Son of God

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Sunday, 1 September 2013 : 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ taught us the value of humility, of doing things in humility, and seeking not human glory in all our dealings. The prophet Sirach in the first reading today also put the emphasis on the relations between greatness and humility, that the greater someone is, the more that he or she should be humble, and to seek not things that lie beyond our capabilities and our reach.

Brethren, too many times have we heard about mankind trying to reach things beyond what they can do, that they became too absorbed in that pursuit and forget about anything else. It is very often that we even sacrificed much in order to get to that destination, to that desire that we seek to achieve. More often than not, this involved sacrificing even those dear to us. What makes mankind so desperate for such aims and targets that they devote so much for them?

That is because we often become immersed in our pride and in our desire, so much that we simply cannot let go when things do not go the way we wanted it. We always want to be the first in everything, the first in getting new items from the store, the first in our academic, economic, and other performances, that we fear so much from losing out to another people. In our deep pride, we cannot bear to lose to another person, because to us, there is often no consideration for being the second place.

It is in our human nature that we want to be preeminent, and first in all things, and that is our pride, that we ought to stand alone at the top without rivals. Yet remember, brothers and sisters, it is exactly the same sin that had brought down the greatest angel and the mightiest angel of all the angelic host of heaven. Who is that? Precisely, it is Lucifer, the false lightbringer, now known as Satan, the evil one, the devil, the deceiver, and the great enemy.

Lucifer was created as the most brilliant of all of God’s angels, the most perfect and beautiful of all God’s angels. It was told that he was created with twelve wings of a seraph, with incredibly bright light illuminating his figure, and hence his name, Lucifer, the lightbringer and the morning star. To him had been given power, glory, and might in addition to his beauty and wonder, by the Lord the Creator of all.

Yet, in his heart, due to his seemingly perfect beauty, power, and glory, he began to form dissensions and dissatisfactions with being a servant of God, and instead, in his great pride, he wanted to rise above all things, and take over the throne of God, as the ruler of all the creation and over all of heaven, as written in the Book of the prophet Isaiah. That he will raise his throne above the stars of heaven and ascend to the heights of heaven, seated on the throne of God, such are the things in his heart, the schemes that he plotted against God.

And yet, he failed. In his great pride he had sought to be like the proud guest who seek to reach the first place in the banquet, and he failed, badly. He was struck down and cast down from the heavens, as we read in the Book of the Revelation, when the Archangel Michael and the angels of heaven fought with the dragon, that is Lucifer, and defeated him with the power of God, and cast him away from heaven. The Book of the prophet Isaiah continued with the lamentation on the fate of Lucifer, as the fallen morning star, that had fallen and would never rise again as he had once boasted.

Indeed, as Christ had said to the Pharisees in the feast, that the one who seek to be the first will be made last, and will be relegated to the last position in great shame and humiliation. Truly, Lucifer, once the brightest, most brilliant, and mightiest angel of heaven, is now a shadow of his former self, known to us as the great enemy and the evil one, twisted, broken, and marred in his beauty, all because of his pride and lack of humility before God.

On the other hand, the Archangel Michael, whom we know as the chief of the angelic host and the leader of the angels of God, is made such not because of his pride, his power, or his might. Instead, the Archangel Michael was known for his great humility and obedience to the will of God, and it was indeed told that he always trembled before the presence of the Lord. That humility made the Lord to choose him as the leader of His angelic host, in the same way as the humble guest who seek the worst and last seat, is invited by the host to a position of honour.

After quoting the example of the archangels, of Lucifer and Michael and the comparison between them, and how it relates to the lessons we learn today from our readings and the Lord Himself, of the importance of humility in our lives, let us take some time to reflect on our own lives, whether we have always let our pride get in our way, and whether we have let our pride to take over us, as it had done to Lucifer.

To be humble is not easy, as temptations will certainly be great. We tend to compete with one another, not least in this increasingly more fast-moving and competitive world, where everyone’s success in life is measured by their achievements and by the things that they are able to do better than others, fueling even more and more competition in a vicious cycle, that if not controlled may result in excessive competition and everyone sought to overcome one another, at the expense of others as best as possible.

Yet, the Lord challenged us today to be different, to dare to be different from others, to be humble in our increasingly prideful world, in a world where people increasingly care less about one another, in a world where everyone vies to be the first ahead of others, and to achieve things that they are not able to do. The Lord challenged us to know the meaning of humility and the value of satisfaction, of knowing that we truly have enough in our lives, that all that we need have truly been taken care of by the Lord our God in various ways.

