Tuesday of Week 19 Year 1

If we are told by God that we would not be given a certain task or given a certain gift, but another person would take the lead in fulfilling the task or be given that gift instead, would we remain happy and give glory to God? Or would we begin to throw tantrum and pout, thinking that God is being unfair or showing favouritism? Or would we feel jealous or envious towards the other person, even to the point of trying to put the other person down or belittling the other person?

In today's reading, "Moses proceeded to address these words to the whole of Israel, ‘I am one hundred and twenty years old now, and can no longer come and go as I will. The Lord has said to me, “You shall not cross this Jordan.” It is the Lord your God who will cross it at your head to destroy these nations facing you and dispossess them; and Joshua too shall cross at your head, as the Lord has said." The reading also states: "Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, ‘Be strong, stand firm; you are going with this people into the land the Lord swore to their fathers he would give them; you are to give it into their possession. The Lord himself will lead you; he will be with you; he will not fail you or desert you. Have no fear, do not be disheartened by anything.’"

From the reading, we can see that Moses was not jealous or envious of Joshua. Moses knew and accepted that God had chosen Joshua to cross at the head with the whole of Israel. So, instead of being egoistic or angry about it, Moses gave encouragement and advice to Joshua. Would we be willing and able to follow Moses' example if we were in his situation? Ultimately, Moses remained steadfast in giving glory to God in all he said and did. May we strive to do the same.

Saturday of Week 8 Year 2

What is "bad faith"? "Bad faith"is a sustained form of deception which consists of entertaining or pretending to entertain one set of feelings while acting as if influenced by another. It is associated with hypocrisy, breach of contract, affectation, and lip service. It may involve intentional deceit of others, or self-deception.

In today’s gospel reading we witness how Jesus masterly unmasks his opponents’ “bad faith” by questioning them about the validity of John the Baptist’s ministry. Now, since they refused to believe in John, they should have answered that his ministry was purely of human origin - if they had been honest. But they admit among themselves, “we fear the crowd” (Mt 23:26). In other words, these religious opponents of Jesus are more concerned about their personal safety than about the truth, which shows their bad faith. They want to save their skin rather than live up to their true convictions.

The question we need to ask ourselves is this: are we willing to be honest and true to our convictions? Are we willing to call a spade a spade? Or have we become like these religious leaders, who chose to have "bad faith" instead of having "true faith" or being honest in our convictions?

Saturday of Week 12 Year 1

Years ago one Monday morning, I was just about to leave my parish after the morning Mass to go home to visit my folks. As I was about to get into my car to drive off, I noticed a car enter the compound of the church. A couple came out of the car and rushed towards me. They looked distressed and the wife said, "Father, I am Catholic and my husband is not. Our son, who is not baptised, was just involved in a serious road accident, and he is now at hospital. The doctors have told us that he has little chance of survival. Could you come and say a prayer for him please?" The husband interjected: "Please father, pray for him. Ask God to heal him." I could see the anxiousness on their faces. So I obliged and met them at the hospital. While praying for the young man, all of a sudden, his breathing began to stabilise and he began to drift back into consciousness. His parents were shocked and overjoyed when their son opened his eyes and his condition improved. When the doctor came to examine him, the doctor was speechless, as the young man, though still injured, seemed to be on the road to recovery. Shortly after, the young man made a full recovery. The young man and his father attended RCIA and were baptised on Easter Vigil.

In today's gospel, Jesus was amazed at the deep faith of the centurion who was a Gentile. Even though the centurion was not a follower of Jesus, he still believed that Jesus can heal. Because of such faith, Jesus healed the centurion's servant. Just like in the Gospel, the parents of the young man had faith that Jesus would heal the young man, especially the young man's father who was not a Catholic or even a Christian at that time. Because of such faith, the young man was healed.

What can we learn from this? When we have faith in God, God can make many things possible. All we need to do is to trust and believe that God will help us, not according to our time and our way, but in His time and His way. May we have faith like that centurion, a faith that continues to rely and trust in God’s power even if things do not happen the way we want and the time we expect.

