Category Archives: Daily Reflections

The Epiphany of the Lord
Isaiah 60:1-6 | Psalm 71(72):1-2,7-8,10-13 | Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 | Matthew 2:1-12

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The Son of God was revealed to the Gentile Magi in today’s Gospel, for that is literally what “epiphany” means. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, to honour the universal King, the one God and the salvific sacrifice.

Where do we see Jesus in our daily lives, and what can we offer Him?

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When I entered the lift at my place yesterday morning, I bumped into a grandfather with a toddler lying in a pram. As I moved towards the back of the lift, the young child turned his head to follow my passage and, when he could turn no further, suddenly clambered onto his hands and knees and stared at me with a silly grin on his face.

I couldn’t help but smile, which in turn made him giggle.

So I high-fived him, and he laughed even louder.

The entire encounter lasted less than 30 seconds, but it charged all three of us with joy and, at least for me, a certain amount of spiritual uplift.

Now I’m sure I didn’t have food stains on my face, or commit a fashion faux pas, or any such cause for amusement.

I can only assume that the toddler had a revelation: “Hey! New person I’ve never seen before! Cool!”

And chose to act on it with joyful grace.

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Perhaps there’s a lesson in that encounter for us all. Can we see Jesus in each person we meet in our lives, rich or poor, brash or meek? Can we think “Hey! I see Christ in this person! Cool!”

And can we then offer respectful love and joyful compassion to them, and Christ-through-them?

Lord knows this world needs less aggravation and conflict. As we celebrate our infant King’s manifestation to all humanity today, let us in turn be revelations of His love and mercy to others.

Amen.

7 January
1 John 5:14-21 | Psalm 149:1-6,9 | John 2:1-11

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If anybody sees his brother commit a sin
that is not a deadly sin,
he has only to pray, and God will give life to the sinner
– not those who commit a deadly sin;
for there is a sin that is death,
and I will not say that you must pray about that. (1 John 5:16)

My understanding is that the “sin that is death” refers to apostasy, the explicit rejection of the Truth that we have received as Christians. To turn our backs on the revelation of God’s plan for our salvation, to replace “You and me, team God” with “me, myself and I”, is to literally proclaim that we want no share in the life to come, so what alternative do we face but eternal death?

I came close to apostasy during my college days, drunk on the freedom of life away from my family, surrounded by a culture that promoted self above all, eventually just going through the motions of Sunday worship. It took an atheist friend, of all people, to knock some sense into me. Through his incessant prodding about what I was doing, I was forced to come to terms with my actions, and dig deeper into my faith to justify them.

And through this digging, I finally came to know God as something more than an invisible being whom everyone around me believed in just enough to curse quite colorfully in His name.

And because I came to know Him, I also came to love Him. That last bit was a foregone conclusion, but getting to that point took a lot of effort…and a lot of trust that the effort would bear fruit.

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The last line in the above passage is phrased very delicately: “I will not say that you must pray about that”. It doesn’t say that I should not pray for apostates, just that I’m not obliged to.

On the surface, it seems logical enough. These folks have already made their unfortunate choice, so what good would praying for them do?

But God deals in Love, not cold hard logic. We think God won’t suffer those who reject Him, but even if we are right, God can break His own rules any time He wishes because…well, he’s God, so nothing is impossible for Him once He wills it.

So let us truly trust in the Lord, as Mother Mary did in today’s Gospel, when she bore Jesus’ mild rebuke with good grace, and told the servants at the wedding in Cana: “I don’t care if the Son of God’s commands sound completely wacky, just do whatever He tells you!”

Let us fully open our hearts and minds to Him, letting Him instruct us each day on how we should treat the people and situations we encounter, asking only that He melt, mold, fill and use us to His glory.

After all, if He could get an atheist to pull a believer back from the brink of apostasy, what could He possibly not do?

Amen.

6 January
1 John 5:5-13 | Psalm 147:12-15,19-20 | Mark 1:6-11

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Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,
not with water only, but with water and blood;
with the Spirit as another witness – since the Spirit is the truth –
so that there are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood,
and all three of them agree.
We accept the testimony of human witnesses,
but God’s testimony is much greater,
and this is God’s testimony, given as evidence for his Son. (1 John 5:6-9)

Indeed, God made it clear that Jesus is His Son, both human and divine, one in being with Him.

It doesn’t mean that we have nothing left to say for, Christian or not, everyone’s actions speak volumes to the world at large.

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There was an article in yesterday’s Straits Times about the weekly masses in Extraordinary Form (Latin) at St. Joseph’s (Victoria Street). As I was showering last night, it hit me that my blog has pretty much been one long Confiteor, in which I lay bare my transgressions in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my most grievous fault.

