Roman martyrs

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season of Lent, this time of repentance and reorientation of our lives, we are all reminded that everything which we are doing during this time and season of Lent should always be focused on the Lord, our Saviour and Master. We should not allow ourselves to be deluded and misguided by the temptations of worldly glory, pleasures, or other pursuits and ambitions which can lead us into the wrong paths in life. This Lent we are all called to turn away from our many worldly attachments and distractions, as well as coming closer to the Lord by our deepening of this relationship which we ought to have for Him. Each and every one of us should seek to rend ourselves off the various shackles of worldly desires present around us, and come to the Lord with a sorrowful and contrite heart.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people, the Israelites through Isaiah in which He called on all of them to turn towards Him with genuine faith and desire to love Him, and not merely paying lip service to Him and obeying His Law and commandments out of formality and mere outward observance only. The Lord pointed out how some of the people were doing exactly this, contradicting their own pious practices with other things that were not in accordance to His Law and commandments. The Lord quoted some examples how the people observed the fasting and the festivals, and yet, as they put ashes on their heads and wearing their sackcloth as they fast, they still persecuted and oppressed others around them, manipulating and benefitting over the sufferings of their fellow brethren.

All of those things meant that those people had not truly understood the Law and commandments of God. They fulfilled the requirements of the Law more as formality and perhaps even out of fear for the Lord, but not because they truly desired to seek Him or to follow His path wholeheartedly as they all ought to have done. That is why the Lord reminded all of His people through Isaiah, who wanted to tell them all to turn away from this wicked path, and embrace once again wholeheartedly and meaningfully the path that He has shown them, and which He has helped and reminded them constantly through the many prophets that He had sent to them including that of Isaiah himself. God wanted all of His people, and this is a reminder to all of us as well, that we must truly be sincere in our faith and all the practices we do, especially during this time and season of Lent, that we do not end up being hypocrites, believing in one thing and yet doing something entirely contradictory and opposite on the other.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to the disciples of St. John the Baptist who came up to Him to question why He and His disciples did not practice fasting in the manner that the disciples of St. John the Baptist themselves and the Pharisees had done. Unfortunately, especially for the latter group, many of them did the practice of fasting and other pious practices not for the right purpose and intention, but rather to seek attention and praise from others around them. At the same time, the Lord also used this opportunity to reveal and highlight the truth about Himself and His mission, how He, the Lord God Himself descending into our midst in the flesh and form of Man, being in our presence is no circumstance for His disciples and followers to fast.

Ultimately, this is a reminder for all of us that fasting and abstinence are practices that serve to remind us all of our sin and mortality, our rebellion and disobedience against God. When we fast, we also in a way mourn and show our regret and sorrow against our separation from God, reflecting upon the sad reality of the state of our soul, tainted and corrupted by sin and evil. And yet, at the same time, we must always remind ourselves that God has provided us His help and love, His kindness and grace, offering us all generous forgiveness and mercy. We must not squander these opportunities that God had given us all, as He reached out patiently towards us, gathering us all and calling on us to come into His Holy Presence once again, to be loved by Him again and reunited with Him.

Today, all of us are called to repent from our sins and wickedness as we continue our progress through this penitential season and time of Lent. We are called to reevaluate our path in life, and whether we have truly lived our lives worthily in the Lord or whether we are still being wayward in disobeying the Lord and His commandments. This is why we need to heed the words of the Lord that we have listened to and discussed today so that our Lenten season and whatever we are doing to observe it can be truly beneficial and fruitful for us. We must not do those observances and actions without truly understanding their significance and importance, and whenever we fast, abstain, spending our time in prayer and performing acts of charity, we should do them because we sincerely desire to better ourselves and to come back towards the Lord with contrite hearts.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, two holy and devout women whose martyrdom during the era of persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire inspired many of the faithful throughout history. St. Perpetua was a Roman noblewoman who was recently married at the time of her martyrdom while St. Felicity was a slavewoman, who was arrested and imprisoned together with St. Perpetua during one of the episodes of persecution of Christians in the Empire. Despite their different backgrounds, both were united in the common faith they had in the Lord, in their belief in Christ, the Saviour of all. They refused to abandon their faith, and for St. Perpetua, she refused her father’s desire that she recant her faith in God. Eventually both of them were put to death for their faith in the Lord, courageously defending their faith to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we reflect upon these words from the Sacred Scriptures and upon listening to the examples of the great saints, St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, let us all hence renew our commitments to the Lord, and renew that desire in each and every one of us to seek the Lord ever more wholeheartedly, by our exemplary living and deeds, by our obedience to the Law and commandments of God. The Lord has given us this time of Lent as the wonderful opportunity for us to embrace Him and His mercy, to reevaluate our lives and to reattune ourselves to His path. Let us all not squander these opportunities that He has given us, and let us all seek the Lord faithfully, being good role models for everyone around us, much as our holy predecessors, like that of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity had been for us.

