Hebrews 12:1-4 / Mark 5:21-43 (2023)
It would be interesting to reflect upon why some Catholics become lukewarm and even lose faith altogether.
Don't they know who Jesus is, and what He can do for them?
And if they do, then why is it that He is not significant in their lives?
Why is it that they are not touched by Him?
Maybe the same question can be asked of the people in the scene in today's gospel.
So many people were crowding around Jesus, yet only one was touched by Him.
Certainly those crowding around Jesus have needs to be met.
So, could it be that after a while, it was a typical case of "familiarity breeds contempt' in that they were expecting Him to perform miracles instead of yearning for Him as the woman with the hemorrhage did.
And if familiarity breeds contempt, then routine and monotony can also be the death of reverence.
We may forget that in the Eucharist, something holy and sacred is happening.
Let us pray that we will never lose the faith to see the miracle of God sacrificing Himself for us.
And may we yearn to be touched by Jesus, just as the woman with the hemorrhage yearned to touch Him and to be touched by Him.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
4th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 31-01-11
Hebrews 11:32-40 / Mark 5:1-20
I wonder if you remember the story about the Elephant Man (Joseph Carey Merrick, 5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890)
He had a unique physical condition that resulted in lumps of ugly growth all over his body.
At that time he was considered a freak because of the distorted features.
Only a few people bothered to look at the man inside those features.
In the gospel, Jesus looked beyond the possessed man and saw a man trying to break free.
He may have already driven out the evil spirits but the man needed a sign of deliverance from the powerful delusion that he was still possessed.
And so Jesus gave him that sign by sending the evil spirits into the pigs.
Jesus used that sign to help the man climb back to sanity so that his disordered mind can be restored to peace.
Jesus healed the man's spirit as well as his mind.
The power of Jesus to heal us and to change us is certainly real.
But we may need to see that power, to hear it, to feel it, before we are convinced of it.
After all we are a symbolic people - we need signs and symbols to experience the mystery of God.
So let us not hestitate to ask the Lord for a sign if we should ever need one.
And let us also be signs to others of all that the Lord in His goodness and mercy has done for us.
I wonder if you remember the story about the Elephant Man (Joseph Carey Merrick, 5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890)
He had a unique physical condition that resulted in lumps of ugly growth all over his body.
At that time he was considered a freak because of the distorted features.
Only a few people bothered to look at the man inside those features.
In the gospel, Jesus looked beyond the possessed man and saw a man trying to break free.
He may have already driven out the evil spirits but the man needed a sign of deliverance from the powerful delusion that he was still possessed.
And so Jesus gave him that sign by sending the evil spirits into the pigs.
Jesus used that sign to help the man climb back to sanity so that his disordered mind can be restored to peace.
Jesus healed the man's spirit as well as his mind.
The power of Jesus to heal us and to change us is certainly real.
But we may need to see that power, to hear it, to feel it, before we are convinced of it.
After all we are a symbolic people - we need signs and symbols to experience the mystery of God.
So let us not hestitate to ask the Lord for a sign if we should ever need one.
And let us also be signs to others of all that the Lord in His goodness and mercy has done for us.
Friday, January 28, 2011
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 29-01-11
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 / Mark 4:35-41
The name John Newton might sound familiar and ring a bell for some of us.
Well, John Newton was a slave trader in the 1700s.
One night a violent storm tossed his slave ship about like driftwood.
John Newton panicked and he cried out to God like this :
O God, if You see us safely through this storm, I will stop all this slave-trading business and become Your slave.
The ship survived and John Newton kept his promise.
Later, as a minister of the gospel, he wrote this hymn to celebrate his conversion.
The hymn is this: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I one was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.
Like the disciples, it took a storm to let John Newton see who Jesus is.
So when a storm is blowing in our lives, let us persevere in prayer and know that Jesus is opening our eyes to see His love for us.
The name John Newton might sound familiar and ring a bell for some of us.
Well, John Newton was a slave trader in the 1700s.
One night a violent storm tossed his slave ship about like driftwood.
