Monday, Jul 31 – Story-telling

31 Jul – Memorial for St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, religious founder

St. Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Society of Jesus, whose members are known as the Jesuits. He was a man of Spanish nobility, and the youngest of 12 children. As a soldier, he joined the army in 1517 and served in several campaigns before being wounded in the leg by a cannonball in May 1521, an injury that left him partially crippled for life.

Ignatius was passionately fond of reading worldly books of fiction and tales of knights’ adventures. During his recuperation however, the only books that could be found in the house were a collection of the lives of saints, and a book on the life of Christ.

Recovering from injury and being home-bound can be very boring, as I’ve discovered these past two weeks… In any case, as Ignatius read these books, he began to be attracted to what he read in there. Sometimes, in the midst of his readings, he would reflect on what he had read, and at other times, his thoughts dwelt on worldly matters.

But there was a difference. When Ignatius reflected on worldly thoughts, he felt intense pleasure, but when he stopping reflecting, he felt dry and depressed. Yet when he thought of living the rigorous sort of life he knew the saints had lived, he not only experienced pleasure when he actually thought about it, but even after he dismissed these thoughts, he still experienced great joy. He did not pay any attention to this until one day, in a moment of insight, he began to marvel at the difference. Then he understood his experience. Thoughts of one kind left him sad, the others full of joy.

These books and his contemplation of them changed his life completely. On his recovery, he took a vow of chastity, hung up his sword before the altar of the Virgin of Montserrat, and donned a pilgrim’s robes. From 1522-1533, he lived in a cave and contemplating the way to live a Christian life. He later made a pilgrimage to Rome and to the Holy Land in 1523, working to convert Muslims. In 1528, at the age of 37(!) he began studying theology in Barcelona, Alcala, and Paris, receiving his degree in 1534.

[As I read and write this out, I suddenly understand how my dinner companion on Saturday evening, Father Joseph Yao, SJ, could join the Jesuits at the age of 39(!).]

Ignatius’ meditations, prayers, visions and insights led to forming the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus on Aug 15, 1534, and it received papal approval in 1541. He himself never used the term ‘Jesuit’, which was coined as an insult by his opponents. The Society today uses the term with pride.

Ignatius travelled Europe and the Holy Lands, then settled in Rome to direct the Jesuits. His health suffered in later years, and he was nearly blind at death.

The Society of Jesus today has almost 20,000 members, running more than 500 elementary and secondary schools, more than 120 colleges and universities, some 40 technical schools, about 55 seminaries, and hundreds of social justice and social service projects, including the Jesuit Refugee Service.

- Sources of information: Patron Saint Index, Catholic News

For more information on the Jesuits, pick up the latest issue of the Catholic News (for Singapore Catholics only) or visit www.jesuit.org.sg 

Peace,
Catholic Writer
___________________

Jeremiah 13:1-11

The Lord said this to me, “Go any buy a linen loincloth and put it round your waist. But do not dip it in water.” And so, as the Lord has ordered, I bought a loincloth and put it round my waist. A second time the word of the Lord was spoken to me, “Take the loincloth that you have bought and are wearing round your waist; up! Go to the Euphrates and hide it in a hole in the rock.” So I went and hit it near the Euphrates as the Lord had ordered me. Many days afterwards the Lord said to me, “Get up and go to the Euphrates and fetch the loincloth I ordered you to hide there.” So I went to the Euphrates, and I searched, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. The loin cloth was spoilt, good for nothing. Then the word of the Lord was addressed to me, “Thus says the Lord: In the same way I will spoil the arrogance of Judah and Jerusalem. This evil people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the dictates of their own hard hearts, who have followed alien gods, and served them and worshipped them, let them become like this loincloth, good for nothing. For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I had intended the whole House of Judah to cling to me – it is the Lord who speaks – to be my people, my glory, my honour and my boast. But they have not listened.”
__________________

Matthew 13:31-35

Jesus put a parable before the crowds, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.”

He told them another a parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.”

In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy:

    I will speak to you in parables
    and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.
___________________

Different preachers or teachers use different examples or stories to illustrate their point. In our day, we hear of preachers tell us about boats, seeds, and pencils; in Jeremiah’s day, we hear him speaking the word of God and teaching using underwear. Poor Jeremiah! Imagine teaching people while carrying a piece of soiled underwear to illustrate your point. But despite that, he still spoke the word of God as it was addressed to him.

There are many passages in the Bible that are stories, but in our day, we forget that they were written as stories to illustrate a point, and we take them as actual history. One clear case is the story of creation, the first three chapters of the book of Genesis. Those passages are clearly stories and were written as stories, but today, we have people who believe that the world was created exactly in the manner as it was written in the Book of Genesis.

