Training is hard, but also joyful

Earlier this morning, I heard a 70-year-old Nova Scotia man called Chris Anderson, who has been running in 29 consecutive Boston marathons and looking to do his 30th, say on TV: “We marathoners often joke that ‘running a marathon is easy; It is the marathon training that is the hard part.’”

What he said definitely strikes a chord for me who now undergo hard daily training so as to be ready for the 7,515 km bike ride in a few weeks’ time. According to the principles of training overload and progressive overload, for the training to be effective and beneficial, one has to keep challenging himself to do something he presently cannot do, then give it time to recover and adapt. Naturally, such training is hard because one is constantly pushing himself to face and overcome new hardship. I can definitely testify to that. Very often, the overload introduced in my training, which is beyond what my current physical condition can handle, leads to breathlessness, discomfort or even pain so tortuous that it takes tremendous willpower to resist the temptation to give up.

Paradoxically, though, the hardship is also where the pleasure of the training lies. I do not mean just the outcome - of seeing progress made, of being able to go beyond previous ‘limits’. Such triumphs are, of course ,the source of sheer joy. But the process itself, with (not despite) all the sweat and blood, can also be joyful. To allow capacity to enjoy the process, I have to screen out the feelings of fear and doubts, the mindfulness of the challenge, and the sensations in the forms of discomfort and pain. Then, and only then, will I be able to focus on the effort and repetition and experience the joy. I find it useful to pay attention to my breathing. I also find it useful to recite prayers. My favourite is the following Taizé lyrics:

Jésus le Christ, lumière intérieure, ne laisse pas mes ténèbres me parler. 
Jésus le Christ, lumière intérieure, donne-moi d’accueillir ton amour.

Its message about not letting my darkness speak to me and enabling me to welcome the love of Jesus is very relevant to the situation of hard exercising.

So, yes, I agree with Chris Anderson that training is the hard part, but I have to say that it is also where joy is. He did not say it, but I am sure this is also what he has experienced.

4, 3, 2, 1... Happy New Year!

What the priest said about New Year celebration at the mass today echoes what the Pope said at about Christmas a week ago.

The priest talked about how people take part in mass activities, such as the countdown last night, without pondering the meaning of the occasions. This is much like what the Pope said about how the increasingly commercial celebration of Christmas has obscured the message of Christ’s birth.

The fact that so many people take part in these celebrations, I believe, is a sign of their boredom, loss or fear. People are not used to or are even afraid of quiet time and actively seek to fill the emptiness by looking for instant, sensual gratification. So when they travel on buses or trains, they bury themselves in whatever engagement or entertainment their smart phones offer, be it to chit-chat with friend, play video games, listen to music or watch films. When they get home, the first thing to do is to switch on the television. Quietness is to be purged at all cost.

Quietness is actually very valuable. As Psalm 46:10 tells us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” We need to create space to see God’s presence, but, sadly, we typically leave very little inner space for God. Didn’t the Bible tell us that when Jesus came to the world, “there was no room” (Luke 2:7) for Him?

Maybe we should learn a lesson from Mary. As the Gospel today tells us, when all who heard the message about the birth of Jesus wondered at what happened, Mary “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

At the turn of the year, it is better for us to find some quiet time to reflect on what lessons to learn from the last year that would help us improve in the next one than to be part of the raucous countdown party at the Time Square.

Important Christmas message from the Pope

Delivered on separate occasions, the two Christmas massages from 84-year-old Pope Benedict XVI this year should indeed be read together.

At the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, he lamented that Christmas has become an increasingly commercial celebration that obscures the simplicity of the message of Christ's birth.

"Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season,” he said. “And to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light."

And in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (Latin for "to the city and the world") speech from the central loggia of St. Peter's on Christmas Day, he prayed for famine, flood and conflict victims from around the world.

These are timely reminders for us during the festive time. For years, I have noticed that there is an increasing inclination for many to see Christmas as an occasion for pleasure seeking. The slogan of in a credit card advertisement by Hong Kong’s largest bank, prompting the whole city to “Live, Shop, Play”, says it all. The Pope reminds us not only to ponder the true meaning of Christmas but also to think about and pray for the disadvantaged. On this holy day, let us reflect on the reason for Jesus Christ assuming a human existence which began in the simplest and most humble fashion.

Cultivating the vineyard in our minds

Two of today's three Bible readings, Isaiah 5:1-7 and Matthew 21:33-43, as well as the Psalm (80:9, 12-16, 19-20), are about planting vineyards. Both Isaiah's poem and Jesus's allegory talk about an owner who set up the vineyards well and expected good yields, in the latter case it was through obtaining the produce from the tenants he leased the vineyard to. However, both owners did not get their wishes. In Isaiah, the vineyard yielded wild grapes; in Matthew, the tenants beat or killed the servants sent by the owner to collect the produce, including his own son.

