holy women

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Wednesday, 8 February 2023 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (First Reading)

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

Genesis 2 : 4b-9, 15-17

On the day that YHVH God made the earth and the heavens, there was not yet on earth any shrub on the fields, nor had any plant yet sprung up, for YHVH God had not made it rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the earth, but a mist went up from the earth and watered the surface of the earth.

Then YHVH God formed Man, dust drawn from the clay, and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life and Man became alive with breath. God planted a garden in Eden in the east and there He placed Man whom He had created. YHVH God caused to grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to see and good to eat, also the tree of life on the middle of the garden and the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

YHVH God took Man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and to take care of it. Then YHVH God gave an order to Man saying, “You may eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you will die.”

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Friday, 27 January 2023 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the commitment, the hard work, efforts and the challenges that we all may face in the process of us walking faithfully in God’s path as Christians, as those who have chosen to listen the Lord’s call and follow Him. Each and every one of us are reminded that being Christians do not mean that we can be idle or ignorant of our calling in life, the mission that we have in our lives and works, in our everyday living that God has entrusted to us. All of us must be active in living our faith through our actions and works in life, and we cannot be idle and remain aloof of what the Lord has told and taught us to do, in obeying His Law and commandments, and to be role models and inspirations for others.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard from the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews that the faithful people of God have to undergo hardships, challenges and trials in the midst of their lives and daily actions. They may have to encounter a lot of tribulations and obstacles as they continue to progress through life and as they encounter others. Yet, they must not allow themselves to be swayed by fear or insecurities, and they should not stop being faithful simply because they were afraid of being rejected and cast aside by the world, or by their communities, and even by their own families and friends. In the past, all these had happened to the faithful people of God throughout history, how the Church and many Christians were persecuted for their faith, and many were martyred for their continued obedience to God.

Yet all that did not dampen the passion and desire of many among the faithful in following God and devoting themselves to Him. They endured a lot of hardships, opposition to their faith and way of life. Many of them remained firm in their commitment to God and chose to suffer and even die rather than to abandon their faith and betray the Lord. Some among them faltered and gave up their faith because of the intense persecutions, and yet even some among those returned back to the faith and were martyred afterwards as well. The Lord has shown them His love and guidance, gave them all His strength and providence, not letting their enemies to have their ways with them. Although they might have to suffer and endure many hardships, but they knew that the Lord was with them and they remained steadfast henceforth in refusing the pressures and demands from the world.

They helped and supported each other in times of distress and persecution, with many risking their lives in order to help and support their fellow Christian brethren. This happened to both the ordained and the laity alike, as we may remember many tales and stories of how many great Popes, bishops and priests dedicated their lives to serve their flock, the people of God entrusted to them, and how they were persecuted and martyred for their faith, and their dedication and courage to the very end became great source of inspiration to other fellow Christians throughout history. Many among the laity themselves were also doing the same thing, risking their lives and placing a lot of effort and good works in contributing to the good works and missions of the Church. Their dedication and great examples were also great sources of inspiration themselves.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the words of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples using a parable regarding the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. He was teaching to them and revealing to them how the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven is really like. He compared the Kingdom to a man scattering seeds upon the soil and allowing them to grow well, nurturing them and taking care of them well, and also brought up the example of the mustard seed, which was a truly very small seed barely visible to our eyes, and yet, once grown, the mustard tree is among the largest garden trees around, a truly magnificent and huge increase in size and scale as compared to the humble seed that it was growing from. Through these examples, the Lord wanted each and every one of His disciples and followers to understand what we all need to do to be His disciples in this world.

Linking to what we have discussed through the first reading today, the persecutions and hardships that the faithful are expected to encounter in their lives are just like the challenges faced by farmers in growing their seeds and crops. There are a lot of challenges faced by the growing plant as they germinate and then grow into adult, mature and healthy plants. There are important conditions that the seeds and then later the young plant require in order for them to grow, such as adequate sunlight, availability of water and nutrients, the right temperature and other conditions. By using the parable, the Lord was actually linking to the examples that many among His disciples would be familiar with, as many among them would have been either directly or indirectly connected to the world of agriculture in their daily lives.

