Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together

Tuesday, 3 January 2023

GROWING IN DISCIPLESHIP

20230104 GROWING IN DISCIPLESHIP

04 January, 2023, Wednesday

First reading

1 John 3:7-10 ©

No-one sins who has been begotten by God

My children, do not let anyone lead you astray:

to live a holy life

is to be holy just as he is holy;

to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil,

since the devil was a sinner from the beginning.

It was to undo all that the devil has done

that the Son of God appeared.

No one who has been begotten by God sins;

because God’s seed remains inside him,

he cannot sin when he has been begotten by God.

In this way we distinguish the children of God

from the children of the devil:

anybody not living a holy life

and not loving his brother

is no child of God’s.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 97(98):1,7-9 ©

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing a new song to the Lord

for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

have brought salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Let the sea and all within it, thunder;

the world, and all its peoples.

Let the rivers clap their hands

and the hills ring out their joy

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

at the presence of the Lord: for he comes,

he comes to rule the earth.

He will rule the world with justice

and the peoples with fairness.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

To all who received him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Or:

Heb1:1-2

Alleluia, alleluia!

At various times in the past

and in various different ways,

God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;

but in our own time, the last days,

he has spoken to us through his Son.

Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia!

A hallowed day has dawned upon us.

Come, you nations, worship the Lord,

for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 1:35-42 ©

'We have found the Messiah'

As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.

One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.

GROWING IN DISCIPLESHIP

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 John 3:7-10; Ps 98:1,7-9; John 1:35-42]

In the gospel, we have the first disciples of Jesus. What does it take to be a disciple of Christ? Firstly, we must search our motives in seeking Jesus. We read “As John stood there with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?'” Indeed, those of us who want to be disciples of Jesus are asked to examine ourselves and our real motives of wanting to follow Jesus. Why are we baptized if not to live the life of Christ? But the truth is that some are baptized not because of a personal faith in Christ but for convenience, for the sake of marriage, for security, now and the future. But these are not the ideal reasons to follow Jesus. Hence, the Lord is asking those of us who chose Him, “What do you want?”

Secondly, we can follow Him only when we are interested in Jesus. Is our knowledge of Jesus a personal knowledge or is it from a secondary source? If we are content with a secondary knowledge of Jesus, we will not go far. Without a real conviction of who Jesus is, sharing in His word and life, we will never be excited about sharing His life with others. We too must come to Jesus. This was what the first disciples of Jesus did. “They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see,’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day.” Indeed, discipleship is being with Jesus, listening to Him, observing Him, sharing in His life and love. Unless we are ready to be intimate with Jesus and get to know Him personally, we will never be able to develop a real relationship of trust in Him. When we get to know Jesus personally, understand His mind and heart, we will then learn to appreciate His presence in our lives.

How then do we know that we know the Lord personally? When like John, we could also say, “It was about the tenth hour.” He was specific about the time because any memorable, life-changing encounter with Jesus cannot be forgotten easily. Pope Emeritus Benedict in his first encyclical wrote, “We have come to believe in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” (Deus Caritas Est, 1) Indeed, anyone who encounters the Lord Jesus will have a radical change in His lifestyle, His perception of life.

Secondly, when we fall in love with Jesus, we will begin to understand Him as a person, not as a doctrine. We see how the disciples matured in their knowledge of Jesus, from calling Him, the Lamb of God, to Rabbi, to teacher, and then later on to Messiah, and the Son of God. Growing in conviction of who Jesus is takes time. Even though the disciples called Jesus by the glowing and honorific titles, they did not truly understand the titles that they picked up from their culture. Indeed, it took them three years to discover the full meaning of the titles that they gave to Jesus. This is because no titles could fit the person and identity of Jesus. Instead, Jesus had to change the understanding of the titles to fit Him. Hence, as disciples of Jesus, we must always be deepening our understanding of who Jesus is to us.