May the Lord continue to bless us in our journey of life and strengthen us in our faith and commitment to Him, and bless our Lenten practices and observances so that through them, we may draw ever closer to Him and find the path to His Holy Presence, and remain ever firm in our desire to love and seek Him always in our lives. Amen.

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 9 : 14-15

At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast.”

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 18-19

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart, You will not despise.

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 1-9a

Cry out aloud for all you are worth; raise your voice like a trumpet blast; tell My people of their offences, Jacob’s family of their sins. Is it true that they seek Me day after day, longing to know My ways, as a people that does what is right and has not forsaken the word of its God?

They want to know the just laws and not to drift away from their God. “Why are we fasting?,” they complain, “and You do not even see it? We are doing penance and You never notice it.” Look, on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress your labourers. Yes, you fast but end up quarrelling, striking each other with wicked blows. Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high.

Is that the kind of fast that pleases Me, just a day to humble oneself? Is fasting merely bowing down one’s head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes? Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to YHVH? See the fast that pleases Me : breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke.

Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the glory of YHVH your rearguard. Then you will call and YHVH will answer, you will cry and He will say, I am here.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the hope that we all ought to have in the Lord, our God, Who is also our most loving Father and Creator. As long as we continue to have faith in Him, we will not be disappointed, and we will be assured the glorious inheritance that He has promised to all of us, the many graces and blessings which He, our loving Father has prepared for all of us, whom He has adopted to become His own most beloved sons and daughters. All of us must have faith in the Lord even when others despise us and make our lives difficult and challenging, as it is through the Lord alone that we shall be triumphant in the end against all of those who seek our destruction and damnation. There is truly no hope and future for us beyond the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the discourse from the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which the author reminded the faithful among the Jewish community of the reality of how the Lord their God has adopted all of them as His own beloved children, and how He has loved them, guided them, helped and chastised them as a loving Father would do to His children, to help and guide them in their journey throughout life so that they will not end up falling into temptations and the path to ruin. This is contrasted to the traditional perception of God among the Jewish community at that time and previously, which perceived God as distant, invisible and transcendent beyond the reach of the people. But the Incarnation of the Saviour, the Son of God Himself in the flesh, has made God to be approachable and tangible for us.

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews had spent a lot of time and effort throughout his Epistle to elaborate about the nature and role of the Messiah, the One Whom God had sent into the world to be the Liberator and the One to redeem us from our many sins, all the things that had separated us from God, our most loving and gracious Father and Creator. Therefore, he told the Jewish community how this same Saviour that God had sent into the world was truly the Son of God, and by His incarnation, He has become one like us, sharing our human existence and nature, and by doing so, He has made us all to share in His relationship with the Heavenly Father, and allow us all to become the adopted sons and daughters of God, while at the same time restoring the grace that has been lost to us, by His action in redeeming us through His loving sacrifice on the Cross.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist in which we were told that after the miraculous resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official which we heard in yesterday’s passage from the same Gospel, the Lord went back to His hometown of Nazareth and taught in the synagogue, only to be ridiculed and to face rejection from His own townspeople, who doubted Him and ridiculed Him because they thought they knew Who He was, as the supposed Son of the lowly carpenter, St. Joseph. At that time, carpenters, while performing an important and good work, were often looked down upon as being low in education and status in the society, as compared to the highly educated ones like the Pharisees and those scribes and teachers of the Law.

Therefore, they could not reconcile this bias and belief in such a prejudice that the mere Son of a carpenter could have done so many great and wonderful deeds that they had heard from the news that had spread around the region about the miracles and other things that the Lord Jesus had done. When they themselves heard the Lord proclaiming His teachings and truths with such great wisdom and authority, their bias and prejudice were what kept them from being able to listen to the Lord and believe in Him. And in this example, we have seen the ugly side of our human nature, our attitudes in being prejudiced against others, and in thinking that we are better than those around us, striving to be greater, more powerful and mighty than others. And that is why we often competed and bickered with each other.

