How Now Shall We Live, by Chuck Colson.

This is the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time and the last one before the season of Lent.

This week's reading : [Isaiah 43: 18-19, 21-22, 24b-25] [2 Corinthians 1, 18-22] [Mark 2, 1-12]

This week, I would like to share this interesting article that I read from - How Now Shall We Live, by Chuck Colson.

Chuck Colson recounts the story of Kim Phuc in his book How Now Shall We Live. You may remember seeing a picture of Kim in her Vietnam village which had just been bombed with napalm. With arms outstretched, and all her clothing burned off, she was photographed running in terror and pain. She would have simply become another casualty of Vietnam had the photographer not poured water on her burns and demanded that she be taken to a more modern hospital in Saigon where she could be treated. Though some in the hospital considered her as good as dead and considered her a lost cause, a Christian doctor insisted and persisted until she received treatment. Some fourteen months and seventeen surgeries later Kim was released.

She, and her scars, were periodically paraded before cameras and used by her government as a visual aid to illustrate American aggression. Without a friend, Kim experienced extreme depression and loneliness. She discovered that her gods could not erase the heart anguish caused by her experience and disfigurement. Through a series of events and answers to prayer God provided a girl friend who was able to introduce Kim to Jesus. Kim’s testimony is, “It was the fire of the bombs that burned my body, it was the skill of the doctor that mended my skin, but it took the power of God to heal my heart.”*

In 1996 at the Vietnam Wall of Remembrance, on Veteran’s Day, Kim spoke to veterans and their family sharing how the love of Christ had transformed her life. She mentioned that if she were to meet the man who dropped the napalm bomb, that Christ’s transforming love would enable her to love and forgive him. From the audience a man quietly slipped up to the security guards and handed them a note, which read, “I am the man you are looking for.” Kim agreed to meet with him. As he approached Kim, she extended her arms once again, this time not in terror but in forgiveness. She hugged the man as he sobbed, “I am sorry, so sorry.” Kim responded, “It’s okay. I forgive, I forgive.”

Like in this Sunday’s readings, the photographer, the doctor, and the girl friend, all, so to speak, were involved lowering Kim to receive healing. Some participated by very physical acts of caring and healing while others participated by showing spiritual acts of caring and healing by taking time to demonstrate Christ’s love and point her to him. Kim in turn became a living icon of Jesus’ love and forgiveness giving freely of that which she received.

For many their outward appearance does not reflect physical scars, for they appear robust and healthy, however, often their inner self is wounded and racked with self doubt, feelings of being unloved, and anxiety and guilt for failing to meet even their own standards of righteousness. Like this pilot, even in the midst of doing our job, we can experience unrelenting feelings of condemnation, which if unresolved result in soul sickness. God never intends for us to live under this cloud of guilt and judgment. Jesus came to set us free and is readily available to heal and forgive. But he is counting on us, who know him, and who know how to access him, to remove the hindrances people encounter, and to hold on to the ropes of compassion and involvement and assist people in reaching him. And equally important he is counting on us to extend our hearts and hands, saying, “It’s okay. I forgive, I forgive.”

What strike me hard was Kim’s testimony : “It was the fire of the bombs that burned my body, it was the skill of the doctor that mended my skin, but it took the power of God to heal my heart.”

Epiphany Of The Lord

Image via WikipediaThis week, we celebrate the Epiphany Of The Lord and the readings are as follows:
[Isaiah 60: 1-6] [Ephesians 3: 2-3, 5-6] [Matthew 2: 1-12]

What is the Epiphany Of The Lord?

Originally it was the Christmas feast of the Eastern part of the Christian Church. In the Western part the stress of Christmas was and is on the birth of Christ as the little human child.

In the Eastern part the stress is more on Jesus coming as the Lord and Saviour of all. This is the reality the liturgy stresses today: Jesus came to save and bring life to all. No one is excluded, no one is a stranger to him. May all come to know Jesus, alive here among us.

In the readings today, we see how the Magi (probably from Persia) followed the stars and found baby Jesus whom they came to pay their homage. There is a very important significance in this as the Magi are gentiles. This really means that God’s salvation plan is for all and no one is excluded which remind me of Jn 3:16 which so many of my protestants friends loved to quote. God indeed send His only Son to save the world and not only Christians.

God has given us Jesus Christ as the Gift who brings light to our dark world Jesus is born for us – He brings the joy, peace and hope to the world that needs them so badly.

How about us? Are we a light to our family members, relatives and friends?

By being a loving, gentle and kind person to our family members, relatives and friends we too can bring joy, peace and hope to them.

Another aspect to note is that in celebration of the Eucharist that we remember that Jesus offered the Gift of Himself to God. He is offered for our salvation. Thus by following the teachings of Jesus, we can also offer ourselves as near perfect gifts to God our Father.

The 3rd Sunday of Advent

Image via WikipediaThis week's reading is as follows :

[Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11] [1 Thessalonians 5:16-24] [John 1:6-8, 19-28]

In the gospel of John, we are told that John the Baptist’s works must have a great impact as many people think and hoped that he is the messiah. Although he was at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'

Instead of tempted by fame, glory and prestige, John speaks the truth and in his humility and says: “I am not the one. There is one coming after me”.