Thirdly, we would want to introduce the Lord to someone else. That was how the disciples of Jesus were found by the Lord when they introduce others to the Lord. “One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah” – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.” When we are not keen to introduce Jesus to another person, it means that we have not discovered Jesus to be our Lord and Messiah. This desire to lead someone to know Jesus is rooted in our discovery of who Jesus is to us, especially how He gave us a new meaning in life, signified by the way He gave Simon a new name, Peter.

In the final analysis, we are true disciples of the Lord only when we live a holy life of love and truth. Discipleship in this sense is ongoing and remains a struggle to live a life of grace. St John made it clear, “My children, do not let anyone lead you astray: to live a holy life is to be holy just as God is holy; to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil, since the devil was a sinner from the beginning.” We are disciples of Jesus if we live a holy life that is free from sin.

But is it possible to live such a life that is free from sin? Clearly, all of us are sinners through and through. St John earlier on wrote, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn 1:8-10) The fact remains that we are all sinners and in need always of forgiveness.

So what does it mean when St John wrote, “No one who has been begotten by God sins; because God’s seed remains inside him, he cannot sin when he has been begotten by God”? What John is referring to is that a person who has come to know Christ gives up his or her sins. He or she wants to live a holy and good life. A person who is born of God wants to live only a life of love for all. As St John says, “In this way, we distinguish the children of God from the children of the devil: anybody not living a holy life and not loving his brother is no child of God’s.” We distinguish ourselves from the sinners of the world because they sin without desiring to change their lives. They become one with sin and often would persecute those who are not on the side of sin. That is why even when we seek to live a good life, we are attacked and ridiculed as old-fashioned because the world does want us to be a reproach to their evil and immoral lifestyle.

Struggling against sin is what discipleship is all about. Having been enlightened by the Lord, we understand sin as being destructive to our happiness. When we are baptized, the Holy Spirit lives in us and we no longer desire to live in sin but in the truth. This does not mean that in our desire to live a holy and righteous life, we do not sin. We still sin, but not deliberately, and even if we did, it would have been just a moment of selfishness and self-centeredness. Deep within us, we do not want to sin and we continue to struggle against sin.

The letter of Hebrews urges us, “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Heb 12:4) Even after accepting Christ, because of our fallen nature, we are inclined towards sin on one hand and on the other, we want to resist sin. We must avoid the occasions of sin. It is not enough to desire to live in holiness if we do not protect ourselves from the temptations that come our way. If we know that we are weak and are inclined towards a particular sin, whether of lust, greed, gluttony, smoking or drinking excessively, then we should avoid those situations when we get tempted to sin. Refraining from those occasions of sin is the first concrete step to keep ourselves in holiness.

So long as we intend and struggle to give up sin, we can rely on God’s mercy and grace to save us. This is what St Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:21-24)

In the final analysis, we depend on the grace of God to overcome sin. To live a life of true discipleship, we must remain in the Lord by asking the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts anew every time we pray, when we celebrate the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We need to renew His grace in us each day by praying the Word of God daily. We also need the Church, the body of Christ to be with us as we do not fight sin alone but with our brothers and sisters. Unless, we allow the Holy Spirit to renew us through the means provided by the Church to stay close to Him, we will not be able to live a life of holiness. So let us desire to live a life of holiness, which is to live a life of the Spirit and a life of love for others. If we live the life of truth and love, ultimately, we will prove ourselves to be disciples of the Lord.

Monday, 2 January 2023

OVERCOMING OUR SINFUL NATURE

20230103 OVERCOMING OUR SINFUL NATURE

03 January, 2023, Tuesday

First reading

1 John 2:29-3:6 ©

Everyone must try to be as pure as Christ

You know that God is righteous –

then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous

has been begotten by him.

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,

by letting us be called God’s children;

and that is what we are.

Because the world refused to acknowledge him,

therefore it does not acknowledge us.

My dear people, we are already the children of God

but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;

all we know is, that when it is revealed

we shall be like him

because we shall see him as he really is.

Surely everyone who entertains this hope

must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.

Anyone who sins at all

breaks the law,

because to sin is to break the law.

Now you know that he appeared in order to abolish sin,

and that in him there is no sin;

anyone who lives in God does not sin,

and anyone who sins

has never seen him or known him.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 97(98):1,3-6 ©

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing a new song to the Lord

for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

have brought salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

ring out your joy.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp

with the sound of music.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

acclaim the King, the Lord.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

A hallowed day has dawned upon us.

Come, you nations, worship the Lord,

for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.

Alleluia!

Or:

Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

To all who received him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Or:

Heb1:1-2

Alleluia, alleluia!

At various times in the past

and in various different ways,

God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;

but in our own time, the last days,

he has spoken to us through his Son.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 1:29-34 ©

'Look: there is the Lamb of God'

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

OVERCOMING OUR SINFUL NATURE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JN 2:29-3:6; PSALM 98; JOHN 1:29-34]

We all know that humanity is powerless in resisting the temptations of the Evil One. In spite of severe and sometimes draconian laws imposed by society, man continues to sin. Perhaps in some countries where it is vast and criminals can get away by going into hiding, in Singapore, there is no place to hide. Yet, every day we hear of crimes being committed; rape, molestation, voyeurism, theft, robbery, drunken driving, CBT, and even murder. Why do people still commit crimes when they know they cannot escape the law?

If it is true of crimes, then when it comes to sins that are not considered criminal by law, more of us will commit them, such as pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, greed and lust. These are sins against our well-being and the good of others. When we allow the capital sins to take control of our lives, there will be no peace and joy in our hearts. We think that these offences are permissible simply because they do not break the civil laws but in truth, they destroy our happiness in life and cause others to suffer as well. St Paul clearly wrote, “the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21) Again, we ask, why do we do things against our well-being?

The reason is simple. We come from a wounded society and a fallen humanity. We belong to a generation of broken and wounded people. If we believe in the genome theory that we inherit the genes of our parents, we must also recognize that their sinful traits and character are passed on to us not just through genes alone but by their examples and the way they raise us. Many of us are hurt in the process and suffer much trauma in our lives. Those of us who have had traumatic experiences in our childhood will be affected in the way we act, think and conduct ourselves. So using the will alone is not sufficient to get us out of our sinful tendencies to react, defend and to fend for ourselves.

St Paul in Romans diagnosed the human condition when he wrote, “For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Rom 7:14-20)

Does it mean then, that we should just resign ourselves to sin, accept our sinful condition and admit defeat in our struggle against sin and temptations? That is precisely what the Devil wants of us – to give up our battle against darkness and evil. Those who are sinners consider themselves incorrigible. They feel powerless in the face of temptation and give in easily to the seduction of the world, the Evil One and the weakness of the flesh. They feel that there is no hope for them to be good and holy. Then there are those who seek to purify themselves as St John wrote, “Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ. Anyone who sins at all breaks the law, because to sin is to break the law.” Again, they fall back to sin repeatedly, go for confession and then sin again, until they give up returning to confession.

The truth is that only Christ is able to take away the sins of the world. John the Baptist said, “Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” Believing in Jesus as the Lamb of God, the sacrificial love of the Father, offered in sacrifice for our sins will enable us to realize that God is always forgiving and merciful towards us. We can overcome evil and sin not with our own strength but only with His. St Paul realized his powerlessness in the face of temptation. He wrote, “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:21-25)

Indeed, it is through the Sacrament of Baptism, that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and thereby given the power to overcome sin. John the Baptist declared, “I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptize with water had said to me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.” Unlike the baptism of John the Baptist which is but an expression of our desire to repent of our sins, Christian Baptism enables us to overcome sin not with our own strength and will but by the power of God’s love and mercy in us, in the Holy Spirit. By virtue of our baptism, we too are bestowed the messianic gifts of the Holy Spirit.

