2nd Week of Advent

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Monday, 8 December 2025 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 3 : 9-15, 20

YHVH God called the man saying to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you not to eat?”

The man answered, “The woman You put with me gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it.” God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”

YHVH God said to the serpent, “Since you have done that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”

The man called his wife by the name of Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

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Sunday, 7 December 2025 : Second Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we mark the occasion of the Second Sunday of Advent. Therefore, since we now have already progressed about a week through this season and time of Advent, a time of spiritual and wholesome preparation for the upcoming joyful season of Christmas, when we will celebrate joyfully and gloriously the coming of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Divine Word Incarnate Who has been born into this world to be our Saviour. And this Sunday, the theme of Advent we mark is that of Peace, after last Sunday’s Hope. This Sunday we are reminded of the True Peace which Our Lord and Saviour Himself has brought into our midst, revealing unto us all that He has planned for us, in bringing us true peace and joy that He alone can provide.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which we heard of the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the coming of the time of peace and harmony, joy and jubilation when the stump of Jesse shall bear forth a Shoot, referring to the coming of the Messiah, the Son of David, to be born into the House of David, and promised by God to be the One to bring all of creation into perfect harmony and happiness again. This is a prophecy regarding the coming of the salvation and the liberation through this same Saviour long awaited by God’s people. That same prophecy spoke of how the Spirit of the Lord will be with this Saviour, with the One Whom God would send to be with His people, Emmanuel, the One Whose Name means, ‘God is with us’.

Although at that time, it was rather vague Who this Saviour would be, besides the fact that He would be born into the House of David and that His coming would herald a period of great change, no one knows Who He really would be otherwise. And it was only when the Lord Himself came into this world that He revealed to everyone that He is truly the Son of God Himself manifested in the flesh, embodying the perfection of God’s Love, walking and dwelling in our midst. And yet, His first coming into this world would not immediately bring perfect peace and harmony, which was why some of His disciples and those who refused to believe Him and doubted Him rejected the Lord Jesus because to them He was not that same Person that the prophet Isaiah had been prophesying about.

Yet, the reality is indeed that Jesus Christ, Whom we believe to be Our Lord and Saviour is the Son of David, descended directly from King David himself and in everything that He had done throughout His ministry, He was fulfilling what the prophet Isaiah had been prophesying about in all the signs, miracles and wonders that He performed, and beyond doubt, He is indeed the Messiah, the Saviour of the whole world. But what truly happened is that, not all of the prophecies of the prophet Isaiah would come true all at once, because the perfect state of peace and harmony which Isaiah foretold of, will indeed come, but only in the future, upon the Second Coming of Christ, or also known as parousia, something that all of us are looking forward to.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, we heard of the words from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Rome in which the Apostle spoke of the salvation that has been granted all of us the faithful through the gift of the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, the same Saviour that God Himself has promised and reassured all of His people through His many servants throughout time. This reminder from the Apostle truly mattered for those people in Rome and elsewhere who might be facing opposition, struggles, challenges and trials from the pagans and all those who opposed them around them, including the Jewish and Roman authorities, that despite all that, the Lord has assured them of His salvation through Jesus Christ, Whom the Apostles and the disciples had witnessed in His works and Resurrection.

At the same time, St. Paul also spoke of how the salvation that God has promised was not restricted to only just the Jewish people, as although the Lord was sent first to the Jewish world and to the people of Israel and their descendants, but that was just meant as a precursor of the spreading of the Good News and truth of God’s salvation, His ever enduring and patient love for all of us mankind, meant to be shared and spread to the whole world. Ultimately, St. Paul also reassured each and every one of us that God’s salvation, grace, love, compassion and mercy have been extended to everyone, regardless of their origins or backgrounds. Everyone has a place in the kingdom that God has prepared for all those whom He has created out of love, that is all of us, without exception.

Finally, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which we heard of the story about St. John the Baptist, the one who had been sent before the coming of the Lord in order to prepare the way for His coming into this world. And we heard how St. John the Baptist harshly criticised all those Pharisees and the chief priests who sent people to question and doubt his authenticity and authority to do the works of the Lord. He rebuked them all for their wickedness, their lack of faith and obedience to the Lord in what they have done, in their hypocrisy in their faith, and in seeking attention and praise from the rest of the people, and in their overly proud and selfish attitudes in life.

St. John the Baptist himself then showed true humility as contrasted to the behaviour of those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. When he was asked and confronted whether he was the Messiah that God has promised to His people, he immediately told everyone that he was not the Messiah, but he was merely the one who preceded the coming of the Messiah, the one sent by God to prepare the way for the One Who would bring salvation to the whole world. He was merely the Herald of the Messiah, although his work and role were indeed very important. St. John the Baptist pointed out that his baptism and all of his works paled in comparison to what the Saviour would do, Who would bring forth the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, invoking the Holy Spirit of God to come into our midst, as what Christ has indeed done.

