Monthly Archives: May 2017

Saturday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 16:1-10 | Psalm 99(100):1-3,5 | John 15:18-21

If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19)

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that being a Catholic means that business is definitely not as usual.

All that bad-mouthing and backstabbing at the office? We need to hold ourselves above the fray.

Got cut off in traffic? The days of cutting the perpetrator’s head off are long gone.

This happens?

Yeah, not ours to keep, plus the bank will probably take it out on whoever made that mistake.

As Mac Davis might have sung:

Oh Lord, it’s hard to be Catholic,
While the rest of the world have their way
It’s veggies for my Friday dinner
While friends have their beef from Kobe
To know You is to love You
My problem’s with my fellow men
Oh Lord, It’s hard to be Catholic,
But I’m doing the best that I can

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCsNunGnqE0

Still, there’s a way to make things just a little easier: Spend more time with the Lord.

The tricky bit isn’t to take that time out of our worldly schedules, but to convince ourselves to do it, to detach ourselves from the world and its demands for a short while every day.

Trust me, it gets easier over time. I’m still scripture-blogging every day after more than a year, and they’ll have to pry my cold dead fingers from my keyboard to stop me.

If you need that little push, brothers and sisters, drop me a message and I’ll give you a friendly kick.

Lord, to know You is to love You, but knowing You requires more time than we might be willing to give up. Help us take proper stock of our daily lives, recognize the things that amount to nothing in Your eternal plans, and dedicate that time to You instead. Amen.

Friday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 15:22-31 | Psalm 56(57):8-12 | John 15:12-17

It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials (Acts 15:28)

Sometimes, we overthink our faith.

I think most of us have been bombarded with many “thou shalt” edicts in our lives, especially when it comes to our Catholic faith.

Thou shalt…go to church every Sunday, and other days of obligation.

Thou shalt…fast and abstain on important days.

Thou shalt…not cast thy parents aside in their old age.

“Rules, rules and more rules! I want FREEDOM!”

But why are we asking for what we already have?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Here’s a “dirty little secret”: We have free will.

Blew your mind, didn’t I?

We can choose…to walk away from the trappings and mumbo-jumbo of communal worship.

We can choose…to indulge in the finest foods every day.

We can choose…to dump our inconvenient parents in an old folks’ home.

But when we choose to honour God and each other, we don’t do so because we were told to, on pain of eternal damnation.

We do so out of LOVE, the love that forms the bedrock of our faith, the love that God Himself bequeathed us through Jesus Christ.

We go to church…because we’re moved deep in our hearts to join with our fellow believers in offering praises to God.

We fast and abstain…to remind ourselves of the love poured out for us by the Passionate Christ, and to set aside something for the less fortunate, in whom we see His face looking out forlornly.

We invite our parents to come stay with us in their old age…because we are driven in our love to care for them, just as they turned themselves inside out for us in our childhood days.

We need not be disturbed by our religion’s demands, for there are few, nor should we let our minds be unsettled by the thought that we fall short in someone else’s concept of Catholicism.

We just need to love God, and let that love propel us towards deeds of holiness for our brothers and sisters…and for ourselves.

If we are to be preoccupied with anything, let us be preoccupied with living to love others, and loving to live our life in Christ.

Amen.

Thursday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 15:7-21 | Psalm 95(96):1-3,10 | John 15:9-11

instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. (Acts 15:19-20)

The Pharisees who converted to Christianity were still hamstrung by their previous faith, insisting to all new converts that circumcision was still mandatory, and all the old Mosaic laws were still in effect.

Even though Jesus clearly gave everyone a new covenant, one that moved away from their old mechanistic faith, these Pharisees were somehow unable to fathom a life without 600-odd strictures.

It’s as if they were trapped by the trappings of their old faith.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

How do we live as Catholics?

Are we hemmed in by the letter of Catholic “law”, blindly observing fasts and abstinence without giving a thought to the underlying purpose?

Or do we take time to ponder Jesus’ new commandment to “love one another as I have loved you”, and reflect on how that should come alive in our daily living?

Do we tell ourselves, “aiyah, so simple; I’m a vegan, so I’m already abstaining every day already, no need to do anything special man!”

Or do we instead find something else that we love, to offer as our sacrifice? Perhaps our constant grumbling, or careless gossip, or daily unwillingness to greet the people who serve us?

Do we mistake the public signs of our “holiness” as the objective of our faith?

Or do we look inward daily, examining our faults, then look outward to see how these failings could be corrected in our lives?

Are we trapped by our Catholic trappings?

Lord, open our eyes, our minds and our hearts, to truly understand what it is You want from us—to love our neighbors as You loved us, without reservation or hesitation.

Help us be holy, not just on the surface, but deep inside where Your Spirit dwells.

Forgive us when we fail to love, and lift us up when we are pressed down by others’ hatred and anger.

Strengthen us in our conscious practice of the faith You bequeath us, so that others may see Your glory in what we say and do each day.

Amen.

Wednesday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 15:1-6 | Psalm 121(122):1-5 | John 15:1-8

There’s a whole lot of cutting going on in today’s scripture, though anyone who’s expecting rapier wit in today’s reflection will be sorely disappointed.

Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved. (Acts 15:1)

The Jews cut themselves as an enduring sign of God’s Covenant with Abraham, but we Catholics endure a different sort of cutting:

I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes to make it bear even more. (John 15:1-2)

Even as “fruitful” children of God, we still need to be “pruned” regularly to get rid of dead or overgrown stems, those that suck nutrients away from the task of bearing fruit.

So we are called to partake of the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly, to make us reflect on aspects of our lives that draw us away from God and from others.

So we are called to reflect on daily scripture, and pray fervently and often, so as to give us the inspiration and moral strength to discard all things that run counter to our call from God.

All the temptations, all the distractions, all our sins; these must be pruned from our lives, so that our central focus remains on sharing the life-giving love of God with our neighbors, and thereby help them to draw closer to the Almighty.

With the pruning shears of confession and absolution, and the guidebook that is the Holy Bible, let us be trim and slim, and thus be fruitful and multiply in faith.

Amen.

Tuesday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 14:19-28 | Psalm 144(145):10-13a,21 | John 14:27-31

Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you,
a peace the world cannot give,
this is my gift to you. (John 14:27)

Such a precious gift it is, the peace of Christ. Freely given in love, limitless in scope.

Are we keeping it for ourselves, or sharing it with others?

Our local bus drivers seem to have been coached to greet passengers as they board, though some do this better than others.

Do we ignore them when they greet us, treating them like they don’t exist except as peons to serve our needs?

Or….

Do we greet them in return? Do we preempt them with a “Good morning!” from our hearts?

When we head out to lunch at the local food court, we often find the only unoccupied tables piled high with dirty plates and bowls. We behold tired cleaners struggling to keep up with the task at hand, while office workers ignore the “Please Clear Your Tables” signs and rush off after wolfing down their meals.

Do we imperiously beckon the nearest cleaner to work on our chosen table tout de suite? Do we then unload our meals from their trays, then proceed to dump prawn shells and meat bones all over the table?

Or…

Do we quietly clear the table ourselves, taking some care not to spill leftover gravy and soup? Do we eat carefully, dropping the inedible portions into our trays? Do we bus our trays after eating?

In short…

Do we suck peace from other people like spiritual vampires?

Or…

Do we give peace to others, enlivening them and easing their troubles just a little?

Lord, You shared Your merciful peace with Your disciples, and with us who are their spiritual brethren. Remind us always not to hoard that peace, but to share it with others in this troubled world, so that all may know the love and hope that flow from You. Amen.