20170324 THE RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
First reading
|
Hosea 14:2-10 ©
|
The Lord says this:
Israel, come back to
the Lord your God;
your iniquity was the
cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with
words
and come back to the
Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all
iniquity away
so that we may have
happiness again
and offer you our
words of praise.
Assyria cannot save
us,
we will not ride
horses any more,
or say, “Our God!” to
what our own hands have made,
for you are the one
in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them with
all my heart,
for my anger has
turned from them.
I will fall like dew
on Israel.
He shall bloom like
the lily,
and thrust out roots
like the poplar,
his shoots will
spread far;
he will have the
beauty of the olive
and the fragrance of
Lebanon.
They will come back
to live in my shade;
they will grow corn
that flourishes,
they will cultivate
vines
as renowned as the
wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to
do with idols any more
when it is I who hear
his prayer and care for him?
I am like a cypress
ever green,
all your fruitfulness
comes from me.
Let the wise man
understand these words.
Let the intelligent
man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the
Lord are straight,
and virtuous men walk
in them,
but sinners stumble.
Responsorial
Psalm
|
Psalm
80(81):6,8-11,14,17 ©
|
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
A voice I did not
know said to me:
‘I freed
your shoulder from the burden;
your hands were freed
from the load.
You
called in distress and I saved you.
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
‘I answered,
concealed in the storm cloud;
at the
waters of Meribah I tested you.
Listen, my people, to
my warning.
O Israel,
if only you would heed!
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
‘Let there be no
foreign god among you.
no
worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your
God,
who
brought you from the land of Egypt.
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
‘O that my people
would heed me,
that
Israel would walk in my ways!
But Israel I would
feed with finest wheat
and fill
them with honey from the rock.’
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
Gospel
Acclamation
|
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
The seed is the word
of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this
seed will remain for ever.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Or
|
Mt4:17
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Repent, says the
Lord,
for the kingdom of
heaven is close at hand.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel
|
Mark 12:28-34 ©
|
One
of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first
of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel,
the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.
The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no
commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master;
what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him
with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your
neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or
sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from
the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.
THE
RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
HOSEA 14:2-10; PS 80:6,8-11,14,17; MARK 12:28-34]
What is the cause of our misery in
life? How is it that your happiness is so elusive? Can one be truly
happy in this life? Happiness is ours only if we know where to find
it. Because of the lack of wisdom and understanding, we seek happiness at
the wrong places. The Lord says, “Let the wise man understand these
words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning. For the ways of the
Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.”
In the first place, we tend to seek
happiness in our sins. “The Lord says this: Israel, come back to
the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.” The
world is demanding absolute freedom by promoting individuality, relativism and
pragmatism. If we look at our woes, they all come from our sins, of greed
that leads to cheating and dishonesty; lust that leads to infidelity and family
breakup; pride that leads to ambition, slander, selfishness and enmity; envy
that leads to hatred; anger that leads to revenge, resentment, hatred and even
killing; sloth that leads to irresponsibility, causing others to suffer;
gluttony that leads to ill-health.
Secondly, it is because we worship false
gods. We rely on ourselves and our ingenuity. Like the Israelites,
we rely on our military, technological might and power instead of on God. The
truth, as Israel learnt is this: “Assyria cannot save us, we will not
ride horses any more, or say, ‘Our god!’ to what our own hands have made, for
you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.” We think power and
strength can resolve all our problems. The sad reality is that our
leaders no longer have the foresight to consider the long term consequences and
implications of what they do. It is always from hindsight that we learn,
albeit too late. A case in point is population control. Now, many
countries are suffering the consequences of policies which were thought to be
the solution to poverty. Not only are they facing depopulation now, but
also the lack of resources and manpower to look after the growing number of
elderly. Then, we promoted contraceptives and divorce and as a result,
the institution of the family, the bedrock of society, is weakening. Now,
we want to promote same-sex union, etc. Most of our policies are knee
jerk reactions to the immediate needs, but we lack the wisdom to see ahead for
our future generations. We are keener to find solutions just for
ourselves without thinking of the next generation. That is why policy makers
have tremendous responsibility to ensure that what they do is not just good for
today but also for tomorrow.
