1 John 4:11-18 / Mark 6:45-52
The existence of the spiritual world cannot be denied because we profess in the Creed that there are "things visible and invisible".
But a slanted understanding of the spiritual world might just end up in talking about ghost and ghost-stories, and all those horror movies only add more drama to this.
Nonetheless, whether we take it seriously or not, some of those ghost stories can even make our skin creep.
Yet, it is interesting that the gospel mentioned the word "ghost".
The disciples thought they saw a ghost, and they were not just afraid - they were terrified.
However, the gospel also said that "Jesus was going to pass them by".
"To pass them by" is a biblical way of saying that a revelation of God is going to happen, ie. a theophany.
Just yesterday we heard how Jesus revealed God as teacher and provider in the multiplication of loaves.
Today we heard how Jesus revealed His divinity as He walked on the rough waters.
The rough waters and the strong winds of life can make us afraid, and even terrified, and like the disciples, we see only the "ghosts" but we miss what God is revealing to us.
So what does God want to reveal to us? The feast of Christmas reminds us that God sent His Son to reveal His love for us.
As the 1st reading puts it, God is love, and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.
In love there can be no fear, whether of ghosts or suffering or death.
In love, God continues to reveal and fill our hearts with His love.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Monday, January 6, 2014
Tuesday after the Epiphany, 07-01-14
1 John 4:7-10 / Mark 6:34-44
One of the precepts of the Church is this: "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor."
The faithful are required to attend the celebration of the Eucharist every Lord's Day (Saturday vigil or Sunday Mass) and the holy days of obligation as established in the liturgical calendar, unless excused for a serious reason [i.e. illness or the care of infants]. This is in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, citations 2041-43.
Yet, we also know that if we skip the Sunday Eucharist without any good reason whatsoever, we are not put into any kind of mortal danger. We won't be struck by lightning or run down by a truck.
We only need to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and be forgiven of that sin.
But if our Sunday Mass attendance is irregular and sporadic, and we do not observe the injunction to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation for this fault, we are not exactly in any mortal danger; life still goes on and maybe even it is business as usual.
But spiritually, if we do an honest examination of our lives, then we know that love and peace are slowly being eroded from our hearts, and selfishness and anger are on the rise.
We can only come to realize that if we are honest and sincere with ourselves. And it also makes us realize this: if we have not received, then we can't give.
In the gospel, Jesus received from the crowd the five loaves and two fish, and in turn He gave them a feast.
At every Mass, we offer to the Lord bread and wine, and in return, He gives us Jesus to fill our hearts with love and our lives with peace and joy.
Without the Eucharist, we will have no Good News to proclaim because we have not received any.
If we truly understand what the Eucharist is doing for us, we would want to come for it everyday. And like what happens in the Eucharist, we will be always loving to others, because we know that God has loved us first, and that He wants us to do likewise.
One of the precepts of the Church is this: "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor."
The faithful are required to attend the celebration of the Eucharist every Lord's Day (Saturday vigil or Sunday Mass) and the holy days of obligation as established in the liturgical calendar, unless excused for a serious reason [i.e. illness or the care of infants]. This is in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, citations 2041-43.
Yet, we also know that if we skip the Sunday Eucharist without any good reason whatsoever, we are not put into any kind of mortal danger. We won't be struck by lightning or run down by a truck.
We only need to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and be forgiven of that sin.
But if our Sunday Mass attendance is irregular and sporadic, and we do not observe the injunction to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation for this fault, we are not exactly in any mortal danger; life still goes on and maybe even it is business as usual.
But spiritually, if we do an honest examination of our lives, then we know that love and peace are slowly being eroded from our hearts, and selfishness and anger are on the rise.
We can only come to realize that if we are honest and sincere with ourselves. And it also makes us realize this: if we have not received, then we can't give.
In the gospel, Jesus received from the crowd the five loaves and two fish, and in turn He gave them a feast.
At every Mass, we offer to the Lord bread and wine, and in return, He gives us Jesus to fill our hearts with love and our lives with peace and joy.
Without the Eucharist, we will have no Good News to proclaim because we have not received any.
If we truly understand what the Eucharist is doing for us, we would want to come for it everyday. And like what happens in the Eucharist, we will be always loving to others, because we know that God has loved us first, and that He wants us to do likewise.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Monday after the Epiphany, 06-01-14
1 John 3:22 - 4:6 / Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25
In the long history of humanity, there are notable human beings who were considered deities by themselves or others.
