Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on this last day of the liturgical year, we are still yet again reminded by the readings from the Sacred Scriptures with its eschatological or end-of-the-world as we know it in nature, where we are being reminded that as we are going to enter into the new liturgical year with the start of the Advent Season tomorrow on the First Sunday of Advent, we do not enter into this new time, season and liturgical year with still the same wrong mindset that many of us may be having in our own lives, as some of us may still continue to live our lives in the manner that is truly ignorant and unbecoming of our identity and nature as Christians. We should make good use of whatever opportunities and chances that God has provided to us, in each and every moments that we have been given.
In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the story of the apocalyptic visions of the prophet Daniel, which he received when he was in the land of Babylon, where the Lord explained to him the visions that he has received about the future, about the coming time of dominion and power of the evil ones dominating this world, and by which they would persecute those who remained faithful to the Lord, of both things that had happened by now in our present day as well as those things that had not happened yet. The Lord revealed to Daniel that those four beasts that he had seen in the vision represented the upcoming kingdoms and powers of the world, the haughty and arrogant rulers and tyrants that would dominate the others and brought about great sorrows for the faithful people of God, and yet, as the visions have shown him, in the end, none of those would last.
Ultimately, in the end, the Lord will be triumphant and His dominion and kingdom will last forever, and He will reign over all of us, His faithful and beloved ones, in an eternity of true happiness and joy. This is something the Lord has reassured us with and which He will not deny to us because He is always ever faithful to the promises that He has made to us. God does not abandon us and He has always been with us, even through the most challenging and difficult moments in our lives, and He has always consistently provided us all with everything that is necessary to allow us to persevere through even the greatest of challenges and trials in life. If we continue to trust and have faith in the Lord, eventually we will be vindicated and share in His glorious triumph, and no more sufferings and sorrows will come our way in the life that is to come for us with God.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Himself, Who reminded all of His disciples and followers that they should not give in to the temptations of worldly pleasures, ambitions and desires, all of which can become serious obstacles in our journey towards the Lord and His salvation. And if we are truly serious in seeking to follow the Lord faithfully in all things, then we should also make the conscious efforts, works and endeavours to live our lives worthily in accordance to what He has taught and shown us to do in our own respective lives. We should not be ignorant of the things that the Lord has provided to us in our journey, all the guidance, wisdom and all the help that He has provided to us.
As Christians, each and every one of us are reminded that all of us are the bearers and witnesses of the Lord’s truth and Good News in our respective communities and societies, amongst our family members, relatives and our circle of friends. All of us should always be good examples and inspirations of our faith in everything that we say and do, and we should not instead be the source of scandal and dissension, division and impropriety in the manner and way that we live our lives. Unfortunately, the reality is such that, more often than not, as many of us might have experienced in our own respective lives, it is our fellow Christians that might have caused us the most difficulties, heart pains and dilemma because of the manner and way how they behave, which were unbecoming of Christians.
Let us also look upon our own actions, words and deeds, in how we interact with one another, lest we ourselves also behave in the manner that is unworthy, scandalous and unbecoming of being Christians. All of us are reminded that our actions and contributions can be both positive and negative, and depending on how we behave and how we carry out our lives, we can both inspire others to come closer to the Lord and on the other hand, we can also cause others to be scandalised and to be more distanced away from God. And in the end, we will be held accountable and have to be responsible for each and every one of those actions and choices on how we have behaved, and if we have behaved in the manner that is unbecoming of Christians, then we will have to account for them.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect upon everything that we have heard and discussed from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, and let us see in what way how we can be better disciples and followers of the Lord, even amidst the many challenges and trials that we may be facing in our lives. Let us all not be hypocrites and merely paying lip-service in our faith but truly show our genuine faith through real actions, words and deeds, in everything that we said and did at all opportunities and circumstances. Let us remember that as Christians, we are all called to be faithful and committed disciples of Our Lord, to be His authentic witnesses and as the ones to proclaim His truth, love and Good News to everyone that we encounter in each and every moments of our lives.
May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us in our respective journeys and paths in life, and may He continue to encourage us to persevere through the many life’s challenges and trials. May He continue to empower us all so that our every lives and actions truly embody our Christian faith, and that we may continue to inspire many others we encounter in our lives and paths, leading all towards God and His salvation, now and always. And as we enter into this new season and liturgical year, let us all strive to be ever more committed and dedicated in living our lives in accordance to our Christian faith. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 