Tuesday

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Tuesday, 12 December 2023 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Matthew 18 : 12-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you, when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it, than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray.”

“It is the same with your Father in heaven. Your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish.”

Alternative reading (Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Luke 1 : 39-47

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 the 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!”

And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour!”

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Tuesday, 12 December 2023 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Psalm 95 : 1-2, 3 and 10ac, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to YHVH a new song, sing to YHVH, all the earth! Sing to YHVH, praise His Name; proclaim His salvation, day after day.

Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds. Say among the nations, “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 YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

Alternative reading (Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe)

1 Samuel 2 : 1, 4-8

My heart exults in YHVH, I feel strong in my God. I rejoice and laugh at my enemies for You came with power to save me.

The bow of the mighty is broken, but the weak are girded with strength. The well-fed must labour for bread, but the hungry need work no more.

The childless wife has borne seven children, but the proud mother is left alone. YHVH is Lord of life and death. He brings down to the grave and raises up.

YHVH makes poor and makes rich, He brings low and He exalts. He lifts up the lowly from the dust, and raises the poor from the ash heap; they will be called to the company of princes, and inherit a seat of honour. The earth to its pillars belongs to YHVH and on them He has set the world.

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Tuesday, 12 December 2023 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Isaiah 40 : 1-11

Be comforted, My people, be strengthened, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, proclaim to her that her time of bondage is at an end, that her guilt has been paid for, that from the hand of YHVH she has received double punishment for all her iniquity.

A voice cries, “In the wilderness prepare the way for YHVH. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley will be raised up; every mountain and hill will be laid low. The stumbling blocks shall become level and the rugged places smooth. The glory of YHVH will be revealed, and all mortals together will see it; for the mouth of YHVH has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry.” and I say, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of YHVH blows upon it. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will forever stand.”

Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of Good News to Zion, lift up your voice with strength, fear not to cry aloud when you tell Jerusalem and announce to the cities of Judah : Here is your God! Here comes YHVH Sabaoth with might; His strong arm rules for Him; His reward is with Him, and here before Him is His booty. Like a shepherd He tends His flock : He gathers the lambs in His arms, He carries them in His bosom, gently leading those that are with young.

Alternative reading (Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Isaiah 7 : 10-14 and Isaiah 8 : 10c

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, for God-is-with-us.”

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Tuesday, 5 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this time and season of Advent, we are called to remember the love of God and His salvation, all of His promises which He has fulfilled to us through the coming of the Messiah, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God Most High. It is for this reason that we all rejoice and celebrate during this upcoming Christmas season and for which we also prepare ourselves spiritually and wholly during the time and duration of this Advent season. That is why it is important that we continue to keep our focus and attention on the Lord and His love, His care and providence for us lest we may be distracted and confused by the many distractions, temptations and all the pleasures present all around us, especially during this festive time and season.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the prophet Isaiah proclaiming the coming of the salvation in God through the Descendant of King David, Whom the Lord Himself had revealed through His prophets including Isaiah, that He would bring the salvation of God to all of the whole world. This is an important reminder for all of us that the same Jesus Christ, Whom we have believed in, put our faith and trust in, as the One Who have delivered us from the tyranny and dominion of sin and evil, have truly fulfilled everything that God had promised to all of us from the very beginning of time. However, even more importantly, what the prophet Isaiah had proclaimed and prophesied, was more than merely just a prophecy of the coming of the Lord as it had happened two millennia ago, but in truth, he was also speaking of the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia, when the Lord will come again as He has promised, to judge the whole entire world.

This is what the prophet Isaiah has spoken about, as he spoke of the moment when the Lord will come again, bringing His eternal peace, harmony and reconciliation to all of us. His first coming has shown us the love and mercy of God, His compassion and kindness manifested to us in the flesh, in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, and He has revealed to us the truth and the love which He has always have for each and every one of us. Then, through His ministry, works and finally, by His own willing and selfless, perfect love, He has also brought us all out from the darkness of sin, delivering us from the path of evil and harm, as He bore upon Himself the burden of the Cross, by shouldering upon Himself, all the punishments and the sufferings that we should have borne for our many sins. He has opened for us all the gates of Heaven, and reconciled us with God.