Saturday of Week 10 Year 1

We sometimes comes across certain persons or cultures that find it hard or even disrespectful to speak frankly. Such persons or cultures have been conditioned to think that the 'face' or 'saving face' is paramount, and that speaking frankly or telling it like it is could cause another person to "lose face" which is incomprehensible, unimaginable or even a taboo. This can lead to much miscommunication or misunderstanding, because one could never be too sure what such persons or cultures really mean, since a yes could mean a no or even a maybe.

As Christians, we too have a 'Christian culture' as shown in today's Gospel. The Gospel tells us: "Do not swear: All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no." When we swear, we may be trying avoid another from 'losing face' but in doing so, we may sometimes find ourselves unable to fulfil what we swore; or we may even end up telling lies. May we come to realise the importance of saying what we mean and meaning what we say, and all that we say and do, we give glory to God.

Saturday of Week 9 Year 1

We sometimes come across persons who do things to attract attention, or to gain popularity, fame or recognition from others. For example, we may have come across certain persons who are quite nasty towards others, but when a priest or even a bishop asks them to carry out a task, they suddenly appear to be friendly or docile, and they seem to go out of the way to get the task done, especially in front of the priest or bishop, perhaps with the hope of gaining brownie points or to get on the good side of the priest or bishop. But when the priest or bishop is not present, they go back to their nasty ways.

In today's Gospel, "Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’"

Have some of us become like the scribes, who appear to be serving but expecting to be noticed and recognised? Do we perform a task only to gain brownie points or to get on the good side of what they think are important persons or persons of authority? Or are we able to resist the need to be recognised and admired, check our motives and intentions, and serve not for ourselves but for the glory of God?

Saturday of Week 8 Year 1

In today's Gospel, we see an example of what happens to people who will not face the truth. They have to twist and wriggle and in some cases even tell lies in an attempt to save face, and in the end get themselves into an embarrassing position in which they have nothing to say or they end up saying even more silly things, or stupid things or nonsense. The person who will not face the truth has nothing but the prospect of a deeper involvement in a situation that renders him helpless and ineffective.

The question that we perhaps may want to ponder is this: do we want to live peacefully and joyfully in truth, or are we continuously preferring to live a lie? Why do some of us choose to live a lie when we have been reminded so many times that the truth will set us free, and a lie will continue to enslave us and could even cause us to ultimately lose our relationship with God? May we choose wisely which path we take, and be ready to face the consequences accordingly.

Friday of Week 6 Year 1

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us: "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to win the whole world and ruin his life? And indeed what can a man offer in exchange for his life? For if anyone in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

From the Gospel, we can see a few key qualities of being a follower of Jesus:

1. If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Here, a follower of Jesus chooses to renounce himself, takes up his cross, and follows Jesus. It is not enough to just renounce oneself, but one also needs to take up his cross and follow Jesus.
2. But anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. Here, a follower of Jesus not only chooses to lose his life for Jesus' sake, He or she also chooses to do so for the sake of the gospel. Both Jesus and the gospel must be involved.
3. For if anyone in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Here, one must be willing to stand up for Jesus and His words. If one is ashamed of Jesus' words, especially those words which may seem difficult to understand or accept, then how can one stand up for Jesus?

So as we can see, being a follower of Jesus is not so simple. Anyone can claim to be a follower of Jesus, but claiming to be a follower of Jesus means nothing if there is no action or personal sacrifice. May we strive towards being true and genuine in following Jesus completely, and give glory to God in all we say and do.

Saturday of Week 6 Year 1

In today's Gospel, Peter, James and John experienced the presence of God when they saw Jesus transfigured. They had never experienced their master in this way before. In the Gospel: "Then Peter spoke to Jesus: ‘Rabbi,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ But things did not quite work out that way. They were only being prepared for what is to come. With Jesus they descended the mountain to the valley below and on to the garden of Gethsemane and Calvary. On the mountain, they didn’t want to leave. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they didn’t want to stay. When Jesus was arrested they all fled in fear.

We can all identify with the apostles because in our mountain-top experiences of joy and consolation we also want to stay. We want the experience to go on forever. And then in the moments of trial we want to flee. We forget that our Lord did not promise us a rose garden, but a garden of olives and a crown of thorns. We also forget that we need to face reality and go forth to proclaim the Good News, not just remain up in the mountain. The question we need to ask ourselves is: Are we still clinging on to the mountain top? Or are we willing to pick up our cross and leave to face the trials of the day.

Saturday of Week 3 Year 1

Faith is something of a mystery, since there are times what is happening is not natural or logical to us. For example, we sometimes come across certain persons who seem to be in a hopeless situation, such as an illness or taken a bad turn in life and seem heading towards doom. But such persons do not give up or give in to their predicament, and place their faith in God to be healed and change for the better. Then when all seems lost, such persons actually recover, or change and turn into a new leaf.

In today's reading, we are reminded: "Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were commended." What seems lost or doomed can actually be found or rescued, when we have faith in God and let Him take control. May we not despair or doubt, knowing that God will deal with the situation according to His purposes and for His glory.

Saturday of Week 2 Year 1

It is easy and convenient for some of us to become very calculative with our time and wealth. We begin to have a "what's in it for me" attitude, and whatever we do must be beneficial to us in one way or another. We begin to take on tasks or responsibilities which may be advantageous to us or to make us look good, and we expect to be recognised, rewarded and appreciated for our efforts. But is such attitude compatible to being a follower of Jesus? Are we really following the ways of Jesus, or are we becoming engulfed in the ways of the world?

In today's Gospel, Jesus was home. A crowd had gathered and Jesus could have been calculative in giving his time towards the crowd, since some would have thought that Jesus ought to have some privacy and rest. However, to Jesus, being generous knows no bounds or limits, especially when it comes to doing the will of God. Instead of being calculative, Jesus was generous even to the point where it hurts.

What about us? Are we able to follow Jesus's example or have we become more and more worldly in our attitude and behaviour? Have we become so calculative to a point that everything has a price and a purpose for our own benefit and gratification? May we come to realise that whatever we say and do ought to be to give glory to God, and not to boost our pride and ego or gain prestige.

Thursday of Week 26 Year 2

We sometimes come across persons who seem to be good to us or treat us well, and some of such persons become our friends. We treat them as friends but do such persons really treat us as friends without any terms or conditions, or do they treat us as friends only when it benefits them or is convenient to them? Such friends are known as fair-weathered friends, who only become friends when times are good, and when times are not so good, they may abandon us, or even persecute or betray us.

In today's reading, we come across examples of fair-weathered friends. Job’s friends had initially come to console him but they ended up telling him that he was being punished by God for doing wrong. Instead of being consoled by his friends, his friends persecuted him. When faced with such friends, what did Job do? Job responded to them by these words: "I know that my vindicator lives." Even though there seemed to be no sign that God cared for Job, yet Job had a spirit of abandonment to God, and had absolute confidence and trust in God.

What about us? When we are faced with difficulties or even persecutions in our lives as Christians, would we be willing to follow Job's example in having a spirit of abandonment to God, letting God take control? Would we allow such friends to influence us and cause us to ruin our relationship with God, or like Job would we persevere and trust in His providence? May we continue to do God's will with zeal and trust, and glorify Him with our efforts and with our lives.

Saturday of Week 25 Year 2

One of the realities of life we need to be aware of and prepared for is that human praise and admiration can be very fickle, and people who were once allies or friends could become rivals or enemies when the circumstances do not benefit them. At any time, we can gain and lose the praise and admiration we get from others, and if we depend only on such praise and admiration, we may find ourselves bitter and disappointed when things are not good for us.

In today's Gospel, we are told: "At a time when everyone was full of admiration for all he did, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: “The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.”’" Jesus Himself, who performed a lot of miracles, healed many, and said many inspirational and good things, was eventually condemned, despite of all He had said and done. This shows that as followers of Jesus, we should not rest on our laurels and bask in human praise and admiration, since such things are temporary and could change so easily and quickly. Instead, let us take up our cross and follow Jesus, not seeking human glory, but by giving God the glory.

