22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Last Sunday, we saw how St. Peter was graced by faith. God the Father revealed the truth of Jesus as Messiah to him. Yet today, almost immediately after being elected by Jesus to be the foundation of the Church, he shows how fragile human wills are. When he could not accept what Jesus was saying about his mission, Jesus rebuke him saying that he did not think in God’s way.

Can we always think in God’s way? I believe that we should not misunderstand the situation. Jesus revealed that God wanted Him to go to Jerusalem where he would suffer under the chief priests and scribes, then be put to death and then rise again. St. Peter had heard enough from Jesus that God the Father had sent Jesus. Thus, what Jesus said was something that is part of Jesus’ mission. He only considered that his master was going to be in danger. That is why Jesus said that St. Peter was not thinking in God’s way. Thus, Jesus did not mean that we have to always think in God’s way. Rather, we must not always think in man’s way.

It was God’s will that Jesus was to go to Jerusalem. It was not God’s will that the chief priests and elders chose not to listen to Jesus. It was not God’s will that they chose to harm Jesus. It was God’s will that Jesus was to go to Jerusalem. God does not control human decision. Human beings control human decision. God may try to influence our decisions but always to do good. Yet after the evil that was going to be done to Jesus, God finds a way to right the situation: Jesus will rise on the third day. St. Peter did not see that. He only saw the evil that was to be done to his master but not that God will raise Jesus.

There are many times when we find ourselves facing situations that we do not like. Our human way of thinking would ask the question why? Sometimes we are able to discern an answer, but other times we are not able to. When we bring our faith into the picture, that is, think in God’s way, we find that what we need to do is not asking but trusting. It is not that God wills evil for us but that in times of difficulty, God knows what needs to be done. Are we able to let go and let God handle the situation?

Once we understand this, we would understand what it means to carry our cross. The cross is not the suffering that God wills on us, it is the faith that we must bear in times of difficulty and suffering. We often say that our illness is our cross. We often say that we need to carry the cross when we find ourselves in difficulty. We must realise that what we are saying is that we must carry our faith, trusting that God will do what He thinks is best. Letting God also means that we continue to pray and when he provides us with solutions to our difficulty, we are to make a decision. We still have to say yes or no to Him. Sometimes, when we think in the human way, the solution that God suggests does not seem logical. Yet, when we think in God’s way, we find wisdom in what the world considers folly. When we say yes to God’s way, we will find life.

You will probably say to me, “Father, that is all good in theory. In practice, how do I know what to choose?” To think in God’s way means we must open our minds to God Himself. To do that means we must pray. I don’t mean mumble prayers, rather to open our minds and hearts to God in silence. It is in the silence of our hearts, not crowded with human thinking that we are able to see clearly. This needs practice. This is why we are to pray everyday. It is training our minds and hearts to enter into God’s way of thinking. Convention human wisdom also has something similar: we say practice makes perfect. So dear brothers and sisters, let us practise thinking in God’s way by having a consistent prayer life so that we may say yes to eternal life when God presents us with it.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

I remember a very intelligent man saying that God does not exist because if God existed he would not be dying of cancer. Is it that this man does not have faith? 

Jesus asked his disciples who people thought He was. When repeating what other people said, the answers came fast. But when Jesus made that question personal, “Who do you say I am?” I could imagine the silence. You know, sometimes when there is an awkward silence during a conversation between friends — then someone has to say something to break the silence? It was probably something like that when Jesus asked the question. Simon was the one who broke the silence. What he said was something that no one else dared to say. Jesus was the Messiah.

Both Messiah and Christ mean the same thing. Messiah is derived from Hebrew and Christ from Greek. It is is not mentioned in the Gospels, but the other disciples probably thought that Jesus was the Messiah that all Jews were waiting for. What they were afraid to say, Simon dared to say it. The response from Jesus was just as surprising, “Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.” Simon did not hear a voice from heaven saying that Jesus was the Messiah. He probably reasoned this on his own from the miracles and teachings of Jesus. So how could Jesus say that it was the Father who revealed it to Simon?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (153) says, “Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. ” We believe in God because God has given us the capability of believing in Him. In short, Faith is a grace. With the capability or grace to believe in Him, God reveals truths into our hearts. How we respond to this revelation is a free response on our part. Again, in the Catechism (166) we read:

Faith is a personal act – the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others.

So Simon was given the grace of faith by God the Father. Then observing what Jesus did and said, Simon freely accepted the truth that the Father had revealed to him in his heart: that Jesus was Messiah. This belief was not kept in his heart but he shared it with the others when the opportunity came. It was possible that the other disciples had some idea Jesus was the Messiah, but their reluctance to freely accept this held them back.

However, Simon, who was praised and given the name Peter by Jesus, did not always respond positively. We remember how he denied Jesus. Yet, unlike Judas Iscariot, Simon Peter held on to the words of Jesus he had heard. Jesus said that every sin could be forgiven. His grievous sin of denying Jesus could be forgiven. He repented. Simon Peter eventually became a witness by dying for Christ. His experience of the forgiving Jesus at the end of St. John’s Gospel kept him clinging on to Jesus and to the task that Jesus had given him. Despite all his difficulties and failures, he continued to cling on to his faith.

What about us? If we were not given the grace of faith, we would have said what the cancer-stricken man would have said. The fact that we are here at Mass means that we have the grace of faith. Like St. Peter, we have encountered Christ and we responded in faith. We also mess up like St. Peter but are we able to cling on to our faith? When things don’t go the way we wished, would we let go of the God who loves us? Let us pray to God that we can cling on to our faith in Him and His Son. Let us also pray that we can be like St. Peter, able to share that faith with the people around us.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

 Last month, we read in the newspapers of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. Many people gathered together for protests despite the CoVid-19 situation. This movement started because of racial discrimination. Discrimination is something that is present everywhere. I experienced discrimination when I was studying in Rome. When the SARS epidemic occurred in East Asia, I found that people in the streets avoided me because I was East Asian. When Italy lost to South Korea during the FIFA World Cup in 2002, certain places did not want to serve me coffee because the Italians were upset with their team’s defeat by the Korean team. 

Today, Jesus seemed to discriminate against the Canaanite woman. The Jews did not mix with people of other nations. Jesus had been preaching only to the Jews and not to other people. Thus, it seemed he was looking down on the Canaanite woman by referring her to dogs. What Jesus said would have been praised by the Pharisees and scribes of his time. Yet when the woman demonstrated her deep faith, Jesus relents. Did Jesus really discriminate? In the eighth chapter of Matthew, Jesus healed a Roman centurion’s servant without question, yet He hesitates here. We can only surmise that he wanted to teach his disciples a lesson. When Jesus did not answer to the woman’s shouting, his disciples asked Jesus to give the woman what she wanted because they wanted her to stop shouting. The disciples were not worried about the woman’s daughter. They were disturbed by the woman’s shouting and just wanted her to stop. They cared for what they wanted and not truly for others’ needs. Jesus reminds his disciples that He gave the Canaanite woman what she wanted because she had great faith. The disciples discriminated against her because she was not a Jew. They had assumed that God had rejected everyone except the Jews. Jesus’s answer tells them that they were wrong. In our first reading, we hear Isaiah tell us that God will welcome foreigners to His holy mountain. In our second reading, we hear St. Paul tell us that although God had chosen the Jews, their rejection of Jesus had made them disobedient to God and those whom the Jews despised and discriminated against are now the ones shown mercy.

Like the Jews, we must remember that while we have the grace of God, it is also possible for us to lose it and that those who accept God despite not explicitly accepting Jesus might have greater faith than us. Coming to Mass is something important for Catholics. We are concerned for ourselves when we come for mass. Are we concerned about others who are not coming for mass? If we are not, then we are like the apostles, only caring for our own wants and are not concerned with the needs of others. The Eucharist should spur us on to greater love and care for our neighbour, whether they are Catholics or not. If we say we need the have the Eucharist but are not concerned for our neighbour, then we are actually looking at the Eucharist as a want and not really a need. I have heard people telling me that they suffered much during the circuit breaker. “I want to receive Jesus,” they would say. The celebration of Mass is important for Catholics and receiving the Eucharist is just as important. However, if the Sacrament does not lead us to greater love for neighbour, then we have to ask ourselves if we have become discriminatory, placing ourselves as first priority and others, ie. our neighbours as no priority. Let us turn our hearts to the Lord Jesus and ask for the grace to be more loving to our neighbours this week because we have had the privilege of receiving the Eucharist.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

 One of the most immediate things we can see in the Gospel story today is how impulsive St. Peter was. In contrast, Jesus was someone who was deliberate and thoughtful. After a whole day of ministering to the people who came to him, Jesus sent the crowds away, and then went to pray. After that prayer, he decided to walk to the boat that was carrying his disciples. He sensed their terror and reassured them saying, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” On the other hand, Peter did not think. Remember, he was one of the terrified disciples in the boat. He heard the voice of Jesus but he was not sure. Then he decides to test to see if it was Jesus. He tells Jesus to make him walk on water. As soon as he moves his attention from Jesus to the wind, he begins to sink. Jesus tells him that he had little faith. Was what Jesus said true?

Peter was reckless. He just threw himself into the situation. That had nothing to do with faith. We need to use our heads and heart to be faithful. Peter, in this story, did not. He did not think through his request to Jesus and he did not trust enough in Jesus. Many of us equate faith with just trust. That is why we end up hurt and disappointed. Peter trusted that Jesus had the power to get him to walk on water. However, Peter did not use his head to think if he was able to let go and leave everything to Jesus. It was not that Peter had not enough trust, but that Peter did not think through to what he needed to do when he got out onto the water. As long as he had his heart and eyes on Jesus, he was fine. When he looked away from Jesus, he began to sink.

Many of us request of God many things, and we claim we have faith in God. Yet, like Peter, we do not think through what we are asking. Can we handle the consequences of our request? Can we endure the conditions that we must go through? Like Peter, we just say to ourselves: Trust God and he will make things better. When God starts to work, we get upset because we want God to do it our way, not God’s way. In order for Peter to walk on the water to Jesus, he had to go through the wind and the waves. In order for God to give us the best results for our requests, we need also to go through ups and downs. Are we prepared for it?

For example, a student asks God to help him do well for his exams. God can help him, but he has to go through his lessons diligently,. He has to work hard and focus. That is the journey he has to go through to reach what God wants to give him. If he expects God to give him straight A’s without him picking up his books to read, he would be in for a rude shock like Peter. 

