Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard from the Scriptures, a reminder that following Christ, His truth and salvation is not as easy as it may seem to be. There will likely be challenges and trials, and often we may have to endure opposition and difficulties along the way. But we must not lose faith or hope because as long as we remain firm in our faith and trust in the Lord, then we will always be taken care of and provided for by the Lord. There will be hardships and as history has shown us, some if not many of us even may have to endure persecutions and martyrdom for our faith, but in the end, we all will be triumphant together with God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Ephesus, we heard the Apostle telling the people there about what he desired of them to do, and as he prayed for their sake to the Lord, asking on God to bless them and to provide for them, with strength and wisdom, with guidance and encouragement, St. Paul also reminded all the faithful to believe wholeheartedly in the Lord, to trust in the truth and faith which they had received from the Lord and His Apostles and missionaries, and he also prayed for them that they all would be blessed in all things, and that God would be glorified through their words, actions and deeds.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard through the Lord Jesus Himself, Who came to tell all of His followers that His coming did not mean that those who follow Him and believe in Him will immediately be free and spared from all hardships, trials and challenges. We must understand the context that back then, many of the people kind of expected that the Messiah or the Saviour to come to them and deliver them immediately out of their troubles, freeing them from their enemies and from the dominion of foreign rulers, and reestablish the kingdom of Israel. Hence, many of them had hoped that by following Christ, they would be free from hardships and troubles.

On the contrary, as the Lord Himself presented it to them, His coming and His truth would cause divisions even among the believers and between the believers and those who were close to them. There would be challenges and hardships that they would have to encounter, as there would definitely be those who refused to listen to the truth of God and preferred to follow their own paths, and throughout the history of the Church this had happened again and again, as the faithful especially in the early days of the Church had to contend with opposition from their own family members, relatives and friends, and many were oppressed and martyred because of that.

That is why the prayers of St. Paul for the Church and the faithful in Ephesus became even more significant as it reminds us all of those challenges and trials that we as Christians may and will have to face in our journey of faith, as we embark on this mission in life to proclaim the truth of God through our lives and works. St. Paul prayed that God would strengthen and encourage the faithful so that they all will be filled with grace and perseverance, with the wisdom and the ability to comprehend the truth of God. He prayed over them that they would not easily fall prey to temptations to bring them apart from the Lord and His Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what is the significance of what we have heard in our Scripture readings today? It reminds us all that we have to continue to be faithful to God despite the obstacles, trials and challenges that we may face as Christians in our journey of faith, and we also need the guidance, strength, wisdom and providence from God to help us in this struggle and journey. We cannot do this alone, or else we will very soon realise that the challenges facing us are greater than what we can solve and handle on our own. God and His Church are with us in this, and we have to always remember this fact, and not give up the faith, as our predecessors had done.

This also means that all of us are reminded to give our best to  serve the Lord by living our lives to the fullest as devout Christians, in loving God and in living our lives according to His Law and precepts, and also by helping and inspiring one another to remain faithful to the Lord in all things. We must remain strong in the Lord, in our conviction and desire to serve Him and to love Him, and dedicate our time and effort to remain true to our faith so that whatever happen, we may encourage each other to stay in our path of faith towards God and His salvation, and not be tempted to abandon the Lord for the other paths towards our downfall.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of one of the great and holy pastors of the Church, the recent Pope, Pope St. John Paul II, the first Polish Pope and the first one who was not an Italian in over four hundred and fifty years. Pope St. John Paul II was born as Karol Jozef Wojytla in Wadowice in Poland during the time right after the First World War, also known as the Great War at that time. He was born in a devout family, but was faced with a lot of difficulties from early on in his life. He encountered many personal tragedies when he was young, as his mother passed away early, and so was his elder brother due to sickness. His father cared for him well, and the young Karol grew up into a fine young man. However, circumstances would again cause him great tribulations and sufferings, as merely twenty years after the First World War, the Second World War erupted in Europe with the invasion of Poland by the NAZI German state.

This would begin the many years and decades of sufferings and persecutions for the Polish people, first of all by the NAZI Germans who invaded Poland and persecuted not just the Jewish people they then targetted, but many of the non-Jewish Poles as well. The years of war were difficult, and the young Karol also had to contend with losing his beloved father during those years, and it was at that time, that he joined the seminary, preparing for his priestly formation clandestinely and quietly amidst all the conflicts and destruction happening all around due to the NAZI atrocities and the war. Even the young Karol almost lost his life in one occasion, but God’s grace was with him, and he survived through all the challenges, and was eventually ordained as a priest of the Lord after the war. But that was not the end of his challenges and difficulties.

For then the Soviets and the Communists took over control over the country and subjugated many Polish Catholics and its leadership to a lot of challenges and persecutions, both officially and unofficially. Father Karol Wojtyla remained rather unassuming and quiet in his ministry among the faithful people of God, and he was particularly popular among the youths and students, a ministry which he continue to carry out faithfully until he was appointed as the Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow by the Pope, and then eventually succeeding as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow. For many years after, the then Archbishop and afterwards Cardinal Wojtyla gradually became the centre of the faithful resistance against the atheist Communist government of Poland, such as a well-known moment when he stood up courageously against the efforts of the Communists to establish a new city, Nowa Huta, without a church, unlike others in Poland. Then Cardinal Wojtyla spent efforts to establish a church there, with the foundation stone blessed by the Pope himself, then Pope St. Paul VI.

Cardinal Wojtyla would then unexpectedly be elected as Pope, succeeding his predecessor, Blessed Pope John Paul I who had just reigned for thirty-three days. His Pontificate was one of the longest in the recent centuries, spanning over twenty-seven years, and during those periods, he continue to dedicate himself faithfully in the Lord, becoming an instrumental figure in the downfall of Communism in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe and also elsewhere around the world, becoming a great world figure and peacemaker in many occasions. In his numerous trips all around the world, visiting many countries and places where no Pope has ever set foot before, even in those places where there were only few Catholics, Pope St. John Paul II showed the great love of God manifested through Christ and His Church to countless people around the world.

Pope St. John Paul II also faced an assassination attempt early in his Pontificate, but he survived, and was well-known for his visit to his would-be assassin, and how he forgave his assailant, praying for him and his conversion. Pope St. John Paul II continued to do many other great things for the good of the Church and the faithful all throughout the world, and even in his final years, when he was faced with a lot of personal sufferings and hardships from his Parkinson’s disease and other complications, he continued to serve the Lord faithfully, becoming the face of God’s love and persistent compassion and mercy to many who were also suffering in this world. To the very end of his life, Pope St. John Paul II continued to remain firm in his conviction and dedication in serving God, and this should be an inspiration to many of us as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the life of Pope St. John Paul II, and also from what we have discussed earlier on from the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore ponder upon the great love of God which all of us have had the privilege of receiving so that we may continue to live our lives faithfully in God’s Presence despite the sufferings and hardships we may encounter in our paths and lives. Let us all continue to dedicate ourselves and our every moments in life with great faith and strive to glorify the Lord ever more by our exemplary lives and actions, following in the good examples that Christ Himself has shown us, and as His saints, like Pope St. John Paul II had done. May the Lord be with us and bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.