Month: December 2023

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Saturday, 30 December 2023 : Sixth Day within the Octave of Christmas (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 12-17

My dear children, I write this to you : you have already received the forgiveness of your sins, through the Name of Jesus. Fathers, I write this to you : you know Him, Who is from the beginning. Young men, I write this to you : you have overcome the evil one. My dear children, I write to you, because you already know the Father.

Fathers, I write to you, because you know Him, Who is from the beginning. Young men, I write to you, because you are strong, and the Word of God lives in you, who have, indeed, overcome the evil one. Do not love the world, or what is in it. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the craving of the flesh, the greed of eyes and people boasting of their superiority – all this, belongs to the world, not to the Father.

The world passes away, with all its craving, but those who do the will of God remain for ever.

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Friday, 29 December 2023 : Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this joyful season of Christmas, we are all reminded through the Scripture passages we have heard today that we must always be true to our faith, fulfilling all the Law and commandments that God had told us to do, the teachings and the path which He has revealed to us through His Church. This means that we should not be merely paying lip service to the Lord, but we must be truly committed to the Lord in all things, doing whatever we can so that we may always be good examples and inspirations to our fellow brothers and sisters, in showing what it truly means for us to be good and devoted Christians, the followers of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John the Apostle, the Apostle reminded the faithful of the commandments of the Lord which He has brought into our midst, and which all of us should always follow and embody in our every actions and parts of life. We cannot profess to be Christians and yet, in our way of life, we act in ways that are contrary to the teachings of Christ. The Lord Himself has revealed His commandments to us, showing us that the Law which He has given us, is all about Love, the love which He Himself has shown us mankind, and which we are therefore expected to show to Him as well, and then, the love which we all should show our fellow brothers and sisters all around us, a true, genuine and selfless Christian love.

This is why St. John reminded all the faithful that they cannot still behave in a manner that is still not attuned to the path of Christ. The love of God has indeed been generously poured down on us, and in this season and time of Christmas, we commemorate the incarnation of the Love of God, Who has become Man, appearing before all of us in the Person of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour of all. Therefore, if we all believe in Christ, it is imperative that we must really show our faith in Him and not merely just treating our faith as just a formality. In our every actions, words and deeds, in all of our whole lives, we must always radiate and show the genuine and authentic Christian living so that by our lives, God may indeed be glorified.

In the Gospel passage today, this is reiterated for us, as we heard of the account of the moment when the Lord Jesus was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem as per the Law and its requirements, and how this led miraculously to the Lord Jesus being welcomed by two elderly figures who had both long awaited the coming of the Messiah, and whom the Lord had told that they would not pass on from this world before they saw and behold the Messiah Who was coming into the world, with their very own eyes and hands. Thus, the prophet and man of God Simeon, as well as the prophetess Anna, in the related passage, both thanked the Lord for having shown the Salvation of the world to them, and foretold everything that this Child was to do for all of us, the Love and Word of God Incarnate in the flesh.

Again, this means that all of us really have to commit ourselves anew to the Lord and we have to centre and focus our attention and lives on Him, reminding ourselves that Christ is our Lord and Master, our Saviour and King. All of us should always strive to live our lives worthily, doing whatever we can so that we may ever always walk in the path of Christ, and be the bearers of the light of Christ to everyone. Each and every one of us should always strive to be the great and inspirational role models in all things, and we should always be like our holy predecessors, the many saints and martyrs, all the holy men and women who have gone before us, and whose lives are great examples for us all to follow in our own lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas Becket, who was remembered for his actions as the Archbishop of Canterbury and hence as the leader and primate of the Church in all of medieval England then, as well as for his resistance and opposition against the irreverent and worldly actions of the then king of England, Henry II. St. Thomas Becket was actually a good friend of the king, whom the king appointed first as his Chancellor, to assist him in the governance of his realm. He was the right hand man of the king, and in the king’s effort to tighten his control over the often independent and troublesome English Church hierarchy and clergy, he thus appointed St. Thomas Becket as the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in that position became the most senior figure amongst all of the Church hierarchy. St. Thomas Becket became the Archbishop of Canterbury and then resigned his chancellorship soon after.

However, if the king’s intention was to subjugate the English church and its members, this backfired greatly as St. Thomas Becket had a moment of conversion and change as he took up the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and when he was ordained as priest and bishop before he was officially installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was as if St. Thomas Becket received a calling from the Lord, which made him to refuse to obey the king’s orders regarding the English Church anymore. St. Thomas Becket stood firm his ground against the king and his nobles in all of their efforts to encroach into the domains of the Church, and he even excommunicated a nobleman close to the king who had caused trouble in the Church.

All these struggles and conflicts eventually led to the exile of St. Thomas Becket, who continued to resist and champion the rights of the Church even during his time away from his See and from England. He persisted in doing what he could to glorify God and to defend the faith from those who sought to corrupt it, and eventually, when he returned back to England and his See, the matter came to a point that the king, furious and frustrated at all the inconveniences and troubles that St. Thomas Becket had caused him, in a drunken stupor, asked of anyone who could help him to rid this troublesome man of God. This was responded by four of the nobles and knights of the king, who went to seek St. Thomas Becket as he was celebrating Mass, and in his own Cathedral, those four men murdered the holy Archbishop and shed his blood.

As we all heard, St. Thomas Becket was faithful right to the very end, committing his whole life to the Lord, not minding even sufferings and hardships, and he led by example in living his life worthily of the Lord. Therefore, all of us as Christians should always remember that the centre and focus of our lives should not be all the various sorts of worldly desires, ambitions and attachments, but rather to be truly worthy of God in all things, and to put Him, not our own ego and pride, desires and greed, at the centre of our whole lives and existence. May God be with us all and may He grant us the courage to remain always faithful to Him. Amen.

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Friday, 29 December 2023 : Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 22-35

When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the Baby up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord : Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the law of the Lord : a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law.

Simeon took the Child in his arms, and blessed God, saying, “Now, o Lord, You can dismiss Your servant in peace, for You have fulfilled Your word and my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You display for all the people to see. Here is the Light You will reveal to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

His father and mother wondered at what was said about the Child. Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, “Know this : your Son is a Sign, a Sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a Sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.”

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Friday, 29 December 2023 : Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.

Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

YHVH is the One Who made the heavens. Splendour and majesty go before Him; power and glory fill His sanctuary.

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Friday, 29 December 2023 : Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 3-11

How can we know that we know Him? If we fulfil His commands. If you say, “I know Him,” but do not fulfil His commands, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. But if you keep His word, God’s love is made complete in you. This is how we know that we are in Him : he who claims to live in Him must live as He lived.

My dear friends, I am not writing you a new commandment, but reminding you of an old one, one you had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard. But, in a way, I give it as a new commandment that is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and true light already shines.

If you claim to be in the light but hate your brother, you are still in darkness. If you love your brothers and sisters, you remain in the light and nothing in you will make you fall. But if you hate your brother you are in the dark and walk in darkness without knowing where you go, for the darkness has blinded you.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents, also known as the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem or the Martyrs of Bethlehem, in which the innocent children of Bethlehem were massacred by the forces of King Herod the Great, the then ruler over the land, in his futile pursuit and effort to destroy the fledgling Messiah, prophesied to be born in the city of David, Bethlehem of Judea. This day we recall this moment of great infamy and evil which mankind had committed in the pursuit of worldly glory and power, and we are all reminded that we have to be careful lest we are tempted and swayed by the many worldly temptations and coercions all around us which may lead us to our downfall and destruction through sin.

Back then, as we listened through the Gospel passage, King Herod who got to know about the coming of the Messiah through the Three Magi or the Three Wise Men who came to visit and pay homage to Him, saw this Messiah as a great threat to his rule as king, and hence he likely wanted to remove this threat as immediately and quickly as possible, firstly by pretending to want to pay homage to this new King also, and when the Three Magi, warned by the Angel of God of Herod’s true intentions, did not return back to him, hence, in his desperation, he committed a truly great sin in murdering the young and innocent children, which were without blame, and were caught in the events that unfolded then. They were killed amidst Herod’s futile effort to secure his reign and power.

Perhaps we can better understand the context as we learn more about the history of that time, and how Herod the Great himself came to power. Herod was a usurper and not a rightful king of Israel, as he actually took power by deceit and plots, and through collusion and cooperation with the Romans, who sought to secure their rule in the region. Prior to Herod’s accession to power, the land of the Israelites were ruled by the Hasmoneans, the descendants of the Maccabean rebels who led the descendants of the Israelites in a rebellion against the former rulers of the land, the Greek Seleucid Kings and gained independence for them. The Hasmonean Kingdom lasted for about a century since then before internal discord eventually led to its downfall, and Herod was the son of Antipater the Idumaean, a foreigner hailing from the lands adjacent to Judea, whom the Romans found favour in.

Thus, it was how Herod eventually rose to power, through his connections and plots, and the Romans eventually entrusted Judea, Galilee, Samaria and other surrounding regions to Herod the Great, who became sort of a client king for the Romans, a tactic that was often employed by the Romans back then to help them secure the lands that they had just conquered or extended their dominion towards. However, from this point of view, Herod was indeed a usurper, and hence, the people of God did not truly accept him as king and ruler over them. That was why Herod was known especially for his many efforts and megalomaniac ambitions, with many grand projects designed to shore up his rule and legitimacy among the people.

Given this context, it was likely therefore that Herod was desperate in holding onto power after a whole lifetime of trying to expand his rule and power, dominion and glory, and he did not wish to let all of these escape him or his family. This was why, we are taught and shown here a lesson of why we should not allow worldly temptations to bring us to ruin because of their strong allure and hold on us, the desires and ambitions of the world, which then led to Herod committing such a grievous and terrible crime in the futile efforts to secure his rule, which in the context of history eventually faltered and failed not long after that moment of massacre. Herod’s kingdom did not long last his immediate descendants, and eventually met its end and downfall.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, something that may often make us wonder regarding this event of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem is that, if God is so good and loving, why is it that He allowed such a terrible atrocity to take place? That is precisely because while God despises sin and evil, at the same time He also gave us the freedom to choose our course in life, the free will that He has given each and every one of us. We have been given the capacity to discern our course of action in life, the wisdom and the ability to choose our path in life because God did not want to take that gift of free will from us. Hence, it is our free will to choose to do what is good or what is evil and wicked in the sight of God, and for Herod, he chose to abuse that free will, doing what was wicked for his own selfish desires. That is also how suffering came to be in our world today, when mankind abuse their free will and encroach on others’ rights.

The same therefore can be said to what is now happening in our world today. As we all well know, that war is still currently raging on in the Holy Land, with people suffering and dying daily in this recent conflict, borne out of human greed, ego, pride and desire, the desire to retain power and for more worldly influence and glory, which is honestly not that different from what had happened two millennia ago at Bethlehem. This is why we should learn from the lessons of the past, and not allow ourselves to be misled yet again by our human greed and desires, all the things which had caused the downfall of so many throughout time. This Christmas, many of our brethren in the Holy Land are unable to celebrate the way that many of us have done and are doing, and they are under constant threat and hardships.

Let us all therefore do our part to help them and to also strive for peace, that we should utterly and completely reject violence and all the wicked ways of the world so that we do not end up causing all these hardships and sufferings to others. Let us also in our lives be ever mindful of our actions in life, so that in our exercise of our freedom to choose our actions we do not cause inconvenience and difficulties for the people around us. Let the Lord our God, Whose birth we commemorate and celebrate this season be the centre and focus of our lives, and not our selfish desires and greed. May the Lord continue to guide us all that we may live our lives worthily as Christians as always. Holy Innocents of Bethlehem, Holy Martyrs, pray for us, especially for those now suffering in the Holy Land! Amen.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 2 : 13-18

After the wise men had left, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the Child in order to kill Him.”

Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and left that night for Egypt, where He stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled : I called My Son out of Egypt.

When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old or under. This was done in line with what he had learnt from the wise men about the time when the star appeared.

In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled : A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation : Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 123 : 2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8

Had not the Lord been on our side, when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.

A bit more and the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

The snare was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 John 1 : 5 – 1 John 2 : 2

We heard His message from Him and announce it to you : God is light and there is no darkness in Him. If we say we are in fellowship with Him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin.

If we say, “We have no sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He Who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from our wickedness. If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, His word is not in us.

