20190202
BE
PROPHETIC IN YOUR LIFE AND MISSION
02 FEBRUARY,
2019, Saturday, Presentation of the Lord
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
EITHER:
|
First reading
|
Malachi 3:1-4 ©
|
|
The Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his
Temple
|
The Lord God says this: Look, I am going
to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking
will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are
longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to
resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he
is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as
refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold
and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be
made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as
in former days, as in the years of old.
OR:
|
Alternative First reading
|
Hebrews 2:14-18 ©
|
|
He took to himself descent from Abraham
|
Since all the children share the same
blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could
take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free
all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent
from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely
like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high
priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has
himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 23(24):7-10 ©
|
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of
glory!
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the
valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of
glory!
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies,
he is the king of glory.
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
When a Feast of the
Lord falls on a weekday, there is no reading after the Psalm and before the
Gospel.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Lk2:32
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The light to enlighten the Gentiles
and give glory to Israel, your people.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 2:22-40 ©
|
|
My eyes have seen your salvation
|
When the day came for them to be purified
as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of
the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord –
and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of
the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Now
in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he
looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had
been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he
had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the
Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the
Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go
in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the
nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel.’
As the child’s father and mother stood
there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed
them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the
fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is
rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the
secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
There
was a prophetess also, 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.
BE PROPHETIC IN
YOUR LIFE AND MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ MALACHI 3:1-4; HEBREWS 2:14-18; LUKE 2:22-40 ]
The feast of the
Presentation of the Lord calls to mind our own consecration to the Lord when we
were baptized. On
the day of our baptism, we too were presented to the Lord in His Temple,
offering our lives to Him, thereby sharing in His kingly, prophetic and
priestly office. In a special way, today’s feast is also celebrated as
the day for those in Consecrated life. For in consecrated life, religious
brothers and sisters commit themselves more radically in living out their
baptismal vows to the Lord.
They live out their
baptismal calling through the charisms that the Lord has given to them. Most of these charisms belong to
the contemplative and social dimensions of the Church. Most religious are
involved in contemplative prayer, education, medical aid, social development,
social services to disadvantaged children, your people, women in crisis,
shelter for the homeless, the aged and the sick, helping migrants and
refugees. Unlike ordained ministers whose role is basically to preach the
gospel and minister to the people through the celebration of the sacraments,
hence they are better known as priests; religious are called to be
prophets. This prophetic calling underpins all their activities.
The primary role of
religious is indeed a prophetic role, both in their lifestyle and by the
services they provide to the People of God. This is the theme of today’s scripture
readings. All the scripture readings speak of the prophetic role of the
People of God in general, and more specifically it applies to consecrated
persons and religious brothers and sisters. Religious are called to be
the apex of the Church’s holiness. If the Church were to point to the
holiness of the Church, she would refer to the religious because these are
brothers and sisters who have committed themselves to live their baptismal
commitments to the highest and deepest degree, more so than anyone else.
Indeed, without the religious, the Church would have lacked a powerful sign of
the holiness of the Church. They are called to prepare the People of God and
lead them to a life of purification and holiness. “Look, I am going to
send my messenger to prepare a way before me.” How could religious and
consecrated persons lead the People of God to the Lord?
How could those in
consecrated life be a sign? Firstly, they are called to be signs of
contradiction to the world, just as Jesus was. “You see this child: he is destined
for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that
is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the
secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.'” Religious too are called to
be prophetic signs for the world so that people will begin to wonder what life
and love is all about; and most of all, they will be challenged to confront the
lifestyle and values that they have imbibed from the world.
Accordingly, the
prophetic sign of consecrated people lies first in their lifestyle, even before
exercising their charisms for the service of the People of God. The Constitution of the Church says, “The
profession of the evangelical counsels, then, appears as a sign which can and
ought to attract all the members of the Church to an effective and prompt
fulfillment of the duties of their Christian vocation.” (cf LG No 44.3)
Above all, living out the evangelical counsels is the means by which religious
grow in charity and the capacity to embrace the weak and to give more
generously of themselves to others.
Indeed, through their
evangelical counsel of poverty, the religious shows to the world that life is
more than just acquiring things, money and living a life of pleasure and
self-indulgence.
