Crossing from culture to faith (or the lack thereof)

The Lunar New Year is a wonderful time of year. Especially in our hectic and tiresome society today, it's a nice time for families to meet up and catch up on each others' lives.

Chinese New Year is also a time when the young generation immerse themselves into the deep Chinese tradition and culture - the giving and receiving of red packets, the exchange of oranges, and the visiting of loved ones are nice traditions to follow on the occasion.

Some things and/or habits and/or traditions, however, cross the line from plain cultural to divination. And especially this Lunar New Year season, where horoscopes and zodiacs are abundant, we have to be extra vigilant.

Our Catechism teaches us: "All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil' the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone" (CCC#2116).

It can't get simpler and straightforward than that. It is not just potentially dangerous to one's faith; it is also simply disrespectful to God, for us who say there is one.

Let's be clear: there is nothing wrong with reading any horoscope per se - reading in it self is not wrong: as long as what one reads does not challenge one's trust in God. If you honestly - and honesty goes a long way here - will not take any of what is written as even the slightest truth, it's all right to read. You're not "consulting" it, in this case.

But if you are the type who entertains thoughts like, "oh gosh, my year's going to be horrible!" or "I'd better stay away from ugly boys because they will cause me bad luck", be forewarned: you're in the danger-zone. Stay away.

We must each take responsibility in our own faith. The truth is, most of us know our own levels of faith. We know very well how much a superstitious statement can affect the way we live. We should act accordingly to ensure that we don't unnecessarily shake our faith. It is not for us to judge one another, but it is sure good to remind one another. At the very least, let's not judge one another for wanting to look at, or not wanting to look at horoscopes and zodiacs.

Happy Lunar New Year to one and all!

Those dreaded acronyms!

Acronyms in the Church are abundant, some having been handed down over the course of time. While it helps us remember some of the Church's Tradition, it could also confuse us. Here's a collection of acronyms and what they mean.

(Note: this is not meant to give historical background, but simply what each acronym stands for.)

IHS
The anglicised rendering of the first three Greek letters in Jesus' name, Iesous Christos.

INRI
Iesus Nazaraenus Rex Iudaeorum (Latin), which translates literally to "Jesus Christ, King of the Jews".

See Mt 27:37, Mk 15:26, Lk 23:38, Jn 19:19

- Updated 30 Jan 2008

Celebrating the conversion of Paul

Today's a big day! The Church celebrates the conversion of Saint Paul. The feast is especially significant this year, since 2008/2009 is the year dedicated to Paul. He's so great that he should always remembered as a good example of Christianhood.

In so many ways, he's my faith hero because so much of what he's experienced, said and written, I relate to so well. So many times in my faith journey when I found it hard to serve with joy because it hurt so much to be kicked around, Paul showed the way to whole-hearted service.

He played a big role in the execution of Stephen, the first martyr (Acts 7:54-8:1), and made good pleasure out of putting Christians in prison (8:3). No one in the right mind would have imagined this young man to be an instrument of God. Well, no one, except God Himself.

Jesus appeared to Paul in a bright light while Paul was still "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (9:1), and asked, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (v. 4, RSV-CE). After being stunned and blinded for three days, Saul received a word from a disciple of the Lord, and boom: he got up, and got baptised (v. 18). From the Christian-hater to Christ-lover, Paul was converted - just like that.

God would eventually show Paul "how much he must suffer for the sake of my name" (v. 16). Eventually, what went around, came around for Paul. The man who once beat up and persecuted Christians, got beaten up and gave up his own life for Christ.

The Lord chose Paul to be His instrument (v. 15) despite his terrible treatment toward the Church. Guess what? We're unlikely to be any worse than Paul; God can use you too.

Paul did not say yes; he simply and "immediately proclaimed Jesus ... the Son of God" (v. 20). Paul's answer to the call was plain, simple and immediate. Is ours? Wait - we don't have to say it.

We just need to act on it now.

Feasts Days and Solemnities: what's the diff?

What’s the difference between a ‘Feast Day’ and a ‘Solemnity’?

A feast day is a day set aside for special honour God, Mother Mary, the Saints or even angels. A solemnity bears a slight difference, in that it is a festival of higher observance. In other words, a Solemnity is a ‘higher’ form of a feast.

Do angels really exist?

Do angels really exist? Or are they symbols of God's love?

They only exist if you believe in the Word of God.

It may be hard to believe in the existence, but numerous accounts of angels from the very beginning (Genesis!) show that they do!

Yet, some may say that the Old Testament is not proof enough. Then what about Jesus? The Lord Himself taught about angels! In the Gospel of Matthew, He said things like, “At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven” (22:30), and “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (18:10), and “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct” (16:27).

The Catechism contains several paragraphs on angels. CCC#332, for example, tells us that “angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan”. Another is CCC#336: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession”.

“Angel” is the Greek word for “Messenger”, yet it seems that they do more then sending messages. Believe it or not, angels actually help take care of us! If Jesus said so, it must be so!

