Monday

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Monday, 8 January 2024 : Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 12 : 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

He is the God of my salvation; in Him I trust and am not afraid, YHVH is my strength : Him I will praise, the One Who saved me.

You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation. Then you will say : “Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for Him, proclaim His marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt His Name.”

“Sing to the Lord : wonders He has done, let these be known all over the earth. Sing for joy, o people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

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Monday, 8 January 2024 : Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 55 : 1-11

Come here, all you who are thirsty, come to the water! All who have no money, come! Yes, without money and at no cost, buy and drink wine and milk. Why spend money on what is not food and labour for what does not satisfy? Listen to me, and you will eat well; you will enjoy the richest of fare.

Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, I will fulfil in you My promises to David. See, I have given him for a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the people. Likewise you will summon a nation unknown to you, and nations that do not know you will come hurrying to you for the sake of YHVH your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has promoted you.

Seek YHVH while He may be found; call to Him while He is near. Let the wicked abandon his way, let him forsake his thoughts, let him turn to YHVH for He will have mercy, for our God is generous in forgiving. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways, says YHVH.

For as the heavens are above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return till they have watered the earth, making it yield seed for the sower and food for others to eat, so is My Word that goes forth out of My mouth : It will not return to Me idle, but It shall accomplish My will, the purpose for which It has been sent.

Alternative reading

1 John 5 : 1-9

All those, who believe that Jesus is the Anointed, are born of God; whoever loves the Father, loves the Son. How may we know, that we love the children of God? If we love God and fulfil His commands, for God’s love requires us to keep His commands.

In fact, His commandments are not a burden because all those born of God overcome the world. And the victory, which overcomes the world, is our faith. Who has overcome the world? The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus Christ was acknowledged through water, but also through blood. Not only water, but water and blood. And the Spirit, too, witnesses to Him, for the Spirit is truth. There are, then, three testimonies : the Spirit, the water and the blood, and these three witnesses agree.

If we accept human testimony, with greater reason must we accept that of God, given in favour of His Son.

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Monday, 1 January 2024 : Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on New Year’s Day of this Year of Our Lord 2024, we also mark the occasion of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, in Greek known as ‘Theotokos’ or ‘God-bearer’. This is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary which had originated from early in the history of the Church, as since the days of the Apostles, the Church and the faithful had consistently treated Mary with the greatest respect among all of mankind and of all the members of the Church because of her unique role in the history of salvation of mankind. By her other titles that we celebrate in the liturgical year, especially that of the Mother of the Church after Pentecost Sunday, Mary is also the Mother of the Church and the Mother of us all, because the Lord Himself has entrusted her to us to be our own loving Mother.

As the Mother of God, Mary is respected above all other saints and all the created beings, living or dead, because this is a truly unique role surpassing anything that any saints by their lives and deeds had done. After all, no one else can be the one to bear the Lord Himself like Mary had done in her blessed womb for a whole period of nine months. Mary was told by the Archangel Gabriel that she would become the one to bear the Saviour of the world, the Son of God Most High Himself. And this belief that Mary as the Mother of God has a much deeper meaning, symbolism and importance to our faith than what it may appear at a glance. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is because the nature of Mary as the ‘Mother of God’ is inextricably linked to the nature of her Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

There was a time in the early Church when there were varying beliefs and schools of thought regarding the nature of Our Lord Jesus, as while the Apostles had taught and most of the Church fathers had preserved the teachings that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Son of Man at the same time, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, with distinct yet indivisible Divine and Human natures, united in the Person of Jesus Christ, there were some who considered that Jesus Christ as born of the Blessed Virgin Mary was merely a Man, and has separate nature from His Divine nature. This stemmed from a belief that Mary could not have been the Mother of God as how could God be contained in the womb of a woman like Mary?

However, this contradicted everything that the Church had always taught and believed from the beginning about Mary, whom the Church had always believed to be holy and full of grace, according to the words of the Archangel Gabriel himself. When Archangel Gabriel mentioned to Mary, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace!’ as we also repeat every time when we pray the Ave Maria or Hail Mary prayer, he was in fact referring to the fact that Mary is truly full of God’s grace, and if we understand better what grace is, it means that one’s actions and life are aligned with God, and fullness of grace means that Mary is perfectly attuned to the Lord, and hence, was not tainted by the taint and corruption of sin at all throughout her whole life.

