Mary’s Role as a Disciple

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 22 May 2010)

Every human being is God's creature, directly (soul) and indirectly (body) the fruit of God's love. This means that we all have -- ingrained in our spiritual genetic code -- a fundamental orientation towards God our maker and perfection. The notion of creator comprises the idea of father and master.

• As father, God is the giver, essentially pouring out His love for us to be and exist.

• As master, God shows us how to become sons and daughters of His.

Here lies the root of our vocation as disciples and the fundamental reason we call Mary: disciple. She is expressing this realisation, in fact the only real self-definition we have of Mary, by saying: I am the servant of the Lord. In this self-awareness Mary recognises her being a creature, meaning loved by God and called into His service. 

She reconfirms this through her yes at the moment of the Annunciation. Through this yes pronounced globally, anticipating the future of her role as Mother of God, she constituted herself as disciple, willingly and consciously.

Through her yes she says that she is willing to act according to God's will. God's will needs to be discerned as we know, and as we can see from Mary's own life. She ponders much and speaks little, meaning she wants to understand God's ways and designs.

Mary's vocation as mother-disciple evolves according to the following stages:

1) Discernment: At the Annunciation Mary listens to the angel, and compares his message to her own situation, debates whether to say yes, and ponders the pros and cons.

2) Commitment: Declaring her willingness to be mother of God she also declares herself to be willing to act as God's and the Spirit's disciple (I am the servant). She commits herself to a type of existence largely unknown, and she does it wholeheartedly.

3) Acceptance: Much of what we know about Mary's life could be qualified as adaptation to the unknown and unpleasant (circumstances of conception, birth, flight into Egypt). One of the learning abilities most appreciated in a disciple is his/her flexibility, sense of adaptation, acceptance of the unknown, and ability to deal with it. Mary is learning as the loving, faithful and trusting servant.

4) Pondering: Mary faces situations of utter incomprehensibility, personal doubt (not of her commitment but its practical expression). In all of these situations, she works towards a deeper understanding of things happening to her, puts them in perspective with her vocation as mother of Jesus Christ, allows for growth in patience and perseverance.

5) Participation: The true disciple engages in his master's projects and hopes. As disciple Mary associates her concerns -- and that of others -- with those of her Son. She shows initiative, courage, concern for others... and respect for Christ's own mission. The wedding of Cana is such an example of participation in her Son's mission. Again, this example shows that Mary attunes her desire to help to Christ's own mission. She learns to respect His "hour."

6) Transformation: Radical discipleship can lead to personal transformation. Such is the case for Mary as she stands at the foot of the cross. She suffers with her Son because she is unable to avert his passion and death. She understands that the “horror” (monstrosity) of his death cannot be changed if salvation is to become reality. But Mary's most important transformation occurs when Jesus asks her (John 19, 25-17) to take care of His brothers and sisters in the Spirit. At the foot of the cross she becomes our spiritual mother. She has to accept a new way of being mother. In losing her son, her call takes on a new significance and leads her into a radically new understanding of her role as Mother.

7) Communion: There is a social dimension to discipleship. Disciples of a same master learn from each other and develop existential bonds. Together with Christ's other disciples, she follows the inspiration of the Spirit sending them to the ends of the earth to disseminate Christ's message.

In summary, it clearly shows that Mary learns and adapts to being Christ's first and faithful disciple. Therefore, as God’s faithful children, let us also emulate Mary and be true disciples of God.

Editor’s note: This topic’s relevance to the Year for Priests is Mary’s discipleship as a model for priests.

Redemptorists’ Marian Spirituality

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 10 April 2010)

Good evening, my brothers & sisters in Christ. My name is Paul Kang and I am a parishioner of SFX.

I was a Redemptorist as a seminarian in Singapore from 1985 to 1988. I am here today to share a particular aspect of the Redemptorists; the Marian spirituality.

The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer – Congregatio Sanctissmi Redemptoris – that’s why professed members of this religious order sign off with the initials CSsR – popularly known as the Redemptorists. The Redemptorists, founded by St. Alphonsus Ligouri have the motto “With him is plentiful redemption”. They have a primary mission, to Preach the Good news to the Poor, which gave rise to the strong charism of preaching among the Reds. In 1866, Pope Pius IX asked the Reds to make Mary known; which started the additional devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help (OMPH). This supplementary mission has resulted in thousands of people being drawn to devotions to OMPH all over the world.


