1st Week of Christmas

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Friday, 27 December 2024 : Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the Christmas season, two days after Christmas Day, we celebrate the occasion of the Feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. St. John the Apostle was the beloved disciple of the Lord and was one of the Twelve Apostles, being one of the earliest ones to enter into the service of the Lord. He was once a fisherman at the Lake of Galilee together with his brother, St. James the Apostle or St. James the Greater. And what is unique about St. John among all the other Apostles is that he was likely the only one among the Apostles who have not suffered through martyrdom of the blood or the red martyrdom which all the other Apostles had suffered, but died at a very old age after many decades toiling and labouring for the Lord’s sake.

St. John was also one of the four writers of the Holy Gospels, and hence was also known as the Evangelist. He was also credited with the Epistles of St. John, addressed to the faithful people of God and as was in the Gospel that he wrote, he placed a lot of emphasis on the love of God which He has generously shown to all of us. St. John himself had witnessed many of the events that the Lord Jesus carried out and went through as he was among the few select ones to have attended to the Lord and went with Him, such as during the resurrection of the dead daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official, the moment of Transfiguration at Mount Tabor, the moment of the Lord’s Agony at the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper, among others.

Then, after the death and Resurrection of the Lord, and after His Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, St. John for a while took care of the Lord’s Mother, Mary, who had been entrusted to him by the Lord Himself, and at the same time, like the other Apostles, he was also involved in works of evangelisation and in the governance of the early Church. He went to the region of Judea and Samaria with the other Apostles to proclaim the Lord’s Good News and to establish Christian communities in all those places. He would go on to minister to the people of God and establish more Christian presence and communities in other places, and eventually, as the Lord Himself had predicted, St. John would outlive all the other Apostles, and according to Apostolic tradition, he lived to around the end of the first century, close to or around seven decades after the death of the Lord.

The Lord Jesus did mention in the Gospel that one of His disciples would not perish until the coming or the revelation of the kingdom of God, which later on would indeed come true, with St. John being the one whom the Lord entrusted with the eschatological vision or a vision about the end of times, revealing to him the events that would happen at those times before His Second Coming into this world and the Last Judgment. That happened when St. John was exiled to the island of Patmos in Greece when he was already very old in age, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian of Rome. According to some Church and Apostolic tradition, the Emperor Domitian carried out intense persecution against Christians, and many including St. John himself suffered, with the Apostle being exiled to that aforementioned island.

But it was exactly at those difficult moments, and also considering all the other persecutions and difficulties that the faithful people of God had encountered in the previous decades and which they would still endure for centuries and more afterwards, even including up to our very own present day world, that the Lord reassured us all of His love and providence, and a reassurance that if we all remain true and faithful to Him, then we shall be triumphant with God and that we shall be blessed forever, sharing in the eternal glory and the rich inheritance that He has promised and reassured to us, all these while. St. John saw all those things and recorded them in his Book of Revelations or the Apocalypse of St. John, for the knowledge of all the people of God.

St. John had witnessed many things from the time of the Lord’s ministry, and he witnessed all the moments surrounding the Lord’s Passion and death, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead just as we had heard it from today’s Gospel passage. And although he did not suffer from the same kind of martyrdom as the other Apostles of the Lord, he did indeed suffer a kind of martyrdom also known and recognised by the Church as the ‘white martyrdom’ which refers to the kind of martyrdom suffered by the people of God, who although did not face painful or bloody death, but they did face persecution and sufferings in all of its various forms. From all of these, all of us are reminded that as God’s people, as His followers and disciples, all of us must always remind ourselves to be faithful to the Lord.

We should always strive to put the Lord at the centre and as the focus of our whole lives, our whole existence and in all of the things that we do in life. In our Christmas celebration, festivities and all that we do in this joyful Christmas season, all of us are reminded to be ever always faithful to God and to show our true faith in Him in how we celebrate this Christmas occasion so that in all that we say and do, we will always glorify God by our every words, actions, and deeds, and indeed by our whole lives and examples. We must follow in the footsteps of St. John, Holy Apostle and Evangelist, whose whole life had been thoroughly dedicated to the service of God and His people. We must realise that the works that the Lord had entrusted to His Church and Apostles are far from being done, and it is now up to all of us to continue them.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment and desire to serve the Lord ever more faithfully in each and every moments of our lives, so that by our every moments in life, in everything that we carry out, we will continue to be good examples and the faithful, worthy and shining beacons of God’s Light and Hope in our darkened world today, and the bearers of His Love and compassion to all the people around us. May all of those who encounter us and witness our lives and examples be touched by God and His love, and be called to be His good and worthy followers as well, together with each one of us, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 27 December 2024 : Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 2-8

At that time, Mary of Magdala ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Peter then set out with the other disciple to go out to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb; he, too, saw the linen cloths lying flat.

