All Saints, Wednesday, 01-11-2023

Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14 / 1 John 3:1-3 / Matthew 5:1-12  

Today on this feast of All Saints, we turn our eyes to heaven. 

Of course God is in heaven, together with the hosts of angels. 

And the 1st reading tells us more about who we can see in heaven. 

There is a large number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language. 

They are dressed in white robes and with palms in their hands, and they shout aloud: Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! 

That is not an imagination, but a revelation, and the Feast of All Saints is a celebration of that reality in heaven. 

But when we look around at our world, we see an opposite situation. 

We see hostility, violence and bloodshed. We see injustice and oppression, we see poverty and persecution. In short we see sin and evil. 

But in the face of that dark and bad news, we still want to echo the victory cry of the Saints in heaven. 

Yes, even on Earth, we want to shout aloud: Victory to our God, and to the Lamb!

But that is not to be achieved by fighting fire with fire, or returning evil with evil. 

Rather the victory can only be achieved by humility and gentleness of heart, by comforting and consoling the poor, the lowly and the oppressed. 

Victory to our God is achieved by mercy and forgiveness and by being peacemakers. 

And we are supported by the vast company of Saints in heaven, to keep fighting the good fight, to run the race to the finish and keeping the faith. 

A glorious reward is awaiting for us in heaven. 

God is our victory, the Saints are in our company. Happy are we who believe this reality.

30th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 31-10-12023

Romans 8:18-25 / Luke 13:18-21

The news of pregnancy usually brings about joy.

That is because pregnancy is a sign of fertility, a sign of new life, a new beginning, a new hope even.

The 1st reading used the analogy of pregnancy and birth-giving to express the Christian dimension of the hope of being freed from the slavery of sin.

And this hope is being fulfilled by the gift of the Spirit that brings about in us a new birth as children of God and first-fruits of the Spirit.

But this new life does not happen automatically or without effort on our part.

Just as a woman suffers the discomfort of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth, similarly if we want to live the new life of the Spirit, then struggle and suffering is inevitable.

Yet, we are reminded that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us.

Just as the gospel parables of the mustard seed and the yeast which will take time to grow and manifest, so will the fruits of the Spirit in our lives take time to grow and develop.

We need to be patient as the Kingdom of God slowly grows within us.

30th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 30-10-2023

Romans 8:12-17 / Luke 13:10-17

When we think about it, we may see that it is actually easier and more convenient to follow procedures, processes and SOPs.

We are not required to have initiatives or make suggestions and modifications.

And when things go wrong, we just have to point to the procedures, the processes and the SOPs.

But when we think deeper about it, then our non-involvement and indifference make us lifeless and uncreative.

It is like living with a spirit, or what the 1st reading calls it “unspiritual lives”.

On the other hand, to be moved by the Spirit can mean uncertainty and difficulty.

In the gospel, Jesus used the word “hypocrites” on the people who were focused on keeping to the rules and regulations of the Sabbath and forgetting about purpose of the Sabbath.

We too can be indifferent about our faith and think that all we need to do is to follow the religious precepts and prescriptions.

But the spirit we have received moves us to live as children of God.

So let us understand the letter of the law and its purpose.

But let us have the courage to be moved by the Spirit to do what is right, good and loving

30th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 29.10.2023

Exodus 22:20-26 / 1 Thess 1:5-10 / Matthew 22:34-40

Many things can only work when they have what is essential to make them functional. 

So, while all the other parts may be in tip-top condition, if that essential element is missing, then it can't do anything. 

For example, cars need petrol to run. Many electrical devices need electricity or batteries to make them work. 

So, other parts may be a bit defective, but with that essential element, that thing can still work. 

So, in life, we must know what are the necessary and essential elements of the things we see around us. 

While others are obvious, some other things need to be analysed, in order to see what is important and necessary. 

In the gospel, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus about which is the greatest commandment of the Law. 

We may wonder why that Pharisee asked Jesus such a question, because the answer is quite obvious. 

Was it because that Pharisee just wanted to disconcert Jesus, just to irritate Jesus? 

Jesus had earlier silenced the Sadducees about the question of paying taxes, which was a trick question for Jesus. 

