30th WEEK DAYS MASS REFLECTION 23

30 OCTOBER - 04 NOVEMBER 2023, HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS 30 OCTOBER 2023: ROM 8. 12-17; LUKE 13. 10-17 Focus: Are you really free? Indicative: True freedom is not really the possibility to have one’s own way of likes and pleasures. True freedom is to be released from slavery to sin 1.      Freedom is a priced gift in human life. Nothing can match it. Slavery is always resented and resisted. The reason is it reduces human dignity and respectability. It restricts and restrains one’s scope to pursue what one likes and prefers. 2.      Slavery and bondage make the person bound and burdened. Therefore, there is always the struggle to extricate oneself from all the forces and pressures that try to subdue a person’s free spirit. 3.      The desire to be free is natural and needed. But the problem with many is a wrong understanding of freedom and false ways and means to gain it. For many, freedom is just the license to do whatever one prefers and prefers. 4.      Accordingly, freedom is equated with unbridled seeking comfort, pleasure and gratification. In concrete, it will amount to indiscipline, irresponsibility, disorder, self-gain and self-pleasure. Thus, in the name of freedom, there is so much disrespect, defiance and rebellion, so much violence and destruction. But this is all false freedom. 5.      It is in this context, God’s word and Jesus clarify to us what is true freedom. True freedom is liberation from sin and evil. In Paul’s words in Romans 8. 12-17, it is freedom from slavery to flesh; it is to put to death the deeds of the body. It is to live according to the Spirit. It is to be the children and heirs of God. It is to be led by the Spirit of God. 6.      This is what Jesus indicates in the healing of a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. Both the cause and effect of this infirmity are explicitly mentioned. The cause is Satan. 7.      This becomes clear in Jesus’ healing words: “Ought not this woman whom Satan bound for 18 years be loosed from this bond?” The effect is: that she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 8.      This is very true. Sin sickens us. It bends us to be curved and crooked. It takes away the true freedom to enjoy the health and the joy of life. We need to be freed from our longstanding sicknesses, mainly the moral and the spiritual. We need to become straight and upright in our walking.   Imperative: Sin and evil are the greatest infirmities. They make us bent and stumble. We need healing. Jesus is ever willing. Are we ready to receive his healing touch?  (Reflection 2) Thrust: Be straight! Indicative: The world of today is truly crippled in many ways. It needs the healing touch of God 1.      We are familiar with one old famous hymn, “The world stands in need of liberation, Lord.” This is exactly the urgent need of our world. It is bound by various bonds. These comprise immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolishness, deception, disobedience, and emptiness – in the light of the first reading. 2.      The gospel denotes these enslaving bonds as disabling spirits, being bent over, and not being able to straighten up. All these are the signs and effects of evil, the influence of Satan. This bounded and unfree situation is clearly indicated in the gospel by a disabled woman for eighteen years. 3.      She was bent over and could not walk straight. This is contrary to the followers of Christ. Those who follow him will not walk in darkness, will not stumble but will walk in the light, and walk steadily. It is because Christ is the true light of the world. Those who follow him are the children of light and walk in the light. 4.      To walk in the light is to walk in love in imitation of Christ who loved us and gave himself up for us. Concretely this will mean being kind to one another, tender-hearted, and forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave us. 5.      Just as the disabled woman gets healing from the Lord, we too need healing. Sin has bent us and we are not able to walk straight and steady. We need to be loosed and freed from our different bonds, enumerated above. 6.      Our greatest confidence and consolation is God’s abiding mercy. He takes the initiative, sees our plight, calls us over, lays his hands upon us, and says the same words that he uttered to the disabled woman, “My sister, my brother, you are freed from your disability.” All that is needed is to allow the Lord to touch us and heal us. Imperative: For healing, for freedom from the bonds that bound us, there is no fixed time. Any time is a good and appropriate time. Let us not bind God too with our human bonds. God is beyond all Sabbath and He is the Lord of the Sabbath 31 OCTOBER 2023: ROM 8. 18-25; LUKE 13. 18-21 Focus: Quantity is no guarantee of quality! Indicative: Often people misjudge the quality and value by the size and the quantity. But they are not always the right criteria. It is on the basis of the quality of the potential to grow and become beneficial 1.      In the gospel of Luke 13. 18-21, Jesus gives two similitudes for the Kingdom. They are a mustard seed and leaven. Two special characteristics mark them. One is their smallness and the other, their propensity to grow and have a larger effect. The mustard seed is small in size. But it grows into a big tree and shelters birds. Leaven is also little in its quantity. But when mixed with, it leavens the whole flour. 