Acts 1:12-14/ 1 Peter 4:13-16/ John 17:1-11
Recently, some Hollywood movie celebrities were in town. Yes, some actors and an actress from the movie “X-men” were here to promote the movie.
Oh, the “X-men” movies are a big hit in the box-office and so are the actors.
And one of the more famous actors of that movie was among those who came here.
He is so famous in his role as Wolverine that when the fans see him, they would call him “Wolverine! Wolverine” instead of Hugh Jackman (his real name).
But those celebrities should have timed their visit a little later.
Because they were just a little too early for one of the great events in Singapore.
If they had come just two weeks later, they would be in time for the Great Singapore Sale!
Yes, those two months of the year where there are great discounts on goods and services.
And Wolverine could have a manicure for his claws at a discount! :D Or even for free since he is such a big star!
Well, when you are a big star in a big movie, there can be many perks, besides the big money.
It is no wonder when they say that size does matter, because the bigger you are, the more attention you will command and the greater influence you will have.
Oh yes, size does matter. So, there is the box office success, a big budget blockbuster, and those famous actors and the Great Singapore Sale.
All these words- “success, big, famous, great” tell us that size does matter.
All these words also tell us of man’s hunger for glory, even if it’s just a passing glory, an earthly glory.
And that hunger has no size to it. It’s a hunger that cannot be satisfied. It is like a bottomless pit.
In the gospel, Jesus also talked about glory and power. He said this (to His heavenly Father):
“Glorify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify You, and through the power over all mankind that You have given Him, let Him give eternal life to all those You have entrusted to Him.”
The whole gospel passage of today is called the “priestly prayer of Jesus”.
It was a prayer that Jesus said at the Last Supper. In that prayer He mentioned about power and glory.
But in that prayer, Jesus also said this: I pray for them; I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me.
In other words, Jesus prayed for His disciples, and those who will come after them, which means you and me. Yes, Jesus prayed for you and me!
And what was it that Jesus prayed for us? He prayed that the power and glory that was given to Him will also be given to us.
He prayed that we will be empowered by God’s love so that we can glorify God even while we are on this earth.
Putting it simply, we have this power to do good and to make this world a beautiful place.
There is this Thai life insurance advertisement that has a powerful and moving message. It’s just a 3-minute clip.
It’s about a simple young man, a sort of Good Samaritan, a sort of unsung hero, who goes about trying to some good.
When water drips on his head, instead of cursing and swearing, he pulls a pot of dying plant over, so that it can be watered back to life.
He feeds a hungry stray dog with some of his lunch; he buys bananas for an elderly neighbour; and he gives some money, though he doesn’t have much, to a poor mother and daughter for the girl’s education.
His actions either go unnoticed or that others think he was rather crazy with those simple good deeds.
But, as the narration in the advertisement goes, that young man was not looking for recognition; he gets nothing in return; he won’t be richer, he won’t be famous. He is still a “nobody”.
Eventually though, the young man’s kind actions change things.
The dying plant is brought back to life and becomes a beautiful plant.
The stray dog follows him home and becomes his pet. The elderly neighbor acknowledges his generosity.
And the most touching scene is when the girl comes back from school and shares with her mother what she had learnt.
The advertisement continues by saying that the simple young man sees happiness and he reaches a deeper understanding of life.
He feels the love, and receives what money can’t buy.
And the final words of the advertisement are these: The world is made more beautiful.
It was a unique and moving advertisement about life insurance.
We may think that it’s a rather mushy advertisement, a “Forrest Gump” kind of fairy tale.
But that 3-minute advertisement had a more powerful message than those big-budget movies with a star-studded cast.
And we must believe in the power of love that will bring about simple deeds of goodness that will make this world more beautiful.
Jesus prayed that this power will be given to us. Jesus had done His part. It is for us now to do our part.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Friday, May 30, 2014
Visitation of the BVM, Saturday, 31-05-14
Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16 / Luke 1:39-56
The beginnings of this feast came about in the early 13th century at the height of the Marian devotion.
This feast was later extended to the entire Church in 1389 with the hope that Christ and His Mother would visit the Church and put an end to the schisms and divisions which were tearing up the Church of Christ.
Yet, this feast is as relevant and important now as it was then and as it was throughout the centuries.
And this feast is as relevant and important for the Church as well as for each of us.
Just as the Church faced many dark and terrible moments in her history, we too face many trials and challenges as we strive to live out our faith.
