Liturgical Colour : White
Zechariah 2 : 14-17
Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people, but My dwelling is among you.”
The people of Judah will be for YHVH as His portion in His holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. Keep still in YHVH’s presence, for He comes, having risen from His holy dwelling.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to continue to have faith, hope and trust in the Lord despite us maybe facing lots of challenges and trials in our journey. We must always have hope in God and we should not easily give up our faith in Him even when things seem to be very bleak, desperate and hopeless for us. We must remember that even in the past, our predecessors had faced lots of similar troubles and challenges, and many of them really suffered very terribly. And yet, they did not give up their faith in the Lord, and for their trust in Him, they were vindicated, rescued and restored to hope.
In our first reading today, taken from the First Book of the Maccabees, we heard of the moment when the descendants of the Israelites, the Jewish people living in Judea and Galilee, were suffering greatly during the time of the Greek successor kingdoms of the Empire of Alexander the Great. The Greek Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes in particular was notorious for his harsh and intense persecutions against the Jewish people in his dominion, which as we heard in our first reading today, stemmed from the desire to the unite the very diverse nature of his subjects, being a kingdom ruling over many different people and cultures, including that of the Jews mostly in Judea and Galilee.
And therefore the whole premise and history of the Book of the Maccabees were centred on the struggle between the faithful Jews who refused to obey the king’s commands to abandon their Jewish customs and practices, their faith in YHVH their Lord and God, and adopt instead the Greek customs, practices and beliefs. Many of those faithful to the true path suffered and many died under persecution from the King, who enforced greatly his laws and orders to convert all the Jewish and other people of his kingdom to the Greek customs and pagan beliefs. But the Lord was with His people and He raised up the Maccabees, a courageous family of leaders who led the people of God to eventual victory and freedom against the Seleucids.
Then, from the Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus came to Jericho and encountered a blind man who sought the Lord to heal him from his blindness. And despite being discouraged by others around him who tried to keep him silent and who told him off for crying out for the Lord, the blind man kept on crying out louder and louder until the Lord came to him and healed him for his great faith and trust in Him. He was healed and saved because of the great trust and faith He had in the Lord knowing that He alone has the power to make him see once again and healing him from his blindness, a feat that many would have thought to be impossible.
This is a reminder to all of us as Christians that we must also have a similar kind of faith in the Lord, a faith that is truly strong and unassailable, a faith that is indeed beyond all challenges and trials, faith that do not become weaker or dimmer even when we are faced with such great difficulties in our paths. This is the kind of faith which we should cultivate in all of us, faith that grows ever stronger each time and faith that continue to help us focus towards the Lord even in the most difficult and darkest moments in our lives. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves to a faith like this, brothers and sisters? We should be inspired by the courage and the faith of the blind man who never gave up and keep on seeking the Lord, no matter what.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a great and holy woman, a faithful servant of God, whose life and devotion, commitment and worthy life should be source of inspiration for all of us to follow, in how we should be truly faithful in our whole lives as Christians. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess of Hungary who was married to a noble landowner and ruler of Thuringia in Germany. She had to marry at a young age and raise a family. But at the same time, she also lived a life of piety and virtue, inspired by the examples and reforms carried out by her contemporary, St. Francis of Assisi. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was renowned for her great charitable actions and care for the poor and the sick throughout her husband’s lands, which was approved by her husband, the ruler of the land. Her action also influenced him greatly, as her husband Louis often stood by the Church and the efforts the Church did.
Later on, when St. Elizabeth of Hungary was widowed quite early on, just a few years after her marriage, she made a vow of chastity akin to that of those who have joined the religious orders, and resisted any efforts by her family and others to have her remarry because of her still relatively young age. She continued to do plenty of works of charity, caring for the needy and those who were suffering, as much as she could do. Her great charity and love for others were even shown in miracles such as the famous ‘miracle of the roses’ attributed to her. In that miracle account, St. Elizabeth of Hungary was caught by her husband in one of her times sneaking out to give alms and food for the poor, with her cloak containing food from her husband’s mansion.
When she was confronted and asked of the cloak’s contents, the contents were miraculously transformed into that of roses, a clear proof of God’s guidance and approval of her actions. St. Elizabeth of Hungary continued to carry out her charitable works and actions for the rest of her life. Her examples were indeed good inspiration for each and every one of us to follow since through her efforts, she has touched the lives of so many people around her and beyond, and showing many of us even to this day on how we should truly be faithful to God in all things, even in the smallest things that we do in our lives. We should imitate and follow her good examples in our own lives as Christians as well.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the life and works of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and all that we have heard earlier on from our Scripture passages today, let us all therefore continue to strive to be always faithful to the Lord at all times, showing this great faith through our every actions, works and deeds. Let us show our faith courageously and be persistent in seeking God like that of the blind man seeking the Lord and His healing, and let us all continue to trust in God wholeheartedly as always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 18 : 35-43
At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging. As he heard the crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. Then he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The people in front of him scolded him, “Be quiet!” they said, but he cried out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped, and ordered the blind man to be brought to Him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man said, “Lord, that I may see!”
Jesus said, “Receive your sight, your faith has saved you.” At once the blind man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving praise to God. And all the people who were there also praised God.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 118 : 53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158
I feel indignant at the wicked who have forsaken Your law.
The wicked have me trapped in their snares, but I have not forgotten Your laws.
Rescue me from human oppression, and help me keep Your precepts.
My persecutors close in with evil intent; they are far from Your law.
Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes.
I look upon the faithless with loathing, because they do not obey Your ruling.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Maccabees 1 : 10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64
From their descendants there came a godless offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of king Antiochus, who had been held as hostage in Rome. He became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the Greek era, in the year 175 B.C..
It was then that some rebels emerged from Israel, who succeeded in winning over many people. They said, “Let us renew contact with the people around us for we had endured many misfortunes since we separated from them.”
This proposal was well-received and some eagerly went to the king. The king authorised them to adopt the customs of the pagan nations. With his permission, they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem in the pagan style. And as they wanted to be like the pagans in everything, they made artificial foreskins for themselves and abandoned the Holy Covenant, sinning as they pleased.
Antiochus issued a decree to his whole kingdom. All the people of his empire had to renounce their particular customs and become one people. All the pagan nations obeyed and respected the king’s decree, and, even in Israel, many accepted the imposed cult. They offered sacrifices to idols and no longer respected the Sabbath.
On the fifteenth day of the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five, in the year 167 B.C., Antiochus erected the “abominable idol of the invaders” on the altar of the Temple. Pagan altars were built throughout the whole land of Judea; incense was offered at the doors of their houses and in the squares.
There wicked men tore up the books of the Law they found and burnt them. They killed anyone they caught in possession of the book of the Covenant and who fulfilled the precepts of the Law, as the royal decree had ordered. But in spite of all this, many Israelites still remained firm and determined not to eat unclean food. They preferred to die rather than to make themselves unclean with those foods prohibited by the Law that violated the Holy Covenant. And Israel suffered a very great trial.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we continue to be reminded of the greatness of God Who is capable of doing every wonders and good things in our lives, if we only put our trust and faith in Him. For the Lord Who has created this world and the whole Universe in all of its goodness has always intended for us to enjoy the fullness of His love and grace, and He would not want for any of us to suffer or endure all the challenges that we are facing in life now. But it was our own waywardness and disobedience against Him which had led to our own downfall and sufferings, as we end up causing harm and hurt to one another in our quest and pursuit of selfish desires.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard from that passage of the might and power of God as He carried out everything that He has always planned, in leading all of His beloved people to righteousness and to the path that He has prepared for them. He did everything according to His designs and plans, which He has gradually revealed to us through His Spirit and Wisdom provided to us through the same Spirit. He has always been for those whom He has loved, that is all of us mankind, without exception, and He has always patiently provided for us without cease and constantly, ever caring for us and loving us all unconditionally and generously.
God has always shown us all His Providence even through the most difficult moments, sending His help, guidance and protection, companionship and presence through the most difficult moments of our lives. We are therefore never alone in our journey, and whenever we want to give up in this struggle and whenever we fall into temptations to sin, and want to give up the struggles against the pressures of the world, we should remember that God is always ever present around us and supporting us in our daily struggles and challenges. It is often however that we do not realise or appreciate God being there for us because we do not have enough faith in Him and we are so preoccupied with ourselves and the things are busy fussing about instead.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the parable that the Lord Jesus used to teach His disciples, using that of an evil judge who feared neither God or man, and an old widow who constantly went to the old judge and demanded that the latter pursue her case and win justice for her. As expected, of course the evil and wicked judge refused to arbitrate on her behalf or even to take heed of her. But the old widow kept on persisting and insisting daily on the evil judge, kept on pestering her to take up her case until we heard that eventually he gave in to the demands of the old widow if only that he could rid himself of her incessant persistent demands.