2.      Similarly, the kingdom of God may initially look small and insignificant. It may not make big impressions. But it gradually grows and spreads its branches in all its directions, inviting, including and involving all irrespectively. It offers shelter and comfort to many. It has a steady and pervasive influence like a small portion of leaven. 3.      Thereby, what implications are placed before us? First, do not go by mere appearances, by size, quantity or status. Do not judge the quality and value of things or persons by their roots and beginnings. 4.      Beginnings may be humble but they can grow big. Let us not always be stuck by what appears at the moment but let us also open our eyes wide, look beyond and envision the hidden potency and propensity. 5.      In specific reference to the kingdom, let us not wait only for big factors or opportunities to spread the kingdom of God. Let us begin small. Let us live and promote the kingdom in small little things. Let us not be impatient to expect results, quick and big. 6.      What is important is how much we are progressively and steadily growing, and how much we become more and more beneficial to many. Like the little yeast, let us also try to exert a positive influence in whichever situation we are in. As children of God and followers of Christ, we must constructively influence others’ life. 7.      In the light of the first reading Romans 8. 18-25, this implies a couple of guidelines. One is, to live in undying hope and eager waiting for our eternal destiny. Second is, to bear everything with patience with a deep conviction and faith that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 8.      Third is, to constantly cooperate with God’s Spirit who wants to set us free from our bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.   Imperative: God wants us to spread His kingdom and for sure He does not expect sudden and spectacular miracles from us. All He wants is that we do our little part with a positive and beneficial heart (Reflection 2) Thrust: Little is big! Indicative: Often people are carried away by what is big and greatness is equated with the bigness of things. But today we are reminded that small things matter 1.      St Francis de Sales said, “Perfection is not a little thing but it consists in little things.” There is an often tendency to take for granted small things in life and neglect them. In the process of seeking bigger and greater things, people lose sight of the smaller details of life and let them go off the hand. 2.      It is in this context, Jesus draws our attention to the truth that the kingdom of God consists in small little things. Its growth and spread depend not on extraordinary matters but on small ones. Two metaphors of a mustard seed and a little yeast illustrate this point. 3.      Both are little. But they have a greater effect. The small mustard seed grows into a big tree and shelters many birds. The little yeast leavens a larger portion of flour. 4.      Many of us are accustomed to the culture of the big and mighty. We need to learn to recognise the value of the small things. This applies also to the persons. We need to realise, value and appreciate every person for their basic human dignity. 5.      We need to get rid of our materialistic mentality. This treats others only on the basis of what and how much they have, in terms of money, possessions, power, position, name, talent, et cetera. 6.      Two such crucial domains where we must cultivate this mystery and value of the little are our faith life and family life. In our life of faith, let us not wait for big opportunities to manifest our spirit of devotion. 7.      Every little activity and every little practice of virtue counts a lot. Similarly, in family life too, both husband and wife should be conscious of the fact that the little is big. 8.      Love, submission, and fidelity are the essential components that make our little things great, both in our faith and family. In the present times, there is a dominant atmosphere of hatred, resentment, defiance, obstinacy, and infidelity. This is deteriorating the quality, beauty, and joy of our faith life and family life. Imperative: If only a little more love, mutual humility and submission, and fidelity and commitment increase in the practice of religion and the life of family, things will change drastically. The kingdom of God with love, justice, and peace will flourish 01 NOVEMBER 2023:  ALL SAINTS DAY, REV 7. 2-4, 9-14; 1 JOHN 3. 1-3; MATTHEW 5. 1-12 Focus: Called to be Holy! Indicative: All are called to be saints; all may not be raised to sainthood but all can rise to saintliness. All may not receive the honour of official veneration but all can strive for the honour of actual imitation 1.      Every November 01st is a great celebration. It is the earthly celebration of the feast day of the heavenly saints. What a grand celebration it is because it puts together all the feast days of all the saints! Today we are reminded of our inseparable communion with them. 2.      