20250808 FORMING OUR PEOPLE FOR FULNESS OF LIFE
08 August 2025, Friday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Deuteronomy 4:32-40 |
'Did ever a people before you hear the voice of the living God, and remain alive?'
Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?
‘This he showed you so that you might know that the Lord is God indeed and that there is no other. He let you hear his voice out of heaven for your instruction; on earth he let you see his great fire, and from the heart of the fire you heard his word. Because he loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out from Egypt, openly showing his presence and his great power, driving out in front of you nations greater and more powerful than yourself, and brought you into their land to give it you for your heritage, as it is still today.
‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 76(77):12-16,21 |
I remember the deeds of the Lord.
I remember the deeds of the Lord,
I remember your wonders of old,
I muse on all your works
and ponder your mighty deeds.
I remember the deeds of the Lord.
Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders.
You showed your power among the peoples.
I remember the deeds of the Lord.
Your strong arm redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
You guided your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
I remember the deeds of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt5:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 16:24-28 |
Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?
‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour. I tell you solemnly, there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.’
FORMING OUR PEOPLE FOR FULNESS OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dt 4:32-40; Ps 77:12-16,21; Mt 16:24-28]
“What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?” These are the most important questions that parents, educators, and leaders must ask themselves. If we cannot answer these questions adequately, we will not be able to form our people rightly. Instead of leading them to the fullness of life, we may mislead them into chasing pursuits that ultimately bring disappointment – if not misery and self-destruction. As the Lord warns His disciples about the Pharisees, “they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” (Mt 15:14)
Underlying these questions is the ultimate question of life: What is life? Is life simply about existing and keeping ourselves biologically alive? Is it reducible to a life of pleasure, fun, eating, and drinking? Is the fulness of life determined by one’s power, glory, and wealth? Even if we attain all these, can they guarantee us happiness? The answer is obvious. We know that many rich, powerful, and famous people live lonely and miserable lives – always unhappy and unfulfilled. Some allow their attachment to pleasure, especially sinful pleasures, to destroy their health, their family and even their career.
But we cannot answer what life is all about unless we are able to answer the questions of our identity, our purpose on this earth, and our destination after this earthly sojourn. Who are we? What is the meaning of life? Where do we go after death? This is the reason why Christian education is more than simply providing knowledge and skills to our students. Christian formation is holistic and integral. It seeks the full development of the human person – physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Without such integral formation, a person cannot truly be considered educated, for a part of his or her life would be missing. How true it is that there are some brilliant people who are very successful in their work, are unable to develop authentic and lasting friendships – even with their own family members. Then there are those who are physically fit but live aimless lives, caring only for their appearances and vanity. And there are others who seem to have everything they need and appear to live meaningful lives, yet deep in their hearts they feel a void – a restlessness that neither success nor even loving relationships can satisfy.
For this reason, Christian formation must offer the ultimate hope to those we form. We do not simply prepare them for a good life on earth, for this life will inevitably come to end – and no life on earth is without suffering or imperfection. This year, the Church celebrates the Jubilee of Hope. We must therefore give them eternal hope: to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him so that we may be united with Him both in this life and for all eternity. Our fulfilment can only be found in loving God and serving our fellowmen in humility and in generosity. This is the true Promised Land that God offered to the people during the time of Moses, and which Christ is offering to us today. Indeed, Jesus made it clear, “‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour. I tell you solemnly, there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.”
But is this hope real, or an illusion – a pie in the sky? This is why Christian formation must lead people to know God as someone real and present in their lives. And this is experienced concretely through the signs and wonders that God wants to work in and through each one of us. Catholic formation must provide the Christian ambience of love, inclusivity, compassion, patience and forgiveness. Unless our young people and parishioners experience such compassionate love and mercy from our leaders, they will not be able to believe in the love of God. Indeed, when God told the people during the time of Moses to believe in Him as their Lord and God, He did not simply command them to believe and obey, but He demonstrated His love for them. As Moses said, God spoke to them “from the heart of the fire” and “ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors” so that they come to understand and “take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other.”
For Christians, Christ is the New Moses – the Teacher, the new Lawgiver, and the One who shows us the way. For Christians, the meaning of one’s life is found in humble service to our fellowmen. This calls for self-renunciation. We are called to put others before self. Unfortunately, today the call to self-renunciation is incomprehensible to the world. The world thrives on the mantra of “Me first”, and this is expressed by clichés like YOLO (You Only Live Once) and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). It is all about me – my rights, my pleasure, my needs, my freedom – often at the expense of the rights and freedom of the larger community. This is why humanity, when it lives only for this life, remains forever insecure, fearful of death, and fearful of missing out. The Lord warns us, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.”
But it is not enough to carry the cross, because we are all carrying crosses – often for selfish reasons or as a consequence of our foolish mistakes. What matters is that we carry the cross for others, after Jesus – that is, to carry the cross as He did, out of love and in service of others. Renunciation of self is not merely an ascetical practice; it is a response to the call to follow Christ. It is in following Christ that we find life. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He shows us the way to live through His life of love and selfless service. This is the truth by which life is found. By giving up our lives for Christ – by sharing in His life of love and service – we find the fullness of life. Through His teaching, His miracles, His compassion for the suffering and the poor, and ultimately through His passion, death, and resurrection, Christ has shown us the way to authentic love and service.
To help us follow Christ and carry our cross after Him, God has given us His laws and commandments – principles that form the ethos by which live a fulfilling life. Moses exhorted his people, “Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you forever.” But today, the modern generation, in the name of freedom, claims that we no longer need laws. “We are free”, they say. But in so doing, they are surrendering themselves to the dictatorship of moral relativism – a belief that there is no objective right or wrong, and that we must suspend all moral judgment. The truth is that no one is free unless he is free for others. When we are slaves to our addictions, our sins, our passions, we are not free. The abuse of freedom is a failure of freedom. Whilst the will to exercise of freedom rightly is weak, we need laws to guide us.
Indeed, it is important that we instruct our loved ones in the laws of God. We must not underestimate the importance of helping them to grow in knowledge and understanding of the laws of God. Consequently, we must not neglect to impart the Gospel to those under our charge. We must take direction from the Gospel in guiding our life and in the way we conduct ourselves. We must be careful that we do not let the Gospel simply mirror the world. Rather, the Gospel is meant to challenge the status quo. If the Gospel no longer challenges the world, then we can be sure it is not the Gospel. Otherwise, there is no need for Christ to save us and there is no need for the Gospel. We must, therefore, not compromise our faith values or dilute the truth of the Gospel to make it more acceptable to the world. Rather, we are to call the world to conversion. Those of us who have sought to please the world by compromising the Gospel are short-changing those who are seeking the fulness of life.
Of course, we will be misunderstood and criticized. But this is what it means to carry the cross and follow after our Lord. The Church, therefore, must always remain free and never become subservient to any worldly power; otherwise, we lose our freedom to proclaim the truth of the Gospel. This does not mean that we do not work or engage with political, corporate, social, or cultural institutions. But we must be clear that a line must be drawn when they conflict with the Gospel values – values that are universal. Unfortunately, some of us who proclaim the Gospel are too timid or weak to do the right thing and succumb to societal pressure and, in so doing, abandon the truth we called to uphold.
Finally, let us be grateful. Who we are today is the result of God’s blessings and the hard work of our forefathers who brought us the Gospel. We must continue their legacy and not forget what they have done for us. As the responsorial psalm reminds us: “I remember the deeds of the Lord, I remember your wonders of old, I muse on all your works and ponder your mighty deeds.” Forgetfulness is one of the main reasons we abandon the Gospel. Forgetfulness is what causes us to abandon the vision and mission of our founders as well. Forgetfulness leads to ingratitude and complacency. Let us pray that we will never forget the goodness of the Lord to us, nor the privilege He has given us to continue His work and mission. Let us be faithful to our calling, just as Moses was faithful to His people.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment