20200217
HANDLING
TRIALS IN LIFE WITH HOPE SUSTAINED BY FAITH
17 February,
2020, Monday, 6th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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James 1:1-11 ©
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Your faith is put to the test so that your patience may make you
complete
From James,
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of
the Dispersion.
My
brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat
them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the
test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so
that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.
If
there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all
freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith,
and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown
up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering
between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him
anything.
It
is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to
be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the
flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the
flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the
rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 118(119):67-68,71-72,75-76 ©
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Let
your love come to me and I shall live.
Before
I was afflicted I strayed
but
now I keep your word.
You
are good and your deeds are good;
teach
me your statutes.
Let
your love come to me and I shall live.
It
was good for me to be afflicted,
to
learn your statutes.
The
law from your mouth means more to me
than
silver and gold.
Let
your love come to me and I shall live.
Lord,
I know that your decrees are right,
that
you afflicted me justly.
Let
your love be ready to console me
by
your promise to your servant.
Let
your love come to me and I shall live.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Harden
not your hearts today,
but
listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn14:6
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
I am
the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No
one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 8:11-13 ©
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No sign shall be given to this generation
The Pharisees
came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from
heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said,
‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be
given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went
away to the opposite shore.
HANDLING TRIALS
IN LIFE WITH HOPE SUSTAINED BY FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JAMES 1:1-11; PS 119:67-68, 71-72, 75-76; MK 8:11-13 ]
St James wrote, “My
brothers, you will always have your trials.” This is an obvious fact of life. No one,
no matter who we are, rich or poor, in high or ordinary position in life, young
or old, will have trials and crosses to bear in life. No one can escape from
suffering in life. This is why the Lord said to His disciples, “If any
want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross
and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) Jesus is
not asking us to take up His cross but our own! But it is not enough
simply to take up our cross because if we do, that cross will crush us and we
would become bitter, resentful and broken in life. Rather, we are called
to take up our cross and follow after Him. What does this entail?
It means that we place
our faith in Him. In contrast, the religious leaders in the gospel had no
faith in Jesus.
“The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of
him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight
from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell
you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.'” The truth is
that they were not seeking signs for assurance but their minds were already
fixated. All they wanted was to find ways to disprove Jesus and discredit
His teaching. Indeed, the signs had already been given earlier.
They saw the healing of the paralytic, the woman with hemorrhage, the deaf man,
the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the exorcism of the Gerasene Demoniac and the
daughter of the Syrophoenician widow and the multiplication of loaves. So
what other signs were they seeking?
Indeed, many of us in
our trials also doubt the love of God. We lose faith in Him and
confidence in His love.
This is because we only look at the cross we are carrying and the crosses in
front of us. When we just look at our own strength and the sufferings we
carry, we feel so overwhelmed. We say to ourselves, “how can we manage
our work, how can we raise up our children in faith and love, how can we look
after our elderly demented loved ones, how can we manage our illnesses,
especially when it is terminal, how can we preserve and grow our business or
organization”, etc. In whatever we do, we will find opposition,
detraction, discouragement and sometimes failure and disappointment. We
have so much fear and anxiety when we think of what is ahead of us. But
we forgot that at all these times He is with us.
In such a situation, we
must focus our eyes not on our problems or our sufferings; rather, we must look
at Jesus instead.
It is like our current situation. Some Catholics are unhappy that the
Mass has been suspended to protect the safety of our Catholics, especially the
young and the elderly. Yet it is in such times, that Catholics will
learn to appreciate the Eucharist and the Mass they attend daily. Too
often we have taken the Mass for granted, until we are deprived of it.
But again, we thank God that through the use of technology, we can transmit the
Mass into the homes of our people. In fact, many wrote to tell us that
they found the Mass rather meaningful when they watched the broadcast because
they could pay better attention and this brought the family closer together, as
those who could not go to church or have left the Church even participated in
the on-line transmission. Many felt God even more present as they
reflected on the Mass readings and the homily and received Him in spiritual
communion. So God can come into our lives regardless of the
obstacles. What He needs is a docile and receptive heart to receive Him
and welcome Him without reservation.
