Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria

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Monday, 25 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour :  Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that all of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people should always keep our faith in the Lord firm and strong amidst all the difficulties, challenges and hardships that we may be facing in life. As we come ever closer to the end of the current liturgical year that is ending this week, we are constantly being reminded of the need for all of us to remain strong in our faith and commitment to God, in our desire to love Him and to follow Him courageously and honourably all the time. We must not be easily dissuaded and prevented from committing ourselves to the Lord by the many obstacles, trails and opposition we may have to face in our journey.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the account from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle in which the great vision of St. John was told to us, about the presence of the Lamb of God, the Saviour of the whole world, Our Lord Jesus Christ, on Mount Zion, surrounded by the one hundred and forty-four thousand, a large number meant to represent the vast number of those who have been saved and made worthy by their faith in God. All those people have been found worthy in their faith and dedication to God, having lived worthily and righteously amidst all the challenges, temptations and difficulties, all the sufferings that they had to endure in the midst of their obedience and faith in God.

It is a reminder for all of us that regardless of the challenges and trials, all the persecutions and the difficult paths that we have had to traverse in order to come towards the Lord, all these perseverance and endurance in faith, obeying the will of God and doing whatever He has asked us all to do, in the end, we will share in the triumph and eternal glory, true joy and bliss that the Lord has reassured and promised us, and which He showed us all through His disciple, St. John, to share with us the hope of everlasting life, the eternal and true glory that we will enjoy with Him in His Holy Presence, freed from the bondage and dominion of evil and sin. All of us will share in the glory and joy of the saints, and be truly happy forevermore.

Then, in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the short passage recounting to us the moment when the Lord Jesus praised the faith and commitment of the old widow who gave from her own poverty, the offering of two small coins, when many others gave to the treasury of the Temple in amounts far greater than what she has given. What the Lord truly meant by this mention of the faith of the old widow was not that He disliked or were biased against those who were rich and powerful, or favoured only those who were poor and weak. Instead, what He truly wants us to know is that even if we are facing hardships and challenges in our own lives, it does not mean that we cannot give from even our sufferings and poverty.

Instead, as Christians, we are always called to be generous with ourselves, to love even when there is nothing else we can give in terms of physical and material goods. We can still give others our time and love, our compassion and care. We must always strive to be kind and compassionate to everyone, even when we ourselves have been beset by evil and hatred by those who are around us. We must always remember the examples set by our Lord Himself, Who has forgiven those who have persecuted and oppressed Him, condemned Him to die an unjust death. He prayed for those who had hated and condemned Him, not hating or being angry against them, or seeking vengeance. This is the kind of love that we all must aspire and strive to have in us as well, brothers and sisters, love that is truly pure and selfless.

We are all reminded today that as we continue to carry on our lives in the world today, in each and every moments of our lives, we should be always be mindful of everyone around us, of all the sufferings and difficulties that each and every one of us may be facing in our own respective lives. God has shown us all what it means to be truly loving and generous, and to be truly rooted in His love and compassion. We must never ignore our calling and mission to be truly loving and compassionate towards everyone, regardless who they are, in all and every moments of our lives, doing our very best to show them all the love of God manifested through our genuine actions, deeds, all the care and concern that we have shown one another, in how we all live our lives in a selfless and loving manner.

As Christians we must never be selfish and wicked in all of our deeds and actions. Our lives should indeed reflect the light of God, His virtues and wonderful truth in everything that we say and do, in all of our interactions with one another, just as the Lord Himself has shown and taught us through His Church and His disciples. All of us must always embody our Christian faith within us, or else our faith is meaningless, empty and pointless, and will not avail us on the Day of Judgment. We are all reminded that we have been given so many opportunities by the Lord and endowed with all sorts of various blessings, talents and other things so that we may make good use of them for the benefit of everyone, for ourselves and for everyone around us, through our love and compassion.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a great and holy woman, and a devoted servant of God who was remembered for her great faith and commitment to God. According to Sacred tradition and history, she was the daughter of the Roman governor of Alexandria during the third century, and therefore belonged to the social elite at the time, being referred to as a ‘princess’ in the historical writings. At that time, her study of the texts about the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church writings led her to convert to the Christian faith, and it was a time of great turmoil and difficulty for the Christians throughout the Roman Empire, as the then Roman Emperor, Diocletian and his fellow co-Emperors launched intense persecutions against Christians.

