holy queens

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Saturday, 16 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all called to be truly faithful disciples and followers of our Lord, dedicating and committing our time and efforts to serve the Lord and to be ever more faithful to Him at all times. All of us are reminded that we must always be loving and caring towards our fellow brothers and sisters, being generous in loving and showing compassion upon everyone around us, following the examples of the Lord Himself Who has loved us most generously all these while. We must always have faith and trust in God, knowing that through Him and His constant care and love for us, all of us shall indeed never be disappointed as He will always continue to provide for us and protect us from any harm.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. John the words of the Apostle reminding the faithful people of God of the importance of them caring and showing love for one another especially for those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord and became His ministers and missionaries. As the Lord Himself has instructed His disciples, that all of them should go forth to the nations and proclaim His words and teachings, sending them out to give the words of His encouragement and truth to all the people. And they were all told not to depend too much on their own means and possessions, on all their own provisions and power, but rather to trust in the Lord and to receive whatever the people they visited and ministered among were willing to share and give to them.

That was why St. John reminded all of the people of God to be truly generous in their giving and love, for their fellow brethren and especially more so for all those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord. Each and every one of them and also all of us as Christians must always be filled with generous and wonderful love of God in our every words, actions and dealings with one another. We must not ignore this calling to love and to share our blessings with our fellow brethren. Let us all not forget that the Lord Himself has been generous and compassionate towards us when we had nothing with us and when we are still sinful and corrupted by our many sins and wickedness, and calling us and offering us freely His saving help and rich grace and mercy, He has indeed shown us all what love truly is.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Gospel by St. Luke the Evangelist of the account of the time when the Lord taught His disciples using a parable to highlight how we should put our faith and trust always in the Lord, in His Providence and help and all the things that He has promised to us, all the encouragement and blessings that He has generously given to us, if only we can put our faith in Him and trust in Him. He used the parable of an evil judge and a persistent old widow to highlight His ideas and points to the people. The old widow kept on pestering the judge, who in his pride and wickedness had no fear of anything and anyone at all, and despite the judge’s reluctance, eventually the persistence of the old widow bore fruit as it led to the judge relenting and agreeing to address the old widow’s case.

Hence, the Lord used this example in this parable to highlight how if even a wicked and proud, reluctant and stubborn judge could listen to and heed the wishes of the persistent old widow even when the judge was not obliged to do so, then all the more the Lord Himself, our most loving God and generous Father will love us and be kind and caring towards us if we ask Him. We must always have this strong faith in the Lord and follow Him at all times, reaching out to Him and believing in Him, His Providence and guidance, and ask Him whenever we have need for help. God will never forget or abandon us, and it is important that we remember this great love of God at all times, especially when we are facing challenges and difficulties. At the same time, just as St. John the Apostle exhorted earlier on, we should always be willing to help one another and share our blessings with our fellow brethren.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of two great and holy women, those whose lives and dedication to God have been truly exemplary and inspirational. They are St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great. St. Margaret of Scotland was the Queen of Scotland and an English princess by birth to the House of Wessex, which ruled England prior to the Norman conquest. She was born in exile in Hungary following her father who had been exiled from the kingdom, and later on, after she and her family had returned to England, changes in the political landscape and her family’s fall from power would mean that she had to flee again, and eventually she would marry the widowed King of Scotland, Malcolm III and became the Queen of Scotland. As Queen, St. Margaret was known for her great and tremendous piety and charity, in her many contributions and care for the poor and the less privileged throughout her kingdom, as well as her contributions to the Church and great personal and public piety.

