Monthly Archives: August 2016

The Transfiguration of the Lord
Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 | Psalm 96:1-2,5-6,9 | 2 Peter 1:16-19 | Luke 9:28-36

Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. (Luke 9:33)

And neither do I.

Every night, when I sit down to meditate upon the next day’s readings, I never know what to expect. Sometimes my thoughts flow like quicksilver, sometimes like gloopy mud. Sometimes the words come together quickly, sometimes I go through a half-dozen drafts heading in a half-dozen directions.

A rational person might ask: How do you know the words you write don’t come from the Evil One?

The words flowing through me are primarily of love – love for God, love for one another. I’m quite confident that they were inspired by an entity of love, and that Satan isn’t such an entity.

That said, while I’m confident that the gist is Spirit-driven, a large portion of these words are still dictated by my own mind, so there may be doctrinal errors here and there. If you do spot any, please bring them to my attention and I’ll work in a mea culpa as soon as possible.

After all, writing this blog is one way I’m trying to transfigure myself, to become more luminous both inside and out. I hope and pray, brothers and sisters, that your own attempts to transfigure yourselves may meet with great success.

Lord, we were once beautiful children, but time and sin have ground grave imperfections into our appearances. Help us to polish our love for You and for each other, and send the Holy Spirit to inflame our hearts, so that we may be as candles and mirrors to light the way for the world to return to You. Amen.

Friday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Nahum 2:1,3,3:1-3,6-7 | Deuteronomy 32:35-36,39,41 | Matthew 16:24-28

It is the Lord who deals death and life. (Deuteronomy 32:39)

Today, I learned that a friend’s father passed away a few days ago, and because there were a thousand details to be taken care of, she hadn’t told me about it until his funeral today.

Some day, the Lord will call us all home. When that day comes, let’s hope we’ll have done enough to prove our love for Him and for those around us – because we won’t be in a position to make up for lost time.

So we might as well start making time for Christ today, setting aside time in prayer and reflection on the Word of God. Bit by bit, we can then grow in love and grace, till at the end of our days, we can stand together before the mighty power of God and resound with one thunderous voice all praise and glory due to the Holy Trinity.

Lord, I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I’ve found in You

Amen.

Thursday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, Patron Saint of Priests
Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Psalm 50:12-15,18-19 | Matthew 16:13-23

You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. (Matthew 16:18)

We too are rough-hewn stones that form the structure of the Universal Church, supporting each other against the buffeting typhoons of the secular world.

If one stone in a building falls out of place, the support burden on the remaining pieces grows ever larger. When enough stones fall out, the entire structure will come crashing down.

So it is with our faith. It’s easy to look at the neighbour whose Sundays are free and easy, just like (you suspect) his morals. It’s tempting to walk away from the support of our fellow Christians, to embrace the “freedom” and “riches” of the mundane world. And when one of us does so, it’s ever harder for the others to maintain their steadfastness against the sudden hole that appears; when the next ones fall away, one after another, the faith we thought unshakeable starts feeling very wobbly indeed.

And as our fellow stones start falling out, the entire building begins to shift, settling into an uneasy equilibrium each time as we shift into new support positions. Soon, it would seem as if we’re headed towards certain collapse.

Until we roll up against Christ, the unyielding corner stone.

Pressed against Him, we at last find stability, and can then brace the stones around us from further movement. They in turn help stabilize their neighbours, and so on, and so forth. Thus shall the edifice that is the Church remain upright.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

St. John Vianney, shepherd of Ars, knew this well, which was why he spent 12-16 hours daily in the confessional, being a solitary listening, advising and comforting bulwark to hundreds of thousands of faithful from near and far. That he would be declared a patron and model to all our earthly shepherds should surprise no one.

In commemorating his feast today, let us pray to Jesus in his own words, so profound that they are enshrined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2658):

I love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life.
I love you, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving you, than live without loving you.
I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally.
My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath.

Amen.

Wednesday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Jeremiah 31:1-7 | Jeremiah 31:10-12,13 | Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ (Matthew 15:26-27)

Such a poetic way of saying, “Lord, I know you came for the Jews rather than us Gentiles, but whatever graces they refuse, I will gladly accept, because I believe in you.”

I’m sure the poor we encounter in our lives feel the same way. They ask not for a four-course restaurant meal; mere Starbucks coffee money for us would suffice to keep them going for a whole day.

In contrast, the bread of eternal life, the Living Word of God, is offered to us free of charge every day. Do we choose to make time each day and sit at His table in silent meditation, or gorge ourselves on a super-salty fast-food meal of secular media and other distractions that never fills?

Lord, Your mission is to save us all. May we never walk away from Your daily invitation to sit, sup and savour the sweetness of your eternal Word of Love. Amen.

Tuesday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Jeremiah 30:1-2,12-15,18-22 | Psalm 101:16-21,29,22-23 | Matthew 14:22-36

Like St. Peter, we often take on the task of living the Christian life with initial enthusiasm, but as soon as the ill winds of secular demands and negative influences impinge on us, we falter and drown our inner fire in the murky seas of mundane living.

What’s the solution? I think it can be summarized in one word: quiet.

When I try to focus on the day’s readings, and there’s a ruckus at the kopitiam downstairs, I’m doomed to failure.

When I’m rushing from one place to another, ears deafened by the day’s technology news, I invariably pass over the blind woman trying to make her way through the rush-hour crowd, the injured man sitting on the sidelines, the distressed child bawling for his missing mother.

When I’m in a meeting that’s not going well, it’s hard not to raise my voice, my battle instincts and my blood pressure.

But when I step away from the meeting room and slowly take a deep breath (ruach), and another, and another, I quickly find myself breathing in the calm of the Holy Spirit (ruach ha-kodesh), and I don’t feel the need to harangue others any more.

When I unplug my ears from my iPod, and start noticing the people around me, I’m more able and willing to reach out a helping hand.

When I close my study door and shut out the world around me, the Word of God quietly blossoms in my mind.

When I carve out a silent space for God to fill, He will fill it. Then, and only then, can I metaphorically walk on water, accomplishing tasks that I never thought possible…like faithfully filling this blog on a daily basis.

Then, and only then, can I say with all my heart, all my soul and all my strength:

Amen.