The Beatitudes

It is still within the first week of the Lunar New Year. Therefore the Diocese celebrates Sunday in the Lunar New Year instead of the Fourth Ordinary Sunday. The readings are different and very appropriate for New Year mood. The gospel reading is chosen from Matthew 5, the Beatitudes.

The Beatitudes are known as the Magna Carta of the Kingdom of Heaven. Of course, the 1215 Magna Carta imposes limitations on the powers of the British kings. The Beatitudes in the gospel are meant to be guidelines for the life of Christians. Many people have interpreted the Beatitudes in many different perspectives, including Pope Benedict XVI who wrote about them in his Jesus of Nazareth (2007), his personal search for the face of the Lord. Here, I would like to do a personal reflection on them.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3).
Who wants to be poor? Who wants to be insecure all the time? The very first beatitude goes against the basic human need of security. Unlike Luke, Matthew leaves us a safety valve. He advises us to be poor in spirit, not in materials. Therefore, we can be materially rich but remain spiritually poor. We can make good use of God's given talents to earn as much money as we wish, but we refuse to be possessed/obsessed by the money. We remain the master, not the slave, of money. This is the spirit of the gospel. We do not rely on materials but on the provision of God who is the centre of our life. Throughout his life, Jesus sets us wonderful examples of leading a spiritually poor life. He was born in a manger. He was a carpenter by trade. Yet, he did not hate the rich whom he befriended and gratefully accepted the financial support of rich ladies during his earthly ministry.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).
Who wants to mourn? Who doesn't want to be happy? Once more, the beatitude goes against human nature. Ask yourself what can make you mourn. Failures? Illness? Imminent disasters? Loss of loved ones? We seldom see people, especially men, mourn because it is a sign of weakness and nobody wants to appear weak in a competitive society. As a teacher, I find it morbid to see students giggle in view of horrible tragedies. Our students, and even their parents are in need of cultivating a proper emotion. Our entertainment industry earns quick money in bombarding our senses with cheap comedies. In short, it is rare for us to mourn so much so that we don't know what and how to mourn. Therefore, I would say the consequences of the sins I commit are reasons to mourn. The consequences run out of my control. I cannot do anything to contain them. I need someone to clean up the mess and to comfort me that everything is going to be OK. God, I have messed up my life and You, only You alone can comfort me. Jesus too mourned but not for his sins for he is fully human except without sins. He mourned for our sins, for Jerusalem in which prophets were slain (Matthew 23:37, Luke 23:28).

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).
Who doesn't want to be the boss? Who doesn't want his will be done? Again, the beatitude goes against human nature. We want to impose our wishes on others. In particular, people suffering from inferiority complex boss around all the time to prove their worth. Modern society prize assertive people. If you are not the boss, at least, you want your boss to notice you. If you are meek, people will pay no attention to you and you will never advance anywhere. But Jesus says no. God's will be done, not ours. God is a free God. He respects our freedom and He wants us to follow His example to respect the autonomy of our brethren. There is no need to raise your voice. Your brother hears you. Jesus too was meek. He invited people to lead a life in the spirit of the gospel but he never forced people to obey him. Only once did he chase out the merchants in the Temple, the only record of Jesus' violence. Jesus felt sorry for the rich young man who failed to follow his invitation but he would not force him to become his disciple (Matthew 19:16-24).
Similarly, dear readers. You are invited to continue to share with me or you may leave this page for good. I respect your autonomy.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6).
Who is not selfish? Who doesn't want more? We even tease people who are contented for not being as ambitious as they should. Adam Smith even sang praises to self-interest for its contribution to economic prosperity. In making profits, we know that somewhere somehow some people have been exploited. This is the realm of social justice and is righteousness in a very narrow sense. But Jesus means something larger than justice in a society. He wants us to hunger and thirst for God's righteousness. Here, to be righteous means to be approved by God, blameless before Him. This is also Paul's teaching of justification. Who can be blameless before God? Nobody. Yet, nowadays, few people bother to be blameless before God, not to mention hunger and thirst for it. The danger is, when we don't care about being right and wrong before God, we will always forgive our faults and we will be right all the time and the others are always wrong. We become incurable and make no improvement, to mention the least. We must change this attitude and repent. God will reconcile us. Jesus forgave sinners and drove out demons. Lord, drive out this self-conceit demon in me. Amen.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7).
Who holds no grudges against anyone? Who has made no mistakes? Who has no compassion for the plights of the others? Who has never suffered? Therefore, be merciful to those who suffer and lend a helping hand. Be merciful to those who seek pardon and our sins will be forgiven. Jesus taught us to seek the forgiveness of God as we forgive others. Be merciful and forgive.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
Woe to us modern men. We are bombarded with pornography. Who can keep our hearts pure? Woe to us who are distracted by so many daily chores. Our minds are filled up with so many trivial things. Who can stay focused to see God? We need disciplined coaching. This is the meaning of discipleship. Prayer is the coach to help us focus to meet God. Pray not just in the morning and before going to bed. Pray not just before meals and work. Pray all the time. Pray to gain strength to purify our hearts.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9).
Who doesn't enjoy gossiping and have fun spreading rumours? Who doesn't want to gain advantages in confusion? Who doesn't want to stir up troubles for his own advancement? No. Jesus came to reconcile. His passion reconciled Herod and Pilate. Christians should be ambassadors of reconciliation. Mend fences and heal wounds. That is our mission. When the mission is accomplished, we are sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10).
Who is not afraid of persecution? Who doesn't avoid being bullied or teased? Who will stand up for righteousness? Once more, we answer to the call of security. We try to stay out of troubles and choose to hide in our comfort zone. No. As followers of Jesus, we forsake our comfort. We stand firm for righteousness and persecution will become inevitable. So will heaven. When we see righteousness prevail, the Kingdom of Heaven is here to stay. We cannot skip steps. There is no heaven without persecution. This is how our world is run.

