Advent sermon

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Sunday, 20 December 2020 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the Fourth and Last Sunday of Advent which means that we are about to come into the great celebration of Our Lord’s Nativity or birth in Christmas. And this Sunday we focus on the last of the four Advent themes, and this is the theme of ‘Love’. And it is fitting that we focus our attention on this theme of ‘Love’, because ultimately, that is what Christmas is truly all about, the genuine and pure, boundless and great love that God has for each and every one of us.

For we celebrate in Christmas, the birth of the Saviour of the world, the manifestation of God’s eternal and perfect love, in the Flesh, that the Lord willingly embraced and took upon our humanity, by the indwelling and incarnation of His divinity, the Son and Divine Word, as Man, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and thus, the Holy One of God was conceived in the womb of Mary, Son of God and Son of Man in One.

This is the culmination and fulfilment of all that God had long promised His people and all of His servants, just as we heard from the Scripture readings today. In our first reading today, we heard God speaking to king David of Israel through the prophet Nathan, when the king wanted to build a great House for God. That House would eventually be built by David’s son, king Solomon, as the famed Temple of Solomon, the place of the great worship of God.

God told David that it would be his own son that would build the House for His Name and dwelling, and while He has blessed David and made his reign and rule strong, he would also bless his son and descendants, and promised David that his house will last forever. While this was indeed a direct reference to how God would bless Solomon and his descendants, but in truth, it was also a hidden prefigurement of Christ and His coming.

King Solomon and the descendants of David did not remain completely faithful to God, and many among them led the people into sin and wickedness, and thus, the kingdom of Israel and Judah met its end at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians respectively. It seemed that the promises of God had come to naught, but in truth, just as the Israelites believed it, the Lord would fulfil His promises yet, by sending them the Messiah Who was to be born of the House of David.

However, what they did not know was that, this Messiah is also none other than the Son of God just as much as He is the Son and Heir of David, the One Who would occupy the Throne of David and therefore, fulfil God’s promises. As the Eternal God Himself has now descended into this world and become King for His own people, His kingdom shall last forever, and all those who follow Him, will receive from Him the eternal life and glory promised to them.

This is what the Archangel Gabriel himself revealed to Mary as we listened to in our Gospel passage today, at the Annunciation, when the Lord through Gabriel finally announced the coming of His salvation, long awaited and expected by His people. This is the true proof and manifestation of God’s eternal love and His enduring compassionate care for each and every one of us, all children and descendants of Adam who had strayed from His path, that God has always loved us all and wanted us to return to Him and be reconciled with Him.

It is God’s pure love that we remember today, as we focus on the ‘Love’ as the most important aspect of our Advent preparation. Without Love, then Christmas would not have happened, and without Love, there would not have been salvation for all of us. God would not have forgiven and saved us, or spared us from the fate that awaits us due to our rebelliousness and sins. Through our disobedience and rebellion, we have fallen into sin, and because of our sins, we should have fallen into damnation and eternal suffering in hell.

But the Lord loves each one of us dearly, and He does not want us to suffer that fate. He could have easily destroyed us for our rebellion and disobedience, but He clearly did not do so. When He sent Adam and Eve away from the Gardens of Eden, He did so to let us all know that what we have done were not correct and right, and we have to suffer the consequences of our sins. Yet, as a loving Father, He did not leave us all alone. He still cared for us and wanted us all to be reconciled to Him.

It was this love that allowed Him to be so patient with us and to reach out to us with such great affection, despite the attitudes which many of us had shown Him, our ingratitude, our lack of faith and stubbornness, our constant embracing of sin and evil. He sent us His own Beloved Son, Who entered into the world and dwelled among us so that all of us may know of His love, that is not just something that is distant and imaginary, but as something that is real and genuine, and brings us hope and light even in the deepest of darkness, love that is sincere and selfless, perfect and compassionate.

I invite all of us now to reflect on the Lord our God and Saviour, Whose coming into this world we are going to celebrate in Christmas that is about to come. I want us all to reflect on the great love that God has shown us, the reason why He restored the joy and light to our lives. And we do not have to look far, brothers and sisters in Christ. Turn our gaze towards the crucifix, and we shall see there, the same Christ, the Baby born and celebrated at Christmas, hung on the Cross for the salvation of the world.

That is a further proof of God’s love, that not only just that He willingly took up our form, existence and humanity, born as a little Child in Bethlehem, but that same Jesus Christ, willingly took upon Himself our sins and the many punishments due to our sins and our rebellions, and bore all these upon His shoulders, bleeding and bruised for our many trespasses. But He bore all these willingly out of love for us, that we may not perish but live through Him.

By His suffering and death on the Cross, and by sharing in our humanity, Christ Our Lord has made us to share in His death, and then leading us through His Resurrection, He leads us into a new life and existence of grace, one that is not subject and bonded to sin and death, showing us the path forward to an eternity of true joy, happiness and glory with Him.

