Saturday

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Saturday, 1 February 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Hebrews 11 : 1-2, 8-19

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. It was by faith that Abraham, called by God, set out for a country that would be given to him as an inheritance; for he parted without knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived as a stranger in that promised land. There he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, beneficiaries of the same promise. Indeed, he looked forward to that city of solid foundation of which God is the Architect and Builder.

By faith Sarah herself received power to become a mother, in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that He Who had made the promise would be faithful. Therefore, from an almost impotent man were born descendants as numerous as the stars of heavens, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

Death found all these people strong in their faith. They had not received what was promised, but they had looked ahead and had rejoiced in it from afar, saying that they were foreigners and travellers on earth. Those who speak in this way prove that they are looking for their own country. For if they had longed for the land they had left, it would have been easy for them to return, but no, they aspired to a better city, that is, a supernatural one; so God, Who prepared the city for them is not ashamed of being called their God.

By faith Abraham went to offer Isaac when God tested him. And so he who had received the promise of God offered his only son although God had told him : Isaac’s descendants will bear your name. Abraham reasoned that God is capable even of raising the dead, and he received back his son, which has a figurative meaning.

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Saturday, 25 January 2025 : Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church marks the occasion of the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, marking the moment when the once hostile and fervent anti-Christian young Jew and Pharisee named Saul turned over a new leaf completely in his life, becoming then the courageous defender of the Christian faith, changing his name into Paul as the sign of this conversion and embarking into a new life and mission blessed by God. And this day all of us are reminded not to give up hope in the Lord because in Him alone lies our salvation and hope, and He has generously showed us all His love and grace, His persistent care and compassion towards all of us, and His desire to be reunited with us. God has always called us all to holiness, and He provided us with the sure path through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our first reading today, we heard the story of the conversion of St. Paul himself, highlighting to us the moment when as mentioned, Saul the Pharisee encountered the Lord and was converted to the true faith. Up to that moment Saul had always been a very energetic and fanatical Pharisee who had been very active in persecuting the early Christians, arresting many of them throughout Jerusalem, Judea and other regions, and he was also present at the time of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the very first martyr of the Church. Essentially he was a great enemy of the Church and the early Christian believers. And that mistaken zeal was what drove the young Saul to seek permission from the Jewish leaders to go to Damascus to continue rooting out the early Christians and persecuting them for their faith in the Lord.

But as we all know, God had a very different plan for Saul. As we heard from the account from the Acts of the Apostles, Saul had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Himself Who appeared to Him on the way to Damascus, and Who revealed Himself and His truth to the misguided and overzealous young man. It was thus the beginning of the conversion journey of Saul, who met Ananias, one of the Lord’s disciples who was in Damascus, and it was Ananias who baptised Saul and gave him the first teachings and truth of the Christian beliefs, opening the eyes of Saul to what the truth about Jesus Christ, the Saviour has brought into this world, which he and many other Pharisees, clouded by pride, greed and ego, and by falsehoods, refused to believe and ended up persecuting.

Saul therefore completely changed his ways, so much so that many people were astonished by the change, both those Pharisees who once persecuted Christians with him and also the persecuted Christians themselves. But Saul continued to grow in wisdom and power of the Lord through the Holy Spirit, and he took upon the new name of Paul to signify this conversion and change, much as how in the Scriptures, people had their names change to indicate significant events in their lives. From a great enemy and persecutor of Christians, St. Paul became the great champion of the Christian faith, dedicating and committing himself to the cause of the Lord, proclaiming the truth of God faithfully wherever he went, labouring hard for the Lord’s sake and enduring a lot of hardships and persecutions that he himself once inflicted upon the Christians.

The story of the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle is truly a very amazing story of hope and change which all of us should be inspired by. The great examples shown by St. Paul the Apostle and his dedication to the Lord after having committed great mistakes and harm to the Church earlier in his life is one of the story of hope reminding us that there is no one excluded by the Lord and that each and every one of have the same opportunity and chance which God Himself has provided most generously to us because He wants us all to be saved and redeemed through Him, and no longer be lost because of our sins and disobedience against Him. If even a great sinner and someone who had once committed grievous sins and acts that endangered many of the early Christians like St. Paul could become a great servant of God and exemplary follower of the Lord, then who we are to say that we cannot do the same as well?