Dear Lord, I am weak and feeble. I place my trust in You. Count me blessed. Amen.

A Fruitful Lunar New Year Eve Mass

Today is the Third Ordinary Sunday and the Lunar New Year Eve. The readings today provide us with a lot of food for thought.

The first reading was taken from the book of Jonah, chapter 3. Jonah was a prejudiced prophet. He disliked the people of Niveveh and thought that they were sinners and deserved to be destroyed by God. So, when God sent him to tell the Nivevites to repent, Jonah ran away from the face of God (Jonah 1:3). Why should a righteous God give sinners a chance? It was unfair to those who observed the Law. After some dramatic interventions, Jonah obeyed reluctantly to proclaim the doomsday of Niveveh (Jonah 3:4). According to the story, Niveveh was an exceedingly great city of 3-day's journey. Jonah had walked one day and made the announcement. Surprisingly, all the Nivevites repented! Certainly, it could not be Jonah's effort but God's mercy that spared the Nivevites. Therefore, faith is truly a gift of God. Our salvation is not earned through our own effort. We are unworthy. We don't deserve.
The reading the Diocesan Liturgical Commission provides comes from the New American Bible. The translation is a bit ambiguous.
Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed," (Jonah 3:4 NAB)
For how many days did Jonah walk, one or two? It depends on the meaning of the word "but". If it means "except", Jonah had one more day to walk. If it means "only", Jonah had walked one day only.
Was Jonah announcing while he was walking, or did he walk and then announce? Enjoy the ambiguity. The Hebrew text only reads "... and he shouted and he said ..."

Last Sunday, we read the call of Simon Peter in the gospel of John. This Sunday, we read again the familiar story in Mark. The story took place along the Sea of Galilee when Simon and Andrew were casting nets in the sea (Mark 1:16). Jesus called them to become fishers of men and they left their nets to follow Jesus (Mark 1:17-18). The Johannine version is not. There, the theme is to rename Simon Cephas, the Rock on which Jesus will build his Church. Therefore, when we read the gospels, we should bear in mind that we are reading different traditions. The Evangelists compiled their materials to meet the needs of the communities from where they came. If we ever try to harmonize the different traditions, we will come into difficulties.
Fr. Martin Ip took a different approach. He looked at the timing of Jesus' call. Like it or not, Jesus does not call us at our convenience. Simon and Andrew were busy catching fish. James and John had finished fishing and mending their nets (Mark 1:19). Perhaps you are playing online games, or working hard at your desk, or eating, or chatting with friends or perhaps even simply walking home after a day's work. But when Jesus calls, will you put down your things at hand and follow? May God grant you the grace to respond generously.

