A Faithful Friend is a Lifetime Treasure.

Homily for Friday 1^st March 2019

 

_“God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” *(Mark 10:6-9)*_

I think it is by divine coincidence that while our Gospel passage today is on the topic of divorce in marriage, our first reading talks about the Faithful Friend. In describing the faithful friend, Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) points out the qualities of the fake friend. These include:

1. *A Table Companion.* This is one who comes to eat and party with you, helps you to spend your money but will never stand by you in the day of trouble. You are only important to such a friend as long as you are useful to them. They are parasites and very good at pretending.

2. *A friend who changes into an enemy.* Unlike the friend who seeks only his/her personal interest, this is a genuine friend who cannot stand the test of time. A friend who is ready to die for you today but would do anything to kill you tomorrow.

3. *A friend who cannot Keep Quiet.* This type of friend is one who is always the first to announce you to the whole world. His/her middle name is gossip. This friend always comes loaded with stories to tell about other people (whether true or not and mostly over-exaggerated), you get excited and talk on but everything you say to such a friend will be tweeted live to the whole world.

From the foregoing, one glary point we see is that *almost all the people we call friend are not actually our friends but just enemies in disguise or enemies in the waiting.* Hence Sirach advises, when you gain a friend, do not trust him hastily. It also adds: “Keep far from your enemies but be on guard towards your friends.”

Having described the qualities of the fake friend, Sirach goes on to talk about the faithful friend who is not like the above. It says “He that finds one has found a treasure. *There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence.* A faithful friend is an elixir of life.”

A faithful friend is one who can be trusted, one who makes sacrifices and gives rather than simply receive, one who will not gossip about you to your detriment and disgrace and above all, one who will never turn around to become an enemy tomorrow. Having a faithful friend brings a great boost to your life by filling your days with joy.

Now, we must bear this in mind; a faithful friend is not necessarily a sexual partner. In fact, any friendship established on the foundation of sin is not friendship at all but simply the devil’s trap. A friendship that takes us away from God does not bring life but kills instead. Hence Sirach adds: “Whoever who fears the Lord directs his friendship aright.”

One truth I have come to discover over the years is that marriage works only when the couple are faithful friends to each other. A faithful friend will never cheat on his or her spouse because he is she is not in the marriage for selfish reasons only. A faithful friend as the term implies is truly faithful; faithful to the marriage vows; faithful to God.

A faithful friend is a companion for life. No matter how bad things become, a faithful friend will never turn into an enemy; he or she will never give up on their spouse. A faithful friend loves to the end. Most of us are quick to say “how I wish I can find such a friend who will be faithful to me for life.” But in truth, what we should be saying is: “How I wish I can become a faithful friend to my spouse.”

As difficult as the topic of divorce may seem, the truth is that in the mind of God, divorce is not the solution to marital problems; it is rather an outlet for infidelity. Just as a woman will not throw a baby away alongside the bath water, it is not the will of God that couple should divorce. Make your spouse your best friend. Be a faithful friend even if he or she does not deserve it.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, bless our marriages and make couples ever more faithful in friendship with one another. Save us from fake friends and heal us that we may never become fake friends to others. Amen.

*Happy new month. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Sirach 6:5-17, Psalm 119 and Mark 10:1-12).

Never Take God’s Mercy for Granted: Show Good Example.

Homily for Thursday 28^th February 2019

_“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.  ⁴³ And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” *(Mark 9:42-43)*_

Amongst the personal friends of Jesus, there was a particular group of persons that He treated with so much care and delicacy; a group that he always wanted around him and would rebuke those who tried to stop them from flocking around him. These special friends of Jesus were the little children.

Why was Jesus very concerned about the little ones? Simply put, children are the future. If you fail to properly educate one child at least morally, you literally destroy an entire generation. For Jesus, leading one child astray through bad example is such a grievous crime deserving of death by drowning with a millstone hung around one’s neck.

