Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Psalm 146 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Alleluia! How good it is to sing to our God, how sweet and befitting to praise Him! The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals their broken hearts and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of stars, He calls each of them by name.
The Lord is great and mighty in power; His wisdom is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/ Violet
Brethren, those who trust in the Lord shall not fail, but those who trust only in themselves, and in their own feeble human power, shall fail. Those who places their trust in the Lord shall not be disappointed. After all, have God ever disappointed us thus far? If we think that God did disappoint us at some point of time in the past, let us take some time and reflect.
We often say or think that the Lord does nothing for us, or that we became angry when we asked God for something, and yet we did not get it. We became disappointed in God and no longer put our trust in Him. Many in our world today certainly think so. That is why they prefer their own intellect and reason to the trust and faith in the Lord.
They prefer to believe in their own achievements and glories, shutting themselves from the Lord. This is just as how many people in our world becoming proud of their life achievements. I am sure you have met in your lives, people who boast of their wealth, the number of cars and credit cards that they possess, and the countless amenities they have in their homes, the comfortable lifestyle that they lead in life.
And they do not give thanks to the Lord who had blessed them with these kindness and graces. Thus, the Lord forsakes them and they have no part in the salvation that the Lord grants to all who believe in Him. If we want to be part of the Lord’s glory at the end of time, then we ought to follow Him, obey Him, and show Him our love and dedication, just as He had loved us and dedicated Himself to us.
But this is not all that is there to it. Even among us who believe and trust in the Lord, we cannot just be idle and be ignorant of the laws and precepts of the Lord. We cannot proclaim that we are the disciples and children of the Lord and yet our actions show otherwise. We cannot be hypocrites who only keep our faith in words and yet no concrete actions to support our faith.
Yes, brethren, for a faith made only with the profession of the mouth is like that of a house without firm foundations, built on the shaky sand. Once a storm and flood comes by, the weakly built home will fall down and stumble. Such are also the things that happened to many people in the world today. Their faith in God is not supported by firm and concrete actions. Their faith can even be said as to be only on paper.
That is why, many of our brethren in faith, while they confess the Lord as their God, they do not practice their faith in their daily actions. They believe in things contrary to the faith and to the laws of God. I can give you many examples of such hypocrisy. There are many who belong to the Church, and do things such as abortion, murder, lies, and many other things against the teachings of the Lord.
They are those who built their house on unstable and shaky grounds, those who are heading towards doom instead of salvation in the Lord. That is because their faith is essentially dead. We have to truly believe in what we believe, that we have a truly living and concrete faith. In that way, our house will be built on secure ground, strong and secure against any kind of obstructions or distractions.
Today, I also would like to recall something which had happened two years ago. A fellow schoolmate from my Alma Mater passed away today, exactly two years ago, at a young age of a teenager. He was a victim of violent acts, which rightly still ravage many parts of our world today. He was a good and loving person, a child of God no less. That he was taken from us because of unfortunate occurrence, served as a reminder, how, even though we have our faith in God, there are still so many things that we can do, and we need to do.
Taking the example of violence, which took away this young person’s life prematurely, we have to see that violence is a failure to achieve peace, and hatred is likewise a failure to love. We may think that, oh, that is another’s actions, why should I be bothered? And why should it have any impact on me? No, brethren, this is not the way we should think or act. That is because, any act of violence or hatred means that we have partially failed in acting and living out our faith.
I would also like to relate this to the story of Nelson Mandela, the great fighter for human rights in South Africa, who passed away just today at the age of 95. Nelson Mandela is an inspiration for all of us, brothers and sisters, because he did not condone violence and hatred, even in order to achieve his agenda, to bring equality to the African people in South Africa. He preferred ways of peace and love, that is the way of the Lord, and even though he languished for more than two decades in prison, he did not give up his ways.
