holy martyrs

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Tuesday, 26 December 2017 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 10 : 17-22

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of Me, so you may witness to them and the pagans.”

“But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn again parents and have them put to death.”

“Everyone will hate you because of Me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.”

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Tuesday, 26 December 2017 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 30 : 3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17

Be a Rock of refuge for me, a Fortress for my safety. For You are my Rock and my Stronghold, lead me for Your Name’s sake.

Into Your hands I commend my spirit; You have redeemed me, o Lord, faithful God. I will rejoice and be glad in Your love, for You have seen my affliction.

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, from those after my skin. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me in Your love.

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Tuesday, 26 December 2017 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 6 : 8-10 and Acts 7 : 54-59

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When the Council heard the reproach Stephen made against them, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scripture giving us assurance that if we put our trust in God, we will not be disappointed, that is because He is the only One Who can be completely trusted and depended on, even though we may find His path to be difficult and challenging.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has given each and every one of us free will, that we may choose how we are to live our lives, and whether we want to choose Him as Our Lord and Saviour, or whether we would rather follow the devil in rebelling against God’s laws and ways. He has given us this choice, that we may decide whether we want to follow the path He has laid before us, or rather take a different path.

Yet, many of us are not aware of God’s grace and love. We are not aware that He has given us the opportunity to be filled with grace, by walking in His path, and He even invites us all to come to Him, as what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” This is the reality and truth which Our Lord wants to present to us.

This means that He wants us to realise that despite the challenges that we may encounter if we remain faithful to Him, but in the end, it leads to an eternity of joy and happiness, rather than an eternity of suffering because of our damnation, if we choose the seemingly easier path of the devil. Yet, unfortunately, many of us willingly chose to follow the path of the evil one, because of the temptations and persuasions he has levelled on us.

Many of us are rather short-sighted in a sense that we would rather experience joy and happiness for the moment that we live in. We do not want difficulties or suffering, and we would rather choose the easy way out, and that is why, we end up being tempted by the devil with false promises of comfort and safety, and we succumbed to those temptations, falling into sin. Only when we have been trapped deep within his traps, that we realise our folly, and it may be then too late for us to get out of the trouble.

Let us instead look up to the examples of our holy predecessors, many of whom have resolutely remained faithful despite the challenges and difficulties they have encountered. Many of them chose to remain faithful despite threats and indeed facts of suffering and martyrdom that they encountered. And thus was the story of St. Lucy or St. Lucia, the saint whose feast we celebrate today, a holy virgin and martyr.

St. Lucy was a Christian woman born to a noble family in Syracuse, and her father died while she was still young. She dedicated her life and consecrated her virginity to God from the time of her youth. However, she had many suitors as she was reported to be very beautiful. She was also arranged in marriage to a pagan nobleman. However, St. Lucy continued in her faith and devotion, giving much of her riches to charity to the poor and the homeless, much to the consternation of the pagan nobleman.

She was therefore denounced before the governor as a Christian, and was ordered by the governor to offer sacrifice to the Roman Emperor as was mandatory, but she refused to do so. She would rather choose suffering and death rather than to abandon her faith, and when the governor tried to defile her sacred virginity in a brothel, miraculously no one could move her from the place where she was at, and in the end, her life was ended with a sword.

The devotion to St. Lucy continues until today, as many people are inspired by her faith and piety, by her commitment and charitable actions, through which she showed her way of following the Lord’s path, which may be filled with challenges, sorrow and difficulties, and yet in the end, only eternal glory awaits her and all those who have chosen the same path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in her footsteps and seek to remain true to our faith, remembering that the Lord Jesus Himself had said that all those who want to follow Him must take up their crosses and follow Him. Let us all therefore, faithfully bear up our crosses in life, with its joys and sorrows, and help one another to persevere on our way to reach out to the Lord. May God be with us always, and bless each and every one of us and our endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 11 : 28-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For My yoke is easy; and My burden is light.”

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve.

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Isaiah 40 : 25-31

To whom, then, will you liken Me or make Me equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see : who has created all this? He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name. So mighty is His power, so great His strength, that not one of them is missing.

How can you say, o Jacob, how can you complain, o Israel, that your destiny is hidden from Me, that your rights are ignored by YHVH? Have you not known, have you not heard that YHVH is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, His knowledge is without limit.

He gives strength to the enfeebled, He gives vigour to the wearied. Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in YHVH will renew their strength. They will soar as with eagle’s wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.

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Saturday, 25 November 2017 : 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, on this day we listened to two stories, one from the Book of the Maccabees, where we listened to the continuation of the tale of the struggle of the Jewish people who were faithful to the Law of God against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and then in the Gospel we heard of the argument that arose between the Sadducees and Our Lord Jesus regarding the belief in the resurrection from the dead and the afterlife.

