Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded again to remain true to our faith in God at all times, and each one of us are called to deepen our faith and knowledge of God and His ways, so that in all and every thing that we do, we will always do what He has taught and commanded us all to do in our daily lives. We should have faith that is strong and pure, unbridled by the many temptations of worldly glory and fame, and faith that is truly vibrant and alive, that can inspire many others to continue to be faithful and dedicated to God. This is what we have been called to do as Christians, and we are constantly being reminded so that we will always be exemplary in our every actions and deeds throughout life.
In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the Book of Joshua in which Joshua, the leader of the Israelites that succeeded Moses, continued to remind the Israelites of what they had to do in obeying God’s Law and commandments, in doing God’s will and in living their lives truly worthily of His cause. Each and every one of us ought to heed these reminders as well, because we are all have been called and chosen by God as His people too. Joshua told all the people of Israel that they all should not forget about the Lord, their God, and they must not establish or erect any altars or worship any pagan idols or gods in their midst, aside from the Lord only. This is because the Lord alone is the one true God Who is worthy of worship, and the people of God must not be easily swayed by the allures of their neighbours or other worldly temptations all around them.
In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord telling off His disciples for keeping young children from coming to Him, when many of them came to be with Him and to greet Him with joy. The Lord’s disciples tried to keep those children away from Him and scolded those who brought the children to the Lord, and this immediately brought about a stern rebuke from the Lord for all those disciples, because the Lord truly wanted all those children to come to Him, and presented of how faithful those children truly were, with faith that were really living and vibrant, true and pure, unadulterated and uncorrupted by the temptations and other forms of worldly vices and allures, and which all of us as Christians, all of God’s disciples and followers, should truly aspire to have in our own respective lives and faith.
What is the faith of a child, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is a pure faith where the child seeks the Lord and focuses their attention on Him alone, just as we can notice how innocent children really are. If they believe in something, or were told about something, they will really believe in it without any skepticism or doubt, and this kind of pure faith is what the Lord truly seeks from all of us, His beloved people and children. However, the reality is such that many of us did not truly have this kind of pure, unadulterated and uncorrupted life, faith and commitment to God, as many of us have been swayed and corrupted by the temptations of worldly glory and desires, all the things which had kept us away from truly being able to serve and follow the Lord wholeheartedly in all of our lives, as we all should have done.
Take for example the people of Israel themselves, whom God had rescued and led out of the land of Egypt, and whom He had loved and taken care of throughout that journey and beyond. There were many times and instances throughout that journey when the Lord were repeatedly angered and saddened by their stubborn refusal to listen to Him or to obey His ways, because all of them sought worldly satisfaction and pleasures, rather than to obey Him and His Law and commandments. Whenever the Israelites rebelled against God and disobeyed Him, or established pagan idols and false gods over them, it was because they were swayed by those temptations, of wickedness and evil, pride, ambition, ego, greed, pleasures of the world, and more, and all those things led them down the slippery path towards their downfall.
The same will likely happen to us as well, brothers and sisters in Christ, unless we take due precaution to avoid suffering the same fate by being ever vigilant in our lives and in how we live them. Unless we watch ourselves and our actions in life, we may all easily end up falling into the trap of sin and evil, and as a result, we may end up losing sight and focus on the Lord and His saving grace, His light and path. When we allow the corruptions and the temptations of this world to sway us, it will likely lead us astray, away from the Lord and His truth, and in the end, we may regret when it is already too late, and when we have to suffer the consequences for our sins and faults. But the Lord is forever always gracious and kind, and He has always given us many opportunities to turn away from the wicked paths and to embrace the path of His light and righteousness.
That is why, all of us should seek inspiration from the good examples of our holy predecessors, like that of St. John Eudes whose feast we are celebrating today. St. John Eudes was a French priest and the founder of the religious congregation, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. He had been devout and pious throughout his whole life, even from an early age, and developed an intense devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary throughout his formative and priestly years and vocation. He dedicated much of his time and efforts to help those who were suffering and sick, and spent the time to evangelise and to let the Lord and His truth known amongst more and more of God’s people. St. John Eudes also cared for some prostitutes and others who had been ostracised by the community for their sinful way of life, developing what came to be known as the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge.
There were numerous other good deeds and actions which St. John Eudes had done for the greater glory of God and for the benefits of his fellow brothers and sisters, particularly those who had been abandoned and ostracised, and had none to welcome or care for them. Through his efforts in preaching and ministry, and by his establishments of institutions to help the people of God and to gather those who desire to serve the Lord more faithfully, St. John Eudes had touched countless people, and brought so many souls, much closer to God and to His salvation. His strong devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary helped many others to come to love the Lord and to know Him more through His blessed Mother as well, and also by the inspiration set by St. John Eudes himself in all of his works.
Let us all therefore do the same in our lives, brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired and strengthened by the good examples and inspiration from St. John Eudes, so that we may also lead lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, free from sin and evil, and full of virtue and righteousness in God. Each and every one of us are expected and called to do God’s will, and to follow Him wholeheartedly, just as how Joshua had reminded the Israelites to be always ever faithful to God in all things. May all of us draw ever closer to God and His salvation, and do our best to remain truly faithful to Him, at all times. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 