Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard how Jesus prayed to the Lord His Father, to keep safe all of His disciples, all that He had chosen and called out of the world. Those who keep themselves faithful in His ways will not be disappointed, and God who is ever faithful, will keep them in His love and grace. After all, He had endured none other than the cross of all the sins of all the world, just so that all who believed in Him may be saved.

God will keep all those who believe in Him and trust in Him safe. He will bless them and guide them to righteousness. But we ourselves must also put in the effort to keep ourselves true and faithful to our Lord. If we do not put in the effort, then we have to be wary that Satan and all of his allies will try to snatch us away from the salvation we have in the Lord, through the means of heresy and falsehoods that they will try to sow in our hearts.

The aim of the devil is to sunder us away from the love and grace of God, by ensnaring is with the temptations of the flesh and the world. That was why so many people even among the faithful became wayward in their faith. No longer faithful to their initial devotion to God, they began to pursue their own paths, listening to the words of their desires more than they listen to the word of God speaking in their hearts.

The concerns of the world clouded everything in their heart, covering their eyes and preventing them from seeing the truth. As a result, they began to preach falsehoods and lies just as the father of lies had done, that is Satan. The sole purpose of this is to further the cause and the aggrandisement of all those who have given in to their desires, seeking more glory and human praise, and indeed at the expense of those poor souls who have been misled and been fed all the lies of the devil.

We have so many heresies that at one point of time or another tried and almost managed to tear apart and destroy the whole Church of God and condemn all the faithful to the depredations of evil and the suffering of hell. Yet, the Church triumphed despite all the odds, just as the Lord Jesus Himself had told Peter, as He entrusted His Church to him, that not even the gates of hell would be able to withstand the power of the Church.

All those who anchor themselves securely in the power and protection of the Church will not be disappointed, and as long as they remain faithful, they shall never be shaken. Not even the devil has any power or control or dominion over us if we stick fast to God as our Protector. There will be challenges, difficulties and persecution indeed, but none of these can bring us any lasting harm. Indeed harm will only come our way if we decide to give in to the lies of the devil.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bernardine of Siena, a faithful and courageous priest who hailed from Siena in Italy. He was a Franciscan friar and preacher, who was widely known as the Apostle of Italy, for his great and hard works, committing himself to rejuvenate the faith in the region now known as Italy, which was then fractured and divided against each other, and they were embroiled in heresies and vices of life.

He preached against the wickedness of the world and men, who had enjoyed too much of the world’s pleasures and goodness. They have given in to their greed and forgotten about their true purpose in this world, that is to bring glory to God, and bring to fullness their lives, by devoting their lives in loving service to both God and men alike. Instead, they gave in to the temptations of the world and believed in the falsehoods of the false prophets and false teachings.

Through his works, many were converted and repented their sins to follow the path of the truth of God. And this is a reminder for us as well, that as members of God’s Church, we ought to take note what St. Bernardine of Siena had done, and follow in his footsteps. We have this duty and responsibility, which we ought to fulfill. Remember, that many people still lived in the darkness of sin, and await our active response to help them to get to the Light of God.

May Almighty God guide us in this life, so that in all the things we do, we may become light for all the peoples who still dwell in the darkness, and by anchoring ourselves strongly and trusting completely in God, we will be able to help one another to find our way to the Lord, and gain the salvation and eternal life which He had promised all who remain faithful to the end. Amen.