IDEALISM GIVES WAY TO REALISM

20260522 IDEALISM GIVES WAY TO REALISM

 

22 May 2026, Friday, 7th Week of Easter

First reading

Acts 25:13-21

'I ordered Paul to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar'

King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus. Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul’s case before the king. ‘There is a man here’ he said ‘whom Felix left behind in custody, and while I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid information against him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge. So they came here with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on the tribunal the very next day and had the man brought in. When confronted with him, his accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or other with him about their own religion and about a dead man called Jesus whom Paul alleged to be alive. Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this sort, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there on this issue. But Paul put in an appeal for his case to be reserved for the judgement of the august emperor, so I ordered him to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar.’

How to listen

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

or

Alleluia!

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

  all my being, bless his holy name.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

  and never forget all his blessings.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

or

Alleluia!

For as the heavens are high above the earth

  so strong is his love for those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west

  so far does he remove our sins.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

or

Alleluia!

The Lord has set his sway in heaven

  and his kingdom is ruling over all.

Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,

  mighty in power, fulfilling his word.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven.

or

Alleluia!

---

Gospel Acclamation

Jn14:26

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel

John 21:15-19

Feed my lambs, feed my sheep

Jesus showed himself to his disciples, and after they had eaten he said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

‘I tell you most solemnly,

when you were young

you put on your own belt

and walked where you liked;

but when you grow old

you will stretch out your hands,

and somebody else will put a belt round you

and take you where you would rather not go.’

In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’

 

IDEALISM GIVES WAY TO REALISM

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SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 25:13-21; Ps 103:1-2,11-12,19-20; Jn 21:15-19]

Most of us have great ideals. But when we are not in charge, we like to criticise those who are, because we think that those in authority do not measure up to our ideals. We criticise the government, church leaders, our bosses, and our parents as well. We always feel that they are not doing what they should be doing. We feel that they are backward, outdated, out-of-touch, and not responsive to situations, etc. We feel that our parents do not know how to live out their marriage; that they do not know how to raise their children. We seem to have all the answers. We are just waiting for that day when we can take over their jobs and show them what they should do. We have great aspirations and hope that we can change lives and make a real difference in society. When President Obama took office, he called for “change.” When President Trump took office, he said, “I will make America great again!” When South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office, in a similar vein he said, “I will build a new nation. I will make a great Korea, a proud Korea!”

But the reality is that when the day comes for us to take over, we will realise that it is not so easy after all. Indeed, those of us who are married today have come to realise that marriage is not a bed of roses, and that building a relationship with our spouse is a challenging task, and that looking after our children is sometimes an impossible task! What more if one has to deal with difficult in-laws or elderly members at home. So too, all those who assume office – whether in the government, in church, or any corporation or organisation – will face the same challenges. Many bishops and priests become jaded after assuming office for a while because it so difficult to get anything moving or get everyone to agree on anything. Church members, too, become disillusioned because of the bureaucracy in the Church. The list goes on and on.

This too was the case for the apostles and Paul. They too had great dreams for Israel. Peter wanted to die for Jesus and follow Him wherever He went. Peter declared, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”  (Mt 26:33) Again, he repeated, “I will lay down my life for you.” (Jn 13:37) Yet, when the time came for Peter to prove himself, he vehemently denied that he knew Christ when a maid or a servant identified him as one of His followers. So too did the rest of the apostles; all of them fled when Jesus was arrested. Only John was at the foot of the cross with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and some other women. The irony is that James and John had once told Jesus that they were ready to drink the cup that He was to drink. (cf Mt 20:22)

Indeed, like all those before us, when it is our chance to take charge of things, we find that our ideals cannot be reached. There are too many constraints. It is easy for us to give great advice to those in authority because we see things from our own narrow perspective and lack the breadth of their views. We think we have the solution to all their problems. But often, we do not realise that every leader and every person in office is faced with certain limitations in terms of manpower, resources, and finance. No one can do whatever he likes – not even the President of the United States or the Pope!

