Our Lady of Sorrows, Thursday, 15-09-2022

Hebrews 5:7-9 / John 19:25-27 or Luke 2:33-35   

To be human is to have emotions, to be able to feel, to feel for ourselves as well as for others.

And these emotions can be anything from being happy to being sad, from rejoicing to grieving.

Underlying all these emotions is the intensity of love.

The greater the love, the greater will be the joy.

But of course, the greater the love, the greater will be the sorrow.

On the Cross, as well as at the foot of the Cross, the intensity of love is great, because it is the love between a sorrowful mother and a dying son.

Yet, that intense love is not just between Jesus and Mary.

Jesus gave us His Mother so that she will comfort us in our moments of sadness, sorrow and grief.

May we be able to feel the comfort and consolation from Jesus through Mary.

And may we in turn feel for others, especially in their time of sadness, sorrow and grief.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Wednesday, 14-09-2022

Numbers 21:4-9 or Phil 2:6-11 / John 3:13-17     

If we were to show the Cross to some people who do not know what the Cross is about and who was nailed on it, their reactions would be anything but indifference.

And to tell them that this is the sign of our salvation and that Jesus died on the Cross to save us from our sin might even astonish them further.

Generally speaking, non-Christians have some idea that the Cross is the sign for Christianity.

But they may not know it was meant to be an instrument of torture and death.

As for us Christians, we know that Jesus suffered and died on the Cross to save us from our sins and from eternal death.

By the Cross, Jesus redeemed us and we are freed from the clutches of the devil.

And by His Resurrection, the Cross has become a sign of victory over sin and death, a sign of salvation, and a sign of the power of God.

Let us give glory to God for saving us through the power of the Cross of Christ.

Let us embrace our own crosses and follow Jesus.

In the Cross, we unite ourselves with Jesus in His suffering; and it is also in the Cross that we will share with Jesus in His victory.

24th Week, Ordinary Time , Tuesday, 13-09-2022

1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31 / Luke 7:11-17      

When there are tears in the eyes, it can have a few meanings.

It may be tears of joy, and that would be really a moment of great rejoicing.

It may be tears of emotion, as in one is moved to tears.

But more often, it would be tears of grief and sadness.

Those kinds of tears can move others to compassion and sympathy.

When Jesus saw the tears of the widow whose only son had died, He was moved with compassion and felt sorry for her.

And it was through her tears that Jesus brought the young man back to life.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul urged the Corinthians to be ambitious for the higher gifts of the Holy Spirit.

But in order to strive for the higher gifts, we must have the essential gifts of love, compassion, kindness and gentleness.

It is with those gifts that we can dry the tears of those who are pulled down by sorrow and grief.

24th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 12-09-2022

1 Cor 11:17-26, 33 / Luke 7:1-10     

The ability to wait for something or someone without getting angry or upset is a valuable quality in a person.

To be able to wait like that would require the virtue of patience.

Patience is a virtue because it contributes to happiness and living well. 

In the 1st reading, St. Paul was addressing a rather serious matter with regards to the attitude of the Christian community in the Lord’s Supper.

He had to reiterate the instruction regarding the Lord’s Supper that he had received and handed down to the Christian community.

And he addressed the matter with this simple instruction: Wait for one another.

It may sound simple enough to just wait, but it calls for patience and charity.

Waiting also gives us time to reflect on the situation and our emotions.

Waiting attentively also involves discerning what God is showing and saying to us.

In the gospel, the centurion had waited for his servant’s recovery.

But when he heard that Jesus was in the vicinity, he knew it was time for an encounter.

So when we had to wait for something or for someone, let us take it as a prayer-break.

God is using that pause to prepare us for an encounter with Him.

24th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 11.09.2022

Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 / 1 Tim 1:12-17 / Luke 15:1-32

Our country has a unique way of categorizing the age groups, and especially that of the seniors. A citizen who is above the age of 60 is termed as a “senior”. 

In that senior age group, are the “Pioneer” generation and the “Merdeka” generation. The percentage of seniors in Singapore is just below 20%. It means that one out of five Singaporeans is a senior. 

There is a saying that a senior or an elder in the family is valued as a treasure. If so for the family, then it is so for a country. 

So, is there anything that can be learned from these seniors? What are their contributions to society in their senior years? 

If anything, it will be this, and that is: Listen to your elders’ advice. Not because they are always right, but because they have more experiences of being wrong. 

Well, practically speaking, the seniors and the elders have crossed more bridges and eaten more salt, so some credit and respect must be given to them. 

And the scriptures also tell us something about the seniors and elders, that they have a deeper and wiser view of life. 

In the 1st reading, we heard how Moses pleaded for the people when God wanted to punish them for their disobedience and unfaithfulness. 

Moses himself knew what it was to be exiled and persecuted, and he didn't want his people to go through that painful experience. 

God heard his pleas, and God relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened. 

That tells us that when the elders plead for mercy and forgiveness, God will listen to them.

In the gospel, the parable of the Prodigal Son teaches us many things, but the central figure in the parable is not so much the wayward son but the compassionate father. 

The father sadly accepted the son’s leaving, but he also joyfully accepted the son’s return. The father also pleaded with the elder son to forgive his younger brother. 

So, the scriptures tell us about the comforting and consoling cries of the elders for the nation and for the family. 

So truly, God is teaching us to listen to our elders, because He can speak through them.

And on this Catholic Education Sunday, God is telling us, whether we are students or parents, to listen to the voice of the teachers, because He will speak through them. 

Teachers don't only impart the three R's of education, which is reading, writing and arithmetic. 

Teachers also want to impart the deeper aspects of the three R's of life, which is responsibility, respect and reverence. 

Responsible teachers will also want to form their students to be responsible for their actions and to be responsible to others by doing what is good, right and loving. 

Teachers want to instil respect in their students so that they will respect their parents and obey them, for that is the Commandment of God. 

And teachers also want to form their students in the faith, so that they will have reverence for God and walk in the ways of the Lord. 

So, teachers are not just about teaching the three R’s of Education. They also form the young in the three R’s of life, which is responsibility, respect and reverence. 

Like the seniors and the elders, teachers may not be always right, but they surely have learned from the experiences of being wrong. 

So let us listen to the seniors, the elders and the teachers. They stand together with Moses and father of the Prodigal Son to plead before God for the good of the people. 

Let us listen to them because God can speak through them. 

And when we listen to God, God will also listen to us.

23rd Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 10-09-2022

1 Cor 10:14-22 / Luke 6:43-49

When we think about the word “integrity”, we may know that the root word is “intact”

So, a person of integrity will have his values and principle intact, like honesty, accountability, accepting responsibility and transparency.

All these are the foundations of a good character, and a person of good character will do what is the good and right and loving thing.

As what Jesus said in the gospel, “There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit”.

But integrity can be easily lost when there is dishonesty and immorality.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul warns against idolatry, which is the root of immorality.

While with integrity, a person is like a good tree that bears good fruit, with idolatry, a person becomes a tragedy.

Let us pray to the Lord that He will keep our faith intact and live our lives with integrity so that we will be good trees bearing good fruit for the Lord.

23rd Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 09-09-2022

1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-27 / Luke 6:39-42    

Somehow the word “free” seems to always catch our attention.

When we hear that word being mentioned, or see that word in flyers or advertisements, we may not be able to resist the curiosity of wanting to know what is free.

But as we know, and we will eventually find out, there is no such thing as a free meal.

And also, free cheese is found in mouse-traps.

When St. Paul reflected about his mission of preaching the gospel, he asked this question: Do you know what my reward is?

His answer to his own question is this: In my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.

To be able to offer the Good News freely means that he does not expect to gain any material benefits from it but only to win as many souls as he could.

To preach the Good News and expect to gain from it, whether materially or for recognition, is like a blind man guiding another blind man.

So in serving the Lord, or to perform acts of charity, let us be free of self-centered motives and desires.

God will be our reward, and when we have God in our hearts, we will be able to guide others to salvation.