At times, the distress, the pain and the hurt may be a bit too unbearable and our faith is shaken and our hope wavers and our love runs dry.
Yet, the Lord promised to be our help and our strength.
In the gospel, Elizabeth said of Mary: Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
This feast is a celebration of God who is our salvation.
That's why the 1st reading says: Shout for joy, shout aloud; rejoice, exult with all your heart.
Yes, the Mother of God comes with the Lord to visit His people in their need.
The Mother of God will also come with the Lord Jesus to visit us in our need and especially in our time of distress.
The Lord has done great things for Mary. The Lord will also do great things for us.
For that we only need to rejoice and shout for joy and give thanks to the Lord our Saviour.
The beginnings of this feast came about in the early 13th century at the height of the Marian devotion.
This feast was later extended to the entire Church in 1389 with the hope that Christ and His Mother would visit the Church and put an end to the schisms and divisions which were tearing up the Church of Christ.
Yet, this feast is as relevant and important now as it was then and as it was throughout the centuries.
And this feast is as relevant and important for the Church as well as for each of us.
Just as the Church faced many dark and terrible moments in her history, we too face many trials and challenges as we strive to live out our faith.
At times, the distress, the pain and the hurt may be a bit too unbearable and our faith is shaken and our hope wavers and our love runs dry.
Yet, the Lord promised to be our help and our strength.
In the gospel, Elizabeth said of Mary: Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
This feast is a celebration of God who is our salvation.
That's why the 1st reading says: Shout for joy, shout aloud; rejoice, exult with all your heart.
Yes, the Mother of God comes with the Lord to visit His people in their need.
The Mother of God will also come with the Lord Jesus to visit us in our need and especially in our time of distress.
The Lord has done great things for Mary. The Lord will also do great things for us.
For that we only need to rejoice and shout for joy and give thanks to the Lord our Saviour.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
6th Week of Easter, Friday, 30-05-14
Acts 18:9-18 / John 16:20-23
It is only human to ask questions about life. Questions like - Why is there innocent suffering? Why is there unnecessary pain? Why is happiness so elusive?
These questions are not just about the what is happening in the world around us.
These questions are about what is happening in our lives and to those whom we love and care about.
So these questions concern our family, our marriage, our spouse, our parents, our children, our work, our friends, etc.
In short, we encounter sorrow and suffering in life.
And it may add on to our desolation when Jesus said in the gospel: I tell you solemnly, you will be sorrowful.
Yet, our consolation is that Jesus did not end it there. He continues by saying that our sorrow will turn to joy and that joy no one can take from us.
As we bring our needs and petitions to the Lord and place it at the altar of sacrifice, let us have the hope that the Lord would come to our help in our sorrows and sufferings.
That hope is not just wishful thinking but it is a joyful hope as we wait for God's will to unfold in the midst of our sorrows and sufferings.
Let us just ask the Lord for this joyful hope. With this joyful hope, there will be no further questions.
It is only human to ask questions about life. Questions like - Why is there innocent suffering? Why is there unnecessary pain? Why is happiness so elusive?
These questions are not just about the what is happening in the world around us.
These questions are about what is happening in our lives and to those whom we love and care about.
So these questions concern our family, our marriage, our spouse, our parents, our children, our work, our friends, etc.
In short, we encounter sorrow and suffering in life.
And it may add on to our desolation when Jesus said in the gospel: I tell you solemnly, you will be sorrowful.
Yet, our consolation is that Jesus did not end it there. He continues by saying that our sorrow will turn to joy and that joy no one can take from us.
As we bring our needs and petitions to the Lord and place it at the altar of sacrifice, let us have the hope that the Lord would come to our help in our sorrows and sufferings.
That hope is not just wishful thinking but it is a joyful hope as we wait for God's will to unfold in the midst of our sorrows and sufferings.
Let us just ask the Lord for this joyful hope. With this joyful hope, there will be no further questions.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
The Ascension of the Lord, 29.05.2014
Acts 1:1-11/ Ephesians 1:17-23/ Matthew 28:16-20
One of the often-used expressions in our conversation with others is this so-called “word”: Err….
We can call it an expression, or a term, or an interjection, or whatever, this “err…” can be used for pretty much everything and any occasion.
One of the common uses is to stall for time, to “buy” time, so to speak.
We may use that word to let the other person know that we are thinking about what he said before we make a response.
