The Feast of the Holy Family 2010

The Holy Family is unlike any other families on earth. After all, it is holy, isn't it?
More than that, this family is where the sacred and the profane meet.

It all began with two ordinary families. Mary, a young virgin, was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter, a son of David (Matthew 1:6, 16; Luke 3:23, 31). Before they lived together, Mary was found to be pregnant, if you would believe her story, by the Holy Spirit. Um ... Unwed mother. How inconvenient, even in today's standard. Joseph must have been troubled by this situation. Struggles raced through his mind. But eventually, Joseph chose to believe in her! Amazing, wasn't it? Some divine intervention must have happened. Otherwise, no ordinary man could be willing to raise a child which does not carry his own DNA, unless of course, Joseph was a man of gigantic charity. Be it divine revelation or charity, Joseph has demonstrated a nobility man could ever dream of. Here, the sacred meets the profane.


At last, the pregnant Mary delivered her first boy among cattle and poultry because there was no room in the inn (Luke 2:7). Later, shepherds came to worship the new born Saviour. Many famous paintings have a radiant Holy Infant illuminating the darkness of the stable in which the Holy Family was staying. Here again, the sacred meets the profane.

The Holy Infant is the Lord of the whole Creation. Yet, it was so fragile. It needed the protection of an ordinary couple, Joseph and Mary. In the gospel reading today, we read of the Holy Family fleeing from the treacherous attempts of King Herod on the life of the Holy Infant (Matthew 2:13-18). Once more, the sacred and the profane meet. There are many more to come. In brief, in the life of Jesus and in particular, the daily life of the Holy Family, we see the encounters between the sacred and the profane.

What can we say about life, especially a Christian family life?
To be sure, there will always be a tension between the sacred and the profane. This tension will never be resolved here and now. Events will keep on arising from all sides so that we will love and hate our spouse and our children. There will always be situations in which we will be noble and mean towards our family members. We will keep our temper in full control but there will be times when our patience runs thin ... We have to learn to live with this tension until we return to God.

Dear Holy Infant,
We are fragile like infants. Without Your intervention, life would be impossibly hard to bear.
I pray for the families in this region of the globe. May the number of domestic violence cases be reduced. May husbands and wives find strength in their love of each other. May their children nourish in the warmth of their love. Amen.

Picture credit: The picture by Charles Le Brun was retrieved from Wikipedia.

2010 Christmas Greeting

The True Light has entered the world. ὁ λόγος has become flesh and dwelt among us, Sharing our laughters and tears, Our strength and illnesses. Pains and Joys He is Emmanuel, God among us. Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël.

Listen more to the heart

I am a brainy man. Very often, I put on my logician cap to look at matters. Keeping my feelings from interferring my judgment seems such a logical and natural course of action to take. How could I ever question this "invincible" approach to life? It is invincible because the chances of making mistakes are reduced to the minimum. Furthermore, I would not be easily moved once I have discovered the "right" decision. But this optimism is gradually eroding ...

Unaware of the force of repressed emtions, I have often been caught off-balance. I found myself making choices which turned out to be irrational in the after thought. Such decisions should not have been made at all, yet I have made them. I come to realize that I cannot deny my emotions out of existence. They exist however successful I have been in repressing them. Therefore, the only logical and natural course is to acknowledge their existence and master them.

Take the gospel reading today as an example. It is the story of Annunciation to Joseph in Matthew. How do I usually interpret the following verses?
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit;
and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly (Matthew 1:18-19). Mary had shown signs of pregnancy before living with Joseph. She must have informed Joseph that this was the work of the Holy Spirit. Logically, Joseph would not believe her. He was a law-abiding man with compassion. He did not want to put Mary to shame. His justice came into conflict with his compassion. Therefore, Joseph had to find a legally acceptable way to resolve this conflict. At last, he decided to divorce her so that she would be free to live with the "man" who fathered this illegitimate child.
Matthew wrote the nativity story in this way perhaps because his Christian community was facing attacks from the Jewish counterparts. There must have been rumours about the illegitimate status of Jesus. Therefore, Joseph had thought up a clumsy way to handle the dilemma. It was totally law-abiding, satisfying the legalistic thirst of the Pharisees in particular. Yet, God's will be done. Instead of allowing Joseph to divorce the BVM, God ordered St. Joseph to marry her.

But what is so wrong about the above interpretation?
I have not consider the alternative. What if Joseph accepted Mary's explanation that the pregnancy was an act of God? In this case, how am I going to explain why Joseph still wanted to divorce Mary.
Fr. Milanese celebrated the 11 a.m. Mass this morning. Also today, more than 50 people took part in the Rite of Acceptance to become catechumens in our parish. In his homily, Fr. Milanese demonstrated his biblical scholarship and pastoral experience. He was able to apply most appropriately the gospel message to the needs of the catechumens.

Firstly, Fr. Milanese contrasted the two different approaches of St. Matthew and St. Luke in the Nativity narrative. While all the people mentioned in Luke (perhaps with the exception of the residents in Bethlehem. But again, it was not their fault. There was actually no room to receive this new born king.) welcomed and were joyful over the birth of the Messiah, those in Matthew were troubled and even hostile to his coming. Fr. Milanese had taken up an assumption diametrically opposite mine. In his meditation, Fr. Milanese came to think that St. Joseph believed in the BVM and accepted her explanation that the child came from the Holy Spirit. Now, Joseph was troubled. How could he possibly be able to foster the Son of God? It was too lofty a job for this humble lowly carpenter. Furthermore, God had chosen the BVM to be the Mother of the Son of God. How could Joseph marry the BVM whom God had claimed? He tried his best to figure out what to do other than marrying her. He had to proceed very carefully. Otherwise, he would put Mary to shame. With his upbringing, Joseph thought that nullifying the marriage contract seemed to be the best option. However, God had a different plan in His mind. In the end, God revealed His plan to Joseph to settle his doubts.
Then, Fr. Milanese turned to the catechumens. Many of them would still have doubts in their minds. After baptism, would they be good enough to live up to the name of a Christian? Fr. Milanese told them to put their hearts at ease. Truly, all of us are not good enough. Had we been good enough, we would have had no need of God's salvation and we would not have been sitting here. Like St. Joseph, we should seek God' will. Pray to Him. In this aspect, the heart is better than the head. Therefore, in our prayers, listen more instead of saying more. Furthermore, listen to the heart as well.
The way Fr. Milanese interpreted this text allows him to apply to the needs of the catechumens. My approach is rather top-down and imposing. It is not able to generate any pastoral guidelines for my personal spiritual life.

Dear Lord, allow me to quiet down and take heed of my heart. Amen.

Sour and Sweet experiences

The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday, taken from the first word of the Introit. We should rejoice because the Lord is near. Fr. Lejeune celebrated the 11 a.m. Mass with us. He shared with us an obvious truth in life. Our experiences are never one-sided. There is sweetness amid sourness.

He was very humble. Last Wednesday when the Diocese celebrated her own feast day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM, he was co-celebrating beside the Bishop in honour of his Diamond jubilee of ordination. Commenting on this, he said that his priestly life has been nothing but mediocre. He thanked the Lord for he was able to rejoice even in times of hardship as a missionary. He turned to the reading of Isaiah today to illustrate his point.
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,the desert shall rejoice and blossom;like the crocus (Isaiah 35:1)
Difficulties we meet in our daily life harden our hearts and dampen our faith. They make our souls dry and lifeless like the wilderness, like the desert. With God's deliverance, we are animated. God's grace bursts forth in us and brings forth life again in us.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water (Isaiah 35:6b-7a).
Life is never meant to be a bed or roses. Difficulties and frustrations that we meet in life are meant to galvanize and polish us, pushing us towards greater maturity. Thank God, we stumble. Thank God, we fail.

However, there was a verse that troubled us.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." (Isaiah 35:4)
What does venegeance mean?
It is not right to simply look at the word vengeance alone. It should be read together with recompense. This is an echo of Deuteronomy.
Vengeance is mine, and recompense, ...
For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, ...
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand (Deuteronomy 32:35a, 36a, 39)
The servants of God usually suffer in the present age because they go against the current. They challenge the injustice of the system. They uncover the mistakes of those in power. Their very presence put the self-righteous into shame. Consequently, they suffer persecutions.
God is their only hope. He will come with punishments and rewards.

Fr. Lejeune brought to mind the case of Liu Xiao Bo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. It is an honour for Liu and China but at the same time, Liu is still serving his prison sentence which most of us think is unjustified. Many countries, under the duress of China, "boycotted" the ceremony. Confronting such a powerful country like China, even USA and Russia dare not insist. I believe that nothing can happen without God's permission. Therefore, it takes God, and God alone, to bend China into submission. These words did not come from Fr. Lejeune. They came out from my finger tips.

Dear Lord, I pray with Liu that he would be the last to be imprisoned for the crime of free speech. I also pray for our mother country that she will one day open her ears and heart to listen to dissent and democratic voices. Amen.

What is left when all logic fails?

Last week, we spent 21 hours in the media seminar organized by the Holy Spirit Seminary College. It is part of our BRS programme, organized once every two years. Dr. Dominic Yung led his team of staff to explore aging, sickness and death through movies. They are very professional and their contents are very substantial. I must say that I was unprepared for such an overwhelming emotional bombardments. Both the full-featured movies and the video clips have been well chosen and sent my head and my heart spinning. They stirred up a lot of reflections in us afterwards.

