Wednesday

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Wednesday, 23 December 2020 : 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, today we heard of the servant of God sent before the coming of the Messiah, that is St. John the Baptist, the one to announce the coming of the Messiah or Saviour of God, and the one who would prepare the way for Him, as prophesied by the prophets and as promised by God to His people.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Malachi, of the promise of God regarding the sending of the messenger who would come ahead of the Lord Himself to clear the way and prepare the path for His coming, who would be like the prophet Elijah, whose faith had been tested by fire and trials, and whose works would lead many people to the Lord.

The prophet Malachi was one of the last prophets of the Old Testament, and his book is placed at the very last place as the last chapter of the Old Testament, just before the coming of the New Testament, that came through Christ. Therefore, it is significant indeed that Malachi spoke of the coming of the one to prepare the path for the Lord, that clearly referred to St. John the Baptist.

In our Gospel today then we heard of the moment when St. John the Baptist was born, and all of his relatives gathered at his house and wanted to name him Zechariah after his father, as was common during that time. Zechariah had been mute and unable to talk ever since the Angel of God revealed to him that his wife, Elizabeth was about to bear the one whom the prophet Malachi prophesied about, the Herald of the Messiah.

Just as the prophet Isaiah also proclaimed in another prophecy, this servant of God, whose name had been known before he was even born, as revealed by the Angel, was to be the one to lead the people of God to their Lord and Saviour. He came into this world, born miraculously of an old couple who had been barren throughout, as the first miracle of God’s approaching salvation, and as proof that God truly loved His people.

The moment that Zechariah wrote down the name that the Angel had revealed to him, and wanted his son to be named John, hence, Zechariah could speak again and praised God for all His wonders. All of the people gathered were astonished and praised God as well for the wonders He had done. And through St. John the Baptist, God would lead many of His people down the path to salvation, as he laboured and called many to repent from their sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how do all these relate to us then? All of us have heard of God’s salvation and received the Good News, and we have believed in the Lord and all that He had done through Christ, His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. But have we proclaimed Him in our lives, and truly show that we are Christians not just in name only, but also in deeds and in all of our actions? Have we shown that Christ is truly the centre of our celebrations in Christmas, and not only just that, but also the centre of our whole lives and existences?

Today, as we are just two days away from Christmas, we are all called to look upon our lives and actions, and we should reflect on whether our actions have shown our true Christian faith at all times. We should dedicate our actions to the Lord and strive our best to follow Him and His saints’ examples, especially for today, that of St. John of Kanty or St. John Cantius, whose feast day we celebrate.

St. John of Kanty was a Polish saint whose life and work as a priest, philosopher and theologian was truly inspirational as he dedicated much of his life to the Lord, and spent a lot of effort in his numerous academic works and in the advancement of the Christian theology and teachings. But not only that, St. John of Kanty also dedicated much of time caring for the poor and the needy, being especially charitable towards them.

St. John of Kanty was remembered for his outreach and generosity to the poor, and also to the needy students in the university in which he taught as a professor. He was remembered for his almsgiving and his genuine faith and humility. He made pious pilgrimages to Jerusalem and to Rome, and some of those pilgrimages were made on foot. His life and work remain an inspiration for many long after his passing.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should be inspired by the examples set by St. John of Kanty, and as we approach Christmas, let us all seek to celebrate it wholeheartedly with a new attitude of faith, renewed in love for our God, and dedicate ourselves thoroughly to Him so that all who witness us and our actions, as well as our Christ-centric life and celebration of Christmas, may come to believe in Him as well, so that by our lives and actions, even more people can be saved and share in our joy.

