Clarity - A Catholic Outreach agency in Singapore

It is really good to know that Catholics in Singapore are doing more than just defending the faith or attending Mass on Sundays. This new initiative to administer to the emotional needs of Singaporeans regardless of their religious affiliation is one aspect of the New Evangelism Plan. It is indeed money well spend when it is used to benefit society's 'downtrodden'.

Link to Charity article at Asiaone.com

Embittered Moralizing - An Occupational Hazard for Good, Faithful Persons

2013-08-11
In a masterful book on grace, Piet Fransen suggests that we can test how well we understand grace by gauging our reaction to this story:

Imagine a man who during his whole life is entirely careless about God and morality. He's selfish, ignores the commandments, ignores all things religious, and is basically consumed with pursuing his own pleasure - wine, sex, and song. Then, just hours before his death, he repents of his irresponsibility, makes a sincere confession, receives the sacraments of the church, and dies inside that conversion.

What's our spontaneous reaction to that story? Isn't it wonderful that he received the grace of conversion before he died? Or, more likely: The lucky beggar! He got away with it! He got to have all that pleasure and still gets to go to heaven!

If we felt the latter emotion, even for a moment, we have never deeply understood the concept of grace. Rather, like the older brother of the prodigal son, we are still seeing life away from God's house as fuller than life inside God's house, are still doing the right things mostly out of bitter duty, and are secretly envying the amoral. But, if this is true, we must be gentle with ourselves. This is an occupational hazard for good, faithful persons.

Jesus, himself, expresses this in the parable of the vineyard workers. This parable was addressed to Peter in answer to a question. Peter, on behalf of the other disciples, had just asked Jesus what reward they were going to receive for their fidelity to him. Jesus answers by telling him the story of very rich and generous landowner who goes out one morning and hires workers to work in his vineyard. He hires some early in the morning, promises them a good wage, keeps hiring others as the day progresses, each new group having to work fewer hours than the group before them, and ends the day by hiring a group of workers just one hour before work is to end. Then he tells his foreman to pay everyone a full day's wage. But this leaves the workers who toiled the whole day somewhat bitter. "This isn't fair!" they protest. "We worked the whole day and bore the heat of the sun and this last group worked just one hour. It's unfair that we all receive the same wage!" The generous landowner, obviously representing God, is gentle in his response: "Friend, didn't you agree to this wage? And isn't a good wage? Are you envious and angry because I'm generous?"

Remember to whom those words are being addressed: Jesus is addressing Peter ... and, in effect, through this parable, is addressing all good people who are morally and religiously bearing the heat of the day. And Jesus is assuring us that we will be rewarded richly for doing this. But, as the parable makes clear, there's a catch: Simply put, we will be rewarded with heaven and it will be wonderful; but, and this is the catch, we can have everything and enjoy nothing because we are watching what everyone else is getting!

I sometimes try to highlight this point rather graphically when I give retreats to priests and religious. I have them consider this scenario: Imagine you live out your life in fidelity to the your vow of celibacy, metaphorically and otherwise bearing the heat of the day and, when you get to heaven, the first person you meet there is Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy. In shock you protest to God: "How did he get in here? It's not fair, given the life he lived and the life that I was asked to live!" And God, the over-generous landowner, gently replies: "Friend, didn't you agree to a life of celibacy, and isn't heaven a wonderful place? Are you envious and angry because I'm generous?" And, how different this reaction to that of a true saint who, upon meeting someone like this in heaven, would, like the father of the prodigal son, rush over in joy, embrace the person, and say: "I'm overwhelmed with joy that you made it!"

Thomas Halik, a Czech writer, suggests that one of the reasons why so many people in the world reject the churches is that they see us as "embittered moralizers", older brothers of the prodigal son, doing our religious and moral duties, but bitterly, and criticizing those who don't live like us out of hidden envy. Nietzsche made a similar accusation more than a hundred years ago.

Sadly, there's more than a little truth in that accusation. Too often, we are embittered moralizers, secretly envying the amoral and criticizing our world out of bitterness. But that's an occupational hazard for the good and the faithful. Peter and first apostles struggled with it. Why should we be immune?

We needn't be immune, but we do need to be honest in admitting that, despite our real goodness and fidelity, this indicates that we are still far from being full saints.

