22nd Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 01-09-2025

1 Thess 4:13-18 / Luke 4:16-30   

Our life’s directions and purposes are formed by our beliefs.

Because our beliefs shape our principles, which in turn are expressed in purposes and directions of our lives.

So if the belief is that this world is all there is, then when life comes to an end, then everything comes to an end.

But for us Christians, we believe in the message of Jesus Christ, and it is the Good News that He brought to us.

In the gospel, we hear what that Good News is: it is hope for the poor, liberty to captives, new sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and downtrodden.

In essence, it is the Good News of salvation, the Good News that God loves and cares for us.

So, we believe in the God of life, we believe in the God of love.

And we will want to live a life of love in this world, so that we will have a life of love in the next world.

That is also the message of St. Paul to the Thessalonians in the 1st reading, so that they can have hope in the face of death.

May our lives be an expression of God’s love here on earth, and may our hope in the eternal life where we will live forever in God’s love.

22nd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 31.08.2025

Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20, 28-29 / Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24 / Luke 14:1, 7-14

A cup is used for containing beverages so that it would be easier to drink from it. 

The beverage can be anything from plain water to tea or coffee or other kinds of drinks. 

And cups can be made of any material from paper to plastic to porcelain. 

And it can also be of any size from cute little teacups to big mugs. 

And nowadays, cups have taken on other purposes and meanings. 

There are things like the popular cup noodles, which are like tasty instant meals in a plastic disposable cup. 

And then there are cups that symbolize a status, or to be exact, a trophy. 

So, there are World Cups for various types of sports. 

Those are really big cups usually made of silver or some kind of valuable metal. 

We may wonder why they are called World Cups when nobody brings anything from it. 

In a gospel passage, Jesus told a parable about humility, because He had noticed how the guests picked the places of honour. 

The teaching in the parable is about having the humility to go to the lowest place first, so as not to be embarrassed if we were asked to change places. 

But practically speaking, whether we go to a wedding feast or to a restaurant for a meal, we let the host or the waiter show us to our seats. 

So, out of manners and etiquette, we don't choose the seats, but we choose something else. 

Later, if we go to the canteen for a drink, we would choose the cups. 

Whether we are going to drink water or coffee or tea, we will choose a nice and clean cup. 

We may have our reasons for choosing a particular cup, but this following story may help us do some reflection.

A group of successful graduates once visited their former professor.

They had built impressive careers, held prestigious titles, and lived seemingly perfect lives.

While waiting for the coffee, their conversation turned to the stresses of work, exhaustion, and the pressures of adulthood.

Some laughed.

Some complained.

Some philosophized.

The professor returned with a tray full of mismatched cups —

porcelain and glass, ceramic and plastic, elegant and chipped, minimalist and ornate.

As the guests chose their cups, the professor quietly observed. Then he spoke:

“Notice how you all instinctively reached for the finest cups — the fancy ones.

Not a single person chose the worn-out or plastic ones.

And that’s the root of much of your stress.”

“You wanted the coffee — not the cup.

But you focused on the cup’s appearance, not the essence of what you came for.”

He continued:

“Life is like coffee.

Career, salary, status, home, car — those are just cups.

They don’t define the richness of life itself.”

“Sometimes we get so distracted by the ‘cup’,

we forget to savour the coffee.”

So drink your coffee with joy.

Not by comparing.

Not by competing.

Not by glancing sideways.

Because the happiest people aren’t those who have the best of everything —

but those who know how to make the best of what they are having.

Still, the cups are important. Because we don't want to drink from a chipped cup. 

And a broken cup is of no use. It is to be discarded. 

But even a broken cup can also be a subject of reflection about life.

In the 15th century, a Japanese shogun sent a broken Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs.

It was returned repaired with ugly metal staples, and that prompted the Japanese craftsmen to look for a more aesthetic means of repair.

The broken valuable pottery was repaired with lacquered resin mixed with powdered gold. It is called kintsugi.

Kintsugi means “to repair with gold”. But the important point in the art of kintsugi is that the broken piece is now more beautiful for having been broken.

It takes humility to acknowledge that we are chipped, and cracked, and even broken, although no one can see it and no one may know about it. 

But Jesus knows, He notices, and He is inviting us to come to Him so that He can heal us. 

But in order for Jesus to heal us, we have to give Him our broken pieces. 

Jesus won't throw us away or discard us. 

He is our Healer, and He is the Master Craftsman. 

He will heal us and even make us beautiful in our brokenness. 

We just need to be humble and let Jesus recreate us back into His image of love.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 30-08-2025

1 Thess 4:9-11 / Matthew 25:14-30   

There is a story of a rat who fell into a bin of rice. At first it tried to get out but it was not possible as the walls of the bin are steep.

Since there was rice all around, it began to feed itself. And after a while, it was enjoying itself inside the bin.

There was food, there was security, and all it needed do was to literally eat and sleep.

But one day, the rice ran out, and the rat, by then obese and over-weight, realized that it couldn't get out of the bin any more and would eventually die of starvation.

One of the lessons about life that we can learn from this story is that when things are going easy and there are no difficulties and challenges, we got to be careful.

Because we will be getting careless and lax and we might be sliding into a hole in which we would not be able to get out.

In the gospel parable, the servant who buried his one talent in the ground was called "wicked and lazy" by his master.

We may think that the master was rather harsh with his words and in his treatment of that servant.

But it is a pointed reminder for us who are servants of God that we must labour in the field of love and to bear of harvest for the Lord, as St. Paul would remind the Thessalonians in the 1st reading.

Not to struggle and labour for love of God and neighbour would mean that we slowly dry up and waste away the love that God has given us.

The Passion of St. John the Baptist, Friday, 29-08-2025

Jeremiah 1:1`7-19 / Mark 6:17-29  

The life of St. John the Baptist is indeed very dramatic. Even in his mother's womb, he leapt when Mary greeted Elizabeth at the Visitation.

At his birth, there was this amazing occasion of the choice of his name which restored the power of speech of his father Zechariah, and which also left the astonished neighbours wondering what would he grow to be.

His appearance at the river Jordan preaching repentance and baptising people earned him the reputation of "the Baptist" and he even baptised Jesus.

He had an illustrious ministry. Yet in essence, St. John the Baptist was a prophet and his greatest deed as a prophet was to point out Jesus as the Lamb of God.

And as a prophet, he had to fulfil his mission by proclaiming the ways of the Lord and pointing out sin and evil and calling for repentance and conversion.

For that St. John the Baptist paid the price when he pointed out Herod's sin, and for that he was captured and imprisoned in Herod's fortress.

If his life was dramatic and illustrious, his death was equally dramatic, although it was also very gruesome.

His death by beheading revealed the characters of Herod, Herodias, her daughter, and also all the guests present, who did nothing and said nothing to stop the heinous act.

For a great prophet like St. John the Baptist who had such a dramatic and illustrious life and ministry, his death seemed so humiliating.

Yet, today, we the Church honour him. Over and above all else, we honour him for his faithfulness to God and for his courage to accept and fulfil the mission of being God's prophet.

Even for us, in all the drama of life, the spills and the thrills, or even in the mundane and the monotony, what counts for us will be our faithfulness to God.

Because in the end, it is our faithfulness to God that mattered. It mattered to St. John the Baptist. It also mattered to God.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 28-08-2025

1 Thess 3:7-13 / Matthew 24:42-51    

Quite often we hear this phrase : History repeats itself.

But does history repeat itself? How can history repeat itself?

We can't go back to the stone-age and start life all over again.

No, history does not repeat itself. But the mistakes that were made in history tend to surface again and in a new packaging.

There were many moments in the history of humanity when modern man became like stone-age man.

Just to name a few : World War I, World War II, the Nazi holocaust, Bosnia genocide, Kosovo Conflict, Rwanda genocide.

And many more will be added to the list as the mistakes of history keep surfacing again and again.

Yes, the list of ugly moments of the history of humanity will continue to lengthen as long as we don't heed the call of Jesus to stay awake and to be vigilant.

Because the degradation and destruction of mankind begins with the corruption of the self.

It is the corrupted self who forgets that he is just a creature and a servant, and will one day stand before the Creator to account for his deeds.

Yes we must keep alert and stand ready.

The 1st reading reminds us that while we are waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ, it is He who will keep us steady and without blame until the last day.

Meanwhile as we journey towards that last day, let us make a history of mankind that is known for its beauty and not to make it ugly.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 27-08-2025

1 Thess 2:9-13 / Matthew 23:27-32    

First impressions are quite important.

Because usually from the first impressions, the opinions are formed, and these opinions might well be permanent.

That is why grooming schools teach people how to dress well, act well, talk well, etc.

The grooming schools focus on appearances and impressions, and whatever that is external.

But can the externals change the internal? Can externals change the heart?

Because we sometimes behave like the Mafia - those gangsters wear Italian fashion suits to commit murder.

Obviously, looking good does not necessarily mean that a person is good.

As Jesus said in the gospel, if we try to make a good impression with ulterior motives, others will eventually see through us.

There is no way that we can keep hiding our ulterior motives and vested interests.

Yet, let us also recognize what is embedded deep in our hearts.

We are created in love and created with love.

Let that love be shown to others and they will know what love looks like.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 26-08-2025

1 Thess 2:1-8 / Matthew 23:23-26   

What usually calls for attention are the big problems of life.

By big problems, it is often the usual list of war and hostility, injustice and poverty, and all those issues that make it to the headlines.

Yes, those are big problems, big issues, and they would also call for big-scale solutions.

But that does not mean small problems are not problems at all. Because small problems can also manifest into big problems.

By the same token, little acts of love and care can go a long way and remain in people’s hearts for a long time.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul used the image a mother feeding and looking after her own children to express his devotion and protection over the Thessalonians.

That image is simple and humble but it also expressed the love and care of God for His people.

In the gospel, Jesus also pointed out essentials of life, like justice, mercy and good faith.

Those are not big and spectacular acts of faith, but they point to essentials of life and love.

It is a reminder that we are not called to do great things, but to do little things with great love.

When the little essential things of life are looked into with love, the big problems and issues of life will be resolved.