Authentic Faith - Archbishop W. Goh (Abridged Homily Extract - 18 Feb 2022)

What kind of faith can save us? What is a saving faith? A saving faith is a faith that is expressed in good works. When there are no good works, it means to say, therefore, we have no real faith. It is either a devotional faith, or a notional faith, or no faith at all. So, it is important for us that a person who truly professes his faith in God, needs to be translated into actions. And this is why it is important to maintain this balance. Faith and deeds must work together. What is faith in the understanding of Jesus? Faith is more than just living a life of integrity, a life of good works. It is more than just having faith in Him, confessing in Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Saviour. It is a total surrender to the plan of God for us in our lives. That is Christian faith. When Jesus told His disciples and the people, "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me." Jesus was not speaking simply about the need to carry the cross in our daily lives. He was not even speaking about carrying His cross. What is this cross that Jesus speaks about? It is a cross of renunciation. What does it mean to renounce ourselves? As the Lord said, "Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it. Anyone who loses his life for my sake, for the sake of the Gospel will save it. It is to put on the mindset of our Lord. It is to put on the mind of God in looking at life, in looking at situations. And the way God looks at the world is very different from how the world looks at itself. We know that Jesus has brought about a reversal of values. In the eyes of God, we are all loved and we are equal. And so, the mindset that we are called to put on is the mindset of our Lord, the mindset of God. And this is a real, critical act of faith. To believe that that is the way God will give us life to the fullest requires tremendous faith, surrendering ourselves to God's plan in our lives. How many of us are able to accept the plan of God in our lives? If you are suffering from a terminal illness, if someone passes away in bereavement, are you able to accept the plan of God? We believe that the wisdom of God is also His will. And so, we are called today to trust Him and to trust in His divine plan, just as our Lord trusted in our Heavenly Father. He went through the passion. And we too, my dear brothers and sisters, we need to go through the passion. We need to surrender ourselves. We need to believe. It is difficult. That it is in dying that we rise. It is in giving that we receive. It is when we burn out our lives for others, that we find life to the fullest. For the man who tries to save his life will lose it. And the man who loses his life for the sake of the Gospel will win it.

Channel: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore

Views: 1,779

Keywords: Catholic, Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Archdiocese of Singapore, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, Archbishop William Goh, William Goh, Homily, Sermon, Scripture Reflection, Singapore, Proud2BCatholic, ArchComms, Homily Extracts, Short Sermons, Message of the day, Daily Bread, Mass, Jesus, Eucharist, Evangelisation, Gospel, Vocation, Faith, Homilies, Homily for today, Daily Mass, Ordinary Time, Weekday Mass, Plan, Surrender, Renounce, Life, Wisdom, Trust, God, Will, yt:cc=on

Id: PPVl-iyRnqM

Length: 4min 13sec (253 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 18 2022