Thursday of the 1st Week of Advent
Isa 26:1-6
Mt 7:21,24-27
“But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!“
Today’s Gospel reading is rather in-your-face and doesn’t leave much room for negotiation, although some will surely try. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is guaranteed a place in heaven. This struck me, especially because of some incidents, conversations and throwaway remarks involving — and made by — family and friends over the last month or so. And these things made me ponder the way some Catholics have dropped the ball and drifted away from the faith — how they have caused scandals, how they have misrepresented the faith (intentionally or not) and caused others to believe misconceptions about our faith. To say this was troubling is an understatement. To compound the problem, I didn’t even know how to respond, other than attempt to help fix practical issues where possible.
I am a subscriber to our Archbishop’s Telegram channel for the daily scripture reflections. A few of our Archbishop’s reflections seemed to address some of these challenges I had been feeling. Perhaps it was God speaking to me through the reflections, or perhaps it was simply a factual observation our Archbishop made about the world today and its many problems. Simply put, many are lacking in a strong foundation when it comes to our faith. And like the foolish man in the Gospel, when the going gets tough, his house, his faith, even his life, can crumble away. It will be a fall not unlike the one that happened in the Garden of Eden, when the bond between God and us gets broken.
A person without a strong understanding of the faith is bound to treat it lightly, to their own detriment and, the detriment of others around them. In his reflection of 30 October, our Archbishop mentioned nominal Catholics. Specifically, that they cannot expect to enter the kingdom of heaven. I can imagine at least a few people gasping as they read this quiet part written out loud. After all, people can be good without faith. This is true, but if we are talking about being Catholic or any kind of Christian, Jesus did say to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). Now, this is not without criticism, as detractors will claim that we are only being good to avoid punishment and, as an extension, what kind of tyrannical God wants to control people this way? This is a compelling, logical argument and very believable — if you do not have any more knowledge of the faith other than the 10 Commandments. The simple truth is that all Christians are supposed to be a representation of God’s Love on earth — love for all people and all creation. Ours is not a faith of punishment, but a faith of love; because God is a God of Love, and to Love is the foundation of our faith.
God also gave us free will, which we often use to do less than stellar things. And this is what the Archbishop talks about in his reflection of 11 November – Scandal. Knowingly or not, many Catholics run the risk of causing a scandal by our actions that fail to mirror the Love of God. It is very heartbreaking to read about families, especially Christian ones, being torn apart and family members ending up neglected, abused, or even dead. While we hold up the family as the basic unit of society and as the domestic church and a place of love and harmony, there are, unfortunately, Catholic families and couples that fail to live up to the demands of the Church and as a result, the family suffers. And this is what unbelievers witness, which makes them even more disbelieving. If our faith is about Love, where did the Love disappear to?
In a world where more people are hurting, and hurting at a younger age, Christians should be good examples of what a person/family should look like. But this can only happen if each person in the family is firmly grounded in the faith. Starting from the individual, each person must strive to live a life aligned with God’s will, to live a life of service and sacrifice for others, to be unselfish. This lays a strong foundation for marriage and then parenthood, if these things happen, which in themselves consists of even more obligations a Catholic couple/family must fulfil. While it may be too late for some to fix these things, others can still salvage the situation by resolving to make a radical shift in focus back to God and ask Him what He wants of them.
The first thing to remember is that as baptised Catholics, God should be Number One in our lives. This means we have to put God first — put His will for us first, instead of our own wills or the will of someone else, no matter how important they are to us, especially when the human will is not aligned with what God intends. In his reflection of 5 November, Archbishop talks about making God the priority in our lives. While it is unavoidable that we get distracted by the myriad other things that life demands from us, we should not get pulled away from God. However, as we are only human, we will end up losing our ground from time to time. The danger lies in not noticing this. It is easy to become complacent and think that all we need are worldly achievements and material gains to be happy and good (19 Nov reflection). But without a proper foundation of faith, we can end up being led by vice instead of virtue.
The second thing to remember is that this fight is not only with ourselves, but with the supernatural. Archbishop writes in his reflection of 31 October that it is the sovereignties and powers that are the spiritual army of Satan that we fight against. The good news is that it is not by our own strength that we fight these dark forces. God’s grace is enough for us and will see us through, if we remember to hold on to it and do what is asked of us. What is asked of us is to Love as God does — that is the basic requirement our faith demands of us — to mirror the Love of God in all our actions and interactions.
Love. A simple word that contains so much. What does it mean to Love as God does? Here is something practical for those who want a paradigm shift back to God. Go through an Examination of Conscience (this can be found online) and see where and how you fall short on Love. Next, and this is the hard part, prepare yourself for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is Advent after all, and it is a time of preparation and reconciliation. Start small, but do start. By grounding our lives in God, we build our house upon a rock, and it is less likely that we crumble and falter.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Felicia Zou)
Prayer: Dear Lord, we pray for the courage to turn back to You when we have strayed. We pray for those who despair, that they may find hope in You. We pray for those in healing ministries, that they be sustained with your strength.
Thanksgiving: Dear Lord, we thank You for the Love that you have lavished on us.
Links to Archbishop William Cardinal Goh’s scriptural reflections below. It is quite impossible to find this archive online so do subscribe to the Telegram channel (William Cardinal Goh) so the links remain accessible.
Enter Through The Narrow Door: https://www.catholic.sg/30-october-2024-wednesday-30th-week-in-ordinary-time/
Christian Warfare Must Be Fought With The Armour Of God: https://www.catholic.sg/31-october-2024-thursday-30th-week-in-ordinary-time/
Our Priorities In Life: https://www.catholic.sg/05-november-2024-tuesday-31st-week-in-ordinary-time/
Lack Of A Revential Faith In God As The Cause Of Scandal: https://www.catholic.sg/11-november-2024-monday-32nd-week-in-ordinary-time/
Complacency: https://www.catholic.sg/19-november-2024-tuesday-33rd-week-in-ordinary-time/
OXYGEN 
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