THE HEART OF THE MATTER

20240504 THE HEART OF THE MATTER

 

 

04 June 2024, Tuesday, 9th Week in Ordinary Time

First reading

2 Peter 3:11-15,17-18 ©

We are waiting for the new heaven and the new earth

You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved. You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen.

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 89(90):2-4,10,14,16 ©

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

Before the mountains were born

  or the earth or the world brought forth,

  you are God, without beginning or end.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

You turn men back to dust

  and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’

To your eyes a thousand years

  are like yesterday, come and gone,

  no more than a watch in the night.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

Our span is seventy years,

  or eighty for those who are strong.

And most of these are emptiness and pain.

  They pass swiftly and we are gone.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

In the morning, fill us with your love;

  we shall exult and rejoice all our days.

Show forth your work to your servants;

  let your glory shine on their children.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

---

Gospel Acclamation

Heb4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

Or:	cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel

Mark 12:13-17 ©

Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God

The chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

 

 

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

---

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Pt 3:11-15, 17-18; Ps 90:2-4,10,14,16; Mk 12:13-17]

What is the ultimate destiny of every person and of this creation?  This is the all-important question we must consider if we are to live a purposeful and meaningful life.  Otherwise all the hard work we put in will come to nothing.  What we do will be undone.  If that is so, why waste our energy, sweat and labour in vain?  If everything in life comes to naught, then why bother to live our lives responsibly?  If what we do now have no continuity, we might as well just live for this life, and have no care for tomorrow; after all, we will not be here.  Why do we even bother about ecology and protecting this earth, since, as St Peter said, a day will come “when the sky will dissolve in flames and the element melt in the heat” – most likely due to climate warming and wars fought through the use of technology.  Indeed, we wonder whether there is a future for this earth, and more importantly, a future for us who work and labour so hard to preserve this creation for the future of humanity, sacrificing ourselves, our comfort, our time and our sweat and tears.   Indeed, the psalmist says, “You turn men back to dust and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’ To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, no more than a watch in the night. Our span is seventy years, or eighty for those who are strong. And most of these are emptiness and pain. They pass swiftly and we are gone.”

For us, Christians, we know for certain our destiny.  St Peter tells us, “What we are waiting for is what he promised:  the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home.”  Indeed, this is Christian Hope.  We know that this world is passing.  What we are waiting for is a new heaven and a new earth.  The entire creation would be transformed and transfigured. St Paul wrote, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”  (Rom 8:18-21)

Knowing our destiny, we must therefore work towards it.  This is what St Peter exhorts us.  Whilst this earth will pass away, what we do here and now does matter for the next life.  Vatican II in the Constitution of the Church for the Modern World teaches us that although “We do not know the time for the consummation of the earth and of humanity, nor do we know how all things will be transformed. As deformed by sin, the shape of this world will pass away; but we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling place and a new earth where justice will abide, and whose blessedness will answer and surpass all the longings for peace which spring up in the human heart. Then, with death overcome, the sons of God will be raised up in Christ, and what was sown in weakness and corruption will be invested with incorruptibility. Enduring with charity and its fruits, all that creation which God made on man’s account will be unchained from the bondage of vanity.”  (GS 39)

Consequently, “while we are warned that it profits a man nothing if he gain the whole world and lose himself, the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this one. For here grows the body of a new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of foreshadowing of the new age. For after we have obeyed the Lord, and in His Spirit nurtured on earth the values of human dignity, brotherhood and freedom, and indeed all the good fruits of our nature and enterprise, we will find them again, but freed of stain, burnished and transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father: ‘a kingdom eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.’ On this earth that Kingdom is already present in mystery. When the Lord returns it will be brought into full flower.”  (GS 39)

It is within this context that we “should be living holy and saintly lives” while we “wait and long for the Day of God to come.”  Similarly, St Peter exhorts us, “while you are waiting do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace.”  If we want to find eternal rest after our sojourn on earth, we must already be at rest in our hearts today.  This means that we must live with a clear conscience, free from all faults – at least the known ones -, living a life of integrity and charity.  In this way, we will be at peace with ourselves.  St John assures us, “let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.  And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.”  (1Jn 3:18-22)