But I hope that readers would notice that it’s also a subtle Sanctus, for all that God has done for me throughout my life, especially in my darkest moments when I’d all but turned away from Him. Heaven and earth are indeed full of His glory.

And it’s also a daily reminder that I’m still far from where I should be as a child of God. I still have many faults to fix and transgressions to make right, but each step can itself be testimony to the healing grace that comes from the One who Is.

So long as He wills it, this blog will continue to be a record of the only way I know to bear credible witness to God: my own life.

Lord, I offer my life to You,
all my successes and failures,
everything I’ve done, good and bad.
Help me fill the holes left in my life with the Love that you bled on the cross,
help me wash my soul anew with the water of new life that was poured on me so long ago,
help me enflame myself and everyone I meet with the Spirit sent to be our Advocate,
help me lead others to You with my words and deeds.

For You alone are the Holy One,
You alone are the Lord of all,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God our eternal Father. Amen.

5 January
1 John 3:11-21 | Psalm 99(100) | John 1:43-51

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[I just noticed that this is turning into Resolution Week for me, what with I Resolve To…, I Will Prepare To… and I Will Lead Others to God… already published. Today’s entry just affirms that trend.]

This is the message
as you heard it from the beginning:
that we are to love one another;
not to be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One
and cut his brother’s throat;
cut his brother’s throat simply for this reason,
that his own life was evil and his brother lived a good life. (1 John 3:11-12)

I just watched this interesting and amusing TED talk: Are you a giver or a taker? It explores the various personalities present in any organization (givers, takers and matchers) and how to promote a more giving culture within.

This talk really hit home for me. It reminded me that my habit of giving my all to God without getting the necessary support from my fellow ministers pretty much dooms me to burnout in short order, which has happened several times already.

It also gave me pause on how I mentally judge people, and that a few folks whom I’ve always thought of as “takers” or general a*holes might actually be “disagreeable givers” instead. Unpleasant though they may be, they have generally been supportive of the mission at hand, and while I might wish they would give a little more of themselves, they seem to already be heading in that direction, if a bit slowly.

For all I know, some folks may have always thought of me as a “disagreeable giver”. After all, my “people skills” don’t just have room for improvement, they have an entire mansion!

I think the difficult part for me is to continue giving out of love, but being careful about securing early support for whatever activities I’m engaged in, without going overboard into quid pro pro territory. Still, if my judgement proves faulty, I’d rather err on the generous side, for as St. John the Evangelist reminds us today:

our love is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and active (1 John 3:18)

Lord, we thank You for Your supreme gift of Love that set us all free. Help us offer that Love in turn to others around us, helping others without expecting reciprocation, but also graciously accepting others’ help in turn. May our efforts to better each others’ lives lift us all in Your sight, so that we may all come into Your presence in good conscience. Amen.

4 January
1 John 3:7-10 | Psalm 97(98):1,7-9 | John 1:35-42

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My children, do not let anyone lead you astray:
to live a holy life
is to be holy just as he is holy (1 John 3:7)

Yesterday was the first day of the school year, and as I passed the primary school next to my home, I had to thread my way through a huge crowd of parents and guardians outside the school gates, waiting for their children who were attending school for the first time. Clearly, they wanted to make sure that their kids didn’t wander off in a daze after a mind-boggling first day, or be led off by a stranger with nefarious intentions.

Later, I was discussing some issues with one of my client’s employees, and I found myself doing what those parents were waiting to do: shepherd this young man away from a critical decision that might result in a foreseeable and catastrophic data loss in the future.

Then I read the above passage from today’s scripture, and made the connection.

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Even as presumably well-informed Catholics, it would not be difficult for us to be led astray, given this world’s constant pressures of personal wealth-building and self-centered role models, and a growing lack of civility and morality on the Internet and in real life. Yet we continue to fight the good fight, reminding ourselves daily through prayer and Eucharistic participation about the core of our faith, which is Love and Mercy.

But how about our godchildren, the people whom we pledged in the sight of God to guide in faith after their baptism? Unless we actually see them on a regular basis, it’s a safe bet that we haven’t been fulfilling our promise. For all we know, they might have wandered off into the spiritual wilderness while our attention was focused on our own lives.

I haven’t been in regular touch with any of my godchildren. It’s time to correct that omission.

Lord, You called us all to be shepherds to each other, to bolster our collective faith and guard one another against the relentless assaults of the Evil One. Help us remember to turn to You always, and lead our charges in the same direction.

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, lead us to Your Son, and pray for us who struggle in the grip of temptation. Amen.