I leave the second reading the last because it was not touched by the priests and the deacon in their homilies. Paul's exhortation touches upon a sensitive issue: married life. Paul says
I mean, brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none (1 Corinthians 7:29).
To be frank, I don't like Paul's teachings on marriage in the epistle to the Corinthians. He was too negative. He did better in the epistle to the Ephesians. Once more, it confirms my conviction. However, this verse cannot be read out of context. It must be read together with 7:32-35.
Married life is a life of sanctification. Paul mentions this in the context of divorce (7:14-16)! We commit ourselves totally to our spouses and together, sanctifying each other, we become one in the Lord.
I have to confess that I have done a very stupid thing in the past. I distanced myself emotionally from Erminia to "prepare" her for her future widowhood because of my diabetes! How stupid I was! Luckily, it is not too late to repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15b).

Dear Lord, on this New Year Eve, I thank You for all the graces You have bestowed me. Strengthen my feet on Your path of peace. Amen.

I do not envy Samuel

All my children were baptized when they were infants. Hilary, my eldest son has not gone to Church since he attended secondary school. May God have mercy on him and on me. Wulstan goes regularly and and has taken over the choir I have served. Saturnia prefers shopping around and meeting more people. Symphorian is still young and obeys us. Sometimes, he complains, asking why Hilary doesn't go and he has to go.
Have I deprived them of their religious freedom? Should I allow them to make their own decisions when they grow up? Of course not. Should I allow them to choose their surname when they grow up? Of course not. As responsible parents, we often make the best choices for them before they grow up. I had done my part in his younger days. Nowadays, I cannot force Hilary to go to Church. It is his own responsibility to take care of his relation with God. I am sure God will take good care of Hilary. Of course, I am not asking for the same miracle as Samuel (1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19-20). Not everybody can enjoy the achievements of Samuel. He was the king-maker of Israel for the first two kings were anointed by him. The best of all, his words never failed.
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground (1 Samuel 3:19).
But I do not envy Samuel.

Truly, all of us were called by God. Otherwise, none of us would have become Catholics. We must have gone through processes similar to those gone through by Samuel. Somebody in our life must have played the role of Eli and helped us discern the call of God. However, not all of us can directly communicate with God, like Samuel. However, I repeat. I do not envy Samuel.
As a Catholic, how often do we find our prayers fruitless, our spiritual life dries up and our inability to hear from God frustrating? Isn't it our dream to be able to communicate directly with God, like Samuel and Jesus? Isn't it wonderful to be able to know the will of God? The answer is a paradoxical no. Otherwise, we may not be able to bear the burden while waiting for the fulfillment of God's will, here understood as private revelations.


Let's consider the case of Jesus. Though he is truly human, Jesus, in his fully grown human stage, knew perfectly the will of God. That was why after the Last Supper in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was in great agony so much so that he sweated blood because he could visualize how terribly he would suffer to death a few hours later (Luke 22:44). Unlike Mose who successfully persuaded God to change His mind (Exodus 32:11-14), Jesus submitted to the will of God. 
Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42).


Let's consider the case of Samuel. After God had established contact with Samuel, the first thing God revealed to Samuel was the punishment of the family of Eli who helped him establish contact with God. The next morning, Samuel hesitated to tell Eli about it. But Eli knew very well the evils done by his sons and his fault of not restraining them. Eli was expecting God's punishment and nothing Samuel said surprised him.
My point is this. If we know too much, we may not be able to bear the emotional burden. Imagine this situation. Suppose you are working in the parish office. One day, a lady friend of yours, or simply someone whom you don't personally know, comes to the office to book the Church for her wedding in six months' time. However, God reveals to you that your friend/the lady will become a widow the next morning after her wedding. What would you feel? What would you do? Would you, like Moses, persuade God to change His mind, or persuade the lady to change hers? No wonder, the word burden מַשָּׂא also means prophecies and oracles uttered by God.

Except for a handful of saints to whom God reveals His will directly, most of us live by faith. Without foreknowledge, we rely on faith in Jesus to weather through uncertainties. One of the disadvantages of knowing the will of God directly is that we will become complacent. We tend to fold our hands up and let an event run its natural course. We don't want to rock the boat. We don't want to disturb the holiness of God. Another disadvantage is that few people will take us seriously and we don't want to look like a fool in front of the others.

