20141001 THE CALL TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORK OF THE NEW
EVANGELIZATION IN SMALL WAYS
First
reading Isaiah 66:10-14 ©
Rejoice,
Jerusalem,
be
glad for her, all you who love her!
Rejoice,
rejoice for her,
all
you who mourned her!
That
you may be suckled, filled,
from
her consoling breast,
that
you may savour with delight
her
glorious breasts.
For
thus says the Lord:
Now
towards her I send flowing
peace,
like a river,
and
like a stream in spate
the
glory of the nations.
At
her breast will her nurslings be carried
and
fondled in her lap.
Like
a son comforted by his mother
will
I comfort you.
And
by Jerusalem you will be comforted.
At
the sight your heart will rejoice,
and
your bones flourish like the grass.
To
his servants the Lord will reveal his hand.
Psalm Psalm 130:1-3 ©
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O
Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I
have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
Truly
I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A
weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O
Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
Gospel
Acclamation Mt11:25
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Blessed
are you, Father,
Lord
of heaven and earth,
for
revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to
mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel Matthew 18:1-4 ©
The
disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them.
Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little
children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes
himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.
THE
CALL TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORK OF THE NEW EVANGELIZATION IN SMALL WAYS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISA 66:10-14; 1 Cor 13:4-13; Matthew 18:1-5
http://www.universalis.com/20141001/mass.1.htm
St Theresa is a
patroness of missions. It appears strange that she was made the patroness of missions
when she had never even stepped out of the convent. She was a nun for
hardly nine years; entering the convent at the age of 15 and dying at 24 of
tuberculosis. She suffered from poor health. Despite all these, she
was declared a saint and a doctor of the Church and patroness of the work of
missions.
Considering the urgency
of the work of the New Evangelization and the challenges facing us, we might
feel diffident.
We are confronted with a Church that needs renewal in faith, doctrines,
approaches and structures. In many parts of the Church we, priests and
laity, have become secularised by the world. Sandals within the Church
have caused the message of the gospel to be in doubt. Beyond the Church,
we are facing a world that has lost faith in God and religious
institutions. The world has become intolerant of religion. Many no
longer believe in God or eternal life. The modern man lives for himself
and only for this world. It is an age of individualism at its
lowest and humanism at its highest. The world in its desperate search for
an elusive happiness must either turn to God or go deeper into the brink of
despair. The truth is that the world without Good cannot quench the
thirst of man for truth and everlasting authentic love.
Hence, we are called to
turn to St Theresa for inspiration and guidance. From a young age,
she knew that only God can satisfy man. Without God, our soul remains
unquenched. Hence she wanted to offer her life to Him. But
what could she do? She was so young and no one would take her
seriously. Furthermore, she was sickly and psychologically vulnerable.
Compared to the great saints, she felt like an obscure grain of sand.
But her limitations and disadvantages did not stop her from offering
herself to the Lord. St John of the Cross taught her that God would
not inspire desires that cannot be fulfilled. The Book of Proverbs told her,
“If anyone is a very little one, let him come to me.” Jesus said, “And
so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven. Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my
name welcomes me.” He reprimanded the disciples for stopping the children
from coming to Him.
St Theresa teaches us
that everyone can do something, regardless of his/her circumstances in life,
sick or healthy, rich or poor, influential or insignificant in society. We need not feel that we are too
small or weak to serve Him. We need not be mediocre either. Indeed,
we cannot all hug lepers or give up our lives for full-time ministry. While all
are called to be missionaries, not all are called in the manner of being sent
elsewhere. We might not be able to imitate the heroic lives of martyrs,
but we all do have daily opportunities of grace. Some of these opportunities
may be too small to see, but the more we love God, the more we will see them.
If we cannot advance to Heaven in giant strides, we can do it in tiny little
steps. Our weakness is no excuse for mediocrity. We can do ordinary
things in an extraordinary way.
What makes the ordinary
things we do extraordinary? When we have accomplished everything in love and with
love! It is not what we do but why we do it and for whom we do it.
Most of all, it is measured by the intensity and purity of that act of
love. Indeed, this is the centrality of St Theresa’s
spirituality. In her simple yet profound reflection of God she came
to realize that the heart of God is love. It is love that is the reason
for God’s creation. And it is love that is the cause of Christ’s death for us
on the cross. She said “I have found my vocation which is love. The
heart of the church is love.” She offered herself for the salvation of
humanity and for the renewal of the Church.
Consequently, the Church
was born from the heart of Christ’s love on the cross. That being the
case, the heart of the Church must also be love. Above all things, without
love, everything else the Church does is in vain. Everything must
spring from the love of God in Christ and seen in the way we love our
neighbours. Charity is the soul of the Church. The mission of
the Church is ultimately the work of love. The Church is a mother, as the
first reading reminds us. We are called to love our children. “At
her breast will her nurslings be carried and fondled in her lap. Like a son
comforted by his mother will I comfort you. (And by Jerusalem you will be
comforted)”
However, love must not
be mere words. It must be concretized. It must be seen in actions and
most of all, by the purity and sincerity of our love in all that we do.
St Paul gives us the measure of what this love entails. Love cannot be
selfish. It means to have regard for the needs and happiness of others,
putting others’ well-being before ours. It means to love them properly
and authentically. Indeed, this is what St Paul wrote in the second reading.
“Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful
or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not
resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the
truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.”
The work of
evangelization is not a matter of proselytizing or indoctrination but a message
of God’s love, mercy
and forgiveness, proclaimed in word and deed. Hence, the message of compassion
and mercy is critical. We evangelize because we love others as persons
and want to offer them the message of salvation and fullness of life, and not
conversion to our faith. It also calls for a compassionate and forgiving
Church. Whilst the Church does not fight shy of proclaiming the truth,
welcome or unwelcome, in and out of season, she does so not out of the need to
defend her doctrines, much less her ideology. Rather, she speaks the
truth out of love, not out of condemnation or spiritual pride nor a superiority
complex.
What, then, is the
secret of St Theresa’s spirituality and her ensuing mission? How can we enter into the heart of
God’s love so that we can do likewise? We must receive Good’s love like a
child. This is what Jesus asks of us. To the question of “Who is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”, “he called a little child to him and
set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you
change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.’” St Theresa sees herself as a child of God. Indeed,
Scripture constantly reminds us of our littleness and weakness with respect to
God, and His fatherly providence for us in our nothingness.
What does this childlike
love for God entail? St Paul spells out this love in terms of faith, hope
and charity. He
wrote, “… there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the
greatest of these is love.” The foundation of the three theological
virtues of faith, hope and charity is humility. To be a child is to be
humble, ever ready to learn, to trust, to hope and to love.
With humility we enter
the gateway of faith, hope and love. Thérèse’s “Little Way” means taking God at His word.
She grew in holiness not by mere self-discipline alone or through her merits,
but by allowing His love for her to wash away her sins and imperfections.
At the end of the day, conversion
and the renewal of the Church is the grace of God. Hence, prayers and
penance must be the basis for the work of renewal. Unless the whole
diocese prays for the renewal of the Church and personal conversion of faith
and life, moral and spiritual, all the programs we plan will fail. Pope
John Paul II reminds us that before undertaking any pastoral planning, we must
grow in holiness. However, holiness is made possible if we are trained in
prayer, personal, communal, contemplative and mystical prayers, love of the
Word and the sacraments. Prayer is the gateway to the love and mercy of
God. We must contemplate like a child on the face of Christ.
Through His love, charity and witness of a life of communion is then possible.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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