On Tuesday, Dr. Yung kickstarted the seminar with an analysis of a silent movie "The Passion of Joan of Arc" which was made in 1928. The martyrdom of St. Joan of Arc was portrayed in the fashion of the passion of Christ. The director made use of long stretches of big close-ups to create an oppressive tension on the audience. Today, Dr. Yung told us that two events happened when he prepared the materials for this seminar. First of all, his mother passed away. Then, the Diocesan Audio-Visual Centre had to issue an official statement about the recent "Devil jibe" incident. The Maid of Orléans was chosen by God to do things which she might not want to do. This very much summarizes what Dr. Yung had in mind at that time. It also reminds me to let go, not to insist on doing things in my way.
Dear Lord, Your will be done. But it is easier said than done!

On Thursday, a full-featured Japanese film, "Memories of Tomorrow", was shown. Ms. Zita Tsang, a staff of the HKDAVC, briefed us on the background of this 2007 movie. The story follows the life of a successful advertizing executive after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His memories began to fail him. He repeatedly bought bottles after bottles of shaving cream. He lost his ways in errants. When the film approaches the end, he could not recognize his own wife! Still, his wife did not abandon him. Through the doctor who diagnosed the man, the director announced to the whole world his attitude towards life. Sickness and death are fates from which nobody can escape. Therefore, seize the moment. Do now whatever you can do to make your remaining days shine forth. This film rang my heart because I found many similarities between me and the executive. I was unable to hold back my tears. I was particularly touched by the wife and there is no need to show me any logic. No logic will be able to convince anybody. I am touched and will love my wife better and more. Period.

Saturday morning, Ms Zita Tsang continued to present her research on the 26 Japanese martyrs and a silent movie made in 1931 about them. She tried to postulate the similarity between Japanese  culture and Christianity. Her colleague, Ms. Catherine Wong, continued to explore the topic. She followed the five stages of grief postulated by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and illustrated them with a huge collection of video clips. These HKDAVC people must have spend a lot of time editing the clips. In the afternoon, she showed us a 2001 Cantonese movie, "The Funeral March 常在我心".The plot of this little romance surprised us. We didn't expect the two canto-pop singers to be able to act. They did deliver a convincing picture. Truly, we can lead a happy, helpful and meaningful life even after we are diagnosed with an incurable disease. Movies can persuade. Cheer up.

This morning, another Ms. Tsang shared her collection. She has worked as a social worker as well as a Radio DJ. Obviously, she is very outgoing and pleasant. We enjoyed her presentation a lot. Though the topic of this seminar is rather negative, all the speakers are able to radiate a positive beam of hope in the gloomy atmosphere which induces us to confront our own attitudes towards life and death. Before lunch, we watch "Ponette", a 1996 French movie which is about a four-year-old girl losing her mother in a car accident. The movies superbly explores how this young girl tried different ways to cope with this traumatic loss and the consequent grief. The classmates were captivated by the incredible acting of the four-year-old actress.
Life is full of contingencies.Entrust our life in God' hand.

In the afternoon, Dr. Dominic Yung led us through a chronology of Christ movies, beginning with the silent movie "From the manger to the Cross" of 1912 upto the realistic "The Passion of Christ" in 2004. It was an eye-opening experience for us. Thus, we finished this 21-hour seminar and celebrated the Sunday mass in the chapel.

Dear Lord, I pray that I may be able to make good use of these movies clips to motivate my students to explore the deeper meaning of life and to discover You will. Amen.

Is life an imprisonment?

Fr. Milanese is scholarly. In this First Sunday of Advent, he introduced a German Lutheran theologian and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), to us to explain the spirit of Advent --- waiting. Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Nazi in April 1943 and executed two years later at the age of only 39. He was allowed to write letters once every ten days from prison and these were later compiled and translated into "Letters and Papers from Prison". In the tradition of St. Paul, Bonhoeffer, 文天祥 and many others have written letters that move the hearts of generations of readers. The letters and their authors have demonstrated the nobility of human souls.

For these noble souls, prisons are wonderful places to encounter God. Here, prisoners are stripped of their dignity, identity and individuality. They are known only as a number. They put on the uniform provided from the prison. They are emptied. The harshness of prison life forces them to rely more on God and to lead a life of simplicity. Yes, life can be simple and when it is simple, it is easier to find God. Extravagance is not a necessity.

In Advent, we wait patiently for the coming of Christ. In the meantime, we actively prepare for the celebration of Christmas.  In a similar manner, Fr. Milanese helped us meditate that life is also an Advent experience. Life is full of occasions of waiting: a pregnant mother expects the delivery of her baby, an adolescent can't wait to become an adult, a young man works hard and saves money, waiting for the day when he is able to purchase a flat of his own to build up his own family and a fair maiden waits impatiently for the appearance of Mr. Right ... etc. In all these occasions of waiting, the person involved works hard to prepare for the arrival of that day. In drawing our attention to Jesus' advice of alertness and preparedness, Fr. Milanese avoided those thorny issues surrounding the discussion of eschatology. For example, he did not comment a single word on the following 2 verses.
Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left (Matthew 24:40-41).
Perhaps these two verses were written to strengthen the faith of Christians who were suffering persecution. Matthew consoled them that they would be the one to be taken up to the heavens while the unbelievers would be left behind. No. Fr. Milanese simply didn't care.

Life is like an imprisonment. Our soul is trapped in the body and she longs for leaving the body behind to return to God. This is a Platonic philosophical outlook. We always hear people say that opportunity appears only to those who are prepared. Truly, when we are physically and psychologically prepared, we will be able to bring one home. Many times, we complain to God for the cards we are dealt, not knowing that God has already opened the prison gate. We are able to walk out freely at any moment. However, are we ready? Are we well-prepared to embrace our end?

Dear Lord, while we are waiting for Your Second Coming, help us lead truly a prepared life so as to bear witness to the great love of Your heavenly Father. Amen.

Feast of Vietnamese Martyrs

When the boss summoned me to his office to tell me the SMC decisions, I was troubled by my own peacefulness. There was no anger, nor disappointment. The decisions came out as expected. There was no exchanges of sharp words. The conversation lasted for less than 10 minutes and I left the boss' office. I was troubled because I worried that I had been too successful in suppressing my true feelings.

Of course I know that I am guilty of not following the proper procedure to ask for permission before I used English to teach E&RE. Of course I know that my boss would not adequately represent my views in the SMC. He said that there were too many documents on the table for the managers to handle. Of course I know that managers are unable to understand the situation because they do not enter the classrooms. They do not know me, nor my students. (With the exception of the PTA manager, whose child I am teaching.) But such a trivial matter should never have been brought up in the SMC in the first place. Next time, if a teacher teaches, say Physics, in Chinese, would my boss bring up the matter to the SMC?  I doubt it very much. Then, why should I receive such a special treatment?

What are my true feelings?
I feel sorry for my boss. His chair is too big for him.
I feel sorry for my students. They will be deprived of a chance to stretch their potentials to greater heights.
I feel grateful to Adrian. He has been very supportive and borne most of the brunt of the boss' fury for me.
I myself feel unfulfilled. But I should not be selfish and pay attention to the wider range of learning abilities of my students. Though the NSS Form 5 looks equivalent to the Form Six of the old system, they are not quite the same. While the Form Six students are the cream, the selected few and the elites, the Form 5 students have not gone through the first round of selction. Some of them are weaker and may have difficulty in learn their lessons in English. If I do not adjust my teaching strategies, I am being irresponsible.
When the worst comes to the worst, I have to give up teaching E&RE in Chinese next year. It is unfair to demand an English teacher to teach a subject in Chinese. But I am unable to handle 3 classes of English. It is impossible for me to mark all their exercise books. Shall I quit?

Of course I know that I am not a martyr. I still have a family to feed.
Of course I know that life is not a smooth sail. A project is rarely accomplished without first overcoming obstacles. People say when God closes a door in my face, He will open another window for me.
Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages! (Revelation 15:3)

Dear Lord, I think I know how you felt when people rejected Your good will. You are my true hope. Show me the path and guide my steps on it. Amen.

The 5 defects of Jesus

Late on Friday evening, I read the S.5 E&RE survey results sent by Adrian. I was very depressed because of the findings.
For me, the whole matter has been a humiliation. Why do I deserve to undergo such a persecution? Am I guilty of teaching English in Cantonese in Shung Tak? No! It is all because I have bypassed the Department to teach my S5 E&RE lessons in English in an English College! Have the school received any complaints from parents or students for my teaching E&RE in English? No! Of course, we should be proactive!
The school has been teaching S6 and S7 E&RE in English for years. Now, can I take these NSS S5 students as S6 students of the old system? I simply want to equip them with more English vocabulary and moral reasoning in group interviews. Am I not proactive?

Knowing that he is unable to persuade me to change my mind, he asked the Supervisor to deal with me. I obeyed the Supervisor's instruction and is willing to conduct a survey to gauge students' opinions, to find out if they have any difficulty in learning the lessons in English. To keep my neutrality, I washed my hands and asked the Department to do the survey. I don't want to meddle with the outcomes. However, my boss kept pressing Adrian and demanded that he met the deadline so that the results would be tabled for SMC discussion.