Had Nelson Mandela resorted to violence and hatred, the South Africa as we know today may have been very different. Civil war, killing fields, and all others, which we saw too commonly happening in many countries, which history had been marred by violence and hatred. Instead, Nelson Mandela was respected, firstly because of his stand against the discriminatory and racist policy of Apartheid, but also because he championed the way of peace and love, exactly how we should do as well, if we are truly faithful in God. Our faith cannot remain as mere words, but have to be translated into our actions as well.
Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we pray for the souls of these departed ones, and remembering how many people in the past had faithfully been following the ways of the Lord, not only in words but also in concrete actions, let us today heed from the warnings of the Lord, on the need for us to re-orientate our lives, so that we will conform more to the teachings of the Lord. We cannot be half-hearted in our faith in God. We have to dedicate ourselves, through none other than exercising love, both for God and for our fellow mankind, in all of our actions, words, and deeds.
Profess our faith in the Lord, and show it with real action. Be wise like those who built their house on solid ground. Yes, build our house with the foundation of strong faith in God. With God as our base and foundation, we shall never falter. God is always with us. May God shine His graces upon us, bless us, and make us prosper beyond our imagination, and strengthen our faith in Him, now and forever. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord provides and He cares. He is our loving Father, the One who protects and blesses His children. That is what we witness today in the Gospel, where Jesus feed the four thousand men, not counting women and children. He fed them out of His love for us. He knows that the people hunger for His love and for His words and teachings, but He is also aware of their biological need for food, as they devoted themselves so much to Him that they followed Him for days without providing for themselves.
Is there anyone with such love for us? Not only that He cared for us, He even gave His own life in sacrifice for us, that we may live. Indeed just like a shepherd who cares for his sheep and gave his life to them to protect them. He prepares for us a feast everlasting, that we will not want anything again, because He provides for us and feed us food that will never end.
He gave us food, but not just the loaves of bread and the fish that He had given the four thousand men, and women and children. He gave us His own flesh and blood to eat and drink, the Food that sustains us without end. We receive them and be fulfilled. He came into us and dwell within us, and we are marked as His possessions.
We have been well fed by the Lord, and well provided for. But how many of us remember to give thanks to Him? How many of us actually even spurn His offer of kindness and love? The Lord gave us so much, and yet we are often ungrateful. And especially that He had given His own life for ours, to take us out from the realm of death.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. John Damascene, a pious and holy saint, who lived in turbulent times, at the region known today as Syria, which was under the rule of the Christian Roman Empire, but fell to the hands of the pagan and evil Muslim forces, who proceeded to conquer much of the then known world. St. John of Damascus however persevered on and remained faithful to the Lord, and was still in the employ of the Muslim rulers just as he was in the governance of the land during the Christian Roman times.
St. John of Damascus was a learned man who wrote extensively and published many writings, songs, hymns, and many other riches of the faith, many of which are known to us even today. He was firm in his faith and never wavered even once. He put his full trust and faith in the Lord who has provided for him, cared for him, and loved him even unto death.
St. John of Damascus was particularly fierce in his defense of the true faith, when the Roman Emperor, the secular head of Christendom, erred in his views on the faith, adhering to the heresy of iconoclasm. This was when the belief that the Lord should not be represented in graven images spread wildly, likely to be influenced by Islamic beliefs, especially on their mistaken outlook on the Lord, in their misguided ways. They smashed images of the Lord and His saints and persecuted those who believe in the true faith.
St. John of Damascus did not make any compromises on the faith, and keep firmly in the true and orthodox faith, despite the resistance and even threats from the Emperor himself. St. John of Damascus feared not human power and opposition in his love and total dedication for the Lord who loved him and fed him with grace.
Eventually the true faith won, and many souls were saved from damnation by the efforts of St. John of Damascus and many other holy people, the disciples of the Lord who kept true faith in God, the same God who fed the four thousand men, living and burning in the heart of many. To them, the Lord is real, and He is real in Jesus, who was God incarnate into Man, the One who came to save all mankind and bring them to perfect reunion with God.