Whilst there is still time, then St Peter said, “Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved.”  Indeed, God is patient with us.  So long as we are in this world, we need to use the occasions and opportunities in life to do good on one hand, and to use those occasions when we make mistakes or fall into sin, as lessons that we can learn, and purify our motives and our actions in life.  We must therefore be alert always, as St Peter says, “You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on.”   We need to be alert to the illusions and temptations offered by the world, and the clever arguments they propose so as to convince us to live a worldly life, which would only bring destruction to our souls.

How, then, do we grow in holiness and in grace?  St Peter gives us the direction, “Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.”  Knowing Christ and the gospel is the key to salvation in life.  Only Jesus can show us the way to the truth and to life.  We need to read the Word of God daily, and pray unceasingly to Him. We need to celebrate the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and reconciliation, so that we will always be in union with Him and His Church, the Body of Christ.  With Christ and His Church, we will remain strong in our faith because, as St Paul says, “the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”  (1 Tim 3:15)

Secondly, St Peter says we must do all things for His glory and for eternity. “To him be glory, in time and in eternity.”  How do we do this?  The answer is given in today’s gospel.  The religious leaders were insincere in wanting to believe in Jesus and they sought to flatter Him in order to put Him off guard so that they could discredit Him.  But Jesus knew their hypocrisy when they posed this question to Him, “Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?  Should we pay, yes or no?”  The answer of Jesus is clear.  He asked them for a coin and said, “‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’  ‘Caesar’s’ they told him.  Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.'”

So what is it that belongs to Caesar and what is it that belongs to God?  On earth, we are called to serve and be responsible citizens, workers, community leaders and church members.  We are called to serve those who have charge over us because we are all called to serve humanity.  So, obedience to earthly authorities, and using whatever resources we have been given, is to give back what belongs to Caesar.  However, let us never forget, whatever we have, who we are – all belong to God.  This is the heart of the matter.  So it is crucial that we do everything for His greater glory.  Everything we have in this life is meant to prepare us for eternity.  By using them for His greater glory, we grow in kindness, in charity, in humility, in thanksgiving, in compassion.  In this way, our hearts will become more and more like God, able to embrace everyone into our circle of friendship.  What is this new heaven and earth, if not the family of God, living in love and unity, in communion with each other and with God.

---

Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved. 

A GROWING FAITH REQUIRES COMMITMENT

20230503 A GROWING FAITH REQUIRES COMMITMENT

 

 

03 June 2024, Monday, 9th Week in Ordinary Time

First reading

2 Peter 1:2-7 ©

You will be able to share the divine nature if you add goodness to your faith

May you have more and more grace and peace as you come to know our Lord more and more.

  By his divine power, he has given us all the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness. In making these gifts, he has given us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice. But to attain this, you will have to do your utmost yourselves, adding goodness to the faith that you have, understanding to your goodness, self-control to your understanding, patience to your self-control, true devotion to your patience, kindness towards your fellow men to your devotion, and, to this kindness, love.

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 90(91):1-2,14-16 ©

My God, in you I trust.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

  and abides in the shade of the Almighty

says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,

  my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’

My God, in you I trust.

His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;

  protect him for he knows my name.

When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you.’

My God, in you I trust.

I will save him in distress and give him glory.

  With length of life I will content him;

  I shall let him see my saving power.

My God, in you I trust.

---

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Col3:16a,17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,

find a home with you;

through him give thanks to God the Father.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf.Rv1:5

Alleluia, alleluia!

You, O Christ, are the faithful witness,

the First-born from the dead;

you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel

Mark 12:1-12 ©

They seized the beloved son, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce from the vineyard. But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully. And he sent another and him they killed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will respect my son” he said. But those tenants said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this text of scripture:

It was the stone rejected by the builders

that became the keystone.

This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

 

A GROWING FAITH REQUIRES COMMITMENT

---

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 PT 1:2-7; PS 91; MK 12:1-12]

The beginning of spiritual life is always faith.  There is no substitute for faith.  We need to take the first step of faith to begin our journey with the Lord.  Salvation is through faith in Christ.  But having chosen Him, we need to grow in discipleship.  This is what St Peter wished for the Christians, “May you have more and more grace and peace as you come to know our Lord more and more.”  Faith can grow only if we grow in our relationship with Him.  To know the Lord more and more is the way to acquire His mind and heart so that we can become like Him.  St Peter wrote, “By his divine power, he has (brought) us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness.  In making these gifts, he has given us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come:  through them you will be able to share the divine nature.”

The good news is that He has given us all that is necessary to know Him.  It is not as if we are in the dark.  We have received the gospel and His love.  We have come to know Him as our Lord and God.  The Lord has given us not just the gospel but His Church, the Magisterium to teach, nurture and strengthen us in our journey of God.  He has left behind His ordained ministers as shepherds to pastor the people of God, as teachers to instruct us about the faith and the Word of God, and as ministers to celebrate the sacraments as tangible and assured means to encounter His love and mercy and a sure assurance of His grace.  Indeed, we have also the liturgy and devotions to help us to grow in personal relationship with the Lord.  Indeed, as St Peter wrote, “By his divine power, he has given us all the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness.”

St Peter warns us “to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice.”  St Paul also wrote, “But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.  So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”  (1 Th 5:4-8) St John warns us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world – the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches – comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.”  (1 Jn 2:15-17)

We must therefore strive to live a life of holiness.   What is this holiness if not a life of virtue, especially a life of charity? St Peter said, “But to attain this, you will have to do your utmost yourselves, adding goodness, self-control to your understanding, patience to your self-control, true devotion to your patience, kindness towards your fellowmen to your devotion, and, to this kindness, love.”   Cultivating virtues is to cultivate stable dispositions and good habits that will direct the way we live our life.  In other words, we want to strengthen the goodness in us.  When there is goodness or virtues in our life, we will radiate the goodness of God to others.  St Peter said, “you will have to do your utmost yourselves.”  This implies that we need effort, and not just depend on grace alone.  We need to cooperate with grace using our human effort to perfect ourselves in virtue.

Self-control is a necessary virtue in life because unless we are in control of ourselves and of our will, and even of our thoughts, we will easily be swayed by our emotions and the temptations of the Evil One.  Self-control is a virtue that is ours through consistent practice and commitment.  Unfortunately, some modern psychologists are advocating that we must express our anger and our emotions, and even our desires, including sexual desires, as controlling them will inhibit our growth.  Consequently, we are raising a generation of people who are intolerant of others, who will not hesitate to retaliate with nasty words without thinking or controlling their thoughts, words and actions.  These can be disastrous because it can lead to violence and even killing. If we have no control over ourselves, how can we take charge of the lives of others?

Self-control, however, is a virtue cultivated not through self-will alone.  Rather, it is easier to practise self-control when we grow in understanding of the motives and consequences of our actions.  This is why St Peter says, “self-control to your understanding, patience to your self-control.”  When we understand the source of our anger or frustration, we will find better ways to deal with them, so that we do not release them on innocent people.  This is why it is important for us to be in touch with ourselves through silence and prayerful contemplation.  Instead of reacting to every stimulus, we should pause to think through our real source of irritation, our desires that have been denied, or a wounded ego.

Understanding is the key to practising self-control.  For example, when we understand why someone is hurting us because he himself was once a victim of hurt in that manner, then we are able to forgive that person.  After all, hurting people hurt people.  When we lack understanding of the struggles and circumstances of others, and we judge them strictly by the letter of the law, we will lack compassion and seek only raw justice.  But understanding their pain and also ours, we will be able to act instead of react, in a measured manner.  

Another important virtue in growing in faith is patience.  We need to understand that impatience is a manifestation of pride, whether impatience at our own spiritual growth, or that of others.  The pride of wanting to be perfect overnight is the cause of impatience.  But once again, a godly man who is aware of himself, his own limitations, accepts his human frailty, will be patient with himself, knowing that growth is a process.  We must be patient, as Jesus tells us in the parables of the mustard seed, the tares and the wheat, and the seed that grows by itself. (Mt 13:31f; 24-33; Mk 4:26-29) Patience with our loved ones, those under our charge and those who wrong us, is a sign of godliness because we know how patient God is with us and with His people who constantly rebelled against Him since the foundation of the world.

But faith needs to be expressed in a life of charity.   St Peter said, “kindness towards your fellowmen to your devotion, and, to this kindness, love.”   In choosing Christ, we choose to imitate His love for our brothers and sisters.   We must be careful not to reduce faith to mere verbal belief.  St James warned the Christians, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?  But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”   (cf Jms 2:14,18-20) Holiness is not merely individual holiness, but seen in social holiness as well.   Earlier on, St Peter called upon the newly baptized Christians, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.  For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.” (2 Pt 1:10f) In the final analysis, we will be judged by the way we love our brothers and sisters.

Finally, we need to have a discerning heart.  In practising self-control and patience, and even when we do works of charity, we must be discerning.  A discerning heart presumes that we know truly what is good and what is evil.  We must seek to do the will of God and what pleases Him.  In other words, as St Paul exhorts us, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”  (1 Cor 10:31) We must not fall into the blindness of the religious leaders who could not recognize Christ as the Son of the Father of the vineyard. Ultimately, knowing Christ as our foundation stone is the key to growing in truth and in love.  If we fail to take responsibility for the grace given to us, like the Jewish leaders, it will be taken away from us.  Let us make full use of the grace of baptism to live a godly life.

---

Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved. 

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST THAT SAVES HUMANITY

20240602 THE BLOOD OF CHRIST THAT SAVES HUMANITY

 

 

02 June 2024, Sunday, Corpus Christi

First reading

Exodus 24:3-8 ©

This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you

Moses went and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.’ Moses put all the commands of the Lord into writing, and early next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve standing-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed certain young Israelites to offer holocausts and to immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices. Half of the blood Moses took up and put into basins, the other half he cast on the altar. And taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.’ Then Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. ‘This,’ he said, ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.’

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18 ©

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

How can I repay the Lord

  for his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

  I will call on the Lord’s name.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord

  is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;

  you have loosened my bonds.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

  I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil

  before all his people.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

---

Second reading

Hebrews 9:11-15 ©

The blood of Christ can purify our inner self

Now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.

  He brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant.

Sequence

Lauda, Sion

The Sequence may be said or sung in full, or using the shorter form indicated by the asterisked verses.

Sing forth, O Zion, sweetly sing

The praises of thy Shepherd-King,

  In hymns and canticles divine;

Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song

Worthy his praises to prolong,

  So far surpassing powers like thine.

Today no theme of common praise

Forms the sweet burden of thy lays –

  The living, life-dispensing food –

That food which at the sacred board

Unto the brethren twelve our Lord

  His parting legacy bestowed.

Then be the anthem clear and strong,

Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song,

  The very music of the breast:

For now shines forth the day sublime

That brings remembrance of the time

  When Jesus first his table blessed.

Within our new King’s banquet-hall

They meet to keep the festival

  That closed the ancient paschal rite:

The old is by the new replaced;

The substance hath the shadow chased;

  And rising day dispels the night.

Christ willed what he himself had done

Should be renewed while time should run,

  In memory of his parting hour:

Thus, tutored in his school divine,

We consecrate the bread and wine;

  And lo – a Host of saving power.

This faith to Christian men is given –

Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:

  Into his blood the wine is turned:

What though it baffles nature’s powers

Of sense and sight? This faith of ours

  Proves more than nature e’er discerned.

Concealed beneath the two-fold sign,

Meet symbols of the gifts divine,

  There lie the mysteries adored:

The living body is our food;

Our drink the ever-precious blood;

  In each, one undivided Lord.

