SOIL THAT BECOMES FRUITFUL

15^th Sunday 2020 Year A

(The Bible Sunday - Homily)

A parable is a story that illustrates a moral or a lesson for us to take away. 

Today’s Gospel (Matt 13: 1-23) is the Parable of the Sower and most fitting for Bible Sunday.

The seed represents the Word of God. Jesus is the Sower. The various types of soil signify the depth or fertility of the soil of our hearts.

In our country, we started the COVID-19 restriction orders on 18 March 2020. Different countries used different terminologies for the lockdowns. In Malaysia, we are more familiar with the three variations of the movement control orders - MCO, CMCO and now we are in the period of RMCO.

Let’s see how these restriction orders are connected with the Parable of the Sower and the four types of soils - the pathway, the rocky ground, the thorny bush and finally the rich soil. Let me first start with the seeds which fell on the rich soil.

1.              Rich soil: The seeds which fell on good soil produced grains 100 folds, 60 folds and 30 folds from what were sown (Matt 13: 8). When we were undergoing the first phase of MCO, many of us were spending hours praying the Bible and praying the Rosary, attending various virtual programmes, etc. We had ample of time to ourselves, with our family and with the Lord and we benefited in many ways particularly spiritually. We experienced and gained tremendous richness in the soil of our hearts, and our hearts in turn gave much fruit during the first phase. To a certain extent, the Word of God took root in us.

2.              Thorny Bush: The seeds which fell among the thorns - these seeds would grow up being chocked (Matt 13: 7) by the thorns. Not unlike the second phase – the CMCO (Conditional Movement Controlled Order), we were given a bit of relaxation to our movements. In this period of trial, we made some efforts praying and reading the Word of God, but our lazy habits and lack of enthusiasm were also taking place in certain aspects of our lives. In the first phase, we realised our spiritual efforts were progressing and we experienced an increase in our faith but in the second phase, we slowed down and hence chocked up like the seeds that fell in the thorny bush. We lost the power and discipline in our spiritual lives and we were not much growing during the CMCO.

3.              Pathway and rocky ground: The seeds fell on the edge of the path and the birds came to eat them up, (Mt 13:4) and some seeds fell on patches of rock (Matt 13: 5). The soil was very hard and dry, people stepped on the seeds and the seeds did not take root and “the Evil one comes and carries off what was sown,” (Matt 13: 19). During this present period of RMCO (Recovery Movement Control Order), we can see that life has become more hectic again. We rush to getting our lives back to normal, or the new normal as it is now called. Our minds have become more occupied with the things of the world, rushing to catch up what we lost in the past 4 months and trying very hard to restart. Some of us are enduring hardships, with pay cuts, or job lost, and are struggling to find ways to make ends meet. Many are left “fallen” and many feel “broken”, exhausting all our resources and time, chasing after worldliness again, just to catch up.

 

During this RMCO period, we may find that when we read and pray the Word of God, they do not fall onto rich soil, we may find that they do not take root in our hearts, and we may find that unknowingly, the Word withers away slowly from our conscious hearts and minds. Time spent with the Lord through reading the bible, becomes lesser and lesser due to our daily lives. Eventually our spiritual lives may also wither away, perhaps even diminish.

Therefore, we must pray with the Bible that we will always create that atmosphere and environment of the rich soil. We have to keep growing in hope for a good harvest in our spiritual lives and we must always stay close to the Word of God. The Word of God has Power in removing the rocky ground or the thorny bush.

On this Bible Sunday, we pray that the Lord will make fertile the soil of our hearts, and that it will become good soil to produce fruits, our yield. As the Psalmist said, the “seed fell into rich soil will yield fruitful harvest,” (Ps 64).

FrGPS

KEEP THE BIBLE IN YOUR HEART

This year, we celebrate Bible Sunday on 12 July 2020, with a theme based on the letter of St John, “Someone you can touch with your hands, and hear with your ears and see with you own eyes,” (1 Jn 1: 1).

We are living in a digital world and we are so “easily connected to one another through social media” which can sometimes mean that families and individuals are only interacting with each other on a superficial or functional level rather than on a personal level. The Word of God was passed on to us not as “myth, legend or philosophy” but as a living message for our personal relationship with God and with one another. We encounter Jesus Christ in our lives through the living word, in all the liturgical celebrations and in all events of our life. When we are constantly in touch with the Word of God, we are in touch with the Heart of Christ. Through our encounter with the Word, Sacraments, prayer and His healing touch, we enter into His living relationship, leading us to become true Christians.

We “read the newspapers, magazines, or study our textbooks or do research work in order to acquire more knowledge.” When we read the Bible prayerfully and meditatively, we are in touch with Jesus and He communicates to us – He “speak to us and we listen to Him,” (Cf. 1 John 1: 1) and we enter into a personal and intimate relationship with Him. The Word of God also “reaches and touches the depths of our hearts and frees us from all bondage – emotional, physical and spiritual.” By reading the Bible whole heartedly, we increase our faith and our prayer life. As we get in touch with Jesus in the Word, he reveals to us “the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt 13:11).

The Word of God “comes alive in the Holy Spirit.” The intervention of the Holy Spirit in the life of Mary, “the word became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:3) and “God is with us,” (Mt 1:23). In the Eucharistic celebration, the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine, together with the words of consecration, change the substance into the Body and the Blood of Christ, the true and real presence of Jesus.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God becomes alive and active in us when we respond to it as how Mother Mary responded: “Be it done unto me according to your Word,” (Luke 1: 38). Once we respond to the Word of God, our lives will be “transformed, renewed and filled with the new energy and power.” We need to pray to the Holy Spirit, to discover the hidden treasures of the Word of God as how Mother Mary “believed and pondered these things in her heart,” (Lk 2: 19). The Holy Spirit will show us the way to carry out God’s plan in our lives and enable us to see all things in divine prospective, and to bring life to the fullest (cf. Jn 10: 10).

Two questions for your own reflection:

i)         How do we relate to God? On a functional or relational level? 
       Why is this important in our Christian life and in the Church?

ii)      When we read the Bible, we are entering into a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus.
       How can we make reading the Bible a living encounter with the person of Jesus? 

(An extract from the Bible Sunday Message 2020 – “Reading the Bible with the Heart”)

REOPENING THE DOORS TO LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

After more than three months under the Movement Controlled Order (MCO), St Joseph’s Church, Sentul reopened with the celebration of Mass at 9am on 28 June 2020. A total of 166 parishioners pre-registered, but only 157 turned up and attended the Mass. Those present included 102 registered under their BECs, 15 Inactive-BEC members, 13 Non-BEC Parishioners, 8 RCIA candidates, 22 volunteers and 7 Parish Response Team (PRT) members. We had 2 RELA personnel on duty to ease the traffic congestion at the parking lot and around the church premises. Two officers from the Department of National Unity, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (Kementerian Perpaduan Negara) came by to assess adherence to the stipulated guidelines, and they were quite happy with the proper implementation of the Standard Operating Procedures for the reopening of our Church.

This Sunday (5 July 2020) invitation was extended to 11 other BECs (Basic Ecclesial Communities) within our Parish, to attend Mass. We estimate that at least 230 parishioners will attend, excluding the volunteers. Every Saturday, our Parish Response Team (PRT) and volunteers carry out the necessary preparation and undergo training in anticipation of the Sunday Mass the following day. It is a tiring job to undertake, and I just hope they won’t give up easily in carrying out their tasks and responsibilities.

The celebration of Sacraments with the faithful was suspended throughout the MCO and it is only a week since we resumed the Eucharistic celebration. There are a few other Sacraments to be celebrated, and that would probably commence in early August – the Sacrament of Matrimony and Baptism of infants. During the MCO, a few weddings were postponed and rescheduled to early August 2020. These couples have already attended the Catholic Marriage Preparation Course (CMPC) last year and now they only need to do a Pre-Nuptial Enquiry (PNI) and complete some administrative paperwork. We will make the necessary arrangements for their Church wedding, in compliance with the SOPs laid down by the government and the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. 

There are also several infants waiting to be baptised but before that happens, we need to prepare their parents and godparents by presenting them with the Infant Baptism instructions. Baptism is the first of the seven sacraments we receive in the Roman Catholic Church. It is “the gateway to life in the spirit (vitaea spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments,” (CCC no. 1213). Although it is the first sacrament received by a person, subsequently opening the door of the Church to them, I prefer that we hold a low-key celebration in Church for now, with a limited number of people from the immediate families in attendance.

Photo: February 2018

Many of our aged, sick and homebound parishioners are hoping to receive the Sacrament of Anointing and Holy Communion. However, we still need to be extra cautious when interacting with those most vulnerable. We are still in the discussion stages on this matter and hope to come up with a proper solution soon. Till we meet, be assured of our humble prayers for you at home.

We have faced a lot of difficulties and challenges in experiencing Jesus through the Sacraments and in our faith journey. We find ourselves in a place of pain and feel as though God has abandoned us and our families. This Covid-19 pandemic has impacted our lives and many are finding it difficult to grasp any form of routine. As we move from one phase to the next in reopening and celebrating the Sacraments, we pray that all will strictly adhere to social distancing requirements, as well as safety measures, by practicing good personal hygiene in order to prevent a second outbreak in our community.