Saturday of Week 23 Year 2

Saying that we are Christians is easy, since mere words are easy and cheap, but how many of us are really follow Jesus' teachings and commandments faithfully and completely? There are some of us who may be Christians only in name, but we want to do our own thing and according to our own way. There are some of us who may claim to be Christians, but we follow only those teachings and commandments which are beneficial or convenient to us. How many of us are humble and willing to accept and follow Jesus' teachings and commandments in its entirety, even those teachings which are hard or challenging for us to follow?

In today's Gospel, Jesus admonishes us: "Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say?" It is easy to say that we are followers of Christ, but it is certainly not easy for us to be steadfast and faithful in following all that He has told and taught us and not just pick and choose those teachings which we like. Being a Christian is not just accepting Jesus and listening to Him, but also acting on His words and growing in His ways. May we act upon His words, and help others to do the same, for His glory.

Saturday of Week 22 Year 2

What does it mean to “Keep holy the Sabbath” and what is the reason for this commandment? The Sabbath rest was meant to be a time to remember and celebrate God’s goodness and the goodness of his work both in creation and redemption. It was intended to bring everyday work to a halt and to provide needed rest and refreshment. So Jesus’ disciples were scolded by the scribes and Pharisees, not for plucking and eating corn from the fields, but for doing so on the Sabbath. But is this what keeping holy the Sabbath really mean, where absolutely nothing could be done?

In today's Gospel, Jesus defending His disciples by asserting that human need takes precedence over ritual custom. He reminds the scribes and the Pharisees of what David and his companions did. In their hunger, they ate the bread of offering which only the priest can lawfully eat. Then he concludes with these words, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” What Jesus is trying to tell the scribes and Pharisees and us too, is that the Sabbath is meant to be used to honour the Lord in the way you treat your neighbour, while celebrating the Lord’s Day. Instead of being over legalistic or petty, we should seek the good of our neighbour in all situations with respect and kindness. May we make every effort to honour the Lord in our work and in our rest.

Saturday of Week 20 Year 2

Throughout the years and in different parishes I have been assigned to, I have come across people who seem to have so many ideas and suggestions to make, and yet when they are asked to carry out such ideas and suggestions, they would suddenly back off and say that they are too busy, no time, unqualified and so many other excuses made. For example, there are people who have suggested that the church needs new leadership for different ministries, or that such ministries should have new blood to lead for a change, but when such persons are asked to take on such leadership, they all of a sudden have cold feet and try to push the task to others. Indeed, coming out with lots of ideas and suggestions is easy, but carrying them out is a different matter.

In today's Gospel, Jesus told the people to listen to what the scribes and Pharisees tell them since they occupy the chair of Moses, but not to be guided by what they do, since they do not practise what they preach. The scribes and Pharisees knew how to talk, since talking is easy and cheap. But only talking is not going to bring any improvement or change if there is no action, since action speaks louder than words, or one should walk the talk.

What about us? Do we know only how to talk and make all sorts of suggestions and demands, without any further action or without getting ourselves involved? Are we willing to do our part in seeing that what we suggest is carefully considered, planned and eventually materialised? May we learn to be humble and zealous in doing what is right, and glorify God in all we do.

Saturday of Week 19 Year 2

We sometimes hear of persons blaming their parents and ancestors for the mess they are in. Such persons seem to think that the actions and wrongdoings of their parents and ancestors would cause them to be punished or greatly affected, as if such actions and wrongdoings would be passed down from one generation to the next. Instead of taking responsibility for themselves and striving towards change and conversion, such persons conveniently think that there is nothing they can do about it, and that the sin is beyond their control; and others are blamed for causing them to be in the situation they are in.

But today's reading makes it clear that God holds each individual responsible for his or her own sin. The reading tells us: "Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel: “The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge” 'As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – there will no longer be any reason to repeat this proverb in Israel. See now: all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.'" The reading also adds: "House of Israel, in future I mean to judge each of you by what he does – it is the Lord who speaks. Repent, renounce all your sins, avoid all occasions of sin! Shake off all the sins you have committed against me, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!"