Let us learn from the Gospel story today. Let us use our heads and hearts in faith. When we ask for the grace of faith, we are asking for the gift of being prepared for the journey that God will bring us on.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

 Jesus came to show us the way to the Father. He proclaims the Kingdom of Heaven. We have been hearing this for a number of weeks. This week, we see the Kingdom of Heaven in action. Jesus feeds the multitude of people with just five loaves and two fish. Our first reading tells us that God calls all those who want to drink. Those who are thirsting for God will be satisfied. One who is thirsting for God is one who will drink whatever God gives. Jesus gives food to the hungry crowd. One thing that we must remember is that if we are truly thirsting or hungering for God, we will accept whatever he gives. There were only five loaves and two fish. Jesus fed them with just that, there was no sauce and no condiments.The crowd accepted what was given them.

I believe that we, who live in affluent Singapore, are a little spoiled. We criticise when it is not up to our taste. Sometimes, we would like to be satisfied with what we desire, not what God gives. Our second reading tells us that nothing can come between the love of God and us. However, the problem is that sometimes, even though there is nothing coming between the love of God and us, we still do not accept it. It is available to us but we would want the love of God in our own terms. It is when that happens that we reject the love of God. The obstruction is not something between us and God, but we ourselves. 

So let us come to the point of today’s reading. God calls us, are we responding? If we are one of the crowd in the presence of Jesus, and Jesus passes on the fish and loaves, and we are not particularly fond of fish, are we going to accept the food given to us? Let us remember that we have no claim to God’s love, nor what He wants to give us. He freely gives. We must freely receive. It is when we attach conditions to what He freely gives that we are not freely receiving. How can we claim a right to God when we, as sinners, do have the right to claim anything from the Creator?

Let us be grateful to the gift of God’s love. No matter what form it takes, let us be grateful. Let us pray for the grace of gratitude.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

This Sunday we hear parables about extreme behaviour and reasonable behaviour. The first two is speaks of people who would sell everything to get something precious. I remember asking myself, after getting the treasure and the pearl, how is the man going to eat? He has sold everything! The third parable is rather reasonable. Fishermen with a huge haul of fish would need to sort the fish out to sell them. So what was that about? God sorting those who are fit for heaven and those who are not? It seems so. The fourth parable seems similar and yet it is not the same. There is mention of different things: old and new, but there is not mention of which is the one kept and the one thrown away. Yet, how are these parables connected to the first two?

We see that all the parables are about possession. The man wants to possess the treasure in the field. The merchant wants to possess the precious pearl. the dragnet possess the fish by trapping the fish in itself. The householder possesses things old and new. All these are connected to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The first parable tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is a precious treasure that we should acquire at all costs. We should allow God to rule in our hearts. The second parable tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven looks for precious things. We are the precious pearl, meaning that God would do everything to rule in our hearts, and we know that the rule of God is a rule of real and true love. Despite gathering everyone into itself, the Kingdom of Heaven is not accepted by everyone. So those who despise God would be allowed to leave it. However, outside the Kingdom of Heaven is the blazing furnace. Despite that, the Kingdom of God is meant for everyone, as the things both old and new in the storeroom.

This last point is also what the second reading is about. God chooses everyone. He sent His Son so that all would be justified and saved. However, he also allows us to make up our own minds. Thus, the third parable reveals to us the fact that there would be those who choose not to be justified and saved. How do we know we have chosen correctly? Our first reading tells us of the choice of Solomon. He asked for a heart to discern good and evil according to the dictates of God. In the world today, there are so many shades of good and evil because they do not follow the dictates of God but according to one’s own choosing. That is why one gets arguments like, “it is better to terminate a pregnancy than to bring a child into a world of suffering,” or “we need to be permissive to show the young that we love them, so we should not deny them anything.” More tragic is the argument that “I believe this is the right thing to do because it feels right.” Notice how the last one is dependent on oneself and not on what God has taught?

Today’s parable tells us to let the kingdom of heaven rule our hearts with love. The kingdom of heaven is precious; it welcomes all peoples. However, we enter the kingdom of heaven because we choose to follow God. We should ask God to give us wisdom so that we can be discerning, choosing the kingdom of heaven and rejecting that which is evil.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Today we are confronted with two more parables that deal with farming. Last Sunday it was about sowing the seed. Today the first two parables is about plants and the third is about yeast.

The first speaks of darnel and wheat and how they look similar to each other when young but then they act differently when mature. The parallel here in our region here (at least in Singapore) would be the two grasses we find in undeveloped areas: elephant grass and lallang. Both look similar when young but the latter catches fire easily when mature. Obviously we would prefer to have the less dangerous grass. In the gospel, wheat is a food plant and darnel is actually toxic to humans.

The second parable speaks of mustard, which has really small seeds but can grow into rather sturdy plants. We actually eat quite a bit of their leaves and stems as the vegetable mustard green. The third talks about the small amount of yeast added to a dough and it permeates all of the dough.

The common thread here is growth. How does growth occur? Today, science can explain and describe the processes that give rise to growth, but at the time of Jesus, there were no microscopes and laboratories to explain the growth. People simply accepted the fact that there is growth. The last two parables explain to us that the kingdom of God will grow but we don’t know how. The fact is that the Kingdom will grow. It is then not difficult to attribute the growth to God Himself. 

The first parable tells us that besides the kingdom, there is something else that grows. This other thing that grows is the opposite of what the kingdom is. Many would say that this other thing belongs to Satan. I would add that sometimes it is we ourselves who oppose the growth of the kingdom. Our pride and egos can be obstacles to the kingdom as well. There is a saying: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

When we evangelise, we are doing a good thing. However, we must not have the idea that we are the cause of the growth of the kingdom. God gives growth to the kingdom. When we serve God we should discern regularly, asking if what I am doing is for the right motives. The discernment might not be clear at the early stages of our service, but as time passes, we should be able to discern. We should be humble enough to ask God to help us to weed out all wrong motives in our service of God.

We might have gone for courses to help us serve God better. However, we must regularly discern if what we have learned was for the service of God or was in fact to feed our own ego. We might have started to visit the less fortunate because we genuinely cared for them. Along the way we might have allowed our egos to taint our motives. After all, when someone praises us for doing good work, we feel good. If we do not discern and purify out motives, we might find ourselves visiting others so that we might be recognised for our efforts. We have allowed the darnel to overtake the wheat in the field. In our quiet time this week, let us ask God to help us do some weeding. We should weed out the darnel in our lives and allow the Lord to give growth to the wheat.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

 We are familiar with the parable of the sower. Perhaps we are so familiar that it does not impact our lives as much as it did before. Jesus understood the human heart well because he explained why he taught using parables.

You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.

(Mt. 13:15, Jerusalem Bible)

At the end of the quote from Isaiah 6, Jesus tells us that God wants to convert and heal us, but we seem to be resistant to it. Our pride is the problem: we want what we want, not what God suggests. God’s word comes to us to remind us of what is truly important. Yet, we would prefer to understand it from our perspective.

Some years ago, there were advertisements on TV showcasing a Radio station. The adverts showed a tennis coach telling a man that his son was hopeless in tennis, but the man simply heard what he wanted to hear: that his son would one day be a champion. It was about selective hearing.

The Bible contains God’s word and we read it to get to know God. In it we would also come to discern God’s will for us. Do we allow our pride to only read what we want to read? Are we selective in our hearing of God’s word. This is what it means about listening and listening again and not hearing. Sometimes, we are so preoccupied with our own concerns that we cannot see or refuse to see the needs of others. It is not to say that we would like is immoral or wrong. It is just that God’s view would show us a better way to looking and dealing with the issues we have in our lives. When we have decided on a course of action and are not open to God’s recommendation, we end up short. We could have done better but did not.

So in line with the parable of the sower we have heard this morning, do we want to receive the word on rich soil? We will have to open our hearts, not just our ears and eyes. We need to open our hearts to God. We should not expect God to do our bidding. Rather, we should think of discerning God’s purposes. If not, we might end up thinking we have done well when we were actually like the the rocky ground or the ground with thorns. We listen but it does not produce fruit.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. (Mt. 11:25, Jerusalem Bible)

If we read a little before this verse, we would realise that Jesus was lamenting at the towns that had refused to listen to the Good News. It sounds strange, does it not that Jesus praises His Father after experiencing the stubbornness of those towns! When we consider that Jesus tells us in a later chapter in St. Matthew’s Gospel that unless we become like little children, we cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven (see Mt. 18:3), we may be able to see a little light. Jesus reminds us today that it is not learned and clever adults, with all our experience in life that will accept the simple mystery of the kingdom of heaven.

During these difficult months when we are not able to do things we used to, we begin to question God about our discomforts. We would like answers but cannot seem to find any. We murmur against rules about taking risks and such. I should know. I have done my share of complaining to God. If only I could remember that the learned and clever in this world won’t be able to understand what God is trying to communicate to us these days. Whatever God gives is a blessing. Even if it means that we cannot receive holy communion! 

I still remember that growing up, I did not have as many toys as many children do these days. We had a set of plastic soldiers and animals. My younger brother and I would use these animals and soldiers to make up stories and have adventures. A tiger would be a hero one day and a villain the next. We accepted what we had and made use of the few toys we had. I don’t remember complaining to my father for our lack of toys. On the other hand, I do remember getting many earfuls when we did not put back our toys after playing them.

Can we not see what our situation here as blessings? I may need to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation, but do I see it as a right that God has to give me, or a blessing that God gives at His own time. While I yearn to receive the grace that comes from the sacrament, can I not see the present situation as a blessing that we can begin to treasure the sacrament more?

Jesus tells us to shoulder his yoke for it is easy and light in burden. I believe because we do not see this time as a blessing, we tend to shoulder our own yokes. We have yokes of desire and wants, Jesus’s yoke is one where we will find rest for our souls. Jesus tells us to shoulder his yoke and learn from Him. Many times we shoulder yokes but forget the second part: learn from Him. Like Jesus’s not being able to convince the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida to accept the Good News, things may not go the way we wish despite our best efforts. We still would bless and praise God because what happens is also a blessing and gift from Him. The registration system for Mass will not satisfy many who want to come to Mass every Sunday. Yet, if they follow what Jesus does today, they should look at everything as God’s blessings and give thanks to God.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. (Mt. 10:37–38, Jerusalem Bible)

Today’s Gospel passage begins with the conditions of being worthy of Jesus. It is actually the ending of a long set of instructions for the apostles who were being sent to preach the kingdom. Having told the apostles the manner of which they are to preach, Jesus ends with a reminder that by accepting the mission of preaching, the apostles assent to renouncing everything for Jesus and that the recipients of the preaching would be blessed.

Jesus is not telling us to reject father or mother, son or daughter in favour of Himself. Rather, in the mission of preaching, we need to get our priorities right. If we accept the mission of preaching, then preaching the word should take priority, even to that which is closest to our hearts as human beings. When we consider our general vocation as Christians, and personal vocations as priest, parents, sons or daughters, we need to understand the priorities we have to adhere to. For example, a Christian parent’s vocation is the bringing up of the children as Christians. This means that the child’s welfare has priority. At any one point of time, there must be clear priorities. Toddlers are brought to church to help them understand the importance of Sunday worship. So, the child should be taught to prefer coming to Church on Sunday rather than spend his or her time watching cartoons at home. Once in Church, the child should be taught to prefer focussing on worship in community than on other activities. This is easier said than done. When a two year old is hungry at the time of Mass and wants to be fed, does feeding him or her in the church help him or her make the proper preference? It is probable that feeding him or her in church gives the impression that proper worship is not as important as eating. Bringing him or her out to the proper place to be fed would show that the church is a sacred place where eating is not the respectful thing to do. Yes, the two year old won’t understand the difference. However, the impression given is that if he or she prefers to be fed, he or she should learn to prefer to move out of the sacred space. In this way he or she respects the sacred space and the community who is worshipping in there. What about the parent fulfilling his or her obligation as a Catholic? I can only reply with another question: Is fulfilling the personal Christian obligation preferable to living out the vocation as a Christian parent that one has assented to? 

The inconveniences that Christian parents have to bear can be considered the taking of one’s cross and following Jesus’s footsteps. How often have I heard parents lamenting that with their child arriving at the terrible twos and threes, they had to dispense with the privilege of worshipping God on Sundays as one family? How often have I heard of that one child who played in the pews at Mass and disrupted the prayerful ambience the worship space should have?

Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will have a prophet's reward; … (Mt. 10:41, Jerusalem Bible)

What about the recipients of the message? When we encounter a person, do we consider that person a blessing? Usually when we get a positive experience from it, we think of it as a blessing. What about when it was a negative experience? Can we not think of it as a blessing from God as well? A prophet is called by God to be His mouthpiece. When God sends someone to us, that person may not even be aware of it. If we welcome that person as sent by God, and see his actions and words as a message from God, we are actually welcoming that person as a prophet because he is a prophet. The prophet who obeys God and transmits God’s message will be in a right relationship with God. That result is the prophet’s reward. When we receive the message of God and act properly on it, it will also result in a right relationship with God — the same as the prophet’s reward. 

Thus, when we consider our general and personal vocations, we will need to consider the priorities at every given time. Fortunately, God will send people to encounter us to give us advice so that we would be able to arrive at the right relationship with Him. Let us be thankful to such a loving God.

2020年常年期第十三主日

谁爱父亲或母亲超过我，不配是我的；谁爱儿子或女儿超过我，不配是我的。谁不背起自己的十字架跟随我，不配是我的。（玛 10:28）

今天的福音关于是否配是耶稣的。实际上，这段福音是在耶稣派遣宗徒去宣讲王国所指示的结尾。耶稣告诉了宗徒要传讲的方式后，提醒他们接受了传教使命后，宗徒们同意为耶稣放弃一切，并且接受传道的人将会受到祝福。

耶稣不是在告诉我们拒绝父亲或母亲，儿子或女儿才配是祂的。在传教的使命中，我们需要正确地安排优先事项。如果我们接受传教的使命，那么宣传福音便应该被优先考虑，即使是与我们人类当着最重要的相比。当我们考虑我们做基督徒的召叫或个人的召叫时，如，师铎、父母、儿女，我们需要了解我们必须坚持的优先事项。例如，基督徒父母的召叫是抚养孩子，因此孩子的福利是重中之重。在任何时候，都必须有明确的优先级。幼儿被带到圣堂，以帮助他们了解主日弥撒的重要性。因此，孩子应该被教选择到圣堂出席主日弥撒，而不选择在家里看卡通片。到了教堂，应该教小孩选择集中精力认真地参与弥撒，而不是其他的活动。说起来容易做起来难。一个两岁的小孩在弥撒时饿了，在教堂里喂小孩是否有助于他做出适当的选择？在教堂里喂他可能给他一种印象，即适当的敬拜不如吃饭重要。在教堂外的一个适当的地方喂小孩将表明教堂里是一个神圣的地方，吃饭不是一件尊敬天主的事情。是的，两岁的孩子不懂事，不了解其中的区别。但是，给人的印象是，如果他选择吃饱，他应该学会选择移出神圣的空间。这样，他就会尊重神圣的空间和在场崇拜的基督徒团体。父母履行天主教徒义务怎么办？我只能以另一个问题回答：哪一个比较重要：履行个人的基督教徒的义务或是履行基督徒父母的义务？

基督徒父母必须承受的不便之处可以当作是背着十字架跟随耶稣。我有多少次听到父母为自己的孩子到达两三岁时，不得不放弃在主日一家人一起参与弥撒的特权。我有多少次听说小孩在圣堂的长椅上玩耍，破坏该有的祈祷气氛围？

谁接纳一位先知，因为他是先知，将领受先知赏报；
（玛 10:21）

喜讯的接纳者呢？当我们遇到一个人时，我们会将这个人视为祝福吗？通常，当我们从中获得善好的经验时，我们会将它当作一种祝福。但是不好的经验呢？我们不能也把它当作天主的祝福吗？先知被天主呼召为他的喉舌。当天主差遣某人给我们时，那个人甚至可能都不知道。如果我们欢迎天主所派遣的那个人，并且将他的作为和言语当作天主的讯息，那么我们实际上是在欢迎那个人作为先知，因为他是先知。顺服天主并传达祂的讯息的先知将与天主保持正确的关系。这就是先知的赏赐。当我们收到天主的讯息并采取正确的行动时，我们也取了与天主的正确关系—与先知的报酬一样。

因此，在考虑天主给我们的召叫时，我们将需要考虑优先事项。幸好的是，天主会派人与我们相遇，向我们提供建议，以便我们能够与天主建立正确的关系。让我们感谢这样一位慈爱的天主。

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

St. Paul the Apostle, Unknown author / Public domain

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. (Mt. 12:28, Jerusalem Bible)

I used to be terrified of this passage because I thought that the one that Jesus was referring to was the devil. Yet Jesus was not talking about the evil one. He was talking about the Father because reply he gives for the next two questions he posed referred to His Father. In the Jerusalem Bible, the title given to this passage of scripture is: Open and fearless speech. What was Jesus speaking of just before this passage? He was talking about the persecution those who follow Him would suffer. Taking that into account, Jesus is encouraging his disciples to have the courage to speak the truth. As disciples, we should have the courage to declare Jesus is Lord before people. 

When the circuit breaker ended three weeks ago, many thought that Mass would be celebrated in a restricted manner. However, that was not the case. Private worship was allowed but there were safe management plans that needed to be submitted to the authorities. I was trying to work out the plans with the parish task force so that we can submit a proper safe management plan. Before that came to pass, a new advisory was issued a few days ago, which meant that we had to relook at the plans and make adjustments. So our parish is still not ready to resume any activity yet. As our church is also going through restoration, there are added factors to consider. Please be assured that we are doing the best we can.

I mention this because there are many who are upset and angry because things don’t seem to be moving as quickly as they would like. A thought did cross my mind: the virus only causes harm to the body but the unavailability of Masses harms the soul. It was only a split second before another thought came: irresponsibility also harms the soul. This ties in with the Gospel passage I had quoted above.

While it is true that only God can destroy the soul in hell, He will not because he loves us. However, there is another who can harm our souls: we, ourselves, can cause harm to our souls. Let me use a simple analogy. Assassins can kill me. However, if I neglect my health, I am also slowly killing myself. Our soul’s health depends on love. We maintain our soul’s health by loving God and we express our love of God by loving our neighbour. When we are only concerned about our own needs and wants that we forget about the needs of our neighbour, can we say that we are loving our neighbour? All the regulations that are given to us are for the purpose of reducing the risk of infection of the people around us. Loving our neighbour means that I must be responsible for acting in such a way as to reduce that risk of infection. I have heard someone remark that the Church is too kiasu. Does that remark show a responsible attitude? If everyone is knowledgeable and responsible, there would be no need to set out directives. Ironically, it is because of the few irresponsible Catholics that the church needs to be cautious. It is true that we cannot consider all possibilities to act. However, it would neither be responsible nor loving on the part of the church to disregard the real probability that a few irresponsible Catholics would end up being the cause of a new cluster of infection to occur.

The title of today’s passage in the Jerusalem Bible: Open and fearless speech, is not about being unafraid to proclaim anything we think to be true. It speaks of an attitude to be open to the truth of any situation before speaking with courage. In truly loving my neighbour, I am declaring myself for Jesus. Apart from that, could I truly say I am authentically declaring myself for Jesus? Perhaps we could reflect on our motives and ask God to help us to be open to the truth from God, rather than demands from elsewhere.

2020年常年期第十二主日

圣保禄, Unknown author / Public domain

你们不要害怕那杀害肉身，而不能杀害灵魂的；但更要害怕那能使灵魂和肉身陷于地狱中的。
（玛 10:28）

我曾经对这段福音感到恐惧，因为我认为耶稣指的是魔鬼。耶稣指的并不是魔鬼，而是天父。因为耶稣接下来所讲的是指着天父。这段福音之前，耶稣告诉门徒们他们会受到迫害。跟随耶稣就会有苦难。在这主日的福音，主耶稣鼓励他的门徒要有勇气讲真理。作为门徒，我们应该有勇气在众人面前宣布耶稣是主。

阻断措施结束了已经有三周的时间。许多人认为以弥撒会在有限的方式进行。但是，事实并非如此。政府只允许私人祈祷。政府规定堂区必须提交安全管理计划书后，才能开幕。堂区工作小组正在制定这计划书时，文化、社区及青年部发布了新的咨询：我们能恢复弥撒圣祭。当然堂区还是需要提交安全管理计划书。现在，工作小组须要重新考虑计划该进行什么调整。因此，我们的堂区仍未准备好恢复任何活动。由于我们的圣堂也正在修复中，我们还需要考虑更多因素。我想向大家保证：我们正在尽力而为。

我提出这件事，是因为有许多人不满意。他们希望事情能迅速地发展，不过事情似乎太慢了。我有了一个念头：「病毒只伤害肉体，而没有弥撒伤害灵魂。」一刹那，我有想到：「不负责任也是伤害了灵魂。」这岂不是与这主日的福音有关呢？

诚然只有天主能使灵魂和肉身陷于地狱中的，但因为天主爱我们，祂不会那样做。但是，还有个能使灵魂受到伤害的：我们自己。让我用一个简单的比喻。刺客可以杀死我。但是，如果我忽视自己的健康，我也会慢慢地毁掉自己的生命。我们是以爱保持灵魂的健康。我们以爱进人表达我们对天主的爱。如果我们只关心自己的需求而又忘记进人的需要时，可说我们爱进人吗？现在所有的法规都是为了减少感染周围人的风险。说我们爱我们的进人，我就必须负责以减少感染风险的方式行事。我听过有人说教堂太过「怕输」。这是一种负责任的态度吗？如果每个人都有责任感，又有知识，就不需要有法规指令。讽刺的，为了一两个不管法规的教友，我们需要谨慎。的确，我们不能考虑采取一切行动的可能性。但是，如果教会不顾这一两个不管法规的教友，而引起新的感染事件，教会本身不负责任，也没有爱心。

这主日福音鼓励我们有勇气地宣布真理。我们须要在任何情况里，有个开放的态度，接受情况的真相后，勇敢地宣告真理。真正爱护进人，就是承认耶稣。如果没有真正的爱护进人，我们不能说我们承认耶稣。这周，我们可以反省：我们作教友的动机，是否是爱主爱人，或是有其他的原因。我们祈求上主帮助我们诚恳地跟随耶稣，诚心地承认祂是主。

Trinity Sunday 2020

El Greco / Public domain

When I was a boy, I had a friend who had a favourite Gospel verse. It is found in our Gospel Reading for this Sunday. The verse is John 3:16:

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost

but may have eternal life.
(from Jerusalem Bible)

The reason that Jesus was sent to the world is ultimately love. This idea of God being loving can be seen in the first reading today.

The Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, 

slow to anger rich in kindness and faithfulness.

(Ex 34:6, Jerusalem Bible)

Already at the time of Moses, the people of Israel understood that their God was a God of tenderness and compassion. The tender and compassionate God planned for the world to be saved. He had created human beings who had rebelled against Him. The result of the rebellion is that we are separated from the life and grace that comes from God. However, God’s love is persistent, and He sent His Son to teach us the way to be reconciled with Him.

For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,

but so that through him the world might be saved.

(Jn 3:17, Jerusalem Bible)

The depth of God’s love is seen in the way this plan was executed. Even though He knows best, God will not force us to be saved. It would have been so easy for God to will that all humanity accept the message of Jesus and be saved. However, if He did that, He would remove an important gift he had given to all human beings: free will. He wants us to choose to be saved. Jesus was sent to show us the way to reconciliation. He will present to us what will lead to salvation and what would lead to condemnation. However, he is not here to convict us. Let me explain this with an analogy from the production line. Jesus presents us the criteria for quality control, but he is not the one that decides whether the products passes or not. He is not here to convict us. What convicts us is our choice.

No one who believes in him will be condemned;

but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,

because he has refused to believe
in the name of God’s only Son.

(Jn 3:18, Jerusalem Bible)

Many people misunderstand this verse because of the English translation. The original Greek word for the word condemn means separate in the sense of sorting one thing from another. It was used in a legal sense to refer to separating truth from falsehood, or separating right from wrong. In that sense it can mean to judge. Jesus’s words mean that either you are saved or not saved. There is no middle ground: either you are saved or are separated from the saved. The translators of the Jerusalem Bible chose the word condemned as the opposite of saved. So if one believes in Jesus, he or she will be saved. If one does not believe, that person would then not be saved. There is also the either-or dynamic in the question of belief. The original phrasing of the Greek implies that the person has ruled out any means of believing. It is expressed here in the English as refused to believe. The whole idea of this verse could be expressed thus: Jesus presents the way. A person who is presented the way chooses to believe in the way or refuses to believe in the way. That choice would bring that person to salvation or condemnation. Many people ask: What about the people who had no opportunity to know Jesus? All I can say is that this verse does not refer to that group of people. Theologians speculate the various possibilities. I would simply state that the God who loves would find a way to present the way and allow the person to choose.

What has this got to do with the Holy Trinity? We say that God is Love. Love is something relational. Love cannot be present in an individual person existing in isolation; there must be at least two persons relating to each other. If God is love, then God is not one person in isolation. God is one God and yet not a single person. Within God, there is a relationship of persons. How is this so? As human beings, we will not be able to understand how there are three persons in one God. However the truth of God as Trinity is revealed to us by Jesus. In our Gospel passage today we learn of God sending His Son. In Jn 14:26, we learn of the Father sending the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit in the Son’s name. It is from various parts of the gospels that reveal that God is Trinity. The first Christians came to understand that God is one and yet three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We see this as early as in St. Paul who uses the names of the Holy Trinity to greet his friends in his letters.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God 

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(2 Cor 13:13, Jerusalem Bible)

Does this sound familiar? It was used as the greeting at Mass before 2011. The  present greeting uses the word communion instead of fellowship. When we use the word fellowship nowadays, we think of a social event. The life of the Persons of the Trinity is more than just a matter of social gathering. The three Persons of the Trinity live in one another. We use the word communion to describe the dynamic relationship of the persons in the Holy Trinity. Actually the Greek word found in St. Paul’s letter, koinonia, can also be translated into communion. Thus a more appropriate translation for the use at the Mass would be communion instead of fellowship. The word communion is very suitable because the body of Christ we receive is also called Holy Communion. The Eucharist we receive is the sign that we are participating in the communion relationship found in the Triune God. Thus, the communion I receive is not simply for me; it is meant for me to be part of the community we call the Church.

God loves and he wants us to be saved because He loves us. Being saved also means that we become reconciled and united in a relationship with God. So next time we make the sign of the cross, consider if we have made a choice to live the life of love that is God.

2020年天主圣三主日

格雷考 / Public domain

小时候，我有一个朋友，他最喜欢若望福音第三章第十六节。它可在本周主日的福音经文：

天主竟这样爱了世界，甚至赐下了自己的独生子，
使凡信他的人不至丧亡，反而获得永生，

天父派遣耶稣到世上的原因最终是爱。在今天的读经一中我们读到一个充满爱的天主。

雅威，雅威是慈悲宽仁的天主，
缓于发怒，富于慈爱忠诚，（出34：6）

已经在梅瑟时代，以色列人民知道他们的天主是个温柔和同情的天主。这温柔而富有同情心的天主计划拯救世界。他创造了人类，但人类谋反了祂。结果，我们与天主所赐的生命和恩典分离了。但是，天主的爱是持久的。祂派圣子来教导我们与他和好的方法。

因为天主没有派遣子到世界上来审判世界，
而是为叫世界藉着他而获救。（若3：17）

从天主怎样执行这个计划，我们可以看出天主深刻的爱。即使祂是全知全能，天主不会以强迫来拯救我们。只要天主愿意，祂能很容易地使全人类都接受耶稣的喜讯而被得救。但是，如果祂那样做，祂将除掉祂赐给人类的重要恩典：自由意志。祂希望我们选择救援。耶稣被派遣向我们显示与天主和好的道路。祂将表明什么引领我们致救赎，什么引领我们致致审判。耶稣并不是来定我们的罪。让我以制造业做一个比方来解释这一点。耶稣像那立下品质管制准则的负责人。祂不是那决定产品是否能不能通过的人。祂不是在这里定罪我们。定罪的是由于我们的选择。

那信从他的，不受审判；
那不信的，已受了审判，
因为他没有信从天主独生子的名字。（若3：18）

许多人误解了这节经文。中文经文用的词是「审判」。原本希腊文字的意思是「分别」或「分类」。从法律上，「审判」也含有分别是非，或分别对错的意思。耶稣的话指的是我们或被得救。或不被得救。没有中半的立场：或我们站在被得救的一组，或分开站在没有被得救的那一组。耶稣表示了与天主和好的道路。那选择相信耶稣和祂的话的人，选择了被得救。那选择不相信耶稣和祂的话的人，选择拒绝耶稣和的话。这人选择了被审判，选择拒绝救恩。可见，「审判」原来的意思不表示耶稣作法官判罪。会有人问：那些没有机会认识耶稣的人呢？我只能说，这经文并不谈到这一群人。神学家推测各种可能性。我的感想是：一个爱人类的天主一定会把喜讯传到每一个人，也给每一个人机会选择。天主有祂的方法办得到。

这与天主圣三有什么关系呢？天主就是爱。爱不能存在于孤立存在的一个人中；必须至少有两个彼此相关的人。如果天主是爱，那么天主不可能是单独一位。天主是独一，却不是一位。天主怎样又是独一，又是三位，是人无法了解的奥迹然而，耶稣向我们启示了天主是三位一体的真理。在这主日福音里，我们听到天主派遣了圣子。在若14：26，我们读到圣父因圣子的名派遣了护慰者：圣神。福音也在不同的地方揭示了天主是三位一体。最初的基督徒也相信这三位一体的真理。圣保禄使用圣三之名在信中问候他的朋友。

愿主耶稣基督的恩宠，和天主的爱情，
以及圣神的相通，常与你们众人相偕。
（格后13：13）

我们也在弥撒开始时利用相似的字。原本的希腊的经文里，我们在这节读到的词「相通」可使用「共融」。「圣神的共融」也含有重要的意义。圣神使饼酒变成基督圣体圣血。领圣体是我们教友愿意共融一体的标记。因此，我所领的圣体不只是为我个人而领；也是为耶稣基督奥体，称着教会的基督徒团体而领的。

天主爱我们，希望我们被得救。得救也等于与天主和好，与天主团结。因此，下一次我们做十字圣号时，请考虑我们是否已选择过着一个充满天主的爱的生活。

Pentecost Sunday 2020

Gian Lorenzo Bernini / Public domain

It is often remarked that the coming of the Holy Spirit is the counter to the Tower of Babel. In the story of the Tower of Babel, God scattered humanity throughout the world by giving human beings different languages. The effect of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was that people from different places could understand the one message of the disciples.

When one considers the Christians living in different parts of the world, we are united under the banner of Christ because, like the people in Jerusalem that first Pentecost, we believe in the same one message of Christ. For Catholics, the signs of this unity is even more evident. When we go to a different country, e.g. Italy, where the culture and language are different, we find that we are able to follow in the Eucharistic celebration. The rites are the same, despite the differences in the language. We might not be able to recite the prayers in the same language, but we are reasonably sure that we are reciting the Lord’s Prayer, or the Lamb of God. It is the same Spirit that makes us children of God by the same one sacrament of baptism. When we sin, we estrange ourselves from God and other Christians, and are in need of reconciliation. In the gospel reading today, we hear Jesus breathing on the apostles and telling them to “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (Jn 20:23) Jesus continues to tell them that they have the power to forgive sins. Catholics believe that it is here that Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It can be seen that the Holy Spirit enables the obstacles to unity to be removed.

Many of the obstacles to unity are not physical ones. How often have we experienced being in a room of people and yet feel lonely? Connection to others may not be present because of shyness, and shyness is not a physical barrier. In this time when we are encouraged to practise social distancing for the good of everyone, we can use other means to connect. Although these ways of connecting may not be ideal, our care and concern for the common good and for others is a sign that we are connected. When we are indifferent to the situation, and are concerned only with our desires and opinions, we become obstacles to unity.