In our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples in which He commanded all of them to go forth and spread throughout the world, proclaiming His Good News and salvation, all of which He has promised to us through the same Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all. This commissioning took place after the Lord has suffered and died on His Cross, and then risen gloriously from death. It is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to all of us as His disciples, to be the bearers of the Good News of His triumphant victory over sin and death, over the chains of evil and the dominion of Satan, all those things that had prevented us from coming towards the Lord and His salvation, His grace and love.

Each and every one of us have been given such great grace from God and we should indeed be thankful for everything that He had done for us. He has loved us so dearly and patiently even when we have often rebelled against Him and disobeyed Him, resolving to forgive us all and continuing to open the path of redemption to all of us. That was what St. Paul had accepted, the generous offer of mercy and forgiveness, and he showed us all that all saints were sinners just like us too, but what matters is that they all changed their ways and abandoned their past sins, corruptions and all the things which had kept them from truly being able to live their lives faithfully as God’s holy servants and people. They cast aside the temptations and false pleasures of the world, putting their faith and trust fully in God, becoming great role models and inspirations for us to follow.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to commit ourselves henceforth to the Lord like how St. Paul and many other saints had done? Are we willing and able to reject the temptations of the evil one, all the pleasures and allures of worldly glory, ambition, corruptions and all the things that often distract us from the right path towards the Lord? God has given us all the freedom to choose our path in life, and we need to make the conscious effort to firmly reject all those that can bring us away into the path towards our downfall and destruction. This is why we should always put the Lord at the centre of everything that we believe in, and make Him to be the reason and the focus of everything that we say and do. We should not allow anything to keep us away from God and His truth, His love and Presence. Every one of us as sinners still have path path forward, and that is through God’s love, compassion and mercy.

Let us all continue to live our lives to the fullest in faith, committing ourselves each and every moments to walk ever down this path that God has shown us, and be the good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord, the shining beacons of His truth, His Good News and love in this world. May the Lord be with us all and may He continue to help and guide us so that we may continue to be led towards Him and that we will not lose our paths and bearings in life, continuing to trust in God’s love and mercy, now and always, ever proclaiming that love and mercy to the whole world. Amen.

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Saturday, 25 January 2025 : Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 16 : 15-18

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned.”

“Signs like these will accompany those who have believed : in My Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

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Saturday, 25 January 2025 : Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.

How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.

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Saturday, 25 January 2025 : Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 22 : 3-16

Paul spoke to the Jews in Jerusalem, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here, in this city, where I was educated in the school of Gamaliel, according to the strict observance of our law. And I was dedicated to God’s service, as are all of you today. As for this Way, I persecuted it to the point of death and arrested its followers, both men and women, throwing them into prison.”

“The High Priest and the whole Council of elders can bear witness to this. From them, I received letters for the Jewish brothers in Damascus; and I set out to arrest those who were there, and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. But, as I was travelling along, nearing Damascus, at about noon, a great light from the sky suddenly flashed about me.”

“I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me : ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me : ‘I am Jesus, the Nazorean, Whom you persecute.’ The men who were with me saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of the One Who was speaking to me. I asked : ‘What shall I do, Lord?’”

“And the Lord replied : ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there, you will be told all that you are destined to do.’ Yet, the brightness of that light had blinded me; and so, I was led by the hand into Damascus by my companions. There, a certain Ananias came to me. He was a devout observer of the law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who were living there.”

“As he stood by me, he said : ‘Brother Saul, recover your sight.’ At that moment, I could see; and I looked at him. He, then, said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will, to see the Just One, and to hear the words from His mouth. From now on, you shall be His witness before all the pagan people, and tell them all that you have seen and heard.’”

“‘And now, why delay? Get up and be baptised, and have your sins washed away, by calling upon His Name.’”