There is no question that God loves us all very much, that He has willingly done all of these for us, and in how He had been very patient with us and making His intention clear to us in wanting us to repent and turn away from our sins, and embrace His salvation. But the question now is, do we love Him then just as much as He has loved us?Have we ever appreciated just how beloved and fortunate we are because of God’s love?

As we are about to enter into the joyous celebrations of Christmas, those questions must be in our minds and hearts, that we may reflect on and reevaluate the way we perceive and look at Christmas. If Christmas is just another merry-making time and an occasion for us to celebrate with lavish parties and revelries, then we are not celebrating Christmas in the right way.

And if we are trying to outdo one another and are too focused on the material aspects of Christmas and its celebrations, then we are not celebrating Christmas in the right way either. Our celebration of Christmas must of course first and foremost be centred on Christ, on the love that God has shown to each and every one of us, even to the worst of sinners, that He clearly wants to embrace us and be reconciled with us, and love us fully as He has always intended.

This is what we really need to consider as we spend this Sunday focusing on this theme of ‘Love’. Not the love of ourselves but the love of God, and how much we love God and also our fellow neighbours, our brothers and sisters all around us. That is the true essence of Christmas, the fulfilment and manifestation of God’s love in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. And we rejoice with Him because through Him we have been saved!

Now, what can we do then in order to make our Christmas celebrations more meaningful? We should share God’s love with one another, especially through this difficult year and through all that many had suffered earlier on this year, and many yet still suffer this very moment and will endure more hardships in the next few months to come. We must be the bearers of God’s hope and peace, His joy and love to one another, particularly those who have none or little of these.

That is how we should celebrate Christmas as Christians, that we rejoice not for ourselves, but for the whole community, together with God. In that way then we will fully be able to appreciate how important Christmas is to us, and how the love of God allowed us all to cheer up, be happy and hopeful once again, because we know that in Christ, and through Him, the Lord Who is always ever faithful has fulfilled His promises to us, and by His love, we shall enjoy forever His eternal glory.

Let us all renew our faith in the Lord and strengthen our love for Him. And if we have not done so, from now on, let us live our lives differently, by focusing on the Lord rather than on ourselves, and be filled with true Christian love, for each and every one of our fellow brethren. Let us all be faithful bearers of God’s love, and through that bring hope, peace and joy in our community, wherever we are. May God bless us all and guide us all to a most wonderful, blessed, fruitful and loving Christmas celebration to come. Amen.

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Saturday, 19 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we heard from the Scriptures we heard of the parallel stories of two of God’s trusted servants, namely that of Samson, the famous Judge of Israel, as well as that of St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah. Both of them were born of a woman who had not been able to conceive children, and then miraculously, they were able to conceive by God’s grace.

And God spoke to both of their parents, through His Angel, by which He revealed how those sons of theirs would become great servants dedicated to Him. They were not to touch alcoholic and strong drinks, and they were to live in the wilderness, as those who have taken the vow of obedience to God, called Nazirites. And thus, the Lord sent His servants into the world at the time when they needed help and guidance.

Samson was sent to the people of God when they were oppressed and suffered under the tyranny of the Philistines, who had overcome them and ruled over them with their mighty power. At that time, the Lord had repeatedly sent Judges, one after another to help His people as they were facing difficulties, trials and challenges from various oppressors and their neighbours because they had not obeyed the Lord and lived in sin.

We saw how the Lord repeatedly showed His care and concern for His people, that He did not want any of them to perish and suffer, and despite their sins and wickedness, He still loved them and wanted them to repent from their sins, and thus, sent to them those whom He had appointed as Judges, as those who were supposed to lead and guide the people to the right path.

Thus, Samson came at the time when the people were groaning and suffering under the heavy hand of the Philistines, and in time, as he grew in age and strength, he led the Israelites in overcoming the Philistines, their oppressors, and crushed them with the might of God on their side. Of course, as we all knew, Samson himself was tempted when the Philistines sent Delilah, a beautiful woman to lead Samson astray, but in the end, although by trickery they managed to blind and subdue Samson, but Samson did one last great act, in crushing many Philistines to death with him, as Samson dedicated his whole life to God.

In this manner, we can see that Samson was in fact the spiritual predecessor of St. John the Baptist. Just as Samson was sent to the Israelites to lead them in their struggle against the Philistines, thus St. John the Baptist was sent to guide the people of God in their long struggle against the tyranny of sin and death by calling them to repentance and to turn wholeheartedly towards God.

And just as Samson came not long before the time of king David, the just and righteous king and servant of God, who led Israel to great glory and final triumph against the Philistines, thus, St. John the Baptist led us all towards the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Saviour of the whole world, Whose birth we rejoice and celebrate in this upcoming Christmas day and season.

That is why, through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, we are all called to turn towards the Lord and refocus our attention towards Him with all of our hearts. If we do not do so, then our celebration of Christmas is nothing less than empty and meaningless, with just merrymaking and celebrations, but without the right focus and purpose.

All of us should model ourselves on the faith and dedication that both Samson and St. John the Baptist had shown to the Lord. Samson as mentioned, died with many Philistines at the end of his life, while St. John the Baptist remained steadfast in his mission to the very end, not fearing even the king Herod, and consequently was imprisoned, and by the plotting of Herodias, was martyred in prison.