Meanwhile, St. Gertrude the Great was a great mystic and Benedictine nun from Germany during the High Middle Ages era. She grew up in a monastery since a very young age, and tradition showed either she was offered to the monastery by her parents or that she was orphaned from very young age, as was common at that time. She grew up strong in the faith and began experiencing visions from the Lord in her twenties as she continued to deepen her commitment to God in the Benedictine community. Her great piety and commitment to God, her spiritual life and dedication, all of her mystical visions and experiences inspired many people even long after her passing, and her great faith is indeed an inspiration to all of us as Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed the words of the Lord through the Scriptures and having heard the great examples and the lives shown by St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great, among the many other holy men and women, holy saints of God, let us all therefore do our best to live a truly holy and worthy life in the path that the Lord has shown us in our lives. Let us all be renewed in faith and conviction, in our zeal and desire to be truly full of God’s love and grace, to be wholly dedicated in all things and at all circumstances, to be committed to God and to be generous in our love towards each other, especially to those who need them. May God be with us always and may He continue to empower us all to live always in His Holy Presence. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Luke 18 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told His disciples a parable, to show them that they should pray continually, and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge, who neither feared God nor people. In the same town there was a widow, who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Defend my rights against my opponent!'”

“For a time he refused, but finally he thought, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much, I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.'”

And Jesus said, “Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night, even if He delays in answering them? I tell you, He will speedily do them justice. But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

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Saturday, 16 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are for his family, there his integrity will remain. He is for the righteous a light in darkness, he is kind, merciful and upright.

It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered and loved forever.

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Saturday, 16 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

3 John 5-8

Beloved, you do well to care for the brothers and sisters as you do. I mean those coming from other places. They spoke of your charity before the assembled Church. It will be well to provide them with what they need to continue their journey, as if you did it for God.

In reality, they have set out on the road for His Name without accepting anything from the pagans. We should receive such persons, making ourselves their cooperators in the work of the truth.

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Thursday, 16 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened from the Sacred Scriptures the reminders for all of us of the need to be truly attuned to the Lord in all things, in us embracing His Wisdom, love and truth. The Wisdom of God, His truth and love have been imparted to us mankind ever since He created us, but each and every one of us as Christians have received the greater revelation of this same truth which God has imparted to us, revealed and showed us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us have been blessed with God’s bountiful grace and Wisdom, and hence, we should not only be thankful to Him for having blessed us with such great blessings, but we should also make good use of whatever it is that He has given us, for the good of all and for the glory of God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the revelation and the explanation by the author of this Book of Wisdom, of what Wisdom of God itself is all about, and how this same Wisdom has been imparted and given to us, permeating our whole existences and lives, truly permeating all of our whole actions and works, our deeds and everything in our every moment throughout life, for God’s Wisdom are truly everywhere and transcendent, through the Holy Spirit and the Life that He has blessed us with, and the Spirit of God has indeed been given to us. All of us therefore have received the Holy Spirit and the Wisdom of God, but whether we truly make good use of this gift of God and everything He has provided us with, is up to our freedom to choose.

God has indeed given us the freedom to choose between obeying Him and His ways, or whether we want to walk away from His path. As the author of the Book of Wisdom mentioned, the Wisdom of God enters only the holy souls, those who have attuned themselves to God and willingly embraced the will of God, His Wisdom, truth and love. This means that all those who have not listened to God or obeyed Him, have consciously rejected God’s Wisdom, love and truth, and hence, God’s Wisdom has no place in our hearts and minds, and we gave priorities to our desires, pride, ego, ambition and greed instead. And when our hearts and minds are so full of all those, there is no place for God, His Wisdom, love and truth in us.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus highlighted to the Pharisees who asked Him about the Kingdom of God. The Lord told them all that the Kingdom of God is not something that they can see from outside, or anything akin the kingdoms of this world. The Kingdom of God is truly all of us, living together as parts and members of the same Body of Christ, the Church, which the Lord Himself has established and affirmed in this world. Through the Holy Spirit and the Divine Wisdom that God has imparted His Church, to all of us, He has empowered all of us to live and exist together in harmony and love, living in the manner and the way that He himself has taught us, and which we should indeed be inspired and encouraged to follow and adhere to, at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great women whose lives and actions, works and collaborations should remind us how each and every one of us how we all should behave and act in life, doing God’s works and obeying His will, Law and commandments. St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great are both truly great role models and examples for each and every one of us in how we should lead a good and worthy life as Christians, in all of our actions and works. Both of them lived virtuous and faithful lives, committed and centred on God, and they showed love for God as well as for their fellow Christians, in showing solidarity, care and love for everyone as any Christians should be doing.

St. Margaret of Scotland was an English princess who was a very pious Christian from her early youth and throughout her life. She was exiled with her family, the House of Wessex, which was then displaced by the new Danish ruling family in the throne of England. Eventually, after a few other misfortunes and difficulties that she and her other family members faced, she ended up in Scotland, where the King gave her and her family refuge, and then eventually, she became the wife of the King, and hence, becoming the Queen Consort of Scotland. And even as Queen, St. Margaret of Scotland continued to show and exhibit the great piety which she had since early on in her life. According to historical and hagiographical accounts, St. Margaret of Scotland was a great influence on her husband, the King of Scotland. She carried out great reforms of the Church in Scotland, aligning its practices to the Universal Church, and helped to establish the firm foothold of the Church in all of Scotland, and she was also well known for her great charitable works and care for the people throughout the kingdom.

Meanwhile, St. Gertrude the Great was a German Benedictine nun renowned for her great piety and dedication to God, as she has spent most of her life in the service of God. According to some traditions, she was an orphan or having been entrusted to the care of religious nuns when she was still a young child. Eventually, St. Gertrude became a religious herself, dedicating herself in a life of holy sanctity, and committing her virginity to God. As she would later on be well-known for, she began to receive a series of mystical visions of God, and this led to her spending more and more time to deepen her spirituality and understanding of theology. She wrote a lot regarding various topics, especially those of her visions and theological matters, and her works inspired many both during her lifetime and long afterwards, till this very day. Her works and efforts, piety and exemplary life are indeed sources of inspiration for us to follow.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened and heeded the examples set by St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great, let us all hence examine well our actions and way of living our lives, that each and every one of us may be truly devoted and genuine in following God, and in allowing God to lead us all through His Divine Wisdom and strength. Let us all be filled with His Holy Spirit and be empowered to live our lives each day with great joy and love for God, as well as with the commitment and desire to love Him, and our fellow brethren more and more, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

Luke 17 : 20-25

At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”

And Jesus said to His disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.”

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Thursday, 16 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

Psalm 118 : 89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175

O YHVH, Your word stands forever, firmly fixed in the heavens.

Your faithfulness lasts throughout the ages – as long as the earth You created.

Your ordinances last to this day, for all things are made to serve You.

As Your words unfold, light is shed, and the simple-hearted understand.

Favour me with Your smile and teach me Your statutes.

Long may I live, to sing Your praise, may Your ordinances always be my help!

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Thursday, 16 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

Wisdom 7 : 22 – Wisdom 8 : 1

Because Wisdom, who designed them all, taught me. In her is a spirit that is intelligent, saintly, unique, manifold, subtle, active, concise, pure and lucid. It cannot corrupt, loves what is good and nothing can restrain it; it is beneficent, loving humankind, steadfast, dependable, calm though Almighty. It sees everything and penetrates all spirits, however intelligent, subtle and pure they may be.

Wisdom, in fact, surpasses in mobility all that moves, and being so pure pervades and permeates all things. She is a breath of the power of God, a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; nothing impure can enter her. She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of God’s action and an image of His goodness.

She is but one, yet Wisdom can do all things and, herself unchanging, she renews all things. She enters holy souls, making them prophets and friends of God, for God loves only those who live with Wisdom. She is indeed more beautiful than the sun and surpasses all the constellations; she outrivals light, for light gives way to night, but evil cannot prevail against Wisdom.

Wisdom displays her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things rightly.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we recall the words of the Lord, we are reminded to turn wholeheartedly towards God and to remember just how much He has loved us, so graciously and wonderfully, and how through Him we shall receive the assurance of eternal life and true joy in His presence. The Lord has always been kind and loving towards us, and He has always reached out to us with love and patience, embracing us whenever we return to Him and wanting to be reconciled to Him. That is just how much God cares for us, when many of us simply often ignored Him and disregarded His love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea, we heard the Lord speaking to His people in the northern kingdom of Israel, who during the ministry of Hosea was on the last days of its existence, threatened from all sides by its neighbours, especially by the mighty Assyrians, who conquered many of the nations including Israel itself. Eventually the state of Israel itself was subjugated, crushed and utterly destroyed by the Assyrians, who destroyed their capital of Samaria and their other cities, carrying off their people into exile far away from their homeland. All these because they trusted more in themselves and in their pagan gods rather than in God.

