Fourth Week of Advent

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Sunday, 21 December 2014 : Fourth Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the fourth and therefore the last Sunday of Advent in our liturgical year. Christmas is coming soon and this week is the time traditionally prescribed by the Church as the time for the final preparation for Christmas. This Sunday we continue to observe and reflect on the major aspects of Christmas, that is Love. We have previously reflected on Hope, on Peace, and finally on Joy at the Gaudete Sunday last week.

Love is the central nature of Christmas and all that we celebrate. Indeed, love is the centre of everything, of why we still live and breathe comfortably now in this world. God loves us all, for we were created special, with the very image of our God imprinted on us, and we have been given the greatest gift of all. And what is this gift? It is the Gift of all gifts, surpassing all other gifts, that is Christ our Lord Himself, the Gift of God to all mankind.

As we have often talked about and discussed throughout this Advent season, this season is a time for ardent prayer and genuine preparation, a time for us to prepare for the ‘Adventus’ or the coming of the Lord. And after going through four Sundays in which we discern the true meaning of Christmas, we should all be ready and prepared to celebrate this Christmas meaningfully.

Otherwise, if we fail to understand the true meaning of Christmas, then we will not benefit from the richness of God’s grace which He had given to us, which will benefit us most if we can appreciate what Christmas truly is. Christmas is not just about the glorious and bountiful food, not just about the festivities and the parties, and not just about the decorations and shopping that we often do to prepare for Christmas.

Christmas is truly about love, the love of God for mankind. Surely we know that the Gospel has clearly spoken about God who loves us all so much, that He gave us His only Son, so that all those who believe in Him, the Son, will not perish but gain eternal life (John 3:16). This is the essence of Christmas, the coming of the Son into the world, so that a new Hope arises for the nations and for all the peoples.

So the aspect of love that we reflect on this Sunday, reflects this Love that God had shown us, the true meaning of Christmas that I have often emphasized. Without the love of God, there can be no Christmas, and there can be no hope for us. There can no true peace in us, if we do not embrace the peace brought to us by God’s Love in Christ. There can also be no joy in us that lasts, if we do not share in the joy of God’s Love.

What is love, brothers and sisters in Christ? Is love shown by expensive gifts or romantic activities, and all the things taught and shown to us by the world? Is it like what are being advertised to us in many things, about love? No, it is not that kind of love, for that kind of love is often selfish, love that is bound to possessions and material goods, love that is conditional and once spent, then no love is left. Sadly, this is also the reason why there are so much sorrow in the world, of broken families, of abuses in the family, of infighting and jealousy, and many others.

Love, and indeed real love, is not about all these, but is the kind of love which Love Himself, Christ, had shown us. For God is Love, and He had shown us what love really is. His love is true love, genuine and pure, unconditional and gentle. His love does not have any prerequisite, nor does He demand us to give Him something for the love He had shown us. Indeed, He loved us even when we are still sinners, and even laid down His life for us.

St. Paul mentioned in his letter to the Romans, that someone may want to give their life for the just and righteous ones, but very unlikely to do so, for those who are wicked and evil. But Jesus suffered for us, bearing all of our sins, and died for us, laying down His life, even when we are still sinners and wicked (Romans 5:8). And as Jesus had said that the greatest kind of love is for someone to lay down his life for a friend (John 15:13), then we can see indeed how much greater the love God had for us when He chose to lay down His life for us, sinners and evildoers.

God does detest our sins greatly. Sin has no place in His presence, as sin is a taint and corruption, and for He who is perfectly good and pure, sin is completely disgusting. And yet, His love is even greater than His hatred for our sins. He loves us so much that He was willing to endure all those sufferings in order to rescue us from our predicament of sin.

This is the kind of love we should really have with us, and the love we should cherish. For it is through the love of God that we can enjoy a new hope, true peace and real joy which the world and others cannot provide. His love for us is unconditional, and by His coming into the world, that we celebrate in Christmas, He offered Himself, His love and mercy for all of us, so that we may be saved.

But at the same time, we have to be vigilant and be careful, for this world certainly has done much to prevent the love of God from reaching us, as Satan is the Lord of this world, and he has all in his possessions and within his means to tempt us and lead us away from the salvation and love which God freely offers us all. And today, we celebrate the feast of a great and faithful servant of God, who is a devout and courageous defender of the Faith in God.

St. Peter Canisius was a Dutch Jesuit, who lived during the time of the Protestant ‘reformation’, when many of the faithful and the members of the Church were misguided and misled by those who have been corrupted by the lies and the confusion of the evil one. They left the Church and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ as faithfully kept by the Church and chose to follow their own human desires, greed, selfishness, and other evils in them.

