St. Columban

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Saturday, 23 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the coming of the end of times and the need for us to continue to have faith and trust in God, no matter what sufferings or hardships we may encounter in our respective paths in life. We must always trust that God will have our back and that we will not be disappointed if we put our faith in Him. At the end of time, we will be raised body and soul to be truly and fully reconciled with God 

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John, as we continue to hear the series of revelations received by St. John the Apostle during his exile and persecution in the Island of Patmos and in that vision, we heard of how the Lord will send to His people and to this world two great witnesses who then went on to proclaim the Word of God and His truth amongst the many people who have abandoned and rejected Him and His salvation, choosing instead to obey and follow the Devil, the one who is foretold to try to rise up against all of us at the end of time, persecuting all the ones who are faithful to the Lord. But God will not abandon us and through His servants, He will continue to show His love and encouragement.

Then, as we heard in what will happen next, those two servants are protected from all those who will seek to destroy them, up to the appointed time, when the forces of the evil one will come up and strike at those servants of God. And yet, in the end, the Lord raised them all up to His Presence, as His Spirit of Life descended upon them, striking fear against all those who have persecuted, oppressed and attacked them. It also showed how not even Satan, all sorts of evil forces, sin and death can triumph against God and His power. Ultimately, God will be triumphant against all those who are against Him, Satan and all his fellow fallen angels and demons, and all those who sided with them, while all those who are faithful to Him shall be vindicated and shall share His glorious triumph.

In our Gospel passage today then, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard of the discussion between the Lord and some of the Sadducees who were there and wanted to question Him regarding the matter about the Resurrection from the dead. The Sadducees were one of the two most powerful and influential groups within the community of the Jewish people at the time of the Lord Jesus’ ministry, together with the Pharisees. The Sadducees were powerful and the ruling group of the Jews, those who were chosen as the High Priest and the other chief priests, the religious and secular elites of the community. And many of them were worldly in their views and beliefs, seeking to preserve their worldly influence and power above all else.

And hence, they were among those who refused to believe in the resurrection from the dead and any other spiritual matters and beliefs, as opposed to the Pharisees, who were intellectual elites and the teachers and preservers of the Law, who believed firmly in all things spiritual and the resurrection after death. Thus, as the Lord often spoke about life and existence transcending death, the Sadducees were strongly opposed to the Lord on this matter, and questioned Him about this belief in the resurrection. Their example quoting the seven brothers who shared a wife, as per the Law of Moses which dictated that the wife be taken care of by a man’s brothers should he die without a child, was an example of their lack of understanding and appreciation of the teachings and belief in the resurrection and life after death.

The Lord made it clear that life and existence after death should not be compared to our lives in this world, and it will be different from our lives here on earth which is full of desires and imperfections, corruptions and the temptations due to sin that has afflicted each and every one of us. Those who have passed on from this life to the world that is to come, and eventually after the Last Judgment, all of them, and all of us shall share in the fullness of God’s glory and rejoice together with Him in eternity of true happiness and bliss. We who will share in the joy of the Lord will no longer have desires for worldly matters, possessions, attachments and all the other things that those Sadducees and many among us may be desiring. That is what each and every one of us as Christians must realise as well.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great saints, holy men of God, whose lives, faith and dedication to God should be great source of inspiration for all of us to follow in our own respective lives. They are Pope St. Clement I, a holy and dedicated Pope and Vicar of Christ, as well as St. Columban, a renowned Abbot and holy man. First of all, Pope St. Clement I was one of the first Bishops of Rome, the successors of St. Peter the Apostle who was the first Pope and Bishop of Rome. He is the fourth Bishop of Rome, succeeding St. Peter the Apostle, Pope St. Linus and Pope St. Anacletus. According to Apostolic tradition and Church history, Pope St. Clement I was the first among the Apostolic Fathers, the successors to the Apostles who continued their work and ministry among the people of God.

Pope St. Clement I was very active in his ministry as bishop and the leader of the Church, caring for the spiritual needs of the people of God, showing great leadership and governance of the flock of the Lord. He wrote many letters and epistles to the faithful, some of which survived in the writings of the early Church fathers, exhorting the faithful people of God to remain committed to Him despite all the challenges, trials and difficulties that they all had to face and endure amidst the persecutions and oppressions from the Roman state that was common at that time. He continued to work hard to the very end, eventually suffering prison and exile, and in the end, according to Apostolic tradition, like most of the other early Popes, died as a martyr of the Church.

Meanwhile, St. Columban, also known as St. Columbanus, was an Irish missionary priest who dedicated himself to the service of the Lord, in his missions in mainland Europe, in what is today parts of France and beyond. St. Columban spread the word of God to many of the people, and established schools and institutions that drew many people who seek to gain greater knowledge and understanding of their faith. However, despite the great and growing popularity of his schools, St. Columban preferred the solitude of the mountains, after many rounds of conflicts and disagreements with the bishops in France and Italy, eventually settling down in northern Italy on the land bestowed on him and others to establish a monastery, over which St. Columban became an abbot. He continued to dedicate himself to the Lord and His people to the very end of his earthly life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all heard from our Scripture passages today, and also from the good examples and lives of Pope St. Clement I and St. Columban, we are all reminded that as Christians, we are all called to be truly obedient to God and to put our full trust and faith in Him at all times, striving at all times to do whatever is pleasing to Him, to obey Him, His Law and commandments. May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to help, strengthen and empower us all in our journey in life, and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and endeavours to glorify Him in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Luke 20 : 27-40

At that time, some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the Law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.'”

“Now, there were seven brothers; the first married a wife, but he died without children; and the second and the third took the wife; in fact, all seven died leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”

And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the Angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.”

“Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when He called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to Him everyone is alive.”

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, You have spoken well.” They did not dare to ask Him anything else.

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Saturday, 23 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Psalm 143 : 1, 2, 9-10

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.

My loving God, my Fortress; my Protector and Deliverer, my Shield where I take refuge, Who conquers nations and subjects them to my rule.

I will sing a new song to You, o God, I will make music on the ten-stringed harp, for You Who give victory to kings and deliver David, Your servant.

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Saturday, 23 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Revelations 11 : 4-12

These are the two olive trees and the two lamps which are before the Lord of the earth. If anyone intends to harm them, fire will come out of their mouths to devour their enemies : this is how whoever intends to harm them will perish. They have the power to close the sky and hold back the rain during the time of their prophetic mission; they also have the power to change water into blood, and punish the earth with a thousand plagues, any time they wish.

But when My witnesses have fulfilled their mission, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war upon them, and will conquer and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in the square of the Great City which the believers figuratively call Sodom or Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. And their dead bodies will be exposed for three days and a half to people of all tribes, races, languages and nations who will be ordered not to have them buried.

Then the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice, congratulate one another and exchange gifts among themselves because these two prophets were a torment to them. But after those three and a half days, a Spirit of life coming from God entered them. They them stood up, and those who looked at them were seized with great fear. A loud voice from heaven called them, “Come up here.” So they went up to heaven in the midst of the clouds in the sight of their enemies.

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Thursday, 23 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to remain steadfast in our faith despite the challenges, trials and difficulties that we may have to face in the midst of us living up to the faith which we have in God. As the Scripture passages today ought to have highlighted to us, there may likely be circumstances and moments when we will end up being forced to choose between obeying God and His Law, and following the ways and customs of this world, and the frictions and challenges that happen may lead us to many sufferings and trials in our paths ahead in life.

In our first reading today from the Book of the Maccabees, we heard of the continuation of the discourse from the Maccabean Revolt moments, especially focusing on the moment when the revolution began, as the King of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes tried to enforce all the people throughout his vast empire to follow the ways and customs of the Greeks, abandoning the customs, ways and practices of their ancestors. This was likely meant by the king to help unite his often fractious empire, which was then wrecked by repeated rebellions and civil wars. However, this was met with a particularly heated and vigorous opposition from the Jewish people that resided mostly in Judea, Samaria and Galilee, the regions that were then under the Seleucid dominion.

