compassion

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Thursday, 11 December 2014 : Second 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 it was told to us about the great help and grace that we can gain in the Lord our God, who is our Help and our Saviour. He is willing to make us great and give us much blessings, provided that we allow Him to come into ourselves and transform our lives for the better. If we allow Him to make a difference in our lives, then all that we do will be great and successful, for no one that does the will of God shall go unrewarded.

In the Gospel today, our Lord Jesus told His disciples about John the Baptist, who is the messenger sent by God, the prophet and servant who would prepare the way for His own entry into the world. John was indeed Elijah the prophet, who was taken up into heaven by God at the end of his first ministry, on flaming chariots as witnessed by Elisha, his disciple and successor. The same Elijah then, as prophesied, came again into the world in John the Baptist.

Elijah was a great prophet, and in him the grace and power of God was truly evident. He healed many people from their afflictions, performed many miracles, feeding and providing for the widow of Zarephath, and even brought dead people back to life. He made flames to fall down from the Lord onto his sacrifice when the pagans and the Baal worshippers contested him at the mount Carmel.

All these miracles and wonders were the sign of divine favour and blessing, which He bestowed on all those whom He had sent into the world to be His servants and messengers, and also to all those who live uprightly and justly in the presence of our God. The same spirit and power bestowed upon Elijah, was therefore also bestowed on John the Baptist, who then called the people of God to repentance, much as Elijah had once laboured to bring the people of God back from their past sinfulness.

That was why Jesus mentioned John in such a way, that he is indeed greater than any who came before him, and yet, at the same time, he as the servant, is not greater than his own Master, who would come after him, in Jesus Christ. But the readings today, particularly the Gospel, are indeed not about comparing one to the other, not about comparing John the Baptist and Jesus our Lord, for it is truly a lesson of who we should be and how we should act, as the disciples of Christ.

It is a lesson and reminder of humility, the humility of both John the Baptist and ultimately, of Jesus Himself. John the Baptist was bestowed with great power and authority, and yet, he humbled himself before God greatly, proclaiming publicly that he is not the Messiah, and how he would not even be worthy to untie the straps of the sandals of His Lord. When more and more people flocked to Jesus and followed Him instead of John, he was happy, and truly pleased, that with the words we should indeed reflect on, ‘He shall increase, while I shall decrease.’

And Jesus, we knew that He is God, and being the Son, He is equal with God the Father and Almighty in all things. However, as St. Paul mentioned in his letter to the Philippians, that He does not dwell on that equality as something to be grasped. But rather, He lowered Himself and assumed the nature of a servant, and in that humility, He was exalted and His Name is glorified above every other names (Philippians 2 : 6-11).

As we can see, that our Lord is good and great, and He has done so much in order to help us attain our freedom from the slavery of sin and to gain the eternal life promised to us. However, many of us are unable to obtain this, because our pride often stands in our way. Pride prevents us from acknowledging our sinfulness and our corruption, and that is why we are often reluctant to seek the Lord, because we either think that we do not need Him, or that we are thinking to highly of ourselves to stoop down to acknowledge our shortcomings.

Today we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope of Rome and Leader of the entire Universal Church. Pope St. Damasus I was born at a time just after the ending of the persecution of the Faith, and grow during a time when the Faith increasingly become accepted as the norm in the late Roman Empire, until it eventually became the official and only Faith of the Empire.

Pope St. Damasus I was elected Pope at a time of great turbulance. Although the Faith has become increasingly firm and rooted in the world, and more and more accepted the Faith, but conflict and divisions arose more and more frequently, endangering the unity and the works of the Church. Clashes and riots accompanied the papal election that elected Pope St. Damasus I, because of rival candidates and infighting in the Church, which caused great pain to the faithful.

Pope St. Damasus I was not elected as the Successor of St. Peter without opposition or difficulty, but nevertheless, he carried out faithfully the duties and responsibilities which had been given to him. He was very firm against heresies and all the aberrations of the Faith, and he stood to condemn all those who had misled the people of God for their own benefits.