Or we may use that word when we don’t have words or ideas or we are just lost.
Or when we are hesitant to reply, and to break the stark silence, we use “err..”
In the gospel, we heard that the eleven disciples (the eleven apostles) set out for Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them.
When they say Him, they fell down before Him. And strangely, the gospel also added this line “though some hesitated”.
We would have presumed that the faith of those eleven apostles would be strong and firm.
Yet, for whatever reason, some hesitated. And that tells us something about their faith and about our faith.
As much as the faith of the apostles in Jesus should be strong and firm, we must also remember that they are human.
Faith can fluctuate and as much as it can be strong and firm, there will be times when faith and will hesitate and there can be doubts.
So, even when apostles saw Jesus, some went down in adoration, while others stalled in hesitation.
In any case, Jesus still sends them forth when He said: Go, make disciples of all nations.
So, whether in faith or in doubt, in adoration or in hesitation, whether it is “Amen” or “Err…” Jesus tells them to go on and go ahead because He will be with them always, even to the end of time.
This hesitation of some of the disciples is very consoling to us as we gather to celebrate the Ascension.
Because it gives us much courage and hope.
Our faith has its share of doubts and hesitations. Even though we may say “Amen”, we will also succumb to that “Err…”
But just as Jesus sent forth His disciples into the world to preach the Good News and to make disciples, so too Jesus sends us.
And He promises us that He will be with us always, even to the end of time.
Let us not hesitate or “Err…” to that but respond with a firm “Amen”.
One of the often-used expressions in our conversation with others is this so-called “word”: Err….
We can call it an expression, or a term, or an interjection, or whatever, this “err…” can be used for pretty much everything and any occasion.
One of the common uses is to stall for time, to “buy” time, so to speak.
We may use that word to let the other person know that we are thinking about what he said before we make a response.
Or we may use that word when we don’t have words or ideas or we are just lost.
Or when we are hesitant to reply, and to break the stark silence, we use “err..”
In the gospel, we heard that the eleven disciples (the eleven apostles) set out for Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them.
When they say Him, they fell down before Him. And strangely, the gospel also added this line “though some hesitated”.
We would have presumed that the faith of those eleven apostles would be strong and firm.
Yet, for whatever reason, some hesitated. And that tells us something about their faith and about our faith.
As much as the faith of the apostles in Jesus should be strong and firm, we must also remember that they are human.
Faith can fluctuate and as much as it can be strong and firm, there will be times when faith and will hesitate and there can be doubts.
So, even when apostles saw Jesus, some went down in adoration, while others stalled in hesitation.
In any case, Jesus still sends them forth when He said: Go, make disciples of all nations.
So, whether in faith or in doubt, in adoration or in hesitation, whether it is “Amen” or “Err…” Jesus tells them to go on and go ahead because He will be with them always, even to the end of time.
This hesitation of some of the disciples is very consoling to us as we gather to celebrate the Ascension.
Because it gives us much courage and hope.
Our faith has its share of doubts and hesitations. Even though we may say “Amen”, we will also succumb to that “Err…”
But just as Jesus sent forth His disciples into the world to preach the Good News and to make disciples, so too Jesus sends us.
And He promises us that He will be with us always, even to the end of time.
Let us not hesitate or “Err…” to that but respond with a firm “Amen”.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
6th Week of Easter, Wednesday, 28-05-14
Acts 17:15, 22 - 18:1 / John 16:12-15
Every school or institution of higher learning has a library and that is an important resource center.
Even though there is the Internet with search engines to get a multitude of information, the library is still a necessity.
We may not be able to remember all the information there is, but there is the world of books in the library that we can delve in.
The knowledge contained in there is almost inexhaustible.
But if knowledge is inexhaustible, then truth is inextinguishable.
By inextinguishable, it means to say that the truth is already planted in our hearts and we only need to let the light of truth keep shining for us.
Hence, any enlightenment, and realization, any insight, is simply the seeds of truth in our hearts that are bearing fruit.
And that is certainly the work of the Holy Spirit.
That is also what Jesus meant when He said that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the complete truth.
So for the questions in life and about life that we do not understand and do not have the answers for, let us pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and to journey on in faith.
One day we will know, one day we will understand, when we let the Spirit guide us.
Every school or institution of higher learning has a library and that is an important resource center.
Even though there is the Internet with search engines to get a multitude of information, the library is still a necessity.
