All Saints, Tuesday, 01-11-2022

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

We come to Church to worship God and to offer our prayers to Him. 

In doing so, we also received blessings from God. 

A blessing is a wonderful and amazing gift from God, because it is a sign of His love for us. 

When our prayers and needs are answered, we know that it is because God loves us. 

In receiving God's blessings, we are called to share God's blessings with others by being a blessing for others. 

As we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, we celebrate those who received blessings from God and lived out God's blessings in this world. 

Now that they are in Heaven, these Saints become God's blessings for us as they pray for us. 

We also ask these Saints to pray for us. So we will pray to our patron Saints and other Saints who have inspired us. 

Through the prayers of these Saints, we receive God's blessings so that we are able to live the life that God is calling us to. 

And we know that God's blessings are lifting us up when we count our blessings instead of complaining about our troubles. 

It is God's blessings that soften our hearts to be gentle and humble. 

It is God's blessings that empower us to work for reconciliation and to be peacemakers where there are resentment and bitterness. 

And it is God’s blessings that protect us for evil and danger.

As Jesus teaches us about the Beatitudes in the gospel (Beatitudes means blessings), we see that the Saints are God's blessings in action. 

May the Saints pray for God's blessings to be upon us, so that we too will be God's blessings in action for others and for the world.

31st Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 31-10-2022

Philippians 2:1-4 / Luke 14:12-14

One of the ways to motivate people is to entice them with rewards.

Organizations use that strategy, companies use it, society uses it and even the family would use it.

This idea of rewards springs from the fact that we usually ask ourselves before we embark on a task: What is in it for me? What am I going to gain from it?

At the back of our minds, we are already thinking of the possible reward, the kind of returns, the expected gains and the tangible as well as intangible benefits.

Yet all that points to our self-centeredness and our ego, our pride and our desires that are connected to it.

And that is what the 1st reading as well as the gospel is addressing.

St. Paul urged the Philippians that if their life in Christ meant anything to them, then they would be united in heart and mind, and there will be no competition and conceit.

Also nobody will think of his own interests first but everybody will think of other people's interest instead.

In the gospel, Jesus went further against the grain of human behaviour by teaching the way of total giving without even thinking of getting anything in return.

The point is that all we do should be for God and before God. After all whatever we do and whatever we give is not ours but given to us by God in the first place.

So if all that we do is for the glory of God, then we won't be looking for rewards and returns. Then we will truly feel the joy in doing whatever we do and giving in whatever we give because we know we do it for God and before God.

31st Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 30.10.2022

Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2 / Thess 1:11 – 2:2 / Luke 19:1-10

There is one thing that young children like to do, and that is to climb. 

From the moment they start crawling around, they will also begin to look for things to climb. 

So, when they see a flight of steps they will go and climb it. And it is not just steps. They will also climb things like chairs, low tables, sofas, beds and whatever catches their interest. 

And they will also want to climb as high as they can, regardless of whether they can come down after that or not. 

We may be amused by the climbing abilities of the young children, but it is not that funny anymore when they climb onto windows and even climb out of it. 

But this instinct and ability to climb is not just during childhood. It continues into adulthood. 

Adults also like to climb but it is not a flight of steps or chairs or tables or sofas anymore. 

Adults like to climb ladders, but it is not the ladders that we are thinking of. Adults climb the career-ladder, the ambition-ladder, the status-ladder, the power-ladder, the wealth-ladder. 

And with each rung of those kind of ladders, they step harder and deeper into selfishness, into greed, into desires, and into other things like pride and jealousy. 

The climb is always up and higher, and as it is said, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. 

In the gospel, we hear of the senior and wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus who heard of Jesus and was anxious to see what kind of man He was. 

But Zacchaeus was short and he couldn't get through the crowd, so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. 

Instinctively, he knew he needed the advantage and climbing up a sycamore tree would make him higher than the rest. 

But when Jesus came along, He stopped and looked up and said to him: Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today. 

Obviously, Zacchaeus would be surprised, but he obeyed and came down from the tree and welcomed Jesus joyfully. 

To come down can be seen as an act of humility. To come down is to give up the advantage over others. To come down is to let go of wanting to be at the top and to be with the rest. 

And Jesus said to Zacchaeus: Today, salvation has come to this house. 

And Jesus also said that He came to seek out and save what was lost. 

To be lost is like a kite that has been detached from the string. The kite will fly and even float higher with the wind, but eventually it will come crashing down. 

The human instinct is to climb and to be higher, to be better and to be faster than the rest. But like a kite that is detached from the string, we will lose our grounding, and go along with the ways of the world. 

Jesus calls out to us to come down, and to be grounded in His ways of truth, of life and of love. 

Yes, Jesus calls out to us to seek us out, so that we won't be lost but will walk in the ways of salvation. 

The 1st reading says this about God: Little by little, therefore, You correct those who offend, You admonish and remind them of how they have sinned, so that they may abstain from evil and trust in You. 

We don't want to come crashing down from the ladders of our ways and the ways of the world. 

Jesus will help us to come down slowly, little by little, and He holds us by the hand to help us along. 

There is no need to keep climbing the ladders of self-achievement. 