In faith, we must
believe that our trials are permitted by God because they help us to grow in
patience and through patience, we “will become fully-developed, complete, with
nothing missing.” We
are invited by St James to regard our suffering as a happy privilege and not a
burden. It is God’s way to purify us, not just in faith but in love for
ourselves, and most of all, for our fellow brothers and sisters. When we
have to help people who are suffering, it is really a test of our capacity to
love. It stretches our heart to love like Jesus even unto death on the
cross, especially when we have to attend to difficult people who are demanding,
unreasonable, nasty and unappreciative. Conversely, if we are the ones
who are carrying the cross of illness and financial burden, we are called to
accept them humbly and the assistance of others. In our helplessness, we
learn humility and identification with those who suffer.
Indeed, when we turn to
Jesus, He will give us the wisdom to look at our suffering positively. St James tells us. “If there is any
one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly;
it will be given to him.” It is natural that when we suffer, we want to
understand the reason and the meaning of our suffering. St James asked us
to pray for wisdom and understanding so that we do not feel that we are
suffering in vain. However, this wisdom of God is only given to
those who have faith in Him. Without faith, we cannot see our life and
suffering from the perspective of God. This is why the Lord tells us to
take up our cross and follow Him; and to come to Him like a little child.
(cf Mt 18:3)
St Pio of Pietrelcina
urged us to believe even when we are in darkness because it is in darkness that
God speaks to us in our loneliness, helplessness and despair. He said, “Don’t let your mind
succumb to temptation and sorrow, for joy of the heart is life for the soul.
Sorrow is no good for anything and causes our spiritual death. It happens
sometimes that the darkness of trial overwhelms your soul’s heaven; but this
darkness is light! Thanks to it, you believe even in darkness; the mind feels
lost, it fears no longer being able to see, no longer understanding anything.
But this is the moment when the Lord speaks and makes himself present to the
soul; and the soul listens, understands and loves in the fear of God.”
Indeed, the trials of
life help us to be more realistic about how fragile we are. The problem with the world is that
the modern man thinks he can do all things and achieve happiness without the
help of anyone, especially God. Let us not think too highly of ourselves
and the securities we put in, our money, our health, our family and
career. Tragedy can strike anytime. We can meet with an accident
that leaves us maimed or even killed. Our health can fail us suddenly
without our knowledge even if we have been exercising daily. Our
family can break apart because of infidelity or greed and jealousy. Our
career can be abruptly ended because the company had to close down. This
is what St James says, “It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his
high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because
riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes
up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now
disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he
himself perishes.”
For this reason, we
should only rely on God and do our best in whatever situation we are in.
We must pray for an increase of faith. St James wrote, “But he must ask with
faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves
thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two
minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will
give him anything.” Faith will open our eyes to His presence in our
daily life even when we are suffering. He is with us even when we walk
the narrow path of life. And when the path gets too narrow, then we
remember that He will carry us on His back and bring us safely to greener
pastures. We are never alone. That was what He said to the
disciples, “Be not afraid!” Throughout the scriptures, these resounding
words are heard through His prophets. “Do not fear, for I am with you, do
not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help
you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (Isa 41:10) “For I,
the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you,
“Do not fear, I will help you.” (Isa 41:13 cf Ps 23:4; Dt 31:6,8; Mt 10:29-31; Jn 14:1; 1 Pt 3:4; 5:7)
Suffering will not
overwhelm us if we suffer for love and if we know we are also supported by
love. This
is the wisdom of God that will help us through when we suffer. Let us
therefore use trials to sanctify ourselves by growing and purifying our love
for God and for our brothers and sisters. At the same time, in our
trials, turn to God in faith to feel His love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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