Third Sunday of Advent

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Thursday, 21 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 32 : 2-3, 11-12, 20-21

Give thanks to YHVH on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises. Amid loud shouts of joy, sing to Him a new song and play the ten-stringed harp.

But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design, through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is YHVH – the people He has chosen for His inheritance.

In hope, we wait for YHVH, for He is our help and our shield. Our hearts rejoice in Him, for we trust on His holy Name.

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Thursday, 21 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Song of Songs 2 : 8-14

The voice of my Lover! Behold He comes, springing across the mountains, jumping over the hills, like a gazelle or a young stag. Now He stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattice.

My Lover speaks to me, “Arise, My love, My beautiful one! Come, the winter is gone, the rains are over. Flowers have appeared on earth; the season of singing has come; the cooing of doves is heard. The fig tree forms its early fruit, the vines in blossom are fragrant. Arise, My beautiful one, come with Me, My love, come.”

“O My dove in the rocky cleft, in the secret places of the cliff, let Me see your face, let Me hear your voice. Your face – how lovely! Your voice – how sweet!”

Alternative reading

Zephaniah 3 : 14-18a

Cry out with joy, o daughter of Zion; rejoice, o people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! YHVH has lifted your sentence and has driven your enemies away. YHVH, the King of Israel is with you; do not fear any misfortune.

On that day, they will say to Jerusalem : Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for YHVH your God is within you, YHVH, saving warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for He has revived His love. For you He will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the feast. I will drive away the evil I warned you about.

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Wednesday, 20 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in one this last week of Advent season before Christmas is to come, we are all being brought ever closer to the time of our celebration and joy, we are reminded that as Christians, all of us celebrate Christmas because of Christ, our Lord and not because we want to seek the comfort, pleasures and festivities of the world around us. We are constantly being surrounded and exposed these days and as it had been for the past few weeks and even months, that we saw all the glamour, glitz and the wonders surrounding Christmas and how it is perceived in this world. Yet, have we ever stopped to think what Christmas is really about? And do we all remember that we should place Christ at the centre of all of our celebrations?

In our first reading today, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people and the king of Judah, Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah. As a context, the people of Judah had long gone through many periods when they disobeyed the Lord, and king Ahaz of Judah was one of those kings that tradition had labelled as being wicked and disobedient against God. This means that it was likely that he allowed and even promoted idol worshipping and the corruption of the worship of God at the Temple of Jerusalem, and in not following the Law and commandments of the Lord as he and the people of God should have done, neglecting the Lord’s Passover and other rules and precepts. Hence, the Lord wanted to remind him and the people of the fact that He is their one true Lord and Master.

The Lord told king Ahaz to ask Him for a sign, and a sign that He would show him as a reassurance to the people, and that He is truly indeed their Lord and Master, the One Who reigned over them and guarded them. Yet, the king refused to do so, as we heard in our first reading passage today. This is something which may puzzle us if we do not understand the context and intentions of the Lord, but in essence, the king’s response showed his lack of obedience and trust in God, and his refusal to ask the Lord for a sign was not a sign of humility but rather indifference and lack of faith. This was why the Lord rebuked Ahaz and told him of everything that He would do for the people He loved, and reaffirming everything that He had promised would happen, from the very beginning.

Then in the Gospel passage today, of course we heard of the moment when all that the Lord had promised and prophesied through Isaiah came to full fruition and completion, when the Archangel Gabriel came to the young Mary in the small town of Nazareth, bearing the Good News with him, proclaiming the coming of God’s long promised and awaited salvation. Ever since the beginning of time, since the moment of Creation, if we recall what was written in the Book of Genesis, then surely we can recall how the Lord has proclaimed before Satan who had led mankind to their downfall, that He would send His salvation through a Woman, who would bring forth the Saviour, and how she would crush Satan under her feet. This is once again therefore referred to by the Lord in His message to king Ahaz, that the Woman would give birth to a Son.

This Woman, is none other than Mary herself, the Virgin who conceived her Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, not by any human intervention or action, but rather by the will of God the Father, the incarnation of the Son of God in the flesh, and the power of the Holy Spirit of God, all manifesting God’s love and providence to us, making Himself tangible and real to us through Christ, Our Lord. Through Him, all that God has promised to us have been fulfilled and completed, and God reminded us all that everything has happened as it should be, and we are reminded of the everlasting and ever-enduring patience and love that God has always shown us, all these while.

