20200101
UNVEILING
THE FACE OF GOD IS THE WAY TO PEACE
01 January,
2020, Wednesday, Mary, Holy Mother of God
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Numbers 6:22-27 ©
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They are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will
bless them
The Lord spoke to
Moses and said, ‘Say this to Aaron and his sons: “This is how you are to bless
the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
May
the Lord bless you and keep you.
May
the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May
the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.”
This is how they
are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,6,8 ©
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O
God, be gracious and bless us.
O
God, be gracious and bless us
and
let your face shed its light upon us.
So
will your ways be known upon earth
and
all nations learn your saving help.
O
God, be gracious and bless us.
Let
the nations be glad and exult
for
you rule the world with justice.
With
fairness you rule the peoples,
you
guide the nations on earth.
O
God, be gracious and bless us.
Let the
peoples praise you, O God;
let
all the peoples praise you.
May
God still give us his blessing
till
the ends of the earth revere him.
O
God, be gracious and bless us.
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Second reading
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Galatians 4:4-7 ©
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God sent his Son, born of a woman
When the
appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the
Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.
The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our
hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a
son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has
made you heir.
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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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Gospel
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Luke 2:16-21 ©
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The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby lying in the
manger
The shepherds
hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the
manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about
him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say.
As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And
the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen; it was exactly as they had been told.
When
the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name
Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.
UNVEILING THE
FACE OF GOD IS THE WAY TO PEACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ NUMBERS 6:22-27; GALATIANS 4:4-7; LUKE 2:16-21]
On this first day of the
New Christian Year, our hearts are longing for peace. But more than ever, not in spite, but
because of globalization, technology and advancement in communication and
social media, the world is more divided than ever.
So what is the cause of
division in the world? It is because the world has sought to remove the
face of God from the earth. The
world has been hoodwinked into believing that religions is the cause of
disunity in the world. It is true that some fanatical and
extremist religious leaders and their members have sown division and
hostility. But these are in the minority. Most religious leaders
and their members are peacemakers, lovers of all men and women, regardless of
race, language or religion. They subscribe to the promotion of
inter-religious dialogue as the way to resolving religious conflicts.
With the help of the State, inter-religious dialogue can bring greater harmony,
mutual respect, esteem and appreciation of each other’s religions, promoting
cooperation in the works of mercy and justice. So in truth, religions
cannot be the cause of division in the world.
So, the real culprit of
disunity in the world today is an extreme form of secularism that is hostile to
religions. Such
negative secularism seeks to marginalize all religions and remove them
completely from public space. They do not want people to see
God or encounter Him. Under the pretext of blaming divisions
in the world on religions, the Devil is misleading political leaders into
believing that secularism without religions is the way to restore peace and
unity in their country and among peoples. This is a fallacy and a
misguided approach. If secularism can promote world peace, then why are
people in the world still so divided, especially in first world countries where
secularism is entrenched?
Indeed, by removing God
from the face of the earth, secularism has taken the place of God. Since there are so many gods in the
world today all claiming to have the truth, or that none have the truth, as
relativism says, then each one exists for himself. There is no longer any
basis for any agreement as to what is right or wrong. What
was wrong in the past today has been normalized. Abortion was
clearly wrong but today it has been normalized. In some
countries, abortion, which is cold and selfish murder, has even been extended
to newly born babies. Suicide, which is considered a crime, is now
promoted, as is euthanasia. Marriage, which is for the purpose of
procreation and companionship, has now been reduced to mere companionship,
separated from the act of procreation. This is why marriage is redefined
as a union of two persons, regardless of sexual orientation.
Extra-marital affairs which was considered the cause of breakdown in marriages
is now promoted as a right and is normal.
Most of all, secularism
removes all hope for the future from humanity. Since there is no God and no life
after death, human beings no longer have a purpose to live for, not even in
this world. Life is reduced to merely material and physical enjoyment,
comfort and pleasure. Work is for the purpose of earning money so that we
can live a luxurious and easy life. There is no life after death, no
retribution beyond this life. So what is there to live for except for
ourselves and for this life on earth? The motivation to make sacrifices
for the future, for the sake of our loved ones, for the poor and the suffering,
to do good for humanity, has lost its ground. If we do it, it is only out
of humanitarian compassion. But when we see so much sufferings which we
cannot alleviate, we will fall into despair.
This is why human
ecology and environmental ecology are inseparable. The world is only concerned about
environmental ecology. The root of all problems is in truth human
ecology. When relationships are fragmented, when families and marriages
are destroyed, the individual loses his or her security and identity. Indeed,
when the human person is broken, dysfunctional, lacking holistic love, a stable
family, a supportive community and most of all a religion, he cannot recognize
himself anymore. Out of his bitterness and wounds, he will
respond to situations outside of him by adopting aggressive and defensive
behavior. He will seek his own good over others; his interests and rights
over others. We see so much anger and selfishness in the social media.
It is evident that these people are deeply hurt, insecure, resentful,
unforgiving because they have never experienced true love, compassion and
forgiveness.
That is why only God can
heal the broken person. Only God can show the true face of man. But man does not know his own face
unless he first sees the face of God. This is because we are created in
His image and likeness. Truly, seeing the face of God is the most
basic and fundamental step to restoring the dignity of the human person and
with that the rest of society. For this reason, God told Moses to
bless the people thus, “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let
his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to
you and bring you peace.” Twice, we ask the Lord to uncover and shine His
face on us. To see the face of God is to encounter Him deeply in our
hearts and in our lives. When we encounter the mystery of God’s love in
the depth of our hearts and minds, there will be healing, restoration and integrity.
Cut off from God because of secularism, man loses his orientation, goal and
purpose in life.
This is why on the first
day of the Christian Year and the Calendar Year, we celebrate the Feast of
Mary, the Mother of God. In celebrating this feast, we are firstly saying
that God has become man through Mary.
Christ is truly God and yet truly a man like us all except that He is without
sin. In Christ, we see the face of God. (Jn 1:14; 18) “He who has seen me has seen the
Father.’ (Jn 14:9) In the life of
Jesus, His words, teaching, miracles, passion, death and resurrection, the
meaning of life, the mystery of suffering, the dignity of man, the origin and
goal of man is explained. He is the Way, the Truth and the
Life. (Jn 1:6)
In Christ, our dignity
has been restored.
St Paul emphatically states “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent
the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, “Abba,
Father”, and it is this that makes you a son.” Our dignity is that of sonship
in the Son. We are no longer slaves of our passions, selfishness, greed
and of the Evil One. All of us, without distinction, are children of God.
We are not slaves and no one is to be discriminated because of language, race,
religion and social status. We are all brothers and sisters in
Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ
Jesus.” (Gal 3:28) In
assuming our humanity, Jesus shows us how to be authentically human. To
help us overcome the fear of death, He died to death and rose to a new life, to
let us know that death is the not the last word but eternal life with the
Father. We are therefore no longer slaves of the Devil because we no
longer fear death.
As we celebrate this
Feast, we, too, are called to be like Mary who is called the Theotokos, which
means the Bearer of God. Like
Mary, we are called to unveil the face of God in the world wherever we are, at
home, in our communities and in society and at work. By our actions,
words, love, compassion and selfless service, we bring God to the world and
show His face to those who have not yet seen Him. We are called to be
like the shepherds in announcing the Good News. For this to happen, we must
learn from Mary in contemplating on the face of Christ so that we can share in
His likeness.
Praise and thanksgiving
follows contemplation.
“And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard
and seen.” Unless we contemplate on His face, we cannot give thanks to
God and glorify Him as the shepherds did. With the psalmist, we pray, “O God,
be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
