20160510 THE GIFT OF PIETY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 20:17-27 ©
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From Miletus Paul
sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus. When they arrived he addressed
these words to them:
‘You know
what my way of life has been ever since the first day I set foot among you in
Asia, how I have served the Lord in all humility, with all the sorrows and
trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I have not hesitated to
do anything that would be helpful to you; I have preached to you, and
instructed you both in public and in your homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to
turn to God and to believe in our Lord Jesus.
‘And now
you see me a prisoner already in spirit; I am on my way to Jerusalem, but have
no idea what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit, in town
after town, has made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution await
me. But life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I
finish my race I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and
that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.
‘I now
feel sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom
will ever see my face again. And so here and now I swear that my conscience is
clear as far as all of you are concerned, for I have without faltering put
before you the whole of God’s purpose.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
67:10-11,20-21 ©
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Kingdoms of the
earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
You poured down, O
God, a generous rain:
when your
people were starved you gave them new life.
It was there that
your people found a home,
prepared
in your goodness, O God, for the poor.
Kingdoms of the
earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
May the Lord be
blessed day after day.
He bears
our burdens, God our saviour.
This God of ours is a
God who saves.
The Lord
our God holds the keys of death.
Kingdoms of the
earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn14:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I will not leave you
orphans, says the Lord;
I go, but I will come
back to you,
and your hearts will
be full of joy.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn14:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I shall ask the
Father,
and he will give you
another Advocate
to be with you for
ever.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 17:1-11 ©
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Jesus raised his eyes
to heaven and said:
‘Father, the hour has
come:
glorify your Son
so that your Son may
glorify you;
and, through the
power over all mankind that you have given him,
let him give eternal
life to all those you have entrusted to him.
And eternal life is
this:
to know you,
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom
you have sent.
I have glorified you
on earth
and finished the work
that you gave me to do.
Now, Father, it is
time for you to glorify me
with that glory I had
with you
before ever the world
was.
I have made your name
known
to the men you took
from the world to give me.
They were yours and
you gave them to me,
and they have kept
your word.
Now at last they know
that all you have
given me comes indeed from you;
for I have given them
the teaching you gave to me,
and they have truly
accepted this, that I came from you,
and have believed
that it was you who sent me.
I pray for them;
I am not praying for
the world
but for those you
have given me,
because they belong
to you:
all I have is yours
and all you have is
mine,
and in them I am
glorified.
I am not in the world
any longer,
but they are in the
world,
and
I am coming to you.’
THE
GIFT OF PIETY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ ACTS 20:17-27;
JN 17:1-11 ]
The scripture readings
of today speak of the gift of Piety, one of the seven gifts of the Holy
Spirit. What is piety? The gift of piety refers to the capacity to render
devotion to God and to our fellowmen in selfless service. Piety is more
than just having a sentimental feeling towards God and others. There are
many Catholics who are pious in their devotions to God in prayer. They
are involved in many acts of religious piety in expressing their love for
God. Whilst this is certainly commendable, piety cannot be reduced to
sentimentalism, whether it is towards God or fellowmen. So we need to
examine the fruits of true piety.
Firstly, piety is
expressed in selflessness, which is the fruit of generosity. In the gospel, we read of the piety of
Jesus in His devotion to the mission entrusted Him by His Father. Jesus
gave Himself completely for the service of His Father in revealing His love and
mercy to humanity. He declared, “I have made your name known to the men you
took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and
they have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you have given me
comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and
they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it
was you who sent me.” So too, we read in the first reading, St Paul
labored untiringly for the service of the gospel. He told the leaders of
the Church of Ephesus, “I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpful
to you; I have preached to you, and instructed you both in public and in your
homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to turn to God and to believe in our Lord
Jesus.”
So we need to examine
whether we are selfless in giving ourselves to God and to our loved ones and
society. Do we
give our best in whatever we do and whatever is assigned to us? Or we are
calculative and self-serving, seeking our interests and glory rather than the
interests of others? What the world needs today are people who are
devoted to God and society, willing to give themselves to public for the
greater good of humanity so that there will be peace, harmony and unity.
Do we have such self-sacrificing people in the world who put society before
themselves? In this world of individualism and materialism, such people
are much more difficult to find.
Secondly,
piety is demonstrated in fidelity or faithfulness, a gift of the
Spirit. Jesus in the gospel told the Father that He had been faithful
to the end even in the face of death. Jesus knew that He had done all
that He could do. He said, “I have glorified you on earth and finished
the work that you gave me to do.” So too, St Paul said, “But life to me
is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race I have
carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness
to the Good News of God’s grace.” His conscience was clear.
He gave all He could within his means to spread the Gospel. “And so here
and now I swear that my conscience is clear as far as all of you are concerned,
for I have without faltering put before you the whole of God’s purpose.”
Again, we need to ask
ourselves whether we have been faithful to our calling in life. Have we been faithful to our
identity as Jesus was? He gave glory to God by His very life. His
whole life was lived in such a way that when others saw Him and heard Him, they
encountered the glory of God. Fidelity requires us to live in this manner as
well so that by being faithful to our identity as the sons and daughters of God,
we will glorify Him in our lives, in all that we say and do. Until we
have tried our best to be responsible in our undertakings and our vocation in
life, we cannot say that we have the gift of piety. It behooves us to
give ourselves completely in good conscience for the service of God.
Thirdly,
piety is manifested in perseverance, which is the gift of long suffering.
Rendering devotion to God, to our family, our spouse and children and to our
fellowmen requires perseverance. To remain faithful to God and our loved
ones and our responsibilities to Church and society demands that we are long
suffering and able to persevere. There are many trials we have to face
each day, opposition from without and our own personal struggles with our
selfishness and pride. It is easy to be faithful and loving for a day, a
week, a month or even a year. But to remain faithful and devoted to God
and our brothers and sisters in spite of difficulties and challenges,
misunderstanding and hurts, requires us to say “yes” every day to love and
service.
Fourthly, the practice
of piety requires fortitude, which is the fruit of courage. Without courage, we will give up
in the face of opposition. Indeed, when we try to be devoted to God and
our fellowmen, we will face opposition, like Jesus and St Paul. Both of
them faced opposition. Proclaiming the Good News and doing good works is
not so simple. Those of us who serve in Church ministry or are engaged in
social and charitable works will understand the challenges they face even when seeking
to do good. There will be obstacles, criticisms, politicking,
misunderstanding and quarrels due to pride and selfishness and clash of
personalities.
St Paul
said, “You know what my way of life has been ever since the first day I set
foot among you in Asia, how I have served the Lord in all humility, with all
the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the
Jews.” He was fully aware of the dangers ahead of him and yet, without
fear or flinching from his commitment to the Lord, he said, “And now you see me
a prisoner already in spirit; I am on my way to Jerusalem, but have no idea
what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit, in town after town,
has made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution await me.” In
spite of his good intention to share the Good News with the people and his
humble service to the Lord, he was not spared from trials and persecutions. We
know that many times, he was stoned, whipped and falsely accused. Jesus Himself
was always opposed by the Jewish religious leaders who sought to have Him
arrested, punished and killed.
What, then, is the
secret to obtaining the gift of piety? We need to pray for a greater
consciousness of our divine filiation with God through baptism. In the gospel, Jesus displayed great
love for His Father. His whole mission was to glorify the Father. He
said, “Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me with the glory I had with
you before ever the world was. I have made your name known to the men you took
from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they
have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you have given me comes
indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they
have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was
you who sent me.”
Jesus knew that He came
from the Father. He and the Father are one. All that He has comes from the
Father. And all that He has, He wants to pass to us. That was why
He prayed to the Father, “Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that
your Son may glorify you; and, through the power over all mankind that you have
given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.
And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
you have sent.”
In the same vein, St
Paul was also deeply moved by God’s grace for him in Christ. It was the experience of being
loved by the Father and his sonship in Christ that coerced him to give up his
life totally for Christ and the people of God as Jesus did. Indeed, the
key to piety must be grounded in divine filiation. It is this
consciousness of God as our Father and we His children that will inspire in us
the desire like Jesus and St Paul to serve Him and our fellowmen.
Perhaps, if today, many
people lack the gift of piety, it is because they do not experience the love of
their parents.
That is why they remain unfaithful to them. Today, many are not grateful
to their parents for bringing them up. They are full of resentment. They
take for granted what their parents gave to them and the sacrifices they made
for them; seeing them more as their obligation than as gifts. Of course,
sometimes it is the fault of the parents for not loving them rightly. At
other times, it is the children themselves who are at fault because of their
self-centeredness and selfishness. Thus, the call to piety presumes that
we become conscious of our divine filiation with respect to God and our human
filiation with respect to our parents. Unless we become conscious of
their love, we will not have the capacity to give ourselves generously towards
them in humble and generous service.
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