But is this really the case? How is it, then, that we still cannot overcome our sins when we are baptized in Christ? St John wrote, “You know that God is righteous – then you must recognize that everyone whose life is righteous has been begotten by him.” We can be righteous only when the Spirit of Christ lives in us at our baptism. But the truth is that even with baptism, many of us are weak. We continue to fall into sin and go back to our old way of life. It seems baptism has not truly made us children of God. We remain weak to resist sin. The real danger is that many of us, after being born again in baptism, do not continue to keep growing in maturity in our faith through regular fellowship with God and the Church; through spiritual growth and formation.

It is not because baptism is ineffective but because we have not allowed the grace of baptism to work in us. To be given a new birth through faith in Him means at the same time to follow Him in the new way of life. Being born again in Christ means to put on Christ in the way we think, love and act. It requires us to deepen ourselves into the Body of Christ through the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Confirmation. By receiving the Eucharist and celebrating the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord, we grow to become more like Him in Spirit and in love. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, we begin to strengthen our faith as we begin to witness for Him in our way of life. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we renew our love for Christ and His mercy for us when we sin through human weakness. Gradually as St John says, we purify ourselves to become more like Christ so that “all the ends of the earth” can see “the salvation of our God.”

In this way, we become truly the children of God because we live the life of Christ. We are adopted sons and daughters in the Son not just in name but in fact. St John wrote, “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.” We can be known as God’s children only if the world acknowledges the Father. If the world is opposed to God and to the values of the gospel, they will not be able to accept us. So we must remain firm even when our way of life is rejected by the world. The litmus test of whether we are truly the children of God is not so much by what we say but our obedience to the commandments of God, not out of fear but out of conviction and expressed in our love and service for our fellowmen.

THE REAL ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH

20230102 THE REAL ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH

First reading

1 John 2:22-28 ©

The anointing he gave you teaches you everything

The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ –

he is the liar,

he is Antichrist;

and he is denying the Father as well as the Son,

because no one who has the Father can deny the Son,

and to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father as well.

Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning:

as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in you,

you will live in the Son

and in the Father;

and what is promised to you by his own promise

is eternal life.

This is all that I am writing to you about the people who are trying to lead you astray.

But you have not lost the anointing that he gave you,

and you do not need anyone to teach you;

the anointing he gave teaches you everything;

you are anointed with truth, not with a lie,

and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him.

Live in Christ, then, my children,

so that if he appears, we may have full confidence,

and not turn from him in shame

at his coming.

Responsorial Psalm

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing a new song to the Lord

for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

have brought salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

The Lord has made known his salvation;

has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

ring out your joy.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

To all who received him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Or:

Heb1:1-2

Alleluia, alleluia!

At various times in the past

and in various different ways,

God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;

but in our own time, the last days,

he has spoken to us through his Son.

Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia!

A hallowed day has dawned upon us.

Come, you nations, worship the Lord,

for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.

Alleluia!

Gospel

'One is coming after me who existed before me'

This is how John appeared as a witness. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ he not only declared, but he declared quite openly, ‘I am not the Christ.’ ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘are you Elijah?’ ‘I am not’ he said. ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?’ So John said, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied:

a voice that cries in the wilderness:

Make a straight way for the Lord.’

Now these men had been sent by the Pharisees, and they put this further question to him, ‘Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the prophet?’ John replied, ‘I baptise with water; but there stands among you – unknown to you – the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap.’ This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.

THE REAL ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JOHN 2:22-28; JOHN 1:19-28]

It is significant that St John in the first reading wrote of the anti-Christs in the last days to come, not as enemies from without but enemies from within! Indeed, the real enemies of the Church are not those who oppose us from without. They cannot do us harm so long as we stand united in faith, love, and unity. The real problem is that not only is Christianity divided but even within the Catholic Church there are so-called ‘good’ Catholics claiming to be the Messiah of the Church but who are causing much confusion, disunity and division. St John wrote, “I am writing to you about the people who are trying to lead you astray.”

