Category Archives: Discipleship

Saints: What it means to be good and faithful servants

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Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?

Matthew 16:24-26

There’s a common perception that when it comes to serving God, harder is holier. This is not an entirely surprising perspective because the church celebrates the trials and tribulations of the saints. Not to mention, the Gospel authors make it clear that we should “deny ourselves” and in our hearts, we read that passage and interpret that to mean that Jesus wants us to choose thing that we want to do the least. This is almost heresy when you consider that God, as our Father in Heaven, wants what’s best for us, in accordance to how He has made us to be. What Jesus is referring to in that passage is that when our wills and what we want do not align with the Father’s will and what He wants, then we deny ourselves.

St. Joseph: the holiness in ordinariness

What does it mean to be holy? Being holy means saying “yes” to the Father. It also means saying yes to the personal crosses we encounter in our lives daily as Jesus asks. For someone like St. Joseph, that meant doing the work of a carpenter and raising his son, Our Lord, as an ordinary human boy; though so little is written about him, we celebrated the “Year of Saint Joseph” in 2020 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Church’s Church’s declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church.

“We are all called to become saints…be a saint by carrying out your work with honesty and competence and by offering time in the service of your brothers and sisters. But, father, I work in a factory; I work as an accountant, only with numbers; you can’t be a saint there…. yes, yes you can! there, where you work, you can become a saint. God gives you the grace to become holy. God communicates himself to you. Always, in every place, one can become a saint, that is, one can open oneself up to this grace, which works inside us and leads us to holiness.”

Pope Francis

St Joseph was an ordinary man on whom God relied on to do great things. In the Gospel of St Matthew, St Joseph was described as a “just man.” The term “just” or “righteous” means right with God. We read an inner monologue of his thoughts and emotional conflict from the minute Mary tells him of her pregnancy but he continues to do exactly what the Lord wants him to do, in each and every event in his life. St. Joseph’s fidelity to his everyday responsibilities as a husband, father, provider, and protector of his family – is synonymous with his life of holiness.

But all the Saints had these hard lives, I’m definitely sure harder is holier…

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

Matthew 25:14-28

“Each according to his ability”

When our Lord tells us the Parable of the Bags of Gold, he makes certain to mention that the master in the story has given his servants responsibilities “each according to his ability” – one had received five bags, another had received two and the last received only one. Yet, when the master returns, he is not interested in the quantum of the returns but only that his servants had done their best. The master in the parable, a proxy for Jesus, gives equal praise to the servant who has returned five more bags of gold and the one who has returned only two more bags of gold. In our Lord’s eyes, both accomplishments merit equal praise even though the results are quantifiably unequal: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

While the first two-thirds of the parable are quite clear in their meaning, many struggle with what happens to the last servant with one bag. In our eyes, he’s a fearful man and he perceives his master as a harsh taskmaster. How many among us will admit that we perceive God as a harsh bean counter who keeps tally of our sins rather than an all merciful, all loving Abba, Father? So, we see and think that the last servant is a proxy for us. However, Jesus gives us quite a few clues, the master had gone on a long journey and so the two servants doubled their holdings had been hard at work and the last servant merely hid his responsibilities in the ground and did nothing for it but offering our Lord a feeble excuse which the master chastises as “wicked and lazy”. Hence, from this passage we can discern that our Lord gives us crosses according to our ability and He is as proud as a Saint’s success with his big crosses (5 bags) as he is of a Saint’s small crosses (2 bags) and all He asks is that you do not set your smallest of crosses (1 bag) aside.

What it actually means to be good and faithful servants

“When the Lord invites us to become saints, he doesn’t call us to something heavy, sad… quite the contrary! it’s an invitation to share in his joy, to live, and to offer with joy every moment of our life, by making it become at the same time a gift of love for the people around us. if we understand this, everything changes and takes on new meaning, a beautiful meaning, a meaning that begins with little everyday things”

Pope Francis, General Audience, November 19, 2014

Man is made to work, not only because it is written in the book of Genesis that he was created to till the earth and care for it, but because it is the way in which God gives us the capacity to transform himself, create new things (just like God does), and also to improve the world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 2428) teaches that “in work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature. the primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and its beneficiary. Work is for man, not man for work. Everyone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that of his family, and of serving the human community.”

The sanctification of ordinary work is a living seed, able to yield fruits of holiness in an immense number of souls. When reflecting on St Joseph being a just man, Pope Benedict wrote: “In Joseph, faith is not separated from action. His faith had a decisive effect on his actions. Joseph is a ‘just man’ (Mt 1:19) because his existence is ‘adjusted’ to the word of God.”

St Joseph became the “good and faithful servant” precisely because our Lord’s adoptive father performed his duties as given by God faithfully and to the best of his ability.

What it takes to be good disciple makers

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Church grows when disciples are spiritual multipliers of Christ-pointers

Being a Catholic doesn’t necessarily mean that a person is a disciple of Jesus. What defines a disciple according to Campus Crusade’s Christopher Adsit is, “a person-in-process who is eager to learn and apply the truths that Jesus Christ teaches him, which will result in ever deepening commitments to a Christlike lifestyle.”

Keeping this in mind, we can draw inferences from our roles as disciple-maker.

1. A catechist

‘Catechesis’ is a biblical word that has its root idea in being an ‘echo’. It isn’t the responsibility of the disciple-maker to re-teach the entire Catechism but he must believe and teach in accord to what has been handed down by Jesus Christ and the Church. In spite of 10 years of formal catechesis, our young Catholics don’t know a lot of what should be considered basic, for example, “What are the proofs for the divinity of Christ”, “Why did Jesus die on the Cross?”, “What is Sacred Tradition”, “Why is LGBT relationships wrong?”, etc. Without a renewal of the mind (Roms 12:2), it is very difficult to proceed to form convictions, actions and lifestyles.

Disciple-makers are catechists inasmuch as we offer “an apprenticeship in the entire Christian life” (General Directory of Catechesis #30 https://bit.ly/3T5FRIl). Of course, we move through stages of life so we may have various mentors for each one of these. To cite a few of these, disciple-makers of teenagers may need to focus on interior life, campus students on their gender roles, young adults on business and financial discipleship (e.g. Compass Catholic Finance), and the newly married on family life. Whichever of these areas of focus, disciple-makers must be witnesses and models, before they are teachers.     

2. A companion for the spiritual journey  

My modern inspiration for the ministry of accompaniment comes from Pope St John Paul II, who as a young priest went on picnics and kayaking with young people. Meeting them in their leisure time means becoming a foodie. We celebrate holidays and birthdays together. But as Pope Francis warns, ‘Spiritual accompaniment must lead others ever closer to God …To accompany them would be counterproductive if it became a sort of therapy supporting their self-absorption and ceased to be a pilgrimage with Christ to the Father.’ (Evangelii Gaudium aka Joy of the Gospel #170).

Listen to and invite them into spiritual conversations, “What do you think is the purpose of your life?”, “What are the significant moments in your spiritual journey and where are you right now?” “If Jesus were right here, what would you want Him to do for you?”. If they are baptised, invite them to Sunday Mass and continue regular meet-ups and fellowship events.

Like the story of the Little Prince befriending a fox who teaches him that the important things in life are visible only to the heart. So, meeting regularly with those on a spiritual journey and sharing stories of life with them is what builds authentic friendships (1 Thes 2:8). And it’s okay if some are not yet ready for discipleship. Some may be going through a personal crisis and may just need someone to talk to, even a referral to a counsellor. For others, time is limited as they have other commitments like part-time jobs.

But eventually, like Jesus who selected the Twelve to ‘be’ with him (Mark 3:14), invite those who have been proven to be faithful, available, contagious and teachable (F.A.C.T.) into a discipleship relationship. This starts with a presentation of the Gospel, with a step-by-step follow-up to train and build them up till they discover their unique vocation (Joy of the Gospel #171). We will discuss this process in greater detail in my later postings.

The goal of discipleship is to grow more disciples for the Church. Image Putta Gunawan, Pexels

3. A Christ-pointer

Jesus said, “Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah” (Matt 23:11). While you are a disciple-maker, the person you are forming is not your disciple; he is Christ’s. Christ is the one who causes the growth. And sometimes, it means, that for whatever reason, the person may prefer to be discipled by someone else. Other times it may be due to a specialised area in which he may need mentorship: For example, how to be a disciple of Jesus in the medical profession. And that’s okay.

Ultimately the goal of the disciple-maker is two-fold. First, it is that the person we are discipling becomes a canonisable saint (Eph 1:4)! That he will be conformed to Christ (8:29)! That he will be filled with the divine nature (theosis, 2 Pet 1:4)! This formation of his character, of his being, should be a priority above everything else.

