Tuesday 31 July 2018

THE PEARL OF LIFE

20180801 THE PEARL OF LIFE


1 AUGUST, 2018, Wednesday, 17th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading
Jeremiah 15:10,16-21 ©

They will not overcome you, because I am with you
‘Woe is me, my mother, for you have borne me
to be a man of strife and of dissension for all the land.
I neither lend nor borrow,
yet all of them curse me.
‘When your words came, I devoured them:
your word was my delight
and the joy of my heart;
for I was called by your name,
the Lord, God of Hosts.
I never took pleasure in sitting in scoffers’ company;
with your hand on me I held myself aloof,
since you had filled me with indignation.
Why is my suffering continual,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Do you mean to be for me a deceptive stream
with inconstant waters?’
To which the Lord replied,
‘If you come back,
I will take you back into my service;
and if you utter noble, not despicable, thoughts,
you shall be as my own mouth.
They will come back to you,
but you must not go back to them.
I will make you
a bronze wall fortified against this people.
They will fight against you
but they will not overcome you,
because I am with you
to save you and to deliver you
– it is the Lord who speaks.
I mean to deliver you from the hands of the wicked
and redeem you from the clutches of the violent.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 58(59):2-5,10-11,17-18 ©
O God, you have been a refuge in the day of my distress.
Rescue me, God, from my foes;
  protect me from those who attack me.
O rescue me from those who do evil
  and save me from blood-thirsty men.
O God, you have been a refuge in the day of my distress.
See, they lie in wait for my life;
  powerful men band together against me.
For no offence, no sin of mine, Lord,
  for no guilt of mine they rush to take their stand.
O God, you have been a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn,
  for you, O God, are my stronghold,
  the God who shows me love.
O God, you have been a refuge in the day of my distress.
As for me, I will sing of your strength
  and each morning acclaim your love
for you have been my stronghold,
  a refuge in the day of my distress.
O God, you have been a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn,
  for you, O God, are my stronghold,
  the God who shows me love.
O God, you have been a refuge in the day of my distress.

Gospel Acclamation
Ps118:105
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp for my steps
and a light for my path.
Alleluia!
Or:
Jn15:15
Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 13:44-46 ©

He sells everything he owns and buys the field
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.
  ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.’