Indeed, we are faced with two groups of anti-Christ within the Church. There are the fundamentalist Catholics and Christians as well, who claim to have the purity of the faith. They are intolerant of others who do not belong to their group. Their views are not only conservative but narrow and exclusive. They are not open to the legitimate growth of doctrines and traditions of the Church. They fail to realize that doctrines and traditions grow with time but always in continuity with the deposit of faith. They would even attack the legitimate authorities of the Church and accuse them of heresy and infidelity to the apostolic faith. Unfortunately, today we have so much public criticism of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, not by non-Catholics, but by our own faithful, deriding and insinuating that he is the anti-Christ prophesied by some seers.

On the other hand, we have the other extreme group of Catholics who are liberal to the extent that they adulterate the Catholic Faith.They are even more destructive in a very subtle manner. They bring in all kinds of scientific theories, modern psychology, exotic religions, and impose them on the Catholic Faith. This is illegitimate inculturation. Their point of departure of faith is not from their personal faith in Christ or the faith of the apostles. They seek to transform the Catholic Faith into another faith all together, through syncretism of sciences and other religions, so much so that we have a faith that contains half-truths and half-lies. That is why it is so difficult to distinguish between what is authentically Catholic, rooted in the Catholic Tradition and scriptures, and a corruption of the apostolic faith.

The irony is that those who are confusing the faith of our naïve and simple Catholics are the theologians, philosophers, scientists, and the intellectuals. Their arguments are based on reason, not on faith. Their hypotheses and novel theories often sound logical and attractive, and this accounts for their many followers and supporters. Quite often, intellectual pride springs from the need to be popular and accepted. We want to do things in a spectacular way to get attention, publicity, and recognition.

This is so unlike John the Baptist in today’s gospel. When asked repeatedly whether he was the Messiah, Elijah or the prophet promised by Moses, without hesitation and in absolute terms, he said, “I am not! He did not seek to be popular or to be different for the sake of being different. He was uncompromising in being true to God and the mission that God gave to him. John the Baptist knew who he was and there was no need to pretend otherwise. He could have deceived the crowd who thought he was the Messiah, or the prophet, or Elijah. Instead, he was contented to say, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness.” He could have confused the people who were waiting for the Messiah but he did not take advantage of the opportunity.

The truth is that these detractors do not have a real personal faith in Christ. They do not know Jesus. They do not know Christ. Their faith is a pure intellectual faith. Their theology is based simply on human speculation and reason. It is rationalistic in approach. Without a personal encounter with the Lord, without a real love for the Word of God, without being in union with Christ, rooted in Him, and a living and intimate relationship with Him, such theological reflections are pure speculation. They have nothing to do with Jesus the Christ but some figment of their imagination. This is what the scriptures say. They are not in Christ! St John wrote, “Live in Christ, then, my children, so that if he appears, we may have full confidence, and not turn from him in shame at his coming.”

What does it mean to live in Christ? It means that we must be in union with Him as the Head of the Church and with His body. We know that we are in Christ only when we are in union with the Church. That is why we must return to the apostolic faith. St John urges us, “Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning: as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in you, you will live in the Son and in the Father; and what is promised to you by his own promise is eternal life.” Indeed, we must be watchful of novelties and alien ideas and theories that are subtly introduced into the faith of the Church. We must always check whether such theories are consistent with the faith passed on to us.

