今天，我们偕同普世的教会，共同庆祝圣嘉禄·安加及同伴殉道的纪念日。按照圣人传记所载：安加（Lwanga）是巴干达部落（Baganda tribe）的族人，出生于布干达王国（Kingdom of Buganda），曾担任过巴干达国王，姆万加二世（Mwanga II）的皇家侍从，后来他被晋升为少校。1885年11月15日，由佩雷·吉罗（Pere Giraud）领受洗礼。由于担心基督徒的世界观会使他失去对自己臣民的专权，姆万加二世坚持要求所有皈依基督的人放弃他们的信仰，并于1885年至1887年处决了许多圣公会信徒和天主教徒，其中也包括圣嘉禄·安加（St. Charles Lwanga）和其他在宫廷内任职的官员。教宗本笃十五世在1920年宣布圣嘉禄·安加（St. Charles Lwanga）为真福，教宗保禄六世于1964年10月18日，梵蒂冈第二届大公会议期间，将圣嘉禄·安加（St. Charles Lwanga）及其同伴一起列入圣人名册。
今天，我們偕同普世的教會，共同慶祝聖嘉祿·安加及同伴殉道的紀念日。按照聖人傳記所載：安加（Lwanga）是巴幹達部落（Baganda tribe）的族人，出生于布幹達王國（Kingdom of Buganda），曾擔任過巴幹達國王，姆萬加二世（Mwanga II）的皇家侍從，後來他被晉升為少校。1885年11月15日，由佩雷·吉羅（Pere Giraud）領受洗禮。由於擔心基督徒的世界觀會使他失去對自己臣民的專權，姆萬加二世堅持要求所有皈依基督的人放棄他們的信仰，並於1885年至1887年處決了許多聖公會信徒和天主教徒，其中也包括聖嘉祿·安加（St. Charles Lwanga）和其他在宮廷內任職的官員。教宗本篤十五世在1920年宣佈聖嘉祿·安加（St. Charles Lwanga）為真福，教宗保祿六世於1964年10月18日，梵蒂岡第二屆大公會議期間，將聖嘉祿·安加（St. Charles Lwanga）及其同伴一起列入聖人名冊。
June 3, 2026 Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions Gospel: Mark 12:18–27
Today, together with the universal Church, we celebrate the memorial of the martyrdom of Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions. According to his account, Charles Lwanga was a member of the Baganda tribe, born in the Kingdom of Buganda. He served as a royal page to King Mwanga II of Buganda and was later promoted to the rank of chief. On November 15, 1885, he received Baptism from Père Giraud. Fearing that the Christian worldview would undermine his absolute authority over his subjects, King Mwanga II demanded that all converts renounce their faith. Between 1885 and 1887, he ordered the execution of many Anglican and Catholic believers, including Saint Charles Lwanga and other officials serving at the royal court. Pope Benedict XV beatified Saint Charles Lwanga in 1920. Pope Paul VI canonized him, along with his companions, on October 18, 1964, during the Second Vatican Council.
The Gospel passage for today, taken from the Gospel of Mark, recounts a dialogue between Jesus and the Sadducees. I would like to offer some reflections based on this text.
Like the Sadducees, we often view our relationship with God through the lens of this world. In the eyes of the Sadducees, it seemed perfectly natural that if a man died leaving his wife childless, his brother should marry her to raise up offspring for the deceased. They held that since Moses was the servant of God, the law he promulgated must be divine law. Thus, when Moses wrote in Deuteronomy: “If brothers live together and one of them dies without a son, the widow shall not marry outside the family; the husband’s brother shall go to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. The firstborn son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel” (cf. Deut 25:5–6), they assumed that even after the resurrection from the dead, the marriage bonds formed in this life would still hold.
