Index

In addition to Jesus, the Son of God, the other main actor in the “theo-drama” is the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Both, having completely reverted Adam and Eve’s sin of “pride”, have become the Father’s perfect followers who have also perfectly fulfilled...

The chaos in our individual life, family, society, and even the entire human history are intricately connected to our sinful nature; at the top of the list is our “pride”. Our human condition and struggles due to pride began with Adam and Eve, and continue to the end...

In the reflection on Day 37, we considered the possibility of falling into the condition of “burnout” when our life is extremely unbalanced and disorderly; not only does this negatively affect ourselves but also those around us and the entire community to which we...

Having a “balanced life” is central to all Christians. In addition to balancing all three aspects of ourselves, body, mind, and soul, it is crucial that we also strive to strike a balance in our spiritual life. For some sisters and brothers, they may have preferences...

Knowing how to take care of ourselves according to God’s design implies the caring of not only our body but also our spiritual wellness and needs of our soul, since both our body and soul are God’s gifts for us; gifts that deserve to be cherished and protected....

On Day 34, we reflected on the image of God as a giver without a bottomline; such is a unique trait of the Father. God willingly provides us with everything we need. In truth, He also wants us to participate in this work of giving. However, we are not God and cannot...

To achieve “order” in life, one must seek appropriate “priorities”. In yesterday’s reflection, we learned how to prioritize our lives through the words and examples of God the Father, Jesus, and Mother Mary. The Pharisees often say, “the most important thing to me is...

There is only one goal in Jesus’ life: the object is the Father and His mission is to fulfil His Father’s will. Indeed, life is not that complicated; Christ, living for this one goal, freely lets go of all other less important things; things that are of this world....

It is not surprising that God’s intervention in our lives requires us to make way.  In addition to sweeping away our original plans and preferences, we also need to give up our time and will; offering our desires to make way for the expression of God’s will in our...

Stephen Covey, a well-known American management guru, once did a demonstration during a business class. He started to drop a handful of rocks of various sizes about the size of a fist, one by one, into a 1-gallon mason jar. When he could no longer fit another rock...

Before we know it, our retreat has arrived at Day 30, launching into its third part - the “Cornerstone of Our Lives”. In part two, the theme of “Priorities in Life” may have shocked you: Does it mean that everything in life, be it good or bad, is the same as the “many...

The reflection on Day 27 focuses on God’s “everlasting promise” to us; one that empowers us to respond to God and God’s gift of life to us with an “unfading desire”.  The reflection on Day 28 examines how our “attachment” to people and things other than God can become...

A story goes like this: Two monks travelled on the road together. They met a lady on the road who needed help to cross a river. One of the monks carried her on his back, crossed the river, put her down, and continued on the road. After a while, he noticed that the...

The two ultimate goals of this Lenten Retreat are: firstly, to help us distance ourselves from and eliminate the burden and distractions brought on by the “many things”; and secondly, to seek and choose, together, what Jesus urges Martha, the “better part”. One...

The reflections in the past few days might have reminded all of us that living out our Christian identity is easier said than done. However, please do not be mistaken! It is not the intention of these reflections to make everyone feel overwhelmed; rather, they are...

By this stage of our retreat, you can certainly understand the importance of its theme to all Christians who strive to follow Christ in all they do, especially those who have devoted themselves to evangelization, or those who serve in the Church. In truth, the brief...

Yesterday’s reflection focuses on how we have gradually become attached to some of our overpowering preferences or likes/dislikes.  You may wonder: What are my preferences in my life?  Let us offer an example.  Some may have unique preferences for food and drinks, and...

In order to fulfil God’s will in each of our lives, let us step into Mary’s shoes on the day of the Annunciation. Based on Mary’s reaction of being “much perplexed” when greeted by the angel Gabriel, it is highly unlikely that God has given her any hint or warning...

In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, Verses 19-21, Jesus said,“After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over...

In the Parable of the Talents, we may be puzzled by one thing: Is God’s gift to us unconditional or conditional (ref. Matthew 25:14-30)? If we interpret this parable from a literal perspective, it appears that God can be quite calculating and shrewd, especially when...

Yesterday, we said that God’s plan is a Project of Hope. You may ask: what exactly is my role in God’s Project of Hope? Apparently, our identity is not only as ones who are saved. Jesus was taken up into heaven so that we can “take His place” to do ”greater works”...

At this stage of the retreat, it is important to reiterate that though God has a plan for each of us, He never forces it on us; instead He has given us freedom of choice. God never wants us to be His puppets; rather, He wishes us to choose Him freely, abide in and...

Yesterday’s reflection explored the idea that if we habitually make the wrong decisions on life’s small things, these little mistakes will culminate into big mistakes with grave consequences. In the same way, if we fail to take care of our small things, we may find it...

The theme of this retreat offers some very important reflective materials, especially for those who serve in the Church, those who carry out special missions, or in general, all those who labour for God.  In fact, our journey of becoming followers of Jesus Christ is...

In a society that puts efficiency on a pedestal, the more one can “multi-task” or juggle multiple things all at once, the more respect they will receive. These multi-taskers are often deemed more capable and talented.  However, research has demonstrated that the human...

During the past ten days, we have been reflecting from various angles on our life’s priorities. We began with Jesus pointing out the “many things” that have kept us occupied and worried, and proceeded to examine the severe damages caused by the “many things” of our...

Yesterday’s reflection explored the idea that the devil wishes to create the greatest chaos and harm in our lives, preventing us from fulfilling our true purpose in life.  He will, at any cost, distract us from the more important relationships and things, and try to...

Yesterday’s reflection focused on the necessity of having the appropriate mindset and positive attitude when confronting adversities and striving to fulfil our responsibilities as God’s children.  The key lies in our willingness to trust God with all our hearts.  As...

Yesterday, we prayed for our Father’s guidance to release us from our spiritual bondage, and to grant us healing because our emotional wounds have brought us tremendous harm and repercussions.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is our companion and the key to our healing; He has...

In yesterday’s reflection, we have explored the severe impact of hidden emotional baggage on us.  Among the different types of emotional baggage, some trauma in the past may have left deeper scars, thus, have a greater impact on us. For instance,  when we are betrayed...

Over the last three reflections, we have been examining our tendency to accumulate things, including the amassing of material possessions, academic knowledge, things that inflate our ego, and so on. While we struggle with our decision to choose “things that belong to...

In the reflections of the past four days, Jesus reminds us of the peril of troubling ourselves with life's "many things" through his interactions with Martha and Mary.  These "many things" rob us of our devotion to God and deceive us into solely...

In yesterday's reflection, we explored how an unhealthy lifestyle could greatly impact us.  While our lifestyle is built on our everyday habits, these habits are intimately connected to our attitude towards life.  An attitude tainted with greed, urging us to...

Feeling distracted, worried, disorganized, busy, lost, restless, helpless, rushed, forgetful, absent-minded, insecure, losing concentration, losing direction and purpose in life… If some of the above symptoms resonate with you, perhaps, like Martha, you have troubled...

As mass communications become more efficient and social media becomes ever more popular, the devil has found more effective ways to distract us.  In the past, the devil had to pull out all sorts of ideas from his bag of tricks to lead us down the path of sins and...

Martha, perhaps feeling a bit neglected while busying herself with all the work, asked Jesus, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me" (Luke 10:40). Jesus, recognizing that Martha's...

Among all of Jesus' closest friends, some of them can be considered His confidantes; Mary is definitely one of them. Mary is an introvert, contrary to Martha, an extrovert, who is more energetic and often excels in social settings. Her introspection, caring...

John has taken great care to depict the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Not only does this scene prefigure Jesus' death and resurrection and reveal a deep theological significance, it also portrays Jesus' character and reveals the heart of Jesus. The Gospel...

Is it really possible to find order in chaos? For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God. (Ref: Mark 10:27) Our best role model is Jesus, and his key is to know the will of God. Jesus is the perfect image of God, and when we...

In this chaotic world, having inner peace has become a luxury. Yet, no one wants to live in a state of restlessness. Therefore, whether or not one has religious beliefs, he or she will intentionally or unintentionally seek some spiritual nourishment and anchor in...