Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to be humble and to be committed to God, in the same way that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, had been humble, loving and obedient to His Father even until the very end. The examples which Christ showed us is certainly what we too can follow in our own lives, especially considering the ways that this world have shown us.

Jesus spoke to His disciples regarding how in this world, it is common to see people oppressing each other, especially those in the positions of power and influence, using their power and authority to oppress those who are weaker than them, and those who are less powerful or influential than they are. This is the norms and the customs of this world, a world where the strongest lived on, survived and the weak perished.

And that was what James and John had done, in following the norms of the world. It was just like in our societies, where servants asked for favours from their masters, subordinates asking for more glory, wealth and power from their superiors. That is the way that men thought, and that is how we often lived our lives. It is all about getting more things for ourselves, garnering more praise and attention for our deeds.

But the Lord taught us all that His way is not the way acceptable to the world, for it is indeed different. Where the world championed and glorified those who glorify themselves and seek more power for their own, the way of our Lord is simplicity, humility and selflessness. In order to follow the Lord our God and love Him with all our heart, we must learn to let go of those corrupting desires that kept us away from being able to achieve salvation in God.

Jesus Himself showed by example, as even though He is Almighty, King of all the universe and Lord and Master of all creation, but He came into our world not as a King to be served and to be feared, and instead as a servant and a humble Man, through whose humility and work, the salvation would be brought into the world. And as He has shown us the way, we too should follow Him in His actions.

And today, we celebrate not just one but three holy saints of God, whose own lives have been exemplary, and can indeed be inspirations for us to follow their lifestyle, so that we ourselves may draw ever closer to God. St. Bede the Venerable was a holy servant of God, who was renowned for his many works with regards to the Scriptures and to the teachings of the early disciples and Church fathers.

St. Bede the Venerable was an English monk renowned for his devotion to his work, in bringing the truth of God to greater discovery and understanding by those who have read and viewed his works. He translated many Latin and Greek manuscripts of the faith into English language, and through his many dedications and works, people had therefore discovered the teachings of the Church passed down to them.

Meanwhile, Pope St. Gregory VII was a great leader of the Church, a courageous and committed defender of the Church and the faith against the forces of the world trying to undermine its authority. Pope St. Gregory VII led the Church through a turbulent time in the history of the Church, where conflict peaked between the Church and the secular authority in the person of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry.

The conflict was precisely because of the conflicting interest between the Emperor and the Church of God, led by Pope St. Gregory VII. The Emperor claimed the power and authority over the Church, and at least in the territories he controlled, the Emperor claimed the authority to appoint bishops and the other leaders of the Church.

But the Church and its leader, Pope St. Gregory VII refused to bow down to the demands of the Emperor. The faithful resisted the influences and the coercion by the Emperor and his party of supporters. As a result, the clashes and the conflicts between the Church and the Emperor became ever more violent and resulted in great difficulties and challenges for the faithful servants of God.

Even Pope St. Gregory VII himself was suffering from the tribulations and challenges, and he suffered even from exile and incarceration. He died a lonely and broken man in body, but his spirit was never daunted by the challenges and the difficulties which he had encountered. And in the end, the Church triumphed and the world did not have its way.

And last of all, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was a holy and devoted woman who lived in the region now known as Tuscany in Italy a few hundred years ago. She was a mystic and a Carmelite nun, who has devoted almost her entire life to the Lord. Ever since a very young age, she has practiced meditation as shown by a tutor she engaged, and she received many visions from the Lord, telling her about many things on the matter of faith and about God’s will for the world.

And by her many accounts and works, she helped to rejuvenate the faith in the hearts of many people, and many believed because of her accounts of the Lord, all of her visions and her own piety. And even though she died early in her life, but her inspirational life continues to influence many even unto this very day. Many miracles also accompanied her tomb and her relics, showing the glory which God gives to all of His faithful ones.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after we have witnessed and heard the examples of these holy saints, let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord our God following the footsteps of the holy saints. Let us all not be discouraged and be afraid to lead a faithful life filled with true commitment and love for God and His ways. Let us all be the beacons of light for this world, so that through humility and service, we may be like Jesus our Lord, in bringing righteousness upon one another and the whole world.

May God bless us all and keep us, and may He strengthen us our faith, that we may continue to persevere despite the challenges in this life. May He guard us and protect us from harm, and may He keep us in His love forevermore. Amen.