9th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 01-06-2021

Tobit 2:9-14 / Mark 12:13-17    

If chaos and tribulation are all that we experience in life, then life would be rather miserable.

The Bible has this constant message that God is always in control of the world's events and happenings.

Hence out of chaos, there will be creation, and out of tribulation, there will be a revelation.

In the gospel, the Pharisees and Herodians were sent to catch Jesus out on what He might say.

Yet, in all that scheming, out came a teaching.

To the question of whether to pay taxes to Caesar, and that had many implications and consequences, Jesus saw their scheming motives and He gave an astounding teaching.

His reply - give back to Caesar what belong to Caesar, and to God what belong to God - took them completely by surprise.

More than just a profound and astounding reply, what Jesus said will also make us think deeper about life.

When everything is over and done, then the conclusion is that only God will remain and all will and must belong to Him and to Him alone.

If from chaos God brings about creation, and from tribulation God gives a revelation, then the scheming plots and mighty powers of this world are only temporary.

God is eternal and we belong to Him. Let us trust in God and live our lives according to His will.

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Monday, 31-05-2021

Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16 / Luke 1:39-56    

Throughout the Bible, God comes to His people when His people were in need or in a difficult situation.

God came to visit Adam when he had sinned. God sent Moses to His people when they were under slavery in Egypt.

God sent prophets to His people when they strayed and sinned against Him.

God sent His only Son to save His people from their sins.

In today's feast of the Visitation, we hear of God sending Mary to visit Elizabeth to support her in her time of need.

It was a visit filled with rejoicing for God was in their midst and even the child leapt in Elizabeth's womb.

We are certainly in a time of need. But we must realise that what we need is God and He will come to us.

Let us keep firm in faith and prayer so that we will see how God protects us and blesses us and then our hearts will also leap with rejoicing.

Trinity Sunday, Year B, 29.05.2021

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 / Romans 8:14-17 / Matthew 28:16-20

One of the common types of food that we eat is the humble bread. 

Although rice is a common Asian staple food, bread has its place in our diet. 

Maybe because it has a slight advantage in terms of durability. It can be left around for a couple of days at room temperature and still be consumable. 

For those of us who are into baking bread, we know that at least three ingredients are needed - wheat flour, yeast and water. 

There can be other things added to it, like raisins, nuts and herbs, but bread is essentially a mixture of wheat flour, yeast and water and then baked accordingly. 

Freshly baked bread is delicious in itself and it can also go along with all sorts of spreads and fillings. 

In the Bible, bread is not just seen as food for the sustenance of life. Bread also has a symbolic spiritual meaning. 

In the 1st reading, Moses reminded the people of the wonders the Lord God has done for them in freeing them from slavery in Egypt. 

Where once in Egypt they ate the bread of slavery and suffering, now they eat the bread of freedom and they eat in freedom. 

So, in the Bible, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, bread has this symbolic meaning of the blessings of God and His love. 

During the 40 years in the desert, God fed his people with manna, and it is often called the “bread from heaven” because it literally came down from heaven. 

So, in the Old Testament, God is seen as the Protector and the Provider for His people. God protects His people and He feeds them. 

Then in the New Testament, Jesus, the Son of God, taught us how to pray with that prayer that begins with the two words “Our Father”. 

Jesus taught us to call God “Our Father” and in union with Jesus, the Son of God, we become children of God the Father through baptism. 

In that prayer, there is also this verse: give us this day our daily bread. 

That daily bread is the bread for life, but it also points to the bread of life, which is the blessings and the love of God, the spiritual bread for our spiritual life. 

Jesus is our Bread of Life, and He is the true bread that came down from heaven to teach us who God is and His saving love for us. 

Today as we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday, we profess that God is Trinity, Three Persons in one God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

The 2nd reading tells us that it is the Holy Spirit who moves us and makes us cry out to God with “Abba, Father” and that as coheirs with Christ and as children of God, we share in the mission of Christ, we share in His sufferings and His glory. 

In the humble bread, we see this spiritual symbol of the Holy Trinity, and the Holy Spirit moves us and forms us to become the spiritual bread for the world. 

We share in the bread of suffering with the world, and we also share the bread of life and love with the world. 

We believe and profess that God is Trinity. We have been fed with the Heavenly Bread.

We are called to be the spiritual bread for the world so that the world will come to know who God is. 

So, the next time when we hold the humble bread in our hands, may we be reminded of who God is, and who we are, and what we are called to do. 

By our lives and our faith, may we bear witness that God is our loving Father, that Jesus is our Saviour, and that the Holy Spirit empowers us to be the spiritual bread for others, so that they will come to know God and to love Him.

8th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 29-05-2021

Ecclesiasticus 51:12-20 / Mark 11:27-33       

What seems good initially may not be that good over time.

And what seems bad initially may not seem to be that bad after all.

With so many voices and so many events happening in this world, we can be confused and misled.

We may find it difficult to know what is from God and what is not.

In the gospel, the chief priests, scribes and elders found it difficult to answer the question Jesus posed to them about the ministry of John the Baptist.

As much as they know what is the right answer, they dared not say it as it would affect their interests and motives.

But the 1st reading tells us to seek for wisdom so that we will know what is the good and right thing to do.

We need to ask the Lord to grant us wisdom so that we will know what is from God and what is not.

8th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 28-05-2021

Ecclesiasticus 44:1, 9-13 / Mark 11:11-26       

To pray is certainly an act of faith.

Because to pray means that we believe we are communicating with God.

Jesus tells us in the gospel that everything that you ask and pray for, believe that we have it already, and it will be yours.

That sounds like a "blank cheque", which seems too good to be true.

But on the other hand, we also know that not all that we ask for in prayer is given.

Some of us may even say that God doesn't seem to listen to our prayer and give us what we ask for.

But what is it that we are asking for in prayer?

Are we praying that God will give us the grace to forgive whatever we have against anybody?

As Jesus said in the gospel, if we do not forgive, our Father in heaven will not forgive our failing either.

Let us ask for forgiveness from God, so that we will be able to forgive others who have wronged us.

We can be certain that when we ask for that, it will be given in full measure and flowing over.

8th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 27-05-2021

Ecclesiasticus 42:15-25 / Mark 10:46-52       

A name is used to identify an object or some living thing.

While the names of objects and creatures are usually generic, the name of a human being is different.

We are identified by a particular name and others will know us by our names and know who we are specifically.

In the gospel, there was a blind beggar known Bartimaeus, but that is not his actual name.

As the gospel explains it, "Bartimaeus" means "the son of Timaeus". So the blind man doesn't have an actual name to be identified with.

But it was this "Bartimaeus" who shouted out the true identity of Jesus, with titles like "Son of David", "Rabunni" and "Master".

And more than that, he also appealed to Jesus to take pity on him.

For that, Jesus restored his sight, but Jesus also said that it was his faith that saved him.

Bartimaeus had his sight restored, and he also saw himself with an identity. 

May we too see ourselves as created in the image of Jesus, and may we show others who Jesus really is by our faith.

8th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 26-05-2021

Ecclesiasticus 36:1, 4-5, 10-17 / Mark 10:32-45   

The word "mercy" is heard and used often in prayer and in the liturgy, so much so that we may have gotten quite used to the word.

At its core, mercy is forgiveness. The Bible speaks of God's love for sinners – that is, for all of us. 

So in the Christian understanding, mercy belongs to God alone, and on the human level, we can only ask for God's mercy and we express God's mercy to us in acts of compassion and kindness.

The 1st reading tells of the people of God begging God for His mercy and to forgive them for their transgressions and to save them from the power of their enemies.

God is mercy and in His love for sinners, He forgives and is compassionate.

But in Jesus Christ, God's mercy is expressed in a profound way.

God's mercy is expressed in a sacrificial love as Jesus became the sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.

As Jesus said in the gospel, He came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

May we always be thankful for God's mercy and love and may we also follow Jesus to serve others especially in showing compassion and kindness to those who have done wrong to us.