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Saturday, 1 November 2014 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a great feast day of the entire Universal Church, and not just of the Church which is in this world, but also together with the entire Church of the heavenly realm, as we celebrate today the feast and solemnity of All Saints, rejoicing with all creation, for the gift of the saints, who were once of mankind, but have been raised to the glory of the Altar and had been deemed by the Church as worthy of heaven by the virtue of their life and works.

This day marks the very important concept in our Faith, that is of the belief in saints and also to that extent, the blesseds or the Beati, who were also deemed worthy of praise and veneration, due to their actions in life, and in how they have faithfully lived their life in accordance with the ways and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in how they have dedicated their lives in service both to God and to their fellow men.

Then, in order to start, we have to understand who are saints in the first place and why they were so special, and how they can inspire us all in our own lives and drive towards salvation in God. Saints were also once living and walking in this world just like us, and they were also once sinners like us. Some saints were even once great sinners, who committed even abominable acts in the sight of God, when they were still alive.

Some saints were once murderers, and some were heretics and rebels against the orthodox teachings of the faith, and yet some were also fornicators and those who gave in to the pleasures of the flesh and the temptations of the world. St. Augustine of Hippo, the renowned Doctor of the Church and great saint is a traditional example of this, as well as St. Paul the Apostle, the great Apostle to the Gentiles and the one who wrote the many letters that today form the majority of our New Testament in the Scripture.

St. Augustine of Hippo was the son of another well-known saint, St. Monica, who was a devout Christian and had hoped that her son would be one too. She brought him up in the Faith with zeal and love, only to be greatly disappointed when he grew up to be a fornicator and a heretic, following the heresy of Manichaeanism, and indulging in various pleasures of the flesh and the world with his friends and companies.

Meanwhile, we know that St. Paul the Apostle was once Saul, the great scourge and enemy of the Church and the faithful, who hunted down many of the faithful, persecuted many of the saints and martyrs of the early Church, destroyed many of the communities of the faithful, and were once a bitter and zealous enemy of Christ. He went to Damascus with the evil intent of bringing the faithful who lived and hid there to the justice of the Pharisees and the chief priests.

And yet, what differentiated them from those who sin and was lost to us into eternal damnation? It is because they did not remain forever in their sins and in their sinful state, and instead, they sought complete change and turnaround in their own lives. They abandoned what were wicked and evil in their lives, casting out wickedness from their actions and deeds, and they embraced the mercy and love of God, taking up instead the armour of God, that is faith, hope, love and justice.

St. Augustine of Hippo was converted to the truth through both the endless intercession and prayer by his mother, St. Monica, who ceaselessly prayed for him and his soul, and he changed his ways, finding eventually the Lord his God, abandoning all of his past wickedness and since then, walked faithfully in the Lord, becoming among the greatest of the saints of Christendom, through his acts and works.

Saul as we know, was changed since he encountered our Lord Jesus personally, on that fateful day, on the way to the city of Damascus. He was blinded and was helpless, but the Lord through Ananias, His servant, he was healed and made wholesome once again. He was baptised and regained his old strength, but instead of resuming his old ways of hunting and persecuting the faithful, he made a turnaround and indeed, he from then on preached the Good News of God.

Thus, as we can see from their examples, saints does not have to be perfect people. Indeed, they were just as imperfect as we are, and they were sinners as we are. What matters is however that, they did not remain in their sinfulness and neither did they remain steadfast in their rebellion against the will of God. They changed their ways and had a turnaround in their lives, and therefore, they are converted to the cause of the Lord, and through their new lives, they gained justification in their faith and actions.

Some saints and blesseds were indeed already holy for most of their lives, and they were exemplary throughout the life they led, and in all of their actions. Some of these saints even died young, at a teenage or young adult age. This is in fact God’s way to preserve their saintliness and holiness, and to prevent them from falling into sin as they progressed further in life.