They stand before us as references and icons of holiness, sources of encouragement, beacons of hope, flashes of inspiration, pointers of challenge, and urges for change. 3.      They lived on the same earth beset with the same struggles. They were not born saints. They strove, struggled, and grew and became saints. They fill us with confidence, courage, and hope that we too can become saints. 4.      They inspire, guide, and challenge us and assist us to change. Status or capacity, time or space do not matter. To be holy and saintly is the call and possibility for everybody, everywhere and every time. 5.      In them, we see what we must become, what we can become and how to become. Sainthood may be a special honour granted by God to a few. But saintliness is an honour open and possible for all. They understood and followed the Beatitudes as the authentic and effective means to become saints. They became saints because they followed the Beatitudes. 6.      The beatitudes indicate that we are destined people and not people without a destiny. We are people by God’s choice and not by chance. We live and move by God’s gratuitous gift and not by a fortuitous drift. We are destined for bliss and blessedness. The Beatitudes are the pathways and roadmaps to travel the journey and pursue that path. 7.      The saints through their life by beatitudes show us that we need to lead a heaven-directed and heaven-driven life in contrast to an earth-bound and earth-pressured life. The beatitudes are contradictory values to the false values of the world. 8.      They summon us to be humble and surrendered to God, contrary to being proud and unruly complacent. This is the way of being poor in the sight of the world but rich in God’s sight. They call us to be sensitive and caring toward others, contrary to being indifferent and self-centred. This is the way to mourn with others and for others. 9.      They call us to be gentle, meek, and patient contrary to being rude, harsh, and aggressive. They call us to hunger and thirst, to passionately crave to be righteous and fair. They call us to be merciful and forgiving, contrary to being stern and grudgeful. 10.  They call us to be pure of heart, uncontaminated by guile and malice contrary to all impurity, deception, and evil-mindedness. They call us to be peace-lovers, peace-makers, peace-givers, and peace-promoters contrary to all aggression and disharmony. They call us to joyfully suffer for God and good. 11.  There is no doubt that such a life according to the Beatitudes is very strenuous and demanding. But we need not be frightened or discouraged. The Lord will himself be our rescue and refuge. And our reward is great beyond compare. It is to enjoy the abundance of the Spirit in his light and power, already here on earth and the measureless eternity thereafter. Saints are our assurances!   Imperative: Holiness is wholeness. The more we try to live as holistic and integrated persons, the more we become holy and saintly. Whoever strives to sanctify himself is a saint of sanctity! (Reflection 2)   Thrust: Blessed are you! Indicative: Blessedness is our destiny and beatitudes are our royal means   1.      What a celestial joy it is to celebrate the solemn festivity of all saints! Explicitly on this one day, we are united with the whole band of saints. We are reminded of our bond and communion with them. Through them, we are reminded of our destiny as well, that is, to be with them in heaven. 2.      All saints remind us of our own call like theirs – called to holiness. Holiness is our call and sanctification is God’s will for us. Holiness is not a privilege, reserved only to some. It is grace and gracious possibility laid open to all. 3.      But it is not a gift by chance. It should not be a gift, taken for granted and left unmerited. God does not create readymade saints. There are no predetermined, predestined saints. One becomes a saint by living. Thus, saintliness on the one hand is a gratuitous gift of God and on the other hand, is an assiduous task. 4.      It is a bounden duty of everyone to strive for sanctity. God has destined us “to be holy and blameless” in His sight for eternity. These saints encourage us that it is possible to become saints, despite our weaknesses and pressures. They inspire us to become like them, in patience and perseverance. They challenge us to guard and fight against all forces that are unholy. 5.      Beatitudes lay before us the “golden path” of holiness that leads to blessedness. Clearly, they are stark contradictions to the standards and ways of the world. The beatitudes exalt and advocate 1) “poverty” – humility, detachment, moderation, and contentment, against all greed and accumulation 2) “mourning” – being sensitive, attentive, tender, empathetic and caring, against indifference and unfeeling; 3) “gentleness and meekness – being polite, courteous, composed and serene, against being rude, impatient, hot-tempered, aggressive and hurting 4) “hunger and thirst” for righteousness – being passionate and relentless for justice and fairness, against all tepidity and feeding on unfairness; 5) “mercy” – being compassionate, forgiving and reconciling, against resentment, revenge, and retaliation 6) “purity of heart” – being clear-sighted, single-minded and clean of heart, against being contaminated and polluted, cunning and deceitful; 7) “peacefulness” – loving peace and promoting peace, against all violence and mindless agitation and anxiety 8) “persecution and insult” – bearing all misunderstanding, opposition, slander, calumny, and affliction for the sake of God and good, against seeking comfort, praise, and popularity for the sake of self. 6.      