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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all called to be truly faithful disciples and followers of our Lord, dedicating and committing our time and efforts to serve the Lord and to be ever more faithful to Him at all times. All of us are reminded that we must always be loving and caring towards our fellow brothers and sisters, being generous in loving and showing compassion upon everyone around us, following the examples of the Lord Himself Who has loved us most generously all these while. We must always have faith and trust in God, knowing that through Him and His constant care and love for us, all of us shall indeed never be disappointed as He will always continue to provide for us and protect us from any harm.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. John the words of the Apostle reminding the faithful people of God of the importance of them caring and showing love for one another especially for those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord and became His ministers and missionaries. As the Lord Himself has instructed His disciples, that all of them should go forth to the nations and proclaim His words and teachings, sending them out to give the words of His encouragement and truth to all the people. And they were all told not to depend too much on their own means and possessions, on all their own provisions and power, but rather to trust in the Lord and to receive whatever the people they visited and ministered among were willing to share and give to them.

That was why St. John reminded all of the people of God to be truly generous in their giving and love, for their fellow brethren and especially more so for all those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord. Each and every one of them and also all of us as Christians must always be filled with generous and wonderful love of God in our every words, actions and dealings with one another. We must not ignore this calling to love and to share our blessings with our fellow brethren. Let us all not forget that the Lord Himself has been generous and compassionate towards us when we had nothing with us and when we are still sinful and corrupted by our many sins and wickedness, and calling us and offering us freely His saving help and rich grace and mercy, He has indeed shown us all what love truly is.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Gospel by St. Luke the Evangelist of the account of the time when the Lord taught His disciples using a parable to highlight how we should put our faith and trust always in the Lord, in His Providence and help and all the things that He has promised to us, all the encouragement and blessings that He has generously given to us, if only we can put our faith in Him and trust in Him. He used the parable of an evil judge and a persistent old widow to highlight His ideas and points to the people. The old widow kept on pestering the judge, who in his pride and wickedness had no fear of anything and anyone at all, and despite the judge’s reluctance, eventually the persistence of the old widow bore fruit as it led to the judge relenting and agreeing to address the old widow’s case.

Hence, the Lord used this example in this parable to highlight how if even a wicked and proud, reluctant and stubborn judge could listen to and heed the wishes of the persistent old widow even when the judge was not obliged to do so, then all the more the Lord Himself, our most loving God and generous Father will love us and be kind and caring towards us if we ask Him. We must always have this strong faith in the Lord and follow Him at all times, reaching out to Him and believing in Him, His Providence and guidance, and ask Him whenever we have need for help. God will never forget or abandon us, and it is important that we remember this great love of God at all times, especially when we are facing challenges and difficulties. At the same time, just as St. John the Apostle exhorted earlier on, we should always be willing to help one another and share our blessings with our fellow brethren.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of two great and holy women, those whose lives and dedication to God have been truly exemplary and inspirational. They are St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great. St. Margaret of Scotland was the Queen of Scotland and an English princess by birth to the House of Wessex, which ruled England prior to the Norman conquest. She was born in exile in Hungary following her father who had been exiled from the kingdom, and later on, after she and her family had returned to England, changes in the political landscape and her family’s fall from power would mean that she had to flee again, and eventually she would marry the widowed King of Scotland, Malcolm III and became the Queen of Scotland. As Queen, St. Margaret was known for her great and tremendous piety and charity, in her many contributions and care for the poor and the less privileged throughout her kingdom, as well as her contributions to the Church and great personal and public piety.

Meanwhile, St. Gertrude the Great was a great mystic and Benedictine nun from Germany during the High Middle Ages era. She grew up in a monastery since a very young age, and tradition showed either she was offered to the monastery by her parents or that she was orphaned from very young age, as was common at that time. She grew up strong in the faith and began experiencing visions from the Lord in her twenties as she continued to deepen her commitment to God in the Benedictine community. Her great piety and commitment to God, her spiritual life and dedication, all of her mystical visions and experiences inspired many people even long after her passing, and her great faith is indeed an inspiration to all of us as Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed the words of the Lord through the Scriptures and having heard the great examples and the lives shown by St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great, among the many other holy men and women, holy saints of God, let us all therefore do our best to live a truly holy and worthy life in the path that the Lord has shown us in our lives. Let us all be renewed in faith and conviction, in our zeal and desire to be truly full of God’s love and grace, to be wholly dedicated in all things and at all circumstances, to be committed to God and to be generous in our love towards each other, especially to those who need them. May God be with us always and may He continue to empower us all to live always in His Holy Presence. Amen.