Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 146 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Alleluia! How good it is to sing to our God, how sweet and befitting, to praise Him! YHVH rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals their broken hearts and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of stars; He calls each of them by name.
The Lord is great, and mighty in power; His wisdom is beyond measure. YHVH lifts up the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 30 : 19-21, 23-26
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. When you cry, He will listen; when He hears, He will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of anguish and the water of distress, He, your Teacher will hide no longer. Your own eyes will see Him, and your ear will listen to His words behind you : “This is the way, walk in it.”
He will then give rain for the seed you sow and make the harvest abundant from the crops you grow. On that day your cattle will graze in wide pastures. Your beasts of burden will eat silage tossed to them with pitchfork and shovel. For on the day of the great slaughter, when fortresses fall, streams of water will flow on every mountain and lofty hill.
The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun seven times greater, like the light of seven days, when YHVH binds up the wounds of His people and heals the bruises inflicted by His blows.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to listen to the words of the Scriptures presented to us during this time and season of Advent, we are all constantly being reminded of the need for us to continue having faith and trust in God, believing that He can provide us with everything that we need, and that He can lead us all to true happiness and bring us consolation from all the sufferings and struggles that we may be facing in this world. We have to remember the love that God has for each one of us and His patient care for us always endures even though we have often disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him. While He does chastise us for our sins and disobedience, but He always leaves the way open for us to return to Him through our sincere and genuine repentance and through His generous mercy and forgiveness.
In our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard of the words of the Lord to His people in the southern kingdom of Judah, reassuring and encouraging them that He would save all of them and bringing them all to His loving embrace, freeing them from their enemies, healing the blind, the lame, deaf and all those who were troubled among them, a promise that He would indeed fulfil by the sending of His salvation into this world through His Son. And this assurance came at a very good time for the people of God who at that time had been suffering a lot from the attacks by their enemies and everyone around them. God reassured them all that He would never abandon them, and if they continue to be faithful to Him they would be certain of God’s providence and love, and will have share in His eternal glory and joy.
Then, in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the story of the moment when the Lord Jesus encountered two blind men who came to Him and followed Him, begging Him to heal them from their blindness. They kept on asking Him and trusting in Him that He could save them from their predicament, asking Him to show them mercy and love. And the Lord was moved by their faith and persistence in asking and seeking His mercy, healing them from their blindness, and just as we heard and discussed earlier from our first reading today, this was one of the proofs that God has indeed fulfilled what He had promised to His people, His promise to them that He would restore them all and bring them all out of the darkness and evils around us, bringing us into the eternity of happiness and joy with Him.
That is why we are all reminded that we should also seek Him to overcome the troubles and the darkness all around us, asking God to help and heal us from all of our troubles and afflictions. We are reminded that in God alone we can find true consolation and hope, strength and encouragement amidst all the challenges and difficulties we encounter in our daily living. Like those blind men who had physical disabilities, each and every one of us are also afflicted by the affliction of sin, which is far more dangerous and harmful to us than any kind of physical disabilities. This is because while physical disabilities can be cured by doctors and medicine, and even the supposedly incurable one will not last beyond our earthly life, and in the world that is to come, none of us will suffer anymore from those afflictions.
On the other hand, sin is an affliction that is attacking our very own soul, and is something that can lead to eternal damnation and destruction. Not only that but only God alone can forgive us from our sins and heal us in that matter, and as long as we have our sins with us, corrupting us, then we may end up being judged for all those sins, which made us to be unworthy and distant, separated and sundered from God. This is why we should remind ourselves not to be easily swayed by the temptations of sin and the world, and strive to do our best to glorify God by our lives, our every good and worthy actions and efforts in every moments, in our good interactions with one another, and seek the Lord to help and strengthen us in our faith while sincerely repenting from our sins and wickedness, turning back towards God and seeking His love and forgiveness.
Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Nicholas, also known as St. Nicholas of Myra, the one who was the origin of the legend of Santa Claus or Sinterklaas, the famous figure now widely associated with Christmas. Many of the traditions and beliefs associated with the now popular Santa Claus came from the life and practices of St. Nicholas of Myra, who liked to give presents to young children in his diocese, and who was also a very dedicated shepherd and guide to his flock in Myra, a region in Asia Minor which is now part of Turkey. St. Nicholas was one of the very important Church fathers at that time, and his role in fact extended beyond just his ministry to his flock in Myra but also to the larger Church community at a time when many of the faithful were threatened from within by false teachings and heresies.
For at that time, during the early fourth century there were quite a few heresies that had arisen since the earliest days of the Church, but the true and genuine faith had prevailed in all the centuries since by the courageous defence of the dedicated and faithful Church fathers who resisted and opposed the heresies with zeal and commitment to God. Similarly, St. Nicholas of Myra was also an ardent defender of the true and orthodox teachings and faith against the heretics. During the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, according to some tradition, St. Nicholas was so incensed by the words of heresy presented by Arius, the popular preacher who initiated the Arian heresy, claiming that Jesus Christ is not equal to the Father, that he hit Arius in the face for his blasphemy against God.
Regardless of whether this actually happened or not, what matters is that St. Nicholas truly stood up for his faith and committed himself wholeheartedly to the Lord, devoting himself for the good of the faithful entrusted to him and for the good of the Universal Church. And his examples should be good inspiration for all of us to follow as well, in how we should continue to live our lives worthily of the Lord, distancing ourselves from sin and obeying the Law and commandments of God, while showing charity and love, care and compassion towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Are we able to follow his good examples, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to commit ourselves to the cause of the Lord and proclaim Him in all and every moments of our lives?
This season of Advent, let us all turn back towards the Lord with faith and have the sincere desire to seek the Lord and His forgiveness and mercy, remembering all the love and kindness that He has always shown us, His beloved people and children. Let us repent from our sins and faults, and reject the temptations of sin, seeking instead the hope and light that the Lord has shown us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey and to persevere amidst all the struggles we may encounter in life. May God continue to help us to have a good and fruitful preparation this Advent so that we may come ever closer to His Presence and to live our lives ever more worthily as best as we are able to. May He bless our every good efforts and endeavours, and strengthen us in faith as once He has strengthened the faith of St. Nicholas, His servant, our great role model. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Matthew 9 : 27-31
At that time, as Jesus moved on from the place where He resurrected the daughter of the official, two blind men followed Him, shouting, “Son of David, help us!” When He was about to enter the house, the blind men caught up with Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do what you want?” They answered, “Yes, Sir!”
Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “As you have believed, so let it be.” And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus gave them a stern warning, “Be careful that no one knows about this.” But as soon as they went away, they spread the news about Him through the whole area.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 13-14
The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.
One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.
I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Isaiah 29 : 17-24
In a very short time, Lebanon will become a fruitful field and the fruitful field will be as a forest. On that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and out of the dark and obscurity the eyes of the blind will see. The meek will find joy and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more and the scoffers gone forever, and all who plan to do evil will be cut down – those who by a word make you guilty, those who for a bribe can lay a snare and send home the just empty-handed.
Therefore YHVH, Abraham’s Redeemer, speaks concerning the people of Jacob : No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will his face grow pale. When he sees the work of My hands, his children again in his midst, they will sanctify My Name, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who err in spirit will understand; those who murmur will learn.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us to heed the call of the Lord for us to obey His Law and commandments, to follow His ways and to love in the way that He has shown and taught us because in the end, we will be held accountable for all of our actions and deeds, our show of love to our brothers and sisters around us or any lack of love instead. If we have not loved our fellow brothers and sisters if we should have done, then we shall also be held accountable for our lack of action and love for our brethren. We have to keep all this in mind as we all continue living our lives as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, at all times.
In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John, we heard of the reminder from the Apostle to the faithful and hence to all of us, of the need for us to show love in al of our every actions and deeds, in our every interactions and works with one another because ultimately, our God is Love, and if He is Love Himself, the manifestation of perfect and most selfless love, then all of us must also be manifestation of God’s love, embodied in our every actions and deeds, in all the words we speak and in every moments of our lives. God Himself has shown His love to us through His beloved Son, Whom He had sent into the world, into our midst so that He may show us all the manifested and most perfect love of God in the flesh, becoming tangible and approachable for all of us.
As Christians, it is imperative that we keep reminding ourselves that we have been called to love most generously and sincerely to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should not ignore those who need our love and kindness, our help and compassion. There are many out there who have not been loved, ignored and ostracised by those who are around them, and if we are in the position to show love to these brethren of ours, then we should really make good use of the opportunities that God has given us so that we may truly love our brothers and sisters in the same way that the Lord Himself has first loved us all, in all the kindness and patient love and care that He has shown us all these while. We should therefore show the same love in each and every moments of our lives too.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus gave truly grim premonition to His disciples about the coming of the time of reckoning at the end of time, when the moment will come all of a sudden, without anyone knowing or realising it, making use of the examples of past catastrophes and events like that of the Great Flood of Noah, which happened suddenly without warning, destroying the whole entire world and civilisations that existed prior to that, and for those people who had rejected the call of the Lord to repent and follow Noah and his family, it was too late for them once the rain poured down and the waters flood the whole earth. Similarly, the example of Sodom and Gomorrah was also presented, when the rain of fire and brimstone destroyed both cities and their people for their wickedness and sins, and their refusal to repent.
Everything will happen in the same manner as the destructions that happened in the past, swift and without warning, and no one save the Lord Himself knows when the exact time of this happening is. No one among us, past, present and future will ever know the time of the Lord’s Second Coming, which He Himself has predicted and reassured us, just as none of us can ever know the exact time of our passing from this world, the end of our earthly life through death. And just like death, which is a certainty that is definitely going to happen, the Lord’s coming into this world and the time of reckoning, of the Final Judgment is something that is a sure certainty, and having been reminded, all of us should make sure that we prepare ourselves and make ourselves ready for that moment.
And how do we do that, brothers and sisters? We should therefore make sure that we practice our faith and whatever it is that we believe in actively in our lives. We should not merely be making lip service of our faith, but we must always be loving and generous just as our Lord and God has always been kind, generous and loving towards us. That is the mark of a true Christian, and one that we have always been reminded of and been challenged to do, to be truly like God in all things, to be loving and compassionate just as He has been towards us. Let us all hence commit ourselves anew to the Lord in our loving actions towards one another, just as St. John the Apostle had exhorted and reminded the faithful back then. Through our actions and efforts, many more people will come to know of the Lord and His love.
Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great or Albertus Magnus, a great and renowned bishop and faithful servant of God who had devoted his life to the Lord and to all the people and the flock which God has entrusted to him as bishop and shepherd. St. Albert the Great, also known as St. Albert of Swabia or St. Albert of Cologne, was a Dominican priest who dedicated himself to a lifelong learning of all sorts of matter of the faith, involved in the teaching and formation of many other priests and religious who encountered him in his many academic efforts and pursuits, devoting himself to explore more about the Lord, His nature of love and to reveal more about the teachings of the Christian faith to many people who sought to know Him better. Among his students was another famous theologian and saint, St. Thomas Aquinas.
And later on, as he was appointed by the Pope himself as the Bishop of Regensburg in Germany, he was known for his great humility and piety, in his dedication to his flock, traversing the whole of his large diocese not on horse or carriage as was common for bishops of his time, but on foot instead. He resigned after a period of three years, humbly returning to the academic and intellectual pursuits that had made him to be so influential at that time and even long after his time. For his great faith in the Lord and his many contributions to the Church, he was later not only honoured and canonised as a saint, but was also made as one of the esteemed Doctors of the Church, as a great role model and inspiration for many of us as Christians.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the Scriptures and the life of St. Albert the Great that we have just discussed earlier, we are all reminded to commit ourselves to a life of faith and dedication to God. We should always walk ever more faithfully in the Lord’s path, and do our best so that in each and every moments of our lives, we will continue to glorify the Lord by our every actions and deeds, our every efforts and works, like St. Albert the Great and so many of our other holy predecessors had done. May all of us be able to follow them in their footsteps as well, and strive to live our lives worthily as Christians, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Luke 17 : 26-37
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. In those days people ate and drank and got married; but on the day Noah entered the Ark, the flood came and destroyed them all.”
“So it was in the days of Lot : people ate and drank, and bought and sold, and planted and built; but on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven, which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”
“On that day, if you are on the rooftop, do not go down into the house to get your belongings; and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again.”
“I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it might happen that one will be taken, and the other left; though two women are grinding corn together, one might be taken and the other left.” Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this take place, Lord?” And He answered, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 118 : 1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18
Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.
I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.
In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my Lord.
Be kind to Your servant, that I may live to follow Your word.
Open my eyes that I may see the marvellous truths in Your law.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
2 John 4-9
I rejoiced greatly on meeting some of your children who live in accordance with the truth, according to the command we have received from the Father. And now, I ask you, Lady – I write to you not a new commandment but that which we had from the beginning – I ask you : let us love one another.
This is love : to walk according to His commandments. And this is the commandment : that you walk in love as you have learnt from the beginning. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ Who came in the flesh. They are impostors and antichrists.
Take care of yourselves that you do not lose the fruit of your labours, but receive a perfect reward. Everyone who goes beyond and does not remain within the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 