Saturday of Week 8 Year 2

Some people think that when it comes to salvation, all they need to do is to call upon the Name of Jesus and they are saved. They are also given the impression that salvation requires a personal relationship between themselves and God. It seems as if all they need to do is to take care of themselves, to each his or her own, so to speak. But is that what Christian salvation all about? Is being a Christian an individualistic affair, where one is to be concerned only with one's spiritual growth in Christ?

Today's reading dispels many of such assumptions. The reading reminds us: "But you, my dear friends, must use your most holy faith as your foundation and build on that, praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves within the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life. When there are some who have doubts reassure them; when there are some to be saved from the fire, pull them out; but there are others to whom you must be kind with great caution, keeping your distance even from outside clothing which is contaminated by vice."

From the reading, we can clearly see that accepting Jesus is not enough, since one must also build on one's faith; be consistent in prayer life; remain in God's love; and be patient in waiting for the mercy of Jesus Christ. Not only that, one also needs to reach out to others, while showing kindness and mercy to those who may have become hardened in their sinful ways, but also being cautious not to allow ourselves and others to follow such sinful ways. Would we be willing and humble in our efforts to help ourselves and others to remain faithful in God's ways, and show good example to all?

圣周星期三

我们教友之中很有可能受到耻笑，一种不同形式的迫害或是侮辱。其中最令我们痛心的莫过于受到别人的出, 尤其是好友或家庭成员。你以为他们可以依靠或是信得过，可是他们扁扁反过来狠狠地咬你一口。更可恶的是他们的举止并不是反叛你那么简单，而是为了金钱地位和财产的关系，才出此下策。这种人为了得到物质上：有如金钱，财产 和名誉地位的暂时拥有欲，他们千方百计地出卖你。

正因为这种关系，耶稣在今天的福音中提到：“ 但是出卖人子的那人却是有祸的！那人若没有生，为他更好。”但一个人为了金钱，名誉，地位或财富，选择出卖另一个人时， 他已经把别人的生命看成一文不值. 天主把我们当着宝贝看待，可是那些出卖者却当我们是废物，时间到了就任由他们处置或抛弃。我们是否那么容易被金钱或利益所影响，而轻易出卖他人，最终毁掉自己的大好前途？难道这些人不觉得自己和其他人的生命，比起世俗间的金钱，财富，名誉和地位更为珍贵吗？而且这些物质的享受不过是过眼烟云而已！

圣周星期二

你们知道自己生活中的方向吗？你们的目标清楚吗？有些时候，这花花世界里的事物会误导或引诱我们偏离最终的方向。因此，有些人觉得人生不过是求生存，把孩子们抚养成人，在社会中留下一些纪念。总有一天，孩子们长大出外工作时，我们已经年老力衰，白发苍苍，体弱多病，再也无法工作而只能靠养老金或是私下储蓄来过活时，我们怎么办？何去何从？

这一切事情都会历历清楚在我们脑海里浮动。也可能好像依撒依亚先知说的，“我白白勤劳了，我枉费了气力而毫无益处。”但是，不久后他又反省地说，“但是我的权利是在上主哪里，我的报酬在我的天主面前。我在上主眼中是光荣的，天主是我的力量。”我们可能从别的方向寻找平安，喜乐和幸福，然而由始至终天主就是最好的方向。

到头来我们还是要问问自己：我们是否在生活中兜兜转转，更有时候失去方向，好像有些人应用GPS（Guna Pun Sesat:应用也迷失）; 或者是已经在生活中调整自己的节奏，用偏向天乡的GPS（主是我们最丰富的资源/ 救世主。）

圣周星期一

在世人眼光里的仆人和天主的仆人，所付出的服务都有很大的分别。普通来说， 一个人所付出的的服务都有个别的利益关系。比如说一个职员为了要讨好老板或是上司或是有关人物，不惜付出任何代价的服务。一旦该职员得偿所愿，他（她）们将会寻找另外途径，把握大权，升官发财为了得到别人的认可。类似的人将把职场的地位看成战场或是把整个世界看成是“狗吃狗” 地方。而且这种人会不惜付出任何代价或牺牲为了达到目的。他们会使出各种阴招把一切阻碍或是敌对，一一击败，弄垮，而囊括各种利益或财富，中饱私囊。

