I know that most of us are still distressed because of the unfortunate event that happened to our place of worship last Saturday. The HSM church was our home and a place of worship since 1978, and most of your children were baptized, confirmed, received first communion and, for some, were married in that church. I would like to remind everyone that when situations like this arise, we need to calm down and to immerse ourselves into silent prayer. In that way, we would have a better understanding of ”Behold, how good and pleasant for brethren to dwell together in unity.” (Ps. 133)
As we celebrate the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, today is also the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Blessed Mother Mary is united with us in sorrow, in pain and in sadness. In truth, Mary has been blessed with the profound union of heart that existed between her and Jesus, the Savior. This commemoration reveals to us her experience of so many interior sorrows because of her Son’s mission, particularly during His Passion and Death.
By Blessed Mother’s silence, like Mary, God wants us to see our faith—is it the faith that sees God, and not only turning to Him during misfortunes. We also desire from God an easy life, and if we haven’t received what we want, we manifest dissatisfaction. If God answers our pleas immediately, and when things are going well, then we start again to disconnect ourselves from Him; we become uninterested in Him. This shows how frail and weak our faith is.
We must realize that God allows us to see our faith as it really is in times of crisis, especially if it is a weak and sickly faith. This is not to drive us to despair, but to at least ground us, to be reminded that without Him, we can do nothing. In this unfortunate incident, we can begin afresh a life of repentance, conversion and turning to God.
The silence in our hearts reveals our faith in God, because we listen attentively to the whisper of God. In the same way, Christ’s silence reveals the quality of our faith.
In the midst of our spiritual struggles, let us look at our faith. Let us cry out in the face of Christ’s silence. The epistle today, from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, reminds us that we are called by God in “humility, mildness and patience, supporting one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” The words of St. Paul continue to teach us that, “We are one body, one spirit as you are called in one hope of your calling.”
The gospel today, taken from St. Matthew 22:34-46, narrates the encounter of Jesus with the Pharisees, and one of them, a doctor of the law. They asked Jesus, “Which is the greatest commandment of the law?” Jesus’ response was, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment, and the second is this: Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments is dependent the whole law and the prophets.”
What is meant by loving God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and mind? It means that we cling to God with true, sincere and heartfelt love by which we desire God’s glory and honor. We must continually endeavor to have deep knowledge and love of God and direct our actions to Him, employing all faculties to fully serve Him through others.
Jesus taught us that loving one’s neighbor is part and parcel to loving God. Therefore, when we love our neighbor, God counts that we are faithful loving Him. Indeed, it is true love if we love God that way. When the motive of love is self-love, self-interest and hope of reward, that is not perfect love. We love God through others, and we can do it when we truly believe that He himself is the highest Good.
May we love God with all the powers of our body and soul so that we may love our neighbors, friends, and enemies as ourselves for Thy sake, and thus we are made worthy to possess Thee as our redeemer and merciful judge.
God bless you.
Fr. Arlon, osa
