20220226 TREASURY OF THE CHURCH
26 February, 2022, Saturday, Week 7 in Ordinary Time
First reading | James 5:13-20 © |
A good man's heartfelt prayer has great power
If any one of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he should sing a psalm. If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully. Elijah was a human being like ourselves – he prayed hard for it not to rain, and no rain fell for three-and-a-half years; then he prayed again and the sky gave rain and the earth gave crops.
My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 140(141):1-3,8 © |
Let my prayer come before you like incense, O Lord.
I have called to you, Lord; hasten to help me!
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer arise before you like incense,
the raising of my hands like an evening oblation.
Let my prayer come before you like incense, O Lord.
Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth;
keep watch, O Lord, at the door of my lips!
To you, Lord God, my eyes are turned:
in you I take refuge; spare my soul!
Let my prayer come before you like incense, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 10:13-16 © |
It is to such as these little children that the kingdom of God belongs
People were bringing little children to Jesus, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.
TREASURY OF THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JAMES 5:13-20; PS 141:1-3,8; MK 10:13-16]
The treasury of the Church has often been grossly misunderstood by many Christians. This is because it is associated with the treasury of merits. As we all know, non-Catholic Christians are always suspicious of the word “merits” because for them everything is grace, hence the doctrine of justification by faith through grace alone. This doctrinal position is also held by Catholics as well, although we would like to specify, as explicitly taught in the letter of St James, that faith alone without good works is dead. (Jas 2:17) It is within this context that we can better appreciate the term, “treasury of the Church”.
In the gospel, Jesus’ welcoming the children illustrates that access to the Kingdom of God requires us to be child-like. Jesus told His apostles, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” His apostles, like the rest of society at that time, did not take children seriously as they were considered unimportant. Hence the disciples turned away those who brought the children to our Lord but the Lord was indignant. Indeed, to welcome the Kingdom of God like a child means that we must receive it like children, as a gift. Children had no rights in those days. Everything they had was given by their parents and elders. They received everything freely as a gift, not because they deserved it. So too the Lord wanted to underscore that unless we receive everything from God as a gift and not on account of our merits, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. In other words, salvation is by grace alone.
Catholics have no difficulties accepting this fact. Official Church teaching makes it clear that the treasury of the Church consists of the superabundant merits won by our Lord’s passion and death on the cross for the salvation of man. However, the Church as the Body of Christ, the communion of saints, also continues to distribute or share the merits of our Lord’s saving death by her good works and sacrifices. Hence, the treasury of the Church, whilst referring primarily to the infinite value of Christ’s saving death on the cross, also includes the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints who have united themselves with the Lord by living holy lives. This is affirmed by St Paul when he wrote, “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” So the treasury of the Church must be seen as our participation in Christ’s saving death.
Within this context, we can appreciate the importance of the Christian community in the faith of the individual Christian. This is what St James wants to exhort us in his letter, that we must be united in faith, in hope and in charity so that we can remain firm in our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. St James, if we recall, was writing to those Christians who were suffering persecution, injustices, poverty and sickness. They were getting disheartened in their faith. They even blamed God for the predicament they were in because God tempted them. (Jas 1:13) As a result, in their desperation, some took to swearing before God, hoping to strike a bargain with Him. (Jas 5:12)
For St James, the key to overcoming our trials is faith in God. Right at the outset of his letter, he wrote, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Jas 1:2-4) Not only faith, but we must ask for God’s wisdom so that we can understand the trials of life and accept them positively. However, we must ask in faith. “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting.” (Jas 1:5-8)
At the close of his letter, St James came back to the theme of faith and prayers. Yet this closing theme is not unconnected with the intervening chapters when he spoke on the relationship between faith and charity, faith and community. In other words, one’s individual faith must be supported by the faith of the community if that faith were to withstand the temptations and trials of life. In today’s reading, he gave us some examples of how one’s personal faith is very much supported by the faith of the community. It is from this perspective that we too must understand the treasury of the faith. When the Church speaks of the treasury of merits, the Church wants to underscore the power and authority of the Church to empower the individual so that the person will have the faith to bear all trials in life, whether poverty, hardship, persecutions, oppressions or illness.
So he exhorts us to develop our personal prayer life. He said, “If any one of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he should sing a psalm.” If we want to be strong in time of adversity, we must also remember those times of prosperity. In other words, we must be praying at all times as St Paul wrote, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Th 5:16-18) We must seek the Lord, not just only in times of trouble but also give thanks to God for those times when we are happy. In this way, we will remember that God is in control and in charge of our lives. We can trust Him and His wisdom and His plan for us.
But sometimes, it is not enough to pray alone, we need the support of the prayers of the Church. In this instance, St James said, “If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again.” Clearly, at times, we need tangible signs to mediate the mercy of God to us and His healing grace through the use of oil and the presence of the elders of the Christian community. Hence, St James, following the tradition he learnt from Judaism, asked that the sick person should invite the elders of the church, who represent the Christian community to pray over him. The elders do not represent themselves but the Church and our Lord Jesus Christ. As the head of the community, they are rightly the authorized persons to release the treasury of the Church to the sick person. The elders pray the “prayer of faith” not just in their own capacity but in their capacity as the head of the community of faith. So it is the prayer of the elders and the community, together with the sick person, that we can be confident that our prayers would be answered. This is the basis for the Sacrament of the Sick when a priest is required to anoint the sick, or give the sick the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.
The prayer of healing includes not just physical but spiritual and emotional healing. This is what the Sacrament of Anointing does. When a person is sick, he is more than just physically sick. It could be the result of a disturbed conscience, or guilt, which can also lead to anger and resentment. Accordingly, “if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully.” St James, in speaking of the need to confess our sins not only to God but to our fellow human beings in the community, provides us the basis for the Sacrament of Reconciliation where the priest on behalf of the community prays for his forgiveness and healing. Jesus as head of the Church forgives us through His body.
Finally, St James reiterates the necessity of being in fellowship with the Christian community so that we might not stray from the truth. We must protect each other. We have a duty to guard each other in our faith. St James exhorts us, “My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins.” To remain strong in faith, we must find faith in the community. Hence, it is important that we must always be in Christian fellowship.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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