Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Psalm 118 : 14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.
Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.
Your law is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.
How sweet are Your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart.
I gasp in ardent yearning for Your commandments that I love.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Revelations 10 : 8-11
And the voice I heard from heaven spoke again, saying to me, “Go near the Angel Who stands on the sea and on the land, and take the small book open in his hand.” So I approached the Angel and asked him for the small book; he said to me, “Take it and eat; although it be sweet as honey in your mouth, it will be bitter to your stomach.”
I took the small book from the hand of the Angel, and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, it turned bitter in my stomach. Then I was told, “You must again proclaim God’s words about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reassured yet again by the Lord, that we will never be alone amidst the difficulties and challenges that we may face as those who belong to the Lord. It will not be easy for us to stay faithful and devoted to God, and be a true Christian. If we have not had difficulties and challenges thus far, then perhaps we have not been true to our faith in God, or we might not have practiced our faith as we should have.
There will be clashes and conflicts arising between the ways of this world and the ways of the Lord which we are following. We can already see it clearly in the world we live in today. While this world is inundated with materialism and greed, our faith promotes moderation, charity and compassion for our fellow humanity, helping those who are poor and less fortunate than us. And while this world is filled with hatred and prejudice, the Lord taught us to be inclusive and to love one another without reservation.
And this is where divisions can arise, as the world may at times reject our ways and then act to condemn what we are doing, and rally against us. At times, there will also be ridicule and false charges levied against us, just as the people once condemned and rejected Jesus our Lord. But we must not lose hope, just as our Lord overcome the humiliation of the cross and transformed it into a symbol of triumph, defeating sin and death forever, we too will triumph in the end.
God has given us His words that He will not abandon us to the darkness and to the devil. Opposition will always be there against us, but God will send us His help and providence. He will never left us alone, and if we are faithful, we shall receive the rich rewards of the promise given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, the promise of everlasting life and glory with Him in heaven.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we commemorate the feast of two saints, Pope St. Clement I, holy Pope and Bishop of Rome during the days of the early Church, and St. Columban, a holy religious and Abbot renowned for his great faith in the Lord. Both of them were devoted servants of our Lord, and of the people entrusted to their care. Both of them were very important in the establishment of the early Church and in the strengthening of the faith of the faithful.
Pope St. Clement I was one of the first successors of St. Peter the Apostle, chief of the Apostles and the first Pope and Bishop of Rome. He succeeded Pope St. Linus and Pope St. Anacletus who in turn succeeded St. Peter, as the fourth Bishop of Rome and Pope, and thus leader of the entire Universal Church. He helped to establish the jurisdiction and leadership of the bishops over the Church, and in his many letters and Epistles, he taught many of the faithful throughout the Church about the faith and how to remain strong in their faith.
Eventually Pope St. Clement I was martyred because of his faith during one of the persecutions of the faithful by the Roman authorities. However, he faced his death with joy knowing that God is on His side, and He will never abandon His faithful ones to destruction, since He would preserve their souls, and although his body and the bodies of the other martyrs would face destruction, but their souls are eternal.
Meanwhile, St. Columban was a renowned Irish missionary and religious who travelled and ministered throughout the region of Gaul, that is now known as France. He worked hard and preached about the faith in many places, establishing religious communities throughout his journey sites in France and also Italy. He helped to bring discipline to the many religious communities at that time, and also strengthen the foundation of their faith.
St. Columban faced many challenges and oppositions throughout his works and travels throughout the land, even against bishops, nobles and kings. However, he was never deterred by these, and continued to work hard and preached the word of God and His truth with zeal and commitment. These are the good examples that we all have to follow and emulate, as we continue to live our lives in this world.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today spend time to reflect and pray, so that all of us will learn to put our complete trust in the Lord, and change our ways and actions so that we will be able to attune ourselves to God and His ways. May the Lord help us and bless us always, and may He keep us in His grace forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Luke 21 : 12-19
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison, and for My sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”
“So keep this in mind : do not worry in advance about what to say, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.”
“But even though, because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone, not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9
Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.
The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.
Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its peoples. Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy.
Before the Lord, for He comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Revelations 15 : 1-4
Then I saw another great and marvellous sign in the heavens : seven Angels brought seven plagues which are the last, for with these the wrath of God will end. There was a sea of crystal mingled with fire, and the conquerors of the beast, of its name and the mark of its name stood by it.
They had been given the celestial harps and they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb : Great and marvellous are Your works, o Lord, God and Master of the universe. Justice and truth guide Your steps, o King of the nations.
Lord, who will not give honour and glory to Your Name? For You alone are holy. All the nations will come and bow before You, for they have now seen Your judgments.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Scripture readings which highlighted the fact that giving should come from the heart, and that from a purity of heart, one can give enormously in terms of the righteousness and light that emanates from those who are righteous, just and good in the eyes of the Lord.
In the first reading, we heard the beginning of the narrative of the story of Daniel the prophet and servant of God, who was called and chosen from among the many exiles of Israel at the time of their Babylonian exile, and he was blessed by God, for his faith and devotion to God, through his never ending commitment to the ways of the Lord, and God blessed him to show an example to the nations that He is the one and only True God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the choice facing Daniel and his friends are the same choices which all of us are facing on daily basis. It is a choice between following the way of righteousness of our Lord, following His commandments and laws, and obeying all the tenets and precepts as taught by the Sacred Scriptures. The other option is for us to disobey the Lord and follow our own desires, living without the bounds of the Law.