From Jesus’ response to the Sadducees, we see that He invites them—and us—to recognize that the temporal dimension in which we now live is not the only one. There exists another dimension, no longer subject to death, where we will fully manifest our identity as children of God. Hearing Jesus’ simple yet profound words about life beyond death brings us deep consolation and hope—a hope urgently needed in our own time, an age rich in knowledge of the universe but poor in wisdom concerning eternal life. Life belongs to God. God loves us and cares deeply for us, even uniting His name with ours. Through Baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we are united to Christ and become children of God. Our minds must then be conformed to the mind of Christ, viewing ourselves and the world according to the worldview and values of God’s kingdom, living in the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
O God, who have made the blood of Martyrs the seed of Christians, mercifully grant that the field which is your Church, watered by the blood shed by Saints Charles Lwanga and his companions, may be fertile and always yield you an abundant harvest. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time June 2, 2026 Gospel: Mark 12:13–17
Today is Tuesday of the ninth week in Ordinary Time. The Gospel passage from Saint Mark continues to present Jesus’ dialogue in Jerusalem with the Pharisees and the Herodians. I would like to offer some further reflections.
We are always inclined to seek some hold over others—especially to catch them in their words—so that, according to the standards of this passing world, we might achieve our aim of suppressing them. The Pharisees and the Herodians came before Jesus not to listen to His teaching; they wanted to impose the standards of this world upon Him, so as to erase all memory of Him from the earth and secure for themselves sole possession of what belongs to this world.
Today, in those who came before Jesus—the Pharisees and the Herodians—we see our own reflection. In every way they appeared stronger than Jesus; yet their very assertiveness was their weakness. For within their hearts dwelt an arrogance that robbed them of reason, so that they forgot: all they then possessed did not belong to them, but to God. Their astonishment at Jesus’ words—“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (cf. Mark 12:17)—stands as clear proof of this.
As Saint Paul declares: “I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (cf. Phil 3:8). I would say: Saint Paul’s teaching perfectly accords with the values of the world revealed by Jesus as belonging to God. Christians living in this shifting age must ever follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, doing what the Spirit wills us to do. For whenever we abide in the light of the Holy Spirit, our understanding of worldly things conforms ever more closely to the teaching of Jesus. Then we no longer pursue all that belongs to this world; we no longer esteem its wealth, power, or fame. All we cherish is our relationship with Jesus. Then we become far more attentive to whether our conduct reflects the life of those who dwell in the world of God revealed by Jesus—whether our actions are in harmony with Him.
O God, whose providence never fails in its design, keep from us, we humbly beseech you, all that might harm us and grant all that works for our good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
June 1, 2026 St. Justin Martyr Gospel: Mark 12:1–12
Today is Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Memorial of the Martyr Saint Justin today. The biography of the Saint tells us: The Saint was born in Nablus, Samaria. He once studied Platonic philosophy. At about the age of thirty-three, he converted to Christ. He is one of the most important Church Fathers of the 2nd century, known as the Patron Saint of Philosophers. He traveled around preaching true Faith, defending it from attack, and writing works such as the Apologies and the Dialogue. He was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Today’s Scripture taken from the Gospel of Mark shows us the parable of the vineyard and the tenants that Jesus told to the chief priests, scribes, and elders in the Jerusalem Temple. We can see our own shadow in this parable. Because we often dispose of everything God has bestowed upon us according to whatever we think in our hearts. In our view, everything we possess now is a necessary factor for us to survive in this present life, yet we forget that everything we possess now, even we ourselves, are made by God according to His Image. From the beginning of creation, God made man according to His Image, so that man might manage all things on earth. Due to Original Sin, we are constantly attacked by the devil and his messengers; therefore, we only care about everything we possess in this world, but neglect the blessedness prepared for us from the foundation of the world, which God bestows upon us when we finish this life in this world.
Today, through this parable, Jesus invites us to rethink our relationship with God. He wants to tell us even more: Everything we possess does not belong to us but belongs to God. For He created heaven and earth, the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, all kinds of livestock, all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of reptiles crawling on the ground, and even we ourselves are made according to His Image. God gave everything He created to us, entrusting us to manage it (cf. Gen 1:26–30). Once God’s appointed time arrives, He will require us to give an account to Him. If, like those evil tenants, we refuse to hand over everything He entrusted to us to manage, and stubbornly refuse to deliver its produce, our end will be tragic. For then, God will take away everything we possess, causing us to perish together with the devil and the world belonging to him.
O God, who through the folly of the Cross wondrously taught Saint Justin the Martyr the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, grant us, through his intercession, that, having rejected deception and error, we may become steadfast in the faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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