Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the love of God which has been given to us, in His Creation of this whole world and universe, of everything present around us, our world and all the good things in it. Ultimately, we also recall our own gift of life, the most wonderful gift of this life which we have received from the Lord Himself through His Spirit, the Spirit of Life, giving us all the life that we are now experiencing and which we have gained by the great love that God has for each and every one of us. It was God’s love that made everything possible for us, even our lives and existence, for without His love, none of us would have existed and lived.

In our first reading today, we heard the account from the beginning of the Book of Genesis where the account of the Creation of the Universe was told to us, detailing how God created all things at the moment of Creation in the beginning of time, making all things to be as they exist to this day. We heard the first half of these events of Creation, as God created what we are all familiar with, beginning with Light, and then the world itself, and all the celestial bodies and structures, showing to us that God is truly the Lord and Master of all the whole Universe. Of course some would debate on whether God really created the world and the whole Universe in just seven days, but in truth, the Scriptures never truly said that God finish the Creation in seven literal days.

One possible point of view is that, from the perspective of the storyteller and from those inspired by the Lord to write this account, the event took place over seven days, while the actual event might have spanned millennia and even millions of years, thus reconciling the view of how the Universe exists according to scientific beliefs and evidences and our Christian faith in the Creation of the Universe. After all, there are many things that Science and our understanding of this world and universe cannot explain, as we are limited in our capabilities to comprehend things that are truly beyond our imagination and ability to understand the true and full reality of this world and Universe around us. This is something that we have to keep in mind, just as we all also realise the nature of our own mortality, how our lives are all belonging to God, and have been given to us by God.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the works of the Lord at the Lake of Galilee or the Lake of Gennesaret where He called His first disciples, the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James and John. It was there that many people came flocking to Him, seeking for Him to heal their sick ones, or their own infirmities. It was told to us how He patiently cared for all of them, curing them and helping all those who had been downtrodden and afflicted. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who became incarnate in the flesh and appearing before us as the Son of Man, God made Himself approachable and tangible in His love, with Christ as the perfect manifestation of His love in this world amongst us all.

From what we have heard today in this Gospel passage, we are being reminded yet again of the great love which the Lord has for each and every one of us, His most generous love and kindness, that He has manifested Himself in His own Creation, embracing our own human flesh and existence that He had once brought into reality through His Word, so that by this incarnation all of us may come to share in the joy and love of Our Creator, and interact with Him personally in a most tangible way. And not only that, as we all know, the Lord has come into our midst so that He might gather all of us back to Him, all of His scattered lost sheep, as our loving Good Shepherd and loving Father, Who desires that each one of us come back to Him and repent from our sins and transgressions.

And He did all these through His Son, Jesus Christ, by Whom He has manifested His love as mentioned, and through Whose most loving and selfless sacrifice on the Cross He has united all of our sufferings to Himself, and bore the brunt of our many sins upon His own shoulders so that by His wounds and death, all of us might be brought into salvation, as through the outpouring of His Most Precious Blood, He has cleansed all the taints and corruptions that sin had afflicted upon us. God created all of His Creation, this whole Universe all perfect and good without blemish, and by our disobedience against God, we have allowed sin to enter into our midst, corrupting this perfect existence that is our beings. But God Who truly loves all of us has provided us with the perfect means to be free from this corruption, which He had done through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Scholastica, who was known as the twin sister of the other well-known man of God, St. Benedict of Nursia. St. Scholastica was born with his brother in a wealthy Roman family in Nursia in Italy, and as she grew up, like that of his brother who embraced the calling to religious and consecrated life, St. Scholastica also embraced the same call, establishing a community of religious women mirroring what her brother had done in establishing a community for men seeking a contemplative and prayerful life in God. Both of them lived their lives with great love and devotion to God, becoming great role models and inspirations to everyone around them. St. Scholastica eventually passed away before St. Benedict, and according to St. Benedict’s own account, he saw the soul of his sister ascending into Heaven, back to God’s loving Presence.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as God’s beloved people, those whom He has created out of love, let us all realise how fortunate all of us have been to be loved in such a great manner by God, our Creator, and we ought to show Him our gratitude by loving Him in the same manner that He has loved us all first. We should also always strive to live our lives worthily and virtuously, filled with God’s grace and love, His truth and justice. We must not allow sin and darkness to corrupt us and lead us down the path towards ruin and destruction, but we ought to resist those temptations, keeping in mind that each one of us are meant to live and exist in the state of grace, as God has created us all, pure and blameless, free from the corruption of sin.

May the Lord our loving God, Father and Creator continue to be with us always, and may He empower each one of us to walk ever more faithfully in His Presence from now on, doing our best to take good care of everything that He has created, this world and everyone around us. May all of us, as His disciples and followers, be good examples and inspirations for one another so that we may help lead more and more souls towards the salvation in God. May God bless us always, our every good deeds and endeavours, all for His greater glory. Amen.