20150214 SENTIRE CUM ECCLESIA
Mass
Readings
1
Cor 3 : 9-17
9 After
all, we do share in God's work; you are God's farm, God's building.
10 By
the grace
of God
which was given to me, I laid the foundations like a trained master-builder,
and someone else is building on them. Now each one must be careful how he does
the building.
11 For
nobody can lay down any other foundation
than the one which is there already, namely Jesus Christ.
12 On
this foundation, different people may build in gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay
or straw
13 but
each person's handiwork will
be shown for what it is. The Day which dawns in fire will
make it clear and the fire itself will
test the quality
of each person's work.
14 The
one whose work stands up to it will
be given his wages;
15 the
one whose work is burnt down will
suffer the loss of it, though he himself will
be saved; he will
be saved as someone might expect to be saved from a fire.
17 If anybody should destroy the temple
of God, God will
destroy that person, because God's temple
is holy; and you are that temple.
Gospel Luke 19 : 1-10
1 He
entered Jericho
and was going through the town
2 and
suddenly a man
whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax
collectors and a wealthy man.
3 He
kept trying to see which Jesus
was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd;
4 so he
ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that
way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot he
looked up and spoke to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay
at your house today.'
6 And
he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully.
7 They
all complained when they saw what was happening. 'He has gone to stay at a
sinner's house,' they said.
8 But
Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, 'Look, sir, I am going to give
half my property
to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will
pay him back four times the amount.'
9 And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation
has come to this house, because this man
too is a son of Abraham;
10 for the Son of man
has come to seek out and save what was lost.'
SENTIRE
CUM ECCLESIA
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-17; LUKE 19:1-10
Today is the anniversary
of the Dedication of the Good Shepherd Cathedral, which is the mother church of the
diocese, just as St John Lateran Basilica is the mother church of all the
churches in the world. For this reason, all the parishes in the
Archdiocese in Singapore celebrate and rejoice with the Archbishop and the
Church in Singapore in celebrating the Dedication of the mother church of the
diocese. The Cathedral represents the seat of unity in the person of the
Bishop who is the head of the Church appointed by Christ, not chosen by
men. As we celebrate this feast, we are reminded to show our solidarity
with the Bishop, the priests and all Catholics in Singapore so that together we
can be truly a sign of communion in love and mission.
The Church, however, is not
merely a building but a person, or rather a person of persons. We are
called to love the local Church as the mother of us all. It is
through the Church that we were given New Life through baptism. The Church as
our mother, nurtures, strengthens and feeds us with the Word of God and most of
all, the Eucharist, the Bread of life and the Body and blood of Christ.
Through the ordained ministers in the Church, we grow in union with the Lord
through the celebration of the sacraments and also through the proclamation of
the Word of God. What Ezekiel says of the Temple of Jerusalem giving life
to all creatures is applicable to the Church as well. As mother she
communicates life and love. “Wherever the river flows, all living creatures
teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water
goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the
river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that
never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month,
because this water comes from the sanctuary.” (Ez 47:8-9)
As such, we are called to
love the Church by feeling with her, thinking with her and praying with
her. This is what it means by Sentire cum Ecclesia. Loving
the Church is more than just being sentimental, but it is an invitation to be
identified with her in mind and heart. We must therefore try to
understand the teachings of the Church and the direction of the diocese so that
we can move in tandem with everyone. That is why it is so important that
all of us must take our direction from the Bishop instead of setting our own
directions. Otherwise, regardless how noble and good our intentions are, we can
cause confusion and division in the Church, which would destroy the Church as
the sign of communion and unity. As the Bishop is the Father of the
diocese, we must give him reverence and respect, making ourselves available for
his service in serving the Church of Christ. We must also seek to love
our priests. They are human and imperfect, but all the same, they have
responded to God’s call to serve His people. To love the Church is to
also love all of us fellow Christians in the Body of Christ. As St Paul
tells us, we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. “Didn’t you realize that you
were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you?” (1 Cor
3:16)
Sentire Cum Ecclesia
also demands that we all play our part in the building of the Church. St Paul reminds us that we are God’s
building. He exhorts us to work together to build the Temple of
God. “Everyone doing the building must work carefully. For the
foundation, nobody can lay any other than the one which has already been laid,
that is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:10) Furthermore, St Paul says, “On this
foundation, different people may build in gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or
straw but each person’s handiwork will be shown for what it is. The Day which
dawns in fire will make it clear and the fire itself will test the quality of
each person’s work.” (1 Cor 3:11-12) Each of us must therefore consider
what kind of services we are offering to build the Temple of God. If we
love the Church, we would want to give the best to make the Church a place of
exquisite beauty, both in the building and its people, so that God is glorified
in the same way we make our house a beautiful home to live in. In fact,
we beautify our houses much more than we adorn the House of God. It is
almost akin to David who lived in the palace while the Lord lived in the
tent. Gone are those days when men and women would give their best to
build a church that is worthy to give glory to God. Even some
non-Christian places of worship are more dignified and grand compared to our
churches.