Source: RON ROLHEISER, OMI Speaker, Columnist and Author, http://www.ronrolheiser.com/ 

Struggling for our Father's Blessing

RON ROLHEISER, OMI Speaker, Columnist and Author
2013-06-16
When I was in elementary school, we were made to memorize a number of poems by William Blake. We didn't understand them, but they had a wonderful jingle to them, were easy to commit to memory, and remain branded inside me to this day.

One of those was a piece entitled, Infant Sorrow:

My mother groaned! my father wept.

Into this dangerous world I leapt:

Helpless, naked, piping loud:

Life a fiend hid in a cloud.



Struggling in my father's hands,

Striving against my swaddling bands,

Bound and weary I thought it best

To sulk upon my mother's breast.


Whole books on anthropology, psychology, and spirituality could be written on this poem: our struggle for our father's blessing, our ambivalence in separating from our mothers, the constriction this creates in our hearts, our inevitable slide into depression as adults, and the impact this has on our spiritual lives. Blake captures a lot in very few words, hidden inside some simple rhymes; but, as already confessed; I didn't have a clue about any of this when I memorized this poem as a child.

The poem came back to me several years ago, after preaching a homily in a church. The Gospel for that Sunday was the story of Jesus' baptism. The text runs like this: Jesus goes to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. John immerses him in the water, as Jesus re-emerges, his head breaks the water (an image of birth), the heavens open, and the Father's voice is heard to say: "This is my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased!"

The point I made in my homily was pretty straightforward: I simply told the congregation that, when we were baptized, the Father spoke the same words over each of us: "This is my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased!" Those should have been safe words; they weren't. Immediately after the service a young man affronted me, agitated and upset about my homily. He shared that he was out of prison on bail, awaiting sentencing. He had come to Mass that Sunday to try to ready himself to face what awaited him, but the service had the opposite effect. It had increased his anger and agitation, particularly so my homily. Here's how he expressed his frustration: "I hated your homily because it wasn't true! Nobody has ever been pleased by what I have done - least of all my own father!"

It's no accident that this young man was going to prison; he had not been blessed by his own father. Like the narrator in the Blake poem, he was "struggling" in his father's hands. His own father, unlike God, the Father, had never blessed him, that is, either his father had never been present enough to him and truly interested in him or he had been unable to take delight in his son's person and energy so as to give him the assurance that he was neither a threat nor a disappointment to his father. In essence, this son had never been a major source of joy to his father, and that is a real absence that wounds.

Hunger for our father's blessing is perhaps the deepest hunger in our world today. That's an adage inside certain spirituality and anthropological circles today and the evidence for its truth is found in the body language in a room whenever the phrase is spoken aloud to a group, especially to a group of men.

And what happens when we aren't sufficiently blessed by our own fathers? Mostly the effects are under the surface and not attributed to our fathers, unless we reach a certain level of conscious realization of how we are wounded. The absence of the father's blessing is mostly felt inchoately, a thirst, a constriction of the heart, an absence of delight, and a sense of never quite measuring-up. This often finds expression in anger, distrust of authority, and in a low-grade depression that often drives persons into various combinations of acedia, obsession for achievement, and sex as a panacea. It can also have a very negative impact on people religiously. There's an axiom in Freudian thought that suggests that most anger directed at institutionalized religion is anger directed at your own father or the father-figures in your life. That helps explain why so many people who have had little or no meaningful relationship to organized religion are angry at religion and the churches.

What's the solution? How do we get this constriction off our hearts, if we haven't been sufficiently blessed by our own fathers?

Christian spirituality teaches us that we receive by giving. We attain things by giving them away, as the famous Prayer of St. Francis puts it. We cannot make ourselves happy, but we can help make others happy. Thus, we cannot force anyone to bless us - but we can bless others. Wholeness and happiness lie there. Simply put, when we act like God, we get to feel like God ... and God never suffers from anger and low-grade depression.

The Advocate (The Holy Spirit) John 14:23-29

The Advocate (The Holy Spirit) John 14:23-29

The 3 promises from John 14:23-29

The 1^st Promise
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. This is a Gospel of beautiful promises.

