20161116 REALIZING OUR POTENTIALS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
First reading
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Apocalypse
4:1-11 ©
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In my vision, I,
John, saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the
voice like a trumpet, saying, ‘Come up here: I will show you what is to come in
the future.’ With that, the Spirit possessed me and I saw a throne standing in
heaven, and the One who was sitting on the throne, and the Person sitting there
looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne,
and this looked like an emerald. Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four
thrones, and on them I saw twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes
with golden crowns on their heads. Flashes of lightning were coming from the
throne, and the sound of peals of thunder, and in front of the throne there
were seven flaming lamps burning, the seven Spirits of God. Between the throne
and myself was a sea that seemed to be made of glass, like crystal. In the
centre, grouped round the throne itself, were four animals with many eyes, in
front and behind. The first animal was like a lion, the second like a bull, the
third animal had a human face, and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle.
Each of the four animals had six wings and had eyes all the way round as well
as inside; and day and night they never stopped singing:
‘Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the
Almighty;
he was, he is and he
is to come.’
Every time the
animals glorified and honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the
throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders prostrated
themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw
down their crowns in front of the throne, saying, ‘You are our Lord and our
God, you are worthy of glory and honour and power, because you made all the
universe and it was only by your will that everything was made and exists.’
Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 150 ©
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Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Praise God in his
holy place,
praise
him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his
powerful deeds,
praise
his surpassing greatness.
Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with
sound of trumpet,
praise
him with lute and harp.
Praise him with
timbrel and dance,
praise
him with strings and pipes.
Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with
resounding cymbals,
praise
him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that
lives and that breathes
give
praise to the Lord.
Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel
Acclamation
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys
what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to
perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or
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cf.Jn15:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the
world
to go out and bear
fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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Luke 19:11-28 ©
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While the people were
listening, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and
they imagined that the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there.
Accordingly he said, ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to be appointed
king and afterwards return. He summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten
pounds. “Do business with these” he told them “until I get back.” But his
compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message,
“We do not want this man to be our king.”
‘Now on
his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for those servants
to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The
first came in and said, “Sir, your one pound has brought in ten.” “Well done,
my good servant!” he replied “Since you have proved yourself faithful in a very
small thing, you shall have the government of ten cities.” Then came the second
and said, “Sir, your one pound has made five.” To this one also he said, “And
you shall be in charge of five cities.” Next came the other and said, “Sir,
here is your pound. I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was
afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put
down and reap what you have not sown.” “You wicked servant!” he said “Out of
your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up
what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not
put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with
interest.” And he said to those standing by, “Take the pound from him and give
it to the man who has ten pounds.” And they said to him, “But, sir, he has ten
pounds . . .” “I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the
man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
‘“But as
for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute
them in my presence.”’
When
he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
REALIZING
OUR POTENTIALS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ REVELATION 4:1-11; LUKE 19:11-28 ]
We all have different gifts
and talents in life. Some of us are more privileged than others.
Many things in life are givens, our status, our health, our family and even our
wealth. Often, those who are less gifted than others tend to envy those
who have more. We are always looking at the greener pastures. As a
result, we can become resentful, envious and bitter against society and against
God. Such people who are never satisfied can never find happiness in
life. Conversely, we have the other group of so-called fortunate
people. They seem to be blessed with all the good things in life, health,
talents, wealth, loving family, status, influential connections and good
careers. Yet, they are not happy. Wealth is a double edged sword.
We can use it for good or abuse it. Failure to use it well will lead to
our own destruction.
Consequently, regardless of
what gifts and talents the Lord has blessed us with, we are called to be
grateful and be contented with what we have. There is no need to desire
more or less. Being contented is what brings us real happiness in
life. But what does it mean to be contented? Does it mean
that we are to be complacent and irresponsible? Does it mean that a contented
person has no zeal, no passion and no ambition? Does contentment equate
with being irresponsible with our gifts? Being contented is to make full
use of what we have for our growth and the service of humanity. It means that
we are always acting in full capacity at any point of time. We are not
working or doing less, yet we are not over-exerting ourselves at the expense of
our health, peace of mind and relationship with our loved ones. It means
that we are always realizing our potentials in life, always growing and always
living a life of fulfillment. How can we cultivate such a disposition?
Firstly, we must know our
place in life. As the gospel tells us, we are the servants of God.
He is our king who has given us certain responsibilities in life in His
kingdom. We are His subjects. Like the vision in the first reading,
we are called to render total submission to the king as the 24 elders
did. All of us, regardless of our status in life, must glorify God.
They “honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives
forever and ever, the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to
worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in
front of the throne.” Even the four animals, whether it was the mighty
lion, the sacrificial ox, the biggest of all birds or the human person, all are
called to glorify God each in our own ways, “singing: “’Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty; he was, he is and he is to come.’”
Secondly, we must
understand the inexorable laws of nature. The principle of life is that
we are happy only when we are full-filled. That is to say, we are in a
state of fullness. Different people have different
capacities. It is like eating. When we eat more than our stomach
can hold, it becomes a sacrifice and no longer a joy. The joy of eating
is in eating just enough. Beyond that, there is decreasing
satisfaction. In the same way, there is no need to envy those who have
more, whether it is food or a better job because if we are given a
responsibility that is more than we can manage, it will be the death of
us. We would be so stressed up every day that our health and
relationships will break down. So in life, in all things, we must seek to
arrive at the optimum. That is why greed and gluttony will destroy a
person’s health and happiness.
The second law of nature is
that we can grow in capacity. But this is not something done
overnight. Like a child, we need to learn how to crawl before we learn
how to walk and then run. Contentment does not mean complacency and
indifference to growth. Rather, it means taking our growth
seriously. And as we grow in strength, in knowledge, skills and
experience, we can handle more and more. This explains why the man who
made ten talents was given ten cities to govern. To give him less would
underutilize his talents. But he should not be given more either because
it might be too difficult for him to manage. Hence, the man who produced
five pounds was given five cities to look after.
The third principle of the
law of nature is that those who prove themselves to be “faithful in a very
small thing” could then be in charge of greater things. There are
some people who want to be promoted in their jobs and be given greater
responsibilities. They seek to do big things. Yet the test of a
good leader is when he or she is able to be responsible in whatever is given to
them. Indeed, a worker who does his or her job well will certainly be
seen as a potential for higher duties by the company. Who does not want
someone who could do much more? But when we cannot even do small things
well, no one would ever entrust us to do greater things because the damage
caused could be irreparable. Doing small things well will help us
to grow in our skills and work attitudes, which in turn will give confidence to
those who are in charge of us.
The fourth principle of the
law of nature is that the more we have, the more we will be given. “I
tell you, to everyone who has will be given more.” This might seem to be
rather unfair in life, that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
The truth is that everything is cumulative in life. When we grow in our
skills, we have a greater capacity to do more. This is true even in
mundane matters like investments, as the gospel suggests. We should take
the initiative to make the money grow instead of hiding or hoarding them.
The only way to ensure that our money grows is not even to put in the bank but
to invest wisely so that money is made to work. So if the man who had
more was given more, it was because only he could manage with more.
However, there are warnings
as well for those who do not take initiative and risks in life. Firstly,
they will remain stagnant in life. Such people cannot grow. Life is such,
either we are growing or we are dying. Nothing is stagnant. That is
why the man who did not invest the money was condemned. He was not only
lazy and irresponsible but he was afraid to take risks. He could have done
something with the money. And this is true for us. God has given us
health, wealth, personal resources, knowledge, education, influence, etc.
Where and how have we used them?
Secondly, if we do not use
what we have, then Jesus tells us that whatever little we have will be taken
away: “From the man who has not; even what he has will be taken away.”
Indeed, those who do not use their talents or develop what they have been given
will eventually lose them. Those of us who learn music but do not use our
talents to render our service to the community will eventually forget how to
play music. Those of us who do not read and study will become
demented and unable to think and read anymore. The best way to grow
something is to continue doing it and we become better and better at it each
passing day.
So let us use our talents
well. They are given to us to glorify God and to serve His people.
In the process of using them for service, we grow as persons because we realize
our potentials. Only by exercising the gifts given to us, can we develop
and form ourselves. That is why we should never be afraid of challenges
in life. They help us to maximize our potentials like a fully charged
battery. Our focus is not on what we get at the end, or how much money we
make, or whether we are given higher office. The focus is on the
present. Happiness in life is experienced more in the journey than
at the arrival. When we arrive, that is the end of the journey and then
another journey must begin till we arrive at the next destination. The fun and
joy is in the journey! The end is the beginning.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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