forgiveness for granted, then we will become like the people in the 1st reading.
They took God's mercy and forgiveness for granted and hence they were exiled and were treated like things and not like human beings.
As we are forgiven, so too must we forgive, if we want to live and be treated as human beings.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Assumption of the BVM 2018, Wednesday, 15-08-18
Apocalypse 11:19; 12:1-6. 10 / 1 Cor 15:20-26
/ Luke 1:39-56
Last Monday, the 13th
August, we had our usual monthly Rosary at Mary’s shrine.
The turnout was more than usual
because the Inquirers from the RCIA journey were invited to see for themselves what
the monthly Rosary is all about.
They had begun the journey in
early July so it is only slightly more than a month that they had been coming
to the Church, and they are still not that familiar with the practices of the
Catholic Church.
So for some of them, if not
all of them, the Rosary at Mary’s shrine was probably their first encounter of such
a practice.
They would have their
queries, like, “Why are Catholics praying to a statue? Is it a deity?”or “Who
is this Mary? Is she the Mother goddess or what?”
Of course all their queries
were addressed or will be addressed along the way. But it would be difficult to
explain the feast of the Assumption to them.
It is the teaching of the
Catholic Church that Mary’s body was assumed into heaven. But it was only in
1950, 15th August, that Pope Pius XII officially declared Mary’s
Assumption as an article of faith.
In other words, the Church
has boldly declared that Mary is in heaven, body and soul, a declaration that
is definite and irreversible. It was a declaration not just on the authority of
the Church but also under the authority of the Holy Spirit.
With this declaration, our
faith in the saving power of God is reinforced. Mary is the first to be saved
by the saving work of Jesus, and the first to enter heaven body and soul, hence
assuring us that we too will join her one day, and that would be at the
resurrection on the Last Day.
At the same time, our faith
in Mary’s intercession is also reinforced, because from heaven she continues to
pray for us as our Heavenly Mother, a mission that she received at the foot of
the cross and that she continues even in heaven.
Mary is not a goddess or a
deity. She needs to be saved by Jesus and in her Assumption, God is showing us
that Mary has received the fullness of salvation.
And let us also pray with
her for the salvation of all peoples. That’s what the Assumption means for us.
Monday, August 13, 2018
19th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 14-08-18
Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:4 / Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The prophet Ezekiel was one of the 3000 upper class Jews who were exiled in Babylon in the year 597BC.
It was while he was in Babylon that he started to have visions and gave prophetic insights.
One of which was about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586BC.
Of course, at that time, the people were just too obstinate to accept Ezekiel's prophesies, especially those who were exiled in Babylon.
Because the Temple was still standing then, they thought that God will bring them back. They would never had expected to die in a foreign land.
Yet, as we heard in the 1st reading, what Ezekiel saw written on the scroll was clearly an indication of what was to come - "lamentations, wailings, moanings".
If only they had not been so stubborn and obstinate, they might have been spared; if only they had hearts like little children, they might have listened.
Indeed, children are sensitive enough to sense the seriousness of a warning and they will follow as they were told.
Yes, we need to have the simplicity and also the sensitivity of children in order to hear and understand and act on the promptings of the Lord.
As Psalm 8:2 would put it - From the mouths of children and of babes, You have found praise to foil the enemy and the foe.
The prophet Ezekiel was one of the 3000 upper class Jews who were exiled in Babylon in the year 597BC.
It was while he was in Babylon that he started to have visions and gave prophetic insights.
One of which was about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586BC.
Of course, at that time, the people were just too obstinate to accept Ezekiel's prophesies, especially those who were exiled in Babylon.
Because the Temple was still standing then, they thought that God will bring them back. They would never had expected to die in a foreign land.
Yet, as we heard in the 1st reading, what Ezekiel saw written on the scroll was clearly an indication of what was to come - "lamentations, wailings, moanings".
If only they had not been so stubborn and obstinate, they might have been spared; if only they had hearts like little children, they might have listened.
Indeed, children are sensitive enough to sense the seriousness of a warning and they will follow as they were told.
Yes, we need to have the simplicity and also the sensitivity of children in order to hear and understand and act on the promptings of the Lord.
As Psalm 8:2 would put it - From the mouths of children and of babes, You have found praise to foil the enemy and the foe.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
19th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 13-08-18
Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28 / Matthew 17:22-27
Tilapia
is one of the three main types of fish caught in Biblical times from
the Sea of Galilee. At that time they were called "musht, or commonly now
even "St. Peter's fish".
