SIT AND LISTEN

The visit of Jesus to the home of Mary and Martha (LK 10:38-42) reminds us that hard work is a Christian ethic but sometimes we just need to sit and listen.

In our daily lives we can become so busy and stress with our every day things of life that we lose our focus. We rush here and we rush there. We are like Martha when Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things.”

The best thing we can do is stop rushing and start resting in Jesus. We need to stop worrying about “so many things” and refocus on those things that are really important.

Martha said to Jesus: “Lord, do You not care....” At time we accuse Jesus that He is not caring us. We can become so distracted and disturbed by what is going on in our lives.

God always takes care of us. As we go through this busy world - let our focus always be on Jesus.

“He will make His dwelling with those who keep His Word and practice justice.” (PS 135).

THE LIVING WORD

On the 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate Bible Sunday with the theme – “Strengthening the Family through Word and Eucharist”. Once again we renew our commitment to make the Living Word alive in us, as we live and share the knowledge of God with one another.

Two important things always occur when a family gets together – meal and talk. Why do we need to eat food and what is the significance of talking? God has provided two most precious graces - Eucharist (meal) and Bible (talk). 

The Eucharist has its origin in the Passover Meal (it was a ritual meal held before Moses delivered the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to the Promise Land – Exodus 11-12). The Bible (talk) is described as a love letter from Heaven for us. God the Father “shows forth his great, patient and unfailing love throughout history of humankind”in his love letter. He hopes that we may inherit eternal happiness by paying attention to his message, but often we fail to heed his advise.

The Bible is the “Family Book”. It describes the relationship of the human family, family crises, love stories, and it contains great wisdom and spiritually. In the Bible, God helps us with practical advice and wisdom for each family member in order to build relationships with one another. In our family, we encounter “hope and disappointment, love and betrayal, joy and despair, triumph and failure”. We cannot run away from these realities of life. Thus, the Family Book “ As a family, we should cultivate reading the Bible together prayerfully and meditatively, and make the words “active and alive” (Heb 4:12). So a family that prays and eats together, always stays together and indeed this family is very strong in the Eucharist.

Jesus practiced what He preached. In the Eucharistic celebration, we encounter the Real Presence of Jesus in the Word (Liturgy of the Word) and in the Sacrament (the Liturgy of the Eucharist). The Word and the Eucharist complement each other as how the word and action go hand-in-hand. Without action, the word remains meaningless. Each time we celebrate and participate in the Eucharist, we remember and re-enact “the self-giving act of Jesus” and his commandment of “Do this in memory of Me,” (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-26).

The Eucharist gives us strength and grace to bear witness to Christ and His Church by living together in love and harmony. What we have learned and received from the Eucharist is what we should become in the Church community and society. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, we are reminded that through this Sacrament we are to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,”or “Go and announce the Good News of the Lord.”

Either on your personal level or BEC level, please spare a couple of minutes on the questions below and write down or share your reflection:

1.    God’s word has power. Our words too have power to heal or to hurt, especially those closest to us. How aware are we of that? How often do we put our words to good use?

2.    The bread-provider of the family is the one who exercises the power, but he/she is also called to make sacrifices, even to the extent of laying down his/her own life (like Christ in the Eucharist) in order to provide for the family. Are we convinced that with greater power comes greater responsibility and servanthood?

(An abstract from the Bible Sunday Message 2019 by Regional Biblical Commission of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei).

BE KIND AND GOOD

A very well-known Gospel from the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). The parable takes place on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. The Gospel lesson is giving us a list of the things we can do in order to get into heaven. That is what the Jewish lawyer is asking Jesus – “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

What we can learn from this Good Samaritan as an example of loving our neighbour. Jesus teaches us the importance of caring for others. The reality is you never know how much caring can do until you do it.

The priest and Levite were both busy men, but they were too busy if they couldn’t spare the time to help a fellow traveller in need. The Samaritan gave freely his service to the wounded traveller.

We need to show our interest in our friends and neighbours and open our hearts and care for those in need. Speak a kind word to others. Bring hope to the hopeless, compassion to the crushed, and healing to the injured. Let us be kind and share the goodness to our neighbours always.

http://www.stjosephsentul.org/the-living-word-2/

BRINGING THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL

As Jesus traveled to Jerusalem from Galilee for the last time, He commissioned seventy-two disciples whom He sent ahead of Him in pairs to every town. It reminds us about our responsibility to join the task of sharing the good news with those who have not yet heard.

Jesus instructed these seventy disciples, and to all all of us, to ask God to send out more laborers. Why must we pray because this is the Lord’s work. It is through prayer that we will see that there is great potential in the harvest. It is through prayer that we will ask for the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers.

The need for reaching many people as quickly as possible with the gospel is urgent. We have the capacity to make God rejoice by our faithful ministry. We must remember that when carry the message of the gospel to others and do a favour for Jesus, we bring joy to the heart of Jesus. Are we ready to do a favour for Jesus by bringing the joy of the Gospel to ALL?

“Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.” (Psalm 65)

REFRESHED AND RENEWED

A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey, spending time in prayer in holy shrines and exploring new sites. It is also a kind of internal journey of self-discovery, as it provides the opportunity to take a step closer to God and to grow deeper in relationship with Him. 

Recently, I went for a 15-day pilgrimage with 39 other pilgrims to Eastern Europe. We visited Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. It was my second pilgrimage to these countries, after 15 years. All these countries have experienced war in the recent past, being subjected to communist regimes for ages. Poland seems to be the only country which has come out of those wars successfully. Now they are new members of the European Union, adding to its richness of culture, religious traditions and churches.

We landed at Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and began our road trip pilgrimage. A wonderful panoramic scene welcomed us, winding roads along the loveliest shores. I was reminded about the FIFA World Cup 2018, where Croatia came close to winning their first ever World Cup. 

 

After Croatia, we travelled to the Shrine of Our Lady of Medjugorje - meaning the “Queen of Peace” - located in Medjugorje, a town in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Medjugorje is a place where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to six children in June 1981. It is the next well-known Marian pilgrim center in Europe after Our Lady of Lourdes, in France and Our Lady of Fatima, in Portugal. We had a wonderful spiritual experience praying the Rosary while climbing Apparition Hill, at an altitude of 200 meters above sea level and also spending an hour with the Blessed Sacrament at the square in the Church of St James, Medjugorje. St James the Apostle is the Patron Saint of Pilgrims.

In May 2019, the Holy Father, Pope Francis gave the “green light for priests and bishops to lead pilgrimages” to our Lady of Medjugorje but the Vatican said “studies into the authenticity of the alleged apparitions are still ongoing” and “still require an examination by the Church.”

As we traveled up north to Hungary and the Czech Republic, we visited two historical cities – Budapest and Prague – known for their two prominent kings who are saints of the Church today – St Stephen of Hungary (975-1038AD) and St Wenceslaus, Martyr from the Czech Republic (921AD). Both saints were just and charitable towards their people and religious kings during their time.

St Wenceslaus’ monument can be found in the Cathedral of St Vitus in Prague Castle. He encountered many challenges in ruling his kingdom and in promoting the Christian faith. We celebrate his feast on 29 September every year. St Stephen of Hungary’s feast falls on 16 August. He established many dioceses and strengthened the life of the Church. His right arm is still intact and kept in St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest.

Our last destination in the Czech Republic was at the Infant Jesus of Prague, a well-known statue in Europe. It is a 16th century wax-coated wooden statue of baby Jesus holding an orb and cross or globus cruciger. The statue is kept at the Carmelite Church, where we had a wonderful Eucharistic celebration with the Christmas readings and liturgy.

Among all the places we visited, Poland was the most enthralling place for me. We were in Krakow, Wadowice (birth place of St John Paul II) and we visited the Divine Mercy Shrine as well as the Auschwitz Concentration Camp site.

Saint Pope John Paul II, who became one of the longest reigning and most charismatic Pope in history, had strengthened the faith of Christians in Poland as well as the Universal Church through his leadership, teachings and writing. He was the first Pope to initiate World Youth Day and World Day of the Sick. During his papacy, the devotions of Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Luminous Mystery of the Rosary were introduced in the Church.

The first time I was in Poland in 2004, my pilgrims and I prayed for his health. This time around, my group and I asked St John Paul II to send God’s blessing down upon us all from heaven’s window. I admire Pope John Paul II and his zeal.I thank God for this fruitful and wonderful experience, and to have my spirits refreshed and renewed once again.