There are also people who claimed divinity or were worshipped as deities during their lifetimes, and there were also individuals who were deified posthumously.
In her 2000 years of history, the Church has faced this problem even with her own people. Some Christians give in to their ego and become cult personalities and even claiming divinity.
But the biggest challenge in the early Church and also in the modern Church is the debate over the identity and the nature of Jesus Christ.
We profess that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. Yet the heresies that arose in the Church is leaning towards either one or the other - that Jesus is either fully human or fully divine.
That's why the 1st reading says that there are many false prophets and it is not every spirit that we can trust.
And finally it says that the prophets who claim to come from God will acknowledge that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh and that He is from God, i.e. fully human and yet fully divine.
Yes, Jesus is that great light that dawned in the people that lived in darkness and in the shadow of death, and He came to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is already close at hand.
In fact the kingdom of God is already among us when we let Jesus make His home in our hearts.
And by our lives of holiness, others will know that we are children of God.
In the long history of humanity, there are notable human beings who were considered deities by themselves or others.
There are also people who claimed divinity or were worshipped as deities during their lifetimes, and there were also individuals who were deified posthumously.
In her 2000 years of history, the Church has faced this problem even with her own people. Some Christians give in to their ego and become cult personalities and even claiming divinity.
But the biggest challenge in the early Church and also in the modern Church is the debate over the identity and the nature of Jesus Christ.
We profess that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. Yet the heresies that arose in the Church is leaning towards either one or the other - that Jesus is either fully human or fully divine.
That's why the 1st reading says that there are many false prophets and it is not every spirit that we can trust.
And finally it says that the prophets who claim to come from God will acknowledge that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh and that He is from God, i.e. fully human and yet fully divine.
Yes, Jesus is that great light that dawned in the people that lived in darkness and in the shadow of death, and He came to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is already close at hand.
In fact the kingdom of God is already among us when we let Jesus make His home in our hearts.
And by our lives of holiness, others will know that we are children of God.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Epiphany, Year A, 05.01.2013
Isaiah 60:1-6/ Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6/ Matthew 2:1-12
Most of us may still remember some of the stories and fairy tales that we heard during our childhood and primary school days.
But as we grow up and face the real world, we also leave the idealistic fairy tales behind.
But say what we like, fairy tales may teach us a thing or two about the real world.
One fairy tale that we would have heard before is “Cinderella”. We would vaguely remember the story.
The story begins with this beautiful young girl who had a proud and haughty step-mother, who had two daughters of her own who were equally vain and selfish.
The step-mother and her two daughters forced the young girl to be their maid and ill-treated her day and night.
When her chores were done for the day, she would go back to her cold and barren room and curl up before the fireplace in order to stay warm.
She would often be covered by cinders from the fire place and the step-mother and step-sisters would mock her by calling her “Cinderella”. (That’s how she got her name.)
One day, the Prince invited all the young ladies to a ball and he planned to choose a wife from amongst them.
The two step-sisters planned to go for the ball but Cinderella would have to stay behind to do the household chores.
After they left for the ball, and as Cinderella was working at the miserable chores, her fairy godmother appeared and transformed Cinderella into the beautiful young girl that she was, so that she could go to the ball.
Cinderella’s rags were turned into a beautiful gown and she even had a delicate pair of glass slippers.
The fairy godmother told her to enjoy the ball but she must return by midnight when everything will go back to normal.
At the ball, Cinderella entranced everyone especially the Prince but she remembered to get back home before midnight.
Another ball was held the next evening and Cinderella again attended with the fairy godmother’s help.
But she got so absorbed dancing with the Prince that she lost track of time and only rushed out at the stroke of midnight, leaving behind one of her glass slippers.
The Prince kept that glass slipper and was determined to look for her because he wanted to marry her.
He ordered all the young ladies to come and try out the slipper but of course none of them could fit into it.
Finally, Cinderella appeared and slipped her foot into it and had the other slipper to prove that she was that beautiful girl at the ball.
And of course in the end, the Prince and Cinderella got married and lived happily ever after.
There can be a moral to the fairy tale - goodness will prevail and it will overcome all obstacles with some divine intervention.
Today as we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, we see the appearance of the wise men, or the Magis, or the three kings, at the Nativity Crib.
These three kings are like some exotic figures from some fairy tale.
Their clothes were rich and elegant and their gifts are by no means ordinary.
As we have heard from the gospel, they came from the east and they were led by the star in search of the new born king of the Jews.
