Bishop Barron's 4 Guiding Principles for Voting

 https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/barron/four-principles-for-catholics-during-election-season/

If you haven't had a chance to read Bishop Robert Barron's article above entitled "Four Principles for Catholics During Election Season", I'd strongly recommend that you take a moment to read and reflect on it. 

It strongly refutes a seriously flawed notion that is wildly popular amongst my fellow Chinese Catholics: all pious and true Catholics must vote for the Conservatives (Tories in Canada and Republicans in the U.S.) because they are pro-life. 

Just another bishop, you say? Well, you write him off at your own risk. 

Bishop Robert Barron, for those who are unaware, is the founder of Word on Fire. His "Catholicism" and "Pivotal Players of the Church" DVD series were remarkably successful and well-received. Not only is he a true blue Thomistic theologian (influenced by St. Thomas Aquinas and Scholasticism) who is well-respected all over the world, he is also an excellent and very popular speaker and media evangelist who knows how to communicate in-depth Catholic teachings to grassroot Catholics in the pews. He also actively reaches out to the non-Catholics and today's young unbelievers. You can't go wrong spiritually if you find yourself attracted to his works.

What did Pope Francis really say in "Francesco"?

New insights continue to emerge on Pope Francis' comments in the "Francesco" interview, including the clarification that “convivencia civil” in Spanish was mistranslated as "civil union". 

Even with this language clarification, there's still a need to further clarify what the Pope's idea of "convivencia civil" or "law of civil coexistence" was when he said he supported it. If his idea of "convivencia civil" included sexual relations, then he was essentially supporting SS civil union because there's really no difference between the two. However, a new CNA article offers strong evidences that the Pope's idea of "convivencia civil" doesn't include sexual relations or the homosexual acts. According to the CNA article, these are the actual words coming out of the Pope's mouth in the 2019 interview (an interview used and edited heavily by "Francesco" per CNA; highlight mine):

There, what I said is that they ‘have a right to a family.’ And that doesn’t mean to approve of homosexual acts, not at all.

Is "convivencia civil" without sexual relations a reality? Is it even practicable? Apparently it is according to the CNA article. It quoted Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, a theologian who's close to the Pope, to explain the concept of "convivencia civil" in Argentina and why it needed legal protection (highlight mine):

The Archbishop posted on Facebook that before he became the pope, then Cardinal-Bergoglio “always recognized that, without calling it ‘marriage,’ in fact there are very close unions between people of the same sex, which do not in themselves imply sexual relations, but a very intense and stable alliance. They know each other thoroughly, they share the same roof for many years, they take care of each other, they sacrifice for each other. Then it may happen that they prefer that in an extreme case or illness they do not consult their relatives, but that person who knows their intentions in depth. And for the same reason they prefer that it be that person who inherits all their assets, etc. This can be contemplated in the law and is called ‘civil union’ [unión civil] or ‘law of civil coexistence’ [ley de convivencia civil], not marriage.

The info above from CNA is important for understanding the Pope's comments in "Francesco". It gives us reason to believe that, at least in as far as his comments in the Francesco interview are concerned, his public appeal for legal protection for "convivencia civil" is not an attempt to redefine the meaning of marriage. Conceivably, his suggestion doesn't even contradict the 2003 CDC's opposition to "legal protection of homosexual unions" in which sexual relations are understood to be inherent.

Did Pope Francis' Film Interview Change the Church's Teaching on Marriage?

CNA article

To follow up on my previous post, I'd like to refer my fellow-bloggers to the CNA article above. It said exactly what I was trying to say, only better - much better - and more comprehensive in its coverage of the issue; breaking it down piece by piece and offering the right answer for each. Great article. 

I heard the Pope's film interview had triggered heated arguments among Catholics. The CNA article proves that if you understand the issue properly and think it through based on proper theological understanding, there should be no argument. The whole issue is crystal clear: 

The Pope has always supported and maintained the Church's infallible teaching on marriage; his endorsement of legal protection of SS civil unions - if that's indeed what he said in the interview - is not infallible teaching; as such the Catholic faithful's obedience of faith is not mandatory or even expected. 

A Pope's casual opinion in a film interview cannot change the Church's long-standing and infallible teaching on marriage, nor was it his intention to change it. 

His position or alleged position of endorsing legal protection for SS civil unions differs from his immediate predecessors, JPII and BXVI, who were also HIS POPES, to whom he owes allegiance and religious obedience. His suggestion or alleged suggestion could be a bad application of the Church's teaching on marriage, but the Church's position against homosexuality and SSM still stands.

Pope Francis endorses same-sex civil unions

https://www.ncregister.com/news/pope-francis-calls-for-civil-union-law-for-same-sex-couples-in-shift-from-vatican-stance

As Catholics, we should be startled by this morning’s news headline: Pope Francis endorses same-sex civil unions. But don’t jump to the conclusion just because of this headline that the Pope has done a complete 180 on a 2000-year old Church doctrine about marriage. The doctrine still stands and will continue to stand. It’s the Church’s infallible teaching; it cannot be changed by an interview in a film, even if the person expressing the view was the successor of Peter. 

We should be startled by the Pope’s view because, as pointed out in the NCR report, it’s a departure from the position of his predecessors, including St. JPII and Benedict XVI. It goes against the Church’s official direction as given by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under St. Pope JPII in 2003. The CDF opposed “legal recognition of homosexual unions” and saw homosexuality as a “deviant behavior”.  To the CDF, such laws would endanger “common good” and fail to “promote and protect marriage”.

The Church Militant is constantly at war with “the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (Ephesus 6:12). Defending the Church’s infallible doctrine of marriage is the main battlefront that will determine whether the Church wins or loses this war. “The history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family” (Letter to Families, 23). Yes, marriage and family is that important. 

Because it’s so important, it’s also the battlefield where the forces of darkness amass their fighters and armory; it’s where they launch most of their attacks. As a result, the Church will suffer many setbacks on the issue of marriage and family. It’s not unexpected.

Endorsing same-sex civil unions under the false pretense of inclusiveness is a setback. As the above-mentioned CDC position suggested, this is simply against common good and will put the institution of marriage further at risk. But has the Church “lost the battle”? No. If the Church changed its infallible teaching on marriage – I can assure you this will never happen – then, and only then, would the whole battle be lost. What will constitute a “change” in the Church’s infallible teaching on marriage? Just to give you some idea, one example is when the Church allows same-sex couples to receive the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony; or when people practicing homosexuality are allowed to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Let's continue to fight in the Church Militant using our most fervent prayers....

