St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Tuesday, 01-10-2024

Isaiah 66:10-14 / Matthew 18:1-5   

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus is also known as the "Little Flower of Jesus".

St. Thérèse was declared co-patron of the missions with St. Francis Xavier in 1927.

This is quite astonishing because she was a nun in the enclosed Carmelite community of Lisieux, Normandy in France.

Unlike St. Francis Xavier who travelled far and wide to spread the Gospel and baptized many people, St. Thérèse spent all her religious life in the cloistered convent.

Though she had thoughts of going off to the mission lands, her ill health forbade her from doing so.

Nonetheless she offered prayers for the missions and also her every little act was offered to God in prayer.

In her memoir The Story of a Soul, she said that she was just a very little soul and so she could only offer God very little things.

But it was doing these very little things with great love that she offered it to God for the salvation of souls.

That is also precisely the message in today' s gospel - childlike humility is the way to the kingdom of God.

It is the small childlike humble heart, one that is like that of St. Thérèse, that is considered great in the eyes of God.

26th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 30-09-2024

Job 1:6-22 / Luke 9:46-50 

If we have photos of ourselves when we were babies or when we were toddlers, we must keep and treasure those photos.

More than just for memories or for sentimental reason, it is also for our reflection.

As babies or little children, we could see how simple our lives were then.

We had nothing of our own and we depended on our parents for everything.

But as we grew up along the way, we began to learn how to be competitive.

We wanted to prove ourselves and to have recognition in our world.

We wanted to have achievements as well as possessions and wealth.

And like what the disciples were arguing about, we also want to be great and have others to look up to us and envy us.

But the 1st reading tells us that life is unpredictable and fortunes can change.

And as Job faced one terrible misfortune after another, he knew that he had only one thing left.

He still had his life, and he knew that his life is in the hands of God.

His words of wisdom is for our reflection: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I shall return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

May that also help us to realise that we need to be like little children and put our trust in God that He will also provide for what we need in life.

26th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 29.09.2024

Numbers 11:25-29 / James 5:1-6 / Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

One of the essential aspects of building relationships is that there is a common interest. 

Individuals would instinctively gather themselves in groups when there is a shared common interest. 

These groups are usually informal or casual, and it can consist of several members. 

There is no written constitution or stipulation about leadership or membership. 

The individuals gather together as a group because of a similar interest, and that is also the basis of their relationship. 

Sometimes these groups are called “kakis” in our local Singlish. 

For those who like playing mahjong, they are called mahjong khakis. 

And there are others like jogging kakis, cycling kakis, dancing kakis, music kakis and of course makan kakis. 

These groups usually gather to enjoy the common interest. 

But, they can also become exclusive and ambitious, in that they compete against other groups and criticize other groups. 

When Jesus chose the Twelve, they were not called a group or a club. 

They were called “Apostles” as it was Jesus who called them and sent them to preach the Good News.

He also gave them authority and power to cast out devils and to cure the sick. 

In the gospel, John, who was one of the Apostles, saw a man who was not one of the Apostles, casting out devils in the name of Jesus, and wanted to stop him. 

But Jesus said: You must not stop him. No one who does a miracle in My name is likely to speak evil of Me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. 

Jesus said that because John's complaint was a telltale sign that the apostles were beginning to see themselves as an exclusive group. 

And they were also beginning to think that only they were specially entitled to have the power and authority to cast out devils and to cure the sick. 

It is like as if they had the monopoly to that power and authority. 

Anyone, or any other group, who does what they are doing is not legit, and so has to be stopped. 

Jesus had to bring the Apostles back to their calling and their mission. 

It was He who called them, and they responded because they loved Him. 

But Apostles were beginning to think that they were exclusive and elite. 

Pride and ego were setting in, and they felt threatened and insecure when others were able to do what they were doing. 

As for us, we are Christians because Jesus loved us and called us to belong to Him. 

And we have responded because we love Jesus, and we must always remember that our love for Jesus is the essence and foundation of our unity. 

Because we love Jesus, hence we want to share with non-Christians the living waters of salvation by journeying with them to know and to love Jesus. 

Because we are Christians, we will cut off our pride and ego, and to let simplicity, humility and charity be the foundations of our unity. 

