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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that through our faith in God and by His great generosity in compassion and forgiveness, each and every one of us have received the grace of mercy and salvation from the Lord, our Saviour Himself, and each and every one of us are equally beloved, precious and dear to the Lord, and none of us should think that we are better or more deserving of God’s grace and mercy, and that others are more likely to fall into sin and damnation than us. Instead of us being biased and judgmental against each other like how the religious and intellectual elites, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often considered themselves as superior and better than everyone else.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the faithful and the Church in Rome, we heard the words of the Apostle exhorting the believers of Christ from both Jewish and Gentile or non-Jewish origins that God had indeed intended His salvation and grace for everyone, for all of His beloved children without exception. God does not discriminate or differentiate between any of His children, and He loves all of them, all of us regardless of our backgrounds and origins, and He has made us all righteous and worthy through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom alone the salvation of all mankind and the assurance of eternal life have been given and shown to us. This comment was made by St. Paul in particular against the attitudes of the Pharisees in the Jewish community, to which St. Paul himself used to belong to.

The Pharisees particularly among the Jewish people saw themselves of being righteous and just, worthy and deserving of God’s grace and blessings, while the non-Jewish people would all be condemned to oblivion and destruction, despite them in fact also belonging to the same race of mankind, the same children of Adam, and whose lack of faith in God was not necessarily by their own fault, as they had no one to tell them about the truth of God. God therefore had revealed through Christ, His own Beloved Son, Whom He had sent into the world, that He loves everyone and wants all to be saved without exception and without discrimination. What truly matters is one’s faith and trust in God, and in how one truly applies what he or she believes in, that they are true and genuine people of God in all things, and not merely externally as what many of the Pharisees had done.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which the Lord Jesus continued with His rebuke of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who had often acted in the manners that were in opposition of God’s good works and in their constant struggles, criticisms and attacks against Him, all of which prevented the Lord and His disciples from doing many good things for the people who needed them. The Lord was particularly critical against all those people who claimed to be righteous and good, and yet, continued to resist the good works of God, and like their ancestors before them, persecuting all those disagreed with them and who did not follow the way that they had believed.

The Lord rebuked those self-righteous, proud and arrogant people who sought mostly for their own self-glorification and benefits over the hardships and sufferings of others around them. This is therefore also a reminder for all of us that we should not give in to the same temptations that those whom the Lord had rebuked, had given in to. Each and every one of us as Christians, all equally beloved children, sons and daughters of our Lord, all share this same grace from God and also therefore the shared responsibility to proclaim the truth and Good News of the Lord and His salvation to our world today. And this means our behaviours, attitudes and actions should all be aligned to God’s ways and will, and we should always strive to live worthily at all times, in the best way we can, in our every good efforts and works.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two holy and great women, whose lives and great examples in faith and in their way of life should inspire each and every one of us in how we should be living our lives, and in how we can be good and devout Christians in all things, in putting our faith and trust in God, rather than in worldly matters and temptations. St. Hedwig, also known as St. Hedwig of Silesia was the Duchess of Silesia as the consort of the Silesian Duke, and was renowned for her great piety and dedication to God, while St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French religious nun, who was also renowned for her faith in God, as well as for having received visions and revelation from the Lord, which has shown His Most Sacred Heart to her.

St. Hedwig of Silesia was married to the heir of the Duke of Silesia when she was barely just twelve years old, and she was involved for many years in the great intrigue and court politics involving her husband, who struggled to maintain the ducal authority while at the same time expanding his rule and influence, against rival duchies and other rulers. In one occasion, St. Hedwig interceded on behalf of her husband, when the latter was in captivity, and her husband was released by her efforts. The virtues and good actions of St. Hedwig helped her husband in his rule, and also became great inspiration for many people of her time, and both St. Hedwig and her husband, Duke Henry of Silesia, were very pious and faithful to God. And when she was widowed after many decades of marriage, she moved into a monastery and dedicated the rest of her life in commitment to God.

Meanwhile, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a very devout servant of God who had great and intense love for the Lord even from her early childhood. She dedicated herself to the Blessed Sacrament and the Lord, as well as to His Blessed Mother Mary, since early on, especially after recovering from a bout of serious illness, and eventually became a religious nun after having received a vision of Christ, reminding her of her love for Him. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received several private revelations on the Sacred Heart of Jesus over a period of eighteen months, in which the Lord Jesus revealed to her the intense love that God has for each and every one of us, as manifested through His Most Sacred Heart, injured and wounded because of our many sins and transgressions.

Eventually, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque revealed her visions to her superior, after a period of struggle and discernment, and the messages she received from the Lord were made known, writing testaments and other works to make the Lord’s intentions known better, for the state, the society and all the people of God. Ever since then, and after having her visions and revelations certified as genuine, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, which had actually begun centuries earlier, came to take form in the manner that we are familiar with today, and became widespread among the people throughout Christendom, which continues to this very day, all thanks to the faith, devotion and commitment shown by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life and works of St. Hedwig and also St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and as we have discussed and reflected from our Scripture readings today, let us all therefore strive to do our best to be truly faithful to God and not merely putting up appearances and making our faith into merely a formality. Instead, we should always strive to live our lives ever more courageously in faith, doing our best in each and every moments so that by our examples in faith and life, we may indeed inspire many more people to come to believe in the Lord. May all of us continue to be faithful and committed in our everyday living, doing our very best to glorify God at all times. May He continue to strengthen us in faith each day, and bless our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.