From Shadows and Images into the Truth

Ever a gifted orator, St. Augustine was able to deliver a whole lecture on biblical theology in a few words: “The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is manifested in the New”.

Just got off a video-conferencing meeting with a family Bible sharing group. Although everyone felt a little unnatural, the virtual gathering was nonetheless a welcomed opportunity to meet and share at an unprecedented time of national lockdown. If there was one common thread connecting all the families in isolation, it was a feeling of anxiety and fear. One family expressed concern that sooner or later the nursing home where their mother resided just might experience an outbreak. Another wondered if daily life would ever be the same when the crisis finally ended, whenever that might be. All of us were hoping our children would not lose their jobs – it’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me “(John 14:1). These comforting words from this Sunday’s gospel cannot have come at a more opportune time! “Do not let your hearts be troubled”, “Do not be afraid”, “Peace be with you” – tender words such as these are constantly on Jesus’ lips (Mt. 14:27, Jn 14:1, 20:19). They sound great, but why should we believe him? In his own words, this is why: “If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works...” (John 10:37-38). In other words, our faith in Jesus should rest in the works he performs. The works he performs are what the Father has foretold and commanded from time immemorial. He has brought them all to completion. So, believe!

The “Father’s works” that Jesus has brought to completion include everything foretold about him in the Old Testament – his divinity; his relationship with the Father; his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension. No human mind can claim to comprehend how God could have known, foretold, and brought to fulfilment everything about Himself through activities and events freely chosen and acted out by erratic humans over time in the volatility of world history. It’s a powerful mystery unfolding before our very eyes in the Old Testament and New Testament books, demanding our deepest reverence and unreserved submission of faith. Ever a gifted orator, St. Augustine was able to capture this awe-inspiring concept about the Scriptures in just a few words: “The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is manifested in the New”. The Catechism simply calls it “typology” (CCC 128-130). Let’s use this Sunday’s readings to illustrate this important concept, which is absolutely critical for any serious Bible reader to master. We’ll focus on reading 2 – 1 Peter 2:4-9.

“Stone” is one of the most important images used in the OT scriptures to prefigure the Messiah. The book of Daniel, for example, uses “a stone which was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it” to prefigure the coming of the Messiah, whose Kingdom will replace all earthly kingdoms (Daniel 2:34). Here in the 2nd reading, Peter identifies Jesus with this OT image and sees him as the “cornerstone” upon which God’s house will be built (1 Pt 2:6, Ps 118:22, Is 28:16). He is also “the stone that the builders rejected” as Israel, the people chosen by God to build His house, was first unfaithful to God and later also rejected Jesus, His Son.

As THE foundation stone, Jesus appoints Peter as his representative on earth: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16:18). Peter, or “Petros” in Greek or “kepha” in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, is a masculine noun for a sizeable “rock” or “stone” (cf. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, p. 37). What Peter, the rock or stone, is telling us is that we are also living stones by virtue of our baptismal grace. Therefore, “let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pt 2:5). In other words, all Christians are mandated to be living stones like Peter and, by extension, Jesus. Together as living stones and God’s holy people, we are the Church, the house of God, the new Israel (LG 9). Affirming the same teaching, St. Paul asks, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16). As the Church, we are holy because the Holy Spirit dwells in us.

By now our readers should be able to see the profound insight of St. Augustine’s dictum. The New Testament teaching that Christ is the Living Stone and we his Church, is already hidden in the Old Testament, even if it is not in a readily recognizable form (Dan 2, Ps 118, Is 28, etc.). The Old Testament images and prophecies that point us to Christ and his Church, while not immediately comprehensible in the context of the OT, are now made crystal clear in the truths and teachings of the New Testament (1 Pt 2, Mt 16, 1 Cor 3, etc.). St. John Cardinal Newman, sometimes known as an “invisible” Father of Vatican II due to his influence, used these last few words inscribed on his tombstone to teach us what reading the Bible from the OT to the NT is all about: “From Shadows and Images into the Truth”. His words are no less brilliant than the Augustinian dictum.

The Christmas Spirit of Humility and Lowliness

My heart is at peace in following Jesus’ descending path to lowliness, which is really the ascending path to see God face-to-face.

It’s difficult to recall precisely how Christmas first left its marks on my young cognitive faculties. The earliest experience I can think of was the blurry image of my primary school teacher dressed up as Santa, holding a bagful of beautifully wrapped presents, blurting out “Ho-Ho-Ho” as he walked on stage in front of a rowdy crowd of hundreds of wide-eyed schoolmates. If my memory serves me right, I think my immediate reaction was one of apprehension. Who on earth was this strange character dressed in some outrageous outfits? Why was my teacher, who was normally composed and dignified, acting like a fool?

That was pretty much my childhood Christmas experience in a nutshell: presents, Christmas cards, funs, parties. Other than a small group of people from a Christian denomination nearby, who would come to my parents’ shop on Christmas eve - all dressed up, candles in hands, caroling cheerfully as they processed - Christmas to me was just a special time for social activities. But over the years, as my Christian faith deepened and my secular heart enlightened by the Holy Spirit, my perception gradually underwent a complete transformation. No longer do I see Christmas as a mere occasion for celebrations and festivities; I am convinced its deeper meaning lies in its religious solemnity. Nor do I enjoy much the delusional feeling of affluence that the Christmas presents bring; I believe the real affluence of Christmas can only be found in its spirit of humility and poverty, starting from the lowliness and destitution of the manger where Jesus, the “King of kings and Lord of lords”, was born (Rev 19:16).

Here we are, barely a month after the Christmastide, on this 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Christmas spirit of humility, poverty and lowliness is still very much alive and visible in the Mass readings: Take care of the hungry, the homeless, and the naked, Isaiah exhorts in the 1st reading (cf. Is 58:7-8). In the 2nd reading, we find Paul preaching to his disciples not “with sublimity of words or of wisdom” but “in weakness and fear and much trembling” (1 Cor 2:1,3).

According to Pope Benedict XVI, the Beatitudes are the best definition of Christian discipleship. Who are Jesus’ true disciples? The lives of the true disciples of Christ must exhibit the ascetic attributes of the Beatitudes, says the Pope. “They are poor, hungry, weeping men; they are hated and persecuted” (Jesus of Nazareth I, p.73). Not surprisingly, the life of Jesus is in itself the fullest manifestation of the Beatitudes (ibid, p.74). It is a life of simplicity, poverty, sorrow, and persecution that culminates or, the world would say, “bottoms out” in his death on the Cross.

In the gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”; their “light must shine before others” (cf. Mt. 5:13-16). As Jesus will not ask from us anything that he himself doesn’t do, he himself is actually the light “set on a lampstand”, the light that “must shine before others” (cf. Mt. 5:15-16). As Jesus’ followers, we follow his example to “shine before others” when our lives manifest the same radicalism of the Beatitudes, the same poverty and lowliness that define the life of our Lord.

As I reflect on the years gone by, from childhood to old age, from primary school to senior community, from my first Christmas experience in Hong Kong to the most recent one here in Toronto; my heart is overwhelmed by a profound feeling of thankfulness: thankful because my understanding of the meaning of Christmas has really come a long way; thankful because with God’s blessing and unfathomable patience, I have managed to leave behind the culture of possession and delusional affluence to embrace the culture of service and inner freedom; thankful, most of all, because my heart is at peace in following Jesus’ descending path to lowliness (his destitution, poverty, suffering, and death), which, as my mentor Pope Benedict XVI has assured me, is really the ascending path to see God face-to-face (cf. Jesus of Nazareth I, p.95). As Christians, our conviction is that the only way to shine is the way of the Cross.

I’d like to conclude this reflection with this scriptural passage: “Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness…he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him” (Phil 2:6-9).

醫院急症室的一幕

這是我親身經歷的故事。在醫院急症室一病房，傳來女病人歇斯底理的叫喊和狂駡。她操粵語；她的病房門口站著兩個保安人员。她像有精神病，重覆和不停地破口大骂説：「唔好搅我呀！搅，搅，搅！我毛管都動啦!重搅！重搅！係咪我死咗你先開心呀！」

不知道她實質上遭遇過甚麼事。被非禮？被強姦？被丈夫或男友拋棄？只覺她非常憤怒和無助，好像一個不幸受了很大和很多打擊的女人。

聽著，聽著，心裡不期然為她感到難過和凄酸。感觉是：這世界很多時對女性不公平，她們常是男人的受害者，社會的犧性品。各種社會環境和家庭倫理關係，對女性也較不利。

記得孩童時，在我成長的地方，有一個好赌的女士。她賭到沒錢便出賣肉身，做「生意」時連架部也沒有，與「顧客」就在樓梯底了事。做完「生意」又再賭，反正自己身體就是用不完的本錢。想起来，她好賭固然不好，但她也是這社會制度下，男人的受害者。

「你們應該效法我, 如我效法了基督一樣」(格前 11:1)

「你們成了效法我們和效法主的人, 甚至成了馬其頓和阿哈雅衆信者的模範」(得前 1:6-7)。那樣較容易做呢？承認自己是罪人, 或是為他人豎立好榜樣? 我認為後者比前者難做百倍。

要建造一座會倒塌的橋樑是很容易的, 因為這座橋的倒塌是預料中事, 它的拆毀亦是無可避免。但若果這座橋樑是用來安全地承擔繁忙的交通, 工程計算便必需準確, 建造也要嚴謹；最後要通過嚴格測試和批准, 橋樑才能開放給公眾使用。為他人建立好榜樣就像建造一座好的橋樑。要取得他人的信任或甚至被他人效法, 我們務必做到「在任何事上, 避免這職務受詆毀」, 以免我們的過失, 不管如何微細, 成為仰望我們的人跌倒的因由 (格後6:3)。保祿對得撒洛尼人的教會非常滿意, 因為他們的努力使他們堪當鄰近信衆團體的「模範」。對於自己及教會領導人，保祿的要求同樣很高, 所以他亦邀請得撒洛尼人成為「效法我們和效法主的人」(得前 1:6)。

在為《生命恩泉》當義工的這些日子裡, 上主賜給我的恩寵, 實在不能一一細數。但若果我必需挑選其中最重要的一個, 我認為是能有機會與一群真正追隨基督的人緊密地一起工作, 他們願意徹底地活出天主教信仰的決心是堅定不移的。對他們來說, 聖保祿對生活的信念 - 「生活原是基督, 死亡乃是利益」- 並不只是座右銘這麽簡單, 而是他們生活的唯一方式 (斐 1:21)。

作為一個認真追隨基督的信徒, 如果我的價值觀和生活方式, 令我在這個不斷世俗化、是非不分、逐漸遠離天主的世界裡, 感到越來越不屬於和孤立的話,在《生命恩泉》這團體裏, 我卻找到支持及友情, 使我悠然自得，如在家中。這團體由一群虔誠 的天主教教友組成, 他們聚集起來不是為了自己, 卻是為了幫助他人; 這團體緊密地聯繫在一起, 不是因為他們要退縮, 卻是因為他們要向外伸展。

這個團體也不懼怕宣認他們自己就是「基督的馨香」(格後 2:15)。正如聖保祿一樣, 他們不退避和不隱藏自己; 他們站出來公開宣揚他們的志向: 「你們應效法我, 如我效法了基督一樣」(格前 11:1)。他們真心跟隨耶穌基督的教導, 立志成為地鹽世光, 並邀請大家到他們的基地「來看看罷」(若 1:39)。當他們奉行褔傳這特別的召叫時, 他們渴望獻出自己的身體 ‐ 他們的整個生命 - 「當作生活、聖潔和悅樂天主的祭品」(羅 12:1)。他們的願望是讓聖神的大能將自己轉化：變作帶來生命和令人愉悅的芬芳, 化為引發希望和甜美怡人的清香, 成了宣講仁愛和使人安慰的氣息。這感覺是毋可置疑的; 這屬靈的魅力令人難以抗拒。在他們內, 我感受到聖善, 而聖善是有吸引力的, 使人心儀。

(這是甲年常年期卅主日彌撒經文的反思。鳴謝生命恩泉翻譯組將英語原文翻譯成中文。)

If I Must Give One and Only One Reason Why I Support Fountain of Love and Life

“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord…so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” (1 Thes 1:6-7).

Which is easier? Admitting that we are sinners or setting good examples for others to follow? I would submit to you that the latter is a hundred times more difficult to do.

If a bridge is built to fall, it can be constructed easily since its collapse is expected and its demolition all but inevitable. But if it’s meant to be used to carry heavy traffic safely, then it must be engineered properly, built carefully, and tested rigorously before it can be licensed for public use. Setting good examples for others is like building a good bridge. To be worthy of people’s trust and even imitation, we must make sure “that no fault may be found with our ministry”, lest our flaws, however minuscule, become the reason for those looking up to us to stumble (2 Cor 6:3). Paul is pleased with the Thessalonian church because their good efforts have made them worthy of being “a model” for the believers of the neighboring communities. Expecting no less from himself and the church leaders, he also invites the Thessalonians to become “imitators of us and of the Lord” (1 Thes 1:6).