We just have to climb down to seek divine salvation and Jesus will be there to welcome us.

30th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 29-10-2022

Philippians 1:18-26 / Luke 14:1, 7-11       

If we had the choice to be who we want to be, and to do what we want to do, what would be our choice.

Certainly, we would want to have a free and easy life, no stress, be healthy and maybe even wealthy.

But whatever we wish or dream about would be quite unlikely to be a reality.

The reality in life would be challenges and difficulties.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul reflected on life and it was not about what or how he wished his life had turned out.

Rather he was looking at what is in the present and what is ahead.

As much as he wants to be gone and be united with Christ, but he also knew that his life is a more urgent need in the service of Christ for the Christian community.

St. Paul teaches us to surrender our lives in humility to Christ so that we will be happy and be at peace.

May we humbly accept the reality of life, which is the reality of the Cross, and we will live life happily.

Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles, Friday, 28-10-2022

Ephesians 2:19-22 / Luke 6:12-19     

Not much is known about the two saints whose feast we celebrate today.

Simon was called the Zealot probably because of his zeal for the Jewish independence before he was called by Jesus.

Jude or Thaddeus is the author of the letter in the New Testament in which he warned Christian converts against false teaching and immorality.

He is also venerated as the patron of "impossible cases"

Traditional sources had it that both of them were together in their missionary work in Persia and they were martyred.

Both of them also tell us something about the people Jesus chose to be His disciples.

Both of them, as well as the rest of the apostles, were insignificant people from insignificant backgrounds.

But both of them had  a purpose in God's plan of salvation.

Both of them became zealous for Christ and for the Kingdom and they also became channels of God's grace for those who were seeking God's love and forgiveness, or when they seek God's help when their problems in life seemed hopeless or impossible even.

We may think that we are insignificant persons and hence we think we have no purpose in God's plan of salvation.

But let us ask for the prayers of St. Simon and St. Jude that we will discover our purpose in life and also our purpose in God's plan of salvation.

We may be insignificant but it does not mean that we are impossible or hopeless. Because with God, everything and everyone is possible and a hopeful case.

30th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 27-10-2022

Ephesians 6:10-20 / Luke 13:31-35       

Human beings have a body and a soul. 

But often, the body part of the human being is the main focus.

Hence, it is the physical dimension like the build, the looks, the impression that is the topic of discussion.

But the soul, or the spiritual dimension, of the human being could be neglected but it is an equally important if not more important aspect of the human being.

The 1st reading highlights the spiritual dimension of the human being when St. Paul urges us to grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of His power, so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics.

He also reminds us that it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle but against the spiritual army of evil.

St. Paul urges us to pray all the time, asking for what we need, and praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion.

When we pay attention to the spiritual dimension of our lives, then our physical dimension will also be formed in the ways of God.

We will want to be buckled with truth, strengthened with integrity, protected with faith and armed with the Word of God.

Then we will be truly human, and walking towards salvation and living for the glory of God.

30th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 26-10-2022

Ephesians 6:1-9 / Luke 13:22-30    

Learning is a life-long process, and everyday we acquire new knowledge about ourselves and about the world around us.

As much as there are numerous resources available, there is also the need to discern the basis of what is presented.

From the teachings of Jesus, what is presented to us is the narrow door of life.

That may tell us that there are no short-cuts or easy-going roads or wide-open doors.

The lessons of life are learnt through the Cross of Christ, which shows us the way of life.

When the 1st reading talks about the parent and children relationship, it goes back to the Commandment where it is stated that children are to honour and respect their parents.

But it also balances that by telling the parents not to drive their children to resentment, but to bring the children up by correcting them and guiding them as the Lord does.

In all that, we are learning and in the knowledge that we are acquiring, let us always remember to see if the foundation is on the teachings of the Bible and on Gospel values.

God grants His wisdom to those who follow the way of the Cross and try to enter into life by the narrow door.

30th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 25-10-2022

Ephesians 5:21-33 / Luke 13:18-21    

We don’t usually pay much attention to the ordinary and mundane things that we do in life.

So we do the insignificant and lowly things without much thinking, like washing up the plates and pots, sweeping the floor, clearing the rubbish, watering the plants, etc.

But just as every action has a reaction, we may not be able to see clearly and fully what are the ripple effects of our words and actions.

In the gospel parables, the man casually threw the mustard seeds into the garden.

The mustard seeds then grew and became trees, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.

Similarly, the woman took some yeast and mixed it with the flour and the dough was leavened all through.

The parables remind us that whatever we do and say is done under the plan of God.

With faith, we know that even an ordinary, mundane and lowly act can be offered to God to bring about a wonderful effect that we may not expect.

If such insignificant actions can bring about God’s blessings, then the 1st reading tells us to give way to one another in obedience to Christ.

Let us be aware that little actions can have wonderful reactions.

Then when we give way to another in obedience to Christ, God will grant us abundant blessings.

30th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 24-10-2022

Ephesians 4:32 - 5:8 / Luke 13:10-17  

If we had seen someone since he was a baby and then the next time we saw him was when he was 18 years old, we would be amazed at his growth and development.

