20250404 CATHOLICS ON TRIAL
04 April 2025, Friday, 4th Week of Lent
First reading |
Wisdom 2:1,12-22 |
Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man and condemn him to a shameful death
The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning:
‘Our life is short and dreary,
nor is there any relief when man’s end comes,
nor is anyone known who can give release from Hades.
Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of the law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
He claims to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a son of the Lord.
Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking,
the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
his way of life is not like other men’s,
the paths he treads are unfamiliar.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth;
he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy
and boasts of having God for his father.
Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’
This is the way they reason, but they are misled,
their malice makes them blind.
They do not know the hidden things of God,
they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded,
they can see no reward for blameless souls.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 33(34):16,18,19-21,23 |
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.
The Lord turns his face against the wicked
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The just call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man
but from them all the Lord will rescue him.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.
He will keep guard over all his bones,
not one of his bones shall be broken.
The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.
Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.
Gospel Acclamation | Joel2:12-13 |
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Or: | Mt4:4 |
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Gospel |
John 7:1-2,10,25-30 |
They would have arrested him, but his time had not yet come
Jesus stayed in Galilee; he could not stay in Judaea, because the Jews were out to kill him.
As the Jewish feast of Tabernacles drew near, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went up as well, but quite privately, without drawing attention to himself. Meanwhile some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Isn’t this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking freely, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.’
Then, as Jesus taught in the Temple, he cried out:
‘Yes, you know me
and you know where I came from.
Yet I have not come of myself:
no, there is one who sent me
and I really come from him,
and you do not know him,
but I know him because I have come from him
and it was he who sent me.’
They would have arrested him then, but because his time had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.
CATHOLICS ON TRIAL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [WIS 2:1,12-22; PS 34:16,18,19-21,23; JN 7:1-2.10.25-30]
The Catholic Church, especially the hierarchy, has been under constant attack by the world today over her teachings against abortion, euthanasia, same-sex union and promiscuity. This is not surprising, especially in the age of social media where information is disseminated instantly. Whatever happened or said in one place will go viral within minutes. Furthermore, with an exaggerated form of freedom of speech, this leads to abuse, threats and even violence. We should not be surprised that the world opposes us because from the beginning of Christianity, the Church has always been persecuted. In the gospel, the opponents of Jesus also wanted to kill Him. In the primitive Church, the apostles and disciples of Christ were brought to court, beaten up and even put to death. The scripture readings cite some reasons why those of us who speak the truth and try to be faithful to the teachings of the gospel are ridiculed, criticized and even condemned by the world.
Firstly, many who oppose the teachings of the Church are sincerely ignorant. The book of wisdom says, “They do not know the hidden things of God, they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded, they can see no reward for blameless souls.” In a world of mass communication and digital technology, one is exposed to so many views and opinions on every subject that it becomes extremely difficult to determine what is true. Some intelligent people can argue their position persuasively, making what is wrong to be right. Some are good at deceiving the innocent with their words, twisting the facts or presenting half-truths. Therefore, we can appreciate that when one is presented with a diarrhoea of knowledge and information, and often, with no time to verify the truth of it, we tend to accept the information on face value without investigating the truth of the matter. Indeed, there is so much news spreading all the time that we do not know whether they are fake or true. So how can we blame those who are non-believers when even our own Catholics do not know their faith or bother to understand the reasons for our doctrinal and moral issues?
Secondly, those whose lifestyle we condemn naturally react against our objections. Our lives become a reprimand to their lifestyle. We become a source of annoyance to them. Those unhappy with us will say, “Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our breaches of the law and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.” They also say, “Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking, the very sight of him weighs our spirits down; his way of life is not like other men’s, the paths he treads are unfamiliar. In his opinion, we are counterfeit; he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth.” Understandably, when one faults your lifestyle and condemns what you are doing, you will retaliate and defend your lifestyle. Is not this what the Lord said, “the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” (Jn 3:19-21)
Thirdly, those whose lifestyle is objectionable to society want to condition society to change its perception with mass media, entertainment, politics, technology, and constant social media messaging. In other words, they seek to normalize what is irregular, such as transgender, same-sex union, abortion, divorce, drugs and euthanasia. They do not want to feel like they are the odd ones in society. They want society to adopt their norms so much so that if we are not doing what they are doing, we become abnormal in society. Unfortunately, the minority speaks the loudest because the majority does not feel the need to defend their position. However, because we keep silent, after some time, the minority voice becomes the dominant and accepted voice.
Fourthly, there are those who are really malicious and evil. It is not because of ignorance that they seek to discredit the Church and her teachings. They are bent on doing evil and are under the influence of the Evil one. As the book of wisdom says, “Their malice makes them blind.” Such people are selfish, inward-looking and care only for their own interests and pleasure. They do not have a heart for society, the future of humanity, nor are they concerned about the unity and integrity of our families. They are determined to destroy the future generation by destroying marriage and family life. They do not care whether our children will be raised holistically in an ambience of unconditional love and support of both of their parents.
In truth, Catholics, especially the hierarchy of the Church, also have ourselves to blame for the hostile and negative reaction to Catholicism. The fact is that we do not practise what we preach. This is the worst among all the faults of Catholics. We are counter-witnesses because we act contrary to what we believe. This is what our enemies are saying of us. “He claims to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a son of the Lord. He proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy and boasts of having God for his father.” Unfortunately, we do not live as children of God. We do not live a virtuous life. We contradict our words by our actions. Hence, we lose credibility in the world. The most scandalous example is paedophilia committed by the clergy and religious; and the subsequent cover up by religious authorities. Not only have the clergy shown themselves to be unfaithful to a life of chastity but they have also harmed young children under their fatherly care! What is also unforgivable for many is that instead of taking action against the paedophile to prevent him from causing more harm, the Church authorities allowed them to continue in their sinful ways.
Indeed, the world is waiting for us Catholics to be true to what we claim and what we believe. The real trial is not in the courtroom but in the world. How we live will determine whether we are credible. This is what the world is saying, “Let us see if what he says is true, let us observe what kind of end he himself will have. If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies. Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his endurance to the proof. Let us condemn him to a shameful death since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.” In other words, they want proof that we are true to our claims.
Jesus shows us the way to authenticity in faith. When questioned by His opponents, the Lord said to them. “Yes, you know me and you know where I came from. Yet I have not come of myself: no, there is one who sent me and I really come from him, and you do not know him, but I know him because I have come from him and it was he who sent me.” Jesus was fully conscious of His identity as the Son of God. He knew His Father intimately. He and the Father are one. (cf Jn 10:30) Everything has been given and revealed to Him because He is the Son of the Father. (cf Mt 11:27) Jesus was conscious that He was not just the Son of the Father but He was sent by the Father. Whatever He did, it was done in union with the Father. Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” (Jn 5:19) Jesus remained firm in His ministry and mission. He was not fearful of the rejection of the Jews. He continued to remain faithful to His words until the end even if it meant death.
What about us? Are we the cause of the lack of faith and confidence in the Church today? Is it because of our inability to articulate our faith, whether in explaining our beliefs or in living out the gospel life thereby bringing discredit to our faith? We must never forget that we are on trial every day. Non-Catholics, including nominal and lapsed Catholics, are looking at us to see whether we are faithful to what we profess. We need to grow in consciousness of our identity as the children of God and the disciples of our Lord through study, prayer and contemplation. Unless we put on Christ in the way we think and live, we cannot be credible witnesses of our Lord in a sceptical world.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
