St. Augustine Zhao Rong

by

Thursday, 9 July 2015 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard how Judah argued with Joseph to show mercy to Benjamin, who was accused of stealing the silver cup of the Regent of Egypt. The brothers of Joseph did not recognise who Joseph was, but their pleas and commitment to repentance of their past sins moved Joseph so much, that eventually he revealed who he was to all of them.

In the Gospel today, we heard about Jesus who sent forth His disciples to proclaim the Good News to the people of God, preaching the words and promises of God’s salvation. He sent them to reveal the truth of the Lord to mankind who have lived for so long in the darkness, so that by the light which He is bringing into the world, He may help us to realise that we ought to walk and live in the light and abandon the darkness which had enveloped us for so long.

There is a link between the two readings which if we realise it then all the things will make sense to us. In the first reading, the brothers of Joseph made pleas after pleas to Joseph, begging him to let Benjamin go, and instead take one of them as a hostage in the place of Benjamin. And eventually Joseph gave in and showed mercy to them, revealing to them who was his real identity, as his brother.

In the similar manner therefore, if we look at it, the brothers of Joseph actually resembles all of us who seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, while Joseph represents the Lord who is loving and merciful. Despite all of the bitterness, the betrayal and the sorrow that his brothers had wrought him, Joseph continued to love his brothers and forgave them their faults to him that many years ago. Joseph represents that love which our Lord continues to show us even though we have betrayed Him, rejected Him and brought Him so much sorrow by our rebelliousness.

God is just like Joseph, and if we seek Him with all of our might and with all of our hearts’ attention, then He will listen to us and our pleas. He has great love and mercy for us, seeing us suffering from the results of our sins. We have been sundered from His grace and love, and we suffer just like the sons of Israel suffering not just from hunger because of the great famine, but even more so because of the guilt, of having betrayed their own blood, their own brother and selling him to the slave masters.

We too have betrayed the covenant which our Lord had made with us, and we spurned His love and His care for us. We rejected His rich offer of forgiveness, which He had extended to all of us who have sinned against Him. Do we not appreciate this mercy which our Lord had shown us at all times? Do we not know how the angels and the saints are praying daily and at all times for our sake?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on the lives of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his many companions who had given up their lives for the sake of their faith in God. Despite the challenges they faced, they did not give up their faith, and chose to die rather than to commit sin by disobeying the Lord and falling once again into a life of sin.

Together, they, who are called the Martyr Saints of China have endured rejection, persecution, torture and suffering from those who refused to believe in God. They have been tempted with the offers from those worldly peoples, offering them positions, fame, wealth and safety in exchange for them to recant their faith and to reject the Lord their God.

They refused to do so, and remained firm, even when threatened with torture and suffering unto death. They have sought the Lord with all of their hearts, and indeed their prayers were heard, and in the faith and righteous way of life, even until the end, they justified themselves in faith and they were all received into the glory of heaven in the presence of God.

We can do the same too with our lives, brethren, in a way that we all should stand up for the Lord, and for the faith we ought to have in Him. Do we still succumb to the temptations of this world, the temptations of pleasures especially that of the flesh? We have to remember that it is meaningless for us to be safe in the world, and yet lose everything in the world that is to come.

And we have to take note that we all are still empty in us, and we hunger for the spiritual nourishment and fulfilment which only God can give. What can we do then? Draw closer to God and walk in His ways, listen to Him and do what He had commanded us to do, and carry out the mission which He had commissioned His Apostles to do, that is by our actions, spread the Good News of His salvation to all the peoples. May God bless us all in this endeavour. Amen.

by

Thursday, 9 July 2015 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 10 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go and proclaim this message : The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift. Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses. Do not take a traveller’s bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a staff : workers deserve their living.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people in the house deserve it, your peace will be on them; if they do not deserve it, your blessing will come back to you.”

“And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than it will for the people of that town.”

by

Thursday, 9 July 2015 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 104 : 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Then God sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; He sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet in shackles, his neck in irons till what he foretold came to pass, and the Lord’s word proved him true.

The king sent for him, set him free, the ruler of the peoples released him. He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions.

by

Thursday, 9 July 2015 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Genesis 44 : 18-21, 23b-29 and Genesis 45 : 1-5

Judah then went forward and said, “My lord, allow your servant to speak. Do not be angry with your servant, although you are equal to Pharaoh himself. The last time you questioned your servants saying : ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ We said to my lord : ‘We have an aged father who had a child in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only one left of his mother’s children. And his father loves him.'”

“Then you said to us : ‘Bring him down so that I can see him for myself.’ You then told us that if our youngest brother did not come with us, we would not be admitted to your presence. All this we said to our father on returning there. So when he told us to come back and buy a little food, we said : ‘We cannot go down again unless our youngest brother is with us. We shall not be admitted to the lord’s presence unless our brother is with us.'”

“Then my father said : ‘You know that my wife had two children. One went away from me and has surely been torn to pieces since I have not seen him anymore. If you take this one from me and something happens to him you will bring my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.'”

Now Joseph could no longer control his feelings in the presence of all those standing by and he called out, “Leave my presence, everyone!” And only his brothers were with him when Joseph made himself known to them. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard and the news spread through Pharaoh’s house.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” And his brothers could not answer because they were terrified at seeing him. Joseph said, “Come closer,” and they drew nearer. “I am Joseph your brother, yes, it is me, the one you sold to the Egyptians. Now do not grieve and reproach yourselves for selling me, because God has sent me before you to save your lives.”

by

Wednesday, 9 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings from the Holy Scriptures are truly appropriate for the occasion of the day. For today we celebrate the feast of many martyrs of the faith, that is the Chinese martyrs, who died defending their true faith zealously despite persecution and oppression from their own countrymen and authorities who viewed them as their enemies.

The Chinese martyrs are led with St. Augustine Zhao Rong, one of the first Chinese native priests, who was brought up in the faith, together with many others who were converts to the faith, and who zealously defended their faith, even unto the point of death. The Chinese martyrs, or more appropriately termed the martyr saints of China were a large group of holy martyrs, both native Chinese faithful and many missionaries from different countries who committed themselves to the spreading of the Word of God.

However, the situation and the general condition in China during the times when these martyrs lived, that is between the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, and some to the early twentieth century coincided with the reign of the Qing Dynasty in China, which was highly isolationist and suspicious of any threat to its rule, as they themselves were the conquerors of China and were not safe in their reign, beset by numerous rebellions.

Although I try not to go to much into detail about the history of China at the time, but it is very important for us to understand it briefly to know the reason why the faithful were tortured and had to suffer even death. The Chinese civilisation and the many dynasties ruling over the Empire of China had a very long and venerable history, and rich ensemble of achievements, as long as very long history of self-sufficiency and prosperity.

The Chinese people and the Empire in particular sees itself as the centre of the world, and the centre of all civilisations, as the Middle Kingdom, another name that China is well known of, a direct translation of what the Chinese people called their own state, even until today. The other civilisations, states and countries were considered inferior to the Chinese civilisation, and these were often regarded as barbarians.

When the first missionaries brought the faith to China, and in particular when the age of active missionary actions brought the faith to China a few hundred years ago, the faithful were seen with both contempt and suspicion by both the authorities and the people as a whole. The missionaries were valued by the authorities, including the Chinese Emperor, for their skills in science and other aspects of knowledge and learning, but regarding the faith, they were greatly restricted in their actions.

Yet this did not stop many from listening to the word of God, to the word of truth, and casting aside the falsehoods of the world, they chose to follow the Lord and became one of the faithful like us. But because of the prejudice and the hostility with which the others saw these faithful, they suffered greatly under persecution, both secretly and openly. And eventually many died and were killed under various circumstances, especially when the faithful were openly attacked and persecuted against.

St. Augustine Zhao Rong and many of his other companions in sainthood and martyrdom, coming from different era and times, encompassing several centuries, might have had different lives and different experiences of faith, but they all shared the same experience of defending their faith and their soul against damnation, in choosing to keep faithful to the Lord instead of apostasy for the sake of worldly safety and well-being.

Their examples showed us how martyrdom is not something confined to the past, to the times of the Ancient Rome or the Middle Ages, but is something that is real to us and to the faith. Persecution and martyrdom is common, especially in our world today, where intolerance against both our faith and we ourselves, the faithful is constantly on the rise, from various avenues and sources. Persecution and opposition against the faithful is getting more and more common, and even acceptable to the world.

But as we see in the Scripture readings today, the Lord called many to His side, and made them His disciples and Apostles, all with the sole intent of bringing His words and salvation to this world and all of the people living in it. God sent them first to His first chosen people, the direct heir and descendants of Abraham that is the people of Israel. Yet, the first among God’s chosen ones did not respond well, and thereafter, God sent all of His disciples to proclaim His words among all the nations, for the salvation of all peoples.

As rejection and opposition faced the disciples and the Apostles as they ministered with their Lord to the Israelites, the same kind of reception should also indeed be expected for all the servants of the Lord across the entire world, going about to preach the words of salvation and living their faith, just as what happened to saints and martyrs throughout the ages, including St. Augustine Zhao Rong and the others, the martyr saints of China.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all ask the intercession of the holy saints and martyrs of China, of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, so that they may pray to God to strengthen our own faith, that in our time today, we may always be true to our faith, and live our faith genuinely in full obedience to the Lord, rebuking Satan and all of his false promises and lies.

May the examples of the martyrs help us to live our own faith with zeal and love, for the good of all of us, and for the good of all mankind. May Almighty God bless us all. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 9 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 10 : 1-7

Then Jesus called His twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles : first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray him.

Jesus sent these twelve on mission with the instructions : “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go instead to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go and proclaim this message : The kingdom of heaven is near.”

by

Wednesday, 9 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

by

Wednesday, 9 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Hosea 10 : 1-3, 7-8, 12

Israel was a spreading vine, rich in fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the more his land prospered, the more he adorned his sacred stones.

Their heart is divided! They shall pay for it. Their altars will be thrown down and their sacred stones broken to pieces. Now they say, “We have no king because we have no fear of God and what good would a king do us?”

As for the king of Samaria, he has been carried off like foam on water. The idolatrous high places – the sin of Israel – will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will creep over the altars. Then they will say to the mountains : “Cover us,” and to the hills : “Fall on us.”

Plow new ground, sow for yourselves justice and reap the harvest of kindness. It is the time to go seeking YHVH until He comes to rain salvation on you.