Stay awake

First Sunday of Advent Year B

I’m a light sleeper. The slightest disturbance, faintest noise, or tiniest sliver of light would usually awaken me. Perhaps, I am suffering from what doctors call “exploding head syndrome”, imagined loud noises in my head when I am transitioning from consciousness to sleep. Or maybe, I’m just wired to expect the Lord’s unexpected arrival, as He Himself had warned: “So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming, evening, midnight, cockcrow, dawn; if he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep.”

But let’s be honest, staying awake for most of us can be exhausting. We need our rest. We need to sleep. We need to regenerate. We have seasons of excitement and whole-hearted devotion, and we have seasons where we fall asleep, even in church. And for many, the homily is as good a time to sleep as any. Perhaps, even the most ideal moment. But today, our Lord issues the warning that we should “Stay awake”, or else suffer the dire consequences of our lack of vigilance. And being caught by the priest is the least of your concerns. Life is short so stay awake for it.

The same requests from the Lord would be made on the night of His betrayal, on the eve of His crucifixion and death. In the garden of Gethsemane, our Lord was deep in prayer, anguished by the “cup” of suffering He was about to drink. He took His inner circle of disciples (Peter, James and John) with Him and told them to “remain here and watch.” Then, while the Lord was in agonising prayer, His closest companions couldn’t stay awake. Three times the Lord returned from praying to find His disciples falling asleep. Three times the Lord orders them to “stay awake.” Three times His disciples fell asleep. It may be some weak consolation in knowing that the Apostles were not immune from dozing off on the job. One could only imagine the frustration and disappointment of the Lord.

Of course, the Lord was talking about more than just avoiding falling asleep while praying. He was giving instruction about our spiritual readiness for His coming. With the repetitive command to stay awake, our Lord spoke to all His disciples throughout the ages, including our generation, about the need to remain alert. I think for us it can become easy to lose our spiritual edge and focus. It is easy to grow complacent, lazy and careless. It doesn’t take much of a lapse in alertness to become desensitised to the spiritual reality upon us by the pseudo-comforting distractions around us. Staying awake spiritually involves looking past the clamour of worldly attractions. It’s about perceiving the presence of the kingdom of heaven growing up quietly and silently after the seeds have been scattered in the garden. It’s about resisting the cultural malady of practical atheism – living as if God did not exist or even if we were to accept that He did, it did not matter in our lives. This is what Advent is meant to accomplish for us - to transform us from spiritual sleepy heads to vigilant stewards, always alert and ready for the master’s return. The question left to consider is how: how can we stay awake?

First, we need to take the words of Christ seriously that He is returning. Many don’t believe in the Parousia, in the return of the Lord. Many believe that this is a bogey man invented by the Church to scare her members into submission. Many leave without giving serious thought that there would be a Day of Judgment, a day where we will be called to account for our actions and decisions. To stay awake means to listen to the Lord and His warning and to take Him seriously at His word.

Second, the Apostle Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. This was the Lord’s exhortation to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus tells us to “watch and pray.” If we are to stay awake in the midst of a world in a spiritual stupour, then we need to be diligent in prayer. No wonder Paul advises to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). In fact, we should be constantly praying for the Lord’s Second Coming as we do whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done!” There must be urgency in this prayer as Isaiah expressed with these powerfully vivid words: “tear the heavens open and come down!”

Third, staying awake means faithfulness and commitment to the task that has been placed before us. The second parable in today’s gospel reminds us that readiness is measured by people diligently doing their job. The wisest ones are those who consistently try to seek and serve their Lord at every moment of every day. The familiar Advent message to ‘stay awake’ invites us to live humanly to the best of our ability, continuing to do the necessary mundane things faithfully but always with a genuine care for unexpected surprises. We should be striving and praying, as St Paul did in the second reading, that our Lord will “keep you steady and without blame until the last day.”

The person who stays awake and remains faithful is the one who accepts the invitation to keep watch, that is, not let himself be overpowered by the listlessness of discouragement, by the lack of hope, by disappointment; and at the same time it wards off the allure of the many vanities with which the world is brimming and for which, now and then, time and personal and familial peace is sacrificed. It is the painful experience of the people of Israel, whom the Prophet Isaiah was sent to awaken. We too often find ourselves in this situation of unfaithfulness to the call of the Lord: He shows us the good path, the way of faith, the way of love, but we seek our happiness elsewhere.