Let us all therefore purify ourselves as we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas, purifying our thoughts and our hearts, and rededicating our words and actions, our very being to serve the Lord at all times. Let us no longer tarry and wait, but do whatever we can, and make use of this blessed time of Advent to respond to God’s call with genuine and renewed faith.

May the Lord bless us and guide us in our journey, and may He help us and strengthen us that we may persevere in faith just as Samson and St. John the Baptist had done so. May God be with us always. Amen.

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Friday, 18 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in our Scripture readings today as we are getting closer to the celebration of Christmas, we are being reminded of the Lord’s promise of salvation, and how He would lead His people with love once again just as He has once saved them with great might. We heard of the promise of liberation and rescue that the Lord has given His people through the prophet Jeremiah, and its fulfilment in our Gospel today, as the Lord proclaimed the Good News of His salvation through His Angel, Gabriel.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the Lord Who would once again save His people from their predicament and sufferings, from their humiliations and downfall, and He would raise them up once again, bless them and lead them down the right path. This promise was indeed significant because at that time, the people of God had been scattered, and many of them had been exiled from their lands, first for most of the ten northern tribes by the Assyrians, and then many among the people of Judah when the Babylonians came and carried out many of the prominent members of the community into exile.

At that time, the people’s morale had been at an all-time low, as they had fallen deep into darkness and despair. They had disobeyed the Lord and refused to believe in Him and in the prophets that had been sent to them to call them to repent. And thus the Lord spoke to them yet again through Jeremiah, reminding them that He would save them all still, despite their disobedience, for ultimately, we all must realise that God truly loves each and every one of us, His beloved people.

Jeremiah was persecuted and opposed because of all that he spoke of, of the ruin of Jerusalem and Judah because of the people’s sins, and everything came to be true, as the Babylonians came and destroyed Jerusalem, its Temple and the whole kingdom of Judah, and led the rest of the people into exile just as the Lord had spoken and revealed through the prophets earlier on. And then, as He has promised, He brought them all back to their lands once again, rescuing them and leading them back to their homeland, and allowing them to regain their honour.

But that did not actually mark the end of what God had revealed through Jeremiah. Instead, it was just a preliminary action and precursor to what He would then do, not just to save the people of Israel, but even more importantly, He would save all of mankind, all the children of Adam and Eve, all those who had been beloved by Him. Just as He has liberated the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, and just as He has liberated their descendants from the slavery in Babylon, thus God wanted to liberate all of His beloved children.

Thus, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Whose coming was proclaimed in our Gospel today by the Archangel Gabriel to Joseph, the descendant of David, all of us have been saved and have seen the salvation of God. The Lord through His Angel has reassured St. Joseph when he found out that Mary, his fiancee had been with a Child before their marriage, that he had nothing to fear and that all that happened was because of the fulfilment of His promises to save His people through the Son to be born of Mary.

And that Son is the reason why we celebrate joyfully in Christmas. We rejoice together because Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the Son of God Most High has come into the world and manifested God’s great love and wonders, and thanks to Him, we can hope and be glad and joyful once again. Once we have to endure the humiliation and the horrible consequences and effects for our sins, but through Christ, we have a real solution and way out of the darkness and into the light.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having seen the Lord’s salvation and His genuine love for us in Christ, His beloved Son, what are we then going to do in order to prepare ourselves well for the proper and appropriate celebration of Christmas? Are we going to just continue to celebrate it like just every other year, and like how the world often observe and celebrate it? Or are we going to elevate our celebration by rejoicing in the true joy of Christmas that we find in Christ alone?

Let us all prepare ourselves well for the joyful celebration of Christmas that our joy may truly be complete and full in Christ. Let us all share this same joy with one another, especially with our less fortunate brethren, all those who have suffered and been sorrowful, and strengthen them with the love and hope of Christ. Let us all be the bearers of the true Light of Christmas in our society, through our every faithful actions and deeds. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we come within just about a week before Christmas, we come into a more intense time of preparation in this last part of the Advent season, getting ourselves ready to enter into the glorious mystery of the Lord’s Incarnation and Nativity at Christmas, as well as the wonderful joy that we are experiencing in that joyful season to come.

In our first reading today we heard of the prophecy spoken by none other than Jacob, or Israel as he was known in his later years, when he gathered all of his sons and their own families, and said his parting words as he was about to die. He blessed all of his children, some more than others, and from among all of the children of Israel, Judah stood out the most as the one who received a very favourable blessing.

This shows that even then, the Lord had revealed through His Spirit, dwelling in Jacob, of what He was going to do for the people of Israel and for the world. And all that Jacob had said to his children, especially to Judah, would come true as the kingship over all Israel was given to David, of the tribe of Judah, who became the rightful king and God’s chosen one, and God promised that David’s house will rule over Israel forever, a promise that echoed what Jacob had said to Judah many centuries before.