Then, as we heard from the prophet Isaiah, what we are all ought to be looking out for, is the coming of the time of grace in the Lord’s Presence, when everything shall be restored to perfection, when the evils of this world will be rooted out, and all of us will one day once again be in the Holy Presence of God, to enjoy forever the fruits of our faith and labours, and for the dedication and commitment, the love and trust that we have always had in Him. This is what our Advent preparation and commemoration should be focused on, as each and every one of us should spend this good time to prepare ourselves in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, so that all of us may once again be truly reconnected with the Lord, our loving God. All of us have been called to holiness in God, and therefore, we should do our best to live up to this.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the words of the Lord Himself, reassuring all of His disciples and followers, that every one of us have truly been blessed because God Himself has come into our midst through His Son, bringing us all closer to Him, revealing to us the fullness of His love, and everything that He has intended to do for us, in gathering us all back to Himself, and in leading us to salvation through Him. Each and every one of us as Christians, who have accepted the Lord as our God and Saviour, all of us have been brought together as one flock of the Lord’s faithful, becoming those whom He has loved and shown affection for, and as long as we remain firm in our faith and commitment to Him, then all that He has promised us will become a reality in the end, and we shall be blessed and be truly joyful forevermore.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us, having heard all these words of the Lord in the Scriptures, let us all therefore keep in mind as always, that everything that we do throughout this time and opportunities which we have been given during this period of Advent, we should always do our best so that all of our upcoming celebrations, rejoicing and festivities are centred on the One in Whom we ought to focus our attention in, during this time of rejoicing. Christmas is ultimately about Christ, the Lord, our God and Saviour. Amidst all the distractions and all the excesses of worldly revelries that are present everywhere all around us, during this period of time, all of us should always be the role models and inspirations for one another, in how we all commit ourselves to the Lord and be focused wholly and entirely on the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Each and every one of us should always be filled with the true joy in the Lord, and be wholly committed to Him, and not be easily swayed and tempted with the various temptations and distractions. We should always help one another to remember the generous love of God, which He has given us. All of us are reminded that we must never take God’s love for granted, and remember that it is because of His love, and everything that He has done to us through His Son, by His Incarnation and coming into this world, that all of us may have hope once again, and that we have this sure path given and revealed to us. This Advent, let it be a time of renewal and reorientation for us, so that we may focus and centre our whole lives once again in the Lord.

May the Lord, Whose coming we celebrate and prepare for this season of Advent and the upcoming Christmas, be with us always, and may He empower and strengthen us in all things, so that, in everything we say and do, in our every way of life, we may truly be exemplary in all things, and that we may always persevere in faith regardless of all the challenges and trials we may face and encounter in life. May God bless us all and our every good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 5 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

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.”

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Tuesday, 5 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent (Psalm)

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.

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Tuesday, 5 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent (First Reading)

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.

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Tuesday, 28 November 2023 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today after we have listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded that all kinds of worldly glory and earthly fame, possessions and all the attachments we have to this world’s bounties and good things, all those things are temporary. We should always keep our faith and trust in the Lord, and be always careful and vigilant, not to allow ourselves to be easily swayed and tempted to follow the many temptations and distractions present all around us in this world. We have to avoid the temptations of following the false paths provided by the false prophets and others who may try to subvert the messages of God’s truth and Good News for their own personal benefits.

In our first reading today, we heard of the interactions between king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and Daniel, the servant of God hailing from the land of Judea, who was brought to Babylon with many other young men, and made to be one of the servants of the king of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar, who had conquered much of the old empire of the Assyrians, subjugated many kingdoms and countries, and having made Babylon to be the greatest among the regional powers back then, received a dream from the Lord, in which he saw a great statue made of several different parts and materials. No one could interpret the king’s dream save for that of Daniel, to whom the Lord has bestowed great knowledge and wisdom, and we heard today of both the dream and the interpretation by Daniel.

Daniel’s explanation of the details of the dream to king Nebuchadnezzar essentially highlighted the fact that no matter how great his kingdom and dominion were, the glory and power of Nebuchadnezzar were things that would be merely a footnote in the history of the world, as kingdoms would come and go, rise and fall. He also predicted the kingdoms that would come after the kingdom of Babylon, namely that of Persia, the kingdom of Alexander the Great, and potentially that of Rome, which came to power around the same time as the time of the coming of Christ. Then, as we heard in the explanation of the dream, Daniel was actually also predicting the coming of God’s Kingdom, which had been foretold by the prophets, and which would overturn the order of the world.

This is why, we are all reminded that regardless of all the glory and the wonders of the world, all those things are fleeting and not permanent. Eventually, kingdoms that rise will fall and new kingdoms and states would rise in their place. However, just as the Lord Himself had said, the kingdom of God is something that will last forever, and He will reign over all of us, for all eternity, just as He has always intended. We should always focus our attention and focus on the Lord, and strive to do what we can in order to follow HIs ways, His Law and commandments. The Lord has taught us and revealed to us His intentions, teachings and love, His kindness and grace. We are truly very blessed to have been beloved as such by the Lord, but unfortunately, more often than not, we allow ourselves to be distracted by the many temptations of the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord telling the people of the folly of admiring earthly beauty and wonders, as He foretold the downfall and destruction of the great and amazing Temple which king Herod the Great had built in Jerusalem, in vastly expanding and rebuilding the Second Temple into a large worship complex and establishment, which unfortunately became the epicentre of the religious elitism that was prevalent at that time. The Sadducees and the Pharisees, two main powerful groups of religious and societal elites at the time were centred upon the great Temple, and they were swayed by the worldly power, glory, fame and the influence that they held over the people. Unfortunately, this made them to be corrupt and proud, arrogant and failing to carry out their duties and obligations.

They placed themselves above that of their mission, and made it difficult for many people to return to the Lord. They imposed rules and ways that made it tough for many of the people to come and approach the Lord, while they paraded their piety and way of living their faith, to gain fame and praise from the people of God. All of these made it difficult for all those who have been separated from God to return to Him, as they ended up being ostracised and persecuted against. But the Lord made it clear through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, that this is not the way that things should be like. He called all of His people, all of us to turn away from our various worldly attachments and to restore our focus and attention towards the Lord.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us should keep in mind that our lives are meant to glorify God and we ought to do His will, and not be swayed by the temptations of our worldly desires, our attachments to worldly matters and our desires for comfort and pleasures present all around us. We should not allow all those things from preventing us in our path towards the Lord, in our striving towards sanctification and salvation in the Lord. We should always do our best in rejecting and resisting those temptations and desires, and instead, help one another in remaining faithful to the Lord and everything that He has shown and taught us to do. As Christians, it is imperative for all of us to be good examples, role models and inspirations to everyone around us, in showing God’s truth to all.

May the Lord continue to empower and strengthen each and every one of us, so that in everything that we say and do, we will always be truly worthy and good, in being inspirational and exemplary in our Christian living, being constantly reminded that we live for the Lord and everything we say and do, are for His greater glory. May all of us be ever more committed and dedicated to the Lord in all things, and may He bless us all in our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 28 November 2023 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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 said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am He; the time is near 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.”

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Tuesday, 28 November 2023 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Daniel 3 : 57, 58, 59, 60, 61

All the works of the Lord, bless Him, praise Him, exalt Him forever.

Angels of the Lord, bless Him, praise and glorify Him forever.

Heavens, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him forever.

All the waters above the heavens, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him forever.

All the powers of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him forever.