By living a life of poverty and simplicity, the religious makes an important
point to the world that happiness in life is one of communion with our brothers
and sisters, and one of service to the People of God. Most of all,
poverty is a sign of total dependence of God, living in faith and trust that
the Lord will provide. Through their detachment from the material things
of this world, it brings true freedom in life so that they could give
themselves freely for service without conditions and use their wealth and
resources purely for the good of others, especially those who need them most.
Through the evangelical
counsel of chastity, religious are called to devote themselves entirely to
Christ who is their spouse. A
life of chastity is an invitation to live in charity and communion with their
fellow brothers and sisters. Today in a world where people are individualistic,
it is difficult to build communion because everyone has his or her own
mind. Religious life is truly a great challenge and a source of
purification and sanctification because each individual is called to die to his
or her own preferences for the greater good of the community. It calls
for patience and acceptance of others who are different in character, in
temperament and in lifestyles and needs. Living in community means
learning to tolerate and accept both the strengths, the weaknesses and
eccentricities of the members of the community.
Through the evangelical
counsel of obedience, the religious sends a sign to the world of relativism and
individualism that humility and obedience to God’s will, as often expressed
through their legitimate superiors, is what will ensure that we are walking in
the footsteps of the Lord. Indeed,
it is not always easy to accept the will of our superiors, and sometimes they
do make mistakes. Some of us definitely think we make better decisions
and better managers than our superiors. Yet, without obedience, the community
will be fragmented with each going his or her own way, destroying communion and
unity. Obedience to God requires humility and surrender to God’s
will. Again, the vow of obedience is a powerful sign of contradiction in
today’s world. Very few people believe in obedience. It is all
about building consensus; not about what is true. Even children no longer
obey their parents. Even if some claim they believe in obedience, it is
so only if those in charge agree with them. Otherwise, they will say that
they cannot simply submit to blind obedience.
Secondly, the prophetic
life of consecrated persons is to give others hope and an experience of God’s
love as a foretaste in their lives. This was what Simeon himself experienced
when he prayed the Nunc Dimittis, “My eyes have seen the salvation which you
have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and
the glory of your people Israel.” From this perspective, the
contemplative and social charisms of the religious are important signs to allow
those who feel the absence of God and His love to experience concretely the
humble and unselfish service and charity of the religious in helping them.
However, these prophetic
signs can only be lived if we are identified with the sufferings of our
fellowmen. This is what the
letter of Hebrews is asking of us, to go out to the marginalized, to the
battlefields, to where the poor and the wounded are suffering. The author
said, “It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his
brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of
God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself
been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.”
Unless we can identify with the sufferings, the aspirations, the pains and
wounds of our fellowmen, we will not be in touch with their lives or be moved
in our hearts to reach out to them. What we do not see, we are not
moved. This explains why religious superiors and councilors must never
forget, as parish priests and bishops too, that we are primarily pastors and
ministers, not CEOs and managers. There is a danger that we may become so
bureaucratic that we lack connection with the ground and the people who are
struggling in their lives each day, whilst we live in our golden cage.
Indeed, unless we share
in their pains and aspirations, we will not be able to help them effectively. This is what Hebrews said of Jesus.
“Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, Christ too shared
equally in it, so that by his death he could take away all the power of the
devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in
slavery all their lives by the fear of death.” Jesus showed us the way to
overcome the fear of death by dying so that we know that death is not the last
word. Without fear of death, religious and all of us can give up our
lives more easily on this earth, in adventure, and taking risks in serving the
poor, the needy and the suffering.
But above all, if we
desire to be true prophets of our Lord, then we must make time to contemplate
on our Lord daily in the Eucharist and in the Word of God. Jesus, as the gospel says, is the
sign “for the fall and for the rising of many.” If we live the
evangelical counsels, it is because they are based on the words and examples of
our Lord Himself. If we are able to assume the sufferings of humanity and
reach out to them, it is because of Jesus’ example of always being with the
people. His office was on the streets, in houses, on the boat and shore,
and in open fields and deserts. The Lord wants to be with His people and
inspire us all to live His life of total detachment from the worldly values and
pursuits of life. In the final analysis, no religious or consecrated
persons can live a consecrated life unless he or she contemplates deeply on the
face of our Lord daily.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment