20180227
THE AUTHENTIC PRACTICE
OF EXTERNAL PIETY
27 FEBRUARY, 2018, Tuesday, 2nd Week of Lent
THE AUTHENTIC PRACTICE OF EXTERNAL PIETY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Violet.
First reading
|
Cease to do evil; learn to do good
|
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the command of our God,
you people of Gomorrah.
‘Wash, make yourselves clean.
Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.
Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good,
search for justice,
help the oppressed,
be just to the orphan,
plead for the widow.
‘Come now, let us talk this over,
says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
‘If you are willing to obey,
you shall eat the good things of the
earth.
But if you persist in rebellion,
the sword shall eat you instead.’
Responsorial Psalm
|
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always
before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your
farms,
nor goats from among your
herds.
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
‘But how can you recite my
commandments
and take my covenant on
your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the
winds,
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
‘You do this, and should I keep
silence?
Do you think that I am like
you?
A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.’
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
Gospel Acclamation
|
Mt4:17
|
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at
hand.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Or
|
Ezk18:31
|
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Shake off all your sins – it is
the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a
new spirit.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Gospel
|
They do not practise what they preach
|
Addressing the people and his disciples
Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must
therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be
guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie
up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger
to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like
wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place
of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted
obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
‘You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi,
since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one
on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor
must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher,
the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’
All religions have some forms of external piety. Some religions make
use of more rituals than others. But interior piety needs to be expressed
externally through some signs and actions. This is inevitable because we are
human beings with body and spirit. We express our interior self through
external gestures and signs. Furthermore, for Catholics, the basis for
the use of sacramentals in the Church is rooted in the incarnation of
Christ. In the human person of Christ, we see the Father’s love and
mercy. When Philip
asked the Lord, “’Lord, show us the Father, and we will be
satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ‘ Do you not believe that I
am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not
speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” (Jn 14:8-10)
All external piety seeks to express our faith, love and hope in
God.
External piety in whatever form therefore is meant to help us to express our
interior spirit in external ways. Just as we express our love for someone
by giving a gift or through a smile or a word and even a gesture, so as
embodied spirit we also express our love for God through such external
signs. They are aids not just to express our sentiments for God but also
to strengthen that relationship with God.
The real danger of external piety is that it is often performed
without the interior spirit. It is just a mere performance, action without the
heart. We can be offering sacrifices, including the sacrifice of the mass,
but our hearts and our minds are far away. Our lips can be moving and we
might be able to say the right words but they are said without feeling or even
thinking. We just rattle off without uniting our spirit with the
words prayed. This is often the danger of praying any prayer by
rote. We tend to pray that prayer quickly, moving our lips but the words
we say are not being felt in our hearts nor consciously understood in our
heads. Isn’t that how we pray the Lord’s Prayer and other formulae
prayers, especially the rosary?
Performance happens not only at prayer; but even in sacramental
actions of kneeling, standing,
raising our hands and eyes to God. Again, many of us genuflect when we enter
the church without consciously acknowledging Christ present in the Blessed
Sacrament. Many of us make the sign of the cross so habitually that it
becomes a superstitious act. We give the sign of peace to each other
without meaning what we say. We do it because everyone is doing it.
So too, we can be wearing the right attire for a religious celebration but it
does not necessarily make us more religious.
How is external piety reduced to such a hypocritical act?
Firstly, it is because of routine and repetition. The truth is that when an action or a prayer or a ritual is done
often, it becomes a habit, a routine, when we can do without thinking, just
like the ordinary chores of daily life. We do them so often that when we
are doing them, we can be thinking of other things. So too in religious
piety as well. This explains why the Church does not ask the priest to
remember the prayers by heart but to use the Sacramentary when he celebrates
the Sacraments so that he could interiorize in his heart and mind the words
that he prays. When it becomes a routine, it ends up in boredom. No heart
and mind can be transformed unless we consciously meditate on every word we say
for as long as we can, and then allow the words to take root in our
heart. Only then can we experience God. As Jesus said, “Those who
love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to
them and make our home with them.” (Jn 14:23)
Secondly, we perform the rituals and prayers to gain attention and
acceptance. It is not directed to God
but to oneself. This was what the Lord condemned in the religious
leaders. “Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader
phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets
and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market
squares and having people call them Rabbi.” Indeed, many of us follow the
actions of others for fear of being different or in order to be accepted by
others. We want people to judge us as good and God-fearing people.