Christ had taught us the meaning of humility, and also teach us love, how to love one another, and how to love God. He has shown us all that through His own actions, that He, who is God, and who is divine and all-powerful, is willing to take the last seat of all, the most humiliating seat of all, to be born into a poor family of a carpenter and born in a dirty stable, even though He is indeed a King, King of all kings no less, the Master of all the Universe.

It does not just stop at that, as He lived humbly and did not seek glory for Himself. Many times the people who were amazed at His miracles and powers sought to force Him and to make Him their king, as the king of a renewed Israel, and yet, Jesus walked away from all that, and not only that, He even willingly walked towards His own death.

Yes, brethren, in His great humility, He who is God, let Himself be captured, tortured, mocked and spat at. He was given many lashes and eventually after carrying His own cross, was nailed to that cross on Calvary. Such is His great humility that He endured all sufferings intended for us, and took them all upon Himself. His wounds marked all the sufferings He had to suffer in our place, that we may live. He died, and died a humiliating death, a criminal’s death on the cross.

And yet? He who has died for all of us has risen from the dead! He has triumphed and conquered over the prideful one, Satan, the old Lucifer, whose pride had brought him from glory to humiliation. Christ had risen to His glory and made the greatest and most prominent of all. The Lord Himself had proven His own words today through His own actions, which He made out of pure love for all of us, that we all may live, that He had humbled Himself to die a humiliating death, despite being the Master of all, for our sake.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the very example of our Lord Jesus, let us today heed His call, that we be humble in all our words, in all our deeds, and in all our actions. Let us be humble in all our dealings with one another, caring and loving for one another, just as the Lord had commanded us. Let us be truly brothers and sisters to one another, and do not seek the downfall of others or the failure of others for our own success. Let us throw away our pride and don humility instead, just as our Lord Himself had once done for us.

May the Lord continue to watch over us, protect us, and bless us, and that may He remind us at all times that we ought to be humble and loving in all our actions, and in all our dealings to our brethren, remembering the very life He had given us, through His own humble death. God bless us all, forever and ever. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 September 2013 : 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 1, 7-14

One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched. Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for He had noticed how they tried to take the places of honour. And He said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you had been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!”

“Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honour for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

Jesus also addressed the man who had invited Him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbours. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you; you will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

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Sunday, 1 September 2013 : 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 18-19, 22-24a

What you have come to is nothing known to the senses : nor heat of a blazing fire, darkness and gloom and storms, blasts of trumpets or such a voice that the people pleaded that no further word be spoken.

But You came near to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem with its innumerable angels. You have come to the solemn feast, the assembly of the firstborn of God, whose names are written in heaven. There is God, Judge of all, with the spirits of the upright brought to perfection. There is Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant.

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Monday, 26 August 2013 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 1 : 1-5, 8b-10

From Paul, Sylvanus and Timothy to the church of Thessalonica which is in God the Father and in Christ Jesus, the Lord. May the peace and grace of God be with you. We give thanks to God at all times for you and remember you in our prayers. We constantly recall before God our Father the work of your faith, the labours of your love and your endurance in waiting for Christ Jesus our Lord.

We remember, brothers and sisters, the circumstances of your being called. The Gospel we brought you was such not only in words. Miracles, Holy Spirit and plenty of everything were given to you. You also know how we dealt with you for your sake.

The faith you have in God has become news in so many places that we need say no more about it. Others tell of how you welcome us and turned from idols to the Lord. For you serve the living and true God, and you wait for His Son from heaven whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who frees us from impending trial.

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Sunday, 25 August 2013 : 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Lay Apostolate Sunday (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen to the warning and reminder from Jesus Christ our Lord, to be ever ready and ever alert on the coming of the kingdom of God, that is the time when God will finally make His move to end all the tyranny of sin and evil, and break the power of Satan for eternity, for a final time. That is the time when Christ comes as a conquering and victorious king, who will reward all who had followed Him faithfully and even suffer for His sake, and also punish those who had opposed Him and barred His way.

Following the Lord is not enough with just being with Him, and being idle. That was exactly what Jesus was referring to, when He mentioned the rebuke of the many, who cannot enter the kingdom of God, because they were unworthy, and because they were unprepared for the coming of the kingdom of God. They are caught asleep when the Lord comes again to claim His people for His own, and the Lord rebukes them and rejects them, denying them the reward He reserves only for those He deems to be worthy.

God is our Father and our Saviour, and He loves all of us very much, without condition. He truly cares for all of us, just like a father loves and cares for his own son, for his own children. He gives His love freely for everyone without exception, to the point that He even gave Himself in flesh and blood, His own Body, through the ultimate sacrifice Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, in His most loving Passion. He endured rejection, mockery, and suffering out of His love for us, that we will not die, die an eternal death in damnation, but may attain life eternal with Him for all ages.