Alternative reading

Acts 9 : 1-22

Meanwhile, Saul considered nothing but violence and death for the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus that would authorise him to arrest and bring to Jerusalem, anyone he might find, man or woman, belonging to the Way.

As he travelled along and was approaching Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute Me?” And he asked, “Who are You, Lord?” The voice replied, “I am Jesus, Whom you persecute. Now, get up, and go into the city; there, you will be told what you are to do.”

The men who were travelling with him stood there speechless : they had heard the sound, but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground and, opening his eyes, he could not see. They took him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. He was blind; and he did not eat or drink for three days.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, to whom the Lord called in a vision, “Ananias!” He answered, “Here I am, Lord!” Then the Lord said to him, “Go, at once, to Straight Street and ask, at the house of Judas, for a man of Tarsus named Saul. You will find him praying, for he has just seen in a vision that a man named Ananias has come in and placed his hands upon him, to restore his sight.”

Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem; and now, he is here, with authority from the High Priest, to arrest all who call upon Your Name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go! This man is My chosen instrument, to bring My Name to the pagan nations and their kings, and the people of Israel as well. I, Myself, will show him how much he will have to suffer for My Name.”

So Ananias left and went to the house. He laid his hands upon Saul and said, “Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus, Who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me to you, so that you may receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see; he got up and was baptised. Then he took food and was strengthened.

For several days Saul stayed with the disciples at Damascus, and he soon began to proclaim in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. All who heard were astonished and said, “Is this not the one who cast out, in Jerusalem, all those calling upon this Name? Did he not come here, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”

But Saul grew more and more powerful; and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus when he proved that Jesus was the Messiah.

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Saturday, 18 January 2025 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that through the great love, kindness and grace that God has given to each one of us, we have received this great promise and assurance of salvation and eternal life, all because of our Lord having come into this world in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, through Whom God made that Bridge connecting all of us back to Him, renewing and making a new and eternal Covenant with all of us through His perfect and most selfless sacrifice on the Cross. And we should realise just how fortunate all of us are, having received this great love and grace from God.

In our first reading today, from the continuation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author of this Epistle spoke about the power of the Word of God which had been made flesh, incarnate in our midst, and Whose power has penetrated through our every beings, our bodies, hearts and minds, revealing unto us the truth about the Lord, His love and great desire to save us all from certain destruction and eternal damnation. He has given is all this way of salvation through His Son, the Incarnate Word of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, Who has become one like us, assuming our human nature and existence, and yet without the taint and corruption of sin. By that, as mentioned by the author of the Epistle, He has become our one True and Eternal High Priest, offering on our behalf the sacrifice worthy of redeeming us from our sins.

This is what we are constantly being reminded of, the love of God that has been manifested in His Son, and this Son, our High Priest has willingly embraced our human existence, having gone through all the temptations, challenges and difficulties, all the trials that He had to face throughout His life, ministry, and ultimately His Passion and death on the Cross. He did not hesitate to go through all of these ultimately because of His ever enduring and present love for each one of us. He has obeyed so perfectly that by His total obedience and love for His heavenly Father, He, as the New Man, might become for all of us the perfect role model and inspiration to follow, in becoming the perfect Man, the perfect Lamb to be offered for us, and the perfect High Priest to offer this generous and most selfless offering for the sake of our redemption.

Essentially, through Christ, we have received the assurance of forgiveness from our sins and the path to eternal life and true happiness with Him, because He is truly God Himself in the raiment of our human nature, and by His power and the grace that He has freely offered us, He has the power to forgive us from our many sins, calling on each and every one of us to come to Him and to embrace His rich forgiveness and grace, reminding us that there is no sinner without a future, as long as we trust in the Lord and believe in His compassion and rich mercy, and cooperate with Him in His desire to reunite us all with Him, leading to us all being freed from the bondage of sin, walking down the path of repentance and turning away from the darkness, walking towards the light and salvation in God.

Then in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus called Levi, a tax collector to be one of His disciples. And in this Gospel we heard the example of what the Lord had desired to do with His coming into this world to heal us all from our afflictions and forgive us all from our many sins. This is because the tax collectors during the time of the Lord were often reviled, despised and hated by many of the people because of the prejudice they experienced based on their line of work and what they did, which were disliked by the people. Their job was to collect taxes on behalf of the rulers, be it the Herodian rulers, the descendants of Herod the Great, or the Romans, who were the true rulers and overlords of the land that time.

No one would love to allow their hard earned money, wealth or possessions to be taxed, and the various taxes they had to endure not only make the livelihood the people were having to be more difficult and challenging, but the common perception was that the tax collectors were enriching themselves with the taxes and the money that most of the people had toiled and laboured hard to earn. Therefore, there was a strong prejudice against those tax collectors, who were deemed as great sinners and wicked people, unworthy of God and His grace, and many among the people, especially the self-righteous Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, would have nothing to do with those tax collectors, as according to their teachings, interacting with those tax collectors would defile and corrupt the person who did so.

That was what the Lord set to break and set right as He went directly to call on Levi the tax collector to follow Him. And we heard how Levi left everything behind and decided to follow the Lord. Levi must have had a good and comfortable life, and his nature of work meant that he must be quite well educated. He could have done other jobs in the administration if not being a tax collector, and yet, he chose to put his trust in the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly, becoming the disciple of the Lord henceforth and committed himself to a lifetime of service, eventually dying as a martyr many years later in the midst of his work of evangelisation. But before all that, we heard how Levi, the future St. Matthew the Apostle, called on all the other tax collectors who all wanted to listen to the Lord and all of them came to have dinner at Levi’s house with the Lord.

Now, as mentioned earlier, this was something taboo for the Jewish people and the Pharisees, and some of those Pharisees who were present there immediately criticised the Lord for His choice of action, of coming to eat in the house of a sinner, according to the interpretation of the Pharisees. Yet, the Lord told those Pharisees off and rebuked them for their prejudice and also lack of faith in Him, because while many of those Pharisees had refused to believe in Him and His words, questioned and doubted His authority and works, those tax collectors, who were supposedly wicked and great sinners, were all flocking to come and seek the Lord, wanting to listen to Him and to atone for their mistakes and faults. And this is what the Lord desires from us, that willingness from each one of us to come and seek Him, His forgiveness and mercy so that we may all receive from Him pardon and healing for all of our sins, and be redeemed and reunited with Him, worthy to enter into the eternal kingdom prepared for all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remind ourselves and one another of God’s great love and mercy, striving to follow the example of Levi and the tax collectors, fully realising that we are all sinners, wicked and unworthy of God’s forgiveness and grace. And yet, the Lord has generously provided us all with the means to come back towards Him and to embrace His love and mercy. Let us all not take this great love, grace and mercy for granted, and commit ourselves henceforth from now on to walk ever more faithfully in God’s Holy Presence, and love Him with ever more dedication, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 January 2025 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Mark 2 : 13-17

At that time, when Jesus went out again beside the lake, a crowd came to Him, and He taught them. As He walked along, He saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” And Levi got up and followed Him.

And it so happened that when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with Him and His disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus. But Pharisees, men educated in the Law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them, and answered, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Saturday, 18 January 2025 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 15

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments  of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgements of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour in Your sight, o Lord – my Redeemer, my Rock!

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Saturday, 18 January 2025 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Hebrews 4 : 12-16

For the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and judges the intentions and thoughts of the heart. All creation is transparent to Him; everything is uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to Whom we render account.

We have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, Who has entered heaven. Let us, then, hold fast to the faith we profess. Our High Priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for He was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sinning. Let us, then, with confidence approach the throne of grace; we will obtain mercy and, through His favour, help in due time.

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Saturday, 11 January 2025 : Saturday after the Epiphany (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, and as we approach the end of this current joyful season of Christmas, and as we are soon about to enter into the new season of the Ordinary Time, we are all reminded of our calling and mission in life as Christians, as all those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His people, that we have the mission and obligation to help one another to reach the Lord and His salvation, to encourage everyone to walk ever more faithfully in the path that He has shown to all of us. As God’s children and His holy people, all of us should always strive to obey the commandments of God and to love one another just as He has always loved us, as His Law and commandments are all about love.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. John the Apostle in which St. John spoke clearly about the salvation which all of us have received from God, and which He has revealed and made clear to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, the One Who has come into our midst and brought us all the promise of eternal life and redemption. And because all of us as Christians have received the revelation, truth and knowledge about God’s salvation and grace, hence, all of us ought to live our lives worthily and embrace the salvation which our Lord has provided most generously for us, being ever mindful of the dangers of sin and evils all around us and in all of our actions, words and deeds so that we do not end up falling again and again into the trap of sin and darkness.

The Lord our Saviour has shown us the path out of the darkness and into the light of His salvation. However, it requires our cooperation and commitment that we may resist the temptations of sin and evil, temptations of worldly pleasures, ambitions and other desires of the world, the desire for the pleasure of the flesh, for fame and renown, for riches and worldly glory, among many other things, all of which may corrupt us and lead us astray in the path towards God and His grace. St. John the Apostle spoke clearly about how sin can lead us to damnation and death, but at the same time, we must have hope with us because the Lord Jesus, our Saviour has brought the forgiveness of sins and the perfect manifestation of God’s love into our midst.

We must not take this great love and generosity which we have received for granted, as if we are not careful then the allures of sin can lead us astray once again into the path towards damnation and Hell. But the Lord has given us all His providence and protection, the great love which He has shown us through His Son. And since all of us are the beloved children of God, we shall be protected and guided in our paths in life, and God will always be with us, by our side, with His Spirit and Wisdom lighting our path forward. However, we still have to cooperate with what the Lord has given to us, His love and providence so that we will be able to move forward ever closer towards His Light and salvation, towards the eternal joy and true happiness that we can find in Him alone, and not be distracted by the pursuit of false pleasures all around us.

In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the works of the Lord Jesus and His Herald, St. John the Baptist, who were both working on the people, baptising them and calling them to repent from their sins and return to the Lord. And we heard of how the Lord Jesus at that time was becoming more and more popular, while less and less people were coming to St. John the Baptist. Prior to this, thousands upon thousands of people came flocking to St. John the Baptist, wanting to listen to him and to be baptised by him, and some even thought of him as the Messiah. But he told them all clearly that he was not the Messiah and was merely just the one sent ahead of the Lord to prepare the way for him.

Hence, when some of the disciples of St. John the Baptist told him of the issue, St. John the Baptist humbly said that it was how things were meant to be, that he should decrease and decline in importance and popularity while the Lord became more and more renowned and popular among the people. He had done what he was tasked to do, preparing the path for the Lord’s coming. It was indeed easy for one like St. John the Baptist to seek popularity and support from the people, as some other false Messiahs at that time had tried to do, gaining the support of many people and rising up in rebellion against the Romans, claiming to be the Messiah, only to have their rebellions failed and themselves killed and destroyed, because they did not represent the truth of God.

But St. John the Baptist remained obedient and committed to the mission which he has been entrusted with, resisting the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, and did what he was tasked to do, to proclaim the Saviour of the world to everyone. And as he did so, he reminded all of us as Christians that we are also tasked and entrusted with the responsibility to proclaim the salvation of God and His truth, His love and hope to everyone whom we encounter daily in our lives. Each and every one of us have been given the opportunities and the grace to reach out to others whom we meet and encounter, interact and work with in our respective lives so that we may show to them the love of God, His truth and Good News through our own exemplary lives and actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are all about to enter the Ordinary Time after tomorrow’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us all therefore remember always that as Christians we are expected to centre our lives, existence and all of our works on the Lord, and we should always proclaim His truth and love in our community and among all those whom we encounter each day in our lives. Let us all continue to be exemplary and be good inspiration to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, doing our best to live a most Christian living, full of faith and commitment to God, and be the shining beacons of His Good News, light and hope, and show His love manifested through His Son, by our own love for Him and our love for our brethren around us. Amen.