Deut 18:15-20 / 1 Cor 7:32-35 / Mark 1:21-28
There was (and there still is) a practice in the Church of the blessing of throats, although not much emphasis is given to it.
It falls on the day after the feast of the Presentation, which is on the 2nd February.
So on the 3rd February, which is the feast day of St. Blaise, there is a blessing of throats, in which the invocation is made to the intercession of St. Blaise for the blessing.
The candles blessed on the feast of the Presentation, which is the day before, is made into a shape of a cross and placed over the throat as the priest says the prayer of blessing.
The purpose of the blessing is for the protection against any physical ailment of the throat, and hence those who use their voice often should come for the blessing.
It is usually quite a solemn occasion as the faithful come up individually and the priest cross the candles and invokes the blessing.
It is usually solemn until the boys come up, and boys being boys, will try to act silly and hold their throats after the blessing as if they were choking, and of course the priest will stare at them.
Whatever the boys or others think of it, the blessing is more than just to ask for protection against throat diseases or throat ailments.
It is also to sanctify the throat and to protect it against spiritual ailments like speaking profanity, cursing and gossiping.
Because, as Scripture says, if anyone claims to be religious but don't control his tongue, he is fooling yourself, and his religion is worthless (James 1:26).
That’s the purpose of the blessing of throats and also to make us more aware of what comes out of our mouths.
In the gospel, we heard that Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach and His teaching made a deep impression because He taught with authority.
In other words, what came out of His mouth were words of truth spoken with love and that brought the people closer to God.
But in the same gospel passage, we also heard from a man who was possessed by an evil spirit and it was shouting.
Actually it was shouting out a truth, but it spoke the truth, not with love, but with anger and hatred.
Yes, Jesus is the Holy One of God. Yes, Jesus came to destroy evil.
All that is true, and confronted with the Truth and by the Truth, evil which is the source of all lies reacts with anger and hatred.
In the face of such hostility, Jesus had only this to say: Be quiet! Come out of him!
Those few words of Jesus are indeed words of truth and spoken with authority.
The evil spirit is ordered to be silent and with that it is expelled out of the man.
What happened in the gospel passage is indeed very relevant to us.
Of course we are not possessed by any kind of evil spirit. But we cannot deny that that evil lurks somewhere inside of us.
Evil can lurk inside of us because of sin. Sin creates an opening for evil to enter and sin then continues to fester.
And sin and evil then create a turmoil within us and from within us profanity, cursing, gossip and harmful words come out of our mouths.
And to all the turmoil that is in us, Jesus commands with these words – Be quiet!
To be quiet is to be still. As God says in the psalms – Be still and know that I am God.
We will remember that Jesus ordered the winds and the waves to be still when the disciples in the boat were caught in the storm.
Those winds and waves are not out there but in our hearts and stirring up a storm.
To these winds and waves of the heart, Jesus is commanding – Be quiet! Be still!
Much has been said about opening our mouths and saying the wrong things and creating unnecessary storms.
We need to remember to open our minds before opening our mouths.
We need to open our minds and our hearts to hear those words of Jesus: Be quiet!
Yes, we need to quieten our minds and hearts and to be still and to know that Jesus is the Holy One of God who comes to bring us peace.
It is with His peace that we will realize that as much as we use our tongues to praise the Lord, we also use it to speak profanities and harmful words, and that is certainly wrong.
May we listen to the command of Jesus to be quiet and to let our minds and hearts be still and to be at peace.
When we are at peace, then we will speak the truth with love.
And may what comes out of our mouths be a blessing for others.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 31-01-15
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 29, 2015
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 30-01-15
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 28, 2015
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 29-01-15
Hebrews 10:19-25 / Mark 4:21-25
Nowadays there is an emphasis on rights, be it human rights, workers rights, women's rights, civil rights, right to freedom of worship, etc.
Rights can be defined as a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something.
And along with rights come duties and responsibilities which uphold the rights.
So it can be said that rights come with a price, and that is there are duties and responsibilities to be fulfilled.
The 1st reading says that through the blood of Jesus, we have the right to enter the sanctuary of the Body of Christ, the Church.
That right would entitle us to the blessings of God and to whatever grace necessary to fulfill our Christian mission.
And the 1st reading also states that as we go in, we must be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our minds sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience and our bodies are to be kept pure.
But if we cannot even fulfill that Christian duty and responsibility of being freed of sin, then like what Jesus would say in the gospel, we are like a lamp put under a tub or under a bed.
Because as members of the Body of Christ, any sin that we commit cannot be kept hidden and sooner or later it will be brought to light.
So let us listen to the message of Christ and be faithful to our Christian duty and mission so that that we will be entitled to the fullness of the blessings from God.
Nowadays there is an emphasis on rights, be it human rights, workers rights, women's rights, civil rights, right to freedom of worship, etc.
Rights can be defined as a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something.
And along with rights come duties and responsibilities which uphold the rights.
So it can be said that rights come with a price, and that is there are duties and responsibilities to be fulfilled.
The 1st reading says that through the blood of Jesus, we have the right to enter the sanctuary of the Body of Christ, the Church.
That right would entitle us to the blessings of God and to whatever grace necessary to fulfill our Christian mission.
And the 1st reading also states that as we go in, we must be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our minds sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience and our bodies are to be kept pure.
But if we cannot even fulfill that Christian duty and responsibility of being freed of sin, then like what Jesus would say in the gospel, we are like a lamp put under a tub or under a bed.
Because as members of the Body of Christ, any sin that we commit cannot be kept hidden and sooner or later it will be brought to light.
So let us listen to the message of Christ and be faithful to our Christian duty and mission so that that we will be entitled to the fullness of the blessings from God.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 28-01-15
Hebrews 10:11-18 / Mark 4:1-20
The moment we are born into this world, we immediately come into a world of need.
We need to be fed, to be clothed, to be taken care of, to be loved - we are in need.
And as time goes by, we will also be called upon to fulfill the needs of others - to feed them, to clothe them, to take care of them, to love them.
And then we also begin to realize that there are other deeper needs - the need to be understood, the need to be accepted, to be forgiven.
The 1st reading has this line - When all sins have been forgiven, there can be no more sin offerings.
But we also know that as much as we have been forgiven from all our sins, we still continue to sin.
That is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation continues to be celebrated. That is why the Eucharist continues to be celebrated.
It all points to the fact that we need God - we need His love, we need His forgiveness and mercy, we need His blessings in order to keep the faith.
But we also must remember that we need God not just for ourselves. We need God so that we can bear a harvest of a thirty, or a sixty or a hundred fold.
We must bear a harvest so that we can fulfill that need of others - that need for God so that all other needs will also be fulfilled.
The moment we are born into this world, we immediately come into a world of need.
We need to be fed, to be clothed, to be taken care of, to be loved - we are in need.
And as time goes by, we will also be called upon to fulfill the needs of others - to feed them, to clothe them, to take care of them, to love them.
And then we also begin to realize that there are other deeper needs - the need to be understood, the need to be accepted, to be forgiven.
The 1st reading has this line - When all sins have been forgiven, there can be no more sin offerings.
But we also know that as much as we have been forgiven from all our sins, we still continue to sin.
That is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation continues to be celebrated. That is why the Eucharist continues to be celebrated.
It all points to the fact that we need God - we need His love, we need His forgiveness and mercy, we need His blessings in order to keep the faith.
But we also must remember that we need God not just for ourselves. We need God so that we can bear a harvest of a thirty, or a sixty or a hundred fold.
We must bear a harvest so that we can fulfill that need of others - that need for God so that all other needs will also be fulfilled.
Monday, January 26, 2015
3rd Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 27-01-15
Hebrews 10:1-10 / Mark 3:31-35
For those who are maturing in their prayer life and deepening their spirituality, one of the questions they will face will be that of God's will.
Essentially, the question will be what is God's will for them in their lives.
But before we want to know what is God's will in our lives, a more fundamental question is: Do we know what we want for ourselves?
When we know what we want, then we will go and get it done. It is almost as simple as that.
In the gospel, we heard that the mother and brothers and sisters of Jesus were outside and they sent a message asking for Him.