We may not be able to remember all the information there is, but there is the world of books in the library that we can delve in.
The knowledge contained in there is almost inexhaustible.
But if knowledge is inexhaustible, then truth is inextinguishable.
By inextinguishable, it means to say that the truth is already planted in our hearts and we only need to let the light of truth keep shining for us.
Hence, any enlightenment, and realization, any insight, is simply the seeds of truth in our hearts that are bearing fruit.
And that is certainly the work of the Holy Spirit.
That is also what Jesus meant when He said that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the complete truth.
So for the questions in life and about life that we do not understand and do not have the answers for, let us pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and to journey on in faith.
One day we will know, one day we will understand, when we let the Spirit guide us.
Monday, May 26, 2014
6th Week of Easter, Tuesday, 27-05-14
Acts 16:22-34 / John 16:5-11
It has been said that faith is taught as well as caught.
Yes, faith is taught in a catechism and it is presented in a neat and logical manner.
Yet, the faith of the early Church began in a more chaotic as well as mysterious way but it was from there that the faith was caught.
In the 1st reading, we hear how Paul and Silas was flogged and thrown into prison although they were just talking about the faith.
While in prison, something mysterious and bewildering happened and in the end, the jailer and his family caught on the faith and were baptized.
Hence, very often it is in a troubled and distressful situation that the faith is caught on by others.
Certainly, this is the workings of the Holy Spirit and Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit who will lead us to all truth.
We may remember that in the beginning of the book of Genesis God sent the Spirit into the chaos and then creation came forth.
So whenever we face a troubled and distressful and chaotic situation, let us remember this.
That out of chaos, creation will come forth, and the faith is caught.
It has been said that faith is taught as well as caught.
Yes, faith is taught in a catechism and it is presented in a neat and logical manner.
Yet, the faith of the early Church began in a more chaotic as well as mysterious way but it was from there that the faith was caught.
In the 1st reading, we hear how Paul and Silas was flogged and thrown into prison although they were just talking about the faith.
While in prison, something mysterious and bewildering happened and in the end, the jailer and his family caught on the faith and were baptized.
Hence, very often it is in a troubled and distressful situation that the faith is caught on by others.
Certainly, this is the workings of the Holy Spirit and Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit who will lead us to all truth.
We may remember that in the beginning of the book of Genesis God sent the Spirit into the chaos and then creation came forth.
So whenever we face a troubled and distressful and chaotic situation, let us remember this.
That out of chaos, creation will come forth, and the faith is caught.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
6th Week of Easter, Monday, 26-05-14
Acts 16:11-15 / John 15:26 - 16:4
To talk about religion with someone is not exactly a comfortable conversational topic.
Furthermore, to talk about it with another Catholic may not be any easier than to talk about it with a non-Catholic.
Whoever it might be, we prefer to talk about how hot the weather is, where to find the best food, the price of cars, or whatever.
Yet, one of the most profound ways for God to move the hearts of people is through the sharing of our experience of Jesus.
That is one of the ways of witnessing. That was what St. Paul did in the 1st reading.
Through preaching the Good News and sharing the experience of Jesus, the Lord opened the heart of Lydia to accept what St. Paul was saying.
Of course not everyone will accept what we say or what we share about Jesus.
Yet, if people do listen, it is because the Lord had opened their hearts, and the Spirit of truth has guided them.
The Spirit needs us as His instruments and His mouthpiece.
May the Spirit of truth make us willing to open our mouths so that others will be willing to open their hearts.
To talk about religion with someone is not exactly a comfortable conversational topic.
Furthermore, to talk about it with another Catholic may not be any easier than to talk about it with a non-Catholic.
Whoever it might be, we prefer to talk about how hot the weather is, where to find the best food, the price of cars, or whatever.
Yet, one of the most profound ways for God to move the hearts of people is through the sharing of our experience of Jesus.
That is one of the ways of witnessing. That was what St. Paul did in the 1st reading.
Through preaching the Good News and sharing the experience of Jesus, the Lord opened the heart of Lydia to accept what St. Paul was saying.
Of course not everyone will accept what we say or what we share about Jesus.
Yet, if people do listen, it is because the Lord had opened their hearts, and the Spirit of truth has guided them.
The Spirit needs us as His instruments and His mouthpiece.
May the Spirit of truth make us willing to open our mouths so that others will be willing to open their hearts.
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