On the other hand, whatever good done to the little ones for the sake of Christ, (even if it is as little as a cup of water given to quench the child’s thirst), never goes unrewarded. In another passage, Jesus mentions that every child has a guardian angel who is always before God’s presence on that child’s behalf. (See Matthew 18:10).

Children are not only fragile, but they are also very fast learners. When you think a child does not understand what is happening or that he or she is too small to pick up a bad habit or behaviour, the child is most likely going to prove you wrong. Children are more intelligent and smarter than we think they are. They may look young but are very impressionable. Simply put, it is too easy to “spoil” a child; it is too easy to scandalize an innocent mind forever; it is too easy to commit the crime Jesus warns about above.

Most of us were destroyed as kids even unintentionally by adults who were “simply living their lives” and especially by adults who were hypocrites. Nothing affects a child’s sense of morality as much as telling him or her that so and so is bad only for the child to catch you doing it secretly. Children are very quick in detecting pretence because they have a very high level of curiosity; sometimes the mind of a child works like that of a police detective. In their quiet mode, they see things, they draw connections and they figure things very fast. Children always know when you are telling a lie and they learn to lie themselves when they discover you do not like the truth.

As the adage says, “you cannot give what you don’t have.” In truth, the only key to avoiding falling into the sin of scandalizing children is to completely avoid sin whether in secret or in open. If you are not hard on yourself with regards to sin, forcing children to be sinless will only lead to producing worse hypocrites than yourself. If you want your children to be saints, then be willing to cut off your hands and foot and pluck out your own eyes. You cannot afford to accommodate even the slightest occasion, person, habit or thing which you know often leads you to sin.

As our first reading from Sirach warns, do not take the mercy of God for granted. Do not think you can continue to eat your cake and still have it. Do not think certain sins are okay just because God is yet to give you a knock. Do not be so confident of God’s mercy that you continue to add sin to sin. The fact that God is merciful and slow to anger, slow to punishment does not mean that God does not eventually punish us severely for our sins. Coincidentally in today’s Gospel passage, we hear Jesus himself talking about hell, a place where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

Another key to avoiding being a source of scandal especially to the little ones is to set your priorities right. If your primary goal in life is to become rich and live in luxury, then be sure that sin shall reign as a master in your life. Hence Sirach tells us: “Do not set your heart on your wealth… do not follow the inclinations and desires of your heart…do not depend on dishonest wealth for it will not benefit you on the day of calamity (the day of judgment).

Sin is dangerous. Sin kills. Sin affects the young by killing their conscience. Sin happens when we allow it and when we focus only on material riches. Sin destroys. Avoid it at all costs and by so doing, you will avoid scandalizing the young.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may your light shine through me and in me that I may not lead others astray whether knowingly or indirectly. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Sirach 5:1-10, Psalm 1 and Mark 9:41-50).

Wisdom is Life.

Homily for Wednesday 27^th February 2019

_“Whoever loves her loves life, and those who seek her early will be filled with joy.” *(Sirach 4:12)*_

If asked to choose between a million dollars and a few wise words, which would take? Generally, we tend to underestimate the value of wisdom. We would rather go after the material things of life forgetting that without wisdom, all our wealth, power and fame are just as good as nothing.

Wisdom is life, the wiser we are, the better the quality and even the length of our life. Give a million dollars to a fool and in one year, he or she could be one of the poorest persons on earth. Give just one dollar to a wise person and in one year, he or she could be worth a million dollars. It is not by how powerful you are, it is not how much money or fame you have, it is your level of wisdom that guarantees your future.

Wisdom is like the human heart. It is a rather small organ compared to the size of the person and it is not as visible as other parts of the body but without it, the person dies off. The book of Sirach today teaches us to love and appreciate wisdom above anything else. “Whoever holds her fast will obtain glory… He who obeys her will judge the nations and whoever gives heed to her will dwell securely.”