As we heard in this Gospel passage, the Lord Jesus was making this comparison and reference to the case between the evil judge and the old widow to highlight just how much more generous and willing for the Lord our God to hear and heed our prayers and requests, if the evil judge himself granted the desires of the old widow. This is an important reminder and encouragement for all of us as Christians that no matter what, we should not lose faith or trust in the Lord because if we continue to have faith in Him and if we put our hope ever always in Him and His Providence, the Lord will be with us and will provide us all that we need, and eventually, while the wait may seem to be long and delayed, everything will be fine for us all. We must keep up this faith in the Lord, always.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great, or St. Albertus Magnus, a renowned man of God and great teacher of the faith, whose life, works and dedication to God should inspire us all to be dedicated and committed to Him ourselves. Each and every one of us should heed the good examples set by this wonderful man of God, so that we may also be always faithful to Him, at all times. St. Albert the Great was born in what is now Bavaria in southern part of Germany, during the High Middle Ages. He was brought up well academically and showed his talents early on. He then became a member of the Dominican Order, and studied to become a theologian, which began his great and long ministry as a teacher and theologian henceforth.
St. Albert the Great later on became one of the provincials of the Dominican Order, and carried out his duties with great obedience and dedication. And while later on he was appointed as a bishop, as the Bishop of Regensburg, he remained humble and committed to the missions entrusted to him, walking all around his diocese on foot instead of riding a horse as he was entitled to. He dedicated himself to whatever missions God had entrusted him with, and despite the honour and respect that many people and his positions entitled him with, he remained very humble and focused on the Lord, not being swayed by the temptations of worldly power and glory. Instead, he committed himself wholly to the Lord and to the people of God, all throughout his life, and this is something that we should be inspired to follow as well.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as we have discussed earlier from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and also from the life and examples shown by St. Albert the Great, let us all therefore continue to strive to live our lives worthily in the Lord, doing whatever we can so that we will always focus and centre our lives in God, and to be constantly faithful in our dedication to Him, remembering that in everything that we do, we should always bring glory to God. We must also continue to have faith in Him, trusting that if we continue to trust Him and seek for His guidance and help through persistent prayer as the old widow in the parable had done, the Lord will indeed move to help us and provide for us all that we need.
May the Lord continue to inspire and strengthen us all such that we can continue to move forward in life with fullness of faith and trust in Him, knowing that He is ever present in our lives, being by our side and constantly journeying with us without cease. He has always been supporting us, loving us and caring for us, and He will never cease providing for us and guiding us through good and bad times alike. Let us all no longer be doubtful and continue to walk forward with ever greater trust in God, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Luke 18 : 1-8
At that time, Jesus told them a parable, to show them that they should pray continually, and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge, who neither feared God nor people. In the same town there was a widow, who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Defend my rights against my adversary!'”
“For a time he refused, but finally he thought, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much, I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.'”
And Jesus said, “Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night, even if He delays in answering them? I tell you, He will speedily do them justice. But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 104 : 2-3, 36-37, 42-43
Sing to YHVH, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek YHVH rejoice.
Then He smote all the firstborn, the first fruits of their manhood. He led Israel out of the alien land, laden with silver and gold, and none were left behind.
For He remembered His promise to Abraham, His servant. So He led forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with singing.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Wisdom 18 : 14-16 and Wisdom 19 : 6-9
While all was in quiet silence and the night was in the middle of its course, Your Almighty Word leapt down from the royal throne – a stern Warrior to a doomed world. Carrying Your fearful command like a sharpened sword and stretching from heaven to earth, He filled the universe with death.
All creation in its different forms was fashioned anew at Your command, in order to protect Your people. The cloud covered the camp with its shadow, dry land emerged where water had been. A safe passage was opened through the Red Sea, the tempestuous flood became a green plain where the whole nation of those protected by Your hand passed across, witnessing Your astounding deeds.
They were like horses led to pasture, or like frolicking lambs, praising You, their Lord, Who had delivered them.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we are reminded that God is the source of all power and sovereignty in this world and nothing exists in this world that do not have their origin in God, the true Lord and Master over all things, over the whole entire Universe and all of existence. And yet, at the same time, this Lord and Master of all the Universe is so loving and kind, compassionate and merciful towards us that He wants us all to be loved and taken care of by Him, to be healed from whatever afflictions that affected us all which had caused us to endure sufferings, trials and challenges in our respective lives.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the words of the author regarding the matter of power and authority in this world, and just as mentioned earlier, how God is the ultimate source of all power and authority, and no one, no king, powers, groups or anything in this world have power or sovereignty that did not come from God. God has entrusted this world in our care and He has entrusted to each one of us respective unique responsibilities and opportunities, which He wants us to embrace courageously and willingly, so that we may indeed make good use of all those things and opportunities that we have been provided with by God.
We should not allow ourselves to be deluded into thinking that we owe the Lord nothing, as it is important that we remember what the author of the Book of Wisdom said, that those who have been given greater power, authority and responsibility, more will be expected and required of them. This is a reminder to each and every one of us that we must always take seriously all the opportunities, expectations and responsibilities entrusted to each one of us in the many diverse areas of our lives. We should not take for granted whatever the Lord has given and entrusted to us, as whatever He has blessed us with, we will have to account for later on in the end. Have we made good use of what God has given to us?
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the occasion when the Lord Jesus encountered ten lepers in the wilderness as He and His disciples were on their journey towards their next mission. At that time, leprosy was a disease that was truly feared as it was a contagious disease that was difficult to be cured, and easily spread between people especially in close quarters. That was why in the Law of God that was presented to the Israelites through Moses, those who contracted leprosy had to wander off in the wilderness away from the rest of the community with the practical intention of preventing further spread of the disease among the people. Those who suffered from the disease could only return if they showed themselves to the priest and the latter certified that they no longer had the leprosy.
And as we heard, the Lord did not fear the lepers who were calling on Him to have mercy on them and He did not distance Himself from them, and He healed them all because of their faith, telling all the ten of them to follow the commandments of the Law and showed themselves to the priest. They obeyed and followed the Lord’s instruction, and was healed along the way. But only a Samaritan among the ten lepers returned to the Lord and thanked Him while the other nine lepers, presumably all Jews, kept on going their way with great joy. The Samaritans were then greatly reviled and hated by the Jews, and were often seen as heretical or even outright pagans by the latter, and yet, here we see a truly great faith that eclipsed that of the others.
We are reminded of two important things through this story of the healing of the ten lepers. First of them is obedience, which the ten lepers did, in obeying the Lord’s words and command, and therefore we should also obey the Lord our God in the same way as well. Although we may be perfectly well physically without any diseases of the flesh unlike those lepers, but we must not forget that we are all sinners, and if we understand sin and how it works against us, sin is no different from leprosy, and is arguably far worse. Sin kept us away from God, just as leprosy kept those who suffered from it from the community of God’s people. And only the Lord alone can heal us from our afflictions of sin, through His mercy and forgiveness, which we ought to be truly thankful for. That is the second important lesson that we should learn from the Samaritan leper, that is of gratitude.
Today, we should all be inspired by the examples set by St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, the saint and martyr whose feast we are celebrating. His great examples in being faithful and loving to God, faith in Him, and also his love and care for his flock, those people entrusted to him by God, all should inspire us all to become better and more dedicated disciples and followers of God ourselves. St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was the Archbishop of Polotsk over the territories in what is now Belarus and parts of northern Ukraine, where back then there were divisions among the faithful people of God between those who were in Communion with the Pope in Rome and those who were in rebellion against the authority of the Vicar of Christ.
St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was one of the bishops who led the faithful who wished to reconcile themselves to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope and restore the unity of the Church, as part of the efforts known as the Union of Lublin. However, that reunification of the churches did not solve all the problems and divisions that existed, as quite a few among the clergy and the people resisted the efforts at reunification, and struggle to maintain their divisions and independence. St. Josaphat Kuntsevych laboured hard to minister to all of his flock and bridge the differences among his flock, including reaching out to those who resisted the efforts of reunification. He continued working hard despite all the opposition he encountered, and which led to his martyrdom as the mob rose up against him and murdered him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have reflected upon the life and examples shown by the faith and courageous dedication of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, let us all continue to do our own part to serve the Lord ever more courageously and faithfully at all times. Let us all be good role models and inspiration for one another just like how the saints had been great inspiration for us in how we ought to live up to our faith. May God bless us always, and may He continue to strengthen us with the courage and commitment to continue glorifying Him by our lives, now and always. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 