Sunday of the Lord

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Saturday, 24 December 2022 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Eve (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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Saturday, 24 December 2022 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Eve (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, 18 December 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the fourth and the last of the Sundays of the Advent season, reminding us all that Christmas is coming very soon and Advent is already ending. It seems that it was just yesterday that Advent started, is it not? But that is the reality, that time passes on, and sometimes really quickly before we realise that much time has actually passed. A good question to ask ourselves now is, how has our Advent journey been so far? Has it been meaningful and fruitful for us? Has it been good in preparing ourselves for the upcoming celebration of the Nativity or the birth of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? Or have we instead been preparing ourselves for Christmas in the wrong way?

We do not have to look far, and we just have to open our eyes and see everything all around us. Except in places where Christians cannot worship in the open or where Christian influences and festivities are banned or not allowed, virtually everywhere else in the world, Christmas celebrations and festivities have been all around us for weeks or even months as of now. Yet, in most of all those festivities, celebrations and merrymaking, something and someone is indeed inconspicuously missing from all the celebrations. Ironically, this One Who is missing is exactly the One for Whom the celebrations we have at Christmas had been intended to, and Christmas is indeed about Christ first and foremost. It marks the moment when the Lord Jesus, Son of God, was born into this world, revealing God’s perfect and enduring love, manifested and personified, becoming tangible and approachable by us.

And yes, that is exactly what we should be focusing on this Sunday, brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than the many distractions that the secular Christmas pageantries and festivities have presented to us. This Sunday, just as in the previous Sundays of Advent, we focus on a particular theme or aspect of this Advent season, beginning with Hope at the first Sunday when we reminded ourselves of the Hope we have in the coming of Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the Hope out of the darkness and despair reigning all around us. And then we have Peace at the second Sunday, where we focus ourselves on the upcoming Peace that God Himself will bring in the end, in His role as the Prince of Peace, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Who will rule over all of His people, reuniting all of them in peace, harmony and love. Then, on the third Sunday of Advent last week, also known as Gaudete Sunday we have focused on the aspect of Joy, where we rejoice in the coming of the true Joy of Christmas, that is Christ Himself.

And lastly this Sunday, we focus on the theme and aspect of Love, the Love of God made Man, personified and manifested in Jesus Christ, Our Lord. This theme of Love is arguably the most important of all, as it is the enduring and ever-present Love that God has for each and every one of us is the very reason why we still have Hope in Him, and why we can look forward to His reign of Peace, and for the Joy of His everlasting kingdom and our eternity of true happiness and bliss with Him. Without the Love of God, none of these would and will have been possible. If God had not loved us, upon our rebellion and disobedience against Him, in refusing to follow His Law and commandments, and in choosing to listen to Satan and his lies instead, we could have easily been crushed and annihilated by God, by the mere whim of His Almighty will alone.

We could have been condemned to an eternity of suffering in hell, sharing the fate of the devil and all of the wicked spirits, the fallen angels and demons, and we could have endured all those punishments and sufferings because of our lack of faith in Him, our stubborn attitude and refusal to believe in Him. Yet, despite all of our delinquencies and stubbornness, God is Himself equally persistent in loving us and caring for us, still reaching out to us and trying to help us, because ultimately, He had created us out of His overflowing and perfect love, that He willingly shares with each and every one of us. Although we may have scorned and rejected His love, He never ceased to love us all, most patiently, and sending unto us reminders and helpers, like what we heard in our first reading of the encounter between the prophet Isaiah and King Ahaz of Judah.

At that occasion, the prophet Isaiah came bearing God’s words to King Ahaz, the ruler of Judah, the southern half of the kingdoms established over the people of Israel. And back then, the northern half of the kingdom, the kingdom of Israel centred in Samaria had just been destroyed and crushed by the Assyrians, who came and conquered Samaria, defeated the Israelites, and uprooted many of them to be exiled to far-off and distant lands, replacing them with foreigners from other parts of the world. Only the kingdom of Judah therefore remained among those people of God back then. The northern kingdom fell because of the constant wickedness of its people and how most of its kings and people continued to worship pagan idols and gods, persecuting the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them.

