1808045. Saturday, 4th AUGUST St John Vianney, priest.

Saturday, 4th AUGUST
St John Vianney, priest
Matthew 14:1-12

Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.

John spoke up. He could have kept silent and saved his life. 'Anyway', he could have thought, 'is Herod going to change by any chance, just because I tell him off?' There are martyrs who have given their lives for the sacrament of the Eucharist; others, for being priests. 

St John the Baptist is the martyr of marriage. He didn't say, 'In my opinion, it's probably not such a good idea for you to have your brother's wife'. Rather, he said things straight. And it didn't matter that it was the king he was speaking to.

 St John Fisher and St Thomas More acted in the same way with another king. Martyrs never compromised the truth, not even to save their lives.
We have to call a spade a spade; and a sin a sin. We have to be witnesses to the truth even when we face difficulties. In defending the truth, like St John the Baptist, Christians have to follow the words of Jesus: "have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known...everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven" (Mt10:26).

Roma Ligocka tells a story of an incident that happened in communist Poland when she was a young girl during a summer camp. One day they were all singing songs together and at one point the leader started a revolutionary song that was offensive to God.

Suddenly one of the girls, in tears, stood up petrified. "Why don't you sing with us?" asked the leader.

 "I do not sing against God," she answered in a small but firm voice. 

Silence. 

The camp leader intoned a new song. No one spoke anymore about it. 

But Ligocka explains how something had changed; something that shook her convictions and expanded her horizons. That night she discovered that "there are people who have the courage to stand up and say 'No'."

My Mother, Queen of Martyrs, give me the courage to stand up for the truth.

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4 AUGUST, 2018, Saturday, 17th Week, Ordinary Time

SELF-SERVING LEADERSHIP

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 26:11-16,24; MT 14:1-12  ]

It is never easy to be a true prophet of God.  We will always face opposition, even in ministry, because of jealousy and selfishness.  We are sure to be persecuted and hated.  The people who wanted to put Jeremiah to death were not even the rulers and the people whom Jeremiah condemned, but the priests and false prophets who opposed the truth.  This is true for us all.  The people who oppose us often come from our own ranks and organization.   It is not the people that oppose us but those whose interests are compromised. 

 Even the Holy Father has his critics within the Curia and some Catholics who are not happy with his attempts to change the structure of the Church.
This happens mainly due to four reasons: jealousy and insecurity; pride and selfish interests.   

King Herod was afraid of John the Baptist because he had become too popular. He was afraid that the people might follow John instead.  He could start a revolution and Herod could lose his power and authority.  So he had John arrested and put in prison.  Yet he knew that he was a man of God.  And because of the people, he dared not kill him.  He was a thorn in his flesh.  Indeed, all of us get jealous easily when others are perceived to be better than us.  More so if you are a leader and you know that they are better than you. Your position becomes threatened.

For Herodias, her ego was also affected.  John the Baptist had exposed her sin of adultery thus making her lose face.  She became vindictive.  She wanted that thorn to be removed so that she could continue to live in grace and not in disgrace.   She wanted to live in dignity but in truth she was deceiving herself.   This is a delusion.  This is true for us all.  We do not like people to tell us of our sins.  We do not like to be reminded of our imperfections.  That is why some people do not want to go for confession.  Their pride and fear of shame prevent them.   We do not mind criticizing ourselves but we take offense when others criticize us. Herod too was a slave to his pride when he did not retract the promise he made to Herodias' daughter.  A promise to do evil is invalid.   Yet, to show his power, he saw through this evil deed.

For the prophets and priests, they too had vested interests.  They would lose their position and privileges if the people start to believe in Jeremiah.  

We all want security in life.  We want to live comfortable lives and be freed from those who control us.   Some of us are not willing to step down from office because we are used to the privileges that come with the office.  We are afraid that we cannot live without them.  So we are not willing to give up our power.  Even in the Church, we cling on to power.  I always wonder why some people are not willing to step down from office when there are younger and better people who can do a more effective job.  My constant conviction is that the best man or woman should do the job.  But in truth, we all cling on to power, not for service but for ourselves.  Of course, in the name of service, we do not give up our power.  The day we are no longer in office, we will cease to enjoy special treatment, including the bishop! But service is not about us!

Jealousy and pride, insecurity and self-interests will lead to more evil, including vindictiveness and killing. That was what happened to the prophets, priests and Herodias and Herod.  They would do anything to get rid of the irritant even when they knew he was speaking the truth.  They would even step so low as to use innocent people to condemn the prophet.  They sought to use the rulers and the people to put Jeremiah to death.  Herodias made use of her innocent daughter to display herself so that she could ask her to request for the head of John the Baptist.  Politicians and weak governments would do everything to eliminate their opponents, regardless how good and talented they may be for the country.

What about us?  Do we want to follow the same path?  Do we use innocent people, especially the young to fulfill our ambitions and selfish needs?  Do we seek death and murder at least in our minds?   If we do, then we will never find peace, like Herod.  He lived in guilt and fear for the rest of his life for he knew that he had done wrong.  He could not reconcile with his sin of adultery and murder.  He had hallucinations of John the Baptist appearing and more so because they were cousins.   Guilt will kill us in the end.  This explains why sins have a punishment of their own.  When there is guilt, there can be no peace.
The truth is that our conscience cannot be silenced.  Don't pretend or try to suppress the truth.  Even the uneducated common people know what is right and wrong.  That is why the collective conscience of the people rejected the priests and prophets' demand to execute Jeremiah.  The sensus fidei must be trusted, especially when authorities are corrupt and blind.  As authorities, we must be alert to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and be receptive to the ground as well.
We are called to be like John the Baptist and Jeremiah.  Let our lives be our defense if our words fail us.  We need to be true to ourselves and do the right thing, not the popular thing.  We must have the courage even to speak the truth against the powerful people when they are wrong!
But speak the truth with charity.  Truth must be spoken in love and with love. This is the litmus test of truth.  If we speak out of anger and resentment, most likely there is no truth in it but self-interest and revenge.  We speak only because there is no self-gain but purely out of love and for the love and good of others. Jeremiah defended himself as follows, "The Lord himself sent me to say all the things you have heard against this Temple and this city. So now amend your behaviour and actions, listen to the voice of the Lord your God: if you do, he will relent and not bring down on you the disaster he has pronounced against you."
However, before you can claim to speak the truth and not do so as an excuse to ventilate your own hang ups, make sure you have prayed and listened clearly to the Word of God.  This was what Jeremiah and John the Baptist did.  If we have not listened to His word, we only have the voice without the content.   So to find the courage to proclaim the truth, we must first listen.   Having heard the word of God for ourselves, we can then proclaim the truth with confidence and without fear. Jeremiah could surrender his fate to God. "For myself, I am as you see in your hands. Do whatever you please or think right with me. But be sure of this, that if you put me to death, you will be bringing innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and on its citizens, since the Lord has truly sent me to you to say all these words in your hearing."

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved

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4th August
St John Vianney (1786-1859)

A man with vision overcomes obstacles and performs deeds that seem impossible. John Vianney was a man with vision: He wanted to become a priest. But he had to overcome his meagre formal schooling, which inadequately prepared him for seminary studies.

His failure to comprehend Latin lectures forced him to discontinue. But his vision of being a priest urged him to seek private tutoring. After a lengthy battle with the books, John was ordained.

Situations calling for "impossible" deeds followed him everywhere. As pastor of the parish at Ars, John encountered people who were indifferent and quite comfortable with their style of living. His vision led him through severe fasts and short nights of sleep. (Some devils can only be cast out by prayer and fasting.)

With Catherine Lassagne and Benedicta Lardet, he established La Providence, a home for girls. Only a man of vision could have such trust that God would provide for the spiritual and material needs of all those who came to make La Providence their home.

His work as a confessor is John Vianney's most remarkable accomplishment. In the winter months he was to spend 11 to 12 hours daily reconciling people with God. In the summer months this time was increased to 16 hours. Unless a man was dedicated to his vision of a priestly vocation, he could not have endured this giving of self day after day.

Many people look forward to retirement and taking it easy, doing the things they always wanted to do but never had the time. But John Vianney had no thoughts of retirement. As his fame spread, more hours were consumed in serving God's people. Even the few hours he would allow himself for sleep were disturbed frequently by the devil.

Who, but a man with vision, could keep going with ever-increasing strength? In 1929, Pope Pius XI named him the patron of parish priests worldwide

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