Sunday

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Sunday, 27 December 2015 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Samuel 1 : 20-22, 24-28

And Hannah became pregnant. She gave birth to a son and called him Samuel because she said : “I have asked YHVH to give him to me.”

Once more Elkanah went to the Temple with his family to offer his yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow to YHVH. Hannah would not go along but she said to her husband, “I will bring the child there as soon as he is weaned. He shall be presented to YHVH and stay there forever.”

When the child was weaned, Hannah took him with her along with a three year old bull, a measure of flour and a flask of wine, and she brought him to YHVH’s House at Shiloh. The child was still young. After they had slain the bull, they brought the child to Eli.

Hannah exclaimed : “Oh, my lord, look! I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to YHVH. I asked for this child and YHVH granted me the favour I begged of Him. Now, I think, YHVH is asking for this child. As long as he lives, he belongs to YHVH.”

And they worshipped YHVH there.

Alternative reading

Sirach 3 : 3-7, 14-17a (Greek Septuagint version – Sirach 3 : 2-6, 12-14)

Whoever honours his father atones for his sins; he who gives glory to his mother prepares a treasure for himself. Whoever honours his father will receive joy from his own children and will be heard when he prays.

Whoever glorifies his father will have a long life. Whoever obeys the Lord gives comfort to his mother. He serves those who brought him to birth as he would serve the Lord.

For kindness done to one’s father will never be forgotten, it will serve as reparation for your sins. In the day of adversity the Lord will remember it to your advantage; for just as ice melts in the heat, so will your sins melt away. The man who abandons his father is like a blasphemer; he who annoys his mother is cursed by the Lord.

My son, conduct your affairs with discretion and you will be loved by those who are acceptable to God.

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Sunday, 20 December 2015 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this last Sunday before Christmas, all of us are invited to reflect on the theme of Love, after we have gone through Peace, Hope and Joy in the previous Sundays. These aspects are the aspects of true Christmas celebration, and indeed, out of all of them, Love is the greatest of them all and the most important one as well.

Today’s Scripture readings are diverse from its origins and meanings, but all of them speak about the same thing, that is, our God is Love, and He loves us all, and through His Love made manifest and real, we received Christ our Lord, Jesus the Saviour, through Whom all of us see for ourselves, witness for ourselves and receive for ourselves, the eternal covenant of love which God had established once and for all with us, for all eternity.

God had given us His love unconditionally, perfect and pure, for He loves us all since the moment when He created us, only for us all to abandon Him and to reject His love, preferring to walk on our own paths towards doom and destruction, listening instead to the lies and surrendering ourselves to the temptations of the devil who desires not our good but our downfall together with him in eternal damnation.

We may think that God demands from us many things, to be perfect in all things and to be good in all things, but this is not what He wanted from us. At least not when this leads to an obsession with doing what is proper and right, instead of truly understanding what is God’s will for all of us. This has happened before among the people of God, namely with the Pharisees, the scribes and the teachers of the Law.

These people were entrusted the care of the sheep and the flock of the Lord, as the appointed shepherds who were given the authority to teach the faith and to lead the people of God to find their way to Him. But they misunderstood God’s intentions, and they thought of God as a demanding God Who wants absolute obedience to the letter of the Law.

To this end they ended up enforcing the Law on the people of God. Indeed, the Law of God is something that we mankind must obey, but obedience must also come with understanding of the intention of the Law. The Law was not given to us in order to punish us or to make our lives difficult, but instead God gave His Law because He loves all of us, and He knows how easily we could be swayed and tempted to follow the devil and his ways.

The Law was meant to bring discipline to the people of God, especially if we noticed in the Old Testament how unruly and rebellious the people of Israel were, as they from time to time again betrayed and abandoned their Lord Who had loved them, protected them and cared for them, for the pagan gods of their neighbours. Yet, they misunderstood the Law as something rigid and something unbending, as something to be done and to be feared.

And over time, the sacrifices of animals, sin offerings and the peace offerings and many other kind of sacrifices which details we can read in the Book of Leviticus, became the focal point of the faith of the Israelites, but after having done these for so long, many became so accustomed to them, that in truth, the reason, the understanding and the meaning behind them were already lost to them.

And the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in the various parts of the New Testament, especially in the Gospels went against Jesus and His disciples many times, because they greatly disapproved what He had done, in seeming contravention and disobedience of the Law of God, such as healing people on the Sabbath, not washing ritually before having a meal, and various other points of contention they raised against Him.

But they totally missed the point and failed to see that all these laws, rules and regulations were made because of the sole intention of bringing mankind ever closer to God, that if they have erred, they have a guide which can lead them back to the Lord and to reawaken once again the love which they ought to have for the Lord. This is the meaning of the Law, which is love.

And in the Gospel today we heard about Mary, the mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, who was visiting her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, the Herald of Christ. Elizabeth uttered the words that would today be in our prayer, the Hail Mary, or Ave Maria, which started with these words, “Hail Mary, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women…”

This means that Mary who was truly great and honoured in our faith, blessed among all women and indeed among all mankind, not just because she had been prepared specifically to be the Mother of our Lord, conceived pure without sin, but even more importantly, because of her faith and because of her obedience to the will of God, and the fulfilment of the Law with true intention.

Mary’s faith is an example for all of us, as even though the announcement of the Archangel Gabriel to her must really be a shock to her as it was revealed to her the role she was to play in the history of salvation, as the bearer of the new Covenant of Love which God would establish with His beloved people. This was certainly not an easy task, and that required a commitment beyond belief, and yet, Mary entrusted herself to God and gave in herself to the will of God.

She kept faithful and carried on her role as the mother of our Saviour, and she followed her Son through times of good and difficulty, and as prophesied by Simeon, the faithful servant of God, her own heart would be pierced with a sword, the sword of pain and sorrow, when she saw her own Son dying and suffering terrible persecution, dying on the cross.

But she remained faithful to the end and beyond. And in this her faith is an example for us, as the love and devotion which she shows for the Lord, is what the Lord truly wanted from us. God wants from us not the offerings of sacrifices, pledges of money and material wealth, or anything similar to those. Just as He has loved us in everything, we too should love Him in the same way.

And love is not about the kind of love that we may be familiar with, for the love that this world knows, the kind of secular love is selfish, and it is often intertwined and linked with the desires of men’s hearts. The kind of love that God has, and which He had given us, is a perfect and selfless love, love that is unconditional, and which He has offered freely for us even though we have sinned against Him and rejected Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day let us all reflect on this love which God has shown us and which we need to give Him as well, the expression of love from our hearts, so that our Christmas celebration will be truly meaningful, for this Christmas will not just be about the gifts and all the glamours of the world, but rather, instead it is the celebration of God’s love which He had shown and made perfect through Christ.

May God bless us all and keep us all in His grace, and may He strengthen us all in our faith, so that we may draw ever closer to Him. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 December 2015 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 39-45

At that time, 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 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, 20 December 2015 : 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, 20 December 2015 : 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 Lord 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, 20 December 2015 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Micah 5 : 1-4a

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 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, 13 December 2015 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, you may notice that the vestments, the altar cloth and the colours used today is different from the usual one used during the Advent season, that is, instead of the usual violet, the colour used today is rose. And there are only two occasions in the whole year when the colour rose is used, that is during today, the Gaudete Sunday, and then on one time during the Lenten season, that is the Laetare Sunday.

This Sunday is called the Gaudete Sunday because of the first words of the Antiphon for this Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, which in Latin sounds as “Gaudete in Domino semper…” which then translates to “Rejoice in the Lord always…” and thus, this Sunday we celebrate the aspect of joy of the Advent season, out of the four aspects of faith, hope, joy and love.

On this Sunday, the use of rose as the colour of the occasion mark a brief pause in the penitential nature of the season of Advent. The colour violet represent the time of renewal, of change, of introspection and of repentance from sins, the time of preparation in order to prepare ourselves well to be able to meaningfully celebrate with full participation, the occasion of Christmas, for the season of Advent, and the occasion of Easter for the season of Lent.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, indeed, during this season of Lent, it is a time for us to be prepared and be ready to celebrate Christmas with the true direction and orientation of the heart, and that is why we always have a confession and penitential session scheduled before the coming of Christmas during the Advent, so that having had our sins confessed and forgiven, we may truly and joyfully rejoice at the Lord’s coming and celebrate His majestic birth into the world.

But it does not mean that this season should be filled with gloom and darkness, or with sadness and despair. Instead, in this season, it means that it is important for us to discover the true joy that we ought to have and celebrate in the upcoming time of Christmas. What we have to be careful is that, on one side, we should not be so afraid and fearful so as to forget the joy we ought to have, and on the other side, we should not have the wrong kind of joy to celebrate this Christmas.

It is very easy for us to be distracted during this season, to be joyful for the wrong reasons. As I have often explained, during the time of Christmas, and even during the time preceding it, many of us became trapped by the commercial and materialistic excesses of how the world celebrate Christmas, through all the goods and secular celebrations that go on to exclude Christ from the celebrations that should have been centred on Him.

Christmas is a time for joy and celebration, and yet in our revelry and merrymaking, we often forget for whom it is that we rejoice, that is not just for ourselves individually, but as the whole creation of the Lord, joining our voices and praises together to our God, through Whom, our salvation had been made possible. It was through His commitment and dedication to us, His love for us, that we have hope for salvation.

Yes, as we speak of joy today during this moment of the Gaudete Sunday, it is truly perfect and very proper indeed to speak of the one true joy, that is Christ Who is our Joy. If we forget about the Joy of Christmas, then we can just forget about the entirety of the celebrations that we make during the time of Christmas, as our celebrations would be empty and meaningless.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, let us all reflect and look deep into our own lives, and especially into our own preparation for the coming of Christmas. Do we truly have Joy in us? And why did I stress on Joy? That is because of the fact that our joy lies not in money, possessions, goods or in the things that the world can give, for these do not give us true and everlasting joy.

Instead, it is only in the Lord our God, that we can find true and lasting Joy, a joy that transcends everything and is beyond anything and any other joys that we can find. But sadly, in the midst of our enjoying of the joys and the happiness that the world offers us, we conveniently and easily forgets about Him, through Whom we may have lasting joy, and instead we often choose to take shortcuts in finding joy.

So let us ask ourselves, shall we continue on our own path as per usual, immersing ourselves completely in the festivities of Christmas without fully understanding what Christmas is truly about? Or shall we start to make a difference to our own lives, by discovering that no matter how many gifts we give or receive, or how many gifts and presents we exchanged with each other, no matter the amount of decorations we put around the Christmas tree and in our houses, the joy of Christmas is truly not in all of these.

No, it is not wrong to do all these, but we have to realise that all these are just like the icing of a cake, the ornaments and the decorations that can be excluded if necessary, but not the matter of the cake itself. For a cake that has no matter of the cake, that is the baked mixture of the flour, sugar, egg and other components is not a cake, and an icing without a cake inside, does not constitute a cake.

Thus, our Christmas joys and celebrations must be centred upon the essence of Christmas itself, Who is none other than Jesus, our Lord. He is the One Whom we are celebrating this Christmas, for it was the day of His birth into this world, a Saviour long awaited by the world long suffering in the darkness, that through His Light, a new hope arises again in the hearts of men.

So, as we celebrate and rejoice, let us keep our Lord Jesus Christ at the heart of our joyous celebration, and just as our Lord Jesus would do, let us all share the joy and happiness that we have with us, so that we do not selfishly keep whatever blessings have been given to us, and share them with those who have less or none. And if we are afraid that our joy will be less, then perhaps we should heed the wise words, “Shared joys are double joys.”

Therefore, let us all on this Gaudete Sunday, rejoice and exult in the presence of our God. And let us all find a renewed energy and commitment to be joyful, not just for ourselves, but for each and every one of us, and not for the goods of this world or for all the pleasures that they can offer us, but rather because we know that through Christ, we have been made whole and freed from all taints of sin. May God our Joy bless us all and strengthen us in our faith towards Him. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 December 2015 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 3 : 10-18

At that time, the people asked John the Baptist, “What are we to do?” And John answered, “If you have two coats, give one to the person who has none; and if you have food, do the same.”

Even tax collectors came to be baptised, and asked him, “Master, what must we do?” John said to them, “Collect no more than your fixed rate.”

People serving as 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 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 words and many other words John announced the Good News to the people.

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Sunday, 13 December 2015 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Second Reading)

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

Philippians 4 : 4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again : rejoice and may everyone experience your gentle and understanding heart. The Lord is near : do not be anxious about anything. In everything resort to prayer and supplication together with thanksgiving and bring your requests before God.

Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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Sunday, 13 December 2015 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

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

Isaiah 12 : 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

He is the God of my salvation; in Him I trust and am not afraid, YHVH is my strength : Him I will praise, the One who saved me. You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation.

Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for Him, proclaim His marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt His Name.

Sing to the Lord : wonders He has done. Let these be known all over the earth. Sing for joy, o people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.