So their journey began even before Christmas and they had to cross the desert sands with all its challenges and difficulties.
So we can imagine that they were sun-scorched, dusty, smelly and sounding a bit crazy as they came to Jerusalem asking where was the new born king of the Jews.
And that’s where the drama began. King Herod was perturbed and so was the whole of Jerusalem.
The chief priests and the scribes were called in and after some checking, they said that it was not here in Jerusalem but there in Bethlehem.
And then Herod thought of an evil plot to use the wise men as his unsuspecting agents to search out the new born king.
So off they went to Bethlehem and again led by the star, they found the child and paid homage to Him.
And then warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way.
Yes, we are all familiar with the story of the wise men.
Sounds like a fairy tale, and we can even end it off by saying that the wise men lived happily ever after.
Well, the wise men were wise in the ways of God, but they may not be that wise when it comes to the ways of the world.
They were used for evil intentions, but that also stirred up the divine interventions. Yes, in the end, goodness will prevail.
Does that sound like some fairy tale or should we believe that it is for real?
The feast of the Epiphany means that the birth of Christ was revealed to all the nations and the wise men who were non-Jews are the representatives.
But another underlying aspect is that the revelation of Christ will also be met with evil resistance and evil intentions.
And here is another revelation: in the face of evil intentions, there will be divine intervention. Goodness will prevail over evil; God will prevail over evil.
During World War II, when the Jews were rounded up and sent to the gas chambers, there is this true story of one remarkable man who outwitted the Nazis to save about 1200 Jews from certain death.
That story was made into a movie “Schindler’s List” (1993). That man was Oscar Schindler, a German industrialist, who used his flair for presentation, bribery, and grand gestures to risk his life in order to save the Jews who were working for him.
For the 1200 Jews, Oscar Schindler was all that stood between them and certain death.
Oscar Schindler was a man full of flaws like the rest of us, an ordinary man who in the worst of circumstances did extraordinary things.
In the shadow of Auschwitz, he kept the Nazis out and those 1200 Jews alive.
He was the instrument of divine intervention in the midst of evil intentions and actions.
He may not be a wise man but he certainly was a good and courageous man.
We live in a world where the ways of the world are often at odds with the ways of God.
We want to do the good and right thing, but there will be the “Herods” who will want to sabotage us and make us trip and fall.
They may even want to use us to carry out their evil intentions, just like how Herod used the wise men.
Today’s feast of the Epiphany reveals Christ to the world and it also reveals another truth: God’s intervention in the face of evil intentions.
So like the wise men that followed the star and found Jesus despite all the dangers and snares, may we continue to follow the ways of God.
He will show us His help and intervention. That is not a fairy tale, that is God’s revelation.
Most of us may still remember some of the stories and fairy tales that we heard during our childhood and primary school days.
But as we grow up and face the real world, we also leave the idealistic fairy tales behind.
But say what we like, fairy tales may teach us a thing or two about the real world.
One fairy tale that we would have heard before is “Cinderella”. We would vaguely remember the story.
The story begins with this beautiful young girl who had a proud and haughty step-mother, who had two daughters of her own who were equally vain and selfish.
The step-mother and her two daughters forced the young girl to be their maid and ill-treated her day and night.
When her chores were done for the day, she would go back to her cold and barren room and curl up before the fireplace in order to stay warm.
She would often be covered by cinders from the fire place and the step-mother and step-sisters would mock her by calling her “Cinderella”. (That’s how she got her name.)
One day, the Prince invited all the young ladies to a ball and he planned to choose a wife from amongst them.
The two step-sisters planned to go for the ball but Cinderella would have to stay behind to do the household chores.
After they left for the ball, and as Cinderella was working at the miserable chores, her fairy godmother appeared and transformed Cinderella into the beautiful young girl that she was, so that she could go to the ball.
Cinderella’s rags were turned into a beautiful gown and she even had a delicate pair of glass slippers.
The fairy godmother told her to enjoy the ball but she must return by midnight when everything will go back to normal.
At the ball, Cinderella entranced everyone especially the Prince but she remembered to get back home before midnight.
Another ball was held the next evening and Cinderella again attended with the fairy godmother’s help.
But she got so absorbed dancing with the Prince that she lost track of time and only rushed out at the stroke of midnight, leaving behind one of her glass slippers.
The Prince kept that glass slipper and was determined to look for her because he wanted to marry her.
He ordered all the young ladies to come and try out the slipper but of course none of them could fit into it.
Finally, Cinderella appeared and slipped her foot into it and had the other slipper to prove that she was that beautiful girl at the ball.
And of course in the end, the Prince and Cinderella got married and lived happily ever after.
There can be a moral to the fairy tale - goodness will prevail and it will overcome all obstacles with some divine intervention.
Today as we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, we see the appearance of the wise men, or the Magis, or the three kings, at the Nativity Crib.
These three kings are like some exotic figures from some fairy tale.
Their clothes were rich and elegant and their gifts are by no means ordinary.
As we have heard from the gospel, they came from the east and they were led by the star in search of the new born king of the Jews.
So their journey began even before Christmas and they had to cross the desert sands with all its challenges and difficulties.
So we can imagine that they were sun-scorched, dusty, smelly and sounding a bit crazy as they came to Jerusalem asking where was the new born king of the Jews.
And that’s where the drama began. King Herod was perturbed and so was the whole of Jerusalem.
The chief priests and the scribes were called in and after some checking, they said that it was not here in Jerusalem but there in Bethlehem.
And then Herod thought of an evil plot to use the wise men as his unsuspecting agents to search out the new born king.
So off they went to Bethlehem and again led by the star, they found the child and paid homage to Him.
And then warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way.
Yes, we are all familiar with the story of the wise men.
Sounds like a fairy tale, and we can even end it off by saying that the wise men lived happily ever after.
Well, the wise men were wise in the ways of God, but they may not be that wise when it comes to the ways of the world.
They were used for evil intentions, but that also stirred up the divine interventions. Yes, in the end, goodness will prevail.
Does that sound like some fairy tale or should we believe that it is for real?
The feast of the Epiphany means that the birth of Christ was revealed to all the nations and the wise men who were non-Jews are the representatives.
But another underlying aspect is that the revelation of Christ will also be met with evil resistance and evil intentions.
And here is another revelation: in the face of evil intentions, there will be divine intervention. Goodness will prevail over evil; God will prevail over evil.
During World War II, when the Jews were rounded up and sent to the gas chambers, there is this true story of one remarkable man who outwitted the Nazis to save about 1200 Jews from certain death.
That story was made into a movie “Schindler’s List” (1993). That man was Oscar Schindler, a German industrialist, who used his flair for presentation, bribery, and grand gestures to risk his life in order to save the Jews who were working for him.
For the 1200 Jews, Oscar Schindler was all that stood between them and certain death.
Oscar Schindler was a man full of flaws like the rest of us, an ordinary man who in the worst of circumstances did extraordinary things.
In the shadow of Auschwitz, he kept the Nazis out and those 1200 Jews alive.
He was the instrument of divine intervention in the midst of evil intentions and actions.
He may not be a wise man but he certainly was a good and courageous man.
We live in a world where the ways of the world are often at odds with the ways of God.
We want to do the good and right thing, but there will be the “Herods” who will want to sabotage us and make us trip and fall.
They may even want to use us to carry out their evil intentions, just like how Herod used the wise men.
Today’s feast of the Epiphany reveals Christ to the world and it also reveals another truth: God’s intervention in the face of evil intentions.
So like the wise men that followed the star and found Jesus despite all the dangers and snares, may we continue to follow the ways of God.
He will show us His help and intervention. That is not a fairy tale, that is God’s revelation.
Friday, January 3, 2014
4th January 2014, Saturday, Weekday of Christmas Time
1 John 3:7-10 / John 1:35-42
It is said that we are human beings with a spiritual dimension. Yet can it also be said that we are spiritual beings having a human dimension?
Either of which seems to emphasize one over the other. But the fact is that what makes us uniquely human is that we are body and spirit.
But far too often, the bodily or physical dimension of our humanity is focused upon and the spiritual dimension is neglected.
The 1st reading talked about holiness and sin. To live a holy life is to live the life of God; to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil.
Yet, it must be said that we are begotten by God and God's seed remains in us.
So it means to say that there is a void in us and we can choose to do whatever we like or whoever we want to follow.
We belong to God, and in the spiritual sense we are to live a holy life and loving our neighbour. In that sense, the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil.
And in living the holy life of love, we are also able to sense what is holy and help others to be holy.
John the Baptist was a holy man. He sensed the holiness of Jesus and he pointed Him out to his disciples.
May we also be able to sense the presence of the holy in the Eucharist. And as we receive Holy Communion, may we also be holy and help others to be holy.
It is said that we are human beings with a spiritual dimension. Yet can it also be said that we are spiritual beings having a human dimension?
