holy virgins

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Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures today that we should always be humble and righteous in life, in everything that we say and do, in our every actions and interactions with one another so that we may indeed be truly genuine in being faithful to God. We should not merely be paying lip service of our faith or be superficial in our Christian faith and commitment, but we should instead seek to be wholeheartedly devoted in all things to God’s will, and in committing ourselves to whatever it is that He has entrusted to us and called us all to do in our respective areas and capacities in life, in making good use of the opportunities that God has given to us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Ruth we heard of the story of one woman named Ruth, who hailed from the land of Moab beyond the land of Israel, and hence was a Moabite. She was the wife of one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, two Israelites whose children married Moabite women. When Elimelech and the two sons of both him and Naomi passed away prematurely, both of their wives were widowed, and when Naomi released both of them from their obligations to her, Ruth kept on staying and refused to go, vowing that she would always follow her and take care of her mother-in-law, and that she would have Naomi’s God as her own God and Master. And that was how both Naomi and Ruth returned to the land of Judah.

And then we heard of the encounter between Ruth and Boaz, one of the relatives of Ruth’s late father-in-law, Elimelech. We heard how Boaz was eventually touched by Ruth’s great sincerity and devotion to her mother-in-law, her great personality and beauty, and they eventually fell in love and were married together, becoming the ancestor of the House of David, as their son Obed was the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David, whom God would call to be the great King over all of His people, the Israelites. And we can also clearly see how even among David’s ancestors, there were foreigners like Ruth, a Moabite, whom many of the Israelites often deemed to be wicked and unworthy, and yet, like Ruth has shown it herself, her faith in God and her virtues were greater than many of the Israelites themselves.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and followers regarding the behaviours and attitudes of the Pharisees. In that account of the Lord’s words regarding the Pharisees, the Lord criticised the actions and ways that the Pharisees took in carrying out their daily activities and also their attitudes towards the faith. Those Pharisees often paraded their faith and pious practices, seeking to be praised and adored for their great dedication and piety to God. That was why they often prayed loudly and publicly in the places where many people could see them doing so, wearing their wide prayer bands and headdresses, proclaiming their fast days and other works, and seeking important places in celebrations and feasts.

Yet, despite all these public display of piety and faith, many among the Pharisees at that time often had condescending attitude against those whom they deemed to be inferior than them, and they often criticised and attacked those whom they disagreed with in the matter of how their faith should be lived and practiced. They sought worldly glory, ambition and influence rather than truly and genuinely being faithful to the Lord, and that was how they ended up resisting the Lord so frequently in everything that He had done, in refusing to believe in Him even when the evidences and reality have all pointed out that what the Lord had done, taught and shown them all were indeed the truth. This is why all of us as Christians should always be vigilant against the temptations of pride, ego and ambition, and seek instead to be humble and truly faithful to God in all things.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Rose of Lima, the very first saint from the New World or the Americas to be canonised as saint. She was born in Lima as Isabel Flores de Oliva in what is today Peru during the late sixteenth century in what was then Spanish colony in the New World, to a noble family of mixed heritage, with her father being an officer in the Spanish Army then, while her mother was a criolla or a mixed-race native of the region. She was more popularly known as Rose because of one of her servants who said that her face was miraculously transformed into a rose upon looking at her. And the young St. Rose of Lima grew strong in the faith and dedication to God, carrying out great acts of penance and devotion to God, resisting all the suitors who came to seek her.

St. Rose of Lima was renowned for her commitment to chastity and dedication to God, and against her parents wishes for her to marry, she was committed to a vow of virginity to God, and she further deepened her devotions, to the Blessed Sacrament in her daily reception of the Lord, and more, as she continued to grow older. She really wanted to become a religious sister, to be a member of the Dominican Order that was attracted to her great piety and dedication to God. However, her parents’ objection prevented that, and St. Rose of Lima chose instead to become the member of the Third Order of St. Dominic, taking a perpetual vow of virginity, and living in a most holy, pious and chaste manner for the next eleven years until her passing, famously wearing a heavy silver replica of the crown of thorns to emulate the sufferings of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have listened from the examples and inspiration of St. Rose of Lima and also from the Scripture readings which we have received today, we are reminded of the need for all of us to listen to the Lord calling on us to follow Him, to be humble in all things and to reject the temptations of worldly glory and desires, so that we may truly be committed and faithful to the Lord, and not to fall into the temptations to sin. As Christians, that is as God’s holy and beloved people, all of us should always strive to be good role models and examples in our faith and way of life. We should proclaim God’s truth, His Good News and salvation through our actions and deeds in life, and not just merely by our words and appearances, like what the Pharisees had done.

Let us all therefore help one another in remaining truly faithful and committed to God, putting Him as always at the very centre of our lives and existence. May God be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen us in faith and in our perseverance to follow Him ever more wholeheartedly, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Matthew 23 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say; but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even lift a finger to move them.”

“They do everything in order to be seen by people : they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called ‘Master’ by the people.”

“But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, He Who is in heaven. Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you.”

“Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.”

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Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5

Blessed are you who fear YHVH and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots, will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears YHVH. May YHVH praise you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

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Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Ruth 2 : 1-3, 8-11 and Ruth 4 : 13-17

Naomi had a well-to-do kinsman, Boaz, from the clan of her husband Elimelech. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to pick up the left-over grain in the field whose owner will allow me that favour.” Naomi said, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. It happened that, the field she entered belonged to Boaz of the clan of Elimelech.

Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go away from here to glean in anyone else’s field. Stay here with my women servants. See where the harvesters are and follow behind. I have ordered the men not to molest you. They have filled some jars with water. Go there and drink when you are thirsty.” Bowing down with her face to the ground, she exclaimed, “Why have I, a foreigner, found such favour in your eyes?”

Boaz answered, “I have been told all about you – what you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, how you have gone with her, leaving your own father and mother and homeland, to live with a people you knew nothing about before you came here.”

So Ruth was taken by Boaz and became his wife. YHVH made her conceive and give birth to a son. The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be YHVH Who has provided you today with an heir. May he become famous in Israel! He will be your comfort and stay in your old age, for he is born of a daughter-in-law who loves you and is worth more than seven sons.”

Naomi took the child as her own and became his nurse. And the women of the neighbourhood gave him his name, saying, “A son has been born for Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, who was David’s father.

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded as always of why we all need to keep our faith in the Lord, dedicating ourselves to His cause at all times, obeying Him and giving Him our very best. That is because God has always been ever faithful in all things, and He has never abandoned or betrayed us, especially in our time of greatest need. He is always ever faithful and true to the Covenant that He has established with each and every one of us. That is why we should never doubt Him, and instead we should continue to trust in Him, believing in what He has promised and reassured us all with. We should always help and inspire one another to remain faithful even in the darkest moments and times.

In our first reading today, we continue to hear from the Book of Deuteronomy the account of the time when Moses exhorted the people of Israel at the end of their journey from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land after they had spent about forty years in the desert, forced to wander off in the wilderness because of their lack of faith in God, as a consequence of their disobedience and sins. Moses himself was at the end of his earthly life, and it was likely that God made this known to him, and hence, this was some sorts of farewell speech that Moses made to the people that he had led throughout all those forty years period, the people that he had toiled, laboured and spent all of his time ministering, leading and guiding, enduring all of their stubborn attitudes, rebelliousness, complaints and ingratitude among other things.

Moses told the people and reminded them everything about God’s great and wonderful works, all of His kindness and compassion, all the love and patience that He has constantly given to them despite the stubbornness and rebelliousness that the Israelites had also constantly shown Him. God did not abandon them and He still continued to love them all nonetheless. God showed His patient love and commitment to the Covenant which He has shown them, and hence Moses told them all to remain obedient and committed to Him in the same manner, reminding them all of how fortunate and wonderful they had been to be loved in such a way by their God, their Lord and Master. They should obey God’s Law and commandments, show love to their neighbours and strangers as well, in the manner that their Lord and God has loved them, and this is what God wanted all of them to do, and hence, all of us as well, because we are also God’s people.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples first of the premonition of what He would have to suffer, the persecutions and hardships that He would have to endure in His Passion, kind of reminiscing of what Moses himself had told the Israelites prior to his own passing from this world. Then, the Lord told the disciples who asked Him about the Pharisees who asked them about whether they and their Lord paid the temple tax or not, and the Lord told them all that actually, as the children of God, those whom He would Himself save from the bondage of sin, they are free and no longer bound to anything, including the burden of tax and all sorts of worldliness, but at the same time, He then told them that they should still obey the law of the land, and He miraculously made a coin to be found in a fish that He told St. Peter to catch, in order to pay the temple tax lawfully.

Through this short passage and exchanges today between the Lord and His disciples, we are all reminded to be faithful and obedient in all things, first and foremost to God’s Law and commandments, to whatever the Lord has taught and told us to do through His Church, through the Scriptures and everything that we have received from Him in faith. At the same time, we should also obey the law of the land, the law of our countries and states, as obedient citizens and members of our communities and societies, and that is how we should continue to live our lives, devoting our time, effort and strength to do what God has wanted us to do in our lives, to be faithful to God and to be good and law-abiding citizens and human beings, those who always show care and love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Clare, holy virgin dedicated to God, who was remembered for her great faith and dedication to God. St. Clare was born in Assisi, the same place where the other famous saint, St. Francis of Assisi was born in. And indeed, she was also attracted to the order that St. Francis of Assisi had established, the Franciscan Order. She was born into a wealthy noble family, a family of devout faith in God, and St. Clare and her sisters joined the religious life, dedicating their lives to God. St. Clare devoted herself to the Lord and following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, becoming one of the first members of the female wing of the order, the Poor Clares or the Order of Saint Clare, known after their founder, St. Clare herself.

St. Clare devoted herself to God and resisted the efforts of her family to try to bring her back to her family and to marry her off to a wealthy nobleman, a common practice at that time. But St. Clare continued to remain faithful to God, and remained adamant of the commitment which she had made. This was true even when her sisters joined the religious life themselves, which caused more uproar from within her family. But even when they tried to use force to try to bring them back, they eventually failed to do. St. Clare continued to minister to the people of the community around her with her fellow religious sisters. And in one occasion, she courageously stood up against invaders that came to ransack the town she was in together with her religious congregation. She famously held up  the monstrance with the Lord in it high as the armies of the invaders came in to the chapel, and a bright light emanated from the monstrance, scaring all the invaders that immediately fled the town.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good and faithful examples of St. Clare of Assisi, her faith, zeal and commitment to God. Let us all not be easily swayed by worldly temptations and all sorts of evils and darkness present all around us. May the Lord continue to strengthen and encourage us all in our every endeavours and good efforts, so that we may always be faithful and committed in everything we say and do, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless our every good efforts and works, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 17 : 22-27

At that time, when Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, He said to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. But He will rise on the third day.” The Twelve were deeply grieved.

When they returned to Capernaum, the temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, “Does your Master pay the temple tax?” He answered, “Yes.” Peter then entered the house; and immediately, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tribute to the kings of the earth : their sons or strangers and aliens?”

Peter replied, “Strangers and aliens.” And Jesus told him, “The sons, then, are tax-free. But, so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it. Take the coin and give it to them for you and for Me.”

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Exalt YHVH, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain. He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word.

It is He, Who tells Jacob His words; His laws and decrees, to Israel. This, He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Deuteronomy 10 : 12-22

So now, Israel, what is it that YHVH, your God, asks of you but to fear Him and follow all His ways? Love Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Observe the commandments of YHVH and His laws which I command you today, for your good.

See : the heavens, those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to YHVH, your God. Nevertheless, it was on your fathers that YHVH set His heart. He loved them, and after them, He chose their descendants – you – preferring you to all the peoples, as you can see this day.

Purify your hearts, then, and do not be defiant towards YHVH because YHVH is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, the strong and terrible God. When He judges, He treats everyone equally; He does not let Himself be bought by gifts. He renders justice to the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing.

Love the stranger then, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt. Fear YHVH, your God, serve Him, follow Him and call on His Name when you have to make an oath. He is your pride and He is your God, Who has done those amazing things for you. When you went down to Egypt, your ancestors were no more than seventy persons, but now, YHVH, your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.

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Saturday, 9 August 2025 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as God’s holy and beloved people, all of us should always believe in the Lord and put our trust in Him, and not be easily swayed by the many temptations and distractions found all around us in this world. We also need a strong and vibrant relationship with the Lord, and develop a strong commitment in following Him at all times, in our prayerful and faithful living, in doing what God had taught and shown us all to do in being good and dedicated disciples and followers of our God. If only our faith in God is stronger, then we should have remained firm in our conviction to walk in His path, and we will not easily fall into the wrong paths in our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the continuation of the exhortation which Moses, the leader of the Israelites made to the people of God, calling on all of them to keep the Law and commandments of God, and to live their lives faithfully and worthily of the Lord, so that the Lord will continue to bless them and their descendants, for their faith, love and devotion to Him, as part of the Covenant which God had made with each and every one of them. Moses reminded the people that even after they had reached the land which had been promised and assured to them, they and their descendants should continue to worship the Lord and obey Him as they had always done, and not instead be swayed by worldly desires and forgetting what God had done for them.