In the past week, if we have been following the daily readings, we heard the readings from the prophet Amos, another prophet God sent to the land of Israel somewhat earlier than Hosea, telling them of this impending and unavoidable fate of destruction, because of their continued stubbornness and wickedness, and their refusal to repent their sinful ways. The Lord told them all that they would experience because of their pride, their lack of faith and evils, but at the same time, He also wanted to tell them that the path to His forgiveness, mercy and grace still remained open. He did not despise them but rather, He despised their sins and wicked way of life.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the two great miracles that the Lord performed for those who sought His help, in which one of them was a woman who had long suffered from a bleeding problem, while the other was the daughter of a synagogue official who had become sick and eventually died while the Lord was still on His way to her house. In both cases, the woman with the bleeding issue and the synagogue official himself were seeking for the Lord, wanting for healing to come from God, because they truly believed in Him. They had their own respective faith in the Lord and turned towards Him in their hour of need.

The woman had suffered from the bleeding which according to the Law would have made her unclean and unworthy of God, and as per the Jewish customs and laws, she could not have taken part in the worship and prayers at the Temple because of her unclean nature. She tried to approach the Lord discreetly because her condition understandably most likely had caused her to be somewhat a pariah or outcast within the community, and she did not want to draw attention to herself, or to the Lord. And it was by her faith that she was healed, because she sought the Lord and entrusted herself to Him, and the Lord made known her faith to everyone, and how her faith in Him saved her. This reminds us that no sinner is beyond redemption, and we should not be ashamed to seek for the Lord.

Meanwhile, what we heard from the account of the healing and resurrection of the dead daughter of the synagogue official reminded us all that there is nothing that the Lord cannot do for us, for He is the Master of all, even over live and death. Through Him and His will alone we exist, and through His love and grace we receive the gift of eternal life and the assurance of salvation and true joy, which the Lord gave to all those who are faithful to Him. The Lord has shown His compassion and kindness to those who entrust themselves to Him, and not even death could stop Him. And through His raising of the dead daughter of the synagogue official, He showed us all that there is nothing for us to worry or be afraid about, as His followers and as we embark on His path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called and reminded of the love and mercy of God, which He showed generously to us even though we are sinners. Each one of us are reminded of this and therefore are called to be filled with the same love that He has for us, that we may love Him with the same fervour and devotion. Today we should hence be inspired by the examples set by St. Elizabeth of Portugal whose feast we celebrate this day. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was the Queen of Portugal who although a member of the royal family, was renowned for her great piety and exemplary actions throughout her life in loving the poor and the needy all around her.

St. Elizabeth of Portugal often spent a lot of effort in caring for the need of her people, and in providing for the works of the Church, reaching out to many parties throughout her realm, renowned for her great charity and kindness. And after her husband’s death, she retired to a monastery, committing the rest of her life to a life of prayer and sanctity. St. Elizabeth of Portugal, her righteous and faithful life, her dedication to God and her obedience to Him should be inspirations and examples for all of us faithful people of God ought to follow and emulate in our own lives, in each and every moments of our present existence.

Let us all hence renew our commitment and devotion to God, so that we may draw ever closer to Him. Let us glorify Him from now on through our actions and deeds, our every words and works, and that through us more and more may come to believe in God as well and be saved. May all of us grow ever more in our faith and trust more in the Lord with each and every passing days. Amen.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 9 : 18-26

At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, an official of the synagogue came up to Him, bowed before Him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and place Your hands on her, and she will live.”

Jesus stood up and followed him with His disciples. Then a woman, who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years, came up from behind and touched the edge of His cloak; for she thought, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned, saw her and said, “Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.” And from that moment, the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, He said, “Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!” And they laughed at Him.

But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.