Holy Sunday Mass

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Sunday, 18 December 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we celebrate together the occasion of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the last of the four Sundays of Advent, and a sign that we are approaching Christmas really soon, which is in fact going to occur just next week. As we approach closer to the time of Christmas, we should have used this time of Advent to prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually to welcome our Lord Jesus as we remember His first coming into this world two millennia ago.

The Lord has shown His promise to be true and His dedication to us and to His covenant to be trustworthy, as He has fulfilled what He had prophesied right from the beginning of time, of what He was going to do in order to save all of His people, that is by the sending of the Deliverer and Saviour into the world, the One through Whom the salvation of God would be made a reality, and all of God’s people would be redeemed from their sins and from their fated destruction.

In the very beginning, God had made His words to Adam and Eve, as well as Satan very clear. If we read through the first chapters of the Book of Genesis, we can see how God cursed Satan for his role in bringing about the downfall of mankind, for his jealousy against God and against mankind. But he was allowed to test the sons and daughters of men, and for a long time, he was a great trouble for mankind. God said that he would seize the heels of the sons of men, but at the same time, He also promised that from the Woman that was to come, salvation would come and Satan would be crushed.

That Woman was to be the Virgin, the same one whom the prophet Isaiah mentioned in the first reading today to king Ahaz of Judah. And that cane about a time when the people of God had fallen away back into their sinful ways, as they had repeatedly throughout their history, ever since the days of Abraham, to the days of Moses, when they chose to worship the golden calf and the pagan idols instead of the Lord God, and right down to the time of the kings.

It is a constant reminder that while mankind had been unfaithful and disobedient, but God never forgot about them, and neither did He want them to perish, lest it was they themselves who rejected God’s generous offer of mercy, forgiveness and grace. God did not create us to see us destroyed or perish meaninglessly. He created us all, each and every one of us out of His love for us, or otherwise He would not have created us in the first place. Despite our imperfections and the taints of our sins, He wanted us to be redeemed and to be purified from those sins and be reunited with Him.

And that is precisely the essence of Advent and Christmas, the former which is the representation of the great longing of mankind to be reunited with their Lord and God, and also the waiting and expectation for the fulfilment of God’s promise, which is fully completed by Christmas and its true meaning, that is the birth and the arrival of the long promised Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, the One Who would free all of God’s people from their bondage to sin and to the forces of Satan.

Sin are like chains that have put us enslaved and under the domain of the prince of this world, that is Satan. And because of sin, we have been corrupted and made unworthy to be with God, because He is all good and no sin can stand in His presence and stay unjudged. Through sin, Satan had had dominion and power over us, but not anymore, since deliverance have been shown to us through Christ Who came to break us free from our bondage and chains of sin.

Through Mary, our Lord has been born into this world, taking up our very form and our very essence and flesh, the Almighty God taking up the mere and humble flesh of Man, for a singular purpose, that is for the salvation of us all, that all of us may be liberated from the sins that have gripped us since the early days of creation. And as I mentioned earlier before, God did not just do things without any reason. He did all these because of His infinite and everlasting love for each and every one of us.

And that is the aspect we are focusing on this Sunday, the aspect of Love. We have celebrated the aspects of Hope, Peace and Joy thus far, that is the hope, peace, and joy that Christ has brought into the world with His coming, but Love is the greatest of them all. Without God’s love, there would be no Christmas, and without His love, He would not have created us in the first place, and He would not have given us all a chance to be redeemed and to be forgiven from our sins.

God’s love has given us the opportunity to break away from the slavery of sin and death, and by His sacrifice on the cross, made with the ultimate and selfless love He has for each and everyone of us, He has absolved us from the burdens of the original sins of Adam and Eve, giving us a new hope and a new joy in our hearts, that while once we mankind had to face death and suffering because of our sins and iniquities, the consequences for our rebellion, now we have a new hope in our God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we have to reflect and think about how we have lived our lives. God has been so generous with His love for us, but have we been generous with our love for Him? That is one very important question that we need to ask ourselves as we approach the celebration of Christmas. We should not come into Christmas without understanding this important tenet about Christmas, and without properly knowing what Christmas is truly about.