That was why Moses spent the time and effort to remind the people of Israel, who have already begun to abandon the Lord even as the Lord had continued to show His signs and wonders in their midst. They had shown how stubborn and wicked they could be, in hardening their hearts and refusing the great grace and blessings which God had blessed them with, complaining about their lives and conditions when God had constantly taken care of them, protected them from their enemies, and reassured them that He would fulfil all of His promises and words, without exception. Hence, Moses reminded the people again and again of the great love and faithfulness of God to His Covenant, which He has constantly renewed and reassured us with from time to time.

And since God had made His Covenant with His people, that is why it is imperative that we should remember our part of the Covenant since we ourselves like the Israelites in the past have also been partakers of God’s Covenant, ours being the New and Eternal Covenant which He has made and sealed with each and every one of us through none other than His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. God has always loved us, and He has always been patient in caring for us, even to the point of providing for us the ultimate gift of His love, His own Son, manifested in the flesh, so that by the ultimate sacrifice that He undertook on the Cross at Calvary, He might liberate us all from our sufferings and troubles, from our bondage to sin that had separated us all from Him. He has always wanted us to be reconciled to Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which a man who had an epileptic son asked the Lord why His disciples could not drive out the evil spirits from his son, and the Lord chided the lack of faith of the people and that of His disciples, and showing forth His power and authority, He healed the man’s son and cast those evil spirits that had made that son to suffer such hardships. And He told His disciples afterwards when they asked Him privately why they could not cast the evil spirits out, that the kind of evil spirits whom they encountered required prayer and indeed, faith in God for grace and power to flow from God and cast out those evil spirits.

It may indeed be a bit difficult to understand the intentions and nuances of the Lord from what we have heard in those words and from the events depicted in the Gospel, but it is quite evident and implied strongly that the disciples did not have genuine or strong faith in the Lord. They had indeed been given the power and authority by the Lord to heal and perform miracles, and to cast out evil spirits and heal the possessed. However, it is important that we realise how this power came from God and it is God Who exercised His power and authority through those disciples. It was likely that the disciples who attempted the healing thought that it was their own power and greatness that allowed them to perform such actions and exercise those powers, and hence, their tenuous connection to the Lord allowed the evil spirits to resist and even attack them back.

This is why it is again very important for us to remember to deepen our faith and relationship with God, in following His Law and commandments sincerely and faithfully at all times, and by spending good and quality time with Him each day through prayer and spiritual connection with Him, and even in whatever we do in each and every days of our lives, because in whatever we do with faith, even in the smallest things, done in obedience and faith in God, that is where we have grown in our connection and relationship with God. As Christians, we should indeed always embody our faith in all of our every words, actions and deeds, so that by our lives and examples we may be good inspiration to everyone around us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also more famously known by her birth name of Edith Stein. She was a convert to the Catholic faith and was born into a German Jewish family in the early twentieth century. After encountering the works of St. Teresa of Avila during his education in her doctoral studies and afterwards, she was attracted to the Catholic faith and eventually became a follower of Christ. She wanted to join the Discalced Carmelite nuns, and despite some setbacks, she eventually managed to do so, during the difficult years at that time because the NAZI regime was rising to power in Germany and began to make many anti-Jewish laws and regulations which also impacted her as well. Nonetheless, she continued to dedicate herself to the Lord through her community of nuns, and despite being sent to a monastery in the Netherlands for her safety, she was eventually arrested by the NAZI secret police, the Gestapo and was martyred in a concentration camp with many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life and examples of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, her courage and faith in the Lord, in standing up to the face of evil and sin in this world, and inspired by the great lvoe that God has always had for each and every one of us, let us all therefore strive to be ever more faithful and dedicated to the Lord at all times. Let us continue to walk faithfully with the Lord, doing our very best to glorify Him and to proclaim His Good News and truth, show His love and compassion to everyone through our own actions, words and deeds. May the Lord be with us all and all of our good works and deeds, in all things and at all times. May God bless our every efforts and bless His Church. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 August 2025 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 17 : 14-20

At that time, when Jesus and His disciples came to the crowd, a man approached Him, knelt before Him and said, “Sir, have pity on my son, who is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He has often fallen into the fire, and at other times into the water. I brought him to Your disciples but they could not heal him.”

Jesus replied, “O you people, faithless and misled! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed. Later, the disciples approached Jesus and asked Him privately, “Why could we not drive out the spirit?”

Jesus said to them, “Because you have little faith. I say to you : if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible for you.”