But it is not easy to
love the Church
because on one hand the head, our Lord Jesus Christ, is holy but the members
are still imperfect. We are sinners striving to become saints. Even
our Church leaders are imperfect and, because of their weaknesses, often cause
grief to those whom they lead, just as parents too fail in their responsibility
towards their children, or at least are lacking in love and in showing good
examples. The most painful thing is to be wounded by our Church leaders
because of their lack of compassion and arrogance. Of course, this too is
applicable to those of us who are parents or leaders. Those under our
care who love us most are also hurt by us when we reject them. Because
priests are configured in Christ by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, they are seen
as the representatives of God. Their sins and scandals hurt the people of
God more than any other persons. Fellow Church members also hurt us by
their sins. Even within the Church we see the ugly side of Catholics who
are competitive, insecure, power crazy, manipulative and hungry for honour,
recognition and appreciation.
As we celebrate the
Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, we are reminded of the importance
of compassion that would be required for us to love, pray and think with
the Church. In the gospel, Jesus our Good Shepherd never gave up on the weak
and the most incorrigible and despised sinners like the tax-collectors.
He would go for the lost sheep who are marginalized and rejected by the people,
such as Zacchaeus. At the heart of this call to love the Church is the
virtue of compassion. We need to cultivate the heart of Christ, a heart
of compassion, for it is when we share a common passion for Christ, for the
gospel, and are identified with each other in our struggles and weaknesses that
we can accept and forgive each other for our failings. Without
compassion, we become judgmental, self-righteous, having a holier than thou
attitude. Only with a compassionate heart like that of Jesus the Good
Shepherd, can we show more graciousness, respect, love and consideration of
each other’s sensitivities. Only when there is compassion, will we look for the
weak, the marginalized and those without a voice in the Church.
Finally, we must remember
that the Church is Catholic, which means universal. Everyone must
have a place in the Church. Every person’s culture and preferences must
be respected. Unity is not uniformity but harmony in diversity.
Whenever individuals or groups try to impose their preferences or theological
stance on others, it causes disunity and division. The Catholic Church is
big enough to accommodate people of different cultures, rites and theological
positions, so long as we are one in leadership, doctrine and in worship.
Today the Church needs leaders and members to be more embracing of people who
worship differently or adopt more conservative practices in liturgy, devotions
and moral lifestyles than them. The Church must be hospitable and give
everyone a place where they can feel at home, loved, accepted and appreciated
for their unique contribution to the catholicity of the Church of Christ.
Let us therefore take heed
as St Peter tells us to come to the Lord who is the living stone, “so that you
too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus
Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual
house.” (1 Pt 2:5) Only by coming to Christ, who is the
cornerstone of the Church, can our local Church make progress in strengthening
our Churches, our people’s faith and love for Christ which, in the final
analysis, is measured by the Church’s commitment to the poor and the work of
evangelization. St Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God
who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pt 2;9)
When fervor in the proclamation of the Good News to the poor is lacking,
whether in works of charity or in direct proclamation of the Word of God, we
know that the Church has not come to Christ, the Living Stone.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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