I have no intention to change the language policy of the school. Before the introduction of the 2000  HKCEE RS syllabus, Shung Tak taught RS in English and sat for public exam in English because she is an EMI school. With the introduction of the 2000 syllabus, the school feared that our students would be put in a disadvantage to compete with other elite schools in answering questions of personal and social issues in English. Mrs. Poon, the principal at that time, made a fatal mistake in switching the MOI of RS to Chinese, hoping to secure a good public exam RS result. Consequently, I, a Catholic English teacher, have to teach RS in Chinese! The outcome was unsatisfactory. For the past ten years, the passing rates are below 50% except for 2 or at most three years. Of course, the causes are complex.

As E&RE is not an exam subject. Therefore, I just request a little flexibility in the implementation of the MOI decision made in the SMC. But to rub salts in my wounds, I have to write up the questions in the survey. I feel like erecting my own crucifix to crucify myself. I feel stripped naked to be inspected by two hundred students. My teaching performance is to go under the microscope. Perhaps this is a sign of the time. Since professors in the universities are evaluated by the undergrads. Why not secondary school teachers?

I wrote up 15 questions plus an open-end one: "Other suggestions". However, the boss was not satisfied and insisted on adding question#16. He changed the open-end question into three open-end questions which betrayed the motive of the whole survey. I am afraid the whole survey is invalidated. Boss, why do you drive yet another nail in my coffin?
I was depressed because of the indifference shown in results. Nearly half of the responses to each question is "neutral". The agree's and disagree's split half-half of the remaining half.

I have attended three masses to console myself. In the anticipatory mass at the Holy Cross Parish to celebrate the Election of Permanent Deacon Candidates, Fr. Dominic Chan, V.G. was the chief celebrant. When he talked about the kingship of Jesus on the cross, he highlighted humility. Permanent Deacons should therefore exemplify the humility of Christ in front of the people they serve. Like Jesus, I should suffer injustice quietly and humbly.

This morning, I attended the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish to celebrate the first vow of Sr. Mother of Good Counsel Cheung, a Shung Tak past student. Fr. Jorge Montagna, VE, was the chief celebrant. He emphasized the love of Jesus for humanity on the cross. In return for this love, Mr and Mrs. Cheung gave their daughter to Christ the King to build the Kingdom of God on earth and Sr. Mother of Good Counsel Cheung dedicated her whole life to the love of Christ the King. Hearing her vow in the ceremony, I could not hold back my tears. Lord, I have not loved You enough.

At 4 in the afternoon, Fr. Pierre Lam Minh, MEP, V.G., came to celebrate the Feast Day of our parish. In this mass, we also celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Fr. Lejeune, MEP; Golden Jubilee of Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM and Sr. Michelle, MM; and thirtieth anniversary of Fr. Milanese, PIME. Other priests were also invited to co-celebrate. On the stage, most of the priests are missionaries and are aging. Fr. Martin is the only young, local priest.
Fr. Pierre made this observation and shared with us his response to priestly vocation. He came from a Chinese community in Vietnam and Fr. Lejeune had been a missionary priest in his parish. Young Pierre wondered whether all priests should be expatriates. Therefore, he made up his mind to become a missionary priest himself. Now, he is the Superior of MEP in Hong Kong, heading Fr. Lejeune! Fr. Pierre exhorted the congregation to pray for priestly vocation as well as considering more attentively their own vocation.
Then he turned to the life of the famous Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan who had been imprisoned after the fall of Saigon by Vietnamese Communists for 13 years, 9 of which were solitary confinement. In 2000, while he was still an Archbishop, he preached a course of spiritual exercises to Pope John Paul II and the Roman Curia. Later, his talks were compiled and published as "Testimony of Hope". Fr. Pierre told the congregation one section of Chapter 2, "The defects of Jesus".

Cardinal Van Thuan developed this paradox beautifully. He said that he had left everything to follow Jesus because he loved the defects of Jesus (pp, 16-17).

1. Jesus has a terrible memory. Like the reading from today, he forgot the one crucified on the right was a thief. He promised the thief paradise on that day.
   Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).
2. Jesus doesn't know math. He equated 99 to 1. He left 99 sheep behind to go after just 1.
   What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? (Luke 15:4).
3. Jesus knows no logic. A woman can trouble and call together all her neighbours and friends just to announce to them that she has just found her lost coin.
   And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.' (Luke 15:9).
   The Beatitudes and many other teachings are full of paradoxes (Matthew 5:3-12).
4. Jesus is a risk-taker. He promises that people who follow him will receive 100 times more persecutions and an intangible eternal life.
   ... receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:30).
5. Lastly, Jesus doesn't understand finances or economics. He gave the same amount of wage to workers who have worked for different number of hours (Matthew 20:1-11).

We are able to find faults with Jesus only from the point of view of human logic.
Therefore, as a disciple of Jesus, I should follow his examples to have a poor memory, to forget what my boss has wronged me. I can do this in my head. But I am afraid I still cannot do this in my heart.
As a follower of Jesus, I should also know no math. I should not be calculating, should not count the costs. If it is a right thing to do, do it whatever the costs. Jesus is God and has infinite resources and love. Of course he does not need to count the costs. But I am all too human. My remaining days are numbered. I have to be selective in my choices. My only chance is to get connected to Jesus to channel his resources onto me ...

Dear Lord, Your defects have cheered me up. Please engrave Your defects in me so that I will be depressed no more. Amen.

The End of the World (Year C)

We are approaching the end of the liturgical year. Thus, we are listening to reading about the end of the world. Today, we read of the Lukan version of apocalypse. Fr. Milanese celebrated the 11 a.m. mass. He gave us a newer understanding of the meaning of the end of the world.

Jesus' message has never been so clear. When he spoke to outsiders, he used parables. But when he spoke to his disciples, he spoke plainly (Mark 4:34).
Wars, famines, natural disasters and pestilences have always been around for centuries. They will be here to stay until the end but they are not the end, nor the causes of the end. No doubt, life would be difficult and people would long for deliverance. Out of fear and uncertainty, they would easily fall prey to false Messiahs.
And he said, "Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is at hand!' Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once." (Luke 21:8-9).
Therefore, even if people around you panic about these wars and natural disasters, Christians should maintain your composure because you have been forewarned by Jesus. Don't be cheated by false prophets. Whenever people sell you any panacea to solve your problems, stay alert. Whenever people predict the end for you, remember what Jesus said in Mark.
But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come (Mark 13:32-33).

So far, so good. The interpretation of Fr. Milanese is no more than being traditional. His innovation followed.
Fr. Milanese said that the end of the world has come many times! Human history has gone through many upheavals. Through wars, revolutions, plagues and tumults, new ages are ushered in. The old China of a century ago is no more. In her stead is the Communist China of today. In 1910, on the eve of Chinese Nationalist Revolution, who could have dreamed of a China of today? The old world is finished. We are living in a new world. For people of each age, they live in a new world. Perhaps, that was what Jesus had in his mind, when he made the following claim.
But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.
This will be a time for you to bear testimony (Luke 21:12-13).
It is rather unthinkable for Christians to be arrested and persecuted by kings and governors since the 4^th century. Christianity was officially recognized as a state religion in the Roman Empire and in European nations in subsequent centuries. So, how can God's words become obsolete? Are God's words not relevant anymore today?
Rather, in the transition years between ages when the accepted truths and morals are challenged, it will be a time for Christians to bear testimony. They will not be denied this privilege to stand firm to uphold Christian values and principles.

Modern management theories enshrine the maximization of profits. Employers make money at the expense of the welfare of employees. Why? Among the four factors of production, land and capital are inelastic. There is not much room to manoeuvre. In order to maximize their profits, entrepreneurs would resort to the exploitation of the labourers by squeezing their wages. Property developers would build inflated flats to squash the middle class.

The Church has always been opting for the poor since Pope Leo XIII. Therefore, when Fr. Thomas Law passed his verdict on L' Devil, he was only bearing testimony to the teaching of the Church and the Spirit of the Gospel.
Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; ...
for when I was homeless you did not house me ... (Matthew 25:41-43).
Fr. Law, don't be disheartened. Jesus consoles you.
you will be hated by all for my name's sake.
But not a hair of your head will perish.
By your endurance you will gain your lives (Luke 21:17-19).

Dear Lord, we thank You for offering us the opportunity to polish our faith and bear testimony for You. We are honoured to be counted blessed to suffer persecution for Your name's sake. Amen.

Pray for Fr. Thomas Law

Fr. Law was obviously very upset. Tonight in his lesson, he was not himself. The "Devil Verdict" has taken its toll on him. He tried to be cheerful and to crack a few jokes with us. But we could sense that he had to take great pain to do so. His brothers in the Hierarchy have not come to his defence. Sometimes, he became speechless, seemingly racking his brain to search for the most appropriate words which would not disturb our conscience. He was torn between the class and the court scene in the Council Meeting.

In this event, everybody becomes a loser.
An anti-wealthy atmosphere is brewing all over Hong Kong and is getting thicker day after day. The recent Cafe de Coral incident is just one such example. In this "Devil Verdict" event, Fr. Law has only voiced what most people have kept in the depth of their hearts. Now, the mass media and the Hierarchy are working together to crown Fr. Law a martyr. On the other hand, L' Devil is being painted more devilish and the upper echelons in the Hierarchy bending towards the super-rich instead of opting for the poor as has always been taught by the Church since the end of the 19^th century. The stakes are high and Fr. Law is dispensable. Some people console themselves and speculate that the Second Man in Command would lose his favour before the Big Boss as well as his chances of succeeding the Big Boss because of the way he handled this issue.