And then, just as we have heard in our Gospel passage today, from the beginning of the Gospel of St. Matthew, the genealogy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour of all, descended from Adam, the first man, from Abraham, God’s faithful servant, and from Israel and his son Judah, as prophesied and mentioned earlier. He was then also descended from king David, as David’s true heir as King.

He is the King of all Israel, the King of the whole Universe and all things, Who reigns over the throne of His forefather David, and through Him, all of the whole world has seen God’s salvation. The Lord has fulfilled everything that He had promised to His people through Jesus, Whose coming and birth into this world we are celebrating this Christmas. And now, during this time and season of Advent, we are all called to reflect on all these, and on whether we have appreciated what the Lord had done for all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has shown His enduring love and compassionate care for each and every one of us through His Son, fulfilling everything that He has promised us all from the beginning. And even when we had not been faithful, rebellious and delinquent, the Lord remained faithful to the Covenant that He had made with all of us.

This is why, we are all called to turn away from our many sins, from our unfaithful attitudes, from all the distractions and temptations that had led us away from the Lord and from His path. We are all called to purify our hearts, minds and our whole being, to reorientate our whole lives that we focus ourselves and our attention once again towards the Lord. This is our calling as Christians and we should heed this call, especially as we approach ever closer to Christmas.

Are we ready to celebrate Christmas with true and genuine faith, and with clear and complete understanding, appreciation and knowledge of what the Lord had done for us out of love? If we are not yet ready to do so, then what are we waiting for? The Lord is stirring us up and calls on us to respond to His call, right this very moment now. Let us all respond positively and enthusiastically to this call, brothers and sisters in Christ.

May the Lord, our Saviour and our loving God, continue to watch over us and guide us in our journey of faith. May He, through this blessed time and opportunity of Advent, touch us and our hearts, that we may be willing to listen to Him, and welcome His salvation into our midst. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 16 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture we are reminded again of the salvation of God that He has revealed and given to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. As we approach ever closer to the time of Christmas, we are called to reflect on whether we have appreciated the true significance of what we are going to celebrate, and whether we understand just how fortunate we are, to have been so much beloved by God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, God was reminding His people through Isaiah of Who He was, and how He cared for and loved His people at all times, giving them His love and providence, and how He will lead His people to salvation and into a new life of grace, through His own might and power. He will save them and bless them once again, and He will always be faithful to His words, and they should not believe otherwise.

Once again, all of these, just as the other prophecies and promises that we have heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah for most of this Advent season are reminding us of God’s enduring love for each and every one of us, His beloved people, whom He loves with all of His heart. And He has sent us all His deliverance and His salvation in none other than Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour. His coming at Christmas is the proof and manifestation of all that God has promised us from the beginning.

In our Gospel passage today we heard of several disciples of St. John the Baptist who came to the Lord asking Him with the question from St. John himself on whether the Lord was the Messiah and Saviour that the world and all had been waiting for, or whether he ought to wait for yet another one. And the Lord told St. John’s disciples that all that He had done, the miracles and wonders that He performed, all had proclaimed the fulfilment of the Lord’s prophecies and promises, and no further explanation or proof is required.

As you can see from the Gospel today, even someone like St. John the Baptist could have his doubts, and contextually, that was because at that time, there had been plenty of false Messiahs that arose and led the people into rebellion and various uprisings against the Romans, and they all failed, since they were all false and not the true Saviour. Although St. John the Baptist had indeed seen the signs when he baptised the Lord, and he recognised Him as the Lamb of God, the Saviour, but he did still have some doubts.

If someone as dedicated and faithful as St. John the Baptist had doubt in the Lord, then all the more all of us here, who can also be filled with doubt and be swayed away from the Lord. If we do not hold firm in our faith in God, we will end up losing our faith as well as our way. That is why today, we are all reminded of the salvation and grace that God has given to us and which He has repeatedly reassured to us.

As we come ever closer to Christmas, are we ready to welcome the Lord into our hearts, into our minds and into our whole beings? Have we been welcoming to Him, and putting Him as our true Lord and Master, as the Lord and Master of all of our whole existence? If we have not done so, it is perhaps that we have allowed our fears and doubts to distract and mislead us all these while.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore use this opportunity that we have received from the Lord, to open our hearts, minds and our whole beings to the Lord, and return our focus on Him, and renew the faith that we have in Him so that our faith will not be just an empty and meaningless faith, but one that is filled with true zeal and fervour. Let us all make good use of this blessed time of Advent to rededicate ourselves to God.

May the Lord be with us and may He strengthen us in our faith, that despite all the challenges and trials, as well as the many temptations of the world, we will always stay firm in our commitment to be the followers of the Lord, all the time. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 15 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, all of us are reminded that as Christians, we have the obligation to listen to the words of the Lord, our Father and Creator, our Lord and Master, and follow Him in the examples and the truth that He had revealed to us and taught us. This is our calling as Christians, and through this time and season of Advent, we are once again reminded of this calling and obligation.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah, we heard the words of the Lord speaking of the coming of the days when Israel and all the other nations will no longer be sinful and be wicked, but will follow the Lord and obey His laws and listen to His will. The prophet spoke of the time to come when all the nations will come bearing gifts and homage to the Lord, and the descendants of Israel would no longer be disobedient and sinful.

The prophet Zephaniah lived and ministered to the people of God in the kingdom of Judah during the time and reign of the king Josiah of Judah, near the end of the era of the kingdom, and not long before the time when the Babylonians would come and destroy both Judah and Jerusalem, and exile most of its people. He ministered to the people during a pivotal moment of the people of God’s livelihood

At the time of king Josiah, there had been a temporary rejuvenation of the worship of the Lord among the people, led by king Josiah himself who courageously and enthusiastically purged the worship of the pagan idols and gods, destroyed the altars of those idols and removing the corruption of the pagan worship from the lands of Israel. Unfortunately, this period of renaissance and reform did not last long, and after king Josiah’s premature death in the Battle of Megiddo, the people reverted back to their sinful ways.

The Lord therefore reminds us through these Scripture readings that we are all called to remove from ourselves the corruption of sin, of pride and worldly desires, of greed and all the other obstacles that had prevented us from finding our way to the Lord through faith. He wants us to open our hearts and minds to Him, that we may listen to us and do what His will has led us to and guided us to. As what we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord through His parable of the two sons wants to remind us to be obedient to Him, and not just to pay Him lip service and empty faith.

The Lord wants us to know that to be obedient to Him is far more important than all the sacrifices and offerings that the people offered Him at the Temple, and to follow His ways is much better than to be a hypocrite who says one thing and profess to believe and yet, acting in a totally different manner. And this is especially true considering that at the time of the Lord’s ministry and the early Church, many among the Jewish authorities refused to believe in the Lord and continued to walk down their flawed path and hold on to their beliefs.

All these happened while many among the Gentiles, especially among the Greeks, who were drawn towards the Lord, and welcomed the Lord’s disciples into their midst. And despite persecutions and challenges that faced the Church during those years, the Church kept on growing and became stronger, as more and more people came to believe in God and many responded to the Lord’s call from among the nations.

The Lord has brought His light to the nations, and many people had seen this light and been called to be saved. But how are we responding to God’s call in our lives, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we going to be like the son in the Gospel parable, who said that he would obey and in the end never carried out or obeyed his father’s will? Or will we be the one who wants to do the father’s will?

All of us have been given the choice to walk down either the path of obedience and faith, or the path of wickedness, individualism and separation from God. All of us have been called to choose our path going forward in life, and thus, let us all discern carefully our choice and let us all rediscover that genuine faith that each and every one of us ought to have in the Lord.

May the Lord be our guide and our source of strength, and may He bless us through our respective journeys in life, especially as we journey through this blessed season of Advent. May our Advent journey be fruitful and be filled with our sincere love and devotion towards the Lord. May God bless us always, in each and every moments of our lives, and in our every good endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 14 December 2020 : 3rd 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, we heard today from the Scriptures the words of the Lord proclaiming the salvation which He has promised to His people even from long before the Saviour came into the world. In our first reading today, we heard this in the words of the holy man and servant of God named Balaam as recorded in the Book of Numbers. And in the Gospel we heard then of the confrontation between the Lord and those chief priests, Jewish authorities and teachers of the Law who refused to believe in Him and questioned His authority.

In our first reading from the Book of Numbers we heard of the blessings and good words that Balaam, a holy man and a diviner whom the king of Moab, king Balak, recruited and asked for help in cursing the people of Israel who at that time had defeated some other kings in the region and were about to pass through the lands of Moab and the eastern part of the Jordan River from the desert during their Exodus from Egypt. King Balak was an enemy of the Israelites and saw the Israelites as a great threat. He knew that Balaam was a renowned seer and diviner, and thus, wanted him to lay a curse on his enemies.

But Balaam knew God and only wanted to obey Him and follow His commands. He initially refused to go and do what king Balak wanted as it was not in accordance to God’s will. But the king constantly coerced and forced Balaam to come, and in the end, he relented, but made it clear to the king that he would only speak of what the Lord commanded him to speak and nothing else. Hence, Balaam spoke of the Lord’s intentions for His people in our first reading today, and we heard how God would bless His people wonderfully just as He has promised.

And God also revealed briefly through Balaam, of a Figure that would come in time, in the future, a great Star that would come forth from Jacob with a staff in hand, clearly referring to One Who would shepherd and lead the people of Israel, and the other nations, to be born of the children of Israel. We all know now that this refers to Christ, the Saviour of the world, born the Son and Heir of David in Bethlehem, Whose title among many was the Star of David, and a great Star also proclaimed His coming, that was seen by the Magi or the Wise Men.

As you can see, even as early as the time of the Exodus, more than a thousand years before the coming of Christ, the Lord had in fact revealed His intentions, His plans for all of us. And He reiterated all these again and again through His prophets and messengers, through whom He told His people of the coming of His salvation, and in Christ all of His promises were fulfilled. Many believed in Him and in His message, but yet there were also many who refused to believe in Him, as we heard in our Gospel passage today.