Therefore, out of His great and unconditional love and compassion for us, He who gave us His life through His flesh and blood, wants us to be righteous, upright and worthy of Him. That is why, He corrects us, punishes us, and rebukes us when we make mistakes in our life, and when we go astray from the path to salvation, when the devil begin to take over our hearts. It is to ensure that we remain in Him and not fall into the temptations of Satan.

It may seem to many of us, that the devil seems to be very friendly to us, and yes, brethren, he will always present his smiling face to us, deceiving us into believing his lies and his alluring tactics. Remember, brethren, that the devil was once Lucifer, the greatest, brightest, and mightiest of all the angels of heaven. It is therefore easy for him to show his ‘bright’ and less sinister side to us, in order to deceive us into sin and disobedience against God, just as he had done with Adam and Eve, our ancestors.

We must always remember, that he is also Satan, the devil, the deceiver, the evil snake, and the great enemy of God and all that is good. We must be careful lest we be tempted and fall into his traps. The devil envies the Lord and all mankind, and he will certainly do his best, and use all the resources at his disposal, in order to make us fall. He had done that to our forefathers, and he will certainly do the same again to all of us.

God had given us His help and assistance to us, through His prophets, His messengers, and His own Son in the end. He gave us much assistance, and gave us His Law through Moses, first to His people Israel, and then to us. the core of that Law is the Ten Commandments, which was made clear by our Lord Jesus, as the commandments of love, the love for God and the love for our fellow men. The purpose of these laws? They are meant to be our guide, and our focus, that we will not be easily swayed by the sweet promises of the devil. Yes, brethren, sweet on the outside but bitter within indeed!

The devil placed many obstacles in our path towards the Lord, and that is why, following the Lord our God will not be easy, and it will not be like a walk in the park. Following our Lord will kean a constant, daily struggle, struggle against evil and all the temptations that threaten to divert us from salvation in God. Yes, as Jesus Himself had said, that following Him means to take up our own crosses and follow Him in carrying His cross to Calvary, yes, to our own Calvary.

To follow the Lord indeed means to die to ourselves, and to die to our sins. It is to die to our old lives with Christ’s own death. We die in this way through our own baptism, when we were welcomed and entered into the Church of God, as one family of the faithful ones. Through that ‘death’ we have also been risen up together with Christ, who had triumphed and conquered death, evil, and broke all the powers of Satan through His glorious Resurrection.

Once again, I will reiterate the great difficulty of following the Lord and to remain obedient to Him, His will, and His love, as the devil uses all the resources in his disposal to prevent us from being saved, to suffer and accompany him for eternity in damnation. He deceives and betrays all who believe in him, but he is sweet and smart in his ways, that we will see him as friend and someone good, but truly, nothing good can come of working with the devil. It is a choice we need to make, between the seemingly tough and challenging path of the Lord, but one that leads to eternal life, or the other path that seems to be easy and enjoyable, but is a path to damnation.

Today, brethren, we celebrate Lay Apostolate Sunday, and the purpose of this celebration is indeed to remain us, indeed all of us who belong to the laity, and also the priests alike, must all be apostles to one another, and ultimately be the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, just as the Apostles of the Lord, who gave their all for the sake of God, and spread the Word of God to the four corners of the world, and even gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel, we too should follow in their footsteps.

Christ had repeatedly warned them and therefore, all of us, that the path that He leads is not easy, and challenges are sure to be plentiful. The world itself will hate us, but we cannot fight back hatred with hate, brothers and sisters. We must reach out to them, reach out with our own love, the love God had given to all of us. That is the meaning of Lay Apostolate, that even all of us who do not belong to the priesthood, that is the laity, all of us, have an important part to play in our Church, in our faith. How? Precisely by making sure that we obey God and His commandments, that is love. Yes, love!

The gate to heaven is narrow, brethren, and that is why it is a narrow way. But with love, and with God’s love behind us, nothing is impossible. Yes, what is impossible for man is possible for God. For from men’s perspective, we had been far too dirty and unworthy of the perfection of heaven to have even the slightest hope of redemption, and yet, through Christ, the manifestation of Divine light, we have been promised salvation, as long as we remain faithful to Him and keep true to His path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today resolve, and indeed, vow to do our best, for the Church of God, for our brethren in need. Show them our great love, care, and compassion. Extend our hands towards them, and accept them into our embrace. The door is narrow, but to all of us who love, and who obey the Word of God, it is not narrow, brethren, but it is wide open for us! And do not forget to pray and support our priests, because just as we have much tasks to do ahead of us, to secure our salvation and the salvation of others in Christ through our actions and deeds, our priests have even greater responsibility. Continue to pray for them, support them in any way we can, while we continue to play our own part and contribute to the work of salvation, the good works of our Lord, made evident in this world, through us, His children and His apostles. God be with us, and bless us all always. Amen.