As your students, Fr. Law, we support you. We pray for you. Perhaps you should also consider going on a 30-day retreat to examine your consciousness. Probably you will find, in the deep recess of your heart, L' Devil accusing you before God and then repenting in front of Him.
To quote Abraham, "God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8)
Let go, Father. God will provide Himself the Law.

My Sweet Jesus. Look down on Your faithful servant and see how bravely he has fought his battle for the poor. Console him when he feels abandoned like You on the cross. Do not let despair tempt him. Protect him from all evils. Amen.
St. Martin of Tours, pray for Fr. Thomas. Amen.

I have been very lucky

God has been very merciful to me and patient with me. Throughout my teaching career, He kindly puts me in elite schools. The students are capable and challenging. I am privileged and honoured to share my life and grow up with them.

These two days, Shung Tak held her annual Sports Day in the Yuen Long Stadium. I am able to see the other sides of my students.
In the last few years, I was assigned the Chief Position Judge. Which means, like the time-keepers of track events, my helpers and I have to work nearly non-stop throughout these two days. That doesn't pose me any problem. I enjoy mixing with my helpers, practising English with them outside the classroom. These prefect helpers prove their worth. Very quickly, they are able to organize themselves and do their jobs autonomously. When some of them take leave to take part in their events, the remaining helpers are able to re-deploy themselves into a new formation. They take turn to recuperate themselves.

The track events are breathtaking. It is the first time I see some of them in a totally different shape. In school uniform, some of them look untidy, or genteel or lady-like. However, you cannot imagine the power and perseverance they show on the track. Of course, some of them have not done enough warm up or are overloaded. It hurts to see them cross the finishing line in agony.

This year, the cheering teams from four houses gave us a surprise performance. A combined team was formed to perform an energetic dance in front of the guests and the whole school. The chief choreographers: Monique, Angel, Stephanie, Zoe and Jasmine are all my girls! These girls can really dance and it is the first time I see their talents beyond their studies. Students from elite schools can study, play and know how to manage their time well.

Jacky, Arthur, Castolo, me and Vincent in Yuen Long Stadium

Photo credit: by Calvin Loo

Before I leave, the Boy Scouts in my class want me to post the following gossips on this blog:
Castolo is handsome. (I agree. Yes he is.)
Jacky is strong. (True.)
Arthur is clever. (No doubt about it.)
Isaac has a lot of room for improvement. (Of course. Everybody has.)
Bobby is obese. (OK. You know the word obese.)
Vincent's running posture is like an aeroplane. (No comment. I have not seen it.)
Christie looks like a beautiful hippo. (Jacky says so.)
Christie always massage Leo's hand. (Of this, I have no idea.)
Tammy has a red nose. (OK, I'll take a closer look next time.)
Last but not least, Mr. Kwok is the most handsome and
Ms. Yiu is very attractive. (This is blatant flattery! But I love this.)

Dear Lord, I thank You for allowing me to grow up with my students. Bless them so that they may help build our future society with compassion and justice. Amen.

I discover a new daytime scheme in Psalm 90

When does a day begin?
For Westerners, a day begins at midnight. For Chinese, it begins at 11:00 p.m. Traditional Chinese divided a day into 12 time slots【時辰】. The 12 slots are assigned 12 earth branches【地支】. The Chinese fortune tellers still employ this scheme to calculate the fate of a person from his birthday. What about the Jews?
From the Bible, we deduce that the Israelites begins a day at sunset, roughly 6:00 p.m. The night is divided into 4 watches. When the sun rises, at roughly 6:00 a.m. in the morning, they started counting in hours.
Therefore, on Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the 120 believers who then began to speak in tongues, some onlookers dismissed them as drunk. Peter defended by saying that it was only the third hour of the day. That is, 9:00 a.m.
For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day; (Acts 2:15).
According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was crucified at 9:00 a.m., the third hour (Mark 15:25). At noon, the sixth hour, there was darkness over the whole land (Mark 15:33) and Jesus died at 3:00 p.m., the ninth hour (Mark 15:34).
The Gospel of Matthew tells of a vineyard owner hiring workers at different hours of the day. At the eleventh hour, he hired workers who could work for one hour only. Yet, they got the same wage as those who had worked for 12 (Matthew 20:12)! So, we know that day time was divided in 12 hours. Perhaps this was adopted from the Romans or Greeks.
When Jesus warned us to keep alert and be always prepared for the sudden coming of the end, he has the following to say.
Watch therefore -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning --
lest he come suddenly and find you asleep (Mark 13:35-36).
Notice that he began with the evening.
In the Creation hymn of Genesis 1, a refrain is sung six times.
And there was evening and there was morning, an n^th day (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31).
Therefore, we may safely deduce that for Israelites, a day begins in the evening.

When I was saying my Lauds this morning, I suddenly discovered that Psalm 90 is using a different time scheme! It begins a day in the morning like us!
Thou turnest man back to the dust, and sayest, "Turn back, O children of men!"
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream, like grass which is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers (Psalm 90:3-6, RSV).
RSV is peculiar in using the phrase "is renewed", whereas KJV simply uses "groweth up" and others "sprouts anew".
Further down, we have one more line, suggesting a day begins in the morning.
Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days (Psalm 90:14).
Naturally, I wonder whether Psalm 90 is the only exception. I have not read enough Bible. Perhaps there are other places indicating that a day begins in the morning and not in the evening. This is a good research topic for Bible students.

Dear Lord, whether a day begins in the evening or in the morning, the work of Your hands captivates me in awe. Let thy work be manifest to thy servants, and thy glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it (Psalm 90:16-17). Amen.

A Choice of Life and Death

Fr. Martin gave us a new perspective in the interpretation of the "resurrection debate". For us Christians, it is unthinkable not to believe in resurrection. Christ' resurrection is the very foundation of our faith. However, there were/are people who deny resurrection.

In the gospel story, the Sadduccees only recognized the Five Books of Moses. This religious party was mainly composed of priestly families and they must have been rich. Paradoxically, these priests did not believe in resurrection! Isn't it mind-boggling? Greeks did not believe in resurrection for philosophical reasons. Greeks believed that in death, the soul was released from the prison of the material body. Therefore, it would be stupid for the soul to re-enter the body after its release. The situation of the Sadduccees was different. They did not have the philosophical burden of the Greeks. Therefore, they rejected resurrection for some other reasons.

Why do/did people believe in resurrection or afterlife in general?
I think it is a matter of justice. When justice is not done or is not attainable in this life, people look forward to remedies in the afterlife. Who see that justice is not attainable? Most likely, it would be the poor, the exploited and the oppressed. The story of the martyrs in the Second Book of Maccabees illustrates this clearly. Such belief was put into the mouths of the second and fourth brothers. In their dying breath, they made the following statements.
And when he (the second brother) was at his last breath, he said, "You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws." (2 Maccabees 7:9)
And when he (the fourth brother) was near death, he said, "One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!" (2 Maccabees 7:14)
It was impossible for the martyrs to defeat their conquerers. But the God they/we believe in will see justice done.

Let's return to the Sadducces. Perhaps they were rich enough and did not bother to worry about their life after death. When people are rich, they usually enjoy power as well. They have more access to the resources of the society and rich people support each other to guarantee that their riches are secured. They will never experience "injustice" done to them. Naturally, the idea of an afterlife or the idea of seeing justice done will not be appealing to them.
Not only do they never experience injustice. Instead, they sometimes inflict injustice onto others in order to maintain a "fair/reasonable" share of profit. They gradually become insensitive to the sufferings of the poor. The recent incident of Cafe de Coral in Hong Kong is a case in point.

Gone are the days when traditional employers treated their employees like family members. They dined and whined together. Entered modern business administration when labour is but one of the four factors of production. When there is little room for employers to spend less expenditures in "Land" and "Capital", the entrepreneurs then turn to their employees and squeeze as much as possible from them in order to maintain a "reasonable" level of profit. When the government passes the minimum wage ordinance to protect the employees, the greedy employers would look for loopholes to spend less on wages. For Cafe de Coral, it was a PR disaster. Its stock price slided down for 4 consecutive days since November 1. As of this writing, Cafe de Coral bowed to public pressure and retracted its decision not to count the lunch hour wage of her workers.

Jesus quoted Moses' saying that God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob and drew the following conclusion.
Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him (Luke 20:38).
God offers us life in His hand. He will not and cannot force us to accept His generous gift. Some of us choose life. Some don't. We make our choices when we deal with our employees, our fellow men.

Dear Lord, You have the Word of Life to offer us. Where else can we turn? I pray for hearts of the rich. May they maintain their sensitivity and sensibility in making business decisions. Amen.

A Wise Man makes good use of things

Xun Zi 荀子, a Confucian philosopher, was born in 313 B.C. Countering the view of Mencius 孟子, another Confucian philosopher, that man is born good, Xun Zi taught that human nature is evil and men need education to bring them back to the path of righteousness. He left us 20 essays, the first of which exhorts men to learn 【勸學】. In this essay, I found the Zacchaeus of Luke. Let me quote it.
吾嘗終日而思矣，不如須臾之所學也。吾嘗跂而望矣，不如登高之博見也。登高而招，臂非加長也，而見者遠；順風而呼，聲非加疾也，而聞者彰。假輿馬者，非利足也，而致千里；假舟檝者，非能水也，而絕江河。君子生非異也，善假於物也。
Once I meditated all day. It was not as good as a moment's study. I stood on my heels to look into the distance. I did not see as much as I do from on high.  From on high I wave. My arm is not lengthened but people can see from afar. I shout in the leeward direction. The sound is not amplified but hearers will perceive it clearly. Riding a horse, my legs are not quickened but I cover thousands of miles. Sailing on boats, I am not able to swim but I ferry the rivers. A wise man is born no different from the others. He only makes better use of things.