- Updated 31 Jan 2008

References:

• CCC#328: The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls "angels" is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.
• CCC#329: St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit', from what they do, 'angel.'" With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word" (see Mt 18:10; Ps 103:20).
• CCC#330: As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness (see Lk 20:36; Dan 10:9-12).
• CCC#331: Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him" (see Mt 25:31). They belong to him because they were created through and for him: "for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through him and for him" (see Col 1:16). They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?"(see Heb 1:14)
• CCC#332: Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples (see Job 38:7; Gen 3:24; 19; 21:17; 22:11; Acts 7:53; Ex 23:20-23; Judg 13; 6:11-24; Isa 6:6; 1 Kings 19:5). Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself (see Lk 1:11,26).
  
• CCC#333: From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he says: 'Let all God's angels worship him'" (see Heb 1:6). Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the highest!" (see Lk 2:14). They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been (see Mt 1:20; 2:13,19; 4:11; 26:53; Mk 1:13; Lk 22:43; 2 Macc 10:29-30; 11:8). Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection (see Lk 2:8-14; Mk 16:5-7). They will be present at Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement (see Acts 1:10-11; Mt 13:41; 24:31; Lk 12:8-9).
  
• CCC#334: In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels (see Acts 5:18-20; 8:26-29; 10:3-8; 12:6-11; 27:23-25).
• CCC#335: In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May the angels lead you into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels).
• CCC#336: From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession (see Mt 18:10; Lk 16:22; Ps 34:7; 91:10-13; Job 33:23-24; Zech 1:12; Tob 12:12). "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

Holy trilogy! Halloween's what?!

Oh my, the Halloween season is coming, and like the Christmas season, Valentine's Day, and many other special days on the calendar, 31 Oct is fast becoming a time for the people at Orchard Road to make some money.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when 'Halloween' is mentioned? Sweets and Candy, Trick-or-treat and costumes are common symbols. Here in Singapore, where we are probably catching on the Halloween culture, we probably think of stuff like witches (and their magical brooms) and ghosts. Oh, and who could ever miss out the pumpkins with those triangular eyes and jagged smile!

But there's a deeper meaning into the festival than these things. Far from just being a time to scare your friends and treat each other to candy, Halloween actually has a connection with Christianity and the Church.

"Like, Hallow?"
For years I said "Halloween" before even thinking of what it really means. If I had put in the little effort to find out, or if I had someone tell me when I was young what the word meant, I think I would have grown up more aware of what I should be doing.

For starters, say two lines of the Lord's prayer in it's traditional language: "Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name." Tadaah! There it is!

Hallow means "to make holy; sanctify; consecrate", or "to honor as holy; consider sacred; venerate". We say "hallowed be Thy Name" because God's name is holy, because God's name should be made holy (don't utter it without purpose or for fun), and because God's Name should be revered as holy (Mt 6:9).

Roots
We in Singapore will find this familiar because we celebrate Hungry Ghost Festival. Halloween originated from a pagan festival in ancient tribes in places like Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Those people celebrated the festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead.

Similar to the Chinese culture, pagan worshippers believed that the souls of the dead would return to mingle with the living. The purpose of wearing masks, costumes and have bonfires was to scare away those lingering evil spirits.

What's Church got to do with it?
In the mean time, in commemoration of the martyrs killed for their faith, the Church celebrated the feast of All Saints on 13 May. It was an appropriate time because it was during the season of joy after the Resurrection of Jesus.

In 835, Pope Gregory VI – through wisdom granted by God – deliberately changed the feast to 1 Nov. At important dates in the Church, the evening before would be dedicated for a vigil in preparation for the feast (think Christmas and Easter). All Saints' Day would the same. The night before the feast became known as 'All Hallow's Eve', or 'Holy Evening', eventually shortened to 'Halloween'.

Then around 1048, an influential abbot, St. Odilo of France, chose 2 Nov to commemorate those who had died. It was an understandably suitable date just after All Saints. The purpose of the feasts is to remember those who have died – both those who have been canonised by the Church as saints (1 Nov), and of all the souls of the departed (2 Nov).

"In the communion of saints, a 'perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things.' In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others... We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints the Church's treasury... In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission of the Father entrusted to them." (CCC #1475, 1476, 1477)

This is a good time to remind ourselves of the big picture: all Christians, alive or dead, are bound together in an everlasting relationship/covenant/communion with God, and with one another. We, the Church, are a "communion of saints" that makes up the body and family of God.

We've got another reason to be thankful now, because now we have a good reason to truly celebrate 'Halloween'. It is not a season to honour witches and ghosts, but a time to take another stab at being holy. Observe it the right way and we're that much closer to truly celebrate Hallow'een. In turn, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day will hold much more meaning.

Otherwise, we might as well celebrate hollow'een, because all our celebrations would be empty.