It is a choice for us whether we lead a life filled with the purity of love, of care for others, commitment to peace and harmony between peoples and nations, and leading a life filled with faith and joy knowing that we have lived in accordance to God and His words, or we can choose to live a life filled with the worldly pleasures of gluttony and greed, of hatred and jealousy, of insatiable desire and selfishness.
And in this, we should heed the examples of the poor widow as shown and told by our Lord Jesus Himself, as He related the parable to His disciples, about a poor widow who even though gave only two pieces of small coins, but she sincerely gave them for the Lord, without even worrying about what she would do without these coins which would be essential for her own livelihood and survival.
Jesus did not mean to mark a difference or distinguish between the rich and the poor, between the privileged and those who have little or none. On the other hand, He wanted to point out that to have faith in the Lord require much effort and much devotion, commitment and hard work on our part, by giving of ourselves unconditionally and with complete confidence in God.
Many of us are often distracted by the many worldly goods and things that kept us away from truly being able to give ourselves fully to the Lord, and many of these things tempted us away from the true goal that is to reach out to salvation in our Lord. It is in our nature to be easily lured away and tempted by these pleasures and goods of the world, which the evil one is using to his full advantage to prevent us from being saved and fall into damnation.
Therefore, all of us ought to follow the examples of the two saints, faithful men whose lives are an inspiration to us all, namely the lives of St. Columban the Abbot, and Pope St. Clement I, one of the first Popes and a martyr of the Holy Church and a defender of his Faith in God. Both of these saints have lived through times both good and evil, and they have lived their lives faithfully and had had their faith tested through many trials.
Pope St. Clement I was one of the first Bishops of Rome, the successors of St. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope and Vicar of Christ. As the leader of both the growing local Church in the heart of the Roman Empire and as the leader of the whole Universal Church, Pope St. Clement I toiled and laboured hard for the sake of the Lord, and for the sake of His people.
He wrote extensively, and in His many writings, He encouraged the faithful of the Church all over the world to follow closely to the teachings of Christ found in the Church, and amidst persecutions of the faithful, he continued to inspire many of the people of God to walk courageously in faith, and he led by example, when he himself was arrested and imprisoned, he continued to defend his faith in God passionately. Yes, even unto death.
Meanwhile, St. Columban was a religious monk whose life was truly exemplary, filled with prayers and great spiritual focus on the Lord. He advocated the faithful to be true to their faith, and seek to be forgiven from their sins and mistakes through the use of confession by priests. He was one of the first to encourage regular confession before priests to ensure that our souls are clean from the taints of sin.
These two holy men led an example through their own respective lives, and there are many things which they had done that we can also emulate for ourselves. Indeed, let us all heed their examples, and show the same actions in our own lives as well. It is time for us to commit ourselves more to the Lord and walk ever more faithfully in His ways. May God be with us all, and may through the intercession of Pope St. Clement I and St. Columban the Abbot, we may be brought closer to God’s holy presence. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
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.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Daniel 3 : 52a, 53, 54, 55, 56
Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers, be praised and exalted forever.
Blessed are You in the Temple of Your sacred glory, Your praises are sung forever.
Blessed are You on the throne of Your kingdom, honoured and glorified forever.
Blessed are You Who fathom the depths, Who are enthroned on the Cherubim, praised and exalted forever.
Blessed are You in the firmament of Heaven, praised and glorified forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Daniel 1 : 1-6, 8-20
In the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign as king of Judah, king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem. The Lord delivered into his hands king Jehoiakim of Judah, and some of the vessels from the Temple of God as well. These he carried off to the land of Shinar and placed in the treasure house of his god.
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his chief eunuch Ashpenaz to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility : young men without physical defect, handsome, intelligent and wise, well-informed, quick to learn and understand, and suitable for service in the king’s palace.
They were to be taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans. They were allotted a daily portion of food and wine from the king’s table and were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service. Among these were young men of Judah : Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
As Daniel was resolved not to make himself unclean with the king’s food or wine, he begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement. By the grace of God, the chief eunuch had been sympathetic to Daniel, but he was afraid of the king, and so he said, “If the king, who has allotted your food and drink, sees that you look more emaciated than the other young men of your age, he might think ill of me. It will put my life in danger to give in to your wish.”
Daniel then turned to the steward whom the chief eunuch had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. “Please test your servants for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink, and see how we look in comparison with the young men who eat food from the king’s table. Then treat us in accordance with what you see.”
The steward agreed and tested them for ten days, at the end of which they looked healthier and better fed than any of the young men who ate the king’s food. So the steward continued to give them vegetables instead of the choice food and wine. To these four youths God gave wisdom and proficiency in literature, and to Daniel the gift of interpreting visions and dreams.
At the end of the period set by the king for the youths’ training, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them and found none to equal Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. These four became members of the king’s court.
In any matter of wisdom and discernment about which the king consulted, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 