Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day in continuation from yesterday’s readings, we are faced yet again with the stark reality and truth about living in this world full of temptations and challenges, and how we ought to make a stand and a clear choice on our conscience and actions, so that we will fully and completely submit ourselves to the will of God and seek to do all of His will.

It was highlighted yet once again, that we cannot be servants to both God and to money. If we serve one and try to please one, then we are very likely going to anger and displease the other. We cannot please and satisfy both God and worldly possessions, just as we cannot please God and Satan at the same time. Either we walk in the path of the Lord and be saved, or we walk in the path of sin with Satan and be together condemned with him for eternity.

Yet, as I have discussed yesterday, many of us are ambivalent and without a clear stand or without the courage to stand up for our faith. Rather than following our Lord and God with zeal and with total devotion, we allow ourselves to be bought over by the world and all of its temptations, all of which are designed, and have indeed been designed by the devil and his angels to lure us away from the salvation in God.

And many of us do not take this seriously, for we think that in small matters or in small faults and sins can be let go and tolerated, for after all those things are indeed small matter, are they not? Unfortunately, Jesus made it very clear through today’s Gospel passage, that those who cannot be trusted with small matters, cannot be entrusted with large matters.

This means that we must not overlook or be ignorant even about small sins and faults that we often do and commit in our daily lives. Even opening ourselves a little to the taste of sin and wickedness would allow the devil to come in and seize an even greater opportunity to corrupt us and our souls. As a result, we commit even more and greater sins, that eventually will threaten to destroy us.

Therefore, it is imperative that we remain vigilant and strong at all times. It is important that we should commit ourselves ever more to the protection of our Lord, and strengthening our own spiritual defences against the assaults of the evil one, his temptations and lies. In order to do so, then we have to really make the effort to bring up the habit of prayer, charity and love in our own respective lives.

Yes, let us all commit ourselves to a life devoted to the Lord, obeying His laws and precepts, and walking faithfully in His path, and showing that faith we have for Him through real and concrete dedication to our fellow brethren. That means if someone is in despair and in condition without hope, let us be the bearers of hope, and when someone is unloved, ostracised and suffering, let us share with them our love.

It is this sharing of love, joy and hope with one another that is the essence of our Christian faith, which requires us to show that love which we ought to have for our Lord, and the same love that we also need to show each other, at least as great as the love, care and concern which we show towards ourselves. And if we have love in us, then we have no need to worry, for that love and genuine faith will shield us from the temptations and challenges presented to us by the devil.

Let us all therefore renew our faith in the Lord, and commit ourselves completely to His love, and from now on, let our every actions and every moments of our lives, we use them for the good of one another, and for the benefit of all mankind, that by our actions, we may bring each other ever closer to the salvation in our God. God bless us all. Amen.