Wisdom here has nothing to do with academic degrees, certificates or ability to pass speak many languages. Again the type of wisdom we are talking about here is not deception or ability to tell lies. The wisdom that is life is the wisdom of putting God first, it is the wisdom of living according to the mind of God; the wisdom of following God’s commandments. As our responsorial psalm says: “The lovers of your law have great peace.”

In today’s Gospel passage, John reports to Jesus how they saw a man who was not one of the twelve casting out demons in Jesus’ name. This man was operating an “illegal” miracle centre in that he did not come to register with Jesus; he did not even receive the necessary training; he was not validly “ordained” neither was he commissioned by Jesus.

The most painful aspect was that this man was doing something the disciples of Jesus could not do; recall that a few days ago, we read how a man brought his son to the disciples (while Jesus was up on the mountain of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John) but unfortunately it was not until Jesus came down and noticed the commotion that the little boy got healed.

If you were one of Jesus’ disciples, what would you do when you saw someone casting out a demon in your master’s name? I would even ask Jesus to proclaim a total ban on all such unregistered healing centres run by non-members of the team of disciples. But surprisingly, Jesus said: “Do not forbid him…” the disciples wanted to apply their authoritative power over this man but Jesus had a different approach altogether. For Jesus, so long as the man was able to cast out demons in His name, the name was to be seen as part of the group.

One thing we learn from this story is this: do not think or assume that your church is best or most authentic and that every other church must be closed down. Avoid condemning others just because they don’t attend your church. You may think you are doing the right thing by tearing other churches apart or by attacking their doctrines but in truth, you are simply making the mistake of the disciples of Jesus.

Really, it is not your business what others are doing in the name of Jesus, you do your own according to your conscience. Jesus did not say we should go about arguing with our fellow Christians or fighting them, Jesus said we should “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19) There is no competition in church.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, increase your wisdom in me as I study your word daily. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Sirach 4:12-22, Psalm 118 and Mark 9:38-40).

Sound Advice in a Moment of Adversity.

Homily for Tuesday 26^th February 2019

_“Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you be patient. For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.” *(Sirach 2:4-5)*_

It is easy to be a Christian when things are moving fine for you but the truth is that being a Christian does not exempt you from pain, trouble and adversity. Being a Christian is not an automatic ticket to bliss, success and luxury. God did not promise us that the storms will not come, rather, He assures us of victory over the storms when they come.

The book of Ecclesiastes today tells us that so long as we choose to serve God, that is, as long we desire to attain perfection in life, as long as we hope to remain authentic in our worship of God, we must be prepared for temptation. In other words, we must be prepared for suffering or as some translations say, we must be prepared for an ordeal. Serving God; walking in the narrow path of salvation is not easy; it is exactly what Jesus described as “denying yourself, taking up your cross and following behind Jesus.” (Confer Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23).

What kind of suffering are we to expect in following Jesus? It is the suffering of accepting things we don’t want, it is the suffering of forgoing our will and allowing the will of others to prevail, it is the suffering of remaining calm in a time of calamity; it is the suffering of accepting humiliation; it is the suffering of having to wait for the Lord and hope when everything appears dark and bleak.

The book of Ecclesiastes compares the suffering we have to face with the process of removing impurities from gold whereby the piece of gold has to endure the burning heat of fire until its purest form comes out. This means that whatever suffering we have to put up with, in the course of attempting to serve God diligently, we must learn to accept it in good faith trusting that something good will always come out of it.

Our first reading begins on a rather frightening note but ends on very hopeful terms: “The Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction.” As the saying goes, he who laughs last always laughs best. Tough times will surely come but God is not foolish; God will never allow those who are faithful to Him to suffer for nothing.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus announces his gruesome fate to his disciples and as Mark puts it, “they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him.” Hearing that Jesus would be kill made them depressed. In other to elevate their spirits, they turned their attention to arguing among themselves who was the greatest. Jesus had to use a child to illustrate to them what it truly meant to be great.

