Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sunday 24th January 2016)
Let the Word of God become alive and active in your life – (Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21)
Jesus began His public ministry by teaching and preaching. His disciples and apostles were the eyewitnesses to His words and actions. These in turn would use His words and actions when they in due course began to teach and preach the Good News. Some of them also were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down in the Gospels what they seen and heard, and what other witnesses experienced of Jesus. Thanks to these people we too can hear Jesus speak and teach through the Scriptures we hear at Mass every week. What we must realise is that, “The word of God is alive and active”, in our world today. The word of God can bring great graces into our lives. When we listen to it, pray with it, read and meditate upon it, it can help us in so many ways.
Such was the case with Cardinal Francis Nguyen Van Thuan. He was made coadjutor archbishop of Saigon, Vietnam in 1975. Very soon afterwards he was arrested and imprisoned by the Communists because of his Catholic faith. Little did he realise he was to endure 13 years of imprisonment, nine of which were spent in solitary confinement. How was he to survive? How could he be of any help to his people? Who could he turn to?
Despite all, he never lost trust in God. He had a great belief in the power of God and His word. He would remember certain phrases from the Scriptures. He would repeat them and meditate upon them frequently. These would inspire great faith and hope and love within him.
He was inspired to use his limited resources creatively in order to fulfil his duties as shepherd to the faithful when he was in prison. When he could not physically be present to his people, he solicited the help of a young boy to bring him old calendars. He wrote simple, sincere messages of hope on the calendars and had the young boy copy and distribute them among the faithful. His profound letters to the Catholic community strengthened them in their faith and helped them to persevere. The words, which resonated in the people’s hearts, reminded them that their beloved archbishop, though not physically present, was present with them through prayer.
Archbishop Thuan also used his scanty means to celebrate Mass in prison. He knew that celebrating Mass was his most important duty, but he had no church, no altar, and no tabernacle. How, then, could he fulfil his duty as bishop? He turned the concentration camp into a cathedral; the palm of his hand into an altar. He turned his shirt pocket into a tabernacle; turned the darkness of the sleeping quarters into a dwelling place for Light Himself. Because of his ingenuity, many prisoners regained the fervour of their faith. The prisoners were reminded to embrace suffering and to use their current circumstances to grow in faith. His example teaches all Christians that faith entails an active surrender to the Lord. It means seeking the best way to proclaim Christ’s love in every moment, every circumstance, and every action.
We too can be inspired by God’s word. When we attend Mass, we should ask the Lord to give us some word or phrase from the Scriptures that we can bring with us in our hearts as we go about our daily duties. As part of our daily prayer why not give five minutes to read the Scriptures and allow a time of silence for God to speak to us. Why not have little prayers, based on God’s word in our hearts at different moments each day. Especially in difficult moments God’s word will inspire us with hope and faith.
Let us ask Our Lady to help us be open and faithful as She was to God’s word. In praying and meditating upon the ‘Mysteries of the Rosary’ how much we we will grow in our faith and love of Jesus. We too will experience how God’s word can be ‘alive and active’ in our lives. We never know how God will inspire us as His disciples in the challenging times ahead!
Fr. Rory Brady