Not he that eateth it divides

The sacred food, which whole abides

  Unbroken still, nor knows decay;

Be one, or be a thousand fed,

They eat alike that living bread

  Which, still received, ne’er wastes away.

The good, the guilty share therein,

With sure increase of grace or sin,

  The ghostly life, or ghostly death:

Death to the guilty; to the good

Immortal life. See how one food

  Man’s joy or woe accomplisheth.

We break the Sacrament, but bold

And firm thy faith shall keep its hold,

Deem not the whole doth more enfold

  Than in the fractured part resides

Deem not that Christ doth broken lie,

’Tis but the sign that meets the eye,

The hidden deep reality

  In all its fullness still abides.

– – – – – –

*Behold the bread of angels, sent

For pilgrims in their banishment,

The bread for God’s true children meant,

  That may not unto dogs be given:

Oft in the olden types foreshowed;

In Isaac on the altar bowed,

And in the ancient paschal food,

  And in the manna sent from heaven.

*Come then, good shepherd, bread divine,

Still show to us thy mercy sign;

Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;

So may we see thy glories shine

  In fields of immortality;

*O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,

Our present food, our future rest,

Come, make us each thy chosen guest,

Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest

  With saints whose dwelling is with thee.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

Gospel Acclamation

Jn6:51

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven, 

says the Lord.

Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel

Mark 14:12-16,22-26 ©

This is my body; this is my blood

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to Jesus, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and say to the owner of the house which he enters, “The Master says: Where is my dining room in which I can eat the passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us there.’ The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover.

  And as they were eating he took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. ‘Take it,’ he said ‘this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it, and he said to them, ‘This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.’

  After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives.

 

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST THAT SAVES HUMANITY

---

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EX 24:3-8; PS 115:12-13,15-18; HEB 9:11-15; MK 14:12-16, 22-26]

In the gospel after giving the bread to His apostles, Jesus said, “‘Take it,’ he said ‘this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it, and he said to them, ‘This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many.”  This year the liturgy invites us to focus primarily on the blood of Christ that saves us from our sins.  Why is the blood of Christ necessary for our salvation?

To understand the significance of the blood of Christ, the liturgy brings us back to the time of the Israelites under Moses.  Blood was the way to seal a solemn contract.  After Moses “told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.'”  Blood was then taken from an animal that was sacrificed for the communion sacrifice with the Lord.  Blood was both a symbol to seal their commitment to the Covenant, as well as a symbol of communion between God and His people.  Hence, when the people made the commitment to the Covenantal Laws, “Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. ‘This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.'”

At the same time, the sacrificial language of blood is clear.  To shed one’s blood is to offer one’s life.  When a man dies, his blood stops flowing.  Blood, therefore, is a symbol of life.  Only God can give life.  As such, the Israelites are forbidden to drink the blood of animals.  Life belongs to God alone.  Hence, no one can shed the blood of another fellow human being.  But why do we need the blood of an animal, much less the blood of Jesus, to save us from our sins?  In truth, it is not so much the blood of an animal that saved the Israelites from their sins, or the blood of Christ that brings about the forgiveness of our sins per se.  It does not mean that God is pleased that we sacrifice the blood of an animal or of our Lord in our place so that He can forgive us our sins.  Rather, because the blood signifies our communion with God, since blood is life. The sprinkling of the blood symbolizes that we are now in communion with Him.

Of course, in the case of Jesus, the shedding of His blood on the cross is first and foremost, the giving of life to His people.  Hence, He said, “This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many.”  It is done in reference to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, which we read in Isaiah 53.  By shedding His blood for us, the Lord enables us to be in communion with Him.  Hence, the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper was an anticipation and acceptance of the cross in obedience to His Father to reveal to us the gravity of our sins and the depth of His love.