That was also the experience of the Roman governor, Festus, as we see in today’s First Reading. He had taken over from Felix and the case of Paul was not yet settled. Unlike Felix, Festus was a just and honest governor. He wanted to do the right thing. The Jews wanted him to condemn Paul to death but he knew that Paul did not warrant a death sentence. He knew that the Jews were jealous of him and felt threatened by him over some religious disagreement. As he was not comfortable in making a judgement on Paul, he proposed that Paul be tried in Jerusalem since it was a religious matter. But Paul knew very well that the judgment in Jerusalem would not be fair and just. Instead, he appealed to Rome for judgement. We can be sure that Festus was relieved that he did not have to make a bad judgement, as he did not want to offend the Jews at the start of his office.

That is why we must learn to be humble and be more realistic. It is easy to be opinionated when we are not in charge or involved in the situation. It is easy to dish out great advice when we are not in it. St Peter learned a great lesson; he was totally humbled by his sin of apostasy. He was so ashamed of himself for denying Christ. If not for Jesus, he could never have forgiven himself for what he did. Until it happened, he never realised that he was a coward. So when Jesus met him again, He asked Peter, “do you love me more than these others do?” If this question was in reference to his profession as a fisherman – an invitation to follow Jesus by giving up everything, including his trade – he would have likely answered positively, just as he did when he was first called. But this time, Peter was no longer cocky and dismissive. He no longer wished to compare himself with others. And so the reply was simply, “‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.” He did not dare to say that he loved Jesus most. Peter, now aware of his own limitations, was realistic in his love for the Lord. When Jesus asked him whether he loved him in an “agape” manner – that is total, unconditional, complete, and self-sacrificing – Peter replied with the word, “phileo”, which is essentially the love of a friend. Peter was no longer full of himself. It was better for him to just say to Jesus that He knew how much he loved Him; he would love Jesus as much as he could. “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.”

Indeed, we see how Peter was healed by the threefold affirmation of love for the Lord. Jesus gave him the chance to redeem himself by overwriting his threefold denial. With that, Jesus now had greater confidence in him, appointing him as the shepherd of his sheep. Previously, Jesus had told Peter, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward.” (Jn 13:36) But after his restoration, the Lord not only asked him to feed and look after His lambs and sheep, but He said to Peter, “Follow me.” Only those who have been healed of their pride and arrogance can become great leaders for the Lord. Otherwise, arrogance in leadership will destroy them and those whom they are leading. Whilst it is important for leaders to have great dreams, they must learn humility and realism. We cannot do everything we hope to do. Peter no longer was obstinate and insistent on having his own way. The Lord said, “I tell you most solemnly, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.”

Indeed, the ways of God are not ours. “The Lord has set his sway in heaven and his kingdom is ruling over all.” Though James and John did not get to sit on the right and left hand of the throne of Jesus, they did drink the cup eventually. James was beheaded, and John was sent into exile. And although he did not suffer martyrdom, he offered his whole life for the Gospel. Peter, like James, was also executed. The evangelist noted, “In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God.” St Paul, too, never realised his dream of bringing the Gospel to the ends of the world. He never expected that circumstances would happen in such a way that he was literally brought to Rome to proclaim the Gospel. The ways of God are unimaginable. Man proposes but God disposes.

What we need to do is simply to surrender our lives to Him. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Our mission is dependent on the Holy Spirit. Success is not just our work, but that of divine plan and providence. Jesus too surrendered His mission to the Holy Spirit at His death on the cross. So all we need to do is to cooperate with His grace at every step in our lives. God will lead the way. We cannot determine the end or the outcome because it is the grace of God. Let us listen to the Lord, “Follow me!”

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.

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Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved. 

PRESENTING CHRIST AS THE UNIVERSAL SAVIOUR

20260521 PRESENTING CHRIST AS THE UNIVERSAL SAVIOUR

 

21 May 2026, Thursday, 7th Week of Easter

First reading

Acts 22:30,23:6-11

'You have borne witness in Jerusalem: now you must do the same in Rome'

Since the tribune wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested strongly, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul him out and bring him into the fortress.

  Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’

How to listen

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

  I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;

  it is you yourself who are my prize.’

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

  who even at night directs my heart.

I keep the Lord ever in my sight:

  since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

  even my body shall rest in safety.

For you will not leave my soul among the dead,

  nor let your beloved know decay.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

You will show me the path of life,

  the fullness of joy in your presence,

  at your right hand happiness for ever.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

---

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Jn16:7,13

Alleluia, alleluia!

I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;

he will lead you to the complete truth.

Alleluia!

Or:

Jn17:21

Alleluia, alleluia!

With them in you and you in me,

may they be so completely one

that the world will realise that it was you who sent me,

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel

John 17:20-26

Father, may they be completely one

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

I pray not only for these,

but for those also

who through their words will believe in me.

May they all be one.

Father, may they be one in us,

as you are in me and I am in you,

so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave to me,

that they may be one as we are one.

With me in them and you in me,

may they be so completely one

that the world will realise that it was you who sent me

and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me

to be with me where I am,

so that they may always see the glory you have given me

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Father, Righteous One,

the world has not known you,

but I have known you,

and these have known that you have sent me.

I have made your name known to them

and will continue to make it known,

so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,

and so that I may be in them.’

 

PRESENTING CHRIST AS THE UNIVERSAL SAVIOUR

---

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-11; Jn 17:20-26]

We all seek unity and love. Regardless whether we are believers or not, it is in the human DNA to desire peace, love and unity. This is the deepest quest of every human person. We are created in the image and likeness of God and thus no man can find rest until he finds true love and peace. The Church, as the Sacrament of Christ, has the task of leading all peoples to unity because we are all children of God. This is what the Lord prayed at the end of His life. He said, “Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.”

How is this best done? Lasting unity and love must be founded on truth.  The deception of the world today is that although everyone desires love, not all desire to be truthful in love. We are quite satisfied with a disguised form of love. Many in the world confuse sex with love. Many seek casual sex, believing that what they are getting is love. What they are really seeking is intimate relationships – not just physical, but emotional, intellectual, and even spiritual union. Those who are not capable of handling relationships substitute relationships with things. Instead of spending time bonding with their children, parents give them money and things to replace their absence and their incapacity to feel with and for them.

What is this truth if not faith in God, the Ultimate Reality? Which God, or which religion, can bring us to encounter this absolute Truth? All religions claim to have the truth. However, that does not prevent us from saying that Christ and the Church possess the fullness of Truth. Whether others agree with us or not is their prerogative, but it seems like anyone today can claim that his or her religion offers the fullness of truth.

So, it is not true, as some claim, that proclaiming Christ as the unique Saviour of the world sounds triumphalistic to other religions and creates competition or even hostility. But to not do so would also be wrong, because it would mean that we are pretending to believe what we do not confess. That would be hypocrisy! To believe that Jesus is the Universal Saviour and our Lord, and yet not say so would be to live a lie. By suggesting to others that we believe in the same thing would make us fall into ‘irenicism’, a false compromise. In so doing we do a disservice to inter-religious dialogue by misleading others in the nature of our real beliefs. Indeed, all followers must be true to the claims they make about their founder or religion. There is no need to apologise for making the claims, as long as we do not denigrate other religions, belittle them, or deny them their claims.

Indeed, this was the mistake of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. For political interests, they came together with the objective of standing up to Rome and also for social and religious gains. Although they were united as one in the Sanhedrin (the council that ruled on religious matters for the Jews), their unity was false. It was not based on common truths and beliefs, but existed purely for political and selfish motives. Their partnership was a superficial unity not based on truth, but on pragmatism.

