20240712 DEALING WITH CHALLENGES IN MINISTRY
12 July 2024, Friday, 14th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Hosea 14:2-10 |
A call to conversion and promise of safety
The Lord says this:
Israel, come back to the Lord your God;
your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words
and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away
so that we may have happiness again
and offer you our words of praise.
Assyria cannot save us,
we will not ride horses any more,
or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made,
for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them with all my heart,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel.
He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar,
his shoots will spread far;
he will have the beauty of the olive
and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade;
they will grow corn that flourishes,
they will cultivate vines
as renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more
when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him?
I am like a cypress ever green,
all your fruitfulness comes from me.
Let the wise man understand these words.
Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight,
and virtuous men walk in them,
but sinners stumble.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):3-4,8-9,12-14,17 |
My mouth shall declare your praise.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
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: | Jn16:13,14:26 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
When the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
and he will remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 10:16-23 |
The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.
‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’
DEALING WITH CHALLENGES IN MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HOS 14:2-10, MT 10:16-23]
In the gospel, Jesus was realistic and upfront in warning His apostles of the difficulties they would face in their mission and ministry. Indeed, often many people think that the call to priestly and religious life is without much difficulties. Some think that those who are in priestly and religious life live very peaceful lives in a loving community, where they are supported in ministry, and provided with an iron rice-bowl, without having to worry about their sustenance or their medical needs. They live a care-free life, going about helping the people and being appreciated for what they do; and sometimes even pampered by grateful parishioners.
If we enter priestly or religious life thinking that this is the case, we are deluded! It is an illusion to think that in priestly and religious life we can find happiness that we cannot find in the world. The truth is that whether we are in priestly and religious life or in the world, the temptations of the world remain with us, and the sinfulness of human nature is also found in religious community. Being a priest or religious does not mean that we are all kind, sincere, generous, helpful or charitable. There are priests, and there are priests. After all, holiness of life is an ongoing process until death. The weaknesses and the sinfulness of priests continue to plague us even as we strive to grow in holiness. The devil never ceases to lead us to sin, just as He sought to tempt Jesus at the beginning of His ministry. Hence, the sins of greed, ambition, gossiping, anger, vindictiveness, dishonesty, and even failures in chastity and celibacy occur – the worst being paedophilia. We hope that most priests and religious are sincere in their vocation and in their desire to grow in holiness even though as sinners they may fail now and then.
Yet, even if they have been true to their vocation and have a loving community to support them, they will have to face the challenges of working with others in their ministry, and meeting the exacting demands of our people. A priest or religious, although truly human, is often expected to be superhuman in his or her dealings with their parishioners and those who seek their help. If they were to show their humanness, anger or irritation, tiredness, or sometimes ineptness in the way they manage the organizations, they are ruthlessly criticized, condemned, and sometimes even shamed and humiliated by those who are not happy with them. As a consequence, many get discouraged and lose their zeal, especially when they face rejection, unjust criticisms and the lack of acceptance.
For this reason, the Lord opened the eyes of the Twelve to the reality of the ministry. When James and John wanted to be seated on the left and right hand of our Lord, Jesus asked them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” (Mt 20:22) What is this cup? He instructed them as follows. “Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans.”
There will be oppositions that come from within the Church – from our own people. This was what the Lord meant when He told them that they would be brought before the Sanhedrin and scourged. We must not forget that we are living and working with our fellowmen. Some are insecure, some are egoistic, some are ambitious, some are impatient, some have ulterior motives, some have vested interests. Even if most of us have the desire to spread the gospel and to grow the Church, we work with conscious or unconscious self-centred motives. Not all services given to the Church are out of pure love that is unconditional and without reservation. There are mixed motives even when we serve God and His Church. So we cannot escape politics even in Church and in religious life because we are human!
Indeed, some have left the ministry, whether priestly, religious or lay, because of the hurts they received whilst giving themselves to the Church. Some have become bitter, disillusioned, angry and vindictive because they feel that they have not been fairly treated. Some are angry with their religious superiors, or the bishop, or their parish priests. They feel that there was impartiality and injustices in the way things were handled. And of course, this becomes even more accentuated when they are so involved in the ministry that they lack time to pray, to contemplate on the life of Christ and bask in His love. Quite often, they forget those virtues that were asked of them before they committed themselves to the ministry, such as obedience to their superiors, simplicity in lifestyle, and generosity in service, bearing the cross patiently for the salvation of others.
There is also opposition from without, from the world, from society, and sometimes from civil authorities because of the gospel we proclaim. This is what the Lord warned His apostles. Being dragged before governors and kings and pagans is an opportunity to witness to Christ. Although we have freedom of worship in most countries, yet, today there is a subtle form of persecution.
In a secular world, Christians are allowed to exist quietly so long as they do not impact the lives of the community. But the moment we proclaim and teach our values of integrity, dignity of life, the sacredness of marriage which is the bedrock of family life, and holistic development of the individual, we are met with opposition and a cancel culture that seeks to harass us, pick on our failures, accuse us of hypocrisy, and expose the scandals of the Church so that we will lose credibility.
Some of these oppositions could very well come from within our own families as well, and within the Catholic community. Jesus said, “Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.” So long as the gospel challenges the prevailing culture or tradition of society, we will face backlash. Within our families, we can no longer speak about sensitive issues because we are divided in our opinions, as some of us have been won over by the world, and many no longer read the gospel or take the Word of God seriously. Many do not have a real relationship with God and faith is just an adjunct in their life. It is an irony that at home, we speak about everything except the sharing of faith and values. This is because we cannot agree, and this results in division and hard feelings. Today, parents can only keep quiet when their children do not observe the moral values of the Church, especially in relationship, even though they were raised as Catholics.
Indeed, from within, from without, and even on the personal level, we are persecuted covertly and even sometimes openly. We must therefore take the advice of Jesus seriously. “Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking on you.” We must be prudent in the face of persecution and opposition. We must be wise and not react adversely. Instead of retaliation, we must use the occasion to witness to the Lord. But if the opposition gets too vicious, the Lord advised us, “if they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another.” We must not risk our lives unnecessarily. Martyrdom is not always the answer to the spread of the gospel. Sometimes, we need to be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove in dealing with those who oppose us. We need to seek God’s wisdom, patience and gentleness in dealing with them.
Truly, as the Lord reminds us, “You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.” We can stand firm only if we seek the loving patience of God that we read in the first reading. The Lord told the Israelites that if they repent and call out to Him, He will once again bless them. They only need to come back to Him and repent of their iniquity. God is ever ready to relent and forgive them and restore their fortunes. “I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned from them. I will fall like dew on Israel.” Hence, let us take heed of the closing words, “Let the wise man understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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