Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today for all those of us who are celebrating the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year to the Chinese people who celebrate it every year. This day marks the celebration of the beginning of the end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, as it was noted as the Spring Festival due to the period of time being the time when the temperatures of the ground and the environment begin to increase again after it has declined over the past few weeks and months. It is a truly joyful celebration as families and relatives come together to celebrate the beginning of the new lunisolar year, sharing their love with each other and meeting those whom they have not probably seen in a year or even more. It is a time for joyful reunion and happiness for everyone.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Numbers in which the Lord told Moses about how his brother Aaron and his sons, those whom God had appointed as priests over the people of Israel ought to give the blessings to the people, which God happily and readily would provide for all of them. The Lord provides for all of His people in need, giving them all His love and kindness, and nothing can happen to us without the Lord knowing about it. This is why, as we all rejoice wonderfully during this time of the Chinese New Year and all the associated celebrations and festivities, we must always keep in mind that our rejoicing, our good fortunes and all the good things we enjoy do not come about from our efforts alone, and we should be careful lest we think that we can gain more prosperity, pleasures and good things of the world if we continue to indulge in them.

That is why all of us are reminded that God alone is the source of all of our blessings and graces, and we must be careful as we carry on our numerous Chinese cultural practices and expressions that we do not end up subscribing to the various superstitious practices and beliefs that surround the celebration of the Chinese New Year and other related events. As Chinese Catholics, it is important that we continue to put God at the centre of our lives and existence, while at the same time, fully immersing ourselves in our rich history and culture, and this venerable and wonderful practice of observing the beginning of the new Lunisolar Year, the Chinese New Year. We should be good examples and inspirations for everyone around us, in how we observe this cultural celebration we rejoice greatly today.

In our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard the important reminder about our lives in this world and how we should not spend our time worrying too much about what we are going to do tomorrow, or to plan too extensively about how the upcoming year will be like. This echoes what the Lord Himself has said about how we all should not spend so much time and effort in busying ourselves to worry about the future, or in all of our actions and works in trying to gain more worldly things and riches for ourselves. After all, matters of live and death, and all the things in this world, all are truly beyond our control, and only God alone knows our fate, and whichever path and ending that will be ours. We should therefore put our focus instead on living our lives courageously in our faith in God, doing whatever we can do, to glorify God by our lives.

In this time and celebration of the Chinese New Year, we must be wary and vigilant so that we do not end up being overwhelmed and overtaken by the plentiful of temptations on worldly glory, wealth and ambition, of the pursuit for prosperity and other worldly temptations around us. We must always remember that as Christians, we are all living in this world with the primary objective of serving the Lord our God, to proclaim His truth and Good News to all the people, and to be the light for all the nations. We do not serve the God of Money and Wealth, or the God of Prosperity and Worldly Glory, but instead, we serve and worship the One and only True God, the Lord and Master of all things, He Who shows us the path that transcends the limitations and imperfections of this world.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which the Lord told His disciples and all those who have followed Him that all of them should not be worried at all about their lives and about what they might encounter in their lives and paths. Instead they should continue to hold firmly in the faith and hope that they ought to have in the Lord, never doubting the providence and the love which God, their heavenly Father and Master has for each and every one of them. The Lord Jesus also reassured all of His disciples that God knew everything that they needed, and they had no need to worry about anything. They should instead focus upon doing what is right and just in God’s path, and God will lead them down the right path, providing them in everything that they needed in life and beyond.

Brothers and sisters, therefore, as we have heard and reflected upon from the messages of the Sacred Scripture that we have received today, on this glorious and most joyful celebration of the Chinese New Year, let us all keep in mind that as we begin this new year, full of hope and aspiration for the coming year ahead, we must never forget that without God we are all nothing, and all of our blessings, good things and everything we enjoy in this life, all became possible because God was with us, blessing us and providing us with everything that we need. We should not become big-headed, proud and haughty, or greedy in our desire for more worldly things and ambitions. Instead, we should be ever more generous in sharing and giving our blessings with one another, especially if we have been blessed with excess, and there are others around us who are suffering and facing difficulties in even making ends meet each day.

May all of our celebrations and festivities during this Chinese New Year period be ever more blessed by God and be attuned fully to His path. Let us all not indulge in the excesses of worldly comfort, merrymaking and rejoicing, but let us instead be willing to share our many blessings and gifts with one another, focusing not so much on prosperity and other temporary, impermanent worldly desires and pursuits. We should remember that first and foremost, this New Year is the perfect opportunity for us to renew our commitments to God, to entrust ourselves and our lives anew to Him. Let us all be ever more devoted in living our lives with ever greater faith, in each and every moments of our lives, so that by our exemplary living, we will come ever closer to the Lord, and be the bearers of His truth and love in our world today.

Let us all share the joy of Christ, His love and kindness to everyone we spend our time with and rejoice with during this festive season. May God bless our families and everyone in our groups and communities, and may He continue to be with us, strengthening us all so that we may continue to grow in faith and persevere despite the challenges we may be facing in life, rooting ourselves and our families ever in the Lord. Wishing everyone a most blessed, holy and wonderful Chinese New Year, truly blessed by God. Amen.