But are we not baptized into Christ's offices of king, priest and prophet? And as prophets, are we not supposed to proclaim the will of God? Yes we do. But public revelation had already finished at the death of the last Apostle. Everything we need to know about our salvation has been totally revealed and recorded in the Scripture. The only thing we need to do is to discern the will of God from the Scripture and the Sacred Tradition. Throughout the ages, there have been private revelations to saints that add nothing extra to the fidei depositum of the Christian faith. Of course, the will of God is much larger in scope than this deposit of Christian faith and it is in this region that I do not envy Samuel.

Not too deep in me there is a desire to do the will of God and I hope what I have been doing is not too far removed from His design. I will always keep myself aware of this desire and do likewise. And of course, a lot of people have and are helping me all along and I am indebted to them all and knowing well that I will not be grateful enough to acknowledge them one by one. I will keep them all in my prayers. May God bless them all.

Dear Lord, Your will be done whether I am aware of it not. If I find favour in Your sight, let me be a part of Your will. Amen.

Epiphany 2012

Though the Bible is encyclopedic and reveals all that we need to know for our salvation, it is not meant to provide us with ALL the knowable knowledge in the world. It leaves a lot of room for the imagination of artists. Therefore, if we are not cautious enough, we will unknowingly buy some "untruths" from the artists, including painters and lyricists. Christmas is a hotbed of such happy misunderstandings.

The Nativity stories are found in the first two chapters of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Fed by the pious Christmas carols and Christmas paintings, we usually mix up and harmonize the events from the two different traditions. For example, we have sung The First Noel for many many years. Yet, it was only during the 2011 Mid-night Mass that I discovered that the second stanza is unbiblical! The carol began with the shepherds keeping watch in a cold winter night. Moving into the second stanza, the carol talks about the shepherds seeing a bright star in the east.

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the East beyond them far

Well, forget about whether Jesus was truly born on December 25 for the moment, the story of shepherds appears only in the gospel of Luke but the Star of Bethlehem only in Matthew. Shepherds never physically appear in Matthew. They are only allured to (Matthew 9:36, 25:32, 26:31). For ages, people assumed that the Star of Bethlehem was an astronomical phenomenon. If the Magi saw it, all other people would be able to see the same star. However, current theories about the Star of Bethlehem have given up the astronomical interpretation. Scholars tend to think of the star as an astrological sign. If such was the case, the Star of Bethlehem would only catch the attention of experts --- astrologists, which suits the description of Magi. These astrologists saw the rise of a very significant royal sign in the eastern heaven and came to Judaea to adore the new born king, so the gospel says.  
Matthew does not tell us how many Magi came. He only told us that they offered Jesus three gifts --- gold, frankincense and myrrh and our ancestors jumped to the conclusion that there were three Magi. Wasn't it possible that one team of Magi came together from the East and brought along three meaningful gifts. However, old thinking habits die hard. They even invented three names for these three kings --- Balthasar, Melqon (Melchior) and Gaspar (Caspar) and many others as well. They did not stop there. There are even ethical legends of the fourth Magi, called Artaban. Had Matthew fixed the number of Magi to three, there would not have been room for other authors to create stories with a moral. Sometimes, it is good NOT to be too exact, too perfect.

Since Matthew has left us room for imagination, we might offer reasonable explanations as to why the Magi took the trouble to search for the new born king. Thinking in conspiracy theory, I suggest the Magi were actually spies sent by the king of a highly civilized eastern nation to collect information about this new born king. That the news of a new born king aroused fear in Herod the Great is understandable because his throne was immediately threatened. The news also shook the people in Jerusalem because they feared that Herod would kill their new born babies (Matthew 2:3), just like what he eventually did to the babies in Bethlehem. So, the Nativity story of Matthew is full of royal intrigues. Therefore, I speculate that the mission of the Magi was less than innocence. They were sent to chart the exact location of this new born king, to find out whether he was peace-loving or not, whether his nation was a powerful and resourceful one. The three gifts would perhaps be a decoy to cover their real purpose or to bribe greedy local officials to extract information. (Ask Matthew how the Holy Family made use of the gold and frankincense.) In fact, the Magi did not need to be warned in a dream not to report to Herod (Matthew 2:12). Weren't they supposed to be wise men? What they saw in Jerusalem and heard from the tone of Herod's instruction must have gone down in their sub-consciousness, only to re-emerge in their dreams to tell them to return in another route, perhaps to collect more military information of Judaea and the Roman Empire. Again, Matthew was careful not to include an angel in their "dream" either because the Magi did not know any angelic creatures in their culture or because Matthew did not want to be so repetitive in his writing style. "The angel of the Lord" has been repetitively mentioned in every dream of Joseph except one (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 19, but not in 2:22)! 