Listening, praying and remaining faithful won’t tell us when the Lord is coming again, but they will get us ready to receive Him when He comes. Hopefully none of you out there are asleep yet. Hopefully you’ve managed to stay awake through my homily. But if you are asleep, know that God loves you and has sent Christ into the world to save you all the same. But for those who are asleep, He comes as Judge. And if you are asleep, or falling asleep, or peaceful and secure in your faith life, well, it’s time to wake up and come alive. Because what the Church needs are not people who are sleeping on the job but those who are alive and kicking, ever ready to preach the Gospel of Christ through the testimony of their words and actions. So, stay awake!

The Myth of Pastoral Charity

Solemnity of Christ the King Year A

There has been heated discussion of late as to whether one could depart from settled doctrine and revealed truth in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition by citing the all-encompassing tag phrase of modern times - pastoral charity. In other words, some would argue that the controversial moral issues of our times, including blessing same sex marriages and admitting women into holy orders, would be non-issues if we shift away from focusing on orthodoxy - right teaching - and start focusing more on orthopraxis - right practice based on pastoral charity. So, what exactly is pastoral charity? Can it be so powerful that it can justify the setting aside of truth in the name of kindness and solicitude? It is interesting that we can find our answer in today’s reading.

Let’s first examine the word “pastoral,” which comes from the Latin “pastor,” which means shepherd. The first reading gives us an excellent exposition of the work of the Shepherd King who is God. The Old Testament prophecy of Ezekiel that God will judge “between sheep and sheep, between rams and he-goats” is fulfilled in our Lord’s parable in the gospel. Although the element of judgment is found in both readings, Ezekiel’s prophecy broadens the scope of the shepherd king’s job:
He will keep all, and not just some, of his sheep in view;
He will rescue them whenever they have been scattered in mist and darkness;
He will pasture them and show them where to rest;
He will “look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong;
He shall watch over the fat and healthy (I guess in our day and age, these two categories point to different categories at both ends of a spectrum);
Then the Lord makes this promise: “I shall be a true shepherd to them.”

When we examine the roles of the shepherd, we notice that it does not include making his sheep happy or contented in their delusion. In fact, the work of the shepherd is to challenge that very delusion and falsehood of their choices which will lead them astray in the first place. The Shepherd does not leave them to their own devices. He goes in search of them. He restores them to their home. He heals those who are wounded instead of allowing the wounds caused by sin to fester and threaten the life of the sheep. This is what it means to be “pastoral.” The shepherd is not just contented in making his sheep feel good. He challenges them so that they strive to be good, in fact, to be the best version of themselves.

How about the second word in this popular expression commonly used by many in these times - charity? For that, we must turn to the gospel. The parable of judgment in the gospel moves away from these images of the shepherd king and now seems to draw us into the narrative by ascribing to us the very responsibilities which the Shepherd King has promised to undertake. The Shepherd King is not abdicating His responsibility and authority but expecting us to act in imitation of Him. We must imitate Him in charity.

The description of the Last Judgment in the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel would shock many people if they were to read it. The principles in accordance with which Christ will pronounce sentence are inescapably clear. Did you feed and clothe the poor for My sake, He will ask, because you recognised Me in them? If you have done so, you will certainly be saved. If you have neglected to do so, you will be condemned for all eternity. Christ does not ask about anything else, because everything else is subordinate to the precept of charity. Where there is charity, everything else follows. Where charity is lacking there is nothing else because Christianity is synonymous with charity. Charity, says St. Paul, “is the bond of perfection.” (Col. 3:14)

Our eternal salvation depends on our charity. But it must be charity in action, not merely in words. “He who has the goods of this world,” says St. John, “and sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1st Epistle of St. John, 3:17) Charity must be expressed in almsgiving and good works, for otherwise it would be a matter of idle talk which would be powerless to save us.

Secondly, pastoral charity which ignores or, worse, contradicts God’s revealed truth is not charity, but pseudo-charity. Such abuse of one’s pastoral role would be the greatest affront to the queen of virtues. Kindness or tenderness have their place, but when they degenerate into confirming the faithful in the commission of mortally sinful acts become a cruel caricature of the love a pastor of the Church owes to sinners when they come to him.

Thirdly, our almsgiving should not be dictated simply by natural feelings of compassion, however, nor by mere philanthropy. It should be pre-eminently a religious act, springing from supernatural motives. Because we see the person of Christ in the poor man, we should love and help him as we should our Divine Redeemer, of Whose Mystical Body he is a suffering member. This is real Christian charity.

There is one act of charity which we can all perform, even if we are poor. We can pray for those who never pray, for hardened sinners, for heretics, for those who persecute the Church, for the Missions, for the sick and dying, and for the souls in Purgatory. And for the laity, it is of utmost importance to pray for your leaders – the Pope, our bishops and priests – that they may be “true shepherds” and not false ones who lead their flock astray.

On this feast, when we remember our youth, let us also be mindful of the Church which we wish to bequeath to them on behalf of Christ the King. In wanting the best for them and future generations of Catholics, let us not delude ourselves into thinking that we can “rebuild” the Church, because we may end up, in our hubris, remaking her in our image and likeness, a false bride, instead of the “spotless bride of the spotless Lamb” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 796). Let us never forget that it is Christ who makes the Church, who renews the Church and reforms the Church. We are in Christ grafted as a branch onto the vine, and Christ is in us, feeding, making, and renewing us. Our battle cry isn’t “Yes, we can. Yes, we can!” but “Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!” “Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands.” He alone shall be the true Shepherd to us all!

How have you loved?

Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

The three readings we’ve just heard today seem to make strange bed-fellows. The first reading provides us with the criteria of a perfect wife, the second is St Paul’s exhortation to be ready for the Lord’s Second Coming because it would be as surprising as a thief who pays a visit in the night and finally, we have the gospel parable that many often take as a wise piece of advice to invest well and use our talents productively. What seems to be the underlying theme in all three readings? We already have a taste of it last week. It is wisdom. As wisdom distinguishes the perfect wife from other women, so should wisdom distinguish the disciple of Christ from others as he awaits the return of the Lord.

The Book of Proverbs gives us this earthy advise - “Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty; the woman who is wise is the one to praise.” Charm, personality and appearances may win you many friends and ensure that you ascend the ladder of success, but none of these traits can ensure that you would be ready to face the Lord’s judgment at the end of this age. Only acting wisely and preparing prudently can ensure that we can “stay wide awake and sober.”

Let us now turn to the famous parable of the talents in the gospel. Unlike what most people think, this is not a parable about how we should use our gifts, skills or talents for the betterment of the church. This is a common mistake among modern readers unfamiliar with the meaning of a talent. We think that the word “talent” in this passage means a person’s skill and ability. Only in St Matthew’s version of the parable, is the parable correctly named because only here in this gospel do we have mention of the monetary currency as talents.

A talent in this context is a measurement of weight, and the value of any talent depended on whether it was gold, silver or copper. Nevertheless, a single talent was a significant amount of wealth by any measure. A talent of gold was equal to the annual tribute of a medium sized province to the Roman Empire. So, the monetary trust given to each servant - five talents to the first, two to the second and one to the third - would have been staggering - an extremely great endowment, even for the last guy who just got one talent.

We must remember that this is an eschatological parable, which means it is about the end times. The message is simple but demanding: readiness for the Lord’s coming requires both foresight and an investment of effort on the part of His disciples. A disciple of the Lord does not just idly wait for the Master’s return, wasting his time without paying attention to his own spiritual growth and hoping that he can just make up for lost time at the end or defend his actions or inactions with some lame excuse. In all these parables concerning the end times, just like what we heard last week, there is a distinction made between wise and foolish behaviour and a stern reminder that there will be an accounting - the wise who were prepared are rewarded and the foolish would be punished.

So, the parable goes beyond the purpose of encouraging a prudent use and nurturing of one’s personal endowments. Like the other parables preceding it, we have here once again a cautionary tale, an ominous warning, our actions, our attitudes, our behaviour in relation to the Lord have dire consequences. In a world where many deny the existence of hell and have projected their own prejudices unto God, making Him out to be some Teddy Bear, who only gives hugs and never reprimands, these parables are potent reminders that we should never take God’s mercy for granted, and that we should never postpone and delay what changes that need to be done today. His coming will take all of us by surprise “like a thief in the night.”

Our Lord has entrusted the treasures of the Kingdom to us by calling us to be His servants. Whatever has been given to us, we will have to render an account for the way we have lived our lives on the graces and blessings we have received. Though a charming personality and a beautiful appearance may get us what we want in this life, it would not be enough for what is to come. Only by wisely investing our gifts and turning a profit of spiritual growth over to the Lord at the end of our earthly life, will we enter into the joy of His Kingdom and hear these infinitely consoling words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”

First Holy Communion Postscript

Here’s a little story for our children who will be receiving First Holy Communion today. This is a story about St Tarcisius, the patron of altar servers, but I would like to add that he would be a good patron for those receiving their holy communion for the first time.

Tarcisius was a young boy who lived during a time when it was dangerous for Christians to be seen practising their faith and worship publicly. Masses were celebrated secretly in the catacombs, the tombs where dead people were buried. If you were caught practising your faith as a Catholic, you would not only be thrown into prison, but you would also be executed in a most horrific way, being burned alive or thrown to the animals to be eaten.

One day, a group of these Christians who were awaiting their execution made an appeal to the Pope that they wanted to receive holy communion, the Body and Blood of Jesus before they died. The Church calls communion viaticum, which actually means food for the journey – the journey to death and through death. It is indeed a great privilege and blessing to receive Jesus before one dies. But it was dangerous for any adult priest to be seen bringing communion to these Christian prisoners because it would raise a lot of suspicion. So, they decided to send a young boy and Tarcisius volunteered to bring holy communion to the condemned.

But on the way, he met with some of the youth from his neighbourhood who demanded to see what he was carrying. The Holy Communion was safely wrapped in a cloth. But Tarcisius refused to let them see it because he knew that Jesus in the Holy Communion was the greatest treasure that he had to keep safe. So, the boys began to beat him. He was beaten up so badly that he would die from his wounds. But Tarcisius kept the Holy Communion in the firm grip of his hands and refused to relent. A soldier, who happened to be a secret Christian, passed by and found Tarcisius dying. Tarcisius gave the communion to the soldier and disclosed his mission. He told the soldier to carry Jesus to the prison on his behalf, and then he died.

The life and death of Tarcisius shows us that Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, is our greatest treasure, more precious and valuable than all the riches of the world. God entrusted the Body of His own Son to this young boy as He entrusts it to you today. Tarcisius’ life and death shows us that the most important question that Jesus will ask us when He returns is not, “How much money have you made?” but “How have you loved? How have you cared for and served others?” This is what we must do whenever we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. We are called to become more like Jesus, to love like Jesus, and to be ready to sacrifice everything like Jesus. Jesus tells us: “Greater love than this no man has, than that a man lay down his life for his friend.”

Wisdom and Good Deeds

Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

We have another parable from St Matthew’s gospel. This time it is that of the ten bridesmaids who fall into two categories. A distinction is made between the sensible and the foolish ones. What differentiates one group from the other? The sensible ones treasure wisdom while the foolish ones show disdain for it. What is this wisdom which some yearn and seek while others ignore and reject?

Wisdom or Chokhmah, according to Hebrew understanding, is not just intelligence or theoretical or philosophical concepts regarding the nature of things. Wisdom is a direct attribute of our Divine and Eternal Lord. When applied to man it is the ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding. As opposed to the Greek idea of wisdom, Chokhmah is practical. Wisdom leads to right action. It grants a person the ability to see something from God’s viewpoint. That is why a rejection of wisdom is not just a matter of rejecting reason and logic but rather, the rejection of God.

In the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, such as the example taken from the Book of Wisdom in the first reading, God’s infinite wisdom is personified as a woman. The association of divine wisdom with the feminine is not accidental. The relationship between a wife and her husband is the reflected spiritual relationship between Israel and God. The Law and the Prophets provided the wisdom writers with many feminine images (including homemaker, counselor and wise woman, and lover) that influenced their use of female imagery for divine wisdom. The maternal aspect of wisdom comes to the fore. Just as a mother would be the first teacher for her children, guiding them and tutoring them, wisdom literature was written to teach young male students how to function in society and find meaning and order in the world.

In the first reading, we are assured that people have access to common wisdom, which is described as being right out there on the street—out in public. It is in the forest; it is in the city; it is on the job—it is everywhere! We are surrounded by it! While wisdom belongs to God, it can be pursued and in fact pursues individuals. This is why St Paul can make the accusation that the Gentiles who do not have the law are a law unto themselves when they do what the law says is right (Romans 2:14). Their own conscience bears them witness that they understand what is right and what is wrong (verse 15)!

As we turn to the Gospel, we see how our Lord uses this principle of wisdom in a novel way. Wisdom is now the prerequisite for salvation, being admitted to the eschatological wedding banquet, whereas those who had ignored her counsel would be denied entry.

The storyline is simple enough. The parable takes place within the festive and joyful context of a wedding, yet the final message is a sober exhortation to be properly prepared. It relates that ten young maidens, bridesmaids, were outfitted with torches/lamps and oil, were awaiting the arrival of a bridegroom. Notice the feminine and the lover-bride motif in this parable, both being traditional symbols of wisdom. Five of the maidens, the wise ones, had extra oil with them, the others, foolish ones, did not. When the time of the bridegroom’s arrival finally draws near, the foolish ones needed more oil and asked the wise for oil; the wise refused and sent the foolish ones to buy their own. Meanwhile, the wise ones went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast and the door was locked. The foolish ones returned and were turned away. Thus, the parable ends with our Lord’s admonishment to stay awake, to be prepared.

This story begs the question, “Why would the five maidens not share their oil?” This appears selfish, so why are they called “wise.” First, while it is not clear whether they were carrying lamps or torches (the Greek word can mean either), they would need oil, either to fill the lamps or to apply to the rags used for torches. On the human level, these five maidens had foresight; they had not only made immediate plans but had also planned for any eventuality, including a long wait, and they knew they might not have enough oil to last the night. But this logical explanation is inadequate for us to discern their behaviour. If the bridegroom is Christ, however, and the wedding feast is the end-time banquet, we have a clue to unravel the conduct of these maidens.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord tells His audience that they are “the light of the world.” He encourages them: “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven” (5:14-16). Light is not just a metaphor for evangelisation, but we see in these words of the Lord a clear connexion between light and good works.

At the end of the Sermon, our Lord says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (7:21) – this saying reinforces the truth that deeds are necessary to enter the kingdom. At the end of today’s parable, the foolish bridesmaids make this request: “Lord, Lord … open the door for us.” The repeated petition, “Lord, Lord” allows us to connect this to the necessity of good deeds in verse 7:21 in the Sermon on the Mount. Finally, a later Rabbinic text, Midrash Rabbah, uses “mixed with oil” to refer to the study of the Law combined with good deeds.

And so, the oil for the lamps/torches was meant to signify good deeds. Then it is clear why the five sensible bridesmaids could not share their oil with the foolish ones; these latter would need their own good deeds. No one can borrow the good works of others to make up for the good works they’ve failed to do. Its merits are non-transferable. Each person must, as St Paul wrote, “work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Wise are those who understand this. Foolish are those who don’t.

Chapter 9 of the Book of Proverbs, a reading read during the Feast of Corpus Christi, describes how Lady Wisdom has built her house, set her table and invites her guests to a special banquet. The Eucharist is meant to empower all of us who dine in wisdom to go into the world with the Life of Christ we have received. To faithfully partake of the supper of the lamb in His flesh and blood is to be sufficiently prepared and to have opened the door to wisdom in the Holy Spirit. Let us all pray to receive Christ today and as we return to our seats in our time of thanksgiving after communion, let us ask Him for the gift of wisdom to know how to do His will in our particular life’s calling. With the fuel of Holy Communion, let us keep the flame alive in our hearts as we await our Lord’s coming, not idle but committed to a life of good works, so that we may shine the Light of His Gospel on the world.

Greatness, Humility and Authority

Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Today’s readings, especially the first and the gospel, are painful passages to read and meditate. Not for you but for me as a priest. Both readings contain a list of stinging indictments against corrupt religious leaders who should have known better but are guilty of dereliction of duty and misplaced priorities.

The priests of Malachi’s day doctored the message of God which they were entrusted to transmit to their people. They wanted to be more popular with the people than faithful to God’s Word. They catered to itching ears and told folks what they wanted to hear, not necessarily what they needed to hear. And since they had deceived publicly, they were rebuked publicly. And so, Malachi accuses the priestly class of his times with these offences:
They do not listen to God;
They do not glorify His name;
They have strayed from their way;
They have caused many to stumble by their teachings;
They have destroyed the covenant of Levi;
They have not kept to the path;
They have showed partiality in their administration.

For the above reasons God will send His curse upon them and curse their very blessing. To prove to the people the error of their teaching, God will bring on them a public disgrace - He will make them “contemptible and vile in the eyes of the whole people.” A fitting repayment for their infidelity.

The harshness of Malachi’s prophetic words is outmatched by the diatribe which our Lord heaps on the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders of His time. Our Lord’s rant against the Pharisees’ ostentatious dressing and certain cultural norms of honour could easily be applied to the Catholic Church and serve as the perfect foundation for any ad hominem anti-clerical attack on the Catholic hierarchy, or so many think. For aren’t Catholic clergy known for dressing up in flowing robes (or as Pope Francis is fond of saying, “grandmother’s lace”), having seats of honour in churches and even social functions? Aren’t our priests simply addressed as “Father”?

Although this is not meant as a general apologia for the Catholic hierarchy, it is good to understand what our Lord meant in His scathing attack of the scribes and the Pharisees and how any superficial application of the text to support our own prejudices, would be the greatest injustice done to our Lord’s teachings. It would be literally taking His words and twisting their meaning to suit our agenda.

It is clear that our Lord was attacking the hypocrisy and self-aggrandising attitude of the religious leaders of His time. He was not making a statement about fashion styles (broader phylacteries and longer tassels, or in today’s modern update “lacey albs”) nor was He attacking the cultural norms of giving places of honour to honoured guests. Let’s be honest, hypocrisy and self-aggrandisement are not a malady that is exclusive to clerics but can infect anyone. Whenever we make show of our status or our outward practices to win men’s admiration, we are as guilty as the Pharisees and scribes described in today’s gospel.

Likewise, when it comes to calling anyone “teacher” or “father,” our Lord’s admonition is against the false assumption of any kind of title or mark of respect for self-glorification, thus detracting from the primacy of God’s authority, in a very real way putting oneself in God’s place. Our Lord was not outlawing the title “father” in legitimate usage. He Himself referred to the prodigal son’s parent as a father and quoted the commandment “Honour your father and your mother.” And He did not correct those who called Him “Rabbi” or “Master.”

Likewise, St Paul was unaware of any prohibition of the spiritual use of the title "father," telling the Corinthians: “I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15), and speaking of his relationship with Timothy said that “as a child with a father he has served along with me in the cause of the Gospel.” (Philippians 2:22) The spiritual use of father was not questioned in the Church for centuries, and Jesus’ words were never invoked to cause question or concern about the practice. Early teachers and revered spiritual guides were known as Fathers of the Church. Even the Pope is known as “Holy Father.”

At the end of the day, if our criticisms are confined to attacks on dressing, cultural practices and titles, it would only expose our superficiality. We seem to be focusing on the externals and ignoring what is fundamentally interior to a person. Wouldn’t that be an apt description of one of the major sins of the Pharisees? Although we can judge the external behaviour of another, none of us can or are qualified, to judge their intent. Our Lord could do this because He is God. Let us not flatter ourselves by thinking that we are on par with Him and can therefore do the same.

Ultimately, the key is found in the last few lines of today’s passage. And so, our Lord exhorts us to follow this standard: “The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is a standard not just meant for leaders, though they should take special heed of this, but for everyone.

It is one thing to see how a general application of our Lord’s criticism can apply to everyone, clergy, religious or laity. But as I had mentioned at the start, we priests must take heed of both Malachi’s warnings and that of our Lord’s since a greater responsibility is attached to those who are entrusted with the authority to teach and lead the people. Pope St Gregory’s words in one of his homilies remain relevant today, “We can speak only with a heavy heart of so few labourers for such a great harvest, for although there are many to hear the good news there are only a few to preach it. Look about you and see how full the world is of priests, yet in God’s harvest a labourer is rarely to be found; for although we have accepted the priestly office, we do not fulfil its demands.”

“Beloved brothers, consider what has been said: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest. Pray for us so that we may have the strength to work on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, and that after we have accepted the office of preaching, our silence may not condemn us before the just judge.” So, the next time you offer up a prayer, remember to pray for us unworthy priests, bishops and the Holy Father, the Pope.

Our duty is to pray

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

News from the battle front of the Israeli-Hamas conflict has brought to the fore something which most people would rather choose to avoid or hide. Death. Where death often hides its ugly visage behind the secure walls of hospitals and retirement homes, where cadavers in coffins are dressed up to make corpses look as if they are still very much alive albeit asleep, it takes a war to show that death is more than statistics and a distant isolated reality. As family and friends grieve, others swear vengeance and retribution, and spectators look on with shock and disbelief, many have asked these question: what has become of these casualties of war and violence, some of them mere babies and children? Is there more to life after their deaths?

If there is no life after death, then all that we can do for the dead is to eulogise them in obituaries, celebrate their lives in memorial services, immortalise them by building monuments in their name or fight wars to seek justice for what has been done to them. But that is not the case. We Catholics do not merely believe that there is life after death but that the soul is immortal. Though our physical bodies experience decay in the grave, the immortal souls continue to live on until they are given new spiritual and glorified bodies at the resurrection of the dead.

That is why today’s commemoration is not just meant to be a memorial of the dead. On the contrary, today is a day when we are reminded of our primary duty to the dead. We pray for the dead, and we do this, not because they need our prayers but because this is what the Holy Spirit has taught us to do. It is a gift of God, to allow us to share in His work in bringing His people to perfection. It is a special gift of hope from God, a great divine courtesy, but it is also a great responsibility on our part.

The earliest Scriptural reference to prayers for the dead comes in the second book of Maccabees. Since Protestants reject the idea of praying for the dead, this book is not included in their canon (collection of books in the Bible). The second book of Maccabees tells how Judas Maccabee, the Jewish leader, led his troops into battle in 163 B.C. When the battle ended he directed that the bodies of those Jews who had died be buried. As soldiers prepared their slain comrades for burial, they discovered that each was wearing an amulet taken as booty from a pagan Temple. This violated the law of Deuteronomy and so Judas and his soldiers prayed that God would forgive the sin these men had committed (II Maccabees 12:39-45).

Who are the dead that we are speaking of? The Church certainly cannot be speaking of the Saints in heaven who have no need of our prayers but whose prayers we are most certainly in need of. Likewise, we cannot be praying for the souls who are suffering the eternal separation of hell. If that separation is permanent and eternal, they can never benefit from our prayers. No amount of prayers can free a soul from hell. Rather, it is the souls in purgatory whom we should be praying for. Purgatory is not a place where bad people become good people, but where good people become perfected in love. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “all who die in God’s grace, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (CCC 1030)

We need to pray for the dead, for the souls in Purgatory, because this is a task put into our hands. Purgatory is not a remand centre where its occupants are awaiting judgment - whether some would be set free to join the denizens of heaven or sentenced to share the lot of the souls in hell. No, purgatory is where souls are prepared for heaven, it is where the work of God begun in their lives would be completed. God wills that we should share in this work through our prayers.

Purgatory is the process after death where these attachments, the umbilical cord which binds people to the old world, are cut so that people can be free to enter into the life to come. It is the hospital where the infection of sin is eliminated. It is the incubator where heart, lungs, and vision is made ready for a much larger life. Purgatory is not a kind of temporary hell. Hell is eternal separation from God, but purgatory facilitates our eternal union with Him. That is why when we speak of the Last Things, purgatory is not included in the traditional list of four (death, judgment, heaven and hell).

The dead are blessed, and their life is a blessing for us, because they have no life but the life of God, and He is the God of the living, not of the dead. Christ died and rose again that he might become the Lord of the living and the dead, as St Paul tells us (Romans 14:9). In praying for the dead, we are not merely witnessing to the Resurrection, we are instruments of the Resurrection. And by praying for them, we are attesting to the truth, “life is changed, not ended” at death.

So, today there is no point seething over the horrifying massacres of innocents nor try to figure out the culpability of who is responsible for their deaths. Instead of being glued to the daily news of war and retribution fuelled by anger, hatred and prejudice, let us instead pause to pray. In times of war, we often pray for the living, for the survivors, for a cessation to the killing. We forget that one of the most important things that we must do is to pray for the fallen and all the dead. We can’t know for sure where the dead or our beloved deceased are, unless they happen to be canonised saints. So when in doubt, we pray for them. There is no harm, in fact, there is great benefit, to pray for them.