St. John Bosco or John de Bosco, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Bernadette Soubirous and many other saints who died young, because of sickness and other reasons, showed great holiness and piety since youth, and because of that, as the Lord Himself had said through His prophets and messengers, that He would rather that they be brought to His presence early and in their youth, rather than to allow the corruptions of the world and the temptations of Satan to get into them.

And closer to our era, we also know of the deeds of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the simple Albanian woman who dedicated herself to the service of the Lord and of her fellow men, by becoming, in her own words, as the ‘pencil in the hand of God’, and she became a beacon of faith and hope in many of those who suffered at the hands of the world, the dejected, the ostracised, the poorest and the weakest in the society.

We also know of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the saint of the Holocaust, who gave up his own life in exchange for another prisoner, who was condemned to death while trying to escape from the persecution of NAZI Germany. And we know of several Popes who are also saints, namely, Pope St. Pius X, the holy and devout Pope of the Eucharist, who reformed the faith and allowed more people to come closer to the Lord in the Eucharist.

And just recently this year we have two new Popes who were declared saints by Pope Francis, our current Pope. They are Pope St. John XXIII, the Pope of the Second Vatican Council, the Pope of peace and the one who worked hard to bring about peace between nations in the height of superpower conflict, and also to usher unity among the quarrelling bodies of the faithful in God. Pope St. John Paul II is the one whom we are often know a lot about, as the Pope who helped to bring down the tyranny of Communism, and who helped the Church to stand up strongly against the evils of this world.

Now one may ask yet again, who are the saints? And how do they play a part in helping us to achieve our salvation in God? And no doubt there are those who misunderstood and having been led by the lies of the devil, thinking that we in the Church of God pray to the saints and worship them as if they are gods. These are among the many things we surely will encounter in our lives, the common opinion of the world around us, the lies of Satan!

So, it is important that we are thoroughly capable of understanding the role that the holy saints play in our faith life, and as I have mentioned the various examples of saints, their actions and their justifications in faith, we can already see that these saints were once also men like us, walking down the same paths we take in this world, but they all share one thing in common, that they truly love the Lord their God, as well as their fellow men, and allow their faith to grow and flourish through their actions which bring grace not just to themselves but also to all those they have interacted with.

Sainthood is a state of someone who had been found worthy by the Church, after a process of formal scrutiny, or through widespread public testimony, that the aforementioned is indeed worthy of heaven, by the virtue of his or her actions, and by the piety of his or her faith, living and substantiated by the actions, which made the person as someone who is assured of heaven at the moment of death.

Is there a precedent for this? Yes, there is, exactly, and none other than, as done by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when He was on the cross at Golgotha. If now the Pope, as the supreme leader and the Vicar of Christ invested with authority, proclaimed that a person is worthy of sainthood, then the first ever saint, was the humble sinner, the criminal who was on the right side of Jesus, who was crucified together with Him.

There were two criminals who were crucified together with Jesus, and the one on the left of Him cursed Jesus and mocked Him, even daring to ask Him to bring Himself down from the cross, so that he too could escape from the suffering and the death that was to come. And what did he get in the end? Nothing, and he went straight into hell, for his pride, arrogance, lack of faith and most importantly, for his lack of repentance.

Both of them were sinners, but what differentiated the criminal on the left, who was condemned, and the one on the right, who was made just and righteous? It was because the criminal on the right fully acknowledged his sins and misconducts in life, humbly seeking the forgiveness of God, and declaring his faith and love in Jesus, knowing that He who is the Master of all, has the power to save all, providing that he was willing to accept the salvation. And indeed, he accepted it, and Jesus praised his faith and humility, and his genuine repentance, saying to him, that he would be with Him that very day in paradise.

Thus, that criminal too, was made a saint, St. Dismas according to tradition, as he was assured of his place in heaven. And thus, following in the same manner, as a tradition, the Church also declares worthy individuals as saints, and many of these were once sinners, who changed their ways and embraced the love and faith in God. And now that they are assured of their places in heaven, and being in heaven, they lie close to the throne of our Lord.