Let us all discern on this carefully as we come to the joyful celebration of Christmas, that we may truly celebrate it with true joy and with genuine celebration, so that we may draw ever closer to the Lord and be worthy of Him and the everlasting glory that He has promised us all. May the Lord bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 23 December 2020 : 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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Wednesday, 23 December 2020 : 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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Wednesday, 23 December 2020 : 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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Wednesday, 16 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture we are reminded again of the salvation of God that He has revealed and given to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. As we approach ever closer to the time of Christmas, we are called to reflect on whether we have appreciated the true significance of what we are going to celebrate, and whether we understand just how fortunate we are, to have been so much beloved by God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, God was reminding His people through Isaiah of Who He was, and how He cared for and loved His people at all times, giving them His love and providence, and how He will lead His people to salvation and into a new life of grace, through His own might and power. He will save them and bless them once again, and He will always be faithful to His words, and they should not believe otherwise.

Once again, all of these, just as the other prophecies and promises that we have heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah for most of this Advent season are reminding us of God’s enduring love for each and every one of us, His beloved people, whom He loves with all of His heart. And He has sent us all His deliverance and His salvation in none other than Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour. His coming at Christmas is the proof and manifestation of all that God has promised us from the beginning.

In our Gospel passage today we heard of several disciples of St. John the Baptist who came to the Lord asking Him with the question from St. John himself on whether the Lord was the Messiah and Saviour that the world and all had been waiting for, or whether he ought to wait for yet another one. And the Lord told St. John’s disciples that all that He had done, the miracles and wonders that He performed, all had proclaimed the fulfilment of the Lord’s prophecies and promises, and no further explanation or proof is required.

As you can see from the Gospel today, even someone like St. John the Baptist could have his doubts, and contextually, that was because at that time, there had been plenty of false Messiahs that arose and led the people into rebellion and various uprisings against the Romans, and they all failed, since they were all false and not the true Saviour. Although St. John the Baptist had indeed seen the signs when he baptised the Lord, and he recognised Him as the Lamb of God, the Saviour, but he did still have some doubts.

If someone as dedicated and faithful as St. John the Baptist had doubt in the Lord, then all the more all of us here, who can also be filled with doubt and be swayed away from the Lord. If we do not hold firm in our faith in God, we will end up losing our faith as well as our way. That is why today, we are all reminded of the salvation and grace that God has given to us and which He has repeatedly reassured to us.

As we come ever closer to Christmas, are we ready to welcome the Lord into our hearts, into our minds and into our whole beings? Have we been welcoming to Him, and putting Him as our true Lord and Master, as the Lord and Master of all of our whole existence? If we have not done so, it is perhaps that we have allowed our fears and doubts to distract and mislead us all these while.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore use this opportunity that we have received from the Lord, to open our hearts, minds and our whole beings to the Lord, and return our focus on Him, and renew the faith that we have in Him so that our faith will not be just an empty and meaningless faith, but one that is filled with true zeal and fervour. Let us all make good use of this blessed time of Advent to rededicate ourselves to God.

May the Lord be with us and may He strengthen us in our faith, that despite all the challenges and trials, as well as the many temptations of the world, we will always stay firm in our commitment to be the followers of the Lord, all the time. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 16 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 7 : 19-23

At that time, John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to the Lord with this message, “Are You the One we are expecting, or should we wait for another?” These men came to Jesus and said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask You : Are You the One we are to expect, or should we wait for another?”

At that time Jesus healed many people of their sickness and diseases; He freed them from evil spirits and He gave sight to the blind. Then He answered the messengers, “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard : the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the poor are given Good News.”

“Now, listen : Fortunate are those who meet Me, and are not offended by Me.”

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Wednesday, 16 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 84 : 9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14

Would that I hear God’s proclamation, that He promise peace to His people, His saints. Yet His salvation is near to those who fear Him, and His Glory will dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness have met; righteousness and peace have embraced. Faithfulness will reach up from the earth while justice bends down from heaven.

The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its fruit. Justice will go before Him, and peace will follow along His path.

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Wednesday, 16 December 2020 : 3rd Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 45 : 6b-8, 18, 21b-25

From the rising to the setting of the sun, all may know that there is no one besides Me; I am YHVH, and there is no other. I form the light and create the dark; I usher in prosperity and bring calamity. I, YHVH, do all this.

