20150211 MARY STAR OF THE NEW EVANGELIZATION
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Isaiah 66:10-14 ©
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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.
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Canticle
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Judith 13:18-19 ©
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You are the
highest honour of our race!
May you be blessed,
my daughter, by God Most High,
beyond all women on
earth;
and may the Lord God
be blessed,
the Creator of heaven
and earth.
You are the
highest honour of our race!
The trust you have
shown
shall not pass from
the memories of men,
but shall ever remind
them
of the power of God.
You are the
highest honour of our race!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Lk1:45
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed is the Virgin
Mary, who believed
that the promise made
her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 2:1-11 ©
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There was a wedding
at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples
had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for
the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’
Jesus said ‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said
to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars
standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each
could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars
with water’, and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now’ he told them
‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and
it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the
servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom
and said; ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper
sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine
till now.’
This was
the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let
his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.
MARY
STAR OF THE NEW EVANGELIZATION
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISAIAH 66:10-14; PS JUDITH 13:18-19; 1 COR 10:31,11:1; JOHN
2:1-12
What is the greatest
challenge facing the Church at this time of our history? It is the speed of
secularization which threatens to destroy humanity and transform society into a
lawless and amoral society without values. We are not only fighting
against materialism and individualism but we are defending the universal values
of truth and love which are being undermined by those who promote a counter
culture of death, self-centeredness, and the redefinition of marriage and the
family.
If we do not wish to
destroy the future of our children and our society, then we need to be involved
in the work of the New Evangelization. Once we remove God from society, we no longer have the
foundation to work for truth and love. The future of humanity remains dim
and we are lost when we forget our identity and calling in life.
This entails that we be renewed in our faith in the first place. We must
recover the faith that we have lost. This faith is more than just saying
that we believe in Christ but it must be a real conversion to the person of
Christ. This faith must be fervent and alive. Secondly, we need to
go out to proclaim and share the gospel in joy. The New Evangelization
calls for proclamation, witnessing, dialogue and humble service.
It is within this
context that we must turn to our Blessed Mother Mary. She is not just our
mother but truly the Star of the New Evangelization. The prophet Isaiah says, “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.”
What can we learn most
from Mary, the Star of the New Evangelization? In the first place, we
learn from her the primacy and power of grace. In Mary, we see the power of God’s
grace in her life. This is what this Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is all
about. When St Bernadette was told by Our Lady that she was the
Immaculate Conception, it was an affirmation that Mary’s holiness is truly the
work of God’s grace. She was immaculately conceived not by her merits but
by the mercy and grace of Christ’s death on the cross. The healing
graces that she bestowed at Lourdes show the power of God’s grace at work
through her intercession. This is what the responsorial psalm says,
“May you be blessed, my daughter, by God Most High, beyond all women on earth;
and may the Lord God be blessed, the Creator of heaven and earth. The
trust you have shown shall not pass from the memories of men, but shall ever
remind them of the power of God.” In all things as St Paul says, we
must give glory to God. “Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever
you do at all, do it for the glory of God. Never do anything offensive to
anyone – to Jews or Greeks or to the Church of God.”
Secondly, from Mary, the
Star of the New Evangelization, we can learn the need to be in touch with the
lives of people. We
cannot evangelize unless we feel the sufferings of others. Evangelization
is not the proclamation of doctrines, morality and rituals. It is
not indoctrination but it is to make a difference in the lives of our people by
bringing God into their daily life situations. This is why Pope Francis
reminds us that we need to smell our sheep. We need to go to the
battlefield to meet the wounded and not wait for them to come to the
hospitals. We do not wait for people to come to our churches but we
go out like the Good Shepherd to meet them on their own terms and in their own
ways. We must not act from a high moral ground and expect people to
submit to us. Rather, like Mary, we must mix with the people, the crowd,
those celebrating and those in mourning so that we can bring Christ to them.
Thirdly, we are reminded
of the importance of selfless charity, sensitivity and observation. Mary was not concerned with
herself even whilst enjoying herself with the rest of the wedding crowd.
She was also sensitive to the situation, the needs of the wedding couple, the
dilemma of the hosts. She quietly, without seeking any credit or
recognition, told the servants to do what the Lord tells them to do. And
when the situation was saved, she did not announce to the whole world what she
had done for the couple. Her love for the couple was selfless and
genuine. She did not call attention to herself but did everything for the
good of the couple and the joy of everyone at the celebration. This is
what St Paul wrote also in the second reading when he said, “just as I try to
be helpful to everyone at all times, not anxious for my own advantage but for
the advantage of everybody else, so that they may be saved. Take me for
your model, as I take Christ.”
Fourthly, from Mary, we
learn the most important thing in life, namely, complete faith in Christ.
The Lord performed the
miracle not out of pressure from Mary. On the contrary, Mary did not even
tell Jesus what to do. She just highlighted to her Son that they had no
wine. And then went ahead to instruct the servants to obey Jesus.
She did not give any instructions to her Son as to how He should help.
She trusted that He knew how and what to do. Her total faith and trust in
her Son shows her tremendous faith in the Lord even before His full revelation
as the Son of God at His death and resurrection.
The New Evangelization
requires that we surrender everything to the Lord and trust that He will give
us the grace to change lives and to touch hearts. Only the Lord can perform the
miracle of transformation. Just as Jesus could change water into
wine, bring joy to the joyless, give hope to the hopeless, life to those who
died, the Lord can renew our faith and our lives. All we need to do
is to give our Lord the opportunity to perform His miracle, not in changing
water to wine but in transforming us.
Before we can speak of
the New Evangelization, what is most critical is the realization of our need
for conversion. This
is the same message of our Lady in all her apparitions and her message at
Lourdes is no exception. We need conversion of heart and a renewed
spiritual life, a life of holiness. Everyone without exception must
recognize the hardness of heart in them, especially priests, religious and
those active in Church ministry. Very often, those who really need
conversion are not only those who are outside the Church or living in sin but
those who have lived self-righteous lives, thinking highly of themselves and
fallen into the sin of the Pharisees. We are all sinners and therefore we
need to ask the Lord for the grace of humility, conversion, forgiveness and
reconciliation. The most important healing we need is not physical
healing, because we will eventually fall sick again. The healing that is
most needed in our times is spiritual healing of the soul, of the heart and
especially of failed relationships between spouses, parents and children, and
friends. To come to our Lady of Lourdes for healing is to pray primarily
for spiritual, emotional, psychological and then physical healing. This
should be the order of our prayers.
Very soon, we begin the
season of Lent, which fundamentally is the call to conversion. The aids to conversion is what
Mary, the Star of the New Evangelization would invite us in all her messages in
her apparitions. She urges us to pray, go for the sacrament of
reconciliation, attend Mass regularly, fast, do penance and mortification for
our own conversion and the conversion of sinners. Let us pray for the work
of the New Evangelization. Pray for me, your bishop, that I have the
wisdom, the fortitude, compassion and holiness to lead the Church of God in
Singapore. Pray for us priests and for yourselves. In the final
analysis, only the grace and mercy of God can transform humanity and the
world. So let us together invoke God’s grace upon us as we begin the path
of conversion and renewal.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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