20190214
BEING
A MOTHER CHURCH
14 FEBRUARY,
2019, Thursday, Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Ezekiel 47 :
1-2, 8-9, 12
Then he brought me back to xthe door of the temple, and behold, ywater was issuing from below zthe threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east).
The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the
temple, south of athe altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of bthe north gate and led me around on the outside to cthe outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was
trickling out on the south side.
And he said to me, “This water flows toward the
eastern region and goes down into hthe Arabah, and enters the sea;2 when the water flows into ithe sea, the water will become fresh.3 9 And wherever the river goes,4 every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be
very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea5 may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
And on the banks, mon both sides of the river, there will grow nall kinds of trees for food. oTheir leaves will not wither, nor their
fruit fail, pbut they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them
flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and ptheir leaves for healing.”
1Peter 2:4-9
As you come to him, a living
stone nrejected
by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 oyou
yourselves like living
stones are being built up as pa
spiritual house, to be qa
holy priesthood, rto
offer spiritual sacrifices sacceptable
to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands
in Scripture:
t“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a
cornerstone chosen and precious,
uand
whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 So the honor is for you who vbelieve,
but for those who vdo
not believe,
w“The
stone that the builders rejected
has
become the cornerstone,”1
8 and
x“A
stone of stumbling,
and
a rock of offense.”
They
stumble because they disobey the word, yas
they were destined
to do.
9 But you are za
chosen race, aa
royal bpriesthood, ca
holy nation, da
people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him
who called you eout
of darkness into fhis
marvelous light
John 2:13-22
tThe Passover of the
Jews was at hand, and Jesus uwent
up to Jerusalem. 14 vIn
the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the
money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of
cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured
out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And
he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take
these things away; do not make wmy
Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered
that it was written, x“Zeal
for your house will consume me.”
18 So the Jews said to him, y“What
sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus
answered them, z“Destroy
this temple, and in three days aI
will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has
taken forty-six years to build this temple,3 and will you raise it up in three
days?” 21 But he was
speaking about bthe
temple of his body. 22 When
therefore he was raised from the dead, chis
disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed dthe
Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
BEING A MOTHER
CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EZEKIEL 47:1-2.8-9.12; 1 PETER 2:4-9; JOHN 2:13-22 ]
The Cathedral is the
“Mother Church” of the archdiocese. It is the seat of the archbishop.
The Cathedral is mother in many ways. She was the first church to be
built in Singapore. From the Cathedral, the other churches in the parish
gradually evolved. But this is not the most important reason for the
Cathedral to be called “mother.” She is called to be a model for all
other parishes in the way she fulfills her pastoral and missionary role of the
Church. The Cathedral must be an exemplary model of what every church
should be. What does it take to play her role as mother?
As mother church, the
Cathedral is called to be life-giving as all mothers do. This is what the first reading says
with respect to the Temple in Jerusalem. “This water flows east down to
the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters
wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will
live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings
health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either
bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and
fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this
water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the
leaves medicinal.” The Cathedral, if it were to be truly the mother
Church, must therefore seek to be a blessing for all who come to her, giving
life, growth, nurturing and healing to all.
This means that the
Cathedral must balance carefully, the mission ad intra and ad extra. On one hand, she is responsible for
serving the Catholics in the archdiocese and all who come to visit the
Cathedral from all over the world. However, she must always be
missionary-minded in seeking out Catholics who have lapsed and lost their
faith; and those who do not know Christ and His gospel. The Cathedral
cannot be contented simply with being a mother, taking care of her own children.
This would be too-inward looking and narrow-minded. Rather, the Church
must be missionary in going out to the field, the market square and society at
large to announce the Good News to all.
With respect to the
mission ad intra, the Church as mother brings forth new children for the church
through the Sacraments of Initiation. Through the waters of baptism, the catechumens
are given the new life of the Spirit and the power of witnessing. This is
why the Cathedral needs to provide instruction for non-Catholics who are
interested to know Christ. This is why RCIA is provided at the
Cathedral to reach out to non-Catholics who are working in the city or come to
the Cathedral to seek God. Last year, the Cathedral received more than 120
new members into the Church during the Easter Vigil, restoring the position of
the Cathedral as a mother church. It is truly encouraging, especially in
the first year after the restoration of the physical Cathedral in 2017 to its
glory and magnificence following years of neglect.
