Monthly Archives: March 2017

4th Sunday of Lent (Year A)
1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13 | Psalm 22(23) | Ephesians 5:8-14 | John 9:1-41

‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him: God does not see as man sees: man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ (1 Samuel 16:7)

My business partner introduced me to a remarkable woman almost 10 years ago. He’d met her during a trip to China, and for some reason, the two of them hit it off quite quickly.

As for me, I found Serene to be quite the opposite person that her name would suggest; she was quite literally a harridan–shrill, bossy, and overall quite annoying.

Yet, 10 years later, she’s an important part of our venture, because despite her nails-on-chalkboard presence, she’s one of the most meticulous people I’ve ever met.

When my partner and I frequently wander off in our discussions and business-related activities, she’s there to drag us back to reality.

She questions all our “work product” in excruciating detail, bringing a valuable “dummies” perspective to our overly-technical presentation of trends and indicators that are meant to be understood by novice investors.

By poking us about stuff we believe to be “blindingly obvious”, she keeps us honest, and stops us from blinding ourselves and our target audience. To everyone else, though, she’s just a pain.

Appearances can be so deceptive. Just ask the prophet Samuel, when he unexpectedly anointed David by command of the Lord.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Speaking of blindness…

We’re all familiar with the saying: There are none so blind as those who would not see. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time are often held up as examples of such blindness, well-versed in Mosaic Law but blindly hewing to it beyond all love and common sense.

But there are also people in this world who cannot see, those whose knowledge of God is tainted by the stain of priestly misconduct and Catholic opposition to abortion and contraception, among other things. They can’t see God because we followers of Christ, who are called to carry His light to all, bear instead the darkness of selfish indulgence and a dearth of love for our fellow humans.

We can do better. We must do better. Now that we’re past the halfway mark of our Lenten observance, we should be in a state of mind to re-examine our daily living, to honestly identify those areas in which we fall short of Christian love in the eyes of those around us, and take the necessary steps to correct ourselves.

In that way, may we echo Christ Himself:

As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)

Lord, You see us falter as we walk Your Holy Way each day. Help us get back on our feet, discard all the mundane encumbrances that spiritually trip us up, and give us the strength to continue illuminating Your Way for others through our thoughts, words and deeds, as You continued like a lamb towards Your glorious Passion. Amen.

The Annunciation of the Lord
Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10 | Psalm 39(40):7-11 | Hebrews 10:4-10 | Luke 1:26-38

Today, we celebrate Mary’s assent to becoming the Mother of God,

her openness to doing God’s will despite not comprehending the magnitude of His intent,

and the pain that she would have to endure, watching her own Son die an ignominious death on a cross.

When shall we celebrate our own assent to becoming true children of God,

our openness to doing His will despite not truly understanding what is being asked of us,

and the pain that we would have to endure, watching others blithely wallow in their secular pleasures and freedoms, in ways that we simply cannot allow ourselves?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

When I first committed myself to contemplating the Word of God every day, I could not have understood how much it would change me.

I see more and more connections between the scripture I read, and the events I behold in my own life.

I’m less and less able to indulge in the feasts I used to enjoy, both gastronomic and mental.

And I’m particularly drawn to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as a growing urge to be reunited with God begins to overwhelm my reluctance to examine my conscience.

Indeed I shall rejoice, for I know the Lord is with me, and while He may not have the sort of earth-shattering plans for me as He did for Our Blessed Mother, I look forward to seeing what He intends for me next.

Lord, we are Your servants, let whatever You have willed be done unto us, for nothing is impossible to You. Amen.

Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent
Hosea 14:2-10 | Psalm 80(81):6,8-11,14,17 | Mark 12:28-34

Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ (Mark 12:34)

I’ve long thought of scribes as folks who were well-versed in the letter of Mosaic Law, but were sadly deficient in the spirit of said Law, the command to treat each other with the same kind of love and compassion that God dealt with His chosen people.

Today’s Gospel doesn’t change that perception much.

While it’s true that Jesus praised this scribe for speaking wisely, His remark that “you are not far from the kingdom of God” suggests that he still lacks something that keeps him out.

I think that something is practising what he preached.

It’s easy to say, “I have to be kind and understanding to others,” but when others are rude to us, it’s more likely to devolve into an “eye for an eye” shouting match, complete with vulgarities and aspersions cast on the fornicating habits of each others’ mothers.

It’s easy to say, “I’ll give to the poor,” but quite another to give a destitute person any attention at all, much less offer them a few dollars to tide them over for a while longer.

It’s easy to say, “I’ll fast through all the weekdays of Lent,” without giving thought to the obsessions and bad habits we really should be giving up, in place of a meaningless sacrifice of food that we were planning to forego anyway.

That last bit hit home recently, when I realized that fasting had actually become too easy for me. My body had long since adapted to foregoing lunches, and what few hunger pangs I was feeling were easily ignored through the simple act of writing code and conducting discussions.

It’s time to rethink what would constitute a meaningful sacrifice for me.

What about you, brothers and sisters? How has Lent been for you so far, a voyage of self-discovery and a general movement towards our Creator, or simply an inconvenience that pales against the daily struggles of work and family life?

Lord, open our eyes to see what this Lenten season is truly about: a time to rethink, revitalize and reshape our relationship with You. Send us the Holy Spirit, to steer us into the spirit of Christian living, and not just the letter of our Catechism. Amen.

Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent
Jeremiah 7:23-28 | Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9 | Luke 11:14-23

I missed an entry yesterday due to fatigue. Today’s entry will explain why, and connect it with today’s liturgy…

Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. (Luke 11:17)

There’s strength in unity. No one I know denies that.

Yet instead of following the Way of Truth and Love that has been taught to us since our earliest days, we eschew the conformity of faith for the individuality of selfishness.

Instead of pulling together in the same direction of love for God and neighbor, we try to drag others along our chosen secular path, and get frustrated when they drag us in a different direction entirely.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

I was too tired to write the last entry, because I’d spent all day going back and forth with my business partner about our goals and directions, and how to Get Things Done. We’re pretty much on the same page now, but it was a mentally exhausting and sometimes frustrating day.

Yet I don’t regret spending all that time and energy arguing about what to do next, because it’s a lot better than us proceeding apace, only to find out later that we were thinking different things.

A company without a clear roadmap is one in which everyone has their own goals and directions, and tries to bring together as many collaborators as possible, before they get poached by other “feudal lords”.

A family without the clear presence of God is one in which personal disputes and grudges reign supreme, and a “me first” attitude pervades every aspect of daily life.

But in all cases, it needs someone to set an example, to point in a certain direction, and to exhort everyone to follow that path.

In a company, that person is the CEO, who has to formulate a sound strategy, then convince all his subordinates to follow it to corporate success.

In a family, that person is the head of the household, whose job is already half-complete: the “sound strategy” has been laid down by God since ancient times, and communicated through the prophets as mentioned in today’s reading.

Following that strategy can be easy, or it can be hard. It depends largely on our willingness to set aside our selfish desires in favor of His commands.

If we Catholics can commit to this, we can achieve what our national pledge exhorts us to be: one united people, under God.

I think it’s worth doing. How about you?

Amen.

Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Lent
Daniel 3:25,34-43 | Psalm 24(25):4-6,7a-9 | Matthew 18:21-35

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)

I once had a comical conversation on this very passage that went like this:

Other: “Seventy-seven times” only meh? I remember “seventy times seven times”, that’s 490 times!”

Me: Um, you know that’s not the point, right? The point is to always forgive.

Other: Yeah, I know, but Bible got number, must get it right mah!

Me: Why, are you actually counting the number of times you forgive someone else?

Other: Of course lah! I must at least play fair and give each person the same number of chances, before I say “enough is enough”, right?

Me: …

Forgiveness is a surprisingly touchy subject even among Catholics. We have been taught, even before our faith instruction, Alexander Pope’s famous dictum: “to err is human, to forgive, divine”. I was even taught an unofficial postscript: “to seek revenge, diabolical“.

But when friends cheat you, when bosses undermine you, when even your loved ones quietly desert you, it can be almost impossible to say, even to yourself, “you know, even though you absconded with my money, and you make my work life a living hell, and my own family treats me like a pariah, it’s OK, I still forgive you all”. The more likely response would be “BURN IN HELL, YOU TURDS!”

Yet Jesus suffered far more pain than any of us would ever experience in our lives. In a few short weeks, we will revisit His abandonment, miscarriage of justice, torture, indignities, and eventual fate reserved for criminals. We will, in singing the Reproaches, be reminded of how far we have fallen, as He remonstrates with us:

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you?
Answer me!

Let us never forget that God is always ready to forgive us, no matter what transgressions we’ve committed. Let us resolve to be absolved during this Lenten season, to seek the forgiveness of our Creator, and to forgive in turn those who have done us harm, in body or in spirit.

Whether they betrayed us 7 times, or 77, or 490, or even more.

Amen.