THE PEARL OF LIFE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 15:1016-21MT 13:44-46  ]
What is the value of a pearl?  Why do people seek after pearls, diamonds and all kinds of exquisite stones?  Why do such pearls and stones fetch so much money?  Women, particularly, love pearls and diamonds.  In truth it is nothing but a stone.  You cannot eat it!  But it brings an aesthetic joy that cannot be measured in material not even in financial terms.   Or else why would people spend thousands of dollars or even millions to acquire such pearls and stones?  So the pearl stands for exceptional beauty that gives joy to the eyes and raises the mind to the higher things of life, the wonders of creation.  It gives much pleasure just to hold it or to wear it.
Within this context, we can better appreciate the parables of today’s gospel.  Both parables speak of the treasure that one finds, either deliberately or by chance.   In the case of the first parable, the man found it by chance whereas in the second instance, the man was seeking it.  In whichever case, the lesson remains that if one finds such a treasure, one will give up everything he or she has and buys it.  When something is a treasure to you, you would do all you can to acquire it, regardless of the cost, be it material or otherwise.   As Jesus says in the gospel, “where your treasure is, there your heart also.”  (Mt 6:21).
So what is your pearl in life?  What is your treasure?  Is your treasure the Kingdom of God?  Again, what is the kingdom of God if not to bask ourselves in His love and in His word.  This was the experience of Jeremiah in the first reading.  “When your words came, I devoured them: your word was my delight and the joy of my heart; for I was called by your name.”   He was seduced by the Word of God.  Listening to the Word of God, he was filled with joy, an attraction that was irresistible.  This is true for all of us who have fallen in love with God and His word.  The more we read the bible, the more we are glued to the Word because His word gives us life, inspiration, encouragement, direction, joy and hope.  Indeed, those who discover the love of God or the power of His word will never be the same again.
But the Kingdom of God is not mere enjoyment, unlike one who finds a pearl of great value and beauty.  The kingdom of God consists also in doing His holy will once we have listened to His word.  Like the merchant in the parable or the man who found the treasure and sold everything to buy it, Jeremiah too gave his life to God by becoming His prophet.  In and out of season, he proclaimed the Word of God to His people out of love for them because he could see disaster ahead of them if they did not repent of their sins.  We too must seek to do His holy will in life if we want to find peace.  Doing God’s will is the only way to find true peace of mind and heart.  There is no greater freedom in life than to know that we are doing His will.    
How can we find this treasure?  There are two ways.  The first is by chance and the other way is to search for it.  In the first parable, the man found the treasure by chance. How true for some of us who found God by chance or rather, by grace.  God came into our life unexpectedly.  Something happened in our life.  It could be a retreat we did not plan to attend; a church we did not expect to enter, or a miracle in our lives.  But when we did, at that moment, we knew that God is real and He is beyond words and description.  At some moment in our life too, we came to realize that this is our vocation, our calling in life.  We are led into doing something passionately for God and for our fellowmen, within or without the church.   This is truly grace.  Because we did not expect, the transformation is miraculous.  
In the second instance, like the merchant, we actively search for God and for His holy will.  For most of us, this would be the way to discovering God and finding our vocation in life.  This calls for deliberate study, discernment, prayer and consultation.  So one cannot simply just say that God has not spoken to them.  At times, God wants us to cooperate with His grace by making use of our natural resources.  Quite often, we find God in the process of doing our work.  When we give ourselves completely to what we are called to do, and in the process of doing it, God will show us what else He wants us to do.  Like the merchant, we must give ourselves wholeheartedly to what we are doing now, our responsibility, and when the time is opportune, the Lord will show us the next step that we should take. 
However, finding God and our vocation or His holy will is not the end.  Like Jeremiah, we need the strength and grace to complete His will.  More often than not, there will be trials ahead of us.  We will face opposition even when doing good, like Jeremiah.  Even when we try to live a peaceful life, others will find trouble for us because our life is a reproach to them.  More so when we have to do the right thing and expose the hypocrisy of our members and leaders.  We will find that we have more enemies simply because we want to do the will of God and proclaim His word of truth and love to the world.  In such moments, we will be like Jeremiah who, under persecution, became angry and disillusioned.  In pain, he cried out, “Woe is me, my mother, for you have borne me to be a man of strife and of dissension for all the land.  I neither lend nor borrow, yet all of them curse me and avenge me on my persecutors.  Your anger is very slow: do not let me be snatched away. Realise that I suffer insult for your sake.” He was also disappointed with the Lord and said to Him, “Lord, God of hosts. I never took pleasure in sitting in scoffers’ company; with your hand on me I held myself aloof, since you had filled me with indignation.  Why is my suffering continual, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Do you mean to be for me a deceptive stream with inconstant waters?”  Indeed, sometimes doing the right thing, the just thing and being misunderstood, ridiculed, ostracized, opposed and slandered is so hurtful.  So much so like Jeremiah, we feel like giving up and throwing in the towel.
Where then do we find strength to carry on in such a situation?  The Lord told Jeremiah to humble himself and refrain from harsh words that do not come from Him.  “If you come back, I will take you back into my service; and if you utter noble, not despicable, thoughts, you shall be as my own mouth. They will come back to you, but you must not go back to them. I will make you a bronze wall fortified against this people. They will fight against you to save you and to deliver you. It is the Lord who speaks.” Instead we must come back to the Lord again and again for inspiration and encouragement.  Indeed, we must return to our first love, our first encounter with the Lord or come back to the Word of God daily and the Eucharist so that we can find the food and bread of life to carry on, fulfilling our responsibilities, doing His holy will and giving ourselves fully to our vocation.  If we persevere each day of our life, we might suffer now and then, but we will find the pearl of peace, joy and love with us always.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved


Sunday 29 July 2018

A CHURCH THAT REACHES OUT

20180730 A CHURCH THAT REACHES OUT


30 JULY, 2018, Monday, 17th Week, Ordinary Time

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Jeremiah 13:1-11 ©

Let this evil people become good for nothing
The Lord said this to me, ‘Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it round your waist. But do not dip it in water.’ And so, as the Lord had ordered, I bought a loincloth and put it round my waist. A second time the word of the Lord was spoken to me, ‘Take the loincloth that you have bought and are wearing round your waist; up! Go to the Euphrates and hide it in a hole in the rock.’ So I went and hid it near the Euphrates as the Lord had ordered me. Many days afterwards the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to the Euphrates and fetch the loincloth I ordered you to hide there.’ So I went to the Euphrates, and I searched, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. The loincloth was spoilt, good for nothing. Then the word of the Lord was addressed to me, Thus says the Lord: In the same way I will spoil the arrogance of Judah and Jerusalem. This evil people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the dictates of their own hard hearts, who have followed alien gods, and served them and worshipped them, let them become like this loincloth, good for nothing. For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I had intended the whole House of Judah to cling to me – it is the Lord who speaks – to be my people, my glory, my honour and my boast. But they have not listened.’

Responsorial Psalm
Deuteronomy 32:18-21 ©
You forget the God who fathered you.
You forget the Rock who begot you,
  unmindful now of the God who fathered you.
The Lord has seen this, and in his anger
  cast off his sons and his daughters.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘I shall hide my face from them,’ he says
  ‘and see what becomes of them.
For they are a deceitful brood,
  children with no loyalty in them.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘They have roused me to jealousy with what is no god,
  they have angered me with their beings of nothing;
I, then, will rouse them to jealousy with what is no people,
  I will anger them with an empty-headed nation.’
You forget the God who fathered you.

Gospel Acclamation
cf.2Th2:14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
Or:
James1:18
Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 13:31-35 ©

The smallest of all seeds grows into the biggest shrub of all
Jesus put a parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’
  He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’
  In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy:
I will speak to you in parables
and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.