We will be amazed at how much can happen during the period of 18 years.

We may even say that 18 years just passed by just like that and that baby has become a fine young man.

But for the enfeebled and double bent woman in the gospel, 18 years did not pass by just like that.

And things did not get better along the years; in fact it may have gotten worse and worse with each passing year.

It may not be the story of just that woman in the gospel.

We too may have been bent with pain - physical, emotional, spiritual. We feel burdened and hence we too are unable to stand firm and upright.

Jesus came to lift us up from the pains and burdens of life so that we can raise our minds and hearts in thanksgiving to God.

Physically, we may stand upright, but emotionally and spiritually, we may be double bent and the only thing that we can see is the dirt and the sludge on the ground.

Let us ask Jesus to heal us and lift us up. He will do for us what He did for the woman in the gospel because He is our Healer and Saviour.

We don't have to wait another 18 years. We don't want to suffer that long. Nor does Jesus want to see us suffer for that long either.

Mission Sunday, Year C, 23.10.2022

Isaiah 2:1-5 / Ephesians 3:2-12 / Mark 16:15-20

How we live our lives depends very much on what we believe in. And what we believe in will be expressed in our relationships, and in what we say and do. 

So, if we believe in charity, then we would express that belief by being helpful to others, especially to the poor and those in need. 

We will involve ourselves in social outreach and other services, or what is called “give back to society” and being a “helping hand to our fellow man”. 

But if we think that life is difficult, and that we can only depend on ourselves, that no one is that willing to help us in our time of need, then we will be practical for our own survival. 

We are only going to look out for ourselves, to watch our own back, to put our own needs first, because life is difficult and we have to be practical for our own survival. 

So how we live our lives depends on what we believe in, and others will also know what we believe in by how we live our lives.

But as much as the way we live depends on what we believe in, can it also be that the way we live our lives depends on where we live in?

Of course, where we live in is where we stay, and obviously that is what we call home. 

As it is often being said, charity begins at home. So, if at home, when there is harmony and charity among family members, then that is what they will believe in and that is what they will express when they are with others. 

On the other hand, if at home, there are petty quarrels and troubles, then the family members will also express that tension and frustration in their social interactions. 

So, it can be said that what we believe in is shaped by where we live in. 

If we live in a charitable environment, we will have a charitable orientation. If we live in a tense environment, we will be expressions of that tension. 

In the gospel, when Jesus tells us to go out and proclaim the Good News, let us take a moment to think and reflect on our situation. 

The Church is our spiritual home. We come to Church because it is our Father's House, and Jesus gathers us as the family of God. 

In Church, we gather to worship and to pray, to hear the Good News of salvation, to experience forgiveness and healing, and to be formed as disciples of love. 

So, in Church, we learn how to care and how to be charitable, we learn how to forgive just as we are forgiven, and to help each other live the life that expresses our belief in the Good News of salvation. 

And when we go out, then others will be able to see us as messengers and witnesses of the Good News of the saving love of God. 

Yes, we want to believe that, and we want to live out what we believe in. 

But the Church is not perfect. That is because Jesus came to call sinners, and not those who think that they are virtuous. 

In fact, the church is like a field hospital, where people come in with all sorts of wounds and injuries. 

So, in Church, those of us who are strong must bear with the failings of the weak, so as to help them to be healed and to be strengthened in faith and love. 

In Church, we confess that we are sinners, but we have a Saviour. 

We have our wounds and injuries, but we are also offered healing and forgiveness, so that we can be wounded healers for each other. 

And just as charity begins at home, let that charity be our testimony in Church. 

And when we go out, then let us bear testimony to charity, and it is a testimony to the Good News of the saving love of God for us and for the world.

29th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 22-10-2022

Ephesians 4:7-16 / Luke 13:1-9

As we look at our world, we may notice a certain disparity.

There are the first world countries, i.e. the developed countries, and then there are the developing countries, and then there are the third world countries.

Some people have come up with this weird idea  that God had blessed the first world countries and left out the underdeveloped countries.

Maybe that idea is implicitly connected to the age-old thinking that misfortune has a certain connection with sin.

It is because of this sin that a person or a nation forfeits God's blessings.

In today's gospel passage, Jesus out-rightly rejects this sort of thinking.

Yet Jesus went on to say that if His listeners do not repent, then they too will perish.

In other words, a person or a nation that rebels against God is on the road to disaster.

Hence we have to always look back at the spiritual values of faith and morality.

For us Catholics, the urgency is even greater.

As the 1st reading puts it, each one of us has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it.

We should not be tossed one way or another and carried along by every wind of false teaching or deceit.

Rather we should live by the truth and in love so that we shall grow in all ways into Christ.

May Christ be our only way and our only goal.

29th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 21-10-2022

Ephesians 4:1-6 / Luke 12:54-59       

No matter how advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) has developed, it still cannot match the abilities of human intelligence, and hopefully it never will.

And no matter how advanced and realistic robots or cyborgs are designed and developed, it can never be like a real human being.

Essentially, artificial intelligence and robots depend on electronic sensors and run on programs and are powered by electricity. 