St. Peter Canisius joined the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit order, which is the spearhead of the Church’s effort at Counter-Reformation, which main goal is to counter the heresy of Protestantism and bring as many souls as possible back to salvation that exists only in the Church of God. He led the effort of Counter-Reformation in what is now Germany, where the effects of the Protestant heresy is at its worst. He preached the true faith, and it was told that his preaching was so effective that hundreds and more returned to the true Faith.

He preached and taught in many places, and he persuaded many to return to the Faith not by coercion or force, but by clear reason and clear understanding of the Faith, and through that clarity in the teaching of the Faith, his words of truth, the truth of God rang deep into the depths of the hearts of many, who were convinced to abandon their heresy and return to the Holy Mother Church.

St. Peter Canisius was very particular in the matter of the education of the Faith to the people, and his most well-known legacy is the three books of Catechism he had written, which are the clear source of the teachings of the Faith, used in many generations and saved countless souls from sins and heresies. That is why his name today is also identical with Catholic education and several Jesuit education institutes adopted his name after he was made saint of the Holy Church.

He was also credited for his great devotion to Mary, and he taught that the best way to the Lord is through His mother Mary, and he was the one who added the response in the Ave Maria or Hail Mary prayer, “Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners.” This clearly showed the importance of Mary in the lives of the faithful, for through her intercessions and prayers for us, God our Lord His Son, is most likely to hear our pleas and petitions, and mercy shall be shown us.

Why did St. Peter Canisius do all of these, brothers and sisters in Christ? Why did he go forth and preach to the heretics and those who have been lost to the darkness of the world? That is because of none other than God’s love for us, and His desire that we be found and be gathered again, that we will be lost sheep no more but belonging once more to the one flock of Christ, that is the Church.

The love of God is such, that He, although despising our sins and repelled by our wickedness, endure all of them, and even endure all forms of humiliation and rejection, none less by His own people, the ones whom He was sent to save! And yet, He persevered, out of that eternal and infinite love which He has in Him, for He is Love, and just as He wanted to share that love with us when He created us, thus, He wanted us to be loved by Him even when we have fallen into sin.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, even as we prepare for the Christmas celebrations which will be here in less than a week’s time, and even as we prepare to rejoice together with the whole world and the whole Universal Church at the celebration of the Birth of our Lord Jesus, let us never forget that this event is there in the first place, because of God and His Love for us, that is made real and concrete through His Son Jesus, who performed the act of ultimate love for us, to die for us for our sins on the cross at Calvary.

This Christmas, shall we then ponder at the love God has for us, that He was willing to enter into our world, and indeed into our lives and dwell within us? Let us never forget that Christ is at the heart of Christmas, and at the very heart of that celebration and joy is the Love of God, the eternal and undying love Christ had shown us through the cross, the very purpose of His coming into this world, and thus to liberate us from the chains of sin.

Sin no more, repent, change our ways and be wholeheartedly devoted to God from now on, that this Christmas and the next ones will be decidedly different from the past ones, that this time, we truly understand and fully embrace the love of Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. God bless us all and may St. Peter Canisius intercede for us always with the Blessed Mother of our Lord, Mary our mother. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-psalm/

 

Second Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-second-reading/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-gospel-reading/

 

Epistle (Usus Antiquior) :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/usus-antiquior-fourth-sunday-of-advent-i-classis-sunday-21-december-2014-epistle/

 

Gospel (Usus Antiquior) :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/usus-antiquior-fourth-sunday-of-advent-i-classis-sunday-21-december-2014-holy-gospel/

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Sunday, 21 December 2014 : Fourth Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus.”

“He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 21 December 2014 : Fourth Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Romans 16 : 25-27

Glory be to God! He is able to give you strength, according to the Good News I proclaim, announcing Christ Jesus. Now is revealed the mysterious plan kept hidden for long ages in the past.

By the will of the eternal God it is brought to light, through the prophetic books, and all nations shall believe the faith proclaimed to them. Glory to God, who alone is wise, through Christ Jesus, forever! Amen.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 21 December 2014 : Fourth Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

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.”

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.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 21 December 2014 : Fourth Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

2 Samuel 7 : 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

When the king had settled in his palace and YHVH had rid him of all his surrounding enemies, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar but the Ark of God is housed in a tent.” Nathan replied, “Do as it seems fit to you for YHVH is with you.”

But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : Are you able to build a house for Me to live in? I took you from the pasture, from tending the sheep, to make you commander of My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, cutting down all your enemies before you.”

“Now I will make your name great as the name of the great ones on earth. I will provide a place for My people Israel and plant them that they may live there in peace. They shall no longer be harassed, nor shall wicked men oppress them as before. From the time when I appointed judges over My people Israel it is only to you that I have given rest from all your enemies. YHVH also tells you that He will build you a house.”

“When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. I will be a Father to him and he shall be My son. Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/19/sunday-21-december-2014-fourth-sunday-of-advent-memorial-of-st-peter-canisius-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Tuesday, 24 December 2013 : 4th Week of Advent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brethren! Tomorrow is Christmas, when we will celebrate the first coming of our Lord in Jesus Christ His Son, the Word made flesh. And we should all rejoice, and break into songs of joy and praise, because our Lord and God was willing to come upon us and deliver us from sin and death. That was the promise He had made to our ancestors, ever since the day of Adam, and which He reiterated again to David, the king of Israel and His chosen one.

And in Christ and His arrival into the world, God’s promises to mankind was fulfilled. That was why Zechariah, the father of St. John the Baptist, was joyful and exuberant, singing what is now known as the Canticle of Zechariah, which is the Gospel reading today. Such is the joy that we all should have, that in the coming of the Lord, we are saved and have hope anew.

After waiting for four weeks and preparing for the day of glory and rejoicing, during the Advent season, we can now finally see the light, that is the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. We have long expected the coming of our Saviour, and here He is, at our doorposts, as the fulfillment of salvation promises long given by the Lord.

In Christ our Lord we rejoice, and that is the joy we experience at Christmas, the joy of seeing our Saviour among us, as God who dwells with His people, incarnate as one of us. Through Christ, God professed His eternal and undying love for all of us, willing to forgive our past trespasses, rebelliousness and disobedience, even to the point of taking the burden of our sins and die for our sake, that through His death, as a worthy sacrifice for our sins, we who believe may receive life eternal.

God came into the world not for some trivial things, and neither did He do this for leisurely purposes. He came to liberate us, from our bondage to sin, and to seek the lost ones among us, looking for them in the greatest depth of darkness, offering them the light, and a new opportunity to live in the Light. Yes, the light of God indeed, the true Light of the world.

Are we all ready to welcome the Lord when He comes again? Just as He had once came into the world? Remember that Jesus promised that He will come again at the end of time, at the end of everything, when God will raise up all those who remain faithful to Him, and reunited them all with Himself, and when all taints of sin and evil will be purified and cast out of the world forever.

When He first came into the world, Jesus was not welcomed, and He was rejected by the innkeepers who did not want to receive the poor family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They reasoned that the inns were full, and hence the king of kings and Lord of all creations have to spend His first night in this world in a humble and dirty stable fit only for animals.

And when He went forth to teach and reveal the nature of God and His coming kingdom to the people of God, He was not well-received either. While some listened to Him and followed Him, many rejected Him, booed Him, mocked Him, and even sought after His death. Chief among these were the Pharisees and the chief priests, who saw Him as a rival, and wanted to bring doom to Christ, by arrest or death.

They did not welcome Christ when He first came into the world. Instead of rejoicing, they condemned Him to death, and called Him a blasphemer and a false Messiah. They truly lacked faith in the Lord and His saving power. Their hubris and human flaws had prevented them from understanding the truth. However, how about us? Do we also welcome Christ when He comes? Or do we join the Pharisees in mocking and rejecting Christ and His love?

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us professed our faith to the Lord, and we had proven it many times, and yet, are we able to truly call our lives as blessed by God? Are we able to realise that we have to put Christ in our Christmas and Christ in our lives as Christians? Christ must be the centre of our lives and He must be at the centre of our Christmas joy.

If we do not place Christ to be at the centre of everything, and especially in this Christmas, then we are just like those Pharisees and the chief priests who rejected Jesus. We often pay too much attention to the glamour of Christmas, that is the joy of exchanging gifts, the wonderful decorations and musics, as well as the secular and commercialised nature of Christmas, with the figure of father Christmas, better known as Santa Claus, to lure many away from God and from His ways.

We have to reorientate our celebrations of Christmas, that it does not just revolve or focus around ourselves, our desires, wishes and needs. Instead, let us make Christmas truly a joyful one, not only for us, but also for everyone. Share the joy of Christmas with one another, especially with the poor around us, those who do not even have enough to celebrate Christmas on their own. It is sad that many too want to join in the festivities but they could not.

It is not wrong for us to enjoy Christmas, and to celebrate it with parties and revelries, but it should not be overdone, and indeed when we rejoice, we have to keep Christ at the centre of our joy, as the reason for our joy. Let us all therefore make this Christmas, and the next Christmas celebrations henceforth, a joyful one for everyone, a joy because Christ our Lord has come, to be one of us and dwell among us, that through Him we once again have hope of life eternal. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 December 2013 : 4th Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

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.”

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Tuesday, 24 December 2013 : 4th Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I established His descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.

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.

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Tuesday, 24 December 2013 : 4th Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

2 Samuel 7 : 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

When the king had settled in his palace and YHVH had rid him of all his surrounding enemies, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar but the Ark of God is housed in a tent.” Nathan replied, “Do as it seems fit to you for YHVH is with you.”

But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : Are you able to build a house for Me to live in? I took you from the pasture, from tending the sheep, to make you commander of My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, cutting down all your enemies before you.”

“Now I will make your name great as the name of the great ones on earth. I will provide a place for My people Israel and plant them that they may live there in peace. They shall no longer be harassed, nor shall wicked men oppress them as before.”

“From the time when I appointed judges over My people Israel it is only to you that I have given rest from all your enemies. YHVH also tells you that He will build you a house. When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your Son after you, the One born of you and I will make His reign secure.”

“I will be a Father to Him and He shall be My son. Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

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Monday, 23 December 2013 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)

Brethren, today we heard again about the one who was to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming, on the coming of St. John the Baptist, the messenger and proclaimer of the coming of God’s kingdom, as its herald. And as we approach Christmas, we come together again to remember what Christmas is truly about. Again I would like to reiterate that Christmas is really about Christ.

In Christmas we are all called to remember again what our faith is truly about, and what Christ had done for us, for the sake of all of us in this world, past, present, and the future. Christ the divine made Himself incarnate into humble man, and that was the true essence of Christmas and the true essence of our faith. For we are all Christians, and with Christ as part of our name, He is inseparable from all the aspects of our faith, as well as our lives.

St. John the Baptist, whose birth was told in the Gospel we read today, is the messenger of God proclaiming the coming of God’s salvation upon mankind. He proclaimed the coming of Jesus our Lord, who came as the Son of Man, born of the Virgin. Yet, despite his proclamations, his revelations, his hard and pious works, as well as the prophecies proclaimed by the numerous prophets of bygone ages, many refused to believe when the Lord came into this world in order to save it.

Just an example, when the Lord Himself was about to be born in Bethlehem, the City of David, how many inns must be there in that city, and yet none of them offered space for the Lord of all creations, who came in the form of the baby of a carpenter. Poor as he looked like, His was the kingdom of the entire universe, destined to be His, as the king of kings.

Yet, rejected Jesus was, and He had no other place to lay His head on, other than an animal’s stable, to be born among the animals in a small and dirty place not fit for human habitation. And yet, there He was born, and the Saviour of this world came. The prophecies of the past, and the calls of the prophets were fulfilled in perfection, and redemption finally came unto the world. And yet, He was rejected and cast out.

Many hardened their hearts against the Lord, just as their ancestors once hardened their hearts against Him during their journey in the desert. They constantly complained about the hardships they went through as they walked through the deserts of Sinai. The same too happened to them, and to us, brothers and sisters!

For this life, this life of ours as we journeyed through this world, is also a desert. And we are all walking this same journey, towards the Lord and His eternal glory, just as the people of Israel once marched through the desert towards the Promised Land of Canaan. Yet we, just like the Israelites, complained that life was easier back in the place of our slavery. The slavery of Israel in Egypt, and for us all, the slavery under sin and the power of death.

We may profess the Lord and profess our faith in Him, but in our dealings and our actions in this world, we actually prefer to deal with the forces of this world, with Satan! Yes, Satan instead of the Lord. We are often no different from those innkeepers who rejected the Lord in Bethlehem, and we are often like those Pharisees and Sadducees who mocked and ridiculed John the Baptist, as well as Lord Jesus Himself throughout their respective ministries.

Today, we celebrate the life of a saint, that is St. John of Kanty, who was a Polish priest living at the time of the early Renaissance Europe. St. John of Kanty was a devoted man, totally devoted to the Lord in great and deep humility and spirituality, and showing his dedication through his actions, by his teachings and his charitable works in the society where he worked at.

St. John of Kanty was also known for his great intellect and learning, and he established many works of faith in his writings, helping many to find their way to the Lord. He truly practiced his faith, and did not let the evils of this world to affect him. To him, only the Lord truly matters, and only the Lord deserved full and undivided attention.

It is often that we all are distracted by the numerous, and indeed, increasingly more and more numerous tempting offers from this world. Yes, all the goods and the amenities, the pleasures and joys that this world can give. What better example can be given than what we experience every Christmas? With evert gadgets and items, all the sales and discounted sales, all the advertisements and promotions. All these merely fuel our distractions, that indeed, Christmas is often no longer Christ-centred. And sadly, it is often that our lives too, as Christians, are also no longer Christ-centred.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we honour St. John of Kanty today, are we able to follow in his footsteps? In committing ourselves wholly and without reservations to the Lord? Are we able to say no to the distractions of this world, and stay truly faithful to God who came to us to save us? Remember that, He loved us so much that He gave us Jesus His own Son, that we may have life and new hope through Him.

May the Lord therefore renew and strengthen our faith, that we too may walk the same path and act in the same way as St. John of Kanty had done. May He guide us on our way, that we will be able to remain faithful to Him and stay on His paths. God bless us all. Amen.