The first promise is God’s love and in dwelling in those who love and obey Jesus.[u1] 

Jesus makes clear again that true love for Him is shown by deeds: “Whoever loves Me will keep My word.” Jesus’ word that we must keep is His command that we love one another as He has loved us. The reward is practically a taste of heaven on earth, because Jesus promises to one who loves Him and keeps His words that “My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.” [u2] The Father and the Son, and their Spirit will live in us if we obey the command of Jesus and live in mutual love! Indeed, there is nothing closer to heaven on earth than the experience of living in love together in obedience to Jesus’ command of love.[u3] 

The 2^nd Promise

Next, Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, whom the Father will send in Jesus’ name. The Advocate will teach the disciples everything that the Lord Jesus has told them. He will make them understand what Jesus has not been able to make them understand.[u4] 

The 3^rd Promise

The last promise is peace, a peace that is not simply the absence of trouble but the inner harmony that comes from having a right relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit who live in us. This peace we can have even in the face of suffering and death.[u5] 

Trust in the promises of Jesus and you will have peace!

Q1. Do you see Jesus as your boss or as a friend?

If you see Jesus as your boss which is an idea that many of us feel more comfortable with, we fail to understand that he wants us to relate to him as a friend. There is a limit to what a boss can demand from you. There is no such limit when it comes to friendship and intimacy.  

When Jesus speaks in today’s gospel of “those who love me” he is referring to his followers. For Jesus “those who love me” is another way of saying “my disciples” or “those who believe in me” or simply “Christians.” The relationship between the Christian and Christ is essentially a love relationship. That is why Jesus said in John 15:15 “I do not call you servants any longer … I call you friends.”

Q2. What do people who love each other what to do most?

One thing we know about love is that lovers want to be with each other.

Q3. How do we love Jesus who is not physically with us?

This is what today’s gospel is all about. In the gospel Jesus prepares his disciples, those who love him, for his departure from this world and shows them how they can keep love and intimacy alive even in his physical absence.

Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them,
and we will come to them and make our home with them (John 14:23).

If you love Jesus, (1) Keep his word. Follow his teachings. (2) This will activate God’s special love for you, and (3) Jesus and his Father will come and live permanently with you. In this way the vacuum left by the physical absence of Jesus will be filled spiritually by the divine presence which is as real or even more real than the physical presence. Our part in this whole process is to focus on keeping the word of Christ.

But how do we be sure we know the implication and meaning of the word of Christ in the ever changing and ever more complex realities of modern life? How can we be sure what Jesus would do and how he would act in the present concrete situations of our daily lives? Again Jesus foresaw this difficulty and provided for it. “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

If that is so, what do we make of the situation in the world today where a thousand Christians all “filled with the Holy Spirit” come up with a thousand different answers to the same question? Does the Holy Spirit contradict Himself? Here it is important to note that the “you” to whom these promises are made is plural, meaning, primarily, the community of believers, the church. Of course the Holy Spirit is with us individually, but the Holy Spirit is given primarily to the church and, through the church, to us as individuals when we become members of the church.

Q4. What does the you in The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:26) refer to?

Here it is important to note that the “you” to whom these promises are made is plural, meaning, primarily, the community of believers, the church. Of course the Holy Spirit is with us individually, but the Holy Spirit is given primarily to the church and, through the church, to us as individuals when we become members of the church.

Q5. How does the Holy Spirit work in the Church?

This is what we see in the 1^st reading where disagreements among Christians are resolved through dialogue and community discernment and not through each one consulting the Holy Spirit privately. In the end they come out with a resolution which begins “it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” (Acts 15:28). The word of Christ continues to live and resound in the word of the Holy Spirit speaking through the church. The days between the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost are special days of prayer for all Christians as they were for the first disciples of Jesus. This year let us pray especially for the gift of church unity, so that together we all can discern what the Spirit is saying to the church in the modern world and so bear united witness to the life-giving word of Christ.

---

 [u1]THE FIRST PROMISE

 [u2]A taste of heaven on Earth.

 [u3]What heaven on earth looks like.

 [u4]What we have not understood, the Holy Spirit will make clear to us in good time.

 [u5]A peace felt even in the face of suffering and death.

The City of God (Rev21:10-14; 22-23)

The city of God (Rev21:10-14; 22-23)

Q1.What did the early Christians and Jews viewed the destruction of the Temple?

