5th Sunday

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Sunday, 9 February 2014 : 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 58 : 7-10

Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the Glory of YHVH your rearguard.

Then you will call and YHVH will answer, you will cry and He will say, I am here. If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word, if you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.

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Sunday, 28 April 2013 : 5th Sunday of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

God is love, this is the fundamental and the most basic nature of our Lord and God, my dear brothers and sisters. For love is the centre of being of our God, for His love is infinite, and in His infinite and boundless love, He willingly sacrificed Himself that all of us, unworthy and sinful mankind, may be saved from the eternal separation from Himself.

It may not be easy to see God in our daily lives today, since God is no longer walking among us, just as He did at the time of the disciples, to whom He appeared often after His resurrection. But do we then abandon God in the search of something more tangible, for something more real? That is why many of the faithful in Christ had lapsed in their faith in God, simply because they had been allured by the evil one and his myriad tools that he used to lure mankind away from God.

There are many means that the devil had used in his attempts to corrupt mankind, by offering many seemingly better alternatives to God, whom he tried to portray to many as being boring and inexistent. Instead, men loves his creations, that of worldly goods, wealth, affluence, and other false idols, solely aimed at the separation of men from God, and the ruination of Christ’ salvific mission in this world.

But Satan will never succeed, for God will ultimately triumph, and despite all the plots and the devices that Satan had used in his attempts to deceive mankind, God’s love and faith in us will be a key weapon in the fight against the devil and his fallen angels, who ceaselessly tried to divert us from the true path towards the Lord.

There are indeed many false gods and idols that our world offer us all today, my brothers and sisters, most obvious of which is money and material possessions, which many of us desire to the point of worshipping them instead of God, to whom only all honour and glory should go. Many of us are so embroiled and involved in our pursuit for success and wealth, that we forgot that the Lord is always with us. We enjoy the company of money and material goods more than we do for the Lord.

How many of us find it a great chore to just go and attend the Sunday Mass to worship our Lord? and how many of us then spend so much time in our career and our work, and in the attempt to secure more pay and more money? And even worse are those who employ underhanded and illegal means to secure these wealth and possessions, that is through corruption and nepotism, which had marred many of our high ranking politicians, businessmen, and many other people, and do not be mistaken that this happens only on the top, since corruption and all these vices also exist in the bottom rung of the society, with many of us seduced by the allure of money, and became obsessed in attaining more of it, that we forget the Lord and His love.

The Lord Himself had said, that we should not worry about our lives and what we are to have in our daily lives, since God Himself will provide all that we need, just like how He provided for the animals and other beings that He had created. For mankind, especially, there had been a blurring of distinctions between what we want, and what we truly need for our lives. Too often we seek something that we do not actually need, but out of our insatiable desire for things that we want to have.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us take a step back from our mindless pursuits of wealth, affluence, fame, and material possessions. Seek not what can bring us glory in this world, but seek for the true glory in heaven instead. How to do so? By loving one another as the Lord has loved us, just as He had commanded the apostles to do so. Love is the core tenet of our faith, since our very salvation is anchored on the great and infinite love that God has for us, that He wanted to endure death for our sake, that we may live.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive to love one another ever greater, and put love manifested in all our words, our thoughts, and our actions, that whenever we do something, or say something, or think of something, love will always form the core of our speech, our decisions, and our actions. Remember that God is love, and by doing so, we have already obeyed God’s will and commandments, allowing even others to see our actions and believe in the Lord, saving more people for Christ who died for them.

Let us pray, that we can be ever more loving and more compassionate in our society, helping those who are weakest and the least there, and reaching out to all in need, both physically and spiritually, that God’s love will be made manifest in this world, through us, and through our actions. May God bless all of us. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 April 2013 : 5th Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

John 13 : 31-33a, 34-35

When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. God will glorify Him, and He will glorify Him very soon.”

“My children, I am with you for only a little while. Now I give you a new commandment : ‘Love one another! Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.’ By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

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Sunday, 28 April 2013 : 5th Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Revelation 21 : 1-5a

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband. A loud voice came from the throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals : ‘He will pitch His tent among them and they will be His people,’ He will be God-with-them.”