Therefore, now we come to the matter whether we worship the saints as if they are gods. No, and this is absolutely not true, the lies of Satan, the prince of evil, which he spread to misguide many from the truth and bring many away from salvation in the Church. We do not worship the saints, but we ask them for their prayers and intercession instead, asking them sincerely for their support for us, as they are close to the throne of God, and hopefully, through their prayers, the Lord will be moved to have mercy on us.

But this eventually does not mean that we should be idle, and pretending to think that the saints can help us in everything, while we sit back and relax, enjoying ourselves in this world. The saints implore for us and pray for us, but if we ourselves are not proactive in our faith, and if we ourselves embrace wickedness and darkness in this life, then we have no hope for salvation ourselves. Indeed, unless if we follow in the path of the saints, those who have turned away from the darkness into the light and follow their examples.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? That means, even today, as we celebrate together the great feast of all the holy saints of God, we too should realise that in each and every one of us lie the potential to become saints and holy before God, just as the saints who have gone before us had done. What matters is whether we make that potential a reality, by following the examples of the saints, embracing the goodness of God and rejecting all the falsehood, the lies and the temptations of the devil.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us ask the multitudes of the saints, the people who have been righteous and worthy in life, and were chosen and marked as belonging to God, for them to pray for us sinners who still live and roam in this world. Let us ask them for their intercession before the throne of our Lord’s mercy, so that God may be moved in His love, to help us to overcome our own sinfulness and vulnerabilities to sin, that we too may become worthy as His saints had been.

May Almighty God be with us always, and may the glory and joy of His saints remind us always of the everlasting promise of happiness and goodness which He gave all those who keep their faith in Him, and who lived according to what He had wanted us to live, so that we too may one day be found worthy of the glorious sainthood, and be holy people, one people united in our praise to God, forever and ever more. Amen.

 

First Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/30/saturday-1-november-2014-solemnity-of-all-saints-first-reading/

Psalm :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/30/saturday-1-november-2014-solemnity-of-all-saints-psalm/

Second Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/30/saturday-1-november-2014-solemnity-of-all-saints-second-reading/

Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/30/saturday-1-november-2014-solemnity-of-all-saints-gospel-reading/

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Friday, 24 October 2014 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to examine our own lives and the actions which we have taken in this life, and to ignore no longer our sinfulness and disobedience against the way and the will of the Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ had made it very clear in the Gospel that we heard today, on how mankind can see things around them and made accurate prediction of things, but they failed to see what is in their own hearts.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is often indeed that we look at the outside and the exterior, seeing things around us and make a judgment, and we are indeed quick to judge and to come into a conclusion, but we fail to see what is inside us, the phenomena that is inside us, which is sin. And they also failed to see what the Lord had done, and when He came in the form of flesh in Jesus, they failed to recognise Him even though they were so apt and good in recognising everything else.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the major weakness of mankind, as we often fail to recognise our own frailty and weaknesses, just as Jesus said, how we often like to point out the weakness in others and the sins of others, and yet we fail to see our own weakness, and this weakness is our sin and our iniquities. We are quick to point finger to blame others, but whenever we do so, we have to realise that while one finger is pointed at others, the other four fingers are pointed at us.

Sin is dangerous, brothers and sisters in Christ, for sin corrupts many things and sin prevents us from recognising the good that is around us. It covered our hearts in jealousy, pride, arrogance, hatred, desire, doubt and many other negative influences and aspects that prevent us from seeing good in others, seeing the bad in ourselves, seeing the good in ourselves, and ultimately, failing to see God who is ever present with us, and who guide us to the right path.

Do you wonder why the people of God failed to recognise Jesus when He came into the world, even though it was so obvious from what He had done during His life and ministry that He was the promised One, the Holy Anointed One of God whom the prophets had talked about throughout their many ministries among the people of God. The Scriptures and the Law themselves had also spoken about the Messiah who was about to come, and yet the people blinded by their sinfulness failed to realise this.

