Month: January 2025

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in what we have all heard from the Scripture readings today, we are once again reminded firstly of the nature of our Christian faith, of how we are likely going to face difficulties and hardships in our path, just as the Lord Himself and our many predecessors have shown us through their lives and experiences. And yet, at the same time, we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by fear and doubt, because the Lord Himself is by our side, guiding and strengthening us, journeying with us together, helping us to shoulder the challenges and to push forward in our journey towards Him. Being a faithful Christian is likely something that will not be an easy task, as many of our predecessors and perhaps we ourselves have experienced throughout our respective journeys.

But with God, everything is possible, and it is this strong and enduring faith in God that all of us need to have with us, so that we may continue to uphold this faith regardless of the obstacles and difficulties that we may have to face. We cannot be easily pressured or coerced to abandon the Lord just because we want to have a good and easy path in life. We must always remember that with God, everything will be possible for us, and through Him, we will be able to overcome even the greatest of the difficulties and obstacles, and even our final enemy, that is death. Our Scripture passages today serves to remind us exactly of this reality, and we have to keep this in mind as we continue to progress through life, as we face our daily struggles and challenges around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard of the words of the author to the Jewish community and believers among them which were meant to encourage them so that amidst all the challenges and trials that they would have to face throughout their lives in this world, they were not alone, and the Lord would also guide them, strengthening them and empowering them to overcome all those obstacles and challenges. And the author also reassured them in believing in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, because even though He had suffered, betrayed by His own people and the leaders of the Jewish community, made to suffer the most humiliating death on the Cross, but He has risen triumphantly in glory, overcoming the trials and opponents that have been in His way, principally being sin and death.

If we remember His loving sacrifice and how He has patiently offered Himself for our sake, then we will remember how He has also endured what we are facing now, and He is there for us, even at the most difficult and challenging moments. We should not abandon Him just like those disciples who had abandoned Him when He was facing the moments of His Passion, His suffering and death. Knowing that we are truly beloved and precious in the eyes of the Lord, is something that we must always remember, so that even in the darkest times, we will not easily give up the struggle and the fight, to continue to live our lives faithfully and worthily as Christians as we have always done, to bear witness to the Lord and His Good News, His love and truth through our lives.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the two well-known miracles that the Lord Jesus had done during His ministry, during the moment when He healed a woman who was suffering from haemorrhage problem and also when He raised the dead daughter of the synagogue official named Jairus. In these two miracles, God has shown us all His providence and love, as He reached out to those who sought His help and mercy. The woman who was suffering from haemorrhage had no one else to turn to, and she had tried out many methods and sought many people’s help in vain, and that was when she decided to seek the Lord, quietly and discreetly because her condition was something that had made her disgraced and unclean according to the Law. Jairus, the synagogue official also turned to the Lord as there was no one else who could help his very sick daughter, who eventually passed away.

What is remarkable is that for each one of them, they had such faith in the Lord and believed in Him so much that they were willing to make the effort to come towards Him, to seek His healing and mercy. The woman braved through the crowds and believed that if she could just touch the fringe of His cloak, then she could be healed. And later on, after his daughter passed away, Jairus still believed in the Lord even though the others at his house laughed at Him when He said that Jairus’ daughter was merely asleep. And as the Lord Himself said, it was their faith in Him which had saved them, and the woman was healed, the dead daughter of Jairus was raised and returned from the dead because of the faith which they all had in God, in His love and Providence, above all else.

Therefore, it is a reminder for all of us that even in moments of our greatest sufferings, when everything seemed to be against us, and when life is very tough and challenging for us, we must always keep our faith in the Lord and we must not easily be tempted to give up our faith and struggle, or to seek for other source of help and things to depend on other than the Lord, our God. It is very often that many among us, our predecessors and ancestors had fallen into the path of sin and darkness because they were unable to resist the temptations, pressures and coercions to abandon the Lord, when the evil ones managed to persuade them that there was no use to have faith in God, or that they were alone in their struggles and journeys, and hence, embrace the false promises of the evil ones, the path of ruin and darkness that they had offered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, each and every one of us ought to be good role models and examples to one another, and we should help encourage our brethren around us so that we will always be strong and able to persevere despite the many obstacles and challenges that we may have to face in our path. Let us all continue to support each other and be active members of the Church, doing our very best to contribute our efforts and good works for the evangelisation of the whole world. May the Lord be with us all, and may He continue to guide us all in our journey, strengthen our faith and empower us with the resolve and commitment needed for us all to do our part as living and active members of His Body, the Church, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side. Among the crowd was a woman, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.” Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint.

But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around you. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha, kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old). The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 21 : 26b-27, 28, 30ab, 30c-32

I will fulfil my vows before all who revere You. The lowly will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

The whole earth will acknowledge and turn to the Lord; the families of nations will worship Him.

Before Him all those who rest in the earth will bow down, all who go down to the dust.

My soul will live for Him. My descendants will serve Him and proclaim the Lord to coming generations; they will announce His salvation to a people yet unborn, “These are the things that He has done.”

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 1-4

What a cloud of innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

Let us look to Jesus the Founder of our faith, Who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God. Think of Jesus Who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary.

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

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Monday, 3 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened from our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded of the reality of hardships, persecutions and the challenges that each and every one of us as Christians may encounter in our journey of faith as the disciples and followers of the Lord. We must remember that despite all these difficulties, we must remain firm in our faith in the Lord and do not easily be discouraged or disheartened, dissuaded or prevented from finding our way towards Him. This is because the Lord is always by our side, journeying with us and guiding us, and He will provide us with whatever we need along the journey, and it is in Him alone that we can confide, and He alone can overcome the forces of darkness and evil, just as we have heard from our Scripture passages today.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard the author of this Epistle speaking to the Jewish community referring to the examples of God’s providence, help and guidance to His people, how He had called, chosen and empowered His servants, those famous figures like Samuel, David and others in the Old Testament, who have been blessed and strengthened by God, ordinary people who were sinners and imperfect, and yet, by the Lord’s guidance and strength, had been empowered to do great and wonderful things, which mankind alone cannot do by themselves. This passage is an important reminder for us all that we are never alone in our journey and struggles in life, and we must always keep our hope and faith in the Lord at all times, no matter what the circumstances are.

And at the same time, sufferings, hardships, obstacles and challenges are always in our path, and we will always likely be encountering these in our journey, as we must never forget that whatever the Lord has taught and shown us, His way and path are often in contradiction to the ways promoted by the world. That is why if we continue to embark on this journey and remaining faithful to God throughout, we may be persecuted and face challenges just as the Lord Himself had been rejected and oppressed by the world. And yet, we must remain firm in our faith because God will give us the strength and the courage needed for the journey, and if we trust in Him, we will eventually share in His glorious inheritance and be freed from all those hardships, persecutions and challenges.

It will not be an easy journey for us to be faithful Christians, to be good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord. But with God and by His guidance and help, everything is truly possible. We must also not fear those that can only harm the body, our physical self, existence and material in this world, but cannot touch our eternal soul, which belongs to God alone. But if we choose to abandon the Lord and allow sin to continue to corrupt us and leading us down the path of ruin, then by ignoring or rejecting God’s mercy and generous love, we will be judged and condemned by those same sins and wickedness that we have committed, and by the corruptions that have marred the sanctity of our souls, which God had intended to be holy and worthy of Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus went to the region of the Gerasenes beyond the Jordan River where He and His disciples encountered a man who had been possessed by evil spirits, and forced to wander off in the wilderness away from the community because of his condition, and we heard how he was greatly feared by everyone because of the demons that were in him. But God showed His power and might, His authority and dominion over all those evil spirits, who called themselves ‘Legion’ because they were numerous in number. God told them to leave the man behind and not to trouble them anymore.

Those evil spirits, which many others had feared and fled from, had to obey the Lord and His commands, although they tried to negotiate with Him, asking Him to allow them to leave the man for the herd of pigs that were there nearby the location. And thus, that was how the Lord cast out those army of demons out of the possessed man, healed and made him whole once again, which therefore allowed him to return once again to the community. We heard how the people who heard of the miraculous occasion were astonished and even fearful, seeing such a great sign and miracle occurring before them, and the man who had once been possessed by the many evil spirits having been freed from his possession by those demons.

All these showed us how the Lord is there for us, by our side, and not even an army of demons can stop Him, because He is Lord and Master over all things, and even all those demons and evil spirits had to obey Him, to stay away from us, His beloved ones. That is why if we are encountering hardships and challenges, we should not be easily deterred or brought down by fear, because the evil ones are indeed always ready to strike at us especially when we are not vigilant and when we lack confidence and faith in the Lord. When our faith in Him wavers and when we allowed them to tempt us and enter into our hearts and minds, that is how we falter and fall in our journey towards Him, and end up in miserable state of sin, in danger of damnation and destruction with those evil spirits, who are more than happy to see us share their fate.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of two great and holy men, whose lives can be great source of inspiration and hope for us all to follow in our own lives and journeys of faith. St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebastea in what is today part of Turkey, in the region of Lesser Armenia, and he was a well-known physician, and today revered as patron saint of physicians, animals, veterinarians, and also over throat sickness and diseases, and the special blessing associated to him, the Blessing of Throats by St. Blaise is a popular and well-known tradition of the Church. He was a great and popular healer, and not only in physical ailments, but also expert in matters of the spiritual, as the shepherd of the flock entrusted under his care in Sebastea and its surrounding regions.  Many people came to him seeking for help from their various ailments, physical and spiritual, and many were healed by him.

The popular blessing associated to St. Blaise came about because of the popular account of the healing of a child who had been choking on a fish bone, when his distraught mother came to seek St. Blaise seeking for his help and intercession. St. Blaise prayed for the child and he was cured from his condition immediately. Henceforth, he became the patron of all those suffering from throat conditions. Then, during the time of persecution of Christians, then under the Eastern Emperor Licinius, the rival of Emperor Constantine the Great, who persecuted Christians in spite of the Christian-favouring Emperor Constantine, St. Blaise was arrested and tortured, and according to accounts he was tortured with iron comb before being beheaded, a true martyr of the Church and the Christian faith.

Then, St. Ansgar, the other saint whose life we honour and commemorate today was also known popularly as the ‘Apostle of the North’ due to his many works and missions to the northern part of what is today Germany, which during his time and ministry were still populated by many pagan believers, and many of those people had not yet received the Good News of God, or refused to believe in Him despite earlier missionaries’ works. St. Ansgar eventually became a priest and missionary, and was sent by the then ruler of Francia, Charlemagne or Charles the Great, to evangelise in the region of Saxony and northern Germany. He ministered to the people there and proclaimed the Word and Good News of God courageously even amongst those who resisted his efforts and works.

The patient works of St. Ansgar and many of his compatriots and fellow workers in evangelisation eventually bore many fruits, as many people came to believe in the Lord, laying the foundation for the Christian Church in that region. He was also eventually chosen as the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in northern Germany, and he continued to perform many works of evangelisation in spreading the Word of God to not just northern parts of Germany but even Scandinavia, where the then Vikings who were still mostly pagan had not yet known the Lord. St. Ansgar worked hard and devoted himself to the works of evangelisation to the end of his life, managing to put the beginnings and laying the firm foundations for later conversion of Scandinavia through his efforts and good relationships with the Scandinavian rulers, his patient and consistent efforts in dialogue and encounter with those who have yet to believe in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the examples of these great men, St. Blaise and St. Ansgar, and from what we have just discussed about the Scripture readings earlier, let us all therefore be reminded that we should always put our trust and faith fully in the Lord, and commit ourselves to whatever missions, works and calling that the Lord has entrusted to us. We should not be afraid or fearful of the challenges and trials that we may have to encounter in our path, but like St. Blaise and St. Ansgar, we should continue to push on forward with genuine and strong faith in the Lord, knowing that God will always be by our side, journeying and guiding us throughout our journey in life, now and always. Let us all renew our commitment and our desire to follow Him and to glorify Him, proclaiming His Good News and truth to all the people, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 3 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

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

Mark 5 : 1-20

At that time, Jesus and His disciples arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. No sooner did Jesus leave the boat than He was met by a man with evil spirits, who had come from the tombs. He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him, even with a chain. He had often been bound with fetters and chains, but he would pull the chains apart and smash the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him.

Night and day he stayed among the tombs on the hillsides, and was continually screaming, and beating himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell at His feet, and cried with a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, I beg You, do not torment me!”

He said this, because Jesus had commanded, “Come out of the man, evil spirit!” And when Jesus asked the evil spirit, “What is your name?” It replied, “Legion is my name, for we are many.” And it kept begging Jesus, not to send them out of that region.

Now a great herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside, and the evil spirits begged him, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.” So Jesus let them go. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs, and immediately the herd rushed down the cliff, and all were drowned in the lake. The herdsmen fled, and reported this in the town and the countryside, so all the people came to see what had happened.

They came to Jesus, and saw the man freed of the evil spirits sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the same man who had been possessed by the legion. They were afraid. And when those who had seen it, told what happened to the man and to the pigs, the people begged Jesus to leave their neighbourhood.

When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man, who had been possessed, begged to stay with Him. Jesus would not let him, and said, “Go home to your people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”

So he went throughout the country of Decapolis, telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.

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Monday, 3 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Psalm)

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

Psalm 30 : 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

How great is the goodness which You have stored for those who fear You, which You show, for all to see, in those who take refuge in You!

In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from human wiles; You keep them in Your dwelling, safe from the intrigues of wagging tongues.

Blessed be the Lord for His wonderful love! He has strengthened my heart.

I said in my fright : “I have been cut off from Your sight!” Yet when I was crying, You heard; when I called for mercy, You listened.

Love the Lord, all you His saints! The Lord preserves His faithful, but He fully requites the arrogant.

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Monday, 3 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (First Reading)

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

Hebrews 11 : 32-40

Do I need to say more? There is not enough time to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, as well as Samuel and the prophets. Through faith they fought and conquered nations, established justice, saw the fulfilment of God’s promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the sword, were healed of their sicknesses; they were weak people who were given strength to be brave in battle and repulse foreign invaders.

Some women recovered their dead by resurrection but there were others – persecuted and tortured believers – who, for the sake of a better resurrection, refused to do what would have saved them. Others suffered chain and prison. They were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword. They fled from place to place with no other clothing than the skins of sheep and goats, lacking everything, afflicted, ill-treated.

These people of whom the world was not worthy had to wander through wastelands and mountains, and take refuge in the dens of the land. However, although all of them were praised because of their faith, they did not enjoy the promise because God had is in mind and saw beyond. And He did not want them to reach perfection except with us.

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Sunday, 2 February 2025 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as it happens on the second day of February this year, it coincides with the celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, traditionally also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary or Candlemas, the fortieth day since the beginning of the Christmas season on Christmas Day. This day marks the definitive end for all Christmas events and festivities, which traditionally observes forty days period for Christmas. On this day we remember once again everything that has happened during the time when the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of the world was finally born into the world, revealing to everyone the great grace and salvation which God has long assured us all His people.

In this celebration of the Presentation of the Lord, we celebrate the moment when the Holy Child, the firstborn Son of Mary and His foster father, St. Joseph was presented to the Temple and House of God in Jerusalem as prescribed by the Law of God revealed through Moses. The Law prescribed that all the firstborn sons of the Israelites ought to be offered to God as a sign of the Covenant which He has made with all of them, and that was what Mary and St. Joseph had done, bearing the Child that was born in Bethlehem, the Saviour of the world. And it was on this occasion that the Lord revealed Himself to the Jewish people, as He was welcomed by the old man and prophet Simeon, and the prophetess Anna at the Temple, representing His coming and arrival to the people who had long awaited Him.

This Presentation of the Lord also foreshadowed His later role and ministry, in what He would do and fulfil for the salvation of all mankind, in the role that He would take as our One, True and Eternal High Priest, as the One to offer the perfect and most worthy sacrifice and offering for our redemption and salvation, liberating us from the darkness of evil and death, breaking us free from the chains of sin and death that have dominated us over from the beginning of time. And this marks the definitive end of the Christmas Season, as henceforth, we are preparing ourselves to enter into the season of Lent, the time of preparation and renewal, the journey of faith towards the celebration the aforementioned works and ministry that the Lord Himself would perform, as our High Priest and the Lamb of God, in His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross, and ultimately, His glorious Resurrection.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Malachi, of the prophecy which the Lord passed to His people through Malachi, one of the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, who lived and ministered to the people of God about three to four centuries before the coming of the Messiah. After which, the Lord sent no more prophets until the fulfilment of what He had spoken through Malachi in what we had heard in our first reading today, of the coming of the messenger of God, preparing the path for the coming of the Saviour of the world. This prophecy of God passed through the prophet Malachi was speaking about St. John the Baptist, the Herald and the one who would proclaim the coming of the Saviour to the people. Indirectly, it also preempted the coming of the Messiah and His role as well, in the salvation and purification which He would give to all of us, God’s people.

Many of the people of Israel and their descendants at that time had the idea and understanding, expectation and vision that the Messiah sent by God, the Son and Heir of David, the Heir to the Kingdom of Israel, would be a great and conquering King, the One to liberate them from their enemies and overlords, to reestablish the glorious Kingdom of Israel as how it was during the glorious days of King David and King Solomon. However, the truth and reality is such that God sent His Son, our Lord and Saviour, to all of us so that He can deliver us all from the certainty of death and destruction because of our sins, and as He revealed Himself to us, in the form of that Holy Child, presented at the Temple in Jerusalem, we are all reminded of how great God’s love is for us, that He chose to be incarnate and to assume our human form and existence so that we can be saved.

God has always loved us all and He has given us His Son, and just as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews in our second reading today highlighted to us, and as we have just discussed earlier on, He has come to share in our nature, because exactly by doing so, He can purify us all from our sins and wickedness, from all the corruptions and evils which had held us in bondage, keeping us away from the salvation and grace in God. In order for Him to offer the perfect and most worthy offering for the atonement of our sins, He has to come to us in the flesh, and in His humanity, bear the punishments for our sins. In doing so, He has united us all through His suffering and death, and by sharing in that suffering and death, we are led to die to our past selves and sins, and brought into the glory of everlasting life through His glorious Resurrection.

Through His perfect obedience to the will of His heavenly Father, Christ our Lord and Saviour has also shown us all the example to follow in how we all ought to obey the Lord, His Law, His commandments and will. It was because of our disobedience and unwillingness to follow His Law and commandments, our rebellion and our choice to follow the temptations of Satan and our desires that led us into ruin, separating us from the grace and love of God, falling into the path towards damnation and destruction, for separated from God and His love, He Who is the Lord and Master of Life, there can be no hope and future for us. But God never gave up on us, and He loves us all so much that He has promised us to send us the deliverance, which He fulfilled and accomplished through His only Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose Presentation at the Temple we commemorate today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all rejoice greatly today celebrating this occasion of the Presentation of Our Lord and Saviour at the Temple, let us all remember the love that God has for us, and the coming of this great Light and Hope that we have received through His coming into our midst. This day is also known as Candlemas, because in our Church tradition, this day the blessing of candles is carried out, with the lighted candles as reminders of the Light of Christ, the Light of our Hope and salvation which we have received through Christ and His coming into this world. And it is because of His coming that we have the assurance of freedom from the domination and bondage to sin and corruption of evil around us, which only the Lord can free us from.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord, to follow Him wholeheartedly and to remain ever faithful to His cause, doing our best so that in everything that we say and do we will always strive to be worthy of God and be good examples and role models for one another. We also should remind ourselves of the commitments that we all have as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen, that we all have been entrusted with the unique missions and vocations in life. Particularly today we pray on this day, which is also the World Day of Consecrated Life, for those who have dedicated and committed themselves in religious life, offering themselves to a life of prayer and virtue, as members of religious congregations and orders. Let us all pray that all of them will continue to be faithful to the Lord and continue to carry out their respective missions faithfully, just as we ourselves also do the same in our lives.

May our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, and our One, True Eternal High Priest, Who has offered Himself as the perfect and most worthy offering for the atonement of our many sins, continue to bless us all and guide us in our journey of faith through life, and may He continue to strengthen and bless us all so that we will continue to persevere well throughout the many obstacles, hardships and challenges that we may encounter in our path, so that one day, we may truly be completely and fully reunited with Him in the glory of everlasting life with Him. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 2 February 2025 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 22-40

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.”

There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father’s home, she had been seven years with her husband, and since then she had been continually about the Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer. She was now eighty-four. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God, and spoke of the Child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There the Child grew in stature and strength, and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon Him.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Luke 2 : 22-32

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.”