Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together to listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and to reflect upon the meaning of what we have heard, we are reminded that we should always be willing to allow God to shape and guide our lives and paths, in everything that we say and do, in following Him and walking down the path of righteousness and virtue at all times. Each and every one of us as Christians are reminded that we should always be trusting in God and in all that He has done for us, in all the Wisdom and kindness which He has generously bestowed upon us. God will not abandon us especially during the darkest and most difficult moments, and we will not be left alone amidst all those challenges because God is always by our side, no matter what.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the Lord’s continued reminder to His people through His prophet, reminding and telling them all to be truly faithful to Him, and not merely paying Him lip service and empty gestures, or actions that were hypocritical in nature, as they had done in their past, and how their ancestors had lived before them. Back then, many of the people of God in Israel and Judah had not truly obeyed the Lord, neglected His Law and commandments, and merely observing the Law out of obedience but without truly meaning what they had done, or understanding fully what the Lord Himself has taught and shown them, and that was why He sent them His prophets and servants like Isaiah to remind them of this fact.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the account of the calling of Levi the tax collector by the Lord Jesus Himself. At that time, as we heard, Levi was at his tax collecting station and when the Lord called on him, Levi without hesitation left everything he had behind, his job and all of his belongings, and decided to follow the Lord wholeheartedly as His full-time disciple. During that period, tax collectors were often hated and reviled by much of the community because of the great bias against them, the hatred which the people of God collectively gave to them as the tax collectors were seen as collaborators, agents and even traitors to the Jewish nation and state, for collecting taxes meant for the Roman overlords.

Hence, Levi and the other tax collectors really had it difficult in their lives and works, and many among the people, especially the Pharisees and the elites of the community deemed them all as wicked sinners and traitors beyond hope and redemption. They were therefore often looked down upon and hated as mentioned, but yet, the Lord reached out to Levi and called him to be His disciple, and also spent time among the tax collectors who were all willing and desiring to listen to His teachings, and shared a meal with all of them, to the surprise, criticism and displeasure of the Pharisees who were observing His actions.

But the Lord made it clear that He came into this world to gather those who have been separated from God through sin, reaching out to those who have been afflicted by sin, and those tax collectors clearly desired to seek God’s forgiveness and grace. Not only that, but in time, Levi himself would become a great and committed disciple of the Lord, known by his new name of Matthew, as one of the Twelve Apostles and one of the Four Evangelists, ministering to the people of God through his works and writings, directed primarily to the Jewish population, hoping to convince more of them to accept the teachings and truth of the Lord Jesus as their guiding principle and accepting Him as their Master and Saviour. He would go on to serve the Lord in many more great ways for many years.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Damian, a great saint and Church father, whose life and works can truly inspire all of us to be faithful to the Lord in many ways, as he himself led a good and devout life, filled with faith and dedication to God. St. Peter Damian was a great intellectual and theologian who gave up the greatness of secular and worldly life to become a Benedictine monk. He was renowned for his great piety and dedication to his mission and works, in his efforts in reforming the Church and Christian faithful, beginning with his own Benedictine community, and then in tandem with the efforts of a few Popes of that time, beginning with Pope Gregory VI and up to Pope St. Leo IX and his friend, Pope St. Gregory VII.

Back then, the corruptions of worldly vices, attachments, ambitions and sins have slowly crept up into the Church and into its various communities, affecting both the clergymen and the laity alike. St. Peter Damian helped to reform the Church through his great vision and desire to root out from the Church those worldly corruptions and vices which had caused so many scandals and for so many of the faithful to fall into sin and evil ways. He rooted out corrupt practices and helped to straighten the ways of many of the faithful, in his various capacities as Papal envoy and legate, and as a member of the College of Cardinals, his role as a Cardinal and hence close Papal confidant and advisor was crucial in the reestablishment of order and virtue in the life of the Church of that time. And despite his high office and influential position, St. Peter Damian remained humble and thoroughly committed to his calling, and not swayed by worldly temptations of power and glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all discern what we have just discussed, including the life and examples of St. Peter Damian in remembering that as Christians each and every one of us are also expected to live our lives with genuine faith in the Lord, and root out from ourselves, from our hearts and minds, the corruption of sin and temptations of pride, ego, ambition, hubris, greed and others. Let us all remind ourselves of this as we continue to embark on this journey of reconciliation with God during this time and season of Lent so that we may draw ever closer to Him and receive from His most generous fount of mercy and grace, a full reconciliation and abundance of love He has always lavished on us.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate, merciful and patient God continue to guide each and every one of us in our journey of faith and life following the example of Levi the tax collector and our other holy predecessors, helping us to persevere in walking down the path of righteousness and virtue, doing our best to love the Lord our God and love our fellow brothers and sisters, especially those whom we love the most and precious to us, in a genuine and generous manner, just as much as the Lord Himself has loved us all. Let us all Christians be truly known and recognised by our love, most generous and wonderful, flowing ever more genuinely from our hearts through our actions, words and deeds, just as the Lord has shown and taught us. May God bless us all in our every endeavours and efforts to glorify Him, now and always. Amen.