Holy Martyrs of China

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Wednesday, 9 July 2025 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (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 Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the missions which the Lord had put into our paths and entrusted to each and every one of us, His disciples and followers. Each and every one of us have been put in certain places and given certain opportunities, talents or gifts in order to make good use of them in making it all a blessing for everyone, a grace for all those whom we encounter in life. All of us have been blessed with such great love by the Lord and hence, we should remember to love Him in the same way as well, and love all those who are around us, those who have been entrusted to us, and all those whom we encounter daily.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis in which the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob or Israel, and his brothers were told to us. For the context of the story, in case we forget what happened earlier on before the events depicted in today’s passage, Joseph, one of the youngest sons of Jacob, born from his beloved wife Rachel, was one of his favourite, and was showered with lots of favour from Jacob, to the point that the elder brothers of Joseph became envious of him. There were also occasions when Joseph received dreams from the Lord where in that dream he was given respect and obeisance from his brothers and even his parents. No one knew it then, even Joseph himself, that this was in fact a premonition of things to come, many years and decades later, when everything actually came to happen just as Joseph dreamt of it.

Joseph’s brothers actually plotted to kill him out of jealousy, and they were only prevented from doing so by the eldest brother, Reuben, who wanted to protect Joseph. In the end, they all trapped Joseph and then sold him to a Midianite slaver who brought Joseph to the land of Egypt, where he first ended up as a slave and was even imprisoned, but by God’s grace and help, as He had planned it all from the very beginning, Joseph was rescued from the prison after he helped to interpret the dream of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and made to be the powerful Regent of Egypt, no less than the second most powerful person in the whole kingdom after the Pharaoh himself. And it was this powerful Regent that the brothers of Joseph met him, at that time, when the world was gripped in great famine and sufferings.

It was in fact part of God’s plan for His beloved ones, as through this action and turn of events, which was surely most unexpected for everyone, not only that God turned sufferings into greatness, but in His perfect timing and divine plan, He made everything to be wonderful, reuniting Joseph with his brothers and family in the end, and at the same time, his careful stewardship of Egypt’s resources and food allowed him to help countless people in Egypt and many other places to survive through the great seven years of famine. We can see how God made even wicked things that the brothers of Joseph had done to Joseph into great and wonderful things for so many, all the works of His hands, His wonderful and most loving deeds for us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus calling and dedicating His most important and closest collaborators, the disciples known as the Twelve, the members of His innermost circle of disciples. And we heard the Twelve being named for us, including the one that would betray Him in the end, Judas Iscariot. These people had been chosen and called by the Lord, from among those whom He had encountered and called, from different and diverse origins, and to them all He entrusted the power and authority to perform miracles and wonders, and to reach out to more and more of the people that He Himself would minister to, so that many more would come to know the Lord and His salvation, His Good News and love.

This is a reminder for all of us that as Christians, all of us have also been called like the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, and we have been given the unique and diverse gifts and opportunities which God had provided to each one of us so that we may make good use of them in whatever it is that He wants us to do in our respective lives, in our respective capacities in whatever we have encountered daily in life, in all those whom we have met, interacted with and spent time with. All of us ought to bear with us all the courageous and genuine witnessing of our Christian faith in all that we say and do, in our every interactions with one another, in our love that we show to those who are dear to us, and in our care for our fellow brothers and sisters, our neighbours around us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of China, commemorating all those faithful holy men and women who had courageously stood up for their faith and defended their commitment to God without fear and willing to suffer and die as faithful disciples and followers of Christ, particularly against terrible and harsh repressions and persecutions against them and the Church. St. Augustine Zhao Rong himself was born during the middle of the eighteenth century in China, and was one of the Christian converts during a time when the Imperial Chinese government and state was highly suspicious of Christians and the missionaries, and which carried out sporadic persecutions against them and the faithful.