St. Catherine was a courageous and faithful woman, and she did not fear the persecutions and hardships that she would have to face amidst the intense persecution of the time, just like what we have heard in our first reading today. She went to the Emperor, then the Roman Emperor Maxentius ruling in Rome to criticise and rebuke him for his persecution of Christians, where the Emperor assembled fifty most experienced and knowledgeable pagan philosophers to debate her without avail, and even many among those philosophers were convinced of the Christian truth and converted, leading to themselves being tortured and martyred. The Emperor then had St. Catherine arrested and imprisoned afterwards. It was told that many, including the Emperor’s own wife visited her in prison, and many including the Empress became Christian converts and were martyred.

The Emperor was desperate to overcome the faith of St. Catherine, and in doing so he wanted to persuade her by asking for her hand in marriage, providing that she abandon her Christian faith. But she remained firm in her faith and refused, declaring her obedience to God and her unshakeable faith. Therefore, St. Catherine was sentenced to death, but even the spikes to be used to kill her fail and prove to be unable to take her life. Eventually, she was martyred by beheading after she willingly allowed herself to be martyred, and it was told that miraculously, a milk-like substance instead of blood poured forth from her wounds. The great examples, faith and commitment, as well as the courage and perseverance of St. Catherine of Alexandria should indeed inspire us all Christians in our own faith in God.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father, our wonderful Creator and King continue to guide us all in our lives today, so that we may draw ever closer to His presence, and may all of us continue to be inspired by the great examples shown by His saints, like that of St. Catherine of Alexandria whose life we have just discussed and reflected upon. May all of us continue to love Him first and foremost in our lives and do our best to glorify Him through each and every one of our actions, words and deeds in life, and may God bless our every great efforts and endeavours for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 25 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour :  Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 21 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury of the Temple. He also saw a poor widow, who dropped in two small coins. And He said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them. For all of them gave an offering from their plenty; but she, out of her poverty, gave all she had to live on.”

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Monday, 25 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour :  Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Monday, 25 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour :  Green or Red (Martyrs)

Revelations 14 : 1-3, 4b-5

I was given another vision : The Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, surrounded by one hundred and forty-four thousand people, who had His Name, and His Father’s Name, written on their foreheads. A sound reverberated in heaven, like the sound of the roaring of waves, or deafening thunder; it was like a chorus of singers, accompanied by their harps.

They sing a new song before the Throne, in the presence of the four living creatures and the elders, a song, which no one can learn, except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been taken from the earth.

These are given, to follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are the first taken from humankind, who are already of God and the Lamb. No deceit has been found in them; they are faultless.

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Saturday, 25 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that each and every one of us are destined to a life and existence that is beyond this world, to be with the Lord our God, Master and Creator, in an eternity of bliss and joy, free from sufferings and hardships. This is why, despite of the challenges and trials we may have to face in our lives, it is important that we must remain firm in our faith and trust in the Lord, and we must not be easily swayed by the pressures, coercions, temptations and all the things which are laid in our path, attempting to derail our journey towards the Lord and preventing us from attaining true grace and salvation in God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the Maccabees about the campaigns and efforts which the Seleucid King, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, had done in trying to restore the kingdom of his ancestors, and how he failed in doing that, and hearing all the failures of the policies he had implemented and enforced in Judea, where the Jewish people rose up in great rebellion against his rule. At that time, King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, as highlighted in most of this previous week or so of readings from the Book of the Maccabees, enforced Greek ways and customs, religious practices and beliefs on all the people throughout his vast empire. This was likely done in order to enforce unity and in trying to regain the power and glory of his predecessors, considering that the Seleucid Empire was made up of many very different groups of peoples with great variation in their cultures and beliefs.

However, on top of that, King Antiochus IV Epiphanes was also known in history for his megalomania and great desire for power and glory, as prior to his enforcement of Greek ways and customs on his subjects, he invaded Egypt and was almost successful in conquering that kingdom if not for intervention from the Romans, who opposed the efforts of the Seleucid king. This same king in our first reading passage today went on another campaign to the eastern reaches of his empire and dominion, trying to exert his control and power there, in what was ultimately a failed effort and venture, and we heard how he received the bad news about his failed policies and how the Jewish people had overthrown whatever idols and corruptions he had placed in Jerusalem, reversing his efforts, and all those crushed him and made him to lie dying.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the encounter and disagreements that happened between the Lord Jesus and some of the Sadducees who were trying to question and test Him because of their diverging and incompatible beliefs with His teachings. Back then, the Sadducees represented one of the major and very influential segment of the Jewish community, consisting of the Temple authorities and members of the priesthood, and in this case, it represented those who were not adhering to the concept of spirituality and the afterlife, but preferring to hold onto the current life and to live life in the world the best they could. The Sadducees believed that there is no life after death, and that there is no resurrection of the dead, and hence, they were a truly worldly bunch of people.

