1st Week of Advent, Thursday, 05-12-2024

Isaiah 26:1-6 / Matthew 7:21, 24-27  

It is often said that history repeats itself. It is only the people and the situations or circumstances have changed.

So it is with the lessons of life.

The lessons of life keep repeating itself. It is only the people and situations or circumstances have changed.

But whether it is history or the lessons of life that keep repeating, it shows one thing.

And that is we human beings, despite our intelligence, don’t seem to learn or remember the lessons of life.

We keep making those mistakes from one generation to the next, and going back way into history.

One mistake that the high and mighty keep making is that they think they are going to stay up there forever.

The 1st reading says that the Lord will bring low those who lived high up, brings them down to the ground, and flings them to the dust.

We turn to the Word of God and listen to it in order to know what the Lord is teaching us and the warnings that He is giving us.

Let us listen and remember what the Lord has said and keeps saying.

Then we won’t be in misery over our mistakes, and that our lives will be built on the Lord our Rock.

1st Week of Advent, Wednesday, 04-12-2024

Isaiah 25:6-10 / Matthew 15:29-37  

We usually think that the important things are the big things in life.

Some of the so-called big things are like wealth, status, looks and whatever that will boost our ego.

We may not pay that much attention to the small and little things in life but they are equally as important as the big things of life.

In the gospel, Jesus was expressing His mission of salvation through His healing ministry.

He cured the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many other illnesses and diseases.

But He also cared about the welfare of the people.

He knew that the people were hungry and He felt sorry for them.

So besides the spiritual and physical wellness of the people, He also cared about their basic need for food.

In the miracle of the multiplication of bread, Jesus showed that God is also concerned about the small and little needs of the people, which is just as important.

As we come for the Eucharist, we are nourished spiritually and physically.

The Eucharist we receive is a sign that God will provide for all our needs, big and small.

May we put our faith and trust in God that He loves and cares for us.

That is what Jesus came to show and tell us.

St. Francis Xavier, Patron of Missions and Missionaries, Tuesday, 03-12-2024

1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23 / Mark 16:15-20  

The Major Seminary in Singapore is dedicated to the patronage of St. Francis Xavier.

In the first year of formation, the seminarians had to read about the lives of the saints, and St. Francis Xavier was one for compulsory reading.

And even priests and religious and missionaries who read about his life and his work will admit that he is one model that is very difficult to match up to.

His missionary zeal, his perseverance and his persistence in preaching the gospel amidst the political clutter, his courage and determination were all very inspiring.

And it seemed that he spent so much time in the East in places like Goa, Malacca, China and Japan and learning the local languages so that he could preach to the local people that he eventually forgot his own mother tongue (Spanish).

He took the trouble to learn the local languages and in that sense he really went out and preached everywhere.

In St. Francis Xavier, we can see the words of today's gospel being fulfilled.

And the words of the gospel, the Good News, will continue to be fulfilled in us as long as we are willing to proclaim the Good News in word and in action.

We must always remember that it is not so much our suitability for the task but rather our availability for the mission.

1st Week of Advent, Monday, 02-12-2024

Isaiah 2:1-5 / Matthew 8:5-11   

When night falls, and when it becomes dark, anything that gives out light would be useful.

It may be a candle, or an oil lamp or an electric bulb, light is certainly appreciated in the darkness.

As we begin the season of Advent, the first candle of the Advent wreath is lighted.

Even though the light from that candle is not so significant, yet it symbolizes the meaning of the season of Advent.

The coming of Christ is like a light in the darkness, and that light slowly becomes brighter and stronger.

That light points and leads us to God, and it also shines on us so that we can see who we really are in the eyes of God.

When we look at what the light reveals to us, then we will hammer our swords of anger and spears of bitterness into ploughshares of service and sickles of love.

With the light of Christ, we will recognize His power and authority to change humanity and bring about healing and peace.

Let us walk in the light of Christ as we journey on in this season of Advent.