Therefore, as we have heard from our various Scripture passages today, we are all brought back once again to the basics, reminded of the very emphasis and focus of Christmas, that is Christ, the Holy Child born of His mother Mary. We must always remind ourselves that because of Christmas, through Christ our Lord and everything that He had done for us, all of us can hope once again, and we can rejoice again because we are no longer lost to the darkness and damnation. Through Christ our Lord and Saviour, we have seen the fulfilment and reassurance of God’s promises and love, that He was willing to love us even though we were still sinners and disobedient. He wants all of us to return to Him, to embrace His love once again and be forgiven from our many sins.

Let us all make our Christmas celebrations and festivities, our joy and commemorations all about Christ, and put Him at the very focus and centre of everything during this upcoming Christmas time and season. This means that we should not easily lose focus and be distracted by the many distractions, temptations and false pleasures all around us, especially in how Christmas has been marketed and made familiar with us, in the manner how it is often celebrated with lots of fanfare, celebrations and rejoicing that are bereft of its true and central focus in Christ, the One we should be celebrating and focusing our attention on this Christmas. Let us all therefore be the ones to proclaim the Lord and His Good News, His truth and love to more and more people.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to be with us and bless us throughout our lives and our Advent journey in particular, and may He help us that we may truly be able to celebrate the upcoming Christmas season and time with true appreciation, understanding and joy. May we all be more like Mary, the Mother of God, whose obedience to God and the commitment she has shown to the mission entrusted to her, brought about salvation of the Lord into this world. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Wednesday, 20 December 2023 : 3rd Week 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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Wednesday, 20 December 2023 : 3rd Week 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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Tuesday, 19 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that God has always been ever faithful to the Covenant that He has created with us, and He has proven all these by sending unto us His salvation through the servants that He has sent to prepare His path and to prepare all of us so that we may walk in the path of righteousness and find our way towards Him, His salvation and grace, and be reconciled once again with His love and kindness. Each and every one of us are reminded that we should always be focused on the Lord in our lives and in all things.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Judges, we heard of the story of how Samson, one of the famous Judges to rule and guide over the Israelites, was conceived and born, during the time when the people of God were oppressed under their neighbours, the Philistines. At that time, during the years after the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and after they had arrived and settled in the lands promised to them by God in Canaan, and before the days of the kings of Israel and Judah, the people of God were ruled and guided by a series of Judges, those people whom the Lord had called and chosen to be the leaders of His people.

Many of the Judges rose up during the times when the Israelites were troubled by sufferings and difficulties, especially because of the oppressions, attacks and the difficulties from their own neighbours, and the Lord helped His people through His Judges, although they did not remain faithful to Him all the time, and they only obeyed the Lord because of the actions and the influence of the Judges. At that time, the Philistines were the ones who were causing lots of problems for the Israelites, and hence, God called Samson to be His servant before he was even born, and He told Samson’s father, the man of the tribe of Dan as mentioned in today’s first reading, of what his son would do.

Samson’s story, the occurrences around his conception, birth and also his later life were actually often compared with that of St. John the Baptist, whose story has been highlighted a lot during this time of Advent, and which we heard yet again in our Gospel passage today. In today’s Gospel, we heard of the similar parallel in the story of how St. John the Baptist was conceived, and just like that of Samson, the Lord foretold the coming of St. John the Baptist to his father, through the means of an Angel of God, who came to tell their respective fathers, of how their sons would become the ones through whom God would lead His people to the path of righteousness, and liberating them from the tyranny of the world.

In the case of Samson, the Lord called Samson and sent him to help the people of Israel to resist against the forces of the Philistines, so that they might be freed from the tyranny of those who have caused them hardships and oppressions. Samson led the people to the victory against the Philistines and helped them to shake free from the yoke that burdened them, while St. John the Baptist did something rather similar in leading the people of God from the shackles and bondage to sin. He called all the people to turn away from the path of sin and evil, calling on all of them to turn away from their wickedness and the temptations of the world so that they may find their way to the salvation in God.

St. John the Baptist was sent into this world with the mission to lead all of us towards the Lord, and preparing the path for the coming of His Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose coming St. John the Baptist had heralded and prepared for, thus, he helped all of us to come to know the Lord, and to have that important conversion of heart and mind so that we may truly welcome the Lord wholeheartedly into our hearts and minds, into our families and circles of friends, into our midst. All of us have been shown the light of God’s grace and salvation, and the reassurances from the Lord Himself, and now, what we all need to do is to prepare ourselves thoroughly and well so that we do not just prepare for the festivities and joyful commemoration of Christmas, but even more importantly, that we may reorganise our lives that we may truly live worthily as good and faithful Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence do our best to focus our attention once again on the Lord, in doing what we can so that our lives may truly once again be centred on the Lord, instead of being easily swayed and dragged into the wrong paths by the many temptations, pressures and coercions being present all around us. Let us all enter into the time of Christmas celebration with the right understanding and appreciation of what Christmas is truly all about. Christmas is a time when we should remind ourselves of all the love which the Lord has shown us, the things He had done for us, in sending His servants and messengers like Samson and St. John the Baptist to help us all find our way to liberation and salvation, to His love and kindness. And this is why we should put Christ back in Christmas, and focus all of our celebrations on Him, not on all the glamour and glitz, the excesses of worldly and material wealth that often surround our Christmas celebrations.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator, Who has always loved us and kept us in His compassionate care and kindness, continue to help and guide us in our journey of life, and may He bless our every good deeds and endeavours, so that in all the things that we say and do, in our upcoming Christmas celebrations, we will always be the true bearers and witnesses of the Lord’s Good News, truth and love. Amen.

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Tuesday, 19 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 5-25

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah, belonging to the priestly clan of Abiah. Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife also belonged to a priestly family. Both of them were upright in the eyes of God, and lived blamelessly, in accordance with all the laws and commands of the Lord, but they had no child. Elizabeth could not have any and now they were both very old.

Now, while Zechariah and those with him were fulfilling their office, it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priests, to enter the Sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. At the time of offering incense, all the people were praying outside; it was then, that an Angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. On seeing the Angel, Zechariah was deeply troubled and fear took hold of him.

But the Angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, be assured that your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall name him John. He will bring joy and gladness to you, and many will rejoice at his birth. This son of yours will be great in the eyes of the Lord. Listen : he shall never drink wine or strong drink; but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.”

“Through him, many of the people of Israel will turn to the Lord their God. He, himself, will open the way to the Lord, with the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; he will reconcile fathers and children; and lead the disobedient to wisdom and righteousness, in order to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah said to the Angel, “How can I believe this? I am an old man and my wife is elderly, too.” The Angel replied, “I am Gabriel, who stands before God; and I am the one sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news! My words will come true in their time. But you would not believe; and now, you will be silent and unable to speak until this has happened.”

Meanwhile, the people waited for Zechariah; and they were surprised that he delayed so long in the Sanctuary. When he finally appeared, he could not speak to them; and they realised that he had seen a vision in the Sanctuary. He remained dumb and made signs to them. When his time of service was completed, Zechariah returned home; and, some time later, Elizabeth became pregnant.

For five months she kept to herself, remaining at home, and thinking, “This, for me, is the Lord’s doing! This is His time for mercy, and for taking away my public disgrace.”

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Tuesday, 19 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 70 : 3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17

Be my Rock of refuge; a Stronghold, to give me safety; for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God, from the hand of the wicked.

For You, o YHVH, have been my Hope; my Trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.

I will come to Your strength, o YHVH, and announce Your justice, Yours alone. You have taught me from my youth and, until now, I proclaim Your marvels.

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Tuesday, 19 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Judges 13 : 2-7, 24-25a

There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife could not bear children. The Angel of YHVH appeared to this woman and said to her, “You have not borne children and have not given birth, but see, you are to conceive and give birth to a son.”

“Because of this, take care not to take wine or any alcoholic drink, nor to eat unclean foods from now on, for you shall bear a son who shall be a Nazirite of YHVH from the womb of his mother. Never shall his hair be cut for he is consecrated to YHVH. He shall begin the liberation of the Israelites from the Philistine oppression.”

The woman went to her husband and told him, “A messenger of God who bore the majesty of an Angel spoke to me. I did not ask him where he came from nor did he tell me his name.” “But he said to me : ‘You are to conceive and give birth to a son. Henceforth, you shall not drink wine or fermented drinks, nor eat anything unclean, for your son shall be a Nazirite of God from the womb of his mother until the day of his death.’”

The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew and YHVH blessed him. Then the Spirit of YHVH began to move him when he was in Mahane Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.