Also, Optional Memorial of Saint John Damascene, Presbyter, Religious, Doctor of the Church).
MY HEARTFELT GRATITUDE TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU FOR THE OUTPOUR OF PRAYERS, BEST WISHES, CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES AND SUPPORT I RECEIVED FROM YOU YESTERDAY ON THE OCCASION OF MY BIRTHDAY. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY.
COLLECT: “STIR UP YOUR POWER, O LORD, AND COME TO OUR HELP WITH MIGHTY STRENGTH, THAT WHAT OUR SINS IMPEDE THAT GRACE OF YOUR MERCY MAY HASTEN. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Is 26:1-6; Ps 117:1,8-9,19-21,25-27 and Mt 7:21,24-27.
There is a song in Dagaare that goes: “Langne Yiri be bobr vaa iri tie gber zing nia be (3x), Fo wa kpe a Langne puo, Fo mang tuna Langne tume”. (Lit. “The Church does not want that every day one gets up and sits there with legs stretched (3x). For once one is in the Church, one must carry out the Church’s work”).
This is the picture we have in the scriptures today, especially in the Gospel. Christianity (or being a believer/Christian) is not just a matter of listening to or hearing the word of God and keeping it; we must put it into active practice, doing what the word of God tells us to do. We should not be nominal believers/Christians.
In principle, one becomes a Christian at the very moment the person receives baptism. In practice however, it is not so. The administration of Baptism is a ritual, symbolising that the Original Sin (the Sin of Adam and Eve) and also the personal sins of the one being baptised are washed away, and the person is now new, being born again as a child of God. However, one could go through this external ritual without any interior transformation and conversion.
The external ritual must have a bearing on the interior or inner transformation and conversion, and when this happens, the person puts his/her new life received at baptism into practice, thereby becoming a true and genuine disciple of Jesus.
It is the same with the rest of the Sacraments we celebrate and receive. The ritual part of it during the celebration of the sacraments, be it Holy Orders (Ordination), Matrimony (Marriage), Penance, Sacrament of the Sick, Confirmation or The Holy Eucharist, must have a bearing on our interior or inner transformation and conversion. Otherwise, it becomes a mere ritual without any effects or benefits. May we always live the Sacraments we receive, as well as the Word of God we hear daily.
Both readings for the day contrast the solidity of a foundation of rock and an unstable foundation. Going further, today’s Gospel is a reminder of what true or genuine discipleship of Jesus, or fellowship with Jesus means. True discipleship goes beyond recitation of prayers and performance of rituals and rites. In fact, genuine Christianity goes beyond ritual baptism.
A great mark or sign of true discipleship is ‘doing the will of my Father in heaven’. This is what James refers to as ‘Faith and works’. “…You must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves….” (James 1:22ff).
The parable of the Last Judgment also throws more light on putting our faith into practice or ‘Faith and Works’ (Mt 25:31-46). ‘Doing the will of my Father in heaven’ entails: (a) being filled with the spirit of God’s Kingdom and working to make this kingdom a reality in our world. (b) to have strong faith in God, depend on him and cooperate with him in whatever we do. One who does the will of God the Father means, one has one’s life built on a very solid and strong foundation-God, and nothing can destroy it or break through it.
May the Lord, our rock, help us to develop a firm faith and strong hope on which to build our lives. May we not only be hearers of God’s Word and ritual/rite performers, but also doers of the Word and the Sacraments we receive, especially during this special grace-filled season of Advent.
May we work to make God’s kingdom a reality in this world by extending the Lord’s goodness, favour, mercies and love to others. May Saint John Damascene intercede for us. Stay blessed and happy feast to all who bear the name John Damascene.
N/B: MY HEARTFELT GRATITUDE TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU FOR THE OUTPOUR OF PRAYERS, BEST WISHES, CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES AND SUPPORT I RECEIVED FROM YOU YESTERDAY ON THE OCCASION OF MY BIRTHDAY. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, THURSDAY, ON THE MYSTERIES OF LIGHT: ‘THE BAPTISM OF JESUS, THE WEDDING AT CANA, THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM, THE TRANSFIGURATION, AND THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST’. (WE PRAY FOR OPENNESS TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, PRAY TO JESUS THROUGH MARY, FOR REPENTANCE AND TRUST IN GOD, THE DESIRE FOR HOLINESS, AND WE PRAY FOR THE SPIRIT OF ADORATION) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “MAY THESE MYSTERIES, O LORD, IN WHICH WE HAVE PARTICIPATED, PROFIT US, WE PRAY, FOR EVEN NOW, AS WE WALK AMID PASSING THINGS, YOU TEACH US BY THEM TO LOVE THE THINGS OF HEAVEN AND HOLD FAST TO WHAT ENDURES. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN”.
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com
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