Wedesday, May 31 – Ignorance

31 May – Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

DRINKING

The celebrated English writer Emily Bronte while still at school wrote the following story, perhaps worried by the addiction shown by her brother Bramwell.

The Queen of Death was enthroned in her court, and seeking for a Prime Minister who would cause as much havoc as possible among the humans. She listened to various applicants for the post: each of the seven Deadly Sins urged his own claims, and so did Pestilence and Famine.

Finally, two sinister figures, Ambition and Fanaticism, made rival speeches; Ambition promised a great harvest of deaths through wars, and Fanaticism through revolution and mob-violence. But just as the Queen was about to choose one of them, another claimant appeared.

This was a lady of cheerful and handsome appearance, and her speech made a great impression. It might be true, she said, that many deaths were caused by wars and revolutions. But wars and revolutions were the exception. "What you need," she said, "is something that will go on multiplying deaths even in times of peace and prosperity. That I can promise to do. Indeed, with the help of my friend Civilization here, I can ensure that the more prosperity and plenty is enjoyed by mankind, the more deaths will result from it. I promise to carry off more people in peace-time than my rivals can kill in time of war and revolution."

Charmed by the speech, the Queen asked the speaker's name.

"My name is Intemperance," was the answer. The Queen appointed her Prime Minister in the realm of Death, and she has been successfully at work ever since.

- Drinkwater (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

What is the number one cause of death in the world today?
______________________

Romans 12:9-16

Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as bothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trails come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.

Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real friends with the poor.
_____________________

Luke 1:39-56

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, "Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled."

And Mary said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things to me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
- according to the promise he made to our ancestors -
of her mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever."

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
_____________________

Last week, a friend asked me how to get to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. For those who do not know, that parish is an ulu parish far, far in the West, near Boon Lay. So my friend was saying, "Aiyah, don't know how to get there. Later end up in City Harvest, then how?" And laughingly he mimicked what he thought a Christian from City Harvest would greet him with, "Amen! Alleluia, brother!" So I replied with "Hail Mary!" And my friend went into the prayer followed by the Magnificat.

A few days later, a comment by a fellow Catholic in this blog with Sunday's OXYGEN reflection (One Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church) mentioned that "the Eastern Orthodox also has apostolic succession", which is why the commenter "respected them a great deal and regarded them as brethren rather than as heretics like the rest of them."

That comment actually got me thinking, and I went to dig up some information on how the Roman Catholic Church relates to the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Churches. Apparently, bishops from the Eastern Orthodoxy were responsible for many important items during the Second Vatican Council, such as: liturgy in the vernacular, Eucharistic concelebration, Communion under both species, the permanent diaconate (not so prominent in Singapore yet), establishment of the Synod of Bishops in Rome (we had one late last year, remember?), and the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

They were also responsible for new attitudes and a more ecumenical vocabulary for dealing with other Christians and the recognition of Eastern Catholic communities as "churches" rather than "rites". In other words, since Vatican II 40 years ago, we should have learnt to stop calling our Protestant brethren "heretics" by now.

Then as I was reflecting on today's first reading, I realised that as Christians, if we are to truly love our neighbour, then we have to stop laughing at them or making fun of them. It doesn't matter if our neighbour is a Protestant who cannot bring himself to honour Mary, the Mother of God. It doesn't matter if our neighbour is a Catholic who cannot tell fact from fiction in the books and movies he reads. It doesn't matter if our neighbour is a worshipper of idols and hasn't found Christ.

What matters is that he or she is our neighbour and he or she is doing what she does out of ignorance. Maybe it is our role to enlighten him or her. Maybe it isn't. But what's definitely our role is to love him or her as Christ loves us. Can you imagine Jesus joking around with the Father and the Holy Spirit about how stupid you are for believing some of the things that you believe in? Neither can I.

During Vatican II, a Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches was passed with the aim of "making the church truly catholic, not just in name," as said by Patriarch Maximus IV. We belong to the holy, catholic, apostolic church.

The word 'catholic' means 'universal'. How can we truly be catholic if we insist on putting barriers between those who have found the faith and those who haven't? Isn't breaking down those barriers something that you and I are supposed to be doing? Isn't that what Jesus meant by "Go out into the whole world and make disciples of everyone"?

How can we make disciples, fellow brothers and sisters of God, if we laugh at their ignorance? If they are ignorant of Christ's love for them, it is only because it is we who have failed in our role to bring Christ's love to them.
____________________

Prayer: We pray that Catholics may learn to show Christ's love to everyone through not only their words, but in their actions and attitudes towards others and themselves.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: The many Christians who are striving for Christian unity.

Upcoming Readings:
Thu, 01 Jun – Acts 22:30, 23:6-11; John 17:20-26; Memorial for St. Justin, martyr
Fri, 02 Jun – Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19; Memorial for Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs
Sat, 03 Jun – Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; John 21:20-25; Memorial for Sts. Charles Lwanga and co., martyrs
Sun, 04 Jun – Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23; Pentecost Sunday
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Disclaimer: The reflections expressed in this e-mail are the writer's own. They may not necessarily reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nonetheless we should all be able to learn something from it.

Tuesday, May 30 – Passion and Obedience

30 May

ANGER

At the University of Leyden in Holland, they have famous disputations and arguments for the public. An old shoemaker who had little or no education was often seen in the audience. As the public debates were held in Latin, and he knew nothing of this tongue, a friend once asked him why he came to the discussions.

"I don't know what is said," replied the cobbler, "but I know who is wrong in the argument"

"How?" asked the friend.

"Why, by seeing who is angry first," said the shoemaker.

- Quote (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

When you speak to others about the faith, do you get angry at them when they refuse to listen to you?
____________________

Acts 20:17-27

From Miletus Paul had the presbyters of the Church at Ephesus summoned. When they came to him, he addressed them, "You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia. I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus. But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace.

"But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again. And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God."
__________________

I find St. Paul one of the most inspirational figures in the New Testament. He was previously one of the most vehement persecutors of Jesus' followers, but by the grace of the spirit he was "converted" to the Lord's side. With the same passion of his earlier persecution of Christians, he ceaseless served the Lord like any fervent disciple. The Spirit prompts him towards unknown territory, and he readily obeys, regardless of the fact that more trials probably await him there.

Two points I can glean from this passage. First, the general lukewarm nature of Catholics – towards the faith, evangelisation or apologetic stuff. A commonly discussed trait is that Catholics somehow pale in comparison with the Christians, especially with their relentless efforts at evangelism, and in witnessing to the Lord. Do we lack the passion in serving Christ?

Second, the obedience of Paul to God's will. We are always seeking God's will, especially in our times of need and desperation, but when we do discern it, will we be able to accept it? Will we serve Him in total and pure obedience?

(Today's OXYGEN by Koh Hsing Dee)
___________________

We pray for: A renewed passion and trust in the Lord.

We give thanks for: The presence of the Spirit in our lives, giving us the abundant graces that enable us to experience eternal life on earth.

Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 31 May – Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16b; Luke 1:39-56; Feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
Thu, 01 Jun – Acts 22:30, 23:6-11; John 17:20-26; Memorial for St. Justin, martyr
Fri, 02 Jun – Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19; Memorial for Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs
Sat, 03 Jun – Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; John 21:20-25; Memorial for Sts. Charles Lwanga and co., martyrs
Sun, 04 Jun – Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23; Pentecost Sunday
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Disclaimer: The reflections expressed in this e-mail are the writer's own. They may not necessarily reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nonetheless we should all be able to learn something from it.

Monday, May 29 – The Pain Of Isolation

29 May

HANDS NEEDED BY GOD NOW

At the end of World War II American soldiers quartered in a German village offered aid to the desolate people there. But instead of asking for food, money, farm equipment or seed, the townsmen asked for help in restoring a statue.

For years, their proudest possession had been a beautiful statue in the town square. Now it lay shattered in many places. Could the Americans help them put it together again?

The task was difficult but, finally, the statue was repaired except for two missing parts tat the soldiers were unable to find or replace.

Then the soldiers covered the statue with a silken material so it could be unveiled in a ceremony before all the townspeople even though the statue was incomplete.

The townspeople stared at the sign which the soldiers had place at the feet of the statue: "I have no hands. Won't you please lend me yours?"

- Tony Weitzel (Guideposts)

Jesus has no hands in Java. Won't you please lend him yours?
_____________________

John 16:29-33

His disciples said to Jesus, "Now you are speaking plainly and not using metaphors! Now we see that you know everything, and do not have to wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we believe that you came from God." Jesus answered them:

"Do you believe at last?
Listen; the time will come – in fact it has come already -
when you will be scattered, each going his own way
and leaving me alone.
And yet I am not alone,
because the Father is with me.
I have told you all this
so that you may find peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but be brave:
I have conquered the world.
_____________________

The people of Indonesia are experiencing yet another tragedy. For me living far away, I cannot help but reflecting on death and the fragility of human existence. Yes death is a terrible thing. However, I think what is more terrible is the feeling that you are abandoned, by family, friends, and even by God, that we are all alone in this world and that no one cares a fig whether you live or die. That I think is the anguish that is worse then death.

When Christianity first emerged into the world scene and proclaimed a message of salvation, it was to a world where earthquakes happen, wars continue, pestilence breaks out and families quarrel. Yet I suspect that people were attracted to the message of Christ not simply because the religion promises liberation from worldly woes (though healings and miracles happen frequently enough to strengthen faith) but rather to an experience of the presence of a loving God even in the midst of evil, clasps the believer by the hand and who himself experienced death and anguish in his own body.

When we pray for people and help them in their needs, we demonstrate that the other person is not alone, that he is cared for, valued and loved, and not simply a statistic in a casualty record sheet. Let us be brave, and share in the pain of others who need to share themselves with you, for you are brining the love of the Father to the other person.

"To banish God from society is to banish hope from people's lives…The attempt to promote a vision of humanity apart from God's transcendent order and indifferent to Christ's beckoning light, removes from the reach of ordinary men and women the experience of genuine hope… Faced with the many social ills and moral ambiguities which follow in the wake of a secularist ideology, Canadians look to you to be men of hope, preaching and teaching with passion the splendor of the truth of Christ who dispels the darkness and illuminates the way to renew ecclesial and civic life, educating consciences and teaching the authentic dignity of the person and human society." – Pope Benedict XVI – Address to the Bishops of Canada -22/5/06

(Today's OXYGEN by Nick Chui)
_____________________

Prayer intention: For the people in Indonesia who are experiencing pain and isolation.

Thanksgiving: For the presence of a loving God.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 30 May – Acts 20:17-27; John 17:1-11a
Wed, 31 May – Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16b; Luke 1:39-56; Feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
Thu, 01 Jun – Acts 22:30, 23:6-11; John 17:20-26; Memorial for St. Justin, martyr
Fri, 02 Jun – Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19; Memorial for Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs
Sat, 03 Jun – Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; John 21:20-25; Memorial for Sts. Charles Lwanga and co., martyrs
Sun, 04 Jun – Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23; Pentecost Sunday
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Disclaimer: The reflections expressed in this e-mail are the writer's own. They may not necessarily reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nonetheless we should all be able to learn something from it.

Sunday, May 28 – One Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church

28 May – Seventh Sunday of Easter

The Spirit of God's Life

The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church, the principle of its life and unity. God is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit.

(from the Sunday Missal)
_____________________

BAD TURNED INTO GOOD

For homework, I was required to make a drawing of a flight of stairs. I finished it, and just as I was putting away the ink, a blot dropped right in the middle of the picture. It was too late to draw another. I felt so discouraged that I burst into tears.

My father, hearing of the trouble said gently, "Don't worry – the ink blot looks just like a black patch on the side of a terrier – all you have to do is draw a dog around it. Don't get so easily discouraged, honey. Often it only needs a little grit and imagination to turn the bad into the good. Remember, few things are as hopeless as they may seem at first."

I sketched a dog around the ink blot. The next day, my picture was voted the best in the class. "You see what a little imagination will do," the teacher said. "That little fox terrier just completes a good drawing."

When things go wrong, I always remember that black-patched terrier.

- Susan Cooper (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

How can you turn something bad into something good today? Use your imagination.
_____________________

Acts of the Apostles 1:15-17, 20-26

One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers – there were about a hundred and twenty persons in the congregation: "Brothers, the passage of scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the fate of Judas, who offered himself as a guide to the men who arrested Jesus – after having been one of our number and actually sharing this ministry of ours.

"In the Book of Psalms it says:

Let someone else take his office.

"We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling around with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection."

Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias, they prayed, "Lord, you can read everyone's heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place." They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he as listed as one of the twelve apostles.
______________________

1 John 4:11-16

My dear people,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
but as long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
We can know that we are living in him
and he is living in us
because he lets us share his Spirit.
We ourselves saw and we testify
that the Father sent his Son
as saviour of the world.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God lives in him, and he in God.
We ourselves have known and put our faith in
God's love towards ourselves.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.
______________________

John 17:11-19

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

"Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name,
so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them,
I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them and not one is lost
except the one who chose to be lost,
and this was to fulfill the scriptures.
But now I am coming to you
and while still in the world I say these things
to share my joy with them to the full.
I passed your word on to them,
and the world hated them,
because they belong to the world
no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world,
but to protect them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth;
your word is truth.
As you have sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth."
_____________________

Lately, the Catholic Church has been under attack by various sources claiming that some truth has been hidden by the Church from the eyes of the world.

One of the ways that truth is determined, not just religious truth, but historical truth as well, is by the use of evidence. How can we know that something like the Gospel of Judas does not present truth? Firstly, it was not widely accepted by Christians at that time. Gospels that are in today's canon of the bible were gospels that were written and accepted and used by many Christians all over. Just because the Gospel of Judas was written around those centuries doesn't mean that what it contains is true. One of the ways we can tell whether a particular gospel is widely used in those days or not is by the number of manuscripts available to us today. And for the gospels and New Testament books that in the canon of the bible, there are hundreds of copies manuscripts still existing today. How many still in existence for the Gospel of Judas? Answer: One. That tells us just how widely accepted it was at that time.

Anyone with a different idea or teaching which he claims comes from God has not only to have the communities of Christians agree that it is from God, but it also has to agree with the teachings of the faith right back to the beginning of the scriptures. This means that the "new" teaching has to be in line and not contradict all the scriptures written before it. If there is a contradiction, then it cannot be from the same Holy Spirit that inspired the writing of those books, from both Old and New Testament.

Now what happens if you decided not to believe in a certain aspect of Christianity? What you can do is to break away from the established church and form your own. However, still choosing to call yourself Christian, you therefore need a bible. But what if the bible has some parts that are not in line with your ideology? Simple. Just take out those parts of the bible that teach contrary to your own ideology. And there you have it – a new church formed under you.

This is exactly how the King James Version of the Bible came about. Yes, that bible that is still in use today by many of our Protestant brethren. If you don't believe me, go check it out on Wikipedia. Now if you still don't believe that, try changing the entry in Wikipedia to the one that you believe history to be. What will happen is that the community of users of Wikipedia will see the changes you have publicly made. If they agree with what you have written, then it will remain so. However, if a majority of the community decides that what you have written is a fabrication of history, then your version will be thrown out and the original version will remain. This is essentially how the community of Christians work throughout the centuries.

So what can you do? Well, if you happen to be a King and have lots of money, you can go set up your own version of Wikipedia with your own version of how the bible came about… which is what happened with the King James Version of the Bible.

What happened from then on? Well, if this new church can establish itself by taking out books from the bible, and altering teachings, then subsequent Christians who were not happy with the teachings of the new churches can also do the same. After all their parent church did that. That is how we come to today's world of hundreds (or thousands) of little Christian denominations, each with their own interpretation of what it means to be Christian.

There is only one Christian church, which until today, has had an unbroken line of fidelity to the teachings of the apostles. Sure, there are tiny squabbles here and there, but the basic tenets of faith are agreed upon by all the members of this church. Is this not different from other denominations where one pastor of a church in Jurong can teach something completely different from a pastor of a church in the same denomination in Tampines? This is what it means to be 'one' church, as Jesus prays at the beginning of the gospel reading.

How is it possible? No man can give that kind of guarantee to a church to retain an unbroken line of fidelity for so many centuries. True. It is the Holy Spirit that has allowed this church to retain its fidelity, such that all its teachings are completely in line and do not contradict the teachings of the apostles. This is because the Holy Spirit has been with this church all along. Since the Holy Spirit is God himself, and anything that God resides in is rendered holy, this is truly a holy church.

This is what it means by an apostolic church – one that teaches with the authority of the apostles through an unbroken chain of the handing down of power and authority of the apostles who were given it by Jesus.

What's more, this is the church established by Jesus Christ. It is the universal church whose teachings are that of Jesus himself, guaranteed to be the truth as taught by the Holy Spirit. It is this universal church which is made accessible to all people for all time.

And in case you haven't realised what this church is, the word 'universal' is the same as the word 'catholic'.
_____________________

Prayer: We pray for all Christians to be led by the soul of the universal church, to be gathered once again into the same flock, so that all Christians may be one, just as Jesus and the Father are one.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: Sending his Spirit to always be with the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church.

Upcoming Readings:
Mon, 29 May – Acts 19:1-8; John 16:29-33
Tue, 30 May – Acts 20:17-27; John 17:1-11a
Wed, 31 May – Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16b; Luke 1:39-56; Feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
Thu, 01 Jun – Acts 22:30, 23:6-11; John 17:20-26; Memorial for St. Justin, martyr
Fri, 02 Jun – Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19; Memorial for Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs
Sat, 03 Jun – Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; John 21:20-25; Memorial for Sts. Charles Lwanga and co., martyrs
Sun, 04 Jun – Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23; Pentecost Sunday
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Saturday, May 27 – Finding God Through Wisdom

27 May

SPREADING OF GOOD NEWS

A Catholic visited his non-Catholic partner of 20 years, who was dying in a hospital. "Now that you are dying, don't you think you should embrace the Faith?"

The non-Catholic answered, "If your Faith meant so little to you in life that you never spoken about it during 20 years, then it can mean little at my death."

- Lovasik (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

Who are the hardest people in our lives to spread the Good News to?
____________________

Acts of the Apostles 18:23-28

Paul came down to Antioch where he spent a short time before continuing his journey through the Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers.

An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of the scriptures, and yet, though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great earnestness and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had only experienced the baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, they took an interest in him and gave him further instructing about the Way.

When Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he was able by God's grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public and demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
_____________________

One of our readers shared with me last night about a talk she attended, where the speaker spoke of the education of our Catholics. He remarked about the importance of impression and content, about how some Protestant speakers are so able to capture their audiences even though they lacked the content, and how some Catholic preachers have so much content to share but are just unable to capture their audiences because they lacked the capability to make an impression.

Apollos in today's reading is an interesting character. He had both content and impression as it is said that he was "an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of scriptures". We read that he experienced only the baptism of John, which means he didn't experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Apart from not having received gifts of the Holy Spirit, it also meant that the full revelation of the New Testament had not been given to him. And yet, he was able to draw from scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. He must have been a very wise and gifted person.

The other two characters mentioned are Priscilla and Aquila. For those to whom these names are unfamiliar, Priscilla was the wife of Aquila, and the both of them were tentmakers, as Paul is said to have been as well. Paul taught them the full revelation of the New Testament, and they in turn taught this to Apollo.

Some people ask: why does the Holy Spirit pour out on the apostles in the past, but doesn't do that any more these days? It does, but more importantly, we read in today's reading that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in such a Pentecostal way is not necessary for a person to receive the full revelation of the New Testament, the Good News. There is another way and that is through the search of wisdom, guided by those who already have the full revelation.

This is, for sure, a seemingly much more boring and uneventful way than by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But this is how God chooses to reveal himself to some people. In fact, the more intelligent and educated a person is, the more likely God would reveal himself in this way, because this is why God has gifted the person with such gifts. Add that to the fact that intelligent and educated people are more skeptical, it is immediately obvious to us why God would make his revelation accessible to his people in more ways than one.

The word 'philosophy' comes from a Greek word which means 'love of wisdom'. True philosophy, not the modern one that we have these days which dismisses the existence of God, is about the search for wisdom through human reasoning and logic. Any philosophy that discounts the existence of God will end up going around in circles because such philosophers have taken away the purpose of philosophy to begin with.

This is also why Catholics believe that any person of any faith is able to find God presented to him in his own faith, for in every faith lies a philosophy whose end is God alone. Every faith prepares a person to be receptive to the Good News of God's complete revelation in the person of Christ. That is also why we Catholics must become knowledgeable in our faith in order to share with these prepared people the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
_____________________

Prayer: We pray for all Christians to use the intellectual gifts that they have been given to come to seek God through wisdom and faith.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: The full revelation of God in the person of Christ.

Upcoming Readings:
Sun, 28 May – Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11b-19; Seventh Sunday of Easter; World Communication Sunday
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Disclaimer: The reflections expressed in this e-mail are the writer's own. They may not necessarily reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nonetheless we should all be able to learn something from it.

Friday, May 26 – Pray Before You Speak

27 May

CRITICISM

An old Persian adage has it that we should look well at our hand when we point an accusing finger at someone, because in that gesture three other fingers are pointing back at us.

- Quote (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)
_________________

Acts of the Apostles 18:9-18

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.” So Paul stayed at Corinth preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.

But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. “We accuse this man,” they said, “of persuading people to worship God in a away that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.” Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.

After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.
_____________________

Paul afraid to speak out? So afraid that God had to appear to him in a vision to reassure him that it was alright to speak out? Man, the situation had to be really bad in his time. Paul should know, because he was one of those who went to great lengths to exterminate the Christians before he got his own conversion experience. Now he was the one being persecuted. Of course he would be afraid to speak out.

Many times, we too are afraid of speaking out. We are afraid of what others might think about us. We are afraid for our jobs, for our families, for our egos. We are afraid of putting them in danger, of putting ourselves at risk, so we do not speak out like we should.

Before we speak out however, it is first important to look at ourselves, to pray, to seek affirmation from God and from those around us, so as to ensure that we are not doing something out of our own pride. We need to look at ourselves honestly and critically, to see whether or not we are doing the right thing. If we are, we still need to seek direction and affirmation from God. Only then can we speak out without fear.

One of our friends received his honours project results this week, and in a case of injustice, he was given a much lower score by one of the examiners. Before speaking out against this injustice, he approached some neutral people who could objectively review his honours thesis. Having received affirmation that it was a case of injustice, he proceeded (or is proceeding) to speak out against the injustice. Like Paul, he too has many on his side. Let us pray with him that justice may be served, or at least a suitable explanation may be given to him by the unfair examiner. We also pray that those who are receiving his appeal may be open to doing a proper job of reviewing his case, rather than to save their own hides at the expense of a student.
_____________________

Give Thanks to the Lord for: The application of the Word in our lives.

Upcoming Readings:
Sat, 27 May – Acts 18:23-28; John 16:23b-28; Memorial for St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop
Sun, 28 May – Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11b-19; Seventh Sunday of Easter; World Communication Sunday
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Thursday, May 25 – To Be Continued…

25 May – The Ascension of the Lord

SOWING THE SEED OF THE WORD

When a man sows the seed of the word, he does not know what he is doing or what effect the seed is having. H. L. Gee tells this story:

In the church where he worshipped, there was a lonely old man named Thomas. He had outlived all his friends and hardly anyone knew him. When Thomas died, Gee had the feeling that there would be no one to go to the funeral so he decided to go, so that there might be someone to follow the old man to his last resting place.

There was no one else and it was a wild, wet day. The funeral reached the cemetery; and at the gate there was a soldier waiting. he as an officer, but on his raincoat there were rank badges. The soldier came to the graveside for the ceremony. When it was over, he stepped forward and before the open grave swept his hand to a salute that might have been given to a king. H. L. Gee walked away with this soldier, and as they walked, the wind blew the soldier's raincoat open to reveal the shoulder badges of a brigadier.

The brigadier said to Gee, "You will perhaps be wondering what I am doing here. Years ago, Thomas was my Sunday School teacher; I was a wild lad and a sore trial to him. He never knew what he did for me, but I owe everything I am or will be to old Thomas, and today I had to come to salute him to the end."

Thomas did not know what he was doing. No preacher or teacher ever does. it is our task to sow the seed, and to leave the rest to God.

- Barclay (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

Are you more concerned with sowing the seed of the Word far and wide, or finding out what happens to the seed you've already sown?
____________________

Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11

Dear Theophilus, in my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles. For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God. And then they came together, he gave them this order: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

When the apostles met together with Jesus, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time give the Kingdom back to Israel?"

Jesus said to them, "The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them and said, "Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven."
_____________________

Ephesians 4:1-13

I urge you, then – I who am a prisoner because I serve the Lord: live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you. Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together. There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all mankind, who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all.

Each of us has received a special gift in proportion to what Christ has given. As the scripture says,

"When he went up to the very heights,
he took many captives with him;
he gave gifts to mankind."

Now, what does "he went up" mean? It means that first he came down to the lowest depths of the earth. So the one who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence. It was he who "gave gifts to mankind"; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature.
___________________

Mark 16:15-20

He said to them, "Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; if they pick up snakes and drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well."

After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.
_____________________

Many of my friends would know of a certain recently released Playstation 2 role-playing game. It was mentioned in my conversations and on my blog. It is none other than Kingdom Hearts II. I had been looking forward to it since the Japanese version (imagine that!) was announced; screenshots were released; and previews and reviews for the English version were published. You might ask why this (over-)zealousness? It was all because of the good storyline and how it built up. Contrary to the numbering, KH2 is actually the third game in the series. A second linker game was released between this one and the original. The very first game had raised several issues by its end which had fans speculating and debating about in forums. Without giving any spoilers, folks were just aching for answers to all those unexplained things they saw.

The linker game provided revelations to some of those issues but not all, in fact it opened even a few more doors itself. But in this it succeeded. To quote Daniel (Tay, not the prophet), it had "a good ending because it answered some questions but left others unanswered". So the storyline was allowed to a smooth progression that made people want even more. It increased the hype for the next game.

This gaming experience of mine parallels with what I wish to share today, brothers and sisters, on the Ascension of our Lord. What do we know about the story of Jesus Christ? The bulk of the New Testament is contained within the Gospel accounts which speak about Christ's life till His death and resurrection. Throughout His earthly ministry, He cured the sick, performed miracles and most of all, taught and revealed a great many truths about the Kingdom of God. Many were brought to a greater awareness of the Father and a closer relationship with Him. But as we can read about, there was still much to learn. The majority of followers might not have fully understood the parables; the disciples showed that they had a long way to go themselves. Clearly there was a great longing among all the followers especially as news of the resurrection spread. What did Christ do in response to this? He went back to heaven.

Thus is seen the crux of the Ascension, not so much the act in itself but what it represents. And it's a two-fold representation. The return to our Father signifies the completion of Christ's ministry here on earth. It brings to fruition all that had taken place just weeks before. In a sense, it closed chapters and resolved some of the issues that were raking the faith community. The message was loud and clear – "This here is the true Messiah and He is returning to the Father. God is truly present in our lives." What's more, He's gone ahead to prepare a place. At the same time though, the Ascension created even more challenges. What was the faith community to do from now on? The one who had done most of the teaching had left after all. We read that the apostles stood there gazing at the empty sky for some time until a couple angels had to snap fingers in front of their faces. This is no joke for sure, the poor fellows were obviously stunned by what had taken place and what it could possibly entail. Until the angels reminded them of Christ's final words – The great commission, which is elaborated better than I could ever try to by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.

Was the Ascension a successful event? Definitely. It opened a whole new chapter in the ongoing storyline of faith, a storyline which continues to this very day, in each and every one of our lives. That's right, the baton is now in our hands and we're running the race for and with Jesus. The new arcs surely come with their own batch of issues and controversies, such as the Da Vinci Code and Gospel of Judas fiascos we've been experiencing. No doubt that many more will come. But this only means that we are progressing in this story, getting deeper into it and closer to the end. I can say with certainty that this end, my sisters and brothers, is going to be a happy one and reward well worth all the effort. The question for us then is whether we will continue with this story.

Blessed Ascension!

(Today's OXYGEN by Aloysius Ting)
_____________________

Prayer: That we will not become weary of running the good race.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: Good stories and happy endings

Upcoming Readings:
Fri, 26 May – Acts 18:9-18; John 16:20-23a; Memorial for St. Philip Neri, priest
Sat, 27 May – Acts 18:23-28; John 16:23b-28; Memorial for St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop
Sun, 28 May – Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11b-19; Seventh Sunday of Easter; World Communication Sunday
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Disclaimer: The reflections expressed in this e-mail are the writer's own. They may not necessarily reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nonetheless we should all be able to learn something from it.

Wednesday, May 24 – Living The Resurrection

24 May

TIME FOR OTHERS

Jesus visited the house of Martha and Mary . It was a special occasion, as it always was when Jesus visited. Martha was busy about many things, not paying much attention to Jesus but scurrying about doing this and that. She looked into the living room and saw Mary and Jesus in deep conversation. She was envious and said to Jesus, really only to get his attention, "Tell Mary to come and help me."

Jesus saw through it. "Martha, you are busy about many things but Mary and I are sharing our souls."

Whenever I tell this story, I always get pushed back into my priorities. The accidentals of my life are always getting out of hand. My "busyness" is always preventing my attending to the people I love; and whenever I become aware of it, instead of changing, I get jealous of those who take time for personal sharing and try to convince them they should be like me. it is a strange, perverted reaction and the story always makes me aware of it, and calls me to straighten things out. Life is more than scurrying about.

- John Shea (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

What are your priorities in life?
____________________

Acts of the Apostles 17:15, 22 – 18:1

Paul's escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.

Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech:

"Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it.

"Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by humans hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nations should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said:

'We are all his children.'

"Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.

"God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead."

At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, "We would like to hear you talk about this again." After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides. After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
_____________________

John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:

"I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
_____________________

Paul was a learned Jew; his teacher was Gamaliel, a wise Pharisee, the one who told the Pharisees not to pursue the matter with the apostles preaching about Jesus because if what they say is from man, it will die out eventually. Paul's approach has always been to talk to the crowds using reason, no doubt from his own education. To the Jews, he appealed to their common knowledge of scriptures; to the Greeks who did not have Jewish scriptures, he appealed to their common sense and human reason, as well as what they already knew about God through the world.

He told them many things, which they all listened to. But when he came to the crux of Christianity – that Jesus had risen from the dead, they laughed at him. The Resurrection is something that is truly hard to believe, because it meant that Jesus is God.

Throughout Christian history, there have been many different beliefs about Jesus. Even today, we have people trying to prove that Jesus did not walk on water. But there is one point about belief in Jesus that is most attacked – that Jesus never rose from the dead… either he was not crucified and not put into the tomb; or someone else was crucified in his place; or he was crucified but someone stole his body from the tomb to make it seem like he rose from the dead.

This belief is always under attack by various sources because it is what the entire Christianity hinges on, and there are many enemies of Christianity. It certainly takes a lot to believe in the Resurrection. Why?

Because belief in the Resurrection meant that there is life after death. This means that life doesn't end with the death of the human body. This means that what we do today will affect us in the future, after we die. This means that there is an end to all things material, including what we amass in our life… especially what we amass in our life. This means that if we spend our entire lives accumulating material wealth, we will still be poor after we are raised from the dead.

This means that we need to repent, to turn our lives around, change the way we have been living, to refocus our priorities in life… to amass spiritual wealth, not material wealth. That's not to say that material wealth is bad or evil. Rather, material wealth is there to help us accumulate spiritual wealth. How? If your material wealth can be given to someone who needs it to survive or to live a better life, and if you give it to them, you are accumulating spiritual wealth. Of course that's not the only way… just one of the ways.

What meaning does the Resurrection hold in our lives? Do we really, really believe in the Resurrection of our Lord, and our own Resurrection at the end of time? Does the way we live our lives show that belief? Or does our way of life reflect what we truly believe in, not what we say we believe?
_____________________

Prayer: We pray for all Christians to live out their belief in the Resurrection every day of their lives.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: Leading the way to the Resurrection through the Cross.

Upcoming Readings:
Thu, 25 May – Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:1:17-23 or Ephesians 4:1-13 or 4::1-7, 11-13; Mark 16:15-20; The Ascension of the Lord
Fri, 26 May – Acts 18:9-18; John 16:20-23a; Memorial for St. Philip Neri, priest
Sat, 27 May – Acts 18:23-28; John 16:23b-28; Memorial for St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop
Sun, 28 May – Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11b-19; Seventh Sunday of Easter; World Communication Sunday
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Tuesday, May 23 – Da Vinci and the Holy Spirit

23 May

WASTING TIME COVERING FAILURES

An Australian priest was on a geological expedition out of Melbourne and in sliding down a rocky mountainside ripped the seat out of his pants, leaving him exposed. There were lots of women and sisters in the group and so he spent the rest of the day in embarrassment, trying to cover up and staying out of sight. And of course, eh missed much of what the accompanying professor had to say about formations and such. When he finally got home, he had to go around getting notes from others; he had been too busy about his appearance.