In Singapore, the Novena Church draws 14,000 people in total every Saturday to 10 sessions of the Novena. Every year, on the 1st Sunday of Sept, about 30,000 faithful come together to honour our Blessed Mother at the annual procession. For those of you who have not had the benefit of the novena experience, here are some pictures for your benefit. This was last year’s theme. The picture which is at the shrine of Our Lady in Novena Church is carried in procession. Notice the crowd and see if you capture the fervent prayer. Over 100,000 families in Singapore sign up to be consecrated to the intercessory care of our Blessed Mother. The statistics are awesome and it is no surprise that the novena is so well known in Singapore. It is a little known fact that 75 years ago, the Novena started in Singapore in 1 small parlour with less than 20 people (including the Redemptorists who were members of that community). How did it happen?

It was a conscious process of growing in faith; of deepening the relationship with our blessed mother; the Marian Spirituality. If we could sum up the process: Learn, Pray, Live & Novena Experience.

Learn – the Redemptorists develop their Marian spirituality by attending special Marian classes while in the seminary and reading books.

Pray – in daily prayer, the Divine Office, a special prayer to the Blessed Mother is included even though it is not part of the standard office prayer. Every Redemptorist is encouraged to make his own 15-decade rosary while in the novitiate. It is a labour of love but nevertheless painful process over 3 months during which time, the novice starts to appreciate our Blessed Mother and starts praying the Rosary.

Live – the Redemptorists live it by sharing with each other, their own experiences of grace through the intercession of our Blessed Mother right from the seminary. Mary has a very special place in the life of every Redemptorist community. As they progress in formation, final year seminarians onwards start preaching the novenas and giving special Marian retreats.

The 1st 3 arrows pertain to the way Redemptorists develop their Marian spirituality.

The last block, the Novena Experience is how the faithful developed their own Marian spirituality, together with the Redemptorists who serve their community. Faithfully, the community attended the novena to be nourished by the sermons of the Redemptorists. They were encouraged to write letters of petitions. As they experienced graces through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, they wrote letters of thanksgiving. In Singapore, Novena Church alone receives a few hundred letters weekly and in the week preceeding the annual procession, over 600 letters are received by Our Lady. The letters encourage everyone within the community.

When they prayed, they prayed with great fervour – for example, the 1st row of the faithful today kneels more than 10 feet away from the microphone used by the priest during the benediction. The volume of the prayers of the people in the 1st row is picked up by the microphone and reverberates throughout the speakers of the whole church, encouraging everyone to be even more fervent in prayer.

This same formula of growing the Marian spirituality has worked all over the world. How does it apply to us?

Learn – we can grow in our knowledge of our Blessed Mother by attending faith formation sessions, learning from the sharing during our own novena sessions and maybe even researching the internet for the right materials.

Pray – Let us be faithful to the Rosary and include a special Marian prayer when we pray as a family.

Live – while it may seem awkward, let us share with our own families, accounts of faith we hear at the novenas when we reach home or our own faith experiences. In our BECs, have the confidence to share with other members.

Through our own Novena Experience let us deepen our Marian spirituality:

Pay close attention to the sharing by members of our own Marian Devotion Group. It will also enrich your knowledge and deepen your faith.

We are all here for a reason. Many of us have special intentions – make a point to write letters of petitions to our Blessed Mother. When your prayers are answered, make a pledge to write letters of thanksgiving. This will greatly encourage our community.

Today, let us pray to our Blessed Mother with greater fervour. I invite each and every one to commit to pray for 1 extra person to come to this Novena. Let the Novena Experience of SFX draw people to Jesus through Mary - that by the time SFX celebrates its 50th anniversary, we will need to have 2 sessions of the Novena every Saturday with 1,000 people attending each session.

Let us now pray to this same mother who has helped grow the faith and fervour of the community in Novena Church in Singapore over the last 75 years and all over the world for the deepening of our own Marian spirituality.

Let us, as a community, pray in a loud voice and with great fervour, the powerful prayer of the Memorare…(the sharer continued with the presentation of the Novena…)

Priesthood and Sacrifice

(Homily at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 27 March 2010)

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

As we are in the Year For Priests, the sharing for today is entitled “Priesthood and Sacrifice”. Here, the word “sacrifice” would mean personal sacrifice or self-sacrifice which we do and offer up to God rather than Christ’s sacrifice through the ministerial priesthood.

The Liturgical colour in the season of Lent is purple; signifying a time of pain, suffering, sorrow, mourning and penitence. However last Thursday, the Liturgical colour was white; which is a symbol of joy, light, purity, and innocence. Every year on the 25th of March, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation.

On the Annunciation when Mary said “yes” to God, it was a mark of joy because with that “yes”, the process of salvation for mankind began to unfold. Yet after this joy of saying “yes” to God comes also the prophecy to Mary that “a sword will pierce her own soul” as foretold by Simeon in the Temple. Imagine the joy of Mary embracing the new born baby – the Son of God – in her arms during Christmas and later in her life, bearing the pain of receiving the same body of Jesus but now cold and lifeless in her bosom on Good Friday. Mary bore these moments with great patience and fortitude in her heart.

When a priest says “yes” to God, he follows Mary’s footsteps to embrace Christ into himself. And in the Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest makes Christ present when he acts in persona Christi i.e. by taking “the place and person of Christ himself”. By saying yes to God, the priest embraces the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ and with it the joys, sufferings and sorrows of Christ.

I remember when I was living with the Jesuit communities in the mission fields, I noticed that the old Jesuit missionaries were particularly gentle in their manner and wise in their way of life. I also noticed that almost, if not all of them carried and prayed the rosary. Old as they are, they still turn to Mary and pray and ask for her intercession and protection. Why? Because life in the mission field can be very difficult. And they know that only Mary, their Mother can understand them and help them to continue to live and work in the land they were sent.

Have you seen any priests who are struggling or are facing some crises? Or do you have any complaints against your priests? Pray for them and ask Mary to help them.

What about yourselves? Are you or your loved ones going through hard times or difficulties? Turn to Mary, our Mother of Perpetual Help to pray for us and be with us always.

Let us learn from Mary that we could do sacrifices to God by first saying “yes” to Him. And we know that the “yes” we say will come with much joy and sorrow. But we can always turn to Mary for help, guidance and protection as we journey with her in this world. Amen.

The Priesthood of Christ – Sacrifice

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 20 March 2010)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

To continue to journey in the Year of the Priest and in conjunction with the season of Lent, this
week my sharing will be based on the topic “The Priesthood of Christ – Sacrifice” .

In the Old Testament, priests are by definition intermediaries ("those in the middle") between God and humanity, between the spiritual world and the earthly world. They are called to a special holiness and set apart for service which allows them to perform special rites and sacred duties in the temple, as intermediaries.

It is in this capacity that they offer sacrifices to the gods to appease for the sins of the people. These sacrifices had to be offered repeatedly since the human person remained a sinner and it was essentially humankind’s effort to make up with the gods.

The letters to the Hebrews is the specific book in the New Testament that sheds a new light to this old idea of priests. This letter tells us of how Jesus became the new high priest to play the role of the intermediary. Whereas in the past there were many priests who offered sacrifices to the gods, Jesus, in His capacity as God-Man, offered His very self to God for us. This was the greatest sacrifice that Jesus Himself offered to God willingly for our sake and on our behalf. There is no need for any High Priest to repeat this sacrifice to God any longer because Jesus, as fully human and fully divine, in offering Himself as the sacrifice makes it once and for all eternity.

This icon shows Jesus Christ as our Eternal Great High priest and this is seen in the fifteenth century Greek prototype. Here Christ is shown in Latin Rite vestment with a golden pelican over His heart. It is the ancient symbol of self-sacrifice.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or better known as CCC, Christ’s self-sacrifice and His offering of Himself to the Father for our sins is further explained in 2 main aspects :

1) Christ's whole life is an offering to the Father
In article #606 it states :
The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do [his] own will, but the will of him who sent [him]",413 said on coming into the world, "Lord, I have come to do your will, O God." "And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."414 From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in his redemptive mission: The sacrifice of Jesus "for the sins of the whole world"416 expresses his loving communion with the Father. "The Father loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord.