Either of which seems to emphasize one over the other. But the fact is that what makes us uniquely human is that we are body and spirit.
But far too often, the bodily or physical dimension of our humanity is focused upon and the spiritual dimension is neglected.
The 1st reading talked about holiness and sin. To live a holy life is to live the life of God; to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil.
Yet, it must be said that we are begotten by God and God's seed remains in us.
So it means to say that there is a void in us and we can choose to do whatever we like or whoever we want to follow.
We belong to God, and in the spiritual sense we are to live a holy life and loving our neighbour. In that sense, the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil.
And in living the holy life of love, we are also able to sense what is holy and help others to be holy.
John the Baptist was a holy man. He sensed the holiness of Jesus and he pointed Him out to his disciples.
May we also be able to sense the presence of the holy in the Eucharist. And as we receive Holy Communion, may we also be holy and help others to be holy.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
3rd January 2014, Friday, Weekday of Christmas Time
1 John 2:29 - 3:6 / John 1:29-34
There is a deep relationship between parents and their children.
Besides the genetic connection, children bear a physical resemblance to the parents.
That's why there are such sayings as "a chip off the old block" or "like father, like son".
John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world by being sacrificed for sinners.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for us so that freed from sin, we can be re-formed and re-created into His image and likeness.
Hence, the 1st reading says that we must purify ourselves and try to be as pure as Christ. That is because sin is so serious and devastating.
Because to sin means that we do not know Christ and we have broken off the relationship with Him and we have deformed ourselves into the darkness of sin.
But by our baptism, we have become children of God and we have become one with Christ.
In our prayer, let us renounce our sinfulness and profess our faith and our love for God, so that like John the Baptist, we too will be witnesses of the Lamb of God.
There is a deep relationship between parents and their children.
Besides the genetic connection, children bear a physical resemblance to the parents.
That's why there are such sayings as "a chip off the old block" or "like father, like son".
John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world by being sacrificed for sinners.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for us so that freed from sin, we can be re-formed and re-created into His image and likeness.
Hence, the 1st reading says that we must purify ourselves and try to be as pure as Christ. That is because sin is so serious and devastating.
Because to sin means that we do not know Christ and we have broken off the relationship with Him and we have deformed ourselves into the darkness of sin.
But by our baptism, we have become children of God and we have become one with Christ.
In our prayer, let us renounce our sinfulness and profess our faith and our love for God, so that like John the Baptist, we too will be witnesses of the Lamb of God.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
2nd January 2014, Thursday, Weekday of Christmas Time
1 John 2:22-28 / John 1:19-28
There is this story of a missionary priest who worked among the natives.
As he was converting and baptising them, he was quite puzzled with this one man who attended his catechism classes but refused to be baptized and he didn't give a reason for it.
One day, a couple of years later, that man came to the priest and said that he was ready for baptism.
Of course the priest was happy about it, and he asked the man what took him so long to decide.
The man said that he wanted to see if those who were baptized had any significant changes in their lives. And now he wanted to be like them.
Of course that was a happy conclusion. But it may not always be a happy conclusion such as this.
Because there are cases when during the period of instruction and formation, the candidates are full of fervour and zest.
But after baptism, or confirmation, or final profession, or ordination, things begin to slowly change for the worse and deteriorate.
And that is because people forget that they are anointed with the truth and not with a lie (cf 1st reading); they forget who they are and what they stand for.
Like John the Baptist, we are also a voice of truth that cries in the wilderness. May we also walk that straight path to the Lord.
There is this story of a missionary priest who worked among the natives.
As he was converting and baptising them, he was quite puzzled with this one man who attended his catechism classes but refused to be baptized and he didn't give a reason for it.
One day, a couple of years later, that man came to the priest and said that he was ready for baptism.
Of course the priest was happy about it, and he asked the man what took him so long to decide.
The man said that he wanted to see if those who were baptized had any significant changes in their lives. And now he wanted to be like them.
Of course that was a happy conclusion. But it may not always be a happy conclusion such as this.
Because there are cases when during the period of instruction and formation, the candidates are full of fervour and zest.
But after baptism, or confirmation, or final profession, or ordination, things begin to slowly change for the worse and deteriorate.
And that is because people forget that they are anointed with the truth and not with a lie (cf 1st reading); they forget who they are and what they stand for.
Like John the Baptist, we are also a voice of truth that cries in the wilderness. May we also walk that straight path to the Lord.
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