Jul 31 – Memorial for St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
St. Ignatius (1491-1556) was wounded in the leg by a cannonball at the siege of Pampeluna on 20 May 1521, an injury that left him partially crippled for life. During his recuperation the only books he had access to were The Golden Legend, a collection of lives of the saints, and the Life of Christ by Ludolph the Carthusian. These books, and the time spent in contemplation, changed him.
On his recovery he took a vow of chastity, hung his sword before the altar of the Virgin of Montserrat, and donned a pilgrim’s robes. He lived in a cave for a year, contemplating the way to live a Christian life. His meditations, prayers, visions and insights led to forming the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus.
– Patron Saint Index
Exo 32:15-24,30-34
Mt 13:31-35
I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.
I can imagine that this is quite the hilarious scene. Moses in all his anger, bristling and full of indignation, receiving a reply like that from Aaron. I think that Moses wouldn’t have known how to react when he heard Aaron’s reply — would he have felt his heart rate rise and his face redden as he got angrier and angrier? Or would he fall down to the ground, laughing at the sheer outrageousness of it all? Or be paralysed momentarily and feel that, “duh, I also cannot say anything.” I mean, how ludicrous can it be to have someone throw gold into the fire and out comes an idol, perfectly shaped and defined, that it can be easily identified as a calf?
That’s got to be one of the top ten excuses that I have ever come across. “The woman made me eat…” Gen 3:12 would be another. I believe that many of us, when reflecting on our lives, would have made such lame excuses before, as we do not want to take responsibilities for our actions. “No lah… cannot be me lah” – being a common refrain here in Singapore.
Even today, this sense of ‘it wasn’t me, not me’ is still so common. Recently, we were involved in an accident. My wife and I were in our car and we came to a complete stop at a traffic light. Suddenly, a car slammed into us in the back. It was clearly a case where the car could not stop in time and hit us. However, in the police report that was submitted by that driver, it was suggested that I jammed my brakes, so they couldn’t stop in time, and this led to the accident. By God’s grace, our car’s rear camera showed that the car behind didn’t slow down at all and smashed into us. The impact from that accident was quite great and thanks to God’s mercy and protection, my wife and I did not sustain any serious injuries from the accident.
But what about in my own life? Have I also slipped and made excuses when I did things that were not in accordance to God’s will? Yes, I have, and many times as well. This is often an automatic response – as in blaming someone or a certain stimulus to explain away the ‘wrong-doing’. It is only when reflecting at the end of the day, that I am made aware of these excuses. And when I think about it, the excuses that I thought were so ingenious, are actually so lame.
Excuses are always easy to come up with. Being intentional with our words and actions is something else. I feel that when we are intentional in our actions or words, there can be no excuses. What we do or say, for better or worse, is deliberate and we shouldn’t have to rely on lame excuses to explain away our actions.
At the beginning of the year, I asked the Lord to help me be more intentional. In my prayer, in my ministry, in the way in which I interact at home, in the workplace and in church. I may not have always succeeded, but I know that I am still a work in progress. This will continue to be my prayer, and I trust that the Lord will always be at my side; to help lead and guide, for me to be an intentional disciple. To love Him and not to have any lame excuses for failing to walk in His path to His kingdom here on earth.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Calvin Wee)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to deliberately and intentionally love You. Grant us your Holy Spirit that we may always walk with You and not be frightened of the narrow path that leads to You. Amen
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for always looking out for us and for your protection that You provide. Grant us never to take You for granted and to always give thanks for all the gifts that we receive. For you are generous and worthy of all our love. Amen
OXYGEN 
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