He worked hard in conjunction with many other great saints and fathers of the Church, including St. Jerome and St. Basil of Cappadocia. Pope St. Damasus I continued to dedicate himself faithfully in the service of God and His Church, and despite his position, he remained always humble and devoted to the cause which he had been called in service to. Through his dedication, he brought forth much good for the people of God, and helped the works of so many other saints at the time, building up further the foundation of the Church of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we not walk in the footsteps of Pope St. Damasus I? Shall we humbly go our way and seek the Lord in all things, and especially seek Him for His forgiveness for our transgressions? Let us no longer be stubborn and put our pride aside, so that our Lord may come into us, and transform us into peoples of goodness. May Almighty God, our Lord, be with us all, and make us to be like His faithful servant, Pope St. Damasus I and bring goodness to one another, the people of God, His Church. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-gospel-reading/

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Thursday, 11 December 2014 : Second Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Psalm 144 : 1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab

I will extol You, my God and King; I will bless Your Name forever. 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; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Thursday, 11 December 2014 : Second Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Isaiah 41 : 13-20

For I, YHVH, your God, take hold of your right hand and say to you : “Fear not, I am your assistance.” Fear not, Jacob, poor worm, and you, people of Israel, so frail. I am your Redeemer, says YHVH, the Holy One of Israel, your Helper.

I will make you a thresher, new and with sharp double teeth : you will thresh hills and mountains, crushing them and reducing them to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will carry them off and the storm will scatter them. But you will rejoice in YHVH and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The poor and the afflicted seek water, and find none. Their tongues are parched with thirst. But I, YHVH, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open up streams over the barren heights and let the rivers flow through all the valleys; I will turn the desert into lakes and brooks and the thirsty earth into a land of springs.

I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle and the olive; I will plant in the wasteland fir, cypress and pine – that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of YHVH has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Wednesday, 10 December 2014 : Second Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen to the Lord our God, who is our Strength, our Provider in everything we need, and as a Father who loves us all as His beloved children. He will not abandon us without help or ignore us when we have need in us. That is how much God had loved us, and indeed He continues to love us from day to day.

Indeed, to follow God does not mean that it will be easy and like a simple walk along the pond. To follow the Lord means to face the challenges and the suffering which will inevitably come upon our way if we choose to side with the Lord and become His disciples. We know that the ways of the Lord are opposite from the ways of this world, as the world itself is the dominion of Satan, the evil one, filled with sin and darkness since the beginning of the world and the fall of mankind.

Just as Satan had done all he could to subvert mankind to his cause, and laid many obstacles in the path of God’s plan of salvation for mankind, by plotting against the servants and messengers of God with the people themselves, whom he set against the prophets and the disciples of the Lord. Thus the lamentation of Jesus against Jerusalem, which represented His people, how they had slaughtered the prophets and messengers sent to them to remind them to change their ways of sin.

Satan himself tried to tempt Jesus and tried to stop His works to fulfill God’s plan to save mankind, that is to liberate us all from his yoke, the yoke that Satan had placed on us, that is sin. Yes, in the Gospel today, God spoke about His yoke, which He encouraged us all to take up, in place of the yoke which we currently have. Yes, the yoke of sin which burdened us up to now, and still burdens us even today and will be for tomorrow and beyond if we do nothing about it.

Why did Jesus mention that His yoke is light and that we will find rest in Him? That is because sin is a yoke that is truly sinister. This yoke which had enslaved us from the day when Satan tempted our ancestors, Adam and Eve, the first of men, to sin against God, was truly a yoke and a chain which tied us to Satan, our tyrannical oppressor, and yet, sin at the same time is also in a way, enjoyable and preferable for many of us, and many of us, liked this yoke.

Why is this so? That is because the yoke of sin strikes directly at our human desires and wishes. Just as Satan played into our ancestors’ desire and curiosity, the curiosity for knowledge that made them to sin, and indeed, to grow even stronger in desire. For mankind by nature, our nature, is hard to be satisfied, and Satan knows this very well. That is why, he continues to feed our desire, giving us temptations after temptations to keep us enslaved to him.

But our Lord Jesus Christ had come into this world as the culmination of God’s plan to liberate us from this sinister burden and yoke. He had delivered us from the yoke of Satan into a new life filled with goodness, through His loving sacrifice and death on the cross, and by His rising from the dead into glory. He offered us all a new life, a life of salvation in God, one free from the yoke of sin. For the yoke of sin leads to nothing else other than eternal death. Hell is our destination if we remain chained to sin.

However, to many of us, the life in Christ seems to be difficult, for the Lord indeed does not hide from us the truth about what will happen to us if we are to follow Him and become His disciples. Certainly, Satan will not be pleased with us being released from his slavery and bondage, and he will do all that he can, just like the Pharaoh of Egypt of old trying to regain his former slaves, the Israelites.

