Monthly Archives: October 2016

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
Exodus 17:8-13 | Psalm 120:1-8 | 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 | Luke 18:1-8

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching. (2 Timothy 4:1-2)

“Just curious: Are you a pastor?”

I was surprised by this question yesterday, from a atheist friend whom I’d not seen in years. I was surprised because we and a few other friends were discussing his own tuition practice; nothing remotely religious crossed our collective lips.

It turned out that something in the way I expressed myself triggered that association. He couldn’t pin it down, but he thought it had to do with the passion of my hand movements: making broad sweeps in random directions, gesticulating upwards a lot, and at one point thumping the lunch table.

I could only say “no”, continue exercising my hands…and bite my tongue to avoid asking: “You mean, like Kong Hee?” ?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

I’m no longer a 25-year-old reluctant Catholic. My love for the Lord is now something to be celebrated in my middle years, and not in a shy way. I thank God for the energy and enthusiasm that He’s given me, to share how He’s affected my life each day.

Even so, there are days where I’m physically drained, when I start writing a few words and then hit a mental and spiritual block. In the early days of my blog, I reacted with “oh no, will I break my daily streak?” Now, I write when the Spirit moves me, and I just happen to get nudged every day.

However, if the day comes when I can no longer write about my relationship with God for some reason…so be it. It’s been a love-filled ride, and I’m truly glad it happened, but there’s a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

In the meantime, I’ll keep on keeping on, like the widow in today’s Gospel. I’ll continue banging away at my keyboard, exploring the depths of my friendship with the Almighty in mortal words, and sharing them with the world.

If these words should inspire you to begin your own journey towards a deeper relationship with God, welcome to the club! Pull up a virtual chair, pour yourself a dram of Glendalough 13 Year, and let’s praise the night away.

If you’ve wanted to do something similar for the longest time, but could never muster the courage or the knowledge to do it, pull up a virtual chair, pour yourself a dram of Glenfiddich for liquid courage, have a chat, then just get started.

If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, pull up a virtual chair…you know the rest.

Coming together as God’s family (St. John’s Cathedral, Limerick)

For we need not be alone in our faith journey; we have never been, and we never will be. That’s the message I’m taking away from today’s first reading.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Moses is rightfully considered one of the Grand Old Men of our faith, but even he had his failings. He lost his temper with the Israelites out of Egypt, and in Exodus 17, he reveals the limits of his physical strength. But Aaron and Hur were there by his side, shoring up his weakening arms for the House of Israel.

Likewise, none of my entries are solo efforts. At their core lies the Holy Spirit, directing my thoughts in certain directions, and my eyes to certain passages.

Then there is the collective wisdom of the Internet, funneled through various search engines like Google and archives like Wikipedia and vatican.va, that I tap on when I need to gather more information about specific subjects.

? We’ll … ne … ver … walk … a-lone. ? (Lindisfarne)

Finally, there are the people I encounter on a daily basis, whose stories and interactions with me often embellish the words that I write. This particular entry is dedicated to the wonderful folks with whom I toured the United Kingdom in 2016 (if it wasn’t already clear from the photos).

Sláinte mhaith, brothers and sisters, and let us continue journeying in Christ together!

Through our actions, with our words, in our love, O God, Almighty Father, in the unity of Your chosen people, all glory and honour is Yours, now and forever. Amen.

Friday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Saint Callistus, Pope, Martyr
Ephesians 1:11-14 | Psalm 32:1-2,4-5,12-13 | Luke 12:1-7

Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1)

Yeast is a remarkable microorganism. It’s the magic ingredient that makes the wonderful stout I had with my very first meal in Ireland…

<munch> <chug> <munch> <chug> Ahhhhh. <burp>

…and the intoxicating fire-water that is whiskey…

Aw man, there’s only one dram left?
Oh wait, there’s another bottle…

…and the leavened bread at every table…

Warm and fluffy, and the soup’s good too.

…and the Marmite that some love to spread on that bread (not me).

But give yeast too much freedom, and the results aren’t good. A master brewer learns just when to stop yeast in its tracks, lest it convert all the available sugars into an unpleasant-tasting moonshine. Fungal attacks are also quite unpleasant: vaginal yeast infections and athlete’s foot come to mind.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Yeast also has a remarkable ability to “pump up” bread to stupendous sizes, without adding substance, or weight, or strength. In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses this aspect of yeast as a metaphor for the Pharisees’ hypocrisy: mechanically obeying Mosaic law without letting their hearts be touched, looking like shining bastions of faith and righteousness, but in reality just gilded shells full of themselves.

We too run the risk of becoming “yeast for our times”, if we mechanically do the things we think scripture and the Catechism “command” us to do, without letting God in and letting Him transform us. When others point to us and say “now that’s a good Catholic”, can we honestly say “thank you for your kind words, but to God be the glory now and forever”?

As the Jubilee Year of Mercy enters its final months, let us encourage each other to take in the Holy Spirit, sent to be our Advocate of Truth and Love. Let us allow ourselves to be fired up with love for the people we meet each day, to let mercy flow out from us to others on a daily basis, and not to leave our compassion by the wayside when this Jubilee Year ends.

Otherwise, we become the very people we have been encouraged to pray for on the final day of the Divine Mercy novena: souls who have become lukewarm and indifferent.

Lord, You showed to us the depths of True Mercy, giving Your all to save us all. Give us the love and courage to find the spark of that Mercy that is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and to share the warmth of that love with those around us, especially the cold, the hungry and the lonely. Amen.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows. (Luke 12:7)

Wednesday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Galatians 5:18-25 | Psalm 1:1-4,6 | Luke 11:42-46

If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you. (Galatians 5:18)

That’s a very provocative statement in modern times. Taken at face value, one might think we’re given carte blanche to do whatever we want under the influence of the Spirit, without fearing legal repercussions.

Except, of course, that the Holy Spirit inspires us to love one another as Christ has loved us, so whatever we do under that influence is naturally pleasing to God, and should not (under normal circumstances) run afoul of any human law.

But here’s the thing: Human laws change all the time, often due to prevailing public sentiment or practice, and sometimes on a whim. King Henry VIII’s whim changed the law of the English land, and the Act of Supremacy 1534 began a dark time for the Catholic Church, forcing devout folks like St. Margaret Clitherow to practise their faith in secret.

Oh, what havoc thou hath wrought.

Now, that was a rather unusual incident, and secular laws usually don’t conflict with religious doctrine. The exceptions that come immediately to mind deal with abortion and euthanasia, and even those laws don’t mandate such acts, but merely make them legal under certain circumstances.

(If a law were passed to compel those above a certain age to be euthanized, or fetuses with certain undesirable traits to be aborted, I’d like to say I would be protesting in the streets…although I honestly couldn’t guarantee it.)

Still, abortion and euthanasia do conflict with our Catholic faith, so what are we to do about it? I think that’s where we should go above and beyond the law, both secular rules and Church “law”.

What?

For many Catholics, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is the equivalent of Mosaic law, wherein is found “thou shalt/shalt not XYZ“. It’s a comfort to them that this authoritative document exists, to be pointed at whenever a question arises about “what to do/not do as Catholics”.

But all too often, this leads to a well-meaning “the Church bans abortion/suicide”…and no further. Or picketing of abortion clinics, yelling “Shame! SHAME!” at anyone who dares approach such an institution. Or “it’s Friday, so how can you eat meat? That’s a sin, you know!”

They remind me of the lawyers whom Jesus decries in today’s Gospel, who “load on men burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not move a finger to lift” (Luke 11:46). They may be well-intentioned, but the net effect is not compassion but condemnation. To the desperate pregnant teen or terminally-ill patient, it’s no better than yelling “Unclean! UNCLEAN!!!“

So it should not be surprising that the Catechism itself points out this misunderstanding:

The New Law is called:

a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear;

a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments;

a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity and, finally,

lets us pass from the condition of a servant who “does not know what his master is doing” to that of a friend of Christ – “For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” – or even to the status of son and heir. (CCC 1972)

With the Spirit, it has always been, and always will be, all about love for thy neighbor. Jesus Himself said, “I give you a new commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” (John 13:34)

Beating someone over the head with a righteous stick in the service of “tough love”, regardless of motive, really stretches the definition.

So instead of quoting Catechism chapter-and-verse at them, why not take the time to journey with them, share their burdens and worries in compassionate communion, and help them “lift their unendurable burdens” and find another way, one that turns them towards God rather than away?

It can be hard, and certainly time-consuming, but I think we also could learn something worthwhile about ourselves in the process, and it would mean spending time with those whom Jesus would have us call “friend”. Otherwise, we’d be doing exactly what the Pharisees and Mosaic lawyers were accused of: obeying the letter of the law, but not the Spirit.

I think one of my favorite communion songs says it best: “Do it in love for Me.”

Remember, brothers and sisters: Life is an adventure in God’s love, not a game of Top Trumps.

Amen.