Season of Advent

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Tuesday, 15 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Zephaniah 3 : 1-2, 9-13

Woe to the rebellious, the defiled, the city that oppresses. She did not pay attention to the call nor accept the correction; she did not trust YHVH nor did she approach her God.

At that time I will give truthful lips to the pagan nations that all of them may call on the Name of YHVH and serve Him with the same zeal. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia they will bring offerings to Me. On that day you will no longer be ashamed of all your deeds when you were unfaithful to Me; I will have removed from your midst the conceited and arrogant and My holy mountain will no longer be for you a pretext for boasting.

I will leave within you a poor and meek people who seek refuge in God. The remnant of Israel will not act unjustly nor will they speak falsely, nor will deceitful words be found in their mouths. They will eat and rest with none to threaten them.

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Monday, 14 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard today from the Scriptures the words of the Lord proclaiming the salvation which He has promised to His people even from long before the Saviour came into the world. In our first reading today, we heard this in the words of the holy man and servant of God named Balaam as recorded in the Book of Numbers. And in the Gospel we heard then of the confrontation between the Lord and those chief priests, Jewish authorities and teachers of the Law who refused to believe in Him and questioned His authority.

In our first reading from the Book of Numbers we heard of the blessings and good words that Balaam, a holy man and a diviner whom the king of Moab, king Balak, recruited and asked for help in cursing the people of Israel who at that time had defeated some other kings in the region and were about to pass through the lands of Moab and the eastern part of the Jordan River from the desert during their Exodus from Egypt. King Balak was an enemy of the Israelites and saw the Israelites as a great threat. He knew that Balaam was a renowned seer and diviner, and thus, wanted him to lay a curse on his enemies.

But Balaam knew God and only wanted to obey Him and follow His commands. He initially refused to go and do what king Balak wanted as it was not in accordance to God’s will. But the king constantly coerced and forced Balaam to come, and in the end, he relented, but made it clear to the king that he would only speak of what the Lord commanded him to speak and nothing else. Hence, Balaam spoke of the Lord’s intentions for His people in our first reading today, and we heard how God would bless His people wonderfully just as He has promised.

And God also revealed briefly through Balaam, of a Figure that would come in time, in the future, a great Star that would come forth from Jacob with a staff in hand, clearly referring to One Who would shepherd and lead the people of Israel, and the other nations, to be born of the children of Israel. We all know now that this refers to Christ, the Saviour of the world, born the Son and Heir of David in Bethlehem, Whose title among many was the Star of David, and a great Star also proclaimed His coming, that was seen by the Magi or the Wise Men.

As you can see, even as early as the time of the Exodus, more than a thousand years before the coming of Christ, the Lord had in fact revealed His intentions, His plans for all of us. And He reiterated all these again and again through His prophets and messengers, through whom He told His people of the coming of His salvation, and in Christ all of His promises were fulfilled. Many believed in Him and in His message, but yet there were also many who refused to believe in Him, as we heard in our Gospel passage today.

The Lord were opposed by the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the chief priests and the Jewish authorities in the Temple as He was teaching the people. They all doubted Him and questioned Him sternly on why He acted in the way that He had done. And the Lord wisely dodged the question by asking them back on whether they considered the works of St. John the Baptist to have come from God or from man.

By asking that question, the Lord exposed the sad reality that the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Jewish authorities of that time had placed their own ego and desires, their jealousy and fears above that of the truth of God. They were also disapproving and were against the works of St. John the Baptist, for if they had believed in him, then they should have believed the Lord and supported Him, not working against Him instead.

But they did not dare to offend the crowd and get into trouble, and therefore, they refrained from answering and pursuing the matter any further. This nonetheless exposed just how unfortunate and sad the state of corruption of sin even among the elders and all those who had been entrusted with the guidance and spiritual leadership over the whole people of God. All these because of our inability to reject the many temptations of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we see the contrast here between Balaam’s faith and the doubt of the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, and everything in fact boils down to the fact that we cannot both be faithful to God and indulge in our desires and all the worldly temptations of power, wealth and glory. If we allow all those to take root in us, then in time, we will be swayed further and further away from the path of the Lord.

That is why, today all of us have the perfect role model to follow as Christians, in St. John of the Cross, the great reformer of the Carmelite Order, who together with St. Teresa of Avila, helped to reform the Carmelite Order and returned it to the true and pure intentions of its original foundation as a religious order. St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila were both taken aback by the lack of spiritual discipline and the many excuses and shortcuts taken by the members of the Carmelite Order that brought in worldly corruption.

Both of them worked hard to restore spiritual discipline and to renew the Carmelite charism, that the many members of the Order may rediscover their true calling and vocation as those whom God had called and entrusted with the holiness and sanctity of their lives, as inspiration and role models for all their fellow Christian brothers and sisters as well as for many others who had not yet known God.