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Sunday, 25 August 2013 : 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Lay Apostolate Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 22-30

Jesus went through towns and villages teaching, and making His way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, “Lord, is it true that few people will be saved?” And Jesus answered, “Do your best to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has gone inside and locked the door, you will stand outside. Then you will knock at the door, calling, ‘Lord, open to us!’ But He will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.'”

“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with You, and You taught in our streets!’ But He will reply, ‘I do not know where you come from. Away from Me, all you workers of evil.’ You will weep and grind your teeth, when you see Abraham and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves left outside. Others will sit at table in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west, from north and south. Some who are among the last, will be first; and some who are among the first, will be last!”

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Sunday, 25 August 2013 : 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Lay Apostolate Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 5-7, 11-13

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.

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Saturday, 24 August 2013 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great feast day of one of the Twelve Apostles, namely St. Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel or Nathanael. He was a righteous and upright man called by the Lord to be one of His disciples, and therefore made him His apostle. The Lord did call His disciples from various backgrounds, including even tax collectors and murderers, as well as the righteous ones. All of them called from their former lives, abandoning them to follow the Lord their God in Christ.

Each of the Apostles were called to be the followers of Christ, to help Him in His mission in this world, and ultimately, to continue the works He had done, after He ascended in glory to heaven. They were entrusted with the care of the faithful, as shepherds of the sheep of the Lord, that is all of us, to be the guiding beacons along our long and arduous path towards salvation in God. From them came many generations of shepherds of the people of God, including that of our priests and bishops today, who are their successors, the successor of the Apostles of Christ.

St. Bartholomew travelled wide after the events depicted in the New Testament, as one of the Apostles of Christ, spreading the Good News of salvation to many around the world, and according to records, St. Bartholomew had visited and evangelised in Ethiopia, Armenia, India, and some other places throughout his ministry, converting many to the cause of God, bringing God’s salvation to many those who had not yet heard about Christ or saw His marvellous works.

He converted many to the Lord and brought many into the Church. However, in the same way with all the other Apostles and disciples of Christ, St. Bartholomew met much opposition, persecution, and oppression just as he was accepted by some in the societies that he had visited. Nevertheless, he continued to labour for the sake of the Lord in distant, foreign lands, until he eventually met the end of his life in martyrdom, apparently in Armenia, by being flayed alive and crucified upside down, much like St. Peter in Rome.

Despite his death, and the death of the other Apostles of Christ, in the hands of their enemies and executioners, in the hands of the enemies of God and the godless ones, they had brought forth a growth and flowering of the faithful in the Church, such that the saying is really true that ‘the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians’. Their devotion, dedication, and martyrdom had inspired many to remain true to their faith and to remain faithful to their God, and many followed the Apostles like St. Bartholomew, into martyrdom themselves.

St. Bartholomew and the other Apostles of Christ, St. Peter, St. John the Evangelist and others, were not superhuman, brothers and sisters in Christ. They were same like us, mere man, with all their weaknesses, but also with their respective qualities and strengths. They experienced human emotions as we too experience our human emotions. They experienced doubt and fear when they followed Jesus, and especially when Jesus was captured, tried, and executed. They were scattered like sheep without a shepherd, and yet, when Christ came back in great triumph against evil and sin, He gathered them back upon Himself and sent them the Spirit as the Helper.

They were empowered with God’s love through that Spirit of love, and they were emboldened to take up the cause of the Lord and went forth courageously to spread the Gospels to all men. The Apostles went through hardships and suffering for the sake of God and also for the sake of His people, in the Church of God, and they faced death bravely when they were martyred for their faith and unshakeable devotion to the Lord. They shed their blood, and as I had mentioned, these formed the foundations of the Church of God, along with many other martyrs, that even though they are persecuted against, they remain vibrant and growing in both number and in their faith.

In the first reading, we see the Holy City of Jerusalem descending from heaven, to meet her Bride, that is the Lamb of God. That Holy City was great and precious, the heavenly Jerusalem, pure and clear like crystal. The City has twelve gates and twelve foundation stones, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Those foundation stones also in fact represent the twelve apostles, brothers and sisters! Just as Christ Himself had said that the Apostles will sit on twelve thrones and judge the people of God. They are akin to the guardians of those gates, barring the entry into the city to anyone found not worthy.