Feeling frustrated is perhaps normal during this difficult time of dealing with the pandemic. However, frustration can lead us to feel hopeless. When we feel this hopelessness, we stop trusting in God and start to suggest what God could do to make things better. Perhaps it would be better for us to allow the Holy Spirit to help us, especially in prayer, to have greater faith that God has things under control. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen our virtue of hope that despite the difficult times we are in, we are confident that God will lead us to where he wants us. Let us also open our hearts to the love that God the Holy Spirit wants to activate in us, so that this love may be the cause of the unity among us who profess Christ as saviour.

Have a Holy Pentecost!

2020年五旬主日

济安·贝尼尼 / 公共领域

有人认为圣神的降临是巴贝耳的相反。在巴贝耳塔的故事中，天主赋予人类不同的语言，将人类散布于世界各地。圣神却在五旬节时，让来自各地方的人能理解门徒的唯一喜讯。

当我思虑着世界各地区的基督徒时，我感到惊讶。就像当时五旬节的耶路撒冷人民一样，我们听到了同样的喜讯，承认耶稣是救主，因此成为上主的子民。这种团结的迹象在我们天主教友更加明显。当我们去另一个国家时，例如意大利，虽然语言不同，但是我们能够跟随弥撒的过程。这是因为仪式都是一样的。我们虽然有可能无法以同样的语言，但我们有把握地确定弥撒时正在念天主经或羔羊颂。是同一圣神使我们成为同一受洗的天主子女。当我们犯罪时，我们与天主和基督内的兄弟姐妹疏远。那时我们需要和解。在今天的福音我们听到耶稣向宗徒嘘了一口气，并告诉他们「领受圣神。」（若20：23）耶稣又告诉他们，他们有能力宽恕罪恶。天主教徒相信耶稣在这里立下了和好圣事。可以看出，圣神消除团结的障碍。

团结的许多障碍不是物质的障碍。我们有多少次在一个充满人的房间里感到孤独？由于害羞，可能不会与他人建立联系，而害羞不是个物质的障碍。在这时期，为了大家的安全我们需要保持社交距离。这并不等于引起了团结的障碍，我们可以使用其他的方式。当然，这些方式并不理想，但我们对共同利益和对他人的关心是我们与别人联系紧密的标志。当我们对周围的情形不关紧要，而只关心自己的愿望和见解时，我们就会成为团结的障碍。

当我们面对着疫病的艰难时，感到沮丧可能是正常的。但是，沮丧会使我们感到绝望。当我们感到绝望时，就不再信任天主，而开始向天主提出怎样使事情变得更好。也许更好的选择就是让圣神帮助我们，尤其在祈祷时，使我们有更强的信心，相信天主会控制一切。让我们请圣神加强我们的望德。即使我们处于困难时期，确信天主会带领我们到达祂想要我们去的地方。让我们也展开我们的心灵。天主圣神愿意在我们心灵里激活天主所赐给我们的爱，使这爱成为我们自称基督为救主的教友能团结的理由。

祝大家一个神圣的五旬降临节！

7th Sunday of Easter 2020 (World Communications Day)

Mimooh / CC BY-SA

This weekend, I would like to share my reflections on the message that Pope Francis wrote early this year for the occasion of World Communications Day. This year he dedicated his message to the topic of story telling. In 2006, I was privileged to attend the Asian Mission Congress in Chiangmai, Thailand. The theme was “The Story of Jesus in Asia: a Celebration of Faith and Life.” The then Bishop Tagle (who is now Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) made the keynote address entitled, “Mission in Asia: Telling the Story of Jesus.” Both this address and Pope Francis's message admit that human beings are story tellers. While Cardinal Tagle's address focused on the role of story telling in mission, Pope Francis focuses on the story itself.

Pope Francis's message focuses on five points. Let me share my reflections on each of these points.The first point is about weaving stories. The pope explains that our lives revolve round stories. We are influenced by them; we use them to tell others who we are; we use them to protect our lives; we use them to motivate ourselves in the challenges of life. My father was a great story teller. He was only fourteen when the Japanese attacked and eventually occupied Singapore. A few months before the Japanese Occupation, my grandfather had died and my father became the man of the house. He used to tell me about a family friend who was pursued by the Japanese soldiers and the various ways he eluded capture. He told me how he survived during the occupation when his family lived to Senai in Johore. Those stories told me the kind of experiences, both good and bad, that he had gone through. His stories convinced me not to complain too much. My life was more privileged than my father's. Whenever I can, I will relate my experiences in my homilies, hoping that they would help to motivate others to be more Christian despite the challenges in our present era. Yet, the stories we tell are double edged swords. They may reinforce our identities and they may leave us vulnerable to those who would wish to hurt us.

In his second point, Pope Francis reminds us that evil can enter into stories. Stories laced with half truths can lure us into a false security which can lead to tragic results. Stories that tell us that wealth is the only thing that can lead us to happiness are not telling us the complete truth. I remember one man who worked very hard to provide comforts for his family. Then, within a week, his business failed and he lost almost everything. He had been the owner of a business but now he had to seek employment. He had to sell his detached house to pay his debts. During the few weeks he was going and out of the house for interviews, he had the opportunity to spend time with his young children. His young son remarked that he was happy despite not having a big house because he was having fun with his daddy. This struck the man very hard because, as he explained to me later, he had never realised that his children preferred to spend time with him rather than having nice things. This man’s sharing has strengthened my understanding of Jesus's beatitude: Happy are the poor in spirit. It has also reminded me that there are falsehoods in the marketing statements in many advertisements. There is no certainty that using a certain product or brand will bring about happiness or success.

The third point Pope Francis writes about is the Scriptures. He calls it the Story of Stories. As Catholics, we believe that God is the creator of all, including the stories of the summit of God’s creation: humanity. If our own stories help us forge our own identities, then the Story of Stories forges our identities, not merely as God’s creatures but as God’s children. As Catholics we believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe that the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself. Instead of waiting for us to seek Him out, God seeks us out and tells us about Himself. He tells us how much He loved His chosen people, Israel, in the Old Testament. The Gospels relate the story of Jesus. Jesus Himself uses stories in the form of parables when teaching. The acts of Jesus reveal to us the just but compassionate Son of God. Through the Gospels, we are able to come to know the person of Jesus. When we use the Gospel  to pray, we develop and, in time, strengthen our relationship with Jesus.

The fourth point reminds us that there are generations of people who have had connected with Jesus in faith. The first persons were the apostles which we read in The Acts of the Apostles. The letters that form part of the New Testament also reveal the stories of the first Christians and how they relied on Jesus. From there, in history, we have many saints that have lived their lives connected to Jesus. Their stories can also help us in our relationship with God and His Son. The Pope also mentions more recent titles that were not written by saints but help us understand the human condition.

Finally, the Pope arrives at the point of stories and communication. Our stories are not pre-written. The way our stories move depends on the decisions in our lives. There would be wrong decisions that might cause our lives to become more tragic. However, there are also decisions that we can make that might bring more light to the story we weave. In his words, the Pope reminds us that even though our lives may seem like a boring tragic drama found in many of the fictitious stories that flood the world today, we can re-direct our stories by making decisions with God and Jesus. God has given us many opportunities to redeem ourselves by the redemptive grace won for us by Jesus. A quarter of a century ago, I stood in front of the late Archbishop Gregory Yong, making promises that could be easily broken. In fact, every time I allow a lustful thought to enter my mind, I am transgressing the vow of celibacy that I made. Every time I grumble about a decision my superior makes, I am breaking the promise of obedience to the bishop. Yet, God has continued to be part of my story, enabling me to remain a presbyter despite the struggles I experience in my life. Without admitting God and Jesus in my story, my story would have been the predictable tragedy that we can read in cheap novels. However, with God, I can still hope that there would be a happier ending to the story that is me. Every time we make use of the cellphone or the internet to tell our story, we make use of the modern tools of communication to evangelise.

2020年复活期第七主日（世界界传播日）

Mimooh / CC BY-SA

这主日，我想分享我对教宗方济各今年年初为世界传播日所写的文告。今年世界传播日文告专注于「讲故事」。2006年，我荣幸地参加了在泰国清迈举行的亚洲福传大会。大会主题是「耶稣在亚洲的故事：信仰和生命的颂赞。」当时的达克利主教（现为万民福音传播部部长）作了专题演讲，题为「在亚洲传讲耶稣的故事」。这个专题演讲和方济各教宗的文告都承认人类都会讲故事。达克利枢机讲的重点是讲故事在福传中的作用，而教宗的焦点是故事本身。

方济各教宗的文告主要集中在五个方面。让我跟大家分享我在每个观点所反省的。第一点是编织故事。教宗解释说，我们的生活围绕故事展开。我们受到它们的影响；我们利用它们来告诉别人我们是谁；我们用它们来保护我们的生命；我们用它们来激励自己应对生活中的挑战。我父亲很棒讲故事。当日本攻击和占领新加坡时，他只有十四岁。日本占领前几个月，我的祖父去世了。因为我父亲是长子，所以承担了照顾家人的责任。他曾经告诉我关于一个被日军追逐的家友，以及他逃避被抓的各种方式。他也讲到家人在柔佛州的士乃时如何生存。这些故事告诉我他经验过的各种好与坏的事。他的故事说服我不要一致埋怨。我的生活比父亲好的很多。我尽量在讲道时，叙述自己的经验，希望能帮助鼓励教友，在今世充满挑战的请款下，成为更诚信的基督徒。然而，我们所讲的故事是双刃剑。它们可能坚强我们，也会可能使我们容易受到伤害。

教宗的第二点提醒我们邪恶能渗入故事。带有半真相的故事会诱使我们陷入虚假的安全感，引领我们向一个悲惨的结果。有些故事告诉我们财富是唯一能让我们获得幸福的。这些故事都是半真相的故事。我记起一个人，为家庭的安慰而努力地工作。然而，在一周内，他的生意失败了，他几乎失去了一切。他曾是一个老板，但现在他不得不寻找工作。他卖掉他的平房屋子来偿还债务。在工作面试的几个星期时，他有机会与孩子们在一起。他的年纪小小的儿子说，虽然他没有大房子，但是仍然很快乐，因为他正在和爸爸玩。这动了爸爸的心。他爸爸稍后对我解释，他没有想到自己的孩子为了要跟爸爸在一起，宁可不要美好的事物。这个人的分享使我对耶稣八福之一：「神贫的人是有福的」更深的了解。也提醒了我，许多广告中存有虚假的陈述。使用某种产品或品牌，不能确定带来幸福或成功。

方济各教宗文告里的第三点是关于圣经。他称圣经为所有故事的故事。作为天主教徒，我们相信天主是万物的创造者。这也包括人类的故事，因为人也是天主造的。如果我们自己的故事可以帮助我们树立自己的身份，那么所有故事的故事就可以树立我们在天主眼中的身份。我们的身份不仅是天主的造物，而是天主的儿女。作为天主教徒，我们相信圣经是天主的圣言。我们相信天主以圣经启示了自己。天主并没有等待我们寻找祂，而是天主寻找我们，向我们启示了自己。在旧约里，祂告诉我们祂多么爱护祂拣选的民以色列。福音讲述了耶稣的故事。耶稣自己使用寓言作为故事来施教。耶稣的作为向我们揭示了祂是个公义也是有同情心的天主子。通过福音，我们能够认识耶稣。当我们使用福音祈祷时，我们会使到我们与耶稣的关系得到发展和加强。