Such a way of beatitudes subjects one to tremendous struggle and suffering. But one need not lose heart because the end fruit is eternal bliss. Nevertheless, this bliss will be already foretasted here on earth, in obtaining and relishing God’s own comfort, satisfaction, mercy, an abundance of fortitude, joy, and peace.   Imperative: Sanctity is a project that is worth pursuing because its fruits are everlasting. It is always more worth to strive and suffer for something higher   02 NOVEMBER 2023: ALL SOULS DAY, WISDOM 3. 1-9c; MATTHEW 25. 31-46 Focus: Purge to surge ahead! Indicative: Our God is holy and our destiny is holy heaven. Nothing unholy or impure can live with Him eternally. Therefore, real purification is a must 1.      Every 02 November marks the special commemoration of the departed. We believe that everyone in God’s mercy is destined for eternal life and not damnation. Thus, our destiny is heaven and not hell. However, we being fragile are not worthy to be in eternity with all our sinfulness. Therefore, all need cleansing and purification. Purgatory is that condition of purgation. 2.      Where? How? How long? Such questions regarding purgatory are not within our grasp and perhaps are not crucial as well. All that is needed to know is that we have a time and situation of cleansing. 3.      Purgatory is not a place of punition but purification. It is not a punishment but chastisement. It is not harassing but cleansing. It is probation for insertion into the heavenly abode. The emphasis should be on the bliss of eternity and not so much on the misery of purgatory. 4.      Purgatory is like waiting on the right platform. A life that is not properly led is like remaining on the wrong platform. The right train arrives at the station. But the problem is that people are not on the right platform to get onto the right train. 5.      God’s grace and mercy are the right train. A life of virtue is the right platform. Often in life, we get on to the wrong platforms or wrong trains. All Souls’ day is a call to place our life rightly and travel rightly. 6.      Purgatory is then an extended “grace period”, an additional “mercy time” for reparation. It does not indicate God’s rigidity to delay our eternity. Rather it indicates His extra benevolence to grant us further chance. 7.      It is not a forced imposition by God. Rather, it is a needed self-preparation. It is a time of “refitting” ourselves, “re-equipping” ourselves to enter heaven. We need not argue how God can punish eternally for the sins committed temporarily. 8.      Rather, we can feel happy that in exchange for a short good life, He generously grants one whole eternity, and He is so concerned that He takes care to make us fit during purgatory for one whole eternity. 9.      Once again, like All Saints’ Day, on this All Souls’ Day too, we are reminded of our spiritual and fraternal communion and solidarity as God’s children and as brothers and sisters, in faith and fraternity. It is this bonding that makes us bound to pray for them, for their release from probation and raising to new life.   Imperative: Let the commemoration of the departed remind us that we need to depart one day and stand before God for His judgment. If so, it is better that we continue to judge ourselves and cleanse ourselves to fit into the heavenly mansions   (Reflection 2)   Thrust: Awaiting heaven! Indicative: Earth is the launching ground, purgatory is the transit and heaven is the landing destination   1.      Every November 02 we commemorate all souls. It teaches and indicates many truths of our Christian life. First of all, life does not end with death but continues in another form. The physical body is perishable and physical, earthly human existence is temporary. There is a spiritual body and existence that are imperishable and eternal. 2.      Whether in or without body, we are bound together in fraternal and spiritual communion, and the cessation of physicality or earthliness does not disrupt or cancel this communion. Death is a moment, a door of passage, a transition from earth to heaven, from temporary to eternal life. 3.      Heaven is our homeland proper and all are destined to reach back there. This human physical earthly existence is then a limited duration during which real preparation must be done to take us to heaven. 4.      However, as humans we are, our fragilities do not fully leave us. Our imperfections accompany us to the grave. But nothing unholy or unclean can stand before God or be with Him who is the Holy of holies. 5.      Therefore, purification and purgation must continue and be complete. We believe that purgatory is that “purgative”, “transit” and “probative” period that cleanses us perfectly to “fit us to the heavenly mansions”. Where it will be, how long, and how, such questions are beyond our human comprehension and are irrelevant as well. 6.      What is important to note is that our fraternal and spiritual bonding and obligation do not cease with death. We continue to belong to God and each other, whether alive or dead. Therefore, we continue to love the departed and be concerned for them. 7.      We continue to pray for them, recommending them to God to purge them and receive them into heaven. The prayers, holy masses, and the good works we offer on behalf of the dead should not be seen as “compensations” or “installed payments” to appease and relent God’s wrath and punishment. 8.      They are also not a “barter system” where heaven is given in exchange for what we offer on their behalf. Neither is it an “interested investment” where we buy a heaven ticket to the souls and send them to heaven so that they can be our benefactors later on. 9.      Rather the whole reality of all souls must be seen from the optic of communion and solidarity in faith and fraternity. They are clear expressions of our solidarity with them and concern for their salvation. They are also our supplication to God’s mercy to make good for what might have been lacking in their earthly life. 10.  There is nothing wrong with believing that we help the souls in purgatory because by themselves they remain helpless to help themselves. While on earth, we are able to help them, and once relieved from purgatory and received into heaven, they will be able to help us. 11.  Besides, this commemoration is an alarm bell for all of us that one day all must reach the same end of death. No one is permanent on earth. And death is not a permanent closure. Eternity awaits us. 12.  But there is the last judgment that decides the face of our eternity, whether damnation or salvation. And this differentiation is solely on the basis of one’s life on earth. Life before death determines life after death. Only a life of charity rooted in faith can qualify us for heaven.   Imperative: A life rooted in spiritual and fraternal communion and which flourishes in charity will purge us and gain us eternal victory.   03 NOVEMBER 2023: ROM 9. 1-5; LUKE 14. 1-6 Focus: Doing good is the highest rule! Indicative: Rules and traditions are good and needed because they regulate the common life and put order into it. However, no law can go against doing good to those in need 1.      Every society and religion has its own rules and traditions. All these are meant to contribute to order and well-being, both collective and personal. Very often the problem is that of extremes. Some fall to rigidity and legalism, sticking to the mere letter of the law and neglecting the good of the persons. 2.      Some others fall into over-flexibility and compromise, leading to indulgence and lawlessness. Both are not healthy and not recommendable. There has to be a balance. 3.      The ultimate purpose and objective of every rule and tradition must be the good of the society and its members. In fact, the supreme law is the larger and the higher good. No law should be subversive and destructive. 4.      A law is good when it is constructive and beneficial. This was the problem that Jesus had to confront: a rigid legalism that led to insensitivity toward the good of the human person. 5.      Jesus wanted to put things in the right perspective. Hence his apparent violation of the Sabbath law by healing on a Sabbath day a man who had dropsy. For him, doing good is the most important and nothing should stop it. Doing good has no particular seasons and occasions. Charity is beyond seasons and times. It must be always and everywhere. 6.      In fact, it is not a question of following or not following the law. The more vital issue is whether we are doing good or not. Besides, it is not merely a physical healing. It is more a liberation, a saving, a restoration of what is lost. 7.      That is why Jesus says, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 8.      In the face of such a hardness of heart, the feelings of Jesus were the same as those of Paul in the first reading in his letter to Romans 9. 1-5: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart”.   Imperative: Mere observance of the law is no good. Adherence to the good of others is the real observance of the law. Altruism is the supreme principle and norm of all religion and life   (Reflection 2)   Focus: Very often, our kindness is conditioned by moods and seasons. It is also often according to convenience or profit. But blessed are they we are relentless and selfless!   1.      Often, Jesus gets into a problem with the Pharisees and scribes, the big people in his society. The main issue is his violation of the Sabbath rule as in today’s gospel. They cannot digest the fact that he heals on Sabbath day, which is strictly a day of rest, abstaining from any work. 2.      The purpose of Jesus is not to poke and provoke them, or irritate and annoy them. Neither he has contempt and disregard toward the laws. His intention is also not to popularize himself as a rebel, as some would do. They would project themselves as ‘saviours of the time’ and simply oppose and challenge anything of the authority or the system. 3.      Jesus certainly respects the laws and the traditions. But for him, always what matters the most is true piety and deep benevolence. Love for God and kindness to others are the supreme laws of life. 4.      