They persecuted the prophets and servants of God in their refusal to listen to the truth, because the truth was often painful for them, pointing out their shortcomings and inability to look into themselves and realise their sins. Thus in the same way, they too rejected Jesus the Messiah when He came among the people to do the same yet again.

They were too engrossed in themselves and in their own world, just as exemplified by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were adamantly against Jesus and His teachings. This is ironic considering that they were the ones who should know the most about the teachings of Moses, of the prophets and their prophecies, and of course of the Law. Thus, they should be the ones who proclaimed His coming and recognised Him through what He had done.

The sin in their hearts, which they allowed to grow accompanying their human desires and greed prevented them from doing so, and in the same manner, they incited the people of God to avoid following and trusting Jesus, by spreading lies about Him, all because of their jealousy, the jealousy of their hearts and the fear of losing their influence and power, as well as prestige and fame among the people. They feared losing these and put their own human ego ahead of their duty and responsibility of proclaiming the coming of God to His people.

It is indeed easy for us to point our own fingers at them, but are we too totally blameless? That is why it is nigh time for us to start examining our own lives and actions. How many times we actually refused to listen to the Lord speaking in our hearts and instead decide to follow our own desires and greed? How many times is it that in our live we have caused hurt and even harm to others because of our own selfishness?

Thus, if we look at ourselves, we are no better than the people of Jesus’ time and the Pharisees. Although we profess our faith in God, but our actions often said otherwise. Hence, brethren, this is the best time for us to begin to reinspect and reform our lives for the better according to what God had taught us. If we follow His ways, we will surely change and be transformed to better people.

And I would like to share with all of you the life of a saint whose feast we celebrate today, and whose life can also be an inspiration for us in walking in the path of the Lord. He is St. Anthony Mary Claret, the founder of the religious order famously known as the Claretians after their founder. St. Anthony Mary Claret was a bishop who lived in Spain about two centuries ago, who was renowned for his zeal and faith in God, and in the numerous works which he had done as a missionary and later as an Archbishop, establishing many good charitable acts and works for the sake of the least and the lost ones of the society.

St. Anthony Mary Claret served in many functions as a servant of God and His Church, zealously spreading the word of God to many people, especially to those who have yet to listen to the word and the Good News. He established many works and institutions of charity to help the poor and the marginalised in the society, and through his preaching, calling many of them to embrace the love and faith in God.

St. Anthony Mary Claret also wrote extensively on many aspects of the faith, and which writings become inspiration for many of the faithful in the years to come, including up to our generation, where his works and dedications for the people of God is truly a model for us all to follow. He reminded us indeed that in order for us to be true disciples of Christ, we cannot allow our personal and human vulnerabilities to come in the way of our faith.

That means we have to restrain ourselves, our human desire and emotions, and make the effort not to be controlled by these, as the people of the past and the Pharisees had done. We have to break free from the slavery and tyranny of sin, and thus we should really understand our own sinfulness, and seek ways to handle what had made us sin in the first place. Therefore, the key lies in humility and willingness to listen to the Lord and to walk in His ways, as well as our persistence and perseverance to resist the temptations that will always come our way.

Therefore, as St. Paul mentioned in the letter he wrote to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, let us all be true servants of God and give ourselves completely and wholly to the Holy Spirit of God, which unites us in one Body of the Church of God, and in that unity, may we together find our way towards the Lord, avoiding all forms of fornications and corruptions.

May Almighty God strengthen our faith and help us to grow in our love and devotion towards Him, and with the inspiration by St. Anthony Mary Claret and the other holy saints, may we be able to find our way to the Lord, by doing what is right and just in the eyes of God, and by being able to look deep within ourselves, seeking the Lord’s mercy with humility for all the iniquities and sins we have committed. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 October 2014 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Capestrano, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we have to come to realise of the nature of God and His coming into the world, when He came to save us through Jesus Christ. As Jesus Himself had said, that His coming into the world would not cause peace but divisions and conflicts, and in those, many would suffer because of the division and the oppositions.