What were the outcomes? Fury of the owners in both cases. The first owner decided to make the vineyard a ruin, while the other resolved to "put those wretched men to a wretch death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times".

Both the Isaiah poem and the Psalm referred to the vineyard as "the house of Israel". In my own reflection, the vineyard can be our own minds. We do not respond well to the careful and loving tending of God, the owner. We do not manage our minds well and let greed take over. This view seems to be shared by Larry Gillick of Creighton University, who said this in his Daily Reflection column:

"We are cultivated by many differing laborers. Our spirits are similar to the land… We can be smothered by the locusts of materialistic greed which devour simplicity and gratitude. It is difficult to offer our faces to the warmth of the sun when we are burdened with the discouraging pulls of the earthly gravitational downness."

What is the way out? Good advice was offered by St Paul and Jesus. St Paul suggested "prayer and petition, with thanksgiving". He also suggested that we think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and gracious; excellence; and anything worthy of praise. He assured us that the God of peace will be with us, and we will have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Jesus suggested that we turn to Him for help. After telling the vineyard story, He quoted the following from Psalm 118:22:

"The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
but he Lord has this been done,

and it is wonderful in our eyes?"

He, Jesus, is the Stone. Let us not reject Him but make Him the cornerstone when we strive to build our mind into a sacred temple or, to use the analogy today, turn our mind into a vineyard that produces good grapes.

A country in spiritual crisis

I have always felt that a crucial solution to China's various problems today is the Christian faith. In this country where corruption and scams are the order of the day, where money not only speaks but shouts, where the government, businesses and many people, for some ulterior motives, shamelessly lie on a daily basis, people are lost and suffer from a spiritual void. As the writer of Spirituality in China: Is the country in spiritual crisis?, a recent article in the BBC Magazine said: "I heard people talking again and again of a "spiritual crisis" in China - a phrase that has even been used by the Premier Wen Jiao Bao. The old have seen the old certainties of Marxism-Leninism transmute into the most visceral capitalist society on earth. For the young, in the stampede to get rich, trust in institutions, between individuals, between the generations, is breaking down."

It is therefore heartening to learn that the number of Christians in China is multiplying. A conservative estimate of the number of Christians, according to the article mentioned above, is 60 million.

Christianity exists in different forms in China. Catholicism and Protestantism, designated by the state as two separate religions, are both divided into official and unofficial churches. Take Catholicism for an example. There is the officially sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association which appoints its own bishops and is not allowed to have any dealings with the Vatican. There is also a larger Catholic underground church which is supported by the Vatican. Recently, a number of "house churches", which refuse to acknowledge any official authority over their organization and which are at odds with the official Church, have been mushrooming across the country.

Why are more and more people turning to Christianity? Professor He Guanghu, one of China's most eminent philosophers of religion said: "I think it is very natural that many other people will not be satisfied... will seek some meaning for their lives so that when Christianity falls into their lives, they will seize it very tightly."

God save China.

Have They "Closed Their Eyes and Prayed in English"?

"For more than three and a half decades, Catholics across Hong Kong have closed their eyes and prayed in English using the exact same words as fellow believers the world over."

I have to say that this opening paragraph of a front page report in the SCM Post a couple of days ago, which was about some rituals in the Catholic mass soon to be updated so as to be closer to the Latin origins, was misleading, if not downright wrong.

The majority of Catholics across Hong Kong have never "close their eyes and prayed in English". To be more precise, the writer should have said: "For more than three and a half decades, those Catholics across Hong Kong who have closed their eyes and prayed in English have used the exact same words a fellow believers the world over."

I cannot help wondering whether there has been a conscious attempt to generate an impression that English is widely used in the city here.

"Lord, I am ready to go with thee..."

In today's sermon, the priest reminded us that Easter is no graduation for us.

This is something I have learned from the Bible's account of the events leading to the crucifixion of the Lord. Judas, one of the world's most condemned traitor, most certainly did not intend to play that role when he chose to become a disciple. Likewise, Peter did not never planned to deny Jesus, for three times, not once, before the cock crows on that fateful day. It was with total conviction that he said "Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death". Both of them could not see that they would go on to betray or disown their teacher. That was what made their remorse so strong - Judas killed himself while Peter wept bitterly. It was, in their own reflection, so out of character.