For the Lord Himself gave us His own flesh and blood, His own Body and His own Blood, for us to consume, that each of us share in His presence and in His being, that He dwells from then on within each one of us, without exception. That was the reality of our faith, the reality of Jesus, the Son of God who lowered Himself to become one of us, and yet still full of divine perfection and love, for the compassion He felt for the hungry people, those who hunger both for food, and for the spiritual food of the Word of God He provided, is truly great.
For there is no love greater than the love that Jesus our Lord has for each one of us, and this is what we have to realise, brothers and sisters in Christ. And that was what drove St. John of Damascus to fight on for the truth, because of God’s everlasting and undying love. For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only Son, that all those who believe in Him will not die, but will enjoy life eternal.
Therefore, brethren in Christ, let us today, and from now on, renew our resolve to love the Lord, and to seek Him to the best of our abilities. We should not turn away from the love and grace that God poured for us in His care and compassion towards us. Instead, let us face Him and look upon His heart, a heart filled with love for us.
And of course, brethren, do not forget to share that love with one another, that all of us may enjoy together, the love of our Lord, the perfect love He had shown through Jesus, through His feeding of the people, and ultimately, through His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus, be with us, always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we begin the first of the weekdays of Advent, and appropriately, as we prepare for the coming of Christ, we are reminded on our humanity, and our frailty, one which needs help from the Lord. We heard this from the story from the Gospel, where Jesus healed the servant of the army captain, and the humility and faith of the captain, which he showed in all sincerity before Jesus.
We are all definitely too familiar with the words that the army captain had said, “I am not worthy that You, the Lord, should enter under my roof.” That is the statement that we always recite and repeat all over and over again every time we celebrate the Mass, just after the Agnus Dei, or the Lamb of God hymn. The other statement, “But only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” is certainly also a very familiar phrase to all of us, as this phrase is also used at the same time with the previous phrase.
These phrases were the words that the captain had said to Jesus, after he asked Him to heal his ailing servant, and he turned to no other help but Jesus the Lord. To some, the initial reaction of hearing these words would be that of detesting the captain’s arrogance. Some may even say, ‘How dare this captain say these things to the Lord when He had agreed to come and heal the ailing servant of the captain?’
This is our natural response, but we have to look beyond the surface into the true meaning of those words the captain had uttered. The captain in fact had so much faith in the Lord Jesus, that he knew even if Jesus did not come physically into his home, He, as the Lord of all and Almighty God has the power to heal his servant at that moment even there, where the two of them were far away from the captain’s home. Such was the faith of the captain, that he believed completely in Jesus without question.
But that is not all that there is in the faith and devotion of the captain. The captain’s response to the Lord also showed the quality and the truth about his faith and devotion. Not only that he is devoted to the Lord and placed his full trust in Jesus, but that he showed great humility and understanding of his own unworthiness as he sought the Lord for help with his servant.
All of us are sinners, brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all sinners ever since our ancestors first disobey the instructions and the will of the Lord, but we are not lost. Our Father and Lord loves us still, and He proved that to us by sending Jesus His own Son to us. Yet, many of us still deny our sinfulness and turn our back to the salvation which Christ has offered us freely.
That is how Christ praised the faith of the army captain. He may be an army captain, and to many people of his time, he may not be seen as someone who will do good deeds or have faith in God. Worse still, the army captain, as it was during the dominion of the Roman Empire, may well be a Roman centurion. And the people of Israel looked at them with disdain, treating them as pagans and unworthy of salvation.
Yet, you knew what happened. Jesus praised the faith of the army captain, not just because of his total dedication, but also because of his humility, a great humility indeed, to realise his sinfulness and unworthiness, to the point of saying it publicly that he was not worthy to have the Lord at his home. And compare this to the faith of the Pharisees, as you all notice that they are the ones considered holy and pious by the people. Yet, they were arrogant and proud, disdaining the sinful while not realising that they themselves were sinful too.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, now we all know the meaning of the words we always say at the Mass. From now on, every time we say those words the captain had once said, let us remember the faith of the captain, and also try to emulate the faith he had. We have to be aware of our own sins and unworthiness, while at the same time, trying our best to dedicate ourselves to the Lord without being taken in by the temptations of the evil one.
May the Lord who rewarded those faithful to Him, also reward us in the same way, and that we may realise the depth and gravity of our sinfulness, and therefore strive to draw ever closer to the Lord our God, seeking His generous mercy and love, that we may strive to be more like Him, and aspire to reach the heavenly glory that He had promised us. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 121 : 1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5, 6-7, 8-9
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the House of the Lord!” And now we have set foot within your gates, o Jerusalem!
Jerusalem, just like a city, where everything falls into place! There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, the assembly of Israel.
To give thanks to the Lord’s Name. There stand the courts of justice, the offices of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : “May those who love you prosper! May peace be within your walls and security within your citadels!”
For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be with you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord, I will pray for your good.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 121 : 1-2, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” And now we have set foot within your gates, o Jerusalem!
There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, the assembly of Israel, to give thanks to the Lord’s Name. There stands the courts of justice, the offices of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : “May those who love you prosper! May peace be within your walls and security within your citadels!”
For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be with you!” For the sake of the house of our Lord, I will pray for your good.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5
The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.
No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the kingdom of God is near, and it is approaching! Yes, that is the key message of the readings, especially that of the Gospel we heard today. And indeed, the kingdom of God is already here, with us, and dwelling in us. This is precisely as Christ had proclaimed to the people of the coming of His kingdom.
In the first reading, we heard about how Daniel showed his vision of the end of times, in which the Lord revealed to him of the difficult times that would come to the people of God. The beast was known to be the infamous Greek king, Antiochus Epiphanes, ruler of the Seleucid Empire, about one and a half centuries before the birth of Christ.
And that beast, king Antiochus, persecuted the people of God, those who still keep up their faith and devotion to the One, True God. The evil king enforced pagan rules and rites on the people, and many people apostatised their faith out of fear for punishment and death. The Temple and House of the Lord in Jerusalem was desecrated and made into a house of pagans.
Suffering was great at that time, under the reign and tyranny of the evil king, the loathsome beast on the horn, the one seen by Daniel. The people who kept their faith were tortured, imprison, and met their end in painful death. They were forced by the king to disobey the laws of God and to commit acts profane in the Lord’s eyes. Yet, there are many who resisted, and preferred death to disobedience.
But the Lord did not just leave His people in suffering without help or hope. For He raised the deliverance of the people through the Maccabees, who fought empowered by God’s providence and eventually liberated the people from the tyranny of the evil king Antiochus. The king himself was punished with painful death, with excruciating pain and endless suffering till the end of his life. That was when the beast in the vision of Daniel was punished and destroyed by the power of God.
That is a foreshadowing of the events that is to come, and I am sure you are all familiar with the Book of Revelation by St. John the Evangelist. For the devil too will, in much the same way, persecute the faithful ones, swaying many people to his side in rebellion against the Lord, in one final and futile attempt to defy the Lord’s will.
Jesus, the Messiah and Saviour of all mankind, will come at the end of time, in order to bring all creation towards Himself, and make everything good once again. The devil and all his followers, and all the filths and taints of sin He will destroy and cast into the lake of eternal fire, in damnation. Jesus who had once come into this world as the Son of Man, to suffer and die for our sins, will come again at the end of time as a victorious and triumphant King.
Jesus is the Son of Man seen by Daniel in His vision, the promised One who is given dominion over all things, including over us mankind. For, ever since we have rebelled against God through our forefathers’ sins, the devil who is lord of all evil has dominion, power and authority over us. In order to free us from our bondage to the evil one, a pure and unblemished sacrifice for the purification of our sins.
That is when Jesus came, as the Son of Man, the long promised Messiah. He was prophesied by the many prophets and servants of God throughout the ages. The Lord Jesus brought forth with Him, the salvation of mankind. Jesus revealed the great plan that God had crafted for the sake of our salvation. And He too revealed the imminent coming of the kingdom of God as I had mentioned.
Why did Jesus say that the kingdom is coming soon? And why did He mention that the generation would not pass before the coming of the kingdom? That is because, the kingdom of God was ushered into the world, and to all of us, precisely by a single important moment in the history of our world. That is none other than the sacrifice, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Himself. Through this singular event, the kingdom of God appears and is present to all of us, even today.
It is through the selfless and perfect sacrifice of our Lord that we receive this new life and the hope of salvation. Before the death and resurrection of Jesus, there is no hope for us mankind, but with the death and resurrection of Jesus, a new hope had dawned. That is the kingdom of God made manifest into this world. And, the Lord Himself gave freely to all of us, His own flesh and blood, just as He gave them to His disciples at the Last Supper.
Remember the words of Jesus, that all those who eat the bread that is the Body of the Lord, and drink the wine that is the Blood of the Lord, will not die but live forever. That is because the Lord Himself, in His Most Holy Presence in the bread and wine we partake, comes and dwells in each one of us. Each of us essentially become the House of the Most High God, and consequently, we are all experiencing the kingdom of God, even now, in ourselves.
Yes, brethren, for we have received the Lord in the Eucharist, and consequently, our lives too have been transformed to mirror that of the kingdom of God. We are experiencing the kingdom even as we live day by day. And that is also the reason, why even though our lives will be difficult, and challenges scattered on our path, we should not be worried. The Lord Himself guides us along the way, and we ought to follow Him all the way to the end.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why, today onwards, let us uphold our faith in Christ and proudly walk forth as the children of God, and as His disciples. Do not fear evil and his forces, and rather, let us do our best to obey the will of God. May the Lord continue to guide us, provide for us, and help us so that we will eventually reach the glory of heaven, when the Lord Jesus comes again in His glorious Second Coming. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Daniel 3 : 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81
Mountains and hills, praise and exalt Him forever.
Everything that sprouts on the earth, praise and exalt Him forever.
Springs of water, praise and exalt Him forever.
Seas and rivers, praise and exalt Him forever.
Whales and fishes, praise and exalt Him forever.
All the birds of heaven, praise and exalt Him forever.
Animals wild and tame, praise and exalt Him forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Daniel 7 : 2-14
Daniel said, “I saw the following in my vision : the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea, and four great beasts, each one different from the other, came out of the sea.”
“The first was like a lion with eagle’s wings. As I looked at it, its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, stood up on its feet like a man, and was given a human heart. The second was a beast like a bear; it was raised up on one side and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told : Go and devour much flesh.”
“I went on looking and saw another beast like a leopard with four wings on its back; it had four heads and dominion was given to it. I continued seeing my visions of the night and saw a terrible fourth beast. It was fearful and extraordinarily strong; it had great iron teeth; it ate, tore into pieces, and crushed underfoot whatever remained.”
“It was different from the previous beasts and had ten horns. I was looking at the horns, when another small horn sprang among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots to make way for the new. It had eyes like human eyes and a mouth that uttered insolent words.”
“I looked and saw the following : Some thrones were set in place and One of Great Age took His seat. His robe was white as snow, His hair white as washed wool. His throne was flames of fire with wheels of blazing fire. A river of fire sprang forth and flowed before Him. Thousands upon thousands served Him and a countless multitude stood before Him.”
“Those in the tribunal took their seats and opened the book. But as I remembered the haughty words of the horn with human eyes and mouth which I had seen before, this animal was killed before my eyes, and its body destroyed and cast into the fire.”
“Dominion was taken from the other animals, though they were allowed to stay alive for a time, until the fixed time. I continued watching the nocturnal vision : One like a Son of Man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into His presence.”
“Dominion, honour, and kingship were given Him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served Him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; His kingdom will never be destroyed.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 