OXYGEN

24 Nov – Memorial for St. Andrew Dung-Lac, priest, martyr, and companions, Martyrs of Vietnam

Between the arrival of the first Portuguese missionary in 1533, through the Dominicans and then the Jesuit missions of the 17th century, the politically inspired persecutions of the 19th century, and the Communist-led terrors of the 20th, there have been many thousands of Catholics and other Christians murdered for their faith in Vietnam. Some were priests, nuns, or religious brothers. Some were lay people, some were foreign missionaries, but most were native Vietnamese killed by their own government and people.

Record keeping being what it was, and because the government did not care to keep track of the people it murdered, we have no information on the vast bulk of the victims. In 1988, Pope John Paul II recognized over a hundred of them, including some whose Causes we do have, and in commemoration of those we do not. They are collectively known as the Martyrs of Vietnam.

Andrew Dung Lac (1785-1839) was a Vietnamese priest who worked in the missions with the priests of the Foreign Mission Society of Paris (MEP). He was imprisoned and repeatedly tortured in the persecutions of Minh-Meng. He died with St. Peter Thi, beheaded in Hanoi for the offense of being a priest. He was canonized on 19 Jun 1988 by Pope John Paul II. He is one of the Martyrs of Vietnam.

- Patron Saint Index
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Revelation 14:1-5

In my vision I, John, saw Mount Zion, and standing on it a Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand people, all with his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound coming out of the sky like the sound of the ocean or the roar of thunder; it seemed to be the sound of harpists playing their harps. There in front of the throne they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four animals and the elders, a hymn that could only be learnt by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been redeemed from amongst men to be the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. They never allowed a lie to pass their lips and no fault can be found on them.
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Luke 21:1-4

As Jesus looked up he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them,; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.”
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But she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.

It is very difficult to live a life with the spirit of poverty in affluent Singapore. Our whole culture is based on one word ‘kiasu’, which literally means ‘afraid to lose’. This kiasu mentality is cultivated in Singaporeans from young, and basically results in people who cannot survive on ‘just enough’, but must have the security of ‘more than enough’. Small wonder why, among the church communities in Asia, there are few in Singapore who answer the call to religious life.

In today’s gospel reading, we find Jesus praising the actions of a poor widow who put in all that she has to live on. This is the spirit of poverty that Jesus mentions as the first beatitude on His famous sermon on the mount. This spirit of poverty is more than simply living a life of poverty. This spirit of poverty is different from being in poverty, which is a circumstance. We can be living in poverty without having the spirit of poverty.

The spirit of poverty can essentially be described as living a life completely dependent on God’s providence. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray “Give us today our daily bread”. He teaches us not to worry about what tomorrow may bring, but to just ask the Father each day to provide for us today. This spirit of poverty is all about trusting in God to provide for us, rather than trusting in our own strength and capabilities to provide for our future.

We do not know what will happen to us in the future, but our Lord knows, and He knows what is best for us. That is why He calls us to follow Him wherever He goes. These few who do are the one hundred and forty-four thousand people figuratively mentioned in the first reading for today. Let us strive to be among these few who live with the spirit of poverty, depending only on God to provide us for what we need.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Daniel Tay)
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Prayer: Dear Lord, we ask for the courage to follow the life that You have called us to live, a life that is redeemed from the world. Amen.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for the constant reminder to live with the spirit of poverty as demonstrated by our religious brothers and sisters in our midst.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue 25 Nov – Revelation 14:14-19; Luke 21:5-11; Memorial for St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin, martyr
Wed 26 Nov – Revelation 15:1-4; Luke 21:12-19
Thu 27 Nov – Revelation 18:1-2. 21.23; Luke 21:20-28
Fri 28 Nov – Revelation 20:1-4. 11 – 21:2; Luke 21:29-33
Sat 29 Nov – Revelation 22:1-7; Luke 21:34-36
Sun 30 Nov – Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:2-7; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37; First Sunday of Advent