Farmer of Hearts - How Not to Miss God’s Voice

By this stage of our retreat, you can certainly understand the importance of its theme to all Christians who strive to follow Christ in all they do, especially those who have devoted themselves to evangelization, or those who serve in the Church. In truth, the brief dialogues between Jesus and his friends, Martha and Mary, have provided us a space for in-depth reflections (ref. Luke 10:38-42). Thi...

Yesterday’s reflection focuses on how we have gradually become attached to some of our overpowering preferences or likes/dislikes.  You may wonder: What are my preferences in my life?  Let us offer an example.  Some may have unique preferences for food and drinks, and their choices are restricted to limited items.  When the circumstances allow us to choose or make decisions, this may not be a prob...

In order to fulfil God’s will in each of our lives, let us step into Mary’s shoes on the day of the Annunciation. Based on Mary’s reaction of being “much perplexed” when greeted by the angel Gabriel, it is highly unlikely that God has given her any hint or warning beforehand (ref. Luke 1:29). Therefore, it is reasonable for us to conclude that Mary is not psychologically prepared for such a shocki...

In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, Verses 19-21, Jesus said, “After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have b...

In the Parable of the Talents, we may be puzzled by one thing: Is God’s gift to us unconditional or conditional (ref. Matthew 25:14-30)? If we interpret this parable from a literal perspective, it appears that God can be quite calculating and shrewd, especially when it comes to the “talents” that He has given us, and at the end He will demand us to return everything to Him with “interests”!  So, i...

Yesterday, we said that God’s plan is a Project of Hope. You may ask: what exactly is my role in God’s Project of Hope? Apparently, our identity is not only as ones who are saved. Jesus was taken up into heaven so that we can “take His place” to do ”greater works” according to His instructions , while He is seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us, and for our ministries (John 14...

At this stage of the retreat, it is important to reiterate that though God has a plan for each of us, He never forces it on us; instead He has given us freedom of choice. God never wants us to be His puppets; rather, He wishes us to choose Him freely, abide in and journey with Him! Very often, there is really no right or wrong choice. In fact, God never evaluates our every decision as a teacher wo...

Yesterday’s reflection explored the idea that if we habitually make the wrong decisions on life’s small things, these little mistakes will culminate into big mistakes with grave consequences. In the same way, if we fail to take care of our small things, we may find it challenging to handle bigger or more consequential things in life. According to traditional Chinese wisdom, one must begin with dis...

The theme of this retreat offers some very important reflective materials, especially for those who serve in the Church, those who carry out special missions, or in general, all those who labour for God.  In fact, our journey of becoming followers of Jesus Christ is intricately related with that of Martha and Mary. Perhaps, you may feel that the concerns and solutions discussed in last two weeks’...

In a society that puts efficiency on a pedestal, the more one can “multi-task” or juggle multiple things all at once, the more respect they will receive. These multi-taskers are often deemed more capable and talented.  However, research has demonstrated that the human brain is not designed to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. When one tries to fulfil multiple duties concurrently, the overall e...

During the past ten days, we have been reflecting from various angles on our life’s priorities. We began with Jesus pointing out the “many things” that have kept us occupied and worried, and proceeded to examine the severe damages caused by the “many things” of our generation, mentality behind our habitual accumulation, trouble in making life choices, and our choosing of the master of our life. Th...

Yesterday’s reflection explored the idea that the devil wishes to create the greatest chaos and harm in our lives, preventing us from fulfilling our true purpose in life.  He will, at any cost, distract us from the more important relationships and things, and try to make us focus on other minor concerns.  In truth, interpersonal relationships can be compared to a savings account to which we deposi...

Yesterday’s reflection focused on the necessity of having the appropriate mindset and positive attitude when confronting adversities and striving to fulfil our responsibilities as God’s children.  The key lies in our willingness to trust God with all our hearts.  As well, we now understand that there is nothing terrifying about the devil on his own but we must be cautious against his ploy.  But wh...

Yesterday, we prayed for our Father’s guidance to release us from our spiritual bondage, and to grant us healing because our emotional wounds have brought us tremendous harm and repercussions.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is our companion and the key to our healing; He has unlocked the door erected by the devil’s ploy, so that we may reclaim our confidence and courage to confront where it hurts, and gra...

In yesterday’s reflection, we have explored the severe impact of hidden emotional baggage on us.  Among the different types of emotional baggage, some trauma in the past may have left deeper scars, thus, have a greater impact on us. For instance, when we are betrayed by our trusted friends, or even family members, feelings of rage, fear, insecurity, or abandonment overwhelm us. These negative emot...

Over the last three reflections, we have been examining our tendency to accumulate things, including the amassing of material possessions, academic knowledge, things that inflate our ego, and so on. While we struggle with our decision to choose “things that belong to heaven” over “earthly things”, we need to pay special attention to the kind of accumulation that is more insidious, which is our emo...

In the reflections of the past four days, Jesus reminds us of the peril of troubling ourselves with life’s “many things” through his interactions with Martha and Mary.  These “many things” rob us of our devotion to God and deceive us into solely relying on our own power .  In addition, the devil often takes advantage of the ever evolving technologies and information to further distract our already...

In yesterday’s reflection, we explored how an unhealthy lifestyle could greatly impact us.  While our lifestyle is built on our everyday habits, these habits are intimately connected to our attitude towards life.  An attitude tainted with greed, urging us to increase our possessions, will result in a habit of accumulation.  Once we have become addicted, we continue to amass more things which, in t...

Feeling distracted, worried, disorganized, busy, lost, restless, helpless, rushed, forgetful, absent-minded, insecure, losing concentration, losing direction and purpose in life… If some of the above symptoms resonate with you, perhaps, like Martha, you have troubled yourself with “many things”, as Jesus observed. Some may feel that there is no resolution to our condition; the burden of “many thin...

As mass communications become more efficient and social media becomes ever more popular, the devil has found more effective ways to distract us.  In the past, the devil had to pull out all sorts of ideas from his bag of tricks to lead us down the path of sins and drive us farther away from God.  Now, the devil doesn’t even have to lift a finger to separate us from God.   The devil often occupies o...

Martha, perhaps feeling a bit neglected while busying herself with all the work, asked Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me” (Luke 10:40).  Jesus, recognizing that Martha’s accusation and emotions come from a heart filled with chaos, said to Martha, “Martha, Martha, are you worried and distracted by many things …” (Luke 10:...

Among all of Jesus’ closest friends, some of them can be considered His confidantes; Mary is definitely one of them.  Mary is an introvert, contrary to Martha, an extrovert, who is more energetic and often excels in social settings. Her introspection, caring consideration for others, and tenderness offer Jesus the warmth of friendship and make him feel right at home. Both Mary and Martha have made...

John has taken great care to depict the death and resurrection of Lazarus.  Not only does this scene prefigure Jesus’ death and resurrection and reveal a deep theological significance, it also portrays Jesus’ character and reveals the heart of Jesus. The Gospel of John chapter 11, verses 1 to 45 detail the dire situation of Lazarus, the dying brother of Martha and Mary.  Jesus had not revived Laza...

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

In this chaotic world, having inner peace has become a luxury. Yet, no one wants to live in a state of restlessness. Therefore, whether or not one has religious beliefs, he or she will intentionally or unintentionally seek some spiritual nourishment and anchor in order to obtain a sense of security that cannot come from oneself. Usually, this sense of security comes from a sense of order in life,...