今天的读经一里，描写一个恰恰相反的上主的仆人。他所做的一切并不是为了自己的利益而是为了光荣上主，就如读经理提到：“看哪，我的仆人，我所扶持，所拣选，心里所喜悦的，我已在他的身上倾注我的神，叫他必将公理传给外邦。 他不喧嚷，不扬声，在街上也听不到他的声音。破伤的芦苇，他不折断。将熄的灯火，他不吹灭。他凭真实将公理传开。 他不灰心，也不丧胆…..” 这段经文所描述的仆人是上主所拣选和约定的仆人，和我们世俗仆人的作为有天渊之别。“我上主，因仁义召叫了你，我必提携你，保护你，立你作人民的盟约，万民的光明，为开启盲人的眼目，从狱中领出被囚禁的人，从牢里领出住在黑暗的人….” 正当世界蒙蔽我们的眼睛，好使一些人能够得利时，上主的仆人便来开启盲人的眼睛；当世界囚禁我们时，祂便来释放；当世界把我们蒙蔽在黑暗中时，祂带给我们光明。总而言之，天主的仆人所做的一切，目的在于光荣祂的圣名。

现在问题是我们如何去选择自己处世的方针：我们是否对世界观越来越沉迷？或者是越来越接近作为天主仆人应有的态度？总而言之，希望大家在寻找生活时，不要对世界观的引诱所沉迷而断送永生的道路！

Saint Matthias, Apostle - Feast

Not many of us realise the implications of what love means. Some of us think that we are loving the way God loves us, but actually more often than not, our love has got strings attached. Our love tends to be a selfish love, a "what's in it for me" love, or a love with conditions attached. For example, some of us say that we love a person or something, but what we really mean is we like the person or thing, because the person or thing is good to us; or beneficial or advantageous to us in some way. But how should we as Christians truly love?

As Christians, we can truly love when we remain in Christ’s love, and we can remain in Christ’s love when we keep his commandments, as Jesus reminds us in the Gospel: "Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love,” Not only that, our love needs to be unconditional, even to the extent of sacrificing our lives, as the Gospel reminds us: "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends." Love, from a Christian perspective, means that one must put Jesus and others above ourselves, even to the point of losing one's life for others.

The question we need to ask ourselves is: are we wiling to love totally, unconditionally, willingly and happily? Are we willing to truly love the way God loves us, so that Jesus' own joy may be in us, and our joy be complete? May we be docile, willing and humble in set ting aside our pride, our ego, and our prejudices, and love all completely, just as Jesus loves all completely.

Saturday of Week 7 Year 2

I sometimes come across people who appear to be praying fervently, and when asked why they are praying this way, one reason I hear is because there is some sort of trouble or sickness involved. Praying for God's help when trouble or sickness is involved, is fine, but what about times of happiness and joy? Also, what about praying for the needs and intentions of others, especially people who we don't like, or who have hurt us, or who are our enemies? Do we pray only for ourselves and those who are good to us?

Today's reading reminds us of who we should pray for and why we should pray: "If any one of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he should sing a psalm. If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven."

Whether we are happy, sad, sick, or even healthy, we should pray at all times, not just for ourselves, but for others also. Not only we should pray at all times, we should also pray with faith, confident and trusting that God would help us and do what is best for us, according to His time and His purposes. Would we be willing to come humbly before Him in prayer, and let Him take control, so that His will be done?

Saturday of the 7th Week of Easter

We know that our primary duty as Christians or followers of Christ is to proclaim the Good News. Sometimes we may have become distracted or diverted from our duty, due to various circumstances, such as family matters, sickness, a recent loss of a family member, issues at work, issues at church, and so on. However, such various circumstances ought to be seen as learning experiences to depend more on God's providence and not on our own strength.

In today's reading, St. Paul did not lament about being in chains despite his innocence, but he took the opportunity to proclaim the Kingdom of God despite wearing those chains. St. Paul stayed focused on Jesus, doing His will, and depending on His providence instead of his own strength, and avoided wallowing in his predicament or unfortunate situation.

What about us? Would we be humble and willing to stay focused on Jesus and do His will, come what may? May we not allow ourselves to be distracted by the ways of the world or by the situation we are in, and focus on the ways of Christ, as we continue to depend on His providence and love.

Saturday of the 6th Week of Easter

For a message to be clear, accurate and effective, a person must not only get the facts right and accurate, but also the person must receive such facts from a reputable source. This is because, as we know, all sorts of so called facts are circulating around, and much of such so called facts could turn out to be mostly true but with some slight inaccuracies; or entirely false, or even true but needing additional support to make such facts rock solid.

In today's reading, we come across Appolos who "though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual earnestness and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had only experienced the baptism of John."Appolos may have had his facts accurate, but he needed additional coaching and instruction about the Way from Priscilla and Aquila, so that he had a reputable source to depend on and refer from. Not only that, the reading also tells us that Appolos "was able by God’s grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public and demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." This shows that, not only does a person need to have accurate facts with reference from a reliable and reputable source, the person also needs God's grace to make such facts rock solid.

What can we learn from this? We can realise that at the end of the day, mere facts alone are insufficient. We need supporting evidence to reinforce the facts, and such supporting evidence comes from reliable and reputable sources. However, this is not enough. We also need God's help, so that the facts being preached are ultimately from His grace and for His glory.

Saturday of the 5th Week of Easter

Some of us find it difficult to let go of control. We want to be in charge of our destiny and to build our lives according to certain ideals which we may have, some of which may have been influenced by our family, friends, peers and society. However, as followers of Christ, we cannot always have control, especially when it comes to where we are supposed to serve. This is because we are to serve where the Holy Spirit leads us, where we are most needed, not where we would be comfortable in, or where it would be convenient to us.

In today's reading, we are told that Paul and Barnabas "travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas. One night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian appeared and appealed to him in these words, ‘Come across to Macedonia and help us.’ Once he had seen this vision we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the Good News."

As we can see from the reading, Paul and Barnabas had no control over where they were being told to preach, and that they had to change course according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Yet, Paul and Barnabas were willing to be humble, docile and obedient, going where they were told to go, and not according to where they pleased.

What about us? Would we be willing to let go of control and let God lead us? Would we be willing to listen to God's promptings and do His will, not ours? May we, like Paul and Barnabas, be docile and humble enough to go where we are told, so that we could be used as His instruments to bring the Good News to others, and to glorify Him.

Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter

Among the many sins a person could commit, one which is quite dangerous and could lead to even greater sins, is the sin of jealousy. A person can become engulfed in jealousy due to thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, concern, and envy over relative lack of possessions, status or something of great personal value. As a result, a person who is jealous could become blinded in pursuing what one lacks, even to the point of committing great evil or despicable acts.

In today's reading, we are told: "When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said." Not only that, the Jews were so jealous that they "worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory." Great evil was committed, just because the Jews were jealous that Paul and Barnabas were attracting a bigger crowd than they could muster.

What about us? Have we allowed jealousy to run our lives and blind us to what is true? Have we become so jealous that our pride and ego is more important than doing the will of God? May we take caution and guard ourselves against being blinded with jealousy, since all we say and do ought to be for the glory of God.

Saturday of the 3rd Week of Easter

Most of us are fortunate to be living in a place where there is generally peace and security. When we are experiencing such peace and security, what do we do? Do we use such peace and security to better ourselves or take necessary steps or precautions to ensure that peace remains? Or have we become complacent, taking such peace and security for granted, and possibly losing our alertness or preparedness for possible incidences?

In today's reading, we are told that the churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were left in peace. However, these churches did not become lax or take things for granted. Instead, they were building and fortifying themselves; they were living in the fear of the Lord, with full faith in Him; and they were filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit while remaining in His guidance.

What about us, especially when it concerns our spiritual lives? Are we building and fortifying ourselves by growing closer to God? May we not procrastinate and be caught off-guard or unprepared, and make every effort to remain alert and prepared as best as we can, while remaining in the Lord's guidance.