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The Gospel today poses a good question to us, which is "why do we go to church?" We may find some clue from the first reading. After defeating his enemies, Judas invited his brothers to go together to the temple. He did not go alone but went in a group and later joined the whole community. What did they do there? The words we find in the first reading are "adoration, praising, joyfully ... offering sacrifices and thanksgiving". All this they did with rejoicing and gladness. Going on to the Gospel, what did Jesus find in the temple instead? God's house had been turned into a robber's den. The traders were making money out of the worshippers while the chief priests and the scribes could not lead them to God. It is no surprise then that when Jesus began to teach, the people immediately listened to Him and recognized the truth in Him. Coming back to us, we are not alone in our journey towards God. Yes, there is of course a need for a personal relationship with God but let us not lose sight of the other half of the communitarian dimension. As one People of God, we come together in Church with prayers of praise, thanksgiving amid rejoicing and gladness for His presence and touch as we seek to listen to Him in our lives as individuals and as community.We praise Your glorious name, O Lord, for Your hand shapes our lives. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
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That holy and exemplary men and women may be our companions in proclaiming boldly the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
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"They began to proclaim the word of God boldly" (Acts 4:31). The word "boldly" can also be translated as "audaciously" or with "forthrightness" in announcing the Christian message. The ideal agents of evangelisation should be "holy and exemplary persons". Though God could have spread His Kingdom without human collaboration, He has always sought human partners, who as suitable and free instruments, work for the salvation of humankind. The laity can evangelise chiefly through prayer, the testimony of life and the establishment of a temporal order inspired by the Gospel. Though preaching the Gospel is the competence and principal duty of those who have been ordained, lay people, who have the necessary theological training, can preach. Vatican II stresses the need for priests to be holy preachers. God ordinarily prefers to show his wonders through those men who are more submissive to the impulse and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because of their intimate union with Christ and their holiness of life, they are able to say with St Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Let us therefore pray that all those who devote themselves directly to evangelisation may live a holy life that emphasises the credibility of the Christian message. | |
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