20181231
PSEUDO-CATHOLICS
31 DECEMBER,
2018, Monday, 7th Day Within Octave of Christmas
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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1 John 2:18-21 ©
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You have been anointed by the Holy One
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Children, these are the last days;
you were told that an Antichrist must
come,
and now several antichrists have already
appeared;
we know from this that these are the last
days.
Those rivals of Christ came out of our own
number, but they had never really belonged;
if they had belonged, they would have
stayed with us;
but they left us, to prove that not one of
them
ever belonged to us.
But you have been anointed by the Holy
One,
and have all received the knowledge.
It is not because you do not know the
truth that I am writing to you
but rather because you know it already
and know that no lie can come from the
truth.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):1-2,11-13 ©
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Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the
earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his
name.
Proclaim his help day by day,
Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,
let the sea and all within it
thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood
shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with
his truth.
Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
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Gospel Acclamation
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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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Or:
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Jn1:14,12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.
To all who received him he gave power to
become children of God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 1:1-18 ©
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The Word was made flesh, and lived among
us
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In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through
him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through
him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of
the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me
because he existed before me.’
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of
us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through
Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus
Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the
Father’s heart,
who has made him known.
PSEUDO-CATHOLICS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 JOHN 2:18-21; JOHN 1:1-18 ]
One of the ironies of
the Catholic Church is that we boast of 1.3 billion Catholics in the world. In
Singapore, on statistics, we have 383,000 Catholics. But how many are really Catholic?
How many practise the faith fervently? How many attend church services
regularly and receive the sacraments? How many are active in
Church? How many subscribe to the teachings of the gospel and the
Church? Therefore, there are Catholics and there are Catholics. Not
all Catholics are truly Catholic. This was so at the onset of the Church.
In the first reading
from St John’s letter, he warned of the days of the Antichrist. “Several antichrists have already
appeared; we know from this that these are the last days. Those rivals of
Christ came out of our own number, but they had never really belonged; if they
had belonged, they would have stayed with us; but they left us, to prove that
not one of them ever belonged to us.” The greatest threat to the Church
is not from without but from within. The strategy of Satan is to divide
the household. This was what Jesus said during His ministry. “If a
kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is
divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mk 3:24f) This was why in His last
testament, He prayed for unity in the Church. “I pray also for those who will
believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the
world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn 17:20f)
There are three kinds of
pseudo-Catholics. Firstly, there are those who call themselves Catholic
but never practise the faith.
They hardly pray and attend church services. They live a life contrary to
the gospel and the teachings of the Church. Those who belong to this group
start by simply being indifferent or complacent to the faith. However,
this negligence soon leads to hostility because they cannot accept the
teachings of the Church that do not agree with their lifestyle. From
being indifferent, they graduate to attacking the Church’s teachings, often
publicly, whilst calling themselves Catholic.
Secondly, there are
those who are selective of the biblical and Church teachings. They pick and choose what they like
and ignore what they do not like. They make the bible accommodate their
preferences. St Augustine warns such people, “If you believe what you
like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you
believe, but yourself.” Indeed, either the entire bible is the Word of
God and therefore infallible or it is not the Word of God because we do not
know which word is true.
Thirdly, there are those
who twist and turn the teachings of the bible and the Church to fit their
lifestyle. They use
scripture texts selectively and interpret them in their favour or
thinking. Because of greed, they preach the prosperity gospel based
on certain texts of the bible. Because they favour divorce or same-sex
union, they will select those texts that they could interpret to show that
homosexuality or divorce is the accepted truth. When we adapt the bible
and reduce it to our standards of judgment, the bible is no longer the
objective norm of truth but we have become the judge. If we want to
know the truth, we need to examine a truth not based on selected scripture
verses but what the entire bible says and what the Church has taught for
centuries.
However, why is there
deviation in the way we interpret the scriptures, even among Christians? John says, “they had never really
belonged; if they had belonged, they would have stayed with us; but they left
us, to prove that not one of them ever belonged to us.” Indeed,
even though they might be Catholic, many of them are just nominal
Catholics. They do not share our faith in Christ and our faith in the
teachings of Christ and His Church. They are only Catholic in name but
not in fact. This is understandable because they do not know Jesus.
“He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know
him.” There are of course those who know Jesus but because of
self-interests, they are not ready to accept Jesus as His teachings contradict
their lifestyle. They reject Jesus for the world. St John wrote,
“He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him.”
If we want to be true
Catholic Christians, we must first and foremost accept Jesus as the Word of God
in person. “In
the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He
was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came to be, not one thing
had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that
life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that
darkness could not overpower.” Only when we believe that Jesus is
the Word of God from the beginning, that is, with the Father, that we will be
able to accept the truth of what Jesus has taught us.
Only because Jesus is
from the beginning with God, could He reveal to us the truth about God, about
who we are, our origin, purpose and destiny in life. John wrote, “Grace and truth
have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son,
who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” Indeed, because
Christ is the Son of God, could we accept all that Jesus said even when we do
not understand or agree with Him. As the Word of God, He is “the true
light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world.” The
question is, ‘Do we have faith in Jesus as the Son of God’?
If we accept Jesus as
the Son of God, then we will accept all that the bible says and what the Church
teaches because He has handed over the Word to the apostles and to the Church. Whatever the Church teaches
is authorized by Him because He promised to be with the Church until the end of
time. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations … and teaching them
to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.” (Mt 28:19f) To Peter He said, “You are
Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of
Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:18f) This is because the Holy
Spirit has been given to the Church through baptism, confirmation and the
Sacrament of Holy Orders. St John says, “But you have been anointed by
the Holy One, and have all received the knowledge. It is not because you do not
know the truth that I am writing to you but rather because you know it already
and know that no lie can come from the truth.”
In the final analysis,
our faith is dependent on the witness of our fellow Christians, especially the
early Christians who encountered the Lord personally. Our faith is founded on those
apostles and disciples who had seen the Lord. As the gospel says, we need
to listen to John the Baptist. “He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for
the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light. This is the one of whom I said: He
who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.”
We need to rely on the apostles who saw the glory of the Lord. “The Word
was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his
as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
If we do, then we will
enter into the fullness of life in Christ because we share in His adopted
sonship in the Holy Spirit at baptism.
“But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all
who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of
the flesh or will of man but of God himself.” To be baptized is to be one
with the Lord and accept His word and Spirit so that we can live out our sonship
and daughtership in Him. By so doing, we enjoy the dignity and life as
God’s children.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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