- Frank Mihalic (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

If you're too busy trying to prevent something from being seen by others, would you not miss something important while you're at it?
____________________

John 16:5-11

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, "Where are you going?"
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned."
_____________________

Is it better that Jesus is gone? In a way, if He had not died and rose from the dead, then I guess our faith would be quite different. From another perspective, the Lord himself says that it is better that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, be sent into the world at His departure. How many times have we invoked the help of the Spirit in our prayers, and received the graces and gifts from this wonderful helper of the Lord?

I cannot help but bring in a brief discussion on the latest fad in town – the controversy surrounding the Da Vinci Code. I just caught the movie earlier in the day, and found most of it to be rather ludicrous and laughable, actually. Anyway, that show made me realise that facts and doctrine are only a part of a more important truth in my life – my relationship with God. No matter what has been alleged against the Church or her teachings, I know my faith still stands, simply because I have experienced, and am still experiencing, the workings of the Holy Spirit in my life. The Spirit has helped me turned my back against sin and move beyond my selfishness to love others more. In a larger context, the Spirit has converted millions to Christianity. and is the power and the force that sets our hearts alight with the light of Christ. Is this not already sufficient proof of God's love for us?

We live in an age of secularism, an era in which religion becomes especially vulnerable to attack. The very foundations of the Church are being shaken, and I am pretty sure there are a lot of people out there who are eager to bring the Church down. But with the help of the Spirit, we soldier on. Here is where I believe that personal faith takes on a role of utmost importance. Just a question I invite you to ponder:

Is the Holy Spirit real and true in my life?

(Today's OXYGEN by Koh Hsing Dee)
_____________________

We pray for: The Holy Spirit's continued protection and strengthening of the Church against secularism.

We give thanks for: The abundance of our Father's love manifested in the richness of His Spirit.

Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 24 May – Acts 17:15, 22-18:1; John 16:12-15
Thu, 25 May – Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:1:17-23 or Ephesians 4:1-13 or 4::1-7, 11-13; Mark 16:15-20; The Ascension of the Lord
Fri, 26 May – Acts 18:9-18; John 16:20-23a; Memorial for St. Philip Neri, priest
Sat, 27 May – Acts 18:23-28; John 16:23b-28; Memorial for St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop
Sun, 28 May – Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11b-19; Seventh Sunday of Easter; World Communication Sunday

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Monday, May 22 – Misunderstood

22 May – Memorial for St. Rita of Cascia, religious

MAINTAINING THE FACADE

A sister in the west Sepik in Imonda was visited during the night by a python who wanted to crawl into the warmth of her bed. In horror, she leapt up and ran off to the priest's house so he could come shoot it. Halfway there in the middle of the night and in her nightclothes, she turned back to put in her dentures; she did not want to be seen without them, even in an emergency.

- Frank Mihalic (1000 Stories You Can Use, Volume Two by Frank Mihalic, SVD)

In an emergency, are you able to leave behind what is false?
____________________

John 15:26 – 16:4

Jesus said to his disciples:

"When the Advocate comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,
he will be my witness.
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the outset.

"I have told you all this
so that your faith may not be shaken.
They will expel you from the synagogues,
and indeed the hour is coming
when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy duty for God.
They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or myself.
But I have told you all this,
so that when the time for it comes
you may remember that I told you.
_____________________

"Father forgive them, for they NO NOT what they do" – Luke 23:34

"And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers." – Acts 3:17

It is a terrible thing to destroy another person and claim that it is God's work. It is frightening that sometimes, genuinely good men of impeccable moral character are capable of such actions. It is even more frightening that we sometimes are these good men who commit these acts towards those we consider heretics, dissenters, retrogates, traditionalists, etc. in the supposed name of defending God's honour and his Church's honour.

A true disciple of Christ must expect this. Our Lord warns his disciples during the last supper. He continues to warn us today. A true disciple of Christ must expect that sometimes, misunderstandings or even outright persecution just happens and is sometimes committed by good people. He must expect that sometimes the best of intentions are read in the worst of ways. He must most importantly (and most difficultly) be ready to pardon those who do them praying with Our Lord "Father forgive them, for they no not what they do."

"I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes, you may remember that I told you"

(Today's OXYGEN by Nick Chui)
_____________________

Prayer intention: That we may face persecution with the Spirit of Christ.

Thanksgiving: For the saints who showed us the face of Christ in the face of misunderstanding and persecution.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 23 May – Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11
Wed, 24 May – Acts 17:15, 22-18:1; John 16:12-15
Thu, 25 May – Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:1:17-23 or Ephesians 4:1-13 or 4::1-7, 11-13; Mark 16:15-20; The Ascension of the Lord
Fri, 26 May – Acts 18:9-18; John 16:20-23a; Memorial for St. Philip Neri, priest
Sat, 27 May – Acts 18:23-28; John 16:23b-28; Memorial for St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop
Sun, 28 May – Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11b-19; Seventh Sunday of Easter; World Communication Sunday
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