Sunday Mass homily

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Saturday, 1 January 2022 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Blue

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the first day of the solar Gregorian calendar year, marking the New Year and the beginning of a year ahead that I am sure we all hope to be better than last year and also the previous year before that. And today, the Church also celebrates a great Solemnity in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Mother of God or Theotokos, on this Octave or eighth day of Christmas, capping the great eight day celebrations of the Christmas Octave, although the Christmas season itself will still continue through the Epiphany this coming days and beyond.

First of all, the importance of this great Solemnity cannot be underestimated, as the belief in Mary as the Mother of God is a fundamental and essential Christian tenet that is inseparable from our believe in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour as God Himself, incarnate in the flesh. That is why today’s celebration is a fitting reminder of the true nature and importance of Christmas, a reminder for us all why we celebrate and rejoice during this Christmas season, a time for us to remember the love of God manifested to us in the flesh and appearing before us in Christ.

For at the time when the Dogma of the Divine Motherhood of God was officially proclaimed by the Church at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus almost a thousand and six hundred years ago, there had been a lot of arguments and divisions amongst the members of the Church regarding the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The debates were whether He was truly the Son of God or just a mere Man, and whether He was the Co-Eternal and Co-Equal Son of God or subordinate to the Father. These divergent ideas and teachings had led to a lot of heresies which had misled many among the faithful and caused divisions in the Christian communities.

That was why, beginning with the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, the Church and its many leaders have already gathered together and inspired by the Holy Spirit to safeguard the true teachings of the Church as handed down to all of them and which we have also now received, from the hands of the Apostles and their successors. Firstly, the relationship between Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour and the Father was clarified, that He is not only just the Son of God, but is also Co-Equal and Co-Eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, not subordinated but in equal and indivisible unity within the Holy Trinity, the One Triune God that yet maintains its distinct identities, One God in Three Persons.

This became the Nicene Creed as we know it today, which was then further updated at the subsequent Ecumenical Council of Constantinople to become the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed that we are still using regularly to this day. Through this Creed and the many other decisions by the venerable and courageous Church fathers inspired by the Holy Spirit, those who sought to subvert and change the teachings of the Church to suit their own self interests and ambitions were thwarted and many of those who have fallen to the heretical teachings and thoughts eventually returned to the Holy Mother Church.

Nonetheless, there were still disagreements and controversies surrounding the nature of Christ until that time particularly with regards to Mary, the Mother of Our Lord as there were disagreements between those who thought that Mary, as a mere woman could not have been the Mother of God, the same Infinite God and Creator of all the Universe. They thought how it was possible for a woman, a created being to become the mother of the One and Eternal God and Creator, for a created being to become the Mother of the Creator. This was the argument of those who also held the view that Jesus the Man was distinct and separate from the Divine Son of God.

Hence, they used the terms such as the Mother of Christ, or the Bearer of Christ in their references of Mary, highlighting that Mary was merely the mother of the human Jesus Christ, and not the Mother of God. But this view was totally flawed in that in the true nature of Our Lord, we can never completely separate His human and divine natures. Instead, as affirmed by the Ecumenical Councils at Ephesus and Chalcedon, the Lord and Saviour, Son of God and Son of Man is indeed one and only Person but with two distinct yet inseparable natures, Divine and Human at the same time. Each natures are distinct from each other and yet perfectly and completely united in the one Person of Jesus Christ.

And naturally therefore, if Jesus Christ is not just Man but also God, then Mary being His mother, as the one who bore Him in her womb, is also the Mother of God and not just the mother of Jesus Christ the Man. Just as Christ’s Divine and Human natures are inseparable, we cannot separate Mary’s motherhood of Christ from the fact that she is indeed the Mother of God. She was indeed full of grace and blessed among all women as said by her cousin Elizabeth, because she alone from all the creatures of the Lord was to bear the Almighty God Himself in the flesh, in her womb.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect today on Mary as the Mother of God, today all of us are also called to look to her examples and dedication to the Lord. She is not just honourable because she is the Mother of God but because she is also truly dedicated and faithful in her own way as well. She has obeyed the Lord wholeheartedly and followed Him throughout His life and ministry, ever since He was still in her womb, and then after He was born and then grew up, she still cared for Him, followed Him even throughout His works and then even through to the foot of the Cross. She remained true and faithful to the mission which God has entrusted to her.

Today we look up to Mary, who is not only just the Mother of God but also the mother of us all. For through His incarnation in the flesh, Our Lord has become part of our humanity and by sharing in our nature and in entrusting His own mother to us from the Cross, He has made all of us to be Mary’s own adopted children. She has watchfully guided us all and has never ceased praying for each and every one of us, and hoping that we can also follow her examples and also the examples of many of our faithful brothers and sisters, that we may also be truly faithful to God in all things.

Today we may then be wondering why is it that we are celebrating this occasion on the New Year’s Day. This is important because on this New Year’s Day, all of us are called to start the year right and not to continue living our lives in the manner that is not proper and unbecoming of our calling as Christians if that is what we have been doing all these while. All of us ought to remember that first and foremost, as Christians all of us are called to live our lives faithfully in accordance to the Law and the commandments that God has placed before us, which He has taught us and revealed to us through His Church.

If we call ourselves as Christians, then it is only right that all of us commit ourselves to a new life in God, to be true followers of Our Lord and be genuinely dedicated to Him in the way that Mary, the Mother of God and our mother had done. As we rejoice for her sake today, let us remember how all of us should also listen to her and her Son, in how we live our lives so that we do not end up being hypocrites in our Christian faith. That is why, as we begin this current new year, all of us should do our best and spend the time and effort to begin a year that is new, blessed and filled with true joy in Christ. The Lord has given us many opportunities in life and as such let us not forget to give Him thanks and to show our gratitude towards Him for His ever enduring patience and love for us.

In our lives in this new year, let us do whatever we can to be a source of light and hope, inspiration and strength to one another, especially to our brothers and sisters who are now suffering and are filled with sorrow and despair. In whatever way we can, and at least even through prayer, let us reach out to those who need our help, our love, care and attention. Just as Christ, Our Lord and Saviour has brought us the light of God’s salvation and revealed to us the wonders of His love, let us all pass on the light, love and all the wonders we have received to our fellow brothers and sisters.

Today, we also mark the occasion of the World Day of Peace, and hence it is an appropriate time for us to also dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of peace in our world. We all know how conflict and troubles had affected our world and many innocent people out there. If we do not actively make strides to go forth towards bringing Gos’s peace and harmony into our midst, then let us know just how our year and livelihood could be ruined by the conflicts, disagreements and hatred that are all around us. As Christians, all of us are called to pray for peace and to always work hard in championing the cause of peace.

Let us all do our best to live out our new year with ever greater faith in God and be ever fuller in love for Him, as we all gather together to celebrate this new year. And as we rejoice in all the new year celebrations, let us not forget to put Christ back at the centre of our hearts, our lives and existence so that we may live our lives from now on with Him as the focus and the inspiration for everything that we say and do.

Let us follow Mary, the Mother of God and our loving mother that we may be ever more righteous and obedient in following the Lord and in living our lives as role models to our fellow brothers and sisters, as genuine Christians at all times. And let us not forget to share our joy and blessings with others, especially those who have little or none to rejoice with this new year. Let us bring hope to the downtrodden and those who are in need of strength, encouragement and hope.

May God bless us all and may He empower each and every one of us so that we may grow ever stronger in faith and that we may always ever strive to seek Him and to walk in His ways. May our new year be blessed and be filled with joy, through Christ our Lord, through His light and hope. May God be with is all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 26 December 2021 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we mark the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Family, celebrating the Holy Family consisting of Our Lord Jesus Himself as the centre and heart of that most blessed and wonderful family, and Mary, the Mother of God, as well as St. Joseph, the legal husband of Mary and the foster-father of the Lord as the Protector of the Holy Family. Today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures and keeping mind what the Lord had done for us by coming to us in this world in Christmas, let us all reflect on God’s words and remind ourselves on the significance of the Holy Family and our own Christian families.