And although the southern kingdom of Judah was comparatively better, with several good and faithful kings, there had also been a lot of wickedness committed by the people of Judah, in not listening to God and His reminders, and in similarly persecuting the prophets and messengers sent to remind them to keep the faith. King Ahaz himself was one of the kings deemed by the historians and writers of the Old Testament records as an evil king, one who disobeyed the Lord and brought the people into sinful ways. When God sent Isaiah to Ahaz as we heard in our first reading today, we heard how the King of Judah refused to ask for a sign from God as Isaiah told him, and as a result, Isaiah told the king that God Himself will, in due time, show the greatest of all signs to His people, the sign of the Emmanuel, of the Virgin who would bear a Child.

Some of us may think that King Ahaz was being humble in not asking for a sign from God, but the truth is, it is more likely that he did so out of his lack of faith in God, and also he did not believe much in the signs and wonders that God had done for His people through His many prophets in the ages past. Not only that, but sometimes true humility also entails obedience, as by not doing what God had asked him to do also has the implication of pride, as the king might have thought that he had no need of God’s signs, protection and providence, and that he could do everything all by himself, despite the rising issues and troubles facing the kingdom of Judah back then, surrounded on all sides by its many enemies, and threatened by the rising might of Assyria which had just destroyed the kingdom of Israel to the north of Judah.

Hence, God proclaimed through Isaiah what He would do nonetheless, to show us all, the whole world, of His love for each one of us, that He sends unto us, His Love manifested through His Son, the Divine Word of God Incarnate. He became Emmanuel, ‘God is with us’, that He came to dwell amongst us, in our midst, in the flesh. He made Himself tangible, approachable and touchable by us, giving us this perfect manifestation of this Love, which is reiterated again in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel of St. Matthew, where again, the fact that God Himself has come to dwell among His people, Emmanuel, God Who is with His people, showed His great love by willingly coming down to us to be with us, loving us all most dearly and wonderfully with His ever generous love.

This same love is the love that Christ showed us all, when He picked up His Cross and walked that path of suffering, the Via Dolorosa, from Jerusalem where He was scourged and condemned to death, to Golgotha or Calvary where He was nailed to His Cross and made to suffer a most painful and humiliating death for us. He became for us the perfect offering of Love, the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God sacrificed and crushed for all of us, and Himself as our Eternal High Priest offering this perfect sacrifice of love, most unblemished and perfect in all things, for the complete atonement of our innumerable sins, and for the redemption of all mankind. To all those who share in His Most Precious Body and Blood, in the Eucharist, worthily, He has given us the assurance of eternal life and joy, as we have received the Love of God Himself into our midst, and into ourselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we reflect upon this theme and aspect of Love, let us all therefore keep reminding ourselves of the Love which God has for each and every one of us, and the Love which made all things possible for us, that Hope, Peace and Joy can come our way once again, because the Love of God had been made incarnate in the flesh and born of the Virgin, Mary His mother, and which we celebrate most joyfully as Christmas. Therefore, if our Christmas preparations and celebrations have been mostly or even entirely secular and worldly in nature, perhaps it is not yet too late for us to change our direction and focus. Christmas is still a full week away from today, and there are a lot of things that we can do in this one week to prepare ourselves so that we can celebrate Christmas most worthily and meaningfully.

First of all, let us all as Christians be filled with God’s love, and show that same love in our lives and actions just as He has taught us to do. His Law and commandments are essentially about us loving God first and foremost before all else, and then loving one another just in the same way as well. We have to love our fellow brothers and sisters more, and grow ever more in our love for God and our faith and trust in Him as well, with every celebrations of Christmas. This time and season of Advent is a really good time to remind us to reconnect ourselves with God especially if we have allowed our busy schedules and life activities to distract and make ourselves becoming more and more distant from God. We also cannot allow ourselves to be swayed by so much festivities and merrymaking that we forget to remember that even in our midst, there are people who are still suffering, and unable to rejoice or celebrate due to various reasons.

Let us all be the bearer of God’s Love, as well as His Hope, Peace and Joy to our communities, to our families and circles of friends and even to all those strangers and all whom we encounter each day throughout life, so that through us, more and more people may come to experience God’s love, of Christ’s love having been made manifested in our midst. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to shower us with His love and kindness at all times. May He show us the path of love and justice, for us to follow, and encourage and strengthen us along the journey that we may continue to persevere faithfully in walking the path of righteousness and love that we should be walking on as Christians. May God bless us all and be with us all, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 18 December 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 1 : 18-24

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, she has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ fo He will save His people from their sins.”

All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet : The Virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means : God-with-us. When Joseph awoke, he did what the Angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.

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Sunday, 18 December 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Romans 1 : 1-7

From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an Apostle, called and set apart for God’s Good News, the very promises He foretold through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures, regarding His Son, Who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognised as the Son of God, endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead, through the Holy Spirit.

Through Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the sake of His Name, we received grace, and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith. All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved God in Rome, called to be holy : May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

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Sunday, 18 December 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Sunday, 18 December 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 7 : 10-14

Once again YHVH addressed Ahaz, “Ask for a sign from YHVH your God, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.”

But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask, I will not put YHVH to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my God? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign : The Virgin is with Child and bears a Son and calls His Name Immanuel.”

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Sunday, 11 December 2022 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the Third Sunday in the season of Advent, which is also known as the Gaudete Sunday. This comes from the Introit or the opening Antiphon of this Sunday’s Mass, ‘Gaudete in Domino semper…’ or ‘Rejoice in the Lord always…’ which reminds us of the Aspect of Joy that we focus on in this Sunday’s celebration of the season of Advent. Thus far, from the first Sunday, we have focused on the Aspect of Hope and then Peace on the second Sunday, and now the Aspect of Joy before the last Aspect of Love next Sunday. Thus, this Sunday we focus our attention on the joy that we have in us in anticipating and expecting the coming of the truly joyous celebration and occasion in Christmas that is coming really soon now. We rejoice because of the great joy and happiness in the coming of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Correspondingly, we can see that there are unique features of this Sunday which are not seen for the rest of the Advent season, much like that of Laetare Sunday in the season of Lent, as this Sunday we take some kind of short break from the more sombre and penitential nature and mood of this Advent season. Today we look upon the joy that is coming up in Christmas season, in the joy that our Lord Jesus has brought into our midst with His coming into this world. This joy is something that we look forward to, and expect with jubilation in our hearts, and yet, at the same time, still with solemn and some penitential nature due to our current Advent season as a reminder that while we rejoice, we also must temper down our rejoicing and most importantly, remain focused on the true reason for our joy, and not be overcome and overwhelmed by excesses of merrymaking and festivities that we forget why we celebrate in the first place.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah of God speaking to His people reminding all of them not to be fearful or afraid anymore, and that God will give them rest and new strength, freedom from their hardships and troubles, and they will return once again to Zion, singing and rejoicing because God is with them and that their days of trials and struggles are over. Back then, the people of God living in the kingdom of Judah where the prophet Isaiah ministered and worked as God’s prophet had suffered a lot of indignation and other forms of hardships at the hands of their enemies, and they had faced a lot of trials and difficulties, and such words from the Lord certainly must have brought about relief and great joy to everyone who listened to those words of God’s consolation and reassurance.

Because of their sins, the people of God had been scattered and humiliated, and parts of the people had been crushed, conquered and exiled by their enemies, such as much of the ten of the twelve tribes of Israel living in the northern kingdom of Israel, which had succumbed to the Assyrians merely few decades prior to the coming of these words of the Lord through Isaiah. At a time of great trials and challenges for God’s people, therefore, this reassurance truly must have been like a great light piercing the darkness of despair, doubt and suffering among the people of God. At that time, God intervened on their behalf, crushing and defeating the massive army of the Assyrian king sent to Judah and Jerusalem to conquer them. God protected His people and led them all to triumph against their enemies, and the retreat of the Assyrians in shame must have been truly joyful for the people who were there, witnessing God’s providence and presence among them.

But that is not just what the Lord would do for His people, as it was just merely one of the many occasions in which God cared for His beloved ones, protecting and guiding them throughout their journey. He would send them all, and all of the children of mankind, just as He has promised, His own only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. By the incarnation of this Son of God, the Divine Word Incarnate, God has come among His people in the flesh, tangible and approachable, as the conquering and great Light that pierced through the darkness of this world, and which brought a new Hope into our midst, the Hope for the Resurrection and eternal life, of eternal bliss and true joy that we shall receive and enjoy forevermore in the Holy Presence of God.

