We know that one of Singaporeans’ favourite indulgences is food. Our conversation comes alive and we talk fondly of our favourite dishes or delicacies. In today’s first reading, Isaiah describes the lavish banquet for all people, and speaks of juicy, rich food and refined, aged wine. What is more, at this banquet, death and shame will be lifted from [...]
The presence of COVID-19 has made manifest the undercurrent fissures and cracks that the Catholic Church has been facing for a very long time, but which we forgot about, swept under the carpet, ignored, or were so busy doing a million and one things except the things that we were supposed to do that we were distracted from sitting down [...]
Those of us who have tried growing herbs or veggies will probably find the message from today’s readings familiar with our experiences. Such is the case in the first reading, where the vine-owner “had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and [...]
While these statistics are expected from a Church that has moved from being in complacency, and maintenance mode, to a state of being in utter decline, it is still nonetheless shocking to revisit these numbers again. A survey that Pew Research Center conducted in 2009, and updated in 2011, showed that those who left the Catholic Church outnumber those who [...]
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (St Augustine of Hippo). In each of us, we have an unquenchable thirst and we spend much of our lives in search of something to quench it. God our Father’s message in today’s readings is this: Come to me and I will [...]
At this stage of my youth, my heart grows restless at the thought of the mundane working life that approaches me. In my head, I would envision stepping into the working world as being parallel to running a long marathon race, a race with an unknown yet daunting distance to be covered. The finishing line of the race would be [...]
In the Scripture text where Peter says to Jesus who is walking on the water, "Lord, if it is you, bid me, come to you on the water." (Matthew 14: 28) and Jesus calls out to him. Things go swimmingly well, Peter defies gravity and the laws of Physics and begins to walk on water like Jesus did. However, we [...]
“Life is not fair!” How often do we lament these words verbally or in the silence of our hearts? How frequently do we hear this statement made by others as well? When one reads the parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Mt 20:1-16) using the logic of labour’s market, one is likely to feel the sense of injustice for [...]
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against [...]
We all want to be liked, loved, be well received and respected by others. However, if we harbour grudges and want to exact revenge, can we be the person who glorifies our Father? The first reading is a timely reminder of the main ingredients found in sin – pride, resentment and anger. We must not allow anger to seethe and overtake [...]