The napkin, which had been around His head, was not lying flat like the other linen cloths, but lay rolled up in its place. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed.

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Friday, 27 December 2024 : Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 96 : 1-2, 5-6, 11-12

The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the distant islands be glad. Clouds and darkness surround Him; justice and right are His throne.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His justice, all peoples see His glory.

He sheds light upon the upright, and gladness upon the just. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are blameless, and give praise to His holy Name.

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Friday, 27 December 2024 : Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 1 : 1-4

This is what has been from the beginning, and what we have heard and have seen with our own eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, I mean the Word Who is Life…

The Life made Itself known, we have seen Eternal Life and we bear witness, and we are telling you of it. It was with the Father and made Himself known to us. So we tell you what we have seen and heard, that you may be in fellowship with us, and us, with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

And we write this that our joy may be complete.

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Thursday, 26 December 2024 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the day after the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, the actual day of Christmas, and it is celebrated in the Church as the Feast of St. Stephen, the Protomartyr of the Church. On this day we may wonder why is it that after the festive celebration of Christmas and the fact that this is still during the joyful Christmas season that we commemorate this feast of the very first martyr or protomartyr of the Church. Indeed, this is in fact a reminder for all of us that our celebration and festivities cannot be separated from the focus we ought to have in Christ, and as Christians, each and every one of us amidst our living as faithful and devoted Christians, we may encounter difficulties, challenges, obstacles, rejection, disapproval, and even persecutions for our faith, for what we believe in, and for our works and efforts.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story of the last ministry of St. Stephen, who would become the first martyr of the Church. Now, St. Stephen was one of the disciples of the Lord, likely to be among those disciples who have followed the Lord during His ministry and when He was still in this world. He was one of the seven original Deacons selected and tasked by the Apostles to be the ones to carry out the ministry of the diaconate and service to the people of God, as at that time, with the rapidly growing number of converts and Christian believers, the expansion of the Church in terms of size, numbers and geographical extent made it increasingly difficult for the Apostles to do everything by themselves in ministering to the Church as well as in governing and leading the faithful.

Not only that, but they also still have their primary mission which has been entrusted to them by the Lord Himself, and that is the ministry of evangelisation. Therefore, the Apostles prayed over the matter and inspired by the Holy Spirit, they resolved to choose seven holy and worthy men to be the first deacons with the primary mission to distribute the goods of the Church and the property needed to support the members of the faithful. There was in fact a strife and division among the members of the community who were divided between the Jewish converts and the Greek converts, and there was unhappiness because apparently those Greek converts had been neglected in the distribution of goods and property, as the earliest Christian communities lived in a communal manner, sharing their goods and property with one another.

Thus, the seven holy men and deacons were selected to be the impartial distributors of those resources and as ministers to the needs of the people of God. St. Stephen was one of those seven men, and was also the most prominent one among them, not less due to his early martyrdom, the tale of which was partly highlighted to us in our first reading passage today. Earlier before this part of the passage, St. Stephen was confronted by his enemies, who made false accusations against him as he was doing his works, and they even employed false witnesses against him, accusing him of having uttered and committed blasphemy against God. And that was how St. Stephen was set up for a confrontation against the whole entire Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council and their supporters.

Yet, St. Stephen, encouraged and full of the Holy Spirit, courageously stood up before the whole assembly and spoke up about the salvation which God has shown to His people through Jesus Christ, telling them about the story of the people of God and the history of salvation, and how everything which God had promised His people and which He has spoken through His prophets and messengers, all the prophecies and predictions came true in Christ, the same One Whom those chief priests and elders, the members of the Sanhedrin had rejected and persecuted, and given to the Romans to be crucified at Calvary. It must have taken great courage for St. Stephen to speak of those words of great truth and wisdom, and yet, he did so, to the bewilderment and total surprise of everyone who listened to him.

St. Stephen gladly accepted suffering and death when all those who listened to him refused to accept the truth that he has presented to them, and stoned him accusing him of blaspheming against God. He was stoned to death by all the assembled people who were overcome with rage and anger against the words that St. Stephen had spoken to them, refusing to believe him even though he has spoken with such wisdom and convincing truth, as they had hardened their hearts and closed off their minds, allowing their pride, ego and ambitions to mislead them to the wrong path. But St. Stephen did not become angry at them or blamed them for all of that, and in fact, just as the Lord Himself had done at the time of His crucifixion, St. Stephen forgave those who persecuted and killed him, and prayed to God on their behalf.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist the account of the words which the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples exactly about all these things that would come to pass and which would happen to many of them, how they would all face persecutions, struggles and challenges in the midst of their lives as Christians and disciples of the Lord. And yet, they must not be afraid, fearful or doubtful, as the Lord Himself would be with them, encouraging and strengthening them all in their path and in whatever that they would have to endure and go through. That was what St. Stephen himself has experienced, and his examples should serve as a good example and inspiration for all of us as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to do our best to follow the faith and the inspiration of St. Stephen, the first or protomartyr of the Church. Let us all remember that as we rejoice in this Christmas season we must always keep in mind that Christ is truly at the centre of all of our festivities, rejoicing and celebration, and we must also put Him as the focus and the centre of our whole lives, in each and every moments. We must be strong and prepared for whatever trials, challenges, difficulties and obstacles that we may have to encounter in our journey, as we continue to go forth and live our lives worthily as Christians, and as we continue to proclaim the Lord and His Good News to more and more people. May the Lord continue to strengthen us all in our faith, and may His holy servant, St. Stephen, Holy Protomartyr, continue to intercede for us all as well. Amen.

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Thursday, 26 December 2024 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 10 : 17-22

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of Me, so you may witness to them and the pagans.”

“But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn again parents and have them put to death.”

“Everyone will hate you because of Me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.”

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Thursday, 26 December 2024 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 30 : 3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17

Be a Rock of refuge for me, a Fortress for my safety. For You are my Rock and my Stronghold, lead me for Your Name’s sake.

Into Your hands I commend my spirit; You have redeemed me, o Lord, faithful God. I will rejoice and be glad in Your love, for You have seen my affliction.

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, from those after my skin. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me in Your love.

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Thursday, 26 December 2024 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 6 : 8-10 and Acts 7 : 54-59

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When the Council heard the reproach Stephen made against them, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

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Thursday, 26 December 2024 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 6 : 8-10 and Acts 7 : 54-59

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When the Council heard the reproach Stephen made against them, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

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Wednesday, 25 December 2024 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the day that many of us had been long waiting for after almost a whole month of Advent commemorations and preparations, as we celebrate this day the great Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, the great celebration of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and the beginning of the great and joyful Christmas season. On this day we remember the great occasion when the Lord came into our midst and entered into the world, the Saviour of all mankind, born from the womb of His mother Mary. This is the day which we rejoice greatly because in Christ, the long awaited promise and assurances of God’s salvation has truly come into fruition and completion, and by His entry into this world, Christ has manifested to all of us the perfect manifestation of the love of God.

On this most joyful day therefore all of us gather together as one united people, as God’s one and holy Church to rejoice in glorious thanksgiving for all that He has done, what He has sent us to be the Redeemer. This is the day when the light of Christ’s salvation has shown us the power of God in dispelling the darkness of sin and evil, and brought us all a renewed existence and hope in Him, the Prince of Peace, the Divine Word Incarnate, the Love of God made manifest, being Emmanuel, God Who is with us and dwells within our midst. This Christmas is a commemoration of God’s Love made Man, made to be approachable and tangible to us, reminding us of everything that He had done for our sake. It is a clear proof and sure evidence that God’s love for us is not merely a fairytale or myth, but has been shown to us beyond doubt, through the coming of His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage of great hope from the prophet Isaiah, the fulfilment of God’s many promises and reassurances to His people with the Good News and the arrival of His salvation into this world, the One Who would bring all of the people of God back to Himself, showing us the path to His eternal happiness and true joy with Him, being freed from all the bondage of sin and evil, from all the forces of darkness and destruction. God remembered His people and He would never abandon them in their time of great distress and difficulties. And even when they had brought their own misfortunes upon themselves, thanks to their own lack of faith and inability to resist the temptations of sin and worldly desires, but God still loved them nonetheless.

Through the prophet Isaiah and the other prophets, God made it clear that they are indeed His beloved people, and as their loving Father and Master, He desires to see that all of them ought to be restored in grace and reconciled to Him. And all has been fulfilled through His Son, the One He had sent into our midst to call us all back to Him, and to gather all the scattered children of God back to their most loving, patient and compassionate Father. God has never forgotten us and He has always had us all in His mind, ever concerned about us in each and every moments, and desiring that we should reject the evils and wickedness of this world, and instead embracing His righteousness and truth, His grace and love, as we should have done.

Then, as we have heard from the second readings of this Christmas celebrations, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, as well as from the Epistle of St. Paul to his protege, St. Titus, we heard the affirmation of the revelation of God’s love, kindness and grace which He has revealed through His Son, the Light of salvation and the ultimate proof of Love which God has given us, as the most perfect gift of all, the assurance of His patient persistence in guiding and leading us from the darkness into His light and loving embrace. All of us mankind have long been enslaved and put under the chains and dominions of evil and darkness, by our disobedience against God and His ways. And God alone is capable of leading us all out of this darkness and evil into the light, by His mercy and most generous forgiveness of our many sins.

In our Gospel passage this Christmas, we heard the account of the birth of the Lord from the Gospel of St. Luke in which it was told to us how His mother Mary and His foster father St. Joseph had to struggle to find a proper place for Him to be born, as they were on their way to Bethlehem, the city and ancestral house of David, the city where the Saviour was to be born as prophesied and foretold by the prophets. The Lord and Saviour of all has come into this world not in a palace fits for kings and rulers of this world, but in a stable not even fit for the living and dwelling place of men. But that reveals to us what He truly wants to do by coming into this world. He came into our midst not to overpower, conquer or dominate over us, but to show us His love and care, His compassion and kindness, everything that He has willingly done for us, to rescue and to help us all.

From the Gospel of St. John the Apostle that we heard this Christmas, from its very first chapter we heard about the well-known account of the incarnation of the Divine Word of God, the Son of God made flesh, incarnate through the will of the Father and through the power of the Holy Spirit, that God’s Son truly descended down to us in the flesh, adopting our very own existence and appearance, our nature and humanity, that He may embrace us all with love and touch us all, to be with us in our lowest and loneliest. Throughout all of history, there has never been any divinity that willingly embraced to be human, to abandon the glory and wonders of the Divine for human existence and nature, and yet, that was exactly what the Lord had done, in embracing us all and coming into our midst, as a Child, to be loved and care for, because He wants to teach us all how to love as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in this celebration of Christmas, let us all keep in mind the true purpose and reason why we celebrate it. While the world all around us are full of excesses of worldly joy and merrymaking, festivities and jubilations, parties and all sorts of exultation which are not centred and focused on Christ, the true Reason for all of our Christmas joy and celebrations, all of us as Christians can lead and show the way in how we ourselves celebrate Christmas. Yes, we all can celebrate and rejoice this Christmas, having all the merrymaking and festivities, but we must always make sure that Christ is at the heart of all of our rejoicing and happiness. We cannot give in to the temptations and pressures all around us for us to follow the whim of our desires and the false comforts of the world.

Instead, each and every one of us as Christians are challenged to live up to the true essence and meaning of Christmas. And since Christmas is truly a celebration of God’s Hope, His Peace and Joy, and the manifestation of His Love in our midst, that is why we all should also show this same attitude in our lives, and especially in how we celebrate this Christmas. Christmas should not be just another celebration and festivities, revelries and merrymaking just for ourselves. We should be generous in loving and giving to one another, and be ready and willing to share our joy and merriness with each other, with our brothers and sisters all around us. And there are so many people out there who may not be able to rejoice and celebrate Christmas the way we do, because they are suffering from hardships and challenges in life, and from persecution for their faith in God.

Are we willing to share and be generous with our love, hope and comfort for all those around us, brothers and sisters? Are we capable of spending the time and effort to show the true hope of Christmas, the true reason for our joy and celebration, to all those whom we encounter daily in life? Let us all therefore be true and genuine Christians in each and every moments of our lives, and be the beacons of Christ’s Light and Hope in our world today. Let the joy and the true spirit of Christmas be in all and every parts of our lives from now on, and let us all be the good examples, role models and inspiration for all whom we encounter in life. May God be with us always, and may His love, which He has manifested to us in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, continue to be generously poured upon all of us, now and forevermore. Amen.