Marian celebrations

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Monday, 7 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 12-14

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is a fifteen minute walk away. On entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Present there were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus; Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.

All of these, together, gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women, and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

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Monday, 5 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures in which we are told of the story of God’s enduring love and kindness for each and every one of us, while at the same time He also wants us to turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils, all the sins which we have committed in our respective lives. We must not easily be swayed and tempted by all the temptations and falsehoods present all around us in this world, which many of our predecessors had been tempted by, and led to them falling into the path of wickedness of sin, distancing themselves from God’s grace and love. We are all reminded that God has always loved each and every one of us, and He desired for all of us to be reunited and reconciled fully with Him, and that was why, He has reached out to us through His loving Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and also His Blessed Mother, Mary, whom we commemorate today.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which we heard of the moment when there was a confrontation between Jeremiah and one called Hananiah before the king of Judah, Zedekiah, who also happened to be the last king of Judah before its destruction. Hananiah was a false prophet because he was not sent by God and did not speak according to whatever He has willed and desired, but instead presented his own thoughts and false ideas to the king and people of Judah. There were also others like him, the other false prophets who had led Judah and its people astray ever further from God, even as the Lord had constantly reminded His people through Jeremiah and many of his predecessors. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s truth, telling them how Judah’s days were numbered and the kingdom would soon be destroyed by the Babylonians, the city and the Temple, the House of God would soon be destroyed as well.

On the other hand, Hananiah spoke to the king and to the people of Judah the message that they wanted to hear, the message of false comfort and consolation as he spoke of how the yoke of Babylon would be destroyed and that the kingdom and people of Judah would be freed from their enemies. Hananiah and the other false prophets were pandering to try to gain favours with the king and the people by telling them whatever they wanted to listen to, all the good things and happy things which were indeed nice to be listened to, but which could not be further from the truth. According to historical and Scriptural evidences, they were also aligned with many within the kingdom of Judah then who were trying to align the kingdom with the forces of the Egyptians, hoping that their politics and alliances would be able to regain Judah its independence and freedom from Babylon. Unfortunately, it was exactly this which led to the ultimate downfall and destruction of Judah, just as Jeremiah had told the people.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord Jesus showed God’s generous love for His people, as He Himself has manifested this love and kindness to them, through Himself in the flesh. He showed everyone how God ultimately loves every one of us, even as He chastised and punished His beloved ones for their sins. For example, as we have heard in our first reading today, on how He chastised the people of Judah and earlier on, those in the northern kingdom of Israel, for their many sins and wickedness, but He warned them many times before everything would come to happen, just as He had done through the prophet Jeremiah. This shows us all that God wants each and every one of us to embrace His love and to get rid from ourselves the taint of sin, evil and wickedness, all of which can lead us to our destruction and downfall.

This is because we must realise that while God is forever ever merciful and loving, kind and compassionate to us, but at the same time He is also a just and holy God, in Whose Presence, no sin and wickedness can exist and remain. He wants us all to be forgiven from our many sins, and showing us all that His love is greater than whatever this world can grant to us. He gave us all His Beloved Son, revealing to us the fullness of His love personified and made manifest, approachable and tangible for us. That is why as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord showed His care and love for the people who had come to Him in their many thousands upon thousands, as all of them came together and were miraculously fed with the five loaves and two fishes that the Lord had multiplied and gave to all of them to eat, to be satisfied and filled, just as He fed them spiritually with His words and teachings.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we are all reminded of is the need for us all to reorientate our lives back towards the Lord, to follow Him wholeheartedly once again and to reject all sorts of evil and sins. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by the path of sin and wickedness, and we must not let the wickedness of this world to lead us astray in our path. Instead, we must allow God to come into our lives and to lead us to the path of righteousness and justice. Each and every one of us are therefore called and reminded to return to the Lord our most loving God, and to be truly faithful to Him in all things, to grow ever stronger in our love and dedication for Him. It is by doing all these that we can become true and genuine Christians, filled with God’s ever generous and wonderful love and grace, in everything that we say and do, in every moments of our lives.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four Papal Major Basilicas and it is the most important Marian church in the world. On this day, we remember the memory of the establishment of this great House of God, dedicated to His Blessed Mother by the original title of Our Lady of the Snows. According to the traditions of the Church, during the time when the Church and the faithful had just recently been emancipated from the relentless persecutions of the Roman state, about seventeen centuries ago, a Roman patrician or nobleman and his wife, both of whom were Christians, and who had no heirs, prayed to the Lord and made a vow to dedicate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. They asked the Lord to show them how they could properly dedicate their possessions, and the Lord answered with a great miracle.

On the fifth day of August, which henceforth became as is today, the day of the commemoration of this event, a miracle of snow happened, falling during the height of summer in the often hot Roman summer. The very site where the snow had fallen marked where the faithful couple dedicated their possessions to God, establishing the Basilica dedicated to the Mother of God herself, which would therefore become the Basilica of St. Mary Major. In this great House of God, through His mother, Mary, Holy Mother of God and all of us, many people had come seeking God, His love and forgiveness, one of which ways was through the popular Marian icon, Salus Populi Romani, which had protected the city and the people of Rome in many occasions, and inspired more Marian devotions elsewhere in the world, bringing even more people ever closer towards God through His loving Mother.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians have also been called to be the faithful bearers of our Christian faith and truth, and to lead others towards the Lord and His salvation. As we have heard from our Scripture passages today and discussed with this great event of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, let us all therefore first remind ourselves of God’s great love, and consider just how fortunate we are to have been loved in such a manner by the Lord. And then, let us all continue to propagate and showcase this great love of God in our world today, by living our own lives worthily in the path that God has shown and taught us. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, our every efforts, that we may continue to glorify Him at each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Monday, 5 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Matthew 14 : 13-21

At that time, when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed Him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there, and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.

Late in the afternoon, His disciples came to Him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to Me.”

Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.

Alternative reading (Mass for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Luke 11 : 27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!”

Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”

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Monday, 5 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Psalm 118 : 29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102

Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your Law.

Take not the word of truth from my mouth, for I would also lose my hope in Your word.

Let those who fear You, turn to me; they will understand Your statutes.

May my heart be blameless in Your decrees, that I may not be ashamed.

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I look to Your word for salvation.

I have not departed from Your decrees, for You, Yourself, have instructed me.

Alternative reading (Mass for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Judith 13 : 18bcde, 19

My daughter, may the Most High God bless you more than all women on earth. And blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who has led you to behead the leader of our enemies.

Never will people forget the confidence you have shown; they will always remember the power of God.

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Monday, 5 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Jeremiah 28 : 1-17

Early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah spoke to me.

Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon proclaimed in YHVH’s house in the presence of the priests and the people, “This is what YHVH the God of Hosts and the God of Israel says : I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the objects that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from YHVH’s house and carried to Babylon.”

“I will likewise bring back Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all who were taken from Judah and deported to Babylon. For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon – word of YHVH.”

Then Jeremiah replied to Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people, “So be it! May YHVH fulfil the words you have spoken and bring back from Babylon to this place the objects taken from the house of YHVH and all the exiles. Yet hear now what I say in your hearing and the hearing of all the people.”

“The prophets who came before you and me continually prophesied war, disaster and plague to many nations and great kingdoms. So the prophet who prophesies peace will not be recognised as truly sent by YHVH, until his predictions are fulfilled.”

Then Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah and broke it. Hananiah proclaimed in the presence of all the people, “YHVH says this : In the same manner, within two years, will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from the neck of all the nations.” Then Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.

Some time later, a word of YHVH came to Jeremiah, “Go and tell this to Hananiah : This is what YHVH says : You have broken a wooden yoke but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. For this is what YHVH the God of Hosts and the God of Israel says : I am placing a yoke of iron on the neck of all the nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.”

Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, you have not been sent by YHVH and yet you have deceived these people, giving them false hope with your lies. That is why YHVH says with regard to you : I am removing you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counselled rebellion against YHVH.”

And in the seventh month of that year Hananiah died.

Alternative reading (Mass for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Revelations 21 : 1-5a

Then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband.

A loud voice came from the throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals : He will pitch His tent among them, and they will be His people; He will be God-with-them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was, has passed away.”

The One seated on the throne said, “See, I make all things new.”

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Friday, 31 May 2024 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating the moment when Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and God, visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was the mother of St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah, at the moment when Elizabeth was already heavily pregnant with her son, and when Mary herself was just visited by the Archangel Gabriel who told her of everything that God had entrusted to her, that she would become the Mother of the Son of God Most High, and hence becoming the Mother of God. Through what had happened at that time we are all reminded of the great love of God for us and all the things that He had done for our sake, just as He had done to Mary and Elizabeth.

This celebration takes place on the last day of the month of May, which is commemorated in the Church as a Marian month, celebrating the important role that Mary has played in the history of our salvation, by bearing within her the Saviour of the world Himself. Today as we conclude this Marian month of May, it is appropriate and fitting therefore that we commemorate it once again with this Feast of the Visitation, to remind ourselves ever more of the importance of Mary in our faith and even more importantly, of how Mary, the Mother of God and our loving Mother, can be the great inspiration and role model in how we all ought to live our own lives as Christians. Mary is indeed our surest and straightest path towards our Lord, her beloved Son, to Whom she always directed us to.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah and from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, in which the former spoke about the coming of God’s salvation to His people and how everyone ought to rejoice because God would lift up from them the shame of their predicament and sufferings, as He remembered His love for them, and how He would restore them to His fullness of grace and love through the salvation that He has promised to them. St. Paul echoed this hope and also reminded the faithful people of God to live worthily of the Lord and to do what God had taught and asked them to do, shunning all forms of wickedness and evils which had once sundered them from His love and grace.

Both of these readings spoke to us about living our lives faithfully as Christians in the manner that we have been shown by the Lord, and in how His disciples and followers have lived, full of love firstly for the Lord and then also love for one another, our fellow brothers and sisters. To be Christians is indeed a calling for us to embrace our Lord’s path, in being full of love and compassion for everyone, to be kind and compassionate for those who are around us and those whom we encounter in each and every moments of our lives. Love is the important characteristic in our faith, and one which Mary is also full with, as she loved us all her children, just as much as she has loved and devoted herself thoroughly to her Son, and in how she showed love for her relatives, like that of Elizabeth.

This moment of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth as described in our Gospel passage today also happened because Mary must have loved and cared for Elizabeth, her cousin, upon hearing from the Archangel Gabriel that she had been pregnant with a child even in her old age. Mary made the journey to where Elizabeth lived in, in the mountainous region of Judea, which was not exactly near the town of Nazareth that she lived in, to visit her and to show her solidarity with her. All these showed just the kind of loving woman that Mary was, who was willing to go all the way to reach out to those whom she has loved and cared for like Elizabeth, as well as for her own Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom she had dedicated her whole life, from the womb to the cradle and to the Cross, where she even witnessed her Son dying before her very own eyes.

In all of these things, Mary has continued to be faithful to the Lord, devoting herself thoroughly to Him and allowing God to lead her in whatever He had entrusted to her to do. In that way therefore, the Lord had blessed her indeed to be greater than all other women, and all of the children of Adam and Eve. This was not just because she is the Mother of God and the Ark of the New Covenant, hallowed and blessed by God, Immaculate and free from the taint of original sin, but also because she is and remained full of grace throughout her whole life, committing herself out of perfect and pure love for her Son and to all those who have been entrusted to her loving care, namely all of us, whom she has been entrusted with as her own children.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we have all been reminded of the great faith and examples showed by Mary, Most Holy, Mother of God and our Mother, who have been our great role model in faith and our inspiration, let us all remember our calling and respective missions and vocations in life, to be a truly holy and loving people, filled with the holiness and love of God just as Mary our Mother herself has been filled with holiness and love that radiated from her. All of us are called to be loving to one another and to show care and compassion for our brethren, especially the less fortunate among us, and ultimately to love the Lord our God, with all of our strength and might at all times. We must truly be God’s holy and beloved people in all things.

May our lives continue to inspire everyone around us in the manner that Mary, our Mother and the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour has always inspired us. Let our lives be truly holy and worthy of God in all the things that we say and do, in our every efforts and endeavours, in our every works and interactions with everyone whom we encounter and meet in our lives. Let us all entrust ourselves anew to the Lord, and do our best to be the shining beacons of His light, hope and truth in our darkened world today, that the Light of Christ and the great love that He has shown us, as is the love that His Mother Mary has shown, her faith and devotion to God may dispel the darkness surrounding us all, and lead us all into the eternal life that has been promised to us. Amen.

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Friday, 31 May 2024 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 39-56

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!”

And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour! He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed.”

“The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name! From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.”

“He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.

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Friday, 31 May 2024 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 12 : 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

He is the God of my salvation; in Him I trust and am not afraid. YHVH is my strength : Him I will praise, the One Who saved me. You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation.

Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for Him, proclaim His marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt His Name.

Sing to the Lord : wonders He has done, let these be known all over the earth. Sing for joy, o people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

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Friday, 31 May 2024 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Zephaniah 3 : 14-18

Cry out with joy, o daughter of Zion; rejoice, o people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! YHVH has lifted your sentence and has driven your enemies away. YHVH, the King of Israel is with you; do not fear any misfortune.

On that day they will say to Jerusalem : Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for YHVH your God is within you, YHVH, saving Warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for He has revived His love. For you He will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the Feast.

I will drive away the evil I warned you about, and you will no longer be ashamed.

Alternative reading

Romans 12 : 9-16b

Let love be sincere. Hate what is evil and hold to whatever is good. Love one another and be considerate. Outdo one another in mutual respect. Be zealous in fulfilling your duties. Be fervent in the Spirit and serve God.

Have hope and be cheerful. Be patient in trials and pray constantly. Share with other Christians in need. With those passing by, be ready to receive them. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not wish evil on anyone. Rejoice with those who are joyful, and weep with those who weep.

Live in peace with one another. Do not dream of extraordinary things.

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Tuesday, 21 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating the moment when Mary, the Mother of God, was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem, the House of God in accordance to the rules and ways of the Law of God. She was presented and consecrated to God, as a prefigurement of the role that she would later on play in the history of our salvation. Indeed, Mary has been prepared and set aside by the Lord from the very beginning, from before she was even conceived, to be the one to bring forth the salvation into the world. She was set aside, made special, and by the singular grace of God, she was spared from the corruption of original sin and all the taints and corruptions of sin henceforth, that she was truly conceived without sin.

This is what the Church has taught and preserved from the very beginning, in the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that Dogma, the Church teaches that Mary had been spared from the effects of sin, which had afflicted us from the very beginning of time, when our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey the Lord and embraced the path of sin, the path that Satan had offered and tempted them with. All mankind had been afflicted by the corruption and have to suffer the consequences of sin ever since, that is death. However, Mary was prepared special by the Lord because she has a particular destiny and purpose, that is to become the one to bear the Saviour of the whole world, as the Mother of God herself.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Zechariah in which the prophet spoke of God’s words and reassurance for all of His people that He would send them His salvation, and everyone of them would rejoice once again because He would dwell among them once again, and that they would be saved from their predicament and troubles. The Lord would once again dwell among His people, just as He had done in the days past, when the Ark of the Covenant was in the first Temple of God built by King Solomon. Ever since the people disobeyed the Lord and abandoned Him for the pagan gods and idols, they had been cast out and punished, but the Lord never did abandon or neglect them. He still continued to send out messengers, prophets and helpers in order to help and guide them in their path towards Him.

It was exactly through Mary that God and His salvation has come into this world, because as we all know and are going to prepare to celebrate later in Advent and Christmas, by the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Word of God Himself has become flesh, incarnate into Man, and was conceived in the hallowed womb of Mary, to become a Child and born of her. And because of this, it is essential that she is hallowed and made to be worthy of God Himself being present within her. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because linking to the Ark of the Covenant which I mentioned just earlier, which is representing God’s Holy Presence among His people, Mary is the New Ark of the New Covenant which God would make and establish with His people, through the Son to be born of Mary’s womb, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The original Ark of the Covenant contained the two stone tablets upon which the Law of God had been inscribed and written, the Ten Commandments as we are all familiar with, as well as the manna, the heavenly bread with which the Lord fed His people, the Israelites, throughout the entirety of their forty years long sojourn and travel from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land, as well as the Staff of Aaron, the staff of priestly authority and leadership, with which God had performed many of His signs and wonders through Moses and Aaron, and which represented the leadership of God’s people. And it was upon this Ark of the Covenant, crafted from the finest materials and decorated with the golden Cherubim on top, that the Lord descended upon His people, seated upon the Ark, and hence, becoming the very tangible sign of His Presence in this world.

Then, comparing this to what the Lord would bring forth through Mary, there is an even far greater Covenant and things that happened than the original Ark of the Covenant. The original Ark of the Covenant, which was made from the finest materials and wrought with human hands, was so holy that no one was allowed to directly touch it, and in one instance, when one of the priests accidentally touched it, he was immediately struck dead. Why is that so? That is because God is so Holy and perfect that no sin and imperfection, corruption and evil may exist in His Presence and remain. Hence, the same logic applies as well to Mary, who was to become the vessel of God Himself, this time truly present and tangible in the flesh, in His Holy Presence, the Almighty and all-Holy God descending into our world through Mary. That was why, she was set aside and hallowed, Immaculate, free from any taints of sin throughout her life, being full of God’s grace.

Now, on this day, as we commemorate this Feast of the Presentation of Mary, the Blessed Mother of God, let us all therefore look upon Mary, the one through whom God had done so many great and wonderful works, in bringing forth His salvation into this world. What is important is, we must also realise that Mary is not just worthy of veneration, honour and following because of her having been set aside by the Lord to be the holy vessel for Our Lord and Saviour, but she herself had lived her life worthily of the Lord, at all times throughout her life. She has shown what it means for us to live a good, holy and worthy Christian living, in all of our lives, our words, actions and deeds. And she is therefore a great inspiration and role model for all of us, just as she has also always encouraged us to remain true and faithful to the Lord as our loving Mother.

When the Lord in our Gospel passage today was talking about those who follow the Lord, obey His will and Law are those who are His mother and family members, He was not actually disrespecting His own Mother, who was there waiting on Him and following Him. Rather, on the contrary, the Lord was actually pointing to everyone who listened to Him, to follow the examples of His own loving Mother in all the things that they say and do. Therefore, all of us should also do the same in our own lives, in doing what the Lord has told and taught us to do, in living our lives, carrying out our actions and interactions, with the Lord as the focus and emphasis in them. Let our lives be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, His love and compassion to others, that more and more may come to know Him as His love.

May the Lord, our loving God and Master continue to love us and strengthen us in faith, and may through the good examples and inspirations of His Blessed Mother, Mary, who is our mother too, we all may come ever closer to the Lord and His Holy Presence. May all of us be blessed in our every good efforts and endeavours, all for the greater glory of God, now and always. Amen.