We will be gradually moving from Spiritual Communion or Virtual celebration through live streaming, into a more tangible and personal celebration of Jesus in our lives. In the process of recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, we need a lot of support, cooperation, determination, discipline and perseverance to be able to comply with the SOPs set both by the government and the Church. We are becoming more familiar in adapting with this new norm of life. Together, let us take the initiative in our spiritual development and form a healthy community and a healthy nation.

Photo: February 2018

MY YOKE IS EASY, MY BURDEN LIGHT

Jesus says in the Gospel, “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart…” (Matthew 11:28-30).

We face a lot of pain, sufferings, loneliness, depression and find meaningless in life. We are carrying many types of burdens and living with many unbearable yokes in life. We are tired and weighed down with many yokes and burdens and we find so hard to get rid of them from our lives. 

We just need to hold on to our own yoke and burden as Jesus says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden light.” When we learn to place our yoke on Jesus, our stress and tension will be released and we will be alive. our mind and body, spirit and soul will find at peace.

We need to learn from Jesus how He was gentle and humble in heart. A gentle person is someone who treats others in a more loving, kind and gentle way so that others won’t get hurts. Jesus treated everyone equally, justly, politely and compassionately and He forgave them. We need to be like Jesus to be gentle and humble towards one another.

“I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.” (Ps 145)

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/reopening-the-doors-to-life-in-the-spirit-1/

OUR MISSION HAS TO BE CENTERED IN GOD’S LOVE

During this period of pandemic, we have only been able to participate in Mass at home, only through Spiritual Communion. We found this rather difficult to accept as we felt that our faith seemed to be fading, or was even being tested, and some felt shattered. We may have felt separated from the Church and the Sacrament of the Eucharist during this time. Our faith now to some extent, depends on social media. You are not alone though because I too went through this same feeling.

 

During the past three months, I celebrated my Sunday Mass at the altar of our Church together with our sacristan, Joseph. As for daily mass, I would just celebrate it quietly in my room. I felt dissatisfied celebrating Mass alone without the usual responses from all of you.

Each time I celebrated the Sunday Mass, I would look at the pews and imagine that you and your families were at those pews, seated at your usual places. This morning, with some of you present at the Mass, I experienced mixed feelings, celebrating with you. It was so surreal, I couldn’t believe that it was actually happening. I was excited, joyous and nervous altogether!

This trial period has brought birth to a new ministry in St. Joseph’s Church. We have informed you about this two weeks ago. It is none other than our Parish Response Team (PRT). This team has worked tirelessly to prepare, plan, clean and sanitise the whole church, before the reopening today for Mass.

As a start for this gradual opening, we decided to reopen our Church on a small scale, inviting a few BECs each Sunday to come and participate in the mass. As it stands today, we had almost 140 parishioners from BECs 1 to 9, with a few other volunteers present as well. Surely, this is a good start and we will progressively open up the church for everybody but I am clueless as to when we will be able to fully open our doors.

I am sure you are already familiar with our government and Parish’s SOP which was circulated to all Becs and ministries these past few days. We have posted this on our website, too. We do need your full cooperation to adhere to the guidelines set. Failing which , we will be non-compliant with respect to the government’s SOP. Let us remember to pray for those who were unable to be with us this morning, and let us continue to be patient and await the day when we can all freely congregate together for mass.

At last Sunday’s Gospel, we heard Jesus tell His disciples to not be afraid. Jesus commissioned them for the mission of casting out demons, healing the sick and proclaiming the Good News to the poor. Today, the Gospel continues to instruct us about aspects of discipleship, to share in the mission of Christ. We are union with Christ through Baptism, and we have been given the mandate to go on this mission to preach the Good News to all. At every Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, we renew our baptismal promises. We renounce our sins and we profess our faith and we commit ourselves to live a holy life for Jesus and for His Church, and to serve the Kingdom of God.

We must strive to be like the unnamed woman in today’s 1st reading, who served generously and was hospitalble to the Prophet Elisha. As a part of God’s family, we must share our faith generously and humbly offering ourselves in service to God and to others, especially to our community and our Church, following the example of the Shunamite unnamed woman.

In this mission of ours, Jesus has to be the center of our lives and our mission has to be centred in God’s love. The call to discipleship now falls on us. Jesus calls us to embrace His mission on earth. At times, we may hesitate and even fear, being a part of that mission of Christ. However, we must pick up courage and take up the cross and follow Him with a full heart, enthusiastically, and to be on a mission always in this earthly life. As His disciples, we should love, be compassionate and caring towards others. Let’s cling to Him and let Him lead us safely and peacefully always, in this new norm of way of life as we discover and rediscover our life in Christ.