We should worship in spirit and truth

Oct 23, 2015

By Dr Ivan Filmer
“What makes for real worship?” This was the question that parish priest, Fr Martin Arlando, put to the congregation that came to celebrate Mass on Sept 29 for the Church of the Divine Mercy’s (CDM) fifth anniversary as a church, and the second year as a parish.

He referred to the First Reading of the day taken from 2 Chronicles 5:6-11, 13: 6-2, Second Reading from 2 Cor 3: 9-11, 16-17 and the Gospel reading John 4: 19-24. “How, and when, do we know that what we are doing pleases God? Jesus himself faced the same situation when he met the Samaritan woman who questioned him on where to worship God. True worship is where one approaches God as a whole person. In today’s world, we face many superstitions, such as bad luck to walk under a ladder or cross the path of a black cat.

“Like Samaritans, we avoid such things, just in case they are true. Jesus asked us to worship in spirit and in truth, to acknowledge our God as the true God, giving thanks for God’s provision of everything in our lives and celebrating the promise of eternal life. We need to acknowledge God’s presence in everything we do and rejoice in the path that God has chosen for us. We also need to respond to God’s personal call to a deeper relationship: to serve Him wholeheartedly. In this way, the response is an act of worship. Just like the power of worship at the Eucharistic celebration at Mass. If we worship this way, we can walk away after Mass and say, ‘What a great God we have.’ An awesome God who loves us and just wants us to worship him in spirit and in truth. In line with the theme of this Sunday, One Community In Praise of God, we have this opportunity at every Mass, to truly worship God in spirit and truth.”

In celebration of the church’s anniversary and establishment as a parish, a cake was cut. Fr Martin invited representatives from the senior citizens, middle-aged parishioners, as well as the youth and children to participate in the cake cutting. He also thanked everyone present for helping him, as the parish priest, for the last two years and asked them to continue to pray for him. A potbless was also held after Mass.

On Oct 4, the feast of St Faustina was celebrated. In his homily, Fr Martin explained that God created man and woman and that the two should become one body. (Gospel Reading from Mark 10:2-16) In any marriage, the union of man and woman takes place in the presence of God, with the Holy Spirit as the witness and presider. Men and women tend to look for the ideal person to marry, very often forgetting that they themselves may not be ideal persons. As such, both members of the marriage have to complement each other, to make them whole as one. This may be a difficult process which requires understanding, patience and love.

The statue of St Faustina was carried in procession around the church grounds after Mass. The Divine Mercy Chaplet was recited during the procession and the veneration of the relics of St Faustina and St John Paul II was carried out. Fr Martin thanked the many pilgrims who came from as far as Petaling Jaya and Sungai Petani to join in the celebrations.