Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 131 : 1-3
O YHVH, my heart is not proud nor do I have arrogant eyes. I am not engrossed in ambitious matters, nor in things too great for me.
I have quieted and stilled my soul, like a weaned child, on its mother’s lap; like a contented child is my soul.
Hope in YHVH, o Israel, now and forever.
Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 66 : 10-14
Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her. Be glad with her, rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her, that you may suck of the milk from her comforting breasts, that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.
For this is what YHVH says : I will send her peace, overflowing like a river; and the nations’ wealth, rushing like a torrent towards her. And you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap. As a son comforted by his mother, so will I comfort you. At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice; like grass, your bones will flourish.
For it shall be known that YHVH’s hand is with His servant, but His fury is upon His enemy.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Holy Virgins)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are reminded yet again on our faith in the Lord and our beliefs in Him, in how we should have faith in us, which He has sown in us, and we should bear rich fruits of faith, through our exemplary lives and actions. Each and every one of us should do our best to love and serve the Lord at every moments throughout life, so that we may truly live our lives as good and dedicated Christians, worthy of being the ones who have been made and created in the image of God Himself, and Whom God had called and willingly made to be His own beloved children and people.
In our first reading today taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth we heard the Apostle St. Paul spoke to the people there regarding the matter of the resurrection from the dead and the resurrection of the body as there were still members of the faithful who did not understand or appreciate what the resurrection truly meant and how it would affect all of them. There were then still members of the Christian faithful, probably those who once belonged to the caste of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection from the dead who had doubts about the resurrection and did not understand how it works.
St. Paul highlighted how through Christ, the Saviour of the world, Who came into this world, bearing the truth and salvation from God, has shown us a new life through Him, a new existence that goes beyond our earthly life. He mentioned how the first Adam, our ancestor was given life when he was created by God, and how the New Adam, that is Christ Himself, has brought upon us true and everlasting life, that we shall transcend beyond our mortal bodies and existence, and through Him we shall be reunited and reconciled with God. That new life, which God brought upon us through His Son, shows us that our mortality and death do not mark the end of our existence, and instead there is eternity beyond that of death.
In our Christian faith and beliefs, all of us believe that there is life beyond death, and while all of us have to experience suffering and death as consequences for our sins, but the same sins and death do not have the final say over us. To those who are righteous and worthy, God has shown us through Jesus Christ, His Son, our Saviour, that we shall be reunited with Him and shall once again enjoy the fullness of His grace and blessings as He has always intended for us. The Lord has always been so reassuring towards us, and He did not just love us despite our many rebellions and disobedience against Him, but He even sent us His Son to bring His salvation and deliverance upon us.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard the well-known parable of the sower by the Lord, in which the Lord Himself told His disciples of what happened to the seeds sown in four different places, by the roadside, on rocky and dry ground, amongst the thistles and brambles, and finally on rich and fertile soil. The Lord went through the meaning of each part of the parable and told them what each of them represented, and how the seeds were truly a reference to the Word of God, the Wisdom and truth which God has bestowed on all of His people. How and where the seeds landed represented how we mankind responded to the Lord, to His truth and love, to His Good News and grace in our midst.
We have to realise that as long as we continue to resist the Lord in the manner of how some among the faithful in Corinth continued to have doubts and reservations on their beliefs, and in their inability to comprehend the resurrection, then it is just like how we mankind tend to shut the Lord out of our lives as we prefer to live them in the manner that we want to live them, following the ways of the world and the paths that may not conform to the path that God has shown and taught us. More often than not we prefer to trust in our own judgments and ideals, and not listening to God speaking to us in the depth of our hearts and minds. And our preoccupation with our own desires prevent us from being able to listen to Him.
That is why today, as we also celebrate the feast of two great saints whose examples and faith can become our inspiration in how we ought to live our own lives, we should give some time to heed their examples and their actions in life. St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Hildegard of Bingen are these two great servants of God who should become our role models in life, that we may grow ever stronger in faith and ever closer to God. Both of them had served the Church and the people of God in various ways, and in their personal holiness and dedication, they have done much to bring the people of God ever closer to their Lord and Saviour.
St. Robert Bellarmine was a Jesuit Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, who was credited for his intense effort in supporting and applying the reforms of the Ecumenical Council of Trent in the midst of great changes in the Church and the community during the Counter-Reformation period. He was very much involved in the renewal of Catholic theology and education, as he was involved over many years in the teaching of theology at the Roman College, now known as the Pontifical Gregorian University, influencing many seminarians who would become future priests and leaders of the Church, impressing many people with his deep intellectual understanding of theology and the Scriptures, as well as his great wisdom.
St. Robert Bellarmine was made as the Rector of the aforementioned Roman College, and then as a Bishop and finally a Cardinal of the Church. He was entrusted by the Pope with the task to assist in the reforms of the Church, and he also wrote extensively on many works and books related to theology and Christian teachings. He also defended the true faith against the many heresies, falsehoods and the other forces arrayed against the Church at that time. Through his ceaseless efforts and commitment to God, St. Robert Bellarmine showed us what it truly means to be truly dedicated as Christians.
Meanwhile, St. Hildegard of Bingen was a German Benedictine abbess who was renowned as a great mystic and writer, and whose contributions to the Church both in her local community and the larger Universal Church were immense. St. Hildegard of Bingen was credited with many writings in various topics and aspects, both regarding Church teachings and even beyond, and devoted her life to the Lord and her community. She wrote extensively on the matters of theology, as well as botany and medicine, and was also credited with the development of monophony in the Church music of her time. For all these efforts and hard work, and for all the contributions that she had done, she was recently therefore canonised ten years ago by Pope Benedict XVI, and then elevated to the position of the Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis, our current Pope.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the examples shown by St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Hildegard of Bingen, that we ourselves may also be good role models and examples for others all around us, in our faith and in how we live our lives. Let us all be true witnesses of the Lord and proclaim His truth and love, His Good News and all His grace to all the nations through our own lives and actions each day. May God bless us always and may He continue to guide us in all of our actions, in our every efforts and deeds. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Holy Virgins)
Luke 8 : 4-15
At that time, as a great crowd gathered, and people came to Jesus from every town, He began teaching them with a story : “The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the seed fell along the way, was trodden on, and the birds of the sky ate it up.”
“Some seed fell on rocky ground; and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water. Some seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it. But some seed fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit, a hundred times as much!” And Jesus cried out, “Listen then, if you have ears to hear!”
The disciples asked Him, “What does this story mean?” And Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that, seeing, they may not perceive; and hearing, they may not understand.”
“Now, this is the point of the parable : The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it; but immediately, the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he does not want them to believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy; but they have no root; they believe for a while, and give way in time of trial.”
“Among the thorns are people who hear the word, but, as they go their way, they are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity. The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word, and keep it, in a gentle and generous mind, and, persevering patiently, they bear fruit.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Holy Virgins)
Psalm 55 : 10, 11-12, 13-14
My enemies turn back when I call on You for help; now I know, that God is for me.
In God, Whose word I praise; in God I trust, without fear. What can mortals do against me?
I am bound to You by vows, o God; I shall offer my thanksgiving. For You have rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling; that I might walk in God’s presence, in the light of the living.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Holy Virgins)
1 Corinthians 15 : 35-37, 42-49
Some of you will ask : How will the dead be raised? With what kind of body will they come? You fools! What you sow cannot sprout unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body of the future plant, but a bare grain of wheat or any other seed.
It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in decomposition; it will be raised never more to die. It is sown in humiliation, and it will be raised for glory. It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection shall be with power. When buried, it is a natural body, but it will be raised as a spiritual body. For there shall be a spiritual body, as there is, at present, a living body. Scripture says that Adam, the first man, became a living being; but the last Adam has become a life-giving Spirit.
The Spirit does not appear first, but the natural life, and afterward comes the Spirit. The first man comes from the earth and is earthly, while the second One comes from heaven. As it was with the earthly one, so is it with the earthly people. As it is with Christ, so with the heavenly. This is why, after bearing the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly One.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all reminded to distance ourselves from the taints of hypocrisy and all sorts of temptations to sin, especially the temptation of worldly desires and pleasures, worldly glory, fame and renown, all of which can distract us in our journey towards the Lord. Through our Scripture readings today we are all reminded how there had been many people who were entrusted with the faith and the responsibility to guide their fellow faithful ones, and yet they failed to do their duties and responsibilities appropriately.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord rebuking the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their behaviour and way of living their faith lives, and especially in how they misused their authority as well as their hypocrisy and their imposition of very strict and harsh rules and regulations pertaining to the Law on the entire people of Israel. They demanded their portion and for the people to respect and to support them, and yet at the same time, they looked down on all those whom they deemed to be less worthy, the ones like the tax collectors, the prostitutes and all those who were inflicted with various diseases and illnesses, and many others.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law demanded an external application of the Law, and they paraded themselves in doing all the things that people could witness and see them doing, praying aloud in the synagogues and in the streets, and they similarly imposed this bias and preferences in what they taught the people of God through their actions and words. But they had failed to realise that obeying the words of the letter of the Law is empty and meaningless unless one also understands and appreciates the meaning and the Spirit of the same Law. One can easily obey the Law to the letter but without understanding the importance and significance of why one has done so.
