Japanese martyrs

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the word of God reminding us about the wonderful works that God has done in our midst, and yet at the same time, we are also presented with the sad reality of the opposition and ignorance with which many among us have in our own lives, in how we do not recognise God’s wonders and love in work within us and in the midst of our community, our society and even within our own families and circle of friends.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord’s work among the people, all the miraculous deeds and wonders He had done, healing the sick, casting out evil spirits and demons, and even raising the dead back into life, all these were doubted and even ridiculed by the people who saw all that He had performed before them. Some of them refused to believe and doubted because they thought of Him as the Son of a mere village carpenter, and they could not reconcile that fact with what they have witnessed in the Lord’s many miracles and wisdom.

All of these ultimately came about because of the prejudices and biases that were rampant among the community of the people of God, when people judged one another and treated one another according to one’s social status and standing within the society. Those who were uneducated and held difficult and yet humble jobs like carpenters, farmers, shepherds, all those who took up menial labours and went through much physical hardships, without proper compensation and were poor, all of these were often marginalised and ignored by the greater society.

The Lord called many of His disciples and followers from among these, as many of them were uneducated, with ordinary and even poor background, having no status or greatness, having no special privileges, just like Himself, born into a poor family from a poor and small, insignificant village of Nazareth in Galilee, which was equally a backwater periphery of the Jewish community and world at that time, where no one of particular honour and power was expected to come from.

The Lord gathered His disciples and followers, showing them all what they often had to endure for His sake, because of their background, and even more importantly, because of their faith and belief in God. To be His followers, the disciples of the Lord Jesus were called to be ready to be humiliated, ostracised, abandoned, rejected and left without honour, and even imprisoned and to suffer from various pains and sufferings, just as the Lord Himself has suffered the same.

That was what the first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews spoke about, of the readiness to suffer for God’s sake, and yet, at the same time, the faithful were reminded of God’s faithfulness and unshakeable dedication to His faithful ones. God will not abandon His faithful ones to the darkness, and He will not allow them to fall into damnation, and that is why, He gave us this gift of faith, as well as love for Him.

However, the reality of life is such that we often falter when we are faced with challenges and difficulties, because we have not been able to feel and know His presence in our midst. We are often too preoccupied and too prejudiced to notice the Lord’s works and presence in our midst, just as the people who witnessed all of the Lord’s miracles and wonders still doubted in Him and refused to believe despite all that they have seen and experienced.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of saints and martyrs, whose life and devotion to God are truly exemplary, and should become our inspiration in life. St. Paul Miki and his fellow martyrs, both priests and the laity were known together as the Holy Japanese Martyrs, those who suffered and died during those years when the Japanese authorities severely oppressed the faithful in Japan, both laity and priests, both foreign missionaries and local Christians alike.

St. Paul Miki and his fellow martyrs in faith were harassed, arrested and tortured because of their faith in God, as they refused to reject the Lord and abandon Christ. When they were forced to desecrate the holy images of the Lord, His blessed Mother and His saints, they refused to do so, and remained resolute in their faith and commitment. The authorities sentenced them to death, and they were forced to march thousands of kilometres from the capital in Kyoto to their site of martyrdom in Nagasaki.

But despite all of these sufferings, challenges and difficulties, the pains and sorrows that the Japanese Christians, St. Paul Miki and his fellow martyrs had to endure, they remained firm in their faith in God, and kept that joy within them. The Lord Himself was with them, and they kept that joy of knowing just how God’s love has given them strength. St. Paul Miki and his companions endured the long and arduous journey, singing the thanksgiving hymn, ‘Te Deum’ throughout the way.

When they were martyred, the holy Japanese martyrs faced death with faith, and committed themselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. They remained true to their faith to the very end, knowing that God would always be with them, despite all the difficulties and challenges that they encountered. Now, we are called to imitate and follow the examples of those holy saints and martyrs, St. Paul Miki and his companions, who have given themselves so totally to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to commit ourselves and dedicate ourselves in the same manner? Are we able to face the challenges of this world with the same joy as the Apostles, and as St. Paul Miki and his companions had done? We are called to follow in their footsteps, and let us all pray, that from now on, we will grow ever more in our faith and love for God, and be able to dedicate ourselves, each and every days of our life. May God be with us always, and may the intercession of St. Paul Miki and his companions be our help always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 6 : 1-6

At that time, leaving the place where He resurrected the daughter of Jairus, Jesus returned to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and most of those who heard Him were astonished.

But they said, “How did this come to Him? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him, that He also performs such miracles? Who is He but the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offence at Him.

And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And He could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying His hands on them. Jesus Himself was astounded at their unbelief.

Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 13-14, 17-18a

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

But the Lord’s kindness is forever with those who fear Him; so is His justice, for their children’s children, for those who keep His covenant and remember His commands.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 12 : 4-7, 11-15

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin? Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you as children : My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do not be discouraged when He punishes you. For the Lord corrects those He loves and chastises everyone He accepts as a son.

What you endure is in order to correct you. God treats you like sons and what son is not corrected by his father? All correction is painful at the moment, rather than pleasant; later it brings the fruit of peace, that is, holiness to those who have been trained by it.

Lift up, then, your drooping hands, and strengthen your trembling knees; make level the ways for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but healed. Strive for peace with all and strive to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. See that no one falls from the grace of God, lest a bitter plant spring up and its poison corrupt many among you.

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Tuesday, 6 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today from the Scripture passages we heard what is the meaning of becoming true disciples and followers of the Lord. Today we are all called to reflect on how each one of us can be more devoted to the Lord, by obeying Him, listening to Him and doing things He has taught us to do in the right manner and in the right way.

From the Old Testament today we heard the continuation of the reading taken from the beginning of the Book of Kings, in which if yesterday we heard about the festivities and celebrations surrounding the completion and dedication of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, built by king Solomon, then today we heard about how king Solomon prayed on behalf of the people before God.

King Solomon humbled himself before the Lord, thanking Him for all that He has done for His people, and by willingly coming down into the world to dwell among His people. He acknowledged that no matter how big and grand the house he has built for the Lord, there could be no earthly building or establishment that could have contained Him.

King Solomon beseeched God that He might listen to His people in their time of need and forgive them from their sins, so that He might turn to them when they sought after Him in sincere and genuine faith. And that grand edifice of worship that is the Temple was therefore purposed for the sole aim of the placement of God at the very centre of the lives of the people.

God must be at the centre and He must be the focus of our lives, or else we will easily slip and fall into the temptations of sin. And that was exactly what happened at the time of Jesus. In our Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocritical attitude in following and enforcing the Law, as they enforced a very strict adherence to the rule of the Mosaic law, but they did that in a way which did not promote true understanding and appreciation of the Law.

The Pharisees wanted the people to follow the rules and the obligations as set by the Law to the smallest details, but all these ended up becoming empty rules and regulations, that the Pharisees themselves were unable to fulfil. And when they did the observations of the Law, they did not do them for the purpose of glorifying God, instead they did them for their own self-advancement and personal glory.

And according to the Lord Jesus, the actions of the Pharisees were even more hypocritical and inappropriate because they say one thing about a certain Law, and yet in a different occasion, they say a different story about the same rule of the Law. He used the example of the law which dictated that all of the people had to take care of their parents, and yet, the Pharisees mentioned that the people had excuse from their obligation just if they offer a sacrifice.

Similarly, on the matter of divorce, while God specifically mentioned that the man and woman whom He has blessed and united as one through holy matrimony cannot be separated by any means, but by arguing in accordance with the rules and regulations as established by Moses and the subsequent leaders of Israel, they argued that people could divorce their wives or husbands by simple matter of administration.

It is clear that in those cases, God was no longer at the centre of their judgments and even in fact, their lives. And that is why they falter and fell into sin. Unfortunately, this has happened to us mankind many times, and if we do not learn from our past history, I am afraid it will continue to repeat again and again in many of us. King Solomon himself in his old age fell from grace, and tempted by his great glory, prestige and might, he grew proud and no longer stayed faithful in the Lord, falling into the persuasion of his many wives and concubines who persuaded him to allow pagan worship and thus bringing the whole kingdom and people of Israel into sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps we should look upon the examples of the holy men and women whose memory we must remember on this day, our devout and courageous predecessors, the Holy Martyrs of Japan, as represented by St. Paul Miki and his many other companions and fellow defenders of the faith, who suffered greatly and died defending their faith.

St. Paul Miki was one of the many Christian converts in Japan, during the late era of the Warring States and the early Tokugawa Shogunate, a few hundred years ago. During that time, great missionary efforts had caused great revolution of the faith in Japan, and hundreds of thousands of people converted to the faith. However, due to the changes in the political and social condition, what was once a flourishing faith growing under favourable circumstances quickly turned into a nightmare for many of the faithful.

Soon enough, many of the Christians were forced to choose between abandoning their faith and thus live, or to remain true to their faith and suffered and eventually to be killed. Many were forced to desecrate the holy images of Christ and the faith, under very intense scrutiny from the authorities, and the Christians living at that time in Japan truly suffered greatly, and many martyrs were made.

Many abandoned their faith for the sake of safety and security of the world, but many, including St. Paul Miki, refused to abandon their Lord and Master, and chose to suffer and die instead. St. Paul Miki and his many other fellow countrymen and foreign missionaries believing in God were persecuted after they were rounded up and arrested. They were forced to march hundreds of kilometres under the most arduous conditions from Kyoto, the capital of Japan to Nagasaki, the place of their martyrdom.

But all these did not dampen their spirits, and it was told that they sung the praises of God in the hymn, ‘Te Deum’, singing throughout their journey, in what is known as one of the most touching and courageous display of faith. They marched to their certain death, and yet, God was always foremost in their mind, and they knew that He has blessed them with life, and despite all that the world levied on them, God will triumph in the end with His saints.

And still, in the end, St. Paul Miki and the fellow priests who were part of the death march imitated Christ to the very end, by forgiving all of their persecutors and torturers, by his words, ‘After Christ’s example, I forgive my persecutors, I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.” They were then martyred for their faith in Nagasaki, in the year of Our Lord 1597.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on what we have just discussed today, and particularly, what we have just heard about the courageous faith of St. Paul Miki and his fellow companions, the Holy Martyrs of Japan. They have put their complete trust in God, and He was always foremost in their mind, despite all that they had to go through, and they followed His examples to the very end, obedient to His teachings with clear understanding.

Now then, are we able to do the same? Are we able to walk in the footsteps of the holy martyrs and faithful servants of God? Are we able to put God as the priority and the centre focus of our lives? It is imperative that we should do this, as without God at the heart of all that we do, say and act in our lives, we are bound to lose our way and fall into sin, and if we are not careful, into eternal damnation.

May the Lord, through the courage of His holy martyrs, St. Paul Miki and companions, inspire each and every one of us as Christians, that we may live ever more faithfully and devote ourselves ever more thoroughly with each and every passing day. May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen us in faith. Amen.

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Tuesday, 6 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 7 : 1-13

At that time, one day, the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem. They noticed that some of His disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.

Now the Pharisees, and in fact all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands, for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything, when they come from the market, without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe; for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.

So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?” Jesus answered, “You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote : ‘This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. The worship they offer Me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules.’ You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”

And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of disregarding the commandments of God in order to enforce your own traditions! For example, Moses said : Do your duty to your father and your mother, and : Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death. But according to you, someone could say to his father or mother, ‘I already declared Corban (which means “offered to God”) what you could have expected from me.’”

“In this case, you no longer require him to do anything for his father or mother; and so you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”

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Tuesday, 6 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5 and 10, 11

My soul yearns; pines, for the courts of YHVH. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o YHVH of Hosts, my King and my God!

Happy are those who live in Your House, continually singing Your praise! Look upon our shield, o God; look upon the face of Your Anointed!

One day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be left at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

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Tuesday, 6 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Kings 8 : 22-23, 27-30

Then Solomon stood before the Altar of YHVH in the presence of all the assembly of Israel. He raised his hands towards heaven and said, “O YHVH, God of Israel, there is no God like You either in heaven or on earth! You keep Your Covenant and show loving kindness to Your servants who walk before You wholeheartedly.”

“But will God really live among people on earth? If neither heavens nor the highest heavens can contain You, how much less can this House which I have built! Yet, listen to the prayer and supplication of Your servant, o YHVH my God; hearken to the cries and pleas which Your servant directs to You this day. Watch over this House of which You have said, ‘My Name shall rest there.’ Hear the prayer of Your servant in this place.”

“Listen to the supplication of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray in this direction; listen from Your dwelling place in heaven and, on listening, forgive.”

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Monday, 6 February 2017 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard of the work of God’s love, which He had done out of love for all the things which He had created. In the first reading today, taken from the familiar passage of the first part of the Book of Genesis, we heard about the account of how God created the entire universe, that from nothingness that was before creation, God made the whole universe, all of creations complete with all the creatures.

God did not create the whole universe, with all of the objects, things both living and non-living without a reason. That reason was love, for He Himself is love, and is in perfect harmony and love in Himself. He existed in perfect harmony and love within His most Holy Trinity, but then, He wanted to share that love. And therefore, He created all things, including us all mankind because He wants to love each and every one of us.

He did not create us to allow us to perish in the darkness and in damnation of hell. But it was because of our ancestors’ and our own disobedience and refusal to listen to Him that we have been separated and sundered from His love and grace. He has made all things good and perfect, but it was our refusal to obey and to embrace His love that had brought evil upon this world.

Yet, despite all of that, He never gave up on us. Had He not loved us, or hated us for what we have done, then God would have pulled away His love and grace from us. Just as easily as He had created us, He could have destroyed us utterly as well, for after all, He is God, the Almighty God of the whole universe. But He did not do so, and that is because of His love. He loves each and every one of us so tenderly that He is willing to give us a chance.

That was why He continued to work on us mankind throughout time, sending His servants and prophets to call us back from the darkness and therefore to return into His light. He called many times for mankind to abandon their ways of sin and evil, and to return to the truth and the righteousness of God. And to that extent, He also promised that He would send us all a Saviour, Who would deliver us from all of our sins and troubles, and He did fulfil that promise perfectly, through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

In the Gospel today, we witnessed and heard how Jesus and His disciples went from place to place, and many came to Jesus wanting to be healed from their afflictions, both that of the body and that of the spirit. He healed them, cured them from the diseases that affected their flesh, and He cast out demons from them, making them healed both in body and spirit, and be reconciled with God.

He urged them to repent from their sins and called them to a life of righteousness, to be forgiven by God and to live a life of virtue and upright nature, which is what He had commanded His Apostles and disciples to continue in this world, so that even after He had left this world, His works would still continue to go on and save more souls, the proof of the love of God Who willingly suffered for our sake and Who willingly endured the cross for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we commemorate the memory of those who have followed in the footsteps of the Holy Apostles, those who have received the same calling and ministry as the disciples of our Lord had. Today we remember St. Paul Miki and his companions, who were the faithful servants of God, martyred in the land now known as Japan, at the time of the great persecution of the faithful there approximately four centuries ago.

At that time, the Church and the faith grew rapidly in Japan, as many missionaries came to that land making use of the opportunity of the open door policy of the Japanese government at that time, consisting of many local warlords, who welcomed the Europeans who came to trade, and at the same time, carrying with them missionaries seeking for the conversion of souls.

Many people, both the commoners and the nobles alike were attracted to the faith for various reasons, but many of them genuinely came to believe in the message which the missionaries had preached, about the Lord our God Who loves us all so much, about the state of our sins and our fate of damnation, and how God wanted to save us all by calling upon Himself all peoples from every nations to come and to approach upon the Throne of His mercy.

Many were baptised and became ardent Christians, including St. Paul Miki and many others. They openly practiced their faith and preached it to many others, who also were then convinced to repent their sinful ways and be converted to the faith. The faith and the Church there was rapidly growing, and its outlook was great. But no sooner that the changes in the political scenes happened, that the Christians soon found themselves in trouble.

For the new government of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan became increasingly suspicious and hostile to the influence that the Christian faith had on many people in the Japanese society. There were increasingly more and more persecutions of the faithful, and more and more people found it difficult to practice their faith openly, out of fear of the authorities.

But there were many of those who refused to be daunted by the challenges presented to them, and continued to do the good works which had been started in them. Many of them, including St. Paul Miki and his many other fellow brethren in faith were arrested, and were made to choose between staying on in their faith and facing certain death, or to abandon and reject their faith in God, by the act of stepping on images of the Lord and crucifixes, and live.

St. Paul Miki and his many companions in the faith did not comply with the offer of the authorities. They would rather serve the Lord Who loved them even though they knew that they would suffer great persecution, torture and eventually death. They would not choose the comforts of the world to save themselves but at the cost of betraying the Lord and therefore losing their souls.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the examples of St. Paul Miki and his many fellow companions, we should learn to follow the Lord as they had done, filled with faith and commitment. We should love Him in the same manner as they had done, that is with all of their hearts. After all, God had loved us all so much, that even though we have sinned, but He was willing to forgive us.

May the Lord strengthen in us our faith, and may He awaken in us the strong desire to love Him and to devote ourselves to Him. Let us all help one another to grow ever closer to God, and to grow in our faith, love for God and love for one another. May we all become worthy and good servants of our Lord, in the footsteps of the Holy Apostles and the holy saints of God, St. Paul Miki and his companions. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 6 February 2017 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Mark 6 : 53-56

At that time, having crossed the lake, Jesus and His disciples came ashore at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. As soon as they landed, people recognised Jesus, and ran to spread the news throughout the countryside.

Wherever He was, they brought to Him the sick lying on their mats; and wherever He went, to villages, towns or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplace, and begged Him to let them touch just the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were cured.