HEALING OUR GUILT

20160205 HEALING OUR GUILT

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Red.

First reading

Ecclesiasticus 47:2-13 ©

As the fat is set apart from the communion sacrifice,

  so David was chosen out of all the sons of Israel.

He played with lions as though with kids,

  and with bears as though with lambs of the flock.

While still a boy, did he not slay the giant,

  and relieve the people of their shame,

by putting out a hand to sling a stone

  which brought down the arrogance of Goliath?

For he called on the Lord Most High,

  who gave strength to his right arm

to put a mighty warrior to death,

  and lift up the horn of his people.

Hence they gave him credit for ten thousand,

  and praised him while they blessed the Lord,

by offering him a crown of glory;

  for he massacred enemies on every side,

he annihilated his foes the Philistines,

  and crushed their horn to this very day.

In all his activities he gave thanks

  to the Holy One, the Most High, in words of glory;

he put all his heart into his songs

  out of love for his Maker.

He placed harps before the altar

  to make the singing sweeter with their music;

he gave the feasts their splendour,

  the festivals their solemn pomp,

causing the Lord’s holy name to be praised

  and the sanctuary to resound from dawn.

The Lord took away his sins,

  and exalted his horn for ever;

he gave him a royal covenant,

  and a glorious throne in Israel.

Psalm

Psalm 17:31,47,50-51 ©

Praised be the God who saves me.

The ways of God are perfect;

  the word of the Lord, purest gold.

He indeed is the shield

  of all who make him their refuge.

Praised be the God who saves me.

Long life to the Lord, my rock!

  Praised be the God who saves me,

  so I will praise you, Lord, among the nations:

  I will sing a psalm to your name.

Praised be the God who saves me.

He has given great victories to his king

  and shown his love for his anointed,

  for David and his sons for ever.

Praised be the God who saves me.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Lk8:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are those who,

with a noble and generous heart,

take the word of God to themselves

and yield a harvest through their perseverance.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 6:14-29 ©

King Herod had heard about Jesus, since by now his name was well-known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘He is Elijah’; others again, ‘He is a prophet, like the prophets we used to have.’ But when Herod heard this he said, ‘It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.’

  Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.

  An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

HEALING OUR GUILT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Sir 47:2-11; Ps 17:31, 47, 50-51; Mk 6:14-29

Most of our neurosis in life comes from our guilt, especially bad guilt.  Where does guilt come from if not primarily from sin, for not living a life of integrity?  When we go against the voice of God in us, our conscience, the heavy burden of the hand of guilt rests upon us.   This was the case of King Herod in today’s gospel.  He was burdened by his past sins.  Understandably, his conscience was pricked again and again by John the Baptist.  So in spite of all his evil actions, the saving grace for Herod was that he still had a sensitive conscience.

The danger is that when we do not deal with our guilt, it can turn from good to bad guilt.  In other words, good guilt is when we know that we have done something wrong.  Bad guilt is when it becomes repressed in our subconscious and unconscious, causing us to feel depressed, fearful, anxious and restless.  When that happens, we become neurotic.  How, then, do we handle our good guilt before it becomes bad guilt?

Firstly, we must understand the cause of guilt.  All guilt comes from sin.  It is the failure to be true to ourselves and for disobeying the commandments of God.  When we do evil, our conscience will reprimand us.  This is what St John wrote, “Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” (1 Jn 3:21f)  King Herod was troubled by his sins.

What were his sins?  Firstly, it was the sin of lust.  Because of his lust, he committed adultery with Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother.  Lust made him blind to the truth.  Whilst he was ready to listen to John the Baptist, he was not ready to obey the Word of God.  Lust caused Herodias to be angry with John the Baptist because he made her lose face by his public rebuke of her sin and also hindered her from having the dignity of being Herod’s wife.  Lust in many instances led to killing, as in the case of Herod and Herodias who had John the Baptist executed.

Killing was the next capital sin of Herod.  Angered and vindictive, Herodias planned to have him dispatched completely from her life so that they need not be troubled by guilt.  Of course the voice of conscience is more than just an external voice.  It is the voice of God in us.  We can silence our opponents but we cannot silence the conscience in our hearts.   What is worse is that one’s sin leads others to sin. The lust of Herod caused Herodias to be revengeful and Herodias’s resentment caused her to lead her daughter into being an accomplice of her crime.

The sin of killing could have been avoided if not for the sin of gluttony.  King Herod was having a merry time with his court officials.  We can be sure that he was drunk with wine and the body was weighed down by food and women.   He was not sober enough to make any rational decisions.  Herodias knew that Herod would not be able to think through his decisions properly and therefore chose this occasion to trap him into making a rash and thoughtless decision.  Not only was he drunk, but carried away by the mood of the celebration, he was disposed to granting and giving away anything and everything.  He allowed the sensuality of the body to overcome his mind.  He lost sight of what was good and evil in the dullness of his mind. As a consequence, he got himself into promising something that he found difficult not to fulfill.