However, in order to truly understand what Jesus had meant in His words we heard today in the Gospel, we have to understand the nature of this world and how things work here. Remember that this world has been tainted by darkness and evil ever since sin entered into the world through men. Men who have been tainted by sin also followed the ways of evil and sin, tainting their hearts and the world with their unworthiness.

And in the process, they closed themselves and their hearts to the Lord. In short, the ways of this world is diametrically opposite to that of the way of the Lord. Ever since the beginning of time, when men disobeyed the will of God and followed their own desire and Satan’s words, the actions of men had come in direct conflict and opposition to the acts and the will of God.

God did not come into the world to bring violence and destruction upon it, and neither did He want to condemn the world and bring ruin to it by causing intentional conflict and infighting among men. Instead, we have to realise that it is our own disobedience and unwillingness to obey to the will of God which brought us into direct conflict with the Lord Jesus and all that He had taught the world through His disciples.

Thus, those who follow the words and teachings of Christ, by accepting baptism and becoming one with the Body of the Church of God will inevitably come into direct conflict and opposition against those who hold fast to the ways of the world, or those who listened to Satan and his lies instead of the truth in God. As Christ Himself repeatedly said to His disciples and the people, that those who followed Him and walked in His ways would suffer rejection and persecution just as Jesus Himself had been persecuted.

The concrete proof of this saying by Jesus came not sooner than after Jesus Himself had been betrayed, brought to the courts of Pilate and condemned to death, and after His death and resurrection. As the Church grew and spread due to the works of the Holy Apostles and the disciples of Christ, so does the unity of the family of the people of God, the Jews was torn apart. And it was St. Paul himself, once known as Saul, who showed the reality of what Jesus had told His disciples.

Many of the righteous and the faithful were hunted down and persecuted by Saul and his allies in the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who were firmly opposed to Jesus and His ways, just in the same way that Satan and the world came in direct opposition to the ways of the Lord. Eventually Saul himself repented from his sins and followed the Lord, being shorn off from his former allies and benefactors the Pharisees, and as St. Paul, he was often hunted, condemned and persecuted by the same people who had considered him friend and ally.

During the time of the Roman Empire itself, when the persecutions of the faithful were common, many families were torn apart when one or more members of their families chose to abandon the old and sinful ways of the Roman polytheistic paganism, and decided to follow the way of the Lord. Many martyrs and saints were made in this way, when the faithful ones refused to recant their faith in God and were martyred in many painful and even gruesome ways, in the defense of their faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, at the end of the day, we have to realise that conflict and difficulties are inevitable if we choose to follow the way of the Lord and remain faithful to it. We cannot become disciples and followers of Christ if we do not want to suffer rejection and persecution which may come our way at any time. What is important however, is whether we are capable of overcoming our own hatred, desire for violence and revenge, just as what the world had shown to us.

Many of the martyrs had led such an exemplary and wondrous life, and they acted with such love and offered forgiveness to their persecutors, that many of those who had persecuted them, including even some members of their own families, in turn became believers and repented from their sins. This is exactly what we should also do, brothers and sisters in Christ, not to oppose the persecution and violence with our own hatred and violence, but instead with love.

That done, we may play our part in bringing more and more souls to salvation in God, and through Him we may be justified for our hard works. And today, we also celebrate the feast of a saint, whose life may become even further inspiration for us, that is of St. John of Capistrano or Capestrano, an Italian priest who lived during the time of the early Renaissance, known for his zealous and fiery preaching and by the title of the ‘Soldier Priest’ due to his role in fighting the infidel Ottoman Turks in a crusade.

St. John of Capistrano was a friar who went about many parts of Europe, the northern portions in particular, to spread the faith and the orthodox faith among the people of God. His sermons frequently drew thousands and tens of thousands of people. He was known for his hard ways of opposing the Jewish people, who in their influential positions continued to deny the Lord and refused to believe in the truth of Christ.