John Newton panicked and he cried out to God like this :
O God, if You see us safely through this storm, I will stop all this slave-trading business and become Your slave.
The ship survived and John Newton kept his promise.
Later, as a minister of the gospel, he wrote this hymn to celebrate his conversion.
The hymn is this: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I one was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.
Like the disciples, it took a storm to let John Newton see who Jesus is.
So when a storm is blowing in our lives, let us persevere in prayer and know that Jesus is opening our eyes to see His love for us.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 28-01-11
Hebrews 10:32-39 / Mark 4:26-34
Now and then, we come across this hypothetical question : If you can live life all over again, how would you want to live it. What do you want it to be like?
So in other words, it is about a new beginning, or a re-start, or a re-birth, or whatever terms that can be used.
So the focus and the attention is on the starting. But how about the ending?
There can be many new beginnings and re-starts but what will the ending be like?
In the gospel Jesus talked about humble beginnings but great endings.
The 1st reading emphasized that between the start and the end, we must be faithful until our souls are saved.
Indeed, we are not the sort of people who would draw back and are lost by it.
In fact we should not be that sort of people because of what we believe.
We believe that God has prepared a great and glorious ending for us which would be eternal.
Let us not lose sight of it and keep walking faithfully towards it in faith.
Now and then, we come across this hypothetical question : If you can live life all over again, how would you want to live it. What do you want it to be like?
So in other words, it is about a new beginning, or a re-start, or a re-birth, or whatever terms that can be used.
So the focus and the attention is on the starting. But how about the ending?
There can be many new beginnings and re-starts but what will the ending be like?
In the gospel Jesus talked about humble beginnings but great endings.
The 1st reading emphasized that between the start and the end, we must be faithful until our souls are saved.
Indeed, we are not the sort of people who would draw back and are lost by it.
In fact we should not be that sort of people because of what we believe.
We believe that God has prepared a great and glorious ending for us which would be eternal.
Let us not lose sight of it and keep walking faithfully towards it in faith.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 27-01-11
Hebrews 10:19-25 / Mark 4:21-25
If we own a car, then we will know that there are certain things that we must do for periodical maintenance.
Things like check the battery water, radiator water, engine oil, pump the tires and of course wash the car once in a while.
Not to do these things might just result in having a car break-down in some forsaken place at the most inconvenient time.
And just as our luck would have it, our mobile phone battery runs flat also.
Similarly, being a Christian means that we have to live out our Christian identity in our daily lives.
And this Christian identity is rooted in the truth, the truth which is Jesus Christ Himself.
But living out the truth has its consequences.
We will have to decide not to cooperate with dishonesty and injustice, with bad attitudes and examples, and that would make us stick out like a sore thumb and we will also feel like a sore thumb.
To challenge others with the truth, even if we don't say a word, will surely not make things easy for us.
Jesus is asking us if we are willing to live out the truth in our lives.
As long as we are willing to do so, the light of our lives will shine out.
The truth that we live out will be the light for others.
If we own a car, then we will know that there are certain things that we must do for periodical maintenance.
Things like check the battery water, radiator water, engine oil, pump the tires and of course wash the car once in a while.
Not to do these things might just result in having a car break-down in some forsaken place at the most inconvenient time.
And just as our luck would have it, our mobile phone battery runs flat also.
Similarly, being a Christian means that we have to live out our Christian identity in our daily lives.
And this Christian identity is rooted in the truth, the truth which is Jesus Christ Himself.
But living out the truth has its consequences.
We will have to decide not to cooperate with dishonesty and injustice, with bad attitudes and examples, and that would make us stick out like a sore thumb and we will also feel like a sore thumb.
To challenge others with the truth, even if we don't say a word, will surely not make things easy for us.
Jesus is asking us if we are willing to live out the truth in our lives.
As long as we are willing to do so, the light of our lives will shine out.
The truth that we live out will be the light for others.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sts. Timothy and Titus, 26-01-11, Wednesday
2 Timothy 1:1-8 / Luke 10:1-9
When Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła was elected Pope in 1978, he took on the name John Paul II.
He also had something peculiar in the design on his coat of arms.