And that is what we all believe in Mary’s special role in delivering unto us the Saviour of the world, the Divine Word of God Incarnate, that she, by the singular grace of God, had been protected and spared from any taint of sin, in the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which while it was only formally codified and defined over a hundred and fifty years ago by the Church, it had been part of the Church teachings and beliefs since the very beginning of the Church. And this is inextricably linked to the Dogma of the Divine Motherhood, which the Church celebrates today, as the fact that Mary was hallowed and made perfect highlighted that the One Whom she bore in her womb was none other than the Lord Himself, fully Divine and fully Man.

This is because like the old Ark of the Covenant, which God had hallowed and blessed, to bear His Holy Presence coming down among His people, thus, Mary, as the New Ark of the New Covenant of God, had been made not by human hands but by the Lord Himself, hallowed and blessed, to be the worthy vessel to bear the Son of God, the Divine being contained in the flesh, in the Person of Our Lord and Saviour. This would not have been necessary if Mary was merely the mother of Jesus Christ, the Man, and not the Mother of God as well. Some of those who held on to false and heretical beliefs back then argued that Mary was merely the Mother of Christ, or Christotokos, and not Theotokos, or the Mother of God as the Church has always upheld.

All of these disagreements and differences were resolved at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus where those who adhered to the heresy of Nestorianism were condemned, and the Church officially declared Mary as the Mother of God, or Theotokos. Nestorianism was a heresy championed by the then Archbishop of the See of Constantinople, Nestorius, who propagated the extreme dyophysite idea that the Divine nature and the Human nature of Christ were separate and distinct, and not united in the Person of Jesus Christ. As such, significant numbers of the Nestorians also believed that Mary was only the Mother of Jesus Christ in His human nature, not in His Divine nature, hence rejecting the title of Mother of God for her.

The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus resoundingly rejected that view and idea, and reaffirmed the Church’s beliefs that Jesus Christ is truly Divine and Human, and His two natures, while distinct, are united indivisibly and cannot be separated, united perfectly in a hypostatic union in His Person. Because of that, Mary is not merely just the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, but also the Mother of God the Son, hence being the Mother of God. And it is this great position and honour that Mary has, which made her to be esteemed and honoured above all the other saints and holy men and women of God. But all of us as Christians also honour her ultimately because of her great faith, obedience to God and commitment to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all celebrate the Divine Motherhood of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, let us all remember that she is also our mother as well, for the Lord has entrusted her to us, and all of us to her vice versa. Not only that, but by sharing in our humanity, the Lord has brought us all under His mother’s loving care and attention. Mary has always been loving and attentive towards us all, whom she has treated as her own beloved children. This is why she has always interceded for us, and appeared many times to remind us and to chastise us for our sinful ways and wickedness, through time and history. As our mother, she has always looked upon us with love and pity, seeing how we are all still shackled by the many bonds and entanglements of sin and worldly desires.

Let us all therefore today strive to change our ways for the better, heeding our loving Mother’s call, for us to repent and turn back towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour. Let us all be thankful that the Mother of God herself has always loved us and cared for us, and has shown us the surest and best path towards salvation in her Son. Let us all hence do our part so that our new year may begin in the right manner, free from the corruption of sin and evil, and let us all do our best so that our lives may truly be exemplary and holy, following the examples of Mary herself, the Mother of God, our loving Mother. Let us all follow her examples so that we may also be filled with God’s grace, and be freed from the attachments we had to sin and evils all around us.

Today, the Church also commemorates the World Day of Peace or the World Day of Prayer for Peace. Therefore, on this particular occasion, and keeping in mind how conflicts are still raging all around the world, particularly in Ukraine and in the Holy Land, let us all ask the Blessed Mother of God to intercede for us, and let us all also pray together as one people, seeking and desiring for peace in our world today. Let us all do whatever we can to promote peace and to work against misinformations and efforts by some to stir hatred and anger amongst us, so that we may indeed all work together towards genuine peace in our world. Let us all pray and support all of our leaders and everyone involved in negotiating the peace process.

May the Blessed Mother of God, Theotokos, continue to guide us as always, towards her Son, our Lord and Saviour, and may she always direct us and our attention towards Him, and no longer towards all the temptations of this world. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Monday, 1 January 2024 : Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 16-21

So the shepherds came hurriedly, and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. On seeing Him, they related what they had been told about the Child, and all were astonished on hearing the shepherds.

As for Mary, she treasured all these words, and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds then returned, giving glory and praise to God for all they had heard and seen, just as the Angels had told them.

On the eighth day the circumcision of the Baby had to be performed; He was named Jesus, the Name the Angel had given Him before He was conceived.

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Monday, 1 January 2024 : Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Galatians 4 : 4-7

But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son. He came born of woman and subject to the Law, in order to redeem the subjects of the Law, that we might receive adoption as children of God.

And because you are children, God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of His Son which cries out : Abba! That is, Father! You yourself are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and yours is the inheritance by God’s grace.

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Monday, 1 January 2024 : Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 6 and 8

May God be gracious and bless us; may He let His face shine upon us, that Your way be known on earth and Your salvation among the nations.

May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with justice and guide the nations of the world.

May the peoples praise You, o God, may all the peoples praise You! May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

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Monday, 1 January 2024 : Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and World Day of Prayer for Peace (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Numbers 6 : 22-27

Then YHVH spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and say to them : This is how you shall bless the people of Israel; you shall say : May YHVH bless you and keep you! May YHVH let His face shine on you, and be gracious to you! May YHVH look kindly on you, and give you His peace!”

“In that way they put My Name on the people of Israel and I will bless them.”

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Monday, 25 December 2023 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, finally after a long period of few weeks during the Advent season that we have spent in preparation for today’s glorious and most joyful celebration, we can finally sing in great joy and jubilation, ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo!’, ‘Glory to God in the Highest!’ because His salvation has come into our midst and we recall the moment when this very important event in the history of our salvation and existence, happened more than two thousand years ago in the small town of Bethlehem in Judea. At that time, in the small town where David, the famous King of Israel hailed from, in a manger within a stable where animals were kept, a young Child was born, the firstborn of His Mother Mary, an unassuming young woman who had come with her husband St. Joseph from Nazareth in Galilee.

Yet, this seemingly ordinary occasion, of just another birth happening in this world, and all the more happening in a small and ordinary town, not even something that is supposed to be memorable, and yet, it is one of the most important moments in our faith which allows us to hope once again in the Lord, His love and compassion for us, that by this same, ever enduring and patient love, He has manifested this love in a tangible and real way, by making Himself approachable to us, through His beloved Son, Our Saviour, Lord and King, Jesus Christ, the Son of God Most High. His coming was welcomed not with great fanfare that usually accompanied the birth of royalty and great personages of this world, and yet, His birth is the singular most important birth that has happened and will ever happen.

He is the One Whom all the prophets and messengers of God had spoken about, prophesied and predicted, and His coming would herald a new era for the world. Before He came and reveal God’s love and truth to us, we were still all lost amidst all the darkness and evils of this world. We were tempted by the temptations of worldly pleasures to seek these things and our many attachments to worldly goods and pursuits that we often forgot about the Lord and failed to recognise Him being the One Whom we should focus our attention on in our lives. But God sent to us His Son, so that He can gather us all, His lost sheep who have been wandering all over the world. And His entry into this world, His Nativity or birth, is what we all rejoice for this day and throughout the Christmas season.

We must realise that without Christ and His Incarnation, His entry into this world and later on with everything that He had done for our sake, in willingly embracing and taking upon Himself our sins and the punishments due for those sins, we would have been doomed by those same sins and wickedness, and we should have suffered for eternity in Hell away from God and His perpetual love and grace. There is indeed a massive chasm separating us from God’s love, again due to our sins and refusal to obey the Law and commandments of God. No one could cross this chasm and be reconciled, reunited to God on His own, but through His coming, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ had brought about the reassurance of our reconciliation with God, as He became for us the Bridge connecting between us and God, our loving Father and Creator.

Yet, brothers and sisters in Christ, despite all these, we can easily notice all around us how this time and celebration of Christmas had lost its meaning, purpose and significance in many of the occasions when we celebrate Christmas. Christmas has become yet just another celebration and festivities, with all of its glamour, glitz and parties, where many focused on the celebratory aspects, all the activities, feasting and rejoicing, but the heart and core significance of what Christmas is all about has often been lost, even to many amongst us Christians. How many of us Christians actually carry out our celebrations of Christmas with the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and God at the centre of everything we do this Christmas?

How many of us treated Christmas as merely a time for another celebration or holiday, or think of Christmas as the time and occasion to be merry and to celebrate with lots of festivities and parties? How many among us are looking forward to all the food and the good things that we are all going to have, to the gifts and presents that we are all going to exchange and receive, and to all the bling associated with the way how the world usually celebrate Christmas? How many of us have forgotten that Christmas is truly about Christ our Lord, and how He has brought into our midst the love of God, being made present among us, and therefore all of our rejoicing and celebration ought to be centred on Him and not on ourselves?

Christmas is definitely a time to be happy and to celebrate, brothers and sisters in Christ. However, if we allow ourselves to be deluded, fooled and swayed by all the temptations and the false ideas being presented to us, and if we forget the true nature and significance of Christmas, then I am afraid that we have not celebrated it in the right way and in the right spirit. Without Christ, there can be no Christmas and there can be no true joy and hope for us. It is precisely because of Christ that we can truly rejoice today, as His coming into this world and His birth shows us that God was not just making empty promises and He is truly loving all of us all these while. Through Christ, all of us can experience and we have become witnesses of God’s ever enduring and ever present love, just as we can also experience His Presence in our midst.