Everything in life should be directed to these ends and foster the same. No reason is good and valid enough to prevent one from doing good. A law that fails to do good is not worth following. In fact, every healing is not merely an act of physical good and health. 5.      It is a liberation from one’s bondage. It is the restoration of one’s lost dignity. It is ushering in a new life. That is why, Jesus has absolutely no qualms or inhibition about healing a man of dropsy on a Sabbath day.   Imperative: Many times, many make lame excuses for not being good and doing good. They go on explaining and justifying why they are not able so. But mostly, what is lacking is a good heart and concern for others   04 NOVEMBER 2023: ROM 11. 1-2, 11-12, 25-29; LUKE 14. 1, 7-11   Focus: Honour is not in ranks or titles! Indicative: Everyone seeks to be honourable and honoured. But real honour does not come from places of honour. Rather real honour comes from character. Thus, one who has an honourable character is always humble 1.      “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he humbles himself will be exalted”, this is one of the outstanding and popular teachings of Jesus. He brings our attention to humility. Humility is not just one of the many virtues. 2.      It is the link for all the virtues. It is the bottom line, the base, the foundation on which all the other virtues are built. Without humility, all the other virtues lose their charm and credibility. 3.      Jesus, being a guest of honour at a leading pharisee’s house, watches them seeking places of honour. He seizes upon the opportunity to offer a lesson on humility. Many think, the more you are highly placed, the more you have to maintain high. You need to carry and present yourself high. 4.      But Jesus makes it clear that the more one is high in power and position, the more he must be humble. In fact, a person does not become honourable by his honourable place or position, but by his honourable character. Powers and positions are external and they do not replace a person’s internal character. They can be concrete means of expressing a good character. 5.      In fact, true honour comes not from the position to the person. Rather it must go from the person’s honorability to the position. In that sense, it is the person that gives honour to the chair and not so much the chair that gives honour to the person. External honours must complement the inner honour of the person and not substitute or cover up for what is lacking internally. 6.      True humility can come only from a genuine awareness and repentance over one’s fragility and unworthiness. It also has an overwhelming acceptance of God’s holiness. This double awareness is corroborated by the ready recognition of others’ goodness and greatness. When this threefold humility is present, then surely a person becomes pleasing in God’s sight and God exalts him. 7.      St Charles Borromeo whom we commemorate today, stands tall for this humility, focus and commitment. He was an outstanding reformer during the counter-reformation, especially the founding of seminaries for the education of priests.   Imperative: It is high time that the church learns to stop the malicious musical chair for power and position, seeking a false dignity and honour in them. They should realize that real honour comes from a sound character and not from honours (Reflection 2) Thrust: Honours or honour? Indicative: It is a wrong idea that honours and positions are considered marks of honour and dignity. Real honour does not come from honours but from an honourable character 1.      God chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. But what a contrast it is that people of the world choose to be unholy and blameworthy! God chose us for heaven but people choose the world. God chose us for eternal life but many seek temporal life and its fulfillment. This is certainly a spirit of low and lowered choices. 2.      This contrasting and lowered choice can be indicated by the invitees to a pharisee’s house in the gospel. They were crazily seeking places of honour. This is because of the common misconception that a person’s greatness and honour are seen by the place or position he occupies. 3.      In such a context, Jesus makes it clear that positing and seeking honour in places or ranks or titles or posts is wrong. Real honour must come not from the place but from character. What is important is not the place of the person but the person who occupies that place. 4.      A person should not be adjudged or rated high or low on the basis of honours. The only criterion must be his honourability. We become honourable when we try to live honourable lives. We will be honoured by God himself when we seek to honour him. And we can bring honour to God only when we humble ourselves in humility and exalt God in surrender and loyalty. 5.      This positive honouring is seen in St Paul. He always chose not to do honour to him but to God. He accepted all his suffering and persecution as a way of honouring God in his body. He never chose what was self-oriented but was always God-oriented. He had no preferences except the preferences of God. Direction: Whether we live or die, let our only choice and effort be to do God’s will, to please Him, and bring glory to Him through bringing many to God