1 John 2:18-21 / John 1:1-18
So we have finally come to the last day of the year 2011.
That might sound nostalgic to some, and melancholic to others, and it depends very much on how the year had turned out and how the events of the year unfolded in our lives.
So we can spend today reminiscing about the days that had gone by, or maybe regretting about some moments or even just wanting to forget about what a traumatic year it had been.
Whatever it might be, the 1st reading begins with this line "Children, these are the last days ..." and it gives a spiritual reflection of what had gone by.
The reading goes on to talk about the tumult caused by the antichrists, and these rivals of Christ have come out of within their own number.
Yet the 1st reading also affirmed the Christian community that it has the knowledge of the truth and that they must remain steadfast to the truth in the face of the chaos and tumult within.
So what is this truth that we already have knowledge of?
That truth is found in the gospel of today. Yes, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh and He lived among us.
Today's gospel is a summary of who Jesus is and what He wants to do for us.
He wants us to know the truth of His love for us so that we can receive grace upon grace.
In Jesus we see the light and in accepting His truth, we come out of the darkness of sin.
Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega; He is the beginning and the end.
In Him we too will find our beginning; in Him we will also know where is our end.
With that knowledge of the truth, we will be able to face the tumult and the chaos of life.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Holy Family, Friday, 30-12-11
Sirach 3:3-7, 14-17 or Col 3:12-21 / Luke 2:22-40
The word "family" gives rise to many concepts and images, as well as ideas.
We can think of home, warmth, security, love and unity, as well as many other related aspects.
Yet our modern times have also attached other words to this word "family" : dysfunctional family, family problems, family quarrels, family breakup, etc.
In fact, many of society's problems can be traced and boiled down to the family.
So when we hear the word "family", what are the images and concepts that comes to our minds?
Certainly we would like to have the beautiful and wholesome image of family that we see in advertisements and magazines.
But our experience of family life or what we see in our families may not agree or may be even totally opposite.
Yet the model that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph presented to us gives us hope and direction.
Though the struggles and difficulties of family life are real and present, they are not overpowering and overwhelming.
The Holy Family has shown that with God's love they could face all the challenges and difficulties.
Indeed, love will prevail and sustain the family's life and unity.
And that love must be expressed in concrete forms like family prayer and keeping to the religious traditions of the family just like how Mary and Joseph kept to the religious traditions concerning the family.
By keeping faith in the Lord and walking in His ways of love, the family will be a source of love and unity for the Church and the world.
The word "family" gives rise to many concepts and images, as well as ideas.
We can think of home, warmth, security, love and unity, as well as many other related aspects.
Yet our modern times have also attached other words to this word "family" : dysfunctional family, family problems, family quarrels, family breakup, etc.
In fact, many of society's problems can be traced and boiled down to the family.
So when we hear the word "family", what are the images and concepts that comes to our minds?
Certainly we would like to have the beautiful and wholesome image of family that we see in advertisements and magazines.
But our experience of family life or what we see in our families may not agree or may be even totally opposite.
Yet the model that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph presented to us gives us hope and direction.
Though the struggles and difficulties of family life are real and present, they are not overpowering and overwhelming.
The Holy Family has shown that with God's love they could face all the challenges and difficulties.
Indeed, love will prevail and sustain the family's life and unity.
And that love must be expressed in concrete forms like family prayer and keeping to the religious traditions of the family just like how Mary and Joseph kept to the religious traditions concerning the family.
By keeping faith in the Lord and walking in His ways of love, the family will be a source of love and unity for the Church and the world.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
29th December 2011, Thursday, Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas
1 John 2:3-11 / Luke 2:22-35
We are celebrating the Christmas season, but by this time now, the Christmas decorations may seem a bit stale already and we would be already thinking when will be a good time to take down those decorations, especially those on the Christmas tree.
Nonetheless, if we have the opportunity, then just sit around in the quiet of the night and look at the Christmas decorations.
What will certainly catch our eye and engross us in wonder and imagination is the lights on the decorations, those steady burning and blinking lights.
Lights are a necessary part of the decorations. Yet Christmas is the celebration of light because the prayers in the liturgy have that theme.
Also Christ the true light has come to dispel the darkness of sin and evil.
