Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we are truly fortunate as those whom God has loved, has called and chosen to be His own beloved people, much as He has shown His faithfulness to the Covenant and promises that He gave to His first-called ones, the people of Israel, who have been taken care of, protected and provided for throughout all of their time in their journey from the land of Egypt, through the desert and towards the Promised Land. All of us have received the great grace from God, manifested in perfection through Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom we have been assured of God’s loving grace and blessings, His boundless and most compassionate love.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy of the words that Moses, the leader of the Israelites to the people, exhorting all of them and their descendants to continue to keep faithfully all the Law and commandments that God had presented, taught and revealed to them. This was likely taking place when Moses was already old and it had been many years since the time of the Exodus from Egypt, as the Israelites were forced to wander off in the desert for a whole forty years period due to their own lack of faith and trust in the Lord. But God did not abandon or forsake His people, as He still cared for them, fed them daily with manna and food, and also gave them all water to drink, and other provisions for them to thrive and survive.

And Moses highlighted to the people of Israel how blessed they had been to be loved so by the Lord, because there is no other people and nation which had been taken care of and blessed in such a manner, from how God brought them out with great might and miracles from the land of Egypt, crushing and smiting their oppressors and slavers, and how He had brought them to triumph against their enemies like the Amalekites and the Midianites, throughout their time and sojourn in the desert. God had done so much for His beloved people, and He has always been patient in loving and caring for them, and that is why they should continue to be faithful and committed to God, and not to take His love, patience and kindness for granted.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples and first presenting to them all the reality of becoming one of His disciples and followers, that challenges and hardships are likely to be part of their lives and journey, and therefore, unless one is ready to take up their crosses and follow Him, then one cannot truly be a good and faithful disciple and follower of Our Lord. If we want to seek the Lord and His salvation, true joy and eternal life then it is necessary for us to endure the crosses that we may have to carry throughout our lives, in their different forms and kinds. But we must not lose hope because in the end, God will reward all those who have been faithful to Him.

The Lord reassured us all that if we continue to be faithful and committed to Him and to His path, He will be with us throughout our journey, just as He has guided and helped the Israelites in the past throughout their way, despite them having often disobeyed and disregarded the Lord and His reminders to them. He still loved them all nonetheless and continued to help and guide them, patiently chastising and leading them to the right path. That is what we shall experience as well, as we continue to walk down the path that the Lord our God has shown us. We must not lose sight on what is important and we must always keep steady in our faith and focus on the Lord, doing our very best so that we do not give in to the temptations all around us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the renowned St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order or the Order of Preachers. St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman, was exposed to monastic and religious life early on in his life, as he was sent to a Premonstratensian monastery when he was just fourteen years old, and having studied arts and theology, he eventually embraced the calling to the priesthood and became a priest. As a priest, St. Dominic would be involved in various ministries and missions, and even in diplomatic mission such as one that he did for the King of Castile in Spain. St. Dominic was also then heavily involved in the evangelising mission in the then hotbed of the Cathar heresy in southern region, during the time of what is known as the Albigensian Crusade.

St. Dominic was also remembered for his popularisation of the rosary devotion, based on a vision which that he received of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where she appeared to St. Dominic, presenting a rosary to him, and thereafter beginning that very popular prayer and devotion of the rosary in all of its forms. He founded the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, to minister to more of the faithful and of the needs of the society at the time, balancing the monastic seclusion of several monastic orders with the need to minister to the community, with particular focus and emphasis on preaching, which is why the religious order he founded is named as the Order of Preachers. Through his preaching and other efforts, St. Dominic had touched so many people, and many of them were the Cathar heretics, who were convinced to return once again to the Holy Mother Church. He devoted his whole life to the service of God, and we should be inspired by this.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we recalled the words of the Sacred Scriptures that we have just heard and discussed earlier on, and strengthened by the great examples and inspiration from St. Dominic, his faith and zeal in spreading the Good News and in his patience in guiding all those who have strayed from the true faith back to the Lord, let us all therefore strive to live our own lives with faith and dedication to God, remembering how blessed we truly are to have been loved so greatly by Him. Let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to Him, dedicating our time and efforts to continue to do His good works in our respective communities. May the Lord be with us always and may He strengthen us all in love and courage, in faith and hope so that we may continue to be good and worthy bearers of His light and truth, now and always. Amen.