Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.
YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.
The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.
Liturgical Colour : White
Genesis 3 : 9-15, 20
YHVH God called the man saying to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you not to eat?”
The man answered, “The woman You put with me gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it.” God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”
YHVH God said to the serpent, “Since you have done that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”
The man called his wife by the name of Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we enter into the season of Advent and begin this month of December, we are all called to take a step back from our usual busy schedules, and think of how we can make best use of this season of Advent. The time of Advent is a time for reconciliation with God, a time for redirection and reorientation of our lives. As we enter into this time of Advent, we are all called to find more time for God, and to prepare ourselves for His coming.
Yes, brothers and sisters, as we all should know that the essence of Advent itself comes from name, ‘Adventus’ which means the coming and appearing, with the connotation of expecting the coming of something, and in this case, what most of us probably knew is that Advent is the season of expectation for the coming of Christmas. However, Advent itself also has another connotation as a reminder for each one of us, that this expectation of the Lord’s coming is not just one of our commemoration of His past birth in Bethlehem in Judea, but even more importantly, that we also await His future second coming.
The Lord has revealed all of these to us through His disciples, He, the ‘Root of Jesse’ as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, as the descendant and heir of King David, the son of Jesse, to be the One to rule over the Israelites and the people of God forever. And God revealed that His plans and His promises were to be fulfilled through Christ, Who was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the city of David two thousand years ago, the Son of Mary, and the Son of God Most High.
But what we have heard in that passage from our first reading today is in fact a prophecy of not what had happened two thousand years ago, but it is a prophecy that is yet to be completely fulfilled, and which will be fulfilled at the Lord’s second coming, which is going to happen at a time that is preordained and determined by the Lord. As we have read from the Book of Revelations of St. John, part of what is about to happen have been revealed to us in that vision of the end of time.
Some among the Jews refused to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, because to many of them, the Messiah as prophesied and foretold by the prophets like Isaiah was like a powerful, conquering King that will liberate the people of God and restore peace and harmony to the whole land, and indeed, to the whole world. This did not happen when the Lord Jesus was betrayed, arrested and condemned to death at the hands of the Romans, handed over to be crucified.
However, the reality and truth is that, the Lord shall complete everything and all that had been prophesied when He comes again, to gather all of His faithful ones and judge all the living and the dead, all of creation at the Last Judgment. He shall come as a conquering and triumphant King, defeating Satan and all the enemies of God and His faithful ones in one final victory. And this is what each and every one of us are looking forward to in our lives.
By His coming in the historical past, the Lord had brought the His salvation into this world, and revealed His truth and love, restoring hope to us all who have lived in darkness all these while, thus, showing us all the path out of the darkness and into the light. And by His promise of His return, and the New Covenant which He had made with us by His ultimate and most loving sacrifice on the Cross, He showed us all the sure path to eternal life and true joy with Him.
This is what we are all truly celebrating, brothers and sisters in Christ, the hope that we have in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world and all mankind. Christmas is not about our own selfish happiness and desires, or about our ego and pride, just as we often see how people bicker over Christmas celebrations and trying to outdo each other in making a grander celebrations. Who is it that we celebrate? It is Christ, and the Light of Hope that He has brought into our midst.
In this season of Advent, we are called to purify ourselves and to reorientate our lives, our thoughts and actions, so that we may properly celebrate Christmas, with faith and devotion, and appreciating fully just how important Christmas is to us, because through Christmas, God Himself has dwelled among us, Emmanuel, as He has revealed to us through His prophets. And let us all make ourselves truly worthy of Him, for the sake of His love for each and every one of us. Let us be true and genuine Christians in our every actions and deeds, at all times.
May the Lord help us to journey faithfully through this blessed season of Advent, and may He strengthen our faith and conviction to live our lives with ever greater commitment to serve Him and to glorify Him by our lives. May our Advent season be fruitful and may we all be sources of hope and inspriation to one another, through our faithful observation of this blessed time and season. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 10 : 21-24
At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been Your gracious will. I have been given all things by My Father, so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said to them privately, “Fortunate are you to see what you see, for I tell you, that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 71 : 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
God, endow the King with Your justice, the royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.
Justice will flower on His days, and peace abound, till the moon be no more. For He reigns from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
He delivers the needy who call on Him, the afflicted, with no one to help them. His mercy is upon the weak and the poor; He saves the lives of the poor.
May His Name endure forever; may His Name be as lasting as the sun. All the races will boast about Him; and He will be praised by all nations.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Isaiah 11 : 1-10
From the stump of Jesse a Shoot will come forth; from his roots a Branch will grow and bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him – a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and power, a Spirit of knowledge and fear of YHVH.
Not by appearances will He judge, nor by what is said must He decide, but with justice He will judge the poor and with righteousness decide for the meek. Like a rod, His word will strike the oppressor, and the breath of His lips slay the wicked. Justice will be the girdle of His waist, truth the girdle of His loins.
The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will rest beside the kid, the calf and the lion cub will feed together and a little child will lead them. Befriending each other, the cow and the bear will see their young ones lie down together. Like cattle, the lion will eat hay. By the cobra’s den the infant will play. The child will put his hand into the viper’s lair. No one will harm or destroy over My holy mountain, for as water fills the sea the earth will be filled with the knowledge of YHVH.
On that day the “Root of Jesse” will be raised as a signal for the nations. The people will come in search of Him, thus making His dwelling place glorious.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Scriptures firstly of the account of the reaping of the Earth by the Angel of God as recounted in the Book of Revelations of St. John, and then in the Gospel the Lord Jesus told His disciples and the people that the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple would come soon and also elaborated of the signs of the end times. Just as that destruction really came about as the Lord had spoken, it proved that whatever else He said about His coming will definitely come true.
In all of those readings, we heard of the coming of the time of reckoning and judgment of the world, typical of the readings at the end of the liturgical year cycle. This serves to remind us that we have to always be vigilant and not be complacent in living our lives that we do not end up falling into the path of sin and stray from the path that the Lord has shown us. It is very easy for us to be tempted and to be swayed away from the path of God.
In our first reading today, St. John recounted his vision of the Apocalypse or the end times, when the Lord commanded His Angels to go to the world and reap the harvest of the Earth. This is related to the parable of the Lord which was the harvest of the wheat and the weeds in which they were harvested when they were mature at the time of the harvest, and while the wheat were gathered and kept, the weeds were thrown into the fire and perished.
This means that the time will come when the time of reckoning is at hand for all of us, be it the living and the dead, when the Lord at His appointed time shall come again to judge the whole creation just as He has revealed and promised to us. And all those who have been faithful and righteous will be blessed while those who have been defiant and refused to believe in God will be condemned by their sins and wickedness.
That is why at the time of the judgment of the world in the vision of St. John, the same parable was repeated yet again to highlight just how the time of the harvest shall eventually come, the time of the world’s judgment, our judgment shall also come for us. And why does it say that the grapes were thrown into the winepress of the anger of the Lord? That is because likely there are just so much wickedness and evil in the world to bring about God’s anger against all those evils and evildoers.
Now the question is, brothers and sisters in Christ, do we want to be counted among those who are wicked? Or do we rather be counted among the righteous and the worthy ones? God has given each and every one of us the free will and the choice to choose whether we want to be faithful to Him or whether we prefer instead to follow our own path and forge our own ways and actions. If we had chosen to walk away from God, then know it that it is by our own choice that we shall be judged into eternal darkness.
Today, all of us are called to reflect on our own lives in the light of the certainty of the Lord’s return and how we have lived our lives thus far. Have we been good and faithful to the teachings of the Lord that He has revealed to us and taught us through His Church? Have we dedicated our live to Him as we should have done? If we have not done so, then it is not yet too late for us to change our ways and make a difference.
Let us today look up upon the examples of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his many companions, all holy martyrs of the persecution of the faithful in Vietnam, the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam. St. Andrew Dung-Lac himself was one of the first local Vietnamese to be ordained as a priest amidst the very hostile environment in Vietnam at that time as the Vietnamese Emperor and his government were deeply suspicious of the Christian faith and its missionaries.
St. Andrew Dung-Lac, the Christian missionaries and all the Vietnamese faithful faced bitter persecution and trials, and many of them were forced to choose between suffering and abandoning their faith. Many remained firm in their faith and conviction, choosing rather to suffer and even die rather than abandoning their faith and devotion to God. And the most difficult and challenging fate faced those priests and missionaries who laboured to serve the people and spread the message of the Gospel even through these difficult times.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be more faithful to the Lord following the examples of our faithful predecessors, especially that of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions in holy martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam. Let us be inspired by their great courage and dedication to the Lord, their wholehearted service of God that we too shall be counted among the righteous, the holy saints and martyrs of God.
Let us all walk in their footsteps and love of God ever more faithfully from now on. May the Lord be with us in our journey of faith always, that we may persevere through all the challenges and trials we face. May God bless us now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Luke 21 : 5-11
At that time, while some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that it was adorned with fine stonework and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, “The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire; all will be torn down.” And they asked Him, “Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”
Jesus then said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come claiming My title and saying, ‘I am He, the Messiah; the time is at hand!’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and troubled times, do not be frightened; for all these things must happen first, even though the end is not so soon.”
And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.
Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.
Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Revelations 14 : 14-19
Then I had this vision, I saw a white cloud and the One sitting on it like a Son of Man, wearing a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. An Angel came out of the sanctuary, calling loudly to the One sitting on the cloud, “Put in Your sickle and reap, for harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
He Who was sitting on the cloud swung His sickle at the earth and reaped the harvest. Then another Angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the heavenly sanctuary. Still another Angel, the one who has charge of the altar fire, emerged and shouted to the first who held the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and reap the bunches of the vine of the earth for they are fully ripe.”
So the Angel swung his sickle and gathered in the vintage, throwing all the grapes into the great winepress of the anger of God.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 