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.’ There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was has passed away.” The One seated on the throne said, “See, I make all things new.”

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Sunday, 28 April 2013 : 5th Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Psalm 144 : 8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab

Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age.

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Sunday, 28 April 2013 : 5th Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Acts 14 : 21b-27

The apostles returned to Lystra and Iconium, and on to Antioch. They were strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain firm in the faith, for they said, “We must go through many trials to enter the Kingdom of God.”

In each church they appointed elders and, after praying and fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had placed their faith. Then they travelled through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. They preached the Word in Perga and went down to Attalia. From there, they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been commended to God’s grace for the task they had now completed.

On their arrival they gathered the Church together and told them all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the non-Jews.

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Sunday, 17 March 2013 : 5th Sunday of Lent (Third Scrutiny for Baptism) (Scripture Reflection)

Love, faith, hope, and forgiveness. These are the virtues that the readings taught us today. Faith, hope, and love being the three most important virtues being taught by Christ to all of us, and forgiveness or mercy, being the extension of love into the faults and sins of others. These virtues make our faith in God alive and manifest, and through these virtues, our world can indeed be made better, despite the ever-presence of sin, darkness, and evil.

For in our world today, it is too easy for people to judge one another, to condemn one another, to have no love for one’s fellow men, and rather to destroy one another through endless litanies of curses, personal attacks, and condemnations. It is in our human nature to seek out the faults in others, and to condemn others when they fall. But yet, as the case of the condemned woman in adultery in our Gospel today showed, we are often blind to our own faults and predicaments in that case.

So focused we are in the faults of others that we forgot that we too, are sinners before the eyes of the Lord, equally if not more unworthy to stand in front of our God who hates sin, than even the one whom we are condemning and judging against. For sin had been in the hearts of men, and had always corrupted mankind’s actions and behaviour ever since the day of the first rebellion of our forefathers.

This is why God, our Father, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to be our redeemer, to redeem us from our certain death, that is our destiny for having sinned against God. It is through Him that God’s works became manifest in this world. Through healing of the blind, the deaf, the paralytic, the possessed, and even Lazarus, whom He resurrected from the dead. Nothing is impossible for God, only if we believe in Him, and have faith in Him.

Through the power of God too, we learn the value of forgiveness, for He forgave the woman who was accused of adultery from her sins, providing that she truly repented and that she led a virtuous life from then onwards. He did not accuse, for He, who will be the great Judge of all at the Last Judgment, sees into the hearts of all the people, and in this case, He looked into the hearts of all, the condemned woman, and those who condemned her.

Indeed, she had been sinful in His eyes, and her sin of adultery was plain for Him to see, but even more so were the sins of those who had brought her before Jesus, so that they could test Him, find a mistake in Him, and then arrested Him. These motives clearly did not escape the attention of our Lord, who found them to be wanting, even more than that of the women.

This is why we have to learn not to judge others and condemn others, especially without base, without proper reasoning, and with malice in our hearts, intent on the destruction and downfall of others. For hatred, jealousy, and vice can eventually bring our judgment to be corrupted, and we are no longer wise judges just as Christ was, when He judged both the woman, and the people who shouted for her death, but in fact was testing Jesus.

Christ has the power to forgive, just as the power to heal, as He is after all the Son of God. But those people in Israel at that time, particularly the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, blinded by jealousy and by their hatred of Him, as well as by their rigid and unreasonable attachment to their human laws, prevented them from approaching the Lord for healing and forgiveness, and instead, they persecuted Him, and eventually brought Him to His death on the cross.

Nevertheless, notice that Christ, despite all these oppositions, still wanted to save them, and forgave them for what they had done, even until the very end. We should imitate Christ’s example, and begin, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to forgive one another, no matter what pain and faults the other one has done for us. It is time to forgive, to let go of our anger, hatred, jealousy, and whatever negative and evil feelings we may have.

Instead, let us cultivate love and compassion in our hearts, that we can grow to love God further and more, and also to love all men as we have loved Him, who also loves us all. Let us set aside our differences, and embrace one another as brethren, and pray for those who persecutes us, for those who judges us unjustly. Do not judge them back, and do not despise them, but instead worry about the salvation of their souls. Pray for them.

We will therefore grow in our compassion and our love, and our hearts will no longer be hardened like that of the Pharisees. Instead we will have hearts like a contrite man and a humble tax collector, who came bowing low before God, fully aware of the extent of his sins. And also to be like Christ, to be moved by the plight of others, with a heart of compassion, to love others, to care for them, and to listen to their needs and cries.

Today, let us also pray for our brethren who has decided to join God’s Church, through the calling that each of them had received from the Lord, that God will strengthen them in their journey, that as they approach their baptism on Easter Vigil, they will grow ever stronger in faith, hope, and love, from now on, and forever.

May God guide us and bless us, to ever be loving children of His, to ever bring glory to His Name, through our loving and forgiving actions in this world, deprived of such love, mercy, hope, and compassion. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 March 2013 : 5th Sunday of Lent (Third Scrutiny for Baptism) (Gospel Reading)

John 8 : 1-11

As for Jesus, He went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak, Jesus appeared in the Temple again. All the people came to Him, and He sat down and began to teach them.

Then the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone. “Master,” they said, “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now the Law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to death; but You, what do You say?” They said this to test Jesus, in order to have some charge against Him.

Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with His finger. And as they continued to ask Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among You who has no sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And He bent down again, writing on the ground.

As a result of these words, they went away, one by one, starting with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Then Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

She replied, “No one.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go away and don’t sin again.”

 

Alternative Reading from Year A (For Third Scrutiny for Baptism)

 

John 11 : 1-45

There was a sick man named Lazarus who was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This is the same Mary, who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was sick.

So the sisters sent this message to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.” On hearing this, Jesus said, “This illness will not end in death; rather it is for God’s glory, and the Son of God will be glorified through it.”

It is a fact that Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus; yet, after He heard of the illness of Lazarus, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Only then did He say to His disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” They replied, “Master, recently the Jews wanted to stone You. Are You going there again?”

Jesus said to them, “Are not twelve working hours needed to complete a day? Those who walk in the daytime shall not stumble, for they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, for there is no light in them.”

After that, Jesus said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him.” The disciples replied, “Lord, a sick person who sleeps will recover.” But Jesus had referred to Lazarus’ death, while they thought that He had meant the repose of sleep. So Jesus said plainly, “Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there, for now you may believe. But let us go there, where he is.”

Then Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

When Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. As Bethany is near Jerusalem, about two miles away, many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, after the death of their brother, to comfort them. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house. And she said to Jesus, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.” But Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection. Whoever believes in Me, though He die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha then answered, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into the world.”

After that Martha went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The Master is here and is calling for you.” As soon as Mary heard this, she rose and went to Him. Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met Him.

The Jews, who were with her in the house consoling her, also came. When they saw her get up and go out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep. As for Mary, when she came to the place where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping, who had come with her, He was moved in the depths of His Spirit and troubled. Then He asked, “Where have you laid Him?” They answered, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. The Jews said, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “If He could open the eyes of the blind man, could He not have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus was deeply moved again, and drew near to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across it. Jesus said, “Take the stone away.” Martha said to Him, “Lord, by now he will smell, for this is the fourth day.” Jesus replied, “Have I not told you that, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone.

Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You for You have heard Me. I knew that You hear Me always; but My prayer was for the sake of these people, that they may believe that You sent Me.” When Jesus had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews who had come with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw what He did.

 

Shorter version (John 11 : 3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45)

So the sisters sent this message to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.” On hearing this, Jesus said, “This illness will not end in death; rather it is for God’s glory, and the Son of God will be glorified through it.”

It is a fact that Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus; yet, after He heard of the illness of Lazarus, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Only then did He say to His disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”

When Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house. And she said to Jesus, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.” But Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection. Whoever believes in Me, though He die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha then answered, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into the world.”

He was moved in the depths of His Spirit and troubled. Then He asked, “Where have you laid Him?” They answered, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. The Jews said, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “If He could open the eyes of the blind man, could He not have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus was deeply moved again, and drew near to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across it. Jesus said, “Take the stone away.” Martha said to Him, “Lord, by now he will smell, for this is the fourth day.” Jesus replied, “Have I not told you that, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone.

Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You for You have heard Me. I knew that You hear Me always; but My prayer was for the sake of these people, that they may believe that You sent Me.” When Jesus had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews who had come with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw what He did.

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Sunday, 17 March 2013 : 5th Sunday of Lent (Third Scrutiny for Baptism) (First Reading)

Isaiah 43 : 16-21

Thus says YHVH, who opened a way through the sea and a path in the mighty waters, who brought down chariots and horses, a whole army of them, and there they lay, never to rise again, snuffed out like a wick.

But do not dwell on the past, or remember the things of old. Look, I am doing a new thing : now it springs forth. Do you not see? I am opening up a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The beasts of the land will honour Me, jackals and ostriches, because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert that My chosen people may drink. I have formed this people for Myself; they will proclaim My praise.

 

Alternative reading from Year A (For Third Scrutiny for Baptism)

Ezekiel 37 : 12-14

So prophesy! Say to them : This is what YHVH says : “I am going to open your tombs, I shall bring you out of your tombs, My people, and lead you back to the land of Israel. You will know that I am YHVH, o My people! when I open your graves and bring you out of your graves, when I put My spirit in you and you live.”

“I shall settle you in you and and you will know that I, YHVH, have done what I said I would do.”

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Sunday, 10 February 2013 : 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time and Chinese New Year (Scripture Reflection)

We have seen today, that the Lord is everything for us, and He loves, and cares for us deeply. There is no other being with greater love. He provided for us in our daily lives, He guided us, taught us, and blessed us with abundance. That we have enough but not excessive, so that we may live comfortably, but not be ensnared by the lures of money and therefore greed.

As today, Chinese around the world celebrate Chinese New Year, the most important day in the whole Chinese calendar year, let us reflect on the readings today, with regards on the matter of blessing and prosperity, on which Chinese New Year frequently base itself on. On Chinese New Year, we Chinese visit one another in the family and relatives, and bring one another the spirit of joy and love. The day is a celebration of life, and of love, through the family blessed by God with ample goods and graces. This is what we should remember on this festive Chinese New Year day, and not instead, the culture of materialism, that increasingly become more and more common amongst Chinese, and people around the world in general.

Chinese New Year has often been associated with wealth, prosperity, money, auspiciousness, and lavishness, with lavish reunion dinners, lavish new clothings, and concerns about etiquette while visiting one another. In today’s modern world, intense commercialisation and materialism has led to Chinese New Year celebrations to become increasingly elaborate. This also applies to other types of celebrations around the world, which are becoming increasingly commercialised and with focus placed much on the glamour and glitz instead of the true meaning of the celebrations themselves.

Jesus reminded us today, that God as our Father has given us everything that we need, and that He as the Ultimate Judge of all life too, has the life of all creation known and measured, without our knowledge of these. Indeed, no matter how much wealth we accumulate in this life on earth, how many houses, cars, or even private jets we have, ultimately, when we die, we will not bring these with us. What we instead bring with us is just ourselves, our soul. Will you rather choose to be wealthy in this world and then judged unworthy by the Lord in the end? To suffer separation from Him all eternity, out of which there is no hope? Or would you rather to be not so wealthy in this world, but build up spiritual wealth instead, and be richly rewarded by God for your meaningful life filled with actions out of love for others and God?

Do not however, be mistaken. God does not hate or condemn wealth and money, and indeed, naturally, we need those to support ourselves, our own families, and to live rather comfortably. However, the main point is, not to be mastered by these instead of us mastering them. We must take charge of our wealth, and whenever we can, try to share some with the less fortunate.

Unfortunately, in our present day world, as it had happened in the past as well, many people guard their treasures with greed and jealousy, without even thinking of others in need. Many concern themselves everyday on the pursuit of gathering more wealth, buying more luxury goods, possessing more cars and other amenities, until to the point that they are actually mastered and enslaved by wealth, instead of the other way around.