The second goal is for the one we are discipling to bear fruit, that he becomes a spiritual multiplier (2 Tim 2:2). The discipleship relationship only comes to some “end” when the one we are discipling has captured the conviction for Jesus Christ to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19).

Finally, note that the structure of the Church does have a formal provision for the ministry of disciple-making. It’s called God-parenting or being a sponsor. After Vatican II, the Church retrieved the ancient model of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) but it’s a shame that there’s not a lot of guidance to Godparents on how to effectively involve them in the process.  

Are you ready to embrace these roles as a disciple-maker? What are some of your concerns as you undertake this responsibility?

Hail, Full of Grace

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(Editor: The Month of October is dedicated to Mary and the Rosary)

“God doesn’t hear me, He hasn’t answered my prayer…” this is a common doubt and refrain among the faithful. It is also one of the easiest methods ha-satan (“the satan”) uses to create a rift between us and Abba, Father. So what happens when we think God doesn’t even answer some of our prayers, how do we find the confidence that we can “get an answer” for the most important, most challenging moments of our lives?

The historical and spiritual significance of the Wedding at Cana

In the Talmud, wine is not only a symbol of joy and happiness but also a sign of the couple’s new life together. The Talmud also states that wine is a symbol of the Torah. Wine, in the Jewish tradition, is closely associated with the Sabbath, it marks the boundary lines and separates the holiness of the Holy Day from the secular character of the ordinary day.

In the Bible, God often described His relationship with His people as a marriage. He was the husband and His people were His bride. God expected His people to be devoted to Him alone and in His eyes having other gods (literal or metaphorical i.e. money) was forbidden. To Him, it was like adultery. In short, Marriage is very similar to the Sabbath. Both are covenantal, reciprocal love relationships.

Mother Mary teaches us How to Pray at Cana

On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you” 

John 2:1-5

This passage is often taken to ascribe Mother Mary with a role as our intercessor and indeed she is. Just like our own earthly mothers, Mary is that gentle voice who intercedes for us with our Father. However, the Wedding at Cana has even more significance than most of us realise: it is a physical representation of the spiritual mechanisms which demonstrates our Father’s literal relationship with us, His children.

The Wedding at Cana demonstrates three key guidelines on how and what to pray: First, it makes us aware that before we ask/inform the Lord that we have a problem, He (and the servants He designates) already know. Second, contrary to popular belief, Mary does not make a request or supplication. Our mother simply states what the problem is, “they have no wine.” Finally, the Queen of Heaven demonstrates faith when she says, “do whatever he tells you”. Mary doesn’t assume Jesus will answer. She knows He will and what she makes clear is that she does not know what He will answer, hence “whatever he tells you”.

Read also:
Mary: The Mother God gives the world
The Rosary: A powerful weapon against evil
The power of the Hail Mary

“Unanswered prayer” happens when we miss the forest for the trees

Mary casts light on “Unanswered Prayer”

The problem with “unanswered prayer” is that we often provide God our “suggested solution” in prayer and supplication but these are born of our mortal perspectives. Our omnipotent and omniscient Father takes a macro-perspective over the issues and challenges we face in the grand scheme of our lives and the grand plan. So, when we ask God to answer our prayers and look for His response in our suggested solutions, more often than not, we miss the forest for the trees while we are looking out things to happen as we imagine, missing that God has answered our prayer in a way that we did not expect. In essence, Mary shows us that preferred format to prayer is simply to state the problem aka “they have no wine” rather than provide a solution for God to follow.

Most importantly, our mother is emblematic of that fourth line in the Pater Noster, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” – When Mary tells the servant to “do whatever He tells you” – she is in effect, asking you to listen to God and to be executors of His will on earth as it is in heaven. Hence, one needs to have biblical fearlessness in whatever the Lord wills for us.

Mom at the dinner table, undoing the knots of our lives

I sat on a bench outside of The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, looking at the placid waters. Rosary in hand, and at the time, a printed sheet with the Novena to Mary, the Undoer of Knots, I prayed for a very personal, seemingly impossible intention.

On the next day, I took up the beads again, and the next day and the next. Soon, nine days had passed and then months passed before I realised that the seemingly impossible situation, had been reversed since the day I first prayed the rosary. When we pray the rosary, it is akin to a conversation with our mother at the dinner table. When we pray the Rosary daily, imagine the power of seeking advice and good counsel daily from the one human the devil fears.

According to Italian exorcist Fr. Sante Babolin, “while I was insistently invoking the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the devil answered me: ‘I can’t stand That One (Mary) any more and neither can I stand you any more.’”