The Lord then responded to their queries of who would be the wife of the seven brothers, after the woman married each and every one of them when the latter died one by one without having any child with the woman. The Lord told the Sadducees the folly of their worldly way of thinking, in focusing only on worldly desires, for money, wealth, partner in life, and other things. The Lord told them that in the end, what truly matters is for us to be with God and to enjoy forever the bliss in His presence, where nothing of this world, of all the worldly desires, ambitions and attachments we often have, will exist any longer. This is related to the futility of everything that King Antiochus IV Epiphanes had done, in trying to stabilise his realm and gaining more power and glory, only to have everything collapsing before him at the end of his life.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are reminded of all these so that we do not end up being obsessed and attached too much to the worldly matters and pursuits, for worldly pleasures, fame, power, glory and all other things that we often look for in this world, and then ending up forgetting our purpose and intention in following and serving the Lord our God. We are all reminded that all the glory and power, wealth and possessions we have in this world are temporary and do not last forever. Hence, we should focus and redirect our attention to the Lord, turn towards Him and commit ourselves to His cause, instead of being distracted by the many temptations of the world that are usually present all around us.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great martyr and servant of God, a great woman whose faith and dedication to Him served as great inspirations and strength for many Christians during and even long after her time. According to Church tradition, St. Catherine of Alexandria was the daughter of the Roman governor of Alexandria, who lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his successors. At that time, Christians were treated with disdain and contempt, and a particularly intense and bitter persecution was carried out against them. Many Christians had to suffer and die amidst that brutal persecution, and many of them had to choose between remaining faithful in God and suffer, or to betray and abandon the Lord and live.

St. Catherine of Alexandria courageously went to the Emperor himself, the Emperor Maxentius who ruled in Rome and Italy, during one of these episodes of brutal persecutions, rebuking him for his actions and evil deeds. St. Catherine won over the fifty over philosophers that the Emperor set up against her to debate her on her faith and other matters, so much so that some of them converted to the Christian faith and were martyred. St. Catherine also convinced many others to become Christians, including even the Emperor’s own wife, when they visited her during her time in prison. The Lord Himself visited her, and Angels tended her wounds during her incarceration and period of suffering. The Emperor, who grew increasingly desperate in trying to subdue St. Catherine, tried to woo her by proposing marriage to her, which was also rejected by the saint. In the end, she was martyred by beheading, after other methods had failed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of St. Catherine of Alexandria and what we heard from our Scripture readings earlier today should serve as good examples and inspirations for each and every one of us, in how we should live our lives, so that we may always be courageous in doing what we can, to glorify the Lord by our lives, and to put Him as the centre and the focus of our whole lives and existence. We should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations of pleasures of the world, and all the other temptations and attachments that may mislead us down the path to our downfall and damnation. May the Lord continue to guide, help and strengthen us in our lives, that in each and every moments of our lives, we will always seek the Lord and live our lives faithfully and worthily of Him rather than following the whims of our worldly desires and temptations. Amen.

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Saturday, 25 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

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, 25 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

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, 25 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

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.”

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Friday, 25 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we must not be ignorant of what we are all called to do as Christians in our daily living, and to heed the signs of the times. For each and every one of us as Christians, we are all called and expected to make good use of our lives and all the talents, abilities, opportunities and all other things that the Lord had granted us, so that our lives may be truly fruitful and worthy of God. We must not be idle in our lives or worse still, act in ways contrary to our beliefs, as what unfortunately many amongst even us Christians have done, and are currently doing in our lives. To do so is truly unbecoming of our Christian identity, and is truly a scandal of our faith, which is something that many amongst us have to account for in the end.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the moment of the final defeat of Satan, the great enemy at the end of time, and the ultimate triumph of God and the faithful over all those who have long persecuted the holy people of God. The Lord will triumph over all evils and all the forces of the wicked, and that vision of St. John saw of this great victory and the final defeat of evil serves to encourage all the faithful people of God who at that time had been facing a lot of struggles, trials, challenges and persecutions, having to endure prison, and even martyrdom for their belief and faith in God. Many, like St. John himself, had to suffer because they believed in God and refused to worship the pagan gods and idols, or the Emperors, who back then were often regarded as divine.

