32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 10-11-2021

Wisdom 6:1-11 / Luke 17:11-19     

Nobody wants to suffer alone. Misery seeks company.

It may not lessen the pain but it does give a little consolation.

In the gospel, there were 10 lepers who came to meet Jesus.

They had the same affliction, and in their suffering, all differences were put aside, whether it was race or language or religion.

They come to Jesus to seek a cure and Jesus granted them their request; all 10 of them were cured.

But it seems that out of the 10, nine of them were locals and only one was a foreigner, and he was the only one who came back to Jesus to thank Him.

It seems that the moment suffering is cured, human differences return, and the Samaritan found himself alone but he still wanted to go and thank Jesus.

Yes, we must learn from the Samaritan that we must be grateful and thankful for what God has given us and done for us.

The other thing to learn is that for those in misery, we offer them our company.

That is one of the ways we express our thanks and gratitude to Jesus.

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Tuesday, 09-11-2021

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 or 1 Cor 3:9-11, 16-17 / John 2:13-22    

It can be said that the seat of governance in the Roman Catholic Church is at the Vatican City in Roman.

And at the Vatican City, the most prominent church is St. Peter's Basilica.

But today's feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, or also known as St. John Lateran Basilica, brings the focus back on the Church as a mother.

It is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome in the city of Rome, and serves as the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.

It is the oldest public church in the city of Rome, and the oldest basilica of the Western world, and it has the title of ecumenical mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful.

This feast calls to mind the unity of the Church with the Lateran Basilica is the mother of all the churches in world and that the Pope is acknowledged as the head of the Church.

This feast calls for a renewed pledge of obedience and faithfulness to the doctrinal teachings of the Church.

The readings remind us that as members of the Church, we need to be cleansed and renewed in faith so that Church can fulfill her mission as a sign of God's salvation and that we are witnesses of God's love and forgiveness.

May the Lord God grant us this blessing as we celebrate this feast with thanksgiving.

 

32nd Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 08-11-2021

Wisdom 1:1-7 / Luke 17:1-6   

There is a routine that we go through when we wake up in the morning.

We would probably go to the toilet, wash our face and brush our teeth, although not necessarily in that order.

And of course, we would look at our face in the mirror, or at least glance at it.

If we have the time, it might be good to pause for a while and take a good look at ourselves in the mirror and think for a while.

And maybe to ask ourselves a couple of questions like "Who is this person going to be for today?" or "Will this person be a good person today?"

Jesus gave us a point for reflection in the gospel with just two words: Watch yourselves!

It may sound like a warning for us to watch ourselves and not to do anything wrong or to be an obstacle for others.

But it can also be a reminder for us to be the person that God has created us to be.

We are created and called to be loving and forgiving, to be kind and gentle, to be patient and understanding.

The 1st reading tells us that to be virtuous, to be honest, to have simplicity of heart are expressions of a person who lives wisely and follow the ways of God.

May the person we see in the mirror be that person that God has created and a reflection of who God is.

32nd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 07.11.2021

1 Kings 17:10-16 / Hebrews 9:24-28 / Mark 12:38-44

One of the annoying and disappointing things to read is the notice with the words “out of stock”, and it is usually written in red capital letters. 

And that is usually applied to things that are popular, or even needed, and it is like on almost everyone's “must get” list. 

So, when a new handphone model is available, quite quickly it will go out of stock. Well, that can be expected as there is always this craze for new feature-filled gadgets. 

But there are also other things that can go out of stock that leaves us quite puzzled. 

For example, about a year ago, toilet rolls can go out of stock, and there were pictures circulating around of some people with shopping trolleys that are stacked with packets of toilet rolls. 

It seems funny now, but no one was laughing then, and it left us bewildered and frustrated. 

It was also around that time when the shelves of the supermarkets were cleaned out of dried and canned food. There was no need to even put the sign “out of stock”. It was obvious enough. 

At that time, a few other things were also out of stock, like face masks and handheld thermometers. But that is in good supply now. 

Currently, one of the must-have items is the Covid self-test kit. Let us hope that that will not go out of stock. 

