22 November 2025

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, 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 Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that all of us should continue to live our lives in the manner that is worthy of the Lord, doing our best in putting God at the centre and as the focus of all of our lives. We should not put so much emphasis and focus on worldly ambitions and desires which can lead us astray and further from the Lord. Instead, we should always keep in mind that whatever greatness, glory and possessions that we build in this world can easily be destroyed and lost in an instant, and we may end up with nothing and eternal regret if we have spent so much efforts in trying to win the approval of the world but lost ourselves from the Lord and His grace.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the Maccabees, we heard the continuation of what happened during the Maccabean Rebellion against the Greek Seleucid kingdom led by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. As we have discussed in the previous few days, the actions of this Greek king was motivated by his desire to unite the very diverse nature of his kingdom’s subjects and dominion, ruling over a vast kingdom with people from different cultures, practices and beliefs. According to historical evidences and records, this did indeed happen, and this king was infamous for his megalomania and tyranny which led him to carry out such terrible actions against his own subjects. And eventually rebellions like what happened in Judea and Galilee happened, as was elsewhere.

We heard then therefore how retribution came for this wicked king who had made the lives of so many of God’s people difficult, causing many among them to face persecutions and hardships for continuing to hold firmly and strongly to their faith in God. And the Lord did not forget about His people, and neither did He abandon them, as He proved that His retributions for those who have wronged His people would be swift and severe, as king Antiochus himself experienced. Everything that he had designed in his grand plans and efforts came to waste, as detailed in that passage from the Book of Maccabees. His efforts to eradicate the beliefs and faith of the Jewish people had been largely overturned, as the Jews defeated his armies and reestablish the worship of God on the same Temple that king Antiochus had ordered to be defiled.

And the king’s efforts to gain more glory and power from his campaigns to the eastern lands of Persia and Media also came to naught as he lost the battles, and even he himself had become afflicted, sickened and was dying. It was only after all of these things had happened that the king finally realised the folly of his efforts and actions. He repented for those deeds and died in sorrow at the end of his ultimately failed campaign and efforts at self-aggrandisement and self-glorification. And this also then becomes a reminder for all of us not to seek for similar worldly glory and renown at the expense of our relationships with God and with one another, and in neglecting our important obligations and responsibilities to those whom the Lord had entrusted to us.

From our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was confronted by the Sadducees who questioned Him and tried to test Him with the riddle on what would happen to a woman who had been married to seven brothers that all passed away one by one, and what their status would be in the life that is to come, in the afterlife that the Sadducees did not believe in. First of all, we should know and realise that the Sadducees were one of the major and most influential groups in the Jewish community of that time together with the Pharisees. While the Pharisees were the religious and intellectual elites of the community, the Sadducees were the societal elites and those who held worldly power, such as the chief priests, the supporters of Herod and the king’s people, the nobles among others.

The Sadducees were also known for their rejection of spiritual things and beliefs, and were very worldly in their actions, approaches and beliefs. They did not believe in the resurrection from the dead, the afterlife, Angels and other spiritual beings and matters. As such, while the Pharisees took issue and offence at the Lord and His disciples for their way of practicing the Law of God, the Sadducees took offence at the Lord for His preaching and teachings about the resurrection and the new life that is to come, beyond the confines of this world. The question which the Sadducees asked of the Lord came from a purely worldly perspective, as if we understand what they asked of the Lord, they clearly did not believe that existence beyond this world that we know of and are familiar with can be a reality.

But the Lord told them the truth that there is indeed Resurrection from the dead and those who go on to the life that is to come, and are found worthy no longer live in the manner of this world, of getting married and seeking worldly fulfilment, achievements and accomplishments. Instead, their lives and existence will be focused and centred on God, as they will no longer suffer the lack and the imperfections of this world, and in fullness of joy they shall all glorify the Lord together as one people, in perfect harmony, happiness and joy. Of course this does not mean that relationships are no longer important for us, or that our faith and existence become individualistic, lest we misunderstand the Lord’s intentions, but rather, as per the theme of what we discuss today, we should always seek beyond what is material and worldly in our lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great woman and servant of God, whose faith and devotion to God, and the dedication to Him, to the point of suffering and enduring grievous tribulations for His sake, should be a great inspiration for all of us Christians to follow. St. Cecilia was well-known as the patron saint of musicians, but she is also a great martyr of the Faith, as she had to bear great sufferings for the sake of the Lord, in her obedience to Him and in her steadfastness in refusing to abandon her faith in Him. She was born into Roman nobility and despite her vow of virginity before God, as a Christian, was forced by her family to marry a pagan nobleman named Valerian. St. Cecilia according to tradition, warned Valerian that an Angel of the Lord watched over her and if he tried to violate her sacred virginity, he would be struck down.

Hence, that was also how St. Cecilia managed to convince her husband to become a Christian himself, as when he asked to see the Angel mentioned by St. Cecilia, he did see the Angel of God after he was baptised by the Pope at that time, Pope St. Urban I. At that time, the Christians in Rome and elsewhere throughout the Roman Empire were persecuted for their faith, and this eventually led to the martyrdom of St. Cecilia and her husband, together with other Christians that had been arrested and made to suffer and die, when they refused to betray the Lord and abandon their faith in Him, just like those of the seven brothers mentioned in our first reading passage today. St. Cecilia was one of those great martyrs of the Church, whose courage and dedication to God, and whose commitment to virtue and holiness, and the purity of her sacred virginity, inspired countless Christians throughout history, right up to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples of St. Cecilia in her courageous faith and commitment to God, doing our very best so that our lives may always bring glory to God, and that we may always ever be focused on Him and not on our personal ambitions and worldly desires. Let us all continue to be exemplary and be courageous in living our lives wholeheartedly in the Lord’s Presence, and by our every words, actions and deeds, let us all show forth the love of God, His hope and Good News to all those whom we encounter each days in our lives, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 20 : 27-40

At that time, then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the Law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.’”

“Now, there were seven brothers : the first married, but died without children. The second married the woman, but also died childless. And then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”

And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the Angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.”

“Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to Him everyone is alive.”

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, You have spoken well.” They did not dare ask Him anything else.

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 9 : 2-3, 4 and 6, 16b and 19

Let my heart give thanks to YHVH, I yearn to proclaim Your marvellous deeds, and rejoice and exult in You; and sing praise to Your Name, o Most High.

For my enemies fell back in retreat, they stumbled and perished before You. You have turned back the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their names forever.

The feet of the pagans were ensnared by the trap they laid. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Maccabees 6 : 1-13

When king Antiochus was making his way through the upper regions of Persia, he received news about Elymais, a city renowned for its wealth in silver and gold. They kept in the wealthy temple of their city golden armour, breastplates and weapons, left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander, the son of Philip, the first sovereign of the Greeks.

So Antiochus went there. But the inhabitants came out armed against him when they learnt of his intention, so his attempt to take the city failed. He had to turn back; and he returned much embittered to Babylon. While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews, who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighbouring armies.

He heard, too, that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem; and had rebuilt the Temple walls to the same height as before; and had also fortified the city of Beth-zur. When he received this news, he was terrified and deeply upset. He fell sick and became greatly depressed because things had not turned out the way he had planned.

So he remained overcome by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt he was dying, so he called his friends and said to them, “Sleep has fled from my eyes and I am greatly crushed by my anxieties. And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me – I who was generous and well-loved when in power – and now I am so discouraged.”

“Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all. I now know, that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me; and I am dying of grief in a strange land.”