Therefore, as we have all heard from all the readings of the Scriptures that we have received today and as we have discussed them earlier, we are all reminded and called to be ever hopeful and to put our trust ever more strongly in God’s love, providence and all that He has generously provided to us, all the care and attention that He has given to us. We must not take all these for granted, but strive to do our very best in all the things we say and do, in our every actions, words and endeavours, in our every interactions with one another, so that by our examples and inspirations we may lead others ever more closely towards God and His saving grace. And as we all await the coming of God’s wonderful and everlasting Peace, let us all ourselves be the bearers of His Peace in our world today.

May all of us as Christians be the missionaries of God’s Peace, dedicating ourselves to be the peacemakers in our respective communities, in our families and among our circles of friends. Let us all bear the Light of Christ’s Hope, His Peace, Love and all the Joy that we are all preparing for this upcoming Christmas so that we may be the bearers of the Light of God to all the people we encounter, particularly to those who are still in darkness and who are suffering and in despair without hope, and all those among us who are suffering from violence and injustice. May God be with us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 7 December 2025 : Second Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 3 : 1-12

In the course of time John the Baptist appeared in the desert of Judea and began to proclaim his message, “Change your ways, the kingdom of God is now at hand!” It was about him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said : A voice is shouting in the desert, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord, make His paths straight!'”

John had a leather garment around his waist and wore a cloak of camel’s hair; his food was locusts and wild honey. People came to him from Jerusalem, from all Judea and from the whole Jordan valley, and they were baptised by him in the Jordan as they confessed their sins.

When he saw several Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he baptised, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who told you that you could escape the punishment that is to come? Let it be seen that you are serious in your conversion, and do not think : We have Abraham for our father. I tell you that God can raise children for Abraham from these stones! The axe is already laid to the roots of the trees; any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.”

“I baptise you in water for a change of heart, but the One Who is coming after me is more powerful than me; indeed I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptise you in Holy Spirit and fire. He has the winnowing fan in His hand and He will clear out His threshing floor. He will gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn in everlasting fire.”

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Sunday, 7 December 2025 : Second Sunday of Advent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Romans 15 : 4-9

And we know that whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, for both perseverance and comfort given us by the Scripture sustain our hope. May God, the source of all perseverance and comfort, give to all of you to live in peace in Christ Jesus, that you may be able to praise in one voice God, Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Welcome, then, one another, as Christ welcomed you for the glory of God. Look : Christ put Himself at the service of the Jewish world to fulfil the promises made by God to their ancestors; here you see God’s faithfulness. The pagans instead give thanks to God for His mercy, as Scripture says : Because of that, I will sing and praise Your Name among the pagans.

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Sunday, 7 December 2025 : Second Sunday of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 71 : 2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.

Justice will flower in 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 life 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 blessed by all nations.

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Sunday, 7 December 2025 : Second Sunday 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.

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Saturday, 14 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to progress through this time and season of Advent, and as we listened to the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are invited to reflect today on the one figure that is part of the story leading up to the coming of the salvation from God. And this figure was that of St. John the Baptist, the one that had been sent from God to prepare the path for His coming into this world. We heard of everything that God had done in sending us all His servants, His messengers and prophets, and through all of these we are reminded of just how beloved we are by God, and truly how fortunate we are because God has always patiently loved us that He gave us all the assurance of His salvation, and how we should also be thankful for all those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord to fulfil the missions entrusted to them.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Sirach in which the story of the life, ministry and departure of the famous prophet Elijah was told to us. The author spoke of the wonderful things which prophet Elijah had done in the land of Israel as he laboured hard against the people and their king whose hearts and minds had been hardened against the Lord, facing persecutions and ordeals in his ministry, and having to flee for his life and safety on several occasions. But the Lord was with Elijah and he continued to labour and do great things for the Lord and His people, performing many miracles and wonders among them, proving that the Lord is the one true God and Master over all the people, and not those pagan idols and gods like Baal that they had worshipped.

Then, the author of the Book of the prophet Sirach spoke of the other things that Elijah had done, culminating in how he was eventually taken away from the world in a flaming chariot. God sent a flaming chariot to take Elijah away just as He foretold to him, and his successor, the prophet Elisha, witnessed this great event. This event is also significant because it means that Elisha did not suffer from death, one of the few recorded in the Scriptures that had returned to the Lord not through bodily and physical death, but taken up into Heaven, like that of Enoch in the early days of the world, Elijah himself, and later on Mary, the Mother of God, assumed body and soul into Heaven. And it was a popular belief that Elijah would come and return once again into the world to fulfil God’s promises.