In our first reading today, we listened from the Book of the prophet Samuel about the time when the prophet Samuel as a baby was brought by his mother Hannah, the wife of Elkanah. Both of his parents had long been expecting a son together and although Elkanah, Samuel’s father had many children and sons with Penninah, his other wife, it was Hannah, Samuel’s mother that Elkanah loved more. Therefore, when Hannah prayed to the Lord asking for help as she was often bullied by Penninah for not having a child at all, God heard her and at that time, Hannah also made the promise to offer her firstborn son to the service of God.

And thus, Samuel, one of the greatest of the prophets of Israel and also a Judge over the people, the last one before the days of the Kings, came to be presented before the Lord after he was born and under the loving care of his parents, Elkanah and Hannah. He was brought up well and later on would prove to grow up in strength and faith, in his dedication and commitment to God, such that he came to succeed Eli, the Judge and High Priest of the Israelites who took care of him since his early infancy after being presented at the Temple of God.

This story of the prophet Samuel is in a way parallel to what we heard from our Gospel passage today regarding the famous story of Our Lord Jesus when He was only twelve years old, in the Temple of Jerusalem, the House of God. At that time, the Lord and His family, the Holy Family, with Mary His mother and St. Joseph came to Jerusalem to attend and celebrate the feast of the Passover in accordance to the Jewish traditions. It was a time of great celebration and many pilgrims would have come and made their way to Jerusalem from all over the world.

In such a situation, it made sense why Mary and St. Joseph could lose track of the young Lord Jesus when He purposefully remained behind in the Temple after the celebrations and the ceremonies. He stayed there in the House of God, the dwelling of His Heavenly Father, to be close to Him and at the same time, engaging in conversations and debates with the wise men and the teachers of the Law assembled there, who were all astonished to witness His great wisdom. It was there that Mary and St. Joseph found Him after they realised that He was not with them.

They found Him there in conversation with the wise men and the teachers of the Law, and were also greatly amused by what they had heard, although they knew Who He really was. When the Lord spoke to them saying that He ought to be in His Father’s House, those words were remembered by Mary, who also surely understood what He meant, as the Archangel Gabriel himself had revealed to her at the Annunciation that her Son is indeed the Son of God Most High. Jesus was there in Jerusalem, at the Temple of God to be with His heavenly Father.

However, as we heard there, the Lord obeyed His mother Mary and His foster-father St. Joseph. He returned with them to Nazareth and put Himself under their tutelage and guidance. He is indeed the Lord God, King of Kings, the Master of all the whole Universe, Lord of all creation. Yet, by His incarnation, through the mystery of His indwelling in the flesh, He had also become the Son of Man, born as a Child in Bethlehem, the city of David in Judea just as we have just celebrated it in Christmas yesterday.

He placed Himself under the authority and power of His parents as part of the Holy Family to show us that as the Son of Man, He was just like all of us, who also have to obey our own parents and seniors, to listen to them and to hear their advice for us on how we ought to live our lives. As the Son, He listened to His mother Mary and also St. Joseph, both of whom must have been instrumental in teaching Him the life skills needed for Him to face this world as any man would have, and just like how we learnt our first skills from our own parents.

The Holy Family showed all of us what a true and loving Christian family should be like, full of love and care for one another, and each member doing their part in making their entire relationship work well together. The Lord as the Son followed and obeyed His parents, listening to them and their words. Even much later on, as we all remember in the Wedding at Cana, the Lord listened to His mother’s words and performed His first miracle there to help the wedding couple who then faced an embarrassing situation of running out of wine.

Meanwhile, Mary loved her Son as His mother, caring for Him and providing for Him, walking with Him and according to Apostolic traditions, following Him on His many ministries and efforts among the people of God. And she followed Him even to the foot of the Cross, as anguished and most sorrowful as she was to have witnessed her beloved Son battered and bruised, rejected and reviled by His own people, and was forced to take up the Cross, bearing it to His most painful and humiliating death. As a mother, Mary dedicated herself totally to her Son and loved Him unconditionally.

And St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster-father of the Lord, the Protector of the Holy Family took great care of Mary and her Son, since before the Lord was even born into this world. Following the guidance of the Angel of God, he took Mary as his wife and doing his part in the mission entrusted to him, in guiding the Holy Family, as he helped Mary on her way to Bethlehem, enduring a lot of challenges in the process. As a loving husband, he cared for Mary and the yet unborn Jesus in her womb, as they made the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and later on in trying to find a lodging and a place for Mary to give birth as all the inns and lodgings were full and rejected them.

Later on, St. Joseph would also lead the Holy Family to Egypt when King Herod the Great wanted to kill the Lord, as he came to know of His existence and coming, seeing Him as a threat to his own rule, power and authority. He followed the guidance of the Angel of the Lord and led his family to safety. Later on he would lead them back to Nazareth after those who wanted the Lord’s death had gone, and settled there, where he likely helped Mary in patiently bringing up the Lord. Although the Lord Jesus was not his own biological son, but he still surely cared for Him very much. He did not say any words throughout the Gospels, but in his righteousness and actions, in his attitude and according to traditions of the Apostles, he must have been a really good father figure.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the story of the Holy Family of Our Lord Jesus, Mary His mother and St. Joseph, all of us are called to reflect on our own families, our own parents and also our own children for those who have them and have been blessed with these. Today we are reminded that our families first and foremost must be grounded in love, the love that we ought to show one another and especially so in our respective families. Without love, the bonds that keep us together in our families will easily fall apart and that may cause our families and their members to go against each other and become divided and bitter.

This Christmas as we gather together to rejoice in the Lord Jesus and the salvation that He has brought upon us, let us all spend it together as a family. And let us use this opportunity to remind ourselves how important our family is to us. Many of us have often forgotten or sidelined our family members, in our pursuit for wealth, glory, fame and because of many other reasons. As a result, we have lost that cohesion and love that all of us ought to have as a family, and many become separated and even bickering among themselves in their families.

If we have been too busy so far in our lives, then let us all spend some time together this Christmas to get rid from ourselves all those excessive concerns and other thoughts we have, all the worries and desires we have for worldly things. Instead, let us do our best to celebrate Christmas together with our families and various family members, to reconnect ourselves and rekindle the love that we have between us, so that our family will still remain stronger together and hopefully become ever closer through. Christ and His love.

In our world today, there are many families that have been broken because of their lack of love and faith. Those families that fail to communicate with each other and spend time together often fall apart easily, especially when difficult times come. Many couples have divorced each other and many of their children were left without both parents caring for them and their love. And not only that but even the institution of marriage and family itself is often now under threat from the changing conditions and demands of our current world and society.

This is why all of us must look up to the Holy Family for strength, inspiration and guide in how we manage our own families. We should aspire to follow the examples of Christ, of His mother Mary and St. Joseph to ensure not just that our families will remain together and united, but that our families will be sanctified and holy just like that of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. And often the best way for us to do this is to come together and practice our faith together through prayer. A family that prays together and love one another will have a much better chance of staying together.

May the Lord our God and Saviour, in His most holy and loving Holy Family continue to strengthen us and our faith, and give us the courage to live our lives with faith, and united in love in our respective Christian families. May He awaken and strengthen the familial love that we have among us, between spouses, between parents and children, among siblings and even among the members of our extended families. May He empower us in love, to love Him together as a family, all of us, in our own families striving to be filled with holiness and love. May all of us rejoice together this Christmas, and be blessed with ever greater love imitating the great love found in the Holy Family, our inspiration. Amen.

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Saturday, 25 December 2021 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Day Mass (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we have finally come to the moment of our glorious celebration of Christmas, as we gather together on this Christmas Day rejoicing together because the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour has come upon us and He has fulfilled God’s promises for our salvation, our liberation from the certain destruction and annihilation due to our many sins. He has shown us His ever generous love, compassion and mercy, and God has never given up on us. He even gave us all His only begotten Son, that through Him we may be saved and have eternal life.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the glorious proclamation of the Lord to His people, proclaiming the coming of the King to the people of God, to Zion or Jerusalem, the city of God. Through His coming into the midst of His people, God Who is their King would free them all from their troubles, their sufferings and break free their fetters and the chains that were holding them. He would restore their joy and glory to them, so that they would no longer be in shame and suffering from their predicaments.