Still, there was an opportunity for him to repent of his decision if not for the sin of pride.  This ultimately was the real sin of King Herod that led to the death of John the Baptist.  Herod still could have changed his mind, but he did not.  It was his pride that made him want to display his power and generosity in giving away anything the daughter of Herodias asked.  And more, we read that “he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’”  The offspring of pride is boasting.  Because of pride, he did not retract his promise.  In truth, an oath that is taken can be broken when it is an evil action.  In this case, he could have easily told Herodias’ daughter that he could not fulfill his oath as it was a request for something evil.  But to keep his pride, he had John the Baptist beheaded.

As a consequence, we can understand why King Herod was living in guilt and fear.  He knew that John the Baptist was a prophet.  He was fully aware that John the Baptist was a man of God and spoke the word of God.  Yet, in his folly and impulsiveness, he caused an innocent death.  Consequently, we can be sure that his guilt continued to haunt him and he had no peace of mind and no rest.  Thus, when he heard about Jesus, he said, “It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.”   Indeed, when we are fearful and guilty, we begin to imagine things and project our fears onto others.  We begin to make connections even when events are disconnected.  This is a guilt that has become neurotic.

How, then, can we overcome our guilt?  The only way is to confess our sins.  This was the case of King David who sinned against the Lord many times.  But every time he sinned, the first thing he did was to confess his sins humbly and ask for forgiveness.  When confronted by the prophets or his enemies, he was quick to acknowledge his faults and learn from them.  This is what the author in the first reading described him, “The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn forever; he gave him a royal covenant, and a glorious throne in Israel.”

Indeed, confession of sins with a contrite and humble heart is the necessary beginning of the healing process.  For us, Catholics, we are so fortunate to have the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We know that we can confess our sins to a priest freely and without reservations, knowing that a priest cannot reveal our sins because of the seal of secrecy, even at the cost of death.  A priest who reveals confessional secrets directly or indirectly incurs excommunication and such a sin can only be forgiven by the Holy Father.  Such is the gravity of the confessional seal.  This is for the sake of the penitents so that they can confess to God their sins through his appointed priests who act on His behalf in forgiving them their sins and praying for their healing of mind, soul and body.  Confession, when done honestly, sincerely, truthfully and humbly, will wipe away our guilt and set free our guilty conscience.  Hence, it is necessary for us to prepare ourselves well through a thorough examination of conscience; and if possible, look for a compassionate and understanding priest whom we can confide and confess our sins without fear.

Secondly, we must thank God for the good things we have received.  As in the Book of Sirach, we need to recount all the things the Lord has blessed us with and has done for us. The author sang the goodness of God in how He blessed David from young.  We too should go through the many ways in which God has been with us, both in good and bad times. Recall His love and mercy shown to us in our sickness, difficulties through our loved ones.

Thirdly, we must remember the privilege of being chosen by God, like King David.  Unless we are grateful for our election, we will not act accordingly. We read in the first reading, “As the fat is set apart from the communion sacrifice, so David was chosen out of all the sons of Israel.”   Not only was he chosen but God also gave “great victories to his king and shown his love for his anointed, for David and his sons forever.”   Indeed, regardless of what position we hold in life, or what we are today, the Lord has chosen us for a purpose to fulfill His plan for us and for humanity.  Gratitude is the response to His gracious election.

Fourthly, we can be freed from guilt if we follow David in continuing to sing praises to God both in songs, worship and in doing good.   King David truly loved the Lord.  In all things, he tried to please Him.  In his free time, he would compose songs and sing them to the Lord.  His heart was always with the Lord.  We too, when we worship the Lord in prayer and in song, our hearts will be filled with His love, joy, consolation and strength.  The best way to override our guilt is to write over our memories with the inspiring words of God so that we can experience His love, forgiveness and compassion.  Of course, this singing of praises to the Lord would not be complete unless we praise God also with our lives, living out what we sing and pray to God.

Finally, we must walk in His precepts from now on as the psalmist tells us.  “The ways of God are perfect; the word of the Lord, purest gold. He indeed is the shield of all who make him their refuge.”   Indeed, the most effective way to heal our guilt is to live a life of integrity and to walk the ways of the Lord.  When we have a clear conscience, we can live in peace even if the whole world is against us.  External opposition is nothing compared to self-condemnation.  What is more is that God’s peace is with us.  St John wrote, “Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”  (1 Jn 3:21f)

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved