Sunday Mass

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Monday, 24 December 2018 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 16-17, 22-25

So Paul arose, motioned to them for silence and began, “Fellow Israelites and also all you who fear God, listen. The God of our people Israel chose our ancestors, and after He had made them increase during their stay in Egypt, He led them out by powerful deeds.

After that time, God removed Saul and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.

It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus. Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : ‘I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.'”

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Monday, 24 December 2018 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 4-5, 16-17, 27 and 29

You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”

Blessed is the people who know Your praise. They walk in the light of Your face. They celebrate all day Your Name and Your protection lifts them up.

He will call on Me, “You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.” I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure.

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Monday, 24 December 2018 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 62 : 1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, for Jerusalem I will not keep silent, until her holiness shines like the dawn and her salvation flames like a burning torch. The nations will see your holiness and all the kings your glory. You will be called by a new name which the mouth of YHVH will reveal.

You will be a crown of glory in the hand of YHVH, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will you be named Forsaken; no longer will your land be called Abandoned; but you will be called My Delight and your land Espoused. For YHVH delights in you and will make your land His spouse.

As a young man marries a virgin, so will your Builder marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you.

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Sunday, 23 December 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this fourth and last Sunday of Advent, as we approach the coming of Christmas in just two days’ time, we are all called to put our focus and attention to the purpose and true meaning of Christmas, that is essentially the great and never-ending love that God has for each one of us. Love is the centre theme of Christmas, without which, there would not have been Christmas, and without it, we would have no hope.

The love of God has made possible our salvation, for His love was so great that despite the disobedience that we mankind have committed again and again, our sins and wickedness, God is still willing to forgive us and to welcome us back into His loving embrace, if only that we are willing to be forgiven, and willing to do what is necessary in order to be loved again, by our sincere and genuine repentance.

God created each and every one of us because He loved us, and He wants to share that love in Him with us, so that all of us may forever enjoy the fullness of His love. That is why, we were never intended to suffer or perish in this world, but the fact that suffering exists, is because of our own refusal to listen to God and to obey Him. We have willingly chosen to follow Satan and his lies, rather than to trust in the love that God has shown us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all like children who have gone wayward and become lost from the loving embrace of our father, that is God, Who is ever patient and ever loving towards us, despite our rebelliousness. And God, knowing that the consequences of sin, is of eternal separation between Him and us, our suffering and damnation in hell, He wants to save us all, and that was why, He gave us the perfect gift of His love this Christmas.

The cure for disobedience is perfect obedience, and that was why, He gave us His only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Divine Word, Who willingly took up our human existence, and become one like us, and by the will of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, was conceived in the womb of His mother, Mary, and was born into this world. His birth, which we celebrate as Christmas, marked the dawn and the coming of a new era of hope.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in every ages and throughout time, we have seen many men and women, who desired to be like God and to be gods. That, was exactly how we mankind first fell, because of our pride and greed, which Satan manipulated and made use of, tempting our ancestors with the temptation of knowledge and power, to become like God and to disobey God and instead following their own desires.

We have seen people who wanted to accumulate for them more power and glory, and in their actions, in the feeding of their personal desires, they caused the pain and sufferings of others. That is how sin continues to reign over us, as there is often no real love in us, but selfishness, greed and pride in our hearts that prevented us from being able to know and understand the pure love that is God’s love.

But this is where Christ came into our midst, bearing the fullness of God’s love, and the truth about His love for each and every one of us. His love for God, His Father and His complete obedience to His will, became for us the source of our salvation. He, Who is both fully God and fully Man, willingly took up our sins and the punishments due for those sins, as He was condemned to death for us, and bore the cross of our sins to His death.

And unlike the offerings of animals in the burnt offerings prescribed by the laws of Moses and Israel, for the temporary atonement for the sins of man, the offering that Christ offered willingly, His own Self, in the Flesh and Blood, the perfect sacrifice in atonement for all of our sins. He is our Eternal High Priest, Whose amazing and unfathomable love for us, has brought about our reconciliation with God.

Unlike those men I mentioned earlier, who aspired to be lords and kings, and even gods, desiring power and glory for themselves, here, we have the Almighty, All-Powerful and glorious God, King of all kings and Lord of all lords, Who willingly emptied Himself of all His glory and majesty, taking up our humble human existence, born in the poorest conditions available, in a place not even fit for human residence, and suffered death in the most humiliating way possible, all just that through His loving sacrifice, He can save us from our fated destruction due to sin.

And so, today, we should reflect deeper on just how great and amazing God’s love for us is. He has done everything for our sake, and He has loved us all so selflessly, even to the point of suffering all things and the worst of humiliations so that He can save us. But sadly, many of us have not realised or even ignored this love which God has shown us. We hardened our hearts and minds, and refused to accept God’s generous love and mercy.

We do not have to go far to see how this unfolds. We see how many of our Christmas celebrations, parties and revelries have little mention or even none of Christ in them. Many of us have followed the secular way of how Christmas has been celebrated, with plenty of merrymaking, but yet, Christ is not present in them all. Christ has been sidelined in our Christmas joy and celebrations, and as a result, instead of celebrating the true joy of Christmas, we are actually succumbing to the pride and desires in our hearts and minds.

We spent so much time trying to outdo one another in our Christmas parties, decorations and other celebrations, and yet, we forget that Christ is the One Who should be the focus and the centre of our joyous celebrations, and nothing else. And this is how Satan is trying very hard to distract us and to prevent us from finding our way towards the Lord, placing obstacles, temptations and barriers on our way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have discussed just how great God’s love is for us, and yet, many of us have not reciprocated that love, and we have not appreciated the vastness of God’s magnanimity, His merciful heart and compassionate love, ever ready to welcome us back to Himself, should we desire to be forgiven and to be reconciled. But sin has always been in the way, and the more we turn ourselves to the many temptations of the world, especially the secular celebrations of Christmas, the further we may fall away from God.

This time of Christmas, let us all have a change of attitude, in our hearts and in our minds. Let us all turn towards God with a new commitment to love Him and to serve Him. Let us remember just how much He loved us, that He willingly emptied Himself of His glory, born as a simple Man, in a poor family, and later on, to be rejected and crucified for our sake. As St. John wrote in his Gospel, the Lord’s own words, “that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that all who believed in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the true essence and the true joy of Christmas, that we should realise and know from now on. Instead of worrying about the celebrations, about what we are to wear or about how we are to enjoy ourselves this Christmas, how about we reflect instead on the love of God, and then, show that same love in our actions? There are many people out there, our brethren, who are not able to celebrate Christmas for various reasons.

And even in our midst, surely there are those who are poor and needy, who cannot even worry about all the revelries and parties, for they struggle to make their own ends meet, each and every single day of their lives. We are called to be generous in sharing our joy and love, imitating the examples of none other than the Lord Jesus Himself, Who shared His vast and unfathomable love with us, by His incarnation and willing entry into this world, to be with us and to save us.

Therefore, let us all celebrate a more meaningful Christmas this year, and from now on, no longer selfishly focusing on ourselves and our greed, or all the materialistic and hedonistic ways of the world, but instead, live up the true spirit of Christmas, that is selfless and unconditional love, which God has first shown us, and which now we ought to show in our own lives. May God bless us all, and may He bless our Christmas joy, that we may celebrate it meaningfully, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 23 December 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 39-45

Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women; and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you, who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

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Sunday, 23 December 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hebrews 10 : 5-10

This is why, on entering the world, Christ says : You did not desire sacrifice and offering; You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said : “Here I am. It was written of me in the scroll. I will do Your will, o God.”

First he says : Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire nor were You pleased with them – although they were required by the Law. Then he says : Here I am to do Your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified, once, and for all, by the sacrifice of the Body of Christ Jesus.

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Sunday, 23 December 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 79 : 2ac and 3bc, 15-16, 18-19

Listen, o Shepherd of Israel, You, Who sit enthroned between the Cherubim. Stir up Your might and come to save us.

Turn again, o YHVH of hosts, look down from heaven and see; care for this vine, and protect the stock Your hand has planted.

But lay Your hand on Your instrument, on the Son of Man Whom You make strong for Yourself. Then we will never turn away from You; give us life, and we will call on Your Name.

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Sunday, 23 December 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Micah 5 : 1-4a

But you, Bethlehem Ephrata, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah; from you shall I raise the One Who is to rule over Israel. For He comes forth from of old, from the ancient times.

YHVH, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she, who is to give birth, has given birth. Then the rest of His deported brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand, and shepherd His flock with the strength of YHVH, in the glorious Name of YHVH, His God.

They will live safely, while He wins renown to the ends of the earth. He shall be peace.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke 3 : 10-18

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

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

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