Halloween challenge

• Be holy: take courage, separate yourself from secular thinking and secular attitude, and try be what Christ wants you to be.
• Pray for all who have passed on: they have no one to pray for them – we are their intercessors! Come up with a list (whether its two people or 20, it doesn't matter), and say one decade of the Rosary for them.
• Share: Talk to friends about the roots of Halloween when the topic arises! It does not have to sound all theological, but even a simple "bet you didn't know that" type of conversation could make a difference! This is excellent opportunity to share your faith.

Happy Hallow'een to one and all!

- Updated 31 Jan 2007

References:

• CCC#1475: In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things."86 In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.
• CCC#1477: We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints the Church's treasury, which is "not the sum total of the material goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary the 'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ's merits have before God. They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their efficacy."
• CCC#1477: "This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission in the unity of the Mystical Body."

A new and perfect Jonah

Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke, says that His call is similar to Jonah’s: “For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation” (11:30).

The Old Testament is a fore-shadow of the New one. What the Old is missing, the New fulfills. Jesus would show us that He would be the perfect Jonah. Everything that Jonah fails to do well, Jesus does to perfection.

Jesus is always the perfect example. That’s why we are called to follow Jesus. And that is why we are called to invite Jesus into us every time we receive Holy Communion – because Jesus completes our very being. It is not us who are good, but Jesus in us who makes us good.

There are two direct hints in the Book of Jonah that gives clues to the future: First, Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the big fish (Jon 2:1). Jesus gets swallowed by death, into the tomb, before coming out victorious on Easter morning.

Secondly, right at the end of the Book of Jonah, God tells Jonah how much He loves Nineveh, a city of people “who cannot distinguish their right from their left” (Jon 4:11). Jesus repeats this at the end of His own mission, “Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34).

Apart from those direct clues, though, there are several events and choices to compare Jonah to Jesus:

Mission: Both Jonah and Jesus were commissioned to bring the Good News to save people who needed to be saved. So are we, actually. But Jonah and Jesus react differently to their mission. Which are we closer to?

Response: Upon reception of the news Jonah runs away from the task. Jesus, knowing He will end in death, walks right into death’s hands.

Sleeping in the storm: Both men were caught sleeping, Jonah in a ship (big and steady), Jesus in a boat (… a boat). But they sleep for very different reasons. Jesus is in control of the winds and waves (Mt 8:27), yet He is not asleep to avoid doing work, but probably because He had spent a whole day teaching and sharing, that it exhausted every bit of Him. Jonah had no control over anything, yet he slept, trying his best to ignore what was going on around him, even though he knew it was because of him that there was a storm (Jon 1:10).

Trust: Jonah definitely knew God and God’s voice. But he did not trust that God would take care of him. Jesus, knew God’s voice, but more importantly, responded by trusting Him every step of the way – right to His death.

In fear: Jonah slept or run away as far as He can, even though He acknowledged God as “the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land” (Jon 1:9). Jesus, when scared responded by crying in His prayer, asking God to give Him strength to do what He needed to do (in the garden of Gethsemane).

Treatment from people: The sailors did not want to kill Jonah, even though Jonah asked them to throw him overboard. Many people were waiting for a chance to kill Jesus, so that they would retain their power and influence.

Conversion rate and speed: When Jonah reached Nineveh, he spent days preaching reluctantly, yet the people – Jonah’s enemies – listened and changed their ways. Jesus spent three years in His ministry with His closest apostles, and at the end of it, all but one would run away from Him.

Alignment with God: Jonah did what God wanted, but without the heart of God – he did not want Nineveh to be forgiven. Jesus, despite everything He went through, made forgiveness His last task before dying.

In our Christian journey in life, we are each called to follow Jesus’ example. When we think things are going tough for us (Jonah), we look to Christ and realise they aren’t half as bad as they can be. Jesus came to earth to show us that it can be done. And we must answer the call and learn to love as God loves.

We must be alert and never become too picky over our service to God. Last Saturday, when I was to do a presentation on Jonah, I found myself in the prophet’s shoes. I was so tempted to switch classes with one presenter because I knew that class better, and I felt very comfortable with them, and of course, also because my newly confirmed godchildren, Joel and Gerard (whom I always refer to as the twins), were there.

Of course, the temptation had nothing to do with the group I was assigned to (I actually did love sharing with them!), but my choice would have been obvious if I had been given one. But I wasn’t given a choice – that was a good thing!

But at the spur of the moment, I took things into my own hands: I tried to swap groups with a fellow presenter. Fortunately, within moments of asking for the swap, I woke up and realised my stupidity – “my am I choosing who to serve?!” In one moment I could have made – and almost did make – a physical (comfort zone) and a social (the twins) choice.

We all get tempted to choose for our own sakes. But when we decide to make a spiritual choice, we follow the perfect role model that Jesus is, and place God in the centre of all our work, we learn to take the attitude of the king in Nineveh, we try our best and leave everything else to God’s grace and God’s love: “Who knows” (Jon 3:9)?

Well, God does.

- Updated 1 Aug 2007