holy martyrs

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Thursday, 29 December 2022 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 22-35

When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the Baby up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord : Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the law of the Lord : a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law.

Simeon took the Child in his arms, and blessed God, saying, “Now, o Lord, You can dismiss Your servant in peace, for You have fulfilled Your word and my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You display for all the people to see. Here is the Light You will reveal to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

His father and mother wondered at what was said about the Child. Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, “Know this : your Son is a Sign, a Sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a Sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.”

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Thursday, 29 December 2022 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.

Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

YHVH is the One Who made the heavens. Splendour and majesty go before Him; power and glory fill His sanctuary.

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Thursday, 29 December 2022 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 3-11

How can we know that we know Him? If we fulfil His commands. If you say, “I know Him,” but do not fulfil His commands, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. But if you keep His word, God’s love is made complete in you. This is how we know that we are in Him : he who claims to live in Him must live as He lived.

My dear friends, I am not writing you a new commandment, but reminding you of an old one, one you had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard. But, in a way, I give it as a new commandment that is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and true light already shines.

If you claim to be in the light but hate your brother, you are still in darkness. If you love your brothers and sisters, you remain in the light and nothing in you will make you fall. But if you hate your brother you are in the dark and walk in darkness without knowing where you go, for the darkness has blinded you.

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Wednesday, 28 December 2022 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Innocents, referring to the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem, all those innocent children and infants who were slaughtered mercilessly in cold blood upon the order of the King of Judea then, Herod the Great. This event, which happened at the when the Lord Jesus was coming into the world serves as a good reminder to all of us just what kind of wickedness and evil that we mankind can do if we let the temptations of worldly desires and greed to affect us and to rule over our lives and actions. That is why we have to keep in mind to stay away from the path of indulgence and immersion in worldly power and glory, or else we may end up falling into the trap of sin, out of which it may be difficult for us to escape.

As we heard in our Gospel passage today, King Herod the Great feared that this Messiah or Saviour coming from God to His people would supplant him and his house in the reign over Judea and all of his other territories, and hence, he considered the Lord Jesus as his rival in power and tried therefore to eliminate Him before He could become a greater threat to his rule. He tried to trick the Three Magi or Wise Men who came to him asking about directions and information regarding the Messiah, but to no avail as the Angel of God warned the Three Magi that King Herod was trying to kill the Child and hence they did not go back to Herod to tell him where the location of the Child was. Infuriated by this, and blinded by his desire for power and glory, his selfish desires led to him not to see reason and plotted to kill his Rival even if He is but just a small little, newborn Child.

Hence that was what happened, as Herod sent his soldiers to strike at all the infants in Bethlehem, all those newborn and even everyone under the age of two. We can clearly see that Herod was hell-bent on securing his reign and power. Contextually and historically, King Herod the Great himself was also well-known for his megalomania and desire to prove himself as the rightful king of the Jewish people, of Judea and all of his territories. Perhaps by understanding a bit of the history of King Herod the Great, we can better understand the motivation of the actions of this wicked man, who chose to commit such a heinous crime like the slaughter of innocent infants, the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem, just so that he could secure his reign and power.

King Herod the Great was an Idumean, and was likely an Idumean Jew, descended from the Idumeans, a foreigner tribe living near the Jews in Judah, some of whom decided to convert to the Jewish customs and beliefs. Through his machinations and his father’s work, Herod the Great would seize control of the region from the then rightful rulers, the members of the Hasmonean dynasty, descendants of the Maccabees who led the people to fight for their freedom against their Greek oppressors. Hence, as Herod seized power using means that were considered inappropriate and wrong, he was widely considered and treated as a usurper. That is why for his entire reign, Herod tried his best to legitimise his rule by his many grandiose projects and megalomania.

That was why he built the great extension and expansion of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, which construction would last for many decades even after Herod had passed away. Herod also established a great fortress in Jerusalem called the Antonia Fortress, and also a grand amphitheatre and complex called the Herodium, and a great city named after the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, that is Caesarea, to gain him support and favour from his main patron and supporter, the Roman Emperor himself. Yet, no matter what, Herod was still often seen as an outsider and usurper by many among the people, especially among the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council. It is not surprising then that Herod would try whatever he could to make himself more legitimate or acceptable by the people, and if not, by imposing his will, and if necessary, use violence.

Through this example we can see the danger of worldly power and ambition, hubris and human pride. Herod was swayed by those temptations and succumbed to them, and led him to be blind to reason, and not minding even to cause great harm and lack of compassion even for young infants and children. What we heard and witnessed is an act of desperation by a tyrant who tried whatever he could to secure his power, his ambition, his rule and power by whatever means necessary, even against God’s Law and commandments, and against common sense and human morality. That is why today’s celebration of the Feast of the Holy Innocents is a very important reminder to all of us that we must not let the same thing happen to us as well. Some of us may also wonder why God did not intervene to prevent this tragedy from happening, but that is precisely why He granted us free will, to choose between doing good and evil, and some like King Herod chose to have his free will to cause hurt and harm to others. How about us, brothers and sisters? Will we do the same too?

If we do not allow worldly temptations and ambitions to sway us, and put Christ at the centre of our lives, then it will be less likely that we can be easily swayed by worldly things and temptations. We have to be firm in our conviction and desire to keep ourselves free from those temptations and to stay in the right path shown by the Lord. And the best way is for us to follow the Lord and commit ourselves to His ways, putting Him at the centre of our lives and existence as we should. We must not let our desires, greed, pride and ego from misleading us down the wrong path in life, as King Herod’s example has shown us. We must also therefore remind ourselves this Christmas season that all of our celebrations are not about our desires and wants for pleasures and good things, but rather we rejoice because the love and mercy of God has been shown and extended to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all redirect our focus and attention in life, that we may truly stay on the path of the Lord and His righteousness, and not lose sight on His salvation and grace simply because we fail to resist the temptation to sin, to resist the pressure of our desires and the weakness of our flesh. We have to keep in mind that God is ultimately the reason why we live our lives, and it is to serve Him and to glorify Him that we carry out our actions through life, not for our own personal ambitions and glory. After all, no worldly glory and power lasts forever, like the example of King Herod himself showed us, how after his death, his kingdom quickly fell apart and was divided and eventually absorbed by the Romans who supported his rule. The magnificent Temple that he had built was destroyed by the Romans during the Jewish rebellion merely few years after it was completed. Worldly glory and power is indeed fleeting and impermanent, but our faith in God will lead us to an eternity of true happiness and joy.

May the Lord continue to bless us and guide us in our way of life that we will stay true to the path that He has shown us and not be easily swayed by the temptations of our pride and desires. May God bless our every efforts and endeavours to glorify Him at all times, and may He remain with us and continue to strengthen us each day, and bless our current Christmas observances and celebrations. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 December 2022 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 2 : 13-18

After the wise men had left, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the Child in order to kill Him.”

Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and left that night for Egypt, where He stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled : I called My Son out of Egypt.

When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old or under. This was done in line with what he had learnt from the wise men about the time when the star appeared.

In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled : A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation : Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more.

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Wednesday, 28 December 2022 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 123 : 2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8

Had not the Lord been on our side, when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.

A bit more and the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

The snare was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

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Wednesday, 28 December 2022 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 John 1 : 5 – 1 John 2 : 2

We heard His message from Him and announce it to you : God is light and there is no darkness in Him. If we say we are in fellowship with Him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin.

If we say, “We have no sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He Who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from our wickedness. If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, His word is not in us.

My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an Intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial Victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

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Monday, 26 December 2022 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we come to this day after the Christmas Day, we celebrate together as the Church the Feast of St. Stephen, the Protomartyr or the very first Martyr of the Church. This means that St. Stephen the first one to die for his faith in God, in giving his life for the sake of the glory of God and in the midst of his mission. We may wonder why just immediately right after the most joyful celebration of Christmas Day we suddenly enter into this sombre occasion of the memory of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, but in truth, this celebration of St. Stephen and his martyrdom is an important reminder for all of us what Christmas is truly all about. St. Stephen reminds us all that Christmas is about celebrating the coming of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who brought into our midst the truth about the love of God for each one of us, and which truth is the reason why St. Stephen died courageously in defending that truth and Good News from those who tried to silence him and the Church.

Contextually, back then, when St. Stephen began his ministry as one of the first seven Deacons appointed to minister to the Church and to the people of God, it was still not long after the suffering, crucifixion and the death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross, as well as His Resurrection from the dead on the third day after the Crucifixion. The Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Council which members were mostly opposed to the Lord and His teachings, tried to hide the truth by spreading lies and falsehoods, bribing the Roman soldiers sent to guard the tomb to speak up with the false words that the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord had come to steal His Body from the tomb while the soldiers were sleeping. They tried to hide the truth of the Lord’s words, how everything happened just as He had predicted it, and hence, showing that what they had done in trying to persecute the Lord and His ministry, had been flawed and mistaken in the first place.