So what does this mean? It means that we cannot find a scapegoat or make excuses and put the blame on others for sins committed, and that there is no such thing as the consequences of sins or wrongdoings being passed down from one generation to the next. We are responsible for our spiritual growth and well-being and we can choose to avoid all occasions of sin, with God's grace and help. May we make every effort to break the vicious cycle of blaming, and instead take responsibility for our words and deeds, and glorify God in all we say and do.

Saturday of Week 16 Year 2

It is easy for us to condemn and complain about certain persons or groups in church who we think are sinning or behaving in an inappropriate way. Not only that, some of us may avoid getting involved in any church activities or even leave the church, because we think that the church is full of hypocrites or is full of sinners. Some of us think that only good people or saintly people should be in church, and everyone else is damned or condemned. But if we understand what being church means, we would realise that the church is for both saints and sinners, and all are called to holiness, all are called to repentance.

In today's Gospel, we come across the parable of the wheat and darnel. Instead of having the darnel removed quickly and in doing so, risk removing the wheat as well, the landowner allowed the wheat and darnel to grow together, until the time of harvest came. Once it was time to harvest, then only was the wheat and darnel separated. In the same way, God allows the church to have both saints and sinners present, and both are given ample chances and opportunities to grow in relationship with Him. But God is not going to wait too long for us to change our ways. When the harvest comes, would we be among the wheat, or would we end up among the darnel? Ultimately, it is our choice to make.

Saturday of Week 11 Year 2

Once upon a time, watches were generally marvels of mechanical engineering, especially those watches which are made to tick manually, one tick at a time. Back in the day, such watches were usually not cheap, yet they lasted quite long and did not need much maintenance. Occasionally, one would need to wind the watch so that the mechanism would continue functioning, but other than that, there was no need to meddle with the insides of the watch, unless absolutely necessary. Later, other ways of enabling such mechanism to function were introduced, but the basic concept of such watches remained manual.

In today's Gospel, Jesus is telling something related to such watches. What is He trying to tell us? Don't worry, be happy, take one tick at a time. You may not solve everything one shot, but given time and patience, and with God's help and providence, you will get there according to His will and His purposes. Even our heartbeat cannot be accelerated, otherwise we would get into serious trouble with our health. So let us tarry on one tick at a time, knowing that God knows what is best for us, and in all we say and do, let us give God the glory.

Saturday of Week 7 Year 2

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us: "‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’" Why would Jesus consider a little child as being part of the Kingdom of God?

Children are seen as weak and vulnerable in the eyes of society. Yet such weakness and vulnerability is seen as important elements for one to be part of the Kingdom of God. When one is weak and vulnerable, one would trust God more, just as a little child trusts his or her parents for care and security. So when we look at the sort of qualities a little child has, we can begin to understand what Jesus is trying to tell us. Jesus is telling us that we should become like little children, always depending on God's providence. When we become like little children, we learn to let go of our pride, ego, and prejudices, and grow closer towards being part of His Kingdom.

Saturday of Week 6 Year 2

One of the challenges that some of us face is to control our tongue and know when to speak and when to keep quiet. When we see someone doing something which we perceive to be wrong, we have the strong urge to talk to another person about it (in other words, to gossip with someone else), or swiftly condemn the person with so called righteous indignation. However, how many of us are willing to take the trouble to check the facts carefully, and if really found to be true beyond reasonable doubt, are willing to approach the person to address the issue? Or do we conveniently lash out or condemn the person, thinking that we are right in doing so?

In today's reading, St. Paul cautions us: "So is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can proudly claim that it does great things. Think how small a flame can set fire to a huge forest; the tongue is a flame like that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a whole wicked world in itself: it infects the whole body; catching fire itself from hell, it sets fire to the whole wheel of creation. Wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish can all be tamed by man, and often are; but nobody can tame the tongue – it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison. We use it to bless the Lord and Father, but we also use it to curse men who are made in God’s image: the blessing and the curse come out of the same mouth. My brothers, this must be wrong."

From the reading, we can clearly see that the tongue may be tiny, but it can cause a lot of damage to oneself and to others, if we do not learn to control it properly and speak only when and where necessary. May we strive towards keeping our tongue under continuous check, so that we may use it properly and correctly to build ourselves and others, and give God the glory.