Only by pondering and contemplating on His innocent and vicarious suffering on the cross on account of our sins, can we be moved to repentance and seek union with God.  Drinking His blood, therefore, means that we are receiving life from God. Hence, the letter of Hebrews says, “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.”  By coming to grips with what the Lord has done for us and what He has gone through, we are impacted by His vicarious sacrifice for us.

But drinking His cup also means that we are ready to suffer with Him as well, especially when we suffer innocently; that we, too, will use innocent suffering as a means to soften and open the hearts of evil men.  This was what happened in the war in Gaza.  When people saw thousands of innocent and vulnerable women, children and men suffering the ravages of war, the injuries and the hunger, people in the world began to wake up to the atrocities of war and how blind they have been to their sufferings.  Ironically, it took the death of seven aid workers serving in the World Kitchen to awaken the conscience of the political leaders when their own people were killed innocently in the war.  There are thousands of other innocent people killed, but the pain and grief was never felt so much until their own people suffered the same fate.  This is true of our Lord as well.  Until we suffer with Him innocently, we will not know what love and forgiveness entails.  It is easy to drink the cup of our Lord at the Eucharist, but this Cup in the bible is often seen as a cup of wrath, of suffering, of shedding one’s blood.

This is why the blood of Jesus is more effective than the blood of the animals, as the letter to the Hebrews emphasized.  “He has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us.”   Hence, the sacred author of Hebrews says He is the mediator of the New Covenant, because the value of His blood was the gift of Himself.  On the cross, Jesus was not just a victim but He was also the priest.  In other words, He offered Himself as the concrete manifestation of God’s love and mercy for sinful humanity, inviting us to repent and turn away from our selfishness and evils.

Indeed, what is truly transforming in life is always sacrificial love.  This is why the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is linked intimately to His Passion on the Cross, Easter, Pentecost, and the Feast of the Holy Trinity, which we celebrated last Sunday.  In all these feasts, we celebrate the love and mercy of God.  At Easter, we celebrate Divine Mercy in His resurrection.  At Pentecost, we celebrate the outpouring of the love of the Holy Spirit.  At the feast of the Holy Trinity, we celebrate the intra-dynamic relationship of God who is love summed up in the Trinitarian relationship.   Only because God is love and in perfect relation, we are called and empowered to love like Him and be in harmonious relationship with Him and with our brothers and sisters.

To empower us to love like Him, and to allow His Spirit to live in our hearts, we need to be in communion with Him, by eating His body and drinking His blood.  Consequently, it is important that a real participation of His life is involved in a real eating of His body and drinking of His blood.  For this reason, it is more than just a symbolic presence of our Lord in the bread and wine – we are truly celebrating the sacrifice of our Lord at every Mass, and through the mystery of transubstantiation, bread and wine is transformed into the body and blood of Christ.  As we partake of the bread and wine, we too are transformed in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We become one in Him and one with the Church, and through Christ and the Holy Spirit, we are in union with His Father.  Indeed, we become what we receive.  This is the reason why we should receive the Eucharist every day, so that more and more, we become Jesus in our life.

Today, as we celebrate this feast of the supreme gift of God Himself to us in Christ, and as we join in the procession, we want to be the Eucharist in the world.   By carrying the Eucharist in public through the streets, we want to say to the world, we want to be present in their lives.  We want them to recognize Jesus in us, to walk where they walk, to suffer with their suffering, to heal them with our love and to console them with our mercy.  Indeed, when we love like Jesus in the Eucharist, we will transform lives and give hope to others.

Indeed, the Eucharist is the summit of our faith and the source of our strength as we travel through this life in the valley of tears towards the heavenly kingdom.  The Eucharist gives us strength on our journey, and that is why we call it the Viaticum, food for the journey.   Spending time in silent adoration before the Lord in the Eucharist will give us the presence of Jesus and most of all, His love and mercy.  The Lord will draw us to love Him, and He will inspire us to live our lives fully by giving ourselves in humble service to others, even to the extent of suffering vicariously for sinners and those who oppose us.  The Eucharist is the treasure of the Church and so let us treasure it in our hearts and in our life.

---

Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.