Song of Songs 3:1-4 / John 20:1-2, 11-18 (2025)
Every now and then, we see in the newspapers a notice about a missing person, with the person's photograph and some details.
Whether the person was eventually found or not, we cannot be certain because very often there are no follow-up reports on the case in the newspapers.
What is certain is that when a loved one is missing, the anxiety is painful and the search is relentless.
Such was the depth of the emotion expressed in the 1st reading in the search for the one whom the heart loves deeply.
It may also express the pain and grief of Mary Magdalene as she looked for the One she loved in the tomb.
And not finding Jesus in tomb, Mary Magdalene searched relentlessly and persistently for Him.
Mary's deep love for Jesus was because it was He who loved her first and healed her of her sufferings and sins.
In life, Mary Magdalene loved Jesus. Even in death she searched for Him in order just to be with Him.
Mary Magdalene is remembered because of her deep love for Jesus and her relentless and persistent search for Jesus when others seemed to have given up.
From our priorities and what we are searching and longing for, we will know how deep our love is for Jesus.
There is this saying for St. Augustine in his book "Confessions" : You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there I searched for you.
God is within us. From within He calls out to us. If we are not listening to Him from within, then we might just be looking for the wrong things.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
16th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 21-07-2020
Micah 7:24-15, 18-20 / Matthew 12:46-50
Generally speaking, people's impression of God, or "a god" is that of awe and wonder.
But beyond awe and wonder, there could also be fear and apprehension.
God is to be feared especially when we do wrong and we expect punishment from God.
We see that in the Old Testament, that when God's people sinned and were unfaithful, they were punished, with their enemies conquering them or disasters and tragedies falling upon them.
But in that same Old Testament, and from the 1st reading from the prophet Micah, we hear this:
What god can be compared with You: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever, but delighting in showing mercy?
Yes, God is also merciful and compassionate, loving and forgiving.
And the prophet Micah teaches us to pray like this:
Once more have pity on us, tread down our faults, to the bottom of the sea throw all our sins.
Yes, let us implore the Lord our God to forgive our sins and grant us faithfulness so that we will always walk in His ways and do His will.
Generally speaking, people's impression of God, or "a god" is that of awe and wonder.
But beyond awe and wonder, there could also be fear and apprehension.
God is to be feared especially when we do wrong and we expect punishment from God.
We see that in the Old Testament, that when God's people sinned and were unfaithful, they were punished, with their enemies conquering them or disasters and tragedies falling upon them.
But in that same Old Testament, and from the 1st reading from the prophet Micah, we hear this:
What god can be compared with You: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever, but delighting in showing mercy?
Yes, God is also merciful and compassionate, loving and forgiving.
And the prophet Micah teaches us to pray like this:
Once more have pity on us, tread down our faults, to the bottom of the sea throw all our sins.
Yes, let us implore the Lord our God to forgive our sins and grant us faithfulness so that we will always walk in His ways and do His will.
Sunday, July 19, 2020
16th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 20-07-2020
Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 / Matthew 12:38-42
If we were asked as Christians, how do we live a good life, just what will our answer be?
We may say things like we trust in God and live our lives honestly and charitably.
We may say a lot of other things to describe how we would live a good life.
But in the 1st reading, the prophet Micah summed it all in just a few lines and that sets the direction of life
"What is good has been explained to you; this is what the Lord asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God."
That is so simple to understand and yet it is so difficult to live out.
Because the fact is that we have failed in at least one of the aspects and it is not likely that we can ever say we were able to live that out all the time.
But to do what is right and just and do it humbly and lovingly is what basic fundamental goodness is all about.
That is not some kind of ideology but it is what God is asking of us.
That is what others want to see in us when they know that we are Christians.
So now that we know what God is asking of us, let us humbly and loving ask the Lord to grant us the grace to always do what is right and just.
Saturday, July 18, 2020
16th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 12.07.2020
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 / Romans 8:26-27 / Matthew 13:24-43
Every generation had a crisis to face.
For the Pioneer generation it was the crisis of war, where life and death are separated by just a thin line.
For the Merdeka generation it was the crisis of the independence of the nation where the future hung on the balance.
For this generation, it was the crisis of a pandemic, where a viral infection has brought about a great disruption.
But whatever the crisis might be, it is a matter of survival.
A crisis also shows character. It brings out the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the brilliant and ignorant, the best and worst.
When things are going smoothly, a lot of good is taken for granted, and the not-so-good are often overlooked and ignored.
But it takes a crisis to uncover everything above and everything below.
In the gospel parable, a man sowed good seed in his field and all was well and good.
But then the enemy came and sowed darnel all among the wheat.
For a while all seemed well and good until the wheat sprouted and ripened and the darnel appeared as well.
And so the crisis began. Questions were asked and solutions were offered.
The gospel parable seems to give a rather simple solution: Let them grow and then at harvest time they will be separated.
But the teaching point of the parable is this, and we hear it in the 1st reading: God is mild in His judgement and governs us with great lenience.
The 1st reading continues with this: You have taught a lesson to Your people, how a virtuous man must be kind to his fellow men, and You have given Your sons the good hope that after sin You will grant repentance.
So in this current crisis of the pandemic, we see the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the brilliant and ignorant, the best and the worst, all being exposed before our eyes.
It’s not just around us that we see these; we see these in ourselves.
For all the goodness and growth that we’ve seen in ourselves, let us give thanks and praise to God for His blessings.
But for all our failings, our shortcomings, our weaknesses, our sinfulness, we turn to God who is mild in judgement and governs us with great lenience.
We put our hope in God that He will grant us repentance and let us produce a good harvest for God and those around us, so that in this crisis of the pandemic, we will grow in love and that we will help others rise above this difficult times.
Every generation had a crisis to face.
For the Pioneer generation it was the crisis of war, where life and death are separated by just a thin line.
For the Merdeka generation it was the crisis of the independence of the nation where the future hung on the balance.
For this generation, it was the crisis of a pandemic, where a viral infection has brought about a great disruption.
But whatever the crisis might be, it is a matter of survival.
A crisis also shows character. It brings out the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the brilliant and ignorant, the best and worst.
When things are going smoothly, a lot of good is taken for granted, and the not-so-good are often overlooked and ignored.
But it takes a crisis to uncover everything above and everything below.
In the gospel parable, a man sowed good seed in his field and all was well and good.
But then the enemy came and sowed darnel all among the wheat.
For a while all seemed well and good until the wheat sprouted and ripened and the darnel appeared as well.
And so the crisis began. Questions were asked and solutions were offered.
The gospel parable seems to give a rather simple solution: Let them grow and then at harvest time they will be separated.
But the teaching point of the parable is this, and we hear it in the 1st reading: God is mild in His judgement and governs us with great lenience.
The 1st reading continues with this: You have taught a lesson to Your people, how a virtuous man must be kind to his fellow men, and You have given Your sons the good hope that after sin You will grant repentance.
So in this current crisis of the pandemic, we see the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the brilliant and ignorant, the best and the worst, all being exposed before our eyes.
It’s not just around us that we see these; we see these in ourselves.
For all the goodness and growth that we’ve seen in ourselves, let us give thanks and praise to God for His blessings.
But for all our failings, our shortcomings, our weaknesses, our sinfulness, we turn to God who is mild in judgement and governs us with great lenience.
We put our hope in God that He will grant us repentance and let us produce a good harvest for God and those around us, so that in this crisis of the pandemic, we will grow in love and that we will help others rise above this difficult times.
Friday, July 17, 2020
16th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 18-07-2020
Jeremiah 7:1-11 / Matthew 13:24-30
Christians deplore the practice of superstition as it conflicts and contradicts the belief in God.
Included in the superstitious practices are consulting horoscopes, fortune-tellers and palm-reading, etc.
But few of us Catholics would admit to having religious superstitions.
For e.g., what are the real reasons for hanging the palm branch on the door post, drink holy water, wear holy medals, etc.
Of course there are valid religions reasons for these practices, but yet we can also concoct our own queer reasons for doing so.
The 1st reading pointed out that the people were using the Temple of the Lord as a kind of religious superstitious object by saying delusive words like "This is the sanctuary of the Lord.
Yet the contradiction was that they know they were in the presence of God and yet they continue with their sinful ways.
Religion becomes a sort of superstition when we say we believe in God and come to church to obtain whatever religious articles and yet there is no change in our sinful ways.
The gospel parable highlights the sinful and superstitious practices in our lives but yet God is loving and merciful.
May the weeds of our sinfulness slowly diminish and may we produce a rich harvest of true love for God and neighbour.
Christians deplore the practice of superstition as it conflicts and contradicts the belief in God.
Included in the superstitious practices are consulting horoscopes, fortune-tellers and palm-reading, etc.
But few of us Catholics would admit to having religious superstitions.
For e.g., what are the real reasons for hanging the palm branch on the door post, drink holy water, wear holy medals, etc.
Of course there are valid religions reasons for these practices, but yet we can also concoct our own queer reasons for doing so.
The 1st reading pointed out that the people were using the Temple of the Lord as a kind of religious superstitious object by saying delusive words like "This is the sanctuary of the Lord.
Yet the contradiction was that they know they were in the presence of God and yet they continue with their sinful ways.
Religion becomes a sort of superstition when we say we believe in God and come to church to obtain whatever religious articles and yet there is no change in our sinful ways.
The gospel parable highlights the sinful and superstitious practices in our lives but yet God is loving and merciful.
May the weeds of our sinfulness slowly diminish and may we produce a rich harvest of true love for God and neighbour.
Thursday, July 16, 2020
15th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 17-07-2020
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 / Matthew 12:1-8
There is an old hymn that we don't hear often nowadays.
In the past, that hymn was usually sang at funerals, maybe because the tune is rather solemn and mournful.
The title of that hymn is "God of mercy and compassion".
The first verse and the chorus goes like this:
God of mercy and compassion,
Look with pity upon me,
Father, let me call Thee Father,
'Tis Thy child returns to Thee.
Refrain:
Jesus, Lord, I ask for mercy;
Let me not implore in vain;
All my sins, I now detest them,
Never will I sin again.
That first verse and chorus already tells us what is expressed in the title "God of mercy and compassion".
The hymn can be used as an expression of repentance, of sorrow for sins, for examination of conscience, and not just for funerals.
But it is also a hymn to invoke God's mercy and compassion.
And who doesn't need God's mercy and compassion?
When we admit and confess that we have sinned, then with a humble and contrite heart, we turn to the God of mercy and compassion for forgiveness and healing.
The mercy and compassion of God is expressed profoundly in the open Heart of our Saviour Jesus.
So as we offer our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and beseech His mercy and compassion, let us also know what Jesus is asking of us.
Just as God is merciful and compassionate, we too must be merciful and compassionate to others.
In this way, our own sins will also be forgiven and mercy will be shown to us.
There is an old hymn that we don't hear often nowadays.
In the past, that hymn was usually sang at funerals, maybe because the tune is rather solemn and mournful.
The title of that hymn is "God of mercy and compassion".
The first verse and the chorus goes like this:
God of mercy and compassion,
Look with pity upon me,
Father, let me call Thee Father,
'Tis Thy child returns to Thee.
Refrain:
Jesus, Lord, I ask for mercy;
Let me not implore in vain;
All my sins, I now detest them,
Never will I sin again.
That first verse and chorus already tells us what is expressed in the title "God of mercy and compassion".
The hymn can be used as an expression of repentance, of sorrow for sins, for examination of conscience, and not just for funerals.
But it is also a hymn to invoke God's mercy and compassion.
And who doesn't need God's mercy and compassion?
When we admit and confess that we have sinned, then with a humble and contrite heart, we turn to the God of mercy and compassion for forgiveness and healing.
The mercy and compassion of God is expressed profoundly in the open Heart of our Saviour Jesus.
So as we offer our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and beseech His mercy and compassion, let us also know what Jesus is asking of us.
Just as God is merciful and compassionate, we too must be merciful and compassionate to others.
In this way, our own sins will also be forgiven and mercy will be shown to us.
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
15th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 16-07-2020
Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 / Matthew 11:28-30
To desire to be rich, it is necessary to work hard.
To desire to be healthy, it is necessary to keep fit.
To desire for something good, then it is necessary to know what is really good.
The 1st reading tells us what goodness is:
"The path of the upright man is straight, You smooth the way of the upright.
Following the path of Your judgements, we hoped in you, Lord, Your name,Your memory are all my soul desires."
As much as following the ways of the Lord is to be desired, yet our profane desires are for things that lead us away from God.
But the 1st reading also tells us where we will end up with these profane desires: "Distressed,we search for You, Lord; the misery of oppression was your punishment for us.
In life, what we desire most is peace and joy.
Jesus exclaimed in the gospel : Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.
Let us heed the call of Jesus to go to Him, so that we may know His ways and walk in His paths, and find peace and rest in our lives.
To desire to be rich, it is necessary to work hard.
To desire to be healthy, it is necessary to keep fit.
To desire for something good, then it is necessary to know what is really good.
The 1st reading tells us what goodness is:
"The path of the upright man is straight, You smooth the way of the upright.
Following the path of Your judgements, we hoped in you, Lord, Your name,Your memory are all my soul desires."
As much as following the ways of the Lord is to be desired, yet our profane desires are for things that lead us away from God.
But the 1st reading also tells us where we will end up with these profane desires: "Distressed,we search for You, Lord; the misery of oppression was your punishment for us.
In life, what we desire most is peace and joy.
Jesus exclaimed in the gospel : Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.
Let us heed the call of Jesus to go to Him, so that we may know His ways and walk in His paths, and find peace and rest in our lives.
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