Roman martyrs

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Friday, 20 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr and St. Sebastian, Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Hebrews 8 : 6-13

Now, however, Jesus enjoys a much higher ministry in being the Mediator of a better covenant, founded on better promises. If all had been perfect in the first covenant, there would have been no need for another one. Yet God sees defects when He says : The days are coming – it is the word of the Lord – when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They did not keep My covenant, and so I Myself have forsaken them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel in the days to come : I will put My law into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be My people.

None of them will have to teach one another or say to each other : Know the Lord, for they will know Me from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and no longer remember their wrongs. Here we are being told of a new covenant; which means that the first one had become obsolete, and what is obsolete and ageing is soon to disappear.

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Tuesday, 13 December 2016 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day what we heard from the Scripture passages spoke a very clear message to us, reminding each and every one of us that our faith cannot be kept on the basis of our words and promises alone, but must be true actions and real, genuine showcase by those same actions, showing that we are not making empty and meaningless promises without any backing by our dedication to do what we say we will do.

First of all, now let us all look into the context of the Scripture passages today from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah and from the Gospel passage. The essence of what we have just heard is truly about how the people of Israel have always looked highly upon themselves, and in pride and boasting, they have always boasted of having been the chosen people of God. Similarly, the Pharisees, elders and the teachers of the Law all have pride in themselves as those who were educated and seen as the guardians of the laws of Moses.

However, in their pride, they have become boastful and conceited, and they forgot what it truly means to become faithful disciples and followers of the Lord. They have misused their position, power and authority for the wrong and wicked purposes. And for the case of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, while outwardly they seemed to be faithful and devout, but in truth, as Jesus Himself had pointed out, they were only serving their own purposes.

As we have seen as well, the Israelites put a great pride in being the descendants of Abraham, but they were not always faithful to God, and indeed, in many occasions, they abandoned Him for the allures of the pagan gods and idols such as Baal and Asherah, succumbing to the temptations of worldliness and refusing to obey the Lord, just as they had done when they worshipped the golden calf at Mount Sinai, just after God had liberated them from Egypt with His great power.

They often looked down on the pagans and those they deemed as sinful people, those who were tax collectors, those who were afflicted with diseases and afflictions like leprosy, paralysis, and those who were possessed with evil spirits, those who were prostitutes and very poor in the society. But they themselves were sinners, just as much as those people they have despised.

And while they were all talking and preaching about repentance and following the laws of God, they did not do what they have said and preached. Instead, they did the opposite of what they were preaching. That was why in another occasion, Jesus also rebuked these people by saying that while the people of God should listen to their words, they should not imitate what they were doing.

Then this is where it comes to us all as Christians. We profess our faith in God, but do we do as what the Lord had asked us to do? Have we acted in accordance with God’s laws and commandments? Or have we instead chosen to do what we like to do and ignore or reject what we do not like to do? Have we become like those who chose what they want to do because it is convenient to them and good for their standing in the world?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians and those who believe in God, we cannot pick and choose what we want and do not want to do, but instead we have to believe completely in the entirety of God’s ways and commandments, and we have to do something about it, that is to act in accordance to those ways. If we do not do so, then we will bring about scandal to our faith, as many others had shown, those who preached and talked one thing but acted in a different way.

Who will believe us and follow our lead if we do not practice what we preach? As. Christians, it is important for us to spread the Good News of God to other people, but if we are only all talk and have no action to back these up, then no one will believe in us. Instead, what we will receive is a rebuke from the Lord much as He had rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their hypocrisy.

Perhaps we should also heed the examples of today’s great saint, the holy martyr St. Lucy or St. Lucia, a renowned Roman martyr and virgin, who died defending her honour and faith in the Lord, refusing to compromise on her beliefs and ways, rejecting wickedness and sin even in the face of suffering and death. St. Lucy was born in Syracuse in southern Italy and spent her life there during the years of the great persecution of the faithful under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

She was born of a noble family, and vowed to remain in the state of holy virginity throughout her life. She persuaded her mother to donate much of her family’s wealth and possessions to the poor and the needy, as those who were generous and loving will receive the good graces from God. But this came to the attention of the local governor who persecuted her and forced her to offer sacrifices to the Emperor, which she refused.

And when the governor punished her to be defiled in a brothel, the soldiers sent to arrest her and bring her there were not able to move her, even when the whole company tried to pull her away. She was tortured and made to suffer greatly, but she maintained her faith and composure till the very end, and she foretold that all the persecutions of the faithful would cease soon, which did happen just a decade after her martyrdom.

Through the courage and the faith of St. Lucy, all of us should have seen how we ought to live out our lives in faith. Yes, we should devote ourselves to the Lord with true and real actions and not just with words. Let us all be charitable and be caring and loving to the poor and the needy, and be courageous to stand by our faith in God when the time and occasion rises to do so.

We should not be easily swayed by the temptations of the world, by the temptations of the flesh and of pleasure, but instead, let us all work together to become ever more devoted and good servants of our Lord in all of our words, actions and deeds. May St. Lucy be our intercessor before the Lord, praying for our sake that God will always bless us and guide us. Amen.

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Tuesday, 13 December 2016 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 21 : 28-32

At that time, Jesus went on to say, “What do you think of this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said to him, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ And the son answered, ‘I do not want to.’ But later he thought better of it and went.”

“Then the father went to his other son and gave him the same command. This son replied, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what the father wanted?” They answered, “The first.” And Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you : the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven. For John came to show you the way of goodness, and you did not believe him; but the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him.”

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Tuesday, 13 December 2016 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 33 : 2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 and 23

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. But the Lord will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.

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Tuesday, 13 December 2016 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Zephaniah 3 : 1-2, 9-13

Woe to the rebellious, the defiled, the city that oppresses. She did not pay attention to the call nor accept the correction; she did not trust YHVH nor did she approach her God.

At that time I will give truthful lips to the pagan nations that all of them may call on the Name of YHVH and serve Him with the same zeal. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia they will bring offerings to Me. On that day you will no longer be ashamed of all your deeds when you were unfaithful to Me; I will have removed from your midst the conceited and arrogant and My holy mountain will no longer be for you a pretext for boasting.

I will leave within you a poor and meek people who seek refuge in God. The remnant of Israel will not act unjustly nor will they speak falsely, nor will deceitful words be found in their mouths. They will eat and rest with none to threaten them.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the apocalyptic messages from the Scripture readings that we heard, about the coming of the end of times, when the Lord will come to judge all of His peoples. But before that, as foretold in the Gospel and in the Book of Revelations, there will be tribulations, challenges, difficulties and all kinds of obstacles on the path of us all, the faithful people of God.

There will be many false prophets who are trying to dissuade us and lure us away from finding our way to the Lord, and these are active out there, spreading lies and sweet promises trying to gain our attention and allegiance to their cause. And it will be difficult to remain true in our faith to God, challenges and obstacles abound and plenty in our path. But God had also foretold this to us through His disciples, and we ought to expect this outcome.

And we do not know of the time of our Lord’s coming, which will come suddenly in the end at the time of His own choosing. When God comes, will He find good on earth? Or will He find plenty of wickedness instead? It is more likely that it will be the latter one, as mankind increasingly forget about their Lord and God, and continued to act in ways that are contrary to His ways and teachings.

We live in this world today at a time when the world increasingly becoming more secularised as well as materialistic. We live at a time when in the hearts and minds of many people, God no longer exists. To many people, God is not a priority for them, and some others even contended that God does not exist at all, and actively seeking to persecute the faithful who are living their daily faith, ridiculing and striking at the holy people of God.

And in the ever more materialistic world we have today, increasingly there are more and more temptations and all the other obstacles placed by the agents of the evil one in order to make us stumble and fail in our journey towards God. We are inundated with messages from advertisements and other forms of communications, with inappropriate conduct and behaviour, with improper persuasions of lust, pleasures of the flesh, greed and other wicked things.

The question that we are facing now is, what are we, as Christians, going to do in the midst of this difficult and troubling times? Do we run away and pretend that we know nothing about what is happening? Should we be ignorant and just carry on with our normal routines and our daily lives? Or should we fall into the line and conform with what the world expects all the people to be like?

There is a better option, brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is to stay faithful and committed to the Lord in all of our ways, as what the holy martyrs and saints of the past had also done. St. Cecilia, whose feast we are celebrating today, is one of those great examples. She was a young noble Roman woman who devoted herself to her faith in God. But she was asked to marry another nobleman.

At her marriage, she sang her heart out to the Lord, telling all who were present that she devoted herself wholly to the Lord, and that is why she is now patron saint for all musicians, all who devoted themselves to the Lord through song and music. She continued to lead a chaste life, devoted in holy virginity to the Lord, and through her many others were inspired to lead a more devout life and existence in the world. Even she convinced her husband by a vision to be baptised as a Christian.

St. Cecilia, her husband and some others of the faithful were martyred for their faith by the Roman prefect, at that time when a great persecution of the faithful was carried out. Yet, their examples and their inspiration continued to inspire many people throughout the centuries. We too should follow the examples of St. Cecilia in how we lead our lives.

May the Lord help us that we may resist the temptations of the world and grow ever more devoted and stronger in our faith. Let us all commit ourselves to God, be true in our ways and never fear, for God will always be with us and reward all of His faithful ones in the end. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Luke 21 : 5-11

At that time, while some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that it was adorned with fine stonework and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, “The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire; all will be torn down.” And they asked Him, “Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

Jesus then said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come claiming My title and saying, ‘I am He, the Messiah; the time is at hand!’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and troubled times, do not be frightened; for all these things must happen first, even though the end is not so soon.”

And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen.”

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Revelations 14 : 14-19

Then I had this vision, I saw a white cloud and the One sitting on it like a Son of Man, wearing a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. An Angel came out of the sanctuary, calling loudly to the One sitting on the cloud, “Put in Your sickle and reap, for harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

He Who was sitting on the cloud swung His sickle at the earth and reaped the harvest. Then another Angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the heavenly sanctuary. Still another Angel, the one who has charge of the altar fire, emerged and shouted to the first who held the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and reap the bunches of the vine of the earth for they are fully ripe.”

So the Angel swung his sickle and gathered in the vintage, throwing all the grapes into the great winepress of the anger of God.

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Friday, 14 October 2016 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callixtus I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings reminded us all that God is our loving Father, our loving Lord Who created each and every one of us out of His boundless and never-ending love. He has promised to each and every one of us the promise of everlasting life and eternal glory with Him, which was what He intended for us and for our ancestors, if not for their sins, and ours as well.

For we were all destined to be loved by God, and to live forever in the grace and in the light of God’s presence, all the more that we are the most special among all of God’s creations, the ones whom He loves the most. He does not want us all to perish, even the smallest and the worst among us, for we are all equal before God, equally loved and equally cherished by our Lord and Creator. And yet, because of our sins, we have drifted away from the Lord and from His salvation.

And we are often not aware of that love which the Lord had for us, because our eyes, our senses, our minds and our hearts are veiled and blocked by that darkness that had been in us, which corrupted us and twisted us into creatures of sin and darkness. And sin is that veil that had corrupted us and prevented us from being able to realise and understand just how much love God has for us.

And that sin is the same that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for, the yeast of the Pharisees. It is the accumulated sin of greed, of jealousy, hatred and all things that these people have gathered in themselves, and which they unleashed against the Lord that had made the works of Jesus to be very difficult. Their sins were many, and they refused to admit these and repent from those sins, and as a result, they led even more of the people of God into the wrong path.

They thought that whatever they had done could be hidden from the knowledge and awareness of the people, but God saw all that they had done, and He would count all these against them on the day of judgment. Jesus Himself said that, nothing that has been hidden will remain hidden forever, at any one time, these may come to light, all scandals and inappropriate acts even those which were most well-hidden of all.

It is a reminder to all of us Christians, that each and every one of us ought to live righteously in God’s presence, following and obeying His will, His laws and commandments, and these are as we all know it, love. His will for us is love, that we all love one another, care for one another, for each other and be concerned about the salvation of one another, that each and every one of us may find our way to God.

We should not follow the examples of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who were very proud of their status in their society, and they were haughty and proud, looking down on others who did not belong to their caste and class. As Christians, each and every one of us should be humble, caring, loving and merciful. And perhaps we should also be inspired to follow the example of Pope St. Callixtus I, Pope of the Church and holy martyr of the Faith, whose feast we celebrate today.

Pope St. Callixtus I lived and reigned as Pope at a time of great difficulty for the Church and the faithful. During that time, at the height of the pagan Roman Empire and in the early days of the Church, many persecutions faced the faithful and many were in hiding because they were members of the Church. Discrimination, oppression, resentment and hatred against these faithful people of God were rampant.

Yet Pope St. Callixtus led the Church and the faithful with courage and vigour, often not fearing the dangers and the risks he had to face as he went on to minister to the faithful, caring and serving them with love. He faced many difficulties and sufferings throughout his life, having been punished, incarcerated, exiled and forced to do tough labour in many occasions, and yet he continued to persevere hard in his life and in his vocation as a servant of God.

He helped to establish the Church and made it stronger by resisting the works of heretics and rebels against the authority of the Church, while encouraging many sinners to repent their sins and to return to the Church of God. There were those who refused to follow this path of mercy and forgiveness, but through Pope St. Callixtus I and his deep commitment to the salvation of sinners, many souls were saved from certain eternal damnation.

Through these examples which Pope St. Callixtus I had shown us, we too should learn from his examples on how to become an ever better Christian, and how to practice our faith ever more devoutly in our respective lives. Let us all do the same, devoting ourselves, heart and mind, to show mercy to our brethren in need, whether it is for material or spiritual sustenance.

Let us all as Christians be beacons of light for one another, that by working together, inspired by the examples of our Lord and His holy saints, we may help each other to draw ever closer to God and to His salvation and eternal life. May God bless us all and keep us always in His grace. Amen.