Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the reminder that each one of us are called to change our ways of life, and to embrace God and His path once again if we have once erred and not adhering to the way of the Lord. Each one of us are reminded that God has kindly reached out to us, calling on us all to embrace His love and mercy, and for us to walk once again in His path. As long as we are willing to listen to the Lord calling on us, then we are likely to be on the right path, and as long as we are willing to open our hearts and minds to welcome Him, we are likely going to find the Lord in the end, waiting for us to return to Him.
In our first reading today we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Galatia in which the Apostle spoke about his experiences and conversion from being one of the greatest enemies of the Lord, His Church and the faithful people of God, the great scourge of Christians, to be one of the Lord’s and His Church’s greatest champions and defenders, in his amazing conversion experience and in being called and chosen by God. God Himself had called St. Paul on his way to Damascus, supposedly to crush the Church and persecute the Christians there, but he himself emerged as a Christian in the aftermath, and from then henceforth, this renewed man of God embarked on a faithful mission in obedience to God’s will.
What we have heard in our first reading today through the experiences which St. Paul shared with all of us, we are all reminded that God is calling on us all to follow Him, and He is the One Who is making us worthy and changed us, led us and guided us to the right path. We are reminded that there is hope for everyone, even for the worst sinners and the greatest offenders as long as they are willing to allow God to lead them once again down the right path. Just as St. Paul has shown us, that he listened to the Lord’s call and embraced Him wholeheartedly, learning about the errors of his past ways, and then henceforth, labouring for the glory of God ever after, glorifying God by all of his every efforts and deeds in various places and communities.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the exchanges between the Lord Jesus and His friends, the sisters Mary and Martha, both of whom welcomed Him as He came to visit their house. Martha was busy preparing for the welcome, presumably preparing the meals and other things to properly and hospitably welcome Him. Meanwhile Mary was focused wholly on listening to the Lord as He spoke and taught her of His truth. We know of this story surely where Martha told the Lord to ask her sister to help her out, as she was busy preparing everything by herself, only for the Lord to remind her that what her sister was doing, was right, because she welcomed Him into her heart, and did what she could to welcome Him by focusing her attention on Him and not otherwise.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard of the story of Martha and Mary, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to return our focus onto the Lord our God, and for us to refocus our lives upon Him. Each one of us are reminded that we should not end up being so preoccupied and even distracted by our many attachments and by the many temptations all around us that we fail to focus our attention on the Lord, and instead, we may end up intentionally or unintentionally getting further and further, and more distant from the Lord and His path. Martha for example had good intentions, but unfortunately in her desire to satisfy her own desire in serving the Lord, she got lost into it so much that she forgot to welcome the Lord into her own heart as she was distracted by all those things.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Bruno, a holy man of God, whose life and actions can serve as a great example and inspiration for each and every one of us, in how we can and should live up to our faith in the Lord. St. Bruno, also known as St. Bruno of Cologne, was the founder of the Carthusian Order, and was a dedicated servant of God, in his many missions and contributions to the Church and the Christian community, in all of his works, as a great teacher of the faith and as a guide for many younger men and women of God, some of whom later on became great disciples of the Lord in their own way. He carried out many good works, and in his humility, he refused to become a bishop when he was about to be made one, as he renounced all the glory of the world, and all secular concerns and worldly attachments.
Instead, he continued to devote himself to his missions and works, and eventually gathering many followers who would become the foundation of the Carthusians, a group of faithful Christians and servants of God, dedicated to the life in service of God, in prayer and ministry among the people of God, living a worthy and good life, in accordance with God’s Law and commandments. The Lord has inspired many to follow in the footsteps of St. Bruno, and many were touched by the faith and commitment that this holy man of God had done. All of us should also therefore commit ourselves in the same way as St. Bruno had done, and do our part, in ensuring that our own actions and deeds may become truly worthy of God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be committed anew to the Lord, living our lives ever more worthily in each and every moments, and let us all be exemplary in our whole actions, words and deeds, so that we may indeed be the good role models and examples for one another. May the Lord continue to guide each and every one of us, and may He empower all of us so that we may be the shining examples and role models for our fellow brothers and sisters, our fellow men and women, all around us, just as St. Bruno and other innumerable saints, like St. Paul the Apostle in all of his dedication and efforts, all the holy men and women of God, had inspired us by their lives. Amen.