Famed exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth confirmed this reality in his dialogues with the devil, where the devil said to him, “I am more afraid when you say the Madonna’s name, because I am more humiliated by being beaten by a simple creature, than by Him.”

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel”

A prayer during exorcism refers to a prophecy foretold in Genesis 3:15

During the Rite of Exorcism the priest will pray, “The glorious Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, commands you; she who by her humility and from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception crushed your proud head.” [check out the full read over at Aleteia]

The power of the Rosary

“There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot solve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.”

Sister Lucia of Fatima 

Through the Rosary, we get to live the life and trials of not only our Lord, but the spiritual journey of our mother from Annunciation (her fiat “let it be done to me as You will) to her Saviour and Son’s crucifixion (“a sword will pierce your heart”) and resurrection and eventually, her crowning as the Queen of Heaven. The Rosary is more than a devotion to Our Lady. By reflecting on Our Most Holy Mother’s experiences and the life of Jesus, we become more like the woman who bore all things for the sake of obedience to God’s will.

During Pope Francis’s general audience address in the library of the Apostolic Palace on 18 November 2020, the Pope pointed to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of prayer that transforms restlessness into openness to God’s will. At the Annunciation, the Virgin Mary rejected fear with a prayerful “yes,” even though she likely sensed that this would bring her tremendously difficult trials, how many more warriors for God would Satan fear if we all could be more like Mary, full of grace?

The Blessed Virgin undoes Eve’s sin with her complete obedience, fulfilling the prophecy and crushing the serpent

Discipleship: Nobody is too poor to “feed His sheep”

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Love of Christ impels us to nurture the baptised, bring home the lost souls

I had just given the instructions for an exciting game and could hear the young people shouting and laughing, and having fun.

But there I was outside the room, wondering why I was doing this every week. What was the purpose of doing youth ministry? Was there some ego involved in wanting to have the largest number of Catholic youths involved so they would not be attracted to join the “more interesting” Protestant church?

So what keeps me serving, especially as a disciple-maker?

1. Fear of God.

This is an unpopular expression but entirely biblical. Do we desire to please God knowing that one day you will appear before the Judgement seat of Christ, to receive a reward according to your works? St Paul says that it is this fear of the Lord, that motivates him to persuade others (2 Cor 5: 9-11). Sometimes, we forget that the man who didn’t use his talent to multiply didn’t just get sent to Purgatory for a temporary punishment. Jesus said to “throw this useless servant outside where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth” (Matt 25:30).

Indeed, not getting involved in the Great Commission is setting ourselves against the Lord. Jesus Himself declared bluntly that whoever does not gather with Me, scatters; whoever is not with Me, is against Me (Matt 12:30).

Maybe you may feel quite ungifted or struggle with time to be able to commit as a formal catechist. But even the last servant had one talent. The Great Commission is every Catholic’s vocation, even if it were to just one person. French Carmelite nun St Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) had her Little Way. Personal disciple-making is what Fellowship of Catholic University Students founder Curtis Martin calls, the Little Way of Evangelisation. Indeed, one person is still more than none. 

2. Love of God

For St Paul “the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all”. Meditating on the Stations of the Cross, we should be so deeply moved, that we should no longer live for ourselves but for Him who for our sake died, and was raised (2 Cor 5:14-15). If we have within us the grace of Christ, His presence should also move us to compassion for the lost. Do you love Jesus? Then feed his sheep (John 21:16).

Sometimes, after a big event, Catholics shrug their shoulders and say, “we can only plant seeds”. Yes, occasional formations have their place as catalysts. But tending the sheep implies long term, not less attention to our newborn spiritual babies. Would you say to a baby, “if he needs further help, he knows where to find us”? Or would you do all you can to nurture him to full maturity? “Grace builds on nature” and if we are a Church that doesn’t care to truly disciple our young, we will continue to see swaths of perpetual spiritual infants, even spiritual deaths. Do you love God and care that His Church is dying?

Tending His sheep implies long term, not less attention to our newborn spiritual babies.

3. Love for the Church

It is heart-wrenching that while the structures for disciple-making are in the Rites of Initiation, Catholics fumble big time as Godparents, treating these roles rather perfunctorily. Even catechists have earned sharp rebuke that they do not yet have a full conception of catechesis “as a school of faith, an initiation and apprenticeship in the entire Christian life” (General Directory of Catechetics 30). Pope Francis in Joy of the Gospel #173, therefore, declares that the Church will have to initiate everyone – priests, religious and laity – into this “art of accompaniment”. If catechesis is the Church’s pipeline to make missionary disciples and it is broken, let’s focus our attention on raising disciple-making Godparents who are effective in apprenticing and accompanying our new brothers and sisters to become Christ.

