Hosea 14:2-10 / Mark 12:28-34 (2020)
When we read books like the "7 habits of highly-effective people" or "The joy of living" or other inspirational books, they give very interesting and very good pointers for life.
Yet, when we think about it carefully, the principles of life are actually very simple.
It is actually what Jesus said in today's gospel : Love God and love neighbour.
Sounds simple, but it may take a whole life-time to discover the truth of such a simple statement.
Because we tend to love things and be self-centered.
Yet the season of Lent calls us back to the love of God.
In the 1st reading, the prophet Hosea not only called his people back to this love of God, he also proclaimed how much God loves His people even though they turned away from Him.
We may remember that hymn of Hosea - Come back to me with all your heart, don't let fear keep us apart. Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life.
The way of life is indeed simple: Love God and neighbour. That is the way that Jesus is teaching us.
As the 1st reading ends off - For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
3rd Week of Lent, Thursday, 31-03-11
Jeremiah 7:23-28 / Luke 11:14-23
As we look at our world, we may get this depressing feeling of a fragmented and a divided world. We see this practically in every level and sector of our world and our society.
This fragmentation and division have also pervaded into families, communities, societies and nations.
In the 1st reading we heard about how the people of God became a fragmented and divided people.
But that was because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord their God, nor take correction and had become stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors.
Even in the gospel, when the people saw evil being expelled by Jesus right before their eyes, their hearts were so hardened that they said it was the work of the devil.
Fragmentation, division and disunity are certainly the fruits of evil. And they are caused by hearts that are hardened and refuse to see and hear the voice of the Lord.
But it is the Spirit of God that will soften hearts with the love of God and bring about unity and harmony, peace and joy.
Yet we must listen to the words of Jesus in the gospel: He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.
So, it is either we are for Jesus or against Jesus. There is no other option.
As we look at our world, we may get this depressing feeling of a fragmented and a divided world. We see this practically in every level and sector of our world and our society.
This fragmentation and division have also pervaded into families, communities, societies and nations.
In the 1st reading we heard about how the people of God became a fragmented and divided people.
But that was because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord their God, nor take correction and had become stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors.
Even in the gospel, when the people saw evil being expelled by Jesus right before their eyes, their hearts were so hardened that they said it was the work of the devil.
Fragmentation, division and disunity are certainly the fruits of evil. And they are caused by hearts that are hardened and refuse to see and hear the voice of the Lord.
But it is the Spirit of God that will soften hearts with the love of God and bring about unity and harmony, peace and joy.
Yet we must listen to the words of Jesus in the gospel: He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.
So, it is either we are for Jesus or against Jesus. There is no other option.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
3rd Week of Lent, Wednesday, 30-03-11
Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 / Matthew 5:1-19 (2020)
Not many of us remember the Japanese Occupation which was from 1942 to 1945. Those three years have changed the lives of those who survived it, and some of them are still around.
So we may not have gone through the Japanese Occupation but we have read about it and we may have heard of the eye-witness accounts of the atrocities committed during that time.
But we have also read of how that dark part of history was deleted from the Japanese history book or given another interpretation which justified the military cause.
So much so that the later generations do not know anything about the invasions and the war-crimes committed by the Japanese Imperial Army and its commanders.
It may sound strange, and even disgusting, that this can happen at a national level.
But what happens at the national level is only an amplification of what happens at the personal level.
Because when it comes to laws and rules and regulations, we choose what we are comfortable with, and we quietly disregard what we dislike and what we disagree with.
Things like doing penance and practicing abstinence. Things like going for Confession before receiving Holy Communion at Mass if one has committed a grave sin.
If these simple and basic religious practices are not taught and observed and practised, then our spiritual discipline will become too lax and after a while we would have deleted so much of our faith that there will be nothing much to believe in.
Let us keep and practise the demands of our faith and teach it first to our children and to our children's children.
Then we will not forget why we believe in God and the purpose of our mission as Church.
Not many of us remember the Japanese Occupation which was from 1942 to 1945. Those three years have changed the lives of those who survived it, and some of them are still around.
So we may not have gone through the Japanese Occupation but we have read about it and we may have heard of the eye-witness accounts of the atrocities committed during that time.
But we have also read of how that dark part of history was deleted from the Japanese history book or given another interpretation which justified the military cause.
So much so that the later generations do not know anything about the invasions and the war-crimes committed by the Japanese Imperial Army and its commanders.
It may sound strange, and even disgusting, that this can happen at a national level.
But what happens at the national level is only an amplification of what happens at the personal level.
Because when it comes to laws and rules and regulations, we choose what we are comfortable with, and we quietly disregard what we dislike and what we disagree with.
Things like doing penance and practicing abstinence. Things like going for Confession before receiving Holy Communion at Mass if one has committed a grave sin.
If these simple and basic religious practices are not taught and observed and practised, then our spiritual discipline will become too lax and after a while we would have deleted so much of our faith that there will be nothing much to believe in.
Let us keep and practise the demands of our faith and teach it first to our children and to our children's children.
Then we will not forget why we believe in God and the purpose of our mission as Church.
Monday, March 28, 2011
3rd Week of Lent, Tuesday, 29-03-11
Daniel 3:25, 34-43 / Matthew 18:21-35 (2020)
There is a prayer format that goes by acronym ACTS and it stands for Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication.
That prayer format is interesting because it starts with adoration and supplication is at the end.
It is interesting because usually we would start with supplication, or petitions, first. We would launch our prayer first by asking for this and that.
It is not just a human tendency, but in a desperate time of need or in danger, we would be pleading with God for His help and deliverance.
In a desperate situation we would even demand that God save us immediately.
In the 1st reading, what Azariah prayed is indeed surprising. He and his companions
Hananiah and Mishael were thrown into cauldron of fiery furnace to be burnt alive.
But he did not immediately launch into a desperate cry of help. Instead he praised God for His mercy and admitted the sins of his people that resulted in such a dire state.
He continued by asking God to accept their contrite and humble hearts as an offering.
Of course if we were to read the story further, we will know that God eventually delivered the three young men from the fiery furnace unharmed.
Azariah's prayer may not have followed strictly the formats of ACTS but he placed his petitions last and he praised God first.
So when it comes to forgiving someone who has done wrong to us and hurt us badly, it is not important to ask about whether we should forgive or how many times we ought to forgive.
Let us begin by praising God for His love and mercy and admit that we have sinned against Him.
Then we will begin to understand what is meant as we pray "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us".
There is a prayer format that goes by acronym ACTS and it stands for Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication.
That prayer format is interesting because it starts with adoration and supplication is at the end.
It is interesting because usually we would start with supplication, or petitions, first. We would launch our prayer first by asking for this and that.
It is not just a human tendency, but in a desperate time of need or in danger, we would be pleading with God for His help and deliverance.
In a desperate situation we would even demand that God save us immediately.
In the 1st reading, what Azariah prayed is indeed surprising. He and his companions
Hananiah and Mishael were thrown into cauldron of fiery furnace to be burnt alive.
But he did not immediately launch into a desperate cry of help. Instead he praised God for His mercy and admitted the sins of his people that resulted in such a dire state.
He continued by asking God to accept their contrite and humble hearts as an offering.
Of course if we were to read the story further, we will know that God eventually delivered the three young men from the fiery furnace unharmed.
Azariah's prayer may not have followed strictly the formats of ACTS but he placed his petitions last and he praised God first.
So when it comes to forgiving someone who has done wrong to us and hurt us badly, it is not important to ask about whether we should forgive or how many times we ought to forgive.
Let us begin by praising God for His love and mercy and admit that we have sinned against Him.
Then we will begin to understand what is meant as we pray "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us".
Sunday, March 27, 2011
3rd Week of Lent, Monday, 28-03-11
2 Kings 5:1-15 / Luke 4:24-30 (2020)
Whenever we want to buy a product, we would certainly take a look at the brand name.
Brand names are a big business. In fact the brand name can be as important as the product itself, maybe even more important than the product.
In religious circles, if you carry the title of prophet, then you are indeed a religious brand name.
Yet Jesus said in the gospel that no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
Certainly He was referring to Himself as well as the line of prophets before Him who suffered rejection and persecution.
Maybe because a true prophet does not carry a brand name.
But as it is, a product without a brand name is usually written off.
Yet the prophetic word was often spoken by unlikely and even nameless people like the Israelite slave girl in the 1st reading.
It was through her that Namaan the Syrian army commander set off looking for a cure in Israel.
These days we hear of news about disasters and catastrophes happening here and there, and political unrest and wars almost everywhere, besides the usual economic woes.
Alongside such news are commentators, analysts, strategists, experts, all giving their 2 cents worth of comments.
But where is the prophetic voice? If only we could hear the voices of those suffering from the troubles of the world.
It is a voice that begs for peace and reconciliation. It is a voice that begs for the presence of God in our troubled world.
It is in listening to that prophetic voice that we will begin to realize our prophetic mission.
Whenever we want to buy a product, we would certainly take a look at the brand name.
Brand names are a big business. In fact the brand name can be as important as the product itself, maybe even more important than the product.
In religious circles, if you carry the title of prophet, then you are indeed a religious brand name.
Yet Jesus said in the gospel that no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
Certainly He was referring to Himself as well as the line of prophets before Him who suffered rejection and persecution.