And just as the Pharaoh had his chariots and armies to chase after the Israelites during the Exodus, thus Satan also had his means and powers of this world in order to harass us with, and he will indeed not rest before he catches all of us. But he has no power over us, brethren, for if we remember the Israelites and Moses, we know that God delivered them from the hands of the Pharaoh, with His own mighty power and deeds.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, in this season of Advent, let us all be awakened from our deep slumber in the darkness of this world, and be awakened to the light of Christ, which dispels all lies and temptations, and reveal to us the true ugly nature of sin. This Advent therefore is a perfect opportunity for all of us to start over anew and prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord.

Let us all sin no more and reject the yoke of Satan, and in exchange of that, we should take up the yoke of Christ, who will give us eternal life and joy at the end of our journey. Indeed, the journey and path will be difficult, but nothing is impossible if we keep strong our faith in the Lord and adhere ourselves closely to Him. May this Advent therefore be a good time for us to reevaluate our lives and find our way to the Lord, our loving God and Father. Amen.

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/09/wednesday-10-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/09/wednesday-10-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/09/wednesday-10-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 10 December 2014 : Second Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Isaiah 40 : 25-31

To whom, then, will you liken Me or make Me equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see : who has created all this? He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name. So mighty is His power, so great His strength, that not one of them is missing.

How can you say, o Jacob, how can you complain, o Israel, that your destiny is hidden from Me, that your rights are ignored by YHVH? Have you not known, have you not heard that YHVH is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, His knowledge is without limit.

He gives strength to the enfeebled, He gives vigour to the wearied. Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in YHVH will renew their strength. They will soar as with eagle’s wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/09/wednesday-10-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Tuesday, 9 December 2014 : Second Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the Lord who is our Shepherd and Guide. We heard about how the Lord loves us so much, that He uses all in His power to look for us and search for us, His lost sheep, who had wandered into the darkness of this world. He wants us not to die, but to live with Him forever in glory, and to receive the joyous inheritance which He had intended for us from the beginning of time.

Yes, we mankind were not meant to suffer terribly in this world and to suffer the ignominy and pain of death, but we have sinned and therefore, those sufferings and death became a part of us, as the punishments for our sins. Yet, the Lord our loving God and Father desires that all of us be freed from this punishment, by the turning of our hearts and bodies away from all those sins and back into the embrace of the Lord.

He does not want us to be lost anymore, and He desires for us to be found and to be safeguarded through His Son, Jesus Christ, who came into this world as one of us, to suffer pain and death, which are the just punishments for the sins we commit, bearing all of them upon Himself, so that we who believe in Him, will no longer suffer those consequences, but through our faith in Him, we may be brought to our everlasting joy in Christ.

The first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah was from the prophecies of Isaiah the prophet, who lived during the latter years of the southern kingdom of Judah, hundreds of years after the division of the original kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of David and Solomon. The people of God had been scattered since then, each finding their own way, and each following their own pagan gods, the gods of their neighbours, and forgot all about the Lord, committing all sorts of wickedness and evil.

That is why God was angry at them, for not following His ways and for walking down the path of sin. Yet, He still loves them and wants them saved. That was why He sent them many helpers and reminders, through the prophets and leaders He had made and appointed throughout time. He showed His power and love to His people, and yet, many of them were still lost in the midst of the darkness of the world.

Yes, our Lord has given us many opportunities and chances to turn our lives from one filled by sin, into one that is filled with the grace and blessings of our Lord. This Advent is a time for preparation, the preparation of our soul, our mind, our heart and our body for the eventual coming of the Lord. Advent is a time of expectation, of waiting for the glorious coming of our Lord, who will come to deliver us from this world of darkness.

What is then, our response? Are we to accept His offer of mercy and forgiveness, or are we to continue living in sin, ignoring Him and His love? It is indeed more difficult for us to do the former than the latter. It is easy to continue to live as we have lived, to embrace human desires, possessions, material goods, greed, lust and all other human emotions and the temptations of the flesh and soul, but it is difficult to live according to the ways of the Lord.