Yet, the High Priest and the other chief priests, many of the most influential members of the Pharisees and the Sadducees both continued to maintain their lies and attempted to silence the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, persecuting the Church and arresting all those who professed to believe in the Lord and His Good News. The Sanhedrin commanded them all to stay silent and not to speak or teach anymore in the Name of the Lord, but they could not silence the courageous and most faithful servants of God. Those servants, including that of St. Stephen, the Apostles and the many disciples and followers of the Lord chose to continue to proclaim the Lord and His truth, the words of wisdom and the salvation that He has promised to all of us, even when they face a certainty of oppression, suffering and even death at the hands of their enemies.

That was how St. Stephen ended up facing his martyrdom, just as we heard in our first reading passage today. St. Stephen had been most vocal and active in his ministry among the people, distributing the goods to the faithful. That made him marked and targeted by his enemies who then plotted against him and tried to destroy him, just as we heard. They made false statements and accusations, but all of those could not hold against the wisdom of God found in St. Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit and the gifts that the Spirit bestowed on him. That was also the moment when St. Stephen courageously defended his faith before the whole assembly of the Sanhedrin and their supporters, sharing the wisdom and truth of God to dispel the falsehoods and lies they had spread.

That was exactly how the Lord Himself had predicted would happen to His disciples as we heard in our Gospel passage today, and how He told them all that they had no need to be afraid because God and His Holy Spirit would always be with them, and the Wisdom of God would guide and strengthen them against their enemies and all those who plotted against them. St. Stephen showed great courage despite facing certainty of suffering and death, and did what he could to defend his faith and the truth of God, proclaiming the words of truth before everyone and still hoping that they would finally listen to reason and turn away from their wicked ways. Although many of those people continued to harden their hearts and minds, and stoned St. Stephen to death, the servant of God died in peace knowing that he had done what he could for the Lord and His people.

The death of St. Stephen, his suffering and everything that he had to endure for the sake of the Lord all are reminders for us that this Christmas we are all called to be the witnesses of the Lord and proclaim His truth in our own communities, as those who have seen and received the fullness of truth just as St. Stephen had, through the gift and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and through the teachings of the Church. Christmas is not just a time of great rejoicing and celebrations, but also a time for us to remember that Christ is the Love of God personified and manifested in the flesh, Who has come down into our midst to dwell among us and to gather us all into His presence and embrace once again. It is this same truth which St. Stephen had suffered and died from, defending it from all those who rejected the Lord as their Saviour.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all consider carefully as we progress through this Christmas season that we do not end up forgetting the real reason why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Christmas is celebrated because we truly honour the Lord Who has come into our midst, reaching out to us sinners, as we see the love which He has for all of us, manifested in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, born that day in Bethlehem in Judea, fulfilling all the promises which God has made to us. And it is imperative that we stand by Him and His truth, and make Him the centre of our celebrations so that not only we rejoice in His coming, but more and more people may come to see the truth and love of God and therefore come to believe in Him as well. That is what St. Stephen had done, in reminding everyone, including all of us, of the reason why we celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is truly about a celebration of the love of God which has allowed us all to have hope today, because without God and His love, there can be no hope for us, and we would have been doomed to eternal damnation because of our disobedience and multitudes of sins. It was by the suffering, death and ultimately, the Resurrection of the Lord, our Saviour that we have received healing and rejuvenation, hope and new strength, which He has provided us through His coming into this world, His actions and providence by His ministry in the world, as He came offering us this new hope and the light that He delivers unto us all, and by which we have seen the Light of His salvation. And because God has loved us so much that He was even willing to suffer and die for our sake, should we not then love Him in the same way as well?

Christ’s love is what encouraged and strengthened St. Stephen, that guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, he chose to stand by his faith in God. Let us all therefore be inspired in the same way by the love of Our Lord and Saviour, which He has shown us from His Cross, and also by the courage of St. Stephen, holy martyr and most devout servant of God. May the Lord bless us all and may He grant us His strength to persevere against all the challenges and trials we may have to face in life, because of His love and truth. Amen.

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Monday, 26 December 2022 : 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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Monday, 26 December 2022 : 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.