In today’s Gospel, we listen to Jesus’ teaching about himself as the source of living water. During the sojourn in the wilderness, God’s people thirsted bodily, and God satisfied them with water. The wilderness narratives remind us Christians of the experience of disruption, transition, or adversity. As we struggle, do we believe that where God calls, God provides? In [...]
What is your personal encounter with God? We are in the season of lent. Are you going to let yourself be a mournful Catholic during this period? Many times, I have heard from fellow Catholics, “oh it is Lent, I am going to skip meat and alcohol. This is how I am going to sacrifice during this period.” As soon [...]
This week, we enter the season of Lent. Beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on the Wednesday of Holy Week. It is not about the sacrifices I can make for six weeks. It is not about giving up Netflix or chocolate or about going meatless altogether or going for daily mass or help out at a soup kitchen. If we [...]
This week, I was struck by how the Lord’s commands border on the unreasonable! Offering no resistance to the wicked man? Letting someone who struck you on the face strike you again? Giving to anyone who asks, whatever the request may be? Surely, these are foolish, if not utterly crazy, directions! Surely no reasonable person could follow and still live [...]
The readings for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time focus on the law and commandments and why true wisdom lies in both obeying them and going beyond them. The first reading tells us to choose life by obeying God’s commandments. As a parent, it was easy for us to remind our children to remember The Ten Commandments and to tell [...]
Our identities are important to us. Who we are often influences what we do. We even take steps to showcase our identities sometimes - wearing special clothes/accessories (Liverpool jersey at a football match, anyone?), memorising mottos, or behaving in a certain way. Growing up, being a "gamer” was an important part of my identity. This "gamer" identity manifested itself through [...]
We hear in the Old Testament how the prophet Zephaniah tells the Jews to seek integrity, humility and to take refuge in God. In our comings and goings, we are consumed by all things external and do not notice that our Father is in our midst and gently prompting and waiting for our response. If we believe what is proclaimed [...]
Spiritual darkness occurs when there is an absence of God. God always calls us to repentance. Repentance involves letting go of all that leads to darkness - which is of the kingdom of the enemy, and moving to the light where God is. We live in a time of confusion and growing darkness but unlike the people of Isaiah’s time [...]
What shall we ponder about servant leadership? In the first reading, prophet Isaiah spoke about how God our Father had made him to be his servant so that he will be light to the nations. He wrote, “he who formed me in the womb to be his servant”. God knew right from the beginning, even before Isaiah was born, that [...]
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. The first thing that came to mind was, this must have been a real “ah ha moment” for the wise people from the east when they discovered child Jesus. The fact of finding Jesus must have brought immense joy and satisfaction for the magi who found him. In the [...]
