The Flaws of Ss. Peter and Paul

Since Vatican II, the Catholic Church has renewed her liturgical, doctrinal and moral life. The first two aspects are expressed in the maxim: Lex orandi, lex credendi (The Law of Prayer is the Law of Faith: The Church believes as she prays.) Among the many reforms in her worship, the most obvious one is the celebration of masses in vernacular languages instead of Latin. However, there is also a less obvious one. The Catholic Church has canonized so many saints that  throughout the year, you can rarely find a single day without celebrating the life of a saint. In previous generations, Sunday masses would celebrate the feast of saints. However, Vatican II reforms bring the focus of Sunday masses back to the life and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Feasts related to the life and ministry of Jesus would also be celebrated on Sundays. For example, the Feast of Annunciation. Today, the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul is another because these two apostles are the two pillars that help build up the Church.

In celebrating the lives of saints, the Church does not only remember their heroic martyrdom, or their contribution to the Church, but also show off their exemplary life, setting them as role models of the faithful to follow. However, I would like to take another route. That is why I deliberately entitled this page as "The Flaws of Ss. Peter and Paul" instead of "The Merits ..."
If saints are so holy, they are unreachable. We cannot be like them. If saints are so perfect, they are standing on high moral grounds which we mere mortals cannot reach. We can only admire them from afar. What is the use of canonizing so many saints? However, if they exhibit human flaws, they are no different from us. If they can be saints, we too can be saints.

I am arrogant. I like challenging authorities. I enjoy seeing them humiliated.
However, I keep my hope in eternity. When James and John asked to sit on the two sides of Jesus when his kingdom came, Jesus left the seats open. The Father would decide (Mark 10:40). That is to say, there will be no match fixing. The Father would decide. It is still open to all. Ss. Peter and Paul, Ss. James and John are heavy weight contenders. But we, modern day Christians can still occupy.

Ss. Peter and Paul are good role models despise their flaws. Therefore, the flawed us are able to attain the privileged seats. St. Paul persecuted the early Church because he thought that Christians were heretics in believing in two Gods. St. Peter has the passion to lay down his life for Jesus. But he was flawed. He tried to dissuade Jesus when Jesus told them that he would die in the hands of the Jewish authority. In return, Jesus scolded him for he had fallen into Satan's influence (Mark 8:33). Moreover, out of fear, he denied Jesus three times. Jesus did not condemn Peter, nor Judas. Unfortunately, Judas committed suicide and did not allow God to forgive him. Peter managed to survive Jesus' passion. In the end, Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved him more than the others (John 21:15-17). When the Catholic Church declared the infallibility of the Pope, many Protestants were unhappy and quoted the Antioch incident to "prove" that the first Pope made mistakes (Galatians 2:11-14). In fact, it was not a mistake. Peter demonstrated the virtue of prudence and charity which St Paul condoned as well (1 Corinthians 10:23-33). The Antioch incident was not a flaw of St. Peter.
When Peter was canonized a saint, we too are able to attain sainthood.

Sweet Jesus, you love flawed humanity. Grant us the grace to overcome evil. Amen.

Humility in spousal relationship

I spent my birthday away from home, staying in a retreat house with the deacon candidates and aspirants to reflect on the topic of humility, in particular humility between husbands and wives. Birthday or no birthday cake is not that important for me. After all, my children had already celebrated Father's Day cum Father's Birthday with me last Sunday. So, there is no regret going to a retreat. However, I did not expect much from this retreat perhaps because humility is not an exciting topic. Moreover, Erminia had to stay behind to look after my parents. Indeed, only 4 wives took part. Seven men went solo. However, we see one advantage. These single men could talk more freely without constraints. Their wives were not present to hear them boast. However, I cannot be more wrong than this. This morning, I wept beyond my control.

First of all, the keynote speeches by Fr. Étienne Vetö, a member of the Chemin Neuf Community,
and Fr. Benedict Lam, Rector of the local Holy Spirit Seminary are stimulating. They make me realize that I don't have to be afraid of my vulnerability and nakedness. Humility is the key to forgiveness and forgiveness is the key to unlock human bondage. So, humility is the key to the key to bring about reconciliation to oneself, to the others and to God. Because of its nature, I was right to see humility not as an exciting topic.

