20240601 FORMULA FOR MAINTAINING A HEALTHY CHRISTIAN LIFE
01 June 2024, Saturday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Jude 1:17,20-25 © |
Use your most holy faith as your foundation
Remember, my dear friends, what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you to expect. You must use your most holy faith as your foundation and build on that, praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves within the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life. When there are some who have doubts reassure them; when there are some to be saved from the fire, pull them out; but there are others to whom you must be kind with great caution, keeping your distance even from outside clothing which is contaminated by vice.
Glory be to him who can keep you from falling and bring you safe to his glorious presence, innocent and happy. To God, the only God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord, be the glory, majesty, authority and power, which he had before time began, now and for ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 62(63):2-6 © |
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
Gospel Acclamation | 1P1:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Col3:16a,17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 11:27-33 © |
I will not tell you my authority for acting like this
Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: did it come from heaven, or from man? Answer me that.’ And they argued it out this way among themselves: ‘If we say from heaven, he will say, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?” But dare we say from man?’ – they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John was a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’
FORMULA FOR MAINTAINING A HEALTHY CHRISTIAN LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jude 1:17, 20-25; Ps 63:2-6; Mk 11:27-33]
Regardless of who the author of the letter of Jude was, this letter was addressed to the Christians who were threatened by the presence of false teachers in the community. It was important that he strengthened their faith against such threats. Firstly, being persecuted by enemies from within and without should not be a surprise, he said, “Remember, my dear friends, what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you to expect.” Christ had already forewarned the apostles as He knew how difficult it would be to unite the Church because of heretic teachers of faith. We, too, should not be surprised that our greatest enemies are those from within. Even today, we have liberal theologians and prelates seeking to compromise the gospel to accommodate the world. We must pray that this will never happen. We need to make a distinction between being welcoming and protecting the faith of the Church passed down to us from the apostolic Church.
Who are these false teachers that we need to be wary of? St Jude describes their characteristics. “For they said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.’ It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions.” (Jude 18-19) The false teachers are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They seek to manipulate the community of faith by injecting worldly values in a subtle way, often masqueraded as compassion, inclusivity and relevance. Indeed, they are sensual, earthy; carnal, not spiritual. They are also schismatic because they want to divide the Church. Lacking respect for leaders and for right doctrines, they demolish what took the Church generations to build. Most of all, they are devoid of the Spirit as they are without a real personal relationship with the Lord. They rely only on their human reasoning. They act as if they know Christ but their words and actions betray their faith in Him.
So how do we preserve our faith? We must keep ourselves “within the love of God.” How does one do that if not to live a life of prayer, charity and integrity rooted in the faith of the Church? This is why the first thing we must do is to hold on to the faith of the apostolic Church. This faith “that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) We must continue to build upon “the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” (Eph 2:20) Christ and His gospel must be the basis of our faith. Jesus and the Word of God are the sure ways for us to be true to our faith. As we learn to understand the scriptures, we are strengthened in our faith, as they help us to discern the will of God. Without the Word of God, we cannot grow in maturity in faith and our lives and values will be founded on sand.
Secondly, through the reading of scriptures, we must be led to praying in the Holy Spirit. One can pray only in the Holy Spirit when the Word of God becomes ours as well. When we let the Word of God live in us, what we think and what we say, will be that of God. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” (Col 3:16) We can discern with the mind of God when we let the Holy Spirit influence our lives. When we do that we will walk in truth and love at all times. So praying unceasingly that God’s will be done is what will give us peace. “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.” (Col 3:15)
Thirdly, charity is expressed in our concern and care for others. St Jude exhorts us, “when there are some who have doubts, reassure them.” Rescuing those who are lost is indeed a great act of charity. St James wrote, “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (Jms 5:19f) The reality is that many of us are willing to give to the poor, or even to the church, but we are not so ready to win or save souls for God. Catholicism today is in danger of being reduced to another humanitarian organization that champions the poor, those suffering injustices, and protect the environment. But it has little to do with the salvation of souls. Truly, if we do not care for the salvation of souls, why do we even care for our own soul? The message that we are sending is that salvation is concerned with the body, just for this life and not for eternal life.
A true love for Christ is our love for souls because Jesus came to save everyone including the lost sheep. How many of us have sought to bring our loved ones back to Church? How many of us have spoken or shared the Good News about Jesus to those who do not know Him? This is why St Jude asks us to reach out to those who have slackened in their faith. We must deal gently with those who have doubt about their faith. We should not be harsh or judgmental. Instead we should show mercy and understanding. We should not write them off or reject them. All of us are sinners and we all go through crises in faith. At times we struggle to be faithful to God. At other times, we are influenced by false teachings, or the world. We allow ourselves to be led astray by worldly friends, or when we fall into bad company. We must never forget the law of gradualness in spiritual growth. We must be patient and encouraging without being imposing. Of course, for those who are in danger of being lost and condemned to the fires of hell, we must take quick and decisive action. St Jude says, “when there are some to be saved from the fire, pull them out.” There is urgency for those people who are at the brink of death. So if we can act quickly, we should act for their sake while there is still a window for us to reach out to them. For those who are led astray and defiled by sin, they are not just a danger to themselves but to others. We must seek to protect the innocent from being harmed by them. St Jude wrote, “there are others to whom you must be kind with great caution, keeping your distance even from outside clothing which is contaminated by vice.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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