Every Sunday, many Catholics, even though in serious sins and have not gone for
confession for a long time or not at all, would faithfully follow everyone in
the pew to receive Holy Communion. It is not about Jesus that they are
receiving but about how others would view them if they do not receive.
Thirdly, the means become an end. Prayers and sacramental actions are meant to help us build
up a relationship with God. The entire person, mind and body, expresses
itself in words and actions so that we can communicate our entire self to
Him. But for many people, the means becomes the end itself. They
are not too concerned whether they are praying with their heart and mind, but
more so in saying the words and performing the right actions. So many of
us, when praying the Liturgy of the Hours, are more worried about having said
the Liturgy of the Hours than praying it. This is true for the ordinary person
who is engaged in devotions. They are more concerned about finishing the
prescribed prayers than praying in their heart. It is said that the fewer
the words, the deeper the prayer. You can pray the Lord’s Prayer in one
hour or in one minute. For those of us who pray deeply, the first two
words, “Our Father” can take half an hour if we pray from our heart!
Fourthly, we pray or perform rituals out of fear. We are worried about
evil spirits and so we sprinkle holy water everywhere. We pray because we
are afraid that God would be offended if we do not. We fulfill our
religious obligations for fear of being punished by God. That is why many
of us, like the scribes and the Pharisees, become so legalistic and ask
questions like, how much can I eat during fasting days; what does abstinence
entail; can I attend one mass in the evening to fulfill two holydays of
obligation; if I do not fulfill the nine days of novena, will my prayers be
answered? Prayer is no longer a relationship but simply a duty.
How, then, can external piety be a real expression and aid to fostering
our relationship with God? When we pray and perform all religious actions
with faith, hope and charity. All prayers and actions must be performed in faith. This is to
say, we must be conscious of what we are doing and to whom we are addressing.
These prayers and actions must be directed to God alone or Mary and the
saints. And we need to pray in faith that the Lord hears our
prayers. This means that prayers and rituals must be performed, in such a
way that we consciously are expressing our faith in God. Secondly, it
must be done in hope. This is to say that our prayers are directed to the
hope that is in us. Prayers must be the expression of our hope in life
and it is because of our hope that we turn to the Lord in faith.
Above all, authentic acts of piety must lead us to charity, which
is focused on God and our fellowmen. The fruit of prayer is always
charity. Without charity, we cannot be too sure that we love God. St John
wrote, “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not
love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 Jn 4:7f) Indeed, this the
complaint of the Lord against His people. He said in the responsorial psalm, “I
find no fault with your sacrifices, your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms, nor goats from among your
herds. But how can you recite my commandments and take my covenant on
your lips, you who despise my law and throw my words to the winds. You do
this, and should I keep silence? Do you think that I am like you?” Through
Isaiah, the Lord says, “Take your wrong-doing out of my sight. Cease to do
evil. Learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the
orphan, plead for the widow.” True prayers lead to humble and selfless
service. Jesus said, “The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be
exalted.” To live such a life of gratitude in service is what truly
pleases God, as the psalmist says, “A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me and
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
Finally, all that we do must lead people to God. Jesus said, “You,
however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one
master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father,
since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow
yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ.”
When our worship, belief and actions are synchronized, then people
will see God in us. Otherwise, we will be condemned like the
religious leaders during the time of Jesus when the Lord said, “The scribes and
the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell
you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since
they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them
on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they!”
So the choice is ours. Do we want to make every prayer and
action of ours an expression of love for God or do we perform them in a
perfunctory manner? The Lord says, “If you
are willing to obey, you shall eat the good things of the earth. But if you
persist in rebellion, the sword shall eat you instead.” If we continue
with living a shallow spirituality, then religion will not help us to be a
better person or find real freedom, joy and happiness. But if we are
sincere, then let us turn to the Lord for He asks us, ‘Come now, let us talk
this over, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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