The Lord were opposed by the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the chief priests and the Jewish authorities in the Temple as He was teaching the people. They all doubted Him and questioned Him sternly on why He acted in the way that He had done. And the Lord wisely dodged the question by asking them back on whether they considered the works of St. John the Baptist to have come from God or from man.

By asking that question, the Lord exposed the sad reality that the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Jewish authorities of that time had placed their own ego and desires, their jealousy and fears above that of the truth of God. They were also disapproving and were against the works of St. John the Baptist, for if they had believed in him, then they should have believed the Lord and supported Him, not working against Him instead.

But they did not dare to offend the crowd and get into trouble, and therefore, they refrained from answering and pursuing the matter any further. This nonetheless exposed just how unfortunate and sad the state of corruption of sin even among the elders and all those who had been entrusted with the guidance and spiritual leadership over the whole people of God. All these because of our inability to reject the many temptations of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we see the contrast here between Balaam’s faith and the doubt of the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, and everything in fact boils down to the fact that we cannot both be faithful to God and indulge in our desires and all the worldly temptations of power, wealth and glory. If we allow all those to take root in us, then in time, we will be swayed further and further away from the path of the Lord.

That is why, today all of us have the perfect role model to follow as Christians, in St. John of the Cross, the great reformer of the Carmelite Order, who together with St. Teresa of Avila, helped to reform the Carmelite Order and returned it to the true and pure intentions of its original foundation as a religious order. St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila were both taken aback by the lack of spiritual discipline and the many excuses and shortcuts taken by the members of the Carmelite Order that brought in worldly corruption.

Both of them worked hard to restore spiritual discipline and to renew the Carmelite charism, that the many members of the Order may rediscover their true calling and vocation as those whom God had called and entrusted with the holiness and sanctity of their lives, as inspiration and role models for all their fellow Christian brothers and sisters as well as for many others who had not yet known God.

They encountered many difficulties and challenges throughout those many years they laboured in the reform of their Order, as well as in their contributions to the reforms that were then happening as part of the Counter-Reformation, also aimed at purifying the Church and the Christian community from the corrupting influences of the world. But they never gave up and did their best to achieve their goals, and as a result, many lives were changed by their works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been called this Advent to focus our attention on the same Star that Balaam had proclaimed all those years ago, the Star of David, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And we are all called to renew our faith in Him and to rid ourselves of the corruptions of sin, of pride, ego, desire among others. Through the examples shown by St. John of the Cross, let us all turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and conviction to live a life truly blessed by God. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 December 2020 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the occasion of Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is unique because it is a brief moment of elevated joy and rejoicing as compared to the usually more sombre and solemn Advent theme. This is because today we focus on the aspect of ‘Joy’ in Advent, continuing from the series of ‘Hope-Peace-Joy-Love’ during the Sundays of the season of Advent.

The word Gaudete Sunday came from the beginning of the Introit for this Sunday, which goes ‘Gaudete in Domino semper : iterum dico, gaudete’ which means, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.’ And this leads us to the focus of this Sunday of reminding us that while we have not celebrated fully in joy yet, as we preserve that for the upcoming Christmas, but Advent is a season of expectant joy, as we look forward to the joy of Christmas to come.

And therefore, as we are about halfway through this season of Advent, we need to ask ourselves, what is our joy in this life and what joy are we looking forward to in this season of Advent? What is the joy that we are looking towards in Christmas? Is it about the festivities, revelries and merry-making that we are surely familiar with during this period of time, when everyone are trying to outdo each other in their extravagance in celebrating Christmas?

We see how merchandises and Christmas paraphernalia are all around us, shopping malls and all sorts of places are filled to the brim with Christmas decorations. Christmas jingles and songs, promotions among many others, Santa Claus and all other familiar Christmas celebrations and perks are all around us, and we revel in all of these, often a bit too much, and we ended up focusing on the wrong joy in Christmas.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is indeed that we should rejoice in Christmas, and Christmas is all about happiness and being joyful, but not because all the gifts and parties that we are having, not because of all the celebratory moods and excessive commercialisation of Christmas that we have seen all around us. What we see are merely imitation of the true joy of Christmas, the attempt of the world to profit from the Christmas celebration for their own benefits.

That is why the secularisation and commercialisation of Christmas that we have seen all these while can prevent us from understanding the true significance, meaning and importance of Christmas to us, and prevent us from knowing the true joy of Christmas that we are looking forward to, especially in this Gaudete Sunday as we focus on the joyful aspect of our Advent waiting for Christmas.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the hopeful and joyful prophecies of the prophet Isaiah speaking of the coming of the Lord’s salvation through His Messiah or Saviour, when the Lord will send forth His grace and love to the world, and touch the world and all of His people with His great compassion and tender loving care.

And that was indeed a very strong message of hope and joy, that came at the time when the people of God were having bleak outlook of their livelihood, having endured centuries of humiliation, suffering and decline after the glorious past of the mighty days of King David and Solomon. By the time of the prophet Isaiah’s ministry, whatever remained of the kingdom of Israel was just a mere shadow of its former greatness under the aforementioned kings.