Without these, or when these malfunction, then there will be problems and things won’t work or won’t perform as expected.

No doubt, how those electronic sensors feed information to the programs is quite amazing and we even marvel at such technological advances.

But we may forget that we have IQ and also EQ, and we should be able to sense better, think better and judge better than the artificial intelligence and robots.

We may have taken all these gifts for granted and so we end up talking about the weather, places to eat and other mundane things.

That is what Jesus said in the gospel when He lamented that we know how to judge the signs of nature but we may not be that sensitive in judging what is right.

And our senses may have been dulled with it comes to feeling for others and with others.

We may even act like robots that are mechanical, rigid and cold.

The 1st reading reminds us to bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience.

That is what being human is about, to be filled with life and love, and to be living images of the God who created us.

29th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 20-10-2022

Ephesians 3:14-21 / Luke 12:49-53    

The human being is a wonderful creation, and it is also a mystery.

The abilities and the potentials of the human being are amazing enough.

Yet the full abilities and potentials of the human being are yet to be fully discovered.

In that sense the human being is a mystery.

And so are the human nature and the human spirit. There is still a lot more to understand about the human nature and the human spirit.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul prayed that God may give us the power through His Spirit for our hidden selves to grow strong, so that Christ may live in our hearts through faith, and that our hearts will be planted in love and built on love.

The hidden self that St. Paul is talking about is the depths of the human nature and human spirit that is created by God and can only be filled by God.

When we realise that the depths of our hearts yearn for God alone, then God will make His home in our hearts and we will be the temples of the Holy Spirit.

And in the face of divisions and the distress of life, we will have the peace and consolation that God is dwelling in our hearts.

And our hope is that one day we will make our final journey for this world to the eternal world and be with God and rejoice forever in His presence.

29th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 19-10-2022

Ephesians 3:2-12 / Luke 12:39-48   

At Mass, during the Eucharistic prayer, we are called to proclaim the “Mystery of faith”.

We respond with the proclamation that the Lord Jesus died and rose from the dead, and will come again in glory.

It is called the “Mystery of faith” because as much it is revealed to us who Jesus Christ is, there is still much more to be revealed to us as we enter deeper into the mystery of salvation.

Each of us will understand that mystery according to our own capacity and we will live out that mystery of faith in accordance to our own abilities.

That is why in the 1st reading, St. Paul tells us that when we read his words, we will have some idea of the depths of the mystery of Jesus Christ.

And from what we know we will then put it into practice.

But as Jesus tells us in the gospel, the evil one wants to break into our lives and break our faith so that we will follow the ways of the world instead of the way of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

And we know what is the way of Jesus Christ, we know that we have to be alert and stand ready to face the challenges to our faith, and we know that we have to be faithful to the teachings of the gospel.

Faith is a gift from God to us. With faith we will rise to understand the mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Let us put that faith into practice and be witnesses to the saving love of God for the world.

St. Luke, Evangelist, Tuesday, 18-10-2022

2 Tim 4:10-17 / Luke 10:1-9   

To serve God by proclaiming the Good News is never an easy task.

From the 1st reading, we get to see that St. Paul had to struggle and endure a difficult time.

His band of co-workers had split up and some had even gone against him.

His only consolation was that St. Luke was with him, and he made it a point to say it.

From the few occasions that St. Paul mentioned him as his beloved physician, and from what St. Luke wrote in the Gospel and in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we get to see what the person of St. Luke was like.

He was a committed friend of St. Paul, and he paid special attention to those that were forgotten or pushed aside by society.

He wrote about Jesus reaching out to the poor, the lowly, the outcasts, the sinners and women.

What he knew about Jesus, he wrote it in his gospel, and he certainly carried out in his life.

His commitment to St. Paul in his time of need bore witness to that.

As we read the gospel according to St. Luke and mediate on it, a challenge is also awaiting us.

We too have to write another account of Jesus.

It is going to be an account that is not written in words but in actions for all to see.

From that gospel of our lives, others will be able to see who Jesus is.

29th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 17-10-2022

Ephesians 2:1-10 / Luke 12:13-21   

A rich person is not one who has the most but one who needs the least.

And a truly rich person is one who really knows what is needed, what is necessary and what is important in life.

To be able to know all that can be a challenge because the loud voices of material wealth and possessions and money are not easy to resist.

In fact, if anyone were to turn away from money, wealth and possession would be labelled as a fool by the world.

But today’s gospel tells us what a fool really is. 

And to be called a fool by God is indeed devastating.

Even though it was in the setting of a parable, yet the message is clear.

It is certainly foolish to live as though this world is all that it has to offer in life.

The 1st reading tells us what true riches are, and it is to know the love and mercy of God.

And it is in Jesus Christ, who is infinitely rich in grace that we know what real riches and wealth are.

Because a rich person is one who knows that Jesus is the Saviour and that the true treasure is salvation.

29th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 16.10.2022

 Exodus 17:8-13 / 2 Tim 3:14 – 4:2 / Luke 18:1-8

One of the things in life that we really dislike is to wait. To wait is always at the expense of our time, whether it is to wait for someone to turn up, or to wait for something to happen. 