That is what we heard in our second and Gospel reading passages today, as St. James detailed upon us all in his Epistle the reminder for all of us the faithful, that God is coming again in glory, at the time of His choosing, and we ought to look up to Him and be hopeful, as well as being patient, awaiting for His coming and return to our midst, while being reassured of His ever continued presence and love for us. In the meantime, we are all therefore expected to be righteous, holy and just, just as our Lord, loving God and Father is also righteous, all holy and just. Our Gospel passage today reminds us that the Lord Himself has come into this world, to fulfil all the promises that He has made to us, to redeem us, to heal us from our sickness, maladies, and most importantly, the bondage and shackles of sin and death that have kept us apart from Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, once again, as we focus our attention this Sunday on the more joyful aspect of our Advent observance, let us all first and foremost remind ourselves of why we celebrate and rejoice at all in this time of Advent and Christmas. We ought to keep in mind that the true joy of Christmas is not referring to all the celebrations, festivities, merrymaking and all the things that we commonly associated as the joyful celebration and nature of Christmas. Instead, it is the reason why Christmas exists in the first place that is the reason why we celebrate and rejoice, and that is, the coming of our great Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the One Whom God had sent into our midst, that through Him we may have redemption and liberation from our impending destruction because of our many sins, wickedness and evils.

Let us reflect on this and ask ourselves if our focus and emphasis during this preparatory time of Advent has been correct, or whether we have been swayed and distracted by the many temptations present all around us, of worldly excesses and attachments, the desires for pleasures, comforts and worldly satisfaction and joys. We do not have to go far but look all around us to see just how secular our Christmas celebrations have often become. In many places, Christmas has become no more than just another holiday and another celebration, where everyone cannot wait to show off and indulge in the most lavish and extravagant celebrations and merrymaking possible. People put so much emphasis on the festivities that they tend to forget what the festivities and celebrations are all for, that is Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, for His love and His act in our redemption, for Him for Whom Christmas is named after.

That is why, brothers and sisters, as Christians, we should lead by our own good examples by making sure that we do not give in to the temptation of worldly pleasures and excesses, and keep reminding ourselves of the true joy that we uphold and focus on in our Christmas celebrations, even as we now prepare for all the festivities and merrymaking. Christ should be at the centre of it all, and we should make sure that every part of our communities, our families and all with whom we partake the Christmas celebrations, we have to place Christ, the Joy of Christmas, right at the centre and as the focus of everything, or else, our Christmas celebrations will in fact become empty and meaningless. Christmas is not a celebration about ourselves and our ego or greed, but is instead a celebration of our joy at the love of God made Man, through Whom He has brought us the assurance of eternal joy and life.

Lastly, let us also not forget that there are some among our brethren who are not truly able to celebrate Christmas with joy, like those whose Christian faith had to be kept secret because of persecutions and all the hardships that even quite a number of our fellow Christians still face all around the world. And there are also those who do not have the means to celebrate because of their various hardships and challenges in life. There are those who cannot even make ends meet each day and less still the ability to celebrate. In whatever way we can do, let us help them either spiritually or in material, through our prayers and charity, and also by sharing the joy that we have, so that through us, our less fortunate brethren may also experience the Joy of Christ in Christmas.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator, Who has given us Jesus Christ, His Son, born on Christmas Day, as our Light and Hope, continue to strengthen us and guide us in our journey so that by our faith and dedication to Him, through a worthy celebration of Christmas and our preparation this Advent, we may draw ever closer to Him and to His saving grace. May God bless us all in our every good endeavours, our efforts, actions and works, and bless our Advent preparations and observances. May all of us have a truly blessed and fruitful Advent. Amen.

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Sunday, 11 December 2022 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 11 : 2-11

At that time, when John the Baptist heard in prison about the activities of Christ, he sent a message by his disciples, asking Him, “Are You the One Who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus answered them, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see : the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and Good News is reaching the poor; and how fortunate is the one who does not take offence at Me!”

As the messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John : “When you went out to the desert, what did you expect to see? A reed swept by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? People who wear fine clothes live in palaces. What did you really go out to see? A prophet?”

“Yes, indeed, and even more than a prophet. He is the man of whom Scripture says : I send My messenger ahead of You to prepare the way before You. I tell you this : no one greater than John the Baptist has come forward from among the sons of women, and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

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Sunday, 11 December 2022 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Second Reading)

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

James 5 : 7-10

Be patient then, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. See how the sower waits for the precious fruits of the earth, looking forward patiently to the autumn and spring rains. You also be patient and do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Beloved, do not fight among yourselves and you will not be judged. See, the judge is already at the door. Take for yourselves, as an example of patience, the suffering of the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s Name.