The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in the year ad 70 by the Roman army was the September-eleven of the Jewish nation of the time, and more. For the Jews the city of Jerusalem, adorned by the resplendent temple, was not just one of the wonders of the world, it was the very house of the Almighty God. God Himself ordered the building of the temple, God himself dictated every detail of the structure and decoration of the temple. It was God’s one and only house in the whole wide world. The navel of the earth, the umbilical cord connecting creation to the creator was located in the temple in Jerusalem. And God swore an everlasting covenant to uphold His people (the Jews), his city (Jerusalem) and His house (the temple). The early Christians thought that the fall of Jerusalem would be the end of the world. The idea of having a people of God without the temple never crossed their minds until the temple actually fell and world did not end.

Q2. How did John’s vision of the City of God differ from that of the early Christians and the Jews?

The last vision of John in Patmos is a vision concerning the last things. There we see God being true to His promises as he restores the holy city Jerusalem and its temple. This restoration, however, does not take place in the manner that the Jewish people of the time expected it. First, we see that in place of the material city that was built from the ground up, we now see a spiritual city coming down from above, “the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:10). Secondly, unlike the earthly Jerusalem with its irregular contours, the new city has a perfect square shape, four equal sides with three gates on each side. Finally, in place of the temple built with destructible brick and mortar, for the new city “its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (verse 22).  

Q3. What does John’s vision tell us about God’s promise and how it would be fulfilled?

Seen against the background of Jewish expectations, John’s vision of the restoration of the holy city Jerusalem is saying two things. (1) God is always faithful to fulfill His word. When God says that His city is everlasting, God will see to it that His city is everlasting. Even when that city is utterly destroyed before our very eyes and all hope appears to be lost, God can always recreate the holy city out of nothing. This means that no matter how bad things may seem to be, in God there is always hope. What God has promised, God will fulfill by and by. (2) God does not always fulfill His word in the manner in which we expect it. We often expect God to fulfill His word to us in the material order, then God goes on and fulfills it in the spiritual order, and we fail to see it because we have our eyes trained only on the material horizon.

The visions of John in Revelation are a preview into eternity. There we see that God is true to his covenant promise never to abandon His people, His city, and His house. But God’s people, God’s city, and God’s house are now understood in a spiritual and not a material sense.

Q4. How did the Jews view the way that God will fulfill his promises to them?  

Many Jews at the time of Jesus failed to see the marvelous things God was doing in their midst because they were expecting God to act in one way and God was actually acting in another way. The problem was in their narrow expectations as to who could be the Messiah (must be a son of David!), where he could or could not come from (not from Galilee!), how the Messiah would appear (not through normal birth by a woman as a helpless baby!), and how he would liberate God’s people Israel (by defeating the Roman army of occupation). When God did it His own way and not their own way, they failed to get it. As Christians we fall into the same mistake when we allow ourselves to believe that God can use certain people and not other people, God can come into our lives in certain ways and not in other ways, God is in certain religious traditions and not in others.

Q5. How will the Church of today be different from the City of God?

In the New Jerusalem, there is no temple, no priesthood, no rituals, no laws, and no religion. There is only God who is everything to everyone. May we never cease to wonder at the incomprehensible mystery of God unfolding before our very eyes in our world today.

Guidelines for the Long Haul - Revisited by Ron Rolheiser

Twenty-five years ago, I wrote a column entitled, Guidelines for the Long Haul. Revisiting it recently, I was encouraged that my principles haven't swayed during the past quarter-century, only taken on more nuance. I still recommend those same commandments, nostalgically revisited, somewhat redacted, but fully re-endorsed:

1) Be grateful...never look a gift universe in the mouth!

Resist pessimism and false guilt. To be a saint is to be warmed by gratitude, nothing less. The highest compliment you can give a gift-giver is to thoroughly enjoy the gift. You owe it to your Creator to appreciate things, to be as happy as you can. Life is meant to be more than a test. Add this to your daily prayer: Give us today our daily bread, and help us to enjoy it without guilt.

2) Don't be naive about God... God will settle for not less than everything!



God doesn't want part of your life; God wants it all. Distrust all talk about the consolation of religion. Faith puts a rope around you and takes you to where you'd rather not go. Accept that virtue will give you a constant reminder of what you've missed out on. Take this Daniel Berrigan counsel to the bank: "Before you get serious about Jesus, consider carefully how good you're going to look on wood!"

