Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious or Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we continue to be reminded as we have been in previous days of the need for us to truly follow the Lord wholeheartedly and faithfully, distancing ourselves from all the worldliness and all the temptations and wickedness which had been present all around us in this world. We have to embrace the Lord’s path faithfully, doing whatever we can so that we truly embody our faith in Him fully and not just merely practicing all the external applications and practices but inside, there is no space for the Lord in our hearts and minds, which can indeed happen to us, as how it had happened to many among our predecessors as mentioned in our Scripture passages today.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Galatia in which the Apostle continue to speak to the people about the matter of true obedience to the Law of God, referring to the Law in this instance as a reference to the way how the Law of God that was revealed through Moses had been interpreted and practiced by the Jewish authorities, such as by the Pharisees and the other members of the Jewish High Council, and which some of them were also influential among the members of the Jewish diaspora in Galatia. At that time, St. Paul, who had embarked on several missionary journeys and travels all throughout the Mediterranean region, proclaiming the Good News of God in all of those occasions, including the region and people of Galatia.

There in Galatia, there were quite a few Jewish people in diaspora away from their homeland who embraced the Lord as their Saviour and Master together with the non-Jewish people like the Greeks, Romans and other local populations who also believed in the Lord and chose to become Christians. And there were those among the Jewish converts who claimed and even forced the non-Jewish converts to follow the ways and customs of the Jews, claiming that they are necessary for salvation. This also happened in the many other places that St. Paul had ministered in, and it was one of the main issues that St. Paul consistently wanted to settle by reminding all the faithful that the obedience and the ways of the old Jewish customs and laws are no longer binding on the people of God, because they have received the fullness of truth through Christ, and they should instead obey what the Lord has taught them.

He reminded them all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, of love and all the other good fruits which are distinct from the ones offered by the world, from all the corruptions of evil and sin, and highlighting the difference between following the Law that is mostly human made and which had been flawed and wrongly applied by the religious leaders of the time with the true obedience to God’s Law which all the faithful ought to have, not in the superficial and external faith, piety and obedience to the rules and rituals which those religious leaders had practiced and enforced to the people of God, but rather, a true commitment and love for the Lord, which are often lacking, is what God had wanted. As mentioned in the Scriptures, that what the Lord wanted is love and not sacrifice. Without true love and commitment to God, no amount of piety and sacrifice can be meaningful.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which we continue to listen to the words of the Lord Jesus as He rebuked and criticised many of the members of the Pharisees and those who have opposed Him constantly and fervently because of the disagreements that they had with Him, and how they stubbornly refused to listen to His words and teachings, or dialogue with Him despite the efforts that He had made, and the outreach He had shown them, and still insisting on living the lives and in the manner that they had always done, in glorifying themselves and indulging in self-gratification over their supposedly superior status among the community of the people of God.

At that time, the Pharisees together with the Sadducees, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law formed the bulk of the religious and intellectual elite of the community of the Jewish people, the descendants of the people of God living in Judea, Galilee and Jerusalem, where many of them were members of the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Council governing over the religious matters, customs and practices of the people of God. Those people enjoyed being praised and honoured for their piety and obedience to the Law, and they also liked to get the attention and fame that they enjoyed from all of their external piety, and all those things distract them from truly following the Lord wholeheartedly and genuinely.

Just as discussed earlier in the matter from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, we are reminded that we must not be swayed by all these external glory and all the worldly temptations that may distract us from the Lord and His path, and from whatever He has taught and revealed to us. In their moment of pride and ego, blinded by their ambition and desires, those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had failed to understand that the Law of God was meant to lead everyone to God, and to teach everyone to love Him, and not to become tools to be misused for the benefit and selfish intentions of a select few, which was why the Lord rebuked those who had done so. We are also reminded that as Christians we should not do the same as well.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of two great saints whose life and devotion to God can truly become a great example for each and every one of us as Christians. They are St. Hedwig, also known as St. Hedwig of Silesia and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. First of all St. Hedwig of Silesia was the Duchess of Silesia, in what is today part of western Poland, where she was remembered well for her great piety, generosity and upright living, as a truly great and holy woman, whose faith and love for God and also love for her fellow men and women were truly exemplary and inspirational. She was born in a noble German family and was married at a young age to the Duke of Silesia. She lived a good and holy life, and with her husband, both of them were renowned for their great piety and dedication to God, for their generosity to the poor and the less privileged.

And after she was widowed, St. Hedwig went to a monastery and took up the habit of a religious sister although she did not take the religious vows. She continued to show care and compassionate love, concern and mercy for the needy all around her as she had done when she was still the Duchess of Silesia. She was known to even go barefoot during her ministry and works, during the height of the cold winter. She was truly a great and humble woman, dedicated to the Lord and she showed us all the meaning and application of the Law of God, that true piety and faith came through one’s passionate and strong love for the Lord that is also inculcated and embodied in the same strong and genuine love for one’s fellow men and women, particularly to those who were less fortunate and poor.

Then, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a renowned mystic and saint, whose life was also a great inspiration to many of the faithful throughout history. She was most well-known for her visions related to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and who was behind the now very popular Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. All these experienced eventually led her to take up the religious vows and vocation, becoming a member of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary congregation. In the monastery, she continued to receive more and more message and revelation from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, through which the Lord showed His infinite love and mercy for His beloved people, ever outpouring from His wounded and bleeding Heart. She recorded all these revelations and words of the Lord, and which became eventually the basis for the popular Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard from the great examples of St. Hedwig of Silesia and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and having discern the words and message from the Sacred Scriptures earlier on, let us all therefore continue to do our best to live our lives worthily of the Lord at all times, and to show true love and devotion to Him, as St. Hedwig of Silesia and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the innumerable other saints had done in their lives. We should not be paying mere lip service and obedience to the Law of God like those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, but truly embody the Law and love of God in every parts and moments of our lives, from now on and always, evermore. Amen.