Maybe because a true prophet does not carry a brand name.
But as it is, a product without a brand name is usually written off.
Yet the prophetic word was often spoken by unlikely and even nameless people like the Israelite slave girl in the 1st reading.
It was through her that Namaan the Syrian army commander set off looking for a cure in Israel.
These days we hear of news about disasters and catastrophes happening here and there, and political unrest and wars almost everywhere, besides the usual economic woes.
Alongside such news are commentators, analysts, strategists, experts, all giving their 2 cents worth of comments.
But where is the prophetic voice? If only we could hear the voices of those suffering from the troubles of the world.
It is a voice that begs for peace and reconciliation. It is a voice that begs for the presence of God in our troubled world.
It is in listening to that prophetic voice that we will begin to realize our prophetic mission.
Friday, March 25, 2011
2nd Week of Lent, Saturday, 26-03-11
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 / Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 (2021)
It is not too presumptuous to say that every family has a black sheep.
It is not necessarily one of the children. It can be anyone in the family.
And it is not just limited to the family. There are black sheep in the parish community, in the company, in society and in the country.
We can call the second son in today's gospel parable a "black sheep". After all, for what he had done to his father, he certainly deserved that infamous title.
Yet how the father in the gospel parable treated the second son is certainly a far cry from how we would treat the "black sheep" in our family, company and society .
Yet, are we not also going to admit that we are "black sheep" in the eyes of God?
And how will God treat us? The prophet Micah puts it beautifully in the 1st reading.
With a shepherd's crook O Lord, You lead your people to pasture, taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger but delighting in showing mercy.
The season of Lent is a time to come to our senses and to admit our sinfulness and seek reconciliation with God.
And God, like the father in the gospel parable, will say: This son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.
It is not too presumptuous to say that every family has a black sheep.
It is not necessarily one of the children. It can be anyone in the family.
And it is not just limited to the family. There are black sheep in the parish community, in the company, in society and in the country.
We can call the second son in today's gospel parable a "black sheep". After all, for what he had done to his father, he certainly deserved that infamous title.
Yet how the father in the gospel parable treated the second son is certainly a far cry from how we would treat the "black sheep" in our family, company and society .
Yet, are we not also going to admit that we are "black sheep" in the eyes of God?
And how will God treat us? The prophet Micah puts it beautifully in the 1st reading.
With a shepherd's crook O Lord, You lead your people to pasture, taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger but delighting in showing mercy.
The season of Lent is a time to come to our senses and to admit our sinfulness and seek reconciliation with God.
And God, like the father in the gospel parable, will say: This son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Annunciation, 25-03-11
Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 / Hebrews 10:4-10 / Luke 1:26-38
St. Augustine was quoted as saying: God does not ask of us the impossible. He may ask us to do the difficult thing, but He will make it possible.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the proclamation of the Good News of salvation.
It is not only a joyful event, it is also a very profound event in God's plan of salvation.
Yet for Mary, it was not just an event; it was for her a mission.
And if she said "Yes" then it was going to be a life-long mission. And it was going to be difficult.
But God assured her it was not going to be impossible.
Mary put her faith and trust in God as she accepted her mission.
We live in difficult and fragile times. We have wars here and nuclear radiation there and all sorts of dangers and crises everywhere, over and above our own troubles and worries.
Trying to believe and live out the Good News is not only difficult, but seemingly impossible.
Believing that there can be peace, that there can be joy, that there can be love, can be difficult.
But let this celebration of the Annunciation, the celebration of the Good News of our salvation, remind us that difficulty is not synonymous with impossibility.
We join Mary to say "Yes" to God because we want to believe that God is greater than any difficulty and impossibility.
St. Augustine was quoted as saying: God does not ask of us the impossible. He may ask us to do the difficult thing, but He will make it possible.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the proclamation of the Good News of salvation.
It is not only a joyful event, it is also a very profound event in God's plan of salvation.
Yet for Mary, it was not just an event; it was for her a mission.
And if she said "Yes" then it was going to be a life-long mission. And it was going to be difficult.
But God assured her it was not going to be impossible.
Mary put her faith and trust in God as she accepted her mission.
We live in difficult and fragile times. We have wars here and nuclear radiation there and all sorts of dangers and crises everywhere, over and above our own troubles and worries.
Trying to believe and live out the Good News is not only difficult, but seemingly impossible.
Believing that there can be peace, that there can be joy, that there can be love, can be difficult.
But let this celebration of the Annunciation, the celebration of the Good News of our salvation, remind us that difficulty is not synonymous with impossibility.
We join Mary to say "Yes" to God because we want to believe that God is greater than any difficulty and impossibility.
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