The
name "St. Peter's fish" comes from the story in the Gospel of Matthew
about the apostle Peter catching a fish that carried a coin in its
mouth, though the passage does not name the fish.
And
if we go on a tour to the Sea of Galilee, then one of the items in the
itinerary would be a meal of the fish at one of the restaurants by the
Sea of Galilee.
It
is a common fish, but it became the means of solving a sticky problem
between the tax-collectors and Jesus, with Peter being stuck in the
middle.
The fish that he caught that had a coin in its mouth resolved the problem. It was so ordinary and yet so amazing.
Whereas
the vision of Ezekiel in the 1st reading was so astounding and awesome
with the glory of the Lord shown in majesty and splendour.
But for most of us living an ordinary life and being ordinary people, that kind of vision would be almost out of the question.
Yet God will still reveal Himself in the ordinary situations in our lives and in the ordinary people around us.
So when we meet with a problem, let us remember that it was a fish that solved the problem for Peter.
And God will give the solution to our problems through very ordinary things.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
19th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 12.08.2018
1 Kings 19:4-8 / Ephesians 4:30 – 5:2 / John 6:41-51
Human beings have very simple and basic needs, and they are food, clothing, and shelter. When these needs are met, then the next level of needs come in and they are security, achievement and affection. And then finally it could be self-fulfillment and contentment. That’s a simple way to put it.
Understood in that way, the very basic needs in life is to have something to eat, something to wear and somewhere to go back to. Generally speaking, we all have that, so it can be said that our basic needs in life are met.
When these basic needs are met, then comes the longing and yearning for security and comfort, for achievement and success, for affection and love.
Come to think of it, the Singapore National Pledge has elements to these when it says: “to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”
So in life, we must know what the essential and primary needs are. When these needs are met, then we can be happy and contented and we will begin to realise who we are and understand the meaning of life.
So we know and understand the basic and essential needs of life and that will enable us to find happiness and fulfillment in our lives.
What is not so easy is to understand is this desire for more, this feeling of not having enough, and not being enough. As much as this “not enough” may drive us to strive for more, yet we must also be careful that it does not draw us down the slippery slope of greed and selfishness.
But in the 1st reading, we read that the prophet Elijah said this: Lord, I have had enough. Take my life.
Certainly, it was not because he was feeling contented, that he had enough, and so he wants to go back to the Lord.
On the contrary, he had no food, no shelter, no safety as the troops were hunting for him. As a prophet, he had his success – he worked miracles, he stopped the rain for 3 and a half years, he called down fire from heaven in his victory over the false prophets.
But now, being stripped of everything, except his clothing, and in danger of losing his life, he cried out to the Lord, “I have had enough”. With no meaning and direction, with no safety and security, with nothing left, then it would be better to end it all.
So he sat under the furze bush and he wished he was dead. He went to sleep and maybe wishing that he won’t wake up.
But an angel came along with bread and water woke him up and told him to eat. He ate but then he went back to sleep again. But the angel woke him up again and told him to eat and drink and get moving.
So he got up, ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he made that 40-day journey to Horeb, the mountain of God, where he will experience the power and might of God, and regain his direction and mission as the prophet of God.
When Elijah thought of ending it all, God provided him with a simple meal of bread and water and that was enough for him to get up and get going.
So if that simple bread and water was enough for Elijah, then what will it be to make us know that we will have enough and that there is nothing more we shall want?
Jesus tells us in the gospel that He is the living bread that has come down from heaven. He even says “I am the bread of life” and “anyone who eats this bread will live forever”, and “everybody who believes this will have eternal life”.
Now isn’t that more than enough? When we come up for Holy Communion, we partake of this living bread from heaven, this bread of life, and if we believe, we will have eternal life and live forever.
But that is if we believe. So do we truly believe? Because if we do, then we will also know that all our needs are fulfilled and we too would want to tell others about this living bread, this bread of life.
And the meaning and directions of our lives would also be clear, as we know where we are heading towards and who we are heading towards.
There is this story of a student who came before a holy man and asked him to pray for him for good exam results.
The holy man replied, “Sure, I will pray for you for good results. When you get the good results, then what?”
