20170916
FOUNDATION OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 Timothy 1:15-17 ©
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Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt:
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest
of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to
make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other
people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the
eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever
and ever. Amen.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 112(113):1-7 ©
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May the name of the Lord be blessed for
evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
May the name of the Lord be blessed for
evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
May the name of the Lord be blessed for
evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
May the name of the Lord be blessed for
evermore!
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn14:6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn14:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:43-49 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There is no
sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces
sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick
figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is
good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from
the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.
‘Why do you
call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say?
‘Everyone
who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you
what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug
deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore
down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one
who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with
no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a
ruin that house became!’
FOUNDATION OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 TIM 1:15-17; LK 6:43-49 ]
“There is no
sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces
sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit; people do not
pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles.” In the light of
Jesus’ statement, how do you feel about yourself? Are you a sound or a
rotten tree? As Jesus said, we know the tree by the fruits it
bears. So what fruits are we producing?
Jesus gives us
two criteria. We would think that the fruits would be the tangible
actions that we do, since Jesus warned us, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’
and not do what I say?” The parable of the building of our house on rock
by doing what the Word tells us seems to confirm that the deeds are the best
way to gauge our spiritual life. Yet, examining our actions may
not necessarily be the key to know the depth of our spiritual lifesince
actions can spring from many motives, many of which could be egoistic and
self-serving.
Indeed, what is
even more important than mere actions is to consider what is in our
heart, since actions flow from being. That is why before speaking of
actions, Jesus reminded us, saying, “A good man draws what is good from the
store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of
badness. For a man’s words flows out of what fills his heart.”
So what
is the condition of your heart? How can one know the state of one’s
heart? Examine your attitudes towards God, family, friends, colleagues,
especially difficult people and enemies. Do we see and relate to them in
charity, compassion and understanding? Or do we treat them the way
worldly people regard each other, especially towards enemies? If we have
a good heart, then we will always see the good in others and make excuses for
their weaknesses.
However, if we
find ourselves lacking in charity, compassion and graciousness, we must ask
ourselves what is the reason for our incapacity to love. In his
encyclical, God is Love, Pope Emeritus Benedict writes of the
intimate relationship between love as eros and love as agape.
Although distinguished, both are not to be separated, nor do they contradict
each other. On the contrary, love always begins with eros,
possessiveness, before it becomes oblative and then agape. In other
words, man must first receive love before he can give love. If this is
true on the level of human love, more so it is on the level of Godly
love. Unless we are first loved, how can we love God?
From this
perspective, we can appreciate why the conversion experience of St Paul
lay in his encounter with the love and mercy of God. In today’s first
reading, he gives us his testimony of God’s gracious love and mercy that
changed his entire life and focus.
He wrote:
“Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of
them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to
make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other
people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life.”
Truly, the
foundation of spiritual life and charity is our encounter with the love and
mercy of God, as St Paul and Pope Benedict wrote. We need a
conversion experience, a change of heart similar to that of Paul if we were
ever to proclaim His love in words and in actions. For an encounter with
God’s personal love and mercy would be an expression of gratitude and
praise. St Paul himself, so taken up by God’s love says, “To the eternal
King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and
ever. Amen.” The responsorial psalm expressing the joy of the
psalmist declares, “Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever. Praise, you
servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of
the Lord both now and forever.”
Following this
encounter there is the corresponding love of the Word of God.
This is one of the characteristics of a genuine experience of God’s love.
Of course, more than just a love for the Word, it is a desire to do the will of
God in one’s life. So Jesus’ parable about the house built on rock is
true only for those who have first been converted in the heart. ‘Everyone
who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what
he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug
deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore
down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built.”
The question we
need to ask ourselves is whether we truly feel grateful to God for what
we have and what we are today. Or do we feel that we earned our place
in society because we are intelligent and worked hard for what we have?
If we do not experience a deep sense of unworthiness like St Paul, who boasted
that he is the exemplar of what God’s mercy can do, we will become arrogant in
our relationship with others. We will become proud and disdainful of
others, thinking that we are superior in every way. We must always remain
humble in whatever position we hold in life. This is possible only when
we are conscious that we are what we are today because of God’s mercy for us
and not by our own doing.
Yes, if
we want to find peace and happiness in this life, we must establish our
faith in God’s love that justifies us in Christ through the grace of His
passion, death and resurrection. Saved by grace, we too will become
channels of grace to others. Let us always bear in mind that we are
sinners and God has chosen us in spite of our unworthiness. In this way,
we too can proclaim with the psalmist how wonderful and great our God is.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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