Nowadays, new technology provides us with much convenience and extends much of our capabilities. We have machines that lift tonnes of iron, aeroplanes that fly in the air, telephones that enable people at great distances to talk with each other and computers that manipulate data in lightning speed. Homo Sapiens are truly sapient. They invent tools to amplify their muscular as well as intellectual strengths.

The story of Zacchaeus is enlightening. According to Luke, he was a chief tax-collector of Jericho. His stature was short. When Jesus came to Jericho, he attracted a huge crowd. In order to take a look at this legendary Jesus, Zacchaeus climbed up a sycamore tree (Luke 19:4). This was the first time Zacchaeus showed his wisdom in making use of things to his advantage. Back to his house, when he was dining with Jesus, he declared that he would give half of his goods to the poor and whomsoever was cheated by him before, he would restore 4 times (Luke 19:8). With this generous gesture, he earned the blessing of Jesus.
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house." (Luke 19:9a)
Zacchaeus made good use of his money to earn eternal life! Once more, he showed wisdom.

I love the story of Zacchaeus because I am short in stature too. I always admire his wisdom. Most important of all, Zacchaeus shows me that in finding Jesus, we find our true identity.
He was a public sinner because of his job. He was rejected by all the Jews, his countrymen. Would his loyalty to the Romans bring him any advantages? I doubt very much. The Romans made use of him to collect tax and supplied him with just enough protection to do his job. Of course he could purchase a Roman citizenship. However, it would only be a second class citizenship and he still could not walk tall.
Jesus dined with him but it was an unplanned supper. Zacchaeus did not expect Jesus to notice him. So, when Jesus called out his name (Luke 19:5) and expressed his wish to stay in his house, Zacchaeus was overjoyed, so much so that he gave up half of his property and promised Jesus to repay fourfold whomsoever he had cheated. He must have been out of his mind! Yet, he attained his salvation and identity: a son of Abraham (Luke 19:9b).

Making good use of things is wise. But I think it is even wiser to make good use of men. Mrs. Mary Poon, my ex-boss, was a retired civil servant before becoming our principal. One of her administrative strengths was to hook the potential of her subordinates. She made use of her apparent weaknesses in Maths and Science to mobilize the senior teachers to work for her. She empowered them and held them responsible.
Her successor was burdened with a PhD title. While teachers in other schools meet many times to write up the School Self-Evaluation Report for External School Review, teachers in Shung Tak  were spared the agony because the Report was penned by one man, our PhD ex-boss. In every subject area, he wanted to command respect. In so doing, he alienated most of the teachers and nobody wanted to put in any effort for the school. Let him handle it since he is a PhD. He left three years ago ignobly.
So be it that not making good use of people and things can be detrimental to one's career.

Dear Lord, You are our Good Shepherd. You call out our names one by one. Bring me back to the fold. Amen.

Becoming one with God through sufferings

Today, our parish celebrated the Mission Sunday though the Diocese had celebrated it publicly in the Hong Kong Stadium last Sunday. There are a lot of things to reflect on.

Preaching the gospel to the world is the raison d'être of the Church. Jesus would have remained on earth but he had not. He ascended to heaven for the sake of the maturity of our faith. Jesus commissioned us to preach the gospel to the world so that our faith in God would have a chance to grow and reach perfection. It is up to us to cultivate this faith or leave it withered through the lack of preaching what we believe and practising what we preach. Last Sunday, the liturgy in the Hong Kong Stadium was grand and many participants found it moving. To a certain extent, the celebration has fulfilled its preaching mission.
Now, let me return to the reflection of the readings today.

Isaiah prophesied what the future Church would be like. It would be catholic and embrace all peoples.
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising (Isaiah 60:3).
Revelation is revealing. It tells us that the universal Church embraces both saints and sinners.
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen (Revelation 1:7).
At the end of the world, every eye will see Christ coming down from heaven, including both those who pierced him and those who wailed for him. Who pierced him? They are not just the Roman soldier but all who have sinned. Who will wail for him? They are those sinners who have repented. They wail not only for the sufferings of Jesus but also their sins which are the causes of Jesus' sufferings. Once more, the Bible has shown us that there are both saints and sinners within God's Church. Within the Church, there are people who are prepared to pierce Jesus. There are also those who repent.

The gospel is taken from the last part of Jesus' prayer in the Last Supper. Just as the Father has sent him to save this world, Jesus also sent the Church on the mission to save the world.
As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world (John 17:18).
The mission of the Church originates from the mission of Jesus. Just as Jesus was sent by God to save the world, the Church should be prepared to take up a similar mission. This interpretation is supported by another verse below.
The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one (John 17:22).
Bear in mind that in the gospel of John, the word "glory" is the code word for Jesus' sufferings. Jesus suffered. So would the Church. Jesus had died an ignoble death. So would the Church. Through suffering, Jesus became one with God. Similarly, through suffering, we will become one with each other in the Church which is Jesus' vine, one with Christ and with God. Many martyrs have already experienced this union. With God's grace, we will receive this "glory".

Dear Lord, in sufferings we are united with You and through You with one another. Bestow on us the grace to embrace martyrdom in building the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Amen.

Is there faith at the end of the world?

The parish celebrates the 29^th Ordinary Sunday while the Diocese the Mission Sunday. I attended both and there are two different gospel readings. The Luke story in the Ordinary Sunday is very demanding and comes back to the theme of "faith" once more.

Luke made it clear at the beginning that the parable is about perseverance in prayer.
And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1).
So, what story did Jesus make up to encourage people to persevere in praying?
Jesus made use of an unrighteous judge and a widow. The judge was unrighteous because he neither feared God nor regarded men (Luke 18:2). In the eyes of the modern men, these judges would be ideal judges because they would be impartial.
Morality has changed. The norms have changed. In ancient Israel, there were many legal provisions to protect the rights of the disadvantaged such as widows. For example, Deuteronomy explicitly warned the judges who did not deal with widows fairly.
Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow (Deuteronomy 27:19).
In the parable, the judge brushed aside the case of a widow who kept pestering him to vindicate her case. At last, the widow was able to bend the judge.
For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor regard man,
yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.' (Luke 18:4-5)
So, Jesus seemed to encourage us to persevere in our prayer to wear God out so as to bend His will.
And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily." (Luke 14:6-8a)
The judge had been unrighteous because he had denied the widow justice. By wearing him out, the widow obtained what was due hers. God is not unrighteous. He certainly will vindicate His chosen ones without waiting for them to wear Him out.

While we think we have already read and understood the parable, Jesus reserves a little surprise for us.
when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8b)
Why did Jesus suddenly turn the topic to the end of the world, "when the Son of man comes"?
Well, we need to read the whole context. Indeed, Jesus was talking about the end of the world (Luke 17:20-37), and this parable of prayer seems to have been inserted before the last half of the text to become 18:8b. Jesus teaches us that perseverance in praying helps us go through all the tribulations and trials at the end of the world. Let's return to the context.
The Pharisees were asking Jesus when the Kingdom of God was coming (Luke 17:20a). Then Jesus mentioned the stories of Noah and Lot to tell the audience that the Kingdom of God would come at the least expected moment.
Now, Jesus' words make more sense. At the end of the world, God's elect will call on the name of the Lord to deliver them and God will vindicate them speedily. God will not forsake them.
But why did Jesus make such an odd statement about how little faith he will find on earth at the end?
Let's do some calculations with the 2 destruction cases Jesus chose. In Noah's Deluge, only eight people survived: Noah, his 3 sons and the wives (Genesis 7:13). In Lot's situation, the situation was worse. Only Lot, his wife and his 2 daughters survived the Sodom and Gomorrah destruction (Genesis 19:15). There were other destruction cases such as the fall of Jericho. Whatever cases you choose, in each, very few people put their faith in God. No wonder Jesus lamented the lack of faith at the end of the world. Perhaps it is the lack of faith that push the world over the edge and only perseverance in praying helps us survive.

Dear Lord, You teach us to remain sober and alert all the time to prepare for Your return. I am too much occupied in my work and in my studies. Help me, Lord, strike the right balance. Amen.

I am grateful

I am grateful to the boss of my boss. Our Supervisor is understanding and flexible. More importantly, she is able to make me know my mistakes.

Teachers are experts in picking up mistakes made by students as well as others other than themselves. I know this Archilles heel and am grateful to students and friends who are generous enough to point out my mistakes. It is a precious gift.
Moreover, my cheek is thick. I have no qualms about admitting my mistakes in front of my students, especially when I was teaching RS in Chinese. Very often, I asked my students how to write a certain phrase in Chinese. I am aging. I tend to forget how to write the first word of a particular Chinese phrase though I remember the second!  I was not a bit embarrassed when students pointed at the mistakes I wrote on the blackboard. After all, to err is human. As students, it is not their faults to make mistakes. They should make mistakes!