All the things that St. John witnessed in his heavenly vision became source of hope and encouragement for the Christians all over the world who were persecuted for their faith. St. John the Apostle witnessed how the mighty forces of the devil met their deserved end and defeat, crushed and conquered by the might of God, and God will come to save His people, just as He has once saved the people of Israel from their enslavement in Egypt and from the tyranny of the Pharaoh. Also highlighted in today’s passage of St. John’s vision is the occasion of the Last Judgment, when all the people, living and dead, all will be assembled before God and face their final and eternal fate, be it that their names are listed in the Book of Life and hence worthy of God, and therefore worthy of enjoying the eternal bliss and joy with God, or whether their names are not found in the Book of Life, and will be cast out into eternal darkness and oblivion, to suffer for eternity.

In the relatively short Gospel passage we have heard from today, the Lord reiterated this again, as He reminded all of His followers that the coming of the time of reckoning can be anytime, and while no one will know or have known the exact time and occasion of when it will happen, but the signs from the Lord are clear. And anyway, regardless whether the coming of the Day of Last Judgment is imminent or not, we must always be ever ready to welcome the Lord when He comes again, and it means that we should always be ever prepared in everything we say and do. In all things we must always be filled with the zeal, passion and faith to live our lives faithfully as is expected of us as Christians, and not to allow temptations of the world to distract or even mislead us down the wrong path. We must be careful or else before we realise it, we are already deep in the path towards damnation and destruction.

Clearly, as we heard from all these passages from the Scriptures, we are all being reminded as we have been in these past two weeks towards the end of the current liturgical year, of how important it is for us to remember to always put the Lord as the centre and the focus of our lives and existences. We should not replace Him with other focuses or pursuits which we may have or desire. Unfortunately, more often than not, this is exactly what happened to us Christians, as we are often easily distracted and tempted to succumb to the allures of worldly comforts and pleasures, to all of our greed and ambition, our pride and ego. And all of these can lead us to our ultimate downfall if we are not actively resisting those temptations and pressures, as well as striving to live our lives in a most genuine, Christian manner as we have been called and expected to do in our lives.

Today, we mark the occasion of the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria, one of the great saints of the Church and one of the most renowned martyrs of the faith. Hopefully by reflecting upon her lives, actions, examples and faith, we may find inspiration and strength to dedicate ourselves and our own lives to God in the way that this holy woman of God had done. St. Catherine of Alexandria was the daughter of nobleman or a Roman governor in the land of Egypt, during the years of the final persecutions against Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his fellow co-Emperors and successors. One of those, Emperor Maxentius conducted intense persecutions against Christians in his domains, and St. Catherine went directly to the Emperor to rebuke him for his actions and cruelty against Christians.

At that time, such an action definitely merited death penalty, not only because St. Catherine was a Christian but she dared to rebuke the person of the Emperor, who by the time had become very feared and powerful position. Yet, this holy woman of God fearlessly defended her faith before the Emperor and others, and not even many pagan philosophers, the best of the best assembled by the Emperor to debate her can best her in wisdom and understanding, and she utterly trounced them through God’s wisdom and power. St. Catherine also resisted the temptations of power and worldly comfort herself when the Emperor, who was mesmerised by her beauty and eloquence, tried to woo and persuade her to become his bride. She chose to suffer and die in martyrdom than to betray her faith and principles.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us hence strive to do our best to obey the Lord and His commandments, as well as putting Him as the centre and focus of our lives. Let us all be genuine in being faithful to Him and do whatever we can to live our lives, in even the smallest things and actions we do, in accordance with His will, His Law and commandments. As Christians we have been called to love God first and foremost, and then to love our fellow brethren in the same manner without distinction or prejudice. Hence, let us try our best to do that, so that by our faith made manifest and alive through our actions and works, we may truly be deemed worthy by the Lord on the Day of Judgment, and receive from Him the promised everlasting life and joy. May God bless us all in our every works and efforts, for His greater glory. Amen.

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Friday, 25 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 21 : 29-33

At that time, Jesus added this comparison, “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as their buds sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.”

“Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all this has happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”