20171230
HOLINESS THROUGH COOPERATION WITH GOD’S GRACE
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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1 John 2:12-17 ©
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Observance of the will of God
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I am writing to you, my own children,
whose sins have already been forgiven through his name;
I am writing to you, fathers,
who have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I am writing to you, young men,
who have already overcome the Evil One;
I have written to you, children,
because you already know the Father;
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong and God’s word has made its home in you,
and you have overcome the Evil One.
You must not love this passing world
or anything that is in the world.
The love of the Father cannot be
in any man who loves the world,
because nothing the world has to offer
– the sensual body,
the lustful eye,
pride in possessions –
could ever come from the Father
but only from the world;
and the world, with all it craves for,
is coming to an end;
but anyone who does the will of God
remains for ever.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):7-10 ©
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Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Bring an offering and enter his courts,
worship the Lord in his temple.
O earth, tremble before him.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Heb1:1-2
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Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A hallowed day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, worship the Lord,
for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 2:36-40 ©
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There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe
of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been
married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years
old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and
prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke
of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they
had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to
their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was
filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
30 DECEMBER, 2017, Saturday, 6th Day Within the Octave of
Christmas
HOLINESS THROUGH COOPERATION WITH GOD’S GRACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 JOHN 2:12-17; LUKE 2:36-40 ]
We are
invited to contemplate on the meaning of the incarnation. Jesus is truly a man
in every way. As the gospel says, He too had to grow in maturity and
wisdom. By assuming our humanity, He would have had to grow physically
and intellectually as a human being. The humanity He assumed was real and
full. He was not a phantom or simply clothed with flesh externally.
He was a real human being like us all except that He was without sin.
The implication
for us is that we too must follow Jesus, the Son of God made man in
this process of growth in holiness. His coming was to restore us back
to our dignity as the sons and daughters of God. He became man to restore
us from our fallen nature. But this process is not magical or intrusive,
lacking respect for the freedom of man. God does not force us into
slavery or compel us to love Him. He invites and the response must be
free.
Indeed, Jesus
led the way by responding freely, cooperating with the grace of God. “When
they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to
Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity,
and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.” He
cooperated with the requirements of the Law and did not get Himself
exempted. He went back to Nazareth and followed the normal way of growing
up as a child in any family would. He subjected Himself to the parental
guidance and love of His parents. Together with the grace of God, He grew
in wisdom and strength.
We too must
walk the same path to holiness of life. In the first reading, we are told that we must learn
detachment from the world of sin and the temptations of the Evil One.
“You must not love this passing world or anything that is in the world. The
love of the Father cannot be in any man who loves the world, because
nothing the world has to offer – the sensual body, the lustful eye, pride in
possessions – could ever come from the Father but only from the
world.” Truly, this requires that we allow the grace of God to take root
in our lives. We must be ready to renounce Satan and all his empty
promises so that we can find life in God. Above all, we know that the sin
of lust, gluttony and pride are the greatest sins among the others that we find
difficult to overcome.
This is where we
need to invite Christ to be born in our hearts anew every day
so that we too can do the will of God and find peace. St John wrote, “anyone
who does the will of God remains for ever.” In doing God’s will we will
find peace, just as Anna did in the gospel. Her life could be said to be
a tragedy because she became a young widow just after seven years of
marriage. Many of us like her would feel resentful of God and even give
up on God, and blame Him for our misery. Not Anna! “Her days of girlhood
over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now
eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with
fasting and prayer.” She did not stop serving God. Instead,
she turned her misfortune into detachment from the world so that she could focus
totally on serving God quietly in her life at the temple. She gave
herself wholeheartedly to the Lord. She did not allow tragedy to deter
her from growing in holiness. Instead she used her state of widowhood to give
herself completely to God.
This is
possible only if we follow in her footsteps by being devoted to God in prayer
and fasting. There
is no way to serve God wholeheartedly especially in times of trial unless we
pray and do mortification, disciplining our body so that our spirit can be free
for the Lord. By strengthening our interior life like Anna, we will be
able to grow in communion with the Lord and find strength in His love and
consolation from our union with Him in His sufferings.
Truly, as the psalmist
invites us to render praise and all power to God alone who provides
for our needs, “Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad. Give the Lord,
you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord the glory
of his name. Bring an offering and enter his courts, worship the Lord in his
temple. O earth, tremble before him. Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place; he will judge the peoples in fairness”,
let us place our trust in Him and He will work out all things for us.
Like Anna,
through faith and union with God, we can discern the signs of the times clearly. She was given the
gift of prophecy and was able to see in Christ the savior that Israel was
expecting. “She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she
spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of
Jerusalem.” We too must learn to read the signs of the time like her
through strengthening our interior prayer life accompanied by fasting and
penance.
Let us then,
following Jesus and Anna, cooperate with the grace of God. We must do
all we can and work hard for the Kingdom of God and depend wholly on His grace.
This was what St Paul said about his ministry as well. He wrote to the
Christians, “The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the
Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone
and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ. It is for this I
struggle wearily on, helped only by his power driving me
irresistibly. Yes, I want you to know that I do have to struggle
hard for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for so many others who have never
seen me face to face. It is all to bind you together in love and to stir your
minds, so that your understanding may come to full development, until you
really know God’s secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are
hidden.” (Col 1:27-2:3) Although St Paul knew that all he
did was purely by the grace of God, he also knew that it required hard work and
sacrifices on his part. We too must be like St Paul, striving to grow in
maturity, in grace and in holiness through our service to God in obedience to
His holy will.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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