How, then, do we present Jesus without belittling other religions? We should begin by stressing our commonality. This was what St Paul did when he concurred with the Pharisees on the doctrine of the resurrection. We too must begin in this manner – by sharing with other religions that which we have in common.  This will promote trust and respect, paving the way for dialogue. In truth, we have more in common than disagreement. Fundamentally, all religions teach us how to love, forgive, and to help each other. Whilst we might not agree on how we interpret moral issues because we differ on what is truth, we are in agreement that we should seek authentic love. All religions teach us to do good and avoid evil – even if we do not agree on what exactly is evil – as many moral issues are ambiguous, filled with a mix of love and selfishness, truth and falsehood. In our case, we share with the world a desire to find lasting unity and love. As believers of religions, we share this belief that unity must be based on eternal truths. Of course, not all religions share faith in a personal God. There are many religions that speak of an impersonal ultimate reality rather than a personal God. With some religions, such as Islam and Judaism, we share a common faith in the one God.

Only after we have begun with the basic beliefs that are common to all are we then able to share our distinctiveness. I prefer to use the word “distinctiveness” rather than “differences.” We should not talk about being different from others, but rather about having our own distinctive way of explaining something, shaped by a distinctive culture, worldview, and set of presuppositions.

What, then, is our distinctive contribution? Namely, that our Ultimate Reality is in the one God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This God whom we believe in is a personal God who is a communion of relations within Himself. God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and both are united in the one Spirit. That God is a Trinity of persons in communion, is rendered explicitly by the priestly prayer of Jesus Christ, “Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.”

Because the Trinitarian God is communion, He invites us to share in His communion of love and life. Indeed, this is the priestly prayer of Jesus. What is this glory that Jesus wants to share with us but His intimacy with His Father? It is this intimacy that He desires us all to have as well. Jesus’ deepest desire for us is this, ” that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.” Only from this intimacy with a personal God can we truly love our fellowmen and the whole of creation because His love in us will empower us to do the same.

The basis for real unity in this world is to love each other in the same way the Father loves the Son. In the same Spirit of the Father and the Son, we are called to love each other the way the Father loves us in Christ. By sharing our experience and faith in God in this manner we show them the way to a fuller understanding of God based on divine revelation through Christ in the Spirit. We are not coercing others to believe what we believe unless they have the same experience of the love of the Trinity. So the desire to proclaim the Gospel is not so much a question of proselytism, of making converts, but to share the joy of intimacy with the Father through the Son in the Spirit. In this way, without showing disrespect for other religions, and without any intimidation, we humbly share the gift we have received from Christ with them. They are thus free to accept or reject.

Of course, at the end of the day, if we do not live out this Trinitarian life, then our belief becomes an empty doctrine. No one will believe us, regardless how lofty our doctrines may be. Thus, the greatest scandal in Christianity is the division among His disciples and in His Church. We do a disservice to the Church’s mission and proclamation when we are divided, like the Sanhedrin. Truly, by washing our dirty linen in public, we Catholics are no better than spouses and children exposing their family squabbles for the whole world to judge. Instead of settling differences and disagreements quietly and in Christian charity, we often go on social media to express our frustrations, ventilate our anger on fellow Catholics or the Church, or even the bishops and the Holy Father, thinking that we are doing the Church a favour. Instead, we cause division and allow our enemies to take advantage of us, knowing that we are divided within ourselves.  The world then becomes our judge, instead of our Heavenly Father.

That is why Christ prayed for unity among His disciples before His departure. As St John Paul II said, “our mission is communion and it must therefore be accomplished in communion.” Thus, he urged us to promote a Spirituality of Communion before embarking on any mission or ministry. If we are disunited, all the good that we do would be destroyed by Catholics attacking each other. No one will believe that we are Christ’s disciples if we do not love each other as He has 

20260521 PRESENTING CHRIST AS THE UNIVERSAL SAVIOUR

 

21 May 2026, Thursday, 7th Week of Easter

First reading

Acts 22:30,23:6-11

'You have borne witness in Jerusalem: now you must do the same in Rome'

Since the tribune wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested strongly, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul him out and bring him into the fortress.

  Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’

How to listen

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

  I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;

  it is you yourself who are my prize.’

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

  who even at night directs my heart.

I keep the Lord ever in my sight:

  since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

  even my body shall rest in safety.

For you will not leave my soul among the dead,

  nor let your beloved know decay.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

You will show me the path of life,

  the fullness of joy in your presence,

  at your right hand happiness for ever.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

---

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Jn16:7,13

Alleluia, alleluia!

I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;

he will lead you to the complete truth.

Alleluia!

Or:

Jn17:21

Alleluia, alleluia!

With them in you and you in me,

may they be so completely one

that the world will realise that it was you who sent me,

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel

John 17:20-26

Father, may they be completely one

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

I pray not only for these,

but for those also

who through their words will believe in me.

May they all be one.

Father, may they be one in us,

as you are in me and I am in you,

so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave to me,

that they may be one as we are one.

With me in them and you in me,

may they be so completely one

that the world will realise that it was you who sent me

and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me

to be with me where I am,

so that they may always see the glory you have given me

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Father, Righteous One,

the world has not known you,

but I have known you,

and these have known that you have sent me.

I have made your name known to them

and will continue to make it known,

so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,

and so that I may be in them.’

 

PRESENTING CHRIST AS THE UNIVERSAL SAVIOUR

---

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-11; Jn 17:20-26]

We all seek unity and love. Regardless whether we are believers or not, it is in the human DNA to desire peace, love and unity. This is the deepest quest of every human person. We are created in the image and likeness of God and thus no man can find rest until he finds true love and peace. The Church, as the Sacrament of Christ, has the task of leading all peoples to unity because we are all children of God. This is what the Lord prayed at the end of His life. He said, “Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.”

How is this best done? Lasting unity and love must be founded on truth.  The deception of the world today is that although everyone desires love, not all desire to be truthful in love. We are quite satisfied with a disguised form of love. Many in the world confuse sex with love. Many seek casual sex, believing that what they are getting is love. What they are really seeking is intimate relationships – not just physical, but emotional, intellectual, and even spiritual union. Those who are not capable of handling relationships substitute relationships with things. Instead of spending time bonding with their children, parents give them money and things to replace their absence and their incapacity to feel with and for them.

What is this truth if not faith in God, the Ultimate Reality? Which God, or which religion, can bring us to encounter this absolute Truth? All religions claim to have the truth. However, that does not prevent us from saying that Christ and the Church possess the fullness of Truth. Whether others agree with us or not is their prerogative, but it seems like anyone today can claim that his or her religion offers the fullness of truth.

So, it is not true, as some claim, that proclaiming Christ as the unique Saviour of the world sounds triumphalistic to other religions and creates competition or even hostility. But to not do so would also be wrong, because it would mean that we are pretending to believe what we do not confess. That would be hypocrisy! To believe that Jesus is the Universal Saviour and our Lord, and yet not say so would be to live a lie. By suggesting to others that we believe in the same thing would make us fall into ‘irenicism’, a false compromise. In so doing we do a disservice to inter-religious dialogue by misleading others in the nature of our real beliefs. Indeed, all followers must be true to the claims they make about their founder or religion. There is no need to apologise for making the claims, as long as we do not denigrate other religions, belittle them, or deny them their claims.

Indeed, this was the mistake of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. For political interests, they came together with the objective of standing up to Rome and also for social and religious gains. Although they were united as one in the Sanhedrin (the council that ruled on religious matters for the Jews), their unity was false. It was not based on common truths and beliefs, but existed purely for political and selfish motives. Their partnership was a superficial unity not based on truth, but on pragmatism.