3) Walk forward when possible...or at least try to get one foot in front of the next!

See what you see, it's enough to walk by. Expect long periods of confusion. Let ordinary life be enough for you. It doesn't have to be interesting all the time. Take consolation in the fact that Jesus cried, saints sinned, Peter betrayed. Be as morally stubborn as a mule; the only thing that shatters dreams is compromise. Start over often. Nobody is old in God's eyes; nothing is too late in terms of conversion. Know that there are two kinds of darkness you can enter: the fearful darkness of paranoia, which brings sadness, and the fetal darkness of conversion, which brings life.

4) Pray...that God will hang on to you!

Distrust popularity polls. Trust prayer. Prayer grounds you in something deeper. Be willing to die a little to be with God since God died to be with you. Let your heart become the place where the tears of God and the tears of God's children merge into the tears of hope.

5) Love...if a life is large enough for love, it's large enough!

Create a space for love in your life. Consciously cultivate it. Know that nothing can be loved too much. Things can only be loved in the wrong way. Say to those you love: "You, at least, shall not die!" Know there are only two potential tragedies in life: Not to love and not to tell those you love that you love them.

6) Accept what you are...and fear not, you are inadequate!

Accept the human condition. Only God is whole. If you're weak, alone, without confidence, and without answers, say so; then listen. Accept the torture of a life of inadequate self-expression. There are many kinds of martyrdom. Recognize your own brand. If you die for a good reason, it's something you can live with!

7) Don't mummify...let go, so as not to be pushed!

Accept daily deaths. Don't seize life as a possession. Possessiveness kills enjoyment, kills relationships, and eventually kills you. Let go gracefully. Name your deaths, claim your births, mourn your losses, let the old ascend, and receive the spirit for the life you're actually living. Banish restless daydreams; they torture you. Keep in mind that it's difficult to distinguish a moment of dying from a moment of birth.

8) Refuse to take things seriously...call yourself a fool regularly!

God's laughter fills the emptiness of our tombs. Keep in mind that it's easy to be heavy, hard to be light. Laughter is a direct insult to the realism, dignity, and austerity of hell. Don't confuse sneering with laughter. Laugh with people, not at them. Laugh and give yourself over to silliness; craziness helps too, as does a good night's sleep.

9) Stay within the family ... you're on a group outing!

Don't journey alone. Resist the temptation to be spiritual, but not religious. Be "born again", regularly into community. Accept that there are strings attached. The journey includes family, church, country, and the whole human race. Don't be seduced by the lure of absolute freedom. Freedom and meaning lie in obedience to community: community humbles, deflates the ego, puts you into purgatory, and eventually into heaven.

10) Don't be afraid to go soft...redemption lies in tears!

All of Jesus' teaching can be put into one word: Surrender. If you will not have a softening of the heart you will eventually have a softening of the brain. Hardness pulls downward. Softness rises. A bird can soar because a bird is soft. A stone sinks because it's hard. Fragility is force. Sensitivity defines soul. Tenderness defines love. Tears are salt water, the water of our origins. 
http://www.ronrolheiser.com/

St Joseph,the patron saints of workers (Coincides with Labour Day)

Like St. Joseph the Worker, I can become holy by fulfilling my vocation and by doing service as a teacher. 

To be great in God’s eyes, we need not be great before the world. If we are faithful, god will make us great. 

Today is the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, the foster father of Jesus. On May 1, 1955, Pope Pius XII granted a public audience to the Catholic Association of Italian Workers, whose members had gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their society. They were solemnly renewing, in common, their promise of loyalty to the social doctrine of the Church, and it was on that day that the Pope instituted the liturgical feast of May 1, in honour of Saint Joseph the Worker to coincide with Labour Day.

The Church invites us to appreciate labour and work in terms of the following values:

Vocation: Through labour and work, we give meaning to our existence. We realize that we are not just here to waste time and to occupy space. We have a unique role to play; we have contributions to make in our world.

Stewardship: Through labour and work, we show the highest accountability for all the talents and abilities that nature and education endowed on us.

Service: Through our labour and work, we employ our talents and abilities not only to make a living but to meet the needs of others.