As mother, she does not
just give birth to new children of faith but continues to nurture them in their
faith so that “all of us come
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity,
to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” (Eph 4:13) This is done by having regular
spiritual talks and meditation given in the Cathedral, especially during the
seasons of Lent and Advent to prepare the faithful for the great celebration of
Christmas and Easter. Other formation talks are regularly given as well,
such as talks for Young Adults. Besides spiritual input, the Cathedral
screens religious movies that could edify the faithful and Sacred Concerts to
inspire the faithful. These are some of the means of nurturing the
people in faith.
However, the Cathedral
is not just a place of instruction, but primarily it is a place of worship and
prayer. This is what the
Lord said in the gospel. “My house shall be called a house of prayer’;
but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Mt 21:13) It is therefore of great
importance that the liturgy celebrated at the Cathedral be celebrated with
dignity and solemnity. This means appropriate hymns are sung,
people are participating actively, the ministers assisting in the liturgy are
well instructed and performing their roles in a fitting manner. Of
course, the celebrant must celebrate the mass prayerfully and preach the Word
of God in an edifying manner.
Besides the liturgical
celebrations, to promote the Cathedral as a house of prayer, the Cathedral
provides a 24-hour adoration
chapel for those who need to seek the Lord for consolation and
strength. This chapel is open to all who come to seek refuge in the
Lord. Even the main Cathedral is open to those who wish to linger around
after mass to pray. There are also other devotions promoted by the
Cathedral to enrich the liturgy and the life of the people, such as Devotion to
the Sacred Heart, Divine Mercy devotions, etc. These devotions help
to strengthen the spiritual life of our faithful and give them an affective
dimension of their faith in Christ through the saints and our Blessed
Mother. This is what St Peter exhorts us, “The Lord is the living stone,
rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to
him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices
which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a
spiritual house.” We need to cultivate a deeper intimacy with our Lord in
prayer, meditation and in devotions.
However, the Church
cannot be simply ad–intra
and inward–looking. This is what St Peter said to the early
Christians. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated
nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the
darkness into his wonderful light.” We are called to announce and sing
the praises of God to all of humanity. When Jesus said, “‘Take all this
out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market’. Then his disciples
remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me.”
Zeal for the house of
the Lord should make us think of outreach, first to our lapsed Catholics,
homebound Catholics, and then those who do not know the Lord. There are many Catholics who do not go to
Church. Many have left the Church after baptism or confirmation,
especially the young people. For various reasons, they have left.
Some are disillusioned with the Church and her teachings, or the scandals that happened,
or been hurt by church leaders through their words and actions. Others
have left because of negligence and loss of faith through listening to the
world without recourse to the Church for guidance. To this effect, the
Cathedral has been promoting “Landings” to help lapsed Catholics to return to
the Church. Through such programs, many have found back their
faith. Thanks to the caring, non-judgmental and understanding
facilitators!
As a service to people
at large, the Cathedral has opened her doors to non-Catholics in her outreach. She participates in the annual
Night Festival with us promoting Peace and Harmony through the lighting of the
candles. She has a heritage center to welcome non-Catholics to have a
view of the treasuries of the Church and her history. She holds sacred
concerts every year at Easter and Christmas to welcome all, including people of
other faiths and nationalities.
The crown of it all, of
course, is the social mission of the Cathedral. She expresses her faith
in action through charity. She
provides free food to the needy every Sunday for lunch. She has a social
mission fund to take care of all the poor that knocks at her doors.
She is there to show the love and mercy of Christ to such people. Indeed,
with the psalmist, we can rejoice and say that indeed, the Cathedral is “give
joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells. It
is here that we experience God our “refuge and strength, a helper close at
hand, in time of distress.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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