But waiting is such a common occurrence that we should have gotten used to it, but we still complain about it. 

Oh yes, we spend so much time in life waiting that we have become numb to it. 

Of course, when we have to wait for someone who is late, we can get angry because our time is wasted in waiting. 

Or if we have to wait for the service man, or the delivery man, or for our queue number to be called, we can get annoyed, irritated and frustrated, as we feel that we are like trapped. 

But other than that, we actually spend a lot of time waiting for life to happen. So, when we were children, we can't wait to grow up and be an adult, so that we can be independent and have freedom. 

We can't wait to get a job and earn money, and yet after a while, we can't wait to retire so that we can relax from the stress.

We can't wait to buy a home, and even a car, and then we can't wait to finish off paying the monthly mortgage and instalments. 

Oh yes, we can't wait to get a lot of things, and yet, we also can't wait to get out of a lot of things. 

In the 1st reading, we heard that Joshua and his men went into battle with the Amalekites, while Moses stood on the hilltop with the staff of God in his hands. 

As long as Moses kept his arms raised, Israel had the advantage. But when he let his arms fall, Israel began to lose the battle. 

Moses could have been silently wishing, while keeping his arms raised, that Joshua and his men would quickly win the battle. 

But he waited and his arms got tired. So, he had to keep his arms raised and kept waiting for the battle to be over. 

As he waited, and his arms got tired, Moses came to realize that he needed help, and so Aaron and Hur came to his help to keep his arms raised, and with that Israel won the battle. 

So, it was in his waiting that Moses realized that God was telling him something, that he can't do it alone and he needed help from Aaron and Hur. 

In the gospel, Jesus told a parable to teach about the need to pray constantly and never to lose heart. 

In that parable the widow pestered the judge for justice, but for a long time he refused and he wasn't bothered. 

Then somehow, at last, he realized it would be better to do for the widow what was just. 

The widow persisted and waited, and from that we learn that all things happen in God's time. 

So even when we pray for what is good, right and just, we have to be prepared to wait. 

St. Monica waited for 30 years before her son St. Augustine was converted. And St. Monica became the model for all mothers praying for the conversion of their children. 

The people of God wandered and waited in the desert for 40 years before they entered the Promised Land, and from that they learned how to obey and trust in God's providence. 

So, in faith we pray and wait, and in that waiting, we must also be listening to what God is saying. 

There is hymn with this chorus: 

Holy Darkness, blessed night, Heaven’s answer hidden from my sight. As we await You, O God of silence, we embrace Your holy night. 

So, we pray, we wait, we listen and we put our trust in God that He will make all things beautiful in His time. 

God blesses those who put their hope and trust in God's time, that He will reveal something to us as we wait. 

God will reward those who wait with love, because good things will come upon hearts that have learned to be patient and persistent.

28th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 15-10-2022

Ephesians 1:15-23 / Luke 12:8-12      

The term blasphemy may be generally defined as anything from defiant irreverence to intentional sacrilegious acts .

Hence it can mean acts like cursing God or wilfully degrading things relating to God.

It can also be attributing some evil to God, or denying Him some good that should be attributed to Him.

Yet we believe that God is love and forgiveness and He will forgive us even if we had committed the most heinous sin.

So what did Jesus mean when He said that "he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven"?

The purpose of this phrase was to strengthen the disciples in the face of persecution and to deter them from falling into apostasy (giving up the faith) out of cowardice or doubt.

It was also meant as an admonition - a sin can only be unforgivable if repentance is impossible.

So in other words, it is not whether God will forgive; it is a question of whether we want to repent or not.

Because along with repentance is also the trust in God's love and mercy and forgiveness.

To be able to declare that is to stand before others and witness to God and all that He has done for us.

28th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 14-10-2022

Ephesians 1:11-14 / Luke 12:1-7

To say that we are Christians and that we believe in Jesus Christ is certainly not an ordinary matter.

Because in the first place, it was God who called us to the faith, and so faith is a gift from God.

We have responded to that faith, and, as the 1st reading puts it, it is in Christ that we were claimed as God’s own children.

We have heard the message of truth and the Good News of salvation, and we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, who will lead us to our eternal inheritance.

But as Christians we don’t go around shouting about who we believe in or questioning others if they believe that Jesus is their Saviour.

In fact, as Catholics, we live rather ordinary lives, and we are quite ordinary people.

Yet, even in the ordinary, something extra-ordinary is happening, something spiritual is happening.

The message of truth and the Good News of salvation is proclaimed by how we live our faith.

With faith, we believe in the power of God’s love in our lives, and that love will be uncovered in how we love and serve others, and they would be able to see Jesus in us.

But we must not let sin and hypocrisy cover up our faith and hide God’s love in us.

God chose us to be His children. As God’s children, let us be firm in faith, live out the truth with love, and show that Jesus is our Saviour even though we may just be living ordinary lives.

28th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 13-10-2022

Ephesians 1:1-10 / Luke 11:47-54         

The Church is the messenger of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the sign of salvation for the world.

As Christians, we have inherited the faith of the Church and it is for us to live out that faith in this present time.