This apostolic faith is preserved in the Church which we call, “the deposit of faith” found in scripture and tradition, guided by the authoritative teachers of the Church, the Holy Father in union with the College of Bishops, the successors of the apostles. Although all Catholics are anointed in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth is present in a special way, an infallible manner, in the teaching of the magisterium. This is the sure way that the authentic faith is preserved in the Church. This is what St John wrote, “But you have not lost the anointing that he gave you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; the anointing he gave teaches you everything; you are anointed with truth, not with a lie, and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him.” St Paul also wrote, “If I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” (1 Tim 3:15) This is all the more necessary because in this digital age, there is so much information in cyberspace, and with the culture of relativism, many are no longer able to discern what truth is as everyone is claiming to know the truth.

As Catholics, we only submit to the teaching of the Holy Father and the Magisterium because they are given the gift of infallibility, being anointed in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. We do not submit to the theologians unless they are teaching in union with the Magisterium. Those so-called theologians who teach contrary to the faith as taught by the Magisterium are the new anti-Christs as they cause confusion, scepticism, loss of faith and division within the Church. They are not at the service of the Church but they are for themselves.

So the question we need to ask ourselves today is: Do we truly know Christ in the flesh? Have we encountered Him personally? What knowledge do we have of Jesus and the Church? What is the fundamental criterion of our faith in Christ? St John wrote, “The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ – he is the liar; he is Antichrist; and he is denying the Father as well as the Son, because no one who has the Father can deny the Son, and to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father as well.” Is this what we truly believe in our hearts and in our minds? Are we truly convinced that He is the Son of God and the Son of Man? Anything less than that will lead to all kinds of heresy. That is why, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God was celebrated yesterday, for our confession in Mary as the Mother of God implies our confession in Christ who is the second person of the Holy Trinity, who is both God and man, without confusion, admixture, separation, and division. Our faith is in Jesus who is one divine person who is truly God and truly man.

Thus, it is critical that our Catholics have no excuse for being ignorant about their faith, the doctrines of the Church and not cultivating a personal relationship with the Lord that is rooted in contemplation of the scriptures. Unless we know Christ both personally and doctrinally, we will only give our own version of Christ and mislead those under our charge and our care. Church leaders, lay or clerical, or religious, must always be forming themselves in the faith, for growth in faith is an ongoing process. Formation does not stop after Confirmation, or after RCIA, or after seminary studies. This is the reason why we inaugurated the Catholic Theological Institute of Singapore because we want every Catholic to be well formed in the authentic teaching of the Magisterium and not some books or courses that many read unwittingly, not knowing that such teachings are contrary to the faith of the Church. Of course, the study of theology and scriptures does not end with the passing of exams or earning academic degrees, but it must lead to a deeper prayer life and intimacy with the Lord.

In the final analysis, how do we know that we are not the traitors of Christ in our Church? When we are in union with Christ and His Church, especially the Holy Father and the Bishops! If we are not in communion with the Church, it is unlikely we are in communion with Christ since He is the Head of the Church. He is the one who sent us the Holy Spirit and guaranteed that He will be with the Church until the end of time (cf Mt 28:20) and that no gates of hell will be able overcome it. “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18)

Consequently, we are doing a disfavour to the Church when we publicly criticize the Holy Father and Church authorities in public. It only brings more division and disorder. We allow our enemies to see our weaknesses and they will take advantage of our internal division. Calling the Holy Father, the anti-Christ, will not serve the purpose of the Church. To deny his authority is to deny the Vicar appointed by Christ Himself. They will lose credibility and not be able to lead the Church in unity. Publicly deriding Church leaders will only cause more division. It shows a lack of charity because truth must always be spoken in charity. When charity is lacking, there is no truth, but only revenge and vindictiveness.

Truly, what counts at the end is not whether we are fundamentalists, progressives, or moderates, but whether we are living the life of charity and love in Christ. True faith will be manifested in right living, in truth and in love. It will be shown in humility, gentleness, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. (cf Gal 5:22) True faith will lead to a deeper love of our Lord and a firm conviction of Him as our Saviour. True faith will enable us always to live in faith, hope and love. Without faith, we will only live for ourselves and without hope in eternal life.