To be great is to be as humble as a child, to be great is to choose to serve rather than be served. This takes us back to what our first reading says. As gold is tested by fire, acceptable men are tested in the furnace of humiliation. Note that there is a world of difference between being humble and suffering humiliation; while humility can be faked, the truly humble person is easily known when he or she suffers humiliation. Most people will claim to be humble but would react violently and burst out with unacceptable aggressive behaviours when they are humiliated.

The question is: “When insulted, when falsely accused of a crime, or when publicly disgraced, mocked or laughed at, how do I react?” Whether we like it or not, we must suffer humiliation at some point in our lives. It is not for us to question God for allowing such suffering, it is for us to use such embarrassing moments to our advantage. No matter how bad things are now, accept it. Trust in God. Something good will soon come out of it.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to humble myself and never to give up when faced with suffering as a result of my Christian Faith. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, Psalm 37 and Mark 9:30-37).

All Things are Possible to Him Who Believes

Homily for Monday 25^th February 2019

_“ And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.” *(Mark 9:21-23)*_

The episode of the inability of Jesus’s disciples to cure a demon-possessed boy is one that teaches us a lot of lessons.

First, it highlights the battle against the devil and his principalities who sometimes operate physically by taking possession of persons around us. Demonic possession also expresses itself in our addiction to sin and inability to overcome temptation or repent from our bad habits.

Second, it shows that we must be prepared at all times to battle the works of darkness. The disciples could not cast out the demon because they had not prepared themselves ahead. As Jesus would later explain: “This type can only be driven out by prayer and fasting.” Like Noah who built an ark before the rains, we need to constantly prepare ourselves by fasting and prayer.

Thirdly, this episode highlights the need for love and responsibility on the part of parents. The Father brought his boy to Jesus for healing. His presence was also instrumental in the healing of the boy. Just before Jesus healed his son, his father cried out a prayer we must learn to pray: “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!”

Fourthly, faith is an all-important weapon. As Jesus said: “All things are possible to him who believes.” This means that even while the disciples were trying their best to cast out the demon, none of them was expecting the demon to come out. In dealing with difficulties in our lives, our faith expresses itself not just in the loudness of our prayers, but in our level of optimism about the outcome of the problem.

Finally, this episode reveals the level of disappointment God feels when we allow our fear overpower our faith. “How long am I to bear with you?” This means we have all it takes to defeat the devil and his agents. As St. John teaches us: “Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1^st John 4:4)

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to apply my faith wisely. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiastes 1:1-10, Psalm 93 and Mark 9:14-29).

It Pays to Love Your Enemies.

Homily for Sunday 24^th February 2019

_“The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put forth my hand against the LORDS anointed.” *(1 Samuel 26:23)*_

Our Gospel passage today barely needs any explanation; it is the hallmark of Jesus’ teaching; a message he proclaimed not only with words but by his very life. On the night of his arrest, Peter took out a sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave but Jesus said: “Put your sword back, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52).

Right there on the cross, having lost the election conducted by Pilate in an attempt to free him, having witnessed the shame, spitting, insult and cruelty of the soldiers, Jesus was able to summon the courage to say: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). In praying like this, Jesus really proved himself as the “Son of David” – a man who had the chance of killing his persecutor, Saul but refused.

Why is it difficult to love our enemies? How do we show love to our enemies while at the same time protecting ourselves from harm? Is there any reward for loving one’s enemies? What is the mind of God regarding our relations with persons who have sworn an oath to destroy us? These are some of the lessons we shall examine in today’s reflection.

*One: If You Cannot Love Your Enemy, You are Not a Christian.*

Jesus said: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners.” (Luke 6:32-34).

Let me ask, who were those Jesus referred to as sinners? Those who cannot love their enemies. You may be baptized and confirmed, you may even be the Pope or something higher but if you cannot love your enemy, you are just a sinner or as St. Paul would say without love, you are “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Loving our enemies is exactly what makes us Like Christ, it is our unique identity, (our PVC if you like). The question is not whether we are capable of loving our enemies, the question is how do we show love to those who hate us? This takes us to the next lesson.