St. Augustine Zhao Rong wanted to become a priest and he received training to be such, and in such extraordinary circumstances, only five years after his baptism, he was ordained as a priest, becoming one of the first local Chinese to be ordained a priest, and he spent many years in service to the people of God and to the works of mission of the Church in various places. Then, according to the historic tradition, under the Emperor Jiaqing in the early nineteenth century, more persecutions were carried out against Christians, and St. Augustine Zhao Rong was one of those who were arrested, and then tortured and eventually martyred for their faith. There were many other Christian faithful, both the missionaries and the converts who gave up their lives in their faithful commitment and obedience to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be renewed and strengthened in faith, and let us all continue to do our best to live our lives each day with the strong desire to glorify God by our lives, knowing that God is always with us, providing for us at every steps of our journey in life. And through the inspiration provided to us by the courage and faith of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his fellow companions in martyrdom, let us all continue to be faithful in all things and at all times. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 July 2025 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 10 : 1-7

At that time, Jesus called His Twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the Twelve Apostles : first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray Him.

Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instruction : “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near.”

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Wednesday, 9 July 2025 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 32 : 2-3, 10-11, 18-19

Give thanks to YHVH on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises. Amid loud shouts of joy, sing to Him a new song and play the ten-stringed harp.

YHVH frustrates the plans of the nations and brings to nothing the peoples’ designs. But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design, through all generations.

But YHVH’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving kindness; to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.

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Wednesday, 9 July 2025 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Genesis 41 : 55-57 and Genesis 42 : 5-7a, 17-24a

When the land of Egypt began to suffer from the famine, the people came to Pharaoh for bread. But Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do as he tells you.” When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians for the famine was indeed severe over the land.

As the famine had worsened throughout the whole world, people came from other countries to buy grain from Joseph. So the sons of Israel were among those going to buy grain, for there was famine in Canaan. It was Joseph, as governor of the land, who sold the grain to all the people. When his brothers arrived they bowed before him, with their faces to the ground.

Joseph recognised his brothers but did not make himself known and so he put them in prison for three days. On the third day Joseph said to them, “I will help you save yourselves, for I am a man who fears God. If you are sincere, let one of your brothers remain prisoner in the house of the guard where you now are, and the rest of you take the grain to save your families from famine. Then you will bring back your youngest brother; so the truth of what you say will be proved and your lives spared.”

They did as they were ordered and said among themselves, “Alas! We are guilty because of the way we treated our brother when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we did not listen. That is why this trouble has come upon us.” Reuben answered them, “Did I tell you not to sin against the boy. But you did not listen and now we are brought to account for his blood.”

Now they did not know that Joseph understood them as there was an interpreter between them. As for Joseph, he withdrew and wept.

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Tuesday, 9 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (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 Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that we have all sinned against God through our disobedience against Him, and we have disappointed God many times in our respective areas in life. Yet, the same Lord our God still continues to love us, and He still shows His patience and kindness, His ever generous love and commitment to the Covenant which He had made with each and every one of us. We must not take all the love which He has shown us all for granted, and we have to be thankful and appreciative of the many opportunities which He has constantly given to us because He wants us all to be reconciled to Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which the Lord spoke to His people, the Israelites living in the northern kingdom known also as Israel, and listed down all the complaints and the grievances against all the wickedness and all the sins which they had committed against Him, in their refusal to obey the Law and the commandments which He had given and taught them to follow. The Lord told them all that His anger was blazing against them, against all those who had defiled His Name and the sanctity of His sanctuaries and dwelling places, all the wicked deeds they had committed in worshipping pagan idols and false gods instead of embracing and loving their one and only true God, the One Who had always provided for them in times both good and bad.

The prophet Hosea was sent to the people of Israel towards the end of their existence as an independent kingdom and entity, approximately two and a half centuries after the once united Kingdom of Israel had been divided between the descendants of David in Judah and the rebel regime in the northern regions. At that time, the rising power of Assyria was ascendant, and it would come to pass that everything which the Lord had predicted and warned against His people in Israel, would indeed happen, as soon after, the Assyrians with their mighty armies and forces came to defeat the Israelites and conquered their cities and kingdom, destroying Samaria and bringing the people into exile in distant lands. Their disobedience and their wickedness, their refusal to follow and obey God’s Law led them to ‘return back to Egypt’, which was in fact an allusion of their renewed enslavement by the forces of the Assyrians just as once they had been under the yoke of the Egyptians.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the time from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the works of the Lord were highlighted to us, in how He miraculously healed the man possessed by a demon, which made him dumb and mute. The Lord showed His power and compassion towards the man, and drove out the demon from within him, which led to an almost immediate ridicule and criticism from the Pharisees who were there, accusing Him of colluding with the prince of demons in doing so. They hardened their hearts and minds because they refused to accept the fact that their ways and actions, their understanding and knowledge of the Law of God could have been wrong or mistaken, and they accused the Lord of wrongdoing because they did not want to admit their weakness and imperfections.

