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THE SACRAMENTAL DIMENSION OF FAITH
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Genesis 1:1-19 ©
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In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was
darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.
God said,
‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God
divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called
‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day.
God said,
‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it
was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the
waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning
came: the second day.
God said,
‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land
appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters
‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.
God said,
‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing
fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit
with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good.
Evening came and morning came: the third day.
God said,
‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let
them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of
heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the
greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the
stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the
day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good.
Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.
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Psalm
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Psalm
103:1-2,5-6,10,12,24,35 ©
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May the Lord
rejoice in his works!
Bless the Lord, my
soul!
Lord God,
how great you are,
clothed in majesty
and glory,
wrapped
in light as in a robe!
May the Lord
rejoice in his works!
You founded the earth
on its base,
to stand
firm from age to age.
You wrapped it with
the ocean like a cloak:
the
waters stood higher than the mountains.
May the Lord
rejoice in his works!
You make springs gush
forth in the valleys;
they flow
in between the hills.
On their banks dwell
the birds of heaven;
from the
branches they sing their song.
May the Lord
rejoice in his works!
How many are your
works, O Lord!
In wisdom
you have made them all.
The earth
is full of your riches.
Bless the Lord, my
soul!
May the Lord
rejoice in his works!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me
will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Mt4:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the
Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds
of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:53-56 ©
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Having made the
crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No
sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started
hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to
wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm,
they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even
the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.
THE
SACRAMENTAL DIMENSION OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: GN 1:1-19; MK 6:53-56
One of
the charges leveled against the charismatic renewal is that the renewal
focused only on healing, especially physical and emotional healing. This
criticism is not entirely wrong. There could be some excessive emphasis
in some quarters as seen in the reduction of the Eucharistic celebration to mere
healing Masses. As a result, the Congregation of Divine Worship had to
intervene by issuing an Instruction regarding the matter of healing at the
celebration of the Eucharist.
Still,
the Congregation recognized the importance of healing in the tradition
of the Church and in the proclamation of the gospel. The Church simply
wants to highlight that we cannot reduce the Eucharist to healing only as it
would too narrow an interpretation of the full meaning of the Eucharist
Indeed,
the quest for divine healing has always been present in the history of
mankind. The gospel today narrates that many people “”started hurrying
all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they
heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they
laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging to let them touch even the
fringe of his cloak.” Today, there is no exception. One only has to
attend the Novena services and many of the petitions are for the sick. It
is not surprising that evangelical rallies draw large crowds and also bring
about many conversions, when people witness the power of God at work in the
healing miracles.
When
medical help is no longer a solution, turning to God would be the only
alternative. Those who are sick, both rich and poor, would turn to
healers or to God for healing.
Thus,
whilst not going to extremes with regard to the need for healing, we
must affirm that God wants to heal. Today, the liturgy gives us the
theological reasons for the ministry of healing in the Church. In the
first place, the very structure of creation is restorative. There
is a harmonious blending of day and night, land and sea, heaven and
earth. The Sabbath is meant to ensure that creation is given time for
restoration. This means that God wants to heal creation.
Secondly,
creation is the manifestation of God’s goodness. Genesis tells us
that creation is truly the work of God. It was created by God and
declared as “good.” Creation itself is sacramental in mediating God’s
presence to us. To worship creation in a qualified sense is to worship
God. It is no wonder that the ancients would worship creation, because in
creation they recognize the Transcendence with awe. St Francis, we are
told, would genuflect when he met someone because he saw God in him.
Thirdly,
healing is a demonstration of the power and love of God. Of
course, such healing can be seen as the power of God, provided it is preceded
by preaching and teaching or else such healings might be reduced to
superstitions. At any rate, Jesus did not heal all the sick people in His
ministry. His healing miracles were signs of God’s power breaking into
the world. They are meant to elicit faith in God and His divine
providence. In this way, we will go beyond physical life and health to seek
eternal life.
The
faithful needs to experience the presence of God through the
priests. The structure of creation makes priests an appropriate sign to
mediate His presence because of their identification with Christ. In
general, people need to touch, feel and see in their encounter with God.
For this reason, sacraments and sacramentals are important means for people to
encounter God. Parents in Singapore would want their children to come to
the altar to receive a blessing when they are unable to receive Holy
Communion. After Mass, many would still ask for the priest to pray over
them. Although such practices might be liturgically and theologically
questionable, yet they show that people are sacramental in relationship.
This is in line with today’s gospel when we see the crowds rushing to find
Jesus and touch him. Even touching the fringe of his cloak could bring
about healing.
It is
not enough to celebrate the Word because the ultimate purpose of the priest’s
teaching is to enable the laity to celebrate the Sacraments, especially the
Eucharist. It is in worship that man encounters God deeply. The
Word alone cannot transform us. But sacraments can change us because the
encounter is a personal encounter with God.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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