As we heard in that passage today, the king’s officials went around the whole region trying to impose the pagan worship and Greek customs and ways on all the people, and while some of the Jewish people followed the demands of the king and his officials, many of them resisted the king and refused to obey his commands, just as the priest Mattathias led the uprising and opposition against the king, killing the official who tried to impose pagan worship on the people. That event marked the origin and beginning of the Maccabean Revolt, in which the Jewish people and forces rose up against the Seleucids and eventually, after many years of struggles, hardships and trials, they managed to gain independence against their enemies and oppressors.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the frustrations and sorrows which the Lord had uttered against Jerusalem, for all the wickedness and all the evils that the people there had done, represented by Jerusalem as a metaphor, in not obeying God’s Law and commandments, in committing sinful actions and worshipping pagan and evil gods, and in doing what was wicked in the sight of God and men alike. The Lord has come into this world to bring forth His Good News and truth, His salvation and grace, and yet, His people were being difficult, in stubbornly refusing to accept and embrace His generous love and compassionate kindness. This was why the Lord lamented over Jerusalem, in great anguish over just how ungrateful and wicked His beloved people had been in the way they treated Him.

This is why, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded that being Christians is often something that is not easy for us to do. There may be plenty of challenges and trials for us in our journey, as we may have to endure persecutions, rejections, betrayals and difficulties as we carry on living our lives faithfully in the way and path of the Lord. There may be those who are opposed to our choice and faith, and those who persecute and oppress us because of this, and hence, this may likely lead to difficulties and hardships for us, but this does not mean that we should give up our faith or betray our Lord for the false ways and idols that may mislead us down the wrong paths in life towards our downfall and destruction.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Pope St. Clement I and St. Columban, both being great men of God, who dedicated themselves to lives of great dedication to God, committing themselves to do God’s will and to obey Him amidst the many challenges, distractions and oppositions in this world. Pope St. Clement I was one of the early successors of St. Peter as the Pope and Vicar of Christ, as the leaders of the faithful people of God, in his efforts and works, leading the people of God through difficult and turbulent times, amidst persecutions and challenges they faced at the time. He wrote extensively to the various parts and communities of the Church, some of which letters and their excerpts survived to this day in various forms. He dedicated himself to the flock entrusted to him by the Lord, and died as a martyr amidst his ministry, in proclaiming God’s Good News and in remaining steadfast and faithful to Him.

Meanwhile, St. Columban was an abbot and a missionary who was remembered for his great dedication to his works and ministry, and for his establishments of many monasteries throughout several parts of Christendom. He encountered some difficulties from local figures and even some of the local Church hierarchy and members amidst his works, but this did not make St. Columban to give up on his works and efforts. Instead, it made him to commit himself all the more to his works and efforts, as he continued to do his best in glorifying God by his life at each and every moment. He continued to labour for the people of God, and many were inspired to follow his examples and to join the monasteries he had established throughout his ministry.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let the good examples and inspirations from Pope St. Clement I and St. Columban be sources of strength and inspiration for each and every one of us so that in all the things we say and do, in all things throughout our lives, we may always aspire to be fully and thoroughly committed to God, despite and regardless of any challenges and trials that we may have to face in life. May the Lord continue to guide and bless us in our lives of faith, and bless our many good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Luke 19 : 41-44

At that time, when Jesus had come in sight of the city, He wept over it, and said, “If only today you knew the ways of peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Yet days will come upon you, when your enemies will surround you with barricades, and shut you in, and press on you from every side.”

“And they will dash you to the ground and your children with you, and not leave stone upon stone within you, for you did not recognise the time and the visitation of your God.”

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Thursday, 23 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Psalm 49 : 1-2, 5-6, 14-15

The God of gods, YHVH has spoken; He summons the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. God has shone from Zion, perfect in beauty.

Gather before Me, My faithful ones, who made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice. The heavens will proclaim His sentence, for God Himself is the Judge.

Yet, offer to God a sacrifice of thanks, and fulfil your vows to the Most High. Call on Me in time of calamity; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.

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Thursday, 23 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

1 Maccabees 2 : 15-29

In the meantime, the king’s representatives, who were forcing the Jews to give up their religion came to Modein to organise a sacred gathering. While many Israelites went to them, Mattathias and his sons drew apart.