John preached repentance in preparation for the coming of Christ and proclaimed himself as “A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight!' as prophesied by Isaiah.

What about us? Who do we identify ourselves in terms of? Do we realise that our roles in life are expressed in relation to others? Our talents and resources are meaningless unless others benefit from them.

Our accomplishments and status are empty if we do not look to the concern of others. We can only find fulfilment when we serve others in our families and in our communities, promoting their good above our own.

In short, our salvation depends not only on our love for God but also on our love for other people.

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• Second Sunday of Advent - We Hope in Jesus

First Sunday of Advent

Image via WikipediaThis past week-end marks the start of a new liturgical year for the Catholic Church. This week's reading are as follows :
[Isaiah 63:16-17, 19] [1 Corinthians 1:3-9] [Mark 13:33-37]

The readings this week has special meanings for me after reading the many postings on the various forums. The debate on salvation, second coming of Christ, the end of the world etc..

The Gospel that Jesus teaches us is "pretty simple" and that is to love our neighbour and I truly believed that Christians can make our home a better place by following Christ and loving our neighbour just as God has loved us.

Then we should just "stay awake and be alert" waiting for the coming of Christ. When? It doesn't really matter because we really don't know as only the Father does. What is more important is : Are we ready for His coming?

Are we ready to receive Him and are we ready to answer Him when he asked:
- Did you feed me when I am hungry?
- Did you give me water when I am thirsty?
- Did you clothed me when I am naked?
- Did you visit me in hospital when I am sick?
- Did you visit me in prison when I am lonely?

In conclusion, did we love our neighbour and be a true disciple of Christ? Or are we still talking about our how much faith we have and how other faith (even denominations) are false etc...?

This first Sunday of Advent is a waking up call for us and a time for us to start thinking what we have done for the past year, to confess our sins and pray to God to help us be his true disciple.

Advertisement from God - Job Vacancies....

Image via WikipediaThis is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary time and this week’s reading is as follows:
Isaiah 2:1-5 Ephesians 3:2-12 Mark 16: 15-20

This Sunday is designated as Mission Sunday. So how does Mission Sunday relates to lay Catholics like us?

All of us embraced God out of our own free will by attending RCIA and by virtue of accepting our baptism. As Catholics, we are servants and apostles of God's only Son - Jesus.

However, many do not think much about what it means to be servants and apostles. There is a duty of evangelizing by everybody as there are many people waiting for the proclamation of the Gospel and are thirsting for hope and love.

These people may be our colleagues, our neighbours; maybe even people in our own home. There is never a "better time" to share the Gospel and to bring to someone Christ’s saving message then NOW.

So brothers and sisters, start proclaiming the message of faith, hope and love to people around us so that less people will fall into the trap of "prosperity gospel" especially our young.

So, God has a job vacancy for us and the requirement is simple:- Have genuine love for Him and tell others about him.

There will be no monetary gains and working hours are long BUT His retirement benefits are great.

Would you be interested to apply?

The real story………

Image via WikipediaThis is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary time and this week’s reading is as follows:

Isaiah 25: 6-10 Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 Matthew 22:1-14

The real story………taken from the bulletin of the Church Of The Holy Cross.

We have really strong and terrible readings today. The readings are terrible in the sense that they show us a side of God with which we are generally not very comfortable. We prefer to meet a God who is infinitely patient, who pardons us even when we are completely against Him. We prefer the God shown us in the Gospel of John, who tells us: I have not come to condemn but to save.

We need to read these readings carefully. Sometimes we get caught only in this awful sense that God will condemn us. The First Reading from Isaiah and the Gospel from Matthew are much more nuanced than that. It is clear that these readings refer to people who simply will not budge at all from their rejection of God and of His Christ.

On the other hand, we need to feel this blast of the Lord's frustration with those who will not accept His invitation, those who will not even listen to His word at all. Too often the mercy and compassion of God become justifications for our not doing very much. We dilly and dally with sin and with temptations, wanting to be better but not wanting to take the tough decisions that will actually change our lives. We are truly human in that sense but not with the redeemed humanity of our Lord Jesus.

We need to become a person such as we see in the second reading, from the Philippians: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and gracious. How difference our lives can be when we begin to live for the Lord. We can stop living in the fear of having to give up our sinfulness and embrace the strong life of those who still sin, but whose hearts have become set on doing the will of the Lord.

How do we get from this fear of giving up our sinfulness to that place where our hearts are set on doing the will of the Lord? The only way is to keep asking God to change us and transform us. We cannot make this change by our own will power. It is a change that is given to us as a free gift from the Lord our God if we keep asking for it.

We must ask with sincerity and truth, even acknowledging that perhaps we don't really want to give up all of our sinfulness, but asking the Lord to remove all within us that is contrary to His desire and will.

May the Lord give us strength and courage this Sunday as we celebrate these divine mysteries once again. May we be willing to be transformed.