MY
REFLECTION: Sunday October 6, 2013
The gospel reading for this Sunday is
from Luke 17:5-10. As I was reading the
passage, I was trying hard to reflect what the connection of the first verses
with the later part. The first part
talks about faith while the second part talks about the kind of attitude we
should have as servants and handmaids of God.
Faith is a gift from God, because no one
can come to the Father unless the Father would draw him near. No one can believe in his rational frame of
mind that a single command for the mountains to be uprooted and thrown into the
sea would ever happen. But Jesus said
that with faith it is possible. Indeed,
how we wish we have that that faith. But
like any other gift, faith has a medium.
It does not come from nowhere.
One of the most often quoted verse of St. Paul talks about faith as
coming from listening to the Word of God.
When we read the Bible and listen to the words of the saints, this is
one process by which faith grows into our hearts and as it grows it bears much
fruit. Like a little bird trying to
learn how to fly, we begin in simple ways.
But as we grow in our reflection and our immersion to the Word of God,
our faith grows and it matures. Once it
bears fruit, the more that it will lead us to be more humble and to show that
benefit to others. Like a tree, it
begins to give shelter to others, and becomes a source of refreshment. A mature faith that leads to the summit of
our faith which is the Mass, where Christ offers Himself for us in the forms of
the Eucharist as a pledge of salvation.
All our devotions must lead to this summit. Once in this summit we grow into that
confidence of love and hope that whatever we ask from the Lord and that
whatever we wish in our hearts being in conformity with His will, He will give
to us. But we must attribute everything
to God which is the source of all goodness.
This is the main reason I always dislike the hand clapping or the
applause that seem to become a part of the conclusion of our masses. I do not know where this practice came
from. The mass becomes as if it is a
show or a program where the celebrant, the altar servers, the lectors and the
people are given applause. This is
basically contrary to what our gospel reading tells us. Christ said that after performing our tasks
as “servants” we should never expect to thanked or applauded, because we are
servants. This is the humility of
service. There is a danger that once you
receive applause, you already get your reward on earth. This is the main reason why I feel
uncomfortable about this handclapping during mass. Lectors, altar servers perform their duties
for the sake of Christ, but once they receive applause in public they forfeit their
rewards in heaven. I hope that the
liturgical commission of our church will correct this custom of hand clapping
or giving applause. For in the Holy Mass
one should receive an applause – it is God who gave His Son for us as the one
and only sacrificial victim that saves and connects us to God and reconciles us
to Him.
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