13 January, Tuesday — Seeing God in the ordinary

13 Jan – Memorial for St. Hilary, bishop and doctor of the Church

St. Hilary of Poitiers (315-368) was known as Athanasius of the West. He was born to wealthy polytheistic, pagan nobility. His early life was uneventful as he married, had children (one of whom was St. Abra), and studied on his own. Through his studies, he came to believe in salvation through good works, and then monotheism. As he studied the Bible for the first time, he literally read himself into the faith, and was converted by the end of the New Testament.

Hilary lived the faith so well that he was made Bishop of Poitiers from 353-368. He opposed the emperor’s attempt to run Church matters and was exiled; he used the time to write works explaining the faith. His teaching and writings converted many and, in an attempt to reduce his notoriety, he was returned to the small town of Poitiers, where his enemies hoped he would fade into obscurity. His writings nonetheless continued to convert pagans.

Hilary introduced Eastern theology to the Western Church, fought Arianism with the help of St. Viventius, and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1851.

• Patron Saint Index

1 Sam 1:9-20
Mark 1:21-28

The people were so astonished…

I am drafting this during the late Advent/Christmas season, where my main takeaway was how God chose to enter our world unexpectedly, quietly and humbly. Today’s Gospel passage aligns with this theme, since the people of Capernaum were astonished at Jesus’ authoritative preaching. Indeed, I find it quite ironic that the only being which recognized Jesus was the unclean spirit He drove out of the man in the synagogue. Nonetheless I am not surprised at the townsfolk’s reactions, since I would also hardly expect a person I usually see engaged in carpentry to suddenly display talents (and powers!) in a completely different area.

But reflecting further, I thought of instances when God reached out to me quietly, which I might have overlooked because I was either too distracted, or simply not expecting His presence. I thought it would be nice to list some of them down as follows:

• On a normal day’s commute to work, glancing at the girl in front of me on the escalator and spotting a plush figurine dangling from her bag wearing a coat embroidered with the words ‘No Fear’; I’d always found the figurine unappealing but just happened to take a closer look at this one.       
• While accompanying my mother for a medical appointment we had both been dreading, glimpsing a lady in the waiting room with a Catholic prayer card tucked into her handphone case; though I didn’t get a chance to identify either the prayer or saint featured, I found it a reassuring reminder that our Lord was with us (and started wondering whether I should also start carrying prayer cards around!).
• Participating in the Waiting Well Advent challenge by Fr Mike Schmitz on the Ascension Press app, but quickly becoming discouraged at how difficult it was to set aside time for the daily videos and reflections; on the very day I thought of giving up on the challenge, I idly clicked on that day’s video – and watched Fr Mike exhort us not to give up on the challenge just yet.
• Randomly recalling a priest whom I had not contacted for a while and discovering a few days later during spring-cleaning, some material he had created for a retreat he had conducted, which provided a reassuring reminder of the takeaways from that session and a reason to reach out to him.
• While on an overseas holiday, taking a break at a charming café, but feeling slightly despondent because the winter weather was colder and the new boots I’d especially bought were more uncomfortable than expected; I felt slightly better after lunch and a mug of hot tea, but when I was leaving, I happened to glance up and realized that the ceiling was beautifully decorated with depictions of nature, with a gently smiling sun situated right above where I had been sitting.       

I still wonder whether I was reading or thinking too much into some of these instances. I am also wary about falling into the tendency to expect that everything is a ‘signal’ from God — which would not be constructive and could also lead to disappointment or anxiety. Hence I hope that, as I reluctantly return to the daily grind of work after the (supposed) year-end break, I can find a balance between fulfilling my daily responsibilities and keeping myself open to how our Lord can be present in completely unexpected ways — just as He was during Christmas, and how He will be throughout the year ahead.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Jaclyn Lam)

Prayer: Lord, it is all too easy to forget about the Advent and Christmas season as we plunge into the new year. Help us to stay open to You, help us to continue changing our hearts.

Thanksgiving: Thank you Lord, for bringing us to this new year. Help us to cherish the blessing of every day.