Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the readings taken from the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded that each and every one of us have been called by God to be holy, and to be those who had been entrusted to be the fishers of men, to gain for God a holy people, converted and turned from their sinfulness into righteousness.

All of us as Christians, as those who have been called by God, and who had been baptised in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, have been gathered and called by God to be His people, sealed with the Sacraments of Initiation, of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. However, out there, there are still many people who have not yet heard of the Lord and His salvation, and there are also still many people who are living in sin because they do not know the way to go on forward, trapped in the darkness of their sins.

And all of us are called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, who had been called to gather the race of man, from all nations and states, from all languages and backgrounds, from all kinds of peoples, that all of them may be gathered in the holy presence of God, having been redeemed from the darkness and from their sins. This is what the Lord wants each one of us to do, because the works that He had begun through His Apostles had not yet been complete.

Why is that so? That is because the Church which the Apostles built has been founded upon the faith and the good works that they had done, in going forth to the various places and showing the truth of God to the people, calling many of them to repentance and to turn away from their sinfulness, embracing the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord, Saviour and God.

And all of us, led by the successors of the Apostles, our bishops and priests, are the ones who have been called to continue their good works. We cannot stand idle thinking that we do not have any obligations or needs to do as Christians, that is as those who follow the Lord and obey His will. We cannot be lukewarm or inactive Christians whose actions do not show that we truly belong to the Lord and that we are faithful to Him.

If we then wonder if we are capable of doing what the Lord had asked us to do, let us all remember that many of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord were merely fishermen, tax collectors, and sinners, many of them who came from the low strata in the society, and many were poor and uneducated. He did not choose the mighty, the powerful and the intellectuals to serve Him, but instead, He called on normal people, whom He then transformed wonderfully to be His disciples.

Are we still not sure on what we are to do then, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us all remember that each and every one of us have been given unique abilities and talents by the Lord our God, and we should make use of these talents and abilities for the good of our brethren in need. We should be active as the members of the Church of God, as Christians, to bring the Word of God to others whom we are in contact with.

Do not worry about how we are going to do it. Instead, let us just place our trust in God, and let Him guide us in our efforts. Let us then do our best, to the best of our abilities, that in each of our actions, words and deeds we will always bring glory to God, and we will always be exemplary in all that we do, so that through us, many more people will be saved. May God be with us always and may He continue to bless us in our good works. Amen.