Like those seeds and plants, our faith in the Lord need specific conditions in order to grow well, and at the same time, we are likely going to encounter challenges and difficulties as well. But if we continue to be patient and continue to nurture our faith in the Lord, building up our relationship with Him and getting closer to Him, then surely we will grow ever more in faith and we will become ever more faithful and dedicated as Christians. Persevering in faith and enduring many hardships and challenges are never easy, but as long as we remain firm in our faith, and as long as we do our best to follow the Lord and His path, and encourage one another to remain firm in faith, then surely the path forward for us will be clear and straight towards God and His grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we can also follow the examples of our holy predecessor, namely St. Angela Merici, a great saint and holy woman of God, whose life and dedication to God can become a great source of inspiration for us. She was renowned for her great faith and dedication to God, as well as great piety and holy life, having devoted herself thoroughly to God and committing herself to a life of prayer and service to the Lord and His people. She founded the Company of St. Ursula and eventually many young women joined her ideals in developing a thorough Catholic and good education for young girls in particular, reaching out to the many out there who were less privileged and lacking access to basic rights and education among other things.

May the Lord continue to guide us that we may persevere faithfully in our faith, and may He empower each one of us to live ever more worthily of Him in our every moments and in every days of our life. May He bless our every good works and efforts, and may He grant us His grace in all things, in all that we do and act at every moment. Amen.

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Friday, 27 January 2023 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Mark 4 : 26-34

At that time, Jesus also said, “In the kingdom of God it is like this : a man scatters seed upon the soil. Whether he is asleep or awake, be it day or night, the seed sprouts and grows, he knows not how. The soil produces of itself : first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when it is ripe for harvesting, they take the sickle for the cutting : the time for the harvest has come.”

Jesus also said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall we compare it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown, is the smallest of all the seeds scattered upon the soil. But once sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of the plants in the garden, and even grows branches so big, that the birds of the air can take shelter in its shade.”

Jesus used many such stories, in order to proclaim the word to them in a way that they would be able to understand. He would not teach them without parables; but privately to His disciples He explained everything.

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Friday, 27 January 2023 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Psalm 36 : 3-4, 5-6, 23-24, 39-40

Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and live on it. Make the Lord your delight, and He will grant your heart’s desire.

Commit your way to the Lord; put your trust in Him and let Him act. Then will Your revenge come, beautiful as the dawn, and the justification of your cause, bright as the noonday sun.

The Lord is the One Who makes people stand, He gives firmness to those He likes. They may stumble, but they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

The Lord is the Salvation of the righteous; in time of distress, He is their refuge. The Lord helps them, and rescues them from the oppressor; He saves them for they sought shelter in Him.

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Friday, 27 January 2023 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Hebrews 10 : 32-39

Remember the first days when you were enlightened. You had to undergo a hard struggle in the face of suffering. Publicly you were exposed to humiliations and trials, and had to share the sufferings of others who were similarly treated.

You showed solidarity with those in prison; you were dispossessed of your goods and accepted it gladly for you knew you were acquiring a much better and more durable possession. Do not now throw away your confidence that will be handsomely rewarded.

Be patient in doing the will of God, and the promise will be yours : A little, a little longer – says Scripture – and He Who is coming will come; He will not delay. My righteous one will live if he believes: but if he distrusts, I will no longer look kindly on him. We are not among those who withdraw and perish, but among those who believe and win personal salvation.

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Saturday, 21 January 2023 : 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, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to continue to persevere in faith and to follow the Lord despite the challenges and trials that we may face in life. We must not be swayed easily by the temptations and pressures to do otherwise, and we should never let our trust and faith in God to go away. For the Lord Himself is our only Hope, the Light of our salvation, and the one and true Eternal High Priest Who has given Himself so wholly and completely for the sake of each and every one of us, without exception. We must also be inspired by the examples of the saints and martyrs who have dedicated themselves to the Lord and resisting all sorts of pressures and coercions to betray and abandon their Lord and God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle to the Hebrews in which the author of this Epistle highlighted as he had done in our past few days’ worth of readings, about the role that Jesus Christ had taken in being our High Priest, offering on our behalf a most worthy offering before the Lord, for the atonement of our innumerable sins. The author highlighted how the priests and high priests in the past would come to the presence of God, also touching on the layout of the Temple of Jerusalem, the House of God, where the Holy Presence of God resides, behind the Holy Place and separated by a veil, which was also known as the Holy of Holies. That place indicated the holiest place in the world, where God Himself dwelled in, in the midst of His people, being present among them and being with them.

The place was so holy and sacred that no one except the High Priest could enter, and even for his case, he could only enter it at a particular very solemn occasion each year, representing the people of God, seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness for their many sins. The High Priest was therefore the link between God and His people, and Christ is the One and true Eternal High Priest that far surpasses all the mortal High Priests appointed to lead the people of God in the past. For Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and Our High Priest has offered not the limited and imperfect offering of the blood of lambs and bulls, animals and other worldly sacrifices as the High Priests and other priests of the past had done. He has offered nothing less than His own life, His own Most Precious Body and Blood.

Yes, brothers and sisters, Christ our Lord has offered Himself to be the perfect and most worthy sacrifice, baring Himself on the Altar of the Cross, at Calvary, that as He was lifted up for everyone to see and witness, between the Heaven and the Earth, He was raised up on the Altar like a lamb being slaughtered and placed above the Altar of sacrifice, an offering for the sins of mankind. He broke His Body and poured out His Blood on the Altar of His Cross, much like the blood of the sacrificial lamb being poured down the Altar and sprinkled on the people of God as a sign of their atonement and reconciliation with God. However, what is truly different is that, unlike the offering of animals and their blood, which could only provide a temporary respite from our sins, the Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross is a complete, permanent and eternal in nature, giving us absolution from our sins forever.

It means that once and for all, by His most loving sacrifice on His Cross, Jesus Christ our Lord has saved us all through that supreme act of selflessness and love. He has given us all the sure path out of the darkness that had surrounded and reigned over us because of our sins. Hence, by all of these and most importantly because God loved us all, we have received grace and salvation, and as His people, we have to realise this love and understand, appreciate and be thankful for everything that God had done from us. As we heard in our Gospel passage today, for doing everything that He had done for us out of love, He had to face a lot of challenges, trials and difficulties, rejections and even, His own family and relatives were fed up with Him, and thought that He was out of His mind. He made Himself like an outcast, despised and hated for our sake.

All of us as Christians should devote our time and effort to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and commit ourselves thoroughly to His cause. We should dedicate ourselves to work for the glory of God and for the proclamation of His truth in our world, just as what the saints and martyrs had done. And today we can refer to the good examples set by St. Agnes, a great and renowned martyr of the Church, whose dedication to God and commitment to purity and righteousness can inspire us that we may live a better and more Christian lives in our existence in this world. St. Agnes, also known as St. Agnes of Rome was a young Roman noblewoman who lived and suffered, died during the terrible years of the Diocletianic Persecution, also known as the Great Persecution for its particularly intense episode of persecutions against Christians.

St. Agnes was a faithful young woman who had dedicated herself thoroughly to God, committing herself to a holy virginity and dedication to God. However, her great beauty attracted many suitors, who were enraged by her refusal to engage them. Hence, St. Agnes was arrested upon the reports from those men who sought after her, accusing her because of her Christian faith. The Roman prefect, named Sempronius, attempted to get her to be defiled in a brothel, but miraculously St. Agnes was protected by God, and everyone who attempted to defile and rape her were struck blind or were prevented from doing so. And when she was put on the stake to be burnt to death, again even the fires and the heat refused to harm her, and they parted from her. In the end, she was martyred by being stabbed and beheaded. Yet, her inspiration and faith in God lived on, and many were touched by her faith, courage and examples.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in the footsteps of St. Agnes, in her dedication to God and in her love for Him, which we should apply in our own lives. Let us all be thankful and appreciative of all that the Lord had done for us, in offering Himself as the perfect and worthy sacrifice for our salvation. May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen each one of us so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His Presence, and may we all be found worthy to receive the fullness of His grace and love, in time to come. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 January 2023 : 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 : 20-21

At that time, Jesus and His disciples went home. The crowd began to gather again and they could not even have a meal. Knowing what was happening, His relatives came to take charge of Him, “He is out of His mind,” they said.

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Saturday, 21 January 2023 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 6-7, 8-9

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations. God reigns from His holy throne.

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Saturday, 21 January 2023 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 9 : 2-3, 11-14

A first tent was prepared with the lampstand, the table and the bread of the Presence, this is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain, there is a second sanctuary called the Most Holy Place.

But now Christ has appeared as the High Priest with regard to the good things of these new times. He passed through a sanctuary more noble and perfect, not made by hands, that is, not created. He did not take with Himself the blood of goats and bulls but His own Blood, when He entered once and for all into the sanctuary after obtaining definitive redemption.

If the sprinkling of people defiled by sin with the blood of goats and bulls or with the ashes of a heifer provided them with exterior cleanliness and holiness, how much more will it be with the Blood of Christ? He, moved by the eternal Spirit, offered Himself as an unblemished victim to God and His Blood cleanses us from dead works, so that we may serve the living God.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the coming of the end of times which is certain to happen to us and to this world. The Lord Himself, His prophets, messengers and more have spoken about it, of the time when the final triumph over evil shall come, and all the faithful people of God will be gathered together to live forever in God, free from the bondage of sin, evil and death forevermore, and to assume once again the state which they had once lost because of their disobedience and sins against God that also sundered them from the fullness of His grace and love. That is what God has always intended from the very beginning, that is for us all to be with Him in perfect love and harmony, to exist with Him forever in grace and joy.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the vision of the great and triumphant Son of Man, Who is also the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who at the vision of St. John, wore His victorious crown and holding a great sickle by which He would rend the whole world, separating those who are worthy from those unworthy of God and His salvation and grace. That is a premonition of what will happen at the end of time, when the Lord Himself will gather all those who are faithful to Him and bring them to the eternal life and inheritance that He has already promised to them from the very beginning of time. From the time when we first fell into sin, God has promised His salvation to us, and will send us His deliverance through none other than His Son, Jesus Christ, the Triumphant One.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking of the premonition of what would happen to Jerusalem and its Temple, the destruction and all that would be inflicted upon the city and its people in due time. In about four decades after the Lord spoke of it, the rebellion of the Jewish people led to a punitive expedition and siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed and conquered by the Romans, and the magnificent Temple built by King Herod the Great was thoroughly looted, destroyed and crushed to its foundations, that nothing of it was left right up to this day. It was a proof that whatever the Lord Himself had predicted would happen, will indeed happen as He has said.

From the perspective of those who lived during those times, they might indeed think that the end of times would be coming soon, well within their lifetimes, and even some of the Lord’s disciples and Apostles also believed so. But the truth is none of them are aware of the fullness of knowledge of what will truly happen, and when everything will come to happen. No one could have predicted when the city and Temple of Jerusalem were destroyed, and when it happened, it came like a whirlwind, suddenly and must have been a real surprise for almost everyone. No one could have expected that the magnificent city and Temple of Jerusalem could have been destroyed in such a way, and at such a time. Yet, all happened as it is preordained by God, and He alone knows the time and the occasion that will happen.

The same therefore will happen to the end of times, which will come at a time we least expect, and no one, not even anyone in the Church, or any of the Apostles know of the exact timing of the Lord’s Second Coming and the end of all as portrayed and revealed to St. John in the Book of Revelations. What was known to us is just a glimpse of what will happen, and the Lord Himself said on multiple occasions as recorded throughout the Gospels, that this will come most unexpected for everyone, and one may be having their daily lives as usual at one moment, and then immediately it happens the very next moment. Thus, what is important for us all to remember is that, we must never take our faith in God for granted, and we have to be ever vigilant, preparing ourselves for this eventuality.

As Christians, each one of us are called to be exemplary in life and to do our very best in answering God’s call and to live our lives in the manner that He has taught us and shown us, by His own examples. Just as He has loved us so wonderfully, in reaching out to us and to those among us who have been forsaken and rejected by others, He has shown us the example of perfect and selfless love that each one of us as Christians ought to have. Unless we make good use of the time and opportunities presented to us, the talents and abilities, gifts and blessings granted to us, we cannot truly be worthy of God, and if we are not careful or vigilant enough, we may end up being caught on the wrong side at the coming of the Lord’s judgment. Do we want to wait until it is all too late for us, brothers and sisters in Christ?

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Cecilia, whose life, faith and dedication to God should inspire in each one of us as Christians to be better and more committed disciples of the Lord. St. Cecilia was born to a noble Roman family who forced her to marry a young pagan nobleman named Valerius. St. Cecilia had made a solemn vow of virginity, dedicating herself solely to God, and maintaining her sanctity throughout her most pious and chaste life. She is known as the Patron Saint for musicians because according to tradition, she sang from her heart to the Lord at her own wedding, showing her genuine faith and commitment to God. And when her marriage was about to be consummated, she told her husband that an Angel of the Lord stood guard protecting her, and would strike him down should he attempt to violate her sacred virginity dedicated to God.

Her faith and piety was such that her husband and his brother were converted to the Christian faith, as especially her husband having witnessed the aforementioned Angel of God appearing before St. Cecilia and crowning her with a crown of roses and lilies, marking her purity and virginity. They were all eventually persecuted together with many other Christians during one of the intense persecutions against the Church and Christians by the Roman state. They were all martyred for their faith, and they gave their lives for the glory of God, dedicating themselves to the mission entrusted to them, to inspire many more people through their lives and examples. Through St. Cecilia and her faith, and her courage to maintain her purity and obedience to God, all of us can see how we too are called to be faithful to the Lord in the same way as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reevaluate our focus and emphasis in life, and see what we can do to make sure that our lives are worthy of God and maybe even be good models and inspirations for one another. Are we willing and able to make the commitment to God and to live our lives ever more worthily from now on? Are we willing to do our best to live in the way that God has shown us and led us to do? May the Lord continue to guide us all through life and strengthen us in our resolve to follow Him, and to distance ourselves from wickedness and sin. May God bless us always, and may He remain with us, by our side, leading us through the path to eternal life. Amen.