Fr. Veto is very experienced in family pastoral services. He was able to pinpoint specific spousal interactions in which humility makes a whole lot of differences for the better. His speech enables me to see what a male-chauvinist I have been. I have to admit that I owe Erminia a lot. Without her consolation and support, I would not have been able to stand up again and answer God's vocation. Fr. Veto's keynote talk did not make me weep. He left us a practice exercise for couples to pray. Since our wives did not come, we seven men split into two groups and made use of our creativity to adapt the procedures for husbands to pray together. I was in a group of three. It was in this prayer practice that I wept. God touched me where I least expected it.

The prayer procedures are simple. Firstly, husband and wife meditate separately on a passage for 15 minutes. This time John 13:1-17 was chosen for the theme of humility. Then, the couple come together to share for a further 15 minutes. Just listen and do not interrupt. Then, they depart a second time to meditate for another 15 minutes, this time with the input from the spouse. Lastly, they meet again to share and exchange and pray together in the end.

My group members are less lucky ones. The wife of the first one to share suffered a life-threatening disease while the husband was unemployed. He used to be the major bread-winner of the family and he was glad that his wife rather relied on him and he was able to take care of her. But at the present moment, his dire condition humbles him. The wife of the second member has already died for a couple of years. He is soft and not at all outspoken. He had to take over the role of his wife even though his children are already grown up. Their communication has not been as successful as it should. You can imagine he would patiently discharge his roles non-imposingly.
I thought this was supposed to be a husband and wife sharing. His wife is already dead. Suddenly, I fancied that it would be no harm trying to imagine his wife listening to his sharing. It was here that things started going wrong. I think I could really feel his pains. Perhaps I was able to build up an empathy with him. My eyes began to wet.
We separated for 15 minutes and came together to do the last part of the sharing. In his prayer, the widower spoke characteristically softly. I took the initiative to extend my arms on their shoulders to pull our heads together. We formed a circle, arms on shoulders, to pray. When my turn came, I started praising God and prayed that our remaining life would be a song of praise ... I lost control, sobbed and wept.

Dear Lord, I thank you for sending these two brothers to touch my heart. May our life be a song of praise to your love. Amen.

Making sense of the Blessed Trinity

Since the rational scientific age, men have been proud of dismissing religions as superstition because religions fail the scientific scrutiny. With the rise of social sciences, religion as a social institution began to regain her turf. Though physical sciences are able to explain a lot of things, religions provide meanings for existential difficulties which physical sciences are unable to offer any help. A physicist might be able to chart the last fatal 24.8 seconds before an air crash. However, even with all the formulae in his sleeves, he will never be able to explain why ten good men should die on the same plane with three terrorists.

Bearing in mind the social cultural background of social scientists, we have to take their views with caution. For example, it is natural for a sociologist who came from a monotheistic background to develop an evolutionary theory of religions such that religions evolve from primitive ones to advanced ones such as from pantheism to polytheism to henotheism and finally to monotheism. Some theorists focus on the symbolism of religions. Yet some others would focus on the social economic functions of religions etc. Nowadays, if you think religions are no more than organized superstitions, you are very narrow-minded indeed.

Christianity, Islam and Judaism believe in the same God of Abraham. All of them confess that this God is one. However, among the three, Christianity is the most challenging of all. Their God is one and three at the same time! It is impossible to summarize the development of this Trinity doctrine of the last two thousand years within this limited space. Suffice it to say that the Christian understanding of the Blessed Trinity itself is still evolving. Each age would seek to find the best formulation of this concept.
At the beginning, Christians employed Greek philosophical concepts of "person" and "substance" to articulate their understanding of God. That is why the Christian God is a Trinity: there are three Persons in one God. Such an articulation met the needs of the first two centuries and then controversies began to emerge. The Christian Church had to convoke council after council to define and defend more clearly what they meant by Trinity. At present, Christians focus more on a relational articulation of the Blessed Trinity. This articulation has the advantage of putting an aspect of God in the limelight: God is Love.

