Liturgical Colour : Red
Jeremiah 1 : 17-19
But you, get ready for action; stand up and say to them all that I command you. Be not scared of them or I will scare you in their presence! See, I will make you a fortified city, a pillar of iron with walls of bronze, against all the nations, against the kings and princes of Judah, against the priests and the people of the land.
They will fight against you but shall not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue you – it is YHVH Who speaks.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, listening to the words of God, all of us are called to listen to the Lord calling on each one of us to follow and obey Him, to do His will and to embrace His calling and also the mission He has entrusted to us. Each one of us as Christians have been given the opportunities as well as the responsibilities to be examples for one another, to lead more and more people towards God and His truth, and to bring ourselves ever closer to Him and His salvation. All of us should also humble ourselves and be willing to embrace God wholeheartedly, and be willing to listen to Him.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which God spoke to Ezekiel regarding what He was sending him to do among the Israelites in exile in the land of Babylon. The Lord gave Ezekiel a scroll in the vision, and the prophet ate it, symbolising his willingness to walk in the path of God, and how he was willing to let God guide him in what he was called to do. As God’s prophet, Ezekiel would go on to do great deeds among the people, and he continued to labour hard among the Israelites in exile, calling on them to abandon their sinful way of life, which had led to their downfall in the first place.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples, telling them that unless they become like little children, with regards to their faith, they cannot truly enter into the kingdom of Heaven, and they will not be able to truly appreciate what it really means to be a disciple of the Lord. And He calls on them to welcome young children, as otherwise, if they do not do so, then they are not welcoming Him into their presence either. Through this, the Lord wanted to highlight that in order for Him to lead us down the right path, often we need to open our hearts and minds, to be humble and to be willing to let God guide us in our path.
That is because for us to be welcoming to children in our midst, we have to first learn to listen and to communicate, understanding them and their needs. Otherwise, we will find that it is very difficult for us to engage with the children meaningfully and successfully. One must be humble and be willing to communicate sincerely, and not to impose a judgmental and superior attitude vis-a-vis the children, which in fact is one of the reasons why people fail to connect with the younger generation. Many of us are often burdened with the burden of pride and arrogance, thinking that we know it better and hence, we cannot engage in truly meaningful interaction and conversation with others.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, through today’s readings, all of us are reminded that as Christians, each and every one of us are called to be witnesses of our Lord’s salvation, His truth and Good News. All of us ought to do our very best in whatever capacity and opportunities that we are in, so that we may help to lead others to God and so that they may find their way back to Him. In the same Gospel passage, the Lord also mentioned how He loves us all and how He would go all the way to rescue His lost sheep, through His story of a shepherd who had one lost sheep among the flock of his hundred sheep.
Just as the shepherd went out all his way just to find that lost sheep, so the Lord Himself has also done the same for our sake, reaching out to us and calling on us to return to Him. He patiently called on us, waited for us to change our hearts and minds, giving reminders after reminders, and assistance along the way so that we may find our way to Him. All of us who have known the Lord and received the promise of His salvation therefore are called to be the witnesses of this truth and promise, and do our very best to evangelise and to do what we can in glorifying God by our lives, and by living a humble, virtuous and good Christian way of life.
Today, we all can and should seek the inspiration from one of our holy predecessors, namely that of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also better known by her name of St. Edith Stein. St. Edith Stein was a Jewish convert to the Christian faith in the early twentieth century, who was drawn by the Catholic faith and decided to be baptised, and was also eventually desiring to be a religious nun, joining the Discalced Carmelite community. She led a devout and virtuous life as a member of the Discalced Carmelites, in the midst of the great hardships which the Church and also the people of Jewish descent faced back then during the intense persecution by the Nazi German regime.
Her faith grew even deeper through the hardships and challenges, and she entrusted herself to her Lord and Saviour. Through the bitterness and hardships of war, St. Edith Stein and many other of the faithful and the martyrs continued to show inspiration and strength for others who were also suffering back then, and for those who lived after her time, and gained inspiration from her patient faith and commitment to God. She was eventually martyred for her faith and commitment to God, when the NAZI regime persecuted and murdered her for the opposition that the Church took against the wicked actions that it had done in Germany and other places.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to follow the path that our holy predecessors had set before us. Let us all humble ourselves before the Lord and do whatever we can to live our lives ever more faithfully in God’s presence, defending His truth and committing ourselves to be witnesses of His truth and love to more and more of our fellow brothers and sisters, and all those whom we encounter in our lives and missions. May God be with us all and may He continue to strengthen us with the resolve to live our lives ever with the commitment as good and devout Christians, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10, 12-14
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in My Name, receives Me.”
“See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their Angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father. What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you, when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it, than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray.”
“It is the same with your Father in heaven. Your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
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)
Ezekiel 2 : 8 – Ezekiel 3 : 4
God said to Ezekiel, “Listen then, son of man, to what I say, and do not be a rebel among rebels. Open your mouth and take in what I am about to say.”
I looked and saw a hand stretched out in front of me holding a scroll. He unrolled it before me; on both sides were written lamentations, groaning and woes. He said to me, “Son of man, eat what is given to you. Eat this scroll and then go; speak to the people of Israel.”
I opened my mouth and He made me eat the scroll; and then He said to me, “Eat and fill yourself with this scroll that I am giving you.” I ate it; and it tasted as sweet as honey. He said, “Son of man, go to the Israelites; speak to them with My words.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are being reminded that each and every one of us have been called in different ways by the Lord, to follow Him and to commit our lives to a faithful and virtuous Christian living, that each and every one of us may bear rich fruits of our faith and actions. Each one of us are challenged and called to follow the Lord in everything we say, act and do, and through Him, we may do truly wonderful things and impact many others in the way that we may never have thought possible before. All these are possible if we let the Lord guide us in our way and journey.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah of the calling of this prophet whom God had called to be His servant and messenger to the people of the kingdom of Judah. At that time, the people of Judah had slipped once again into the path of sin and evil, disobedience and wickedness, and hence, God called Jeremiah to be His instrument and as the one to deliver His will and His words to those same people, and He reassured Jeremiah that He would guide him and show him the way, giving him the wisdom and strength to persevere through whatever challenges that he would have to face when Jeremiah was doubtful and unsure about his calling.
Jeremiah was lacking in confidence because he was still relatively young and inexperienced, but by obeying God’s call and doing what the Lord had told him to do, Jeremiah would go on to become one of the greatest of the prophets, enduring a lot of trials and challenges for the sake of the Lord and His people, and patiently enduring them and continuing to do the work of God despite all that he had to go up against, all because God was with him and that God gave him the strength, wisdom and courage to endure even the worst of persecutions. Through this example, we can see how God was always faithful to the promises He made and how He was always with His faithful ones, and what a faithful servant of God can do with God’s guidance and strength.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the Lord telling His followers the famous parable of the sower. In that parable, the Lord spoke of a sower who sowed seeds that fell on various places, some on the roadside, while others fell amongst the thistles and brambles, and others fell on the dry, rocky ground, while some fell on rich, fertile and good soil. Each of these led to different outcomes in the seeds being sown, as those that fell on the roadside were eaten up by the birds and were destroyed, while those that fell on the rocky ground could not grow roots or gain water and was scorched by the intense sun, while those that fell among the thistles and brambles were choked to death.
Only those seeds that fell on the rich and fertile soil managed to grow well and not only that, produced many more times than its weight and number, as they grew well and bore many fruits, and they became bountiful and great. The Lord would later on explain the meaning and significance of this parable to His disciples, telling them that the seeds represent the Word of God and the gifts that God had given and granted all of the people, such as what He had given to His prophets like Jeremiah and many others, including the Apostles and disciples, the innumerable saints and martyrs, and ultimately, all of us.
In essence, the Lord has given us all the means, the guidance, the gifts and various opportunities that He blessed us with, in our unique circumstances, that through Him and His providence, each and every one of us may find the means to contribute to the good works of the Church, in doing good things and obeying the Law and commandments of God. But this requires active participation on our side, our commitment and time, and our contribution to cultivate the gifts and talents that we have received. If we do not provide the optimal condition for our faith and actions to develop, then just like how the seeds that fell into the wrong places failed to grow, we too shall not be fruitful in faith.
Today, all of us should therefore model ourselves based on the examples set by our holy predecessors, one of whom the feast we are celebrating today, namely St. Apollinaris. St. Apollinaris was the Bishop of Ravenna who was remembered as a very dedicated shepherd to his faithful flock, working tirelessly for the evangelisation of the people, enduring and suffering persecutions for his faith. He suffered several episodes of almost death experience and hardships, and he endured them all with faith. All those did not discourage him from continuing to work hard for the sake of the Lord. His faith and continued dedication became inspiration for many others, including us in the present day.
Let us all therefore heed the good examples set by our holy predecessors, the prophets like Jeremiah and also the many saints and martyrs like that of St. Apollinaris of Ravenna. Let us all dedicate and commit ourselves to the Lord in the same way as our faithful predecessors had done, and strive to be exemplary and inspirational ourselves in our way of life, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Matthew 13 : 1-9
At that time, that same day, Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. Many people gathered around Him. So He got into a boat, and sat down, while the crowds stood on the shore; and He spoke to them in parables about many things.
Jesus said, “The sower went out to sow; and, as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path; and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly, because the soil was not deep. But as soon as the sun rose, the plants were scorched; and they withered, because they had no roots.”
“Again, other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew and choked the plants. Still, other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop : some a hundredfold, others sixty, and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 70 : 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17
In You, o Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. In Your justice help me and deliver me, turn Your ear to me and save me!
Be my Rock of refuge, a Stronghold to give me safety, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God, from the hand of the wicked.
For You, o Lord, have been my Hope, my Trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.
My lips will proclaim Your intervention and tell of Your salvation all day, little though it is what I can understand. You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim Your marvels.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Jeremiah 1 : 1, 4-10
The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, of a priestly family in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.
A word of YHVH came to me, “Even before I formed you in the womb I have known you; even before you were born I had set you apart, and appointed you a prophet to the nations!”
I said, “Ah, Lord YHVH! I do not know how to speak; I am still young!” But YHVH replied, “Do not say; ‘I am still young’, for now you will go, whatever be the mission I am entrusting to you, and you will speak of whatever I command you to say. Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you – it is YHVH Who speaks!”
Then YHVH stretched out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now I have put My words in your mouth. See! Today I give you authority over nations and over kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
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.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 