And because we love Jesus, we too will love one another with forgiveness, compassion, patience and kindness. 

In his recent Apostolic visit to Singapore, Pope Francis reminded us that ultimately, life always brings us back to one reality, and that is, without love we are nothing.

In all we have and in all we do, there must be love, without which everything is futile. 

Jesus is our love, and He unites us in His love. 

With Jesus, we will be able to share that cup of living water with a world that is thirsting for God's love.

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 28-09-2024

Ecclesiastes 11:9 - 12:8 / Luke 9:43-45  

Psalm 90:10 says that the length of our days is 70 years, and 80 for those who are strong.

With modern healthcare and supplements, the average lifespan may even go beyond 80 years.

But length of life is not necessarily synonymous with quality of life or happiness in life.

The younger years may be filled with vigour and adventure, followed on by years of achievement and fulfillment.

But the sunshine and confidence does not last a whole lifetime.

The 1st reading gives a grim reminder: Yet youth, the age of dark hair, is vanity. And remember your creator in the days of your youth, before evil days and the years approach when you say “These give me no pleasure”.

It is a grim reminder of the reality of life, that like the sun rises in the morning and everything is bright and fresh, the sun will also set and the darkness of the evening will approach.

And in the gospel, when everyone was full of admiration for all He did, Jesus reminded His disciples of the suffering that was awaiting Him.

Just as life on earth has a beginning, life also will have an ending.

It is not about how many years of life we had, but how much life were in those years.

With Jesus, we know we will have life and life to the full, here as well as in the hereafter.

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 27-09-2024

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 / Luke 9:18-22  

At the beginning of the Easter Vigil, the Paschal candle is marked with the sign of the Cross.

After which, the Greek letters of Alpha and Omega are also marked at the top and bottom of the Cross.

And then the four numerals of the current year are marked between the arms of the Cross.

As these were being done, the priest says: Christ yesterday and today, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, all time belongs to Him, and all the ages. To Him be glory and power through every age and for ever. Amen.

Whenever we think about time, we look at the clock, we say “Got no time” and that time passes so fast, or so slow.

But the markings on the Easter candle reminds us that Jesus is the Lord of all time.

All things happen in His time. As the 1st reading says: All that He does is apt for its time. 

All things happen in God’s time, and He reveals His plan and His will for us in the times of our lives.

May we heed the promptings from God when the time comes for us to do what He wants of us.

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 26-09-2024

Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 / Luke 9:7-9 

The earth rotates round and round, day after day, month after month, year after year.

It rotates around itself and it also rotates around the sun.

And it can also be said that life is like a rotation.

That is the reflection that the 1st reading is giving us, when it says that what was will be again, what has been done will be done again, and there is nothing new under the sun.

Just that no memory remains of earlier times, and life seems to be like a repetition of history, and the lessons of life are learnt over and over again.

And in life, what goes around comes around.

For Herod, the memory of him giving orders to behead John the Baptist keeps coming back to him.

And the reports of Jesus was causing him curiosity and anxiety and puzzlement.

As for us, the memories and recollections of our lives are like promptings from God.

We give thanks to God for His blessings for the good and heartwarming memories.

As for the memories that we keep recalling, let us ask God for enlightenment, so that we can learn again the lessons that we have forgotten.

25th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 25-09-2024

Proverbs 30:5-9 / Luke 9:1-6 

There is this saying that we become what we eat.

Regardless of how that statement is understood, what really matters is that what we eat goes into our bodies.

Certainly, that should make us be careful about what we put into our mouths.

Of no lesser importance is what we read and what we hear.

Because what we read and what we listen to will form our thoughts and ideas.

What we read and listen to will also shape our character and direction in life.

The 1st reading reminds us that every Word of God is unalloyed, and it is a shield for those who take refuge in God.

And the 1st reading also tells us of the two things that we should ask from God,

One is that God keeps whatever falsehood and lies from us.

And the other is that we be given enough to sustain our lives.

When Jesus sent His disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal, He also gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases.

Whatever else they need will be provided by God, and hence they are to take nothing with them.

As we listen to the Word of God in the two readings, may we also put our trust in God.

Let us ask the Lord to keep us from falsehood and lies, and to give us our daily bread.

That is enough for us to go on and live out the Good News of the kingdom of God.