Besides the usual emblem of the cross, there is the unmistakable blue-coloured letter M on the lower half of the shield.
In doing so, Pope John Paul II made a public demonstration of his devotion to Mary and of his constant need for her intercession.
Indeed the faith of Mary and of her intercession, as well as that of other women in the Bible, had been a pillar of strength in the Church.
In today's 1st reading, we hear of St. Paul affirming the faith of two women - Lois who was Timothy's grandmother, and Eunice who was Timothy's mother.
It was these two women who sowed the seeds of faith in Timothy.
In the current situation of the shortage of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life, the role of women in the family and in the Church is highlighted.
If ever someone answers the call of God to serve as a priest or a religious, we can be quite certain that the answer to God's call was most likely influenced by the mother.
It is the faith of the mother that nourished and strengthened the faith of her child in answering God's call.
May mothers find their inspirations and their role model in Mary, who is Mother of the Church, and may their prayers strengthen the faith of the Church.
When Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła was elected Pope in 1978, he took on the name John Paul II.
He also had something peculiar in the design on his coat of arms.
Besides the usual emblem of the cross, there is the unmistakable blue-coloured letter M on the lower half of the shield.
In doing so, Pope John Paul II made a public demonstration of his devotion to Mary and of his constant need for her intercession.
Indeed the faith of Mary and of her intercession, as well as that of other women in the Bible, had been a pillar of strength in the Church.
In today's 1st reading, we hear of St. Paul affirming the faith of two women - Lois who was Timothy's grandmother, and Eunice who was Timothy's mother.
It was these two women who sowed the seeds of faith in Timothy.
In the current situation of the shortage of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life, the role of women in the family and in the Church is highlighted.
If ever someone answers the call of God to serve as a priest or a religious, we can be quite certain that the answer to God's call was most likely influenced by the mother.
It is the faith of the mother that nourished and strengthened the faith of her child in answering God's call.
May mothers find their inspirations and their role model in Mary, who is Mother of the Church, and may their prayers strengthen the faith of the Church.
Monday, January 24, 2011
25-01-11, Tuesday, The Conversion of St. Paul
Acts 22:3-16/ Mark 16:15-18 (2025)
Life, as we know, is a never-ending process of learning.
Not just of learning but also of discovery.
In that learning and discovery process, we also grow and we change.
Hence some of the principles and convictions that we had before may need to be reassessed and even revamped completely.
For St. Paul, the journey to Damascus was the critical milestone of his life.
In answer to his question "Who are you, Lord?", he discovered the person behind the people he was persecuting.
His next question - What am I to do? - that question he alone must answer for himself.
He can stick to his so-called security of his earlier unquestioned convictions and principles.
Or he can follow the way of the truth which will open him to change.
The feast of the conversion of St. Paul, former persecutor-turned-apostle, challenges us not only to look at our convictions and principles and beliefs.
We are also challenged to look at our relationship with Jesus.
Our relationship with Jesus must also be expressed in our relationship with others.
If there are some people whom we have a dislike for or a resentment against, or even some others whom we are " persecuting", then like St. Paul, we need to ask the question - Who are you Lord?
Life, as we know, is a never-ending process of learning.
Not just of learning but also of discovery.
In that learning and discovery process, we also grow and we change.
Hence some of the principles and convictions that we had before may need to be reassessed and even revamped completely.
For St. Paul, the journey to Damascus was the critical milestone of his life.
In answer to his question "Who are you, Lord?", he discovered the person behind the people he was persecuting.
His next question - What am I to do? - that question he alone must answer for himself.
He can stick to his so-called security of his earlier unquestioned convictions and principles.
Or he can follow the way of the truth which will open him to change.
The feast of the conversion of St. Paul, former persecutor-turned-apostle, challenges us not only to look at our convictions and principles and beliefs.
We are also challenged to look at our relationship with Jesus.
Our relationship with Jesus must also be expressed in our relationship with others.
If there are some people whom we have a dislike for or a resentment against, or even some others whom we are " persecuting", then like St. Paul, we need to ask the question - Who are you Lord?
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