20150302 REPENTANCE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND SELF
Readings at Mass
|
First reading
|
Daniel 9:4-10 ©
|
O Lord, God great and
to be feared, you keep the covenant and have kindness for those who love you
and keep your commandments: we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted
wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and your ordinances and turned
away from them. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke
in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and to all the people of
the land. Integrity, Lord, is yours; ours the look of shame we wear today, we,
the people of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and
far away, in every country to which you have dispersed us because of the
treason we have committed against you. To us, Lord, the look of shame belongs,
to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, because we have sinned against you.
To the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong, because we have betrayed him, and
have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God nor followed the laws he has
given us through his servants the prophets.
|
Psalm
|
|
Psalm
78:8-9,11,13 ©
|
Do not treat us
according to our sins, O Lord.
Do not hold the guilt
of our fathers against us.
Let your
compassion hasten to meet us;
we are
left in the depths of distress.
Do not treat us
according to our sins, O Lord.
O God our saviour,
come to our help.
Come for
the sake of the glory of your name.
O Lord our God,
forgive us our sins;
rescue us
for the sake of your name.
Do not treat us
according to our sins, O Lord.
Let the groans of the
prisoners come before you;
let your
strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.
But we, your people,
the flock of your pasture,
will give
you thanks for ever and ever.
We will
tell your praise from age to age.
Do not treat us
according to our sins, O Lord.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
The seed is the word
of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this
seed will remain for ever.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
|
Or
|
cf.Jn6:63,68
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 6:36-38 ©
|
Jesus
said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do
not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will
not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and
there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and
running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out
is the amount you will be given back.’
REPENTANCE
THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND SELF
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: Daniel 9:4-10; Luke 6:36-38
Lent
begins with the call to holiness. How then can one begin the path of
conversion to holiness? It must begin with repentance. Last week,
the gospel invited us to personal conversion by giving up our sins and
keeping the commandments. We were called to be reconciled with our
brothers, forgiving our enemies and loving them so that we can be perfect like
the Heavenly Father.
However,
we are called not only to personal but also collective repentance.
In the first reading today, Daniel as a member of the Israelite community
confessed the sins of his people. He said, “We have sinned, we have done
wrong, we have acted wickedly, and we have betrayed your commandments and your
ordinances and turned away from them. We have not listened to your
servants the prophets”. Such confession of guilt would mean
therefore that it was done on the collective level. Collective repentance
reminds us that our sins are never personal, but also communal. Somehow
our sins and the sins of others affect each other. Our sins cause pain
and scandal. The sins of one member of the community can make the
community less credible and discouraged.
But for
real repentance to be effected, we must be ready to acknowledge our sins.
Two points are important for us to take note of in the confession by
Daniel. Firstly, Daniel did not make any excuses for the sins of
his people. In all humility, Daniel put the blame on himself and his
people. There was no attempt to rationalize or cover up the sins.
So for true repentance, we must admit that a sin is a sin instead of trying to
discount it as a weakness, as many of us do. When we sin, we find all
kinds of excuses for our wrongs or at least try to mitigate our failings.
For true repentance, we must take full responsibility for the sins committed by
us. There must be no buts. We must begin by humbly admitting
that we have sinned and not to lay the blame on others, the environment or the
circumstances. The truth is that ultimately, we are responsible for our
personal decisions. We transcend the community.
Secondly,
it is important to note that in the confession of sins, one must be specific.
The real danger in contemporary times is that many of us are not conscious of
our sins. Of course, fortunately, many are aware that we are sinners but
that awareness remains ambiguous. We are unable to name our sins.
As it is said, if we are unable to name the sin, we cannot shame the
devil. In the past, we were obsessed with the number and kinds of sins we
committed. But today, the extreme reality is that we only know vaguely
that we are sinners. As a result, there is no possibility of repentance
and conversion since repentance presupposes we know that we are wrong and what
we want to change.
How
then can we arrive at our true self? The gospel gives us some
criteria to help us attain self-awareness. Fundamentally, it boils down
to our relationships with others. Jesus tells us, “Do not judge,
and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be
condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned.” Very
often, how we judge others could be but a reflection of who we are. This
is because judgment always implies reading into the motives of the actions of
others. The truth is that motives ultimately are only known by the person
himself. So in judging, we must be extremely prudent.
Similarly,
when we condemn others, we cannot but also condemn ourselves. For
condemnation reveals the depth of our empathy, understanding of and compassion
for others. Those who condemn others are probably not in touch with their
own sinfulness. In fact, quite often, we condemn others so quickly and
harshly but when it comes to our mistakes, we often seek understanding and
sympathy. Finally, another way to gauge our capacity to love is the
extent of our willingness to forgive. If we are unable to forgive,
then it shows that we are not able to feel with others and are also lacking the
capacity for unconditional love.
The
point is that one who is like the Father, perfect in love and mercy,
will always judge not the externals but the heart, not condemn but always
finding excuses for others; and unconditionally forgiving. So if we have
the attitudes of the Father, then we will share in His love. As a result,
we will not be judged or condemned ourselves. For when Jesus said, “Give,
and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together,
and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure
out is the amount you will be given back’”, He is implying that the degree of
our likeness to the Father in love and mercy is itself the reward.
But
where can we find the capacity to love and forgive like the Father?
This is where the liturgy puts us in perspective again. The magnanimity
to forgive lies in our receptivity to the Father’s prior love and mercy for
us. The liturgy underscores that the repentance that is spoken of is not
simply a confession of guilt or an infringement of some ideals of Christian
life. Rather it is our failure to respond to the love of God and His mercy
for us, especially shown in the passion, death and resurrection of His only
Son.
Within
this context, we can appreciate why in the penitential rites; the mighty
acts of God, especially as manifested in Jesus, are always recounted first and
only then our failures. This is because the greatest sin is to forget
God’s love and mercy. Not being mindful of what God has done for us
results in ingratitude and indifference. However, if we are
conscious of the extent of God’s sacrificial love for us, it would at least arouse
us to repentance and conversion. Incidentally, all conversions happen
only through a deep awareness of God’s love and one’s selfishness and
ingratitude. Only then can we speak of the capacity to live the new life
by turning away from our sins.
Accordingly,
the call to forgive and be merciful is rooted in the fact that the Father is
compassionate. Thus, Jesus prefaced His invitation by saying,” Be
compassionate as your Father is compassionate.” Daniel also prayed, “To
the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong, because we have betrayed him, and
have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God nor followed the laws he has
given us through his servants the prophets.”
In the penitential
rites, the focus is on God’s mercy rather than our sins. This is further
seen when Mass is incorporated with Lauds and Vespers. The penitential
rite is omitted since the psalms recall God’s mercy and love. The liturgy
presumes that such awareness will lead to true repentance. Even in the
Rite of Penance, we are urged to listen and reflect on the Word of God before
the confession of sins. This is to put us in perspective and recognize
that God’s love for us is the backdrop against which we acknowledge our
sinfulness.
Of
course, lest we go to the extreme of taking His love for granted, the Church in
the penitential rites still offer us the traditional “I Confess” in
order to help us be sensitive to the sins in our lives, presuming that we see
them in the context of our failure to respond to His love and mercy.
This provision is certainly in order. We must not neglect the
importance of making a good examen and an in-depth examination of conscience a
couple of times a day. Without such a practice, we will lose sensitivity
to our sins, which would then block us from being conscious of God’s love.
Let us
pray for the grace of true repentance from our sins so that we can grow
in perfection and in holiness. As we contemplate on God’s love for us in
the Eucharistic sacrifice, let us pray that His love for us will lead us to
respond more generously to the Father’s love and mercy so that we can reflect
His life in our lives.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment