Rose

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Monday, 17 December 2018 : 3rd Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 71 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17

O God, endow the King with Your justice, the Royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.

Let the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills justice. He will defend the cause of the poor, deliver the children of the needy.

Justice will flower in His days, and peace abound till the moon be no more. For He reigns from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.

May His Name endure forever; may His Name be as lasting as the sun. All the races will boast about Him, and He will be blessed by all nations.

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Monday, 17 December 2018 : 3rd Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Genesis 49 : 1-2, 8-10

Jacob then called his sons and said, “Gather round, sons of Jacob. And listen to your father Israel!”

“Judah, your brothers will praise you! You shall seize your enemies by the neck! Your father’s sons shall bow before you. Judah, a young lion! You return from the prey, my son! Like a lion he stoops and crouches, and like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?”

“The sceptre shall not be taken from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to Whom it belongs, and Who has the obedience of the nations.”

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Sunday, 16 December 2018 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a unique occasion during the season of Advent, as we can notice from the difference in the liturgical colour used in the celebration of the Holy Mass, that is rose. The rose colour is only used on two occasions throughout the whole liturgical year, one that is during the season of Lent, on Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, and then one that is today, the third Sunday of Advent, also known as the Gaudete Sunday.

The word Gaudete is the Latin word which means ‘joy’ and the name Gaudete Sunday comes from the beginning of the Introit of today’s Holy Mass, ‘Gaudete in Domino semper…’ which means ‘Rejoice in the Lord always…’. And this points out to the joyful nature that is present in this season of Advent. During this season of Advent, indeed, our celebrations are a bit muted as we focus more on the preparation of ourselves, our hearts and minds, in expecting the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

However, we must also not forget that in this season of Advent, we are expecting the fullness of joy that comes with the occasion of Christmas. Christmas is the moment when the fullness of God’s glory and the true joy He is bringing upon us is revealed in its wholeness. It is just like when a mother gives birth to a baby, as at the moment when the baby is successfully delivered, the joy that the mother and the whole family feels is truly overwhelming and impossible to quantify.

Yet, that does not mean the mother and the family was not joyful before the baby was born. For when the baby was still in the mother’s womb, surely the mother has all of the designs and wishes she has on the baby that is to come, all the joy that comes with the expectation of the fullness of joy to come. The whole family also has that suspense and joy knowing that the baby to come is to bring even greater happiness and joy after the baby is born.

We surely have seen and experienced how expectant mothers and the fathers-to-be planned in our families, among our friends and acquaintances, how they all did all they could to prepare for the eventual birth of the baby, their bundle of joy and blessing from God. Although it must have been challenging and difficult at times to prepare everything, especially for those who are first-time fathers and mothers, but somehow, we can see the energy and joy in them, that hidden joy in expectation.

Thus, this is the same joy that we are focusing on today, on the occasion of this Gaudete Sunday. We do not yet celebrate the fullness of joy that comes with Christmas, just as it is inappropriate for us to pre-empt Christmas celebrations by our revelry and partying during this season of Advent, unless circumstances require us to do so. On this Gaudete Sunday, we take some kind of a short break to the penitential and sombre nature of Advent, and focus on the expectant joy of looking forward to the fullness of joy of Christmas.

But now, then, we need to reexamine ourselves and look deep into our own lives and actions. What is joy for us, and specifically, what is the meaning and significance of Christmas joy for us? Have we actually ever given it a thought, or have we instead allowed ourselves to just follow the flow and all the formalities of Christmas, year after year, again and again? That is, brothers and sisters in Christ, unfortunately what many of us have been doing all these while.

The joy of Christmas, according to what many of us have experienced, is the joy of prosperity, of celebrations and parties, of often lavish and elaborate Christmas lunches and dinners, of going to multiple celebrations, of all the decorations we put in place to prepare for the parties that we are going to have, and of all the gifts we are going to exchange and receive from one another. To us, Christmas is joyful because it is a time of merrymaking and enjoying ourselves, looking at all the beautiful decorations and receiving all the satisfactions be it for our stomach, or for our other desires.

And that is what exactly the problem is with how we celebrate Christmas and how we prepare ourselves for Christmas. We have often been swayed too much by the currents of the world, in how the secular Christmas celebration is perceived. It is indeed sad to note that while Christmas is a very popular celebration worldwide, but at the same time, it is also one of the most secularised and commercialised celebration of our faith.