*Two: The Easiest Way to Love An Enemy is to See God in Him/Her.*

One thing that kept David from striking Saul when he had the chance to do so was that David recognized that Saul was the “Lord’s Anointed.” I find this quite interesting. This was far away in Old Testament times; an era where the law was an “eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (Exodus 21:24-25).

David had every moral justification to kill Saul because Saul himself had made several attempts on his life; even to the point of going out with a whole army as if to fight a war with David. It is quite touching that despite all the atrocities Saul committed, David was still able to recognize and respect God’s anointing in him. Am I still able to recognize God’s anointing in others?

David spared Saul not because he was afraid of Saul, not because he was happy with Saul but because he was afraid of God. David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can put forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?” (1 Samuel 26:9). The key to loving our enemies is to see something of God in them. If you ever get the chance to strike back at those who hurt you, remember that no matter how bad a person is, he or she is still a child of God.

*Three: The Benefits of Loving Your Enemies.*

You may ask: “what do I even gain by loving my enemies?” There are indeed very many things to gain; one, the ripple effect of goodness. One kind act of love done to an enemy makes the whole world a better place. By putting smiles on one person’s face, that person would, in turn, put a smile on another and the chain reaction goes on and on until it comes back to you. This is what Jesus explains in our Gospel passage as the “Golden Rule” which some others also explain as the principle of Karma.

There is simply no justification for being evil. You may be thinking your evil act is justice served (vengeance) but I tell you, that evil deed will surely COME BACK to you in another way. As we can see, Jesus was not talking about tithes and offerings when he said: “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Luke 6:38). Jesus wants us to give to our enemies; to be good to people even when they don’t deserve it because our goodness comes back to us.

The second benefit of loving our enemies is that it attracts God’s blessing upon us. From David’s own mouth, we hear “The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness.” (1 Sam. 26:23) In fact, when we read that passage further, Saul himself was so moved by David’s act of kindness in sparing his life and he declared: “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” (1 Samuel 26:25).

If you think that by killing your enemies, you will have peace of mind, please think again. If you think you stand to gain anything by destroying those who hate you, you lie! We gain nothing, absolutely nothing from killing others either by the sword, character defamation, exposing secrets, your refusal to help them in time of need or malice. We hurt ourselves more when we cannot forgive. Do you want to make heaven easily without being judged? Jesus says: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37).

*Four: Loving our Enemies is Not Necessarily Suicide.*

Let us go back to our first reading. Do you notice that upon getting close to Saul, David was careful enough not to wake Saul from his sleep? You see, David applied wisdom here. In as much as he did not kill Saul, he also did not put himself in harm’s way. After collecting Saul’s spear and his jar of water, David careful tiptoed away without waking anyone in the entire army. It wasn’t until David had gone to the other side (maintaining a great space between them) that he stood on a mountain and called out to Saul.

What does this teach us? There is a big difference between loving our enemies and foolishly allowing them to have their way which for me, is suicide. We are told to love those who hate us but in loving them, we are to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16). David would not kill Saul but would not let Saul kill him either.

The best treatment we can give to our enemies is to disarm them; that is, to make them change their opinions towards us; to make them turn their hate into love. It is not to return evil for evil or fire for fire. In truth, an act of kindness shown to an enemy is more effective than a fight. I will leave you with this beautiful quote from the book of Proverbs 25:21-22 which says “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for (by so doing), you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”

*Conclusion: One Last Word.*

The elections are over. Whatever the results may be, let us not learn to love and accommodate one another. The fact that we belong to different political parties should not make us enemies. The fact that we didn’t vote for the same person should not bring quarrel or division. We all seek progress for our country, hatred serves us no good.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to love my enemies as you love me. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C. Bible Study: 1^st Samuel 26:2-23, Psalm 102, 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 and Luke 6:27-38).

With Faith, You See More, Listen More and Do More.

