Tuesday

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Tuesday, 13 December 2022 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season of Advent, each one of us are reminded of the dangers of our human pride and ego, which can indeed become our undoing unless we make the conscious effort to resist that strong allure and temptations to succumb to our pride, ego, arrogance, ambition and desires. This Advent, all of us are reminded that our true focus and the right centre of our lives and existences should be that of the Lord, our most loving God and Creator. We should not allow our personal ambitions, desires and especially pride and ego to be stumbling blocks in our path towards the Lord as unfortunately has often been the case. Many people, our predecessors, throughout history, have fallen prey to the trap of their own greed and ego, and fell away from the path towards God’s grace and eternal life.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah, we heard of the Lord speaking to His people through Zephaniah regarding the rebelliousness of the people of Israel, and all the wickedness which they had committed in the past, and how God therefore had punished all those who were wicked and unjust, and gave the inheritance and gifts, graces and blessings intended for those people to the ones who were more deserving and worthy. That is why God gave a premonition to His people, revealing to them how He would gather all those who are willing to listen to Him and answer His call, and unite them together as one people, to be God’s own beloved flock, where God exists at the centre and focus of their lives and existences, instead of pride and worldly desires and greed.

The prophet Zephaniah lived and ministered to the people of God in the kingdom of Judah during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, one of the last rulers of Judah before it was to be crushed and destroyed by the Babylonians. The people of Judah have often lived wickedly under the leadership of many kings who did not obey the Lord and led the people into the path of sin and evil. Only some of the kings, such as Josiah himself, was faithful and devoted to God, and attempted to turn the people once again back to the worship of the one and only true God. Zephaniah therefore spoke of the words of the Lord to a people who have experienced both the path of righteousness and the path of wickedness and sin as they alternated between obedience to God and disobedience, depending on the then prevailing political climate, and the guidance of their kings, both those who were evil and those who were faithful to God.

Zephaniah reminded all of them that the time of consolation and liberation would be coming to their midst, and God would gather not just the people of Israel only, but also everyone from all throughout the world, everyone who were willing to embrace God and His righteous path, His truth, His love and grace. Those who pridefully kept their wicked ways and disobeyed God, seeking to advance and satisfy their own worldly desires will not have any part with God, while all those who are willing to acknowledge their shortcomings, and listen to the Lord and His call, will be given the assurance of God’s grace and salvation. That is the same sentiment that we have also heard from our Gospel passage today. We heard from there of the Lord speaking to the people and His disciples using the parable of the two sons, in which He used the example of those two sons to contrast those who listen to God and those who refused to listen to Him.

In that parable, we heard of how one of the sons told his father who asked him to do what he told him to do, that he did not want to do the work, and yet later on, he changed his mind and did the work in the end. Then, we heard of the other son who said that he would do the work, but did not do the work in the end. From these we can gather the comparison that the Lord made between those who were willing to humble themselves and change their ways, represented by the son who initially refused to listen to his father and then changed his mind to do what he had been tasked to do by his father, and with those who are hypocrites, those who said that they would obey, but gave in to their ego, pride and desires, and ended up forsaking their obligations and commitments.

This is a rebuke and criticism against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who have often placed obstacles and challenges on the path of the Lord’s works and missions. Those people proudly claimed the heritage of the Israelites and the purity of their faith, and they proudly accused all others including the Lord and His disciples of blaspheming and being disobedient against God simply because they did not conform to their ways of observing the Law and the commandments of God. However, their understanding and appreciation of the Law was flawed, and they did not truly commit their actions and works for the greater glory of God as they should have done. Hence, the Lord reminds us all that we should not live our faith in the manner as those people had done, as they were entrusted with the heavy responsibility of guiding the people of God towards Him, and yet, they succumbed to the temptations of worldly greed and human pride, for the detriment and loss of many.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Lucy, holy virgin and martyr of the faith. St. Lucy, also known as St. Lucia, is a renowned saint and martyr, whose life and works can serve as great sources of inspiration for ourselves that we may know better of how we can serve and glorify God by our lives, much in the same way how the saints like St. Lucy had done in their own lives. St. Lucy was born in Syracuse in Sicily and was hence also known as St. Lucia of Syracuse. She was born into a rich and noble Roman family and lost her father at an early age. She consecrated herself to the Lord as a devoted virgin, wanting to provide her wealth and dowry to the poor and the needy. However, her ailing mother was not aware of this and arranged for her to be married to a rich pagan nobleman, and that eventually led to the great suffering and martyrdom that St. Lucy would have to endure.