The kingdom had been divided long ago into northern and southern halves, and the northern kingdom that was composed of ten out of twelve tribes of the Israelites had been destroyed just recently then, by the Assyrians who had conquered the lands, destroyed the cities and brought the people off into exile in faraway lands in Assyria and Mesopotamia, and putting foreigners in the lands that used to be dwelled by the sons and daughters of Israel.

The southern half, the kingdom of Judah itself did not fare much better, having continually been shrinking in terms of their power and glory, subjugated by neighbours and oppressed by its enemies, and the forces of the Assyrians themselves had came up to Judah, besieged its cities, looted its countryside, and even almost managed to conquer and destroy Jerusalem, if not for the Lord’s loving intervention that saw the Assyrian armies destroyed and their king fleeing in shame back to his homeland.

Amidst all of these, we can now see just how the message of the prophecy of Isaiah was indeed like a fresh breath of life and a glimmer of beautiful hope and light in the middle of the darkness and despair that were surrounding God’s people at the time. The prophet Isaiah was calling on the people to turn towards the Lord, their Saviour and their Hope, through Whom alone they could attain true joy and happiness.

All of these prophecies were to be fulfilled in Christ, through His coming into the world, which we celebrate as Christmas. In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of St. John the Baptist, who was asked by the priests and the Pharisees who doubted him and wanted to question him on the veracity and authority of his actions. St. John the Baptist could have said that he was the Messiah, and based on his many followers, he could very well had made that claim.

Yet, St. John the Baptist was sent into this world as the Herald to proclaim the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, and he boldly proclaim that truth before all, that he was not the One they were waiting for, but just the who was sent before the One, to clear His path and to prepare and make everything ready for His coming. St. John the Baptist pointed the people towards their true hope, and the source of their true joy, Christ, the Saviour of the world.

When later on the Lord has begun His ministry and gained more and more followers, and even more than what St. John the Baptist himself had, as some of his followers began to follow the Lord Jesus instead, he was happy when his discipled asked him, that the Lord became more important and prominent than himself, and he had true joy knowing that his mission had therefore been accomplished, to show the true joy of the world to God’s people.

And this is what we have also heard being echoed in our second reading today by St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Thessalonians, saying enthusiastically that we ought to rejoice, just as the words of the Introit that inspired the name of this Gaudete Sunday said, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, and I said again rejoice!’. And St. Paul said that this is the vocation of all Christians, to be joyful and to rejoice.

But when we rejoice, it ought not to be caused by our own glory and power, our own achievements and happiness, but rather because we have found our true joy in Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, knowing that through Him we have the sure assurance of eternal life and glory, of eternal and true happiness with Him, and not the false and temporary, fleeting joy of this world.

That is the true joy of Christmas that we are looking forward to celebrate, and which we have to reflect at all times in our lives. We have to keep this joy in us, no matter how difficult and dark the situations may be. And we all know that during this year, things are very difficult and challenging for so many people, because of the pandemic that had claimed so many lives and destroyed so many livelihoods.

But we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by despair and darkness, brothers and sisters! This is exactly why we are looking forward to Christmas, because we know that, just like the people of Judah long ago, that God has always been with us, caring for us and loving us, journeying with us all these while even through our most difficult and darkest moments.

He sent us all our salvation, by sending to us His own Begotten Son, to be the Saviour of all. He is our true Joy, the Joy that we are looking forward to and are expecting in this Advent season, and we look forward to a renewed hope and joy through Him. And let us all be filled with this joy, and be generous in sharing them with one another, particularly those who have been sorrowful and downtrodden.

Let us all be genuine brothers and sisters to our fellow men and women, supporting each other through these difficult times, that no one should be left alone in sorrow and despair. Let us all look forward to a brighter future with hope, filled with peace and joy in our lives, and be full of love, both for God and for one another, at all times. May God bless us all and guide us through this journey, and may He bless our wonderful Advent observation. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 December 2020 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, commemorating the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the site of Guadalupe in what is today part of Mexico. Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most popular Marian devotions in the world and she is also the Patroness of the Americas, and is also among one of the oldest approved Marian apparitions, from long before the other ones at Lourdes and Fatima.

About five centuries ago, St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, one of the pious native converts to Christianity, whose feast day we have just celebrated three days ago, saw the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the site of the Tepeyac hill where the great Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe now stands. St. John Diego was a simple but pious peasant to whom Our Lady appeared to, revealing herself to be none other than the Mother of God.

Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared a few times to St. John Diego, asking for a church to be built at the site of her apparition in her honour. And most well known is the miracle of the tilma or cloak or mantle, which belonged to St. John Diego and on which was imprinted the image of Our Lady herself, not drawn by any human hands but miraculously appearing on the cloak after she told St. John Diego to gather rare flowers at the place she pointed out, as a sign to the local bishop.