第四点提醒我们，可有几代人在信仰上与耶稣有联系。首先是宗徒大事录里说读到的宗徒。新约里的书信告诉我们初期教友的故事让我们了解他们怎样依靠耶稣的教导。在历史上，也有好多圣人的故事讲述他们与耶稣的关系，帮助我们怎样地与天主和圣子建立关系。教宗还提到了许多最近不是圣人所写的故事，它们也可以帮助我们了解人类现世的状况。

最后，教综谈到故事和传播的重点。我们的故事不是预先写好的。我们故事的方向是靠我们生活中所做的决定。当然，错的决定可能会使我们的生活变得更加悲惨。不过，我们有能力做出转变生活方向的决定，使我们编织的故事带来更多的喜乐。教宗提醒我们不要容易气馁。即使我们的生活看起来像是一场无聊的虚拟悲剧，我们仍然可以通过天主和耶稣做出端正的决定，使我们能重新转变我们故事的方向。天主赐给了我们好多机会，藉着耶稣所赢得的救赎恩典来赎回自己。二十五年前，我站在杨瑞元总主教面前，许下容易违背的诺言。实际上，每当我允许一个欲情的思想进入心里时，我就违背了独身的誓言。每当我对上司的决定发牢骚时，我违背了服从主教的承诺。然而，天主仍然在我故事里，让我在种种的挑战中，能继续当师铎。如果没有让天主和耶稣成为我故事中的一份，我的故事有可能会变成在廉价小说中可预测的悲剧。但是，与天主在一起，我仍有希望，我的故事会有美好的结局。当我们与别人分享耶稣怎样在我们生活中协助了我们时，我们正视传播我们的故事。今天我们所利用的手机或电脑，就是我们传播福音的用具。

6th Sunday of Easter 2020

Jesus and the disciples at the Last Supper

Gustave Doré / Public domain

Our reflection this Sunday is from St. John's Gospel chapter 14. It begins with verse 15:

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.’

If we are familiar with St. John’s Gospel, we would realise that Jesus only gave one commandment in chapter 13, verse 35:

I give you a new commandment:
love one another;
just as I have loved you,
you also must love one another.

He would repeat this commandment in chapter 15. So it is interesting that Jesus asks the Twelve to keep his commandments when, according to St. John’s Gospel, there is only one commandment that He has given explicitly. Yet, I believe that there were many more instructions that Jesus gave that could be considered commandments. St. John wrote the following at the end of his Gospel in chapter 21 verse 25:

There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.

If the Gospel does not contain all that Jesus taught, then there would be other instructions or commandments. The most important and significant commandment would probably be the new commandment of love.

Returning to this Sunday’s Gospel, we read in verse 16 and 17:

I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever,
that Spirit of truth
whom the world can never receive
since it neither sees nor knows him;
but you know him,
because he is with you, he is in you.

The word Advocate is the English word we use to translate the Greek παράκλητον from which we get the word Paraclete.  Paraclete refers to someone who is called to help another. A lawyer is called to help by representing his or her client in court. That is why the the lawyer is also called an advocate. The significant thing here is that Jesus says that the Father will give another Advocate. This means that there is already an Advocate present. From the context of what Jesus is saying, it is not difficult to see that Jesus is that Advocate. Jesus Himself pleads for his disciples. Jesus pleaded with the Father that we might be saved from our sins. His plea is the act of loving obedience when He allowed Himself to be crucified. This second Advocate from the Father will be with the disciples forever. He is the “Spirit of truth,” meaning that there are no deceptions. For St. John, “the world can never receive” this Spirit of truth because it is not aligned with God; it can neither see nor know him. For us who are aligned with God and Jesus, we will know the Spirit of truth because he is with us and in us.

The following verses, 18 to 20, reads:

I will not leave you orphans;
I will come back to you.
In a short time the world will no longer see me;
but you will see me,
because I live and you will live.
On that day
you will understand that I am in my Father
and you in me and I in you.

Jesus had informed his disciples at the beginning of chapter 14 (what we read last Sunday) that he was going away. Here, he assures them that he is not abandoning them. After His Passion, he will depart the world and He would not be with His disciples. Even though the world cannot see Him, the disciples will see Jesus when He resurrects. On Easter evening, we read that Jesus greeted his disciples with peace, or in Hebrew: Shalom. The word does not only mean the absence of conflict or war. It is used to express well-being: wishing that one’s life is whole and complete. For Jesus who has conquered death, that word shalom conveys the meaning of being fully alive. Thus, as his disciples, we will have life to the full. After the greeting, He gives the Holy Spirit to forgive sins. We know that only God can forgive sins. For Jesus to be able to grant that authority, it means that he is truly “in the Father.” St. Thomas, when he sees Jesus alive for the first time after the crucifixion, expresses this more explicitly when he utters the words, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28)

The last verse today is verse 21:

Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them
will be one who loves me;
and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him and show myself to him.

Again, Jesus refers to His commandments, in the plural. In verse 15, Jesus addresses His disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The disciples who were with Jesus would, with the help of the Paraclete, be able to remember all that Jesus taught (see Jn 14:26). In verse 21, the subject changes from the second person plural to an indefinite pronoun. Anyone who receives and keeps the commandments Jesus gives, that person loves Jesus. Through the Paraclete, that person is connected to Jesus. The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, will enable that person to receive Jesus's commandments even though he or she had not been with Jesus like the disciples. Earlier, I mentioned that the Gospel of John does not contain all that Jesus did. This same Spirit of truth will also teach anyone all that Jesus had taught to anyone. The person would not have to rely solely on the recorded Gospel which does not contain all that Jesus had said and taught. As Catholics, we believe that the Holy Spirit preserves all that Jesus taught in the Church. The Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to fall into error with regard to Jesus’s teaching.

Why do we need another Advocate? As believers, we are tasked to continue the work that Jesus has left us. At our baptism, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit was given to us. As such, we are connected to Jesus, and our task is bringing the Good News to everyone. We fulfil our task first by keeping the most significant commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. (Jn 13:34) How do we discern the way Jesus loved us? From the Gospels, we already see the love of Jesus when he died on the cross. Is that the only occasion that Jesus loved us? Here is where the Advocate is needed. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we would not be able to discern the love of Jesus in the events of our lives.

What is our response to Jesus’s love? We reciprocate. We do that by receiving and keeping His commandments. Have we been really keeping His commandments? Perhaps, in our frustration with not being able to come to the sacraments, we think, "What’s the use of obeying commandments when we are not receiving the sacraments?” This is one of the moments when we forget that it is God who loved us first. Jesus first loved us by emptying Himself. (see Phil 2:6-11) If we accept that love and wish to reciprocate, Jesus Himself gives us the way to do so: If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Let us continue to pray in this difficult time that we remember that obeying Jesus is merely the means of reciprocating the love Jesus has already given and is still giving us.

2020年复活期第六主日

耶稣和门徒们在最后的晚餐

古斯塔夫·多雷（Gustave Doré）/公共领域

我们这主日的福音是从圣若望福音第14章、第15节开始：

如果你们爱我，就要遵守我的命令；

根据圣若望福音原始希腊文，这一节里的「命令」是个复数的名词。那对圣若望福音熟悉的人，就会知道耶稣只给门徒们一条命令。这是在第13章第35节：

我给你们一条新命令：
你们该彼此相爱；
如同我爱了你们，你们也该照样彼此相爱。

祂会在第15章中重复这条命令。耶稣要求十二宗徒遵守祂的所有命令，然而在圣若望福音里，耶稣只给单独一条。当我们读圣若望福音第21章25节时会更清楚：

耶稣所行的还有许多别的事；
假使要一一写出来，我想所要写的书，
连这世界也容不下。

如果耶稣全部的教导不能容纳在福音内，那么，除了那单独的命令外，有其他指示或命令的可能性。最重大的就是爱的新命令。

回到这主日的福音，我们继续读第16和17节：

我也要求父，
他必会赐给你们另一位护慰者，
使他永远与你们同在：
他是世界所不能领受的真理之神，
因为世界看不见他，也不认识他；
你们却认识他，因为他与你们同在，并在你们内。

「护慰者」是用来翻译希腊文的 παράκλητον。这希腊文字指的是一个被要求帮助他人的人。重要的是，耶稣说天父会给另一位护慰者。这表示已经有一位护慰者在场。依照耶稣所说的，不难发现耶稣就是那位护慰者。耶稣以恳求来帮助所有信祂的人。耶稣亲自为他的门徒恳求。耶稣向天父恳求，让我们从罪恶中被得救。他的恳求就是祂充满爱心地服从天父，使到祂自愿被钉死在十字架上。天父的另一位护慰者将永远与门徒同在。祂是「真理之神」，祂不欺骗。圣若望认为，世界「不能领受」这真理之神，因为它不跟从天主，既看不见也不认识祂。我们跟随天主和耶稣的，将认识真理之神，因为祂与我们同在，并在我们内。

接下来，我们从第18致20节读到：

我必不留下你们为孤儿；我要回到你们这里来。
不久以后，世界就再看不见我，
你们却要看见我，因为我生活，你们也要生活。
到那一天，你们便知道我在我父内，
你们在我内，我也在你们 内。

上个主日，我们的到第14章的开始：耶稣告诉门徒他要离开了。这里第18节，祂向他们保证，虽然离开了，祂仍然不会放弃他们。受苦之后，他将离开世界，不会与门徒在一起。不过，耶稣复活后，即使世界看不见耶稣，门徒会看见祂。在复活那一天的傍晚，耶稣以平安祝福门徒。希伯来语的这词语，不是「没有冲突」或「没有战争」的意识。它用来表达幸福，希望对方有着充实完整的生命。战胜了死亡的耶稣，祂的祝福传达了完美的生命。因此，作为他的门徒，我们将获得更丰富的生命。接着，他赐给门徒们圣神，使他们能赦免罪过。我们知道，只有天主才能赦免罪恶。耶稣能够授予这权力，表达了他确实是「在祂父内」。圣多默第一次看到复活的耶稣时，明确地发出「我主！我天主！」（若20：28）