It is a belief of the Church since the days of the early Christians that St. John the Baptist had the spirit of the prophet Elijah in him, or that he was none other than the prophet Elijah himself, returning in the flesh into this world to complete what the Lord had entrusted to him, in calling the people of God and all those who have been wayward in their lives to return to their Lord and Master, to be forgiven from all of their many sins and wickedness. We are reminded of this today so that we can realise that God has done all these for our sakes, out of His generous love and kindness, His mercy and compassion. And He is also the Lord and Master over all things, over life and death, and in the end, death shall have no hold over us, as our part shall be eternal life and true happiness with God.

Then, in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist we heard of the same matter that we have discussed from the earlier first reading passage about the relationship between the prophet Elijah and St. John the Baptist. We heard from the Lord Jesus Himself telling His disciples that the prophet Elijah had already come into their midst but the people had rejected him and refused to listen to his words. There was also a specific reference to St. John the Baptist being the prophet Elijah. Now, regardless whether it was truly Elijah that had come into this world again, or whether St. John the Baptist had the spirit of Elijah in him, that is immaterial, as what matters is that God sent St. John the Baptist to carry out His will, and the man of God dedicated himself fully to the very end. 

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. John of the Cross, a renowned Carmelite saint who helped to reform the Carmelite Order and built the foundation of a popular religious order and inspired countless other people who were touched by his great faith and commitment to God. He was born as Juan de Yepes y Álvarez in the region of Castile in Spain into the family of an accountant, his father, who was married to an orphan of the lower class. His family faced a lot of tough early years as St. John of the Cross’ father and elder brother passed away due to malnourishment and disease. The young St. John of the Cross then went to a school which took care of his basic needs and education, and his upbringing eventually led him to be called to religious life as a member of the Carmelite Order and became a priest.

St. John of the Cross met St. Teresa of Avila afterwards, the other reformer who together with St. John of the Cross would eventually reform the Carmelite Order, establishing the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, marking all those Carmelites who sought to return to the original rules and intentions of the founders of the Order, which had been relaxed by the earlier Popes and leaders of the Order, leading to the corruption of those members of the Carmelites, who became corrupted and misled by the worldly temptations and desires, and by the impurities and corruptions of sin due to the lack of discipline and piety in their lives, which St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila worked hard to reverse by returning to the original rules and discipline to root out the corruption and wickedness among the Carmelites.

Thus, those Carmelites who sought to return to the original intentions of the founders became known as the Discalced Carmelites, as they frequently went barefoot (discalced or without shoes), practicing ascetic and simple lifestyle without all the excesses and comforts that their predecessors had enjoyed and experienced in lavish lifestyle incompatible to the spirit of the Carmelite Order. Through the many efforts of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, despite the many challenges and oppositions that both of them and the other reformers had faced, but they continued courageously with their efforts and reforms, and they pioneered great examples of their faith and dedication to God as examples for many others around them. Their piety and dedication inspired many even right up to this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect upon the words of the Scriptures and also the life and examples shown to us by St. John of the Cross, let us all therefore remind ourselves of the need for all of us to centre our lives upon the Lord and turn away from all sorts of distractions and temptations around us, all the false paths and leads that do not bring us towards God and His salvation. This Advent season we should remind ourselves that we must return to the true spirit of Christmas, so that in all of our preparations and efforts to celebrate the upcoming Christmas season we will put the Lord, the One Whom we ought to be celebrating about at the very centre of our rejoicing, jubilation and commemorations, and not the false and illusory pleasures of the world.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator continue to help and strengthen us all in our journey, and help us so that we may always strive to focus our lives on Him and do whatever we can to be good role for one another in how we carry out our lives and how we glorify Him by each and every moments in our daily living, like those of the prophet Elijah, St. John the Baptist and all the holy saints of God, our holy predecessors. May all of us be strengthened and encouraged in this journey we have during this time of Advent, and be ever greater in our commitment and piety, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 14 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 17 : 10-13

At that time, the disciples of Jesus asked Him, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?”

Jesus answered, “So it is : first comes Elijah; and he will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come; and they did not recognise him; and they treated him as they pleased. And they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”

Then the disciples understood that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist.

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Saturday, 14 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 79 : 2ac and 3bc, 15-16, 18-19

Listen, o Shepherd of Israel, You, Who sit enthroned between the Cherubim. Stir up Your might and come to save us.

Turn again, o YHVH of hosts, look down from heaven and see; care for this vine, and protect the stock Your hand has planted.

But lay Your hand on Your instrument, on the Son of Man, Whom You make strong for Yourself. Then, we will never turn away from You; give us life, and we will call on Your Name.

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Saturday, 14 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Sirach 48 : 1-4, 9-11

Then came the prophet Elijah, like a fire, his words a burning torch. He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number. Speaking in the Name of the Lord he closed down the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire.

How marvellous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal? You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses. It was written that you should be the one to calm God’s anger in the future, before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live.