Saturday of Week 34 Year 1

Death is something which will happen to all of us one day, but as to exactly when and how we will die, we do not know. All we know is that death will come "like a thief in the night," so sudden and so unexpected. It can be quite an unnerving and a shocking feeling and experience, where you are just talking and joking with a person one minute and the next minute the person suffers a stroke and dies. You become numb and you could hardly believe what has happened. The person was just so alive and kicking a few moments ago and now the person is gone forever. Yes, that is how fast and how sudden death can be.

This is why, in today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that we should always be ready and prepared. We should not be caught off-guard when the Lord calls us. Yet, how do we prepare for something which is so unpredictable as death? Perhaps one way we could prepare for death is to live a good life, so that we would, as far as possible, be ready for a good death. Living a good life does not mean things would be easy or straightforward, but what is important is we keep on trying and remain as consistent as possible, relying on God's grace and strength to guide us through. May we not waste the many opportunities God gives us to live good lives, and remain in His love and care.

Saturday of Week 33 Year 1

In life, we all have expectations. Some of us may have great expectations, some of us may have smaller expectations. But no matter what, we would have some form of expectation, according to the present situation. For example, as babies, we would have expectations of love, food and comfort from our parents, especially from our mother. When we do not seem to get such expectations, what do we do? We cry, hoping that our mother would meet our expectations by feeding or comforting us.

But sometimes, our expectations are not met, either partially or entirely. When that happens, what do we do? Some of us may just shrug off such unmet expectations and carry on our merry way, thinking that it is not that big a deal. Some of us may pout or throw a tantrum, hoping to get what we expect. On the other extreme, some of us may end up bitterly disappointed, like what happened to king Antiochus in today's reading. In the reading, we are told that king Antiochus threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out as he had planned. He had planned and achieved many things, and even planned to conquer the city of Elymais and sack its renowned riches. He had high expectations that all his plans would be fulfilled and that nothing could stop him. Unfortunately for king Anthiochus, his plans failed, and he suffered from deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that life was slipping away from him, in other words, he was dying. King Anthiochus' life of great worldly expectations, ended up in great disappointment.

As Christians, our expectations ought to be not of this world, but of the other world, in God's presence. If we focus only in fulfilling our expectations in this world, we may find ourselves bitterly disappointed, since we may never satisfy our expectations. May we come to realise what is true, lasting and worthwhile expectations, and strive to move towards such expectations, which won't result in a disappointment.

Saturday of Week 32 Year 1

There seems to be many things in life which we do not seem tired of doing. For example, we do not seem to get tired of watching tv, going for a movie, eating good food, surfing the internet, shopping, travelling, going for a holiday, socialising with friends, going for a party, attending a music concert, playing sports, and much more. All these things are fine and good, but when it comes to praying and growing in our spiritual life, how many of us are just as enthusiastic and not tired in doing so?

In today's Gospel, Jesus taught His disciples to "pray continually and never lose heart." Jesus reminded them, and us too, of the importance of prayer and perseverance in faith. When we are not tired of prayer and presevere in faith, then Jesus assures us: "Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily." The question is: would we "berazam" or remain steadfast in our prayer and perseverance of faith, knowing that God would help us according to His time and for His glory?

Saturday of Week 31 Year 1

There was this incident some years back, where I was in a hurry to buy some toiletries at a chinese medicine shop, and I rushed out after paying at the counter. Then, to my surprise, the shopkeeper ran after me calling my attention. I was a little nervous because I didn’t know what had gone wrong. Did I accidentally get something from the shop without paying? Did I pay the shopkeeper too little? Before he could speak, I tried to ask the shopkeeper what was the matter. He smiled and replied, "Sir, you forgot your change." Then, he handed to me a ten cent coin with a receipt.

When I reflect on this incident, I am reminded of today's Gospel: "The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?"

The shopkeeper gave me the change out of his sense of honesty and not wanting me to be shortchanged, even if the amount involved seemed small. Honesty is part of our being Christian, yet I sometimes wonder whether some of us may have ignored doing small acts of honesty, like returning a borrowed pen, reporting lost objects or damaged items, paying the right price, asking for permission before using an item belonging to others, and many others. Are we able to remain steadfast in being honest, and do what is right for the glory of God?

Saturday of Week 30 Year 1

Some of us may have experienced rejection or feel as if nobody loves us or care for us. When we feel like this, what do we do? Some begin to go into depression, and if left unchecked, may give up on life, or even to the extent of considering committing suicide. Some may even go to the extent of numbing the pain, and become ruthless or unfeeling, since they think that nobody cares or loves them anyhow, and they should not care and love others as well. But what sort of attitude Christians should have concerning rejection?

In today's reading, we are reminded: "Is it possible that God has rejected His people? Of course not!" The reading also reminds us that even the Jews are still loved by God, loved for the sake of their ancestors. God never takes back His gifts or revokes His choice. This means that even if others reject us or even if it seems as if nobody loves us or care for us, we have a God who loves us, He chose us as His own, and He will never reject or abandon us. So let us put aside such feelings, and with confidence give thanks and praise to our loving God, who has always been there for us.

Saturday of Week 28 Year 1

Imagine for a moment what happens when we die... We are shown a movie of our entire life. In the movie, we see all the things we did, and we also notice a number of blanks in between some parts of the movie. When asked why there seem to be such blanks in the movie of our life, Jesus tells us that these were the times when we sinned and asked for God’s mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we asked for God's mercy and forgiveness, our sins are forgiven, and He does not remember them anymore. Such sins are finito, gone with the wind, so to speak.

In today's gospel, Jesus says, "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." What is this sin that could not be forgiven? The Holy Spirit is the Advocate who is constantly beckoning us to "Turn back to our loving God." And so the unforgivable sin is our attitude when we say, "There is no hope, God cannot forgive me." When we have such an attitude, we are commiting the grave sin of despair, where we say that God cannot or is incapable of forgiving us. This is blasphemy, plain and simple, since it denies the very core of God's being: His love and mercy.

So what should we do? We should constantly remind ourselves of God's immense mercy. We should not have any thought of despair, since God shows His love to us even if we are sinners, His mercy is without end and greater than our sinfulness, and His mercy enables such blanks in the movie of our life. May we grow closer to God with confidence, knowing that we have a loving and merciful God, who will care and provide for us.

Saturday of Week 27 Year 1

We sometimes hear the idiom: "Actions speak louder than words." A person can say a lot of things or make a lot of promises, but at the end of the day, words are cheap and meaningless, if such words end up merely as words and nothing is done. For example, we sometimes hear people complaining about how certain civil leaders are not doing their duty, and yet when asked to get involved and become a civil leader themselves, such persons make lots of excuses and dare not commit themselves. They prefer to remain as keyboard warriors or only talk or complain, but are unwilling to offer themselves as alternative candidates to be civil leaders who are willing to bring about change and justice.

In today's Gospel, we are reminded that "Actions speak louder than words," where Jesus tells us: "Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!" It is fine and good to hear the word of God, but just hearing the word of God won't mean anything, if we do not internalise it, ponder upon it, and share it with others. May we not keep the word of God to ourselves, but go forth and preach the Good News, just as what Jesus commanded us to do.