Feast of Pope St. Silvester I

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this last day of the Gregorian Calendar year, and therefore as we approach the coming of the New Year, let us also remember that we are still in the midst of the Christmas season, and we ought to look back at our past year and see in what way have we been faithful to the Lord our God, Who out of His love for us, have come into the world to save us from certain destruction because of our sins.

He has come into the world at Christmas, firstly about two millennia ago, when He was born in Bethlehem, as St. John put it at the beginning of his Gospel, which is our Gospel passage, that He is the Word of God, Who is God and Who is with God ever since the beginning of time. And the Lord has endeavoured out of His love, to bring forth the Word into the world by His will, and assume the flesh of Man. And thus that was how He entered the world, and that was how He became the One through Whom God saved us by His death on the cross.

But as we come to the end of the Christmas season, and as we approach the beginning of another new year, each and every one of us must remember that Christmas is not just about the Lord and Saviour Who had once come into the world. Rather, it is also about the Lord Who has promised us that He will come again at the time of His choosing, and at that time, He shall deliver all of His beloved people, those who are faithful to Him, from the darkness and into the light of His eternal life.

And in the first reading today, St. John the Apostle and Evangelist reminded us all that the hour will come, and we should not assume that we have a lot of time to prepare ourselves for the eventual coming of the Lord. Rather, we should assume that it is indeed the final hour, and every single moment of our lives is a blessing for us, and we should thank Him for all the opportunities we have been given.

And he also warned us that there will be false prophets who had come, and who will come into this world, the antichrists, the agents of the devil and his fallen angels, designed and tasked to confuse us and lead us into the false paths, that we lose our way and fall into temptation, and instead of joining the Lord in His grace, we fall into the eternal damnation of hell with Satan and his angels.

That is why, today, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us should commit ourselves to the Lord anew and strengthen our faith in Him so that we will not falter amidst the challenges and the temptations of this world. We should devote some time today and from now onwards to think about what are we going to do to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord when He comes again for us. Are we going to wait and do nothing? Or are we going to take charge of our lives and do what He had asked us to do?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us also look upon the example of Pope St. Silvester I, the saint whose feast day we celebrate today. As the Pope and leader of the Universal Church at his time, he lived during a time of a great change in the. Church and in the world. He reigned as Pope following the reign of Pope St. Miltiades, during whose time the Edict of Milan was proclaimed by the Roman Emperor Constantine, ending centuries long persecution of the Christian faith and the Church.

At that time, the Church was divided between many factions, with many believing in the false teachings and tenets of Arius, who claimed that Jesus our Lord was mere Man and not both God and Man. Arius and many other false prophets deceived many in the Church, and they became heretics who misled others to follow their own path and false ways.

That was why at that time, Pope St. Silvester I and his contemporaries persuaded the Emperor Constantine, who was favourable to the Christian faith and teachings, to convene the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in the year 325 AD in order to address the issues of these apostates and false teachings, and thus to prevent the false teachings from further dividing the Church and misleading the faithful.

And it was in that Ecumenical Council that the false teachings of Arius and the other heretics were formally condemned, and the same Creed of faith which has been passed down to us from the Apostles and the Church fathers, the Nicene Creed was formulated. And this is also closely linked to the great Solemnity that we are going to celebrate tomorrow, namely that of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God.

If the teachings of Arius had been true, that Jesus was merely a creature of the Lord, a mere Man and not Divine, then Mary would indeed be just a mere mother of man, just like any other women and mothers. But no, Pope St. Silvester I and the faithful bishops and leaders of the Church stood by the true faith, believing in the Lord Who is both God and Man at the same time, possessing two distinct natures which are nevertheless inseparable from each other.

Brethren, what we have heard today with regards to Pope St. Silvester and his life should inspire us all as Christians that we should not take our faith for granted. There are many of those who desire our downfall, and by many means they will do their best to prevent us from reaching the goal of our salvation, either by persuasion, temptation, or even by force and persecution.

We should prepare ourselves for the eventual coming of our Lord, that we make use of this opportunity which has been granted to us, in order to be righteous and just in all of our deeds, so that the Lord will find us worthy when He comes into this world, and all of us will receive grace and everlasting life from Him. Let us all begin a New Year from tomorrow onwards with a new, courageous and determined hearts and minds, desiring to give of ourselves fully to the Lord.

May the Lord help us and guide us, and may He ever strengthen our resolve to live fully in accordance with His will and grace. God bless us all, and may He bless our year ahead with good things and many blessings. Amen.

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
John 1 : 1-18

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness, as a witness to introduce the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but a witness to introduce the Light; for the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him.

He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name. These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving-kindness. John bore witness to Him openly, saying, “This is the One Who comes after me, but He is already ahead of me, for He was before me.”

From His fullness we have all received, favour upon favour. For God had given us the Law through Moses, but Truth and Loving-kindness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God-the-only-Son made Him known : the One, Who is in and with the Father.

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 95 : 1-2, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name. Proclaim His salvation day after day.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them; let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord.

He Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
1 John 2 : 18-21

My dear children, it is the last hour. You were told that an antichrist would come; but several antichrists have already come, by which we know that it is now the last hour.

They went out from us though they did not really belong to us. Had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. So it became clear that not all of us were really ours. But you have the anointing from the Holy One, so that all of you have true wisdom.

I write to you, not because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you already know it, and lies have nothing in common with the truth.

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Thursday, 31 December 2015 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are asked to reflect on the joy which we have and with which we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in this Christmas season. Each of us should reflect on today’s Scripture readings in order to understand in greater depth how significant this celebration of Christmas is for all of us.

This reading used to be read at the end of every Mass as what is known as the Last Gospel, for the very purpose that, the whole Mass itself, the entire celebration of our Faith and the whole purpose of the Church, and the very fact why we rejoice in this Christmas and have a hope in God and the eternal life which He promised us, is because of what had been written and revealed in that passage from the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John.

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour was not created by God, and neither should He be counted to be among the created ones of God. Even though He is fully and completely Man, but He was not created by God, as He is different. He has existed before everything was made, and indeed, He existed before the world and before the beginning of time, for He is God, and He was God, and He will be always God.

He is the Word of God, the Word of Creation, the one and inseparable aspect of the Lord, which in our understanding, exists as one and only God, but with Three distinct Godheads or Aspects, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, all of Whom are united in perfect love and harmony, such that although they are distinct from each other, but they cannot be separated from each other without diminishing the fullness of God’s greatness and glory.

The Word of God has made Himself into Flesh, the Flesh of Man. He was the Word that was with God, Who is God, and through Whom God created this world, all of creation, all of us mankind and everything that ever was, is, and will ever be. And it is the same Word, Who had come into this world, assuming the flesh of Man, and through the intermediary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother, He was born into this world, an event we celebrate as Christmas.

This is very important as, before He came into this world, He is intangible, untouchable and distant, but God Who loves us all greatly and tenderly, desired for all of us to be reunited with Him and to be with Him in the union of perfect love, and therefore, through Jesus, He made Himself tangible, touchable, and now we can see in Him, the fullness of His love, and indeed, of our own future of happiness and eternal life together with Him.

Through Jesus our Lord, we have seen the very personification of God’s love and mercy. He has provided us this act of ultimate mercy, giving us the new and perfect opportunity to be reconciled with God. He has done everything for our sake, that all of us may be rescued from the abyss of darkness and damnation in hell. Shall we not therefore give our love and devotion to Him as well then?

Let us today reflect on the examples of the faithful servant of God, whose feast we are celebrating today, namely Pope St. Silvester I, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Universal Church who lived and reigned as Pope during a time of great change in the Church and in the world. Pope St. Silvester I was among the first Popes to have led the Church after the official toleration of the Faith by the Edict of Milan in the year 313 AD, and he led the Church through a time of great renewal.

Pope St. Silvester I led the Church through a time of great building of many churches and basilicas, and many people flocked to the Church as never before. Many professed the faith and became believers, and Pope St. Silvester I and his good leadership and role model in faith helped ensure more and more souls being saved through the good works God had done through His Church.

As we all embark on this last day of the old year and as we rejoice in welcoming the beginning of the new year tomorrow, let us all also follow in the examples of Pope St. Silvester I and the other holy saints of God, so that we may usher in the beginning of a new year to be filled with the fullness of God’s love and our faith in Him. This is the time for us to make our new year’s resolution, that is to abandon our old ways of sin and wickedness, and embrace fully the ways of the Lord.

May Almighty God bless us all, and may He bless our coming new year, so that His blessings may fill that year with much grace, and all of us may look up to the coming of the new year of hope, and be ever more faithful and be more devoted to our Lord and God. God be with us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 December 2015 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 1-18

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness as a witness to introduce the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but a witness to introduce the Light; for the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone.

He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him. He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name.

These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving kindness.

John bore witness to Him openly, saying, “This is the One who comes after me, but He is already ahead of me, for He was before me.” From His fullness we have all received, favour upon favour. For God had given us the Law through Moses, but Truth and Loving kindness came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God, but God-the-Only-Son made Him known : the One, Who is in and with the Father.

by

Thursday, 31 December 2015 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name; proclaim His salvation day after day.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

by

Thursday, 31 December 2015 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 18-21

My dear children, it is the last hour. You were told that an antichrist would come : but several antichrists have already come, by which we know that it is now the last hour.

They went out from us though they did not really belong to us, they would have remained with us. So it became clear that not all of us were really ours. But you have the anointing from the Holy One, so that all of you have true wisdom.

I write to you, not because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you already know it, and lies have nothing in common with the truth.