Let us remember that our God is a god of stories. He enjoys telling stories, as can be seen in many parts of the bible. But more importantly, he enjoys writing stories, as he does with our lives. Let us put our lives in his hands and allow him to write great epics, filled with comedy and tragedy, of our lives, for every story that God writes is sure to have a happy ending.
____________________

Prayer: We pray for a greater openness to allowing God to work our lives as He desires.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: The gift of writing.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 01 Aug – Jeremiah 14:17-22; Matthew 13:36-43; Memorial for St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop, religious founder, doctor
Wed, 02 Aug – Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21; Matthew 13:44-46; Memorial for St. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop / St. Peter Julian Eymard, priest
Thu, 03 Aug – Jeremiah 18:1-6; Matthew 13:47-53
Fri, 04 Aug – Jeremiah 26:1-9; Matthew 13:54-58; Memorial for St. John Mary Vianney, priest
Sat, 05 Aug – Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24; Matthew 14:1-12 OR Revelation 21:1-5a; Luke 11:27-28; Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome
Sun, 06 Aug – Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Mark 9:2-10; Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
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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, Jul 30 – Leftovers

30 Jul – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Christ Who Feeds Us

We celebrate today the new Elisha who feeds his people and makes us one body, one spirit, in himself.

- the Sunday Missal
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STRENGTH IN FOOD

Some American Indians had the custom of cutting out the heart of any especially brave enemy they had killed, thinking that by eating it they could get his special strength.

The Maumau of Kenya did the same during their civil war… especially eating the hearts of European missionaries, doctors, nurses, and teachers. A century ago, the Chinese did the same to foreign missionaries.

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

What happens when you eat Jesus?
____________________

2 Kings 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing Elisha, the man of God, bread from the fist-fruits, twenty barley loaves and fresh grain in the ear. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said. but his servant replied, “How can I serve this to a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” he insisted, “for the Lord says this, ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” He served them; they ate and had some over, as the Lord had said.
____________________

Ephesians 4:1-6

I, prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, through all and within all.
_____________________

John 6:1-15

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, “Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?” He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?” Jesus said to them, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, “Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.” So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, “This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.
____________________

Whenever my grandmother invites people to come over to the house for a meal, she always cooks a LOT of food. I am sure that your own parents or grandparents are like that too. You know how it is, that there is so much food that you’re wondering whether they are cooking for a family or for an army, and you end up eating leftovers for a week. We often ask her to cook less, but she never listens.

Someone explained it to me before, that having leftovers after a meal is a sign of prosperity and hospitality. The family that has food left over after a meal is a well-fed family. Also, what host would not have enough food to feed the guests and leave them hungry? A bad host.

When we go to the Lord’s house today and receive Holy Communion, do take note of just how much communion hosts are left over after the meal. That is a sign of a well-fed people, and a hospitable host.

A well-fed family is a happy family, and Christ, the head of the house, rejoices in the members of his body coming together for a meal. For no matter the differences and disagreements the individual members of a family have, they are not cause for divisions, and the family remains united in one spirit, bonded by the same blood that runs through them.
____________________

Prayer: We pray for all Christians to work towards Christian unity, united in one spirit, bonded by the same Blood that runs through them.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: Feeding us.

Upcoming Readings:
Mon, 31 Jul – Jeremiah 13:1-11; Matthew 13:31-35; Memorial for St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, religious founder
Tue, 01 Aug – Jeremiah 14:17-22; Matthew 13:36-43; Memorial for St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop, religious founder, doctor
Wed, 02 Aug – Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21; Matthew 13:44-46; Memorial for St. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop / St. Peter Julian Eymard, priest
Thu, 03 Aug – Jeremiah 18:1-6; Matthew 13:47-53
Fri, 04 Aug – Jeremiah 26:1-9; Matthew 13:54-58; Memorial for St. John Mary Vianney, priest
Sat, 05 Aug – Jeremiach 26:11-16, 24; Matthew 14:1-12 OR Revelation 21:1-5a; Luke 11:27-28; Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome
Sun, 06 Aug – Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Mark 9:2-10; Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
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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.

Saturday, Jul 29 – The Natural Course of Love

29 Jul – Feast of St. Martha, disciple of the Lord

St. Martha was sister to St. Lazarus and Mary of Bethany. She was a friend of Jesus’, and hostess to him in her house.

St. Augustine, in a sermon of his, said: “Martha and Mary were sisters, related not only by blood but also by religious aspirations. They stayed close to our Lord and both served him harmoniously when he was among them. Martha welcomed him as travellers are welcomed. But in her case, the maidservant received her Lord, the creature her Creator, to serve him bodily food while she was to be fed by the Spirit.

“No one of you should say, ‘Blessed are they who have deserved to receive Christ into their homes!’ Do not grieve or complain that you were born in a time when you can no longer see God in the flesh. He did not take this privilege from you. As he says, ‘Whatever you have done to the least of my brothers, you did to me.’”

St. Martha is the patron saint for butlers, cooks, domestic servants, homemakers, housemaids, housewives, innkeepers, laundry workers, maids, servants, single laywomen, and travellers.

- Information from: Patron Saint Index
__________________

1 John 4:7-16

My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows god.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God’s love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God’s love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
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
Gods love towards ourselves.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.
____________________

Luke 10:38-42

Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered: “Martha, Martha,” he said, “you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.
_____________________

God is love. That is the title of our Pope Benedict’s first encyclical to his sheep. He could have addressed so many other issues that concerned the Church, but he chose to write about this one. Why? Because it is the reason that lies behind all we do for God, but even better, it is the reason that lies behind all that God does for us.