That's when Jesus gave that thought- provoking answer of “give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God”. 

That left the Sadducees without any further questions, as they were silenced into reflection. 

The Pharisees could have learned from that and remained silent. 

But out of the folly of the lips of that Pharisee, we gained the wisdom to see the obvious and necessary. 

Let us be silent and reflect on that great commandment: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. 

The word that is repeated three times is “all” -  all the heart, all the soul and all the mind. 

So, what God requires of us is to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind. 

And that is precisely where we fall short. 

Because, we don't love God with our all. 

Maybe three quarters, maybe half, maybe 1/4, which in any case is better than none at all. 

We may think that it is difficult, if not impossible, to love God with that “all”. 

But that also means we cannot be fully human if we don't love God with our all. 

Because, God created us with all His love and in all His love. 

So, we actually have all of God's love in us. 

We only need to love God with all our love. 

And then we will know how to love our neighbour with all our love. 

Maybe, one of the reasons why we can't love God and our neighbour with all our love is because we are too noisy within. 

The noise of envy and jealousy, the noise of anger and resentment, the noise of hatred and revenge, has suppressed our love. 

That noisy Pharisee led him to try to disconcert Jesus. 

Let us ask Jesus to help us to be still, and to be silent. 

To be silent is to be able to listen, to listen to all that love God has for us. 

And then, we will be able to love God and our neighbour with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.

Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles, Saturday, 28-10-2023

Ephesians 2:19-22 / Luke 6:12-19     

Today, the Church celebrates the feastday and honours the two Apostles, St. Simon and St. Jude.

As with most of the Apostles, there are not much details about the lives of these two saints.

But traditional accounts have it that they went to Persia to preach the Good News and were martyred there.

As with the rest of the Apostles, their lives before they became followers of Jesus were not that important.

What was important is who and what they became after following Jesus Christ.

And St. Simon and St. Jude found their true meaning in life when it came to laying their lives down for Jesus.

These two saints showed us that they responded to God’s call to follow Jesus and even to the point of giving up their lives for Jesus.

We ask for their prayers that we too will be able to respond to God’s call as they did.

And in our desperate moments of despair, let us also pray to St. Jude who is the Patron Saint for desperate and hopeless cases.

May we follow the example of the saints by following Jesus faithfully by giving glory to God and serving others with love.

29th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 27-10-2023

Romans 7:18-25 / Luke 12:54-59 

To have some self-confidence can be a good thing.

At least we will not be hampered by doubts or fears and end up doing nothing.

We know that if nothing is ventured, then nothing is gained.

On the other hand, when self-confidence does not take risks into consideration, it can be a foolishness.

In the gospel, Jesus asks a profound question: Why not judge for yourselves what is right?

He then gives an example of going to court with our opponent.

If we are too confident of ourselves, we might end up losing the case and pay a heavy price.

It would be better to be cautious than to be too confident and become careless.

St. Paul would give a deeper reflection, as he says that he wants to do what is good.

But instead, he ends up doing the sinful and wrong things.

But he turns to Jesus Christ to save him, as he puts his confidence in Jesus Christ and not in himself.

Let us follow the advice of St. Paul and put our confidence in Jesus Christ, as we ask for help in doing what is good and right.

29th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 26-10-2023

Romans 6:19-23 / Luke 12:49-53      

Much has been said about the power of the human mind and the heart.

The mind and the heart set a direction and a conviction for our lives.

In other words, the human spirit can determine where it wants to go and what it wants to do.

But we may remember that Jesus said this to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

So the human body is the expression of the human spirit.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul emphasizes the importance of the human body as he says this: as once you put your bodies at the service of vice and immorality, so now you must put them at the service of righteousness for your sanctification.

So more than just deciding or determining to turn away from sin, we must also prevent our body and our senses from coming into contact with situations and occasions of sin.

Similarly, more than just deciding or determining to be good and holy, we must get our body and senses on the ways of God.

So let us train our bodies in the ways of holiness and sanctification, just like an athlete trains the body for the sport.

In this way, our bodies and senses will turn away from sin and death, and receive the present given by God, which is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.