Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us all of the calling that all of us have received as Christians, in following God and in entrusting ourselves and our lives to do whatever it is that He has commanded us all to do. God has given each and every one of us the commission and the responsibilities to proclaim His truth and the Good News to all the nations. That is why all of us have been guided to His path, with God’s calling, His words and will revealed within our hearts and minds, that show unto us the way to His salvation and grace, and so that many more people may come to know of the Lord and His path, by our example and inspiration, by our actions and guidance for all those around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis we heard how God reassured Jacob when he was about to embark on the journey to the land of Egypt, upon hearing the joyous news that Joseph, one of his beloved sons, had not died but in fact lived and had become the great Regent of all Egypt. Jacob was uncertain and unsure when it was all true, and whether it was for him to go to Egypt, but the Lord reassured Jacob, telling him that it had been His plan all along, how He had sent Joseph ahead of everyone else in his family so that he could take good care of them in the land of Egypt during the time of great famine and hardships, so that the whole nation of God’s chosen people, descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, might prosper and flourish, grow and became great just as He has promised to Jacob and his forefathers.

Thus that was how Jacob was convinced to go to Egypt with his whole entire family, and was reunited with Joseph at last. God took good care of Jacob, Joseph and their whole family, and fulfilled everything that He has promised to all of them. Even later on when their descendants, the Israelites were mistreated and enslaved by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, the Lord was always with them and did not forget about them. He sent them Moses whom He had entrusted with the mission to liberate His people, and in the well-known story of the Exodus from Egypt, we are all aware of how God brought His beloved ones out of the land where they suffered and were enslaved. God has always been faithful to the Covenant that He has established with His faithful ones, and this was no exception.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the instructions that the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples as He sent them out to carry out their missions and works among the people, to do God’s will and to proclaim the Good News, so that they might know what they were sent to do, and also what they might have to endure and face amidst the mission and works they carried out, the challenges, trials, rejections and persecutions, and all the things which might be obstacles and stumbling blocks in the way of those who follow the Lord and His ways. The Lord told them upfront that their journey might be fruitful and good in some occasions, but might also be challenging and tough in others, and they might have to stand up for their faith from time to time, and defend their beliefs before others. But the Lord told them that they truly had nothing to be worried about.

The Lord Himself reassured them that He would be with them and that the Holy Spirit would guide them and strengthen them, and that the Wisdom of God, His eloquence and truth would empower them that they would be able to make a stand and outwit those who oppose them, as long as they keep their faith and trust in the Lord. He reassured and reminded them that just as they would have to suffer, He Himself would suffer the rejection of the world, the persecutions and the hardships, which we all know too well, of how the Lord embraced His Cross willingly, rejected and betrayed by His own people and even His followers, condemned to death for a sin that He did not commit, and bore the burden of our innumerable sins and faults so that through Him all of us might be truly and fully reconciled with God, and receive from Him the fullness of pardon and grace.

That is why today, all of us as Christians, we are all reminded of God’s calling for us in our respective lives. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the grace of God’s blessings, and we have received His most generous love. He has called on all of us to share these blessings and all the graces we have received with one another, and to proclaim the truth and salvation that He has brought into our midst so that we may truly be His faithful and great missionaries and disciples, in proclaiming His truth, Good News and love to all the people all over the world, even in our smallest and most insignificant actions and works. All of us as Christians are called to

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Camillus de Lellis, a holy and devoted man of God, who as a priest was remembered for his great care for his great care and compassion for the sick and the dying, and for all who were wounded and hospitalised, based on his own prior experiences, when he was fighting in the military prior to joining the priesthood, where a leg injury and also bad experiences, attitude and problems, that included his aggressive nature and excessive gambling, eventually led him to seek the Lord through the assistance of a Capuchin friar who patiently helped St. Camillus de Lellis to find his way to the Lord. Through that conversion, this sinful man turned into a new life as a priest and man of God eventually felt the calling to serve the Lord and His people in greater ways.

He founded the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm, also known today as the Camillians after their founder, which members dedicate themselves to the care of the sick and the wounded, assisting in wars and conflicts, and in the care of all those who were not able to take care of themselves. St. Camillus de Lellis himself suffered from ailments and hardships throughout his life and ministry, but he did not let all of those things to dissuade or discourage him from continuing to carry out his works, in reaching out to the sick and suffering, and all to those who were less fortunate, actions that inspired many other people to join and help out in his cause, through his patient efforts and works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the great and inspiring examples set by St. Camillus de Lellis and those that the Lord’s disciples had done, let us all therefore help one another to be strong and firm in our own faith as well. Let us all be good role models and inspirations for each other in faith, so that in our every works and actions, in our every good efforts and endeavours, we will always help to lead others ever closer to God, and that we will always be ready to walk in the path that the Lord has shown us, even if things may seem to be really challenging and difficult for us. May God be with us always, as He has always been with His beloved ones, and may He bless our every step forward as we carry on living our lives with faith and commitment to Him. Amen.