The homilies of both Deacon Tsang and Father Joseph Liu focus on this theme. It was out of love that the Father created the known universe for us. It was out of love that the Son incarnated and sacrificed himself for our sins. It is the Holy Spirit that sustain all Christians in communion until the end of the world. During the Creation, both the Son and the Holy Spirit participated. During the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Father and the Holy Spirit were working. Throughout the age of the Church, the Blessed Trinity is present. In fact, the history of man is played out in front of the Blessed Trinity.
In the beginning, man was created in the image of God. They were not yet perfect and were vulnerable. In the course of human history, men fell from grace and a lot of evils emerged. But their Creator is determined to make them "lovable" (in Fr. Liu's word) again. Thus, the salvation history began to unfold. Each and everyone of us has a part to play in this history. We make history and attain perfection by means of Love/Charity. Love is not a science. It cannot be explained by means of electro-chemical reactions of hormones. Nor is it a mere emotion. Love involves values, discipline, respect and morals because love exists where there is a relation of persons. I had better stop here because love cannot be empty speeches. Learn to do it. Make love exist.

Dear Holy Spirit, you are the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Love. Inspire and strengthen me so that I may be able to love better and love more. Amen.

What a deadly serious old man Alex is!

Teaching Ethics and Religious Education can be hazardous to physical health. Perhaps it is my fault or my personality flaw, I take things too seriously. May be my teaching career has moulded me into what I now am --- a deadly serious old man, taking trivial petty matters too meticulously. The following incident took place before the examination invigilation. My blood sugar level remained high during the day because of the emotional turmoil.

Before examination began, we said the morning prayer through the PA system. It is a school regulation that students carry their prayer books in all school days, including examination time. Though most of our students do not profess Christianity, prayer provides them with an opportunity to learn to respect and to concentrate within a very short span of time. As a rule, those who are not able to produce their prayer books, sort of a Shung Tak passport, should stand in front of the whole school (during morning assembly in the playground) or of the classroom. Some complied obediently. However, three students cheated. They borrowed the covers of the prayer book from their friends to evade the consequences of failing to bring the prayer book. I discovered two before the prayer started and sent them out to the front to join those who had no prayer books. During the recitation of prayer, I identified the third one. I taught them humanistic moral principles, humanistic, i.e. without appealing to the authority of God, since as mentioned above, most students do not believe in God. After sending the students back to their seats, I confronted the third cheater with the moral principles that were violated, viz. fidelity (for not bringing the prayer book); honesty (for cheating with a book cover) and lastly justice (for being unfair to those who were standing in front of the classroom). I asked what compensation should be done. The student said, "My prayer book was lost and I shall buy a new one." Then the student "remembered" that the prayer book was out of stock. Then the student said, "I would apologize." I asked if the student wanted to apologize openly or went to them individually. The student said individually. But even I could not remember who those students were! I was upset about the insincerity of the student. I did not want to disturb the proceeding of examination. I had to let the student go but my blood boiled. I noticed that I had been shaking during the whole conversation.
To relieve myself during invigilation, I fantasized several scenarios in my head how I would have the situation handled in a better manner, because the student might not buy my insistence on the moral principles. The student might think that forgetting to bring the school prayer book was such a petty thing. Nobody got hurt. No big deal at all.

One of the moral principles I taught them is autonomy. I practise what I preach. Therefore, I respect their freedom in my lessons. Some make use of the lesson to do their homework. I tolerate them as long as they do not disturb the others. Some fall asleep and I always tell the remaining awaking students to let the sleeping dog lie. Let them sleep because sleep is a basic physiological need and sleep deprivation is a well-known torture to extract information from prisoners, a violation of basic human rights (UDHR article#5).
On the other hand, as a teacher, I have my teaching responsibilities to discharge. I also have the principle of fidelity to follow. Therefore, there are ground rules to insist. Though they may not learn at this moment, they will learn. Though they make mistakes at school, it is safer to make mistakes here and now than when they go out into the society. Moreover, God has entrusted them into my hand. I am accountable for their souls in front of my God. That makes me a deadly serious annoying teacher. Popularity is not my major concern. These are my beliefs.

When the  time to collect the answer scripts came, I made it clear that examination was a time for them to learn to follow instructions in order to prepare themselves for public examination, in particular, the time of script collection. They should not be too smart to do things I had not instructed them to do. There were four items to collect: the question paper and three different answer books. We were a couple of minutes behind schedule. To save time, I instructed the last student of each column to pass up the answer books of question#3 to the front. Each student should put his on top and pass on to the front etc. While collecting the answer books from the first student of each column, I noticed that some students started passing up the remaining items without waiting for my instructions. My blood started to boil again. I stopped collecting the answer books and yelled at them: UNDO WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! Only one column out of seven had not passed up the answer books. I was mad because anyone of the students in-between could have stopped the unauthorized passing up. Unwittingly and without thinking, they perpetrated a breach of rules.