For the people of God, it was truly words of reassurance that they must have heard from the prophet Isaiah, as they were back then beset by many troubles, having been oppressed by their neighbours and facing many threats even to their own independence. The remnant kingdom of Judah, the southern half of the old united kingdom of Israel held its position precariously amidst rivalling great powers of the region, while the northern kingdom of Israel had been laid waste and destroyed by the Assyrians years earlier and its people brought off to exile.

The Lord showed His people that if they remained faithful to Him, they have no need to worry and be fearful, and they and their cities would be saved, as God would reveal His power and saving help before all, and gather all of His faithful ones and make them once again to be His beloved flock and people. This is the same promise that God had made and renewed repeatedly over the years, which He gave through His many prophets, and especially through the prophet Isaiah, who spoke many prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah.

In our second reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author of the Epistle spoke of the Lord Who has sent His own Son into this world, that by appearing in the flesh, He has become the manifestation of the love that God has for each and every one of us. He, the Son of God and the Divine Word Incarnate came down upon us to dwell among us that the power of God’s Word may be reflected through all who have witnessed His mighty works, the foremost of which is how He has lifted us all up from our sins and from the darkness surrounding us, by His sacrifice on the Cross.

For that is exactly how He rescued all of us, His beloved people. He sent us down His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, that by His coming in the flesh, He has shown us the means out of the darkness surrounding us. He has come down to us, the Word that was made flesh, as mentioned by St. John in the beginning of his Gospel that we heard today, so that His words and His truth may become tangible and accessible to us. He is no longer unreachable to us and has made Himself as One Who is approachable, crossing the chasm that once existed between us due to our sins.

Sin borne out of our disobedience, our wickedness and evil deeds have sundered us away from the love of God, but God’s love has overcome even our many sins, as He willingly assumed our humble human existence to be reconciled and reunited with us. He assumed our human appearance and existence because He wants us to know that we belong to Him and we should no longer be separated from Him. He came to us as our Good Shepherd, full of love for us and full of His most compassionate and generous mercy.

Through His coming into the world, He has become for us the beacon of Hope and brought to us the undimmed Light of salvation. He became the New Adam and the New Man, showing His perfect obedience to His Father’s will, and through His willingness to bear all of our sins and their consequences, bearing those burden on His shoulders, by picking up His heavy Cross, He was scourged and suffered for us on our behalf. And by His offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood on the Altar of the Cross, He offered for us, on our behalf before His Father, the perfect offering of sacrificial love in atonement for all of our sins.

Yet, despite everything He has done for our sake, we still often ignored and even rejected Him, preferring to sin rather than to love Him and follow His path. And as we come to celebrate Christmas, many of us scarcely even remember Him and less still placing Him at the centre and as the focus of all of our rejoicing and celebrations. That is because we have often been swayed by the secularised and over-commercialised Christmas as we have often been exposed to in our world today.

As Christians, all of us are called to remember our faith and love for God. We are called to remember just how beloved and dear we are to our Lord. And knowing that we are truly beloved by Him, then it is only right that we recognise that love and strive to love the Lord wholeheartedly if we have not done so yet. In Christmas, we are celebrating this love of God made evident and real, tangible and accessible through the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Therefore, all of us should reflect this in the way we are celebrating the joy of Christmas.

It means that we should not end up celebrating Christmas with great excesses and merrymaking, in order to satisfy our own desires for pleasure and comfort, for earthly goods and wants. Instead, our Christmas celebration and joy should come from the genuine desire we have in loving God and in thanking Him for all that He has done for us. We celebrate this Christmas because God has done so much for us, in extending His love and mercy towards us through Christ, His Son, Whom He had sent to our midst in order to show us all His love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all share our Christmas joy and blessings with one another, with our fellow brethren who need them the most. Many of our brethren out there are in fact unable to rejoice this Christmas in the manner that many of us are able to do. Some are suffering even from remaining faithful, in those parts of the world where being Christians may mean certain suffering and death. Not only that they have to celebrate Christmas in secret, but they must also practice their faith in secret or else risking persecution and death. And many others still are suffering and in difficult times, especially as we know how these past two years had been difficult for so many of us.

Many people had lost their loved ones or are still suffering the effects of the current pandemic, as well as its related complications and negative impacts on the communities all around the world. This Christmas should be an inspiration to all of us, especially if we have received more joy and blessings than others, for us to generously share those joy and blessings with those who have little or none of them. Let us all not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to their plight and need, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us all share the true joy of Christmas, that is the joy in the Light and Hope that Christ our Lord and Saviour had brought into our midst, in His coming into the world that all of us now have the assurance of eternal life and true happiness with Him. Let us be the bearers of this joy, this Hope and Light that we have received from Him, and help others who are suffering, sorrowful and are in difficult moments, to be able to see the Light and the Hope of God’s salvation, through our faith and actions.

May the Lord, our Saviour and King, born to us and celebrated this Christmas day, continue to be with us and bless us all in our every good endeavours and deeds. May God give us the strength, courage and joy to live in our world today with true Christian virtues, and bear with us the joy of His love and grace, now and always. Wishing all of us a most blessed and happy Christmas! Amen.

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Saturday, 25 December 2021 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Mass at Dawn (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this morning as we gather together to celebrate this Christmas Mass at Dawn, all of us are called to reflect on the coming of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour as the bearer of God’s great light and hope, in His glorious coming and appearance in this world, born in Bethlehem of Judea over two millennia ago. As we heard in our Scripture passages today, the Lord proclaimed His most generous and wonderful love to us through the Nativity or the birth of His Son, Our Saviour.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, in which we heard the proclamation of God’s saving grace and His salvation to His people, how He would rescue them and deliver them from their troubles. God has always loved all of His people, that is all of us without any exception. All of us who are sinners are beloved by God and He wants us to be redeemed and be forgiven from our many sins, and that is why He gave us so great a deliverance by sending to us His Son, to free us from the tyranny of sin.

As St. Paul made it clear to St. Titus in our second reading today, God sent us His salvation through Jesus Christ His Son, through Whom His grace, blessings and forgiveness has come down upon us. Incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He has become for us the source of Hope and the fount of God’s most generous mercy. God’s compassion and love has been extended to us, and He has given us this most wonderful means to reach out to Him, that we are no longer going to be separated from Him anymore.

He came as the Child born in that stable, placed in a manger, a small Baby, the Son of Mary. He is the fulfilment of God’s promise of salvation and the long awaited Saviour of all. Yet, unlike what most people at that time would have imagined, He came not as a glorious conqueror or a mighty King, but rather as a small Child, weak and vulnerable, Who had no place to lay His head but on a dirty manger suitable only for animals there in the stable. He came into this world in a very simple and humble way, and although He is a King, but He was born not in a palace, but in a most unworthy of places.

If we remember the story of the Nativity of the Lord, we should remember how St. Joseph and Mary, who was then about to give birth to Jesus, were struggling as they reached Bethlehem after they travelled a long way from Nazareth in Galilee for the census ordered by the Roman Emperor. All the inns and lodgings were full and they were rejected at every places and at every turns. It was probably thanks to a kind person who helped and guided them to a stable located just outside the town of Bethlehem, the place where the Saviour of the world was to be born.

And it was there, amongst animals, sheep, cows, horses, goats and others that the Lord, the King of Kings was born. He was laid in the manger and revealed before the shepherds and others who witnessed His birth. Thus at that time, the coming of the Lord into this world was marked not by great celebrations and throngs of joy on Earth, but in quiet silence and in the presence of shepherds, with only Angels attending to the King, proclaiming His glory with the words, ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo! Glory to God in the Highest heavens!’

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has come into the world, to be in our midst and among us, so that He may deliver us from our sins. Much as how God has sent Moses to His people, the Israelites to deliver them from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, from their enslavement and humiliation, from their suffering and hard life there, the same He has done for us all through Christ. The Lord Jesus, by His coming into the world, He has delivered us all from the tyranny of sin, from our enslavement to those sins, and receive from Him the freedom and assurance of liberation from eternal death.

We are truly fortunate that the Lord has done such marvellous things for us, even when we are still sinners and delinquents, rebels who are often testing the limits of His patience. Any other men would have consigned us to destruction and abandon us to our fate. But that was not what the Lord had done, as His love for us remained even after all that we had done to Him, in abandoning Him and in disobeying Him. He still did all that He could to reach out to us and patiently caring for us, and by giving us Christ, His Son, He has given the most generous gift of all.

As we enter into this season of Christmas and as we are going to celebrate the festivities of Christmas, therefore let us all spend the time to reflect on what Christmas is all about, brothers and sisters in Christ. Is Christmas to us just like any other holiday, festivities and celebrations? Is it just about all the parties, the glamour and all the merrymaking, about the gifts and the goodies that we are going to receive and exchange with each other? Is it just another time for us to look forward to good food and good pleasures, happiness and joy of this world?

Or is it a time for us to remember once again just how fortunate for us to have been beloved so generously and wonderfully by God, so much so that He has given us His only begotten Son as Our Lord and Saviour? This is unfortunately not what many of us are doing, as many of us in our celebrations of Christmas do not even have Christ at the centre and as the focus of our celebrations and joy. Instead, what we have done is placing ourselves, our greed and ego, and our selfish desires instead as the focus of our Christmas celebrations. To do so is for us to rejoice without understanding the true meaning and significance of Christmas.

Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, all of us who should have been consigned to annihilation and eternal destruction have received new hope and lease of life through His love and grace, by His most generous love in coming to us and in reaching out to us, in looking for us sinners. He is our Good Shepherd Who has come to us, the lost sheep and gathered all of us, calling on all of us to follow Him and be lost from Him no more. He came to us and showed His love to us, only for many of us to shut Him out and ignore Him. Is that something that we should be doing, brothers and sisters?

That is why today as we begin our Christmas joy and celebrations, let us all return to the true roots of the meaning of Christmas. Let us all remember once again why we even rejoice this Christmas, and that is because Christ and His presence in our lives, even today. We rejoice because of the love we have received from Him, and as Christians, all of us are called to share this love with one another. Of course we have to love God first and foremost of all, but we also must not forget to love all those others whom God had placed all around us in our lives.

Let us all share the love of God and the joy we have received this Christmas, and be generous in giving and sharing especially to those who have little or none to celebrate with this Christmas. And instead of excessive revelry and merrymaking, let us all share in the true joy of Christ by reaching out to one another with the genuine faith in Our Lord and His salvation, and share His love and blessings in our everyday lives with those who need them the most. May God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, born and celebrated on this Christmas day, be with us all and may He continue to bless us and watch over us throughout our joyous Christmas celebrations. Wishing all of us a most blessed Christmas! Amen.

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Saturday, 25 December 2021 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Midnight Mass (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all rejoice together as after the long wait and expectation during the Advent season, we finally mark the beginning of the Christmas season, the time for us to celebrate in the glorious coming of Our Lord in the flesh, the Divine Word Incarnate, Son of God born into this world as the Son of Man through His mother, the Blessed ever Virgin Mary. He was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the city of David, as the fulfilment of the long awaited promise and assurance of God, Who has come to dwell among His people and to deliver them from their enslavement by the evil one and from the tyranny of sin and death.

In our first reading today, the Lord through His prophet Isaiah has spoken to the people, revealing how He would send them a Child, to be born of Man to them, in a great prophecy proclaiming the coming of God’s Saviour or Messiah. In that prophecy, God spoke of the coming of the time of salvation and liberation for His people, the Israelites, as He would gather them from among the nations and break the yoke of their oppressors and all of their enemies. He would send them a Child, the One prophesied to come, and His Name as proclaimed, would be Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

While the people of God back then could not have foreseen or known what these things truly meant, but to them it must have been strange for the words of the prophet Isaiah to have mentioned a Child born into this world and named such as Mighty God and Everlasting Father, for these were the titles that ought to be reserved to God alone. How could God descend and come down into this world as a Child, born of Man no less? How can the Almighty and Infinite God of the entire Universe and existence be contained in the Child or Son of Man?

Such is indeed the mystery of the Lord’s Incarnation, as He willingly came down to us, being Incarnate in His Aspect as the Son and the Word of God, incarnate in the flesh, willing into existence by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ the Son of Man, the Child born two millennia ago in Bethlehem of Judea, Who was truly Man, but also truly God at the same time, the Eternal God and King of us all. That Child born in Bethlehem is the King of all the whole entire Universe, Who has entered this world by His own will and by His enduring and amazing love for each and every one of us.

As St. Paul mentioned in our second reading today, in his Epistle to St. Titus, the Lord has given us all His grace and love through Jesus Christ, His Son born to us and which we celebrate this night at Christmas. He has entered our world, sharing with us our human nature and experiencing what we ourselves have experienced, so that we may be reconciled and reunited with Him, and this is all that the Lord had intended to do from the very beginning. Just as if we remember from the Book of Genesis, God said to Satan, the deceiver, that while he may have dominion over the sons and daughters of man, but through Woman, a reference to Mary, he would be conquered and defeated.

The Lord wants us to be reconciled to Him, but this will not happen unless we have been forgiven and cleansed from our sins. Sin is caused by our disobedience against God, and it sundered us off from Him, and as a result, we should have ended up falling into eternal damnation and suffering in hell. The Lord could very well have destroyed us from the very beginning, as creatures that had been defiled and corrupted by sin. But that was never His intention. His love for us is greater than His disgust for our sins and wickedness. To that extent, He committed Himself to us, by coming down to us, to be with us and to save all of us.

He Who is the Almighty Lord and King over all things willingly embraced our human nature to show us the way out of the darkness, reminding all of us of our true nature of being holy and perfect in God’s grace. This had been interrupted by the appearance of sin in our lives, and by the temptations that we face daily, and how we fell again and again to those temptations and ended up sinning against God. But God made Himself to be like us, to unite Himself to us and to act as a Bridge spanning the once uncrossable chasm that existed between us and God due to sin.

Christ is that Bridge, the One Who bears the Light of God’s grace and salvation into our midst. His coming into this world revealed to all of us just how beloved we are to the Lord, so much so that He was willing to make Himself small, to be born an Infant, a small little Child in Bethlehem just as we heard in the account of our Gospel passage today. He made Himself that little Child in Bethlehem, to show us what is meant for us to be beloved by God, and at the same time, also His desire to be loved by us. This Christmas is a great celebration of God’s most generous love for us, a love that overcomes sin and death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we gather together in this celebration of the Christmas Midnight Mass, we are all called to reflect on the true nature of Christmas and why we rejoice so greatly and wonderfully not just tonight but also this entire Christmas season. The Lord has entered into the world and revealed to us His love in the tangible form of the little Baby Jesus in the manger, to be our Lord and King, gathering all of us to Himself. And in time, that same Child would also come to bear His Cross with the weight of our innumerable sins, which by His perfect obedience to His Father’s will and by His infinite love for us, He offered on our behalf the worthy sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.

That is why, it is sad that we have seen so many occasions in our Christmas preparations and celebrations, when Christ Himself has been sidelined and even forgotten as we have become accustomed to the more secularised way that Christmas has been celebrated. If we see all around us, in all the Christmas rejoicing and festivities, we rarely even see the Lord being part of any of the celebrations. Instead of the Child Jesus, we saw figures like Santa Claus, the elves and many other secular characters depicted throughout our Christmas parties and revelries.

It is like the birthday boy has been excluded and forgotten from his own birthday celebration, as Christmas rightfully is the celebration of our Lord’s Nativity or birth into this world. As we all know that in any birthdays, the most prominent person must be the person whose birthday we are celebrating, then the same should apply to Christmas as well. Have we prepared and celebrated our Christmas celebrations with Christ as the focus and the centre of our efforts? Have we placed Him at the heart of our merrymaking and rejoicing?

Or instead have we allowed the excesses of worldly pleasures, desires for satisfaction and even ego and pride to guide us in our Christmas celebrations? If we have done all these, then we really need to ask ourselves, what is Christmas and its meaning to all of us. We cannot treat Christmas just like any other holidays or festivities, and certainly it is not just a time for us to be merry and happy without knowing its true importance and reason. We rejoice especially because God has loved us so much, that as I mentioned earlier, He manifested His love to us in the Child Jesus.