Many of us go through Christmas as if it is just another time and moment to celebrate and rejoice without stopping to reflect and to find time to think about what it is we are rejoicing about. We revel in the festive season and rejoice with our family members, our relatives and with our friends, but we do so with the wrong reasons. Sometimes it is painful to see people competing with each other for the best Christmas decorations in their homes, or for the best dresses they wear to the Christmas parties, and focusing on all the material goods rather than the essence of Christmas itself, that is Christ.

It means that many of us have taken Christ out of Christmas, and many of us have forgotten that Christmas is truly a celebration about Christ and not about ourselves. Yes, in a way, it is a time to also celebrate about ourselves, but not for our own worldly glory and joy, but instead because of the reason that we have been saved by the love of God from certain destruction because of our sins. It is the love of God shown through Christ that we are celebrating, and we rejoice together because of that.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christmas is just one more week away, let us all see into our preparations for the celebration of Christmas and ask ourselves that very important question, that is, is Christ at the centre of our celebrations? Is He the focus of our joy and of our revelry? Or is it instead a time when we ignore Him and put Him out of the picture when it was really because of Him and His generous love that we can rejoice, knowing that we have hope in Him?

Let us all reorientate our celebrations and focus it on Christ, and indeed, let us all refocus our lives on Christ, putting Him at the very centre of our lives. From now on, let all things we do, we say and we act, be filled with the fullness of God’s love, so that through our actions, words and deeds, we may show to the world and to many people, just how loving God is to all of us.

May the Lord help us all Christians, that each of us may become the bearers and witnesses of His love that came in Christmas in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. May we all be able to share the joy of Christmas with each other and with the world, that many more will come to believe in the Lord and in His salvation. And at the same time, let us all not forget the poor and those who are unable to rejoice in this season of joy because of various reasons. Let us share our joy with them and comfort them from their sorrows with the love and joy from the Lord. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 18 December 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 1 : 18-24

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet : The Virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means God-with-us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.

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Sunday, 18 December 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Romans 1 : 1-7

From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an Apostle called and set apart for God’s Good News, the very promises He foretold through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures, regarding His Son, Who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognised as the Son of God endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead through the Holy Spirit.

Through Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the sake of His Name, we received grace and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith. All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy : May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

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Sunday, 18 December 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Sunday, 18 December 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Isaiah 7 : 10-14

Once again YHVH addressed Ahaz, “Ask for a sign from YHVH your God, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.”

But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask, I will not put YHVH to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my God? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign : The Virgin is with Child and bears a Son and calls His Name Immanuel.”

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Sunday, 11 December 2016 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the occasion of the Third Sunday of Advent, also commonly known as the Gaudete Sunday, a special occasion in the season of Advent, when we see a change in the liturgical colour being used, from the usual purple or violet into the colour of rose, to symbolise the more joyous occasion of today’s celebration.

The word Gaudete itself comes from Gaudeamus, or ‘Joy’ in Latin, signifying what we are celebrating today, that is the joy we all experience in the anticipation of the coming of the Lord at Christmas. Therefore, as we focus on this aspect of joy, in a way, we suspend for a short moment the penitential and the solemn nature of this season of Advent, a season of preparation, and look forward to the joy of Christmas.

But again, as we surely have discussed a lot during this season of Advent thus far, and year after year, we all should realise that we need to ask ourselves the same question again and again, lest we forget and misunderstood the intent of our Christmas celebration. What are we rejoicing about at Christmas? What are we so happy about when the time of Christmas comes?

Is it about the gifts and presents that we are about to receive? Is it about the good times and the holidays we are going to enjoy for ourselves? Is it about the joyful time that we are going to enjoy and share with our family members, with our relatives and with our friends? These are usually what many of us are focusing and thinking about as we approach Christmas and its celebrations, but if our focus are on all of these, then I am afraid that we have missed what the joy of Christmas is essentially about.

On the occasion of this Gaudete Sunday therefore, all of us are reminded of the great joy that each and every one of us ought to have because of one singular act of love by our God. And that was the salvation which He brought into the world, through His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who have entered into the world as a Man, that by bearing our own sins and the punishment for our sins upon Himself, we may all be redeemed through Him.

And that was the joy which the Scriptures today presented to us, the joy of the people who have been healed and made whole again, when those who were blind had their eyes opened, when those who were deaf and mute had their ears and tongues opened and loosened, when those who were paralysed and were possessed by evil spirits were healed from their afflictions.

But most importantly, above all these, besides the afflictions of the flesh, God has brought upon us His healing for the disease and sickness of our soul, and that is sin. Sin has become a great menace for us, a source of corruption that affects and destroys our soul, and from the soul, sin corrupts everything else, from mind to heart and to our bodies.

That is why we are so joyful this Christmas, because not only that God had come into the world to be with us, but through Him we have also received a new hope and an escape route from the despair that has been with us because of our sins. By our sins and disobedience we have been separated from God, and by the Lord’s doing, He has reunited us with Himself, all of us who believe wholeheartedly in His promise.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day therefore, as we reflect on the joy of Advent, and ultimately the joy of Christmas, let us all keep in mind that we ought to put Christ our Lord at the centre of our celebrations of Christmas, and ultimately, of course, not just at Christmas but also for the rest of our lives, so that anchored firmly in Christ, we may not be easily swayed by the temptations and the persuasions of this world to sin and be disobedient against God.

Let us all make good use of this Advent season and help one another to reorientate their lives and spend more time to reflect and pray, so that by discerning carefully and guided through our faith, we may all be able to find our true joy in the Lord, and receive the fullness of grace as we prepare ourselves throughly to welcome the Lord Jesus into our lives.

Remember, brethren, we do not just remember His first coming into this world, which has already happened. We also anticipate in this season of Advent, the Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour, Who will come in His glory to save all of us who have remained true and faithful to Him. Let us not be complacent and be swayed by the persuasions of the world, which wants us to continue on our current path filled with sin.

May the Lord Jesus bless us and strengthen in us our faith, as well as our commitment to live a life devoted to Him, that we may put Him at the centre of our lives, and in all the things that we say and do, we always declare and show to all the glory of our God and the goodness of His salvation to all. Come, Lord Jesus, come and bless Your people. Amen.

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Sunday, 11 December 2016 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)
Matthew 11 : 2-11

At that time, when John the Baptist heard in prison about the activities of Christ, he sent a message by his disciples, asking Him, “Are You the One Who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus answered them, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see : the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and Good News is reaching the poor; and how fortunate is the one who does not take offence at Me!”

As the messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John : “When you went out to the desert, what did you expect to see? A reed swept by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? People who wear fine clothes live in palaces. What did you really go out to see? A prophet?”

“Yes, indeed, and even more than a prophet. He is the man of whom Scripture says : I send My messenger ahead of You to prepare the way before You. I tell you this : no one greater than John the Baptist has come forward from among the sons of women, and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

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Sunday, 11 December 2016 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)
James 5 : 7-10

Be patient then, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. See how the sower waits for the precious fruits of the earth, looking forward patiently to the autumn and spring rains. You also be patient and do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Beloved, do not fight among yourselves and you will not be judged. See, the judge is already at the door. Take for yourselves, as an example of patience, the suffering of the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s Name.

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Sunday, 11 December 2016 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)
Psalm 145 : 7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger.

He sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Sunday, 11 December 2016 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)
Isaiah 35 : 1-6a, 10

Let the wilderness and the arid land rejoice, the desert be glad and blossom. Covered with flowers, it sings and shouts with joy, adorned with the splendour of Lebanon, the magnificence of Carmel and Sharon. They, my people, see the glory of YHVH, the majesty of our God.

Give vigour to weary hands and strength to enfeebled knees. Say to those who are afraid : “Have courage, do not fear. See, your God comes, demanding justice. He is the God Who rewards, the God Who comes to save you.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed. Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout. For the ransomed of YHVH will return : with everlasting joy upon their heads, they will come to Zion singing, gladness and joy marching with them, while sorrow and sighing flee away.