Monthly Archives: May 2016

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16 | Isaiah 12 | Luke 1:39-56

Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. (Romans 12:10-11)

This is the story of Ali, Abraham and Adrian. Ali runs a food stall specialising in Malay cuisine with a Middle-Eastern twist, and dedicates his labour to Allah. Abraham is a staunch atheist who nevertheless behaves in a more Christ-like manner that most Christians I know (which is why I keep writing about him in my blog). Adrian is, well, me.

One day, Abraham stumbled across Ali’s stall in his never-ending quest for good food. Being quite enthused about the quality of Ali’s product, Abraham nevertheless suggested a couple of tweaks, which Ali gratefully took on.

Abraham then introduced Adrian to Ali’s food. Adrian was similarly enthused, and made a couple more suggestions, which were cheerfully received.

Abraham and Adrian return to Ali’s stall on a regular basis, see that all is still very good, and say as much to Ali – along with the occasional suggestion for improvement. Ali beams with joy.

Then Ali closed shop for a few months, which caused Abraham and Adrian no small consternation. When Ali reappeared, he revealed that he had a rather serious problem with his leg that required emergency surgery, and was still in recovery, so he had trouble standing for long. Nevertheless, he continued to cook delicious food, while taking shorter and shorter breaks as the healing process continued.

Thereafter, Ali’s leg became a staple of conversation along with the day’s food; Abraham and Adrian never failed to enquire about the slow recovery of this most important load-bearing appendage.

Then Adrian broke his foot, and disappeared in turn for a few months. When he reemerged, it was Ali’s turn to express concern, and soon thereafter, a foot joined a leg and lamb shanks in regular conversation.

Ali and Adrian still pray for each other’s recovery and good health daily. I suspect Ali prays for Abraham’s conversion as well, though if the latter feels tugged in two different directions, he doesn’t let on. ?

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Have you found a connection between this story and the quote from today’s reading?

It’s this: Ali dedicates his labour to Allah, and it shows in the quality of his food. His faith directs him to make the best product possible, even when in pain.

It’s not something he’d reveal casually; Abraham and I only found out after a few months of chatting with him. In the months we’ve known him, and in the many words we’ve exchanged, we’ve come to respect and be respected by him, and, I daresay, become almost like brothers – the second connection to today’s reading.

We know a few other hawkers like Ali, and though none of them “work for the (Christian) Lord,” they all practise their craft “with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit.” They could, in fact, serve as models of Christian living: do it with love and dedication is easier said than done.

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when visited by her blessed relative. As I visit Ali’s stall today, I hope to be inspired to redouble my personal efforts and deliver quality in everything I do.

Lord, we are often worn down by each day’s labour. Open our eyes to see our brothers and sisters who go about their daily business with faith, love and spirit, and thereby draw strength to emulate them in our daily lives, so that we too may show through our labours the quality of Your immense and unconditional love. Amen.

Monday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
2 Peter 1:2-7 | Psalm 90:1-2,14-16 | Mark 12:1-12

But to attain this, you will have to do your utmost yourselves, adding goodness to the faith that you have, understanding to your goodness, self-control to your understanding, patience to your self-control, true devotion to your patience, kindness towards your fellow men to your devotion, and, to this kindness, love. (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Wow, that’s a long “recipe”. Let’s break it down, with some parallel terms from the NABRE translation for clarity:

• Faith. We believe in God; this is where it all begins, and because of our belief, we’re encouraged to develop…
• Goodness (virtue). Listening to our conscience, and turning away from evil. This requires…
• Understanding (knowledge). Catechism is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much to learn about the history of Mother Church, the highs and lows, the saints and schisms. But knowledge is nothing without…
• Self-control. Knowing right from wrong matters little if we willingly walk down the wrong path, and because we’re human, we’ll wander into darkness ever so often. To combat this tendency, we need…
• Patience (endurance). No matter how many times we fall, we need to develop a willingness to forgive ourselves, to seek forgiveness from God, and to consciously turn to the light. We gather the strength to accomplish this through…
• True devotion. Jesus showed us the way: absolute devotion to the Father’s will, all the way to His own painful death and glorious resurrection. We too are called to worship God, not just in our hearts and minds, but also through…
• Kindness towards our fellow men (mutual affection). Jesus Himself commands us to extend a helping hand to all in need, regardless of race, language or, yes, religion, in a spirit of mercy, and always in the name of…
• Love. This is where it all culminates: agape, the love that God has for all humanity, the love that is God, and that we reciprocate with love for each other. This is the love that will eventually unite us all in one endless song of praise and glory.

A tall order? Somewhat, but Everest wasn’t ascended in a day. With the passing of each minute of our lives, we simply need to take one faithful step after another along the road that St. Peter has mapped out for us. When we stumble, we just need to gather our spiritual strength, rise to our feet and continue, as Jesus did when he carried the cross of all mankind’s sins upon his shoulders.

Lord, in sharing your Precious Body and Blood, You lit a small flame in each of us. Help us keep that pitiful flame alive, and more, nurture it into a beacon of hope and love for all those around us, so that they may come to believe in You and in our heavenly Father. Amen.

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Genesis 14:18-20 | Psalm 109:1-4 | 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 | Luke 9:11-17

I have written about the multiplication of loaves and fish before, so I’ll focus today on an aspect of today’s Gospel that’s usually glossed over:

[…] there were about five thousand men. But he said to his disciples, ‘Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty’. They did so and made them all sit down. (Luke 9:14-15)

Every time I read this passage, I somehow picture Jesus instructing just twelve apostles to organise the crowd of 5,000 families (husbands plus their wives and children). Barring some supernatural intervention, this would have been doomed to failure; imagine the chaos that would ensue at a buffet dinner for 10,000 people, with just one serving table and 12 wait staff.

But Luke specifically refers to Jesus’ disciples, people who were not His chosen, but came to him of their own free will. These probably numbered in the hundreds, which makes the task of organising and distributing food to the huge crowd far more manageable. Now we’re talking about a sit-down dinner for 10,000; 50-seat tables might be a little large, but folks could still pass the dishes as the servers bring them out of the kitchen with little chaos.

Without those disciples to help get things organised, everything falls apart, and nothing gets done properly. No doubt it would’ve been within Jesus’ power to feed the crowd all by Himself, but no organisation can flourish when the CEO is forced to clean the toilets at the end of the day for lack of manpower.

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I firmly believe that the size of each parish is directly proportional to the number of active ministers therein. Without sufficient people to serve within and outside of mass, little can be accomplished at the parish, so I think it’s inevitable that the congregation would simply dwindle to a level that can be managed by whoever’s available, if not less. A skeletal “staff” eventually begets an empty church, bereft of hope and warmth.

A strong ministerial contingent, in contrast, inspires collective action to sustain a vibrant and participatory parish that would draw believers from near and far. It also takes a major load off the parish priests, who can then focus on more spiritual matters.

Therefore, dear reader, if you’re not already involved in your parish, I strongly urge you to spend some quiet time searching your heart, and asking God to inspire you to devote some time to one ministry or another. We may not be ordained to priestly service, but we are still called to shepherd our brothers and sisters in Christ in whatever way we can, and within the framework of parish life, we need not fear serving alone.

Amen.

P.S. Today’s title was inspired by my dearest friend, to whom I remarked yesterday that his new mobile contact ended…with the Number of the Beast. Yes, I often make such bizarre connections in my head. ? ?

Saturday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Jude 1:17,20-25 | Psalm 62:2-6 | Mark 11:27-33

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. (Jude 1:22-23)

St. Jude mentions three classes of people to whom we’re called to minister as Christians. The first group believe in God, but are having trouble living the gospel life. Many neophytes and most cradle Catholics fall into this category, including an earlier version of me. This isn’t meant to be a blanket condemnation, as the modern world sings a very compelling siren song, but we all need to be on our guard against the allure of secular affairs.

I’ve previously mentioned my old atheist friend who’s been instrumental in helping me develop my faith, by challenging what I know. I’d class him as “to be saved from the fire”; he’s considerably more Christian in word and deed than most Christians I’ve met, a Good Man whose major fault is that he just doesn’t believe in God.

Then there’s the third group: the tempters, the me-firsters, the connivers, all those who’ve firmly rooted themselves in this world and are not shy of seducing others into following their material ways. They too deserve our mercy and some hope of salvation, but not at the expense of our own souls.

I met one such person years ago, and while the encounter was brief, the impression was indelible: a bon vivant who seemed like a nice guy, but I felt an overwhelming urge to wash my hands after meeting him without quite knowing why. One reviewer of the film American Psycho used a phrase that struck me as rather apt: a “putrid soul in elegant wrapping”.

Not him, but not too far off.

So how can we save such souls without inadvertently being dragged backwards into sin? There really is only one way: We need to make Jesus the true centre of our lives, the anchor of our existence, so that we can stand firm against all the temptations of those who would separate us from our heavenly Father.

Amen.

Friday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)
1 Peter 4:7-13 | Psalm 95:10-13 | Mark 11:11-26

Next day as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry.  Seeing a fig tree in leaf some distance away, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. And he addressed the fig tree. ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ he said. […] Next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered to the roots. (Mark 11:12-14, 20)

The above passage is traditionally interpreted as Jesus’ warning to the Jews about their empty worship. With many rules and ceremonies (leaves) but little love for God and others (fruit), they would eventually reap punishment when the Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70.

I think this also applies in the here and now. As Christians, we are called to share the Good News with others, and it’s not hard to paint a gleaming picture of Christian life that basks in the glory of God. Dig a little deeper, though, and the empty façade, the lip service to God, becomes all too apparent. The backstabbing at work, the infidelity at home, the casual judgements, the craving for status and material goods; all these point to the missing fruits of our faith. As Jesus reminded us:

It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord”, who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

For such NATO (No Action, Talk Only) Christians, it’s almost inevitable that they’ll eventually fall away from Mother Church, pursuing their own selfish desires and burning their “passport” to eternal life with God in His Glory. Worse, the neophytes they brought to new life will likely be similarly disillusioned, bringing new meaning to “killing two birds with one stone.”

Let us examine ourselves today and every day for similar NATO tendencies, and take the necessary actions to stop our backsliding. For myself, I’ll be getting back in touch with my God-children whom I’ve neglected for far too long now.

Lord, we love You, but we are weak. Give us the strength to put to action all the lessons in unconditional love that You taught us, so that with Your help, our efforts may bear Christian fruit in plenty, and that we may one day join with all to sing Your praises in Your Kingdom. Amen.