20150125 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A CATHOLIC LEADER?
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Jonah 3:1-5,10 ©
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The word of the Lord
was addressed to Jonah: ‘Up!’ he said ‘Go to Nineveh, the great city, and
preach to them as I told you to.’ Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in
obedience to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare:
it took three days to cross it. Jonah went on into the city, making a day’s
journey. He preached in these words, ‘Only forty days more and Nineveh is going
to be destroyed.’ And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a
fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least.
God saw
their efforts to renounce their evil behaviour. And God relented: he did not
inflict on them the disaster which he had threatened.
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Psalm
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Psalm 24:4-6,7-9
©
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Lord, make me know
your ways.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
Lord,
teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your
truth, and teach me:
for you
are God my saviour.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
Remember your mercy,
Lord,
and the
love you have shown from of old.
In your love remember
me.
because
of your goodness, O Lord.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
The Lord is good and
upright.
He shows
the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble
in the right path,
He
teaches his way to the poor.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians
7:29-31 ©
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Brothers: our time is
growing short. Those who have wives should live as though they had none, and
those who mourn should live as though they had nothing to mourn for; those who
are enjoying life should live as though there were nothing to laugh about; those
whose life is buying things should live as though they had nothing of their
own; and those who have to deal with the world should not become engrossed in
it. I say this because the world as we know it is passing away.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is
close at hand:
repent, and believe
the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:14-20 ©
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After John had been
arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God.
‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent,
and believe the Good News.’
As he was
walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting
a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them,
‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left
their nets and followed him.
Going
on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too
were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving
their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.
WHAT
DOES IT TAKE TO BE A CATHOLIC LEADER?
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: JONAH 3:1-5,10; 1 CORINTHIANS 7:29-31; MARK 1:14-20
The theme that runs
through the Liturgy of the Word is about our calling in life. All of us are called by God to
be His messenger of the Good News. We are called to save humanity from
destruction just as Jonah was called to save the Ninevites. Jesus came to
proclaim the Good News of God’s love and mercy to us all who are
hopeless. The apostles too were called to be “fishers of men!” St Paul
speaks of our eternal vocation in heaven. Regardless of our vocation in
life, we all share a common call to proclaim the Good News. It is
therefore appropriate that as we begin the New Year, we must re-examine our
calling. We have to be clear of our mission and responsibility as
Catholic leaders, otherwise we will not be to true to our vocation and calling.
What does it mean to be
proclaimers of the Good News? In the gospel, we read about the beginning of the ministry
of Jesus when He said, “The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at
hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.” The Kingdom of God means
that God reigns in truth and love so that there will be justice and
peace. Indeed, in the first reading, we have Jonah who went about
proclaiming the truth to the Ninevites who were pagans and living in
sin. In the gospel, Jesus proclaimed the truth in deeds by reaching
out to those who were sinners, the sick and the marginalized.
Consequently, regardless of our vocation and calling in life, every vocation
is at the service of truth and love.
As a Catholic leader,
what then is your specific calling? Your task is to serve primarily those
under your charge. You are called to provide them with a holistic
formation. This
requires that they not only be formed in skills and professional knowledge but
they must also be formed in truth. This includes the importance also of
human, moral and spiritual formation. Your vocation is not just to help
them to be prepared for their vocation on earth but to help them to find their
ultimate calling which is eternal life and union with God. This is what
St Paul urges us, “Brothers, our time is growing short. Those who are enjoying
life should live as though there were nothing to laugh about; those whose life
is buying things should live as though they had nothing of their own; and those
who have to deal with the world should not become engrossed in it. I say this
because the world as we know it is passing away.” In a nutshell, life is
more than just about material success. It is more than just about
enjoyment and fun. Life is ultimately about the giving of ourselves to God
and humanity in selfless service and love. We live not for this life only
but for life eternal.
However, good leaders
have an equal responsibility to form the leaders under their charge. This is because we do not have
much personal interaction with the individuals most of the time. Our
leaders are the ones in direct contact with them. We cannot presume that all
our leaders, who are the main ones responsible for the well-being of their
members or those under their charge, are also formed in truth and love.