That Holy City of God in fact represent both the presence of God, that all of us aspire to enter, and also the Church of God, built upon the support, the foundation stone of the Apostles. Their faith and dedication had been the strong foundation that held up the Church of God, and ensured its continuity throughout time, despite all the opposition, persecution, and evils it had faced all these while. That includes St. Bartholomew who gave up his life and laboured hard for the sake of the Lord.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today, as we recall the labours and the righteousness of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, resolve to follow his life examples, and resolve to devote ourselves more to the laws and commandments of our God that is love, by loving one another, giving our love especially to those who have little or none of it, and to love God with all our might. Pray for us St. Bartholomew, the Apostle of Christ and defender of the faith. Amen.

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Saturday, 24 August 2013 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 1 : 45-51

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One that Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets as well : He is Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.”

Nathanael asked Him, “How do You know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.”

Nathanael answered, “Master, You are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

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Friday, 23 August 2013 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen to the very heart of our faith as how it was explained by Jesus Himself. The Law and commandments of the Lord, the entirety of the divine laws itself had been summed up as love. Yes, love for both God and for our fellow men. All the laws and the rules God had given to His people through Moses and the prophets, are really about showing our love to both He who created us and our fellow brethren, the same children of God.

The entirety of the laws and regulations God had given His people was indeed to guide them that they know what to do in their lives, and will not fall easily into the traps of Satan. Indeed, ever since mankind rebelled against God during the days of Adam and Eve, our ancestors, mankind had ever been under the thrall of the evil one. God who liberated His people from the tyranny of the Pharaohs and the Egyptians therefore also want to free His people from the true slavemasters, that is Satan.

However, liberating His people would not have been easy, as we have been corrupted by sin, and evil had darkened our hearts. We have therefore been rendered unworthy of our Lord and Creator, who is good and perfect. We had shunned the love of God for the temptations of Satan. That was evident even after God had shown His power and brought His people out of the land of Egypt into the Promised Land He promised them and eventually gave them.

Those laws are meant to remind and keep the people in the ways of the Lord, that they will truly grow to be worthy of God, and be worthy of being God’s children and chosen ones. Sadly, by the time of Jesus, the laws had been taken out of its original purpose and context, ending up in the law being observed for the sake of being observed, that is the Law had become an obligation rather than something that truly lives in the hearts of mankind.

The Law of God had instead become a set of rituals that people followed, but the Lord is not in their hearts, because what they are observing is the law of men instead of the law of love, the true Law. That was what Jesus was trying to rectify by teaching the truth about God and His Law. He showed us that the Law is actually not about following rituals or a set of rules, and if we disobey them, we will be punished. The Law was truly God’s love for us, showing all of us, how to love Him and become His loving children.

Jesus reminded His disciples, the people of God, and ultimately all of us today, that the Law must truly live within each one of our hearts. Yes, the Law of love, our love for God, and our love for our fellow men, for everyone without exception. That was the main points that Jesus wanted to stress to each one of us, to keep God’s commandments, not just within us, but also in our actions, our words, and our deeds.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Rose of Lima, also known as St. Rosa of Lima. She is the very first saint from the Americas, the New World. St. Rose of Lima was born in Lima, Peru, in the then Spanish America. She was truly a devout and dedicated servant of God, who was greatly inspired by her faith to do more in the service of God and her fellow brethren. She vowed to remain pure and holy all her life, by pledging a virgin life before God, and despite her parents’ objection, she continued to do her best to pursue her passion in life, that is God.

She prayed fervently and worked with love, sharing her love with everyone she met and everyone she worked with. St. Rose also even wore a silver crown with thorns to remind her of the suffering of Christ wearing the crown of thorns during His Passion, that she would be ever mindful of the suffering and love Christ had shown to her and all of us in order to save us. In St. Rose of Lima, we can indeed see the extent of the love and dedication she had for God and also for her fellow men. This is what the Lord wants from us, and this is the only way that we cam truly follow God’s commandments, not by obeying rules or observing rituals, but by loving one another and loving God, just as St. Rose of Lima had shown us through her own life examples.

We have to devote ourselves to the Lord unconditionally as St. Rose had done, and as Ruth, the holy woman and ancestor of David had done, as we read in the First Reading today. We have to truly give ourselves fully to God, the gift of our hearts, our soul, and all of our beings, that we truly reflect God in all the things that we do, that we truly obey His will and His commandments, and therefore, be made worthy of Him once again, and deserve the eternal reward of life and glory in heaven, which Christ had prepared for us. May the Lord bless us, and through the example and intercession of St. Rose of Lima, may we all be inspired to love God better, serve God better, and commit ourselves more to Him, and do the same to our fellow brothers and sisters. Amen.