Daniel Daring 2014 articles 2013 articles 2012 articles
Dec
21: Life
Changing Encounter
We live in different "Nazareths", small and insignifi- cant villages and towns of this world. Today Gabriel comes to us, with the Bible in his hand, announcing the history of salvation
Dec
14: Rejoice
Always
When we believe that Jesus is the light
shining in the darkness of our lives, we cannot but rejoice
Dec
7: The
Gospel: it's amazingly simple
A corrupt politician can act with honesty. A drunkard can live a sober life. A drug dealer can give up his criminal activity.
The grace of God has power to transform
Nov
30: Why Advent?
After worshiping the infant Jesus,
the Magi went back home by another road (Matt
Nov 23: Only caring people inherit the kingdom
To get to heaven, we do not need diplomas, wallets
filled with credit cards, or high social status. The only thing we need is a heart that feels the pain of others and stimulates us to action
Chinese text
Nov
16: Do not bury this talent
Our world is in such a mess, because we have buried our talent, the powerful and transforming message of the Gospel. We have slacked
off. We are comfortable in our churches and we do not dare to go to the high streets
Chinese text
Nov 2: Reflection in Chinese on today's readings
Oct 26: The Greatest
Commandment
There are many commandments and canons. Let us leave them to the experts. Let us love the Lord our God in return for his love. This love of God will enable us to love our
neighbour
Oct
19: Laying
a trap for Jesus
If you pause for a while and think about Jesus’ answer you will be surprised by its hidden meaning. What does belong to
caesar? Nothing. Everything belongs to God, including caesar who claims to be divine. “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.
Chinese
text
Oct
12: The
Feast
Jesus knocks at the door of your life with this
invitation.
As long as you live, the invitation is valid.
Chinese
text
Oct
5: The Vineyard and Its Tenants
Bonhoeffer was executed for participating in the plot against Hitler. King
was shot dead for planning a march on Washington. Popieluszko was killed for
standing up for workers' rights. They had been sent by God to demand justice and
righteousness. Chinese
text
Sep 28: Come to your
senses - Let your "Yes" be "Yes".
One son says “No” and
the other says “Yes”. And there's one more Son, who always says
“Yes”.
Chinese
text: 醒来吧，不要执迷不悟
Sep 21: God's Saving
Grace:
stop being
jealous; be grateful
There is only one coin in God's kingdom, God's grace. It is not a reward for lifelong goodness and piety, but an unmerited gift. It brings meaning and direction to our lives.
Instead of being jealous we all should be grateful.
Chinese
text: 不要嫉妒，要感恩
Sep 14: The Tree of
Life
On this day we are called to renew our faithfulness to the Crucified Lord of Glory by surrendering our lives to
Him (Chinese
translation)
Sep 7: Leading a
brother to repentance
Christianity
means transformation, the power of God that makes something totally new in the lives of those who turn to Him
Aug
31: Take
up the Cross
We love to influence people in their decision-making. We do it in a form of advice or opposition. We mean well. We want to help. We want to see others ‘happy and successful’
in this life. We have in mind “human things”.
Aug
24: The Gates
of death shall not prevail
Jesus
has always led people to believe in Him through deeds of love
and compassion, not through violence or threats
August
17: Refuge under
God's wings
There is a huge
difference between a life in Christ and a life outside of Christ. No wonder
there are more and more “Canaanite women” who, overcoming many challenges, want to
become Christians
August
10: Let
both grow till harvest
Finding
the kingdom of heaven brings joy. It opens for us new
possibilities and new life
August
3: Compassion
leads to Eucharist
Share what you have, Jesus tells us, because our resources shared with the needy save
life (Chinese
text: 怜悯通往圣体圣事)
July
27: The Treasure
Finding the kingdom of heaven brings joy.
It opens for us new possibilities and new life.
July
20: Let
both grow till harvest
God
is charity and He is merciful. He does not want to see even one
seed of wheat become uprooted. The "Good Thief" on the Cross, turned out to be wheat
at the last moment of his life
July
13: Why
Parables
A straightforward message about a loving God can get lost in the noise and business of our lives, but a parable about a sower who throws his seeds left and right not minding the quality of soil gets our
reaction
July
6: Truly Wise
There are many sophists around us who have mastered the art of persuasion and argue that there is no God and no truth. At the same time, poor and ordinary people all over the world are coming to Christ. Our sophists are
unable to realise that true wisdom does not reveal itself in clever words but in transformed
lives
June
29: Two sinners and God's mercy
Christian life tends to be divided into two stages: before and after meeting Christ. The story of Peter and Paul divides life
differently: before and after realizing the power of sin in one's life
June
22: The Real
Presence
Many people look at life as a game and not as a journey to eternity. Christian community, Gospel, heavenly bread, such words are not part of their daily
dictionary
June
15: Trinity
Sunday reflection
Let us, then, love this world created by God. Let us love people around us, even if they speak, think, or believe differently. Quarrelling, conflicts, and wars bring only destruction and death. Love gives life. Let us make an effort to bring a little bit of goodness into the world by our small sacrificial acts of love
June
8: Filled
with the Spirit of God or with new wine?
Are we open to the Holy Spirit's coming? The Spirit leads us away from
our comfort zones into the peripheries. Jesus was led by the Spirit into
the desert to face the devil. Paul was led by the Spirit to Jerusalem,
where he was going to be persecuted and imprisoned. How many
Christians are willing to leave the comfort of their homes and
communities and move into the ``deserts'' of our contemporary world?
June
1: Go tell it
from the mountain!
We have to go down from the mountain in Galilee and enter
the streets of our cities and towns, because we have work to do. The world
awaits the news about God who liberates, protects, provides and saves. Someone
said: “the bird does not sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a
song.” We have a song - the most powerful life changing song ever. So let us
sing that song always, while waiting for the coming of the Lord!
May
25: Jesus' Promise
Is there a way to join the multitudes of
our brothers and sisters who were truly filled with the Spirit? Yes, there is:
a deep desire or a holy longing. When we realize that nothing of this world
can fill the emptiness of our hearts, when we realize that there is something
fundamentally wrong with us, when we hit the bottom and arrive at the dead-end
of our life's journey, then we are ready for the Spirit, because He is the
gift of salvation
May
18: Jesus,
the Way
A great theologian gave a lecture stating that the resurrection of Jesus was a myth and
that those who claim
to have a relationship with the “Risen Lord” are just deceiving
themselves. Then an old black preacher stood up,
reached into his brown bag lunch and pulled out an apple ....
May
11: Jesus, the Good Shepherd
Is the Lord truly your shepherd? Or maybe you follow the lead of
“someone” else, who wants to rob you of happiness and destroy your
life? William Barclay says: “When we walk with Jesus, there comes a
new vitality, a superabundance of life.”
May
4: Jesus,
the
Anti-Depressant
They faced the
setting sun setting and with the sun all their hope was sinking as well.
There was night and darkness awaiting them. But something happened that
changed everything, something that was not planned by them:
a stranger
approached them and began to ask questions
April
28: Challenge from First Christians
This challenging article is on themes often
mentioned by Pope Francis: greed, inequality, the need to live
more simply, the failure of the "trickle down" economic theory
April
21: He
saw and believed
To believe that Jesus is alive means to commune with Him, to recall His
words recorded in the Gospels, and to sense His presence when everything
tries to tell you that He is absent
April
20: The
One who is ever-present
“Do not be afraid; go an tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they
will see me”. Jesus does not go away;
He goes ahead. He goes ahead of us to our homes and work
places. “The living Jesus” is an ever-present reality in the
lives of His believers whether in Galilee, Rome or any other city, town,
and village of the world
April
13: Our kenotic Lord
The kenotic Christ who hangs on the
cross and cries “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
reveals to us a form of God that we are least familiar with: a loser, a
victim, a sufferer
April
6: The Resurrection
and Life
The story of Lazarus tells us
that there is a way out. Jesus can raise us from the power of sin to a life of
meaning and purpose. Jesus can also place in our hearts the assurance that there
is more to life than this world. We are meant for eternity; we are meant for a life that does not know
sin or suffering or death
March
30: Iwas blind but now I see
There are many nominal Christians for whom Jesus means
nothing. The Gospel of John makes it clear that our response to Jesus
affects the outcome of our lives. Taking this most important
relationship for granted leaves us in sin, whereas faith in Him gives us
a new kind of vision that allows us to see the world in an entirely new
way.
March
23: Have You Heard it for Yourself?
The encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan
woman poses a direct challenge to our Churches' claims and regulations,
and to our popular understanding of what constitutes being a
Christian. I would like to highlight three issues that are
particularly connected with the reading of this Gospel: divisions among
Christians, women in ministry, and a personal understanding who Jesus
is.
March
16: Called
to renew the world
The
solution to our problems lies not in “know thyself,” but in “know
thy God”.
By standing for Christ and boldly testifying to the power of the Gospel,
we are taking part in God's work of renewing the world.
March
9: Beautiful
and holy
“I want to be holy and beautiful” - said the young woman -
“not just beautiful and carnal. And so I have decided to say 'no!' and
I feel so different, as if a light dispelled the darkness from my life.”
It is difficult to describe how one moves from sin to grace, from Adam
to Christ. It is easy, however, to notice such transformation having taken place in life of somebody: s/he
radiates newly found joy and freedom.
March
2: Worry
and God's Presence
I
was particularly struck by the statement that "in the same
circumstances one person can be absolutely serene, and another person
can be worried to death." That was exactly my experience on the
plane. While I was worrying myself to death over every turbulence, a
person next to me was soundly sleeping
Feb
23: Where
Are Those Fools?
Christianity has a rich tradition of saints who are known as holy fools,
people who take the Gospel seriously and live outside of the
conventional wisdom of our world. To be a holy fool or creative thinker
and non-conformist requires a unique approach to life and sets of
principles that see truth as being discovered, not created
Feb
16: Fulfilling the Law
Obeying rules can get us safely home from work
or school. Much more is needed, however in life. Life is built on
principles not on sets of rules. It is our responsibility to make sure
that the principles we want to build our lives on are sound ones,
otherwise they can ruin our lives. In Jesus we have that assurance.
Feb
9: A pinch of salt
W. Barclay indicates three
main qualities of salt. The first quality is that of purity. Next,
salt in the time of Jesus was used as the main preservative that kept
things from rotting. Finally, salt was used to give flavor to food. Thus
the metaphor of salt indicates that those who believe in Christ should
be "an example of purity," "must have a certain
antiseptic influence on life," and should "lend flavor to
life."
Jan
26: How to overcome fear
Patience
is needed to overcome our fears. Victory does not happen overnight. “Do
the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it... that is the quickest and
surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear,” is the very practical
advice of Dale Carnegie
Jan
19: A holy mess: the Church of God in Corinth
Psychologists tells us that continuously repeated words tend to become a
self-fulfilling prophecy. So if one is always told that s/he is a sinner,
one tends to think and act as one. Maybe it would do us a lot of good if,
as well as acknowledging our sins, we would also acknowledge our
saintliness. It could make us to think and act in a saintly manner
Jan
12: Did
you hear about the baby baptised with milk?
Baptism
seals our faith. Only if we believe “with all our hearts” in the good
news about Jesus Christ are we ready to experience its transforming power;
only if we eagerly listen to the narrative stories of what God has done
for us in Jesus, can the Holy Spirit fall upon us. The ritual comes
later. Unfortunately, we have reversed this process. We begin with a
ritual and we hope that faith will somehow come later in age with the help
of parents and religion teachers. Thus, we have entire nations and large
communities registered in our baptismal books, yet living as if Jesus and
his values mean nothing to them
Jan
5: The
Epiphany of the Lord
With
the coming of the New Age Movement, astrology has once again become
fashionable, but true meaning in life and real freedom can only be found
in Christ. “Fate” written in the stars is replaced by “faith” in
Jesus Christ. Fear of powerful leaders is replaced by obedience to
God.
Jan
1: Pondering
the Shepherds' words in our hearts
The
angels continue to inspire visions and dreams among many “shepherds”
of our world. They dream about a world where money is spent on health care
and education instead of being spent on arms; where farmers are not forced
to commit suicide in order to protest an unjustified grab of their land;
where media are not a propaganda tool in the hands of the mighty of this
world; and where our Christian churches stop flirting with power and
riches, but go back to their roots and begin anew to live for the kingdom
of God