It was told that St. Agatha of Sicily, another great martyr and saint who predeceased St. Lucy, appeared to her and her ailing mother at her shrine, ever popular among the local Christians and from beyond, assuring them and interceding for the mother of St. Lucy that led to her miraculous recovery from her illness. St. Lucy managed to persuade her mother to be generous and give her wealth to the needy and the poor around us, persuading her that ultimately, whatever they have been generous with, all is because they do not love the world more than loving the Lord, and that in loving others, they will receive greatly from the Lord, Who will know of the love and the generosity that each of them have given for the sake of the poor and the needy all around them, just as the Lord Himself had instructed His disciples and followers to do.

However, this aroused great anger by the pagan nobleman who was betrothed to St. Lucy. The pagan nobleman accused St. Lucy to the local Roman governor, who arrested her and tried to force her to offer and burn sacrifices to the pagan idols and gods. When this failed, they tried to get people to defile the sacred virginity of St. Lucy by sending her off to the brothel. Yet, they could not manage to make her budge or force her to the brothel for the Lord was with her, and protected her from harm. After repeated failed attempts to make her suffer, eventually St. Lucy was martyred when a sword was thrusted into her throat. Her courage and faith became a source of inspiration for many, and she is still commemorated to this day for her devotion to God and her commitment to a life of purity and sanctity, on the St. Lucy’s Day celebrated in many parts of Europe.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of ought to be reminded today of the courage and faith showed by St. Lucy, her commitment to God and her resistance of worldly temptations of glory, pleasures, wealth and more. Let us all therefore also commit ourselves to the same cause, and do our very best to resist the temptations of our pride, ego, greed and worldly desires, all those things that can lead us to our ruin and damnation. Let us all make good use of this time and opportunity given to us this Advent to turn back towards God and to be reconciled with Him, and to grow ever closer to Him in love. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us all in love, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 13 December 2022 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 21 : 28-32

At that time, Jesus went on to say, “What do you think of this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said to him, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ And the son answered, ‘I do not want to.’ But later he thought better of it and went.”

“Then the father went to his other son and gave him the same command. This son replied, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what the father wanted?” They answered, “The first.” And Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you : the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven. For John came to show you the way of goodness, and you did not believe him; but the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him.”

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Tuesday, 13 December 2022 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 and 23

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. But the Lord will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.

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Tuesday, 13 December 2022 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Zephaniah 3 : 1-2, 9-13

Woe to the rebellious, the defiled, the city that oppresses. She did not pay attention to the call nor accept the correction; she did not trust YHVH nor did she approach her God.

At that time I will give truthful lips to the pagan nations that all of them may call on the Name of YHVH and serve Him with the same zeal. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia they will bring offerings to Me. On that day you will no longer be ashamed of all your deeds when you were unfaithful to Me; I will have removed from your midst the conceited and arrogant and My holy mountain will no longer be for you a pretext for boasting.

I will leave within you a poor and meek people who seek refuge in God. The remnant of Israel will not act unjustly nor will they speak falsely, nor will deceitful words be found in their mouths. They will eat and rest with none to threaten them.

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Tuesday, 6 December 2022 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the reminder yet again for us to look up to the Lord our God, our Shepherd and Guide, our Hope and our Light, the One Who has promised us His salvation and grace, and Who has willingly extended upon us His love and kindness, ever enduring and strong despite our constant disobedience and refusal to believe in Him and His love and truth. He has always loved us all despite our delinquent attitude and our hardened hearts and minds, and as our loving Father and Shepherd, He looked out for us, searched for us and did not give up on us, till the very end, seeking for us, His lost sheep and lost children, all of whom are in need of His help and guidance.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah of the call for the people of God to return to the loving embrace of their God, their Master, their Shepherd and King. The people of God had indeed been wayward in their ways, and they had been erroneous in their actions, but they were truly lucky and blessed to have the Lord by their side all throughout despite all the wickedness and the vile things that they had committed through life. The Lord loved them all, His beloved ones, whom He had loved since the very beginning, all those whom He had called from among the nations to be the first of those whom He loved and made to be His own flock, His own people. Through His promises and Covenant made and renewed through His servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then Moses, King David and many more of the others among the people, God has made a flock and people for Himself, gathering them from the darkness of this world to His light.

But the people of God had not always been faithful to Him, and they had often chosen to walk away from Him, rejecting His love and kindness, worshipping pagan idols and gods, defiling the House and Temple of God in Jerusalem, its Altar and throwing down the Lord’s worship in His Holy of Holies. They had indeed behaved like the lost sheep, who have chosen to trod the rebellious path, running away from the flock and from their Shepherd, following the false illusions of worldly glory and desires, which ended up causing many of those lost sheep of the Lord to be scattered all around the world in the darkness of sin and evil. The Lord however never gave up on all of His lost sheep, calling on all of them to return to Him, sending His messengers and servants, the many prophets and all others who have borne the word of God’s truth and grace.

And although those same people persecuted the prophets and messengers of God, rejecting them and refusing to listen to the message which they had brought to the midst of the people of God, God still sent more of them regardless, and promised them His salvation and deliverance, and the words of hope with which He promised the Saviour and deliverance to come, which was therefore fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, into the world. Through Him, God sent us all the perfect manifestation of His love, as the Divine Word of God incarnate in the flesh, born into this world through Mary His mother and become the personification of God’s enduring love made tangible and approachable to us. He also proclaimed the coming of God’s salvation as it has been promised, and referred to Himself specifically as the Good Shepherd. The one and only true Good Shepherd of all, the one flock of God’s people.

And as the Good Shepherd, He shower His love and care for each one of us, seeking the last, the lost and the least among us who were still lost to Him, breaking barriers and seeking those who were distant from Him. Those like the crippled and paralysed, those who were sick and dying, those who were afflicted by demons and evil spirits, and all those who were wicked in their deeds, those who were cast aside because they were considered sinners and unworthy of God and His grace. He reached out to all of them, prostitutes, tax collectors, those who were afflicted with diseases and possessed by evil spirits, showing them all the love and grace of God. He showed them that all of them truly had their worth and called on all of them to follow Him, not excluding them and casting them out like what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done to them.

That is exactly what we heard in our Gospel passage today, as the Lord told the people of the parable of the lost sheep, where the shepherd went out of his way, trying his best to look for the lost sheep. The Lord Himself is the Shepherd, going out of His way to try to find us all, His beloved ones who have been lost and separated from Him. Having seen the great love that God has for us, all of us should therefore embrace Him and seek Him with all of our hearts and might. Each one of us should return to Him and listen to His call, as He calls on us with the great call of His voice in our hearts and minds. We must not harden our hearts against Him any longer, but be willing to open the doors for Him to enter and for Him to find us and bring us back to His flock, that we too may have a share in His eternal glory.

Today, all of us ought to reflect upon the great examples set by one holy servant of God, our predecessor in faith, whose name may well be known by many of us, namely that of St. Nicholas of Myra. He is probably better known all around the world in a more secular occasion as Santa Claus, the ubiquitous figure always ever present during this time of the year, when we saw this bearded old man carrying plenty of gifts for children from his large and heavy bag, dressed all in red and white. Brothers and sisters, that is the fictional Santa Claus, who does not actually exist and who is actually a character inspired by the real St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, one of the early Church fathers and a truly devoted servant of God, as well as a faithful and loving shepherd to the flock entrusted to him by the Chief Shepherd, the Lord Himself.

St. Nicholas of Myra was remembered for his great care, dedication and love for his flock, the people of God under his care as shepherd, and he was known for his habit of coming to children and giving them gifts, which eventually over time gave raise to the legend of Santa Claus as mentioned earlier. St. Nicholas of Myra spent a lot of time visiting his people and parishes, and was a great role model of faith, spending a lot of time in prayer and in guiding the people under his care in finding their way back to the Lord, their Chief Shepherd, their Master, Lord and King. St. Nicholas of Myra was also known for his great devotion to God and to the true faith, opposing heresies and false teachings with all of his might. In an apocryphal story and tale, which may or may not be true, during the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, when the faithful bishops gathered and condemned the false teachings of the preacher Arius that had led to the terrible Arian heresy, St. Nicholas of Myra hit the arch-heretic in the face for his contempt of the Lord and for misleading God’s people as he spoke his words of falsehoods and blasphemies before the assembly of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard the life and works of St. Nicholas of Myra, let us all therefore do our best to be inspired to follow his good examples, dedication and hard work in our own lives and works. Let us all do our best to love the Lord, our most loving God and Good Shepherd, and strive to follow Him and be fully reconciled with Him, embracing His most generous mercy and love. Let us all turn our hearts and minds back towards Him, and dedicate ourselves with renewed strength and vigour from now on that we may celebrate the upcoming joyful Christmas with true understanding and appreciation, and not indulge in the excesses of merrymaking and festivities. May God bless us all, in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 6 December 2022 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

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.”

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Tuesday, 6 December 2022 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

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.

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Tuesday, 6 December 2022 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

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.

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Tuesday, 29 November 2022 : 1st 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 Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of how fortunate we are for having received the revelation of truth from God, of the coming of His future return, and how we shall all be partakers and inheritors of His glorious kingdom, when He comes again at the end of time. We are reminded that God will deliver us into a new existence and life free from the bondage and sufferings due to our sins and wickedness. The Lord has reassured us that He will never abandon us to the darkness, and all of us who are faithful to Him shall receive from Him the gift of everlasting grace and life, freedom from the darkness of sin and death. No longer shall we have to fear the threats of evil and the attacks of Satan, the evil one, because our Lord will lead us to His great triumphant victory in the end.

However, along the way there will indeed be plenty of challenges, trials and obstacles facing us. Hence, we really have to be patient and committed to the Lord, with all of our hearts and minds, so that we may remain firm and true in our faith in Him, and not be tempted to walk away and abandon Him for other comforts and pleasures in the world. And that is why we have to remind ourselves in this season of Advent of what we are expecting in the coming Christmas, as we approach the time of rejoicing because we see the coming of the hope and new life in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are reminded that we rejoice greatly as we have seen the light of Our Lord’s glory and all that we shall enjoy in Him, the eternity of perfect bliss and happiness in His presence.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself praised His heavenly Father for all that He had planned for the salvation of all mankind, and how everything had indeed been fulfilled and accomplished perfectly through His coming into this world, He, the Son of God and Son of Man, incarnate in the flesh and born of His blessed Mother Mary. Through Christ, all that God has promised all of us and our ancestors and predecessors, all mankind from the beginning of time had come to a full circle and perfect accomplishment. He has shown us the fullness of God’s love manifested before our own eyes, where God became tangible and approachable, and hence, showing and proving to us that whatever He has promised us all and our predecessors are not merely empty promises.

Indeed, it was not just that the love of God has been made manifest in this world and tangible to us, but through His actions, especially by His suffering and death on the Cross, Christ has delivered us the ultimate expression of God’s ever enduring love for all of us. As He Himself said that there is no greater love than for someone to lay down one’s life for a friend, that was exactly what the Lord had done for our sake. The Lord has shown us just much beloved we are and how precious we are to Him, that despite of our constant stubbornness and rebellion against Him, He still reached out to us and loved us nonetheless. His salvation has been extended to all mankind, even those who have hurt and persecuted Him. He is the one Lord of all, and all of us are His people, His beloved ones.

If God has loved us so much then we really need to ask ourselves, why then we have often neglected and ignored Him in our preparations for Christmas? Why have we spent so much time and effort in preparing and immersing ourselves in the festivities and merrymaking and yet, Christ is nowhere near the centre or the focus of our celebrations? The Lord has given us the wonders and riches of His love, and yet, we have not responded to His love with openness and willingness to embrace that love. How often is it that we remain stubborn in our refusal to embrace God’s love and mercy despite Him having patiently cared and reached out to us all these while? We have been busy preparing for Christmas, but is it the true Christmas that we are truly preparing for? Or is it the Christmas of our fancy and desires that we are actually looking forward to.

Let us all consider all of these very carefully even as we continue to progress through this season of Advent. We should not let the distractions and temptations of the secular and worldly Christmas from misleading us down the wrong path this season of Advent. Instead, we should do better in deepening our understanding of God’s love and compassion for us, and how we can do better in our respective lives to do what God has called on each one of us to do. We should this time of Advent to reflect on everything that God had done for us, in loving us and in showing us mercy and forgiveness, even when we have repeatedly disappointed Him and disobeyed Him, betrayed and rejected Him. Such pure love that God has shown us should be reciprocated and responded with our own love and devotion towards Him. But many of us realised it only too late that God has loved us so much.

Too many times we have been too busy with ourselves, our desires and pursuits in this world, blinded by our ego and pride, and as a result, we end up falling deeper and deeper into the path of worldliness and sin, and distracted away from the path of God’s righteousness and truth. Unless we keep this in mind and do our best to steer ourselves away from worldly temptations and resist their influences, we may likely end up going down the wrong paths, and end up being found unworthy to receive the Lord’s glorious inheritance on the Day of Reckoning. Is that what we truly want, brothers and sisters in Christ? To gain the temporary and short-term pleasures and happiness of the world, we sacrifice and forgo our assurance of eternal life in God?

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey, and may He strengthen our faith, resolve and commitment to follow Him wholeheartedly in our way of life. May God be with us always and may He encourage us to walk down the path of righteousness and justice, and be ever vigilant against the allures, coercions and pressures of worldly corruptions, evils and temptations, as well as by deepening our relationships with God. May God bless our every actions and interactions, and give us the strength to carry out our calling and duties faithfully in life. Amen.

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Tuesday, 29 November 2022 : 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.”