In all these years of volunteering for the Fountain of Love and Life (FLL), the blessings that the good Lord has granted me are more than I can count. But if I must pick the most important one, I would say it’s the opportunity to work and associate closely with a good number of true followers of Christ whose determination to live out the Catholic faith in a radical way is unshakable. For them, St. Paul’s conviction about life - “life is Christ, and death is gain” - is more than just a motto; it’s their only way to live (Phil 1:21).

If my Christian values and my way of life as a serious follower of Christ are causing me to feel increasingly marginalized and isolated in a world that is getting more and more secularized, relativized (no right or wrong), and is in danger of drifting further and further away from God, here in the community of FLL I find support and fellowship that make me feel perfectly at home. It’s a community of good Catholics who come together not for their own sake but for the sake of helping others; a community that bonds as one not because they feel the need to recoil, but because they want to reach out.

It’s also a community that is not afraid to profess to be “the aroma of Christ” (2 Cor 2:15). Like St. Paul, they do not retreat and hide; they stand up and make public their ambition: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). True to Jesus’ teaching, they aspire to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world; they invite people to their home base to “come and see” (Jn 1:39). By exercising their special calling to evangelize, their desire is to offer up their bodies – their whole lives! – “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom 12:1). Their wish is to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into a pleasing fragrance that brings life, a sweet smell that elicits hope, a comforting breath that speaks the language of love. The sensation is unmistakable; the charisma irresistible. In them I sense holiness, and holiness attracts.

Canada 150

Born to a Chinese family in the British colony of Hong Kong, I spent my teenage years in an oriental and patriarchal culture that was conditioned, on the one hand, by traditional Confucius and Buddhist values, and shaped, on the other, by the western and Christian way of living due to the influence of the British. At 19, I left the colony to receive university education in Canada. Without knowing it at the time, my departure from my place of birth, meant to be a 4-year hiatus for higher education and better future, turned out to be a permanent exodus that determined not only where I would reside and raise my family for the rest of my life, but also what country my children – and my children’s children – would be proud to call home: Canada.

On this 150th anniversary of my country – the country that extended its welcoming arms and embraced me lovingly 35 years ago when my place of birth rejected me in so many ways, my heart is filled with jubilation and thankfulness: jubilation because this wonderful country of 35 million people is a land uniquely adorned with incredible wonders of nature, enormous resources, polite and pleasant people whose diverse origins are the reason for mutual respect, not conflict, and a constitutional architecture that protects diversity, promotes freedom, and ensures justice and equality under the law; thankfulness because my Canadian citizenship - the immense good and human dignity that it garners - is in the final account not the result of my personal pursuit or anybody's kind assistance but God’s special grace.

Some people see a person’s ethnic and cultural characteristics as the overriding factors that define his national identity, i.e. his country. The absurdity of this view, which we shall call “nationalism of ethnic and cultural identity”, is that, when taken strictly it means Canada is not a real country! With the exception of the aboriginal peoples, the ethnic and cultural origins of the 35 million people in this country are not Canadian, which according to this view means Canada is not their country! To the people who see me in the light of this position, my response is this: as an ethnic Chinese, I pledge my personal allegiance to my Chinese heritage, including my ancestors and 5,000 years of Chinese culture; the former is in my DNA and the latter my heart and sentiments. But as a human being who treasures freedom, dignity, and constitutional rights, as a family person who seeks to marry and raise children, and as a national subject who entrusts his livelihood, health, education, and personal well-being to the governance of a state, I do not hesitate to identify myself wholeheartedly and unreservedly as a Canadian.

The newspaper this morning is like a Charles Dickens novel – a tale of two cities or two places. As celebrations of 150 years get underway here across Canada with fanfare and jubilation, Hong Kong, which is 12 hours ahead in time zone on the other side of the globe, has just finished a solemn remembrance of 20 years of British handover of the colony to China. At this watershed moment of the two places, my heartbeat rises and falls with every jubilation of my country and anxiety of my birthplace….

痛苦是「耶穌的吻」

為天主的國度而受苦是極崇高的事，讓人得到像領受了使命般的力量，而願意披荊斬棘，努力堅持下去….

前香港特區行政長官曾蔭權在保釋出獄後的早上，立刻前往教堂參與彌撒，隨行的是保護他的便衣警察。

讓我們先弄清楚：在這裡我們的工作，是為復活節第四主日彌撒讀經做一點反思，我們並非要評論曾蔭權受到的審判是否公平，或他在執政期間是否稱職，也沒有支持或批判他的意思。我們提起香港前領導人這段消息，是因為在這事情上，我們看到一個非常重要的神學議題：在經歷了長期痛苦的煎熬之後；在多次的禱告都好像石沉大海，得不到天主的回應之後；在政治和法律上的爭持和訴訟皆全數敗北，並且被公開羞辱，最後從高位墮下之後，為什麼曾蔭權仍然忠信於天主呢？ 天主似乎已經多次離棄了他，為什麼他仍不離不棄地堅守自己的信仰呢？其實這不僅是曾蔭權的問題，而是每一個受苦的信徒的問題 。然而，試問誰人不受苦痛煎熬呢？

雖然這個主日的彌撒讀經的目的，不是要用痛苦作主題來做詳盡的神學講論，但在讀經一中以強而有力的福音宣講來說服了「大約三千人」悔改和受洗的聖伯多祿（宗徒大事錄2:41），在讀經二用同樣深遠的訓誨，使我們明白為什麼這麼多像曾蔭權的基督徒，在苦海沉淪幾乎沒頂時，仍然能繼續信靠天主。聖伯多祿說，因行善而受苦，是中悅天主的事（參閱伯前2:20）；然後他總結說：「你們原是為此而蒙受召叫的，因為基督也為你們忍受了痛苦」 (伯多祿前書2:21）。換句話說，對基督徒來說，勇於接受為義而受苦涉及一種個人的信念 -- 一個為了仿傚基督為我們所做的一切而奉行的崇高的召叫。為天主的國度而受苦是極崇高的事，讓人得到像領受了使命般的力量，而願意披荊斬棘，努力堅持下去；那堅信不移的意志，幾近於殉道。

有趣的是，一生生活在極度貧困中，受盡痛苦的煎熬的德蘭修女，同樣地將痛苦視為「耶穌的吻」; 對她來說，痛苦是「天主的恩賜」（M. Gaitley，33 Days to Morning Glory，第69頁）。

如果這領悟聽起來令人不安 - 因為說到底，沒有人會喜歡受苦 - 這個主日的福音這樣安慰我們：耶穌是我們的牧者，我們是祂牧養的羊; 有祂在我們身邊，我們「不怕兇險」（參閱聖詠集23：4）。

(這文章英文原版同日在此網誌刊登。鳴謝《生命恩泉》翻譯組幫助中文翻譯。)

Suffering Is “The Kiss of Jesus”

There is a loftiness to suffering for the kingdom of God that is somehow empowering and sustaining…

The morning after he was temporarily released from prison on bail, the former Hong Kong Chief Executive, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, headed straight to church to attend a morning Mass - together with an entourage of plain-clothes police bodyguards.