They encountered many difficulties and challenges throughout those many years they laboured in the reform of their Order, as well as in their contributions to the reforms that were then happening as part of the Counter-Reformation, also aimed at purifying the Church and the Christian community from the corrupting influences of the world. But they never gave up and did their best to achieve their goals, and as a result, many lives were changed by their works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been called this Advent to focus our attention on the same Star that Balaam had proclaimed all those years ago, the Star of David, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And we are all called to renew our faith in Him and to rid ourselves of the corruptions of sin, of pride, ego, desire among others. Through the examples shown by St. John of the Cross, let us all turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and conviction to live a life truly blessed by God. Amen.

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Monday, 14 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 21 : 23-27

At that time, Jesus had entered the Temple and was teaching, when the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Jewish authorities came to Him, and asked, “What authority have You to act like this? Who gave You authority to do all this?”

Jesus answered them, “I will also ask You a question, only one. And if you give me an answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. When John began to baptise, was it a work of God, or was it merely something human?”

They reasoned out among themselves, “If we reply that it was a work of God, He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ And if we say, ‘The baptism of John is merely something human’, we have got to beware of the people, for all hold John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what right I do these things.”

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Monday, 14 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Remember Your compassion, o Lord, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

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Monday, 14 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Numbers 24 : 2-7, 15-17a

Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping, tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him and he uttered this song : “Word of Balaam, son of Beor, the seer, the one who hears the words of God, and beholds the vision of the Almighty, in ecstasy, with eyes unveiled.”

“How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your encampments, Israel! Like valleys stretching far, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes planted by YHVH, like cedars beside the waters. His buckets are overflowing and His seeds are always watered. His king becomes stronger than Agag, and His kingdom grows.

Then Balaam pronounced his oracle : “Word of Balaam, son of Beor, the seer, the one who hears the words of God, who has the knowledge from the Most High, and sees the vision of the Almighty, in ecstasy, with eyes unveiled. I see a Figure, but not really. I behold Him but not near. A Star shall come forth from Jacob, He rises with a staff in His hand.”

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Sunday, 13 December 2020 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the occasion of Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is unique because it is a brief moment of elevated joy and rejoicing as compared to the usually more sombre and solemn Advent theme. This is because today we focus on the aspect of ‘Joy’ in Advent, continuing from the series of ‘Hope-Peace-Joy-Love’ during the Sundays of the season of Advent.

The word Gaudete Sunday came from the beginning of the Introit for this Sunday, which goes ‘Gaudete in Domino semper : iterum dico, gaudete’ which means, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.’ And this leads us to the focus of this Sunday of reminding us that while we have not celebrated fully in joy yet, as we preserve that for the upcoming Christmas, but Advent is a season of expectant joy, as we look forward to the joy of Christmas to come.

And therefore, as we are about halfway through this season of Advent, we need to ask ourselves, what is our joy in this life and what joy are we looking forward to in this season of Advent? What is the joy that we are looking towards in Christmas? Is it about the festivities, revelries and merry-making that we are surely familiar with during this period of time, when everyone are trying to outdo each other in their extravagance in celebrating Christmas?

We see how merchandises and Christmas paraphernalia are all around us, shopping malls and all sorts of places are filled to the brim with Christmas decorations. Christmas jingles and songs, promotions among many others, Santa Claus and all other familiar Christmas celebrations and perks are all around us, and we revel in all of these, often a bit too much, and we ended up focusing on the wrong joy in Christmas.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is indeed that we should rejoice in Christmas, and Christmas is all about happiness and being joyful, but not because all the gifts and parties that we are having, not because of all the celebratory moods and excessive commercialisation of Christmas that we have seen all around us. What we see are merely imitation of the true joy of Christmas, the attempt of the world to profit from the Christmas celebration for their own benefits.

That is why the secularisation and commercialisation of Christmas that we have seen all these while can prevent us from understanding the true significance, meaning and importance of Christmas to us, and prevent us from knowing the true joy of Christmas that we are looking forward to, especially in this Gaudete Sunday as we focus on the joyful aspect of our Advent waiting for Christmas.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the hopeful and joyful prophecies of the prophet Isaiah speaking of the coming of the Lord’s salvation through His Messiah or Saviour, when the Lord will send forth His grace and love to the world, and touch the world and all of His people with His great compassion and tender loving care.

And that was indeed a very strong message of hope and joy, that came at the time when the people of God were having bleak outlook of their livelihood, having endured centuries of humiliation, suffering and decline after the glorious past of the mighty days of King David and Solomon. By the time of the prophet Isaiah’s ministry, whatever remained of the kingdom of Israel was just a mere shadow of its former greatness under the aforementioned kings.

The kingdom had been divided long ago into northern and southern halves, and the northern kingdom that was composed of ten out of twelve tribes of the Israelites had been destroyed just recently then, by the Assyrians who had conquered the lands, destroyed the cities and brought the people off into exile in faraway lands in Assyria and Mesopotamia, and putting foreigners in the lands that used to be dwelled by the sons and daughters of Israel.

The southern half, the kingdom of Judah itself did not fare much better, having continually been shrinking in terms of their power and glory, subjugated by neighbours and oppressed by its enemies, and the forces of the Assyrians themselves had came up to Judah, besieged its cities, looted its countryside, and even almost managed to conquer and destroy Jerusalem, if not for the Lord’s loving intervention that saw the Assyrian armies destroyed and their king fleeing in shame back to his homeland.

Amidst all of these, we can now see just how the message of the prophecy of Isaiah was indeed like a fresh breath of life and a glimmer of beautiful hope and light in the middle of the darkness and despair that were surrounding God’s people at the time. The prophet Isaiah was calling on the people to turn towards the Lord, their Saviour and their Hope, through Whom alone they could attain true joy and happiness.

All of these prophecies were to be fulfilled in Christ, through His coming into the world, which we celebrate as Christmas. In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of St. John the Baptist, who was asked by the priests and the Pharisees who doubted him and wanted to question him on the veracity and authority of his actions. St. John the Baptist could have said that he was the Messiah, and based on his many followers, he could very well had made that claim.

Yet, St. John the Baptist was sent into this world as the Herald to proclaim the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, and he boldly proclaim that truth before all, that he was not the One they were waiting for, but just the who was sent before the One, to clear His path and to prepare and make everything ready for His coming. St. John the Baptist pointed the people towards their true hope, and the source of their true joy, Christ, the Saviour of the world.

When later on the Lord has begun His ministry and gained more and more followers, and even more than what St. John the Baptist himself had, as some of his followers began to follow the Lord Jesus instead, he was happy when his discipled asked him, that the Lord became more important and prominent than himself, and he had true joy knowing that his mission had therefore been accomplished, to show the true joy of the world to God’s people.

And this is what we have also heard being echoed in our second reading today by St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Thessalonians, saying enthusiastically that we ought to rejoice, just as the words of the Introit that inspired the name of this Gaudete Sunday said, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, and I said again rejoice!’. And St. Paul said that this is the vocation of all Christians, to be joyful and to rejoice.

But when we rejoice, it ought not to be caused by our own glory and power, our own achievements and happiness, but rather because we have found our true joy in Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, knowing that through Him we have the sure assurance of eternal life and glory, of eternal and true happiness with Him, and not the false and temporary, fleeting joy of this world.

That is the true joy of Christmas that we are looking forward to celebrate, and which we have to reflect at all times in our lives. We have to keep this joy in us, no matter how difficult and dark the situations may be. And we all know that during this year, things are very difficult and challenging for so many people, because of the pandemic that had claimed so many lives and destroyed so many livelihoods.

But we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by despair and darkness, brothers and sisters! This is exactly why we are looking forward to Christmas, because we know that, just like the people of Judah long ago, that God has always been with us, caring for us and loving us, journeying with us all these while even through our most difficult and darkest moments.

He sent us all our salvation, by sending to us His own Begotten Son, to be the Saviour of all. He is our true Joy, the Joy that we are looking forward to and are expecting in this Advent season, and we look forward to a renewed hope and joy through Him. And let us all be filled with this joy, and be generous in sharing them with one another, particularly those who have been sorrowful and downtrodden.

Let us all be genuine brothers and sisters to our fellow men and women, supporting each other through these difficult times, that no one should be left alone in sorrow and despair. Let us all look forward to a brighter future with hope, filled with peace and joy in our lives, and be full of love, both for God and for one another, at all times. May God bless us all and guide us through this journey, and may He bless our wonderful Advent observation. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 December 2020 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose 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, 13 December 2020 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose 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.

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Sunday, 13 December 2020 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 46-48, 49-50, 53-54

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour! He has looked down upon His servant, in her lowliness, and people, forever, will call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His Name! From age to age, His mercy extends to those who live in His presence.

He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy.

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Sunday, 13 December 2020 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Isaiah 61 : 1-2a, 10-11

The Spirit of the Lord YHVH is upon Me, because YHVH has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up broken hearts, to proclaim liberty to the captives, freedom to those languishing in prison; to announce the year of YHVH’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God.

I rejoice greatly in YHVH, My soul exults for joy in My God, for He has clothed Me in the garments of His salvation, He has covered Me with the robe of His righteousness, like a bridegroom wearing a garland, like a bride adorned with jewels. For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord YHVH make justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.