Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 62 : 11-12
For YHVH proclaims to the ends of the earth : Say to the daughter of Zion, here comes your salvation! YHVH brings the reward of His victory, His booty is carried before Him.
They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of YHVH; and you shall be called The Sought After, a city no longer abandoned.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 2 : 1-14
At that time the Emperor issued a decree for a census of the whole Empire to be taken. This first census was taken when Quirinus was governor of Syria. Everyone had to be registered in his own town, so everyone set out for his own city. Joseph too set out from Nazareth of Galilee. As he belonged to the family of David, being a descendant of his, he went to Judea, to David’s town of Bethlehem, to be registered with Mary, his wife, who was with Child.
They were in Bethlehem when the time came for her to have her Child, and she gave birth to a Son, her Firstborn. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in the manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. There were shepherds camping in the countryside, taking turns to watch over their flocks by night.
Suddenly an Angel of the Lord appeared to them, with the Glory of the Lord shining around them. As the were terrified, the Angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; I am here to give you Good News, great joy for all the people. Today a Saviour has been born to you in David’s town; He is the Messiah and the Lord. Let this be a sign to you : you will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly the Angel was surrounded by many more heavenly spirits, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and Peace, on earth, to those whom God loves.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Titus 2 : 11-14
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, teaching us to reject an irreligious way of life and worldly greed, and to live in this world as responsible persons, upright and serving God, while we await our blessed Hope – the glorious manifestation of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus.
He gave Himself for us, to redeem us from every evil and to purify a people He wanted to be His own and dedicated to what is good.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 11-12, 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. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 9 : 1-6
The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death. You have enlarged the nation; You have increased their joy. They rejoice before You, as people rejoice at harvest time as they rejoice in dividing the spoil.
For the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors, You have broken it as on the day of Midian. Every warrior’s boot that tramped in war, every cloak rolled in blood, will be thrown out for burning, will serve as fuel for the fire.
For a Child is born to us, a Son is given us; the royal ornament is laid upon His shoulder, and His Name is proclaimed : “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
To the increase of His powerful rule in peace, there will be no end. Vast will be His dominion, He will reign on David’s throne and over all his kingdom, to establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forever. The zealous love of YHVH Sabaoth will do this.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 13 : 16-17, 22-25
So Paul arose, motioned to them for silence and began, “Fellow Israelites and also all you who fear God, listen. The God of our people Israel chose our ancestors, and after He had made them increase during their stay in Egypt, He led them out by powerful deeds.
After that time, God removed Saul and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.
It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus. Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : ‘I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.'”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 88 : 4-5, 16-17, 27 and 29
You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”
Blessed is the people who know Your praise. They walk in the light of Your face. They celebrate all day Your Name and Your protection lifts them up.
He will call on Me, “You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.” I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure.
Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 62 : 1-5
For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, for Jerusalem I will not keep silent, until her holiness shines like the dawn and her salvation flames like a burning torch. The nations will see your holiness and all the kings your glory. You will be called by a new name which the mouth of YHVH will reveal.
You will be a crown of glory in the hand of YHVH, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will you be named Forsaken; no longer will your land be called Abandoned; but you will be called My Delight and your land Espoused. For YHVH delights in you and will make your land His spouse.
As a young man marries a virgin, so will your Builder marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, finally, Christmas is almost upon us. After almost a whole month of preparation and waiting in Advent, tomorrow we shall finally come to the great joy and celebration of Christmas, the day when we all rejoice at the birth and the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into this world. We have spent much of this Advent season preparing and reflecting upon the mysteries of this Nativity of our Lord.
And because tomorrow is the very day that we are going to begin our celebrations of Christmas, it is important that we have to enter it with the right mind and the right prepared state, that we all know firstly what we are celebrating about, who is it that we are celebrating about, and then how we ought to celebrate it with the spirit of being Christians, as disciples and followers of our Lord.
It is indeed easy for us to be distracted by the many forms of persuasions and the temptations of worldliness in the celebrations of Christmas, all the more given the amount of materialism and commercialisation that had surrounded the secularised version of Christmas, to the point that Christ had been forgotten from the very celebration that bore His Name, and instead celebrated worldly forms of happiness and joy.
It is not wrong for us to celebrate Christmas in that manner, as after all it is a season of rejoicing and time to celebrate together with our family and friends, but what is important is that we must not forget the essential meaning and purpose of the celebrations of Christmas, and that is about the Lord Himself, the celebration of He Who has come into the world bearing the salvation of God, so that all may be saved through Him.
And that is the essence of today’s Scripture readings, that God’s love for us was so great and He is ever faithful to His words and promises such that He fulfilled at Christmas, the promises and the covenant He had established with us mankind, with His servant Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the promise He had made with David the king, His faithful servant that He will bless their descendants forever.
Let us all spend some time to think and reflect upon God’s great love for us, which has been made manifest through Christ especially in this coming season of Christmas. And let us all take note that when the Lord Jesus came the first time, He did not come with pomp and grandeur, although the host of Angels did sing gloriously of His coming witnessed by the shepherds. He came instead very humbly in a mere stable even though He is a King.
This is a reminder to each and every one of us that our Christmas celebrations and joy cannot be exclusive but instead must be inclusive, that means we cannot forget about the many people who want to celebrate Christmas but are unable to do so because of various circumstances. We ought to share our joy with them, and whatever excesses we have, let us all be generous and share them with our brethren in need, so that our joy may be theirs too, and the Lord Who sees what we have done, will reward us for our charity and generosity.
Let us all also spend the time today to pray for our brethren who are persecuted for their faith, and give thanks to God for the graces He has blessed us with, that we may be able to celebrate Christmas with peace and joy. Let us remember our brethren who cannot even celebrate Christmas openly and joyfully or else they would be persecuted and made to suffer. Let us not forget about them as we enter into Christmas.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all prepare ourselves well and help one another that we may celebrate Christmas with each other and share the joy that we experience, knowing that because of the Lord Jesus and His entry into this world, all of us have received that new hope for eternal life and salvation through Him. May the Lord bless us all and keep us in His grace always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 1 : 67-79
Zechariah, filled with Holy Spirit, sang this canticle, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has come and redeemed His people. In the house of David His servant, He has raised up for us a victorious Saviour; as He promised through His prophets of old, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of our foes.”
“He has shown mercy to our fathers; and remembered His holy covenant, the oath He swore to Abraham, our father, to deliver us from the enemy, that we might serve Him fearlessly, as a holy and righteous people, all the days of our lives.”
“And you, my child, shall be called prophet of the Most High, for you shall go before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, and to enable His people to know of their salvation, when He comes to forgive their sins. This is the work of the mercy of our God, Who comes from on high as a rising sun, shining on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, and guiding our feet into the way of peace.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 