“Then I will go to the university.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will study hard and get a good degree.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will look for a good job with a good pay.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will work hard and get promoted.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will get married and have children.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will save up for my retirement and enjoy life.”
“Then what?”
“And then … and then …”
So when our physical and material needs are fulfilled and we have enough in life, can we truly say that we are contented and happy with life?
Jesus says that He is the living bread which has come down from heaven, that He is the bread of life.
So even if we have enough in life, or when we, like Elijah, feel like shouting “I have had enough!”, Jesus will come to us offering us the bread of life.
This is the only bread that will give us the strength to journey from this life to eternal life.
Let us receive worthily this bread from heaven, and let us also tell others about this bread of life.
Human beings have very simple and basic needs, and they are food, clothing, and shelter. When these needs are met, then the next level of needs come in and they are security, achievement and affection. And then finally it could be self-fulfillment and contentment. That’s a simple way to put it.
Understood in that way, the very basic needs in life is to have something to eat, something to wear and somewhere to go back to. Generally speaking, we all have that, so it can be said that our basic needs in life are met.
When these basic needs are met, then comes the longing and yearning for security and comfort, for achievement and success, for affection and love.
Come to think of it, the Singapore National Pledge has elements to these when it says: “to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”
So in life, we must know what the essential and primary needs are. When these needs are met, then we can be happy and contented and we will begin to realise who we are and understand the meaning of life.
So we know and understand the basic and essential needs of life and that will enable us to find happiness and fulfillment in our lives.
What is not so easy is to understand is this desire for more, this feeling of not having enough, and not being enough. As much as this “not enough” may drive us to strive for more, yet we must also be careful that it does not draw us down the slippery slope of greed and selfishness.
But in the 1st reading, we read that the prophet Elijah said this: Lord, I have had enough. Take my life.
Certainly, it was not because he was feeling contented, that he had enough, and so he wants to go back to the Lord.
On the contrary, he had no food, no shelter, no safety as the troops were hunting for him. As a prophet, he had his success – he worked miracles, he stopped the rain for 3 and a half years, he called down fire from heaven in his victory over the false prophets.
But now, being stripped of everything, except his clothing, and in danger of losing his life, he cried out to the Lord, “I have had enough”. With no meaning and direction, with no safety and security, with nothing left, then it would be better to end it all.
So he sat under the furze bush and he wished he was dead. He went to sleep and maybe wishing that he won’t wake up.
But an angel came along with bread and water woke him up and told him to eat. He ate but then he went back to sleep again. But the angel woke him up again and told him to eat and drink and get moving.
So he got up, ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he made that 40-day journey to Horeb, the mountain of God, where he will experience the power and might of God, and regain his direction and mission as the prophet of God.
When Elijah thought of ending it all, God provided him with a simple meal of bread and water and that was enough for him to get up and get going.
So if that simple bread and water was enough for Elijah, then what will it be to make us know that we will have enough and that there is nothing more we shall want?
Jesus tells us in the gospel that He is the living bread that has come down from heaven. He even says “I am the bread of life” and “anyone who eats this bread will live forever”, and “everybody who believes this will have eternal life”.
Now isn’t that more than enough? When we come up for Holy Communion, we partake of this living bread from heaven, this bread of life, and if we believe, we will have eternal life and live forever.
But that is if we believe. So do we truly believe? Because if we do, then we will also know that all our needs are fulfilled and we too would want to tell others about this living bread, this bread of life.
And the meaning and directions of our lives would also be clear, as we know where we are heading towards and who we are heading towards.
There is this story of a student who came before a holy man and asked him to pray for him for good exam results.
The holy man replied, “Sure, I will pray for you for good results. When you get the good results, then what?”
“Then I will go to the university.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will study hard and get a good degree.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will look for a good job with a good pay.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will work hard and get promoted.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will get married and have children.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will save up for my retirement and enjoy life.”
“Then what?”
“And then … and then …”
So when our physical and material needs are fulfilled and we have enough in life, can we truly say that we are contented and happy with life?
Jesus says that He is the living bread which has come down from heaven, that He is the bread of life.
So even if we have enough in life, or when we, like Elijah, feel like shouting “I have had enough!”, Jesus will come to us offering us the bread of life.
This is the only bread that will give us the strength to journey from this life to eternal life.
Let us receive worthily this bread from heaven, and let us also tell others about this bread of life.
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