But seriously, even if certain things can really go out of stock for a while, yet it must also be remembered that there is enough for everyone's need but never enough for everyone's greed. 

Greed comes from selfishness, and that is essentially a lack of consideration for other people, and concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure. 

And selfishness manifest itself most obviously in a time of need, when everyone just wants to think of themselves. 

In the 1st reading, the situation was that there was a famine and food was scarce. 

When the prophet Elijah asked the widow for some bread, she was already at her last meal and then she and her son will just wait for starvation to overcome them. 

But Elijah assured her that God will provide, and so out of her last meagre meal came forth a miracle. 

But the widow in the gospel passage did not have such an assurance. 

Jesus observed that the two small coins that she put in was all she had, all she had to live on. 

There was no further mention of that widow, or where, or when she would get her next meal. 

But we believe that God will provide for her, just as God had provided for the widow and her son in the 1st reading. 

The gospel message for us is that God sees our actions and knows our motives. 

When we give in to greed and selfishness, the world will be poorer, hungrier and sadder. 

But it doesn't have to be like that. In fact, we can change that. 

It calls for us to have faith In God's providence, that He will give us what we need, because He cares for us. 

Yes, God cares for us and He is calling us to care for others by sharing our resources with those in need. 

There is always enough for everyone's need but never enough for everyone's greed. 

The widow in the 1st reading with her last meal, and the widow in the gospel passage with her last two coins, have shown us this truth: 

When we are down to nothing, God will come up with something. 

Let us believe that, and God's miracles of generosity and providence will be shown to the world.

31st Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 06-11-2021

Romans 16:3-9, 16. 22-27 / Luke 16:9-15      

Many things can be bought with money. 

But there are also many things that cannot be bought with money.

One thing that cannot be bought with money is love.

And connected with love are the people who love us. That also cannot be bought with money.

And the people who really love us are those who will even risk their lives for us.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul mentioned a number of people and some of them even risked death to save his life.

To them he expressed his debt of gratitude, and he also knows that all the money in the world cannot buy for him these people who walked with him when the rest walked out on him.

May we also always treasure the people who love us for they are indeed given to us by God.

May we also not choose money over the people who love us.

Money will come and go but the people who love us will always stay with us, especially in difficult times.

Let us thank God for them and let us also show them our gratitude.

31st Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 05-11-2021

Romans 15:14-21 / Luke 16:1-8  

Some of us may be proud of our memory abilities, while other may not.

We may be amazed at how some people can remember so many things with so many details, while we may fret over why we keep forgetting things or why we stepped into a room.

But whether it is photographic memory or a foggy memory, there is another aspect and it can be called selective memory.

We remember the things that we want to remember, especially when it is to our convenience and advantage.

But those things that seem difficult and troublesome, we just keep it aside and we even try not to think about it. But the fact is that we can't forget it.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul says that the reason why he had written to the Romans and put some things rather strongly, was to refresh their memories.

In other words, he wants to remind them of the necessary things for being a Christian and to keep to those precepts and teachings that they have been taught.

In the gospel, the dishonest steward, in his time of reckoning, could only think of his own benefit and he could only remember those whom he could take advantage of.

He could not remember, or he didn't want to remember, that his master trusted him to be his steward, and that he had abused his position.

Let us always remember God's love for us. The Cross and the Sacred Heart of Jesus are reminders of God's love. 

And let us always remember to love God and to love others.

31st Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 04-11-2021

Romans 14:7-12 / Luke 15:1-10    

Usually, people will form an opinion about us from how we present ourselves.

But besides how we behave, what we wear and how we speak, there is also another dimension.

And that is who our friends are and who we keep company with.

In the gospel, the Pharisees and scribes complained about Jesus welcoming sinners and eating with them.

In their opinion, the one who welcomes sinners and eats with them would also be another sinner.

After all, birds of a feather flock together.

But for the tax collectors and sinners, they saw Jesus as a compassionate teacher and they could learn something about life and hence they were seeking His company.

The 1st reading tells us that we should never pass judgement on a brother or treat him with contempt.

The life and death of each of us has its influence on others, and there is always something that we can learn for each other.

Let us speak in a way that others will like to listen to us, and let us also listen in a way that others will like to speak to us.