Holy Thursday, 09.04.2020

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 / 1 Cor 11:23-26 / John 12:1-15

If the Covid-19 pandemic had happened in the time of Jesus, then there might be no Last Supper and no institution of the Eucharist.

But Covid-19 happened in our time, and we cannot go to church to commemorate the Institution of the Eucharist and to receive Communion.

To think that on this special day, we can’t go for Mass and receive Holy Communion may make us feel rather depressed and sad.

But even though we may be deprived of the Eucharist we are certainly not deprived of the Word of God.

The gospel passage begins like this: “It was before the Festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who are His in this world, but now He showed how perfect His Love was.

It is truly a consolation and to know that Jesus had always loved us and that we belong to him. 

And it is in such difficult and depressing times that Jesus wants to show how much He loves us.

Though we can’t have the Eucharist to experience that love of Jesus, we have His Word.

So we must read the gospel and look deeper at it to understand how Jesus is loving us.

We read that Jesus, while at supper, He took a towel and a basin of water and He began to wash the feet of His disciples. 

Although nothing was said about the institution of the Eucharist, although that is mentioned in the 2nd reading, the act of washing the disciples’ feet expresses what the Eucharist is all about, and that is, service and sacrifice. 

Jesus laid aside His role as Master, and that is sacrifice. And He washed His disciples’ feet, and that is service.

So during this time when we have to be confined or stay at home in order to curb the spreading of the virus, the Eucharist is, in a way, going to be instituted right here in our homes and with our families. 

At home and with our families for the many days to come, we will have to make sacrifices and be prepared to serve instead of being served.

We will have to sacrifice what we like and what we want, and that is what Jesus did at the Last Supper.

And following Jesus our Master, who came to serve and not to be served, we too must serve our family members with patience, kindness, compassion, understanding and love.

And we need to beware of the devil’s temptations and not to be like Judas Iscariot who eventually betrayed Jesus.

The letter to be Ephesians (chapter 4 verse 26 to 27) has this to say: Do not let resentment lead you into sin. The sunset must not find you still angry. Do not give the devil his opportunity.

So we must not give into resentment. Rather we strive for reconciliation and healing of relationships with our family members so that our homes can become like churches where God dwells and where God gives His Blessings. 

Let the spirit of the Eucharist be in our homes, let us make sacrifices for each other, and let us serve each other, and we will see how much Jesus loves us.

Wednesday of Holy Week, 08-04-2020

Isaiah 50:4-9 / Matthew 26:14-25   

We are always more than ready to lament that we are victims of betrayal.

There are never short of accounts of betrayal by a husband, or a wife, or a family member, or a colleague, or a friend.

It is also never easy to forget a betrayal.

But we may not be that ready to admit that we have betrayed somebody before.

So when Jesus said : "I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me", even Judas himself had to cheek to ask : "Not I Lord, surely?"

Somehow, Judas has become the symbol of the dark side of ourselves.

We don't like to look at Judas, because we see in him the reflections we don't like about ourselves, especially about unfaithfulness, disloyalty and betrayal.

Yet Judas' reply to Jesus "Not I Lord, surely?" can be a means of prayerful reflection for us.

Will I be unfaithful to Jesus? Will I be disloyal to Him? Will I ever betray Him?

Yet after all our reflection, we can only humbly turn to Jesus and say: Help me Lord Jesus, to be faithful to You always.

Tuesday of Holy Week, 07-04-2020

Isaiah 49:1-6 / John 13:21-33, 36-38

There is a saying that goes like this: One can be on guard against the enemy from without, but yet there is no defense against the traitor from within.

Traitors and betrayers appear everywhere and anytime, from the level of the country right down to the level of the family.

In the gospel, we heard that Jesus was having the Passover meal with His disciples.

It was a sacred meal, a memorial of the marvelous event of freedom from slavery in Egypt, a meal in which the partakers renew God's covenant with them.

Yet at that sacred meal, there was a traitor, that even made Jesus troubled in spirit and He even said it openly that one of His disciples will betray Him.

Besides wondering who it might be, the disciples may also be wondering how can this kind of treachery happen.

Even we might ask: How can it be that when Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him?

Well to put it simply, where there is sin, the devil will be able to infiltrate.

So we have to seriously examine ourselves as we come to the Eucharist - Is there any sin in me that I have not confessed, regardless of whether it is mortal or otherwise?

We certainly don't want to partake of the Eucharist only to end up as traitors and committing betrayal.

May the Lord Jesus grant us knowledge and enlightenment of our sins, and may we be reconciled with Jesus and stay united with Him in the Eucharist.

Monday of Holy Week, 06-04-2020

Isaiah 42:1-7 / John 12:1-11 

Much has been said about this attitude of materialism and consumerism, this urge to have more material things and having more than necessary.

With this attitude of materialism and consumerism, the side-effect is this "throw-away" mentality.

Anything that is spoilt or broken is to be thrown away. There is no point in repairing it.

Especially with electronic goods; it may make more economical sense to buy a new set than to repair something that has malfunctioned.

That "throw-away" mentality has, in a way, affected the way people are treated.

Those who are slow, dull, unproductive, don't look good and don't speak well, or a liability to society, they are often devalued, discounted and disconnected from the rest.

Not often are they given a second chance, simply because of this "throw-away" prejudice against them.

Certainly that's not the case with God. In the words of the 1st reading : He does not break the crushed reed, nor quench the wavering flame.

Indeed, every person is precious in the eyes of the Lord, and every act of love is treasured by Him.

In the gospel, Jesus accepted that act of love from Mary even though there was a criticism against it.

For Jesus, every act of love, big or small, is treasured by Him because it comes from the heart.

As we enter into the spirit of Holy Week, let us also deepen our spirit of love.

Every act of love is treasured by God as we offer it to Him.

Nothing that we offer Him is ever thrown away or discounted or devalued.

Palm Sunday, Year A, 05.04.2020

This year’s Holy Week is going to be a really quiet one.

With the Mass suspended for the time being, Palm Sunday comes without palms, and no procession, no singing and no congregation.

And for the coming week, all churches will be closed, as well as all places of worship, and closed for a month at least.

So there will be no “washing of the feet”, no church visitation on Holy Thursday evening, no kissing of the cross on Good Friday, no baptisms on Easter Vigil and no joyful singing of “Alleluia” on Easter Sunday.

And we are also told not to go out as far as possible, and only to go out for something essential.

The country’s essential services will still be operating but all other non-essential services will be closed.

So it is not just a quiet weekend ahead. We feel like we are grounded and have to stay at home. We feel like being hemmed in.

But in such a chaotic and turbulent time, we are reminded of something that was of great significance in the Bible.

We are reminded of the night of the first Passover, when the Israelites who were under slavery in Egypt were told to stay indoors, to celebrate the Passover meal with the family, to have the doorpost of their homes marked with the blood of the Passover lamb.

As all these were happening behind closed doors, the angel of the Lord went through the land of Egypt and claimed the lives of the firstborn of the Egyptians, man and beast alike.

So while this “Stay-at-home” message is drummed into all of us, let us also know that this is a time of grace and a blessing from God.

This is the time for us to be with family and to be family.

This is the time for us to eat together and pray together.

We don’t have to feel hemmed in. We can log-in to the many online worship and prayer services.

Our parish has also taken this opportunity to have nightly online prayer sessions at 10 pm.

Indeed this is the time of grace and blessing as we stay in and stay together as a community, and as family, and as the People of God in prayer and keeping the flame of hope burning in the darkness of these times.

With every tribulation comes a revelation. God is revealing to us many things already.

But most of all, God wants to reveal how much He loves us during this period.

So let us log-in and stay together as we pray together to welcome Jesus into our hearts.

5th Week of Lent, Friday, 03-04-2020

Jeremiah 20:10-13 / John 10:31-42

At times it can be quite difficult to do a good deed or a charitable act in the name of the Church or when we identify ourselves as Christians.

Take for example, when the late Mother Teresa started her home for the destitute in India.

Among the opposition that she faced, one was the accusation that she wanted to convert the destitute into Christians and using the home and charity as a cover.

This negative notion of Christianity stemmed from the period of colonial rule in India when Christianity developed a bad name due to the counter-witnessing of Christians there.

But of course, they eventually saw the real purpose and good intention of Mother Teresa.

This brings us to the reflection of our identity and our deeds.

Jesus said to the people in the gospel, that even if they don't believe in Him, then at least they should believe in the good that He was doing.

Then they will eventually see who He really was.

Similarly for us, our identity and our deeds must have a connection and in fact be intertwined.

Only then can people see the God who is working in us and through us.

5th Week of Lent, Thursday, 02-04-2020

Genesis 17:3-9 / John 8:51-59

Whenever we talk about promises, we may have this expectation that the fulfilment will be in our lifetime.

That is the obvious expectation, otherwise there would be nothing much to look forward to in the promises.

Such is the case with marriage - Till death do us part - and also the promises made in priesthood.

So, when promises are broken, how can there not be disappointments?

In the 1st reading, when God made a covenant with Abraham, let us remember that Abraham never got to see the fulfilment in his lifetime.

But his faith and trust in God made him see something more and understand something deeper.

In a word, it is eternity. Abraham was not expecting to see hordes and hordes of his descendants to appear before him in his lifetime. It was going to be something beyond the present.

It is with that perspective that we can understand what Jesus meant when He said: Whoever keeps my word will never see death.

That's a divine promise. It is a promise of eternity for eternity.

When we believe in that promise, then death is not a finality.

Rather, life will have the final word and it will be for eternity.