20250818 SECULARIZATION – A THREAT TO THE PURITY OF OUR FAITH
18 August 2025, Monday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Judges 2:11-19 |
The Lord appoints judges to rescue the men of Israel
The sons of Israel did what displeases the Lord, and served the Baals. They deserted the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from the gods of the peoples round them. They bowed down to these; they provoked the Lord; they deserted the Lord to serve Baal and Astarte. Then the Lord’s anger flamed out against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were not able to resist them. In every warlike venture, the hand of the Lord was there to foil them, as the Lord had warned, as the Lord had sworn to them. Thus he reduced them to dire distress.
Then the Lord appointed judges for them, and rescued the men of Israel from the hands of their plunderers. But they would not listen to their judges. They prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed down before these. Very quickly they left the path their ancestors had trodden in obedience to the orders of the Lord; they did not follow their example. When the Lord appointed judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and rescued them from the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived, for the Lord felt pity for them as they groaned under the iron grip of their oppressors. But once the judge was dead, they relapsed and behaved even worse than their ancestors. They followed other gods; they served them and bowed before them, and would not give up the practices and stubborn ways of their ancestors at all.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 105(106):34-37,39-40,43-44 |
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
They failed to destroy the peoples
as the Lord had given command,
but instead they mingled with the nations
and learned to act as they did.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
They worshipped the idols of the nations
and these became a snare to entrap them.
They even offered their own sons
and their daughters in sacrifice to demons.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
So they defiled themselves by their deeds
and broke their marriage bond with the Lord
till his anger blazed against his people;
he was filled with horror at his chosen ones.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
Time after time he rescued them,
but in their malice they dared to defy him.
In spite of this he paid heed to their distress,
so often as he heard their cry.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:34 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt5:3 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 19:16-22 |
If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own
There was a man who came to Jesus and asked, ‘Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These:’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother,and: you must love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?’ Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
SECULARIZATION – A THREAT TO THE PURITY OF OUR FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jg 2:11-19; Ps 106:34-37, 39-40,43-44; Mt 19:16-22]
We are living in a world of globalization. As the world becomes a global village through the use of technology and mass communication, the different peoples of the world have, in many ways, been brought together. Through the sharing of technology and trade, economic development brings about better living conditions for many. With globalization comes migration and secularization. As most countries are no longer merely of one race but rather a diversity of races, languages and religions, secularization is necessary to maintain impartiality between the state and religions, ensuring peace and unity based on justice and equality.
From this perspective, globalization and secularization are not totally negative. However, we must also be aware of the downside of these trends. This process poses a threat to the purity of our faith and customs. This Israelites in the first reading provide a case in point. After entering the Promised Land, they had to live with their neighbours and the inhabitants who were pagans who worshipped the Canaanite gods of fertility, namely, Baals and Astarte. They ended up adopting their practices, including religious prostitution and child sacrifice, as well as being influenced by their immoral lifestyle. As is written, “The sons of Israel did what displeases the Lord and served the Baals. They deserted the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from the gods of the peoples round them. They bowed down to these; they provoked the Lord; they deserted the Lord to serve Baal and Astarte.”
In our times, it is increasingly challenging to remain true to our faith as well. Firstly, illegitimate secularization seeks to remove God from the lives of our people. While the concept of secularization originally aimed to foster unity through neutrality and respect for different cultures and religions, in many instances it has deteriorated into hostility toward all forms of religious belief. Ironically, the only religion allowed in the world today is the worship of man, that is, humanism, or the rejection of God altogether, seen in atheism. In truth, by removing religions from society, we are endorsing another form of religion. The secularization advocated by the world is secularism, and its consequence is relativism, which rejects the notion of discovering and living by objective truth. By rejecting moral truths and subscribing to relativism, which is a pragmatic and subjective approach to values, truth is denied. The only “truth” in society today is that of relativism, which has become the prevailing norm of morality, or perhaps more accurately, amorality.
Secondly, illegitimate secularization, even if not directly opposed to God, seeks syncretism. In seeking to stay united with others, quite often, inter-religious dialogue is reduced to syncretism, where we take what is good in every religion and create a new religion one. This approach fails to respect the radical differences between religions, despite their many commonalities. Such indiscriminate syncretism will lead to confusion. This is why in the Old Testament, the Bible was cautious about absorption of the religious tenets of other religions. “They failed to destroy the peoples as the Lord had given command, but instead they mingled with the nations and learned to act as they did. They worshipped the idols of the nations and these became a snare to entrap them. They even offered their own sons and their daughters in sacrifice to demons.” While we must dialogue with other religions, we must remain faithful to our own faith. The aim of inter-religious dialogue is not syncretism, but rather mutual understanding that fosters mutual respect, unity, and cooperation in works of charity to serve humanity.
Thirdly, illegitimate secularization seeks to reduce religions to mere humanitarian organizations. While it is true that all religions with a genuine belief in God or the Sacred also promote love for humanity, the two are not the same. As St John tells us, “If any one says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.” (1 Jn 4:20f) This echoes what the Lord told the man who was seeking for eternal life. The Lord said, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. …You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother, and: You must love your neighbour as yourself.”
So how do we prevent our faith from being corrupted or diluted by globalization and secularization? We must remember the fundamental principles of our Lord: the twin commandments of love of God and love of neighbour. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” (Lk 10:27)
Indeed, love of God is the first and fundamental principle. We are called to put God at the centre, and first, of our lives, and love Him with all our heart, soul and strength. This is because God is our ultimate end – our origin and our goal. When we forget God, we lose our focus and perspective. Our faith reminds us that we are not the absolute but are creatures dependent on God. The failure to give our complete devotion to God is the consequence of idolatry. This was what happened to the Israelites and still happens today. Idolatry, which is the worship of illusions, takes different forms in history. When we make something in this world as if it were everything, that is idolatry. Worshipping money, power, pleasure, or even our loved ones is idolatry. Only God deserves our absolute loyalty and total commitment. If we make Him the centre of our lives, we can see everything else in it proper perspective.
This is why idolatry remains the greatest sin of humanity. It brings God’s wrath, not because He is vindictive, but because by abandoning Him, we cause misery to ourselves. As we read, “Then the Lord’s anger flamed out against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were not able to resist them. In every warlike venture, the hand of the Lord was there to foil them, as the Lord had warned, as the Lord had sworn to them. Thus he reduced them to dire distress.”
The second equally important principle is justice and charity towards our fellowmen. This is what the Lord told the man seeking the fullness of life. However, Jesus also made it clear that true fullness of life is more than just practising justice and charity according to the law; it is to follow Him. “Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.”
Indeed, the Church and its charitable institutions must never be reduced to another NGO or humanitarian organization. The Church’s ultimate goal is not simply to provide for the body but, more importantly, for the soul. The message of salvation is for both the body and the soul. Our true home is in heaven with God; we are just pilgrims passing through this world. So, merely providing material and physical assistance does not do justice to the full message of the Gospel. We must also offer spiritual help, ultimately guiding people to find God in Christ Jesus, who is the Good News of salvation. All Christian humanitarian organizations must be rooted in the conviction that Christ came to save us, both body and soul. Otherwise, we are no different from the other NGOs. We are fundamentally a religious organization, not a humanitarian one.
The point of departure for Christian charity is rooted in our love for God and to lead others to Him. As St John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 Jn 4:7-12)
This love of God, from which we draw the strength to love, is found in His mercy and tolerance for our weaknesses. Despite our constant infidelity, we know that God is patient with us. We read how He would relent and forgive us when He sees us destroying ourselves by our sufferings. Just as He sent Judges to rescue the Israelites from their enemies, He ultimately sent His Only Son to save us once and for all. In our failures, let us turn to the Lord and recall His love for us. “So they defiled themselves by their deeds and broke their marriage bond with the Lord till his anger blazed against his people; he was filled with horror at his chosen ones. Time after time he rescued them, but in their malice they dared to defy him. In spite of this he paid heed to their distress, so often as he heard their cry.”
Indeed, only by coming to know God and following Him can one find the fullness of life. We are called to follow Jesus because only in Him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, can we find life. Our immediate goal is love of God and our fellowmen on earth, but our ultimate goal is to live the fullness of life with God in heaven and with all the saints. If we keep these two principles in mind, we can have a real foretaste of eternal life in this world.
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.
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