20251004 DISCOURAGEMENT IN THE MINISTRY
05 October 2025, Sunday, 27th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Habakkuk 1:2-3,2:2-4 |
The upright man will live by his faithfulness
How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help
while you will not listen;
to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear
and you will not save?
Why do you set injustice before me,
why do you look on where there is tyranny?
Outrage and violence, this is all I see,
all is contention, and discord flourishes.
Then the Lord answered and said,
‘Write the vision down,
inscribe it on tablets
to be easily read,
since this vision is for its own time only:
eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;
if it comes slowly, wait,
for come it will, without fail.
See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights,
but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9 |
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Second reading |
2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14 |
Never be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord
I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.
Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | 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!
Gospel | Luke 17:5-10 |
Say, 'We are merely servants'
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.
‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’
DISCOURAGEMENT IN THE MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14; Luke 17:5-10]
Every Christian who is baptized is called to be a servant of the Gospel. As St. Paul wrote, “You have been entrusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” To enable the baptized to be an effective servant, the Church bestows upon them the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is further reinforced when a Christian takes up a specific vocation in the Church–through the Sacraments of Matrimony or Ordination. It is important to bear in mind that all these sacraments are connected and are intended to serve the proclamation of the Gospel through our witness.
Yet, the truth is that many of us have lost the zeal to spread the Gospel we have received and to share the gift we have been given. This is true for all of us. What could be the reason? Even the young Bishop, St. Timothy, experienced a waning of zeal in his ministry; hence, St. Paul’s letter was written to offer him encouragement. There are many possible reasons.
It could be due to persecution and opposition. Reading between the lines, Timothy may not have been fully respected by his flock because of his youth. There was likely competition, jealousy, backbiting, rumour-mongering, politicking–just as in any community. It must have been exhausting for him. Thus, St. Paul wrote, “So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News.” Serving the Lord, whether as volunteers or full-time workers, inevitably involves suffering.
Secondly, discouragement can lead many to give up. This is one of the principal weapons of the Devil: to dishearten us from doing good, especially in the face of opposition and failure. When we have plans or visions for our organisation or the Church, there will always be those who oppose us simply because these ideas are not theirs. They may seek to put us down, discourage us, and influence others against us–even when they have no better solutions themselves. Indeed, many well-intentioned individuals with great ideas for the Church feel disappointed and rejected because, before they are even heard, they are dismissed. This is one reason many professionals have stopped offering their services to the Church: their expertise is not only undervalued but questioned.
A third reason why many abandon ministry is the lack of appreciation and recognition. Even when serving in the Church, we are still imperfect human beings. We are naturally insecure and seek affirmation, encouragement, and appreciation. When these are not forthcoming, we may question whether our efforts are worthwhile. Some individuals, however, become so insecure that they crave honour, positions of power, and constant praise. Such exaggerated desires exceed natural human needs and enter the realm of pride and envy. For these people, when power and honour are denied, they may abandon their ministry altogether.
A fourth reason for discouragement arises when people fail to see tangible results. Some adopt a corporate mindset, measuring success by numbers, productivity, and KPIs. While accountability and measurable results are important, impatience can set in when outcomes do not match efforts. This is what happened to the prophet in the first reading, who cried to the Lord, “How long, Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear and you will not save?” We, too, may feel this way when our sacrifices do not seem to yield positive outcomes.
Thus, many give up because they do not have the patience to wait for the Lord to act. This is what God told the prophet, “Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.” But many of us want things our way and in our own time. It is not so much the Lord working in them, or rather, the Lord working through them. They want to be in control of the situation. In truth, they think that success is due to the work of their hands. They trust more in their hard work, ingenuity, planning, strategizing rather than the power of God to work in ways beyond their imagination. This is not to say that we need not do anything but we must trust in the ways of the Lord and His grace rather than ourselves. Otherwise, when things are successful, we cannot claim credit for the Lord but for ourselves.
Many give up because they lack the patience to wait for the Lord to act. God told the prophet, “Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, since this vision is for its own time: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.” Yet many of us want things our way and in our own time. We want control, trusting our planning and efforts more than God’s power. While our actions matter, we must ultimately rely on God’s grace; otherwise, we claim credit for ourselves rather than for Him.
So, how can we regain the zeal to spread the Gospel? St. Paul instructs Timothy to “fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” We are called to renew our zeal and love for the Lord, which we received at baptism, marriage, and ordination. Along with His love, God gives us the Holy Spirit and accompanying gifts to accomplish His work. Whenever He calls, He equips and empowers us. Our task is to return to the source of God’s grace and make full use of the gifts we have received. As St. Paul reminds us, “God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, love, and self-control.” This requires that we exercise the gifts given to us and not to keep them for ourselves. What is not used will be taken away. The best way to develop our gifts is to use them for the service of all.
What does this entail? Firstly, it means falling in love with Jesus over and over again. There can be no ministry without love for the Lord and His love for us. Jesus warns, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Mt 5:13). In our weakness, we need to remember how much our Lord has suffered for us. We must return to the Master to seek His love and strength. Renewal of love for the Lord is the foundation of all ministry. When our hearts have grown cold, we cannot do much. As Revelation 2:4 reminds us, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
Secondly, we must build ourselves up in the Word of the Lord through ongoing formation and discipleship. St. Paul advised Timothy, “Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Ministry members must cultivate faith and love for Christ through Scripture, the teachings of Church leaders, and Church doctrine.
Thirdly, we must remain humble before the Lord and His appointed leaders. Frustration in ministry often stems from pride and insistence on doing things our way. Pride is the downfall of humanity and the root of division. This is why clergy and religious are required to observe the vow of obedience. Obedience safeguards us from allowing pride to undermine our work. As the psalmist urges, “O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.” Listening to God often comes through the legitimate authorities He appoints.
Above all, we must have faith in the Lord, not on ourselves. This is the fundamental attitude we should have. “Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.'” Twice, St Paul told Timothy that faith entails “relying on the power of God” and “the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” This presupposes humility and trust in Him. This was also what God told the prophet, “See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.” So, we surrender all our projects and undertakings to the Lord.
In the final analysis, we must remember that we are only servants of God. He is our Master. We should not expect reward and gratitude. Our task is to give glory to God, not ourselves. We want God to be glorified and His kingdom established. As servants, we should be grateful that He counts us worthy to serve Him. This is our greatest reward – to be counted worthy to serve Him and to be blessed with good health, gifts and resources. What other rewards do we need? For by serving the Lord with total dedication, faith, love, and humility, we come to realize ourselves. We find fulfilment, meaning, joy and love.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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