And as the 1st reading said, if we claim to have seen the light but hate our neighbour, then we are still in the dark.
For the upright and devout Simeon in the gospel, his eyes have seen the light and that gave him the peace that fulfilled his longing.
May we long for the true light that will give us the same peace to reach out and love our neighbours.
We are celebrating the Christmas season, but by this time now, the Christmas decorations may seem a bit stale already and we would be already thinking when will be a good time to take down those decorations, especially those on the Christmas tree.
Nonetheless, if we have the opportunity, then just sit around in the quiet of the night and look at the Christmas decorations.
What will certainly catch our eye and engross us in wonder and imagination is the lights on the decorations, those steady burning and blinking lights.
Lights are a necessary part of the decorations. Yet Christmas is the celebration of light because the prayers in the liturgy have that theme.
Also Christ the true light has come to dispel the darkness of sin and evil.
And as the 1st reading said, if we claim to have seen the light but hate our neighbour, then we are still in the dark.
For the upright and devout Simeon in the gospel, his eyes have seen the light and that gave him the peace that fulfilled his longing.
May we long for the true light that will give us the same peace to reach out and love our neighbours.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Holy Innocents, Martyrs, 28th December 2011, Wednesday
1 John 1:5-2:2 / Matthew 2:213-18
There are many famous men in the Bible whose words and deeds have proclaimed the wonderful marvels and the mighty love of God.
On Monday we celebrated the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, who witnessed to Christ even to the point of death and he even forgave those who were stoning him.
Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. John, the apostle and evangelist, who proclaimed the mystery of the divinity of God made flesh in the humanity of Jesus.
Yet, in the same Bible are also many infamous and wicked men, and today we hear of one such man who was a tragedy to himself and he also caused tragic consequences.
Because of his pathological state of mind and his paranoia, he ordered the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem in order to exterminate the new-born King of the Jews.
That vicious and evil deed was no big deal to him; in fact it counts as nothing for him.
This makes us reflect on the horrible and wicked deeds that are done to children and the unborn : abortion, child abuse, child molestation, child labour, child pornography, etc.
For some people, these evil acts against innocent children also count as nothing for them.
The feast of the Holy Innocents does not just recall the innocent infants being slaughtered and martyred for Christ.
The Church acknowledges them as martyrs because they witnessed to Christ even though they were innocent and helpless.
But their blood cries out now for the children of the world who are suffering and also for the unborn.
Then Holy Innocents of Bethlehem witnessed to Christ. Let us now witness to Christ by protecting our children and the children of the world from harm and evil.
Let us also teach our children to love God and to praise God and to give thanks to God
"How great is Your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth. Your majesty is praised above the heavens; on the lips of children and of babes You have found praise to foil Your enemy, to silence the foe and the rebel" (Ps 8:2-3)
There are many famous men in the Bible whose words and deeds have proclaimed the wonderful marvels and the mighty love of God.
On Monday we celebrated the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, who witnessed to Christ even to the point of death and he even forgave those who were stoning him.
Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. John, the apostle and evangelist, who proclaimed the mystery of the divinity of God made flesh in the humanity of Jesus.
Yet, in the same Bible are also many infamous and wicked men, and today we hear of one such man who was a tragedy to himself and he also caused tragic consequences.
Because of his pathological state of mind and his paranoia, he ordered the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem in order to exterminate the new-born King of the Jews.
That vicious and evil deed was no big deal to him; in fact it counts as nothing for him.
This makes us reflect on the horrible and wicked deeds that are done to children and the unborn : abortion, child abuse, child molestation, child labour, child pornography, etc.
For some people, these evil acts against innocent children also count as nothing for them.
The feast of the Holy Innocents does not just recall the innocent infants being slaughtered and martyred for Christ.
The Church acknowledges them as martyrs because they witnessed to Christ even though they were innocent and helpless.
But their blood cries out now for the children of the world who are suffering and also for the unborn.
Then Holy Innocents of Bethlehem witnessed to Christ. Let us now witness to Christ by protecting our children and the children of the world from harm and evil.