4. Love for Yourself

You may disqualify yourself as a disciple-maker, saying that you don’t know enough of your Catholic faith. But Pope St John Paul II said, “nobody is so poor he cannot give”. Indeed, as we give, we are challenged to learn more about our faith. Becoming a disciple-maker is not just an act of obedience to the Lord, but an opportunity to grow in faith, hope and love. It truly is to your spiritual benefit.

Which of the above is the most compelling reason to get involved in the Great Commission? Are there any other motivations for you to become a disciple-maker?

Discipleship is not about hanging out with one another

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At its heart are starting spiritual conversations, teaching others to form disciples

When we relaunched Lifeline College & Young Adults Ministry at the church of St Francis Xavier in Petaling Jaya, I dare say we did our best to love each person God sent our way. For an English-speaking parish, encountering Sabahans and Sarawakians was novel but we welcomed them.

We were inclusive of the Mandarin-speaking folks.  We patiently befriended those who had mental health issues. Every week, after Mass and the gathering, we went for lunch, sports or movie and even dinner.

So when one of the leaders described discipleship as hanging out with each other, it was understandable. But to me who knew discipleship was so much more, it was horrifying.

As Catholics, we were never raised in a disciple-making culture. Maybe I wouldn’t have been such a screw-up if someone had discipled me. So, I was extremely grateful to a college mate who had been with Campus Crusade for Christ for introducing the book, Personal Disciple-making, by Christopher Adsit.

I had never experienced intentionally discipling another person previously, so the dense biblical insights and practical ideas in the book completely overwhelmed me. I am still unpacking it today.

The book introduced me to two critical ideas.

First, I learnt to do discipleship outside of a formal context. As I “did life” with my student leaders, I learnt to broach into spiritual conversations. This is so important, especially when ministering to millennials who wouldn’t come for formal youth gatherings but are willing to chat over dinner.

If I disciple others to disciple others, the ministry grows exponentially as more trained workers are released into the harvest field.

Second, I started to see the vision for spiritual multiplication. No matter how effective I am, if everything only depends on me, every new person I‘m discipling is only a spiritual addition. But if I disciple others to disciple others, the ministry grows exponentially as more trained workers are released into the harvest field.  

The next stage in my formation as a disciple-maker was when I encountered the Fellowship of Catholic University Students in the United States (FOCUS) and Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) in Canada. At last, I was able to see and hear from living witnesses what the discipleship model looked like, especially in a Catholic context.

CCO demonstrated urgency in their bible studies. We only had a few years with the students so we had to be intentional in teaching what they really need to know and practise as Catholics.

FOCUS introduced a one-page Discipleship Road Map that made it clear it starts with calling for a commitment through a kerygmatic presentation of the Gospel. It “ends” when disciples are themselves making disciples.

The Road Map is invaluable as it helps us identify which stage we are at so as to know the next step forward. FOCUS also divided their formations into four areas: human, intellectual, spiritual and apostolic, which really helped me shape the conversations I am having with the people I am discipling. This includes a guideline to talk to men about the awkward topic of chastity.

The larger Catholic Church has entered the conversation on disciple-making primarily through Sherry Weddell’s book, Forming Intentional Disciples.

As more and more church leaders discover that our ad hoc formations and traditional youth and campus ministries aren’t forming missionary disciples who make missionary disciples, more focus has shifted to the discipleship model.

Though I have spent my last 25 years growing as a disciple-maker, I am humbled that there is always so much more to learn.

Where are you on your journey as a disciple-maker? How are you effectively fulfilling Jesus’ last command to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19)?

Mission to save lives: Shipwrecked crew (Part 1)

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What starts as work to lead people to safety can be detoured to self-indulgence

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occurred, there was once a little life-saving station. The building was primitive and had just one boat, but the crew were committed to saving lives and kept a constant lookout for ships that got into trouble at sea. When a ship went down, day or night, they unselfishly went out to rescue people.

Because so many were saved, the station’s work became widely known. As a result, the station was overwhelmed with offers from people who wanted to give their time, talent and money to support its important work. New boats were bought, fresh crews were recruited and a formal training session was put in place for those who joined the ranks of the crew.

As membership grew, some were unhappy the building was old and had outdated equipment. They yearned for a better place to hold survivors they plucked out from the sea. So they built a large new building, replaced the old emergency cots with comfortable beds and brought in better furniture.

In time the station became a popular meeting place for the crew. They met regularly, always greeted and hugged each other, and shared stories about what had been going on in their lives. The love and care among the crew were evident.

As time passed, most members lost interest in going out to sea on life-saving missions. They hired lifeboat crews to handle this important task. About this time, there was a large shipwreck off their coast, and the new hires went out to sea and returned to the station with boatloads of cold, wet, dirty, sick, and half-drowned people.

The survivors were a mixed bunch. Some had black skin and others yellow. They were a few who were fluent in English, while most didn’t understand the language. Among them were first-class cabin passengers, and there was a clutch of deck hands. In just a short time, the station that had become a beautiful meeting spot was transformed into a place of chaos. The plush carpets got dirty and the exquisite furniture suffered scratches.

In the ensuing melee, the property committee swung into action and constructed a makeshift shower outside the building where the shipwreck survivors were cleaned before they were allowed inside.

At the station’s next meeting there was a rift among the members. Most wanted to stop their life-saving work as they were unpleasant and a hindrance to their fellowship. Others insisted that saving lives was still their primary mission and pointed out that the station still had this status. But this minority group was voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all sorts of people that the station recently did, they could do this at another location down the coast. And that’s what they did.

Those who joined the original team were not transformed into disciples of the mission in which their belief in saving lives would have been deeply rooted. If this had been the case, the new members would, in turn, attract and transform others into disciples to believe in their cause.

As the years passed, the new place experienced a repeat of what afflicted and ended the mission of the station it replaced. It evolved into a place for fellowship, committee meetings and special training sessions about their mission, but few went out to save people from drowning. Survivors were also no longer welcomed in this new station that was supposed to save lives. Another station was founded further down the coast to do this.

History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of adequate meeting places with ample parking spaces and plush carpeting. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most people drown.

What went wrong with the mission of saving lives in this unfortunate tale?

It is apparent new members were attracted to the mission but were not adequately formed to actually love the work of saving lives. In time, they enjoyed the fellowship, which should be a by-product of the mission and not the main course.

The crux of the problem: Those who joined the original team were not transformed into disciples of the mission in which their belief in saving lives would have been deeply rooted. If this had been the case, the new members would, in turn, attract and transform others into disciples to believe in their cause.

We can view this story through the lens of the wider Christian missionary. Where do Catholics stand in comparison to other non-Catholic Christian groups? How robust are we? You will be surprised at the results of surveys that were conducted to measure how we faired.

Image: Katalin Rhorvát, Pexels

Part 2 Mission to save lives: The shipwrecked disciples

Mission to save lives: Shipwrecked disciples (Part 2)

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We need to build up more life-savers in the Catholic Church

In Part 1, I told a tale of a group of life-savers whose work to rescue survivors of shipwrecks attracted people to join their mission. But they were not deeply rooted in the cause of saving lives, lost their sense of mission and became a social club.

To be deeply rooted in a mission is to be transformed into missionary disciples. Such people who experience this type of conversion are so convinced of the good of their work that they in turn want others to join their cause. This strong passion for their work in helping others has the effect of creating more passionate believers.

In Christian terms, this will create disciples who create other disciples, who do likewise and so on and so on. But how do Catholics fare in the work of discipleship because he work Jesus Christ, in which we are called to join His mission, is about saving lives? It is not a one-off rescue outing to pluck people from the jaws of death. It has implications to place them safely for all eternity. This work, which has divine origins in Christ, is called evagelisation.

According to the apostolic exhortation “Evangelisation in the Modern World” the Church exists in order to evangelise (EN 14). But writing for Catholic Missionary Disciple in his article, 5 Reasons Catholics Don’t Evangelise, Marcel LeJeune notes that in a 2013 poll on the importance of Christians who actively shared their faith, Catholics ranked the lowest.

The poll conducted in the United States drew from the best and most engaged Catholics, and yet only 1 out of every 3 “active Catholics” agreed they had a responsibility to share their faith with others and actually did so in the past year. To my knowledge, no similar study has been done in the Malaysian or Singapore Church, but I doubt we are better off.

Catholics must stop making excuses such as “I’m not worthy cos I’m still struggling with sin”, “I don’t know enough about my faith”, “They won’t listen to me” and “I’m not that type” are some excuses you and I make are to exempt ourselves from the Great Commission. It’s similar to how Moses winced and whined before God. (Ex 3:11-22, 4:1-17).