God’s love made all of our rejoicing possible and we can rejoice because we know that through Christ, we have been assured the salvation and eternal life, and have been freed from the bondage and power of sin. Through our baptism we have been made sons and daughters of God Himself, through adoption by exactly Christ’s birth and incarnation in our human nature, as we all share with Him our humanity, and since He is the Son of God, we too therefore share with Him in becoming the adopted children of God, as members of His one Church, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we have lapsed and failed to prepare ourselves to understand the true nature and meaning of Christmas, and if we have not prepared ourselves to celebrate Christmas worthily, then it is still not too late for us to do so. This night’s Scripture readings serve as important reminders for all of us that we have to make our Christmas celebrations and joy a truly meaningful one. Let us all not waste this opportunity and instead do whatever we can in order to bring the light of Christ into this world, and be the witnesses of His love present in our midst.

Let us share the joy we have and all the blessings and wonders that we have received from God, especially with our fellow brothers and sisters who are unable to celebrate Christmas, as well as to those who are encountering hardships and sorrow in life. Let us bear the true light and hope of Christmas to them, and share with them the wonders of God’s love. May God bless us always and may His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, born and celebrated this Christmas day, guide us to the glory of everlasting life and grace. Wishing all of us here and everyone a most blessed Christmas! Amen.

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Friday, 24 December 2021 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Eve (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, after a long time of preparation and expectation we have experienced and journeyed through in the season of Advent, we have finally arrived at the beginning of the Christmas season with this Christmas Vigil Mass. This night we gather together as one community and one Church in celebrating the moment of the great appearance of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world, as He was born of His Mother Mary in Bethlehem, the city of David over two millennia ago.

This night we remember that most beautiful and wonderful night when light and hope are restored to all of us who have lived in a world filled with darkness and sin. That was the night when God’s long awaited salvation has finally come, the moment when God revealed before the people the extent of His most magnificent and enduring love, as He showed His love to us manifested in the flesh, in Christ Jesus, the Son of Man and Son of God alike, the Divine Word Incarnate, fully God and fully Man. Through Him, the love of God has been made concrete and manifest, and He became tangible, approachable and reachable to us.

The Lord reassured all of His people in our first reading tonight taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, as He told them of the coming of the time of renewal for Jerusalem and for the nation of God’s people. They would be renewed and enlightened, redeemed and made whole once again. These were significant words of hope, encouragement and love for a people who at that time had been troubled with the continuing downwards fortunes of their nation. For by the time of the prophet Isaiah, the old glory of Israel under King David and King Solomon were long gone, their kingdom divided and the northern half of which had been destroyed earlier on by the Assyrians.

For a people who were then beset with many troubles and worries, persecuted and oppressed by their neighbours, and for the faithful who remained true to their faith in God despite the evils and wickedness of even many among the people of God themselves who chose to abandon the Lord for the various pagan idols, those words spoken by the Lord must have been a great consolation and encouragement, a gift of new hope and light that God has always been with His people, and He will send to them His salvation, as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, who also mentioned how the Saviour would be born of a Virgin, and the mention of the Builder marrying the metaphorical Jerusalem, representing the people of God.

It means that God would indeed come to dwell among His people, and He would come to deliver them from their troubles and sufferings. He would reveal to them the path to follow towards eternal life and true happiness through Him. All these happened as foretold as Mary, the one whom God had prepared to be the Mother of God and Saviour, wedded St. Joseph, the heir of King David. She also bore within her womb, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God Most High. As such, the Saviour that was born that day in Bethlehem was truly the Heir of David, as prophesied by the prophets.

For St. Paul himself in our second reading, in the Acts of the Apostles, spoke of how God guided His people and how He had promised King David, His faithful servants that the Saviour of all would come from among His descendants. Thus, on that day in Bethlehem two millennia ago, what so many people had awaited for a very long time, awaiting for the salvation of God, had come to fruition at last. A people who had long laboured and waited in the darkness have seen a great light, the Light of God’s salvation and truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter into this Christmas season and begin our joyous Christmas celebrations, let us all continue to constantly ask ourselves, what is Christmas and its meaning to all of us? What is the significance of Christmas and how we are going to celebrate Christmas joyfully and with proper understanding and appreciation of what it is all about. Otherwise, it will be very easy for us to lose focus and end up celebrating Christmas with a lot of festivities and merrymaking, and yet, all those joy and celebrations were superficial and meaningless.

We all know how commercialised Christmas has become in the recent years and decades. Christmas has become so commercialised and secularised that many had mostly ignored its true meaning and purpose, and instead of celebrating Christ and His coming into our world, the Love of God made Man, we are celebrating our own vain desires and wishes for pleasures, comforts and worldly joy. Instead of remembering how much beloved we are by God and all that He has done for our sake and our salvation, we end up being distracted by the many temptations of worldly grandeur and pleasures.

What is Christmas, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is the time for us to celebrate and remember the most wonderful love of God, given to us so generously and unconditionally. And having received that great and amazing love, it is then just right and proper for us to show the same love for our fellow brothers and sisters, to pass on the love that God has given us and to remind ourselves that we are truly fortunate to be so beloved by God and also by one another. This is how we should celebrate Christmas, with genuine love for God and for our fellow men, and not for our own vainglory.

Let us also remember that there are many of our brothers and sisters out there who may not be able to celebrate Christmas in the way we do. There are many out there who are unable to celebrate Christmas because they are not even free to express themselves and their Christian faith, and are persecuted daily for their faith. And there are also others who are too poor and marginalised to be able to celebrate Christmas in the manner that many of us are familiar with. Many of these brothers and sisters of ours are even struggling to make ends meet each day, and struggle to have enough food to sustain themselves everyday.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all make our Christmas celebration tonight and beyond a more meaningful one by refocusing our celebrations on Christ and not on ourselves. Let us all moderate our festivities and merrymaking and not forgetting all others who may not be so fortunate as us in being able to celebrate the Lord’s coming. And if we are able to, let us share our joy and love with those who have little or none, and bear to them, our own brethren, the light of God’s hope and the warmth of His love, that they all too may share in the true joy of Christmas together with us.

May the Lord, our God and Saviour, born and celebrated this Christmas day, be with us always and bless our Christmas celebrations, that they may be fruitful and wholesome. May God empower each and every one of us with His love and with the Hope that He has brought into our midst, that we may become the beacons of His light and hope in our daily lives and always. May all of us have a most blessed Christmas season ahead, Merry Christmas and God bless! Amen.

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Sunday, 19 December 2021 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the last Sunday in the season of Advent, and on this Sunday we focus our attention to the last of the four Advent themes. After going through the theme of Hope, Peace and Joy in the previous three Sundays of Advent, today finally we focus on the theme of Love. As we prepare ourselves for the great celebration of Christmas in just a few days’ time, we are all called to remember why Christmas is there in the first place. That reason is because of God’s love for each and every one of us.

Christmas is not just about having festivities and celebrations, and not just about parties, merrymaking and all the paraphernalia often associated with it. Instead, as Christians all of us should fully know and realise that first and foremost, Christmas is a celebration of love, of the love that is always enduring and pure, that has been given to us from God, from His heavenly abode. God loves us all so much that He has given us His only beloved Son, the Divine Word Incarnate, Whose coming and appearance into this world is what we celebrate at Christmas.

Why love, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because God Himself is Love, and by His incarnation, in taking up the humble existence of our human flesh and by lowering Himself to be born into this world, He has shown us what true love is all about. His love is what made Him to create all of us, because He wanted to share with all of us, with all of creation, the perfect love that He Himself has, in the perfect love of the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That overflowing love has always been intended for us, to be filled with every grace and blessings.

However, it was because of our disobedience and the weakness of our flesh that our ancestors chose to listen to the devil instead of holding on to the truth of God and keeping their faith in Him. They chose to listen to his lies, and allowed themselves to be persuaded and convinced to disobey God’s direct commandments. As a result, we have been found guilty and corrupted by sin. We were made perfect, blameless and without fault, and should have shared in the everlasting joy and true happiness in God’s presence. Unfortunately, our sins and the corruptions in us sundered us from His grace and love.

But God did not give up on us, and His love for us yet endured. He has devised for so great a plan and prepared everything for us, waiting for the time this plan would be revealed to all of us. He has given assurances and glimpses of this truth and the Good News through His prophets and messengers, and eventually, as we heard in our first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Micah, God revealed how He would come to His people, through the small town of Bethlehem Ephrata, the small town of David, where the great king of Israel hailed from, from his humble origins as a shepherd, the youngest son of Jesse of Judah.

God sent His Saviour, His own Son, born into this world in that town, on that day which we celebrate as Christmas, which therefore is the full and perfect manifestation of His love in the flesh. God’s love has become tangible and accessible to us, since no longer that God is One that we cannot see and perceive. Having shown Himself through His Son, God has shown us just how much He loves us and just how amazing His commitment has been to the Covenant that He has established with us.

He came into this world through Mary His mother, dwelling in her hallowed womb for nine whole months before being born into this world. And as we heard in our Gospel passage today, even the mother of St. John the Baptist, Elizabeth, who was Mary’s relative, recognised the Lord present in Mary’s womb, and both of them praised God for everything that God had done for them. The miraculous nature of the pregnancy for Elizabeth, which happened in her advanced age, and for Mary, whose pregnancy happened before she consummated her marriage with St. Joseph her husband were proof of God’s intervention and the fulfilment for the plan of His salvation for all of us.

But even more than that, the Lord through that action of becoming Incarnate in the flesh, to be born as a Man, was an act of supreme love and compassion, which He generously showed towards all of us sinners. And why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because the Lord came to us in the human form and existence in order to share with us our humanity, to be the New Adam that would overturn the past sins and mistakes committee by the first Adam which led us all into sin.

And in the most important action He did for our salvation, done out of His ever generous and enduring love for us, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, willingly took upon Himself the punishments and the consequences of our sins. He took up His Cross and endured the most humiliating conditions and punishments, suffering for us on our behalf, in perfectly obeying the will of His Father, showing us what God’s love is all about, and how we ought to love God as well. As we heard in our second reading today, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, that is all that God wants from us as well.

He does not require from us offerings and sacrifices, referring to the ritual sacrifices done up to that time according to the Mosaic Law. It truly means that He does not require from us mere formality of faith and worship, and neither did He desire lip service from us His people. Instead, what He wants is a total commitment made with love and real genuine love we have for Him, as Christ Himself, in bearing His Cross has shown us. In that supreme act of self-sacrifice and selflessness, God Himself, the Son of God and Son of Man, the Divine Word Incarnate in the flesh, the One born on Christmas Day, showed His love for us, and His love for His heavenly Father, as part of the Holy Trinity of perfect Love with the Holy Spirit.

And that is what we ought to recall today, brothers and sisters in Christ, remembering the great love and the ever enduring patient love and compassion that God has always ever lavished on us, all these while. That is why this Sunday, we focus our attention on the what is arguably the most important of all the four Advent themes, that is Love. For without love, the love that God has for us, then we could never have been saved, and there could have been no hope for us at all. It was God’s Love for us that made all these possible.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having come to realise God’s most amazing love for us, are we going to show Him the same kind of genuine love? Or are we going to continue to be stubborn in shutting Him out from our lives and in ignoring His loving presence in our midst? And most importantly, are we going to continue sidelining and forgetting about Him in our festivities and celebrations in and throughout the entire season of Christmas? We have to reflect and remember on what Christmas is truly all about.

Today, as we recall God’s loving presence in our midst, let us all strive to do our best to love the Lord with new hearts full of devotion and dedication to Him. If we have once ignored and abandoned Him for other idols and distractions in the world, let us now seek Him again with ever greater zeal and commitment. Let us all rediscover that love that each and every one of us ought to have for the Lord. And may the Lord, our ever loving God continue to love us and bless us, and may His love continue to be poured upon us, most generously, that we may also grow in our love for Him.

May all of us strive to celebrate Christmas worthily and remind one another what Christmas is truly all about, of a celebration of God’s most amazing love for His beloved ones, all of us, His children and His people, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 December 2021 : 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 celebrate the occasion of the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday. On this day we may have noticed that the vestments used are rose in colour instead of the usual purple or violet. This colour is only used twice in the entire liturgical year, one of which is today and the other one at Laetare Sunday on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. This Gaudete Sunday is named as such because of the words of its Introit at the start of the Mass, ‘Gaudete in Domino semper…’ which means ‘Rejoice in the Lord forever…’

Just as the previous two Sundays of Advent we focus on the aspects of Hope and Peace in Advent. Today therefore we focus on the aspect of Joy in this Advent season. That aspect of Joy is why we have a more cheerful tone as compared to the more restrained and sombre nature of our Christmas preparations throughout this season of Advent. This focus on Joy is a reminder for all of us that we are preparing ourselves this Advent for the coming of the True Joy of Christmas, that is the salvation that has come to us through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Salvation.

In our first reading today, all of us heard from the Book of the prophet Zechariah, in which the Lord reassured all of His people through Zechariah that He has always watched over them and He will always love them and care for them. God will bless them all and He will not abandon them to their fate. We must understand the context of what happened during the time of the prophet Zechariah. The prophet Zechariah lived and worked during the time of the early Persian Empire, likely according to historical evidence, during the reign of King Darius the Great.

At that time, the people of Israel, descendants of those who have lived in the old lands of Israel, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, had just returned from their long exile in Babylon and other far-off lands, after God had redeemed them and liberated them through the Great King of Persia, Cyrus the Great. They and their ancestors had faced great humiliation and sufferings due to their own infidelities and stubbornness, their abandonment of God, His laws and commandments. They had been brought low and defeated, their lands and cities laid to waste, Jerusalem destroyed with its Temple cast down.

Therefore, the words of the Lord through the prophet Zechariah were reminder for God’s own people that even as they endured trials and sufferings, God was still with them, and as they themselves experienced their emancipation and liberation, they ought to be joyful for the Lord’s providence and love. Having been allowed to return to their own homeland and once again gathering as a people and community, no longer scattered among the nations, and even having their Temple of God rebuilt with the support of the Persian King, all these were more than enough reasons for them to rejoice.

The prophet Isaiah as we heard in our Psalm today also reiterated this, as he spoke words of rejoicing in God’s salvation and providence, in all that He had done for His people. God has blessed us all His people and He has done many wonderful things for us, and hence, all of us ought to rejoice and to be glad because God and His presence among us, in His coming to this world through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, has guaranteed us that eternal life and salvation, if we have faith in Him and believe in Him wholeheartedly.

Today, in our second reading, taken from the Epistle that St. Paul wrote to the Church and the faithful in Philippi, we also heard the same exhortation to the faithful to rejoice because God is by our side, and He has always remained by our side through good times and bad times, and He has always guided us and patiently showed us His love all these while. We have been so fortunate to have been favoured by God in such a way, that He even gave us all the perfect gift, the best of all, that is the gift of His salvation through Christ.

We rejoice and should no longer be fearful or afraid, as God’s words are trustworthy and He has always fulfilled His promises, no matter what. He sent us St. John the Baptist as we heard in our Gospel passage today, to be the Herald proclaiming His coming to the world and also to prepare the way for Him in this world. St. John the Baptist proclaimed God’s Good News and truth, revealing to all of the people what God was going to do in order to save them. He also revealed to them, when He came, the Messiah of God, Jesus Christ.

All of us have been reminded throughout all these readings from the Sacred Scriptures today, of the wonderful love of God made manifest through Christ, His Son, Whom He had sent to us, and Whose coming we celebrate this Christmas. That is why this Sunday we focus on the aspect of Joy in Advent, the anticipation if the great Joy that we are going to celebrate in Christmas, for having received God’s grace and salvation, and for having been blessed by this opportunity we have to know God and His ever generous love.

And it is timely and proper today that we spend some time to reflect on the nature of the Joy that we are expecting this Christmas. Is this joy referring to the festivities and celebrations that we are planning and hoping to do this Christmas? Are we looking ahead to the merrymaking and bling of our Christmas parties, and yet forgetting about what Christmas is truly about and why we celebrate it? This is the time for us to reflect on how we should focus our Christmas joy and celebrations that we may better appreciate what its true importance and meaning are to us.

