Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen, are reminded that we have the important role in living our lives actively, courageously and intentionally for the glorification of God, in living our lives faithfully and in showing the same love which God has shown to each and every one of us, and not instead bringing about scandals and divisions within the Church because of our own actions and ambitions, all the things which we may have done which can harm the unity of the Church and the salvation of souls. All of us should always strive to live our lives worthily in the manner that God Himself has shown us so that we may lead more and more people towards Him.

In our first reading today, we continued to listen to the words from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to his protege, St. Timothy in which he exhorted him to continue to be faithful to the Lord at all times. St. Paul encouraged St. Timothy and indirectly all of us, God’s faithful people to continue to live our lives virtuously in the best way possible, doing our best to be good role models for everyone around us. He contrasted this to the attitudes of those who did not profess or teach in the same manner as the Apostles themselves had taught, those who have proclaimed the false message and ideas that do not align with what the Lord Himself has revealed and shown to us through His Church, His disciples and messengers. And we are reminded that we should not do this ourselves, and we have to be ever faithful in everything that we do in life.

St. Paul also spoke of how those false teachers and preachers were steeped in worldliness, in seeking to pervert the truth of God, engaging in controversies and conflicts, ambitions of the world, seeking for worldly glory and financial gain amongst others. These were the behaviours often exhibited by the Pharisees and the elders of the community, as well as some other false teachers such as one Simon the Magus as shown in the Acts of the Apostles. Many of these put their own selfish interests, ambitions and desires as their primary aims in life, and instead of serving God as they should have done. And those who seek worldly ambitions and glory will end up ruining themselves in the long run, and which was why the Apostle reminded St. Timothy and by extension, all the other Christian leaders and also all of us as Christians that we should not follow the same path as well.

Instead, as Christians, each and every one of us need to live our lives virtuously and in the manner that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us. We have to be the good role models and examples for one another so that in everything that we say and do, we will always inspire many others around us to walk down the same path of righteousness and faith, in doing what is right and just in the sight of the Lord and to help everyone around us to come to know the Lord, His truth and salvation, showing them all the true love of God manifested in our own lives, in each and every one of our actions, words and deeds. This is what we all have been called to do as Christians, as those whom the Lord Himself has called and chosen to be His own holy and beloved people.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard from the account of that Gospel regarding all the women who have followed the Lord Jesus in His ministry to the people of God, all those women both mentioned and unmentioned in their various roles as the followers and friends of the Lord. They spent and dedicated their time and efforts to support the Lord and His ministry, travelling around with Him and providing the needs of the Lord and His other disciples. These holy women were often not highlighted and well discussed in the hagiographies and in the accounts of the lives of the saints, but what they had done for the sake of the Lord, the efforts that they made and everything they committed to the Lord, all of those should indeed inspire us to do ever better in living our lives with faith in Him.

They humbly followed the Lord and listened to Him, quietly working behind the scenes and made use of their own means, funds and other efforts to support the good works of the Lord, and this is what we should be doing as well in our own lives. Each and every one of us are expected to follow their examples in being humble and selfless in doing our works and missions as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen, so that by our daily actions, examples and courageous faith, we will inspire many others to follow in our paths in life leading towards God, and hence, we will help to lead so many others towards Him and that is what God has wanted us all to do in each and every moments of our lives, through the opportunities that He has provided to us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Januarius, who was the Bishop of Naples in the time of the Roman Empire, when the Church and the faithful people of God were persecuted for their faith. St. Januarius according to tradition was born in Benevento in southern Italy to a rich Roman patrician family and he joined the priesthood from a relatively young age, and eventually becoming the Bishop of Naples, leading the Christian faithful in that region. All these happened during the middle of the third century, when the Roman Empire was undergoing lots of internal upheavals and problems, and then afterwards, with the rise of the Roman Emperor Diocletian to power, the latter launched a large campaign of intense persecutions against Christians, leading to the deaths and martyrdom of many among the people of God, including St. Januarius himself.

While not much was known about his martyrdom in detail, according to the accounts of the hagiographies or the stories about the saints, St. Januarius helped to hide Christians who were persecuted and at the same time also visiting secretly those who had been arrested for their faith. And amidst one of those visits, he was arrested by the authorities and he was eventually beheaded after several miraculous occasions that prevented him from being martyred. Nonetheless, the great faith and dedication which St. Januarius had shown became great inspiration for many of the faithful throughout the region and elsewhere even to this day, when the relic containing his blood miraculously liquifies during certain times including that of today, his feast day, and many devoted themselves to God through this holy servant of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having discerned the messages of the Sacred Scriptures and having looked through the great examples shown by St. Januarius in his great faith and dedication to God, are we all willing to follow in his footsteps, and in the path set before us by the many other disciples of the Lord who had gone before us? Each and every one of us can do many great things in our own lives, in living our lives ever more faithfully so that by our good examples and faith, many more people will come to believe in God. May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us always, in our determination to live our lives worthily in His Presence, now and always. Amen.