How, then, do we present Jesus without belittling other religions? We should begin by stressing our commonality. This was what St Paul did when he concurred with the Pharisees on the doctrine of the resurrection. We too must begin in this manner – by sharing with other religions that which we have in common.  This will promote trust and respect, paving the way for dialogue. In truth, we have more in common than disagreement. Fundamentally, all religions teach us how to love, forgive, and to help each other. Whilst we might not agree on how we interpret moral issues because we differ on what is truth, we are in agreement that we should seek authentic love. All religions teach us to do good and avoid evil – even if we do not agree on what exactly is evil – as many moral issues are ambiguous, filled with a mix of love and selfishness, truth and falsehood. In our case, we share with the world a desire to find lasting unity and love. As believers of religions, we share this belief that unity must be based on eternal truths. Of course, not all religions share faith in a personal God. There are many religions that speak of an impersonal ultimate reality rather than a personal God. With some religions, such as Islam and Judaism, we share a common faith in the one God.

Only after we have begun with the basic beliefs that are common to all are we then able to share our distinctiveness. I prefer to use the word “distinctiveness” rather than “differences.” We should not talk about being different from others, but rather about having our own distinctive way of explaining something, shaped by a distinctive culture, worldview, and set of presuppositions.

What, then, is our distinctive contribution? Namely, that our Ultimate Reality is in the one God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This God whom we believe in is a personal God who is a communion of relations within Himself. God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and both are united in the one Spirit. That God is a Trinity of persons in communion, is rendered explicitly by the priestly prayer of Jesus Christ, “Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.”

Because the Trinitarian God is communion, He invites us to share in His communion of love and life. Indeed, this is the priestly prayer of Jesus. What is this glory that Jesus wants to share with us but His intimacy with His Father? It is this intimacy that He desires us all to have as well. Jesus’ deepest desire for us is this, ” that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.” Only from this intimacy with a personal God can we truly love our fellowmen and the whole of creation because His love in us will empower us to do the same.

The basis for real unity in this world is to love each other in the same way the Father loves the Son. In the same Spirit of the Father and the Son, we are called to love each other the way the Father loves us in Christ. By sharing our experience and faith in God in this manner we show them the way to a fuller understanding of God based on divine revelation through Christ in the Spirit. We are not coercing others to believe what we believe unless they have the same experience of the love of the Trinity. So the desire to proclaim the Gospel is not so much a question of proselytism, of making converts, but to share the joy of intimacy with the Father through the Son in the Spirit. In this way, without showing disrespect for other religions, and without any intimidation, we humbly share the gift we have received from Christ with them. They are thus free to accept or reject.

Of course, at the end of the day, if we do not live out this Trinitarian life, then our belief becomes an empty doctrine. No one will believe us, regardless how lofty our doctrines may be. Thus, the greatest scandal in Christianity is the division among His disciples and in His Church. We do a disservice to the Church’s mission and proclamation when we are divided, like the Sanhedrin. Truly, by washing our dirty linen in public, we Catholics are no better than spouses and children exposing their family squabbles for the whole world to judge. Instead of settling differences and disagreements quietly and in Christian charity, we often go on social media to express our frustrations, ventilate our anger on fellow Catholics or the Church, or even the bishops and the Holy Father, thinking that we are doing the Church a favour. Instead, we cause division and allow our enemies to take advantage of us, knowing that we are divided within ourselves.  The world then becomes our judge, instead of our Heavenly Father.

That is why Christ prayed for unity among His disciples before His departure. As St John Paul II said, “our mission is communion and it must therefore be accomplished in communion.” Thus, he urged us to promote a Spirituality of Communion before embarking on any mission or ministry. If we are disunited, all the good that we do would be destroyed by Catholics attacking each other. No one will believe that we are Christ’s disciples if we do not love each other as He has loved us. (Jn 13:34)

So how can unity be brought about among us all? By once again asking for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, the love of God and His gift to us. He is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. He is therefore the principle of unity, the power for love. As we await the Feast of Pentecost, let us pray earnestly for the renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives by praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit.

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.

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Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.  us. (Jn 13:34)

So how can unity be brought about among us all? By once again asking for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, the love of God and His gift to us. He is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. He is therefore the principle of unity, the power for love. As we await the Feast of Pentecost, let us pray earnestly for the renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives by praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit.

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.

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Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.