Saints

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Monday, 10 February 2025 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 1 : 1-19

In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness was over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘Day’ and the darkness ‘Night’. There was evening and there was morning : the first day.

God said, “Let there be a firm ceiling between the waters and let it separate waters from waters.” So God made the ceiling and separated the waters below it from the waters above it. And so it was. God called the firm ceiling ‘Sky’. There was evening and there was morning : the second day.

God said, “Let the waters below the sky be gathered in one place and let dry land appear. And so it was. God called the dry land ‘Earth’, and the waters gathered together he called ‘Seas’. God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants, fruit trees bearing fruit with seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And so it was. The earth produced vegetation : plants bearing seed according to their kind and trees producing fruit which has seed, according to their kind. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning : the third day.

God said, “Let there be lights in the ceiling of the sky to separate day from night and to serve as signs for the seasons, days and years; and let these lights in the sky shine above the earth.” And so it was. God therefore made two great lights, the greater light to govern the day and the smaller light to govern the night; and God made the stars as well. God placed them in the ceiling of the sky to give light on the earth and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning : the fourth day.

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Saturday, 8 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins 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 are all reminded of the love of God which has been revealed to us so generously and wonderfully through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God Who has embraced our humanity and existence in the flesh, becoming our Shepherd and Guide, as our Good Shepherd, the One to gather each and every one of us, the lost sheep of the Lord’s flock. Each one of us are reminded of how precious all of us are to the Lord, our loving God and Father, and how much He wants us all to be reconciled to Him, which He gave us the best help and means through the giving of His own Son to be our Saviour. This is why as we reflect upon these words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we should do our best to follow the leads of our loving Good Shepherd.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author of this Epistle to the Hebrews spoke about the love and the great, wonderful things which God had done for their sake through the sacrifice and offerings of Christ, the Good Shepherd, and our High Priest, for our salvation. The author had been spending a lot of time throughout the Epistle to convince and strengthen the faith of the believers from among the Jewish community by going through with them the true nature and the identity of Jesus Christ, the One Who had been prophesied by the prophets, the Son of God Who had been incarnate in the flesh, coming into our midst to give unto us the sure hope of God’s salvation, which He had done by laying down His own life, to suffer and die for us all, the sheep of the Lord’s flock.

Like in the parable of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Himself told us all that He will always be going forth to seek us, the lost sheep of God, who have been scattered in this world because of our disobedience and sins. He does not want us all to be lost forever to Him, and He opened the path for us to seek Him, to embrace His love and mercy, to call on us all to return back once again to God’s Holy Presence, leaving behind our sinful existence and actions, embracing instead the holiness and virtues of the Lord in all things. We have been scattered and lost from Him because we have allowed our sins to tempt and pull us away from the Lord, and the Lord did everything that He could to reach out to us and to bring us all back to His loving embrace, to forgive us our many sins.

Then, in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard the story of how the Lord and His disciples ministered to the people of God, and how the Lord had pity on all those who had come to seek Him and to listen to His words. He saw them all as sheep which were without a shepherd, scattered and lost, and thus, as mentioned, Him being our Good Shepherd, He gathered all of them and showed them all His most wonderful and patient love, ministering to them and caring for them, teaching them even though He Himself, in His humanity, must have felt so tired and exhausted after all the endless works that He had performed with His disciples. And yet, He kept pushing on and showed His continued love to us, because He truly loves each and every one of us, without exception.

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Jerome Emiliani, also known as Gerolamo Emiliani, an Italian humanitarian and holy man of God, known as the founder of the Somaschi Fathers, gathering together like-minded individuals who shared in his desire to reach out to the less fortunate in the community of the people of God, caring for the need of the poor, the sick and all those who were less privileged and less fortunate. He was born in Venice in the early sixteenth century, and he ran away in his teenage years to join the military. After having been in the military for a while, becoming even the governor of a fortress in the region of northern Italy, he was taken prisoner, during which time, he had a change of heart, realising the guidance of God through Mary, His blessed Mother, to whom he committed himself and gave thanks for his escape and liberation from the imprisonment.

Henceafter, St. Jerome no longer focused on himself or on any sorts of worldly ambitions and desires. Instead, he began caring for the needs of those around him, showing care and concern for those who are suffering, from famine and from diseases, and all those who have been abandoned by the community, the orphans and others who have not experienced the love of others, and who have been neglected by their fellow men and women. He ministered to their needs and as mentioned, inspired many others to follow his examples, establishing charitable institutions and other organisations for the benefit of those poor and the needy who are lacking in basic needs and many others like prostitutes and those who have been ostracised and condemned by the people in their own community. He initiated the community of the Congregation of Regular Clerics at Somasca, which eventually became the Somaschi Fathers.

The other saint we also celebrate today is St. Josephine Bakhita, who was a slave woman from the region of the present day Sudan in northern part of Africa. St. Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped from her family in her early youth and was sold as a slave, passing from masters to masters, enduring all sorts of physical and other abuses, before eventually ending up in the service of the Italian Vice-Consul in the region. During that time, conflicts were happening in the area, and the Italian Vice-Consul decided to relocate back to Italy together with his family. St. Josephine Bakhita was brought to Italy in this manner, leaving behind the land of her past slavery. She was handed over to the Vice-Consul’s friend, another Italian, who wanted to bring her back to Sudan as he was considering relocating there completely. St. Josephine Bakhita resisted and firmly refused to return to that land.

At that time, she was already beginning her period of catechumenate, having been left in the care of the Canossian sisters, with whom she would later on spend the rest of her life serving as a member. Eventually, the matter was settled by the Italian courts, with the support of the Church for St. Josephine Bakhita, which ruled that she had never legally been a slave due to the rules implemented before her birth. Thus, St. Josephine Bakhita was finally a freewoman, and she chose to stay on with the Canossian Sisters for the remaining more than four decades of her life, ministering to the Canossian sisters and the community, living a holy and devout life, which became great inspiration for many others around her, both in the Canossian community and beyond. Many people came to pay last respects to her when she finally passed away in 1947 after years of being sick.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be reminded always of God’s love for us, the love that our loving Shepherd, Father and Creator has for all of us. And let us all therefore respond to Him with the same love, devotion and commitment, one that has also been shown by our many holy predecessors, particularly from the examples of St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita that we had just discussed. Let us all be inspired by them and do our best in our own respective areas and communities, to be truly dedicated to God and His cause, and to show His love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, so that hopefully, many more people may come to believe in God through us and our good examples. May God be with us all in our every missions, good works and endeavours, and may St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita continue to intercede for us all sinners. Amen.

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Saturday, 8 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Mark 6 : 30-34

At that time, the Apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then He said to them, “Go off by yourselves to a remote place and have some rest.” For there were so many people coming and going that the Apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves.

But people saw them leaving and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them. As Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began a long teaching session with them.

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Saturday, 8 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Saturday, 8 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Hebrews 13 : 15-17, 20-21

Let us, then, continually offer through Jesus a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips celebrating His Name. Do not neglect good works and common life, for these are sacrifices pleasing to God. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are concerned for your souls and are accountable for them. Let this be a joy for them rather than a burden, which would be of no advantage for you.

May God give you peace, He Who brought back from among the dead Jesus our Lord, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, Whose Blood seals the eternal covenant. He will train you in every good work, that you may do His will, for it is He Who works in us what pleases Him, through Jesus Christ, to Whom all glory be forever and ever. Amen!

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Thursday, 6 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the mission and vocation that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy people, as His disciples and followers had been entrusted with. All of us have been given the various responsibilities, missions and all the things that we are supposed to do in our world today, amongst our communities and our circles of friends, families and to everyone whom we encounter daily in life. We should keep in mind how blessed and fortunate all of us have been, to be beloved and taken care of by the Lord, Who has patiently kept His attention on us, in His persistent and patient love for us, despite our frequent disobedience and rebelliousness, that He still always provide us the path and the assurance to return to Him, so that we may be forgiven from our sins and be truly reconciled with Him.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard of the words of the author recounting the events of the moment when the Israelites, the ancestors of the Jewish community to whom he was addressing in this Epistle, encountered the Lord at the moment of their time in Mount Sinai, the Mountain of God. The author recounted the events that happened and how terrifying signs and wonders occurred on that day, with great thunder and loud sounds, as the glory of God descended to the mountain, to the people that He has chosen and loved. Yet, the author also reminded the people of the reality of just how fortunate all of them had been because God had come into their midst and how they all have been called to share in the glorious inheritance that He had intended for all of them.

Therefore, at the same time, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews reminded the faithful among the Jewish community about the greatness of God and why they ought to worship Him as their one and only God, and at the same time also highlighting how God, despite being great beyond compare and transcendent, Almighty and all-glorious, but He also loves all of His children equally, wanting all of them to share in His love, and He has called on all of them to come to Him, to share in the joy of their loving Father, Who created them out of love, and Who showed them how they could return to Him through all the guidance and help that He has provided to them. God reminded His people therefore through this Epistle that He has made Himself available top us, and He did this especially through none other than His own only Begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples on mission, in pairs as He gave them the commandment to carry out the works He entrusted to them, giving them the power and authority to heal the sick and perform various miracles, casting out demons and doing many other good works that He has tasked them all to do, to spread forth and expand ever further the reach of God’s love and care for His people, His beloved ones. And this is yet another reminder for us of the great love which God has for each and every one of us, showing us just how generous He has been in caring for us and in His desire to see us liberated from the tyranny of sin and death, offering us all freely His salvation through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

And through what we heard in our Gospel passage today, we are being reminded of the important missions which God has entrusted to all of us in His Church. The works of the Church and the missions initiated by the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord back then were still far from over, as each and every day, there are ever more opportunities and places, times and moments when there are more and more souls in need of the knowledge of God and His salvation. Many are also still enslaved by the power of sin and darkness, and unless we do something, many of our fellow brothers and sisters will succumb to the darkness and may slip away from the Lord towards eternal damnation. And this is not what we should allow to happen, as long as we can do something to prevent that.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Paul Miki and his companions, also known as the Holy Martyrs of Japan or the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Nagasaki. St. Paul Miki himself was a Japanese layman who was born to a rich and noble family. He and his family, like many Japanese of that time, especially in the region of Nagasaki and Kyushu, converted to the Christian faith due to the efforts and hard work of the Jesuit missionaries, who laboured hard and spent a lot of time preaching about the Good News of God to the Japanese. It was told that about three hundred thousand or so Christians, both among the commonsfolk and the nobility existed at that time in Japan, and many more were converting to the faith. St. Paul Miki himself joined the Jesuits or the Society of Jesus after his conversion, and afterwards worked in evangelising his fellow Japanese, gaining many more converts to the Church.

It was at that time that the then de facto ruler of Japan, the Kampaku or Regent, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who began to fear the influence that Christianity and its apparent supporters, the Western powers like Spain and Portugal, had on Japan, and therefore, began to implement edicts and orders to restrain the spread of the Christian faith, as well as persecuting those who have converted to Christianity, including also the missionaries, both the foreign and local missionaries alike. Many Christians were forced to abandon their faith in the Lord on the pain of persecution and torture, and while some gave in to the temptations and pressures, many others refused to give up their faith and chose to suffer and die for the Lord and for their faith in Him.

In the case of St. Paul Miki, he and other missionaries and Christian converts were arrested and tortured, and after they had been sentenced to death in Kyoto, the then capital of Japan, for refusing to give in to their faith, it was famously told that they were forced to march almost a thousand kilometres from Kyoto to the city of Nagasaki, the place of their martyrdom. While they were marching, tortured and persecuted, they continued to hold up their faith in God confidently, singing the Te Deum, the glorious hymn praising and glorifying God as they went on the journey towards their martyrdom. St. Paul Miki and his companions in martyrdom, all the twenty-six of them were crucified at the hill overlooking the city of Nagasaki, where their shrine now stands today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to keep in mind God’s great love for us, and hence, show our appreciation and gratitude through our own strong and genuine faith, one that is inspired by the great faith and dedication of the holy saints, our predecessors, particularly those of St. Paul Miki and his companions in holy martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of Japan. Let us all continue to follow in their footsteps in glorifying God, in proclaiming Him before everyone we encounter in life by living our lives most worthily as Christians, in all circumstances, making great use of every opportunities that God has provided to us. May God be with us always and may He bless each and every one of us, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 6 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 6 : 7-13

At that time, Jesus called the Twelve to Him, and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits, and He ordered them to take nothing for the journey, except a staff : no food, no bag, no money on their belts. They were to wear sandals and were not to take an extra tunic.

And He added, “In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until you leave the place. If any place does not receive you, and the people refuse to listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet. It will be a testimony against them.”

So they set out to proclaim that this was the time to repent. They drove out many demons and healed many sick people by anointing them.

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Thursday, 6 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 47 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 9, 10-11

Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise in the City of God, His holy mountain. Beautifully elevated, it is the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, heavenly mountain, the City of the great King. Here, within her lines of defence, God has shown Himself to be a sure fortress.

As we have heard, so have we seen, in the City of YHVH of hosts, in the City of Our God, the City God founded forever.

Let us recall Your unfailing love, o God, inside Your Temple. Let Your praise, as does Your Name, o God, reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is ever victorious.

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Thursday, 6 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 12 : 18-19, 21-24

What you have come to, is nothing known to the senses : nor heat of a blazing fire, darkness and gloom and storms, blasts of trumpet or such a voice that the people pleaded, that no further word be spoken.

The sight was so terrifying, that Moses said : I tremble with fear. But you came near to Mount Zion, to the City of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, with its innumerable Angels. You have come to the solemn feast, the assembly of the firstborn of God, whose names are written in heaven.

There is God, Judge of all, with the spirits of the upright, brought to perfection. There is Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, with the sprinkled Blood that cries out more effectively than Abel’s.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the hope that we all ought to have in the Lord, our God, Who is also our most loving Father and Creator. As long as we continue to have faith in Him, we will not be disappointed, and we will be assured the glorious inheritance that He has promised to all of us, the many graces and blessings which He, our loving Father has prepared for all of us, whom He has adopted to become His own most beloved sons and daughters. All of us must have faith in the Lord even when others despise us and make our lives difficult and challenging, as it is through the Lord alone that we shall be triumphant in the end against all of those who seek our destruction and damnation. There is truly no hope and future for us beyond the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the discourse from the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which the author reminded the faithful among the Jewish community of the reality of how the Lord their God has adopted all of them as His own beloved children, and how He has loved them, guided them, helped and chastised them as a loving Father would do to His children, to help and guide them in their journey throughout life so that they will not end up falling into temptations and the path to ruin. This is contrasted to the traditional perception of God among the Jewish community at that time and previously, which perceived God as distant, invisible and transcendent beyond the reach of the people. But the Incarnation of the Saviour, the Son of God Himself in the flesh, has made God to be approachable and tangible for us.

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews had spent a lot of time and effort throughout his Epistle to elaborate about the nature and role of the Messiah, the One Whom God had sent into the world to be the Liberator and the One to redeem us from our many sins, all the things that had separated us from God, our most loving and gracious Father and Creator. Therefore, he told the Jewish community how this same Saviour that God had sent into the world was truly the Son of God, and by His incarnation, He has become one like us, sharing our human existence and nature, and by doing so, He has made us all to share in His relationship with the Heavenly Father, and allow us all to become the adopted sons and daughters of God, while at the same time restoring the grace that has been lost to us, by His action in redeeming us through His loving sacrifice on the Cross.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist in which we were told that after the miraculous resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official which we heard in yesterday’s passage from the same Gospel, the Lord went back to His hometown of Nazareth and taught in the synagogue, only to be ridiculed and to face rejection from His own townspeople, who doubted Him and ridiculed Him because they thought they knew Who He was, as the supposed Son of the lowly carpenter, St. Joseph. At that time, carpenters, while performing an important and good work, were often looked down upon as being low in education and status in the society, as compared to the highly educated ones like the Pharisees and those scribes and teachers of the Law.

Therefore, they could not reconcile this bias and belief in such a prejudice that the mere Son of a carpenter could have done so many great and wonderful deeds that they had heard from the news that had spread around the region about the miracles and other things that the Lord Jesus had done. When they themselves heard the Lord proclaiming His teachings and truths with such great wisdom and authority, their bias and prejudice were what kept them from being able to listen to the Lord and believe in Him. And in this example, we have seen the ugly side of our human nature, our attitudes in being prejudiced against others, and in thinking that we are better than those around us, striving to be greater, more powerful and mighty than others. And that is why we often competed and bickered with each other.

The Lord Jesus Himself therefore showed us that this path of pride and ego, self-righteousness and prejudice have no place amongst us as Christians. It was after all these attitudes of succumbing to our ego and pride, our desires and ambitions, our endless pursuits for power, glory and greatness, for ambitions and pleasures of the world that had led so many among us and our predecessors to fall into sin. The Lord showed by example, through His most generous and selfless love for us, by humbling Himself so much so that He was willing to come down to us, assuming our human existence and nature, being born of a Woman, Mary, His mother, and coming into the family of a carpenter, that is St. Joseph’s, who although was a lowly carpenter, yet, was the direct heir of King David. All these happened so that God could fulfil everything which He has promised us from the very beginning, that is to liberate us all from the power and dominion of sin and death.

God our loving Father and Creator has always been very patient with us, in loving and caring for us, and in guiding us all towards His Presence. He has always loved us and been patient with us even when we constantly disobeyed His Law and commandments, betraying and abandoning Him for other gods and idols, or for other worldly pursuits and ambitions. He has always given us opportunities, one after another, hoping that at least some of us will come to see the errors of our ways and repent from our sins. That is just how loving God has been towards us, and we should truly consider ourselves very fortunate for this. He has also chastised and punished us justly whenever we erred, with the hope and intention that we may come to find the path of righteousness in Him, and not to fall further into sin and darkness.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the renowned martyr, St. Agatha, also known as St. Agatha of Sicily, a faithful and holy martyr of the Church who was persecuted for her faith during the time of great tribulation by the then hostile Roman Imperial administration under the rule of the Emperor Decius, an infamous persecutor of Christians, who launched a particularly harsh and brutal persecution on the Church. Back then, the young St. Agatha had made vow of virginity and refused the advances of the pagan Roman prefect named Quintianus, who was mesmerised by her great beauty. Therefore, after repeated refusals and rejections from St. Agatha who kept on faithfully observing her vow of virginity, Quintianus, who knew that St. Agatha was a Christian, reported her to the authorities.

Hence, this led to St. Agatha being arrested and persecuted, and threatened with certain sufferings and deaths. The same Roman prefect Quintianus himself was the official in charge of the region and therefore over the case of St. Agatha, and he hoped that the threats and sufferings would change her mind and accept his proposals. St. Agatha remained firm in her faith and commitment, publicly embracing her faith in God and proclaiming her dedication to Him. No matter how Quintianus tried to punish and force St. Agatha, including sending her to a brothel, none of those efforts could dissuade or force St. Agatha to abandon her faith in the Lord. Eventually, after more dramatic confrontations with Quintianus, the Roman prefect sentenced her to more punishments and prison, where she eventually died as a martyr a while later. She remained ever committed to God right to the very end, and became the great inspiration for many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we have discussed from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and from the life of St. Agatha, holy martyr of the Church, let us all remember God’s most generous love for us as our loving Father, in all that He had done for us, and in how He guided us all patiently throughout even the most difficult and challenging moments in life. We are also reminded to be faithful like how St. Agatha had been faithful in all things, and in how she had maintained her faith courageously despite all the sufferings and martyrdom that she had to endure. That is why, today all of us as Christians are called and reminded to be good examples and inspirations for each other, to be the beacons of God’s light and hope for everyone around us. Let us all continue to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and might, and help one another in accomplishing our respective missions in this world.

May the Lord bless us all in our every good endeavours, efforts and works, and may He continue to help and guide us in our journey through life so that in all things and at all opportunities, we will always strive to be good, faithful and worthy Christians, to be faithful and righteous as our holy predecessors had been, like St. Agatha before us. Amen.