The Lord Jesus Himself therefore showed us that this path of pride and ego, self-righteousness and prejudice have no place amongst us as Christians. It was after all these attitudes of succumbing to our ego and pride, our desires and ambitions, our endless pursuits for power, glory and greatness, for ambitions and pleasures of the world that had led so many among us and our predecessors to fall into sin. The Lord showed by example, through His most generous and selfless love for us, by humbling Himself so much so that He was willing to come down to us, assuming our human existence and nature, being born of a Woman, Mary, His mother, and coming into the family of a carpenter, that is St. Joseph’s, who although was a lowly carpenter, yet, was the direct heir of King David. All these happened so that God could fulfil everything which He has promised us from the very beginning, that is to liberate us all from the power and dominion of sin and death.

God our loving Father and Creator has always been very patient with us, in loving and caring for us, and in guiding us all towards His Presence. He has always loved us and been patient with us even when we constantly disobeyed His Law and commandments, betraying and abandoning Him for other gods and idols, or for other worldly pursuits and ambitions. He has always given us opportunities, one after another, hoping that at least some of us will come to see the errors of our ways and repent from our sins. That is just how loving God has been towards us, and we should truly consider ourselves very fortunate for this. He has also chastised and punished us justly whenever we erred, with the hope and intention that we may come to find the path of righteousness in Him, and not to fall further into sin and darkness.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the renowned martyr, St. Agatha, also known as St. Agatha of Sicily, a faithful and holy martyr of the Church who was persecuted for her faith during the time of great tribulation by the then hostile Roman Imperial administration under the rule of the Emperor Decius, an infamous persecutor of Christians, who launched a particularly harsh and brutal persecution on the Church. Back then, the young St. Agatha had made vow of virginity and refused the advances of the pagan Roman prefect named Quintianus, who was mesmerised by her great beauty. Therefore, after repeated refusals and rejections from St. Agatha who kept on faithfully observing her vow of virginity, Quintianus, who knew that St. Agatha was a Christian, reported her to the authorities.

Hence, this led to St. Agatha being arrested and persecuted, and threatened with certain sufferings and deaths. The same Roman prefect Quintianus himself was the official in charge of the region and therefore over the case of St. Agatha, and he hoped that the threats and sufferings would change her mind and accept his proposals. St. Agatha remained firm in her faith and commitment, publicly embracing her faith in God and proclaiming her dedication to Him. No matter how Quintianus tried to punish and force St. Agatha, including sending her to a brothel, none of those efforts could dissuade or force St. Agatha to abandon her faith in the Lord. Eventually, after more dramatic confrontations with Quintianus, the Roman prefect sentenced her to more punishments and prison, where she eventually died as a martyr a while later. She remained ever committed to God right to the very end, and became the great inspiration for many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we have discussed from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and from the life of St. Agatha, holy martyr of the Church, let us all remember God’s most generous love for us as our loving Father, in all that He had done for us, and in how He guided us all patiently throughout even the most difficult and challenging moments in life. We are also reminded to be faithful like how St. Agatha had been faithful in all things, and in how she had maintained her faith courageously despite all the sufferings and martyrdom that she had to endure. That is why, today all of us as Christians are called and reminded to be good examples and inspirations for each other, to be the beacons of God’s light and hope for everyone around us. Let us all continue to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and might, and help one another in accomplishing our respective missions in this world.

May the Lord bless us all in our every good endeavours, efforts and works, and may He continue to help and guide us in our journey through life so that in all things and at all opportunities, we will always strive to be good, faithful and worthy Christians, to be faithful and righteous as our holy predecessors had been, like St. Agatha before us. Amen.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 6 : 1-6

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

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

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

Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

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

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

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

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

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Wednesday, 5 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 12 : 4-7, 11-15

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

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

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

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Wednesday, 22 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to put our faith and trust in the Lord, to open ourselves, our mind and heart to His truth and love, and not to allow our pride, ego and stubbornness to prevent ourselves from following Him wholeheartedly. The Lord has shown us all His most generous love which He has manifested through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and each and every one of us should therefore strive to live lives that are truly worthy of Him, giving Him thanks for all that He has done for us, in blessing and forgiving us, ever enduring in His love for us despite us having often disobeyed Him and refusing to follow Him or listen to Him. He has blessed us all through His Son, and we ought to live our lives then as the worthy bearers of the truth and love that Our Lord Himself has revealed to us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle to the Hebrews the account of the author of this Epistle, which many biblical scholars and historians attributed to St. Luke the Evangelist, directed to the Jewish community and population, especially to those who have accepted and embraced Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. For at that time, there were many different opinions and beliefs among the Jewish people on Who this Jesus Christ was. On one extreme, there were those Jewish people who rejected the Lord completely, like many among the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests who viewed the Lord as a False Messiah and even a dangerous blasphemer and sinner because of His teachings and works, and for Him claiming to be the Son of God, some of which were shown in our Gospel passage today about the Lord healing a paralysed man.

On the other extreme, of course there were also those who have fully accepted and embraced the fullness of truth about this person of Jesus Christ, how He is not just a mere Man or Prophet sent by God, but that He is indeed the Son of God, the Divine Word of God made manifested and incarnate in the flesh before us all, conceived and born into this world through His mother Mary. And there were those Jewish people who were receptive to the teachings of Christ but they were still ambivalent, indecisive and unsure about how much or what they would believe in Him. Therefore, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews went on through these series of discourses, discussions and teachings to help them to understand the truth of this Saviour Whom God had sent into their midst, as we all have heard in the past two weeks or so in our weekday readings.

In today’s discourse, the mention of Melchizedek, the King of Salem was a significant one because the person of Melchizedek himself in the Scriptures and in history was a mystery and is still debated till this day on who this Melchizedek truly was. It is precisely just like how the Lord Jesus Himself and His truth and identity were widely debated and discussed among the Jewish people both during and after the period of His ministry and works in their midst. For Melchizedek, him being the King of Salem highlighted his place as the High Priest of God offering the sacrifices and offerings to God at Salem, which name suggests connection to Jerusalem, which is the place that the Lord Himself would offer the ultimate sacrifice and offering through His suffering and death on the Cross.

Therefore, this mention of Melchizedek served to highlight the important role that Jesus Christ, as the Saviour had to do in order to save all mankind, just as the prophets had also predicted and prophesied about it. Some among the Jewish people then likely did not understand why the Messiah had to suffer and in fact even die in such a humiliating and painful way, betrayed and rejected by many of the leaders of His own people. Melchizedek here was seen as an archetype and even as a possible manifestation of Christ before the time that was appointed for Him to come into this world, to reveal part of what God intended to do with us, in saving all of us His beloved ones from certain destruction. The mention that Melchizedek was one without a parent, was also yet another reference to Christ, Who was conceived without any human intervention and by the power of God alone.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Vincent the Deacon, a holy man of God and a renowned martyr whose life and examples, dedication to God and martyrdom can inspire us all in how we ought to live our lives as Christians. St. Vincent the Deacon was born in the region of Zaragoza in what is today Spain, also then known by its original name of Caesaraugusta, which made this saint to be also known as St. Vincent of Zaragoza. He was eventually ordained as a deacon by his local bishop, Bishop Valerius who needed St. Vincent’s help as a spokesperson due to his speech impediment issue. And during that time, Christians and the Church was being heavily persecuted by the Roman state under the Emperor Diocletian.

When St. Vincent and his bishop were both arrested and brought before the Roman magistrate, and offered release and safety, comfort and good life if they were to abandon their faith in God and consign their Holy Scriptures to the fire, St. Vincent and his bishop courageously refused this offer and mentioned bravely that nothing that could be done to change their mind or to persuade, coerce or force them to do otherwise, as they would remain firmly attached to the Lord and their faith in Him. This remarked angered the Roman magistrate so much that he inflicted all sorts of torture and pain on the man of God until St. Vincent was eventually martyred, but remaining firm in his faith in God to the very end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard earlier on from the discourses and discussions from the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Gospel about the healing of the paralysed man, and from the courageous faith and life of St. Vincent the Deacon, all of us are reminded that as Christians we may often have to face a lot of disagreements, hardships, and even persecutions and oppressions for our faith in God. But we should not allow these to discourage us from being faithful to the Lord and to follow Him. After all, we must first remember what the Lord Himself has done for us, and the sufferings and hardships He Himself had suffered and endured for us in His Passion and death. When we suffer, we all suffer together with Christ, and we are all united to His death and ultimately to His glorious Resurrection.

If we continue to have strong and enduring faith in God, we will surely not be disappointed and we will receive the fullness of God’s blessings and grace, and be truly worthy of the salvation which He has promised and reassured us all. Let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment to live our lives worthily of the Lord from now on, doing our very best to be the good examples and inspiration to everyone around us, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Mark 3 : 1-6

At that time, again Jesus entered the synagogue. A man, who had a paralysed hand, was there and some people watched Jesus : would He heal the man on the sabbath? If He did, they could accuse Him.

Jesus said to the man with the paralysed hand, “Stand here in the centre.” Then He asked them, “What does the Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?” But they were silent.

Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness, because they had closed their minds. And He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was healed. As soon as the Pharisees left, they met with Herod’s supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus.