holy women

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Thursday, 21 January 2016 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast day of a great saint and martyr of the Church, namely St. Agnes the martyr, a holy virgin whose faith and dedication to the Lord made her to be steadfast and adamant against the pressure from those who sought to have her abandon her faith in the Lord and her chastity, and until the end, she persevered in her faith and remained committed to the Lord in all things.

St. Agnes was a young and devout woman who lived through the last years of the great persecution of the Church and the faithful under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who pursued Christians far and wide in a futile attempt to destroy the Church and the Christian faith once and for all. St. Agnes was born in Rome in a Christian family, and her beauty was so great that there were many of those who attempted to suit her and hoping to get her attention.

But St. Agnes refused all of those men’s advances, and she remained true to her vow of chastity and purity, resisting all the desires of the flesh and the desires for pleasure that all of them had sought. But the actions of St. Agnes brought her ti the attention of those who desired her and yet had been rejected. Eventually it was found that St. Agnes was a Christian, who were therefore bound to be condemned to death as per the Emperor’s decree.

And thus she was tortured and was made to endure grievous sufferings as she adamantly and resolutely stood by her faith in God, refusing to reject the Lord and to recant her faith in exchange for her safety and comfort in this world. None of those torture forms could dissuade her or made her to change her mind. And thus, as she endured painful death in the Name of the Lord, she was brought up in glory to heaven, to enjoy forever the eternal fruits of life in God.

In all these, we see how the faithful will be rewarded, if we are able to detach ourselves from the attachments to the world and to all forms of sins, just as St. Agnes had once done. In the first reading today, we witnessed how the first king of Israel, Saul, became jealous of David, who would be the one to succeed him as king over all of the people of God, because David was becoming greater in the favours of God and men alike.

And then, in the Gospel reading, we heard about how Jesus our Lord Who taught the people of God on the truth and the salvation that He brought into the world by His coming onto the earth. We saw our Lord’s love for His people, that is all of us mankind, as He blessed them, fed them and healed them from their afflictions and from the possession by demons and evil spirits.

What does all these mean to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? How are they relevant to us and our lives in this world? By looking at the examples of St. Agnes the great martyr, and also the lives of the many other holy men and women of God, and in how king David once acted before he became king over Israel, remaining humble and unassuming, totally devoted to the Lord even though he was essentially the rival of the reigning king, Saul, all of us should realise that to become great disciples and followers of our Lord, we must all resist the temptations of our flesh, and welcome in us all, the spirit of God’s love.

Let us all therefore heed those good examples, and let us all die to our pride, our desire, our haughtiness, the arrogance and the negativities that have kept us all wicked and unworthy of God’s grace all these while. Let us sharpen the edge of our humility and of our devotion to the Lord, that we may ever give more and more of ourselves to the Lord, and thus receive from Him the pledge of enduring love and eternal life.

May God bless us all in our endeavours, and may He enlighten us with His grace, and may His blessings strengthen us in all of the things we say and do with the full faith in Him, so that in all that we say and do, we may bring greater glory to His Name, and bring salvation closer to one another. God be with us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 21 January 2016 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 3 : 7-12

At that time, Jesus and His disciples withdrew to the lakeside, and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him. A great number of people also came from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and from the region of Tyre and Sidon, for they had heard of all that He was doing.

Because of the crowd, Jesus told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him, to prevent the people from crushing Him. He healed so many, that all who had diseases kept pressing towards Him to touch Him. Even the people who had evil spirits, whenever they saw Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, “You are the Son of God.” But He warned them sternly not to tell anyone Who He was.

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Thursday, 21 January 2016 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 55 : 2-3, 9-10ab, 10c-11, 12-13

O God, show Your mercy to me, for my foes are in hot pursuit; they press their attack on me all the time. My accusers pursue me all day long, many attack me.

You have a record of my laments; my tears are stored in Your wineskin. Are they not written on Your scroll? 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.

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Thursday, 21 January 2016 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Samuel 18 : 6-9 and 1 Samuel 19 : 1-7

When David and his men arrived after he had slain the Philistine, the women came out from the cities of Israel to meet king Saul singing and dancing with timbrels and musical instruments. They were merrily singing this song : “Saul has slain his thousands, and David, his tens of thousands.”

Saul was very displeased with this song and said, “They have given tens of thousands to David but to me only thousands! By now he has everything but the kingdom!” From then on, Saul became very distrustful of David.

Saul told his son Jonathan and his servants of his intention to kill David. But Jonathan, who liked David very much, said to David, “My father Saul wants to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning and hide yourself in a secret place. I will go out and keep my father company in the countryside where you are and I will speak to him about you. If I find out something, I will let you know.”

Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said, “Let not the king sin against his servant David for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, what he has done has benefitted you. He risked his life in killing the Philistine and YHVH brought about a great victory for Israel. You yourself saw this and greatly rejoiced. Why then sin against innocent blood and kill David without cause?”

Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore, “As YHVH lives, he shall not be put to death.” So Jonathan called David and told him all these things. He then brought him to Saul and David was back in Saul’s service as before.

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Monday, 21 December 2015 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 39-45

At that time, Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women, and Blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

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Sunday, 20 December 2015 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 39-45

At that time, Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women, and Blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

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Wednesday, 25 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catharine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Jesus Who reminded us that by being His followers and disciples we would expose ourselves to scrutiny and persecution, opposition and even suffering inflicted by the world, all of the secular leaders and powers because they are opposed to our ways, that is the ways of the Lord.

We saw how the world profaned the Lord and His holy Name, as we heard ourselves in the Book of the prophet Daniel, a portion of which was read today as our first reading. We heard how the king of Babylon, Belshazzar disrespected and blasphemed against the Lord by using His holy vessels and cups to serve the wine and the foods to be served to the nobles and to the courtiers.

And not only that, but he also did not give honour to the Lord, and instead, blasphemed by honouring and praising the pagan and wicked gods and idols of the pagans, made of stone, silver, gold and all sorts of worldly and material beings. He used the holy vessels consecrated to the Lord for these worldly purposes and in doing so, he incurred the wrath of the Lord.

And in the Gospel today, our Lord Jesus spoke about the times of difficulties and persecutions of the faithful, and how we ought not to worry about how to defend ourselves, for God Himself will guide us just as He has guided many of His holy ones, the saints and martyrs as they struggled against the worldly and secular authorities, and against those pagans seeking the destruction of the Church and the faithful ones of God.

All these in fact pointed out to the fact that the ways of this world, the norms and ways, pleasures and customs pertaining to the societies of this world are much more likely than not, exist in direct opposition to the ways of the Lord, in direct opposition against the laws and precepts, the norms and the causes of the Lord as He had taught and shown us.

But we should not fear the world and all the things that they can inflict on us, for the suffering and persecution we are to endure are nothing compared to the rewards awaiting us all in God if we are faithful to His commandments and laws. And today we celebrate the feast of a great saint whose life and dedication to the Lord can indeed become an inspiration to all of us on how to live our lives faithfully in this world.

St. Catherine or St. Catharine the Great of Alexandria was a great and devoted servant of the Lord, who lived her life with great piety and dedication, and she herself was persuaded to be a Christian after having seen a vision of the Lord and His mother, and through her studies and commitment to understanding more of the faith, she became a very devoted servant of the Lord.

And when the then Emperor of the Roman Empire, Maxentius continued a great persecution against Christians and all the followers of Christ, St. Catherine herself with great piety and courage went to contest the Emperor and rebuke him for his harsh treatment of Christians. And despite the Emperor’s attempts to turn her away from her faith, sending even the best philosophers and pagans the Empire could gather, she remained strong and devoted to God.

And the Emperor who was astounded by her beauty tried one last time to convince her by offering her to be his spouse, and therefore through it, giving her all the power, glory, privileges and all the things the world could offer. However, St. Catherine refused the honour and the glory made at the cost of her soul and the salvation she had secured in God.

And in the end, she was martyred in great pain and torture, and yet, her faith had given her the eternal glory and reward as God had promised all of His faithful ones. God never abandoned those who are faithful to Him, and He will always guide all those who had committed themselves to Him. Let this be a lesson to all of us as well, so that we will continue to walk faithfully in His presence despite all the challenges and all the temptation to do otherwise.

May the Lord fortify our resolve and strengthen our commitment to Him, that knowing how the persecutions and sufferings caused upon us by the world will be, we will continue to persevere through to eternal life, and resisting all the efforts of the evil one to bring us down once again. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catharine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 21 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison, and for My sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

“So keep this in mind : do not worry in advance about what to say, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.”

“But even though, because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone, not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.”

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Wednesday, 25 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catharine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Daniel 3 : 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67

Sun and moon, praise and exalt Him forever.

Stars of heaven, praise and exalt Him forever.

Rain and dew, praise and exalt Him forever.

All winds, praise and exalt Him forever.

Fire and heat, praise and exalt Him forever.

Cold and heat, praise and exalt Him forever.

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Wednesday, 25 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catharine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Daniel 5 : 1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his nobles, a thousand of them attended and he drank wine with them. Under the influence of wine, he ordered that the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines might drink from them.

The gold and silver vessels taken from God’s Temple were brought in, and the king and his nobles, his wives and concubines drank from them. While they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone.

Suddenly a man’s fingers appeared opposite the lampstand and wrote on the plastered wall of the king’s palace. Watching the hand as it wrote, the king turned pale. So terrified was he that his knees knocked and his legs gave way.

Daniel was brought in and questioned by the king, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father brought from Judah? I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods, that you have insight and extraordinary wisdom.”

“I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around your neck, and be appointed third in rank in my kingdom.” Daniel replied, “You may keep your gifts or give them to someone else. Just the same I will read and interpret the writing for you.”

“You have defied the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels from His Temple brought to you, and together with your nobles, your wives and concubines, you drank wine from them. You praised the idols made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron and stones, which neither see, nor hear, nor understand; but you never glorified God Who has power over your life and all your fortunes.”

“So He sent the hand that wrote the inscription which read MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. And these words mean : MENE, God has numbered the days of your reign and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighted on the scales and found wanting; PARSIN, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”