20241005 HEARTS OF MERCY FILLED WITH PURE LOVE
First reading |
Job 42:1-3,5-6,12-17 |
In dust and in ashes I repent
This was the answer Job gave to the Lord:
I know that you are all-powerful:
what you conceive, you can perform.
I am the man who obscured your designs
with my empty-headed words.
I have been holding forth on matters I cannot understand,
on marvels beyond me and my knowledge.
I knew you then only by hearsay;
but now, having seen you with my own eyes,
I retract all I have said,
and in dust and ashes I repent.
The Lord blessed Job’s new fortune even more than his first one. He came to own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand she-donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters; his first daughter he called ‘Turtledove’, the second ‘Cassia’ and the third ‘Mascara.’ Throughout the land there were no women as beautiful as the daughters of Job. And their father gave them inheritance rights like their brothers.
After his trials, Job lived on until he was a hundred and forty years old, and saw his children and his children’s children up to the fourth generation. Then Job died, an old man and full of days.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):66,71,75,91,125,130 |
Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.
Teach me discernment and knowledge
for I trust in your commands.
It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your statutes.
Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.
Lord, I know that your decrees are right,
that you afflicted me justly.
By your decree it endures to this day;
for all things serve you.
Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.
I am your servant, give me knowledge;
then I shall know your will.
The unfolding of your word gives light
and teaches the simple.
Let your face shine on your servant, 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 | Luke 10:17-24 |
Rejoice that your names are written in heaven
The seventy-two came back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’
It was then that, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said:
‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
Then turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’
05 October 2024, Saturday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time
HEARTS OF MERCY FILLED WITH PURE LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JOB 42:1-3,5-6,12-17; LUKE 10:17-24]
We are in the midst of the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Most of the time, when we speak of showing mercy, we always think of reaching out to those who are poor, the disadvantaged and the marginalized. This is of course an expression of mercy and a necessary obligation on our part as an expression of our love for God and for our fellowmen. Families must be channels of mercy to the world, especially to those who are suffering in poverty or due to illnesses. We are called to reach out to those who are downtrodden and broken-hearted, those disillusioned with life and with relationships. Most of all, we are called to show the compassionate face of God to those who have rejected Him as they feel that God does not care for them.
But we must not forget that charity begins at home, even if it does not end there. The irony is that there are two groups of people who apparently do charity and show mercy but in truth are serving themselves. In the first instance, we have those who only are kind to those whom they love, especially their loved ones and friends. Their mercy is only restricted to their friends and family members. Jesus says that even the pagans do likewise. There is nothing great about loving those who love us. Then there is the other extreme group who show love to everyone except their parents, family members and office colleagues, or those that they live with. At home, they are selfish, self-centred and behave like tyrants, but outside the home or the office they are like angels, involved in all kinds of church and social organizations. There is a certain dichotomy and lack of integrity in such a lifestyle. It shows that the love for self is masked in our apparent love for others. We love others so that we feel loved and appreciated, which we do not receive at home because we are often taken for granted. At times, we are even used and taken advantage of by our loved ones.
Consequently, couples in relationships and married couples must show mercy to those who are closest to them, besides showing mercy to the world. Very often, we fall into the same mistake of the so-called friends of Job when he was afflicted with illness and suffered one tragedy after another. Instead of being sympathetic to his predicament and confusion as to why he had to suffer even though he was innocent, his friends tried to convince him that it was because of his sins that he was being punished. They were judgmental. Very often, we too fail to make time to listen to our spouse and our loved ones. Because our communication is always on a logical level and not on the level of feeling and identification, over time, the couple becomes alienated because there is a lack of empathy. Showing mercy to our loved ones, especially our spouse, requires that we make time to listen and feel with the struggles of our loved ones. Infidelity happens only because one spouse feels distant from the other, not understood, not supported and loved. When there is a lack of encouragement from each other, we turn to others who can provide us the emotional support that is lacking in spousal relationship, among family members and in the office.
In the gospel today, Jesus shows us the example of mercy by making time to journey with His disciples. They returned from their mission, elated and excited over what they did. They “came back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightening from heaven. Yes. I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you.” It is interesting to take note how Jesus rejoiced with them as well. He shared their joy. Most of all, He took the trouble to listen to them and helped them evaluate their mission, their joys and their struggles. Making time for our loved ones is the most basic form of mercy given.
The second form of mercy is fraternal advice extended to our loved ones, which must be done with gentleness, love and patience. Jesus could sense the hidden pride in His disciples when they reported what they had done. So tactfully, whilst celebrating their success with them, He helped them to focus on what is even greater. He advised them “not (to) rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.” Indeed, Jesus patiently helped His disciples to go beyond earthly success to sharing the joys of the Father in heaven to see His children liberated from the Evil One and from their sins and misery. In couple relationship and with our children, we too must learn patience, tolerance and offer fraternal correction with tact and gentleness motivated by love of the other and not of self.
Most of all, the greatest form of mercy is forgiveness. No relationship can grow without learning to let go. We are all sinners and imperfect. This was also the lesson that Job learned. Although it is true that he was not punished because of his sins as he was innocent, but in questioning the divine wisdom of God, he fell into the sin of presumption and pride. Who are we to question the wisdom and plan of God when He is our creator and indeed of the whole universe? Instead, we should submit to His divine wisdom in humility as Jesus said, “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.” Pride comes before the downfall of every man. So, in human relationship, we must learn to accept each other’s weaknesses and forgive each other. As Jesus says in the gospel, seventy times seven, that is, always! By withholding mercy and forgiveness from our loved ones, we will only distance ourselves from the person. Emotional distance will lead to intellectual and physical separation. When Job was able to let go and confessed his sin of pride and ignorance, God forgave him and restored his fortunes and family.
How can we show such mercy to our loved ones? The key is always intimacy. This is what Jesus is teaching us in the gospel. If Jesus could do the Father’s will so completely even in giving up His life for us, it was because He was totally identified with His Father. “Everything has been entrusted to me be my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus knew His Father intimately. He was filled with the Spirit of His Father. He shares the same Spirit of His Father. So, when St Luke said that Jesus was “filled with joy by the Holy Spirit”, he was referring to the Spirit as the common love-gift of the Father and the Son. Only because they are one in Spirit that the Son could obey the Father so perfectly, trusting in His Father’s plan and love for Him.
Likewise, too, as couples in marriage or in relationships, intimacy is always the key to a strong relationship. It is the sharing of the mind and heart that will strengthen the love between the couple. Only when there is mutual trust and understanding of each other, can that love be developed. Couples must invest time in being together to share their lives with each other; and not reduce their relationship to a business enterprise where each does his or her own thing and fulfilling responsibilities. Marriage and family is about sharing each other’s joys, sorrows, and struggles, and being with and for each other, in good and bad times. Such a loving and supportive relationship in an atmosphere of trust and love will give us the strength to endure all trials and difficulties in life, sickness, sorrows and death.
Most of all, when couples and family members found their love in their common love for Christ, their love will be purified, deepened and strengthened. All relationships when founded in the Lord and with the Lord as the centre and bond of that relationship, will grow and remain strong. With the Lord in our lives, we will learn the meaning of pure and selfless love, the way He has loved us unto death. But more, He will give us the same Spirit of His Father so that we do not rely on our own strength. He will empower us to love with the Spirit given to us. When we love with Christ’s Spirit, He will work in and through us.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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