20161001 MERCY SPRINGS FROM THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF GOD
Isaiah
66 : 10-14
10
Rejoice with Jerusalem, be glad for her, all you who love her! Rejoice, rejoice
with her, all you who mourned her!
11 So
that you may be suckled and satisfied from her consoling breast, so that you
may drink deep with delight from her generous nipple.
12 For Yahweh says
this: Look, I am going to send peace flowing over her like a river, and like a
stream in spate the glory of the
nations. You will be suckled,
carried on her hip and fondled in her lap.
14 At the sight your heart will rejoice,
and your limbs regain vigour like the grass. To his servants Yahweh will reveal his
hand, but to his enemies his fury.
Psalms 130
1 [Song
of Ascents] From the depths I call to you, Yahweh:
2 Lord,
hear my cry. Listen attentively to the sound of my pleading!
3 If
you kept a record of our sins, Lord, who could stand their ground?
4 But
with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered.
5 I
rely, my whole being relies, Yahweh, on your promise.
6 My whole
being hopes in the Lord, more than watchmen for daybreak; more than watchmen
for daybreak
1Cor 13:4-13
4 Love
is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or
conceited,
5 it is
never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store
up grievances.
6 Love
does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth.
8 Love
never comes to an end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done
away with; if tongues, they will fall
silent; and if knowledge, it will be done
away with.
9 For
we know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly;
11 When
I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and
think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with
all childish ways.
12 Now
we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing
face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as
fully as I am myself known.
13 As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love,
the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.
Gospel Matt 18:1-5
1 At
this time the
disciples came to Jesus and said,
'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?'
2 So he
called a little child to him whom he set among them.
3 Then
he said, 'In truth I tell
you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter
the kingdom of Heaven.
4 And
so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in
the kingdom of Heaven.
5
'Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me.
MERCY
SPRINGS FROM THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF GOD
As this is the Jubilee Year
of mercy, it is appropriate to reflect on the aspect of mercy in the life of St
Therese of the Child Jesus. Most of the time, we speak of her love for
the Lord. Indeed, the whole spirituality of St Theresa is love, since she
says that the only vocation is love. She came to understand that if one
loves the Lord and loves the Church, then it would be sufficient. When we
speak of love, we cannot also but speak of mercy. Indeed, in the
scripture, the fundament themes are God’s love and His mercy. Mercy and
charity then is the expression of God’s love.
Indeed, we are called to
extend mercy to all, especially to all those who are mourning and in
trouble. In the first reading, we are reminded that the Church is called
to be a mother of mercy. Like a mother, the Church is called to console
her people. “Rejoice Jerusalem, Rejoice, rejoice for her, all you who
mourned her! That you may be suckled, filled, from her consoling breast, that
you may savour with delight her glorious breast. For thus says the Lord: Now
towards her I send flowing peace, like a river, and like a stream in spate the
glory of the nations. At her breast will her nurslings be carried and fondled
in her lap.” This text of course was written in the context of the
Israelites in exile. The Church has the same responsibility to her
members and that of humanity to console the world and assure them of
peace. “Like a son comforted by his mother will I comfort you.”
There are so many people in the world living in exile, without hope, love,
consolation because they are suffering. How can the Church show mercy to
comfort the world?
What can we learn from St
Theresa in demonstrating our love in mercy? Firstly, like her we need to
discover the love of God. Unless we come to realize God’s unconditional
love and mercy, we cannot be agents of His mercy and love. St Theresa in
her spiritual journey came to realize that it is not what we do or who we are
that merits the love of God. Rather, God, like a mother, loves every
child uniquely, fully and unconditionally. Which mother is willing to
give up her child even if that child suffers from physical or mental
disadvantages? In the eyes of the mother, every child is precious to her
and loved by her as much because that child is her own flesh and blood.
So too, God loves us like His own, like His child, because we are the children
of God. This is what the gospel tells us as well. Jesus welcomed
children and loved them not because they were intelligent or able to contribute
anything to society but simply because they were lovable and loving. “The
disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of
them.” When St Theresa received this insight that she was precious to God and
loved by Him unconditionally and totally, it was enough for her.
Indeed, many of us suffer
from low self-esteem. Many of us are not able to reach out to others or
to really love others because we do not even love ourselves. We are
always comparing ourselves with others. We always feel that others are
better than us. We check our YouTube, Facebook, our tweeters and our
Instagram to see how many likes and dislikes we have. We are always
concerned about whether we are likeable, good enough, loved enough, popular
enough and thought well by others. So when serving others, we serve with
ulterior motives; more to satisfy our needs and the needs of those whom we
love. We serve to feel good about ourselves and to feel that we are
needed. We serve with an ulterior motive to make us feel that we are
better than others and can do things for others. This kind of service is
not done out of pure love for the poor or for others but more as a means to
boost our ego and our self-esteem. This explains why there is so
much competition, protectionism, and jealousy among church organizations.
