Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 / 1 John 3:1-3 / Matthew 5:1-12a
Back in the year 1800, a 16 year-old boy had to leave home to find work to support his poor family.
The only thing he knew was how to make soap which he learnt from his father.
So he set off with all his worldly possessions in a bundle dangling from his hand, and with the words of his mother in his head – Seek first the kingdom of God.
On his way, he met the captain of a canal-boat and when he heard of the boy’s plans, he gave him this advice.
“Start right and be a good man. Give back to the Lord all that belongs to Him of every dollar that you earn. Make an honest soap and you will make it through life.”
When that country boy arrived in the big city, he found it hard to get work.
Remembering the last words of his mother and also the godly advice given him by the captain of a canal-boat, the youth dedicated his life to God, determining to return to God an honest tithe of every dollar he earned.
So, when his first dollar came in, the young man sacredly dedicated ten cents of it to the Lord.
This he continued to do as he became more successful.
He set a company which manufactured soap and the business grew miraculously.
The honest proprietor and businessman dedicated two tenths of his earnings; and then three tenths, four tenths; and then five tenths.
He was also a philanthropist and gave to charity and good causes.
Soon his make of soap became a household word throughout the world.
So who was that 16 year-old boy in this story?
Well, his name is William Colgate. And who has not heard of Colgate’s toothpaste and soap products.
Well, this story is not an advertisement for Colgate products, but I am telling the story of William Colgate because of what he believed in.
He remembered his mother’s words : Seek first the kingdom of God.
He also remembered what the canal-boat captain told him : Start right and be a good man. Give back to the Lord all that belongs to Him of every dollar that you earn. Make an honest soap and you will make it through life.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is telling us what it takes for us to make it through life and to attain eternal life.
The Beatitudes are not just about good advice.
It is about the blessings that God wants to give us when we live that way of life.
The saints believed it and lived it out in their lives on earth, and now they live eternally with God.
If William Colgate can believe in the words of his mother and that of the canal-boat captain, all the more we must believe in the eternal words of Jesus our Lord.
Because they are the words of life on earth that will lead us to the life above.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
30th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 30-10-10
Philippians 1:18-26 / Luke 14:7-11 (2020)
By and large, we have the etiquette and the decorum to be shown our seats in a function or at a dinner reception.
We certainly don't want to be embarrassed to take a seat we assumed to be ours only to be told otherwise.
Nonetheless the parable of Jesus tells us that we have this innate desire to be honoured and maybe even exalted.
Because it cannot be denied that we liked to be looked up too. For some it may even be an obession.
But for all the adulation and limelight that we might get, what and how will it matter in eternity?
In the 1st reading, we hear of St. Paul's dilemma.
He wants to be with Christ but yet he know he had to stay on for a while in order to help the early Christians progress in their faith.
Yet St. Paul also knew that all praise and honour is to be given to God alone.
So let us be aware of our tendency to be in the limelight and receive the applause.
Yet all this does not matter in eternity. What matters then is that we continue to praise and glorify the Lord.
By and large, we have the etiquette and the decorum to be shown our seats in a function or at a dinner reception.
We certainly don't want to be embarrassed to take a seat we assumed to be ours only to be told otherwise.
Nonetheless the parable of Jesus tells us that we have this innate desire to be honoured and maybe even exalted.
Because it cannot be denied that we liked to be looked up too. For some it may even be an obession.
But for all the adulation and limelight that we might get, what and how will it matter in eternity?
In the 1st reading, we hear of St. Paul's dilemma.
He wants to be with Christ but yet he know he had to stay on for a while in order to help the early Christians progress in their faith.
Yet St. Paul also knew that all praise and honour is to be given to God alone.
So let us be aware of our tendency to be in the limelight and receive the applause.
Yet all this does not matter in eternity. What matters then is that we continue to praise and glorify the Lord.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
30th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 29-10-10
Philippians 1:1-11 / Luke 14:1-6
One of the distracting things that can happen when we are at work is when someone comes in unexpectedly with a request or the phone rings and the person at the other end of the line has a difficult issue to discuss.
Whenever such things happen, our thoughts and ideas and concentration on our work gets thrown off and we may have to start all over again when we get back at it.
To us, it may just be another person with a request or another call to attend to.
But whatever it is, the person has a need or a request, and that need may be urgent or important to that person.
That person will certainly feel disappointed or frustrated if he were told to come back another day or to make an appointment first.
In the gospel, the man with dropsy may be having it for a long time.
But the fact that he was standing in front of Jesus meant that he was hoping that Jesus could do something for him.
Jesus was going for a meal but He didn't put the man on hold or tell him to come another day.
For Him, that man could be cured immediately and He would do it.
We have our own work and it may be urgent and important.
But let us also remember those occasions when we needed help immediately and we actually got it.
We have to realize that it was God who sent us the help, and so we too must help others in their need when they come to us.
One of the distracting things that can happen when we are at work is when someone comes in unexpectedly with a request or the phone rings and the person at the other end of the line has a difficult issue to discuss.
Whenever such things happen, our thoughts and ideas and concentration on our work gets thrown off and we may have to start all over again when we get back at it.
To us, it may just be another person with a request or another call to attend to.
But whatever it is, the person has a need or a request, and that need may be urgent or important to that person.
That person will certainly feel disappointed or frustrated if he were told to come back another day or to make an appointment first.
In the gospel, the man with dropsy may be having it for a long time.
But the fact that he was standing in front of Jesus meant that he was hoping that Jesus could do something for him.
Jesus was going for a meal but He didn't put the man on hold or tell him to come another day.
For Him, that man could be cured immediately and He would do it.
We have our own work and it may be urgent and important.
But let us also remember those occasions when we needed help immediately and we actually got it.
We have to realize that it was God who sent us the help, and so we too must help others in their need when they come to us.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles, Thursday, 28-10-10
Ephesians 2:19-22 / Luke 6:12-19 (2015, 2017, 2019)
Some ancient Christian writings have it that St. Simon and St. Jude went together as missionaries to Persia, and were martyred there.
This may explain the lack of historical information on them and also why their feastdays are usually put together.
Even the gospel accounts do not say much about them.
St. Simon is called the Zealot (or Zealous) maybe because of his patriotism and nationalism.
St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, which according to some accounts, was used to preach the Good News
Devotional prayers to St. Jude helped people, especially newly arrived immigrants from Europe to the US, deal with the pressures caused by the Great Depression and World War II and other political and economic and social changes.
St. Jude is also invoked as the patron saint of desperate cases.
So even though we may not know much about the historical facts of these two saints, we know that they are praying for us.
We also have recourse to them in our needs, especially to the intercession of St. Jude.
They also remind us that we have to keep faith in Jesus and trust in Him always.
They even laid down their lives for Jesus in order to witness to Him.
May we also put forth our needs through the intercession of St.Simon and St. Jude, and may we also offer our lives to God in this Mass.
Some ancient Christian writings have it that St. Simon and St. Jude went together as missionaries to Persia, and were martyred there.
This may explain the lack of historical information on them and also why their feastdays are usually put together.
Even the gospel accounts do not say much about them.
St. Simon is called the Zealot (or Zealous) maybe because of his patriotism and nationalism.
St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, which according to some accounts, was used to preach the Good News
Devotional prayers to St. Jude helped people, especially newly arrived immigrants from Europe to the US, deal with the pressures caused by the Great Depression and World War II and other political and economic and social changes.
St. Jude is also invoked as the patron saint of desperate cases.
So even though we may not know much about the historical facts of these two saints, we know that they are praying for us.
We also have recourse to them in our needs, especially to the intercession of St. Jude.
They also remind us that we have to keep faith in Jesus and trust in Him always.
They even laid down their lives for Jesus in order to witness to Him.
May we also put forth our needs through the intercession of St.Simon and St. Jude, and may we also offer our lives to God in this Mass.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
30th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 27-10-10
Ephesians 6:1-9 / Luke 13:22-30
In a written exam, usually there is the question and the answers are marked according to how well the question is answered.
If we think that is difficult, then how about the other way round - the answer are stated, and we have to provide an appropriate question for it.
That may be more difficult, because very often finding the right question is more difficult than finding the right answer.
In the gospel, we heard about someone asking Jesus this question : Will there be only a few saved?
And from the answer Jesus gave, we know that the question needs some rethinking.
Jesus only said what kind of people will be there.
In other words it is those who dedicate themselves to the Kingdom of God who will be in heaven.
The 1st reading also stated a particular group of people who will be saved.
They are children who are obedient and honour their parents.
It even highlighted that it is a commandment that has a promise attached to it.
So the answers to salvation and eternal life can be found in the Bible.
It is for us now to ask ourselves some questions about what we want to do with the answers that we have.
Because the answer is as important as the question.
In a written exam, usually there is the question and the answers are marked according to how well the question is answered.
If we think that is difficult, then how about the other way round - the answer are stated, and we have to provide an appropriate question for it.
That may be more difficult, because very often finding the right question is more difficult than finding the right answer.
In the gospel, we heard about someone asking Jesus this question : Will there be only a few saved?
And from the answer Jesus gave, we know that the question needs some rethinking.
Jesus only said what kind of people will be there.
In other words it is those who dedicate themselves to the Kingdom of God who will be in heaven.
The 1st reading also stated a particular group of people who will be saved.
They are children who are obedient and honour their parents.
It even highlighted that it is a commandment that has a promise attached to it.
So the answers to salvation and eternal life can be found in the Bible.
It is for us now to ask ourselves some questions about what we want to do with the answers that we have.
Because the answer is as important as the question.
Monday, October 25, 2010
30th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 26-10-10
Ephesians 5:21-33 / Luke 13:18-21
It is just simply amazing how Jesus used the often taken-for-granted things of nature and everyday life to explain the mystery of the Kingdom of God.
In today's gospel, He used a mustard seed and yeast to let His listeners reflect deeper about the wonder of what God has created.
Indeed we take so many things for granted that we have become dulled to wonder and mystery.
But it is in the ordinary things of life that we can see the wonder and the mystery of the Kingdom of God.
Similarly, the 1st reading tells us that marriage is not just a social institution but it is a reflection of the love relationship of Christ and His Church.
Married couples have to look deeply at their marriage and at themselves to see that the Kingdom of God is in them and they must grow and bear fruits of the Kingdom.
We too have to look deeply at ourselves and see that the Kingdom of God is within us and urging us to grow.
May we not take anything for granted. May we also not take ourselves for granted. May we also not take God for granted.
It is just simply amazing how Jesus used the often taken-for-granted things of nature and everyday life to explain the mystery of the Kingdom of God.
In today's gospel, He used a mustard seed and yeast to let His listeners reflect deeper about the wonder of what God has created.
Indeed we take so many things for granted that we have become dulled to wonder and mystery.
But it is in the ordinary things of life that we can see the wonder and the mystery of the Kingdom of God.
Similarly, the 1st reading tells us that marriage is not just a social institution but it is a reflection of the love relationship of Christ and His Church.
Married couples have to look deeply at their marriage and at themselves to see that the Kingdom of God is in them and they must grow and bear fruits of the Kingdom.
We too have to look deeply at ourselves and see that the Kingdom of God is within us and urging us to grow.
May we not take anything for granted. May we also not take ourselves for granted. May we also not take God for granted.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
30th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 25-10-10
Ephesians 4:32-5:8 / Luke 13:10-17 (2022)
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.
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.
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