Yet, despite all of that, we heard how the Lord still continued on with His ministry, caring for the people, performing His miracles, signs and wonders regardless, reaching out to those who are poor and needy, those who have no one else to turn to, those who have been neglected and were facing challenges and difficulties in life. He showed pity on them, as we heard how they were described as sheep of the flock without a shepherd. And this highlights what the Lord has done for His people, that He embraced each and every one of us as a loving Shepherd and Guide, as the One Who will lead us all into the path of righteousness and virtue, out from the darkness and wickedness in this world. He wants us all to be reconciled to Him and to find our path out of the destruction and damnation awaiting us if we continue to remain in sin.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, who were persecuted, made to suffer and eventually were martyred in China. At that time, missionaries went to China to bring the Christian faith to many people who have not yet known the Lord, proclaiming the Good News of God to more and more people. However, the Christian faith and the missionaries were seen with great suspicion and even treated with hostility by the government and officials who saw them as threats to their power and control over the people. The government persecuted the Christian missionaries and local converts sporadically and systematically at times, forcing them to abandon their faith in the Lord at the threat of great sufferings and torture.

St. Augustine Zhao Rong himself was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, a French missionary from the Paris Foreign Mission Society who was persecuted, arrested and then eventually martyred in the capital in Beijing. This experience among others led him to be a Christian convert himself, and eventually he became a diocesan priest serving the local Christian community, facing many challenges and hardships during his missions and works. Eventually, like many other Christians at that time, he was martyred about two centuries ago amidst an intense episode of persecutions against Christians. We remember this day the great courage and faith which St. Augustine Zhao Rong and the many other holy martyrs, the Holy Martyrs of China, have shown in their faith, dedication and commitment to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to do our best to follow in the great footsteps of the holy martyrs, St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of China. All of us should realise how much we have been blessed and loved by God, and by calling on us, and by us following Him and embracing His love, His compassion and kindness, we should always do our best to glorify Him and His Name in all things, and we should continue to live in the path of righteousness and justice, no longer distracted and misguided by sin and evil. Let us all be the great examples and inspirations for one another just as the holy martyrs had inspired us all in our own lives. May God be with us always and may He bless us in all of our good endeavours and works, all for His greater glory. Amen.

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Tuesday, 9 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 9 : 32-38

At that time, as the two blind men were going away, some people brought to Jesus a man who was dumb, because he was possessed by a demon. When the demon was driven out, the dumb man began to speak. The crowds were astonished and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

But the Pharisees said, “He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons.”

Jesus went around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom; and He cured every sickness and disease. When He saw the crowds, He was moved with pity; for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only few. Ask the Master of the harvest to send workers to gather His harvest.”

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Tuesday, 9 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 113B : 3-4, 5-6, 7ab and 8, 9-10

There in heaven is our God; whatever He wishes, He does. Not so the hand-made idols, crafted in silver and gold.

They have mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, noses that cannot smell.

They have hands but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk. Their makers will be like them; so will all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust in YHVH; He is your Help and your Shield! You, family of Aaron, trust in YHVH; He is your Help and your Shield!

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Tuesday, 9 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Hosea 8 : 4-7, 11-13

Without My approval they set up kings and without My blessing appointed leaders. With their silver and gold they fashioned idols to their own ruin. To Me, Samaria, your calf is loathsome; and My anger blazes against you. How long will you remain defiled? The calf is yours, Israel, a craftsman has made it; it is not God and will be broken into pieces. As they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. Stalk without flower, it will never yield flower, or if they do, foreigners will devour it.

Ephraim built many altars; but his altars made him more guilty. I wrote out for him the numerous precepts of My law; but they look on them as coming from foreigners. They offer sacrifices to Me because they are those who eat the meat; but YHVH does not accept their sacrifices, for He is mindful of their sin and remembers their wickedness. They will return to Egypt.

