There is a story of a hawker who sold his only asset, his house, in order to finance the overseas education of his only son. He lived a hard life and understood the financial security of a good education. Hence, he gave up his comfort and risk the fact that his son may not be grateful for his act of [...]
Faith is a gift that must be unpacked through actions that reveal the gift. Faith is the ability to act when there are no logical facts supporting the action. This is supernatural in the sense that it is not normal. One cannot take this step unless one is given Grace by God to do so. This gift is further strengthened, [...]
We begin Lent with two very familiar stories: Noah and the Ark, and Jesus in the wilderness. As a Catholic who was baptised in infancy, these were the stories that I had heard from my earliest years and these same stories raised many questions in my mind. How could two of every animal fit on the Ark? Wouldn’t the lions eat [...]
Imagine that you live in ancient times and that you have a skin condition that is diagnosed as leprosy. That would be a disaster, where you would be condemned to live an existence where you are ostracised by your own community and loved ones in exclusion and misery. You are labelled as “unclean”, which will be a social stigma that you will carry [...]
In today’s Gospel we look at how the four apostles seek our Lord’s help to heal St Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever. How often do we have the courage to bring our family, relatives, and friends to our Lord when they are wounded, lost, confused and in need of healing? Most of the time we try to counsel, rely on [...]
The first reading is a promise made by God to the Israelites of the coming of a prophet alike Moses. This prophet would be chosen from among their people and would speak with divine authority, relaying God's messages as it is significant in maintaining the relationship between God and the Israelites. It stresses the importance of compliance to this prophetic [...]
Today’s Gospel reveals the extraordinary and radical call from Jesus to follow Him. Simon and Andrew are the two who respond to the call in this passage, but their response is also an invitation to all of us to step out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary. This passage especially reveals two things: the immediate response of these Apostles, and [...]
The readings for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B invite us to be attentive, hear God's calling, and respond. What is God’s calling? It is “God's initiative to bring people to Christ and to participate in his redemptive work in the world”. In the first reading, God calls young Samuel. God called him three times in the night. [...]
This Sunday, as the Christmas season draws to a close, the Church brings us the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. The word Epiphany means “to manifest” or “to reveal”. So what does the story of the Magi in their pilgrimage to seek Jesus reveal to us about our pilgrimage of faith? The Gospel tells the fascinating age-old story [...]
Are we listening? Are we seeing? Can we hear? Can we see? Are we able to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit and see with our hearts as Simeon did? In Luke 2:27-32, Simeon was moved by the promptings of the Holy Spirit and went into the temple courts where he met Jesus. Holding Jesus, he could “see” [...]