But Jesus knows them (and us) so well. He knows their (and our) weaknesses so well that He was able to predict what they (and we) would do. And His love for us is so great that He is not only ready to redeem our sins with His own blood but He also prays to God for our forgiveness on the cross: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

We must by now be very clear that, because of the weakness of our flesh and body, our belief when we were baptised one Easter many years ago that it was our graduation was a shaky one. We have to keep up our lifetime commitment and draw strength from our Lord Jesus to take our learning forward. This is well and truly lifelong learning.

Haiku - Triumph of the Cross

redemption of sin
forgiveness of betrayal
triumph of the cross

It's Not Me, God, It's You

When I was sitting in the room waiting for my turn to do an important oral presentation today, my mind was searching for some thoughts that might help lessen the pressure. An idea came up for me to say to God: "It's not me, it's you."

So this presentation is no different from many other tasks I am given in life - to fulfill God's purpose in one way or another. What I need to do is to always put in my best effort. The outcome, whether it is a success or otherwise, I will offer it as a tribute to God.

This submission to God and His purpose reminds me of Psalm 139:

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God! How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

"Do you believe this?"

Obviously, the theme of today's Gospel (John 11:1-45), which is about Jesus resurrecting Lazarus, is death. But I can see that it talks about two kinds of death. I would say that one kind is the worldly, physical one and the other kind is the spiritual one.

The worldly, physical death is caused by, or is itself even, illness. So when Jesus said, knowing that Lazarus was to meet this kind of death, that "this illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it", Jesus is making a distinction between one kind of death and the other.

The worldly, physical death is temporary, not permanent. "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him," Jesus said.

But the worldly, physical death is very powerful. It causes fear and suffering, rocks our faith to God and, worst of all, may lead us to the eternal, spiritual death if we do not know how to handle it. Our suffering caused by this death is so great that Jesus, who so loves us and is so compassionate, seeing this, is "perturbed", "deeply troubled" and even weeps for us.

But the great news is that, with the help of Jesus and our belief, we will not only rise from this worldly, physical death but also avoid the eternal, spiritual one. This great news is clearly told by Jesus when he said:

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."

He followed this up with the all important question:

"Do you believe this?"

I do, my Lord.

We Have Sinned

The Bible readings today prepare us well for the First Sunday of Lent by reminding us that "we have sinned" (Psalm 51:3). The fateful scene depicted in Genesis 2-3 shows that the fall of Adam and Eve from God's grace certainly had a lot to do with the seven cardinal sins of anger, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. And how the serpent took advantage of that!

"The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom." This applies to us in every way, too. How many times have we succumbed to temptations for these reasons?

The Gospel today tells of another immortal scene - that of the devil tempting Jesus after he fasted for forty days and nights. The episode in Matthew 4:1-11 shows how outrageously cunning the devil is, even couching his temptations in the guise of a quote from the scripture. Only Jesus was more than his match, and He gave us a perfect demonstration of how to resist temptations.

As we prepare ourselves for the beginning of Lent, may God grant us to humility to admit that we have sinned, the wisdom to recognise the devil's temptations and the strength to resist them.

On rock, please!

The two readings in today's Mass complements each other well. Whereas it is said in Romans 3:28 that "a person is justified in faith" - faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus supplements it by suggesting that faith alone is not enough and we have to put our faith into action.
The reading today (Matthew 7:21-27) begins with Jesus saying: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." He then makes use of the parable of the house on rock and the house on sand to illustrate the difference between the one who listens to His words and acts on them and the one who listens but does not act on them. When the rain falls, the flood comes and the winds blows, he house of the former does not collapse because it has been set solidly on rock but the other one does and is completely ruined.

Jesus warns that, come judgement day, those of us who do not do the will of God will be turned away by Him.

So our faith should be supported by our action.

It's God's Harvest Time

It was great joy mixed with equally great disbelief when a former colleague told me that he has been going to a catechumen class and will be baptised this Easter. Even his wife, a devout Catholic who is also a good friend of mine, has long given up on ever seeing his conversion. But such are the wonders and grace of Almighty God. It doesn't matter how long it takes. It doesn't matter what barren soil the seeds fell onto. They will germinate when He means them to.

I was privileged to hear the friend sharing his honest feelings with me - saying that he is not without doubts, and he has practical motives for his conversion. To which my reply is that it doesn't matter. Faith is a lifelong journey and it is bound to be a bumpy ride.

He said that the biggest stumbling block for his Christian belief in the last twenty years or so has been his attribution of his achievements to his own self and abilities. It is only until recently that he has begun to see it differently. I told him that humility is one of the most important elements of our faith and congratulated him for getting past this great barrier.

He said the driving force has been his wish to go to Heaven with his wife. I hope and pray that the wish will be achieved.