Is Christ the true Joy of our lives? And are we joyful because He has come to us and having loved and cared for us so much, despite of our stubbornness and sinfulness? Or are we joyful because we are merely looking for pleasure and gratification in all the festivities and merrymaking? Have we prepared ourselves well that we may truly know what it is that bring joy to our lives and existence? Christmas is a time for us to rejoice indeed, and this Sunday we have a glimpse and preview of that joy, but we must constantly remind ourselves lest we are distracted by the many temptations offered by the secular celebrations of Christmas that are focused not on God but on ourselves and our worldly desires.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we gather together to celebrate this Gaudete Sunday, the Joy in the season of Advent, our joyful expectation of the coming of Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, let us all remind ourselves that we celebrate because we are happy for the hope that Christ has brought us, and we are grateful for the assurance and peace that He has brought us all by His coming into this world. Let us not be distracted and be overtaken by the excesses of the pleasures and merrymaking of the secular Christmas celebrations, and instead let us be the role model and example in how each and every one of us can celebrate Christmas worthily in a meaningful way.

How do we do so? It is by sharing the Joy of Christmas with one another, especially with those who have no such privilege to celebrate Christmas the way that many of us do every year. There are many out there who cannot celebrate Christmas because they were not allowed to do so, and even were oppressed and persecuted for being Christians. Many therefore had to celebrate Christmas in secret, while holding on to that Joy that they also anticipate for the coming of the day of their liberation and freedom, for the day of their emancipation much like how the Israelites once longed for theirs.

Let us therefore do whatever we can to bear the joy of Christ to the world, by our actions and by whatever we can do to help our brethren who are lacking in joy and who have yet to appreciate and understand the true Joy of Christmas, that is Christ, Our Lord. Let us be the ones to bring forth joy, happiness and smile to our brethren, especially as we know so many people who are still suffering, sorrowful and in terrible state after the troubles and challenges many of us have been facing in the past two years.

May the Lord, our true source of Joy, the true Joy and the reason for our Christmas celebrations be with us always. May He bless us all and may He strengthen each and every one of us in faith, so that we may always, by our exemplary Christian living, faith and joy, bring forth the true joy of Christ into this world, to restore the joy to a world drowning in sorrow and darkness. May God bless us all and be with us, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 December 2021 : Second Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Second Sunday of Advent, all of us are called to serve the Lord and be His faithful servants, committing ourselves to be good Christians that are exemplary in our actions and be good role models for one another. All of us as we enter into this blessed season of Advent, we are all reminded to refocus our attention to the Lord so that our lives may once again be aligned with God, His path and His truth. All of us should trust in the Lord and the hope that He has brought upon us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Baruch, we heard the words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Baruch regarding Jerusalem and the people of God. The prophet Baruch was a friend and contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, a renowned prophet who lived during the last years of the kingdom of Judah, the southern half of the kingdom of Israel, which by that time was about to be swallowed and destroyed by the powerful Babylonians. It was truly a difficult time for the people of God, beset by various troubles and hardships.

At that time, the fortune of the people of God was reaching its lowest point, and it seemed that God had abandoned His people, but in truth, He had not. Why so? That was precisely why the prophets Jeremiah, Baruch and many other prophets were sent to the Israelites, to remind the people that the Lord has always been with them and He has always so faithfully and patiently been journeying with them even though they had often disobeyed Him and wandered off on their own path, not listening to those prophets and messengers that had been sent to them.

God had always been patient in seeking for His people, as He never ceased to seek for them and held on to the hope that they would come to see the errors of their ways and be reconciled with Him, that at least some of them would eventually be reconciled with Him and be saved. After all, He still loved them as much and cared for them nonetheless. Each and every one of us are precious in the sight of God, without exception, and all of us must be grateful that God has always had His sight on us and never abandoned us, even in our darkest and most difficult moments.

Through the prophet Baruch, God revealed to His beloved ones His faithfulness to the Covenant which He had made with them, and He also showed them a glimpse of the glory that all of His faithful ones shall receive, all of us included, at the end of days, when He shall gather all of us and lead us triumphant into the eternal life of true happiness and glory that He has promised to us all, and which He has assured all of us, despite the trials and challenges, the opposition, oppressions and hardships that we often had to endure.

We must not forget how God rescued His beloved people from the land of Egypt, when they were enslaved and made to suffer there by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, who humiliated and oppressed them, and even made a pointed attempt to try to eliminate them all as a nation. God led His people out of that slavery, sending forth His servant Moses and punishing Egypt with ten great plagues and destroying their armies and chariots, through wonders after wonders, by which God rescued His people and led them to the land He has promised to them. This was what God also reminded His people through His prophets, Baruch included.

In our Gospel today, we heard the words about the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, during whose reign the Lord’s salvation for His people finally came into being as He sent His servant St. John the Baptist, who began his ministry among the people of God, calling on all of them to repent and turn away from their sinful ways, and reminding them all that the Lord’s kingdom was already close at hand. He essentially reiterated word by word what the prophet Baruch spoke of regarding of the coming of God and His salvation, renewing God’s promises to His people. This happened when the people at that time were becoming increasingly worried over the encroaching Roman influence and dominance over the land.

And not only just that, but this time, God Himself walked on this world, coming down in the fulfilment of His long awaited promise, as prophesied by the many prophets and messengers that He had earlier sent among His people, and as heralded by St. John the Baptist as mentioned. The Lord manifested His ultimate and perfect love for each and every one of us by His coming into this world, in assuming His human existence in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the Holy One of God, proclaimed by the prophets, and the One to save us all, the Son of God and Son of Man.

And in our second reading today, as St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Philippi in Greece, he reminded us all of the assurance of God’s love that He has shown through Christ, and which He shall fulfil in all perfection at the end of days, exhorting all of us the faithful to live our lives in a most virtuous Christian manner, in obeying God’s will, His laws and commandments, in doing our best to be exemplary and inspirational in how we live our lives with utmost faith in God.

Just as we heard and reflected today how God had repeatedly shown His love for us, and showed with many concrete examples, even manifesting His love in the flesh, and dedicating His love to us by suffering and dying on the Cross for us, that is why all of us as Christians, we have to reflect on this love that God has most generously given us, and think of how we can live our lives such that we may indeed be truly worthy of God’s love and grace. We do this by appreciating His love, welcoming His kindness and compassion towards us, and seeking Him with all our hearts and strength.

Today, on this Second Sunday of Advent, we focus on the aspect of Peace in Advent, in Our Lord as the Prince of Peace and the Bearer of the everlasting peace and harmony. Just as last Sunday we reflect on the aspect of God’s Hope that came through Christ, this Sunday we reflect on the Peace that God has bestowed on us through His coming into this world. Why this Peace, brothers and sisters in Christ? And what does it mean by us having God’s Peace? What is peace all about? How is it significant for us?

It is the true Peace that God alone can bring us because in God alone we shall find consolation and fulfilment, help and true redemption. Through Him alone we shall be freed in the end from all troubles and from all pain and sorrow. Just as the people at the time of Baruch were very worried about their fate and the fate of their kingdom and just as the people at the time of St. John the Baptist were increasingly worried over their subjugation by the Romans and the threat of the destruction of their nation and way of life, we too are often worried because we worry that we may not get what we desired and wanted in life.

Through Christ, God has revealed that we should not and we must not be worried, because God has revealed to us His Peace and assurance, and there is nothing else more assuring and more promising to us than the Lord and His salvation. The world may betray us and fail us, our wealth, possessions, power, fame, friends and relationships may fail us and abandon us, but God will always be by our side, no matter what happens. If only that we have more faith and trust in the Lord and allow Him to guide us, and if only more people had learnt to appreciate more His truth and love.

Unfortunately, many people have not realised this, and they all still worry all the time about their lives, their appearances and worldly concerns, their desires and ambitions among many others. And this is why many could not truly find real peace in their lives. As long as our faith in God is non-existent or is not strong and firm, we can easily be swayed by the many hardships, temptations and pressure for us to give up our faith and commitment to God. That is certainly not something that we should be doing in our lives.

In our world today, as we are still reeling from the terrible effects of the currently ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and as many people have yet to recover and some are still even suffering more and more from the direct and indirect effects from this terrible event, all of us are reminded that all is not lost for us. I am sure that many among us are worried about our livelihood and what is to come for us, especially if we have lost our jobs and occupations, our ‘rice bowl’ that provided sustenance and support to us and our beloved ones. However, we must not give in to fear and anxiety, and instead, we should hold on all the firmer to the Lord and His promised salvation. In Him, we can find true peace and freedom from our many worries, fears and uncertainties.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, how we act and do things in our lives, especially with so many tragedies and hardships happening all around us, is very, very important indeed. As Christians, we have all received the truth about God’s love and the hope, peace and joy that He has brought into this world. If we ourselves are lukewarm in our faith and did not have full trust in the Lord, then how can we expect more people to believe in the Lord and His truth? How can we be the bearers of peace, God’s Peace to all our fellow brethren, when we ourselves are in constant state of turmoil in our hearts and minds?

All of us are the beacons of God’s light, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are the bearers of God’s true Peace, called to be His witnesses among the nations. In our every day living actions, words and deeds, in our every interactions, works and efforts, we have to reveal more and more about the Lord to our fellow brethren, especially those who have yet to receive His truth and those who had lapsed from the Christian faith. Through us and our actions, all of us are called to be the messengers of Peace, to be the ones to spread this true peace of God throughout this world.

Are we willing and able to do so, brothers and sisters in Christ? And how are we going to spend the rest of this season of Advent and even further on to the season of Christmas and even beyond? Is our Christmas going to be one of excessive merrymaking and partying, of us competing with one another who can make the better Christmas celebrations? Is our Christmas going to be filled with a lot of festive mood and grand celebrations, and yet we do not find peace through them?

Instead, are we going to make our Christmas more about the One Whom Christmas is truly about, He Whose Name gave Christmas its meaning? Are we going to make Christmas truly about Christ, the Prince of Peace, Who has brought the Lord’s peace and harmony into this world? Let us ponder these questions carefully and discern in our hearts how each and every one of us will prepare ourselves throughout the remaining days of Advent, so that our Christmas joy and celebration will be a truly blessed and meaningful one.

There are many out there who are in need of our help, our encouragement and companionship. Whenever we see someone else suffering, we should sympathise with them and try to help us as best as we can. God has also given many among us the time, opportunity and talents to help us out in these good works and endeavours. Amidst the uncertainties and fears that we face all around us, especially recently, can we be that source of consolation and the bearers of God’s peace to those who are worried, uncertain and suffering?

May the Lord, the Prince of Peace, the Peace that comes at Christmas, be with us always so that we may also find this true peace and love that exists in God alone. May God bless our many actions and deeds, our works and efforts to spread the Good News and the truth that He has revealed to us. May He bestow on us, our loved ones and all, one day, in His presence, the gift of true and everlasting peace. Amen.

by

Sunday, 28 November 2021 : First Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we mark the beginning of a new liturgical year and more significantly, the beginning of the season of Advent, the time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, which we are going to celebrate in about four weeks’ time. This season of Advent is a blessed and great time for all of us to reflect, take a step back and see how our lives have been, and how ready we are to welcome the Lord into our hearts and families, into our lives this Christmas.

If we all walk around and see the shopping malls and many other places, we would have seen the Christmas decorations are already up in full force, in some places even as early as from September onwards. We surely have heard the usual Christmas songs and the festive mood being all around us, with Christmas sales and shopping on the upswing literally everywhere. But before we jump into the craze and start to be swallowed by that Christmas festivities, let us all remind ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ, what Christmas is truly all about.

Christmas is not about all the bling and the festivities, all the glamour, food and drinks, all the merrymaking and songs. What is Christmas, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is, just as its name says, something about Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. It is a celebration that is about and should be focused on Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, Saviour of the world, Our Lord and King, Who unfortunately have often been sidelined and even excluded from His own celebration. It is the celebration of His birth into this world, the moment when He revealed Himself in the flesh to all, after having spent nine months in His mother’s womb.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, we heard of the words of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah regarding the salvation that God would send His people Israel, a liberation and redemption for the people of Judah and the descendant of the Israelites coming from the House of David, the Shoot of Righteousness and the Shoot of Jesse. This was the same prophecy and revelation that the Lord had given through His other prophets, especially Isaiah, Jeremiah’s predecessor.

Contextually, at that time the prophet Jeremiah lived in the last years of the kingdom of Judah when it was about to be destroyed and conquered by the Babylonians. For many years, the kingdom and the people of Judah had been beset by various troubles and crushed by their neighbours and enemies. They had not been faithful to the Lord and did what were wicked in the sight of the Lord and men alike. Thus, the Lord meted out His justice and punished their wrongdoing, and they had to endure those sufferings and humiliation as a result of their infidelities.

However, at the same time, God still loved them all wholeheartedly, and ever since the beginning, just as all of us mankind had fallen into sin, He had never given up on us. He has always reached out to us, calling on us to return to Him, sending to us prophets and messengers to reveal His message of truth and love, calling on all of us, His beloved people, to turn away from our wicked and sinful ways, embracing His mercy and compassionate love, and find reconciliation through Him. In that same way, God sent Jeremiah to the people of Judah to deliver the message of Hope.

Christ is the fulfilment of this prophecy that the Lord has given His people through all the ages, the perfect fulfilment of God’s promises and the manifestation of His Love. Through Christ, a world in darkness has seen a great light, that is the true Light of Christ, the Light of His Hope and salvation. And it is this Hope that we are focusing at on this First Sunday of Advent today. Each of the Sundays of Advent has a specific theme to prepare us for the coming of Christmas, which in order is Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Thus, we open this season of Advent with a firm reminder of the Hope in Our Lord and His salvation.

Just as Jeremiah was sent to the people of Judah at the time of their darkest moments to remind them of God’s light, truth and hope, thus all of us are reminded that in Christ lies our true Hope and He is the One that all of us should be heading towards and focusing on, and not on the glamours and excessive celebrations that are not focused on Christ but rather on ourselves and our greedy desires. We must ask ourselves, when we celebrate and rejoice this Christmas, do we rejoice because of Christ and the Hope and Salvation that He brings, or is it because of our own desire for self-indulgence and pleasure?

Today we listened in our Gospel passage today the words of the Lord Jesus Himself to His disciples from the Gospel of St. Luke, which spoke of the end of times and the coming of sufferings for those who are faithful to God, which we have heard in the past week at the end of our previous liturgical year. It is a reminder for us that just as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, which marks the moment of the Lord’s first coming and appearance in this world, two millennia ago, we are also called to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Second Coming, which will happen at the end of days.

The Lord has told His disciples and all of us to be prepared for the coming trials and challenges, to be ready for His coming whenever it will be. No one knows the time of His coming and no one has any idea when everything will happen as the Lord has told us, but it will surely happen and we have to be prepared for it. Otherwise, we may realise that we are caught unaware and unprepared, and have an eternity of regret when we are judged to be lacking in faith and are cast to the eternal damnation and darkness. And it is not because God did not love us, but rather because we ourselves have rejected Him and His generous offer of love and forgiveness.

The Lord has reminded us of this so that we may prepare ourselves well and be ready to welcome Him when He comes again. This Advent, all of us are reminded of this reality and that Christmas is not all about merrymaking, partying and excesses in our feasting, jolly making and the gifts and other things we usually associate with Christmas. Instead, it is a time for us to be truly joyful knowing that the Lord has loved us so much that He has given us our Hope and Salvation in Christ, Who was incarnate in the flesh and born the Son of Mary in Bethlehem.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we prepare ourselves this First Sunday of Advent let us all reflect deeply on the Hope that Christ has brought to us by His coming into this world. Let us rediscover the true Spirit of Christmas, not one of excesses and greed, not one of unbridled feasting and desire to outdo one another in opulence, but rather a renewed faith in Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. And it is important that as we prepare ourselves this Advent, we also begin a journey of self-rediscovery, to rediscover our faith in God and to realise that newfound Hope that we have in Him, that no matter how difficult and challenging our lives may be now, the Lord will always be by our side and will provide for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all make good use of this season of Advent to prepare ourselves well, in heart, body and mind so that we will be ready to welcome the Lord in our hearts, into our families and houses, and make Him truly the King of our entire existence. Let us all be the bearers of His Hope and Light, His Truth and His Love to our fellow brothers and sisters all around us. Let us be the witnesses of His loving kindness by showing that same love and generosity to our fellow men, especially to those who are lacking in love and ostracised, the poor and the needy.

May our Advent journey be meaningful and fruitful, and may God be our guide and strength, our compass and light, our hope and courage in the midst of the darkness and trials in this world. May God bless us all and strengthen us, that our Advent preparation and our upcoming Christmas celebrations will be truly wonderful. Amen.