Indeed, just as the bishop is concerned for the formation of the whole flock of
Christ under His charge, yet his first outreach must be to his priests and
Church leaders as these are his direct deputies in reaching out to the
masses. Hence, a more intensive and advanced level of formation is needed
for all leaders so that they, who are already supposedly formed in their own
particular disciplines, would also acquire human, moral and spiritual
formation. The truth is that formation of leaders is more than just
imparting professional knowledge. There is an ethical dimension in the
use of knowledge. Members are not only taught in the discipline but in
the process of teaching, directly or indirectly, leaders also impart values
when they give concrete examples and apply them to life situations.
Where, then, can we find
the fullness of truth and love? As a Catholic leader you seek to uphold the truth and love as
taught to us in the Catholic Faith. The Christian point of departure is
that truth and love can only be found in God who is the Truth and Love.
This is what the responsorial says. “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth, for you are my God, and for you I
will wait. Good and upright is the Lord; He shows us the way. He guides the
meek to justice. He teaches the humble to follow his ways.”
This comes back to the
critical question of the relationship between reason and faith. The faith of the Church has
always maintained that reason and faith must complement each other.
Reason alone cannot come to the fullness of truth and love. Reason
can enable a person to know God but only faith can enable him to come to the
knowledge of the fullness of truth.
In the light of Catholic
teaching, where do you stand? What is your position? As a Catholic leader, if
your fundamental position is not that of the Church’s faith, then it would be
extremely difficult to align yourself and your mission with that of the Church
and her mission. The truth is that we cannot give what we have not
got. As a Catholic leader you are tasked to form all under your charge,
the eternal truths and lasting love.
Consequently, your
understanding of Christian leadership would very much be determined by your
stance towards life and values, truth and love. For instance, we do not only
speak of love because love is such an ambiguous word. Everyone in the
world claims to love. But what is love? If we all believe in love,
why then is there so much division? This is because love is not founded
on truth but on personal preferences and illusory sentiments.
Consequently, when we teach love, we need to teach truth; and when we teach
truth, it must be rooted in love.
Accordingly, we need to
consider whether our values are holistic based on truth and love. Authentic love involves
morality, which for us would exclude things like contraception, abortion, same
sex union, etc. In the final analysis, is the love that is promoted based
on justice, the good of not just the individual but society, humanity and the
dignity of the individual being? What is your perspective on marriage,
family, and on eternal values like justice, compassion and integrity?
What is your anthropological understanding of the human person, whether he is
just an animal or one with a soul and therefore destined for eternal life?
In order to be able to
impart the Catholic perspective of life and love, this presupposes that you
have found the truth yourself. Have you found Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the
Life? Many people are thirsting for God and their lives are
restless and meaningless without God. Does our leadership lead people to
God so that in Him their hearts will find rest? Can a worldly leadership ensure
that our people will have happy and meaningful lives? Is happiness a
matter of having a good career, wealth and position in society? At the
end of the day, happiness is not so much about making a name for ourselves but
for the service of others.
As the gospel makes it
clear, we are called to go beyond fishing and mending nets, that is, simply
just doing the mundane tasks. Rather, the Lord is inviting us to be
fishers of men, that is, to change lives and to help others to be truly human
and happy in life, people who will live a life of justice based on truth,
compassion based on love. Unless, we are people who are conscious of the
dignity of the human person and the greater things of life, such as love and
truth, we can never be truly happy. Thus, until we have found Jesus for
ourselves and have faith in Him, we will not be able to be like the first
apostles to leave the worldly values and pursuits in life and follow Him in
proclaiming the Good News of God’s reign of life and love. This is the
pre-requisite.
In the final analysis,
Catholic leaders must first form themselves in the truth and in love before
they can impart to the rank and file. For the sake of those under their charge, Catholic leaders
must live up to their calling to be faithful to Catholic values. Otherwise,
they would be betraying themselves and their organization and members.
Those who join our organizations hope to be formed in the Catholic faith and
values. When we fail to do so, we would have shortchanged them.
Leaders must therefore allow themselves to be caught by the Lord Jesus before
they can in turn catch other men and women for the Lord. Have you been
caught by the Lord that you would leave everything behind for the vocation that
the Lord has given to you? Are you so passionate in your vocation that
you would do anything to help realize the plan that God has for those under
your charge?
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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