In the first reading, we heard about what happened to king Antiochus IV Epiphanes during the time of the Maccabees rebellion. According to history, the Seleucid king was a man who sought to reclaim the lost glory of his ancestors, and that was why, if we read the Book of the Maccabees, he attacked Egypt, a rival kingdom at the beginning of the first book of the Maccabees. His initiatives to unite his kingdom under one worship of the Greek pagan gods were likely also part of this effort.

Yet, in the end, we heard of how the faithful Jews under the leadership of the Maccabees family managed to overturn the king’s orders and undid all the abominable and wicked deeds he had committed. And then, he also failed in his effort to gain for himself more power, through worldly efforts, and he then laid dying. And in the first reading today, we heard of the regret which the king had as he laid dying, failing in many of the things he had wanted to do.

This will be relevant to what we heard in the Gospel passage today, but let me briefly go through the historical perspective linking the Scripture readings today. Ever since the time of the Seleucid persecution of the Jews, the Jewish society has been polarised into two groups, one of which proposed close collaboration with the king, abandoning the laws and customs of their ancestors, namely the Hellenic party. Meanwhile, the others, represented by the Maccabees, opposed the king and wanted to remain true to the laws and customs of Moses.

Eventually, even after the defeat of the Seleucids, this division would continue on to the time of Jesus, and this we see throughout the Gospels, two prominent major groups, one of which is the Pharisees, who are the ones inheriting the thoughts and ways of the Maccabees, holding tightly to the customs and laws of Moses. This is also why the Lord Jesus encountered so much trouble from the Pharisees, because the Pharisees misunderstood and misjudged the Lord’s intent, and saw Him as a rival and dangerous influence on the people.

Then, how about the Sadducees? The Sadducees had similar mindset as the Hellenised Jews, who was the rather worldly and practical group of people, who did not believe in many aspects of the faith of the Jews at the time. They rejected concepts such as the afterlife, spirits, Angels, heaven, and all other spiritual things that their worldly senses could not perceive. They were people who were rich and influential in the society, and enjoyed plenty of benefits and goodness from the world.

They were against the Lord and His teachings, especially because He kept on mentioning about the resurrection of the dead, which the Sadducees firmly refused to believe in, as with any other spiritual matters. The Sadducees were very practical and worldly in their views, and as a result, today in the Gospel we heard how they argued heatedly with Jesus about the resurrection, using the example of a woman who had seven husbands who died, and asked Him who was the man that the woman would be wife to.

They thought in worldly terms and treasured the worldly things they possess over anything else. That is why they did not believe in anything beyond death, because to them, death is a truly horrible thing that all people had to endure, and it separated them from what they loved, all wealth, prestige, fame and worldly glory they had attained. And the Lord Jesus spoke of exactly what they despised, as He taught the people that they must not seek for themselves treasures in this world, but instead build for themselves treasures in heaven.

The Lord rebuked the Sadducees and showed them that the way of this world is different from the ways of the Lord, and what seems to be common and acceptable to the world may not be what is acceptable for the Lord. They put their trust in man’s power and abilities, and yet, none of these will be available to them, at the time when they are to meet with their Lord and give an account of their lives, unless they have been faithful and done what the Lord has commanded them to do.

Linking this to what we have heard in the first reading today, we remembered how all the plans of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to ruin and bore nothing, despite all of his power and riches, all of his fame and glory, and despite all the means by which he had assembled for himself a great majesty and greatness among the other kings. In the end, he had to remember his own mortality, that he is just a mere man, a creation of God, who would have to render an account of his life to God.

Today, we celebrate also the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a holy woman and virgin, who dedicated her life to the Lord. She lived during difficult time in the history of the Church, when the Roman Emperor Diocletian persecuted the faithful and the Church greatly, and many suffered and died. St. Catherine of Alexandria was known for her intellect and great beauty, so much so, that it was told that her beauty captivated the Roman Emperor’s attention.

Her wisdom inspired by God was such that no matter what the Emperor tried to do, he could not overcome her great intellect, and was soundly defeated in the debates regarding the faith. And no amount of persuasion or worldly riches, as it was told in some accounts that the Emperor wished to marry her, was able to turn St. Catherine from her faith in God. She remained steadfast in faith to the very end, towards her martyrdom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, let us today spend some time to reflect on our own lives. Have we thus far been spending too much time trying to gain for ourselves a great standing, fame, recognition, wealth and satisfaction from the world? Or have we instead been active in building up for ourselves the true treasures in God? What does this mean? That means, have we been spending some time amidst our busy daily schedules, in order to show love and care for our fellow brethren, instead of just being so focused and distracted with our own needs and wants?

Let us ponder on this matter even as we move forward in life. Let us waste no more time in trying to reach out to the Lord and His salvation. May the Lord be our Guide on our way towards His everlasting glory, that each and every one of us as Christians may be able to do our best in our lives, what the Lord wants each one of us to do, by being truly faithful to Him, loving Him and placing Him at the centre of our lives, and then, by loving one another as well. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 25 November 2017 : 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 2017 : 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.