Instead of seeking the lowest position, many look for appreciation and
recognition by the Church and the clergy. They want to be the best.
Instead of helping each other, each organization cares only for
itself. Such service smacks of pride that comes from insecurity.
Hence, the antidote to
insecurity and low self-esteem is the encounter with the unconditional love of
God. This was the insight of St Theresa. When she was young she
thought that she had to do great things to be loved by God. She dreamt
that she would be a missionary for Christ. But she was young and her
health was poor. She was so sickly that her Mother Superior forbade her
to fast. She was devastated that she could not serve the Lord in great
ways. Then one day, the Lord revealed to her that it was not
necessary.
It was the vision she had
of the Lord showing her the garden of all sorts of flowers. She came to
realize that not all could be roses. For the garden to be beautiful, all
sorts of plants and flowers were needed to complete the beauty of the
garden. If all were roses, then the garden would lack color and true
beauty. Accordingly, she came to realize that all of us, regardless who
we are have a role to play in this creation and the salvation of humanity.
We cannot all be doctors, lawyers or accountants or priests. But all of
us have been given the gift needed to do what we have to do as determined by
the Lord. If each one of us simply makes the best of whatever gift the
Lord gave us, develop it well, exercise it for the service and love of others,
we will find fulfillment and happiness.
Holiness and perfection is
not about what great things we do but how we do small or big things with
attention, love and devotion. When St Theresa came to realize that, she
was content to be a “Little Flower” for the Lord. She no longer desired
to be great like the rest. She realized that she need not be “great” in
the eyes of the world or desire office and position. She was happy to
love Jesus in whatever little ways she could and do it with love. Jesus
would be happy so long as she did it out of great love for Him.
That is why on her feast we choose the second reading from Corinthians when St
Paul elaborates what this love concretely entails. “Love is always
patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it
is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love
takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is
always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love
does not come to an end.”
Thus, in this year of
mercy, we are called to cling on to God’s love for us so that we learn how to
be merciful to ourselves by accepting our imperfections in life. Unless
we accept ourselves for who we are, with all the inadequacies and
imperfections, we cannot grow in genuine love for others. How can we be
merciful to others if we are not even merciful to ourselves? By loving
ourselves as the Lord loves us, we learn to love others patiently and to be
ever ready to excuse and forgive. If the Lord loves us and forgives us
for our sinfulness and imperfections, we too are called to do the same.
Indeed, when we think of this beautiful insight and the child-like spirituality
of St Theresa, becoming a saint, it is not something beyond our reach. We
can all become saints. Not all are called to be martyrs or missionaries
abroad or even to give up our lives for some great cause. We only need to
offer to the Lord whatever we do, regardless of our vocation in life, whether
as mothers, teachers, servants, workers or students, in love for the Lord and
for the service of others. So whatever we do, the Lord is not concerned
about what we can do for Him but whether we are doing everything out of love
and devotion. God is self-sufficient. He does not need us to do
great things for Him. All He asks from us is our love. Like St
Theresa, He is happy if we spend all our time adoring and loving Him,
contemplating on His beauty.
For St Theresa, knowledge
is not so much gaining great insights or knowing deep theology. It has to
do with how much we love, not how much we think. This is what the
responsorial psalm tells us. “O my Lord, within my heart pride will have no
home every talent that I have comes from you alone. Lord, my eyes do not
look high nor my thoughts take wings for I can find treasures in ordinary
things. Great affairs are not for me deeds beyond my scope in the simple things
I do I find joy and hope.” Indeed, for St Theresa, those deep spiritual
and theological books that she read gave her much headache. Not
understanding them, she gave up and simply read the bible. Savoring the Word of
God gave her much unction, consolation and insight into the mercy and love of
God. This was what transformed her life. This is what prayer is all
about, contemplating on His love and mercy! Then, infused with His love,
we will be able to go out to love and show mercy to others.
So, like a child today, let
us come to the Lord. Like a child with humility we dwell on His love and
let us bask in His love. With St Paul, we say, “When I was a child, I
used to talk like a child, and think like a child, and argue like a child, but
now I am a man, all childish ways are put behind me. Now we are seeing a dim reflection
in a mirror; but then we shall be seeing face to face.” The Lord invites
us to come to Him like a child. So with childlike faith, love and hope,
we learn to relate to the Lord. When we do that, we will find the joy of
His presence and love. We will indeed, as the refrain of the psalm say,
“And like a child at rest close to its mother’s breast, safe in your arms my
soul is calmed.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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