Wealth is not everything indeed, and although it is essential, we Christians should heed the message in the readings today, to know how to feel ‘enough’, to know the ‘limit’ of our wishes, and to know how to be satisfied. We should look at others around us, when we are engrossed in our pursuit of wealth and prosperity, so excessive that we neglect even to look around. There are many others amongst us who are not so fortunate, and these people are already very thankful when they even have enough to eat for the day, and there are even those who do not have enough.

One may then ask, isn’t the Lord saying that He provides enough for all of us everyday? Then why are there these people who beg? Why are there people who hunger? Why then there are people who still die of neglect and poverty? This is because, the Lord does His work, through us, through His children, and Jesus taught us in the Scripture to give thanks to God for what we receive, and to share them with our fellow brothers and sisters in God.

It is we who ought to open our ‘granaries’ of food and ‘banks’ of wealth to share some of excesses we have, which we do not need, with those who cannot afford them. Remember, the Lord does not disdain or hate wealth, it is just that He wants all of us to live happily in love, sharing our joy together, sharing our sorrow together, in a community based in the faith in the Lord, who gives enough to all everyday, without the need to worry.

The poor no longer will need to worry about what they will survive on tomorrow, and whether their children will be taken care of properly, and the rich will also no longer need to worry about what investment to make tomorrow, where to profit on tomorrow, and what car or what property to buy tomorrow. Do as you always do, and work as you have always worked, but do not make yourselves slaves to your career and to whatever you are doing. Rather, always remember the Lord in all things that we do, and make Him the centre of our lives. We will realise that once we put God into all things that we do, we will no longer desire more and more, and will be satisfied with whatever blessings and generous gifts God has given us.

Let us therefore, in this Chinese New Year celebration, renew the commitment to love one another, and not just within one’s family, but also to others beyond that, for we are all one family in Christ. While we party, drink, and eat much food, remember always in our prayers those who are less fortunate. Whatever excesses we have in our celebration, let us pass them to them, that they too will be able to joyfully participate in the celebration. Let us be inclusive as the Lord wants us to be, and not be greedy and exclusive.

All said, as the other readings show us, we still have our missions to fulfill, namely to reach out to others who have yet to listen to the Word of God and the Good News, and that is why Christ told His disciples on the boat to go out and put the net out to the deep. So far, we have caught the ‘fish’ on the surface and those who are near, but there are many who are located deeper and farther away from the love of God, who are yet caught by us.

Christ made Simon the fisherman into Peter the fisher of man, and so did He make the other Apostles fishers of men. This mission, reiterated by Christ after His resurrection, to go out to all the nations and deliver to them the Good News of the Lord, and baptise them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, is still true today, and all of us Christians, should also reach out further and deeper, to those amongst us, who are yet to receive the grace of the Word of God.

Do not worry that we cannot do this mission as Christ asked us to. Remember that God provides everything for us, and He will provide all that we need to do our mission. We can begin simply with our own lives, to live a life of love and faith to God, such that we become such a shining beacon of goodness, that others will come to us, and through us, God will make His wonderful work, and the Word of God will be brought to all mankind, even through just one faithful and dedicated disciple of the Lord.

Let us be fishers of men, just like the Apostles, beginning from ourselves, and even our own families. I myself came from a non-Christian family background, and although my mother is a Catholic, but my father is not, and he was a very staunch follower of his own beliefs. It is not easy to bring the Word of God, the Good News to everyone, but we can begin indeed in showing that God is Love, and through His Spirit, that our own actions will be filled with love and all, even those who do not yet believe in God, will believe in Him, through us, and our actions.

May God bless all of us on this wonderful day, and bless all the Chinese people throughout the world celebrating this magnificent Chinese New Year, and remind us always that on top of the parties and the celebrations that we have, we also have a mission to do, that is to share the Good News to all, and indeed, to share the joy, happiness, and blessings that we receive, particularly on this festive moment, with those who have little or none. God bless us all, and bless His holy Church! Amen.