20160920 BELONGING TO THE CATHOLIC FAMILY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Proverbs
21:1-6,10-13 ©
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Like flowing water is
the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord,
who turns
it where he pleases.
A man’s conduct may
strike him as upright,
the Lord,
however, weighs the heart.
To act virtuously and
with justice
is more
pleasing to the Lord than sacrifice.
Haughty eye, proud
heart,
lamp of
the wicked, nothing but sin.
The hardworking man
is thoughtful, and all is gain;
too much
haste, and all that comes of it is want.
To make a fortune
with the help of a lying tongue,
such the
idle fantasy of those who look for death.
The wicked man’s soul
is intent on evil,
he looks
on his neighbour with dislike.
When a mocker is punished,
the ignorant man grows wiser,
when a
wise man is instructed he acquires more knowledge.
The Just One watches
the house of the wicked:
he hurls
the wicked to destruction.
He who shuts his ear
to the poor man’s cry
shall
himself plead and not be heard.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
118:1,27,30,34-35,44 ©
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Guide me, Lord, in
the path of your commands.
They are happy whose
life is blameless,
who
follow God’s law!
Make me grasp the way
of your precepts
and I
will muse on your wonders.
Guide me, Lord, in
the path of your commands.
I have chosen the way
of truth
with your
decrees before me.
Train me to observe
your law,
to keep
it with my heart.
Guide me, Lord, in
the path of your commands.
Guide me in the path
of your commands;
for there
is my delight.
I shall always keep
your law
for ever
and ever.
Guide me, Lord, in
the path of your commands.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ps129:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting
for the Lord,
I count on his word.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk11:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy are those
who hear the word of
God
and keep it.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 8:19-21 ©
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The mother and the
brothers of Jesus came looking for him, but they could not get to him because
of the crowd. He was told, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside and
want to see you’ But he said in answer, ‘My mother and my brothers are those
who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’
BELONGING
TO THE CATHOLIC FAMILY
The gospel today is very
short and yet very powerful. Jesus goes to the heart of
discipleship. In the final analysis, relationship with the Lord is not a
matter of being physically related to Him or nominally related.
This is what the Lord is warning us today. In His time, the relatives of
Jesus, although biologically related to Him, did not know Jesus. They
thought He was mad and overboard in His love for God. Hence, they came to
seek Him out to bring Him home. This is understandable as they were not
the disciples of Jesus. They did not hear Him nor were they with Him,
unlike the disciples. So they were outsiders although they were His blood
relations. This is how many of us feel towards our own relations.
We no longer meet with our relatives, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews, unlike
in those days when we lived together in the Kampong and spent time together
frequently, especially during family celebrations. Nowadays, if we do
meet, it is perhaps for a short while during festive occasions or funeral
wakes. So if we do not even know our immediate family members well, as
everyone is busy with their work and activities, much less do we know our
extended family members.
Obviously none of us are
also His blood relatives. But we act like them because although baptized,
we do not have any real relationship with the Lord. He is a
stranger to us. We hardly spend time with the Lord. Catholics who
hardly pray and read the scriptures cannot be said to be the relations of
Jesus. What kind of relationship is that when we hardly communicate
with Him? Indeed, this is my fear for our Catholics. We have the
numbers, the quantity, but we do not have the quality. We have so many
Catholics but so few are taking their faith seriously. Less than one
third are going to our services. Less than 10% are active in Church
ministry. I seriously wonder how many Catholics take the trouble to
educate themselves in the faith, go for faith formation, either by attending
courses or through reading up on the faith; and most of all, spend minimally
half an hour a day in quiet prayer and contemplation of the Word of God.
Without such a relationship with the Lord, how can one claim that he or she
knows the Lord?
In the gospel, Jesus makes
it clear that spiritual relationship through baptism, even blood relationships,
does not qualify us to be His relatives. In no uncertain terms, He said,
“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into
practice”. Indeed, even the biological motherhood of Mary did not qualify
her to be the mother of our Lord. It would be a mistake to think that
Mary is so privileged to be the mother of the Saviour without first recognizing
that she was first and foremost a woman of grace. She was graced by God
right from the start to live a holy life, a life of total dedication in doing
the will of God. It was her complete devotion to God’s will and God’s
word that made it also possible for her to embrace God’s call to be the mother
of the Saviour.
What does it mean to be
known as a mother, brother and sister of our Lord? Suppose you were
related to someone great or important, how you feel? Indeed, it would be
a great honour, but with it comes the responsibility. We do not want to
destroy or harm the reputation of that person. So it is important that we
conduct ourselves well because others see us as related to that
dignitary. Otherwise we will bring disrepute to that person or at least
to his or her office. So, too, if we call ourselves the mother, brother
and sister of our Lord, then we need to conduct ourselves accordingly. We
do not want to bring shame to our family just as we do not want any member of
our family to get into crime and bring shame to the family. But isn’t
this is what we are doing, when we do not live as Christians do, when we act
contrary to what is expected of a Christian? Many have left the Church or
are skeptical of the Catholic faith because of the bad examples of
Catholics.
If our Catholics are not
living out their Catholic life, it is simply because they are nominal Catholics
or just practicing Catholics, which means “Sunday Catholics.” Their
relationship with the Lord is superficial. It is more one of need
and fear; not of love and intimacy. Most Catholics come to Church not to
praise Him and thank Him but to ask for favours and protection.
Many come out of fear and obligation without any love in their hearts.
With such a disposition, it is a matter of time when the storms of life will
break in and they will leave the Church. This is not surprising because
in truth their hearts have already left the Church, waiting for the body to go
as well.
Without hearing the Word of
God, how could one model himself or herself in the ways of the Lord? How
can one put His word into practice unless we have first heard Him?
Although we are Catholic, our direction and values are that of the world’s and
not from the Bible. The way we live our lives is not much different from
that of the world. Such Catholics put the Church to shame just as some
members of our family do when they do evil and scandalous things that put us to
shame. Do you want the world to know that your father is a robber, your
brother, a rapist, your sister, a swindler? But that is what our
spiritual family members, our fellow Catholics are doing to the family of God!
The psalmist reminds us
that we can only be happy when we walk the way of the Lord. “They are
happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law! Make me grasp the way of
your precepts and I will muse on your wonders. I have chosen the way of truth
with your decrees before me. Train me to observe your law, to keep it with my
heart. Guide me in the path of your commands; for there is my delight. I shall
always keep your law for ever and ever.” Conversely, the book of Proverbs
warns us, “Haughty eye, proud heart, lamp of the wicked, nothing but sin.
To make a fortune with the help of a lying tongue, such the idle fantasy
of those who look for death. The wicked man’s soul is intent on evil, he
looks on his neighbour with dislike. He who shuts his ear to the poor man’s
cry shall himself plead and not be heard.”
But how do we hear the Word
of God if not through personal prayer and meditation on the Word of God?
We need to make time before work or during lunch break to be with the Lord, or
at least in the evening when we can quieten ourselves after a long day.
Instead of watching TV and doing all the mundane things, we could make time to
withdraw and be with the Lord, basking in His presence. With the Lord, we
purify our self-awareness and motives as well. The book of Proverbs
reminds us, “A man’s conduct may strike him as upright, the Lord, however,
weighs the heart. The hardworking man is thoughtful, and all is gain; too much
haste, and all that comes of it is want. When a mocker is punished, the
ignorant man grows wiser, when a wise man is instructed he acquires more
knowledge.” But this is only the first level of coming to a deeper relationship
with the Lord. We find the Lord not only in prayer but in the community
of faith. Faith is communitarian even if it is personal.
Catholics must also come
back to the family of God if we wish to remain true to our Lord.
Catholics needs Catholic relationships. Do you have a Catholic friend
that you could share your faith with? There are many Catholics who do not
have a faith relationship with any Catholic. Some do not even have good
Catholic friends at work, in school or in personal life. So we can
imagine what kind of influence they would be getting. But it is not
enough to have friends who happen to be Catholic. We need to have a faith
relationship. It is necessary to have some Catholics whom we can share our
faith with and our lives in the context of prayer, reflection and personal
testimonies. We need to have mentors around us to help us shore up our
faith. Hence, it is important that we find a small community of Catholics
that we feel belonged to and can share deeply our faith struggles, joys and
pains with each other. So long as we have someone to share our faith
with, we will find strength and consolation to carry on in our faith
life. Be a Catholic who is in relationship and fellowship with the
members of the Catholic family if we are to grow in relationship with the Lord.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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