The representatives of the king addressed Mattathias, and said to him : “You are one of the leaders of this city, an important and well-known man, and your many children and relatives follow you. Come now, and be the first to fulfil the king’s order, as the men of Judah have already done, and the survivors in Jerusalem as well. You and your sons will be named friends of the king and the king will send you gold, silver and many other gifts.”

But Mattathias answered in a loud voice : “Even if all the nations included in the kingdom should abandon the religion of their ancestors and submit to the order of king Antiochus, I, my sons and my family will remain faithful to the Covenant of our ancestors. May God preserve us from abandoning the Law and its precepts. We will not obey the orders of the king nor turn aside from our religion either to the right or to the left.”

When he finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward, in the sight of everyone, to offer incense on the altar that was built in Modein, according to the king’s decree. When Mattathias saw him, he was fired with zeal. His heart was stirred; and giving vent to his righteous anger, he threw himself on the Jew and cut the man’s throat on the altar. At the same time, he killed the king’s representative who was forcing the people to offer sacrifice; and then tore down the altar. In doing this, he showed his zeal for the Law, as Phinehas had done with Zimri, son of Salu.

Mattathias then began to proclaim loudly in the city : “Everyone who is zealous for the Law and supports the Covenant, come out and follow me!” Immediately, he and his sons fled to the mountains and left behind all they had in the city. Many Jews who looked for justice and wanted to be faithful to the Law went into the desert.

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Wednesday, 23 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures all of us are presented with the reality of being Christians in that we may face hardships, persecutions, and even may lose our lives in the midst of us living our lives faithfully as Christians. Each one of us are reminded that while persecutions and sufferings may be in our path, and we may have to endure them for a while, there is no path for those who continue to refuse to believe in God and those who persecute His people, as those will end up being crushed and defeated by the triumphant Lord, Our God and our Saviour, Who will come again at the end of time, at the time of His choosing, to gather us all who are faithful to Him, and cast into the eternal darkness and destruction, all those who rejected Him to the very end.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, continuing the account of the past two weeks as we continue to progress through the final days of the current liturgical year, as a reminder for all of us how things will turn out eventually in the end. St. John witnessed in his heavenly vision the Seven Angels of God bearing the last and final plagues that will rise against those who are wicked and all those who continue to side with Satan and the other wicked ones, and continue to rebel against Him. Those who are righteous will be remembered by God, and the moment of His coming will be close with all the manifestation of God’s wrath, as He will come as He has promised, to gather each and every one of us who remain faithful to Him, the living and the dead, to rise together with Him into a new life and existence, totally and completely free from the bondage to sin and evil.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus told His disciples of all the things that they would experience going forward, as they continued to carry on their ministries, missions and vocations, as His Apostles, disciples, servants and missionaries among the peoples of various nations. He presented to them frankly and truthfully of how the world that had rejected Him and persecuted Him would likely persecute them as well. Just as much as they would indeed enjoy rich fruits of their efforts in mission and evangelisation, causing countless souls and people to come to know the Lord and be saved, they also had to contend against the many challenges, persecutions and rejections from all those who refused and would refuse to believe in the Lord and His truth.

And all of those things indeed came true as the early Church and Christians came under intense persecution firstly from the Jewish authorities, the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, and then later on from the local governors and eventually the Roman state and government itself, resulting in many years, decades and centuries of terrible persecutions against the Church and all Christians. And even three centuries later, when the Christian persecutions were ended and the faith was finally tolerated and accepted, persecutions, challenges, trials and rejections still continued to happen, from time to time, again and again throughout the past two millennia of the history of the Church and its presence and works in our world, even right to the present day.

Throughout the world, there are still various kinds of difficulties, challenges and persecutions facing the people of God all over, as they face hardships and trials just for even being believers of Christ and for showing their faith in Him. Many had to practice their faith in secret, and many were, and are still suffering daily, even in prison and torture for their continued belief and faith in the Lord, their God and their Saviour. Yet, many of them remained steady and firm in their faith, and they did not give up despite the various pressures, coercions and efforts to make them turn away from their faith and betray the Lord. And still in other places, while it is alright to practice the Christian faith, Christians are facing challenges, trials and also oppositions to their very beliefs and way of life, and many are forced to choose between their faith and the fashionable ways and thoughts of the current world.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great saints whose lives ought to inspire us all in how we ought to live our lives with faith, namely that of Pope St. Clement I, one of the earliest Popes and Vicars of Christ, a holy martyr of the faith, and also St. Columban, a renowned and holy Abbot, both of whom were dedicated to God in their own unique ways, and whose lives and actions showed great deal of faith and commitment to God. Both of them can show us what it truly means to be Christians, to live our lives worthily of Him in all of our words, actions and deeds, that we may indeed come ever closer to the Lord and find our way to Him, to His grace, love, salvation and eventually, eternal life with Him in true happiness and joy.

Pope St. Clement I was the successor of St. Peter through St. Linus and St. Anacletus, as the fourth Pope, Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome and therefore the leader of the Universal Church. He led the Church through the difficult years of persecutions and hardships, particularly during an especially bitter era of persecution under the Roman Emperor Domitian. Christians throughout the Roman Empire were persecuted for their faith, and many perished as martyrs in refusing to obey and worship the Roman Emperor as a divinity and betraying their one true God, Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour. Amidst all those challenges, Pope St. Clement I led the Church, which grew gradually despite the hardships and martyrdoms, and he was well known for his many letters or Epistles, helping to strengthen the Church and keeping all the faithful together and united in Christ. Eventually, this holy man of God himself perished in the persecutions, but he remained faithful to the very end.

Meanwhile St. Columban lived at a different era when Christians were already free to practice their faith and Christianity was in fact already the dominant faith throughout the region. However, there were a lot of lapses and corrupt practices within the Church in various places, which St. Columban in his works and efforts as a missionary and then as an Abbot, tried hard to help to reform the Church and excise the excesses of worldly attachments and impurities from the Christian faith, the Church and the faithful people of God. He had to go up against powerful people, even the leaders of the Church in the region of Gaul, now France, where he worked and ministered in. Yet, despite all the opposition and hardships, St. Columban remained committed to his mission to the very end, and many were converted through his efforts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we can see from the examples set by those two saints, let us all therefore renew our own commitment to live our lives truly worthily as Christians, in dedicating our works, efforts, our every words, actions and deeds to bring glory to God. Let us all therefore continue to work hard in doing the will of God, and being vigilant that whenever is the Lord’s second coming, we will always be ready to welcome Him into this world, and receive from Him the crown of eternal glory, and to enjoy forever the inheritance and true joy that He has always intended for us, His beloved children and people, the jewels and pinnacle of His creation. May God bless us always, and may He continue to guide us in our journey of faith through life, always and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 23 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures all of us are presented with the reality of being Christians in that we may face hardships, persecutions, and even may lose our lives in the midst of us living our lives faithfully as Christians. Each one of us are reminded that while persecutions and sufferings may be in our path, and we may have to endure them for a while, there is no path for those who continue to refuse to believe in God and those who persecute His people, as those will end up being crushed and defeated by the triumphant Lord, Our God and our Saviour, Who will come again at the end of time, at the time of His choosing, to gather us all who are faithful to Him, and cast into the eternal darkness and destruction, all those who rejected Him to the very end.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, continuing the account of the past two weeks as we continue to progress through the final days of the current liturgical year, as a reminder for all of us how things will turn out eventually in the end. St. John witnessed in his heavenly vision the Seven Angels of God bearing the last and final plagues that will rise against those who are wicked and all those who continue to side with Satan and the other wicked ones, and continue to rebel against Him. Those who are righteous will be remembered by God, and the moment of His coming will be close with all the manifestation of God’s wrath, as He will come as He has promised, to gather each and every one of us who remain faithful to Him, the living and the dead, to rise together with Him into a new life and existence, totally and completely free from the bondage to sin and evil.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus told His disciples of all the things that they would experience going forward, as they continued to carry on their ministries, missions and vocations, as His Apostles, disciples, servants and missionaries among the peoples of various nations. He presented to them frankly and truthfully of how the world that had rejected Him and persecuted Him would likely persecute them as well. Just as much as they would indeed enjoy rich fruits of their efforts in mission and evangelisation, causing countless souls and people to come to know the Lord and be saved, they also had to contend against the many challenges, persecutions and rejections from all those who refused and would refuse to believe in the Lord and His truth.

And all of those things indeed came true as the early Church and Christians came under intense persecution firstly from the Jewish authorities, the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, and then later on from the local governors and eventually the Roman state and government itself, resulting in many years, decades and centuries of terrible persecutions against the Church and all Christians. And even three centuries later, when the Christian persecutions were ended and the faith was finally tolerated and accepted, persecutions, challenges, trials and rejections still continued to happen, from time to time, again and again throughout the past two millennia of the history of the Church and its presence and works in our world, even right to the present day.

Throughout the world, there are still various kinds of difficulties, challenges and persecutions facing the people of God all over, as they face hardships and trials just for even being believers of Christ and for showing their faith in Him. Many had to practice their faith in secret, and many were, and are still suffering daily, even in prison and torture for their continued belief and faith in the Lord, their God and their Saviour. Yet, many of them remained steady and firm in their faith, and they did not give up despite the various pressures, coercions and efforts to make them turn away from their faith and betray the Lord. And still in other places, while it is alright to practice the Christian faith, Christians are facing challenges, trials and also oppositions to their very beliefs and way of life, and many are forced to choose between their faith and the fashionable ways and thoughts of the current world.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great saints whose lives ought to inspire us all in how we ought to live our lives with faith, namely that of Pope St. Clement I, one of the earliest Popes and Vicars of Christ, a holy martyr of the faith, and also St. Columban, a renowned and holy Abbot, both of whom were dedicated to God in their own unique ways, and whose lives and actions showed great deal of faith and commitment to God. Both of them can show us what it truly means to be Christians, to live our lives worthily of Him in all of our words, actions and deeds, that we may indeed come ever closer to the Lord and find our way to Him, to His grace, love, salvation and eventually, eternal life with Him in true happiness and joy.

Pope St. Clement I was the successor of St. Peter through St. Linus and St. Anacletus, as the fourth Pope, Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome and therefore the leader of the Universal Church. He led the Church through the difficult years of persecutions and hardships, particularly during an especially bitter era of persecution under the Roman Emperor Domitian. Christians throughout the Roman Empire were persecuted for their faith, and many perished as martyrs in refusing to obey and worship the Roman Emperor as a divinity and betraying their one true God, Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour. Amidst all those challenges, Pope St. Clement I led the Church, which grew gradually despite the hardships and martyrdoms, and he was well known for his many letters or Epistles, helping to strengthen the Church and keeping all the faithful together and united in Christ. Eventually, this holy man of God himself perished in the persecutions, but he remained faithful to the very end.

Meanwhile St. Columban lived at a different era when Christians were already free to practice their faith and Christianity was in fact already the dominant faith throughout the region. However, there were a lot of lapses and corrupt practices within the Church in various places, which St. Columban in his works and efforts as a missionary and then as an Abbot, tried hard to help to reform the Church and excise the excesses of worldly attachments and impurities from the Christian faith, the Church and the faithful people of God. He had to go up against powerful people, even the leaders of the Church in the region of Gaul, now France, where he worked and ministered in. Yet, despite all the opposition and hardships, St. Columban remained committed to his mission to the very end, and many were converted through his efforts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we can see from the examples set by those two saints, let us all therefore renew our own commitment to live our lives truly worthily as Christians, in dedicating our works, efforts, our every words, actions and deeds to bring glory to God. Let us all therefore continue to work hard in doing the will of God, and being vigilant that whenever is the Lord’s second coming, we will always be ready to welcome Him into this world, and receive from Him the crown of eternal glory, and to enjoy forever the inheritance and true joy that He has always intended for us, His beloved children and people, the jewels and pinnacle of His creation. May God bless us always, and may He continue to guide us in our journey of faith through life, always and forevermore. Amen.