20190228
PROTECTING
THE VULNERABLE
28 FEBRUARY,
2019, Thursday, 7th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Ecclesiasticus 5:1-10 ©
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Do not delay your return to the Lord
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Do not give your heart to your money,
or say, ‘With this I am
self-sufficient.’
Do not be led by your appetites and energy
to follow the passions of your
heart.
And do not say, ‘Who has authority over
me?’
for the Lord will certainly be
avenged on you.
Do not say, ‘I sinned, and what happened
to me?’
for the Lord’s forbearance is
long.
Do not be so sure of forgiveness
that you add sin to sin.
And do not say, ‘His compassion is great,
he will forgive me my many
sins’;
for with him are both mercy and wrath,
and his rage bears heavy on
sinners.
Do not delay your return to the Lord,
do not put it off day after
day;
for suddenly the Lord’s wrath will blaze
out,
and at the time of vengeance
you will be utterly destroyed.
Do not set your heart on ill-gotten gains,
they will be of no use to you
on the day of disaster.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
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Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of
the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of
scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day
and night.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never
fade;
and all that he does shall
prosper.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the
wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked
leads to doom.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their
perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.1Th2:13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really
is:
God’s message, and not some human
thinking.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 9:41-50 ©
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If your hand should cause you to sin,
cut it off
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If
anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ,
then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.
‘But
anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have
faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his
neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for
you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into
the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut
it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and
be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it
is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have
two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire
go out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if
salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves
and be at peace with one another.’
PROTECTING THE
VULNERABLE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ecclesiasticus 5:1-8; Ps 1:1-4,6; Mk 9:41-50 ]
The gospel text today must be seen in
relation to the earlier saying of Jesus that, “Whoever welcomes one
such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but
the one who sent me.” (Mk 9:37) In saying this, Jesus gives us the
basic principle for human rights. Every person, even if he were a child,
insignificant he might appear to us, is a child of God. Every person is
identified with the Lord and belongs to the Father. To welcome a child is
to welcome the Lord who is one with the Father. The dignity of a person
lies in the fact that he or she is a child of God and a brother or sister of
our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, the Lord said, “If anyone gives
you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you
solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.”
It is within this
context that we are called to reflect on the protection of the
vulnerable. Who are those considered vulnerable? First and foremost, the vulnerable would
be those who are children, innocent and receptive. By extension, the
vulnerable would include domestic helpers, low wage foreign workers, those who
are physically and mentally challenged, the elderly and even those adults who
emotionally weak. These groups of people must be protected from abuses,
especially sexual and physical abuse by those who take advantage of them.
Indeed, abusing the vulnerable is considered such a heinous sin and crime
against humanity and society. This is particularly true with regard to
sexual and physical abuse of children. That is why the State has
increased the penalties for such offences. So serious is the sin against
vulnerable people, especially children, that the Lord said, “But anyone who is
an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be
better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck.”
However, in truth, those
who are abusing others have become vulnerable as well. Pedophiles were once victims of
traumatic sexual exposure, molestation, or even rape before they became
predators and oppressors. This is true even for those with sex
addictions. It is always the result of an awakening to a sexual
experience in their childhood or teens, for which they were not properly
prepared. Similarly, with respect to other forms of addictions such as
pornography, sex, gambling and alcohol. On one hand, they are predators
and oppressors, but from the perspective of the counsellors, they were also equally
vulnerable to those areas of addiction.
How should we deal with
abusers of such vulnerable people? They are harming others and society
because they are considered predators and oppressors. However, they are
also harming themselves because they are vulnerable to young children, sex,
gambling and alcohol. The truth is, when one is suffering from an
emotional, psychological disorder such as pedophilia, sex addiction or
gambling, they are not able to control themselves. It is a disorder of the
mind because they cannot resist even if they desire to. This is the power
of conditioning through exposure, experience and repeated experiences.
Therefore, we need to protect others from them, and them from others, so
that no one gets hurt, including the predators.
Hence, the appropriate
measure to take against them is to cut them off from their sins. This is what the Lord
suggests. “If your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better
for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell,
into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you
sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than to have two feet
and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it
out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than
to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor
their fire go out.”
In other words, we need
to put them in a place where they are safe so that others can be safe. We must remove them from the
occasions of sin. This is the appropriate punishment. Because of
the severity of some crimes like pedophilia and drug addictions, the world asks
for severe punishment in prison and in some places, caning as well.
However, is this the best way to protect society by imposing such forms of
punishment? Can physical punishment heal those who are
already psychologically addicted to one thing or another? Of course, if
we speaking about those who commit crimes deliberately, freely and knowingly,
physical punishment could certainly help. Even then, education and
reformation is necessary to enlighten the criminal so that he or she would have
a change of heart and mind. In this way, when he or she is released from
prison, they will not reoffend again.
Consequently, we must be
clear about the purpose of punishment. Is it to take revenge? Or is it to
prevent further offences and to send a message to society that this crime in
intolerable? If the purpose of punishment is to seek revenge, an eye for
an eye, then as Mahatma Ghandi says, “The whole world goes blind!” Such
an approach is not Christian at all. Even the Lord said, “You have heard
that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say
to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right
cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your
coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go
also the second mile.” (Mt 5:38-41)
Instead, the Lord asks
of us to forgive and pray for them.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for
he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:43-45) However, this does not mean that
we continue to allow the offender to keep on offending others. We
need to keep them safe by not allowing them to harm others and themselves
further. So regardless, whether we put them in prison or confine them to
a certain place and be kept under constant vigilance, we must do it out of
mercy for those who are vulnerable to sex, pedophilia, drugs, etc.
At the same time, we need to educate them and heal them of their past
wounds of sexual abuse and physical abuse.
Unless we do this, sex
predators and abusers, drug addicts, gambling and alcohol addicts will not have
the courage to submit themselves to healing. Their pride will prevent
them from seeking help. This
is what the first reading is warning us about. “Do not be led by your appetites
and energy to follow the passions of your heart. And do not say, ‘Who has
authority over me?'” Indeed, those who are suffering from disorder and
addictions are seldom willing to admit that they are in that state. They
think they can handle the problem on their own. They fall into
self-sufficiency, like the rich man. “Do not give your heart to your
money, or say, ‘With this I am self-sufficient.'” Over-confidence
is the downfall of man because it is the offspring of pride. As a result,
they will fall into sin and commit offences.
What is worse is that
they seek false consolation from God.
They are guilty and instead of seeking help, they try to console themselves
that God is always merciful and forgiving. Sirach warns such people for
thinking that “the Lord’s forbearance is long. Do not be so sure of forgiveness
that you add sin to sin. And do not say, ‘His compassion is great, he will
forgive me my many sins’; for with him are both mercy and wrath, and his wage bears
heavy on sinners. Do not delay your return to the Lord, do not put it off day
after day; for suddenly the Lord’s wrath will blaze out, and at the time of
vengeance you will be utterly destroyed.” It is true that God is
merciful, but unless we repent, we will hurt ourselves even more and those
people we love and the innocent people around us.
Instead, let us turn to
the Lord for assistance by walking in the way of the Lord, in truth and love. “Happy the man who has placed his
trust in the Lord. Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the
wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night.
He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its
fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does
shall prosper.” Indeed, this is what the Lord asks of us, that we be
salted. “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is
a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it
again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.”
To be salted means to preserve ourselves from sin and from harming others and
ourselves through living a life of integrity. But to be salted also means
that we must be imbued with the Word of God and the mind of Christ so that we
can act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly before God. (cf Micah 6:8) By so doing, we bring peace to
ourselves and to others.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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