最后我们来到第21节：

接受我的命令而遵守的，便是爱我的人；
谁爱我，我父也必爱他，我也要爱他，
并将我自己显示给他。

耶稣重复在第15节的话。在第15节，耶稣对门徒说：「如果你们爱我，就要遵守我的命令。」这话是耶稣向当场的门徒说。那些与耶稣同在的门徒，将受护慰者的帮助，能够记住耶稣所教导的一切（见若14：26）。在这里的第21节，主语从「你」变成「谁」。任何接受并遵守耶稣命令的人，便是爱耶稣。在护慰者的帮助下，那个接受并遵守耶稣命令的人与耶稣有联系。那真理之神的护慰者将使该人能够接受耶稣的命令，即使他没有像门徒那样地与耶稣同在。之前，我提到圣若望福音没有记录耶稣所做的一切。这真理之神的护慰者也将把耶稣所教导传授给任何接受耶稣的人。该人将不必完全依靠所记录的福音，因为福音并没有记下耶稣所说的和所教导的​​一切。作为天主教徒，我们认为圣神在圣教会内保存了耶稣所教导的一切。圣神不会允许圣教会在耶稣的教导方面犯错误。

为什么我们需要另一个护慰者？作为信徒，我们的任务是继续耶稣所离下的工作。我们受洗时，领受了护慰者圣神。因此，我们与耶稣建立了联系，而我们的任务是向世人传播福音。要完成我们的任务，首先要遵守最重要的命令：「你们该彼此相爱；如同我爱了你们，你们也该照样彼此相爱。」（若13：34）我们如何辨别耶稣爱我们的方式？从福音，我们已经体验到耶稣的爱，祂为我们的罪过死在十字架上。那是耶稣爱我们的唯一时候吗？这就是为什么我们需要护慰者。没有圣神的帮助，我们无法在生活中觉悟到耶稣的爱。

我们对耶稣的爱有何反应？我们报答。我们通过接受并遵守他的命令来做到这一点。我们真诚地遵守了耶稣的命令吗？ 也许，由于对无法领圣事感到沮丧，我们心里想：「既然我们不领圣事，遵守又有什么用？」如果这样想，我们忘了是天主先爱我们。耶稣也是通过空虚自己先爱了我们（见斐2：6-11）。如果我们接受耶稣的爱并希望报答，耶稣赐给了我们该做的方式：「如果你们爱我，就要遵守我的命令。」让我们继续在这个困难的时候祈祷，祈求天主让我们记住，因为耶稣已经给予并仍在给我们祂的爱，服从耶稣只是我们该付出的回报。

5th Sunday of Easter 2020

SarahReesJones / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

When we consider the Gospel passage of this Sunday, we see at the centre, the well-known saying of Jesus, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Notice that a question leads to this saying and a statement follows this saying. The question that leads to this saying is, “Lord we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus was talking about going away from his disciples to prepare them a place in the Father’s house. I believe it can be taken to mean that Jesus will depart to his Passion so that his followers would be able to enter heaven. St. Thomas was the disciple who asked the question. Many scripture scholars are in the opinion that St. Thomas was someone who preferred to deal with the tangible than with the intangible. That was why he wanted proof of Jesus’s resurrection. Similarly, he asked for the exact place Jesus was going. Yet, we see that he would move away from that way of thinking and embrace the fact that Jesus the man was also God when he uttered, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28).

Like St. Thomas, many people in our era deal more with the tangible than the intangible. Empirical science is more convincing because it deals with the tangible. Religion does not always produce tangible answers. If one cannot produce physical proof of God’s existence, then God does not exist. Religious faith is thus a mere illusion because there is no physical proof. While many of us would profess that we have faith and do not doubt in the existence of God, we might still have doubts in our hearts. We might think, “If God loves me, why am I suffering?” Perhaps we might think, “If God loves me, why am I not at peace?” When we think this way, are we not saying that we need proof of His love?

Jesus does not chide St.Thomas; He gives St. Thomas an answer:

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Would St. Thomas have understood his answer? This saying of Jesus was not a direct answer to St. Thomas’ question. Jesus tells St. Thomas that to know where Jesus was going, he was to focus on Jesus Himself. Jesus was going to the Father and to know where that was, St. Thomas need only to focus on Jesus. If we want to go to the Father, we would need to focus on Jesus as well. In short, the person of Jesus would lead us to the Father; the words of Jesus would lead us to the Truth and the acts of Jesus in His Passion and Death would lead to true and everlasting life. This is reinforced by Jesus’s next words:

If you know me, you know my Father too.

From this moment you know him and have seen him.

When we focus on Jesus, we will come to encounter the Father and come to know Him. God is Spirit, not material. Thus, for us, who are physical and tangible, we are not able to perceive God with our physical senses. Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, has taken on a physical form so that we can perceive God with our senses. Thus. to know God the Father, we would need to know Jesus. The word “know” here would imply a relationship. However, St. Philip misses this point and interjects with the statement:

Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.

Imagine how Jesus must have felt. This was the last meal He was having with His disciples before his Passion, and they were not clinging to His words! They had been with Him for three years and they were still not able to discern the truth of His words.

Among us, there are those who were baptised just a year ago, there are those who have been Catholic all our lives. No matter how long we have been followers of Jesus, it is important that we cling to Jesus’s words. It is true that we should be stronger in our faith the longer we are Catholics but this is, sadly, not always true. The influence of the world sometimes lead us astray and we would need to find our way back to Jesus. When I say “clinging on to Jesus’s words,” I mean that we take Jesus’s teachings seriously. It is not about memorising the words by rote. Rather, I mean that we do what we can to understand the meaning and significance of His words. Do we pray when we read scripture? Do enquire when we are unsure of the meaning or the implications of His teachings? Are we ready to live His teachings authentically?

Jesus expresses his distress when he says to Philip:

Have I been with you all this time, Philip … 

and you still do not know me?

To have seen me is to have seen the Father,

so how can you say, 'Let us see the Father?'

Do you not believe

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

These words remind us that Jesus is indeed the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the way to know the Father. Jesus, the Truth, is the visible expression of what the Father wants to communicate with us. Jesus is the first, the archetype, of the Life the Father wants to give us in the Resurrection. Jesus reassures his disciples and all of us that what he says are not empty words.

I tell you most solemnly,

whoever believes in me

will perform the same works as I do myself,

he will perform even greater works,

because I am going to the Father.

The Acts of the Apostles bear testament to the fact that after the Ascension of Jesus, the apostles and those who had come to believe in Jesus achieved more than Jesus did with respect to the spreading of the Good News. Today, our Christian life has the potential of bringing salvation to others without the need of performing miracles. The grace of God enables us to show the love of God through our compassion and works of mercy. As long as we cling on to the fact that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and live it, our lives can bear witness to the message of the Good News. When we bring the Good News to others, we are evangelising as Christians.


(Chinese Translation below)

当我们考虑这主日的福音时，我们发现在中间就是耶稣的这句名言：「我是道路、真理、生命。」我们会注意到，这句前有发一个问题，这句后有发表一条声明。所发的问题是：「主！我们不知道你往那里去，怎么会知道那条路呢？」耶稣正在谈论要离开门徒，为他们准备在父的家中的住处。我也相信这表示耶稣将要以祂的受难，使门徒能够进入天堂。圣多默是发问的那一个门徒。许多圣经学家认为圣多默倾向面对有形而不是无形的问题。这就是为什么他要求耶稣复活证据的原因。同样的，他询问耶稣要去的确切地方。但是，以后他会改变这种想法，接受耶稣是真人真天主，说道：「我主！我天主！」（若20：28）

像圣多默一样，我们这个时代的许多人倾向面对有形的事情。因为科学是面对着有形的东西和有形的证据，所以它更使人信服。宗教所谈的是无形的，因此不能给满足的答案。世人有着一个想法：如果无法以科学证明天主的存在，那么天主不是真的。因此，宗教信仰只是一种幻想，因为没有任何物理证据。虽然我们会承认我们有信心，并且相信天主的存在，然而我们内心还可能有疑虑。我们可能会想：「如果天主爱我，我为什么还在受苦？」也许我们可能会想，「如果天主爱我，为什么我心还不安？」当我们有这种思想时，岂不是在说我们需要天主爱我们的证据吗？

耶稣不责怪圣多默。他这样地回答圣多默：

我是道路、真理、生命，
除非经过我，谁也不能到父那里去。

圣多默会明白耶稣的回答吗？耶稣没有直接回答圣多默。耶稣告诉圣多默，如果要知道耶稣去哪里，他必需瞩目于耶稣。耶稣要去天父那里，要知道那是什么地方，圣多默只需要把关注集中于耶稣。如果我们想去天父，我们也需要注视于耶稣。简而言之，耶稣会带领我们到天父那里去。耶稣的话将引导我们走向真理，耶稣在受难和死亡将领我们向真实永恒的生命。耶稣继续强调：

你们若认识我，也就必然认识我父；
现在你们已认识他，并且已经看见他。

当我们瞩目于耶稣，我们将遇到天父并认识他。天主是神，不是物质的。 因此，对于我们这些身体和有形的人来说，我们无法利用我们的身体感觉来感知天主。耶稣，成了血肉的天主子，取了肉身的形式，使我们能认识天主。要认识天父，我们就需要认识耶稣。说到「认识」，指的是有一种关系。然而，圣斐理伯误解耶稣的意识，而说：

主！把父显示给我们，我们就心满意足了。

想象一下耶稣的感受。那是他在受难之前与门徒要吃的最后一餐，而他们不能坚注祂的话！他们和耶稣在一起已经有三年的时间，他们仍然无法辨别他所说的话。

在我们当中，有些人一年前受洗，有些是一生作教友。无论我们跟随耶稣多久，我们都必须坚注耶稣的话。的确，我们作教友越久，我们的信仰就应该越坚强。不过，可悲的是，并非时时如此。世界的影响有时会使我们误入歧途，而我们需要找到回到耶稣的道路。当我说「坚注耶稣的话」时，是指我们认真对待耶稣的教导。这并不是要死记硬背。相反，我的意思是我们应该尽力地理解耶稣话语的含义和意义。我们读经时有没有先祈祷呢？当我们不能确定耶稣所教导的意义或含义时，会询问吗？我们愿意在生活里真实地活出耶稣的教导吗？

耶稣很失望因为祂这样地对圣斐理伯说：

斐理伯！这么长久的时候，我和你们在一起，而你还不认识我吗？
谁看见了我，就是看见了父；
你怎么说：把父显示给我们呢？
你不信我在父内，父在我内吗？

这些话提醒我们，耶稣确实是道路、真理和生命。我们沿着耶稣这条路，我们就能认识天父。耶稣是真理，显现了天父与我们人类所要沟通的。父愿意在复活中赐予我们的永恒生命，耶稣就是这种生命的原型。耶稣向门徒和我们保证祂所说的不是空话。

我实实在在告诉你们：
凡信我的，我所做的事业，
他也要做，并且还要作比这些更大的事业，
因为我往父那里去。

宗徒大事录证明了在耶稣升天之后，宗徒和那些相信耶稣的人在传播福音方面比耶稣取得了更多的成就。今天，我们的基督徒生活，没有奇迹，也能帮助世人得到救恩。天主的恩惠使我们能够通过我们的同情和怜悯之心表现出天主的爱。只要我们在生活里坚持耶稣是道路，真理和生命，我们就可以为福音作见证。当我们把福音传达给别人时，我们就是福传的基督徒。

2020年复活期第五主日

SarahReesJones / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

当我们考虑这主日的福音时，我们发现在中间就是耶稣的这句名言：「我是道路、真理、生命。」我们会注意到，这句前有发一个问题，这句后有发表一条声明。所发的问题是：「主！我们不知道你往那里去，怎么会知道那条路呢？」耶稣正在谈论要离开门徒，为他们准备在父的家中的住处。我也相信这表示耶稣将要以祂的受难，使门徒能够进入天堂。圣多默是发问的那一个门徒。许多圣经学家认为圣多默倾向面对有形而不是无形的问题。这就是为什么他要求耶稣复活证据的原因。同样的，他询问耶稣要去的确切地方。但是，以后他会改变这种想法，接受耶稣是真人真天主，说道：「我主！我天主！」（若20：28）

像圣多默一样，我们这个时代的许多人倾向面对有形的事情。因为科学是面对着有形的东西和有形的证据，所以它更使人信服。宗教所谈的是无形的，因此不能给满足的答案。世人有着一个想法：如果无法以科学证明天主的存在，那么天主不是真的。因此，宗教信仰只是一种幻想，因为没有任何物理证据。虽然我们会承认我们有信心，并且相信天主的存在，然而我们内心还可能有疑虑。我们可能会想：「如果天主爱我，我为什么还在受苦？」也许我们可能会想，「如果天主爱我，为什么我心还不安？」当我们有这种思想时，岂不是在说我们需要天主爱我们的证据吗？

耶稣不责怪圣多默。他这样地回答圣多默：

我是道路、真理、生命，
除非经过我，谁也不能到父那里去。

圣多默会明白耶稣的回答吗？耶稣没有直接回答圣多默。耶稣告诉圣多默，如果要知道耶稣去哪里，他必需瞩目于耶稣。耶稣要去天父那里，要知道那是什么地方，圣多默只需要把关注集中于耶稣。如果我们想去天父，我们也需要注视于耶稣。简而言之，耶稣会带领我们到天父那里去。耶稣的话将引导我们走向真理，耶稣在受难和死亡将领我们向真实永恒的生命。耶稣继续强调：

你们若认识我，也就必然认识我父；
现在你们已认识他，并且已经看见他。

当我们瞩目于耶稣，我们将遇到天父并认识他。天主是神，不是物质的。 因此，对于我们这些身体和有形的人来说，我们无法利用我们的身体感觉来感知天主。耶稣，成了血肉的天主子，取了肉身的形式，使我们能认识天主。要认识天父，我们就需要认识耶稣。说到「认识」，指的是有一种关系。然而，圣斐理伯误解耶稣的意识，而说：

主！把父显示给我们，我们就心满意足了。

想象一下耶稣的感受。那是他在受难之前与门徒要吃的最后一餐，而他们不能坚注祂的话！他们和耶稣在一起已经有三年的时间，他们仍然无法辨别他所说的话。

在我们当中，有些人一年前受洗，有些是一生作教友。无论我们跟随耶稣多久，我们都必须坚注耶稣的话。的确，我们作教友越久，我们的信仰就应该越坚强。不过，可悲的是，并非时时如此。世界的影响有时会使我们误入歧途，而我们需要找到回到耶稣的道路。当我说「坚注耶稣的话」时，是指我们认真对待耶稣的教导。这并不是要死记硬背。相反，我的意思是我们应该尽力地理解耶稣话语的含义和意义。我们读经时有没有先祈祷呢？当我们不能确定耶稣所教导的意义或含义时，会询问吗？我们愿意在生活里真实地活出耶稣的教导吗？

耶稣很失望因为祂这样地对圣斐理伯说：

斐理伯！这么长久的时候，我和你们在一起，而你还不认识我吗？
谁看见了我，就是看见了父；
你怎么说：把父显示给我们呢？
你不信我在父内，父在我内吗？

这些话提醒我们，耶稣确实是道路、真理和生命。我们沿着耶稣这条路，我们就能认识天父。耶稣是真理，显现了天父与我们人类所要沟通的。父愿意在复活中赐予我们的永恒生命，耶稣就是这种生命的原型。耶稣向门徒和我们保证祂所说的不是空话。

我实实在在告诉你们：
凡信我的，我所做的事业，
他也要做，并且还要作比这些更大的事业，
因为我往父那里去。

宗徒大事录证明了在耶稣升天之后，宗徒和那些相信耶稣的人在传播福音方面比耶稣取得了更多的成就。今天，我们的基督徒生活，没有奇迹，也能帮助世人得到救恩。天主的恩惠使我们能够通过我们的同情和怜悯之心表现出天主的爱。只要我们在生活里坚持耶稣是道路，真理和生命，我们就可以为福音作见证。当我们把福音传达给别人时，我们就是福传的基督徒。

4th Sunday of Easter 2020 (Good Shepherd Sunday)

Lion's Gate in Jerusalem

Herwig Reidlinger / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Every year, the Fourth Sunday of Easter is designated Good Shepherd Sunday. This is because the Gospel Readings are taken from chapter 10 of the Gospel of John. In this chapter, Jesus refers to his relationship with His followers as a shepherd with his sheep. It is in verses 11 and 14, which are read only in Year B of the Lectionary, that Jesus refers to Himself as the good shepherd. This year, being Year A, we read only the first ten verses.

I tell you most solemnly,
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
(Jn 10:7, The Jerusalem Bible)

Jesus begins talking about the sheepfold. Only the shepherd and the sheep enter the sheepfold legitimately. They enter through the gate. Remember that Jesus is talking to the Jews. Jews considered themselves the sheep belonging to God: For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. (Ps 95:7, Revised Standard Version). So, the Jews understood what Jesus was driving at. There was a place called the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. It built at the time of Nehemiah (see Neh 3:1) and was present at the time of Jesus (see Jn 5:2) but is no longer present in Jerusalem today. This gate was one of the entrances to the temple precincts. (You can read an interesting blog post about the gate here.) The place where the sheep gather is the sheepfold. The place where the Jews gathered was the Temple; and the Temple was where God was. Later, Jesus would claim,  I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me (Jn 14:6, The Jerusalem Bible)

I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me will be safe:
he will go freely in and out
and be sure of finding pasture.
(Jn 10:9, The Jerusalem Bible)

This text is obviously meant for the sheep. The sheep which enter by the gate is safe. Those who enter by Jesus will be saved. This mirrors a verse in the Psalms: This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. (Ps 118:20, Revised Standard Version) To be made righteous means to be made blameless: we are saved from our sins. Jesus saves us from our sins in His Passion, Death and Resurrection. Furthermore, we are sure of finding pasture, meaning that we would be provided for.

The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come
so that they may have life
and have it to the full.
(Jn 10:10, The Jerusalem Bible)

This verse reveals further what it means to be safe and to find pasture. We will be given life and life to the full. To be safe means to be given life and to find pasture is to be provided with the means to have life to the full. Jesus does not just save us from our sins, He provides further help. To come to know Jesus and to follow Him is to enter into safety. When we are baptised, we make the commitment to enter by the gate that is Jesus. He also provides us with His Body and Blood as spiritual nourishment, and His mercy is given through the sacrament of reconciliation. The sacraments are given to us so that we may have life to the full.

In our present circumstances, Jesus does not seem to be fulfilling the words He proclaims. Our churches are closed and we are not able to receive the sacraments. The closure of our churches should not be seen just as a deprivation. We are not under a persecution. We are doing what is morally correct to help stop the spread of this new virus among us. I am sure that many know that wearing of the mask when we go outdoors is more about preventing us from potentially spreading the virus than about us potentially catching the virus. Many of us take things for granted. We take risks because we think things do not happen to us, it happens to other people. We wear the mask to protect ourselves, not realising that we might be already infected but asymptomatic. The whole rationale of staying home and wearing masks when we go outside is to minimise the possibility of us infecting others.

It is the same for our faith. We know that God loves us and takes care of us. We might treasure the sacraments but we forget the one who is providing them. We receive the eucharist every time we join in the Eucharistic celebration. Yet, do we treasure the one who provides us with His Body and Blood? Are we aware that the spiritual nourishment is also for evangelisation? Do we receive the eucharist as the food for our mission as evangelisers? Do we receive the sacrament worthily? Often, during the penitential rite at the beginning of the Mass, I realise how unworthy I am to be at the altar. Despite that, by the grace of God, the unworthy minister becomes the instrument whereby the Body and Blood of Christ is ministered to the faithful. I say often, because there are times when I am truly unworthy: I go through the motion of reciting the words and making the gestures and am not paying real attention to the mystery that I am celebrating.

Sometimes we go to confession because we are afraid for ourselves, not because we have experienced the mercy of God already in our lives. I used to be able to make my appointment with my confessor to make confession regularly. Now I realise how lightly I have taken this convenience. I am not able to visit him and make my confession these days. I am frustrated and anxious as I find myself not being able to minister normally as a priest. Yet, I do experience the presence of God when I preside at a funeral or to administer the sacrament of the sick at the hospital. God still provides me opportunities to function as a priest. Should I, then, be frustrated and anxious rather than being humble and trusting? Perhaps this temporary cessation of the sacraments may help us to appreciate the love that God has for us. May it help us to treasure every opportunity that we have to avail ourselves of the sacraments.

Being Good Shepherd Sunday, I must mention something about the priestly vocation. As the Body of Christ grows, the Church needs priests; not just priests but faithful priests. All priests start as seminarians. Men enter the seminary because they feel they are called by God. However, a call does not always mean that it will have a good end. Judas Iscariot was called by Jesus but see how he turned out! Even St. Peter, who was called by Jesus to a special vocation at Caesarea Philippi, did not do so well: he denied knowing Jesus. However, he also chose to remain faithful. He allowed the grace of God to enter into his heart to strengthen the parts of him that were weak. Many men are called by God to be priests, but how many choose to be faithful and obedient. We should always pray for our young men to courageously answer Yes and remain faithful to that yes. After entering the seminary, they need our prayers to continue to be faithful to God's call, not their own ideas of priesthood. After ordination, priests need the prayers of the people to help us remain faithful to God even when we are not totally faithful at times, for example, when priests demand service rather than serve; when priests lose their patience rather than being faithful at being the patient shepherds they are called to be; when priests decide that they know better rather than submitting to the authority of the Church, the same Church that Jesus promised would be guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for more vocations and the strengthening of those vocations so that we may have more faithful priests to serve the whole Body of Christ, the Church.