22nd Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 01-09-2021

Colossians 1:1-8 / Luke 4:38-44   

No matter how strong or how healthy we are, there is no doubt that we are afraid of sickness and illness.

Because sickness or illness, especially when it is grave or serious, will expose our vulnerability.

It is in times like these that we see clearly that health is wealth, and all the wealth cannot buy health.

The gospel passage talked about sickness and illnesses, but it also showed that sickness and illness do not have the last say.

Jesus came as Saviour and His mission was to proclaim the Good News of salvation, and it was expressed in curing the sick and breaking the power of evil.

And as Saviour, Jesus came not just to cure sickness and illnesses but to proclaim the Good News of salvation and to give us hope.

With hope, we will be able to face the difficulties of life like sickness and illness and the evil of this world.

With Jesus, even though there will anxiety and fear in our lives, we will rise with Jesus and be witnesses of His saving love for us.

22nd Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 31-08-2021

1 Thess 5:1-6, 9-11 / Luke 4:31-37   

To "make hay while the sun shines" means to make the most of a favourable situation while it lasts.

A similar situation would be that in time of peace, be prepared for war.

All that might initially seem to be a contraction or a paradox, but it is essentially about being prepared for rough times during good times.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul talks about the Day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night.

It is like when people are saying "How quiet and peaceful it is" that the worst suddenly happens.

That reminds us that calm can turn to chaos just like that and so we need to be prepared.

When it is calm and peaceful, we must take the opportunity to pray and read the Scriptures and be in communion with the Lord while we have the time to do so.

Because when the storm suddenly strikes and all is chaos, when we are too distressed to even pray, then it will be the Lord who will come to our aid and give us strength.

Let us be alert in prayer when it is peaceful, and the Lord will keep us from breaking into pieces during chaos.

22nd Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 30-08-2021

1 Thess 6:13-18 / Luke 6:16-30     

To know that someone has passed on generally makes us sad.

Depending on how familiar with that person, there will be memories of how we knew that person and how we interacted with each other.

But the fact is that we will not be able to meet that person again in this life.

Still there is the afterlife, and that is where we hope to meet each other again, although we don't know how it would really be like.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul says this about death and the afterlife:

I want you to be quite certain about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like other people who have no hope.

The hope that St. Paul is talking about is not about the circumstances that we will meet with those who went on before us.

The hope that he is talking about is in Jesus who died and rose again.

It is in the Risen Jesus that we have the hope of eternal life and it will be love of God that will unite us together in the eternal life.

More than hoping to meet those who have gone before us, our hope is in the new life and love that the Risen Jesus will give us so that together, we will rejoicing and praising the Lord forever.

22nd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 29.08.2021

Duet 4:1-2, 6-8 / James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 / Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

One of the things that we had not quite expected to come into prominence is hand sanitizers. 

We have been using it for about a year-and-a-half already, and it is actually in Church that we use quite a bit of it. 

As we come in, we sanitize our hands. Before coming up for Holy Communion we sanitize our hands. And on the way out of the Church we again sanitize our hands. 

Where once upon a time we see it only in the hospitals, now we see it in the lifts, in the restaurants, in the restrooms and in about almost every place where there is human traffic. 

There are some who even carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer long with them. 

That is just a reflection of the situation that we are in, and since viruses and bacteria are not that easily visible, then hand sanitizers can be a safety measure against it. 

But generally speaking, personal hygiene and cleanliness are good practices that can help to prevent unnecessary infections. 

The gospel began with the Pharisees and scribes noticing that some of the disciples of Jesus were eating with unclean hands and they raised the issue with Jesus. 

There was this practice in the tradition of the elders that before every meal there would be a ritual cleansing of the hands up to the elbows. 

So, it was in view of this “tradition of the elders” that the Pharisees and scribes raised the issue to indicate that Jesus was not following the “tradition of the elders”, and hence putting Himself above the Law.

Jesus responded by quoting from the prophet Isaiah: “This people honours me only with lip service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations. You put aside the Commandment of God to cling to human traditions”. 

Jesus then moved the issue of the state of the hands to the state of the heart. 

In effect, Jesus is asking this fundamental question: Where is the heart? 

That is the question that Jesus was asking then and also asking now: 

When we say all the prayers, where is the heart? 

When we come to Church, where is the heart? 

When we perform ministry work, where is the heart? 

Besides asking us where is the heart in the religious aspect of our lives, Jesus goes deeper as He asks: How clean is the heart? 

Jesus says this: Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean. It is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. 

Yes, from what is in the heart, flow our thoughts, our words and our actions. 

So, our thoughts, our words and our actions are reflections of the state of our heart. 

So, more than just sanitizing the hands before Holy Communion, we must also cleanse our hearts as we earnestly pray: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace. 

St. Augustine gave us this profound saying: our hearts will not rest, until they are rested in you, O Lord. 

In our prayer and in our worship, let us place our hearts in the Heart of Jesus. 

Let us ask Jesus to cleanse our hearts of sin and grant us His peace. 

A heart that is at peace is a heart that is clean and ready to be filled with love. 

May our hearts be like the Heart of Jesus, so that through our thoughts, our words and our actions, others may see the loving Heart of Jesus.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 28-08-2021

1 Thess 4:9-11 / Matthew 25:14-30      

Each of us is endowed with a gift or a talent that is unique.

Whether we will fully realise the potential within us depends on a lot of factors.

In the gospel parable, the talents refer to a large sum of money.

But we can also take it to mean the intangible potential within us.

Today as we celebrate the memorial of St. Augustine, we remember a great saint who is a gifted philosopher and theologian and who made many profound contributions to the Church.

But before his conversion, St. Augustine led a wild and wayward life and he would not have realised his potential if not for the prayers of his mother St. Monica, as well as St. Ambrose who had a deep influence on his life.

Like St. Augustine, we too need the help of other people to help us realise who we are and what we can do for the good of others.

May we be able to realise the potential of our gifts and talents and help others to realise theirs.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 27-08-2021

1 Thess 4:1-8 / Matthew 25:1-13         

Psalm 14:1 goes like this: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are evil; there is no one who does good.

When the Bible uses the word "fool" it implies that the attitude is of one that is against God and it is associated with evil and sin.

For us who profess our belief in God and knowing how much He loves us, then to commit sin and not to obey God is indeed a truly foolish thing.

In the gospel parable, we heard of the 10 bridesmaids, 5 of whom were foolish and the other 5 were sensible.

The 5 foolish bridesmaids were foolish because they didn't bring extra oil and so they were caught unprepared.

A further spiritual reflection would also indicate that they were foolish because they saw what the other sensible bridesmaids did but they either didn't bother or care much about it.

To be sensible, or wise, in the spiritual sense would mean that we know what God wants of us and to do it.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul tells the Thessalonians that what God wants of them is to be holy and not to sin.

When we say that we believe in God, then we must be sensible and wise enough to know what He wants of us.

Let us walk in His ways and grow in wisdom and holiness and live a life that is worthy of God's love.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 26-08-2021

1 Thess 3:7-13 / Matthew 24:42-51    

There is a phrase that goes like this: "absence makes the heart grow fonder".

It is a proverb to mean that you feel more affection for those you love when parted from them.

But does absence really make the heart grow fonder?

Or is it "out of sight, out of mind"?

Well, absence truly does make the heart grow fonder, particularly when it comes to love and intimacy. 

St. Paul expressed this sentiment in the 1st reading when he said that he was earnestly praying night and day to be able to see the Thessalonians face to face again.

Obviously, he felt deeply for the Thessalonians and it really made his heart grew fonder.

But in the gospel parable, when the master was away, it was for the dishonest servant "out of sight, out of mind".

In this particular time when we are slowly getting back to our spiritual routine of coming for Mass as often as we could, we are certainly aware that there are those whom we have not met for some time already, and it is more than a year.

They may be out of sight but they must not be out of our minds. 

As the Body of Christ, we keep them in our prayers that God will also bless them and answer their prayers and our hope is that we will meet them again one day.