herald of the Messiah

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Saturday, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 138 : 1-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

O YHVH, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand, You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.

It was You Who formed my inmost part and knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank You for these wonders You have done, and my heart praises You.

For Your marvellous deeds. Even my bones were known to You when I was being formed in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth.

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Saturday, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 49 : 1-6

Listen to me, o islands, pay attention, people from distant lands. YHVH called me from my mother’s womb; He pronounced my name before I was born. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me into a polished arrow set apart in His quiver.

He said to me, “You are Israel, My servant. Through you I will be known.” “I have laboured in vain,” I thought, “and spent my strength for nothing.” Yet what is due me was in the hand of YHVH, and my reward was with my God. I am important in the sight of YHVH, and my God is my Strength.

And now YHVH has spoken, He Who formed me in the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, to gather Israel to Him. He said : “It is not enough that you be My servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.”

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Thursday, 2 February 2017 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Malachi 3 : 1-4

Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.

He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.

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Saturday, 24 December 2016 : 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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Friday, 23 December 2016 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 1 : 57-66

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”

They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

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Friday, 23 December 2016 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24

Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.

He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.

I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.

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Monday, 19 December 2016 : 4th Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 1 : 5-25

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah, belonging to the priestly clan of Abiah. Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife, also belonged to a priestly family. Both of them were upright in the eyes of God, and lived blamelessly in accordance with all the laws and commands of the Lord, but they had no child. Elizabeth could not have any and now they were both very old.

Now, while Zechariah and those with him were fulfilling their office, it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priests, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. At the time of offering incense, all the people were praying outside; it was then that an Angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

On seeing the Angel, Zechariah was deeply troubled and fear took hold of him. But the Angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, be assured that your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall name him John. He will bring joy and gladness to you, and many will rejoice at his birth. This son of yours will be great in the eyes of the Lord.”

“Listen : he shall never drink wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. Through him, many of the people of Israel will turn to the Lord their God. He himself will open the way to the Lord with the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; he will reconcile fathers and children, and lead the disobedient to wisdom and righteousness, in order to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah said to the Angel, “How can I believe this? I am an old man and my wife is elderly, too.” The Angel replied, “I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I am the one sent to speak to you, and to bring you this Good News! My words will come true in their time. But you would not believe, and now you will be silent and unable to speak until this has happened.”

Meanwhile, the people waited for Zechariah, and they were surprised that he delayed so long in the sanctuary. When he finally appeared, he could not speak to them, and they realised that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He remained dumb and made signs to them.

When his time of service was completed, Zechariah returned home, and some time later Elizabeth became pregnant. For five months she kept to herself, remaining at home, and thinking, “This for me, is the Lord’s doing! This is His time for mercy, and for taking away my public disgrace.”

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Thursday, 15 December 2016 : 3rd Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 7 : 24-30

At that time, when John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began speaking to the people about John. And He said, “What did you want to see, when you went to the desert? A reed blowing in the wind? What was there to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? But people who wear fine clothes and enjoy delicate food are found in palaces.

What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. For John is the one foretold in Scripture in these words : I am sending My messenger ahead of You to prepare Your way. No one may be found greater than John among those born of women, but, I tell you, the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

All the people listening to Him, even the tax collectors, had acknowledged the will of God in receiving the baptism of John, whereas the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, in not letting themselves be baptised by him, ignored the will of God.

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Sunday, 4 December 2016 : Second Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 3 : 1-12

In the course of time John the Baptist appeared in the desert of Judea and began to proclaim his message, “Change your ways, the kingdom of God is now at hand!” It was about him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said : A voice is shouting in the desert, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord, make His paths straight!'”

John had a leather garment around his waist and wore a cloak of camel’s hair; his food was locusts and wild honey. People came to him from Jerusalem, from all Judea and from the whole Jordan valley, and they were baptised by him in the Jordan as they confessed their sins.

When he saw several Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he baptised, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who told you that you could escape the punishment that is to come? Let it be seen that you are serious in your conversion, and do not think : We have Abraham for our father. I tell you that God can raise children for Abraham from these stones! The axe is already laid to the roots of the trees; any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.”

“I baptise you in water for a change of heart, but the One Who is coming after me is more powerful than me; indeed I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptise you in Holy Spirit and fire. He has the winnowing fan in His hand and He will clear out His threshing floor. He will gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn in everlasting fire.”

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Monday, 29 August 2016 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, remembering that time when the faithful servant and messenger of God, met his end at the persecution of king Herod and his unlawful wife, Herodias. It was because of his persistent opposition and defiance against the king doing such a wicked act, that he was put to death defending his faith.

But in death, he has shown us the example of what a servant of God should be like. That is a servant of God should not be easily ready to compromise their faith and the mission which God had entrusted them with, in order to accommodate the desires of peoples and even those who are in power. We should be ready to stand up to defend the teachings of our Faith and the ways of our God when it comes to the time when it is necessary for us to do so.

At the same time, we should know that God is always there watching over us, and He will not abandon us to the darkness, and He shall not let us down, just as He has always be there for His faithful servants. God called those whom He had chosen to be His messengers and bearers of the word of truth which He has brought into the world.

The problem that exists with many Christians today, even many among us is that we tend to be silent whenever there are trespasses and sins that our peers committed among us. Many of us are afraid to step in and make comments or trying to remind them of their sins because we are too afraid to damage or ruin our relationships with them. But do we actually realise that if we do nothing, it is actually just the same as us pushing them deep into sin and damnation?

The examples of St. John the Baptist and the last episode of his earthly life, being imprisoned by Herod and Herodias, and how he met his death is a reminder to all of us, that we mankind are feeble creatures easily affected and lured into sin, as shown by Herod and his actions in the Gospel today. As a king, he has access to every worldly needs he wanted, and the beautiful daughter of Herodias mesmerised him so much so as for him to pledge with many vows everything she wanted.

That is the danger which all of us should be wary of, that as Christians we have to learn to resist the impulses of our desires, or else they may cause us to lose control over ourselves, and even lead us into sin and damnation. Herod’s great sin was that he was not only unable to resist the temptation to get Herodias as his wife, even though she was lawfully married to his deceased brother and with a daughter. And he gave in to the temptations of the pleasures of the eyes and the flesh, and resulting in him indirectly causing the death of a great saint of God.

We as Christians should learn to resist these temptations, and thus, at the same time, also help one another to do the same. And at times this will require us to be courageous and be daring, to take the initiative to point out the errors in the way of those whom we see having sinned and committed errors in front of God and His people alike. We do not need to fear about anything, since God Himself is with us in this matter.

And in the end, are we not concerned that any of our brethren are slipping away from God and His grace, and into the slippery slope of sin and temptations, that they are in danger of falling into eternal damnation and suffering? Let us all as Christians be true Christians, true friends and brethren to each other, helping all to find their way to God, and not be afraid to stand up for the truth.

May God help us in all of our endeavours, that we all, inspired by the holy Passion of the Herald of the Messiah, St. John the Baptist, will do all that we can in order to help our brethren in need of salvation and grace of God. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.