Let’s be clear: This is not the place to debate whether Tsang has been given a fair trial or whether he governed well while in power; nor are we interested in supporting or criticizing him as we reflect on the Mass readings of the 4th Sunday of Easter. Rather, the news about the former leader of Hong Kong is brought up because we see in it a very significant theological issue: After such a long period of suffering, after so many prayers have seemingly gone unanswered, and after so many lost political and legal battles, public humiliations and his eventual fall from grace, why is Tsang still faithful to God? Why doesn’t he abandon his faith when God appears to have abandoned him so many times already? To think about it, the question is a universal one - applicable not only to Tsang but also to all believers who suffer. And let’s face it, who doesn’t?

While it isn’t the intention of this Sunday’s Mass readings to give us a complete theological treatise on the problem of suffering, St. Peter, whose powerful proclamation of the gospel in the first reading has convinced “about three thousand persons” to repent and receive baptism (Acts 2:41), gives us an insightful exhortation in the second reading that enables us to understand why so many Christians like Tsang continue to trust God even when they can barely keep their heads above water. According to St. Peter, suffering for doing what is good is a grace before God (cf. 1 Pt 2:20). “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,” he concludes (1 Pt. 2:21). Suffering for righteousness, in other words, is courageously embraced by Christians as a personal conviction – a noble calling to follow what Christ has done for all of us. There is a loftiness to suffering for the kingdom of God that is somehow empowering and sustaining, giving a faithful Christian the determination to accept any adversity – a resolve that borders on martyrdom.

Interestingly, Mother Teresa, who lived a life of extreme poverty and for whom suffering appeared to know no bounds, also viewed suffering as “the kiss of Jesus”; to her it was “a gift from God” (M. Gaitley, 33 Days to Morning Glory, p.69).

If such a realization sounds less than comforting – after all, nobody likes suffering – the gospel reading of this Sunday gives us the assurance that Jesus is our shepherd and we are his sheep; we shall fear no harm when he is at our side (cf. Ps. 23:4).

活在前所未見的世代中

(這文章英文原版同日在此網誌刊登。鳴謝《生命恩泉》翻譯組幫助中文翻譯。)

這些恐怖的影像在每個人的腦海裡仍然記憶猶新，揮之不去： 在聖枝主日， 埃及坦塔和亞歷山大兩個城市裡的兩間埃及科普特東正教會教堂，發生兩次爆炸事件, 造成四十四名無辜的人喪生，一百人受傷。而只有四個月前 – 2016年12月11日 – 在開羅一間科普特東正教會教堂亦發生類似的自殺式炸彈事件， 造成二十九人死亡，四十五人受傷。

人習慣了邪惡，這些事情或者已經不再是新聞: 這個月 <國家郵報> 的一篇專題報導，揭露了安大略省一所大學行政階層的偏見， 把尊重生命團體的活動標籤為 「敵對性的」，「挑釁性的」和 「反對選擇權的」。

當今之世，道德相對主義失控般泛濫於學校，媒體，企業和各級政府中。 他們認為每個人都有權跟隨自己所認定的真理。那些堅持自己所相信的是絕對真理，而認為全人類都應當跟隨的，被認定是 「心胸狹窄, 缺乏包容」。天主教會和許多宗教是當中表表者。

相比早期基督徒所面對無日無之的毀謗，鎮壓和迫害,今天基督徒的情況可說比他們好不了多少。 這樣說並沒有誇大其詞。 早期教會用什麼信息來幫助信徒克服逆境呢？有許多信息。而且由於今天教會所面對的困難和早期的教會所面對的有很多相似之處, 當年的信息到了今天仍然適用。以下的主日讀經是其中特別有用的信息之一：

「因此，你們要歡欣，雖然現在你們暫時還該在各種磨練中受苦， 但這是為使你們的信德， 鍛鍊得比經過火煉而仍易消失的黃金更有價值， 使你們在耶穌基督顯現時，得到稱讚，光榮和尊敬。」（ 伯多祿前書1：6-7）

我們正活在前所未有的世代中，唯願這不是世界的終結。 伊拉克和敘利亞經歷了多年的緊張狀態和危機後， 亂狀正以恐佈主義的形式和暴徒式的侵略擴散至歐洲和中亞地區， 敘利亞阿薩德用化學武器， 引起西方國家和包括敘利亞阿薩德和伊朗的俄羅斯陣營的正面衝突, 互發最後通牒，擺出各不相讓，不惜一戰的姿態。而在西太平洋, 正蘊釀著同樣激烈甚至更嚴重的危機, 北朝鮮警告美國, 如果美國轟炸其核設施, 北朝鮮會用核武器襲擊南韓, 日本, 和美國大陸。

聖經多處有刻劃入微的描述，預測世界末日的可怕境況。 在現在這些衝突中，祇要一方有計算上或人為的錯誤, 以致在朝鮮半島或中東爆發核戰， 這些聖經中所提及的恐怖場面隨時會變成事實。不知是什麼原因，《 若望默示錄》中的兩個栩栩如生的描述一直存留在我腦海中：

「以後我看見，當羔羊開啟第六個印的時候 ，發生了大地震，太陽變黑，有如粗毛衣；整個月亮變得像血， 天上的星辰墜落在地上………；天也隱退，有如捲起的書卷； 一切山嶺和島嶼都移了本位。……….向山嶺和巖石說：「 倒在我們身上，遮蓋我們罷！ 好避免那坐在寶座上的面容和那羔羊的震怒， 因為他們發怒的大日子來臨了，有誰能站立得住？」（ 若望默示錄6：12-17）

