IPOH: God calls us to his kingdom and kinship with the family of God, for discipleship means kinship with God. “God welcomes us back to this kinship with kindness, love, compassion and in a caring way, and that is what we all share when we are in kinship with Him and one another.”

Redemptorist Fr Glenn de Cruz CSsR, of Singapore’s Novena Church, said this during his homily on the first two days of the nine-day preached novena Masses at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church here on June 17 and 18. The preached Masses followed the theme of Discipleship Towards Mission as a Family, culminating in the parish feastday on June 25. To be a good disciple does not mean saying all the right prayers, or fulfilling obligations, but more towards living Jesus’ criteria — justice, love and compassion for others.

Fr Glenn shared his story of why he is so drawn to Jesus. “I’ve never met anyone so compelling and who has compassion for me without being judgmental, and willing to help me. I know this is Jesus whom I want to share with others,” he said. His favourite is the story of Jairus’ daughter in Mark 5:21- 43, because it shows how Jesus spends time with the “unimportant” people, like when he stopped for the woman with the haemorrhage.

The story shows Jesus giving information, and treating the woman well, as an equal, not as an intrusion. He gives her back her dignity and raises her up, affirming her in her faith. “This always gives me hope, because Jesus has time for me,” he said. He added the church has a mission to proclaim the kingdom of God.

Mary’s discipleship began when she said ‘Yes’ to God and family. Her ‘Yes’ made her an outcast and caused a scandal. Elizabeth, her kinswoman, was also deemed an outcast because she was barren. Mary forms her discipleship when she helps Elizabeth towards the kingdom of God. Joseph, being a good man, decides to take Mary as his wife after the Angel’s visit.

At the start it seems a dysfunctional family, yet Mary continues to do what God tells her. She raises the status of women, through being a friend of the marginalized and outcast. Mark 3:20-21 states how Jesus was called “mad” for mixing with people on the fringes of society, those considered unclean. “For Jesus, family goes beyond blood lines, for God’s family is kinship. We are all moving in the same direction, and the kingdom is where God is present.

“Sometimes we have problems, and it is not easy to bring up a family but be open and forgiving towards your spouse and children, and emulate the Holy Family. Jesus is our brother, and we are all created in the image of the Trinity. “That is why when we are at odds with one another, we feel uncomfortable. We are created for relationships and relating to one another, and not meant to be alone,” he said.