My boss meant what he said. He did bring the matter up to the Supervisor. So, I was asked to see the Supervisor during recess time on Monday. Sr. Michelle was direct. She expected me to know why I was summoned and she would like to hear my side of the story.
She was very understanding and knew most of my points. Perhaps she had already read my Sunday blog entry. As the Supervisor of a Diocesan school, she should uphold the mother tongue policy of the Diocese. Turning to me, she threw me the following queries.
Isn't it easier to talk to the hearts in mother-tongue?
Don't I share in the parish communities in Cantonese? What makes it so difficult for me to teach RS in Chinese?
My reply is this.
In the parish, we share the same faith. We speak the same language. However, my students in Shung Tak are Band One grade-conscious non-believers. Bible and RS did not help them enter S6. Or in junior forms, grades in RS do not affect their class positions. It is challenging indeed for RS teachers to make RS relevant to their school life. However, if I teach them in English, at least, their English proficiency will improve. Don't forget, much of the English language is the outgrowth of the Bible. Many English idioms and allusions come from the Bible. Bible and the teachings of the Church will creep in imperceptibly. Had Shung Tak been a Band Three school, I would not have insisted using English to teach RS. I am sure the Diocesan policy makers at the Catholic Education Office have taken this into consideration. When the heads of schools implement this policy, they forsake the ethos of their schools and blindly follow the wishes of their bosses at the CEO.

Have I won this battle hands down? Not at all. Sr. Michelle made me realize my mistakes. I took matters into my hand and bypassed the panel head and the school principal. I realize that I have put Adrian, my panel head, in a difficult position and may jeopardize his promotion. I have not thought out the consequences thoroughly enough.
Sr. Michelle suggested conducting a survey to find out how much my students have benefited from this switching of MOI. These data would justify my actions and allow me to identify the difficulties the students may encounter. Of course, I have no objection, though I found it paradoxical to justify using English to teach RS in an English school!

Dear Lord, I am grateful to Sr. Michelle for her tolerance and flexibility towards me. I am also grateful that she makes me realize my mistakes. It is a precious gift. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Faith and Gratitude

We have multiple ten's today. It is the tenth day of the tenth month in the year 2010. Moreover, in the Gospel reading, we hear the story of ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19). Coincident?

Fr. Milanese brought our attention to the theme of "faith" which runs through the gospel readings of these two weeks. Last week, the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith. Then Jesus told them the teaching of "worthy servants". We are stewards of God. We should put our faith in Him and be humble when we have done our duties.
This week, Jesus healed 10 lepers and only one, who was a Samaritan, returned to glorify God. The rest perhaps followed the customs to be examined by priests, cleansed and offered the sacrifices demanded (Leviticus 14:1-32). They performed the rituals required but they did not return to thank God. Of course, we cannot conclude with certainty that they were not grateful to God.
And Jesus said to the Samaritan leper, "Rise and go your way, your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:19).
Fr. Milanese explained that lepers were regarded as sinners in ancient time. When lepers were cleansed, their sins were forgiven. He extended Jesus' teaching. Not only does the forgiveness of sins require repentance, but it also requires faith and gratitude. Faith had healed the leper and it was gratitude that gave him (and us) new life.
In the gospel of Luke, the formula "your faith has saved you / made you well" appears four times: the sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50), the bleeding woman (Luke 8:43-48), this Samaritan leper (Luke 17:11-19) and the blind man of Jericho (Luke 18:35-43). In each case, the person involved was a representation of sinners directly or indirectly. In each case, we may detect a sense of gratitude in the person involved and in each case, the person started a new life. Therefore, these stories are about the sacrament of repentance.

These few days, I ran into trouble again with my boss. He is incredibly inflexible though he always tells students to "Strive for excellence, Think out of the box, Christ as model". He is not able to practise what he preaches. He really thinks out of (from) the box! The story is a long one.

When I first arrived at Shung Tak, I was honoured to be able to participate in the team to appeal for the EMI status of Shung Tak. After winning the appeal, the RS department came into a dilemma. As an EMI school, all our subjects, except for the Chinese subjects, must use English as the MOI, unless that subject had obtained the approval from the SMC to use Chinese.
The panel head, Ms. Rose Lee, was an ex-nun majoring in the teaching of Chinese Language. Two years later, our students would sit for the new 2000 RS syllabus. In previous years, Shung Tak students only had to study one Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. They had done it well in English. However, the new syllabus consisted of a section on Personal and Social Issues. Fearing that our students would not be able to compete with candidates from elite schools, Rose succeeded in persuading the Principal and the SMC to use Chinese as the MOI. Moreover, the Diocese had always been advocating switching to the use of mother tongue in teaching, despite the fact that many Diocesan schools had already plunged in their banding as a result. These two reasons sealed the fate of the RS HKCEE results for the next ten years. We have never scored the average passing rate of the territory! There are many factors contributing to such a poor performance. It may not prove the failure of the Diocesan mother tongue policy. However, if people insist on burying their heads in the sand to look for the benefit of using the mother tongue for the evangelization in a Band One English school, they had better ask the boss to submit the number of students baptized/confirmed in the last ten years, or do an opinion poll on the religious atmosphere of the school.

It is natural for the school to ask Catholic teachers to teach RS. However, the situation in Shung Tak is special in her own way. Most of the Catholics are English teachers (six), except for Agnes (Chinese). Adrian (RS) and Dennis (Chinese) joined us last year. This year, Joe Cheung (Maths & Science) joins. If we look at the number of Catholics qualified to teach RS, there are only five. Brenda, Donna and me are English teachers. Adrian can teach in English and Agnes not.
Another factor to consider is the language proficiency of the students. They are Band One students and should have no problem in taking RS, examination or non-examination syllabii, in English. Why should we deprive them of the opportunity? Were Shung Tak a Band Three school, I have no qualms about using Chinese in RS lessons.

I see the NSS syllabus as an opportunity for Shung Tak to switch back to the use of English in the teaching of Ethics and Religious Studies. In a briefing session for S3 parents, I explained the benefits of choosing English as the MOI for the NSS ERS syllabus. In the same session, the school told the parents that LS would be done in Chinese. Some parents objected. The boss yielded to the requests of the LS teachers to use Chinese and to fend off the complaints from the parents, the boss gained the approval from the SMC to approve the use of Chinese in LS, bundling ERS and ERE with it, quoting again the same reason for using Chinese in RS ten years ago. Enough is enough. My students and I had suffered for more than 10 years my teaching RS in Chinese. (10 again?) Therefore, I refused to teach the NSS ERS elective. The school employs Adrian to take it up.
This year, I am assigned to teach Ethics and Religious Education from S5 to S7. Of course, I do it in English. At the end of September, my boss discovered that I was not doing it in Chinese. He put pressure on Adrian. I would not yield. He patiently tried to persuade me to follow the policy approved by the SMC. I shall not.
My boss will talk to the Supervisor tomorrow. I would like to see how Sr. Michelle would handle it. Cannot there be flexibility in this MOI policy? After all, we teach ERE in Chinese from S1 to S4. Who can complain that we are not following the MOI policy? Only my boss!

Dear Lord, Your compassion and flexibility towards sinners had landed You on the cross. In this MOI issue, if I have defied the Diocesan mother tongue policy, You know that I follow my conscience. I pray for Adrian that he would not get caught in our cross fire. Amen.

We are Unworthy Servants

My Xanga account is closed and I cannot edit or add any blog entries though the entries are still available for public view. I will continue posting weekly Sunday commentaries here.

The Deacons shared their feelings on this passage last Sunday.
Deacon Lee first compared these servants with the elder brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son. In his own eyes, the elder brother thought highly of his own service. Therefore, he demanded reward. This was a mistake. He had done what was his duty (Luke 17:10).
Deacon Tse asked who the "master" was. Was he the clients we served?
Deacon Chow brought our attention to the structure of the story. It began with the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith (Luke 17:5). Then, Jesus told them the power of faith even as meagre as a grain of mustard seed (Luke 17:6). Suddenly, Jesus changed the topic to talk about the master and servants. What is the relationship between "faith" and the "master", the "unworthy servants" or even the "master-servant" relation?
Cosmas Kwong attempted to relate the "worthlessness" of the servants with "faith". Since we are unworthy, we must acknowledge our limitations. Therefore, we need to put our faith in God.
Louis Wong reminded us of the teaching of St. Paul.
he (Jesus) said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
For when we are weak, unworthy, the power of Christ is manifested.
Deacon Ng brought our focus back to "faith". He asked how much we believe in ourselves, how much we believe in God.
I love their sharings. These deacons and deacon candidates are people of high intelligence and deep spirituality. By the way, this sharing session was conducted by Deacon Tsang in the absence of the Vicar General. It seemed to me that they felt less restrained with their sharing when the VG was not there.

Here is my share. I think we are both masters and servants. We are masters when we command the others to serve us. However, we need faith to be masters. We need faith in ourselves as well as in our servants. With faith even as meagre as a mustard seed, a sycamine tree would obey us (Luke 17:6). In this mode of thinking, we would not be grateful to our "servant", be this servant a sycamine tree or even our God (Luke 17:9)!
In most cases, we are only servants, unworthy servants. We need faith to be servants as well. If we don't have faith in our master or in his design, we fail. Therefore, when we accomplish our duty, we have only completed a part, perhaps a very tiny part, of a master plan. Most of the time, we don't see the master plan. That is why, as servants, we beg Jesus to increase our faith.
To me, faith is not one-sided. Most of the time, we speak of our faith in God, putting our trust in Him. However, isn't it amazing that in reality, God has faith in us, His creatures! We do not have enough faith in ourselves. Alas! The question Deacon Ng raised was a deep one.

Fr. Milanese brought home the importance of faith in our life. Most of the time, we are frustrated. We keep praying day after day and week after week. Yet, the world does not change much. Bad news keeps popping up on the newspapers. That is why we are frustrated. However, we need to have faith. Without faith, we will not even try to do something to change the world. Without faith, nothing would be accomplished.

Dear Lord, increase our faith in ourselves and in You. Amen.

Am I my brother's keeper?

Today, we hear the famous parable of "The Rich Man and Lazarus" (Luke 16:19-31). It is a story warning those people whose hearts are numbed by riches, people who are insensitive to the plights of the poor.
People will easily protest, complaining that they are not rich, unlike those who often enjoy a glass of red wine which is worth tens of thousands of dollars. In comparison, the description in Amos is no exaggeration at all: lying upon beds of ivory, eating lambs and calves, singing idle songs, drinking wine in bowls and anointing themselves in finest oils (Amos 6:4-6). Our luxury nowadays is much more than that. Even a man of middle-class can afford that, except for ivory which is banned for conservation reasons. But that is not the issue. The point is not about luxury or no luxury or the degree of luxury. Rather, our fault lies in our indifference towards the plights of the poor, our failure to extend a helping hand to improve their situation. We are sinful, not because of our riches, but our inconsideration. Therefore, whether you are rich or poor. As long as you refuse to become your brother's keeper, you are sinful.

I don't like the Chinese translation of Luke 16:25. It reads
亞巴郎說：孩子，你應記得你活著的時候，已享盡了你的福，而拉匝祿同樣也受盡了苦。
Abraham said,"Son, you should remember when you were alive, you had already enjoyed all your good and likewise, Lazarus had suffered all his bad."
However, the Greek original does not have the meaning of "all"!
εἶπεν δὲ Ἀβραάμ, Τέκνον, μνήσθητι ὅτι ἀπέλαβες τὰ ἀγαθά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου, καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως τὰ κακά.
ἀπέλαβες means "receive, obtain, gain" and does not suggest any meaning of "all".
Perhaps the Franciscan friars wanted to satisfy the Chinese Buddhist mentality which believed that we are destined a certain amount of wealth and health. When we used it up, we would suffer in this life or next. This translation is not faithful to the Greek original, but natural to the Chinese readers.

In his homily this morning, Fr. Martin told us a little story which empowers us to extend a helping hand no matter what little we can help.
A company of 3000 employees has a "winner takes all" tradition in their annual dinner. Each one puts $10 in a box and writes his own name on a piece of paper and drops it in the lucky draw box. One name will be drawn and the winner will pocket the $30,000.
This year, when Jack put his $10 in the box, he remembered Rose, a janitor, whose husband would undergo a surgery which was a heavy financial burden on the couple. Though the chance was slim, Simon put down Rose's name on his paper and dropped it in the lucky draw box. That evening, a miracle happened. Rose turned out to be the winner!
After dinner, out of curiosity, Simon came to the lucky draw box and drew another name. It was Rose. He drew again. It was Rose again. He couldn't believe it. He took out several ballots. Each, in different handwritings, was Rose!
The conclusion:「 勿以善小而不為。」
Don't think that a good is so insignificant that it is not worth doing.
This statement is commonly attributed to the will of Liao Bi to his son.
Relating to the Manila tragedy, Fr. Martin reminded us to seize the moment to do good, however little it seems to be. The tragedy forcibly reminded us that we might not be able to see tomorrow.

Dear Lord, help us love more generously. Amen.

A steward commented by his master

Today, we read of the parable of a dishonest steward who was praised by his master (Luke 16:1-13). Whenever I hear this parable, I always recall a similar story in Chinese history. In my valedictory speech in the 2007 Biblical Institute Graduation Ceremony, I made "An attempt to explore God's revelation in Chinese Culture" its title and mentioned a probable relation between this Chinese story and the Lukan parable. Let me quote it in full.

初，馮驩聞孟嘗君好客，躡蹻而見之。孟嘗君曰；「先生遠辱，何以教文也？」馮驩曰：「聞君好士，以貧身歸於君。」孟嘗君置傳舍十日，孟嘗君問傳舍長曰：「客何所為？」答曰：「馮先生甚貧，猶有一劍耳，又蒯緱。彈其劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，食無魚』。」孟嘗君遷之幸舍，食有魚矣。五日，又問傳舍長。答曰：「客復彈劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，出無輿』。」孟嘗君遷之代舍，出入乘輿車矣。五日，孟嘗君復問傳舍長。舍長答曰：「先生又嘗彈劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，無以為家』。」孟嘗君不悅。
居朞年，馮驩無所言。孟嘗君時相齊，封萬戶於薛。其食客三千人。邑入不足以奉客，使人出錢於薛。歲餘不入，貸錢者多不能與其息，客奉將不給。孟嘗君憂之，問左右：「何人可使收債於薛者？」傳舍長曰：「代舍客馮公形容狀貌甚辯，長者，無他伎能，宜可令收債。」孟嘗君乃進馮驩而請之曰：「賓客不知文不肖，幸臨文者三千餘人，邑入不足以奉賓客，故出息錢於薛。薛歲不入，民頗不與其息。今客食恐不給，願先生責之。」馮驩曰；「諾。」辭行，至薛，召取孟嘗君錢者皆會，得息錢十萬。乃多釀酒，買肥牛，召諸取錢者，能與息者皆來，不能與息者亦來，皆持取錢之券書合之。齊為會，日殺牛置酒。酒酣，乃持券如前合之，能與息者，與為期；貧不能與息者，取其券而燒之。曰：「孟嘗君所以貸錢者，為民之無者以為本業也；所以求息者，為無以奉客也。今富給者以要期，貧窮者燔券書以捐之。諸君強飲食。有君如此，豈可負哉！」坐者皆起，再拜。
孟嘗君聞馮驩燒券書，怒而使使召驩。驩至，孟嘗君曰：「文食客三千人，故貸錢於薛。文奉邑少，而民尚多不以時與其息，客食恐不足，故請先生收責之。聞先生得錢，即以多具牛酒而燒券書，何？」馮驩曰：「然。不多具牛酒即不能畢會，無以知其有餘不足。有餘者，為要期。不足者，雖守而責之十年，息愈多，急，即以逃亡自捐之。若急，終無以償，上則為君好利不愛士民，下則有離上抵負之名，非所以厲士民彰君聲也。焚無用虛債之券，捐不可得之虛計，令薛民親君而彰君之善聲也，君有何疑焉！」孟嘗君乃拊手而謝之。【孟嘗君列傳‧史記‧卷七十五】

I always admire the wisdom of these stewards. They are worldly and, to a certain extent, crafty. In the Chinese version, the steward was a great adviser of economics and diplomacy for his master and served him well. Of course, the master in the Gospel is God and who can be God's adviser (Isaiah 40:13)? Yet, God commented this dishonest steward. God is able to see good things even in dishonesty! We sinners have a lot to learn from God.

Dear Lord, we are taught to love righteousness and hate evil. And You want us to love sinners as well. Our hearts are too narrow. Teach us to love more, You and sinners. Amen.

99 lost sheep

Today, we read of the famous stories of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son in the gospel of Luke 15. I think Luke's Jesus was over-optimistic. What if he had not one, but 99 lost sheep to fetch out!
I do not know the world population in the first century. One source estimates that in 100 A.D., the Christians made up of less than 1% of the world population. Jesus really had 99 lost sheep to save at the end of 100 A.D. After twenty centuries of effort, the situation is improved. As of mid-2007, according to Worldwide Missions, about 32% of the world population profess Christianity.
I don't mean to be offensive. Let me label non-Christians as the "lost sheep" for the sake of argument. Therefore, ten years into the twenty first century, the Church still has 70 lost sheep to retrieve into her fold!

The three beautiful stories are meant to demonstrate God's love for men. Of course, God loves the righteous Pharisees and teachers of Law. They were the descendents of His friends Abraham and Moses. But He loves the sinners as well. God did not have to worry about the righteous Pharisees and teachers of the Law because Moses had already handed down the Torah to guide their lives. Therefore, God could be freed to fetch out the sinners.
In the early years of the Christianity, they were outnumbered by the Jewish establishment. Therefore, one sheep standing against 99 others was no exaggeration. How comforting it would be for Christians to hear that God would leave behind the 99 self-righteous Pharisees to look out for the one single lost Christian. Christians knew very well that they had been sinners. God values their repentance more than the righteousness of the Pharisees.
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7).

I like to fancy what-if scenarios. What if the shepherd had lost 2 sheep instead of one? Well, I suppose he would still leave 98 sheep in the wilderness to fetch out the 2 lost sheep. What about the joy he would have after finding the 2 lost sheep? On average, there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 49 righteous persons who need no repentance!
What if the shepherd had lost 10 sheep and finally found them? His joy over one repentant sinner would be reduced to 9 righteous persons! How terrible the Law of Diminishing Return is!
What if the shepherd had lost 20 sheep or even more? Well, for economic reason, the stakes are getting higher and higher. I think the shepherd has all the more reason to go all the way out to save them. BTW, I think the Law of Diminishing Return has no effect on God.

Luckily, Jesus did not have to suffer this, not because of the ineffectiveness of the Law of DR over him! In reality, Jesus did not have 100 sheep to begin with. He started from zero! As of today, Jesus has managed to gather 30 sheep into his fold. Luke was ingenious indeed. When he wrote the story in the first century, there was only one sheep in the fold and 99 lost sheep outside. Indeed, this parable of the Lost Sheep sounds very apocalyptic to my ears.
Let me define what I mean by Christian. A Christian is someone who makes Christ the core, the focus of his life. The day will come when only 1% of the world population is non-Christian. The Good Shepherd will leave the 99% Christians behind in the wilderness to fetch out the remaining 1% non-Christians in the world. After he has converted them all, he will be extremely joyful to tell God the Father, the Holy Spirit and all the angels what he has accomplished.
Is this a possibility? It is a certainty. When the Christian population has reached a critical mass, a tipping point will be reached when all the humanity will turn away from sins and return to God.

My dear Good Lord, You are the Good Shepherd who laid down Your life to redeem us. You have demonstrated Your love without reservation. Set my heart ablaze to join You in the mission to fetch out our brothers. Amen.

Did Jesus encourage people to hate their parents?

We Christians have a responsibility towards our fellow men. We must tell them the gospel, the good news. If they listen to our message, good for them. If they don't, we cannot force them because it is their own freedom. We have fulfilled our duty and they have themselves to blame. However, if we don't preach the gospel, God will hold us responsible for their downfall.
However, sometimes, the gospel is not so pleasing to the ears. Like the gospel reading today, it sounds very harsh.
If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).

If religions are responsible for the transmission of values to the next generation, honouring one's parents must be one such value. Jesus was a Jew. The 10 Commandments came down from Judaism and honouring one's parents is one of the Commandments. It is hard to imagine how Jesus could have spoken such words and how Jesus would expect his audience, especially the Chinese audience, to listen to such a message.

Chinese cherish family values. The family occupies a more important place than the state in their hearts. Many people have criticized the Chinese for their lack of patriotism. They love their families more than their country. "Filial piety" is the primary Chinese virtue. This can be illustrated by a dialogue between Confucius and Ye Kung.
葉公語孔子曰：“吾黨有直躬者，其父攘羊，而子證之。”孔子曰：“吾黨之直者異於是。父為子隱，子為父隱，直在其中矣。”【論語‧子路】
In discussing what straight dealings were, Confucius added an element of familial bonding. Instead of testifying against each other in the court of law, a father should "cover" for the son, the son for the father. Of course, a lot of commentaries have been written to explain this dubious verse. But at least on a casual reading, familial bonding was of higher value than legal justice in the mentality of Chinese.
Do Chinese really care so much about family even at the expense of justice? Not quite! We can quote a famous story to dispel this misunderstanding.
四年，春，衛州吁弒桓公而立 ...州吁未能和其民 ...厚（石厚，石碏之子）從州吁如陳，石碏使告于陳曰，衛國褊小，老夫耄矣，無能為也，此二人者，實弒寡君，敢即圖之，陳人執之，而請蒞于衛，九月，衛人使右宰醜，蒞殺州吁于濮，石碏使其宰獳羊肩，蒞殺石厚于陳，君子曰，石碏，純臣也，惡州吁而厚與焉，大義滅親，其是之謂乎。【左傳‧隱公四年】
This is the allusion of the idiom 「大義滅親」. Therefore, familial bonding is not everything for Chinese.

Let's return to the gospel. Biblical scholars are of the opinion that the word "hate μισεῖ" is a Hebrew language feature. It means, in this context, "love less" rather than feeling hostile. In a similar passage, Matthew renders a different translation.
He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37).
Biblical scholars believe that Luke was more faithful to Jesus' original wording while Matthew renders Jesus' saying in a more understandable manner. Therefore, Jesus did not encourage his followers to hate their parents. If he did, he would contradict his own teaching: to love even those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). That is to say, even if your parents persecute you, prevent you from following Jesus, you still love them! Otherwise, you are not worthy of Jesus.
However, Fr. Milanese went one step deeper. He did not think that Jesus asked his followers to love him more than their parents. Fr. Milanese opined that love is not, like a TV commercial, a piece of mooncake. One slice for your mother, another for your younger brother and two slices for Jesus etc. This is a misunderstanding of love. He warned the young men that if their girl friends asked them, between God and them, which one they loved more, be sure to find out whether they were serious. If they were and forced you to make a choice, they had misunderstood love. Love can never be exclusive. Moreover, God is love. Without God, your love towards your girlfriend is empty, and even worse, is lustful. Similarly, our love of Jesus includes our parents. Since God is the source of all love, naturally, we should choose Him and love Him more than our parents.
This reading makes the two parables sandwiched between Jesus' exhortations more sensible. Jesus told us to renounce our relationships, our possessions and achievements etc. to follow him. Then he told two parables which suggest that we should weigh our abilities carefully before we take up any project. Otherwise, the consequence would be disastrous. It seems that Jesus was warning against people joining him impulsively (Luke 14:28-32).
Again, such an understanding is contrary to the Christian attitude towards life. Christians are not consequentialists. Jesus taught us to be like a child, not to be so calculating. We care more about the process rather than the consequence. We plant the seeds and leave the outcomes to God.
Therefore, following Fr. Milanese' line of reasoning, I believe Jesus was telling us to take God into the account. When we take up our cross to follow Jesus, he would take care of our parents, children and brothers. The problem is that many of our leave God out of our picture. We do not trust God enough. If we take God into consideration, we will have a favourable balance sheet. Then, we will be more confident to follow Jesus. Woe to those who do not take up his cross to follow Jesus!

Dear Lord, I believe. Help me believe more. Help me repent and forgive my sins. Amen.

Three levels of humility

I am very inch. Humility is a virtue I am in want. Today, I don't want to write about the tragedy in the Philippines. Many people have spoken more than enough and today, many people organize many prayer services and processions. Our senses (including common sense) have been bombarded non-stop by feeds after feeds from the mass media. Enough is enough.

The opening ceremony for a new school year for my studies in the Holy Spirit Seminary College of Theology & Philosophy was held today. I took part in sharing together with Teresa Ng, as Year 2 students, our study experiences with the Year One newcomers. There were a couple of familiar faces.
Among them, the LaSalle boys are doing well. Fr. Lui Chi Man, Dominic, swore in today as a professor teaching moral theology. Paul, who has already obtained a PhD in psychology, came to study the Licentiate in Theology course. He said he loved teaching and saw that a lot of professors in the College were ageing. He wanted to study theology and in the future teach in the College. His aunt, Teresa Ng, my classmate told me that Paul would get married next year.
Betty Wong studied the Biblical Diploma course with me six years ago. She came, one year behind me, to further enhance her biblical understanding.
Tam Chun Ho, a friend of teenage days from Choi Hung, also came to study. His wife had attended this opening ceremony and she told me that she had already finished this course some years ago. How sweet it is that husband and wife take turns to study!
I feel good about this college of Theology & Philosophy because many elite and fervour Catholics come here to enhance their knowledge of the Catholic faith.

Many professors co-celebrated the opening mass in the afternoon. Fr. Lam Chung Wai, Simon, the Provincial of the Salesians Don Bosco, was the concelebrant with Bishop John Tong. Fr. Lam spoke in the homily on the theme of the gospel reading --- humility. He distinguished three levels of humility. It was the first time for me to hear the homily of Fr. Simon Lam. Unfortunately, I was already tired and not able to fully pick up his homily. What a pity! I have to dig up from the Internet what "three levels of humility" are. From a 1910 article in the Catholic Encyclopedia, one may discover that St. Benedict spoke about 12 degrees of humility and St. Anselm seven! These saints do NOT impress me with humility, at far as the intellectual dimension is concerned.

Humility is no longer a value, not to mention virtue, in modern society which is marked by its competitiveness. People need to outshine his colleagues in order to survive and to get promoted. This is understandable. But challenging and criticizing the government, the authority are fashionable. For example, 8 Hongkongers were gunned down in a hijack incident in Manila. The Philippine president and police have drawn a lot of criticisms as a result of this botched rescue operation. Tens of thousands of Hongkongers took to the street today to show their dissatisfaction of the incompetence of the Philippine government in the name of justice, one of the four cardinal virtues!

Nothing can happen without God's consent. For the sake of argument, let us assume that this tragedy is God's will. The 8 Hongkongers and the hijacker were all victims of an incompetent government disabled by corruption. Then, shall we not submit to God's will? This submission is the first level of humility.
Two cases of dismissal of domestic helpers caused by this tragedy have been confirmed. Some people have forgotten how much these domestic helpers have contributed to the economy of Hong Kong. They have released a lot of housewives to join the workforce of Hong Kong, enhancing her economy. The ability to recognize the virtues and talents others possess is the second level of humility.
Perhaps due to Interpol agreements, the Hong Kong Government has sent five police and forensic officers to collect evidence from the tourist coach, the crime scene of this hijack incident in the Philippines. I am rather pessimistic with the outcomes. If the Hong Kong people are willing to accept the limit of the talents and authority of our officers, we have attained the third level of humility.
In his homily, Fr. Simon Lam told us a story of a crippled child buying a crippled dog in a pet shop. It was a touching story, teaching us the true meaning of humility. However, humility does not seem to occupy any place in the Manila tragedy. Hong Kong people are demanding justice instead. How does humility go hand in hand with the demand of justice? This is really a challenging question to meditate on.

Dear Lord, my sins and my sickness are before my eyes continuously. They teach me to be humble. My Lord, I submit my life to Your will. Amen.