Let us also teach our children to love God and to praise God and to give thanks to God
"How great is Your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth. Your majesty is praised above the heavens; on the lips of children and of babes You have found praise to foil Your enemy, to silence the foe and the rebel" (Ps 8:2-3)
St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, 27th December 2011, Tuesday
1 John 1:1-4 / John 20:2-8
According to tradition, St. John was subjected to torture by being plunged into a pot of boiling oil but he miraculously survived, whereas the other apostles were martyred.
It is also believed that he lived to a ripe old age of about 94 and he died of natural causes.
There could be some truth in that because the gospel that is attributed to him contains a spiritual depth that is more profound and also more mysterious than in the other three gospels.
In biblical art, the Gospel of John is often depicted with an eagle, which symbolizes the insight to the height of the mystery of the person of Jesus which was expounded in the first chapter of the gospel.
It had that depth of insight to the height of the mystery probably from the reflection and meditation over the years.
There was a story that when St. John was old man, he was asked to preach to a gathering of believers.
His message was short yet sublime : Dear children, love one another. Learn to love one another as God loves you.
That is also the central theme in the gospel of John - the love that God has for us, and it can be found in passages like John 3:16-17; 13:34-35; 15:17.
It is a profound theme, and to love one another as Jesus has loved us is a spirituality and a mystery that needed to be constantly reflected and meditated upon in our hearts.
Like St. John may God also deepen and enlighten us in His love for us so that we will in turn love one another as Jesus has loved us.
According to tradition, St. John was subjected to torture by being plunged into a pot of boiling oil but he miraculously survived, whereas the other apostles were martyred.
It is also believed that he lived to a ripe old age of about 94 and he died of natural causes.
There could be some truth in that because the gospel that is attributed to him contains a spiritual depth that is more profound and also more mysterious than in the other three gospels.
In biblical art, the Gospel of John is often depicted with an eagle, which symbolizes the insight to the height of the mystery of the person of Jesus which was expounded in the first chapter of the gospel.
It had that depth of insight to the height of the mystery probably from the reflection and meditation over the years.
There was a story that when St. John was old man, he was asked to preach to a gathering of believers.
His message was short yet sublime : Dear children, love one another. Learn to love one another as God loves you.
That is also the central theme in the gospel of John - the love that God has for us, and it can be found in passages like John 3:16-17; 13:34-35; 15:17.
It is a profound theme, and to love one another as Jesus has loved us is a spirituality and a mystery that needed to be constantly reflected and meditated upon in our hearts.
Like St. John may God also deepen and enlighten us in His love for us so that we will in turn love one another as Jesus has loved us.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
St. Stephen, First Martyr 26th December 2011
Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 . Matthew 10:17-22
We are still very much in a festive mood, with Christmas carols like "Silent Night, Holy Night" and "Joy to the world" still ringing in our heads and maybe we are still bloated from all the feasting.
Well, today the Church opens up the liturgy with, of all things, the gruesome and shocking martyrdom of St. Stephen.
Somehow the tenderness of Christmas is shattered by the violent execution of St. Stephen.
Why didn't the Church move this feast to anytime, maybe in Lent, so that we can still have that soft and warm Christmas feeling and just talk about angels and shepherds and baby Jesus?
Well, the martyrdom St. Stephen has a deep connection with the birth of Christ.
Somehow Christmas have been embellished and glossed over with so much sentimentality that we forget that Jesus was born into a hard, cold and violent world.
The Son of God had to born in stable, of all places, and laid in a manger. Not long after He was born, King Herod was looking for Him to kill Him.
That was only the beginning of the violence and the persecution that Jesus was going to face, and it would eventually lead to His execution of the cross.
Yet when we reflect on the joy of Christmas and the martyrdom of St. Stephen, we see the connection between divine tenderness and human violence.
Christ came to heal our human violence with His divine tenderness, expressed in mercy and forgiveness, as witnessed to by St. Stephen.
Let us also believe that the ugliness of human violence can only be changed with the divine tenderness of forgiveness and love.
The young man by the name of Saul in the 1st reading, who approved of the killing, would later be touched by divine tenderness, then changed his name to Paul and went forth to proclaim the tender love of God and His forgiveness.
So in the face of human anger and violence, let us stand firm on divine love and tenderness.
It is only through God's mercy and forgiveness that hardened hearts will be turned into loving hearts.
We are still very much in a festive mood, with Christmas carols like "Silent Night, Holy Night" and "Joy to the world" still ringing in our heads and maybe we are still bloated from all the feasting.
Well, today the Church opens up the liturgy with, of all things, the gruesome and shocking martyrdom of St. Stephen.
Somehow the tenderness of Christmas is shattered by the violent execution of St. Stephen.
Why didn't the Church move this feast to anytime, maybe in Lent, so that we can still have that soft and warm Christmas feeling and just talk about angels and shepherds and baby Jesus?
Well, the martyrdom St. Stephen has a deep connection with the birth of Christ.
Somehow Christmas have been embellished and glossed over with so much sentimentality that we forget that Jesus was born into a hard, cold and violent world.
The Son of God had to born in stable, of all places, and laid in a manger. Not long after He was born, King Herod was looking for Him to kill Him.
That was only the beginning of the violence and the persecution that Jesus was going to face, and it would eventually lead to His execution of the cross.
Yet when we reflect on the joy of Christmas and the martyrdom of St. Stephen, we see the connection between divine tenderness and human violence.
Christ came to heal our human violence with His divine tenderness, expressed in mercy and forgiveness, as witnessed to by St. Stephen.
Let us also believe that the ugliness of human violence can only be changed with the divine tenderness of forgiveness and love.
The young man by the name of Saul in the 1st reading, who approved of the killing, would later be touched by divine tenderness, then changed his name to Paul and went forth to proclaim the tender love of God and His forgiveness.
So in the face of human anger and violence, let us stand firm on divine love and tenderness.
It is only through God's mercy and forgiveness that hardened hearts will be turned into loving hearts.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
24th December2011, Saturday
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 / Luke 1:67-79
With the festivities happening around us and with the year coming to an end, we may want to just have a good time and forget about our worries and anxieties for a while.
With one day just before Christmas, we may yearn for some quiet time for prayer and for reflection on the meaning of Christmas and how we have prepared for it this time around.
Yet it may not be that conducive to make time to do this recalling and reflecting, because of the frenzy of activities and busyness.
Even in Church, people are busy making preparations for the Masses this evening and tomorrow, and also for the Christmas parties along the way.
So as much as we may hope that it is going to be "Silent Night, Holy Night", it may not be really so. In fact, it may well be a noisy and busy night.
Yet we must make time for ourselves to be with the Lord if we really want to experience the silence and the holiness of this eve of Christmas.
We have to make time for ourselves to welcome God as He visits His people and to feel His wonderful gift of love in Jesus.
Just one day before Christmas we are reminded in the gospel what is the meaning of this whole occasion.
God has fulfilled His promise of salvation. He is sending us our long awaited Saviour.
Jesus our Saviour will lead us from darkness of sin and from the shadow of death and guide us into the way of peace.
Let us make time today for prayer and reflection. Let us feel the holy silence of this eve of Christmas.
May we be filled with a joyful peace as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.
With the festivities happening around us and with the year coming to an end, we may want to just have a good time and forget about our worries and anxieties for a while.
With one day just before Christmas, we may yearn for some quiet time for prayer and for reflection on the meaning of Christmas and how we have prepared for it this time around.
Yet it may not be that conducive to make time to do this recalling and reflecting, because of the frenzy of activities and busyness.
Even in Church, people are busy making preparations for the Masses this evening and tomorrow, and also for the Christmas parties along the way.
So as much as we may hope that it is going to be "Silent Night, Holy Night", it may not be really so. In fact, it may well be a noisy and busy night.
Yet we must make time for ourselves to be with the Lord if we really want to experience the silence and the holiness of this eve of Christmas.
We have to make time for ourselves to welcome God as He visits His people and to feel His wonderful gift of love in Jesus.
Just one day before Christmas we are reminded in the gospel what is the meaning of this whole occasion.
God has fulfilled His promise of salvation. He is sending us our long awaited Saviour.
Jesus our Saviour will lead us from darkness of sin and from the shadow of death and guide us into the way of peace.
Let us make time today for prayer and reflection. Let us feel the holy silence of this eve of Christmas.
May we be filled with a joyful peace as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.
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