He also stood up against the threat of the Ottoman Turks when they rose in power and might, conquering many Christian nations and brought many of the faithful under slavery and forced them to recant their faith and reject Christ under the threat of death. He fought faithfully in the holy crusade and he died of a plague after the conclusion of the successful fight for the defense of the faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the example of St. John of Capistrano and the many other martyrs and saints of our faith showed how we have to understand what is required from us in our faith. Sometimes, in order to be faithful to God, we have to forgo our relationship and connections with others, as we have to choose, between God and our relationship with men. We have to realise that at times, we are required to choose and stand up for our faith, and we cannot sit on the fence.

May Almighty God therefore awaken in us the desire to bring others to Him, that while we suffer rejection and persecution from others for our faith in Him, our actions and deeds founded firmly on the tenets of faith may be source of inspiration on countless others and also those who persecuted us, that they too may see the light of Christ as we did, and thus hopefully open themselves to the Lord and give themselves for true conversion to the faith. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 22 August 2014 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if last week we celebrated an important feast and part of our faith, that is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, brought body and soul into the glory of heaven, then today, exactly a week after that day, after the completion of the Octave of the Assumption, today we celebrate the great honours given to Mary herself, as a Queen, by the virtue of her being the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore as the Mother of God or Theotokos.

Yes, Mary is a Queen, and she has been blessed with many titles that many had attributed to her over the ages. Indeed, she is truly blessed as the greatest among all that God had created, as the most beautiful jewel amongst God’s creation, conceived and born without the taint of sin, prepared special for the accommodation of the coming of the Saviour of the world, to be the very Mother of God herself, by virtue of herself as the mother of the living Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ.

Through her, what had been prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading today came true, that a people in darkness has truly seen a great light, and this light brought new hope to countless peoples who had long lived in the darkness of sin and evil. Through the actions of Mary, this salvation of God came to mankind, a liberation that many had long sought for.

Mary is Queen, not by the virtue of her birth or her status in life. She was born to St. Joachim and St. Anne, her parents who were simple people, not having status or wealth, but they had faith and devotion to the Lord. It was under their care that Mary grew both in body and spirit, and she eventually came to be the one, the young virgin whom the Archangel Gabriel, God’s messenger, came to visit on that one day in the quiet village of Nazareth.

Mary’s faith in God was truly remarkable, because even though the Archangel revealed to her something too great for her understanding and too good to be true, she entrusted herself completely to the will of God, and allowed herself to be used for the works of the Lord, through which God exercised His greatest work ever, that is the accomplishment of the long awaited salvation of mankind, God’s most beloved creation.

Any other woman or person would have doubted such message and plan that the Lord has for them. But not Mary, and she was truly suited for her role, and the Lord had groomed her since her very conception to be the one who would bear the Christ within her, to be the physical vessel of our Lord Himself, to bring the Saviour into this world.

And as I had mentioned during the Assumption celebration, this is why death has no power over her, as she was truly without sin, and as the Mother of God, the one who bore Christ within her, she was truly the new Ark of the new Covenant in Christ, and therefore, the Lord raised her body and soul into heaven, as it is not fitting for someone as pure and great as her to suffer the consequence of sin that is death.

Mary is the greatest and the foremost of all the saints, because in all of her ways in life, she was exemplary, pure and immaculate in all things. She represented all the things that are expected by God from us in life, and she is our role model in faith, as when we follow how she lived her faith, we will certainly realise how truly faithful she was to her mission and calling to live her life in fully attuned manner to the will of God.

Mary is the greatest of all mankind, and according to the tradition of our faith, by virtue of her faith and devotion to God, which was so complete, the Lord rewarded her not just by bringing her body and soul into heaven, but also, as the Mother of God or Theotokos, she was crowned by the angels in heaven as the Queen of heaven, because indeed, her Son, Jesus our Lord is King of all kings. As such, that is why we celebrate Mary’s queenship on this day, in honour of this holy woman and virgin who had dedicated it all to the Lord.

Mary is known by many titles, some of which include Queen of All Saints, Queen of Angels, Queen of Peace, and many others, as in her role both when she still walked on this world and in the heavenly glory of her queenship, she is our greatest help and intercessor before her own Son, our Lord. Yes, Mary is the closest person to Jesus, as she is His mother after all. In her position as the Queen of heaven, she helps and advises her Son in many things, and certainly she prays for us sinners who still roam this world.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, the Mother of our God, let us all reflect on our own lives, and strive to be able to follow in the footsteps of Mary, whose faith and total devotion was plain for all to see, and for whose part to play in the plan of salvation, God had brought His salvation to all through Jesus.

Let us all ask for the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, our Queen and our role model. Let us ask her to beseech on our behalf before the throne of her Son in heaven, that He may take pity on us sinners, and provided that we change our ways and seek Him, may we all be reunited with Him and His mother Mary, in the glory of heaven promised to all of us. Mary, our Mother, bring us to your beloved Son, our Lord! Amen.

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Saturday, 9 August 2014 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Virgin and Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today Jesus reminded us in the Gospel that we all ought to have faith in us, and not just any faith but genuine faith that is truly real, solid and concrete, and not just a lip service or superficial faith. And Jesus also told us that what matters is whether we have that faith, no matter how small or insignificant it is compared to others, but what matters is how we use that faith and grow that faith that we may become stronger and more devoted to God.

It is important that our faith must be cultivated and strengthened, through the active implementation of the Lord’s teachings that we had received through the Church of God. This is linked to the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the sower, where even a small seed if grown strong and healthy will eventually become a large and towering tree with plenty of branches with solid roots that will stand against any storms and strong and healthy lives that will impress all who see it.

Thus, our faith too must be like that, strong as a solid rock, immoveable despite all the attempts of the evil one to undermine our faith, and it must also be visible for all to see, not in order to satisfy our human ego and desires, but rather to bring even more people closer to God through faith and through love. In this manner, we can become a role model for many through our words, deeds and actions.

And today we celebrate a saint whose life and actions represented just all that, a true example for others who see her. This saint is St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a name which the saint took when she entered religious profession, and she was also well known as St. Edith Stein, a German Jew convert to the faith who endured great sufferings as part of the genocide against the Jews by Adolf Hitler during the holocaust, and who was eventually martyred for her faith.

St. Edith Stein was born to a Jewish family, keeping the old Jewish faith in a strongly religious environment. However, although St. Edith Stein admired her mother’s great piety, she herself became an unbeliever in her adolescent and early adult years, pursuing higher studies and intellectual pursuits to eventually become a philosopher and educator.

However, after learning the truth about the Lord in the faith, and after reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, St. Edith Stein went through a complete transformation and change in her self, and she chose to follow the Lord and be baptised into the Church. Thereafter, St. Edith Stein continued teaching, but focusing more on teaching the faith and producing many great writings and works on the faith.

St. Edith Stein openly and vocally condemned and opposed the increasingly violent and intolerant treatment of the Jews by the rising NAZI party under Adolf Hitler in Germany, and she spoke openly against the vile treatments they had received, having been born as the descendant of Jacob herself. She entered the convent and took up the religious habit, taking up the name of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, enduring one difficulty after another having to escape persecution by the NAZIs before eventually arrested and put to death with many other faithful ones in a gas chamber.

Thus died a great martyr of the faith who stood up courageously for her faith, and whose faith was indeed both strong and evident for all to see. Her faith was strong and despite difficulties and challenges, she continued to persevere for the sake of God and for the sake of His people. Her courage to stand up for her faith, and her devotion until the end exemplified the kind of faith that we also need to have, a robust and living faith, not hidden but shared for the benefit of all.

May St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross pray for us, that our faith too may be strong and alive, that we will be able to follow her example in being faithful to the Lord. May Almighty God also bless us and keep us always in His love and grace. Amen.