Advent - To meet the Lord, we must be prepared for life, not just for death!

Travellers wait for buses and planes, students wait for their exam results. Waiting is part of life. Life is not like instant coffee, there is always more to life than we can grasp its fullness at any one time.

Advent invites us to wait for the Lord and surely we must wait for the Lord who will come at the moment of our death. Hence Advent calls us always to be ready to meet the Lord at our death. But as Christians, we should be ready not just for the final coming of Christ but for His constant coming every day of our lives.

If we are alert, we can find the Lord popping up in the ordinary activities and possibilities of life. If I am watchful, He may be tapping me on my shoulder when I meet my 'sisters and brothers'. If only we have 'those eyes that see, those ears that hear' (Is. 64:4), we can meet Him in His supreme visit, which He makes in a thousand ways. To meet the Lord, we must be prepared for life, not just for death!

As a community waiting in prayer, we pray...

Prayer is WAITING and so is Advent.

Prayer is WAITING.

Waiting, places the emphasis on the other person who is coming.

To wait is to express my powerlessness, my insufficiency because the other is in control. And that is how our attitude should be towards God. I cannot force God to come. All I can do is wait and be present. In simply waiting for God, I admit that God is important to my life.

As a people waiting in prayer, we pray...

Advent invites us to straighten-up, as we WAIT.

Christmas is fast approaching. We can feel the commercialized presence of Christmas already in our TV, Radio and Newspapers' advertisements and not forgetting the music and decorations in all the malls. Many in fact started either end of November or beginning December.

In the midst of this swelling excitement, worshippers in churches are reminded to be watchful, to repent, to do penance. Now, I am afraid that you are beginning to wonder whether Advent is a joyful season or a penitential period! It is true that Advent brings joy and feelings of excitement as we wait, but it also calls us to straighten up our lives.

Let us then "Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight" (Mk 1:3).

Advent, a call to WAIT...

We have come to the end of the liturgical year and tomorrow (in fact later in the evening) we begin a new liturgical year with the season of Advent. My personal prayer theme for this year's Advent is 'Waiting'.

As early as in mid-November, there were already people getting excited that even in their facebook status tags were on the theme of Christmas. I even noticed one guy who even used a Christmas Carol on his status just after Deepavali (which was on Oct 27 this year). Many now have begun the countdown to Christmas. So what are they doing? They are all 'waiting' for Christmas!

The Catholic church is so beautiful and wise. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church did not just give us a day to celebrate Christ's birth into history instead has given us 4 weeks to prepare the great day i.e. Christmas.

The 4 weeks of Advent focuses on waiting for the Second Coming of the Lord in glory while remembering His first coming in history. In this way Advent is a preparation for Christmas. But the primary emphasis is on looking forward to the Lord's final coming at the end of time. This focus is geared to awaken the believer to a recognition of the Lord's daily advents into life now in what are often referred to as grace-filled moments.

At this time in my life, I too am waiting for God's answer and His divine intervention in the happenings of my life. "Lord, Your will be done. ...Amen".

Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop (Nov 11)

Today the church commemorates the Memoria of St. Martin of Tours.

When Martin was forced by popular acclamation to become the Bishop, in spite of his reluctance, this is what he prayed; "Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse to do your work; may Your will be done."
Many times we too have prayed that God's will be done in our lives, have we actually meant what we have been praying? Have we allowed God to have His way in us?

Allowing God's will to be done in his life, Martin has set an example as the Good Shepherd. We pray that we too will allow God's will be done in our lives and by doing this we may imitate Christ the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for others and give Him all glory and praises.

An unhappy St. Martin is made Bishop of Tours, as depicted in a 13th-
century window in Tours Cathedral.

Introduction to Vespers (Psalter: Week 3, Sunday Evening Prayer II)

Psalm 110 (111) which we pray this evening, can be said as a 'good finale' for the celebration of Sunday. As we meditate it towards the end of the 'Day of the Lord', it helps us to contemplate the Paschal Mysteries of Jesus that we have celebrated in the Eucharist earlier today:- "Great are the works of the Lord, to be pondered by all who love Him". In fact, the 'Day of the Lord reminds us that our Lord does wonders! Christ's resurrection, which we have contemplated at Mass today, is only the beginning of universal resurrection which all of us desire so much. For the Eucharistic celebration is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

By keeping His covenant ever in mind, God "gives food to those who fear him." The Eucharist which we celebrated today in union with the whole church throughout the world has made God's covenant present with mankind.

This psalm is also a reminder of how our God has done marvels for us. Therefore as we pray, we remember that "majestic and glorious are the works of the Lord, which is to be pondered by all who love him." Let us give thanks to the Lord with all our hearts, for "the Lord is compassion and love."

The quotations above are all from Psalm 110 (111).

Introduction to Vespers: Week IV, Friday.

In my reflection for lauds (click here for a read), I shared how God through His love has raised us with dignity as His children. All of us have experienced God's saving act someway or another. Through the psalm this evening, we are asked to acknowledge and proclaim the loving acts of God:-

Age to age shall proclaim Your works, shall declare Your mighty deeds -Ps.144 (145).

The Lord is loving in all His deeds...let me speak the praise of the Lord - Ps.144 (145) part II.

Great and wonderful are your deeds - Canticle (Rev.15:3).

As witnesses of God's love for us, we pray...

"If i am your child, oh my God, it is because You did give me such a Mother" - Memoria of St. Monica.

Feast Day - August 27.

St. Augustine said this of his mother, St. Monica; "Never can i describe what her love was for me! By her glance as well as her words, she raised our hearts to God. If I am your child, oh my God, it is because You did give me such a mother".

It never actually hit me when when my friends says fond things about my mother after having met her, until i read what Augustine had to say of his mom.
This made me to reflect that my mother was one of the source of my inspiration to be a priest. I believe her simple ways and her prayer life has given me the courage, the love and the joy of wanting to serve Christ. Her words like "Praying for you" and "I love you" after each time I call gives me the motivation to persevere.

I'm sure we all have someone praying for us or someone who has been an inspiration in our life, that now we want to be Christ-like (be it our mother, father, a priest, saints, politician, humanitarian and charity workers, the many unsung heroes or even a friend, etc.). They might still be alive or even dead. So today in a special way we remember them and thank the Lord for them and its our turn now to pray for them.

All those who have been influential in our life have lead us to know God the father who loves us very much, with childlike trust we pray...

Perseverance - Memoria of St. Monica (August 27)

The church commemorates the memoria of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine on 27 August. Saint Monica succeeded in converting her husband through gentleness and she shed so much tears and went all out, to lead her son, Augustine to the truth. She loved him and prayed unceasingly for the conversion of her son. Her prayers were not answered immediately but it finally bear fruit because of her perseverance.

Through her example, we are taught to persevere and go all out in our ministry of service. We might be praying for someone or something and sometimes it never seems to be heard or answered or the answers are not what we had expected. Through the life story of St. Monica and St. Augustine, we are reminded that God actually answers at times He feels right for us and what is best for us.

We pray that we may be given the strength to persevere and let God's will be done in our life.

Memoria of St. Bernard, Abbot & Doctor of the Church (Feastday August 20)

Introduction to Vespers. 
The Psalm 138 (139) which we pray this evening, gives us the confidence that God knows us through and through. Before ever a word is on our tongue, God knows it.

Many times we have taken God and our prayers for granted that our prayer becomes careless. We are very fortunate to have ample of prayer times..but.. how have we used it?

St. Bernard says; “A person who prays carelessly, and yet expects his prayers to be heard, is like a man who pours bad grains into a mill, but expects to receive good flour in return”.

Let us pray that we may be faithful and truthful in our prayer, for prayer is a form of expressing our relationship with God.

As a community journeying in prayer, we pray…

Memoria of St. Dominic, Priest (August 08)

We celebrate the Memorial of St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), which is dedicated to the improvement of morals, the extirpation of heresy, and the strengthening of the faith.

St. Dominic once taught; “A man who governs his passions is master of the world”. Feelings or passions are emotions or movements of the sensitive appetite (internal & external senses) that incline us to act or not to act in regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1763). The sensitive appetite leads us to desire pleasant things we do not have, e.g. the desire to eat when we are hungry, or to warm ourselves when we are cold. These desires are good in themselves, but often they exceed the limits of reason and drive us to greed, avarice and concupiscence. The effects of greed can be obesity, avarice arising from the passion of riches and power. And we can take an old incident in the United States i.e. the Clinton & Lewinsky’s scandal as an example for concupiscence. Clinton tried to take over the world but his passions took over him. I’m sure in our local political scene, this example can be relevant too (You know who I am referring to right? – we shall wait for the decisions of the courts).

So we pray that we may discern what is good and bad for us and pray for God’s strength to govern our passions. For Jesus too became human like each one of us.

“A man who governs his passions is master of the world”.

Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul, Apostles.

June 29.

"No. Not me! God doesn't choose people like me. He doesn't want people like me!
Very often we hear people especially young people say this when we ask them about choosing priestly or religious life. I myself used to say this until I discovered that God actually chooses people who do not expect to be chosen; people who feel that they are losers, unqualified and not worthy, or maybe even over-qualified!

We can see those elements above in the two great men and Apostles of the church; Saints Peter and Paul, the two pillars, on which the church was founded. Peter a fisherman and if we look closely, he is a man with poor self-esteem. Paul is a persecutor, who thinks that he is 'high & mighty' for what he is doing.

But, when they allow God to use them, we see how they have been used mightily for the building of God's Kingdom. We see changes and growth. I think it really amazes each one of us, when we look back and see where we were before and how God has actually called people like us.

We pray that like Sts. Peter and Paul, we may allow God to use us, for God has a purpose for each one of us.

Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop & Martyr.

June 28.

Today we celebrate the Memoria of St. Irenaeus. Just like his name in Greek which means 'peacemaker', he helped solve many disputes in the church. One which is worth to be mention is, his famous appeal to Pope Victor I, not to excommunicate the Asiatic Bishops for refusing to conform to the Roman practice concerning the Easter date.

Today, we find very few people or associations who are peacemakers. This is because it is not an easy task, and many have the attitude of 'its not my problem', 'it doesn't concern me'. Locally we say it the tidak apa attitude.

We pray that we may be bold enough to be peacemakers. We pray also for those countries and associations who are peacemakers.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. (Mt.5:9)

Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist (The Lord called me before I was born).

The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb He named me (Is.49:1).

How encouraging it must have been to know that you are were called before you were even born, or to hear from your mother that you leapt for joy in her womb when your mission was announced!

Indeed, John's birth is very unique. Like John each one of us has been called and given a part to play. To each one of us, God says the same words He addressed to John and to all great saints: "You are My servant...in whom I will be glorified" (Is.49:3).

John understood this truth. He came to it by spending much time in prayer in the dessert, through which he began to take on the heart of God. We pray that we may understand and accept God's will for us. "Thy will be done".

As a people called by God for a specific purpose, we pray...

Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist.

It is interesting to note that there are only 3 birthdays celebrated in the liturgy. The birth of Jesus, His mother Mary and John the Baptist whose birthday we celebrate today.

The name 'John' means 'Yahweh's gracious gift'. The child's name speaks of his origin and vocation: he comes as a gift from God, and his life will be a gift to God's people.

So how about us? Come, let us be a gracious gift too. We have said 'yes', but this is not enough. John died to himself and exalted Jesus. Let us emulate John. It is not going to be easy but let his words be our prayer; "He must increase and I must decrease" (Jn.3:30).

As a people wanting to be Yahweh's precious gift, we pray...

Introduction to Vespers: Saturday, Week 3 (Sunday - Evening Prayer I) based on 1st reading of the Sat, 10th Ord Time - Year II.

Reflection especially for priests, seminarians and those aspiring to be priest.

"Make me a servant" I remember a few years ago, 2 final year seminarians had a tough time choosing a theme for their Diaconate ordination and the greater challenge was when trying to live it out. We used to disturb them by talking and singing the theme. I think this theme (Make me a servant) also challenges each one of us. I admit that it is not easy being a servant.

We are here (in the seminary) aspiring to become Christ's servant and for some through the grace of ordination have already become a servant. (Just for the record and to highlight):- A Priest is a servant! A leader who is called to be a faithful servant of God's people. I remember during my 1st annual retreat as a seminarian, we had a Jesuit priest reminding us seminarians that when we become priests we are to 'steward' and not to 'boss or rule over the people'.

Being a servant we are called to be responsible too and that is another word that comes together with steward; responsible. And this responsibility does not only begin when we are priest but before that. In the 1st reading today (Saturday: 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II), the last sentence tells us that Elisha rose, and followed Elijah and became his servant. Before doing that, Elisha cooked the oxen and gave to his men. He knew he was responsible for his men.

So we pray that we may come to realize our responsibilities and like Elisha serve one another, especially those who comes after us. A task which is not easy but possible. We pray for Christ's strength, for he took the form of a servant and served each one of us (Phil.2:6-11). He is the greatest servant of all.
Yes Lord, make us a servant like you.

Introduction to Vespers for the Memorial of St. Pius V - Pope. (Feastday April 30)

St. Pius V had complete trust in the Lord. Knowing that the Lord was at his side he made very challenging decisions, such as; he challenged his Cardinals to curb their customary luxurious living, Bishops were required to found diocesan seminaries and to reside in their Sees. The secular clergy, the Religious Orders and even the laity came to feel the Pope's influence in carrying out the decisions of the great Council of Trent, which had brought its session to a close in 1563. Church music and liturgical worship were also reformed.

Going through the psalter of Tuesday week 1 for vespers as a reflection, I realized that the first Psalm-Ps.19(20) is a prayer for a king before he goes for battle and the second Psalm-Ps.20(21) is a thanksgiving for a king's victory. Both these Psalms tells us about the complete trust of a king in God who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This reminded me that during his reign as Pope, the Turks were attacking Cyprus; Pope Pius V was confident that the allied forces of Venice, Genoa, Spain and the Holy See will win in this battle. He was sure that God will lead them to victory. The Allied forces gained their victory while a great procession of the Rosary Confraternity was passing through the streets of Rome, imploring divine assistance. Pope Pius organized it and in memory of this victory, he instituted the feast of the Holy Rosary and entered this invocation 'Help of Christians' in the Litany of Loreto.

We pray that like Pope Pius V, we too can put our trust in God and confidently be assured that He is with us in all situations.