Now what would be a perfect gift for his baptism?

To whom should Christian worshippers' allegiance be pledged?

This picture shows a worshipper in a church in the Yunnan province of China arranging flowers to celebrate Christmas.

In his traditional Christmas Day message from the Vatican this year, Pope Benedict XVI singled out the plight of persecuted Christians in China. He urged the Roman Catholics in China to remain hopeful in spite of limitations and to face with courage the limits on their freedom.

The Communist administration in China has been forcing Catholic Bishops to attend events organised by the state-backed "patriotic church". To me, this thing called the "patriotic church" is a classic example of the administration's brutal and naive distortion of truth. Whereas the relationship between Christianity and worldly authority was best summed up by Jesus when he said “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s" (Matthew 22:21), this "patriotic church" thing is a shameless attempt to not only link the two together but also put the church at the service of the state.

Christmas is a good time to remind us to pray for an improvement in relations between the Vatican and China as well as the situations of Christians in the Communist country.

Jésus le Christ

The choir has been singing the chorus of a song in the last couple of weeks. The origin of the song, which is based on Psalm 138, is in French. I've been humming the chorus a lot these days and find it to be very soothing and perfect for meditation:

Jésus le Christ
lumière intérieure
ne laisse pas mes ténèbres me parler
Jésus le Christ
lumière intérieure
Donne-moi d’accueillir ton amour

"Your faith has saved you."

I have saved one more picture of the rescued miners in Chile for today's blog. That picture is a good illustration of the gratitude that I talked about on 10 October. That gratitude is the difference between being healed and being saved. Here we see the miner giving thanks to God after he was lifted from the mine.

No doubt Jesus would be pleased. No doubt he would say: "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

Well done, miner!

Healed but not saved

The Gospel today (Luke 17:11-19) brings out the important distinction between being "healed" and being "saved".

Ten lepers asked Jesus to have pity on them. They were all healed, but only one, a Samaritan, returned. He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.

"Stand up and go," Jesus told the Samaritan. "Your faith has saved you."

It is obvious that whoever is in trouble, even those who suffered from the horrible disease of leprosy in the Biblical time, as long as he asks Jesus, he will be "healed". But if we then take the healing for granted and fail to remember God's grace and glorify or thank him, we are not truly "saved".

That gratitude, which Naaman in the first reading (2 Kings 5:14-17) also demonstrated when he returned and gave thanks to Elisha who had cleaned him of his leprosy, is the difference between being healed and being saved. Let us be like Naaman and take "two mule-loads of earth" back with us, as reminder of our gratitude to God.

Arc-en-ciel secondaire

I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Men and the earth. (Genesis 9:13)

Beautiful rainbow in Tuscany, Italy.

No, I mean, beautiful double rainbow in Tuscany, Italy.

Haiku - triumph of the cross

o reflugent trees

arms open, in reverence

triumph of the cross

Abide with Me

We probably all have songs or hymns that touch us deeply or move us to tears. For me, it is Sister Miriam Therese Winter’s Spirit of God. For the priest who regularly conducts the mass I attend on Sunday, it is Henry Francis Lyte’s Abide with Me. He loves the song so much that he has translated it into Chinese to be sung by worshippers in masses. It is a job masterfully done.

Regarding Henry Francis Lyte, the biography written by Evelyne Miller makes interesting reading. Lyte was born in Scotland in 1793. Three people had particularly influenced his life.

It was his mother, Anna Maria, who had told him of the love of God, taught him his prayers at her knee and read him stories from the Bible. Sadly, this very close relationship was short-lived as his mother died when he was nine.

The death of his mother left him without any means of support as his father had abandoned his family. Lyte owed his education to Dr. Robert Burrows, the headmaster of his school, and his wife Mrs Burrows. They took him into their home and paid for his education.

When he became Curate to St Munn's Church, he met an Irish clergyman, the Reverend Abraham Swanne who was to have a great spiritual influence on his life. Lyte attended the Reverend Swanne when he was critically and had many deep spiritual discussions with the very devout pastor. The courage and confidence Swanne had in his divine beliefs and faith made a lasting impression on Lyte, who always looked back on those years as a great milestone in his spiritual and pastoral life.

Abide with Me was Lyte's last hymn, written during his last serious illness. He was in Avignon to avoid the cold, damp English winter, and as he knew that it was very unlikely that he would ever return home, he sent the finished manuscript to his wife Anna Maria. Shortly afterwards, he died in Nice on 20 November 1847. The hymn is a beautiful, touching tribute of a dying man to God:

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou, Who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea —
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy Presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death's sting? Where, Grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.