That is why, this Christmas, let us all turn away from all the excesses of the worldly and secular Christmas, that we do not end up celebrating and rejoicing in the wrong way. We should not be celebrating excessively, focusing our attention on all the glamour, parties and all the excessive attention on the festivities without remembering or putting Christ at the centre of all that rejoicing and celebrations. We must not allow the temptations and false pleasures of this world from distracting us away from the true reason and joy of Christmas, that is Christ our Lord. We should lead by example in how we all centre ourselves on Christ and do whatever we can so that our whole lives and how we celebrate Christmas will truly be filled with Christ in all things, and we may be the good and faithful bearers of our Christian truth and Good News to all the people around us.

Let us also share our joy and happiness with everyone around us especially if we have been blessed with more, and granted the opportunities and chances to do more good things in our lives and particularly during this Christmas celebrations and time. Let us also remember that not everyone has the opportunity to celebrate Christmas, either because of the circumstances or because of certain misfortunes and difficulties. Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East, particularly in the Holy Land are now facing hardships and conflicts, ongoing warfare and constant threats to their lives and properties. They cannot celebrate in the same manner as us, especially when death and sufferings are all around them daily and at every moments. The same is also still happening to our brethren in Ukraine and parts of Russia as well, where conflict is still raging on almost two years now.

There are also many of our brothers and sisters who have been persecuted for their faith across the world, just like in the days of the early Church, and as it had happened throughout the history of our faith. Many of these brethren of ours cannot openly celebrate Christmas and cannot even let it be known that they are followers of Christ on the threat and pain of suffering and death. There are many others still who are facing financial difficulties and challenges in their lives, from losing their loved ones and their livelihood, from all the injustice and hardships of this world. Many are not able to even afford basic needs and basic welfare, and they are definitely not in the position to celebrate the way that many of us do for Christmas. Yet, we may be surprised to find out that in their hearts and minds, they know well the message and the hope of Christmas, and they look to Christ as their Hope and their focus as they endure all these crosses and sufferings with Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore help our needy brothers and sisters whenever and wherever we can, and keep in mind those who are not able to rejoice as much as we do that our celebrations do not become lavish and excessive, or lose its focus on Christ. Let our Christmas celebrations and joy be shared with all, and let us all show that through Christ, a new Hope has descended into this world, illuminating a world steeped in darkness, raising us all from our wretched state and existence, allowing us all to have hope again, and His Peace has come into our world, and we hope that the Peace of Christ may reign in all hearts and in all the world, that all conflicts may cease and everyone may live once again in peace, and His Joy brought about a new smile and cheer to all of us, reminding us all that all these are possible because of His everlasting and ever patient Love.

May the Lord Jesus Christ, Our God, Saviour and King, born on Christmas Day, continue to bless us all and watch over all of us. May He bless our every Christmas joy and celebrations and help us to remain focused and centred on Him in all things. May He empower us all, particularly those among us who are facing hardships and troubles in life, and may He give us the courage and strength to continue to persevere in faith and life, at all times. Wishing everyone a happy, holy and blessed Christmas! Amen.

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Monday, 25 December 2023 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Day Mass (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 1-18

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness, as a witness to introduce the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but a witness to introduce the Light; for the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him.

He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name. These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving-kindness. John bore witness to Him openly, saying, “This is the One Who comes after me, but He is already ahead of me, for He was before me.”

From His fullness we have all received, favour upon favour. For God had given us the Law through Moses, but Truth and Loving-kindness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God-the-only-Son made Him known : the One, Who is in and with the Father.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

John 1 : 1-5, 9-14

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

For the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him.

He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name. These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving-kindness.

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Monday, 25 December 2023 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Day Mass (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 1 : 1-6

God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times He has spoken definitively to us through His Son. He is the one God appointed Heir of all things, since through Him He unfolded the stages of the world.

He is the Radiance of God’s Glory and bears the stamp of God’s hidden being, so that His powerful Word upholds the universe. And after taking away sin, He took His place at the right hand of the Divine Majesty in heaven. So He is now far superior to Angels just as the Name He received sets Him apart from them.

To what Angel did God say : You are My Son, I have begotten You today? And to what Angel did He promise : I shall be a Father to Him and He will be a Son to Me? On sending His Firstborn to the world, God says : “Let all the Angels adore Him.”