The last few days have been difficult. I had to go to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and asked me to rest for a few days. It was very hard for me to rest. I missed celebrating the Mass with you and I look forward to seeing you all in church this weekend. But resting was also helpful. It gave me more time to reflect and be with God in silence.

I am grateful to God that He has given me good health. The only time I was very sick was five years ago (April 2018, triple bypass surgery). I will never forget what one of my best friends, Deacon Chester Chen, told me at the time: "God is happy that you are very sick because many people have been praying..." It is a Christian fundamental truth that we can all encounter Christ in our sufferings. Does God want us to suffer so that we can experience such an encounter with Christ? How can God who Loves us so much allow major suffering?

As we celebrated today the Conversion of St Paul, we are reminded of all the sufferings and dangers he encountered in his amazing Apostolic Journey throughout the Gentile lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. But we are also reminded of many of his insightful writings where he encourages all of us to accept our tribulations and focus our entire lives in preaching the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the last few days, I was especially touched by Paul’s very personal Second Letter to the Corinthians dealing with crises and challenges as followers of Christ. We are all facing tribulations and sufferings. We all need encouragement through Christ to face such challenges. Let me quote the first few words of this insightful Letter

(2 Corinthians 1: 3-5):   "Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow."

For St Paul, the Church is the Body of Christ. Encouragements and Afflictions of Christians are shared in Christ. When one suffers, we all suffer. When one rejoices, we all rejoice. We cannot compare our own individual sufferings with those of St Paul.

However, each one of us, like the Corinthians, are encouraged by Christ's own acceptance of sufferings. I believe that we need some major sufferings to fully appreciate God's Love for us. Christ's sufferings and encouragements flow through us when having a true encounter with Him, especially in the Eucharist. A parish is a family of families, suffering together and rejoicing together. When we come to worship together, we come to offer our own joys and sufferings to Jesus Christ and to pray for one another.

Let us pray that when we come to worship next time, we remember the words of encouragement by St Paul. May our worship of Christ at Mass help each one of us to accept our sufferings and gives us the strength to encourage one another in Christ's name!

One in Christ,

Fr. Alain