As a part of ERE assessment, students choose any current affairs, social issues or topics and apply what moral principles and fallacies they have learned to analyze them. They presented their analysis in front of the class. The Korean ferry accident was the most popular topic. Nearly one quarter of all students had discussed the topic, some very thoroughly while others superficially. All of them were able to point out that the captain of the Korean ferry had violated the principles of justice, fidelity, honesty and the worst of all, non-maleficence. When it comes to finger pointing, it is easy for everybody. But did my student, who cheated to avoid punishment, realize that both the captain and this student of mine have violated, though to a different extent, all the moral principles mentioned above?

Then I turned to think about the friends of these coward liars. I have to tell them that the role of a teacher is different from the role of a friend. A teacher tells you what the right thing to do is while a friend tells you the wrong thing to avoid. When your neighbour asks you to assist his "crime" and you comply, you become an accomplice. The day will come, when your "friend" comes desperately to you to borrow money so that his girl-friend might go to Shenzhen to undergo abortion. If you lend him money, you become an accomplice of murder. The blood of the innocent fetus will be in your hand.

Of course, the utilitarians would blame me for making a fuss out of such a petty incident. I beg to disagree. The school is a training ground. The damages, which my students are capable of making, are limited and thus petty. Remember, the devil is in the details. When they are not even able to handle these small matters, what would happen to them when really big things come up? Would they be able to stand the moral ground? Would they be overwhelmed and regret for the rest of their life? You may accuse me of committing the fallacy of "Slippery Slope". Truly the future is not totally controlled by us. It is not for us to predict. But I see it my duty to tell my students what the right thing to do is. The rest, I leave it to God and I respect the autonomy of my students.

Dear Holy Spirit, strengthen me so that I may be able to let go. Amen.

我們與聖神的關係 Our relationship with the Holy Spirit

五旬節（甲年）
主題：我們與聖神的關係

耶穌升天前許下聖神，並囑咐門徒往普天下去宣揚福音。在五旬節，天主聖神降臨到門徒身上，賦予他們來自天上的大能。於是門徒充滿聖神，說各地的方言，行神蹟，治病驅魔，一日之內吸引了三千人加入這個充滿聖神的團體，揭開了「聖神時代」，亦即是「教會時代」的序幕。五旬節可算是教會的生日。

天主是無形可見的，在舊約時代，亞巴郎祗能見到天主的三位使者，梅瑟祗能見到焚燒的荊棘，依撒意亞先知亦祗能見到煙霧瀰漫的天主御座。所以若望宗徒說「從來沒有人見過天主，祗有那在父懷裡的獨生者，身為天主的，他給我們詳述了。」（若1：18）能與降生成人的天主子耶穌一起生活過的宗徒可算是最幸福的，因為他們能看到、聽到、觸摸到有形可見的天主。他們有三年的時間，與天主子耶穌同行、同食、同住。留心聆聽他的教導，親眼看到他所行的神蹟、受難和復活，親手摸過他復活後仍保留著的釘孔。發展了廿一個世紀直到今天的教會是以天主子耶穌為屋角石，而這些曾與天主子耶穌一同生活過的宗徒們就成為了教會的基礎（弗2:20）。所以我們每個主日唸【信經】的時候，我們宣認這個教會是「從宗徒傳下來的教會」。

保祿宗徒曾把教會比喻為基督的奧體。基督是這奧體的頭，我們是這個奧體的各個支體器官。一如耶穌是因聖神降孕，同樣教會亦有賴聖神的降臨所形成。沒有聖神，就沒有耶穌、也沒有教會。因此，聖神與教會的生活，息息相關。讓我們從以下三方面，加深對聖神的認識。