Matthew wrote the Nativity story with an agenda. His audience were Jewish Christians and Matthew tried to show them that Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for. For the Jews, the Messiah would be a descendant of David, a king chosen by God. Therefore, in the Nativity story, the major players whom Matthew chose were kings while shepherds were too lowly to be included. Furthermore, one of his many devices was to show that Jesus' birth fulfilled 5 (or 6) Old Testament prophecies. The story of the Magi from the east fulfilled one such prophecy (or two) (Numbers 24:17, Micah 5:2): that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (and that a star would rise to indicate his arrival on earth). Then, we read of the escape to Egypt (Hosea 11:1) and the massacre of the Holy Innocent Infants (Jeremiah 31:15), all aiming at prophecy fulfillment.

Conspiracies or prophecies, we marvel at the grand plan of God. Nothing on earth is too debased to be His instrument. God would make use of astrological signs to reveal Himself to the astrologists. He would turn their spying mission into a pilgrimage. He would turn their decoy (bribe) into meaningful gifts. As for those who reject God, nothing on earth can be miraculous enough to convert them. But God does not give up. He continues to get involved in our history to invite us to partake in His eternal life. In the end, the star remains what it is --- Signum Fidei (a sign of faith). We have our part to play to reach for the star.

Dear Lord, we praise You for Your wisdom and love. May we accept Your kingdom with humility and be SIGNUM FIDEI for our brothers. Amen.

Mother of God 2012

Among the monotheist religions which believe in only one God, Christianity is the most mind-boggling. Judaism and Islam believe in one God. There is no other god besides Him. The same God in whom Christians believe, however, consists of three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christians insist that there is only one God, not three.

To be a Jew is easier because for him, Jesus was just a Rabbi. To be a Muslim is easier too because for him, Jesus was only a prophet. However, to be a Christian is more difficult, more intellectually challenging. Christians are Christians because they are followers of Jesus Christ whom they believe is fully human and divine. Christians believe that Jesus is God the Son incarnated. Jesus is both God and human. Christians of the first four centuries struggled hard to come in terms with this article of faith. Orthodox Christians won the day when they confessed that in the person of Jesus, there are two natures: divinity and humanity. The Son of God, with his divinity, took up our lowly human nature; went through all the necessary stages of human development --- in the womb of Mary, born as a Jewish baby boy etc.; preached the Gospel with divine authority; crucified and died on the cross; resurrected from death and returned to Heaven. In short, if anybody doubts either the humanity (Docetians, Apollinarians) or the divinity (Arians) of Jesus, or separates the humanity and divinity of Jesus (Nestorians), he is NOT a Christian.


Sometimes, those heretics challenged the divinity of Jesus indirectly. They attacked Mary instead. For example, they argued that Mary was only a human being, a creature of God. It was impossible for her to give birth to God. Therefore, Mary should not be called the "Mother of God" (See the section "Mary's divine motherhood"). She should only be called the "Mother of Christ". This view was logically attractive. However, accepting this view would deny the unity of the two natures of Jesus. Orthodox Christians could not concede. They convoked the Ephesus Council in 431 A.D. to defend the unity of the divinity and the humanity of Jesus and affirm the title of Mary. She is not only the Mother of Christ. She is the Mother of God.

Why is it important for Christians to defend the unity of the two natures of Jesus?
If the humanity of Jesus were separable from his divinity, we would not be able to partake in the eternal life of God. Our redemption/salvation would only be incomplete.
Okay, don't press me too hard. My theological knowledge is limited. I need to follow the example of the Mother of God, who
kept all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51b).
Until today, Mary does not understand. She just follows God's will and cooperates with God to bring us salvation. Her humility fills her with God's grace.


Therefore, let me wish you all

An energetic and prosperous
New Year ahead,
Overflowing with
Abundant grace of God.