Let’s look at some reasons why I believe Catholics are failing in their fundamental duty

1. Catholics aren’t disciples 

Most Catholics are baptised not because they consciously made a decision to become a disciple of Jesus. Sherry Weddell, author of “Forming Intentional Disciples” notes, “We have asked hundreds of diocesan and parish leaders from 60 dioceses throughout the English-speaking world this question: What percentage of your parishioners, would you estimate, are intentional disciples? To our astonishment, we have received the same answer over and over: ‘Five percent’. When Catholicism is just a religious duty to fulfil and Catholics cannot see the transforming value of Jesus in their lives, it is very unlikely that they will want to share Jesus with others.”

You and I need to look at what Jesus and the Church say about discipleship, before we can make changes, both personal and structural. If our lifestyle is one of compromise, mediocrity and lukewarmness, we would be good for nothing but to be thrown out. Live according to your calling as salt of the earth and light of the world. Then give testimony on how making Jesus the Lord of your life, has been life-changing.

2. Catholics are universalists or believe differences of faith don’t really matter

Universalists believe in the false doctrine that no one will go to hell. In our efforts to promote inter-religious dialogue, the nuances of church teachings are lost on simple Catholics and most have become religious relativists. Respect for other faith traditions and the truth that “all religions teach you to do good” has crossed over to claim that “all religions are the same” and that “everyone will go to heaven”. So what’s the point of introducing Jesus if you don’t believe that He is the One Mediator and lifeline to the Father (John 14:6)?

The nuanced Catholic teaching is found in the Vatican II Constitution, Lumen Gentium (No 16). After laying out the conditions in which a non-believer might be saved, it declares soberly that “VERY OFTEN (translation from the Latin, Flannery edition; capitals mine), men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings, have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the world rather than the Creator.” This means that, while the Catholic Church teaches that there is a possibility that a non-believer goes to heaven – and always through Jesus – the probability is so low that we shouldn’t be presumptuous. Catholics must pray with heartfelt urgency, “On my Jesus, save us from the fires of hell” and be spurred to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

3. Catholics are scared and make excuses not to do it

“I’m not worthy cos I’m still struggling with sin”, “I don’t know enough about my faith”, “They won’t listen to me” and “I’m not that type” are some excuses you and I make are to exempt ourselves from the Great Commission. It’s similar to how Moses winced and whined before God. (Ex 3:11-22, 4:1-17).

Yet, Jesus gave the command to all, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). I may be scared to evangelise but you know what frightens me more? That I will one day profoundly regret that I never shared with my loved ones, my secret to the fullness of life.  As part of God’s rescue mission, you and I need to grieve that family and friends who are stumbling without Jesus, could be lost forever (Rom 9:2-3). Only a Holy Spirit love for Jesus and the world can push us out of our comfort zones and make us unashamed of the Gospel! (Rom 1:16).

4. Catholics don’t want to be offensive and lose friendships with non-Christians

I put this as a separate category from the above because living in multi-religious societies, this is a genuine concern. It’s about how our message is going to be received. It’s true that some wouldn’t care. Others might even disagree and reject us. Jesus promised nothing less.

But you can disagree with someone without becoming disagreeable. In fact, there are many people who would want to discuss religion with Catholics. Protestants, Muslims, Mormons and Korean cult devotees. You may be irritated or offended but walking away sends the message that Catholicism doesn’t have an answer. Why don’t we see this as an opportunity to evangelise? I’ve known some Catholics who built up their faith through apologetics discussions. One even became a priest! Those who do not know Christ as Lord and Saviour DESERVE to know the truth and if it’s not going to be from you, then from whom?   

5. Parishes aren’t supporting nor training active personal evangelism

I will say this politely: Catholics, even leaders, who claim it is sufficient to witness with our lifestyle, is not teaching what the Magisterium teaches. Evangelisation is reduced to serving to the poor. Other times evangelism is just waiting for inquirers to sign-up for the RCIA. In one parish, it was a step-up for the priest to ask parishioners, week in and week out, to bring their non-Christian friends to Mass.

But to reverse the current Catholic culture and restore a practice of the apostolic church, Catholics need to be firstly taught “Why Evangelise” and then be encouraged step-by-step how to do it. Only when all parish leaders, including clergy, have had first-hand experience of personal evangelism, will we know how to make “missionary outreach paradigmatic for all the Church’s activities” (Joy of the Gospel 15).

What are five things you can do to help the Church recover Her evangelistic identity?

  • Join a training on personal evangelism. Learn how to share your story of conversion and how to present a basic message of Christianity that invites listeners to place their trust in Jesus. Read a book on how to answer basic apologetic questions like Trent Horn’s “Why We’re Catholic”.
  • Invite church friends to join you for training on personal evangelism. Make a point to share what you are learning about evangelism with someone weekly, especially to correct all the false understanding prevalent among Catholics. Better yet, offer to start the class on evangelism in your parish.
  • Pray daily for your non-Christian friends and lapsed Catholics. List 10 people you can name in a decade of the Rosary. If you are going to offer Mass for the dead, remember to put in intentions for your living non-believer friends as well. And you can always end a conversation by asking “how can I pray for you?”
  • Volunteer to be a hospitality minister that does more. In some parishes, it would already be amazing if they smiled and greeted you. Be friendly and ready to engage in conversation even to invite strangers to join you for a meal.
  • Plan every open event to be evangelistic. Can non-Catholics join in the hiking trip? They sure can. Can non-Catholics join in to serve the homeless? They sure can. Can non-Catholics join in the choir or caroling? They sure can. It may mean conscientiously planning for the presence of non-believers (singable hymns, inspiring homilies etc) and intentionally asking the Catholics to invite their friends especially for celebrations like Christmas and Easter.  

What do you think Is stopping you from evangelising? What can you do to start evangelising? We would love to hear any other ideas you might have to raise up an evangelistic Catholic culture.

Part 1: Mission to save lives: The shipwrecked crew

Our journey to Pentecost Sunday

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Travelling on the road of faith, hope and charity for TAF

It is almost a year ago since Deacon Adrian and I toyed with the idea of producing material that is easy to read for all Catholics. We had several conversations through WhatsApp and Zoom because he lives in Kuala Lumpur and I, in Singapore.

We agreed on a plan that if we were to do anything, it would be on a “Simple writing, simple reading” formula. But we had no clue initially on how to go about doing this or what medium it should be on or where we are going to get more help.

If it would be books, booklets, pamphlets or something else, was a question that continuously nagged at us.

We thought a website would be cool, but neither of us was at the level of creating one. It had been quite a while since I started my own blog, and was a little rusty. Besides, there are tons of Catholic websites on the Internet, why would anyone want to come to ours?

That was another question that had been nagging at us.

Our goal, though, is to help Catholics understand our faith better. It is not meant to teach those already neck-deep in studying Catholicism, but if we can contribute anything to their journey, that would be a bonus.

We want to cast our nets far and wide to all Catholics in Malaysia and Singapore, but primarily to those who are trying to understand and learn our faith, including students.

Our language style should, therefore, be easy to understand. As far as possible, we wanted to try and avoid terms that get people scratching their heads. This is no easy task, but we wanted to try.

In this light, we had conversations with a few Catholics who we felt were well-grounded in the faith, but that effort produced nothing. Just as our Lord Jesus Christ lamented that “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2-4)

So, instead of twiddling our thumbs, both of us prayed. We had to have faith.

During Advent last year a handful of promising names emerged. On Christmas Day I started writing at a site that hosted bloggers, just to keep our hopes alive. Then, on Ash Wednesday, two Catholics decided to join our mission: Jonathan Ho and Clement Wee from Singapore.

A few days later, Sister Shirley Chong came on board. She is a Daughters of St Paul Sister from Malaysia and based in Manila.

Our pace accelerated from then on and after several conversations, through Zoom and WhatsApp across Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, we decided to set up a website. We also agreed that we should cast our nets even further in Asia, and not just Malaysia and Singapore.

But baby steps first. We need to learn how to walk before we start jogging and then running. We also settled on our name, The Asian Fishermen, because we want to obey Christ’s Commission to everyone in His Church to evangelise. But we are going to do this through simple means and in our simple way.

As our journey crossed major Church days and seasons, we planned for our website to go live on Easter Sunday. But midway through our journey I fell ill and had to recuperate. The team decided they did not want to launch this mission without everyone on board.

So, we all agreed that the next important date available should be Pentecost Sunday, the day the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and send them on their way to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the world.

We are here, then, on this day, to do our small part in this work for Jesus Christ. None of us have any clue where we are going or how The Asian Fishermen, or TAF, will develop. But we place our faith in the Holy Spirit to lead us where He wills us to go.

A happy and blessed Pentecost!