Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Today's Gospel has for us a very consoling message,
for the disciples of our Lord had labored very hard and they were hungry,
and so the Lord himself led them in to a field of grain so that they might be nourished.
And as always, the Pharisees and scribes, who were observing all things
and not paying particular attention to their own defects, their own faults, and their own sins,
but always looking for an opportunity to undo the Lord by pointing out the errors of his disciples and others,
make a grave mistake, for they show themselves to be very clever,
for it was not forbidden for anyone to pass,
to pass through a field of grain and eat the grain.
Insofar as the one was eating the grain, he was not perceived to be a thief,
because it was perceived that he was doing so because he needed the nourishment.
And so they seek to trap him in another way by pointing out that they are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath,
that is, doing some form of labor on the Sabbath.
And of course, here they show themselves to be strict observance of the law,
and they have no compassion for the poor.
They have no compassion for the poor and the needy.
And so our Lord teaches them very clearly that he came in order to have compassion on us by our sins,
and that indeed we are to nourish ourselves on the kernel of the gospel,
so that we know how to apply its principles, as the Pharisees and scribes had lost the insight to do.
And so what is most consoling in this message is that the Lord led the disciples into this field,
knowing that they would be accused,
knowing that they would undergo trial,
knowing that they would undergo a trial and a tribulation.
And the disciples at this point are helpless to defend themselves.
But what is comforting in this gospel is that if we do the will of the Lord,
then he will defend us as he defended his disciples against the false accusation of the Pharisees and scribes.
And so our Lord will defend us also against the false accusations of the world if we do whatever he tells us.
Indeed, the disciples show themselves,
at least at this point,
to be followers of the advice that the Mother of God gave at the beginning of the public ministry,
advice that they also had heard when she said,
do whatever he tells you.
And while they did not yet fully understand what the Lord was demanding of them,
they did whatever he told them.
And in doing so, they found that the Lord would defend them in all things.
And so we have great consolation too,
because often we are asked by faith
to do things that we fully do not understand,
to go to places and to do things that are not quite within our grasp
and not quite within our understanding,
but yet they are within the understanding of God,
for he knows what he's about and he knows what he's doing,
and he knows where to send the members of the mystical body,
how to use their gifts and how to apply them.
And insofar as we conform ourselves to strive to do his will,
then we need not worry so much about our faults and failings,
but we must strive each and every day to overcome them,
but knowing that it is primarily the work of the Lord
and that he will defend us even in our errors,
insofar as we have a good will and a good intention to serve him.
And so we have great reason to rejoice this day,
for our Lord also is beginning to bring to them
the full understanding of just who he was.
He brings up the person of David in order to indicate to the Pharisees
and the scribes, or at least to begin to teach them,
that he is the one whom David had spoken of,
that he is truly the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.
And so he is truly the Son of David,
and in being in his humanity the Son of David,
he will show himself also to be the Son of God,
so that we can truly declare of the Christ that he is true God and true man,
and that he is truly the Savior of the world,
who has come to establish the Sabbath for man,
and not man for the Sabbath.
For ultimately, when our Lord refers to the Sabbath,
he is referring to the sacrifice that he would perform for us on the Sabbath day,
and that that sacrifice was truly for us,
for God benefited nothing by the sacrifice of his eternal Son on Calvary.
We are the benefactors of that mystery,
that truth,
that transpired on Mount Calvary for our sake.
And so let us strive to put into practice that which we have received from the Lord,
knowing that if we are unable to defend ourselves,
and yet we are seeking to strive to please the Lord,
then he will defend us when the time comes.
And ultimately, we learn in the feast of the saints we celebrate today,
either Saint Fabian or Saint Sebastian,
that our Lord ultimately defends us in the most important time,
when we are truly helpless and truly, by human standards,
in a hopeless situation.
That is, when we are asked to deny our faith in order to save our lives.
And it is at this moment in the life of the martyrs that we see truly
that the Lord is the defender of those who seek to serve them.
For he will either put the words on our own lips to defend ourselves
in such a trial and tribulation,
or more importantly, he will give us the grace to endure
the torments of our persecutors,
the torments of our murderers.
And insofar as we are murdered for the sake of Christ,
then we will suffer a martyr's death.
And so let us strive each and every moment of our lives
to witness, for that is what a martyr is.
Let us witness to the grace that Christ has given us,
and let us do so whether we are called to suffer the white martyrdom
of enduring all that this world and all that this life has in store for us,
or whether we are called to glorify God by the red martyrdom of blood
with St. Sabian and St. Sebastian,
knowing that while we are helpless to defend ourselves,
it is at this moment, when we are most in his need,
that the Lord will defend us from all the trials and the tribulations of this life
and even from our faults and failings.
For when St. Fabian and St. Sebastian went to their martyrdom,
they struggled with their faults and failings,
they struggled with the effects of original sin,
and if it were not for the grace of God, this would have been their undoing.
But by the grace of God and with complete trust in his defense,
they were able to witness to his love for mankind.
And ultimately, when we witness to the love of God in our lives,
either through the white martyrdom that most of us will be called to live
or the red martyrdom of those who have shed their blood for Christ,
we witness to our persecutors of the love of Christ
and ultimately, they are won over also to Christ.
For many who had martyred the saints would wind up being martyrs themselves.
And so, let us always and everywhere labor as the Lord teaches us in today's Gospel.
For ultimately, the disciples are sent into the grain field in order to labor for souls.
For in order to secure the grain, they had to do the penance of rubbing it between their hands.
That is,
symbolic of our need to do penance for our sins.
And the fruit is that we harvest the grain, that is, the souls that Christ has come.
And so, let us always and everywhere be aware of these marvelous mysteries,
that if we strive to do the will of God, then we cooperate in his mission
to save all souls and to conquer all things for the kingdom of heaven in this life
in order that we may enjoy him forever in the life to come.
Thank you.