20250524 SENSITIVITY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A PREREQUSITE FOR DISCERNMENT
24 May 2025, Saturday, 5th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 16:1-10 |
'Come across to Macedonia and help us'
From Cilicia Paul went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra. Here there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess who had become a believer; but his father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy, and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the Jews in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek.
As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them.
So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.
They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas.
One night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian appeared and appealed to him in these words, ‘Come across to Macedonia and help us.’ Once he had seen this vision we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the Good News.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 99(100):1-3,5 |
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord, who hung for us upon the tree,
has risen from the tomb.
Alleluia!
Or: | Col3:1 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 15:18-21 |
The world hated me before it hated you
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If the world hates you,
remember that it hated me before you.
If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
because my choice withdrew you from the world,
therefore the world hates you.
Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too;
if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well.
But it will be on my account that they will do all this,
because they do not know the one who sent me.’
SENSITIVITY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A PREREQUSITE FOR DISCERNMENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 16:1-10; JOHN 15:18 – 21]
One cannot but notice the role of the Holy Spirit in the development of the primitive Church and the extension of the mission into faraway places in spite of persecution. If the Holy Spirit played such an active role in the expansion of the Christian Faith, it was because the early Christians had their spiritual radar tuned to the Holy Spirit. They were consciously sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, whether in preaching or healing. Most of all, in whatever they did, not only did they do it in the name of the Lord, but always in consultation with the Holy Spirit.
A case in point is in today’s first reading. We read how the Christian communities were growing in strength and in numbers. And as St Paul and Timothy travelled through the churches in their mission, they remained docile to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, including the decision not to preach the gospel in Asia: “when they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas.” And it was in prayer that St Paul received a vision to go to Macedonia. St Luke wrote, “once he had seen this vision we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the Good News.” Such was the clarity of God’s call and message to them. Never did they attempt anything without the conviction that it was the Lord’s will and desire for them.
We, too, must take a leaf from them if we were to remain faithful to the Lord in our mission or ministry. More often than not, a number of our initiatives or even projects are based on human calculation and ingenuity, planning, techniques and ambition, rather than truly inspired by the Holy Spirit. Of course, not all spring from ulterior or selfish motives, but most come from the goodwill of people. Yet, we cannot be truly successful in the ministry unless it is the Lord who builds. We must also not be deceived by immediate or short-term success because the devil can often fake such temporary success to give us the impression that we are doing the right thing. If our success is not enduring, it is not the work of the Holy Spirit. So, before we give ourselves a pat on the back, as if the battle is already won, let us be watchful and discerning. Counterfeits of the work of the evil spirits abound!
This is true even when we feel that we face opposition in the work we do. Quite often we jump to conclusion that because we are opposed, it is the work of the Evil one! Sometimes, it is the evil that is in us that is causing apparent opposition and, supposedly, even persecution. Not all opposition comes from the evil spirits. On the contrary, the good spirits might be the cause if we are the ones who need purification of our motives. God would send the Good Spirit to arouse us and challenge us and even shake us up from our complacency, mediocre ways of doing things and outdated traditions. So, before we claim that God is on our side because we are being rejected or opposed, we must once again discern the works of the good spirits from the counter spirits.
Of course, more often than not, because of jealousy and insecurity, even when we do good, we will always face much persecution, opposition and harsh criticism, not just from the world but from within our own people and worst still, our fellow collaborators, pastors and priests! Nothing can be so disheartening than when our good works are called to question by our own kind. To be misunderstood and ridiculed by our own brothers and sisters is possibly the worst kind of persecution one can face in the ministry. Our external enemies will not make us give up our ministry, but our internal enemies will. Instead of offering support and encouragement, they try to undermine the good we do by making criticisms without understanding what we are doing and more often than not, based on some partial information they have received, unverified. In other words, we are judged by hearsay! This is quite shocking because we often think that the “world” that Jesus speaks about in the gospel refers only to those outside the boundaries of the Church. Nay, the world is not defined by locale but by the state of our minds and souls. Anyone with a “worldly mind” belongs to the world.
And as Jesus forewarned us, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you.” Obviously the Evil One seeks to destroy the work of Christ at all costs, including those of us who are the disciples of Christ. This is clearly seen in today’s secular world where our values, especially moral values, such as the permanency of marriage between a man and a woman, family life, justice in politics and economics, the dignity of the poor, the unborn, the elderly and the sanctity of the human body, whether it concerns sexuality or the manipulation of the body for research purposes, are at odds with the scientific, individualistic, materialistic and relativistic world. Rightly so, we must take heed of what Jesus has already prepared us to expect, “Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well. But it will be on my account that they will do all this, because they do not know the one who sent me.”
Speaking to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in 2011, Pope Benedict warned that religious freedom is coming under a renewed attack comparable to “the systematic denial by atheistic regimes of the twentieth century”, such as Communism and Nazism. Such basic human rights, especially the right to freedom of religion and the freedom of worship, are “again under threat from attitudes and ideologies which would impede free religious expression.” In many places, “religious minorities who aspire to live with their fellow citizens peacefully and to participate fully in the civil and political life of the nation” are not respected. Truly, the world, that is, all those against the right to worship God and the right to religious freedom, continues to act not for God but against the Spirit of God. Tertullian “emphasized that God must be worshipped freely, and that it is in the nature of religion not to admit coercion.”
There again, not all persecutions by the world work against us. Sometimes, our perceived enemies who seek to destroy us by destroying the credibility of the Church could be the unwitting instruments the Lord, used to purify our faith, moral integrity and commitment to the gospel values. So, whilst we have become so vulnerable and at risk of losing credibility in the world, the Holy Spirit uses such persecutions like a double-edged sword to bring us back to the Lord in truth and in love. It is in events like the rash of scandals committed by religious leaders that the Church will come out stronger and purer, walking in the Spirit and in the pristine truth of the gospel.
Consequently, if we were to listen to the Spirit rightly, it is urgent that we must regain our sensitivity to the working of the Holy Spirit in our personal life and in our churches. This can come about only if we strengthen our prayer life, increase our exposure to God’s Word through study and contemplation, and most of all, through mutual sharing of the Word of God.
With a deeper grasp of our faith, and understanding our values, we should then in charity and humility seek to engage those who disagree with us, whether detractors from within our own camp or outside the Church. Only through dialogue, never violence in whatever form, can we spread the gospel. More often than not, our detractors, if not motivated by jealousy or insecurity, are misled by ignorance. That is why charity to our enemies and persecutors must be expressed in dialogue and most of all, in forgiveness. Like Jesus on the cross, even if our adversaries hate us and refuse dialogue, we must forgive them from our heart and pray for them so that the Holy Spirit can enlighten them and bring them to realization and repentance. We must never take things into our own hands but commend everything to the work of the Holy Spirit who will work in unseen ways and turn all that is evil for His good purpose.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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