A CHURCH THAT REACHES OUT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 13:1-11DT 32:18-21MT 13:31-35  ]
What does it mean to be “church”?  The Church is an assembly of believers.  But the Church does not exist for herself.  She comes together so that the Church could be the light of the World and the salt of the earth.  The Church by its very nature is missionary and outward going.  The Church exists for the world and to bring all into fellowship with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit so that we all can become one family of God united in love and peace.
Today’s parables in the gospel speak of the two-fold nature of the Church, one is inward and the other is outward.  In the first parable of the mustard seed, the Lord described the Church as the budding of the Kingdom of God.  The Church is not identical with the Kingdom of God but she seeks to make the Kingdom of God present in her. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field.  It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.”
The Church therefore is called to be a visible body in the world.  She is to be the tree so that all can come and take shelter in it.  Indeed, the Church exists for the world, to draw people to Christ.  As the Lord said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  (Mt 11:28-30)  She is an oasis for those who yearn for God, those who need to be refreshed and strengthened.  She is a hospital for those who are sick, wounded spiritually and emotionally or discouraged in life.  Indeed, the Church is for all those who are weary and seeking consolation.
She is the Light of the World.  “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  (Mt 5:14)  The Church as the Body of Christ therefore seeks to give direction and purpose to those who are seeking the meaning of life by leading them to the truth and growing in authentic love. St Paul described it as “the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.”  (1 Tim 3:15)
However, the Church cannot be inward-looking, simply attending to the needs of her members, as if it is an exclusive club.  The Church must be out in the world, immersed in the lives of people, whether they are believers or not.  This is what the Lord meant when He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a women took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.”  As yeast, we are called to be a transforming agent in the world.  Christians must therefore be involved in the lives of people.  They cannot isolate themselves from the rest of society if they are to be a transforming agent in society.  That is why the proper mission of the laity is in the world.  The laity is called to be the salt of the earth.  (cf Mt 5:13)  They are to make the presence and love of Christ present in society.  If today the world is so secularized, it is because Christians have failed to evangelize the world.  Either we change the world to become more Christ-like or we allow the world to transform us.  To be the yeast is to transform society by our participation in the lives of the people in the social, economic, political and cultural fields.
In the light of how Jesus described the nature of the Kingdom of God, which the Church is called to be, we must therefore examine how we as Catholics, both as individuals and as a collective body, whether as a diocese, parish or organization, function as Church.  Can we honestly say that our Church has shown itself to be the shelter for the lonely, the troubled, the lost and the marginalized?  In fact, we seem to be offering our services to those who are healthy, those who are well off, and those who do not give us trouble or make themselves a nuisance.  We come to serve the healthy, not so much the weak.  But this is contrary to what the Lord asks of us.  “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  (Mt 9:12f)
Jesus demonstrated this reaching out to the sick and lost in His ministry.   “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”  (Mt 9:35-36)  If we have not shown ourselves to be a compassionate, tolerant, forgiving and all-embracing Church, then we have failed in our calling to be the light to the world.  If we claim to be that light of Christ to the world, then we need to ask whether our community is growing not just in strength and in numbers but in depth.  If we have been a light in the world, why is it that in an average parish of 6000 Catholics, we have hardly forty adult baptisms a year?  Where is the impact of our witnessing?
Secondly, in terms of outreach in society, again we need to ask whether as a Church we are reaching out to those living around us, in our parish boundary or even beyond.  There is a danger of us being too parochial-minded to the extent that we have lost our real purpose as Church.  Some Catholics are very contented to just build up their parish, their church organizations and their neighbourhood groups.  It is about growing their church, making it vibrant and active.  Of course it is necessary to grow the faith of the members, but it must be for the sake of mission. Otherwise, it would be like building an enclave without any real interaction with people outside the church.   Such a church is self-centered, self-seeking and cares more for herself than the world.
When we do not take the trouble to invite our friends and our neigbours to church, or to join us for our social and cultural activities, then we are not acting as a transforming agent of society.  Just focusing on ourselves, our needs and our growth without caring for the larger community, seeking to know them, establishing friendships, mutual understanding and respect, and even working together on social projects, is to have failed in our service to the bigger community.  Most of our parish projects and activities are targeted only at our parishioners.  There is a lack of consciousness of the obligation to reach out beyond the confines of their parish.  The parish cannot just take care of herself, neglecting the larger Church, the needs of the diocese, the larger society within their parish and the nation at large.  So to be a transforming agent, as a parish, a church, a diocese and as individuals, we must make it a point to make new contacts who are not Catholic so that we can share the Good News with them in words and in deeds and, most of all, by our exemplary life of dedication to our work, to the poor and the suffering.
Today, the first reading reminds us that we are the “loincloth” of the Lord.  The loincloth is the most intimate part of a man’s clothing.  It is like our underwear.  Israel was supposed to be God’s loincloth.  Instead, the loincloth was hidden in a hole in a rock.  Jeremiah was instructed to retrieve it after some time. “I searched, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. The loincloth was spoilt, good for nothing.”  Indeed, when we keep our faith hidden from others, we will become that loincloth, good for nothing.  This was what happened to Israel.  The Lord says, “I will spoil the arrogance of Judah and Jerusalem. This evil people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the dictates of their own hard hearts, who have followed alien gods, and served them and worshipped them, let them become like this loincloth, good for nothing.”
This parable also reminds us that if we do not keep ourselves close to the Lord, like the loincloth, we will lose our fervor for the mission, and our intimacy with Him.  By not staying close with the Lord, we will end up inward- looking, self-centred and caring for our interests rather than the Lord’s flock.  “For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I had intended the whole House of Judah to cling to me to be my people, my glory, my honour and my boast. But they have not listened.”
Indeed, let us not forget our calling to be God’s instruments of peace and love, not just to our brothers and sisters but also to all peoples who are seeking peace, love and truth.  The psalmist warns us, “You forget the Rock who begot you, unmindful now of the God who fathered you. The Lord has seen this, and in his anger cast off his sons and his daughters. ‘I shall hide my face from them,’ he says ‘and see what becomes of them. For they are a deceitful brood, children with no loyalty in them.”   Grateful that the Lord has chosen us to be His children, we must now invite the rest of humanity to acknowledge Him as their Lord, God and Father.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved