Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the beginning of the new chapter in our Scripture readings from the Book of the Maccabees, telling us the narrative of what happened during the time of the Maccabean rebellion or the Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Empire, or the Greek Empire that descended from the Empire of Alexander the Great of Greece who had brought much of the known world under his dominion.

At that time, the Greek culture was the high culture of the society, and many people aspired to learn the Greek language, culture and customs, and in various ways, many people from various nations and origins would try to implement Greek lifestyle and even religion into their own lifestyle, which is known as Hellenism. Many people even became completely Greek in their lifestyle and they incorporated completely the Hellenic culture as their own.

And the problem came when the same sentiment and practice came to the land of the faithful people of Israel, the direct descendants and heirs of Abraham, to whom God had shown His favour and with whom God had established an eternal covenant, a bond of promise between Himself and Abraham and his descendants, that they would commit to each other forever.

This means that the Lord God of all universe and of all creation would dedicate Himself and commit Himself to the people whom He had chosen and loved, and to whom He would give the entirety of His blessings and inheritance. But a covenant is a two-way process, and require both parties of the covenant to dedicate themselves to one another. This means that the people of Israel, and by extension, all of us, must devote ourselves and commit ourselves to the Lord as well.

Yet, the people of the time of Maccabees, the family of faithful people who eventually led the faithful in rebellion against the tyranny and the wickedness of the king Antiochus Epiphanes and his successors, who enforced the assimilation of the Jews into the pagan ways of the Greeks, and insisted on the adoption of the pagan gods and worship by the faithful, who worshipped only the one and only True God.

To follow the orders of the king would be tantamount to disobeying and breaking the covenant which the Lord had established with them, and the consequences would not be light. Indeed, only those who have remained true to the covenant of God would deserve the everlasting reward which God had promised, whereas to break away from the covenant would mean the nullification of such privileges, and therefore, separate from the Lord of all life, there will be nothing for them.

Many succumbed to the temptations of such pressure and many succumbed to the great pressures given by the king against the faithful. Many betrayed the Lord in exchange for safety and acceptance by the world. As such, many souls were lost and these went into damnation, unless they changed their ways and repented their sins. But there were also many of those who remained true to the Lord and to their faith despite the difficulties and the persecutions against them.

The examples of today’s saints also should remind us that it is not easy for us to remain faithful and to be devoted to our Lord, but it is possible if we put in enough effort in order to do so. St. Margaret of Scotland was the Queen of Scotland, whose life had been marked with many challenges and difficulties, and yet even though she attained great importance and preeminence, she remained devout, committed and faithful to her faith in God.

She spent much time in prayer and in performing numerous charities and loving acts to all the poor and the destitute of her kingdom. She also provided shelter and safe haven for many refugees and the oppressed peoples from the neighbouring countries. Through her works, the livelihood of many people were improved, and many were greatly inspired by her great piety.

Meanwhile, St. Gertrude was a great and devoted mystic, who received visions from the Lord and inspiration about her faith. St. Gertrude devoted her whole life to the Lord and to His people through prayer, and her many works and writings continued to inspire many people even until today, and called many to continue to be faithful to the teachings of the Faith.

In all of their examples, we can see how we ought to live as children of God and as followers of His way and truth. Let us all devote ourselves in the same way, and let us all commit ourselves anew to our faith and be no longer be ignorant or be against the ways that we should indeed follow and emulate in our own lives. May the Lord always bless us in all of our endeavours. Amen.