20191102
CONFIDENT
HOPE IN SALVATION
02 NOVEMBER,
2019, Saturday, All Souls
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet or Black.
(The following psalms
and readings are selected from the many options for this day.)
|
First reading
|
Wisdom 3:1-9 ©
|
The souls of the virtuous are in the hands
of God,
no torment shall ever touch them.
In the eyes of the unwise, they did appear
to die,
their going looked like a disaster,
their leaving us, like annihilation;
but they are in peace.
If they experienced punishment as men see
it,
their hope was rich with immortality;
slight was their affliction, great will
their blessings be.
God has put them to the test
and proved them worthy to be with him;
he has tested them like gold in a furnace,
and accepted them as a holocaust.
When the time comes for his visitation they
will shine out;
as sparks run through the stubble, so will
they.
They shall judge nations, rule over
peoples,
and the Lord will be their king for ever.
They who trust in him will understand the
truth,
those who are faithful will live with him
in love;
for grace and mercy await those he has
chosen.
|
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 22(23) ©
|
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your
staff;
with these you give me
comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow
me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
|
Second reading
|
Romans 5:5-11 ©
|
Hope is not deceptive, because the love of
God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.
We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men.
It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone
really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God
loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to
make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s
anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still
enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved
by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because
we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
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Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn6:39
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
It is my Father’s will, says the Lord,
that I should lose nothing of all he has
given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last
day.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 7:11-17 ©
|
Jesus went to a town called Nain,
accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the
gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of
the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do
not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers
stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man
sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled
with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God
has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and
all over the countryside.
CONFIDENT HOPE
IN SALVATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ IS 25:6-9; PS 26; ROM 5:5-11; LK 7:11-17 ]
The departure of a loved
one always brings sadness.
More so when we lose someone we love in this life. More difficult still when
that someone is so dear to you or one whom you depend much on. This was
the case of the widow in today’s gospel who lost her only son. We can
feel the pain of loss with her, not simply because he was dear to her but also
because he was her security. We can therefore understand and appreciate
Jesus’ spontaneous response in reaching out to help her. He felt sorry
for her. So will we, when we come across such incidents. It
is a human response to human tragedy.
Losing our loved ones is
just the first experience of pain. In our quiet moments, we think of them and
wonder where they are now.
Are they happy? Do they still exist? Are they alive? Or are
they gone forever? Or are they suffering in loneliness, wondering around
like hungry and restless ghosts? For Christians, we are fortunate because
we believe in the immortality of the soul and resurrection of the body.
For us, therefore, life continues after death. Life is changed, not
ended. With the psalmist, our final hope is to be with God. “I am
sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in
him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!” People without faith
are most pitiable because they have only this life to live. Once dead,
they are gone forever, extinguished from the face of creation.
What is the basis and
certainty of Christian Hope in the future life if not in Christ, who is the
Resurrection and the Life? Christ is our resurrection and our hope. In the gospel today, Jesus presented
Himself as a life-giver, one who has the power even to grant life to the dead
man. This is the work of God. By His death and resurrection,
He showed us what our future life would be. Because of His resurrection,
we are confident that we, too, will be raised like Him. “Christ has been raised
from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For
as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the
dead.” (1 Cor 15:20f)
But why is it that many
of us Catholics still live in fear of death and doubt about our salvation, even
though we believe in the resurrection of the dead? The truth is that when we look at
ourselves, many of us know that we are not saints. We have much imperfections
and selfishness in us. Regardless how much we try, we keep falling into
sin. We feel guilty and many of us condemn ourselves. We feel so
ashamed of our sins and count ourselves unworthy to enter into the presence of
God. Because of the emphasis on merits, many labour under the false
doctrine of salvation by good works, which teaches that we can be saved only
when we do good. This explains why those converted to the Lord, or those
who do evil, seek to do some good works to redeem themselves and pay back for
all the wrongs they have done. If we think we can save ourselves by good
works, then none of us can ever make ourselves worthy before God. Even St
Paul himself said, “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby
acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment
before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now
hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.” (1 Cor 4:4f)
What the gospel wants to
proclaim is that salvation is the grace of God. It is not based on good
works but on faith in Him as our Lord and savior. It is this faith in His love and
mercy that is the cause of our salvation. This is what St Paul reminds us
in the second reading. “We were still helpless when at his appointed
moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man –
though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die –
but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were
still sinners.” Good works must spring from the fact of being loved
by Christ and His death for us. It is our response to His love; not the
basis for salvation. Of course, if we truly believe that God loves us, we
would want to love Him in return, freely, not out of obligation. This is
how we act in daily life. When people love us, it is natural for us to
love them in return.
Consequently, we should
not fear death and punishment but trust in His mercy and love. St Paul urges us, “Having died to
make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s
anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still
enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved
by the life of his Son?” Indeed, we are to be “filled with joyful
trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already
gained our reconciliation.”
Yesterday when we celebrated
All Saints Day, we were reminded of the great multitude of people who were
saved by the blood of the Lamb. It is a great consolation and hope for us as
well. What is positive about Christian Hope is that the Church lives in
hope that all will be saved. That is why, whilst the Church has declared
that so many have gone to heaven, she has never declared that anyone has gone
to hell, except for the devil and the fallen angels. We can never
understand or fathom the mercy and love of God for sinners. So as St Paul
says, it is not for us to judge but to leave judgment to the Lord. But
because the Lord is mercy and compassion, and His desire, as He said, is to
save all, we can pray with confidence that the Lord will give us all the grace
of repentance. He said, “It is my Father’s will, says the Lord, that I
should lose nothing of all he has given to me, and that I should raise it up on
the last day.” And St Paul also said, “But the free gift is not like the
trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace
of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for
many.” (Rom 5:15)
Of course, the assurance
that we will finally get there does not mean that we do not need to purify
ourselves, either in this life or in the next, which we call purgatory. St John reminds us, “Beloved, we
are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know
that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he
is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is
pure.” (1 Jn 3:2f)
Purification however is an ongoing process. There are many degrees of
holiness. No one can ever be holy like God. What is necessary is
for us to undertake the path to purification of love here and now; and if still
not perfected, there is still opportunity after death in purgatory.
In truth, purgatory is
another act of God’s mercy.
It is good for us to take note that purgatory is totally unlike hell.
Purgatory is not the half way mark to enter heaven. On the contrary,
purgatory is heaven possessed as hope and promise. Those in purgatory are
not suffering like those in hell who are totally incapable of love but only
hatred. The souls in purgatory are very much closer to God, but until the
last residues of selfishness, unforgiveness and fear is removed, they cannot
yet enter into the fullness of life. This is because heaven is a state of
love where all the saints live in an exchange of love. This
explains why in the first reading, heaven is portrayed as a banquet of love and
life. “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a
banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine
strained wines. On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil
covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy
Death for ever.” Souls in purgatory know that heaven is waiting for them.
But they need our prayers to help them let go of their selfishness and
attachment to the world; and especially their unwillingness to forgive and to
let go of those who have hurt them on earth. Only when they are no longer
attached to the earth negatively, are they ready to be united with God and the
communion of saints. Because we are in communion with them, we are to
pray for them to accept humbly the unconditional love of God, to forgive
themselves and trust in His mercy.
What we are saying is not a pie in the
sky, as some people think. St Paul made it clear that “Hope is not
deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit which has been given us.” Indeed, those of us who have
been purified in some degree already experience greater freedom, joy and
love. We also have experienced how the love of God in our hearts, through
the Holy Spirit, enables us to live a life of peace, love and joy. Our
hope is in God’s mercy, not on ourselves. “The Lord is my light and my
help. O Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer. It is your
face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face. I am sure I shall see the
Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and
take heart. Hope in the Lord!”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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