在創世紀天主造人的故事裡，有一個很有啟發性的細節。天主按自己的肖像，用泥土造了一個人，然後在他的鼻孔吹了一口氣，人便成了一個「有靈的生物」（創2:7）。意思是說，天主已在全人類的生命之中，埋下了追求造物主的種子。有些種子在惡劣的環境下生長，尋求天主的旅程並不順利。有些種子就比較幸運，可以「修成正果」。聖保祿宗徒在今天第二篇讀經說過，「除非受聖神感動，沒有一個能說：『耶穌是主』的。」（格前12:3）所以，我們有幸領洗入教，尋得真主，都是出於聖神的感動。且看入門的三件聖事，每一件都是聖神的傑作。舉行洗禮的時候，是聖神降臨在約旦河的耶穌身上，祝聖了水，使領洗者獲得新生命。領受堅振聖事時，天主聖神在領洗者身上，傾注聖神的七恩，堅強他們的靈性生命。我們所共同分享的基督聖體，是有賴天主聖神所祝聖，使耶穌所許下「我與你們天天在一起，直到今世的終結」（瑪28:20）的諾言得以兌現。

除了聖事生活外，天主聖神在祈禱靈修方面亦不斷地扶助著我們。我們每日可能祗會唸幾次「天主經」、「飯前經」、在聖母月唸聖母經，玫瑰經、有些年長的教友會加唸「三鐘經」、有接受過聖經或神學訓練的教友會唸早晚課，參加星期五的泰澤祈禱，Lectio Divina，到思維靜院參加避靜，學習依納爵神操等。老實說，我們知道祈禱靈修是重要的，但我們不知道怎樣祈禱纔對。聖保祿宗徒曾說過，「因為我們不知道如何祈求纔對，而天主聖神卻親自以無可言喻的歎息，代我們轉求。」（羅8:26）其實，天父在我們祈禱之前，已經知道我們的意向。所以，與其不斷唸經祈禱，倒不如享受一下與聖神同在的神聖時刻吧，聖神會代我們轉求，會在我們「神枯」時給予我們「神慰」。

講到安慰，耶穌在最後晚餐時，許下賜予門徒另一位「護慰者」聖神。祂是世界所不能領受的「真理之神」（若14:16-17），就是祂「把未來的事傳告給我們」（16:13）。其實，聖神更加是「愛德之神」，祂加強我們的力量，使我們能履行耶穌的教訓。耶穌曾教導我們「真福八端」，但按世俗的價值和尺度，「真福八端」根本是不可能實踐的。誰不想榮華富貴？有誰甘心「神貧」呢？誰不想行使權力？「溫良和善」簡直不能在社會立足。有誰不怕「麻煩」？祗有傻瓜纔會「為義而受迫害」，無人可憐。別人打你右頰，你不還手已算好修養，有誰可以把左頰也轉給他？其實，耶穌的教訓，並不是一種不切實際的理想，而是大愛的表現。因為眾人都是天主的肖像，是天主所渴望要拯救的靈魂，連迫害、傷害你的人都是天主的肖像。你能看得出他們是天主安排給你的恩寵嗎？所以，我們需要天主聖神開啟我們的眼目，看見真理，認出天主的肖像。
在今天的福音中，我們聽到耶穌賜予宗徒聖神，去赦免眾人的罪。赦罪的目的是為了使眾人能夠與天主，與近人和好。寬恕他人的過犯不是一件輕易的事，我們需要天主聖神溫暖我們的愛心，對身邊的人溫良、憐憫，對有需要的人慷慨伸出援手，為迫害麻煩我們的人祈禱。祗有在聖神的幫助之下，我們纔可以做「地上的鹽，世界的光」。當人看見我們的善行時，就會光榮我們的天父。

在今天的第二篇讀經，聖保祿說天主聖神賜予各人不同的神恩，來服侍同一個主，建設同一個基督的奧體。聖伯多祿亦把我們比喻為一塊塊的「活石」，一起建造成屬神的殿宇，成為一班聖潔的司祭，奉獻中悅天主的屬神的祭品（伯前2:5）。所以我們在成聖的路上，不可能獨善其身。我們已加入了這個充滿聖神的團體，就應藉著聖神的滋潤，發熱發光，在聖神內共融，互助互補。聖神使眾人在基督內合而為一，成為天父所悅納的祭品。
願天主聖神永受讚頌，從現今直到永遠，與聖父聖子，是惟一的天主，永生永王。亞孟。
天主保祐。

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Pentecost (Year A)
Theme: Our relationship with the Holy Spirit

Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus promised his disciples the Holy Spirit to help them preach to all nations. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, bestowing on them heavenly powers. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples preached in different languages, worked miracles, cured diseases and exorcised demons. Three thousand people were attracted to join this Spirit-empowered community. The curtain had been lifted on “Age of Holy Spirit”, the “Age of the Church”. Thus, Pentecost is also the birthday of the Church.

