St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, Tuesday, 01-10-19

Isaiah 66:10-14 / Matthew 18:1-5

St. Therese of the Child Jesus was a French Carmelite nun. She is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus".

She lived during the second half the 19th century (1873-1897), a rather short life of only 24 years.

Yet the shortness of years is certainly complemented by the great impact her life had on the spirituality of the Church and also in the life of holiness.

Her spiritual orientation of a hidden life coupled with simplicity and humility endeared her to many who desired to live a life of faith that wants to do small things with great love.

For St. Therese, every little act of love is like a little flower that is offered to Jesus, hence she is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus".

Her childlike attitude is also an inspiration for many, especially in the area of prayer.

In "The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux", she said there were so many lovely prayers and that she could not possibly say them all and did not know which to choose, so she would behave like children who cannot read.

"I tell God very simply what I want and He always understands". "I say an Our Father or a Hail Mary when I feel so spiritually barren that I cannot summon up a single worthwhile thought. These two prayers fill me with rapture and feed and satisfy my soul."

Such is the childlike simplicity of the Patroness of the Missions as she prays for missionaries even though she had never set foot on a foreign land.

From St. Therese we learn that simple prayers are indeed powerful prayers. Yet simple prayers should also form us to have a childlike simplicity and humility.

And like St. Therese, we should be like arrows that remain hidden in the quiver of God. And just as He used St. Therese to fulfill His plan, let us also be ready always to fulfill God's will for us.

26th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 30-09-19

Zechariah 8:1-8 / Luke 9:46-50

The relationship between God and His people is often like that of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman.

But as it was often the case, and as it is often the case still, it is a love relationship that is certainly not love at first sight.

God loves His people and it was He who chose them to be His own.

Yet God's Chosen people was also often portrayed as a woman who scorns this loving and sincere suitor and instead flirts with other men.

But God the suitor does not give up on His beloved and relentlessly continues to go after her and win her heart.

As we heard from the 1st reading from the prophet Zechariah, the Lord God says this: I am burning with jealousy for Zion, with great anger for her sake.

Yes, God still loves His people and wants to win back their hearts even though they have sinned and turned away from the Lord God.

Does all that sound rather incredible and even impossible that God should be like this?

Does it also sound rather incredible and ridiculous that one who has the heart of a child would be the one who is great in the eyes of the Lord?

What is incredible and ridiculous and impossible for us is certainly not for God. We only need to turn back to God in love and then we will realize that nothing is incredible and ridiculous or impossible.

26th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 29.09.2019

Amos 6:1, 4-7 / 1 Timothy 6:11-16 / Luke 16:19-31
It is not too presumptuous to say that everybody likes to hear stories because stories are very appealing. 

A story can be anything from a fairy tale to a real life story. 

It also can be a happy or sad story, an inspiring or depressing story, a funny story or one that ends with this line, “the moral of the story is … “ which is a teaching story.

Stories capture the attention and the imagination, and the characters become alive in our minds as the story unfolds.

In a sense, it can be said that the Bible is like a book with many stories.

For the past few weeks, we heard of one story after another. For example there is the story of the dishonest but astute servant, the story of the prodigal son, the story of the shepherd who left the 99 in the wilderness to look for the lost sheep.

But it is not likely that we will hear of any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although these will capture more attention and generate more imagination, and maybe more interest in reading the Bible.

And the best time to tell ghost stories is at night and during funeral wakes. But most probably the purpose is to keep the children quiet and from running around.

So it is not likely that we will find any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although the Bible has many stories of angels and devils.

The parable that Jesus told in the gospel is certainly not a ghost story, but it does capture the attention and the imagination. After all, more than half the story is about the afterlife and about salvation and punishment.

And since it is Jesus who is telling the story, then we need to pay attention to it, because it gives us a glimpse of what our afterlife could be.

The story begins with the lives of two men on earth. One was a rich man, and he had all the luxuries of life - good food, good clothing, good housing and even good health and he was enjoying himself.

Then at the gate of his house, lay a man called Lazarus who was as down as the ground on which he laid. He was hungry, dirty and sickly. Dogs came to lick his sores not because he got some comfort from them but because he just couldn’t chase them away.

Then death came in for both of them and subsequently a reversal of fortunes in the afterlife.

Lazarus was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham, while that rich man was crying out in agony in flames. He was burning in pain and in a fire that does not go out.

Although it was a reversal of fortunes, the story is not saying that the poor will go to heaven and that the rich will go to hell. That is certainly not the point of the story.

Whether rich or poor, the question is about where is God in their lives.

For the rich man, luxury was his god. He loved his luxury and he used his luxury only for himself. He knows that Lazarus was at his gate, but there was nothing for him. The luxury was all for himself. His life on earth is about “me, myself and I”, and so in the afterlife he suffers and he suffers alone.

Lazarus may be among the poorest of the poor, but his name gives us an indication of where God is in his life.

His name, Lazarus, means “God-is-my-helper”. So that tells us that despite his poverty, he still looks to God for his help. And he is finally comforted and it was an everlasting comfort.

So the point is not about where the rich and the poor will go after death. The question is where God is in our lives. 

If God is our helper, we would certainly want to help others in need. So if we are rich we will love God and use our riches to help those in need, and not to love our riches and use God for our needs. 

And if we are poor, but if God is our helper, then we will still put our faith and our trust in God, and live according to His way, and not to resort to cheating and lying and dishonesty as a way out of poverty.

So the question is where is God in our lives? Is God our helper?

One of the evils of the world today is to tempt us to love our riches and use God for our needs, instead of loving God and using our riches to help those in need.

Today, 29th September, is the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There is this prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1884:

St. Michael the Archangel, 
defend us in battle. 
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. 
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, 
and do thou, 
O Prince of the heavenly hosts, 
by the power of God, 
thrust into hell Satan, 
and all the evil spirits, 
who prowl about the world 
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

There are a couple of stories of why he composed that prayer. 

One story is that he had a vision of a legion of demons attacking the church. Another was that he heard a conversation between the devil and God.

The devil said that he could destroy the Church if given enough power and time, and God permitted the devil to do so and even let him pick his time, and the devil chose the 20th century.

But whether 20th century or 21st century, in every age and time, the devil is going all out to make us love our riches and use God for our needs.

But like Lazarus, may God be our helper, and let us pray to Saint Michael the Archangel to be our protector against the devil.

Let us remember that what we do now will have a bearing on our eternity.

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 28-09-19

Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15 / Luke  9:43-45

Whenever we talk about a house, we would imagine it as having walls that would determine its size and boundaries.

Who can ever imagine a house that is without walls? What kind of security would that house have?

So it would certainly surprise us when we heard in the 1st reading that Jerusalem was to remain unwalled. What kind of city would that be if it is without walls for protection and security?

Yet the Lord was quick to add that He would be the wall of fire for her, all round her, and He would be the glory of the city.

Indeed, if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain would its watchmen keep vigil, and in vain would its stone walls offer any protection.

Jesus said in the gospel that He would be handed over into the power of men.

Yet Jesus also knew that His security and protection will be on God alone, and that God will save Him out of death and raise Him back to life.

May we also know that if God does not watch over us, then all other physical means of protection will be in vain.

With God in our midst and watching over us and protecting us, let us give thanks, let us sing, let us rejoice in the Lord our Saviour.

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 27-09-19

Haggai 1:15 - 2:9 / Luke 9:18-22           

There is this rather serious question, but the answer is rather funny. The question is: How to avoid getting stressed at work? The answer: Don't go to work.

Whether we find that funny or not, work is serious business. That's where we get our livelihood, that's where we do something meaningful, that's where we keep ourselves busy and occupied and find fulfillment.

So whether work is stressful or not, it depends on how we take it. But one thing for sure is that work is hard.

There is something about work in the 1st reading and it is given as a short and sharp command: To work!

Through the prophet  Haggai, God is telling His people to get down to work. What work? It was the work of rebuilding the Temple.

And it was going to be real hard work to rebuild the Temple that was going to be more glorious than the former Temple.

And God wanted the Temple to be rebuilt, and He was going to supply the people all the gold and silver and whatever that was necessary.

So why the urgency then? The Lord of hosts speaks: The new glory of this Temple is going to surpass the old, and in this place I will give peace.

So the Temple was going to be a symbol and a channel of peace for the people. But they must work for it.

So too, whatever our work is, whatever we are working for, wherever we are working, let us also work hard for peace.

To work for peace is the meaning and fulfillment of our lives. And the Lord will give us whatever we need to achieve that. So let us get down to it and work hard for peace.

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 26-09-19

Haggai 1:1-8 / Luke 9:7-9     

It is not too difficult to understand it when it is said that the state of our life is nothing more than a reflection of our state of mind.

Simply it means that what we think is reflected by how our life is.

In the 1st reading, the Lord, through the prophet Haggai has this to say to His people: Reflect carefully how things have gone for you.

And the reflection goes like this: You have sown much and harvested little; you eat but never have enough, drink but never have your fill, put on clothes but do not feel warm. The wage earner gets his wages only to put them in a purse riddled with holes.

But this state of life of the people is only a reflection of the state of their minds.

For they were saying that the time has not yet come to rebuild the Temple of the Lord, and they have left it in ruins.

But on the other hand, the people were more concerned about their own dwellings and about their own welfare, and neglecting the things of the Lord.

But their own concerns over the things concerning the Lord have brought them nothing but a constant lack and shortage of what they laboured for.

So through the prophet Haggai, the Lord had to remind His people - When God is glorified, the people will prosper. If not they will labour in vain and for nothing.

Let us remember this too, for when we put the Lord above and over the rest of our concerns, He will bless us and we will prosper and be at peace.
       

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 25-09-19

Ezra 9:5-9 / Luke 9:1-6     

Whenever we talk about cause and effect, we will understand that it is meant to find out the cause or causes from what was manifested or the effects that are seen.

This is especially important in medical science as the manifestations of effects of a disease is analysed so as to determine the cause of the disease.

If we lived during the time of Ezra of the 1st reading, we may wonder if that was the time of the end of the world.

There was war and destruction, and the people, from the king downwards, were given to the sword, to captivity, to pillage and to shame.

But when Ezra saw all that happening, he knew what was the cause as he said this: My God, I am ashamed, I blush to lift my face to you, my God. For our crimes have increased, until they are higher than our heads, and our sin has piled up to heaven.

So the cause of the turmoil and the distress that were happening is clear, and that is the sins of the people were overwhelming, and hence the effects were also overwhelming.

In the gospel, Jesus gave His apostles the power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases.

This is to clear the obstacles that evil and illness have caused so that Good News of kingdom of God can be proclaimed.

So as we see the turmoil and distress of our present world, let us turn to God and ask for mercy and forgiveness.

The Good News is that God wants to save us. May God save us from what causes us to sin so that we can truly receive healing  and forgiveness.