That is why the Lord was so critical on them and their actions. Their actions and irresponsible behaviour had made it difficult for many to seek the Lord and not only that, but it likely also turned many people away from God and His salvation, since the conditions and requirements which they imposed on everyone were so difficult, tough and yet unnecessary, that many people simply did not make the effort to come closer to God and instead remained in their state of sin. That way, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law whom God had entrusted with His people, had not done as they were supposed to do, and in their obedience to the Law, they were also selective and focused more on the externals rather than a wholesome application of the Law of God.
The Lord told His people that in order for us to truly love and serve the Lord, we have to have that proper understanding of His truth and love, and obey His Law wholeheartedly instead of just obeying blindly or paying lip service or only seeking for external application or holding up appearances only. Each one of us must live our lives with faith and practice our faith with genuine dedication and commitment, at every available opportunities and at every moments, or else we may end up causing scandal on the Lord and His Church, and we may have to be responsible for making people to be more distant from God just as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done.
That is why today we are all called to reflect on our way of life and see carefully how we can better commit ourselves from now on with faith, in following the Lord in all the path of our lives, and at all times. Each one of us have been called to reflect on the path that we should be taking moving forward in life, so that our actions and words, our deeds and everything may always be aligned with God and His will, with His teachings and with His revelation of truth. We are all presented with the opportunities and the many circumstances through which we will be able to find our way to do things in accordance to our calling and God’s will.
Today, one of such ways and opportunities is for us to follow the good examples and inspiration from St. Rose of Lima, the first saint to be proclaimed from the New World. She was born in what is today Peru in the New World, the Americas, and was acquainted with another saint of the New World, St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, who was then Archbishop of the area and administered to St. Rose of Lima the Sacrament of Confirmation. St. Rose of Lima began to grow closer to God and despite her father’s efforts to force her to marry against her will and desire, St. Rose of Lima resisted and remained faithful to her commitment to God.
St. Rose of Lima had wanted to join the Dominicans as a nun, however her father’s opposition prevented that, and she instead became a third order member of the Dominicans. She took a vow of perpetual virginity and lived a life of great holiness and grace, and was famously remembered of her wearing of a heavy silver crown with spikes and thorns to emulate the Crown of Thorns of Our Lord and Saviour, in keeping up to her commitment to God and in self-mortification, living her life full of prayer, inspiring many others to be more faithful to God themselves, and many were inspired even long after she passed away at the rather young age of thirty-one.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great examples showed by St. Rose of Lima and many other holy saints, holy men and women of God so that we may always do our best to resist the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, the temptations and desire for human praise and other worldly pleasures. Let us all instead strive to become ever closer to the Lord and to His salvation, and may St. Rose of Lima intercede for us all, helping us sinners to come ever closer to God, now and always, evermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)
Matthew 23 : 23-26
At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You do not forget the mint, anise and cumin seeds when you demand the tenth of everything; but then, you forget what is most fundamental in the Law : justice, mercy and faith! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a mosquito, but swallow a camel.”
“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup, with theft and violence, and then pronounce a blessing over them. Blind Pharisee! Purify the inside first, then the outside, too, will be purified.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)
Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13
Say among the nations, “YHVH reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.
Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.
Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)
2 Thessalonians 2 : 1-3a, 14-17
Brothers and sisters, let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, and our gathering to meet Him. Do not be easily unsettled. Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says, or by any report, or by some letter said to be ours, saying, the day of the Lord is at hand. Do not let yourselves be deceived, in any way.
To this end He called you, through the Gospel we preach, for He willed you, to share the glory of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions that we taught you, by word or by letter. May Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who has loved us, may God Our Father, Who, in His mercy, gives us everlasting comfort and true hope, strengthen you.
May He encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 