My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an Intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial Victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

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Wednesday, 27 December 2023 : Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, commemorating this great man of God whose faith, commitment and dedication to God had brought unto us all a truly great testimony of faith, inspiring all of us in our own way of life and committing ourselves to the Lord. St. John, Holy Apostle and Evangelist, was known as a great disciple of Christ, the one whom the Lord cared for and loved, and through his experiences and understanding of the Lord, St. John revealed unto us the nature of God’s love and kindness, which He has shown unto us through His Son, Jesus Christ, with Whom St. John had lived with, laboured together and ministered to the people of God, as written and recorded in the Gospels.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. John in which the Apostle St. John himself described the truth about the Love of God which had been manifested and revealed unto us through the same Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is this same Christ Who is the One that we celebrate about during this joyous and magnificent Christmas season and time. Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, through Whom the Lord has shown His ever enduring and persistent love, by which He has reached out to us, touching us all with His compassion and mercy, restoring unto us the life that He has always intended to have, giving reason and purpose to our lives, through Him, Who is the Lord and Master of Life, the Lord over our every lives.

This is something that He truly can reassure us with, as He Himself has shown St. John in person what He stands for, all that He has taught and delivered into our midst, as He proclaimed God’s love and forgiveness for each and every one of us sinners, and how He overcame even sin and death during the time of His Passion, His suffering and death, and ultimately, His glorious Resurrection as highlighted in our Gospel passage today. St. John himself had been with the Lord for a very long time relative to His ministry as he was among the first disciples whom He had called, ever since he was called with his brother, St. James the Greater at the Lake of Galilee. He, one of the two sons of Zebedee was called by the Lord, and he answered the Lord with a resolute faith.

St. John witnessed many of the Lord’s most important miracles and wonders, himself being one of the few inner circle members of the Lord’s followers, together with his own brother and with St. Peter the Apostle. He saw how the Lord healed the sick in many occasions, and even restored the life to those who have been deceased, such as the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official, the son of the widow of Naim, as well as Lazarus, one of the Lord’s own good friends. All of them had succumbed to death, and yet, the Lord showed St. John and His other disciples and followers, that He is truly the Lord and Master of life, the Holy One and Saviour of the whole world. He raised them up and restored them all back unto life, and then, ultimately, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself conquered death and overcome it, as He gloriously returned to life, in His Resurrection.

St. John the Apostle saw and witnessed all of these things, just as the Gospel passage today mentioned to us. The Lord appeared on Easter Sunday morning to St. Mary Magdalene in which He revealed that He has risen from the dead, and did not remain in the realm of the dead just as He has predicted earlier, that He would rise again on the third day. St. Mary Magdalene thus proclaimed this truth to the other Apostles, revealing about the Resurrection and hence, the hope that has been renewed in Christ, Who has conquered and overcome death for us, joining us back to our Lord and Creator. St. John hence believed wholeheartedly in the Risen Lord, and ever since that, he committed his whole life to proclaim the Good News of God.

That was what St. John had done for many decades afterwards, as he went from places to places in helping to establish the Church and its communities, in his efforts to proclaim the Word of God and His truth to more and more people. St. John himself also suffered many trials and hardships as he had to endure persecutions, oppressions and even exiles, which saw him exiled in one occasion to the Island of Patmos in his old age, where he famously received the revelations about the end times from the Lord, which he wrote down and we now know as the Book of the Revelations or the Apocalypse of St. John the Apostle. He was the only one among the Apostles of the Lord who did not die as a martyr, instead passed away peacefully in a very old age.

Yet, St. John had also faced a lot of sufferings and struggles throughout all those years, which nonetheless did not dampen his faith or the enthusiasm to spread the Good News of Christ. All of these works and dedications of St. John the Apostle should indeed be inspiration for all of us as Christians to follow in our own lives. We should be inspired to follow in the footsteps and the actions which St. John had done in proclaiming God’s truth in our own community today, by doing whatever we can so that our lives may truly be filled with true and genuine Christian values, as well as with strong desire to love the Lord our God, and also His people, our own brethren in the same Lord. This is why today, through our remembrance of St. John and all of his actions and life, we all should continue to strive to be great and faithful disciples of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence be ever more committed in our lives and calling as Christians so that in whatever we say and do, on all the things we carry out in our everyday moments, we will always strive to do what God has called us to do and what He has entrusted to us. Let us all be ever more dedicated in putting more and more of our efforts and focus on Him, and be good role models and inspiration to one another just as St. John the Apostle has inspired us. In this Christmas season, let us all remind each other that Christ is truly the reason why we all rejoice and celebrate this magnificent and joyful feast, and let us all endeavour to proclaim Him to all mankind, now and always. Amen.