「在那日期內，人求死而不得；渴望死，死卻避開他們。」（默9： 6））。

正如耶穌在福音讀經中對多默說：「那些沒有看見而相信的， 才是有福的!」（若望福音20:29）。在某種程度上，我們也能看見耶穌，不過不是以多默的方式， 而是以天主聖言和聖體聖事來與耶穌相遇。 我們確實生活在前所未有的世代中。 有可能這真是末日的先兆，雖然我們希望和祈求，最後獲勝的是信靠與和平。不過，祇要耶穌在伯多祿的船上與我們在一 起，陪伴我們抵擋風暴，我們還要害怕什麼(參見瑪竇福音8：23-27）？ 「因此，縱使地動山崩，墮入海心，我們也絕不會疑懼橫生； 海濤儘管洶湧翻騰，山嶽儘管因浪震動：與我們同在的， 是萬軍的天主，雅各伯的天主是我們的保護。」（聖詠集46：3- 4）。就讓我們忍耐和接受，其實各種試探都是為了考驗我們，「為使你們的信德，得以精煉」(伯多祿前書1：7）。

Living In Unprecedented Times

The horrific images are still fresh in everyone’s mind: on this Palm Sunday, two Coptic church bombings took place in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, killing 44 innocent people and injuring more than 100. Only 4 months before, on December 11, 2016, a similar suicide bombing of another Coptic church in Cairo had killed 29 people and injured 45 others.

People have become so accustomed to evils, perhaps this is no longer considered news anymore: in a special report this month, the National Post revealed the biased ideologies of the administration of a university in Ontario that labeled the activities of pro-life groups as “adversarial”, “confrontational”, and “anti-choice”.

Nowadays, moral relativism is running rampant in schools, media, businesses, and all levels of government. Everyone is entitled to uphold their own truths, so it’s claimed. Those who insist the truths in which they believe are absolute and universally applicable, as do the Catholic Church and many religions, are considered “intolerant”.

Compared to the early day Christians, for whom denigration, repression and persecution were the daily norms, it’s no exaggeration to say that today’s Christians are not faring any better. What messages did the early Church give her faithful to help them deal with their adversities at hand? Many. And most of them are still useful for us considering the similarity between the early Church’s difficult experiences and ours. But here’s one from this Sunday’s lectionary readings that is particularly useful:

“In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

We are living in unprecedented times – hopefully not the end of time. After many years of tensions and crises in Iraq and Syria, which have spilled over to the European continent and Asia Minor in many forms of terrorism and rogue invasions, the western countries and the Russian camp, which includes Assad of Syria and Iran, have come to a head over Assad’s chemical warfare, with both sides issuing ultimatums to each other and taking belligerent positions that are difficult to back down. A similar – if not more intense and dangerous – situation has also been developing in the west Pacific where North Korea is threating to “nuke” South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. mainland should the U.S. decide to bomb its nuclear facilities.

The Bible is filled with vivid predictions of the horrific hardships that the world will experience on the Last Day. Many of them bring to mind horrors that may well become a reality should a nuclear war break out due to one single miscalculated threat or human error in the Korean peninsula or in the Middle East. For whatever reason, stuck in my head are two very graphic descriptions in the Book of Revelation:

“Then I watched while he broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; the sun turned as black as dark sackcloth and the whole moon became like blood. The stars in the sky fell to the earth…the sky was divided like a torn scroll curling up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place…They cried out to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come and who can withstand it?’” (Revelation 6:12-17)

“During that time these people will seek death but will not find it, and they will long to die but death will escape them.” (Revelation 9:6)

As Jesus said to Thomas in the gospel reading: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29). In a way, we see Jesus too: not in the manner Thomas encountered him, but in the word of God and the Eucharist. These indeed are unprecedented times that we live in. They may well be the precursors to the Last Day although we hope and pray that trust and peace would somehow prevail. But what are we to fear if Jesus is there with us in Peter’s boat, accompanying us to weather the storm (cf. Matthew 8:23-27)? “Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea, though its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at its surging, the LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob” (Psalm 46:3-4). Let’s hang in there and accept our various trials as a test of “the genuineness of your faith” (1 Peter. 1:7).

Christ Is Our Light

(This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 5, 2017; Is 58:7-10, 1 Cor 2:1-5, Mt 5:13-16)


Never in my wildest dream had I envisioned myself participating in the World Youth Day. While a regular Sunday Catholic, I had not been much of a fan of the Catholic Church, which had seemed so out of step with the world in its teachings and downright authoritarian in overseeing its members. Also, as a married man for years and a father of two teens, I wasn’t exactly the youthful kind of adult who was drawn to the young people like iron fillings to a magnet. But there I was, against all odds, on the grounds of the Downsview Park at 6 a.m. on a rainy and stormy day in the summer of 2002, singing, praying, and worshiping joyfully among 850,000 plus pilgrims, together with my wife and a Protestant friend who asked me to bring him along to see the Pope whom he otherwise would never be able to see. There we were, attending the papal Mass of the 2002 WYD in Downsview, Toronto!

If there’s anything I’ve learnt about the Holy Spirit, it’s that He's the creative, playful and divine Third Person who never ceases to amaze. Just when my personal career was about to take off and at a time when serious spiritual pursuits were the last thing on my mind, He put me through a powerful and lengthy process of spiritual conversion that really “fixed me up”. By the time the 2002 WYD took place, I had become – yes, you’d better believe it! - a staunch defender of the Catholic Church who had fallen in love head over heels with the Roman Papacy, especially the Pontiff of the day, St. John Paul II whose teaching was key in turning me around as a lost sheep.

The light of the world, the salt of the earth. We scatter the darkness when love becomes our way... So many years later, the theme song of the 2002 WYD still resonates loud and clear in my heart as I reflect on this Sunday’s readings. “Dear young people, do not be content with anything less than the highest ideals!” intoned the Holy Father, seated on a make-shift stage that almost looked fragile and creaky in the howling winds and under a threatening sky. Young people I was not, but stirred by the Holy Spirit and fired up by the experience of the conversion, my heart was young as a puppy and my desire was for the Mother Church to feed me more. I minced carefully every word the Holy Father said which harkened back to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world” (Mt. 5:13-14).

Christ is the light, the light of creation “in the beginning” that shone when “the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss” (Gen 1:1-2); the light of hope as envisioned by the Prophet Isaiah that would shine “upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom” (Is. 9:1); the light of eternity that made the sun and the moon unnecessary and lit up the City of God (Rev 21:23). Christ is our light. We are called this Sunday to shine with his brightness, not in word alone, but in action: “Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn…” (Is 58:7-8). That - through our works of mercy - is how we shine. Wait no more for the end is near. Let’s roll up our sleeves and work on it now!

It's All About Freedom

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” shouted John the Baptist (Mt. 3:1-2), the voice crying out in the desert that Isaiah had predicted would prepare the way of the Lord (cf. Isaiah 40:2). Repent because human history was on the threshold of its final days. Christ would come to “gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Mt. 3:12).

Repent and to the Lord’s barn we go, harden our hearts and to the unquenchable fire we are thrown. It’s all about a very important choice.

Unlike the current world order in which man and nature have been at odds with each other ever since our first parents fell into a state of sin (cf. Gen 3:17-19; CCC 378-9), “the Lord’s barn” as envisioned by Isaiah is a new world order that brings perfect harmony: “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair” (Isaiah 11:6-8). How can we live in this amazing and beautiful world? Make good use of our freedom to choose to repent and accept Jesus’ salvific grace.

In the Scriptures, man’s freedom to choose was something so precious and highly esteemed that God would do anything to protect it, even if it meant exacting a heavy price. Saul, who became Paul after conversion, was allowed to persecute the early Church; Peter to deny Jesus; Judas to hand over God’s only Son. To free Israel from the slavery of Egypt, God parted the Red Sea. To free us from the slavery of sin, His only Son suffered and died for us on the cross.

Every time when the integrity of man’s freedom was at stake, God would go to the wall for him - every time, it never failed. For deprived of freedom, what is man? Made on the 6th day in God’s image, man was top of the hierarchy of creatures (CCC 342), the summit of the Creator’s work (CCC 343), and destined for the glory of God (CCC 353). He was given the dominance and the freedom to govern all creatures (Genesis 1:26). In fact, all creatures, including heavens and earth, were created for the good of man (CCC 358). So, what is man if deprived of his freedom to take care of God’s creation, the freedom to rise above the 6th day to join God on the Sabbath - the 7th day, the Lord’s day, the day of perfection and holiness – through the transforming power of the 8th day – the new day, the day of Christ’s Resurrection, the day of the New Creation (CCC 349)?

No matter what human ideals we strive for, what communities and societies we build, what leaders and governing regimes we support, what religious faiths we believe in, if human freedom is suppressed, they are just accomplices of the powers of darkness that have been lurking in the undercurrents of history, always eager to pounce on the Creator whose plan is to make us free. They strike at the very heart of the Scriptures. As such, they must be seen as nemeses against everything that is good, an affront to Jesus work of redemption, and thus unworthy of their power and authority.

Just this week on November 22, 2016, in the Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony at the White House, special recognition was given to 21 luminaries that included Michael Jordan, Dianna Ross, Robert Redford, Bill Gates (philanthropy), Margaret Hamilton (scientist), Maya Lin (art and architecture), Lorne Michaels (producer of Saturday Night Live), Newt Minow (law), and Eduardo Padron (education), just to name a few.

I watched with intense interest as each recipient walked on stage to receive his/her medal from President Obama. Many of them looked old and physically frail for their golden and productive years were well gone - gone but not wasted because their contributions to America and to the world, made possible by the freedom that they enjoyed, had helped make every one of us a better person and the world a freer order. I was captivated by the whole ceremony from the beginning to the end. I watched and I cried like a puppy, out of thankfulness to the recipients and to God who has been adamant in defending human freedom.

Disclaimer: My outpouring of emotions for the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients must not be perceived as my endorsement of their personal ways of living, moral values, and political aspirations.

Young People: Don't Just Concentrate on Your Wedding Day and Forget the Life-Long Commitment You Are About to Enter Into

Short-term preparations for marriage tend to be concentrated on invitations, clothes, the party and any number of other details that tend to drain not only the budget but energy and joy as well. The spouses come to the wedding ceremony exhausted and harried, rather than focused and ready for the great step that they are about to take. The same kind of preoccupation with a big celebration also affects certain de facto unions; because of the expenses involved...Here let me say a word to fiancés. Have the courage to be different. Don’t let yourselves get swallowed up by a society of consumption and empty appearances (Amoris Laetitia, n. 212).

Those who are prepared to read Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia carefully will be pleasantly surprised to discover some of the useful and pragmatic ideas that the Holy Father often comes up with. They are not only innovative and daring, but also very much in line with traditional Church values.

If you are about my age, you may find yourself inundated with wedding invitations involving the younger generation of family members and friends. Some of these weddings can be extremely lavish. But what bothers me the most is not so much the cost involved but the time required of me. Sometimes it may take a whole day to join some of these celebrations (morning Mass, hanging around after Mass just to pass the time because the locations of the venues are such that the guests really can't go anywhere, then evening banquet). It gets worse when for some reason the organizers decide to let the banquet process drag out for as long as possible so that the guests really can't leave until well after 11:30 p.m. All the while throughout the duration of a very long evening, you are forced to listen to so-called "professional MCs" whom the married couple has paid an astronomical amount to hire. As far as I am concerned, the manner they speak and conduct themselves is as annoying as some of the radio DJs that I've always shunned.

Instead of using all the resources and energy to deal with the peripheral issues, young couples preparing to get married are challenged by the Holy Father to opt "for a more modest and simple celebration in which love takes precedence over everything else" (n. 212). They "should be encouraged to make the liturgical celebration a profound personal experience and to appreciate the meaning of each of its signs". Quoting St. John Paul II, the Holy Father's exhortation is for all marrying couples to be aware that "[t]he body, created with a God-given meaning, 'becomes the language of the ministers of the sacrament, aware that in the conjugal pact there is expressed and realized the mystery that has its origin in God himself'" (n. 213). The Holy Father hits the nail right on the head when he points out that “many [young people] concentrate on their wedding day and forget the life-long commitment they are about to enter into” (n. 215).

Young people, don't get me wrong, I'm honored to receive your wedding invitation. But invite me, or any guest for that matter, only if you want my presence on the day you enter the life-long commitment to live out in your bodies the sacred mystery of the one-flesh union of Christ and the Church. If your invitation is serious and meaningful, you need to show me that before getting married you've invested the time needed to understand this "great mystery" that made St. Paul awestruck (Ephesians 5:32), the meaning of the liturgy that you invite me to participate in and, most of all, the significance of the marriage vow that you invite me to hear when you utter it so affectionately and determinedly to your future spouse. Professional MCs, lavish meals, and top-notch banquet halls? Well, they are....peripherals.

Remember, marriage is not just "a single moment that then becomes a part of the past and its memories". Rather, married couples use their bodies to speak an “uninterrupted continuity of liturgical language”. The liturgy of matrimony in a way doesn't end when the wedding ceremony is finsihed because “conjugal life becomes in a certain sense liturgical” (n.215). This liturgical language is not a "careless whisper" (George Michael). It is a language of love from time immemorial: a language that Adam spoke on his first encounter with Eve - "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman' (Genesis 2:23); a language that turned into a full-blown lovers' concerto in the Song of Songs; a language that was brought to its consummating outro on the Cross, the marriage bed of Christ and the Church, where the New Adam uttered in his very last breath the final words of love: "It is finished!" (John 19:30).

April Snow

April snow...

Uninvited and unapologetic, she arrives.
Not to defend or explain herself she decides.
Knowing her appearance is out of the season,
Her beauty she displays in full with no reservation.

April snow...

Having reigned supreme since November,
Now content with the tribute from this lone admirer,
Yield to the flirtation of Spring she must,
But not before re-asserting her splendor as true and just.

April snow...

Refreshing and wet is her lover's kiss,
Caressing me as I slowly tread.
One impromptu encounter does not define our lifelong love;
Return she will in austerity from the north above.

Pictures taken this morning at Toogood Pond. The snow turned out to be quite a blizzard!

Old Friends Part II

Feelings come, feelings go. Good feelings? They don’t always come, but when they do, they can be overpowering. They enter deep into the inner chambers of our hearts, and stay fresh in the corners of our minds. Good feelings – they often come at the most inopportune time.

Exhausted from playing tennis the day before, I skipped my jogging routine this morning and chose to walk briskly around the Toogood Pond after warm up exercises and Tai Chi. The water level of Toogood Pond was noticeably lower than usual due to a lack of rain for more than a week. Still, it’s spring time. The new branches and foliage, still less than full grown, displayed a refreshing green and a hopeful luster unseen at any other times of the year. The Canada geese were crowding the paths of the park, showing forth their new-born goslings whose innate understanding of the art of lining up was an attraction for the tourists to marvel at.

As I walked, my thoughts turned to the numerous emails I exchanged with three secondary school friends in the last couple of weeks. They are good secondary school friends whom I haven’t seen for more than 30 years. But next month, we will have a reunion on a cruise trip from Vancouver to Alaska. No question it’s a dream come true. We’ve been preparing for this reunion for more than a year. Now we are into the final stretch of our preparation. It all began in March 2014. From searching out each other, to re-connecting, to an explosion of communications, to now waiting anxiously to see each other in Vancouver – the whole train of events raced through my head and triggered an immense amount of memories and feelings. Feelings that warmed my heart, feelings that overwhelmed, feelings…feelings that I simply had to express because they couldn’t be suppressed.

Over the last 15 months, 4 good old secondary school friends re-discovered each other - older and rather different now, but somehow still naïve and familiar as ever. The teenage selves that we saw in each other from the secondary school days are still there. Our human nature is such that the little bit of familiarity that exists in our collective psyche is enough to enable us to continue to trust each other and enjoy each other’s friendship the way we were accustomed to when we studied together in the same classroom. Over the last 15 months, we yearned to hear from each other and we communicated almost non-stop, all because of that little bit of familiarity and bonding from the teenage years – a familiarity and bonding in the human hearts we call “friendship”. Friends, teenage friends, secondary school friends – something everyone has; something so common and yet so special; something so human and yet so spiritual and overpowering!

While all these feelings were tugging at my heartstrings, I also realized with a little discomfort that I needed to prepare for the delivery of the Bible Study Program today. O, those good, heart-warming, fussy feelings…They can’t wait, can they? They always come at the most inopportune time. They pass you by if you don’t take a moment to acknowledge their unexpected visit; they speed off in a cloud of dust if you don’t accord them time to enjoy their companionship, and disappear faster than the refreshing green of spring. So Bible Study Program be damned, I must not allow these good feelings to disappear on me before they are captured in a post.

But then again, feeling is one thing, the reality can be quite another. When I was doing my undergrad in Canada, I had very good feelings about a friend in Hong Kong. But the good feelings quickly vanished the moment the two of us met each other again after my graduation. Good feelings can be fragile. Sometimes they surprise us and make us realize that they are mere illusions. Here’s hoping that they would do no such tricks on me and my secondary school friends this time!

(Note to reader: This is a sequel to another post entitled "Old Friends" dated March 30, 2014.)

God Will Deliver If We Have Faith

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory and praise to the Lord!

What a Gala last night! This is the morning after. Hope everyone had a good night of sleep, having heard the good news about the peaceful settlement of the FLL-S+L dispute. Not me. My head is a little heavy from lack of sleep last night. Still trying to recover from the "shock" my team and I went through in the last few days, even if it was a pleasant one. The euphoria – at least for me – from the FLL Gala last night and being in the middle of a huge crowd of nine hundred plus people certainly compounded the problem even more. But it’s a nice problem to have…

It’s not appropriate for me to delve too much into the specifics of what happened, not at this point. But this much I can say: this sharing is a sequel to, and hopefully also the conclusion of, a post I wrote with a heavy heart about a year ago: Blessed Are They Who Are Persecuted For the Sake of Righteousness.

My head is still spinning and I can't remember if I mentioned this to my team during this whirlwind-like process of the last few days in which things unfolded in rapid succession like a floodgate that broke open. One thing that we gained from this long and difficult ordeal is the comradeship of our team members. It's a bonding, a unity or solidarity, if you will, that jelled gradually through a long and agonizing process that took us through the thick and thin, the highs and lows, the triumph and the devastation. This is the "imperishable crown" that we won from this painstaking and excruciating race! (Cf. 1 Cor 9:24-25) While we don’t do good for the sake of getting merits, I’m convinced that this is a great merit that God granted us for our perseverance to follow Christ come hell or high water. It’s going to stay with us; and we’ll bring it with us on that day when the Lord judges the nations assembled before Him and “separates them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from goats” (Mt. 25:32).

It's by no means easy. Sometimes we were just hanging on by a thread, determined all the while to walk in the truth and, if it's God's will, ready to accept martyrdom. There were times when we felt like we were "shadowboxing" (cf. 1 Cor 9:26), that we were standing up against a mighty and unstoppable train hurtling toward us at maddening speed. In the end, it was God who gave us strength and saw us through. It took the courageous and determined intervention of a living saint whose body was completely drained of energy due to terminal illness; and the miraculous intercession of a heavenly saint – St. Mary Goretti – whose incorruptible body will be on its way to visit this part of the world when the Holy Father comes in the summer.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins. Amen! Amen! Amen!