33rd Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 19-11-2020

Apocalypse 5:1-10 / Luke 19:41-44     

Tears form in our eyes when something gets into our eyes, eg. smoke or dust or some foreign object.

Tears also form in our eyes when something gets into our hearts.

When we are really happy about something, there are tears of joy.

When in grief, there are tears of sadness.

In the 1st reading, the one having the vision wept bitterly because there was no one fit to open the scroll and read it, but later he was consoled that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb that was sacrificed came to open the scroll.

But in the gospel, Jesus shed tears over Jerusalem because the people had not understood the message of peace, and hence there bloodshed and destruction.

We would shed tears too when we are in deep distress and despair.

And when we can't find words for prayer, then our tears will be our prayer that will be seen by God.

And tears will also wash our eyes so that we can see life with a clear view again.

We will be able to see where God is and He will come to wipe away the tears from our eyes so that we will be able to understand the message of peace.

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Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
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33rd Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 18-11-2020

Apocalypse 4:1-13 / Luke 19:11-28

Any shrewd person who listens to today's gospel parable will certainly have some questions to ask.

Questions like : Why must that servant be punished for not making more money out of that one pound? Anyhow, the master should be happy enough to get his money back isn't it?

Well, from the logical point of view, yes.

But if we apply this premise to our lives and to our dealings with others, then this world would be a very selfish place.

Because we will become very calculative and ask questions like: why must I waste my time for the benefit of others, or why must I be generous to others..

But let us remember that what we have, be it our time, our resources, our money, all that we have, is a gift from God.

And if gifts are not shared, then this world would indeed be a very poor and sad place.

And if gifts are not shared and used, then those gifts will also deteriorate and be wasted.

So in whatever we have been called to do, let us do it joyfully, because God always blesses a joyful and self-giving servant.

33rd Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 17-11-2020

Apocalypse 3:1-6, 14-22 / Luke 19:1-10    

We have just heard the readings from the Holy Scriptures.

Yes we have heard but have we listened to anything?

In order to listen, we need to be silent, so that we will hear the "voice" of the Word of God.

In the 1st reading, there was an emphasis on the importance of listening, and twice it was mentioned.

At the end of the message to the church in Sardis, it says: If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

At the end of the message to the church in Laodicea, it says the same thing too.

We heard of the contents of the message to the two churches - "Wake up, revive what little you have left, it is dying fast"; "Since you are only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth".

There is certainly a message for us in the 1st reading and the gospel, but did we listen to it?

In the gospel, Zacchaeus heard Jesus loud and clear: Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.

Let us wake up, let us listen, and let us hurry to do what the Lord Jesus is prompting us to do.

Let us pray for ears to hear and to listen, especially when Jesus says it loud and clear.

33rd Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 16-11-2020

Apocalypse 1:1-4; 2:1-5 / Luke 18:35-43    

The test of our zest and fervour, of commitment and conviction, of love and faithfulness will be over the test of time.

Under the test of time, we will know where we stand in the areas of our work and our relationships, and also in every aspect of our lives.

We may start of something with zest and fervour and profess our commitment and declare our conviction.

But as the days go by, with its monotony and repetitiveness, we get bored for lack of variation and variety.

We are not as excited and energetic as when we first started.

It can happen with marriage, with care-giving to the elderly, with a job and even in our relationship with God.

In the 1st reading, we hear of this peculiar complaint from the Lord about the church in Ephesus as He says this: You have less love now than you used to. Think where you were before you fell; repent, and do as you used to at first.

We too must think about our relationship with God and renew our love for Him every day so that our love for God will grow deeper each day.

Like the blind man who has his sight restored by Jesus, may we "see again" and love God and others deeper.

33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 15.11.2020

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 / 1 Thess 5:1-6 / Matthew 25:14-30

Every situation has pros and cons. Every situation has advantages and disadvantages. In other words, there is no perfect situation. 

Besides pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, there are also conveniences and inconveniences. 

For example, attending Mass online is convenient. We don’t have to dress up and get out of the house, we don’t have to take the transport to church and go through the trouble of booking for Mass and to scan this and scan that. 

But of course, coming to church for Mass is an experience. We get to see familiar faces (or at least familiar eyes), we get to pray in a conducive environment, we get to receive Holy Communion and we get a feel of some spiritual normalcy. 

So the fact is that there is no perfect situation, there are pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, conveniences and inconveniences. 

And no matter how we try to solve or reduce the disadvantages and inconveniences, we also need to remember that if that is no perfect situation, then there is no perfect solution. 

And since there is no perfect situation and no perfect solution, then obviously there are no perfect persons. 

The first reading has this to say: A perfect wife - who can find her? 

Oh yes, can we ever find a perfect wife, or perfect husband, or perfect children, or perfect in-laws? 

Everyone has their flaws and imperfections. That’s the reality of the situation. 

Even the gospel parable gives an example of an imperfect situation. 

The master entrusted his three servants with a large sum of money, or talents, each in proportion to his ability. 

The first servant went and traded with them and made double the amount. The second servant did the same. 

It would have been a perfect ending if the third servant had done likewise. However, that servant went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 

And when the time for the accounting came, the master denounced that third servant for being wicked and lazy. 

So, among other things, the gospel parable shows the imperfection of the situation, and also the imperfection of persons. That is the reality of life. 

The attention is often drawn to that third servant and his deserve punishment for being wicked and lazy. 

But let us not forget the first and second servants for their goodness and faithfulness and that they were faithful in little things. 

They used whatever they were given and they made it into a better situation. 

We too are entrusted with the goodness of God and we are called to make it better.

There is this story of a boy had a very bad temper that was getting out of hand.

His father thought about it and prayed about it and came up with this idea to help him.

He gave his son a hammer and a bag of nails, and he told his son: Every time you lose your temper, go to that wall and hammer in a nail.

So the boy did just that – every time he lost his temper he took the hammer and hit a nail into the wall.

And if you have tried hitting a nail into the wall, you will know it is not that easy. Because you often end up hitting your thumb.

After a while, the boy thought that it was easier to control his temper than to keep hitting nails into the wall.

Then one day, the boy told his father that he could now control his temper because he had stopped hitting nails into the wall.

The father said: Well done, my son.  Now for every occasion that you felt like losing your temper but managed to control it, pull a nail out of the wall.

The son thought it was strange but did as he was told. So slowly the nails came out of the wall. And after some time, all the nails were pulled out of the wall.

The son reported this to his father, and the father brought the son to look at the pock-marked wall.

He said to his son: My son, every time you lose your temper, it is like a nail being hammered into someone’s heart.

You may have apologized and the nail taken out, but the crack and the hurt remain, like this pock-marked wall. But learn this lesson, and you will be a better person.

It is interesting to note what the father did. He thought about it, prayed about it, and then he called upon whatever wisdom and experience he had to help his son overcome his bad temper. 

Today’s Gospel parable reminds us that God has given each of us all the goodness, wisdom, experience that we need to make the most out of life.

That is God’s gift to us. Our gift to God will be to use His gifts to us to help others make the most of their lives.

In other words, we are not called to bury hopes and joys. Rather we are called to share life and love.Life and love are God’s gifts to us. What we do with that life and love is our gift to God and to others.

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 14-1-2020

3 John 5-8 / Luke 18:1-8    

There are many things that we don't seem to get tired of doing.

For example, we don't get tired of watching TV, eating good food, surfing the internet, shopping, travelling or whatever.

However when it comes to praying and the things of the spiritual life, we somehow tire out easily.

The disciples of Jesus might have felt the same way. They didn't get tired of watching Jesus work miracles day after day, e.g. curing the sick, expelling demons, making the blind see and the lame walk, etc.

These were spectacular and extraordinary events and they were exciting to watch.

But Jesus called His disciples not just to watch how He worked miracles but to follow Him.

He called them to personal conversion and to a deeper faith in God.

Jesus knew that He Himself could not work miracles without prayer and a deep intimate love for His Father.

It is because of this that He told the gospel parable in order to teach them the importance of prayer.

Essentially He told them to pray always without becoming weary.

Because prayer is not about getting immediate results ; rather it is about patience and perseverance.

Many people become great saints not because of their sudden experience and vision of God.

Rather, it was because of their prayerful lives that kept them close to God and close to others.

May we also have the patience to persevere in prayer and keep the faith.

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 13-11-2020

2 John 4-9 / Luke 17:26-37

The "stand-by" state in electrical and electronic equipment like tv sets and dvd players and computers is interesting.

In that state, when the equipment is activated, it immediately jumps to its full operational capabilities without having to go through the start up process and other delays.

But it is also a state in which it uses a considerable amount of energy as compared to when it is totally shut down.

For most of us, life is generally busy, but it is usually busy with monotony.

In other words, we are usually busy with the same stuff - work, chores, assignments, appointments.

After a while, we might just enter a shut-down state as in that we might just exist for function but may not have motivation.

Like Jesus said in the gospel, we just slide into the monotony of eating and drinking, buying and selling, and we shut down to life and meaning.

Yet the 1st reading reminds us to watch ourselves because there are many deceivers in the world.

Hence we must stand firm in faith and stand-by with truth in our hearts, and prepare to witness to the truth. All the time!