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Saturday, 9 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (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 heard the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the reminder of how precious and beloved each and every one of us are by God. And we are also reminded of Who God truly is, the Almighty and all-powerful King and Lord over all the Universe, the Lord of all the Heaven and the Earth, the One Who rules over all. He is the One Who should be our focus in life, to Whom we should spend our efforts in redirecting our attention and lives towards. God is calling on us to put our trust in Him, and to follow Him wholeheartedly, and not to be swayed easily by the temptations found in this world.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, during the reign of king Uzziah or Azariah of Judah, in which we heard of the calling of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was called by God through a great vision of Heaven, and all of the glory of God. Isaiah saw God on His great Throne in Heaven, seated on His Throne attended by the Seraphim and surrounded by innumerable Angels, the Cherubim, Thrones and other spiritual beings. The Lord had shown Isaiah Who He was, and showed Him His great glory and might, and called on Him to do His will and to be His mouthpiece among the people of Israel and Judah.

Thus was how Isaiah was called and he responded with faith, and the Lord Himself reassured Isaiah that He would provide for him and strengthen him, and he would have no need to be afraid or to worry about what he ought to say before the people, for God Himself would inspire him and tell him what to say to the people. The prophet Isaiah henceforth went on to proclaim the words of the Lord, His will and the many prophecies entrusted to him, to the people of God, through which God called His people to repent from their sinful ways and to embrace once again His path of righteousness and truth.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples and followers regarding the matter of how God truly loved all of His people, and how no one should be afraid of God, and how the disciples and followers of the Lord should not fear persecution and hardships from the world, all because of the fact that the Lord would provide for them and protect them from harm. God treated all of us, His beloved children, with great love and kindness, with compassion and generosity, far more precious than anything else. We can be assured of this after remembering all that He had done all across the generations and throughout our human history.

The Lord told His disciples, and through them to all of us, that each and every one of us, though sinners, are truly important and precious to Him. No one is truly beyond the generous love and compassion of God. God has shown His kindness to us, and He has called on each and every one of us to be His disciples and followers, calling on us to His presence, to enjoy the fullness of His bountiful love and grace. Like the people of God of old, all of us are called to turn away from our sinful paths and from the darkness of this world, in order to embrace the path of righteousness and hope, which we can find in the Lord alone.

As Christians, that means as all those who profess to believe in the Lord, each and every one of us are called by God to follow Him, as He had called Isaiah and His disciples, the many Apostles, saints and martyrs, as well as other servants and messengers whom He had called earlier on. Each one of us should respond to the Lord with faith, and embrace the calling He had made upon us, committing ourselves to go and proclaim His truth and love to the nations. Through our lives, our examples, actions, deeds and words all of us should do whatever we can to glorify God, and to bring more and more people to come to believe in God as well.

Today, we should be inspired by the examples of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his many companions in faith and martyrdom, the victims of the intense persecution and oppression of Christians by the Chinese authorities and all other forces that were hostile against Christian believers at that time. St. Augustine Zhao Rong himself was one of the first clergyman ordained from the native population of China, amidst the rapidly growing Church there at the time, as missionaries came from afar and risked their lives in proclaiming God’s truth to the people. Many became believers, and then many also equally became martyrs and victims of persecutions by the officials and the state which were against Christians and the teachings of Christ.

St. Augustine Zhao Rong and many other Christians, both the laity and the clergy alike were arrested, tortured and forced to abandon their faith or to face death. Many of them had to endure bitter sufferings and painful deaths, but they chose to be faithful to the very end. Many of them became inspirations for other Christians, not only in China but also elsewhere throughout the world. They inspired many more to follow Christ, and to persevere in the challenges and trials that they had to face throughout their journey. Each one of us should also be similarly inspired by their examples, that we may be inspired to take up our crosses too, and follow the Lord with zeal.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and inspire us, together with the inspiration from the lives of the saints and martyrs, from St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions in holy martyrdom, and many other inspirations, that we may always ever be faithful to God, and we may grow ever closer to God, and in our every actions, be ever exemplary and worthy of Him. May God bless us all and every actions and works we do, at all times. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 10 : 24-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. A student should be content to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the household has been called Beelzebul, how much more, those of his household! So, do not be afraid of them!”

“There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of Him Who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

“For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid : you are worth more than many sparrows! Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven. Whoever rejects Me before others, I will reject before My Father in heaven.”