From the very beginning, God created the world out of love for us. Everything was created just so that it would be a suitable place for us to live. Then he created us, because for us to exist, even in a miserable state, is better than not to exist at all. Why? Because if we exist, we can experience God’s love for us, and that has to be better than not existing at all.

In today’s alternative gospel reading which I’ve chosen to reflect on, I realise that many people like this reading because it justifies their non-service in church. But is that how God is revealing himself to us in the reading? Who would ever think that God is not one who serves and calls us to do the same?

Indeed God doesn’t explicitly call us to serve. His first call is for us to do what he created us to do, that is, to experience his love for us. He calls us to sit by him and contemplate, and to experience his love for us. It is not enough to experience it, but we must go further to reflect and contemplate on that experience, as well as the ongoing experience of love. One way of doing this is to read the Bible, which is God’s revelation of himself to us.

The more we get to know God, the more we get to love him. Experiencing love always leads us to love the other person back. We know this in our lives. When someone shows us real self-giving love, we love the person back. Our parents never taught us in the form of lessons how to love them back, yet we do. Because we have seen what they have done for us, we have experienced their love for us. But if we do not reflect on this love, if we do not contemplate on our parents’ love for us, we will not love them back. The same it is with God’s love for us.

When we love another person, that love will always have to be expressed in action. A love that cannot be expressed in action is not real love. This is because of the very nature of love itself, which is self-giving, self-sacrificing. It directly implies action. Loving another person leads us to giving of ourselves to that person; it leads us to serving that person.

By loving God, we are led to serving him. It all comes back to contemplation of God’s love for us. Without this basic contemplation, this spending of time with God, getting to know God better, we will not be drawn to love him, we will not be drawn to showing our love for him. And if we do not show our love for him, can it be real love?
_____________________

Upcoming Readings:
Sun, 30 Jul – 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15; Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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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, Jul 28 – Childlike

28 Jul

CHILDREN, PRIDE OF PARENTS

Cornelia was a noble Roman lady, the wife of an emperor. She had two small sons, who were her pride and joy, since she had lost all her other children.

One day another noble Roman lady came to her house for a visit and was proudly showing off her jewelry to her hostess. She then challenged Cornelia to show off her own jewels. Cornelia pointed to her sons, who had just entered the room. “These are my jewels,” she said.

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

Parents, are you proud of your children? Do they know it?
__________________

Jeremiah 3:14-17

Return, O faithless children, says the LORD,
For I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
And I will bring you to Zion.

I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the LORD, they shall no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the LORD.” It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another one be made. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer stubbornly follow their own evil will.
___________________

Matthew 13:18-23

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown ion rocky ground, this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another case sixty, and in another thirty.
____________________

“Return, O faithless children.” In some movie, those words could be uttered by an angry chief or captain, calling back deserters before or during a war. You’d see the chief standing on an elevated ground, seeing a huge number of soldiers fleeing from what they would think of as certain death. But far from this angry version, God’s call is one full of love. He’s calling us to return because He wants to give us good things, things that are the best for us. He wants us to prosper, as it is said later, God has “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” – Jeremiah 29:11.

In light of what is said above about the ark of the covenant, it seems like the ark was used as a means to remember what God did, yes, but it was remembered out of duty. What God is asking for is for us to remember Him out of love, of the kind of love He has for us. It can be said to be similar to the kind of simple childlike love like a little five-year-old running to his mother when she comes back from work, not looking back, not thinking about anything, just experiencing the joy of seeing his mother again.

To take it further, it’s like making a representation of the five-year-old’s mother so that he will remember her when she’s not in the house. The child will then be able to remember his mother, miss her and so on. That’s quite nonsensical, isn’t it? A child does not need that ‘representation’ because his mother is always present in his heart. He doesn’t need anything material to think about her, to remember her or to miss her. It’s natural for him to do all these without an “ark of mom”.

That’s how ‘natural’ we are called to be with God. Maybe that’s why Jesus said “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” – Mark 10:15. How are we entering our relationship with God? Is it a relationship that has be sown on good soil? Or are we double-minded, saying “yes” to God, but at the same time looking back and thinking about other things?

(Today’s OXYGEN by Lyndley Ah Qune)
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We pray for a childlike faith and a childlike heart and trust in God.

Thanks be to God for children.

Upcoming Readings:
Sat, 29 Jul – 1 John 4:7-16; John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42; Memorial for St. Martha, disciple of the Lord
Sun, 30 Jul – 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15; Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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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.

Thursday, Jul 27 – Getting What You Want

27 Jul

NO ONE IS LOOKING FOR GOD

Rabbi Baruch’s nephew Jechiel was once playing hide and seek with the neighbourhood kids. He ran and hid himself well and then waited for his companion to find him. He waited and waited and came back out of his hiding place but could not find his companion anywhere. Then he found out that his companion had tricked him, he never even started to look for him. So he began to cry and ran home to his uncle and complained about that bad playmate.

The the Rabbi’s eyes filled with tears and he said, “That’s what God says too: ‘I hide myself and no one bothers looking for me.’”

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

When was the last time you bothered to look for God?
___________________

Jeremiah 2:1-3,7-8,12-13

The word of the Lord was addressed to me saying, “Go and shout this in the hearing of Jerusalem:

‘The Lord says this:
I remember the affection of your youth,
the love of your bridal days:
you followed me through the wilderness,
through a land unsown.
Israel was sacred to the Lord,
the first-fruits of his harvest;
anyone who ate of this had to pay for it,
misfortune came to them -
it is the Lord who speaks.

“I brought you to a fertile country
to enjoy its produce and good things;
but no sooner had you entered than you defiled my land,
and made my heritage detestable.
The priests have never asked, ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who administer the Law have no knowledge of me.
The shepherds have rebelled against me;
the prophets have prophesied in the name of Baal,
following things with no power in them.

“You heavens, stand aghast at this,
stand stupefied, stand utterly appalled
- it is the Lord who speaks -
since my people have committed a double crime:
they have abandoned me,
the fountain of living water,
only to dig cisterns for themselves,
leaky cisterns
that hold no water.”
____________________

Matthew 13:10-17

The disciples went up to Jesus and asked, “Why do you talk to the crowds in parables?” “Because,” he replied, “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:

“You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are full of hearing and they have shut their eyes
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.

“But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.”
____________________

I may be graduated but I think I’m still fresh enough to remember something my friends and I faced every year. During the semester, many of us would long for the holidays to arrive, for that break from the school work and all. When the holidays arrived, we’d become bored and long for school to start again so we’d have things to do. Soap, scrub, rinse, repeat – an endless cycle.

First impressions would seem to suggest that this is an expression of dissatisfaction with what we got because it wasn’t what we wanted. That’s both true and untrue. It is true that we are dissatisfied. It is however untrue that we did not want those things – a break from school followed by a want to return to it.

Today’s readings paint a similar scenario. In the first reading, the Israelites have got it made after settling in the promised land. What happens next? They become bored and complacent because they had always desired for recognition as a powerful nation and now that it was fulfilled. Just as Jeremiah said, the question of “Where is the Lord?” was never raised during this time. Only when crises struck did people turn to God.

The Old Testament is full of accounts of such penitential periods in Israel’s history. But even then, a motivating intention was that the nation be restored to glory and power. We know of this in the Gospel. The people wanted a worldly king in Christ to rule over the country and dispel the hold of their oppressors. The miracles pleased them mightily but ultimately they were not satisfied by what Jesus had to show.

The missing point in these matter is that the wants in this case were to satisfy superficial desires. These are just too easily quenched but because they are superficial, they tend to “regenerate” quickly and what we get is a continuous stream of them. It becomes very easy to get caught up in the quest to satisfy these desires and go off tangent and forget about slaking the real thirst.

Christ taught those who were willing to listen and ask and understand the Truth of how dehydrated they were. Just as a moving fan can be stopped if a force is applied at the hub, the “endless cycle” can be broken if one addresses the key issue. For the Israelites, it was to recognise that the glory of God had primacy over the nation’s own status. In acknowledging this, the disciples were the ones who had more, were given more and had more than enough. The rest? The stubborn holding on to obtaining worldly satisfaction just led to more and more disappointment – “from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away”.

In the case of my contradicting views of the school term and holidays, the key issue was how to be productive and not drain myself out by overworking; to use God’s gifts in the capacity they were meant for and being kiasu and trying to churn out a bit more. Thanks to God that I eventually recognised this, albeit a bit late but better than never, and in that brief period, things were certainly easier to bear.

I read that the price of getting what you want is getting it. I feel this is true. There is no denying that we face the results of what we go after. But would we be able to stare at those results and honestly say “Yes, I’m happy”? Sisters and brothers, there is then a need for us to consider what we really want. Until we can answer that question, we’ll be blindly wandering about like the bulk of Israel in both Jeremiah’s and Christ’s time, chasing dreams of short term fulfilment.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Aloysius Ting)
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Prayer: For all who find themselves easily distracted and ill at ease with their lot in life, that the Holy Spirit may inspire and motivate them and bring them focus.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: Wishes and dreams.

Upcoming Readings:
Thu, 27 Jul – Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13; Matthew 13:10-17
Fri, 28 Jul – Jeremiah 3:14-17; Matthew 13:18-23
Sat, 29 Jul – 1 John 4:7-16; John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42; Memorial for St. Martha, disciple of the Lord
Sun, 30 Jul – 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15; Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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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, Jul 26 – Great Expectations

26 Jul – Memorial for Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary

Joachim and Anne were never mentioned in historical or canonical writings. What information we have of St. Joachim comes mainly from the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James (Gospel of James).

Tradition says that both of them were quite well off, and that there were an elderly couple when Mary was conceived. The belief that Anne remained a virgin in the conception and birth of Mary was condemned by the Vatican in 1677.

Tradition also says that Mary was their only child. It is believed that they gave Mary to the service of the Temple when the girl was three years old.

St. Joachim is the patron for fathers, grandfathers, and grandparents.

Devotion to St. Anne has been popular in the East from the very early days of the Church. Widespread devotion in the West began in the 16th century, but many shrines have developed since. In Singapore, we have a church dedicated to St. Anne.

St. Anne was never formally canonized, but devotion to her was a cult that extended to the whole Church in 1584. In other words, she was universally accepted as a saintly model by the catholic (universal) church.

St. Anne is patron against poverty; carpenters; childless people; grandmothers; homemakers, housewives, and mothers; pregnant women and women in labour, among others.

Prayer to St. Anne (one of five listed):
Families that are truly Christian love the Family of Nazareth, but they also honour the parents of Mary, especially Saint Anne who bore and gave birth to her. How glorious to give birth to one who would be the Mother of God! May we who have devotion to you, Saint Anne, obtain even more devotion to Mary and the greatest devotion to Christ, your grandson. Amen.

- Source: Patron Saint Index
___________________

Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of a priestly family living at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
before you came to birth I consecrated you;
I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.”

I said, “Ah, Lord; look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!” But the Lord replied,

“Do not say, ‘I am a child.’
Go now to those to whom I send you
and say whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to protect you -
it is the lord who speaks!”

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me:
“There! I am putting my words into your mouth.
Look, today I am setting you
over nations and over kingdoms,
to tear up and to knock down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
____________________

Matthew 13:1-9

Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.

He said, “Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!
____________________

Often, when God approaches us to give us a task and tells us, “My son (or daughter), we will see great things coming from you”, we would tell him, “No, Lord, I am not worthy to carry out this task. I don’t have the capability of doing it. Give it to someone else who is more capable of carrying it out.”

But what does that say about what we think of God? It says, first of all, that God made a mistake and chose the wrong person for the task. It also says that we know ourselves better than God knows us, and therein lies the root of all our errors. Ultimately, we think that we know better than God. This is the first sin, and it continues to remain with us.

It is different from being humble, but there is also the fear that we would get ourselves into something big and we can’t continue through with it. It would help to consider today’s gospel reading. The sower goes out to sow his seeds and the seeds land on different kind of soil. On poor soil, the plants that grew were unhealthy and quickly withered away. On good soil, the plants grew up healthy and strong. It has become a great plant!

This would be like the “great things” that God expects of us. But what is important that without the good soil, the plants would never have reached this stage of growth. It would have died long ago.

So essentially, when God gives us a particular task, it is like a gardener taking a seed and bringing it to a special patch of good soil that he has prepared. And he says to the soil, “I have spent much time preparing this soil so that it is good enough for this seed that I am going to plant in it. Take good care of this seed, nurture it, and it will grow into a fine plant. But I will not leave you alone. Just as I have prepared the soil, I will come back to water the plant, fertilize it further, and prune it.”

We often think that when God gives us a task, he leaves us alone to handle it. Nothing could be further from the truth. When God gives us a task, he will be with us all the way, giving us the strength, the wisdom, the gifts, and the inspiration to see the task through to the end. Even if we can’t rely on our own strength, can we not rely on God’s?
____________________

Prayer: We pray for all who are discerning a path in life, may they be assured that whichever path they choose, God will be with them always, and give them the strength to walk down that road.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: Choosing the right person.

Upcoming Readings:
Thu, 27 Jul – Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13; Matthew 13:10-17
Fri, 28 Jul – Jeremiah 3:14-17; Matthew 13:18-23
Sat, 29 Jul – 1 John 4:7-16; John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42; Memorial for St. Martha, disciple of the Lord
Sun, 30 Jul – 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15; Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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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, Jul 25 – First and Last

25 Jul – Feast of St. James, apostle

St. James was one of the Twelve, son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of St. John the Apostle. He may have been Jesus’ cousin. He is called James “the Greater” simply because he became an apostle earlier than St. James the Lesser.

Apparently, he was a disciple of St. John the Baptist, and a fisherman as well. Like Simon, he left everything when Christ called him to be a fisher of men. This James was present during most of the recorded miracles of Christ, including his Transfiguration and at his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

St. James preached in Samaria, Judea, and Spain, and he was the first apostle to be martyred. He died in the year 44 at Jerusalem, where he was stabbed with a sword by King Herod Agrippa. Legend says that his body was taken by angels, and sailed in a rudderless, unattended boat to Spain where a massive rock closed around it. His relics are now at Compostela, Spain.

The pilgrimage to his relics in Compostela became such a popular devotion that the symbols of pilgrims have become his emblems, and he is the patron of pilgrims. His work in Spain, and the housing of his relics there, led to his patronage of the country and all things Spanish. For centuries after, the Spanish army rode to battle with the cry, “Santiago!” (“Saint James!”)

Many stories grew up around the saint. In one story, he brought back to life a boy who had been unjustly hanged, and had been dead for five weeks. The boy’s father was notified of the miracles while he sat at supper. The father pronounced the story nonsense, and said that his son was no more alive than the roasted fowl on the table; the cooked bird promptly sat up, sprouted feathers, and flew away.

St. James is patron of many, some of which include: against arthritis and rheumatism, and their sufferers; druggists, pharmacists, and apothecaries; pilgrims; soldiers, knights, horsemen, and riders; veterinarians.

Prayer to St. James
O glorious Saint James, because of your fervour and generosity, Jesus chose you to witness his glory on the Mount and his agony in the Garden. Obtain for us strength and consolation in the unending struggles of this life. Help us to follow Christ constantly and generously, to be victors over all our difficulties, and to receive the crown of glory in heaven. Amen.

- Patron Saint Index
__________________

Matthew 20:20-28

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.”

He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
___________________

Ask and you shall be given, seek and you shall find. I guess sometimes it is tempting to base our petitions on the previous phrase and really ask the Lord for whatever great things we yearn for. But here I think Jesus qualifies what he had said earlier – that whatever we are asking for, we should be asking in humility. For me, this means looking beyond myself and putting God ahead of me in all that I say, think or do.

So, today, try putting yourself last and others first. Try to free yourself from the desire of being loved, praised and preferred. It won’t be easy, but it is the challenge that Jesus has given us.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Koh Hsing Dee)
___________________

We pray for: A desire to be last, to decrease so that others may increase.

We give thanks for: The example of Jesus in our lives.

Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 26 Jul – Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10; Matthew 13:1-9; Memorial for Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary
Thu, 27 Jul – Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13; Matthew 13:10-17
Fri, 28 Jul – Jeremiah 3:14-17; Matthew 13:18-23
Sat, 29 Jul – 1 John 4:7-16; John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42; Memorial for St. Martha, disciple of the Lord
Sun, 30 Jul – 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15; Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Monday, Jul 24 – The Reproaches

24 Jul – Memorial for St. Charbel Makhluf, priest

Information on St. Charbel Makhluf (or Makhlouf) was rather hard to find. He wasn’t in the usual Patron Saint Indices that can be easily found on the internet. Still, being canonized a saint by Pope Paul VI on Oct 9, 1977 means that he can’t be too obscure to find.

St. Charbel (1828-1898) was born in the high mountains of northern Lebanon. He was baptised “Joseph” and raised in a very poor but devout family which fostered piety and love for God. He was a prayerful youth who from his early years learned to detach himself from worldly vanities. He enjoyed his solitude which he used to pray and think about God.

At the age of 23, he left home to discover his religious vocation as a monk and hermit. He joined the Lebanese Maronite Order and professed his solemn vows in 1853, choosing the name “Charbel”.

His vocation was then tested by trial as there were some persons who felt that he did not have a vocation. His mother and some members of his family decided that he should return home to his family, and they begged him to leave the monastery – but he refused firmly and persevered in his vocation.

After his ordination in 1859, he spent 16 years at the monastery of St. Maroun where he stayed during his novitiate. He was known for his humility and fidelity to his duty, and lived the virtues “like an angel” and was heroic through his perfect obedience, poverty and chastity. His mortification and self-denial were an edification to all.

His superiors discerned that he had the vocation to live the life of a hermit which he ardently desired. For the remaining 23 years of his life, he lived the life of a hermit. The purpose of religious life is the sanctification of one’s soul through faith, hope and charity. It is no different for the hermit. The means are prayer, manual work, fasting, and detachment from oneself. All of this to a heroic degree.

St. Charbel was also noted for his devotion to the Holy Eucharist and to the Mother of God. For 39 years as a priest, he celebrated Mass every day. He took a long time to prepare for Mass and afterwards, he remained in thanksgiving for as long as two hours.

Let us remember in our prayers, the homeland of St. Charbel, which is now in conflict with Israel. Let us ask St. Charbel to intercede for the innocent Lebanese caught in the crossfire between the two countries in which at least 300 civilians have been killed, 1,000 civilians injured, and 700,000 displaced, according to Lebanese government accounts.
___________________

Micah 6:1-4:6-8

Listen to what the Lord is saying:

Stand up and let the case begin in the hearing of the mountains
and let the hills hear what you say.
Listen, you mountains, to the Lord’s accusation,
give ear, you foundations of the earth,
for the Lord is accusing his people,
pleading against Israel:
My people, what have I done to you,
how have I been a burden to you? Answer me.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt,
I rescued you from the house of slavery;
I sent Moses to lead you,
with Aaron and Miriam.

With what gift shall I come into the Lord’s presence
and bow down before God on high?
Shall I come with holocausts,
with calves one year old?
Will he be pleased with rams by the thousand,
with libations of oil in torrents?
Must I give my first-born for what I have done wrong,
the fruit of my body for my own sin?”

What is good has been explained to you, man;
this is what the Lord asks of you:
only this, to act justly,
to love tenderly
and to walk humbly with your God.
___________________

Matthew 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke up. “Master,” they said, we should like to see a sign from you.” Jesus replied, “It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
____________________

“My people, what have I done to you, how have I been a burden to you? Answer me!” We sing what we call the reproaches on Good Friday when we venerate the cross. Our Lord cries almost in anguish at the perversity of humanity who would reject his love out of ingratitude and the haunting tune of the reproaches reminds us that it was our sins which nailed our Lord on to the cross.

Yet in this perverse generation, it has become rather fashionable to accuse God instead. Earthquakes, tsunamis and the presence of evil has always been present in the world and many anguished hearts have pondered on this question as to why God allows evil. It is one thing to talk to God in anguish at the presence of evil in the world. It is quite another to say, like H.G Wells that when he meets God, he will spit on his face, for allowing a single innocent child to die. We are putting God on trial when like the Pharisees of old we demand a sign from him and expect Him to fulfill our criteria of proof.

It would seem that such a reaction is justifiable but in reality, it is actually a subtle form of blasphemy. We take upon ourselves to know the mind of God, and we pretend that we love a hypothetical innocent child more than God does. When we are in anguish at the presence of evil, when a loved one dies or is seriously ill, we cry with our Lord on the cross and with Job but we do not curse the name of God. For when people claim to build a case against God in defense of man, on whom can they depend when human activity proves powerless?

“Man, you who judge God, who order Him to justify Himself before your tribunal, think about yourself, if you are not responsible for the death of this condemned man, if the judgement of God is not actually a judgment upon yourself. Consider if this judgment and its result – the Cross and then the Resurrection are not your only way to salvation.” – John Paul II Crossing the Threshold of Hope

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nick Chui)
__________________

Prayer intention: For the courage to trust

Thanksgiving: For the gift of faith

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 25 Jul – 2 Corinthians 4:7-15; Matthew 20:20-28; Feast of St. James, apostle
Wed, 26 Jul – Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10; Matthew 13:1-9; Memorial for Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary
Thu, 27 Jul – Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13; Matthew 13:10-17
Fri, 28 Jul – Jeremiah 3:14-17; Matthew 13:18-23
Sat, 29 Jul – 1 John 4:7-16; John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42; Memorial for St. Martha, disciple of the Lord
Sun, 30 Jul – 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15; Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Sunday, Jul 23 – Have A Break

23 Jul – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Christ The Good Shepherd

Today we celebrate the Shepherd who leads all men to the Father, however far apart they may be in race or culture.

- the Sunday Missal
_____________________

RELAXATION BRINGS PROGRESS

A man who had walked the whole day suddenly found darkness coming upon him. He started to look around for a suitable place to rest his weary bones. he found what he thought was a large stone, stretched himself out and fell asleep.

When he awoke the next morning, he found himself in a completely different place. And the walking stick and haversack which he had left alongside the stone, were nowhere to be found. Full of astonishment, he studied his surroundings and also the stone on which he had fallen asleep.

That was when he found out that his bed had not been a stone by the back of a gigantic turtle. During the night the animal had slowly and softly moved along, taking the tired hiker with him.

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

When was the last time you took a good break and rested from your work?
___________________

Jeremiah 23:1-6

“Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered – it is the Lord who speaks! This, therefore, is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds in charge of my people: You have let my flock be scattered and go wandering and have not taken care of them. Right, I will take care of you for your misdeeds – it is the Lord who speaks! But the remnant of my flock I myself will gather from all the countries where i have dispersed them, and will bring them back to their pastures: they shall be fruitful and increase in numbers. I will raise up shepherds to look after them and pasture them; no fear, no terror for them any more; not one shall be lost – it is the Lord who speaks!

“See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks -
when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David,
who will reign as true king and be wise,
practising honesty and integrity in the land.
In his day Judah will be saved
and Israel dwell in confidence.
And this is the name he will be called:
The Lord-our-integrity.”
____________________

Mark 6:30-34

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while”; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.
____________________

Over the past week, many of our diocesan priests have been away at their annual retreat. Retreats are very important for all of us. It gives us time to spend with God. A friend described a retreat as “a vacation with God” after I lamented the cost of going for a retreat. It is not that much actually, if you consider the cost of a regular vacation anywhere else.

We take vacations to get away from work. It gives us a break and allows us to rediscover ourselves… although many people often talk about needing a vacation to get over their vacation. A vacation with the Lord is nothing like that.

A highly recommended form of retreat is the silent retreat, where you retreat to a quiet, secluded place by yourself and have no contact with the outside world. You have no newspapers to read, no radio to listen to, no television to watch, and of course, no internet to use. The only book you bring with you is your Bible. In addition, you do not speak to anyone at all, except for your retreat director with whom you spend about half an hour everyday. In that time, you would share about what you experienced the previous day, and s/he would give you advice and additional scriptural passages to reflect on. Other than that, there is nothing else to do, but to read the bible and to spend time with the Lord.

My personal experience is that the first two days of the retreat is usually spent catching up on sleep; most of us are sleep-deprived in our usual working lives. But after two days, extreme boredom sets in and you actually begin to start turning the pages of your bible. This is when you become more receptive to the Lord, what he is saying to you, and how he is revealing himself to you.

Retreats can be, and often are, life-changing, at least in the way we look at our world. They help make us aware of God’s presence in our lives once again, and helps us to reorientate our lives towards God once more.

Every one of us, especially those who are active in some form of ministry, should spend time with God in a retreat at least once a year or two years. After all, God is the reason why we take part in our ministry. It would be very strange if that ministry does not allow us to spend time with God, wouldn’t it?

( More information on individually-direction retreats can be found at: www.veritas.org.sg/lifedirectionteam )
____________________

Prayer: We pray for our priests, that after a good break from ministry to spend time with the Lord at their retreats, they may return to their ministries with renewed strength and inspiration.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: Quiet time to spend with him alone.

Upcoming Readings:
Mon, 24 Jul – Micah 6:1-4, 6-8; Matthew 12:38-42; Memorial for St. Charbel Makhluf, priest
Tue, 25 Jul – 2 Corinthians 4:7-15; Matthew 20:20-28; Feast of St. James, apostle
Wed, 26 Jul – Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10; Matthew 13:1-9; Memorial for Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary
Thu, 27 Jul – Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13; Matthew 13:10-17
Fri, 28 Jul – Jeremiah 3:14-17; Matthew 13:18-23
Sat, 29 Jul – 1 John 4:7-16; John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42; Memorial for St. Martha, disciple of the Lord
Sun, 30 Jul – 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15; Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Saturday, Jul 22 – Roleplay

22 Jul – Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, disciple of the Lord

St. Mary of Magdalen has recently been brought to the world attention yet again by the novel “The Da Vinci Code” which portrays her as the wife of Jesus. There have been many attempts by people who have tried to find her true identity. Some have said that she was the same as Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus. Some call her the woman with seven demons, some say that she was the penitent adulteress who was almost stoned. Some also say that she was a prostitute who was forgiven by Jesus.

While we don’t know for sure which one is she, or is she even one of them, although Pope Gregory the Great (591) identified her as Mary of Bethany and the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet (hey, even popes have been known to be wrong), I like this comment that is made about her in one of the patron saint websites:

“Mary Magdalen has been a victim of mistaken identity for almost 20 centuries. Yet she would no doubt insist that it makes no difference. We are all sinners in need of the saving power of God, whether our sins have been lurid or not. More importantly, we are all, with her, “unofficial” witnesses of the Resurrection.”

- Source: American Catholic, Wikipedia [ Patron Saint Index is down! ]
___________________

Song of Songs 3:1-4

The bride says this:

On my bed, at night, I sought him
whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
So I will rise and go through the City;
in the streets an the squares
I will seek him whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me
on their rounds in the City:
“Have you seen him whom my heart loves?”
Scarcely had I passed them
than I found him whom my heart loves.
____________________

John 20:1-2, 11-18

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciples, the one Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we don’t know where they have put him.”

Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, on at the head, the other at the feet. They said, “Woman, why are you weeping?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.” Jesus said, “Mary!” She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbuni! – which means Master. Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.
____________________

We’ve read in the papers about the recent tsunami that hit the coast of Java earlier this week. Suppose you had been in the region where the tsunami struck and after that, your family and friends heard no further word from you and assumed the worst. Which of your family members and friends would come looking for you?

And if you knew that they were looking for you, say you saw a group of them from a distance and they spread out as individuals to look for you, which person would you run to first to let them know that you’re alright? This group of people who have come looking for you all love you very much, and the person that you run to first is probably the one that you love very much too.

Indeed Mary of Magdala certainly held a special place in Jesus’ heart, for he chose to appear to her first of all (of course you could also reason that it just happened that Mary was the only one at his tomb, but do you really think that Jesus does things for so simple a reason?) and of course Jesus held a most highly prized place in Mary’s heart – one that would cause her to risk getting caught by the Jews for coming to Jesus’ tomb so soon after he had been executed.

And Mary saw an empty tomb which once held the body of Christ. Where had Jesus gone to? Where is the body? There is a reason why Jesus first chose to reveal his glorified body to a woman. It is because woman is the natural, God-created receptacle for man’s love.

I am not saying that at this point, Mary and Jesus had sex, for that is not what is meant by “She knew him then”, for the love of God, no.

But Mary represents all of humanity in being the first to receive Jesus in his newest revelation as God. For humans are first in the eyes of God; we are the centre of God’s attention, the first to receive Jesus as God. In no other species of creatures, animal or spirit, did God choose to make himself into one of them. But us humans, we are special, because God chose to become one of us. In that sense, God has redeemed our status as humans. No longer are we just another species of his creatures. We are special now, because God was one of us, so that we can become like God.

How do we become like God? God traditionally takes the male role in a relationship. A male role is one that initiates, one that leads, one that guides, one that protects. We take the female role in the relationship – it is one that supports, one that encourages, one that allows to be led, guided, protected, one that nurtures, one that silently gives, and serves.

This relationship between God and humanity is forever immortalised in the basic unit of humanity itself – the family. All families begin with a man and a woman, united in body and soul, which gives brings about new life.

This is the reason why a marriage can never be anything but between a man and a woman. Not because it’s biological, but because it is sacred. The sanctity, the holiness of marriage between a man and a woman is one that reflects a much deeper truth – the marriage between God and humanity. In that relationship, both God and humanity have certain roles to play. When humanity tries to take God’s role, the relationship falls apart as it did in the Garden of Eden, as it did every time the Israelites took things into their own hands and refused to love and serve God.

So it is in our human relationships as well. When one party tries to take on the role of the other party, the relationship too will fall apart in no time. We all have different roles to play in our relationships. Let us recognise this, for the good of our relationships.
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Prayer: We pray for those who have not realised the importance of playing their role in their relationships with people and with God, may it be revealed to them so that they will suffer less from broken relationships.

Give Thanks to the Lord for: A better understanding of the relationship between God and humanity, between man and woman, through the gift of Theology of the Body.

Upcoming Readings:
Sun, 23 Jul – Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:13-18; Mark 6:30-34; Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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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.