The reply of Jesus was rather puzzling - "Who are my mother and brothers?" And then He said this - Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.
The mother and brothers and sisters of Jesus were asking for Him. But do they know what they want from Him? Do they know why they were asking for Him in the first place?
And that brings us to the 1st reading when it said - God, here I am! I am coming to do your will.
When we ask what is God's will for us, then we must be prepared to put our lives into His hands and like Mary at the Annunciation, we must be ready to say "Be it done according to Your will".
And like Mary who had to learn moment by moment how to be the mother of Jesus and to do God's will, may we learn moment by moment how to be brothers and sisters of Jesus and do God's will.
Essentially, the question will be what is God's will for them in their lives.
But before we want to know what is God's will in our lives, a more fundamental question is: Do we know what we want for ourselves?
When we know what we want, then we will go and get it done. It is almost as simple as that.
In the gospel, we heard that the mother and brothers and sisters of Jesus were outside and they sent a message asking for Him.
The reply of Jesus was rather puzzling - "Who are my mother and brothers?" And then He said this - Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.
The mother and brothers and sisters of Jesus were asking for Him. But do they know what they want from Him? Do they know why they were asking for Him in the first place?
And that brings us to the 1st reading when it said - God, here I am! I am coming to do your will.
When we ask what is God's will for us, then we must be prepared to put our lives into His hands and like Mary at the Annunciation, we must be ready to say "Be it done according to Your will".
And like Mary who had to learn moment by moment how to be the mother of Jesus and to do God's will, may we learn moment by moment how to be brothers and sisters of Jesus and do God's will.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Sts Timothy and Titus, Monday, 26-01-15
2 Tim 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5 / Luke 10:1-9
The apostles were disciples of Jesus, and in turn they too had their own disciples.
These disciples not only learned from the apostles the truth of Jesus, they also helped the apostles with the mission of spreading the Good News.
St. Paul was given the title of apostle although he was not one of the chosen twelve apostles.
He also had his disciples and today the Church honours two of them - St. Timothy and St. Titus.
In a way, they were closest to St. Paul and he often mentioned about them in his letters and also wrote letters to them.
He also made them take charge of the churches he had founded.
The main criterion for making them leaders of the new-found churches was not because of their abilities. In fact, St. Timothy was considered young in years and maybe even a bit timid.
But what St. Paul saw in them was faith, and that was enough for him to entrust the care of the churches into their hands.
Yes, as Jesus said in the gospel, the harvest is rich but the labourers are few.
Let us pray for more labourers, and may those chosen labourers be people of faith and dedication and courage.
It is our responsibility and duty to pray for these labourers. It is also our duty and responsibility to respond if we are called to be one of those labourers.
Certainly prayers are important. When we pray and God answers our prayers, it is that He wants us to trust in His abilities.
But when we pray and it seems that God does not answer our prayers, then it could be that He wants us to trust in our abilities.
The apostles were disciples of Jesus, and in turn they too had their own disciples.
These disciples not only learned from the apostles the truth of Jesus, they also helped the apostles with the mission of spreading the Good News.
St. Paul was given the title of apostle although he was not one of the chosen twelve apostles.
He also had his disciples and today the Church honours two of them - St. Timothy and St. Titus.
In a way, they were closest to St. Paul and he often mentioned about them in his letters and also wrote letters to them.
He also made them take charge of the churches he had founded.
The main criterion for making them leaders of the new-found churches was not because of their abilities. In fact, St. Timothy was considered young in years and maybe even a bit timid.
But what St. Paul saw in them was faith, and that was enough for him to entrust the care of the churches into their hands.
Yes, as Jesus said in the gospel, the harvest is rich but the labourers are few.
Let us pray for more labourers, and may those chosen labourers be people of faith and dedication and courage.
It is our responsibility and duty to pray for these labourers. It is also our duty and responsibility to respond if we are called to be one of those labourers.
Certainly prayers are important. When we pray and God answers our prayers, it is that He wants us to trust in His abilities.
But when we pray and it seems that God does not answer our prayers, then it could be that He wants us to trust in our abilities.
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