Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 116 : 1-2
Alleluia! Praise the Lord, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.
How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.
Wednesday, 3 December 2025 : Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Priest, Patron of Missions and Missionaries (First Reading)
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22-23
Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will. How can I, then, deserve a reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.
So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave in order to gain a greater number. To the weak I made myself weak, to win the weak. So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it.
Tuesday, 2 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we all continue to progress further through this season and time of Advent, the time of preparation for the coming of the joyful season of Christmas, let us all continue to ponder upon the words of the Lord that we have received and blessed with through the Sacred Scriptures, so that we may better be able to focus our attention on what truly matters, the Lord and His teachings and ways. Each and every one of us must truly be genuine in our faith and belief in the Lord as Christians, and in our preparations for Christmas, we are reminded that we should not just be focused on the worldly aspects of the celebrations, but more importantly, focus ourselves on the more wholesome understanding of what Christmas is truly about.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord given to the prophet Isaiah in which He reassured all of His people, the Israelites and their descendants that despite the difficulties, hardships, challenges and humiliations which they had been facing at that time and before, the day and time will eventually come when the Lord will come for His beloved ones, gathering each and every one of them, calling upon all of them to return back to Him and to be once again in His most loving and generous embrace. God has reassured His people of all of these things, and He would not say things that He Himself would not fulfil or make to come true.
That is why, for those people of Judah to whom the prophet Isaiah had ministered to, such great words of hope and consolation must have meant really a lot to them. They had faced lots of sufferings, humiliations, defeats and other misfortunes from their enemies and all those who opposed them because of their own disobedience and refusals to listen to the Lord and to the prophets and messengers whom He had sent into their midst to remind and help them. The Lord however did not forget about them and He still continued to love them nonetheless, helping them to find their way back to Him, patiently leading and guiding them all, with all the encouragement, reassurance and promises He made after He has first chastised and rebuked them for their sins and wickedness.
God truly cares for all those whom He has considered His own, all those whom He had created out of pure and perfect love. After all, He did not create us so that He can punish and destroy us, but He wants us instead to rediscover the love which we ourselves ought to have for Him, so that we may continue to grow ever stronger in faith, hope and love in Him and through Him. This is what He has constantly reminded His people through the prophets, and which we are therefore also reminded yet again, and again, each and every time we listen to these words of the Scriptures that we may truly be faithful and committed in all things, in doung what God has called us all to do, in being good role models and examples of our faith in our love for God and also our love for one another.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard the prayer of thanksgiving and praise which the Lord Jesus Himself prayed to His Heavenly Father, giving Him thanks on behalf of everyone that He had been sent to, to all of us mankind, in thanking God for His ever present and enduring love, for all the wonderful things that He had done for us all, on our behalf, in reaching out to us all, and presenting to us the finest and best of His love which has been manifested perfectly to us in the Person of His own beloved and only Begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Indeed, through Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us, are all perfect fulfilment of everything that God our loving Father and Creator has promised to each and every one of us and our ancestors.
And we must count ourselves truly lucky because we have been made partakers of God’s everlasting and true Covenant, which He has renewed and established firmly for us all through His Son, in all that He had done in offering on our behalf a most perfect and worthy offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood, so that by that offering all of us may be redeemed and freed from the tyranny of evil, sin and darkness surrounding us. We are reminded that because Christ has come into our midst, God Himself in the flesh, we truly have hope of liberation and true happiness, in an eternity of joy and eternal existence with our most loving God and Father. We must continue to uphold this faith and hope within us, and embody the great and ever enduring love of God in ourselves and our own actions.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all therefore ponder and reflect upon the words of the Sacred Scriptures, ever being reminded that we are all called to put our trust in the Lord and in everything that He has promised to us. We have to trust that everything which the Lord has promised to us will eventually come true, and that we should not easily give up or lose faith in what He has told us. This is because we must realise that in God alone we can find hope and reassurance that will not fail us, and while anything in this world can fail us, the Lord alone is always with us without fail, and it is He alone that has been there for us, providing for us and steadily loving and supporting us through the darkest and most difficult moments, and He does this even through those whom He has provided to be with us.
May the Lord continue to bless us all in our Advent journey and progress, and as we continue to go deeper into this blessed time of preparation for Christmas and what we will celebrate during that season, let us all continue to deepen our faith and trust in the Lord, allowing Him to come into our lives and our hearts, strengthening our resolve and giving us the courage to continue going forth and doing our best to glorify Him by each and every moments of our lives, in all of our actions, words and deeds. May God bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.
Tuesday, 2 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 10 : 21-24
At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been Your gracious will. I have been given all things by My Father, so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said to them privately, “Fortunate are you to see what you see, for I tell you, that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Tuesday, 2 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Psalm)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 71 : 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
God, endow the King with Your justice, the royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.
Justice will flower on His days, and peace abound, till the moon be no more. For He reigns from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
He delivers the needy who call on Him, the afflicted, with no one to help them. His mercy is upon the weak and the poor; He saves the lives of the poor.
May His Name endure forever; may His Name be as lasting as the sun. All the races will boast about Him; and He will be praised by all nations.
Tuesday, 2 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (First Reading)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Isaiah 11 : 1-10
From the stump of Jesse a Shoot will come forth; from his roots a Branch will grow and bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him – a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and power, a Spirit of knowledge and fear of YHVH.
Not by appearances will He judge, nor by what is said must He decide, but with justice He will judge the poor and with righteousness decide for the meek. Like a rod, His word will strike the oppressor, and the breath of His lips slay the wicked. Justice will be the girdle of His waist, truth the girdle of His loins.
The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will rest beside the kid, the calf and the lion cub will feed together and a little child will lead them. Befriending each other, the cow and the bear will see their young ones lie down together. Like cattle, the lion will eat hay. By the cobra’s den the infant will play. The child will put his hand into the viper’s lair. No one will harm or destroy over My holy mountain, for as water fills the sea the earth will be filled with the knowledge of YHVH.
On that day the “Root of Jesse” will be raised as a signal for the nations. The people will come in search of Him, thus making His dwelling place glorious.
Monday, 1 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we embark on this journey during this Season of Advent, entering into this appropriate time of contemplation, reflection and preparation, each and every one of us are called to reorientate our lives and rediscover that path towards the Lord and His salvation, especially if we have been so busy and distracted in life that we have forgotten what it truly means for us to be Christians, to be God’s holy and beloved people. Each and every one of us should always be prepared to welcome the Lord when He eventually comes again in glory, whenever it may be, as no one can know the exact timing of His Second Coming, but we know with certainty that this will definitely happen in the future. Therefore, all of us as Christians, we must
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard the message of reassurance and encouragement from God to His people in the kingdom of Judah where He had sent Isaiah to minister at, reminding all of them that their sufferings, humiliations and struggles all would not last forever, and that eventually they would all be vindicated and rescued if they continued to walk faithfully in the presence of the Lord and commit themselves to follow His Law and commandments. In the first place, it was the disobedience and sins of the people which had distanced them away from the Lord and from His path and blessings, and due to this, that is why they had faced challenges and trials, and like their brethren in the northern kingdom of Israel, whose disobedience were even greater, they had to face defeat and destruction at the hands of their enemies.
Back then, at that time, during the beginning of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah, the forces of the Assyrians came up to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, besieging it and thereafter destroying it, and this led to the downfall of the northern kingdom, with many of its people being brought off into exile in the lands of Assyria and even beyond, and throughout all those challenges and trials, God still wanted to remind His people that He was still with them, patiently guiding them and encouraging them even through their darkest and most difficult moments. Even though the people of God had been stubborn in refusing to listen to His words and reminders which He had made to them through His many prophets and messengers, but He still patiently sent to them more reminders and help nonetheless.
This is why each and every one of us must realise just how fortunate we all are to have been loved by God in such a manner, and we should no longer take His most generous and patient love for granted. If we take God’s love, compassion and generous mercy for granted, in the end, there will only be regret for us all. We have been blessed by many opportunities which God has presented to us, again and again, as He calls on us to return to Him and to embrace His love once again, love that has always been made available for us even after we have continually disobeyed Him and disregarded His kindness and compassion. We should continue to strive to embrace God’s love and mercy, devoting ourselves anew to serve Him wholeheartedly from now on.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when an army captain or centurion came to the Lord Jesus in Capernaum in Galilee, requesting and beseeching Him to take pity upon his servant who had fallen very sick at home, firmly believing that the Lord could heal his servant and make him whole again. And the faith of the army centurion was such that he was willing to believe and trust in the Lord that even without making Him to go to his place to heal his servant, and merely by the command and power of His words alone, everything would be accomplished and his servant would be healed. This kind of faith was then highlighted by the Lord as a truly great and exemplary faith for all the people to follow.
In order to better understand the significance and importance of what this event entailed, we must first understand that this army centurion or captain was likely to be a Roman, or at least a Gentile or non-Jewish person, and at that time, the Jewish customs and practices were mostly limited to only those of Jewish descent, and hence, the army centurion was likely to be considered as a pagan or non-believer. And at that time, for a non-Jewish person to interact with a Jew like the Lord Jesus and His disciples was often considered taboo, and in fact, why the army captain was reluctant to let the Lord to come to his house and mentioned that he was unworthy to have Him under his roof was because of the common practice at that time, in which for a Jew to enter into the house of a Gentile would have made them ritually unclean.
That was the reason why the chief priests and the Pharisees did not enter into the Praetorium where Pontius Pilate resided as the governor of Judea during the time of the Lord’s Passion, and it was in fact specifically mentioned that this act would have made them to be ritually unclean and therefore would be unable to eat the Passover that was to happen that moment soon. Hence, not only that the army centurion had great faith in the Lord but he was also very humble and considerate, knowing the local customs and not wanting to cause hassle and difficulties on the Lord and His mission. And for his great faith in the Lord, his faith was rewarded and everything came true just as the Lord deemed it to be, with the servant being healed the very moment the Lord Himself declared it.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter into this season of Advent and progress through it, let us all therefore realise that each and every one of us are in need of God’s love, mercy and compassion, and we should no longer take all these for granted. Every opportunities that He has presented to us should be cherished by us, and we should always do our best in each and every one of us our actions, words and deeds, in our every steps in life so that we may draw ever closer to our most merciful and loving God. Let us make great use of this time and the opportunities that the Lord has presented to us such that we will not squander them and that we can continue to grow ever stronger in our faith as true and genuine Christians moving forward.
May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey of faith and life during this time and season of Advent, so that we can continue to grow ever stronger in our faith and commitment to God. Let us all do our very best to glorify the Lord by our lives and actions, in everything that we say and do. Let us all continue to be good and worthy bearers of our Christian faith, and do our very best to shine forth with the light of God, showcasing what we truly believe in the Lord, in His love for us, and in the hope that we have for Him. May the Lord be with us always and bless our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.
Monday, 1 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 8 : 5-11
At that time, when Jesus entered Capernaum, an army captain approached Him, to ask His help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralysed and suffers terribly.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have You under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, He was astonished; and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.”
Monday, 1 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Psalm)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 121 : 1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5, 6-7, 8-9
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of YHVH!” And now we have set foot within your gates, o Jerusalem!
Jerusalem, just like a city, where everything falls into place! There the tribes go up.
The tribes of YHVH, the assembly of Israel, to give thanks to YHVH’s Name. There stand the courts of justice, the offices of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : “May those who love you prosper! May peace be within your walls and security within your citadels!”
For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be with you!” For the sake of the house of our YHVH, I will pray for your good.
Monday, 1 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (First Reading)
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Isaiah 4 : 2-6
On that day the Shoot of YHVH will be beautiful and glorious; and the Fruit of the earth will be honour and splendour for the survivors of Israel. Those who are left in Zion and remain in Jerusalem will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem, when YHVH washes away the filth of the women of Zion and purges Jerusalem of the bloodstains in its midst with the blast of searing judgment, the blast of fire.
Then will YHVH create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of fire by night. For the Glory of the Lord will be a canopy and a pavilion for all, a shade from the scorching heat by day, a refuge from the storm and rain.
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