How we live out our faith, how we faced the challenges of this generation, how we are going to be signs of hope, that will be the mission for this generation of the Church.

So as much as we are living in the present, we look back and learn from the past experiences of the Church.

And as much as we are the present generation of the Church, we are, and we must prepare the next generation of the Church.

It is our duty and responsibility to form and be examples of faith, hope and love for the next generation of the Church.

The words of Jesus in the gospel “this generation will have to answer for it” reminds us of our duty, responsibility and accountability to the past and to the future generation of the Church.

May we also be the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world and lead people to salvation.

28th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 12-10-2022

Galatians 5:18-25 / Luke 11:42-46    

As human beings, we will fall ill at one time or another.

Whether it is aches or pains, or some kind of serious illness that requires a person to be hospitalized or bed-ridden, we will be drained and burdened by it.

In the face of illnesses and sickness, we might also wonder why can’t we just be healthy and live life happily.

Of course, we may say that the causes of illnesses and sicknesses are due to many factors.

But we also need to look at the state of our own physical immunity system.

And we can say that to be healthy is to be happy, as well as vice-versa.

And the 1st reading tells us how to be healthy and happy. 

When we let ourselves be directed by the Holy Spirit, we will have love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And when we crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires, we will be able to follow the promptings and directions of the Holy Spirit.

Physical health and spiritual health go hand in hand.

When we are physically and spiritually healthy, and living our lives in the Spirit, then we are proclaiming the Good News of salvation.

28th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 11-10-2022

Galatians 5:1-6 / Luke 11:37-41   

Love is indeed a wonderful thing, yet love is not a thing.

Love cannot be adequately described in words because it has so many beautiful aspects.

But it is not just beautiful because it has that rosy lovey-dovey feeling.

Over and above all the words that can be used to describe love, it must be said that love is a sacrifice.

God revealed that love is a sacrifice when on the Cross, Jesus showed how great and wonderful love is.

So even if we have faith but no love, then faith is just a word without a meaning.

That is why in the 1st reading, it says that what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.

So when it comes to giving alms or helping the poor, it is not the amount of money but about the love that is in the act of giving and helping.

But we cannot give or share what we do not have. 

Hence, in the Response to the Psalm, we say: Lord, let your love come upon us.

May the love of the Lord be always upon us, so that we will live out our faith with love.

28th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 10-10-2022

Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31 - 5:1 / Luke 11:29-32   

One of the realities in life is this: There will always be problems in life.

Of course, that should not surprise us at all.

But the question is, why will there always be problems?

And even if we solve one problem, then another problem will arise.

But if we were to take a moment and think about it, could it be that most, if not all our problems are of our own doing?

Because there are always signs of an impending problem, but somehow, we ignore or brush if off until the problem explodes.

As it is said, where there is smoke, there is a fire.

Just that we see or smell the smoke but we didn’t bother too much about it until we see the flames.

In the gospel, Jesus talked about signs, and He says that God has given His people the signs in Jonah, the queen of the South and the people of Nineveh.

Similarly, God gives us signs to guide us along the journey of life so that we can do His will.

And God also gives us signs to warn us of the dangers in our spiritual life.

Let us ask God to open our minds and hearts so that we not only avoid problems, but also to help others in their problems.

28th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 09.10.2022

2 Kings 5:14-17 / 2 Tim 2:8-13 / Luke 17:11-19

For those of us who are into photography, whether as a professional or as an amateur, we will know how the camera, as well as photo taking has evolved. 

We will remember it was bulky cameras that require a roll of film that usually comes in 24 or 36 exposures. And then the hassle of having to go to the shop to have the film developed into photographs. And we need to get photo albums so that we can insert the photographs of our precious moments. 

Fast forward to the present moment, and almost everyone, including the children, can be photographers. 

The smartphone has changed the concept of the camera and photo taking, as well as photographs. 

Every smartphone has a camera, and anyone who has a smartphone can be a photographer. 

And the film, the developing of the film, and maybe even photo albums are a thing of the past. 

Because in the smartphone, there is a folder called “Albums” or “Photos”, and in there are all the photos taken with the smartphone. 

So, we can see the photos immediately with the smartphone, do editing on the photos, and if we wish, we can send the photo by wireless to a printer. 

Yes, it is so amazing that we can take a photo as and when we want, and without much hassle. 

But one observation from all this technological development is that as much as many photos are taken with smartphones or cameras, we don't see that many hard copy photographs. 

And with that, photo albums are a thing of the past. It may be even difficult to find one. 

But if something is out of sight, then slowly it will be out of mind. 

In the gospel, the 10 lepers approached Jesus, not because they want to take a photo of Him or take a photo with Him. 

They had a desperate need, and they called out to Him: Jesus! Master! Take pity on us. 

When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go and show yourself to the priests.” That was the sign that Jesus had granted them the cure because the priests were the ones who would certify their recovery. 

So, all 10 lepers were cured, but only one turn back and praised God at the top of his voice and threw himself down at the feet of Jesus and thank Him. 

That made Jesus wonder about the attitude of the other nine who were also cured. 

But what is really significant is what Jesus said to that man who came back to thank Him: Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you. 

All 10 were cured, but only one had faith and because of his faith he was saved. 

For the other nine, Jesus was important at a time when they needed a cure from their disease. 

It was like they took a photo of Jesus and it was a precious moment for them in their desperate need. 

But when their need was granted, other things came into their lives and the memory of Jesus was slowly forgotten. 

Except for that man who came back to thank Jesus. Jesus remained in his heart and in his life. That was his faith, and Jesus affirmed him of his faith. 

So more than just being cured, his faith was ignited, and he gave thanks and he walked towards salvation. 

We too had turned to Jesus and our prayers were answered and our needs were granted. 

Let us always give thanks and remember Jesus in our hearts. 

At the entrance of the church, there are prayer cards of the image of Jesus on one side and a short prayer on the other. 

Let us keep that prayer card in our wallet or even on the home screen of our smartphones. 

In our time of need, let us turn to Jesus and let us have the faith that He will answer our prayers. 

And may we always give thanks to Jesus. Those with a grateful and thankful heart are on the road to salvation.

27th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 08-10-2022

Galatians 3:22-29 / Luke 11:27-28    

The one important aspect of any organization or group is unity.

So the saying “united we stand, divided we fall” is so vital, whether it is for a country, or a company, or a family.

When there is unity, it can be said that everyone has the same mind and heart, and everyone moves together, watches each other’s back and no one is left behind.

But unity is more than just everyone agreeing on the same uniform, marching to the same tune or singing the same song.

More than just being physically together, it is a union that has a spiritual dimension.

So, in the gospel, when someone praised the mother of Jesus, He added that happier still those who hear the Word of God and keep it.

Indeed, for Christians, one of the unifying factors is listening to the Word of God and doing what the Word of God is telling the Church.

Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, and it is in union with Jesus that the Church and Christians are united in mind and heart.

But the Word of God in the 1st reading tells us that sin is the master of deceit and destruction, and evil is out to destroy the unity of the Church by tempting Christians to sin.

It is only by keeping faith in Jesus that the unity of the Church and the unity among Christians can be strengthened.

Let us keep faith in Jesus and pray for protection against the evil one so that united in mind and heart, we can proclaim the Good News of salvation to the world.

Our Lady of the Rosary, Friday, 07-10-2022

Acts 1:12-14 / Luke 1:26-38   

Whenever we hear the Rosary being prayed, it would usually be in a church setting or a church event.

It can be presumed, and it is not difficult to imagine, that the setting would be orderly and peaceful, the voices are sober and calm.

There is no doubt that a prayer session is going on.

But on this day back in 1571, the Rosary was prayed with tensed voices and anxious hearts.

The soldiers on the Christian fleet that were sailing to stop the mighty Ottoman armada, were praying the Rosary desperately because they were outnumbered and defeat and death was imminent.

Still they prayed for courage and for divine intervention in such a desperate situation.

The Pope at that time, Pope Pius V, urged the faithful to pray the Rosary and to invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Christian fleet and for the safety of the Church, as defeat would mean invasion and destruction.

So on this day in 1571, the Rosary was prayed with desperation and tension.

But through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, God granted a miraculous victory to the Christian fleet and saved the Church from being destroyed.

The despair and the distress that the Church faced then is no different for what the Church and the world face now.

May we heed the call to prayer, the call to pray the Rosary and to beseech Mother Mary to pray for us that God will look with mercy and compassion on us.

And may God answer our prayers and may He grant us, the Church and the world, His blessings of peace and salvation.

27th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 06-10-2022

Galatians 3:1-5 / Luke 11:5-13     

No one can ever say that they are not in any need.

No matter how we try to stay independent, there will be times when we will ask for help or we will be in need of something.

So when we ask for help or in need of something, we are in a vulnerable state as we could face rejection and disappointment.

So when Jesus tells us to ask and it will be given, search and we will find, knock and the door will be opened to us, it does sound too good and easy.

But if we think that it is just to fulfil our needs and wants, then we need to rethink and reflect deep on what Jesus is teaching us.

Because our faith is not about ourselves but about what God wants us to do for others.

So when we ask for the good of others, search for others so that they can have directions, and knock on doors for others who do not dare to knock on those doors, then God will certainly grant His blessings on our prayers for others.

Just as Jesus came to preach the Good News to the poor and needy, when we intercede and intervene for those in need, then the Good News of salvation and of God’s saving help is proclaimed once again.

And in being instruments of the proclamation of the Good News, God will also come to our help and grant us our needs.

27th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 05-10-2022

Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 / Luke 11:1-4   

When others come to know that we are Catholics, what would we think that they will ask us?

Probably they will be interested to know about our religious practices, which church we go to, why we pray to Mary, etc.

Yes, these and other curious questions will be asked and we may be at ease in answering some of those questions, and maybe feel uncomfortable about other questions.

But has anyone ever asked us to teach them to pray?

There can be other curious questions about us being Catholics, but has anyone ever expressed interest in how we pray or who we pray to?

When the disciples saw Jesus praying, they asked Him to teach them to pray.

If ever anyone asks us to teach them to pray, let us not hesitate or feel awkward to do so.

Let us lead them to God who wants to be a loving Father to them, just as He is a loving Father to us.

27th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 04-10-2022

Galatians 1:13-24 / Luke 10:38-42   

To be human is, among other things, to be able to be independent and to have a life.

So as humans, we live an active life as we work, as we relate with others, have ambitions and goals in life.

It can be imagined for a human being to be alive and yet stays at a corner for long periods of time and do nothing.

For St. Paul, as he recalls in the 1st reading, he had an active and a purpose-driven life.

He was moving quickly in what he wanted to achieve in life that he didn’t stop and to look at what he was doing and was becoming of him.

But there was a momentary pause in his life when God called him and chose to reveal Jesus to him.

Then he realized his new purpose in life, which was to preach the Good News to the pagans.

In the gospel, Martha was also busy doing her work and she was so caught up with what she was doing that she even complained to Jesus and urged Him to get Mary to help her with her work.

Jesus stopped Martha for a moment, so that she could look up from what she was doing and see the more important things of life.

So when something stops us in our busyness, let us know that God is calling us to look up.

When we are willing to stop and look up, we will see things differently and even get a new direction in life.

27th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 03-10-2022

Galatians 1:6-12 / Luke 10:25-37     

We know that the Bible is the Word of God.

To really understand the Word of God, we would have to do some Bible study in order to know how to interpret the meaning of what is written in the Bible.

There are many resources that are available that have commentaries on the Word of God.

As much as most commentaries are correct interpretations of the Word of God, it is possible that some have questionable interpretations.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul warned the Galatians that some troublemakers among them wanted to change the Good News of Christ.

Essentially the Good News is about salvation and to love God and to love neighbour.

Any deviations from that essential message of the Good News would be questionable.

In the gospel, the lawyer, in order to justify himself, asked Jesus who is his neighbour, and Jesus responded with the parable of the “Good Samaritan”.

And Jesus asked him this question: Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands’ hands?

The question that we have to ask ourselves is this: Who do we think is our neighbour?

But a deeper question for our reflection would be this: Who is God sending to us so that we can be a neighbour to them?

When we realise that the neighbours are not who we want them to be but who God is sending to us, then we will have an idea of what God is really saying to us in the Bible.

27th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 02.10.2022

 Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 / 2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14 / Luke 17:5-10

At Mass, the letter “I” is used only a few times. At the Penitential Rite, it is at the “I confess”. At the Communion Rite, it is at the “I am not worthy”. And at the Creed, it is at the “I believe”. 

The letter “I” is a singular, first-person pronoun. We use “I” when we want to talk about ourselves, about what we do, and how we feel. 

So, to say “I believe”, it points to a commitment and a conviction. But to say “I believe in God” is not just a personal commitment or conviction. 

To believe in God requires faith, and faith is a gift from God. It is with the gift of faith that we can believe in God, and we respond with faith to the call of God to be His People. 

So, to be a Christian means that we have a love relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 

God does not treat us as lowly servants that He can use to do some thankless work, or to make us fear Him because He will punish wrongdoers. 

Rather, God calls us to be His children, He wants to love us, so that we can love Him in return and to serve Him with love. 

It takes faith to do all that with love. So, it can be said that with faith, we will be able to love God and to love others. 

Faith can be as small as a mustard seed, but the love can be so powerful that we can tell the mulberry tree to be uprooted and be planted in the sea and it will do so. 

But faith and love need not be so dramatic and spectacular. 

In the 1st reading, the prophet Habakkuk cried out to God even though his faith was eroding.

What Habakkuk saw around him was despair and distress. There was oppression and injustice, there was outrage and violence, and God doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. 

But Habakkuk’s faith was restored when God answered and even told him to write down the vision. 

What restored Habakkuk’s faith is that God's promises are eager for its own fulfilment, and it does not deceive. It may come slowly, but come it will without fail. 

All that can be summed up by that last line of the 1st reading when God said this: The upright man will live by his faithfulness. 

So yes, we are given the faith to believe in God, to believe that God is good, God is love, that God is kind and compassionate. 

If we believe that God is all that, then with our mustard seed of faith, we will want to believe that people can be like God.

A story goes that a mother gave her little daughter two apples. Then, she asked the girl to give her one of the apples. She thought that if the girl gave her the smaller one, then she would teach the girl to be generous and respectful to elders.

To her shock and disappointment, the girl quickly took a bite of the bigger apple and just as the mother thought she was going to give her the smaller apple, the girl took a bite of the smaller apple too.

The mother was very sad that her daughter was selfish and cared only for herself. 

Then the girl stretched out her hand, gave an apple to her mother and said: Mummy, you eat this apple, this apple is sweeter!

The mother was ashamed that she didn’t believe in the goodness of her daughter.

Yes, we ask the Lord to increase our faith so that we can believe in the goodness of the Lord. 

And let us ask the Lord to increase our faith so that we can also believe in the goodness of people. 

May the Lord increase our faith, so that our love will also increase. 

When we are able to see the goodness of the Lord in the people and everything around us, then God's blessings will also increase upon us, and upon our mustard seed of faith.