This very mantle is still kept in the great Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, at the centre of the very popular devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe as mentioned. Certainly many lost souls had been found due to her intercession, and many others had had their faith strengthened throughout the past few centuries, and it was indeed no coincidence that she chose to appear there at the time when the Christian faith has just recently then arrived to the Americas.

All in all, today we rejoice because of the great love which our mother
Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe has for all of us, her beloved children. That she has chosen to appear multiple times throughout history and in various occasions, especially after periods of great conflicts and upheavals pointed out to the fact that she truly loves each one of us dearly, and wants us all to find our way to her Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all called to look at our loving mother, appreciating the genuine care and compassion that she has shown us. And through her, we shall find our way towards the Lord, to His salvation, grace and eternal life. Are we willing to follow the example of our blessed mother, in her commitment and faith in God, as well as in her righteous and pious life?

We are all called to reexamine our way of life throughout this Advent season that we may rediscover the true meaning of Christmas that we are all going to celebrate in just two more weeks from now, as well as the true meaning of our Christian faith. This is the perfect opportunity and time for us to rediscover our love for the Lord and to remove from ourselves all the unhealthy attachments to sin and worldly temptations.

Let us all heed our loving mother’s call, that all of us may embrace her with love and find our way to the Lord’s salvation and grace through the path that our mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe has shown us, that we may join the many others who had followed her and devoted herself to her, and through her to her Son. Let us all seek the Lord our God and have a conversion of heart and mind in this blessed season of Advent. May all of us draw ever closer to Our Lord and Saviour, and may His mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, always intercede for us sinners. Amen.

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Friday, 11 December 2020 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scripture in which we heard of the Lord reminding His people to follow His ways, to obey His laws and commandments, and not to be swayed by falsehoods and temptations to sin. The Lord wants us to walk in His path, be righteous in all things and to put our trust in His wisdom, and not in our own biased judgments and wisdom.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah of the Lord chiding and reminding His people to put their trust in Him and follow Him, rather than persisting in their stubborn attitude and refusal to follow His laws as they had done. This was a reference to how throughout the history of the people of Israel, through the time of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah right up to the time of Isaiah, had been disobedient many times.

They refused to believe in God and in His prophets, ignoring the reminders given to them on multiple occasions, and the Lord still continued to send reminders after reminders to them, regardless of how they had treated the prophets and messengers sent to them. The same stubbornness can be seen in our Gospel passage today, when we heard of the Lord Jesus and His frustrations at the people who refused to believe in Him or in His herald, St. John the Baptist.

And all of that was because they refused to let go of their ego and trust in their own power, their own intellect and capabilities. They refused to acknowledge that they could be wrong and mistaken, and that was why they judged the Lord and St. John the Baptist by their own flawed ideals and thoughts, wisdom and intellect. They hardened their hearts and minds against the truth that the Lord and His prophet had brought and revealed before them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, such is indeed the cause for mankind’s fall into sin and why so many of us have not been walking faithfully in the path that God has shown us. We have been swayed by the many temptations of the world that led us down the wrong path, in disobeying God and focusing on our selfish desires and wants. And this is why in this season of Advent, we are all called to reflect on our state and way of life.

We are all called to rethink how we have lived our lives thus far if we have been too focused and engrossed on worldly matters and temptations. Have all these brought true happiness for us? We must remember that all the pleasures of the world are merely temporary and do not provide us lasting happiness. Only in the Lord alone that we can find true joy, by entrusting ourselves in His hands.

Today, all of us can also look upon the good examples set by Pope St. Damasus I, in how he dedicated his life to the Lord as a righteous and committed Christian. Pope St. Damasus I lived at the time when the Christian faith were no longer persecuted by the Roman Empire and became increasingly adopted by many. However, during that same time, divisions and internal struggles faced the Church and threatened to bring about the downfall of many souls.

Pope St. Damasus I was an Archdeacon of Rome under the reign of Pope Liberius, and he had been quite involved in the governance of the Church since then. And when he was elected as Pope, there was also division and disagreements as an opposing party rejected his election and authority as Pope. He had to contend with those who rejected his authority as Pope and leader of the Church.

Pope St. Damasus I dedicated his life and reign as Pope with great energy, actively resisting the many heresies which at that time threatened to divide the Christian faithful, and he was influential and crucial in his efforts in compiling the Scriptural canon through St. Jerome, who compiled the Latin translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible. Through his many efforts, Pope St. Damasus I helped to steer the Church through difficult times and moments of challenges, and kept the faith in countless souls.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing to follow in the footsteps of someone so faithful like Pope St. Damasus I, dedicating our lives to the Lord rather than for our own selfish purposes, aims and desires? As we remember his faithful dedication to the Lord, we are all called to turn with all of our hearts and minds to God, especially at this time of Advent, reconsidering our path in life.

Let us all seek the Lord with a renewed zeal and faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, and harden our hearts no more. Let us all be open to welcome the Lord into our hearts, and allow Him to enter into our lives and transform us for the better. May the Lord strengthen us all, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully in His presence, now and always, forevermore. Amen.