So what must we do to find real
happiness? We must turn back to the Lord. “Provide yourself
with words and come back to the Lord. Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away
so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of praise.’”
This is the first step. Like the Israelites, let us humbly admit that we
have not found happiness following the ways of the world. The psalmist
invites us to take heed of the warning of the Lord. “I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning. Let there be no foreign god among you, no
worship of an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you from the
land of Egypt. O that my people would heed me, that Israel would walk in
my ways! But Israel I would feed with finest wheat and fill them with
honey from the rock.”
The key to real happiness in life is
simple and straight forward. The principles never change, and that was why
Jesus cited from the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6:5 and Leviticus
chapter 19:18; bringing together the commandments of love of God and
neigbour. When asked what the first of all the commandments was, Jesus
replied, “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord,
and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You must
love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment great than these.”
They are called the greatest commandments because they hold the
fundamental keys to real happiness in life, but they are not to be understood
as rules to follow blindly or slavishly.
The commandment to love God is truly the
foundation for everything in life. So important is this commandment that
the Jews would recite this Shema twice a day. “And these words that I
command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently
to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when
you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You
shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between
your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your
gates.” (Dt 6:6-9)
Only when we love God with our whole
being, can we truly become one with God in loving, thinking and doing.
This is what it means to love God with all our heart, mind and our
strength. When there is love, there is always a union of heart and mind
as well. Love enables us to understand a person intimately, to feel with
the person. Lovers and friends share intimacy simply because they are of
one heart and mind. When we are deeply in love, we will always give
ourselves completely to the person. So too, we are called to love God
deeply so that God becomes the center, the foundation, the focus of our
lives. When we direct all our energy to God, then our lives will become
like His.
The second commandment flows from the
first. If we truly love God, then we will also love our neighbours and
have the strength to love them even when they do not love us. Those who
seek to love their neighbours without God’s love will fall into the temptation
of humanism, where such love is rooted in human sentiment and compassion.
It is one of pity, guilt and also the desire for recognition and
appreciation. This is the pagan love that Jesus spoke about in the the
scriptures. But altruistic love is given simply because we see in them
the face of God and the face of Christ. We love them as much as we love
God because they are loved by God. The motivation is always rooted in our
love for God. We see everyone as Jesus sees them. We love them
because Jesus loves. Indeed, when we love our friends, we also love their
friends as well. Their loved ones become ours, since our hearts sync with
that of our friends.
But how is it possible for us to practise
these commandments? We cannot love God with all our heart, mind and strength
unless we are first loved by God. This is what the Lord is saying through
the prophet Hosea. He assures us of His forgiveness, compassion and love.
“I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them with all my heart, for my anger
has turned from them.” Most of all, the Lord guarantees fecundity for
those who draw strength, wisdom and love from Him. “I will fall like dew
on Israel. He shall bloom like the lily, and thrust out roots like the
poplar, his shoots will spread far; He will have the beauty of the olive and
the fragrance of Lebanon. They will come back to live in my shade; they
will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate vines as renowned as the
wine of Helbon. What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when it is I
who hear his prayer and care for him? I am like a cypress ever green, all
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
So before we can even love God, let us
come back to Him, be healed of our brokenness through the forgiveness of sins.
Then let us allow God to come to our lives as we spend time in prayer,
worship, meditation and silent adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. We
need to bask ourselves in His love for renewal. If we truly want to
regain our focus in life, take time off to do a retreat, either a personal
retreat or a guided retreat. If Jesus needs time off to pray, what about
us? He too comes to His Father for renewal of His mission. Like us,
He needs consolation, inspiration and the love of His Father. Be
loved by the Lord!
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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