Saturday of Week 10 Year 1

It is interesting to observe the enthusiasm of some of those who have been newly baptised. They seem so excited of being a new child of God, and some begin to get involved in various church ministries with passion and vigour. Fast forward several years later, would such faithful still have got that same drive and passion they had when they were newly baptised? Or have some become complacent or even burned out; or even to the extent of going back to their old ways and old habits?

In today's reading, we are reminded: "And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation... So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God."

If we are a new creation and ambassadors of Christ, then we should not slacken in our passion and vigour to preach the Good News. We should not rest on our laurels or even go back to our old ways. Instead, let us continue to do our duty in sharing the Good News through words and deeds, and glorify God in our efforts.

Our Lady, Mother of the Church - Memorial

Some of us like to look up to certain role models in our lives. We try to follow their habits and ways, as we are attracted to their lives. But the reality of our earthly role models is that they do not remain with us forever. Some fall from their role model status, due to some significant wrongdoing or even scandal. Others become too old or even pass away, leaving behind a legacy which may be forgotten as the years go by. So what sort of role model do we really have, and what sort of role model should we Christians have?

As Christians, we have one role model whom we can look up to, and who has been guiding us and praying for us and with us all this while. That one role model is our Lady, Mother Mary. In the Gospel, when Jesus was dying on the cross, He gave Mary to the beloved disciple, and in doing so, gave Mary to us, His disciples, as our role model, mother and guide. In the reading, we see Mary with the apostles, joined in continuous prayer. Mary, as a role model, showed us what it means to be part of the church community, by joining in continuous prayer, instead of just keeping to herself.

So if we embrace Mary as our role model, then we do not need any other temporary earthly role model, since we already have an eternal role model who continues to pray for us and with us, while leading us to her Son, Jesus. Ultimately, Mary our role model is showing us the way on how we should become more and more like her Son Jesus, instead of bringing attention to herself, as what some of our earthly role models may do.