God is invisible. In Old Testament times, Abraham could only see three angels of the Lord, Moses the burning bush and Isaiah a smoke-filled temple. Therefore, John wrote “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” (John 1:18)
The Apostles were truly blessed. They were able to live with the Incarnate Son of God, to see, to hear and to touch a visible God. For three years, they were walking with Jesus the Son of God, eating with him and living with him. They were able to pay attention to his teachings, to see with their very eyes the miracles, passion and resurrection, to touch the marks of nail which Jesus still kept after resurrection. After developing for twenty one centuries, the Church today is founded on Jesus the Son of God as her corner stone and those apostles who had lived with Jesus the Son of God her foundation (Ephesians 2:20). Thus, when we recite the Creed every Sunday, we confess an Apostolic Church.

St. Paul described the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ is the head and we are members of this body. Just as Jesus “was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary”, the Church was formed by the descent of the Holy Spirit. Were there no Holy Spirit, there would be no Jesus, nor the Church. Therefore, the Holy Spirit and the life in Church are closely linked. Let us reflect deeper on the workings of the Holy Spirit from three perspectives.

In the Genesis story of the creation of man, there is an inspiring detail. God made use of dust to form a man in His own image. Then He “…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) Which means God has already implanted in man the “seed” to seek the Creator. Some seeds grow up in adversities. Their journey to seek God is tortuous. Some seeds are luckier and are able to bear fruits. In the second reading today, St. Paul tells us that no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 12:3). Therefore, it is the Holy Spirit who moves us so that we are counted blessed to be able to be baptized and found the one true God. Take a look at the three sacraments of the Rite of Christian Initiation. They are the work of the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, it was the Holy Spirit who descended on Jesus in River Jordan to consecrate the water so that the baptizees may obtain a new life. In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit pours out the seven gifts to strengthen the spiritual life of the recipients. The Holy Eucharist we share relies on the consecration of the Holy Spirit. Thus the promise “I am with you always, to the close of the age” which Jesus made can be honoured (Matthew 28:20).

Besides the sacramental life, the Holy Spirit continuously supports us in our prayers and spirituality. Everyday we may recite the Lord’s Prayer, Grace before meals; the Hail Mary and Rosary in the month of May; some senior Catholics may add the Angelus; those who have received biblical or theological trainings may recite Lauds and Vespers, join Taize prayer meetings on Fridays, Lectio Divina, participate in retreats and Ignatian Spiritual Exercises in Xavier House etc. Frankly speaking, we know the importance of prayers and spirituality but we do not know the right way to pray. St. Paul once said, “… for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26). In fact, before we pray, our Father in heaven already knows our intention. Thus, instead of reciting prayers, we should enjoy sacred moments with the Holy Spirit who shall intercede for us. The Holy Spirit will give us “spiritual consolation” when we experience “spiritual desolation”.

When it comes to consolation, Jesus promised the disciples another Counselor. He is “the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive” (John 14:16-17). He “will declare to you the things that are to come” (16:13). Indeed, the Holy Spirit is more the “Spirit of love”. He empowers us to put Jesus’ teachings into practice. Jesus taught us the Beatitudes which according to secular norms, are impracticable. Who doesn’t want to be rich? Who is willing to be poor? Who doesn’t want to exercise authority? It is out of question for the meek to gain any foothold in the society. Who is not afraid of “troubles”? Only an idiot will suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake. Sympathy is in short supply. If you do not strike back when somebody strikes you on your right cheek, you are very civilized. Who would turn his other cheek?
In fact, Jesus’ teachings are not some impracticable ideals. Rather, it is an expression of great charity. It is because all men are images of God and God desires to save all souls. Those who persecute and hurt you are also God’s images. Can you see them as a grace God arranges for you? Therefore, we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see the truth, to see the images of God.
In the gospel reading today, Jesus gave the apostles the Holy Spirit to forgive the sins of people. The purpose of forgiving sins is to reconcile all men to God and their brethren. It is not easy to forgive. We need the Holy Spirit to inflame our heart so that we may be meek, merciful and extend a generous helping hand to the needy and to pray for those who persecute us, those who give us troubles. Only with the help from the Holy Spirit can we truly become the salt of the earth and the light of the world. When people see our good works, they shall give glory to our Father in heaven.

In the second reading today, St. Paul says that the Holy Spirit gives us varieties of spiritual gifts to serve the same Lord, to build up the same Mystical Body of Christ. St. Peter compares us to pieces of living stones “to build into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1Peter 2:5). So, on our journey of sanctification, we cannot be alone. We have joined this Spirit-empowered community, we should “drink of one Spirit”. We glow and are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit who makes us one in Christ to become an acceptable sacrifice of the Father.
May the Holy Spirit be praised, now and forever. With the Father and the Son, one God, He lives and reigns forever. Amen.
God bless.

Doubt will remain with us till the end

According to the gospel reading today, Jesus met his eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee. He commissioned them to teach all nations, baptize and teach the people whatsoever he had commanded them. Jesus promised to stay with the believers till the end of the world (Matthew 28:16-20). Fair enough. This is the raison d'etre of the existence of the Church, her hierarchy and her missionary activities. Without this commission, the Church as she is today should not have come into existence. However, the curious thing about the choice of this reading on the Feast of Ascension is that Matthew does not mention the ascension of Jesus! The reading we have today stops short of mentioning Jesus returning to the right hand of the Father in full sight of the apostles. Of course, there is no mention of angels appearing and assuring the apostles that Jesus would return (Acts 1:11). Remember, angels are not unknown in Matthew. At the beginning of his gospel, angels appear in the nativity story. Of course, you would expect him to put them at the end of of gospel too. But Matthew didn't. There is an angel in the resurrection scene (Matthew 28:2). But there is no ascension story and Jesus promised to stay with them always until the end of the world (28:20). It seems that Jesus has never left this world.

In my previous blog on Jesus' ascension, I argued that it is necessary for Jesus to leave this world and return to his Father. Otherwise, mankind would lose their freedom to choose to believe or to reject Christianity. Imagine, throughout human history, the Catholic Church as an organized religion is headed, not by popes but by an immortal Jesus Christ. Can mankind truly exercise their freedom to reject this religion? Therefore, Jesus must have left this world and have returned to the Father. So, why does Matthew leave out the ascension account? Moreover, in what ways does Jesus stay with his disciples till the end of the world?
Indeed, Matthew has previously offered two answers:
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (18:20)
"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." (25:40)
Therefore, Jesus exists among his disciples whenever they gather as a community and call on his name. Moreover, Jesus exists outside his disciples as a total stranger to give them opportunities to serve him, to love him so that Christians may practically love their invisible God through loving the needy whom they are able to see. Surely, Christ has disappeared and left the Christians behind on this planet and yet, he stays with them everywhere and whenever. An ascension story is redundant. Matthew simply leaves the ascension narrative blank for believers to fill in.

While most of us focus on this great commission to evangelize the world, my attention is drawn to
"And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted." (28:17)
All of them saw Jesus, yet some doubted what they saw! I am not able either to gain access to or to assess the psychology of those who doubted. Perhaps St. Thomas was among this group of doubting disciples (John 20:25). Though he was redeemed eight days later (20:26-29), I am sure this group of doubting disciples has never run out of members. To a certain extent, faith is a gift, a grace from God. No matter how receptive we wish to be, faith is always in short supply. Even Jesus was pessimistic and wondered if there would still be any trace of faith when he returns.
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8)

I will not comment on the others. I only know that my faith in God and my faith in man are not strong enough. Many times, I am not able to let go. I rely more on myself to get things done according to my standard, my wish than on the others. My will be done, not God's. Don't meddle with my work. Let me finish it. That is why I am a perfectionist and an arrogant man. People find me intimidating. Humility is not my virtue. If God sends sinners to hell, I must be among the first batch. Thinking back, how amazing it is that Jesus can have faith in me when I myself do not have enough faith.
Lord, save me (Matthew 14:30). Amen.