2) "The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
In article #608 it states :
After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".422 By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's redemption at the first Passover.423 Christ's whole life expresses his mission: "to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Now, having heard of the Priesthood of Christ in terms of His Sacrifice offering, perhaps we can ask ourselves how does this relate to our priests today and how do we personally relate to this?

As Christ’s whole life expressed his mission to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, in the same way, our priests dedicate their whole life to God to as an expression of this same sacrifice of Jesus. They do this by imitating and living-out Christ’s love and sacrifice in their daily lives by their humble service of the people of God and humanity.
Jesus, as the High Priest, offered Himself as a loving sacrifice to the Father. In the similar way our priests continue to bring alive this loving sacrifice at mass. Our priests also show this by their selfless services offered to all especially to the poor, the marginalized, the migrant workers, the sick, dying and infirmed and many other acts of charity.

Each time the priest or any one of us does a loving sacrifice, we identify ourselves with the ever loving sacrifice of Jesus Himself. His priesthood continues to live in us because we allow ourselves to participate in Him. As lay people we too can collaborate in supporting and assisting our priests in these loving services.

Hence, dear brothers and sisters, in conclusion, the CCC states in Article #618

The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator btw God and man”
But because of His incarnate divine person HE has in some way united Himself
to every man, ‘the possibility of being made partners ,in a way known to God in the
Paschal Mystery is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to take up his cross and follow him, for ‘Christ also suffered for us, living us an example so that we should follow in His footsteps’.
AMEN.

St. Joseph

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 13 March 2010)

Everything we know about Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture.

We know he was a carpenter, a working man as described in Matthew 13:55 where the Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage.

1) Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to the law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He knew that women accused to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to divorce her quietly and not expose her to shame or cruelty (Matthew 1:19-25).

2) Joseph was man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife.

When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).

3) We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life.

When Jesus stayed in the Temple, we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son as described in Scripture. (Luke 4:22)

4) He respected God. He followed God's commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus' birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.

There is much we wish we could know about Joseph -- where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).

Editor's note: St. Joseph raised Jesus Christ, the High Priest; thus this topic's relevance to the Year for Priests.

Year for Priests: St Maximilian Mary Kolbe (Part 2)

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 6 March 2010)

Last week, we heard about the first episode of the story of St Maximilian Kolbe, a priest from Poland, who was an outstanding promoter of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the modern media of writing, radio and television.

Last week’s episode ended at the point when Father Maximilian and four companions were taken to the Nazi death-camp Auschwitz, and how they were ill-treated.

Now, in order to discourage escapes from prison, Auschwitz had a rule that if a man escaped, ten men would be killed in retaliation. In July 1941 a man from Kolbe's bunker escaped. The dreadful irony of the story is that the escaped prisoner was later found drowned in a camp latrine. But the remaining men of the bunker were led out.

'The fugitive has not been found!' the commandant screamed. 'You will all pay for this. Ten of you will be locked in the starvation bunker without food or water until you die.' The prisoners trembled in terror.

The ten were selected, including Franciszek Gajowniczek. He couldn't help a cry of anguish. 'My poor wife!' he sobbed. 'My poor children! What will they do?' When he uttered this cry of dismay, Maximilian stepped silently forward, took off his cap, and stood before the commandant and said, 'I am a Catholic priest. Let me take his place.”

Astounded, the icy-faced Nazi commandant asked, “What does this Polish pig want?”
Father Max pointed with his hand to the condemned Franciszek and repeated “I would like to take his place. I am alone in the world. But that man has a family to live for.”
The commandant remained silent for a moment and granted the request.

Gajowniczek later recalled:
“For a long time I felt remorse when I thought of Maximilian. By allowing myself to be saved, I had signed his death warrant. But now, on reflection, I understood that a man like him could not have done otherwise. Perhaps he thought that as a priest his place was beside the condemned men to help them keep hope. In fact he was with them to the last. It was the first and the last time that such an incident happened in the whole history of Auschwitz.”

Father Kolbe was left to starve in Building 13 along with the other victims. Hunger and thirst soon gnawed at the men. Some drank their own urine, others licked moisture on the dank walls. Maximilian Kolbe encouraged the others with prayers, psalms, and meditations on the Passion of Christ. While they moaned, Fr Maximilian comforted them in these words, “These Nazis may hurt our bodies, but they cannot kill our souls. When we die, we shall die pure and peaceful, resigned to God in our hearts.”

After two weeks, only four were alive. The cell was needed for more victims, and the camp executioner came in and injected a lethal dose of cabolic acid into the arm of each of the four dying men. While dying, Fr Maximilian kept praying the ‘Hail Mary…”

The heroism of Father Kolbe went echoing through Auschwitz. In that desert of hatred he had sown love. A survivor Jerzy Bielecki declared that Father Kolbe's death was 'a shock filled with hope, bringing new life and strength ... It was like a powerful shaft of light in the darkness of the camp.'

Fr. Maximilian Kolbe was beatified as Confessor by Paul VI in 1970, and canonized as Martyr by Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you agree with me that the life of St Maximilian helped you see the person of Christ in a priest, then there is more to the ordained priestly ministry that you should encounter. Come to our Novena of Grace in honour of St Francis Xavier where the theme is an echo of Year for Priests. Come, let us be further infused with God's grace as we encounter Christ in His priests.

Amen.

References:
[1] MAXIMILLIAN KOLBE, APOSTLE OF MARY by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. (http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/KOLBE.htm)

[2] Kolbe, The Saint from Auschwitz (www.auschwitz.dk/kolbe.htm)

Year for Priests: St Maximilian Mary Kolbe (Part 1)

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 27 February 2010)

During this Year for Priests, you have heard about how the vocation of the priesthood is so wonderful and how it is also closely associated with Mary our Mother.

Here is a story, a real story, of a priest and a saint, who had immense devotion to Our Blessed Mother, and was a living example of God’s love, in the life of a priest. His name is Father Maximilian Mary Kolbe.

The story begins in 1894 - Raymond Kolbe was born in Poland. In his childhood Raymond seems to have been normally mischievous but one day, after his mother had scolded him for some mischief or other, her words took effect and brought about a radical change in the child's behaviour.

Later Raymond explained this change: 'That night I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both.' Thus early did the child believe and accept that he was destined for martyrdom.
In 1910 he became a Franciscan, taking the name Maximilian. He was ordained in 1918.
Right after his ordination, he went about his mission:
He is an outstanding promoter of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the modern media of writing, radio and, since his day, television. He published the magazine, "Knight of the Immaculate." The Franciscan Friars built a town called the "Town of the Immaculate," outside of Warsaw. There he began training people with vocations and prospective Religious and Priests, to become apostles of Mary.

The spirituality of St. Maximilian is based directly on this truth: that the Immaculate Virgin Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces. That is the first basis of his Marian thinking. If this were not so, Maximilian explains, all our strength and effort in the spiritual life would be in vain. In other words, our spiritual life depends on grace. That's obvious, but it also depends on the grace that we receive through Mary.

When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, he knew that the friary would be seized, and sent most of the friars home. He was imprisoned briefly and then released, and returned to the friary, where he and the other friars began to organize a shelter for 3,000 Polish refugees.
Inevitably, the community came under suspicion. Then in May 1941 the friary was closed down and Maximilian and four companions were taken to the death-camp Auschwitz.

Prisoners at Auschwitz were slowly starved, and their pitiful rations were barely enough to sustain a child. When food was brought, everyone struggled to get his place and be sure of a portion. Father Maximilian however, stood aside in spite of the ravages of starvation, and frequently there would be none left for him. At other times he shared his meager ration of soup or bread with others.

In the harshness of the slaughterhouse Father Max maintained the gentleness of Christ. At night he seldom would lie down to rest. He moved from bunk to bunk, saying: 'I am a Catholic priest. Can I do anything for you?'

A prisoner later recalled how he and several others often crawled across the floor at night to be near the bed of Father Kolbe, to make their confessions and ask for consolation. Father Kolbe pleaded with his fellow prisoners to forgive their persecutors and to overcome evil with good. When he was beaten by the guards, he never cried out. Instead, he prayed for his tormentors.

Such was the first episode of the life of a saintly priest. In the next instalment, which I will share with you next week, you will hear very touching moments on how he was martyred.

Amen.