Thursday

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Thursday, 23 December 2021 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we are almost at the end of the Advent season and the start of the Christmas celebrations, through what we have heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to reflect on the life, work and faith of St. John the Baptist, whom the Lord had sent into this world just before His coming and revelation to the world, to prepare His way and to proclaim His coming to everyone, so that all may know of the Lord’s salvation.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Malachi, we heard the words of the Lord revealing to His people that He would send His messenger ahead of Him to prepare the way for His own coming. This was a prophecy of the coming of God’s Messiah, the Saviour Whom He has promised to all of His people for a very long time. And the coming of this Messiah would be preceded by a Herald, the one sent to prepare the way for the coming of the Saviour. This Herald is none other than St. John the Baptist.

St. John the Baptist came into this world to prepare the way for the Lord, which happened through the miraculous pregnancy of Elizabeth, who was Mary’s relative, and that happened despite Elizabeth having been in an advanced age and had been barren, unable to bear a child at all. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, his father in the Temple and proclaimed to him the Good News, that the son he would soon bear through his wife Elizabeth would be the one prophesied to proclaim the coming of the salvation of God.

He was born into this world and was dedicated to God from his infancy and youth, to be the servant of God Most High, and became the instrument through whom God prepared the revelation of His great plan of salvation to all of us. God sent St. John the Baptist into the midst of His people to call them all to repentance, to call them to remember their sins and wickedness, and resolve to overcome all those evil and wicked deeds that they had committed. The Lord called on all of them to embrace His mercy and love, and through his baptism, St. John the Baptist prepared the hearts and minds of many to welcome the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having been reminded in the same manner, as we are all now about to celebrate Christmas, have we prepared ourselves well in order to be ready to welcome the Lord, the One Whom we are celebrating this Christmas for, into our hearts and minds? Or have we instead been too busy and distracted by the many concerns, the many busy commitments and tight schedules we have, our work and preoccupations that we ended up forgetting God, ignoring and sidelining Him in our busy lives and shutting Him out from ourselves.

Then, many of us have also been too distracted with the many distractions and temptations of the secular Christmas, and how it has been celebrated all around us. Many people have forgotten the true reason and meaning of Christmas, and this sadly include many of those who have called themselves as Christians. We do not have to look far, brothers and sisters in Christ. For example, let us all just look at ourselves and our attitudes towards the Lord and our faith in Him. How many of us can confidently say that we have truly devoted ourselves to Him?

Today, all of us should spend some time to reflect on how we can be better disciples and followers of our Lord, in living our faith in a more genuine and committed manner in our lives. Let us all also look for inspiration from the saint whose feast we celebrate today, namely that of St. John of Kanty, also known as St. John Cantius, who was a Polish priest and theologian renowned for his great piety and dedication to the Lord. He was involved in theological teachings and many other works among the people of God.

But what is most remembered from his actions were his compassionate nature and the efforts he put in reaching out to the poor and the people suffering all around him in his community. He also helped to support the students in the university he was teaching in, providing support and assistance whenever and wherever he could, while at the same time doing his best to do many other good works for the Lord and His Church. St. John Cantius devoted his life to follow the Lord and to live out the Christian faith in his daily living.

Are we able to do the same too, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us all reflect on this, and spend the remaining time on these last two days of the Advent season to reorientate our lives if we have not yet done so thus far, so that we may once again focus our attention and our lives towards the Lord. May God be with us all too, and may He strengthen us in our resolve and faith to live our lives ever more faithfully in the service of His greater glory. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 December 2021 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 57-66

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”

They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

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Thursday, 23 December 2021 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.

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Thursday, 23 December 2021 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24

Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.

He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.

I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.

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Thursday, 16 December 2021 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listen to the words of the Lord contained in the Sacred Scriptures, we are yet again reminded repeatedly as we have often been throughout this season of Advent, to recall the great love that God has shown us, the mercy and grace that He has bestowed upon us throughout our lives, all the opportunities and chances that He has given us. He has always been so kind and generous to us, but it is we who often disregarded His kindness and love, spurned His mercy and generosity.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard of the words of encouragement of the Lord Who reminded His people that His love is always upon them and that they are always His precious and beloved ones no matter what. He reminded them all, who have faced sufferings and challenges, trials and tribulations that they endured, how all of those will pass and they will once again enjoy the bounty of God’s grace and blessings. He calls on all of them to have faith in Him and to entrust themselves in His love.

God will not abandon His faithful ones and He will always care for them and provide for them, just as He has repeatedly done in the past, throughout our history. He has always loved us despite the many less than faithful attitudes that we have shown Him, our stubbornness and constant refusal to embrace His love, compassion and mercy. He still loves us even though we have sinned and disobeyed Him, and sent us all the promised Saviour, His own most beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to save us from our fated destruction and to free us from facing the fate of eternal damnation.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the mention of St. John the Baptist by the Lord Himself, Who spoke wonderfully about the one who had come before Him to prepare His way among the people of God. St. John the Baptist was indeed the Herald of the Messiah, the one prophesied to usher in the time of God’s great grace and salvation. He did all he could, obeying the mission entrusted to him, so that the people who heard him and his cries for repentance may realise their sinfulness and need for God’s mercy and forgiveness, and therefore seek to be reconciled to Him.

By speaking of St. John the Baptist and by affirming and praising his efforts, the Lord Himself has also reassured us that His time of grace and salvation has come upon us, and He has fulfilled the promises which He had made earlier through His many prophets and messengers. He would not abandon all of us in the darkness, but will always do His best to reach out to us and to gather us to Himself. That is why God gave us the sure path to eternal life and sent us His Son, the reason why we celebrate in the upcoming Christmas season, and why we prepare ourselves this time of Advent, to prepare our hearts, our minds and our whole beings to welcome the Lord.

That is why we are reminded today, that as we progress through this season of Advent we must really spend the time to reflect on what Christmas truly means to all of us, and how we are going to celebrate it. Are we going to give in to the excesses of Christmas merrymaking and celebrations and end up making it into a celebration of our own ego and desires, rather than to celebrate it for its true meaning and importance to us? The Lord’s coming into our midst in this world is the true significance of Christmas as because of that, all of us have hope once again through Him.

It is not wrong to celebrate Christmas most joyfully and indeed, we should celebrate it to the best of our ability, but we must always centre everything on the Lord, the One Whose birth is what Christmas is all about. We rejoice not because we like all the parties and celebrations, and not because we expect the finest food and things, gifts and presents, but because we know that through the Lord we have seen His light and hope, that in the darkness of our world, God’s light will still triumph together with us. That is the true essence of Christmas, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us all therefore make good use of these remaining few days of Advent to carefully reflect and discern if we are truly ready to celebrate Christmas worthily and properly, and we should do our best to prepare ourselves if we are not yet ready to welcome the Lord with all of our heart. And let us also share the joy we have through Christ, our Christmas joy with one another, especially when there are just so many people out there who may now be suffering or sorrowful, and our brothers and sisters out there who may not be able to celebrate Christmas the way we are celebrating it. May God be with us all always, and may He bless each and every one of us, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 December 2021 : 3rd Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 7 : 24-30

At that time, when John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began speaking to the people about John. And He said, “What did you want to see, when you went to the desert? A reed blowing in the wind? What was there to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? But people who wear fine clothes and enjoy delicate food are found in palaces.

What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. For John is the one foretold in Scripture in these words : I am sending My messenger ahead of You to prepare Your way. No one may be found greater than John among those born of women, but, I tell you, the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

All the people listening to Him, even the tax collectors, had acknowledged the will of God in receiving the baptism of John, whereas the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, in not letting themselves be baptised by him, ignored the will of God.

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Thursday, 16 December 2021 : 3rd Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing. O Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Thursday, 16 December 2021 : 3rd Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 54 : 1-10

Rejoice, o barren woman who has not given birth; sing and shout for joy, you who never had children, for more are the children of the rejected woman than the children of the married wife, says YHVH.

Enlarge the space for your tent, stretch out your hangings, lengthen your ropes and strengthen your stakes, for you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will take possession of the nations and inhabit cities that have been abandoned.

Do not be afraid for you will not be deceived, do not be ashamed for you will not be disgraced. You will forget the shame of your youth; no longer will you remember the disgrace of your widowhood. For your Maker is to marry you : YHVH Sabaoth is His Name. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel : He is called God of all the earth.

For YHVH has called you back as one forsaken and grieved in spirit. Who could abandon His first beloved? says your God. For a brief moment I have abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will gather My people. For a moment, in an outburst of anger, I hid My face from you, but with everlasting love I have had mercy on you, says YHVH, your Redeemer.

This is for me like Noah’s waters, when I swore that they would no more flood the earth; so now I swear not to be angry with you and never again to rebuke you. The mountains may depart and the hills be moved, but never will My love depart from you nor My covenant of peace be removed, says YHVH Whose compassion is for you.

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Thursday, 9 December 2021 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures in which we heard of the assurance which He gave to His people that He would always be with them and all of them would be comforted and blessed by God, their humiliations and sufferings would be overcome. This is the message of hope that all of us are being reminded of as we continue to progress through this season of Advent and are by now almost halfway through this season and time of preparation for Christmas.

Our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah was a reminder for the faithful people of God in the kingdom of Judah, the place in which Isaiah did his works and ministry. God reminded His people that He would not forsake or abandon them, and still loved them all despite everything wicked and terrible that they had done unto Him, in their disobedience and rebelliousness, in their sinful actions and lives. At that time, the people of God had long lapsed away from the faith, although from time to time, they repented and returned to the Lord.

The people of God had suffered many setbacks, hurdles and challenges from the defeats they experienced at the hands of their neighbours and enemies. They had been brought low and made to submit before those who had defeated them and crushed them. This was because they had little faith in God, and they had chosen to abandon Him and ignore His truth, laws and teachings, and preferred to follow their own paths and sought help from the pagan idols and other earthly source of consolation instead of trusting and depending on God.

But God was still patient and loving towards them, no matter what. The fact that He still sent them His messengers and prophets, and cared for them from time to time was a sign of just how devoted God has been towards the Covenant that He had made and renewed with us. The Lord has always tried to reach out to us, and yet many of us deliberately ignored Him and turned away from Him, not listening to His calls and disregarding His efforts to love us and to care for us, and we have spurned and rejected His love and mercy that we have been given so generously.

Yet, God still sent us His servants, and as we heard in our Gospel passage today, He sent John, namely St. John the Baptist as His Herald to proclaim His coming into this world and to prepare the path for Him. He revealed to all of us the truth about God’s love for us when He Himself appeared in our human form and existence, and despite all of our infidelities and our sinfulness, He still lovingly picked up His Cross, embraced us and forgave us our sins. And He did so by suffering for our sake, enduring the pain and sorrow of the Cross, that is the punishments for our sins.

As we progress through this season of Advent, indeed all of us are constantly reminded again and again that God has always loved us and He has given us this assurance of His love through Christ, Whose coming into this world we commemorate and celebrate this Christmas. This season of Advent we are invited to spend the time to reflect on this truth about God’s love for us, and we are also called to reflect on how each and every one of us have responded to His love, mercy and generous compassion.

Today, all of us should look upon the example of our holy predecessor, St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, also known as St. Juan Diego in how we can live our lives as Christians more genuinely and wholeheartedly. St. John Diego was also the one who received the vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in her apparition in Guadalupe in what is today Mexico, now very popularly known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. St. John Diego was a truly humble and devout man who committed himself to God and to His Blessed Mother, and we can follow his examples.

St. John Diego was a convert Native American who was known as a devout and good person, to whom one day the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe chose to appear to, at the Hill of Tepeyac, where now the great Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe stands. As a religious neophyte then, he passed by the site and saw the Blessed Lady of Guadalupe revealing her identity and asking him to let the local bishop know about it and to build a chapel there dedicated in her honour. At first, the local priest did not believe St. John Diego, and he was asked to return to the apparition to ask more info and asking for a sign.

After a few apparitions, as he was delayed by his uncle’s sickness and embarrassed of having been delayed and late to meet the Blessed Virgin, he tried to go by another way, only for her to appear before him again and chiding him, why he did not put his trust and recourse in her, saying in the now famous words, ‘Am I not here, I who am your mother?’ This is recalling how the Lord Himself had entrusted us to His mother Mary from His Cross, and at that time, His mother Mary came to us through the apparition to St. John Diego to call us to be reconciled and reunited with Him, through the conversion of many souls.

Then, St. John Diego was told to gather the flowers gathered there, which miraculously appeared even while they were not in season, and then using his cloak, to bring them to the local bishop to fulfil the request the latter made for a heavenly sign for the truth about the Apparition. No sooner that St. John Diego revealed the flowers before the bishop that his tilma or cloak amazed everyone including the bishop, as an image not drawn by human hands were imprinted, bearing the image of the very same Lady of Guadalupe, the Blessed Mother of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the life and faith of St. John Diego, his encounter with the Blessed Mother of God, Our Lady of Guadalupe and the message of that encounter are reminders for all of us to refocus our attention and our lives back towards God. God’s love had been so evident throughout our lives, and He has even sent His own Mother too to remind us of His love. Through Our Lady of Guadalupe, many were converted and touched by the Lord, saved and brought into God’s embrace.

How about us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we still going to be stubborn like many of our predecessors in refusing to believe in God’s love and in ignoring Him and His constant loving call towards us? Are we going to continue to refuse to acknowledge His generous love and compassion that He has kindly extended to us? Let us make good use of this season and time of Advent to discern these carefully and see how we can prepare ourselves better so that we may truly come to understand God and His love, and be willing and worthy to welcome Him truly into our hearts and beings as we celebrate Christmas in the coming days. May God bless us all and may He strengthen each one of us, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 December 2021 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Matthew 11 : 11-15

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “I tell you this : no one greater than John the Baptist has arisen from among sons of women; and yet, the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is something to be conquered; and violent men seize it.”

“Up to the time of John, there was only prophesy : all the prophets and the Law. And if you believe Me, John is indeed that Elijah, whose coming was predicted. Let anyone with ears listen!”