But if we give in to the world and all its temptations, then we shall be lost forever to the darkness of this world, and we will be forever lost to our Lord. Without our Lord, we are nothing, and we will end up with nothing, no matter how much we possess in this world. Instead, the way for us is to welcome Him with open hands and open mind, allowing Him to come into our lives to transform us from beings of darkness to the children of the Light.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, or also known in his original Spanish name, St. Juan Diego, the very first saint from the New World, then part of the Spanish America, in what is now Mexico. He was an Aztec, who was converted to the true Faith when the Spanish came to the New World in the early sixteenth century. After he was baptised St. John Diego lived a very pious and holy life, devoted to the Lord in all things.

He changed his ways from the ways of the old worldly things, abandoning human greed and desire, and instead, seeking the fullness of the Lord’s love and grace, devoting himself completely to the Faith he had found after having lived for a long time in the darkness of ignorance of the Lord. And for that, he was blessed to be given the opportunity to witness a great apparition of the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, who appeared to him at the place now known as the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe.

Through St. John Diego, the Blessed Mother Mary requested that a chapel be built at the site of the apparition, so that through her, many would be able to be helped in finding their way to the Lord, and therefore be saved. The bishop was skeptical at first, looking down at St. John Diego and his low background, but after the insistence of Mary and through a sign, the Blessed Mother Mary left her image as an imprint with flowers in St. John Diego’s cloak, also known as tilma in the local language, which from then on became the centre of veneration, of what is now known as our Lady of Guadalupe.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, through the example of the life and actions of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, we can see that God has called us back to His love, and if we do so, then He can transform our lives, from a life filled with sin, into one that is filled with holiness, hope and also grace for others. St. John Diego found a new lease of life in God, and through his newfound devotion, he brought the grace of God, presented through Mary His mother, for countless souls who were then saved because of that.

In the same way therefore, we too should follow his footsteps, and walk in the ways of the Lord, courageously and fearlessly becoming His witnesses, and in that way, we will be richly rewarded with grace and blessings when He comes again. Therefore, brethren, this Advent, let us make best use of the time to prepare ourselves and to be ready. Deepen our devotion to our Lord, and also to His Blessed Mother Mary, who is our greatest ally against the darkness of the world.

Let us all embrace the Lord, our Good Shepherd, who wants us His lost sheep to return to Him and be found forever in His loving embrace. St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin and our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us sinners, that we may come to realise the depth and gravity of our sins, and thus seek ways to be closer to our Lord Jesus, to be saved and to be prepared for His second coming into the world in glory. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/08/tuesday-9-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-diego-cuauhtlatoatzin-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/08/tuesday-9-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-diego-cuauhtlatoatzin-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/08/tuesday-9-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-diego-cuauhtlatoatzin-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 8 December 2014 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a great and joyful day, a great solemnity and celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the dogma of which had been promulgated by Blessed Pope Pius IX and confirmed just a few years later by the visions of St. Bernadette Soubirous at the now famous Marian site of Lourdes in France.

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is about the fact that because Mary is the mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the Word of God and the Son incarnate into flesh through the Blessed Virgin, hence it is only fitting that because Christ is pure and without the taint of sin, being God of all goodness, then Mary, His mother, who bore Him in her womb for nine whole months, be made equally pure as well, so that she, as the vessel of the Holy Presence of God, is also without sin.

Thus, this is the meaning of the Immaculate Conception, immaculate which means pure and free from sin, and then conception, the moment when a baby, a human being is formed in the womb of the mother. This means that Mary has been prepared and created in such a way that set her apart from all other men, because while all other men were born with the ties of original sin, the original sin of Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, from the mark of their first disobedience against God, Mary was set free from that bond of sin.

Just as the first woman disobeyed the Lord and sinned, and therefore brought evil into the world and into the hearts of men, then the new woman, Mary, is full of grace and free from sin from her moment of conception, and she obeyed the Lord completely, following all of God’s commandments and lived righteously. Therefore, through her, God was willing to grant His blessings and graces to mankind, that is none other than the gift of His own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And just as the first men had sinned, and therefore brought the just punishment for sins to mankind, that is death, then through the new Man, born from the new woman, Mary, through His perfect obedience and love for the Lord God His Father, and through His suffering and love for us unto death, death on the cross, and by rising from the dead, He had gained for us a new life in God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, even as we await the coming of our Lord and as we continue our preparation for His coming in this holy season of Advent, we also celebrate with joy and great hope, the culmination of the long-planned plan of God’s salvation for all of His beloved people, that is all of us. Ever since mankind first sinned against God and fell into the darkness, He had made known what He planned to do, in order to save us from certain death.

He cursed Satan, the snake, for his involvement in tempting mankind to rebel against God and follow their own desires, which is a trait that we continue to carry on even until this day, a vestige of what happened that day in the gardens of Eden. He also punished men, both men and women for their disobedience. They had to suffer the consequences of sin, and that consequence, is death. That is why all mankind are mortals, destined to one day die, although indeed, we were not meant for death when we were created by God.

If we are therefore, able to overcome sin, then we will be able to transcend our fate that is death. And that is exactly what our Lord Jesus had come into this world to prove, and through His own mother too, both of whom were conceived without sin, and remained without sin thereafter. He is because He is God who is all good, and even though Jesus was fully Man, He was also fully Divine at the same time, and thus sin have no place in Him.

He was tested and tempted in every way possible, but He obeyed the Lord and the will of His Father to the fullest. And even at His most vulnerable during the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was tempted terribly to let the suffering of the cross pass from Him, but He remained completely faithful to the mission entrusted to Him. As the new Adam, therefore, He began a new beginning for mankind, where through obedience to God’s will, He had brought life to mankind, and in Him lies the hope of victory and final triumph against death and evil.

For Mary, His mother, as I have mentioned, she too overcame the power of sin, remaining holy, pure and immaculate throughout her life. Despite the great burden and responsibility placed on her, when she heard the Good News of the Archangel Gabriel, that she was to be the Mother of the Saviour and Lord, she accepted it with full faith and confidence in God, putting God’s will first before that of hers.

Today’s feast is a kind reminder to all of us, that through Mary and her example of faith, and also through the faith showed by her Son, Jesus Christ, we can be freed from our attachment to sin, and also to gain for ourselves the salvation which has been promised to us. Indeed, we may think that because Mary had been set aside by God, to be without sin for her role, then it may be impossible for us to do as she had done, but have we ever thought, brothers and sisters, that we too, have been called to the same mission as her?

Mary bore our Lord Jesus in her womb for nine months, and in this way, she became the new Ark of the Covenant, for the new covenant which Jesus was to make with all mankind, was in her, and for that purpose she had been made holy and pure. It is because she is also the Temple of God, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, for as the Archangel mentioned, the Holy Spirit itself would dwell in her, and bore the Christ Incarnate in her.

How about us then? We who have been baptised in Christ, and also confirmed in the Lord, have received the Holy Spirit, and through the Most Holy Eucharist, which is our Lord’s very own Body and Blood, we have received Christ Himself into us. Therefore, the Lord dwells in us, in a way very much the same as Mary had Him inside of her. What is it for us then? What does it mean to us?

That means, just as the Lord had set her to be special by preparing her, to be immaculate without sin ever since she was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, we too must be without sin, for the Lord is in us! Remember what our Lord Jesus told His disciples and what St. Paul further affirmed in his writings? That we are all the Temples of the Holy Spirit, for God dwells in us, and we in Him. If we allow sin, wickedness and fornication to be in us, be it in flesh or in spirit, then we have defiled this Holy Temple, and as I have said, the price for sin, is none other than death.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is imperative that we take this opportunity presented to us, in the holy season of Advent, a season of preparation and contemplation, to think about our way of life, so that we may abhor sin and avoid committing anymore sin in the future. Keep our lives in the Lord and listen to Him speaking in our hearts, by strengthening our prayer and spiritual life, so that He may guide us in the true path, and that we may not fall into the temptation of Satan. Jesus prayed a lot and He always sought to communicate with His Father, and that is an example we should follow too.

May our Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, born and conceived without sin, pure and immaculate, pray for us all sinners, that we may be given new strength and courage by God, to live this life faithfully without sin, and seek the Lord always in our life. God bless is all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/06/monday-8-december-2014-solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/06/monday-8-december-2014-solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-psalm/

 

Second Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/06/monday-8-december-2014-solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-second-reading/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/06/monday-8-december-2014-solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 8 December 2014 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 1 : 3-6, 11-12

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, who in Christ has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing. God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us in love to be His adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving kindness which He granted us in His Beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

By a decree of Him who disposes all things according to His own plan and decision, we, the Jews, have been chosen and called, and we were awaiting the Messiah, for the praise of His glory.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/06/monday-8-december-2014-solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Monday, 8 December 2014 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3bc-4

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/06/monday-8-december-2014-solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 7 December 2014 : Second Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we continue through the second Sunday of the Advent season, and we go deeper into the preparation we are carrying out this Advent, to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today’s readings serve as a further reminder of the eventual coming of our Lord in triumph, just as He had once come into the world as one of us, as Jesus Christ the Son of Man.

Today’s readings spoke about the servant and messenger of God’s will, John the Baptist, the one who was sent by God ahead of Himself, to prepare the way for His coming and to prepare the people so that when He Himself came, they would be ready and more prepared to listen to His message and be called to salvation. This in itself, also carries the same meaning of ‘preparation’ which Advent is truly about, the preparation for the coming of Christ.

We can see that the Lord had planned everything well in advance, and indeed, the coming of John the Baptist had been prophesied long earlier by the prophet Isaiah and the other prophets, who spoke of him as the second coming of the prophet Elijah into this world, and as God’s messenger to open up His path. Indeed, John the Baptist had been prepared for this mission from the very beginning, just as his conception and birth was special.

The prophet Elijah, if we read the Old Testament in the Book of Kings, was the faithful servant of God and prophet, who strived to bring the people of God who had erred in their ways and rebelled against the Lord, to return to the way of the Lord and be reconciled to Him. The authorities, the kings of Israel and their servants often made his works difficult, and it was often that he was hounded and pursued for his faith to God.

Yet, the prophet Elijah never gave up nor did he abandon his calling. He ministered faithfully to the people of God, and he endured all the difficulties, calling on the people of God to repent and change their ways, and many responded to his call, although equally many of them rejected his call and continued in their sinful ways. He was then, at the end of his mission, brought up to heaven on flaming chariots, and was hidden from the view of men ever since, until his coming again into the world as John.

John was born with the spirit of Elijah on him, and thus he was prepared to continue the same ministry which God had entrusted to Elijah. Even many centuries after the first coming of Elijah, and after the terrible experiences of the Babylonian exile, the people of God was still filled with sin, and they were still following the wicked ways of their ancestors. Thus, what Elijah had once done to bring the people of God back, needed to be done again.

The Lord had, for a long time, promised his people that He will come to save them and bring them back to Himself. He had promised His salvation through the Messiah that He would send into the world. But in a world still filled with so much sin and wickedness, especially even among the people of God, the people of Israel and Judea, the coming of the Messiah would have been made much more difficult if it had not been well prepared beforehand.

Thus, God sent his servant John, the second coming of Elijah, into the world so that he might straighten the path for the Messiah, or the Christ when He came. And that was what St. John the Baptist did, he laboured in thankless works, reviled and rejected by the Pharisees, who criticised him and questioned and doubted the authority and authenticity of his actions.

Yes, just as the people and the kings of Israel rejected Elijah and persisted in their sins, the same too occurred to John the Baptist. The Pharisees and the elders refused to see their sinfulness and refused to repent, thus later on they would prove to be great enemies and stumbling blocks for our Lord as well. Nevertheless, many people responded to John’s call, giving themselves to be baptised in the Jordan and repented from their sins.

Today, we also celebrate the feast of a saint, whose life and ministry would closely resemble what St. John the Baptist had gone through. St. Ambrosius or St. Ambrose, known better as St. Ambrose of Milan, through his position as the Bishop of Milan, was a great saint, a great pillar of the Church, a holy servant of God, one of the original Doctors of the Church, and ultimately, a fierce and fearless defender of the true Faith.

St. Ambrose was born during the late era of the Roman Empire, and he lived during a time when the Faith had been accepted as part of the Empire, and was being followed by more and more of the people of the Empire. However, many of the faithful at that time were misled by the numerous heresies and perversions of the Faith, leading them into wicked sins, which St. Ambrose would help to counter.

Despite being known as the Bishop of Milan, one of the most influential posts at the time in the Church, St. Ambrose was not originally meant for a life in the episcopate or even priesthood. St. Ambrose was a very influential and intelligent person, and his great intellect helped him to master many learnings and he was soon appointed as the Imperial Governor of the region of Aemilia-Liguria, and he was a very popular governor, as he was truly very competent and dedicated.

There was a great division in the Church at Milan at the time, the capital of Ambrose’s governorate, and after the bishop of Milan at the time, who was one of the heretics, died, the succession was filled with great bitterness and feud. St. Ambrose went to the church where the election was held, to prevent fighting and chaos from breaking out.

There, he was acclaimed by all present to be the new Bishop of Milan, regarding to his piety and popularity among the people, his righteousness and upright nature. He was immediately then ordained as a priest and the episcopate. Immediately, as the Bishop, he forbade all the teachings of heresies in his domains, and he strived hard to spread the true teachings of the Faith to the people entrusted under his care.

St. Ambrose did not have it easy, as there were many oppositions and challenges which he had to endure and counter against throughout his ministry. In particular, the Dowager Empress and the young Emperor under her care were heretics and influenced by the teachings of heresy. St. Ambrose tried hard to bring them and many others to see the Light of the true Faith, and many repented, but not the Empress and many others.

St. Ambrose publicly denounced even the Emperor, the Dowager Empress and the other heretical accomplices they had. This indeed reminds us of what St. John the Baptist had done, brothers and sisters? He who opposed and denounced the Pharisees publicly as brood of vipers and evil. And also Elijah, who condemned kings who caused the people to turn against the Lord their God.

And St. Ambrose did not even fear to excommunicate a powerful and mighty Emperor of the mightiest Empire in the world. The famous Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great, who vanquished his enemies and gained supreme power over the whole of the Empire, even though he was pious and true to the orthodox faith, but he was implicated in his part in the great massacre of the civilians and innocents in the great city of Thessalonica.

St. Ambrose excommunicated the Emperor and condemned him greatly in public for his involvement in the massacre. Only after the Emperor repented and in great humility, taking off his Imperial garments, wearing sackcloth and making public confession for his sins and reaffirmation of his faith in God, then St. Ambrose forgave his sins, and welcomed him back into the Church of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what are the significance of what I have shared with you, on this Sunday’s readings, on the lives of Elijah, St. John the Baptist and St. Ambrose of Milan? All of them are about that all of us ought to make ample and sufficient preparation to prepare for the coming of our Lord. We cannot be complacent and unprepared, for remember, in the second reading today, St. Peter in his letter reminded us yet again, that the coming of the Lord will be like a flash, fast and unpredictable. If we do not prepare thoroughly, then we will be caught unaware and unprepared, and grim is our fate if that is the case.

How do we then prepare ourselves? We have to follow the examples of the holy and devoted servants of God, which we have already just heard. We have to stand up for our faith and truly practice it in our own lives. And then, we should not be afraid to point out the truth of Christ to others. After all, through our baptism, we have been called to be the witnesses of the Lord in this world, and as witnesses, it is only fitting that all of us do our part to evangelise the Good News, through our actions, so that all who see us may know the Lord through us and come to believe in Him.

It is important that all of us are prepared thoroughly for the coming of Christ, and thus it is also fitting that we should help one another in our preparations. We mist safeguard each other and keep one another in the faith in Christ, and in order to do so, we too should be prepared ourselves. Therefore, learn about the Faith we have in God, strengthen our devotion for the Lord and read always the Holy Scriptures with understanding.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may this Advent be a great opportunity for us to renew ourselves, in our commitment to serve the Lord, and in our commitment to live our faith faithfully and genuinely, with love both for Him and for our fellow men. Let us follow the examples of the prophet Elijah, St. John the Baptist and St. Ambrose of Milan in their great courage to be witnesses of the faith. We too can be like them, and it is important that when the Lord comes again, as He had promised, He finds us ready, prepared, alert and awake!

May all of us become like the holy servants of God, and preparing the way for our Lord, just as those holy servants had done in the past. Let us bring the Good News of God and become witnesses of His to all the world by our actions, filled with faith and love, so that we may bring more souls to salvation, and make ready this world for the future coming of our Lord in glory, and He will reward us on the last day. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/05/sunday-7-december-2014-second-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-ambrose-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/05/sunday-7-december-2014-second-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-ambrose-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-psalm/

 

Second Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/05/sunday-7-december-2014-second-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-ambrose-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-second-reading/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/05/sunday-7-december-2014-second-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-ambrose-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-gospel-reading/

 

Epistle (Usus Antiquior) :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/05/usus-antiquior-second-sunday-of-advent-and-feast-of-st-ambrose-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-i-classis-sunday-7-december-2014-epistle/

 

Gospel (Usus Antiquior) :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/05/usus-antiquior-second-sunday-of-advent-and-feast-of-st-ambrose-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-i-classis-sunday-7-december-2014-holy-gospel/