Friday, January 28, 2011

另一非传统的道德

常年期第四主日

从小我们就学到要坚强并不让别人欺负我们. 我们永不认输. 如果别人对我们无情, 我们必会更无情回敬使他们知难而退. 当与无理取闹和专横的人交往时, 我们也加以回敬不让他们爬上我们的头上来. 这是国与国之间的交涉政策. 在1999年, 纽约的贸易中心被恐怖份子所炸毁. 第二年, 美国就侵犯亚富尼期坦. 在2003年侵入伊拉克. 这是强国如美国的哲学观 – “让他们知道谁是老大!”

为基督来说, 这想法就与天国的价值观背道而驰了. 天国的价值观或真福八端记载在今天的福音中: “神贫的人是有福的; 温良的人是有福的; 哀恸的人是有福的; 饥渴慕义的人是有福的; 怜悯的人是有福的; 心里洁净的人是有福的; 缔造和平的人是有福的; 为义而受迫害的人是有福的.”

对耶稣来说, 那些弱小的, 无权力的, 温和的及那些耐心忍受痛苦和迫害的才是有福. 这肯定很难理解的. 事实上, 如果我们以世俗的想法看待这些价值观, 我们是不可能明白的.

但是, 圣保禄告诉我们: “天主偏召选了世上愚妄的, 为羞辱那些有智慧的; 召选了世上懦弱的, 为羞辱那坚强的; 甚而天主召选了世上卑贱的和受人轻视的; 以及那些一无所有的, 为消灭那些有的.” 权势, 暴力, 仇恨和抱负最终也得回同样的结果那就是权势, 暴力, 仇恨和抱负. 耶稣告诉我们 – “凡持剑的, 必死于剑下.”

为此, 耶稣给了我们另一非传统的道德或价值观. 那是将我们的世界转变为天主的国的价值观. 在那充满和平, 喜乐及爱的国度里天主最终掌控一切. 耶稣以率真的道德准绳反击贪婪. 以弱小的反击强势; 以怜悯和宽恕反击复仇的; 以诚实反击欺诈; 以和平反击暴力.

我们当中有人或许会想: “这对天主来说是容易的. 他是神. 他不需要像我们一样受苦.” 然而, 天主, 确实经历了. 他成了我们当中的一个. 耶稣成为谦逊, 无权力和反暴力的最佳典范. 耶稣过的是贫穷的生活. 他是温和的. 他为丧失所爱的人悲悼. 他可望正义. 他表露怜悯. 他常怀着纯正的意向. 他是个缔造和平的人及最后忍受迫害, 痛苦甚至在敌人手中接受死亡. 看来好象他的敌人最后得到胜利. 但是我们知道是耶稣得到最后的胜利. 暴力和权势失败了. 软弱和怜悯获得了最后的胜利.

今天, 如果你在寻求天主, 那么就求谦逊, 无能, 因为你会发觉当祢软弱时, 正是祢刚强有力的时候

A set of alternative ethics

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time A

One of the things that we have learnt from a very young age is to be strong and not let others take advantage of us. We must never lose out. If others are harsh to us, we must learn how to be harsher to them so that they will not repeat their actions. When dealing with unreasonable and bossy people, we too must be equally aggressive so that they do not climb over our heads. This is how countries often deal with one another. In 1999, the twin towers of New York were destroyed by terrorists. The following year, America invaded Afghanistan and in the year 2003, Iraq. This is the philosophy of big and powerful countries like America – “Show them who’s the boss!”

For us Christians, this way of thinking goes against every value of the Kingdom of God. The values of the Kingdom or the beatitudes are listed out in the gospel today: “Happy are the poor in spirit; happy the gentle; happy those who mourn; happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right; happy the merciful, happy the pure in heart, happy the peacemakers, happy the persecuted.” According to Jesus, it is the weak, the powerless, the gentle and the ones who patiently endures suffering or persecution that is blessed. This is certainly hard to understanding. In fact, it is impossible to understand these values if we were think like the rest of the world.

But St. Paul tells us: “it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything.” Power, violence, hatred and revenge will finally result in the same thing – power, violence, hatred and revenge. Jesus tells us – “those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”

And so Jesus gives us an alternative set of ethics/values. It is the values that will transform our world into the Kingdom of God – the kingdom where God will ultimately be in control- the kingdom of peace, joy and love. Jesus counters the ethics of greed with an ethics of simplicity. He counters the ethics of power with the ethics of weakness. He counters the ethics of seeking revenge with the ethics of mercy and forgiveness. He He counters the ethics of dishonesty with an ethics of honesty. counters the ethics of violence with the ethics of peace.

Some of us may think: “This is easy for God to say. He’s God. He doesn’t need to suffer as we do.” But this is exactly what God had experienced in the flesh. God became one of us. Jesus becomes the perfect example of humility, powerlessness and non-violence. Jesus lived a life of poverty. He was gentle. He mourned over the loss of loved ones. He hungered for righteousness. He showed mercy. He was always pure in his intentions. He was a peacemaker and finally he endured persecution, suffering and even death at the hands of his enemies. It seemed that his enemies were victorious at the end. But we all know that it was really Jesus who was victorious. Violence and power had failed. Weakness and mercy had prevailed and won the day.

Today, if you are seeking the Lord, then seek integrity, seek humility, seek powerlessness, for then you will discover that it is when you are weak, you will be truly strong.

Friday, January 21, 2011

黑暗及光明

常年期第三主日

我们当中有许多人害怕黑暗. 鬼魂和恶魔喜欢隐藏在黑暗中. 盗贼藏在黑暗中伺机攻击受害子. 黑暗象征我们一切恐惧及焦虑. 黑暗象征我们的无知. 黑暗象征我们的破损.

然而, 我们当中却喜欢黑暗. 我们在黑暗隐藏我们的自私, 我们的不宽恕, 我们的骄傲, 我们的仇恨, 我们的偏见. 没有人知道我们在黑暗中的行为. 除了天主外, 没有人知道 … 罪恶就是黑暗.

但是, 世界的真光已来到! 基督真光已将临世上并照耀世界. 今天依撒意亚的预言应验了: “那坐在黑暗中的百姓, 看见了诰光; 那些坐在死亡阴影之地的人, 为他们出现光明.”

为那些生活在恐惧中的人, 那些生活在无知中的人, 这道光肯定带给他们真正的喜悦. 这就是依撒意亚所说的: “祢加强了他们的快乐, 扩大了他们的欢喜.”

为那些喜欢黑暗的人, 那些偏爱黑暗中的舒适多过于光的人, 光肯定是不受欢迎的. 这就是为什么耶稣受到抵制. 也是为什么司祭, 经师和法利塞人那么抗拒耶稣. 这一群人很高兴留在黑暗中, 因它带给他们虚假的安全感. 黑暗让他们支配别人. 然而, 基督真光却揭露这虚假的安全感.

今天我们仍在黑暗及光明之间挣扎. 在我们的人生中有那些黑暗之处? 或许, 黑暗代表我们的一些恐惧和焦虑. 它或许是我们对其他友族的成见. 它或许是我们的心不甘情不愿与教会的人合作. 我选择与其些人合作而杯葛所有另一人所组办的活动. 初期的基督徒也为这些纷争而挣扎. “我是属阿颇罗的.” “我是属刻法的.” 保禄却提醒他们若要称自己为基督徒, 若要称自己我属光明的人, 他们之间不该有任何分裂.

主内的兄弟姐妹, 我们都是光明的子民, 不再住在黑暗中. 身为光明的子民, 我们彼此之间的关系改变了. 像当初的门徒, 我们被召进入基督的新团体. 既然我们都是光明的子民, 让我们确保我们生活在光明中 – 继续为团体中的合一而努力, 排除心中一切的成见, 不宽恕及仇恨, 排除我们生命中的一切黑暗.

Darkness and Light

Third Ordinary Sunday Year A

Many of us are afraid of the dark. Ghosts and demons like to hide in the dark. Robbers hide in the dark waiting to jump on some unsuspecting victim. Darkness represents all our fears and anxieties. Darkness represents our ignorance. Darkness represents our brokenness.

But some of us like the dark too. We can hide things in the dark – our selfishness, our unforgiveness, our pride, our hatred, our prejudice. No one knows what we do in the dark. No one knows except God… Sin is darkness.

But the Light of the World has come! Christ the Light has come into the world and now the world is ablaze with that light. Today the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: “The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.”

For the people who were living in fear, for the people who were living in ignorance, this light must have been a real source of joy. This is what Isaiah has written: “You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase.”

But for those who like the dark, those who prefer the comfort of the dark to that of the revealing light, the light must have been unwelcomed. This is the reason why Jesus met with so much resistance. This is the reason why he was rejected by the priests, the scribes and the Pharisees. These groups were happy remaining in the dark, because the dark gave them a false sense of security. The darkness allowed them to have control over others. But Christ the Light has come to expose the falsity of this security.

Today we continue to struggle with darkness and light. What are some of the dark areas of our life? Perhaps, darkness represents some of our fears and anxieties. Perhaps it is our prejudice against certain people especially those of other races. Perhaps it is our unwillingness to work with certain people in the Church. I prefer to work with this person but I will boycott all activities organized by this other person. The early Christians also struggled with these kinds of division. “I am for Apollos”, “I am for Cephas”. Paul reminded them that if they wish to call themselves Christians, if they wish to call themselves people of the light, there can be no such divisions.

My brothers and sisters in Christ. We are children of the Light and no longer a people who live in darkness. As people of the light, our relational ties with one another are transformed. Each of us are called like the first disciples into the new community of Christ. Since we are children of light let us ensure that we continue to live in the light – that we continue to work towards unity within our community, that we continue to remove all forms of prejudice, unforgiveness and hatred from our hearts, that we remove all forms of darkness from our lives.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

谦逊是意识到使命

常年期第二主日

“看, 天主的羔羊, 除免世罪者!” 洗者若翰就是这样向自己的门徒指出耶稣. 若翰的宣告真正地显示他的谦逊.

在另一部福音的章节中, 耶稣形容洗者若翰为妇女所生的, 没有一个比他更大的. 换句话说, 在耶稣的眼中, 若翰是在许多先知中是最大的. 事实上, 许多人相信若翰就是那个也是同一的厄里亚返回为默西亚的来临准备道路. 在历史上, 洗者若翰肯定是位拥有许多门徒的有名人物. 这就是为什么福音及宗徒大事录常有提到的原因.

如今, 这位充满神恩的, 却退后让位给他等待已久的那一位.这就是真正的谦逊. 谦逊并不是否认个人的天赋或才华. 谦逊并不是告诉别人个人的不好. 不是的. 真正的谦逊是意识到生命的使命及目的. 在今天的福音的尾端, 若翰告诉我们他的使命: “我看见了, 我便作证: 他就就是天主子.”

为基督作证也是我们的使命. 我们必须向别人指出 “万国的真光.” 我们必须向别人指出 “除免世罪的天主羔羊.” 我们不该把注意力引向我们. 身为基督徒并不是声望的竞争. 我们常遇到归光荣于自己的诱惑 – 把天主的恩宠归功于自己. 如果我们不小心, 我们会开始以为我们可以解决世上所有的难题.

骄傲使我们忘记天主. 骄傲使我们以为我们可以掌控一切. 骄傲使我们忘记我们的真正身份 – 天主的子女为天主所爱并不是因我们堪当而是因为天主是仁慈的. 骄傲使我们以为我们不需要任何人或天主, 单靠自己也可以获得幸福.

真正的谦逊是承认我们在世的真正身份及使命. 我们是仆人, 不是主人. 我们是使徒, 并不是那派遣的. 我们是天主救恩的事奉者, 并不是救世者.

让我们在这台弥撒中继续感谢天主, 赐予认识耶稣的恩典. 让我们把我们的眼目常凝视耶稣因他来为使天主的 “救恩达于地极.”

True Humility is recognising one's Mission

Second Ordinary Sunday Year A

“Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” This is how John the Baptist pointed out Jesus to his own disciples. This action of John truly reveals his humility.

John the Baptist is described by Jesus in another gospel passage as the greatest man to be born of a woman. In other words, in the eyes of Jesus, John was the greatest of the prophets. In fact, many believed him to have been Elijah – one and the same person- who has returned to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Historically, John the Baptist must really have been a famous figure who had many followers. This is the reason why he is mentioned in all gospel stories and in the Acts of the Apostles.

Now, this man of such great spiritual power steps back and gives way to the One whom he has been waiting for. This is true humility. Humility is not denying one’s gifts or talents. Humility is not telling others that one is bad. No. True humility is recognizing one’s mission and purpose in life. At the end of today’s gospel, John tells us his mission: “I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.”

This too is our mission – to be witnesses for Christ. We need to point others to the true “light of the nations.” We need to point others to “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” We should not be drawing attention to ourselves. Being a Christian is not a popularity contest. There is always the temptation to seek glory for ourselves – to claim credit for the grace of God. If we are not careful, we may start thinking that we can solve all the problems of the world.

Pride makes us forget about God. Pride makes us think that we are in control. Pride makes us forget our true identity – that we are sons and daughters of God, loved by God not because we are worthy but because God is compassionate. Pride makes us think that we can achieve happiness all by ourselves without any help from anyone or from God.

True humility is recognizing our true identity and mission in this world. We are servants not masters. We are apostles, not the One who sends. We are ministers of God’s salvation, not saviors.

Let us in this mass continue to thank God for the gift of knowing Jesus. Let us keep our eyes fixed on him for he has come so that God’s “salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Feast of Dedication of St John's Cathedral


An erudite Jesuit friend of mine preached this homily this morning on the occasion of the Feast of the Dedication of St John's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur

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If I had my way, I would not even be bothered to mark the anniversary of the “dedication” of St John’s Cathedral. But, I was reminded of this by the Marian Devotion Group. At St John’s, the liturgy takes the rank of a solemnity and for the rest of the Archdiocese, it is to be celebrated as a feast day—still a rank higher than a memorial. This reluctance to celebrate the dedication of a building stems from a fact which we rarely dare to admit. There are just too many “Protestants” in the Catholic Church so much so that the commemoration of the anniversary does not really make sense.

We celebrate the dedication of a cathedral not because it is a building but because the building symbolises the seat of authority. The word “cathedra” and the word “see” are synonymous. A “cathedra” is a chair and the word “see” is derived from the Latin for seat, “sedes”. In short, it is a day to take pride in the authority of the Bishop. But, the truth is, we are unable to because there are just too many “Protestants”.

Let me clarify my use of the word “Protestant”. Otherwise, I might come across as politically incorrect. The source of authority for the “Protestants” is “I believe”. I believe this to be so and therefore this is so. In a sense, what to be believed is reduced into merely an expression of personal judgement. I submit because I judge it to be right. Ultimately, it is an authority that is vested in oneself.

But, the source of Catholic authority comes from somewhere else. In the first place, it comes from Christ and very importantly, to secure the source, that is, that it comes from Christ, authority comes from the Apostles. The Roman Canon of the Eucharistic Prayer says as much: “We offer them for N. our Pope and for N. our bishop and for all who hold and teach the catholic faith that comes to us from the Apostles”. But, some of us are schizophrenic at best or bi-polar at worse. Why? Because, we exhibit some kind of split assent in our lives. I know of a man who comes to receive Holy Communion very religiously. He believes that Holy Communion is truly the Body of Christ. He approaches the Blessed Sacrament with great reverence, so much so, that he would not receive Holy Communion with his hands. However, this same man could be quite virulent in his attack of the hierarchy. In this particular case, the Bishop.

To be fair, there is nothing wrong with his two “responses” until one realises that the authority, that is, the power to confect the Eucharist, and the authority of the Bishop to teach and to shepherd comes from the same source: Apostolic Succession. This is what I meant by “Protestants” in the Catholic Church. In other words, the two “responses” are a form of reductionism. I believe that this, the bread, is the Body of Christ and therefore it is. But, I do not believe that the bishop has the charism of authority to teach or to shepherd.

A priest when ordained requires a “celebret”, a Latin word for a document attesting to his faculty for exercising his priestly ministry, in order to celebrate the Eucharist in another diocese. When a priest leaves his diocese, he loses his faculty to exercise his ministry. He may have his power but he does not have the faculty to exercise it, signifying that his ministry is really a shared one, a participative and a collaborative ministry that is exercised in union with his bishop. On the other hand, a Bishop once ordained can exercise his ministry anywhere in the Church. The asking for permission is only a matter of courtesy. Why? He is ordained for the universal Church because he is a successor to Peter and the Apostles.

In the 16th Century, at the beginning of what we term as “national consciousness”, the period where the countries we know of were becoming countries, the Sun-King, Louis XIV of France used to say, “L’etat, c’est moi” translated as “I am the state”. In an analogous way, the Bishop can say, “I am the Church” and that should not be construed as arrogance. He is merely stating a fact.

Here, I take a pause. It seems that I am making a defence, an apologia for the bishopric. No. Instead, I am arguing for a coherence of faith. The heart of our struggle is not really with authority but rather the exercise of authority. The Christmas debacle is clearly a struggle in this regard. In other words, our struggle is to rehabilitate the exercise of authority. And this often brings us into the realm of the “affective”. Our likes or dislikes of the exercise of authority speak of preference. It is a protestant characteristic which upholds the primacy of the self.

At the heart of our Protestant mentality is not power but really a struggle in the service of faith. This service is not in the sense of the service of the poor but in the sense of faith in Christ who has come to save the world. That is why a Bishop’s voice must be authoritative but never authoritarian. In the service of faith, both his voice and his action must be loud and clear. In the exercise of his power, it should never be authoritarian.

Unfortunately, a by-product of this primacy of the self is an obsession with the “cult of personality”. Our assessment of the Bishop, his office and authority is often dependent on this “cult of personality”, on how we view and come to accept his personal traits and characteristics. The “cult of personality” measures a bishop’s worth, and by extension his credibility, based on his strength or weakness. Personally, his feet may be made of clay but officially, more importantly, sacramentally and ontologically, He is Christ. And we are his body. This is why the Bishop’s pectoral cross is devoid of a corpus—because scandalous as it may sound, his flesh is the flesh of Christ. And, according to the Ceremonial of Bishops, in a particular case, when there is a tabernacle on the altar at which the Bishop is to celebrate Mass, the Blessed Sacrament should be transferred to another fitting place. Think about it. How to understand the “seeming” denigration of Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament if not because the person of the Bishop is really Christ Himself present. That is the true meaning of the sacrament of Holy Orders and of Apostolic Succession. The Bishop is in persona capitatis Christi.

Perhaps, it is time for the Bishops and in an analogous way for the priests to reclaim what is rightfully theirs not as a right but rather as a service. The authority of Christ is always for service and that may explain why we have railed against the so-called pre-Vatican experience of authority—the experience manifested in this saying: the laity is to pay, pray and obey. The rehabilitation of authority in the service of faith is to convert the experience of heavy-handed authoritarianism into the authority that speaks with experience, with clarity, with humility and with courage even in the face of persecution. And to do that, there is a grave need for the Bishops and priests to return to authentic exercise of authority that is free from arbitrariness. Secondly, they must teach authoritatively. Thirdly, move away from merely portraying a public persona to living ontologically—to living because one is set aside by the authority of Christ Himself. Otherwise, there is a confusion between one’s priesthood which is really worthless and the priesthood of Christ for which ordination make sense.

In these last two week, we have learn at least one thing. The depth of our Catholic intuition. Firstly, the sense of outrage amongst Catholics reveal an intuitive desire for Bishops to speak authoritatively and secondly, the priests who stood up were not defending not Bishop personally but rather his inherent authority to provide a strong Catholic leadership.

Finally, the dedication of a cathedral can often past us by in a blink of an eye. But, its significance is far reaching and certainly further than what the eyes can perceive. It touches very much the foundation of what Catholics really believe.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

天主非常爱你


主受洗日

在你的生命中, 你最想要的是什么呢? 大汽车 … 美满的家庭 … 体贴的丈夫或贤淑的妻子 … 孝顺的子女. 不管你最想要的是什么 – 那一定是能带来最大的幸福的. 换句活说, 我们所追求的是幸福. 追求幸福是生命的推动力. 我们辛劳地工作, 我们选择朋友及物色伴侣, 我们努力考好学校成绩, 找份好工作 – 期望最后得到快乐. 我们设法取悦别人希望他们会接纳及爱我们. 但是, 让我告诉你一个事实 – 幸福并不是我们可获取的. 幸福永不是一种回馈. 我们永不能买幸福.

事实上, 幸福是天主的恩赐. 它是天主白白施于那些开诚接纳的人. 幸福是在心灵深处知道天主确实爱我们. 幸福是知道我们是可爱的, 在天主的眼中是珍贵的. 不管别人怎样看我们, 不管别人怎样判断我们, 没有什么可以改变天主爱我们的事实.

而这认知是耶稣背后的推动力.在耶稣受洗时, 天主圣父说: “这是我的爱子, 我所喜悦的.” 得知他是天父所爱, 耶稣开始宣传天国的福音. 虽然他面对许多挫折; 虽然被别人批评及所憎恨; 虽然他被自己的亲友, 近邻所拒绝; 虽然他被自己的门徒出卖, 耶稣从不放弃他的决定. 对耶稣来说 – 知道他是被天主所钟爱, 没有什么, 绝对没有可以改变的. 在十字架上, 在痛苦, 孤独中, 意识到天主对他的爱及在这最需要的时刻, 天主永不会离弃他, 耶稣才得以支撑下去.

天主要告诉你的是: “你是我的儿子. 你是我的女儿. 你是珍贵的. 我非常爱你.” 我们不须要向天主证明什么. 我们不须要向天主表示我们的好或完美. 虽然, 我们身负罪恶及软弱, 但, 天主仍爱我们.

如果在我们的日常生活中意识天主对我们的厚爱, 当我们面对别人的批评时, 我们就不会那么容易放弃. 每当我们举行感恩祭时, 我们常常被提醒 - 天主爱我们. 因着爱, 天主派遣他的唯一圣子为我们而牺牲. 耶稣赐下的体血是活生生的证据. 弥撒是天主爱的证明. 因为我们是天主所爱, 让我们现在就与每个人分享这份爱

Know that you are loved


Baptism of the Lord – Year A

What is the thing that you desire most in life? Big car … good family … loving husband or a loving wife … filial children. Whatever it is you want most in life – that thing is the thing which you believe will bring the greatest happiness into your life. In other words, the thing which we desire most in life is happiness. Pursuit of happiness is the driving force of life.

We work hard, we choose friends and the person we want to marry, we try to get good grades in school, good jobs – hoping that at the end of it all we will be happy. We try to please others hoping that they will come to accept us and love us. But let me tell you the truth – happiness is not something that we can achieve. Happiness is never the reward of doing something well. We can never buy happiness.

Rather, happiness is a gift from God. It is a gift freely given by God to those open to receive it. Happiness is knowing in the depths of one’s heart that one is truly loved by God. Happiness is knowing that we are loveable and that we are precious in the eyes of God. No matter how others may see us, no matter how others may judge us, nothing can change this single reality – we are loved by God.

This knowledge was the driving force behind Jesus. At his baptism, Jesus received this beautiful words from God the Father – “This is my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on him.” Knowing that he was loved by his Father in heaven, Jesus began his mission to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God. Although he faced many setbacks, although he was criticized and hated by many people, although he was rejected by his own relatives and neighbours, although he was betrayed by his own disciples, Jesus never waivered in his resolve. Only one thing mattered to him – knowing that he was loved by God and nothing … absolutely nothing can change that. On the cross, in the midst of his pain and loneliness, Jesus was sustained by the knowledge of God’s love for him and that God will never abandon him at this moment of his greatest need.

This is what God wants to tell each of you: “You are my Son. You are my daughter. You are precious. I love you very much!!!” We don’t have to prove ourselves to God. We don’t have to show him that we are good or that we are perfect. God loves us in spite of our sins and weaknesses.

If we live each day with this knowledge of God’s love for us, we will not easily give up especially when we are faced with criticism from others. Whenever we celebrate the Mass, we are reminded again and again that we are loved by God. It was because of love, that God sent his only Son to die for us. Jesus, who gives his body and blood, is living proof of this. The mass is proof of God’s love. Because we are loved by God, let us now share this love with every other person.