We just need to look all around us, and we can easily see all the usual paraphernalia and items associated with Christmas, from all the lights and decorations, the Christmas trees and the ubiquitous Santa Claus, the Christmas candies and cakes, bells and all other things we are surely very familiar with, every time we celebrate Christmas. Yet, in all these, many of us have forgotten what the true joy of Christmas truly is.

The practices of using lights and Christmas tree originally came from the desire to honour Christ Himself, as He is the Light of the world, Light that comes to vanquish the darkness present in the world, and He is the Lord of life, ever living and He has vanquished death by His resurrection, symbolically represented with the Christmas tree, made from the evergreen pine trees. In many countries where our Christian faith traditionally existed, the time of Christmas coincided with the peak of the winter season.

And Christmas happened just right after the winter solstice, the time of the longest night in the year. The darkness and the cold that winter brings usually cause most of the vegetations and plants to become barren during that time, but not for the evergreen trees used for the Christmas trees. This again symbolises Christ and the Light He is bringing to the darkened world, and the hope and joy of a new life He is bringing with Him, overcoming the darkness of sin and death.

A lot of our Christmas traditions in fact have relations and origins from the desire to honour Christ, and to expect the joyful coming of Christ, but in the twists of time, the meaning and purpose have been overlooked and forgotten. And in the end, what we have is a twisted, materialistic, hedonistic and self-serving celebration that feeds instead on our ego, pride and greed within us.

We are familiar with the figure of Santa Claus, or also known as Father Christmas. We often know him as the figure who comes bearing gifts for children during the Christmas time. But we end up becoming greedy for the gifts and for the many goods we expect to enjoy during this time of celebration. But if we look deeper into the original figure of Santa Claus, he actually came about from St. Nicholas of Myra, a renowned saint, whose love and charity for those who have little or nothing was truly remarkable.

Instead of focusing on what we are to receive, how about if we instead be inspired by what St. Nicholas of Myra had done, in how he gave generously to the poor and those who have little to celebrate? Instead of expecting to receive even more when we already have plenty, how about if we instead share the joy we have with those who have less than us, and even more for those who do not have the joy?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not forget that there are still many out there who cannot celebrate Christmas in the way that we do. There are those who have to celebrate in hiding or in fear because of persecutions, in places where Christmas cannot be celebrated openly. In those places, each and every day may even be a time of life or death for some of them, and we need to keep them in mind, as we prepare for the joy of Christmas.

Today, let us all rediscover for ourselves what the true joy of Christmas is for us, and realise that behind all of the merrymaking and the happy celebrations we are preparing, we often forget the One Whom we truly ought to be joyful for, and that is Christ, Our Lord, the One born and celebrated in Christmas. Let us all turn ourselves towards Him and put Him once again at the centre of our celebrations this Christmas.

Let us be generous in giving and in sharing our Christmas joy with everyone around us, and be mindful especially for the needy and for all those who have not been able to celebrate the joy of Christmas for various reasons. Let us be the bearers of Christ’s joy and bring the light of hope He has brought into our midst, that each one of us can be the sources of joy for our fellow brethren, for our families and friends, for those who are around us, and for the poor and the needy in our midst. May the upcoming joy of Christmas be the true joy that inspire us all, to be ever more devoted and loving to God, Our loving Father. Amen.

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Sunday, 16 December 2018 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

Luke 3 : 10-18

At that time, John said to the tax collectors, “Collect no more than your fixed rate.” Then some soldiers asked John, “What about us? What are we to do?” And he answered, “Do not take anything by force, or threaten the people by denouncing them falsely. Be content with your pay.”

The people were wondering about John’s identity, “Could he be the Messiah?” Then John answered them, “I baptise you with water, but the One Who is coming will do much more : He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. As for me, I am not worthy to untie His sandal. He comes with a winnowing fan, to clear His threshing floor, and gather the grain into His barn. But the chaff He will burn, with fire that never goes out.”

With these, and many other words, John announced the Good News to the people.

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Sunday, 16 December 2018 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

Philippians 4 : 4-7

Rejoice in the Lord, always! I say it again : rejoice, and may everyone experience your gentle and understanding heart. The Lord is near : do not be anxious about anything. In everything, resort to prayer and supplication, together, with thanksgiving, and bring your requests before God.

Then, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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Sunday, 16 December 2018 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

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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Sunday, 16 December 2018 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

Zephaniah 3 : 14-18a

Cry out with joy, o daughter of Zion; rejoice, o people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! YHVH has lifted your sentence and has driven your enemies away. YHVH, the King of Israel is with you; do not fear any misfortune.

On that day, they will say to Jerusalem : Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for YHVH your God is within you, YHVH, saving warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for He has revived His love. For you He will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the feast. I will drive away the evil I warned you about.

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Sunday, 17 December 2017 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we enter into the third Sunday in the season of Advent, the time of preparation for the coming of Christmas. And we may have noticed something peculiar about today’s celebration of the Holy Mass, as we use a different liturgical colour, that is rose instead of purple or violet. That is because today we celebrate what is also known as Gaudete Sunday.

The word Gaudete comes from the first word in today’s Introit proper in Latin, ‘Gaudete’ which means ‘Joy’. In each of the four Sundays of Advent, we reflect on different aspects of our upcoming Christmas celebrations, from Peace, Hope, Joy and Love. And today we focus on the joyful aspect of our Christmas celebrations, and therefore the change in the liturgical colour signifies an allowance for a more vibrant celebration today as compared to the more solemn and penitential nature of the rest of the Advent season.

Yet, the first thing that we must ask ourselves today, is what is the joy of our Christmas celebrations. This may seem to be a silly question and many of us may be wondering why am I asking such a rhetorical and obvious question. However, do we realise that while many of us may know the answer to that question, ‘What is the joy of our Christmas celebrations?’, yet in our actions we are not doing what we think we know.

What am I talking about? I am talking about how many Christians know that Christmas is the joyous celebration remembering the historic and momentous event when Our Lord and God Himself, Who chose willingly to assume our humanity in Jesus Christ, His Son, was born into the world and God has entered into our midst, fulfilling His long promised salvation for us all who are faithful to Him. And yet, many of us do not celebrate Christmas for the right reasons.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we know just how aggressive the marketing campaign for Christmas can be. Almost everywhere in the world where Christmas is celebrated, there are plenty of festivities and celebrations, and increasingly, year after year, the celebrations become ever more elaborate, materialistic and the saddest of all, secularised.

What I mean is that, more and more people dissociate Christmas from the very One person after Whom Christmas was named, and the very One Whose birth is commemorated at Christmas, that is Christ, Our Lord Jesus Christ. While there are still places where the Lord Jesus features prominently in the Christmas celebrations, how much less popular He is in many other places compared to other familiar Christmas figures we know of!

For example, we can be sure that in almost all Christmas celebrations we always have a Christmas tree, wonderfully decorated with lights and presents underneath the tree. Yet, how many of us know the reason why we make Christmas trees and decorate them as such to celebrate this momentous event?

The Christmas tree in fact represents Christ, as the evergreen tree used for the tree represents the life that Christ gives to the world. At most of the places where Christmas is celebrated, it occurs during the time of winter, when everything is covered with snow and temperature is so low that nothing can live except the evergreen trees that can withstand the harsh conditions. It is symbolic of Christ giving life into the world by His coming through Christmas.

How about the lights and all the decorations that are placed on the Christmas trees? How about the gifts we place under the tree and the star that usually crowns the top of the Christmas tree? They also represent Christ, Who is the light of the world. As the prophet Isaiah said in the reading used for the Christmas Midnight Mass, ‘a people who lived in darkness have seen a great light’, and this Light is Christ.

The gifts represent the gift of Christ, as we should remember in the Gospel of St. John chapter 3 verse 16, the famous phrase, ‘God so loved the world, that He gave us His Beloved Son, that through Him all may be saved’. This is the ultimate gift that God has given us, the gift of love, and not just any kind of love, but ‘ultimate love’, for Christ Himself said, ‘there is no greater love than for someone to lay down his life for a friend’ and He laid down His life for us.

And the star atop the Christmas tree represent the Star of Bethlehem, which the three Magi saw, and they travelled a great distance from their homeland to come to the Saviour and King that the Star’s presence announced to the world. This Star is a symbol of faith and hope, and faith because the Magi had faith in God and they used the Star as a guiding light and their destination, and hope amidst the darkness of the land. As from the ancient times until today, the light of stars, sun and moon have guided us mankind in our journey, and therefore, Christ is our Light, our Hope and our Destination.

Therefore, as you can see, pretty much everything about the Christmas tree itself is about Christ! And yet, many of us may not have realised this fact, or that we are focusing on the wrong things. Many of us want to please our guests and family members who come to our houses for the Christmas celebrations, and many shopping malls and cities, companies and others try to outdo each other in raising up the best, the best decorated, the most beautiful and even largest Christmas trees. Yet, if we think about it carefully, are they, and indeed we, missing the point and the true spirit of Christmas?

And we always see Santa Claus and his chariot, driven by the reindeers around. We all know the story of how Santa Claus supposedly lives in the North Pole and has many elves who run a gift factory preparing many gifts for children around the world. And we know how Santa goes around in his magical chariot on Christmas Eve, and goes down the chimney to put the gifts secretly in the middle of the night, and magically the gifts appear in the morning to happy children?

All of them are fairy tales and fables crafted to entertain children and to entertain worldly fantasies. Unfortunately, not many people know the true origin of Santa Claus. Many of them associate Santa Claus with an elderly man dressed in red and white, with long moustache and beards, bearing a large sack filled with gifts. But the real Santa Claus is a saint, and one who was famous for his love for children, and the tradition that he gave gifts to children most likely have ended up being twisted eventually into the modern Santa Claus we know.

But the real Santa Claus is St. Nicholas of Myra, whose feast day we just celebrated earlier this month, a loving and kind servant of God, and yet one who was also zealous and filled with genuine devotion to God, and as tradition has it, he did not even hesitate to punch a heretic in the face, when Arius the heretic espoused and spoke heresies assembled at the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after our long discourse today about Christmas and all of its paraphernalia, and all the true reasons and purposes for all the Christmas traditions we see around us, are we convinced that our true joy of Christmas should indeed be Christ? Christmas is joyful because we have nothing less than God Himself, Master and Lord of all the universe, Who has willingly lowered and emptied Himself to take up our human existence, united to His divinity in Jesus Christ, equally God and equally Man, that through Him, and His ultimate loving sacrifice on the cross, we may have life in us?

Let us all tarry no longer and be distracted no longer by all the materialistic and secular celebrations of Christmas, but instead let us all seek to rediscover this true joy of our Christmas celebrations, that is Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us restore Him to His rightful place in all of our celebrations, that is at the very centre and focus of all of our Christmas joy and happiness.

And as the Lord Himself has shown us, the examples of His love, then each and every one of us as Christians must also be empowered in the Christmas spirit of giving. Rather than giving expensive gifts to one another and expect a return from those who can give us back what we have given them, how about we give to those who have no joy with them this Christmas because they are not even able to make ends meet? Let us be generous with our charity and giving this Christmas.

As we continue to approach the time of Christmas, let us strive to be ever more understanding of the true meaning and joy of Christmas, that despite all the distractions of this world, we will not forget the true focus of all of our celebrations on this momentous occasion. May all of us draw ever closer to the Lord, and may we all find our true joy of Christmas. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 December 2017 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

John 1 : 6-8, 19-28

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.

This was the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” John recognised the truth, and did not deny it. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”

And they asked him, “Then who are you? Elijah?” He answered, “I am not.” They said, “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Tell us who you are, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. How do you see yourself?”

And John said, quoting the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness : Make straight the way of the Lord!” Those who had been sent were Pharisees; and they put a further question to John, “Then why are you baptising, if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”

John answered, “I baptise you with water, but among you stands One Whom you do not know; although He comes after me, I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal.”

This happened in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptising.

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Sunday, 17 December 2017 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

1 Thessalonians 5 : 16-24

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks to God at every moment. This is the will of God, your vocation as Christians. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise the prophets’ warnings. Put everything to the test and hold fast to what is good. Avoid evil, wherever it may be.

May the God of peace make you holy and bring you to perfection. May you be completely blameless, in spirit, soul and body, till the coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord; He Who called you is faithful and will do it.