20200309
GROWING
IN MERCY AND COMPASSION
09 March, 2020,
Monday, 2nd Week of Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Daniel 9:4-10 ©
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Yours is the integrity, Lord; ours the shame
O Lord, God great
and to be feared, you keep the covenant and have kindness for those who love
you and keep your commandments: we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have
acted wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and your ordinances and
turned away from them. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who
spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and to all the
people of the land. Integrity, Lord, is yours; ours the look of shame we wear
today, we, the people of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel,
near and far away, in every country to which you have dispersed us because of
the treason we have committed against you. To us, Lord, the look of shame
belongs, to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, because we have sinned
against you. To the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong, because we have
betrayed him, and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God nor
followed the laws he has given us through his servants the prophets.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 78(79):8-9,11,13 ©
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Do
not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.
Do
not hold the guilt of our fathers against us.
Let
your compassion hasten to meet us;
we
are left in the depths of distress.
Do
not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.
O God
our saviour, come to our help.
Come
for the sake of the glory of your name.
O
Lord our God, forgive us our sins;
rescue
us for the sake of your name.
Do
not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.
Let
the groans of the prisoners come before you;
let
your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.
But
we, your people, the flock of your pasture,
will
give you thanks for ever and ever.
We
will tell your praise from age to age.
Do
not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
The
seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever
finds this seed will remain for ever.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Or:
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Your
words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you
have the message of eternal life.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:36-38 ©
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Grant pardon, and you will be pardoned
Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and
you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be
condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there
will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and
running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out
is the amount you will be given back.’
GROWING IN MERCY
AND COMPASSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dan 9:4-10; Ps 79:8-9, 11, 13; Luke 6:36-38 ]
Jesus said to His
disciples. “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be
judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves;
grant pardon, and you will be pardoned.” This teaching of Jesus is
difficult to follow. Because of pride, we tend to cast spurious motives
on others, as if our motives are always pure in whatever we do. We
condemn people who have done wrong, as if we are all innocent. Read the
social media and we find many casting stones at others, judging and condemning
offenders as if they do not have skeletons in their own cupboards. They
forgot what Jesus said to those who wished to condemn the adulterous woman,
“Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at
her.” (Jn 8:7)
This was never the case
for Jesus. He revealed to us the mercy and compassion of God for sinners. Jesus said, “God did not send the
Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be
saved through him.” (Jn 3:17) God seeks
no revenge on mankind for the sins we have committed. He came to forgive
us and to reconcile us with Him so that we can be reconciled with each
other. To those who killed His only Son, He offered them forgiveness and
mercy because they did not know what they were doing. God always makes
excuses for sinners as He is always merciful. So, we are called to
imitate the Lord in mercy and compassion since we are His sons and daughters.
How can we grow in mercy
and compassion for sinners? We must first be conscious of our own
sinfulness. In
the first reading, the prophet Daniel began by acknowledging his sins and that
of the nation without making excuses or rationalizing their sins. “Lord,
our God great and to be feared, you keep the covenant and have kindness for
those who love you and keep your commandments: we have sinned, we have done
wrong, we have acted wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and your
ordinances and turned away from them. We have not listened to your
servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our
ancestors, and to all the people of the land.” Unless we recognize that
we have also sinned, we tend to focus on the sins of others. If only we
focus on our own sins first, we would be too ashamed to condemn others because
compared to them, we are even greater sinners. Only those who are
ignorant of their sins and imperfection dare to condemn others. The
capacity to blame ourselves is the first step towards compassion.
Secondly, we must be
ashamed of our sins.
“Integrity, Lord, is yours; ours the look of shame we wear today, because of
the treason we have committed against you. To us, Lord, the look of shame
belongs because we have sinned against you.” Shame is what helps us to
desire not to sin again. Shame means to be disgusted with what we have
done. Unless we feel ashamed of our sins, we will continue to do
them. If the morality of the world has degenerated it is because of
relativism which numbs the conscience of our people as to what is right or
wrong. We have been desensitized to evil. Today, our modern
generation unashamedly boasts of masturbation, same-sex union, pornography,
co-habitation, adultery as something normal. Indeed, people are no longer
ashamed of the evil things they do. They not only even boast of them but seek
to normalize what was shameful to be a norm in society.
Thirdly, we must have
contrition of heart. Without
contrition of heart, there is no real repentance or conversion. This explains
why those who frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation commit the same sins
almost immediately after confession. They went for confession because of
guilt and fear, not because they are aware of the depth of their sins which
hurt themselves and their neighbours. They have not prepared themselves
for confession by examining their sins, the occasions in which they fell into
temptation, the consequences, their resolutions in making amendments. Because
such preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not properly done, the
grace of the Sacrament is hindered by the lack of disposition and
receptivity. We must therefore think through our actions and how they
have caused us to lose our integrity in life; and how many have been hurt
directly or indirectly by our bad examples. When we see how we have
misled our young people and caused them to live an amoral and selfish life,
then we will know the consequences of our sins. And if we do not feel
shame and guilt, perhaps the punishment that we suffer will cause us to realize
the evil we have done.
Only then, can we turn
to God for forgiveness. That
was what Daniel did. “To the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong,
because we have betrayed him, and have not listened to the voice of the Lord
our God nor followed the laws he has given us through his servants the
prophets.” The psalmist prayed, “Do not hold the guilt of our fathers
against us. Let your compassion hasten to meet us; we are left in the
depths of distress. O Lord our God, forgive us our sins; rescue us for
the sake of your name.” We ask God to rescue us from our sins and the
consequences so that we can glorify His name and speak of His mercy and love to
the world.
When we have received
God’s forgiveness for ourselves, we can then forgive those who have hurt us or
those who have done wrong to others. We will make excuses for them
too. If
God has forgiven us our sins, then how could we refrain from forgiving others
and overlooking their faults? We will no longer judge others because we
ourselves know how ignorant and proud we have been. We become more aware that
each one of us is faced with different circumstances in life in the battle
against sin. Whether we are rich or poor, healthy or sickly, whatever the
environment in our upbringing, each of us has to struggle to do good and
overcome evil. Sometimes, we fail and sometimes we win the battle against
the Evil One.
So instead of looking
and judging others with condemnation, we must look at them with the eyes of
love. When we love, we have no time to judge, except to feel with the person and
care for the person, seeking relief for him or her. So it is love
that gives us the capacity to be compassionate and merciful. Instead of
condemnation, we want to encourage each other. In truth, the extent of
our mercy for sinners reveals the depth of mercy we have received from
God. The Lord reminds us, “Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned
yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will
be gifts for you because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be
given back.” The more we pardon others, the more we also pardon
ourselves. If we can forgive others generously, it is because we know we
have been forgiven generously by God and others. Without judging others
but showing only compassion, we share in God’s joy of mercy and compassion.
Conversely, if we cannot forgive others, it also means we cannot forgive
ourselves and accept our sinfulness.
So the call to be
compassionate and merciful like our Lord is not a far-fetched ideal. It is within our reach. It is not
impossible to be forgiving and compassionate. It is possible when we have
identified ourselves with the sins and sufferings of our fellowmen. It is
possible when we have encountered God’s mercy and love for us.
Christ could forgive us because He was a man in all things except sin. He
knew what it was like to suffer the sins of others and all the sufferings of
humanity. He knew how difficult it was to resist Satan’s temptations
because He, too, was tempted. He knew what it meant to be rejected and
unjustly condemned. But He also knew His Father’s unconditional love and
mercy. That was why the Lord emptied Himself of His divinity and chose to
suffer with us and for us. The letter of Hebrews tells us, “For we
do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but
we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without
sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15f) So let us begin by
acknowledging our sins, being contrite for them and turning to God for mercy so
that receiving His mercy and forgiveness, we can extend the same to others.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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