Homily for Saturday 23^rd February 2019

_“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval.” *(Hebrews 11:1-2)*_

Faith is a supernatural glass that helps us see beyond our immediate reality; that is, faith allows us to see things are non-existent to the ordinary eye.

If I attempted to work on a watch engine without the magnifying glass, I will fumble and my mind will not be at peace because I will be like a blind person trying to work my way through.

Without Faith, we can never be at peace when it comes to serving God. This is because, without faith, we are unable to see the hand of God at work in our life. The book of Hebrews in exhorting us to have faith mentions persons whose faith are exemplary.

One of such is Noah whose story we just concluded this week. It was Faith that enabled Noah to begin the building of the Ark long before the rains began. Faith makes us proactive.

In the Transfiguration event, Jesus opened the eyes of Peter, James and John to see His Glory. The transfiguration goes to show that there is more to reality than what meets the ordinary eye.

We need to constantly put on the eyes of faith so as to get a full picture of what life holds for us. By being faithless, we only cheat ourselves because there is a limit to what the ordinary eye can see.

To the ordinary eye, John the Baptist was just man shouting in the wilderness but as Jesus explains, he was actually the Elijah that the prophets spoke about.

From the midst of the transfiguration came an instruction: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” It is normal to listen to people or take advice from the world but for the person of faith, Jesus alone deserves attention and obedience.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, open my eyes so that my faith may be deepened. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Sixth Saturday in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Hebrews 11:1-7, Psalm 145 and Mark 9:2-13).

Leadership Requires Knowledge.

Homily for Friday 22^nd February 2019

_“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.” *(Matthew 16:17-18)*_

The saying remains forever true that: “Leaders are Readers.” To be a leader at all, one must have some amount of knowledge but to be a good leader, one must have the right kind of knowledge. Furthermore, to be a spiritual leader, one must know God; that is, one must have the capacity of hearing from the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus asked his disciples about his identity in Matthew 16, Jesus was basically testing the disciples. He wanted to know which of them the Holy Spirit would minister to. Up till that moment, his disciples did not really know Jesus is God. To them, Jesus was just a mystery; a puzzle they couldn’t crack.

In Mathew 8:27, we see how the disciples in their confusion and utter amazement wondered aloud: “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” For Peter to have given the right answer, Jesus knew it wasn’t just Peter speaking, it was the Holy Spirit. “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17.

By displaying his ability to hear from God the Father, Jesus immediately made Peter the visible head of the church. Jesus was confident that the same Holy Spirit that spoke to Peter that day at Caesarea Philippi would continue to speak to him to take the right decisions, to say the right words and carry out the right actions to move the church forward.

As a man, Peter was weak, often frightened, erratic, quarrelsome and faithless; he tried to dissuade Jesus from the way of the cross, he cut off someone’s ear, he denied Christ three times after boasting, he went back to fishing even after the resurrection of Christ. But as Pope, God used him perfectly to set the standards of church leadership.

Like Peter, we priests and religious are not free from weaknesses and often embarrassing shortcomings. In his first letter (which we read in today’s first reading), Peter himself pointed out some of these weaknesses while admonishing the elders (presbyter) of the early church.

They include an unwillingness to tend the flock from one’s heart, serving for the sake of personal gain (canvassing for “juicy-parishes”), having a domineering attitude over the people of God, and not showing good examples to the flock. (Cf. 1^st Peter 5).

As we honour the Chair of St. Peter today, we pray for the Peter of today’s world, Pope Francis – that God would continue to inspire him.

Dear friends, in whatever position of leadership you find yourself, one question you must not fail to always ask is: Do I have the right kind of knowledge required for the job? In other words, “Am I in tune with the Holy Spirit as Peter was?” Am I leading for the sake of personal gain? And above all, “Do I even know Jesus?”

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, bless our dear Pope Francis and all the leaders of the church, despite their shortcomings, use them daily to uplift humanity integrally. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Sixth Friday in Ordinary Time. Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Bible Study: 1^st Peter 5:1-4, Psalm 23 and Matthew 16:13-19).