Category Archives: Daily Reflections

3 January
1 John 2:29-3:6 | Psalm 97(98):1,3-6 | John 1:29-34

My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is. (1 John 3:2)

There are only two things we can say for sure about the future:

• It’s coming, and
• Jesus is at the end of it.

So as we go about our daily lives, we should take some time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ. Daily reflection about what we have done each day would be a good start; in the words of the Confiteor that we pray at the beginning of each mass, “in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do”.

Then comes whatever corrective action is appropriate: perhaps a conscious effort to spend less time staring at our mobile devices, and more time interacting with our families. Or setting an alarm to remind us to get to church on time. Or a monthly reminder to plan an early arrival in time to confess our sins and cleanse our souls before receiving the Body of Christ.

As St. John the Evangelist reminds us, we are already the children of God…but we can, through neglect or active rebellion, deny our heavenly inheritance, so that on the last day, we will be nothing like Him, wallowing instead in eternal suffering.

Lord Jesus Christ, as we continue to celebrate Your birth, give us the courage to turn to You each day for guidance and comfort and inspiration to action, so that when You come again to judge the living and the dead, we may be privileged to behold You as You are, one God, Almighty God. Amen.

2 January
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Doctors
1 John 2:22-28 | Psalm 97(98):1-4 | John 1:19-28

Live in Christ, then, my children,
so that if he appears, we may have full confidence,
and not turn from him in shame
at his coming. (1 John 2:28)

“I am a child of God.” It’s easy to make that claim, but hard to live up to it. It runs counter to the base human instinct of it’s-all-about-me. When my business partner WhatsApp’d me the Vulcan “live long and prosper” at the time when 2016 officially ended, I had to pause for a long while before realizing that I really didn’t want to do that, and shot back with “I’ll settle for live well and faithfully“.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

As we begin a new year, there’s a great temptation to make resolutions that are more vague grand gestures than detailed practical deeds. “Eat less”, “exercise more”, “be more holy” – these are mostly doomed to failure.

On the other hand, “pray the rosary every day”, as Fr. Cornelius Ching urged us all to do during his Sunday homily, should actually be doable for everybody. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have a half-hour of quiet time each day to focus on prayer, and Mother Mary is just waiting for us to draw close, so that she can in turn lead us to Jesus.

I’ve mentioned before that my favorite time to pray the rosary is during my first journey on public transport each day. I’m not doing anything useful at that time, and after the first week of smartphone reminders, it became second-nature to make the sign of the cross in public, begin praying, then cross myself at the end and think about the rest of the day with a clear head. (I also learned that, contrary to my sometimes-inflated ego, nobody really cares about what I do in public as long as I’m quiet about it.)

So for 2017, I resolve to work towards “living in Christ”. Going for monthly confession seems like a good start; it doesn’t take much time to do, but requires me to be honest with myself about my failings – which can be surprisingly difficult.

Lord, accept these poor gifts that we offer, our successes and failures, our good times and bad. Give us in turn your love and grace to face each day as Your children, with willing hearts and minds to improve the lot of our fellow men. Amen.

Mary, Mother of God
Numbers 6:22-27 | Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,6,8 | Galatians 4:4-7

There are some Bible passages for which I’ve committed chapter and verse to memory, simply because I keep stumbling across them, often in song. There are the obvious candidates, such as:

• Psalm 23 – The Lord is my shepherd
• John 3:16 – For God so loved the world…
• Matthew 5:3-12 – The Beatitudes

and the more obscure ones, like:

• Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 – To everything, there is a season…
• Matthew 8:8 – Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…
• Numbers 6:24-26 – Aaron’s Blessing

This last one was seared into my memory courtesy of John Rutter, whose musical setting had such odd intervals that a group of us took months to sing it just right:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlqsM439TqA

So to all friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ, as you enjoy the music playing in the background, I pray for you that:

God the Father will shower His blessings upon you and keep you safe from harm.

God the Son will shine His blessed light upon you and everyone else, filling the world with His mercy and grace.

God the Holy Spirit will reveal the infinite depths of the Holy Trinity to you, and bring peace in the midst of what looks to be a rather turbulent year ahead.

Amen.

7th day within the octave of Christmas
1 John 2:18-21 | Psalm 95(96):1-2,11-13 | John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

It is fitting that, at the end of the year, we return metaphorically to the beginning of everything.

For tomorrow, we hope to begin anew, piling on whatever resolutions strike our fancy, most of which will fall by the wayside before long.

One of my choir’s traditions that has, alas, fallen by the wayside…is a New Year’s Eve night mass, at the end of which we would fall on our knees and sing the Te Deum, a classic hymn to the Most High. While that practice is not likely to be revived any time soon, I feel the urge to begin anew this awesome song of praise to God for everything He’s done for me over these 366 days.

Won’t you join me, brothers and sisters?

Should old traditions be forgot
When we’re drunk on sparkling wine?
Should old traditions be forgot
And God never comes to mind?

Te Deum laudamus, my dear
Te Deum laudamus
For all He’s given us this year
Te Deum laudamus

So here’s a prayer, my neighbour friend
And give a prayer of thine
We’ll praise the Saviour of our souls
Te Deum laudamus

Te Deum laudamus, my dear
Te Deum laudamus
For all He’s given us this year
Te Deum laudamus

Sorry, wrong song…

Te Deum

The Holy Family (Year A)
Ecclesiasticus 3:3-7,14-17 | Psalm 127(128):1-5 | Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

Yesterday, the world grieved the passing of Debbie Reynolds, whose daughter Carrie Fisher had herself died the previous day. Popular opinion is that Debbie and Carrie shared such a strong bond that losing her daughter sapped her will to live.

I stumbled across an Oprah interview with the mother-daughter duo that gives some credence to this theory. It was by turns hilarious, poignant, soul-baring and just a little man-bashing, but also a stark example of what can happen when a family falls apart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzjgp2XebwE

And as I ponder today’s scripture, this passage:

My son, support your father in his old age,
do not grieve him during his life.
Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy,
do not despise him in your health and strength;
for kindness to a father shall not be forgotten
but will serve as reparation for your sins. (Ecclesiasticus 3:12-14)

reminded me of my own nephew who, with his mother, has been taking care of his father through two decades of Parkinson’s. Few things say “I love you, Dad” better than helping him bear his crushing cross.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said: “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” Jesus was given to the world, but He was first God’s gift to Mary and Joseph, and they in turn were surely God’s gift to the King of all.

So as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, let us look to our own families and give each other the love and support we need, reconciling our differences, quenching our anger and frustration, praying for each other, lifting each other up in the sight of God.

Let us also pray for those who have lost their family, or who have only known abuse and hatred from their kin. May they find comfort in the loving embrace of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, the model of love and mercy.

Amen.