Let the heavens send righteousness like dew and the clouds rain it down. Let the earth open and salvation blossom, so that justice also may sprout; I, YHVH, have created it.

Yes, this is what YHVH says, He Who created the heavens, – for He is God, Who formed and shaped the earth, – for He Himself set it : “I did not let confusion in it, I wanted people to live there instead!” – for I am YHVH and there is no other.

Who announced this from the beginning, who foretold it in the distant past? Is it not Me YHVH? There is no other God besides Me, a Saviour, a God of justice, there is no other one but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you from the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. By My own self I swear it, and what comes from My mouth is truth, a word I say will not be revoked.

Before Me every knee will bend, by Me every tongue will swear, saying, “In YHVH alone are righteousness and strength.” All who have raged against Him will come to Him in shame. But through YHVH there will be victory and glory to the people of Israel.

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Wednesday, 9 December 2020 : 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 are all reminded yet again as we continue to journey through the season of Advent, to put our focus and attention in life at the Lord and not be distracted by other things. We are all reminded that in God alone we will find true rest and true, genuine peace. There is nothing else in the world that can give us true and lasting satisfaction, unlike what the Lord can give us. That is why we should have faith and doubt no longer.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah as is common during this time of Advent, we heard the Lord speaking to His people through Isaiah, reminding them that He has loved them and cared for them, giving strength to the weak and those who were in need of help, guiding and encouraging all those who had been downtrodden and sorrowful among others. Yet, the people doubted Him and sought other comforts and consolation in other things, worldly things.

That was why the Lord gave His people that reminder, that they must have faith in Him and not seek consolation from other sources. For many of the people had sought consolation from pagan idols, from worldly comfort of wealth, power and glory, from human acceptance and other pleasures, rather than to live in the way that the Lord has shown them. What they were seeking were just temporary and impermanent sources of comfort, and in fact many were leading them down the path to ruin.

This is then related to what the Lord Himself said in our Gospel passage today, with the famous words ‘Come to Me all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.’ And then He went on with ‘For My burden is light and My yoke is easy’. Indeed, the Lord once again offered and showed His love, care and genuine attention, wanting us all to find our true rest and happiness in Him. But we may find it strange that the Lord mentioned that His burden is light and His yoke is easy.

What He meant is that, in comparison to what the alternative offers, the worldly consolations, temptations and pleasures, in truth, His path leads to true happiness and joy, although it may seem to be challenging and difficult at a glance. To be a Christian means that we must be ready to face trials and oppositions, challenges and difficulties, especially from those who disagree with our faith and refuse to believe, and those who disagree with our Christian and faithful way of life.

The devil and his agents are always ever active in trying to mislead us down the wrong path, by tempting us with false promises and false pleasures, showing us a path that seems to be easy and pleasurable, good and happy, filled with indulgence and comfort, and yet blinds us to the end result, that if we walk down that path, we will fall deeper and deeper into sin, and from there into eternal suffering and damnation from where there is no escape, and there is no more happiness, only sorrow, regret and despair.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called in this season of Advent to reexamine our way of life and reorientate our direction and focus in life that we ought to reconsider our path while we still have the opportunity to do so. Let us not wait until the time is up for us, and what is left for us is all regret and sorrow. We should look on the good examples set by our predecessors, especially today of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, whose feast we are celebrating.

St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was the one who saw the vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the site of Tepeyac hill, now known as the place where the Marian Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared. St. John Diego was one of the native converts to the Christian faith in what is today Mexico, living approximately five hundreds ago. At that time, St. John Diego was a simple peasant who lived a simple and normal, poor but upright life. Upon his conversion he was known for his great devotion and faith to the Lord.

And it was then that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. John Diego at Tepeyac hill, where she revealed herself as the Mother of God and requested through him to the local bishop that a chapel should be built at the site. Initially the bishop was skeptical and St. John Diego himself felt that he was a simple and unworthy man, and told the Blessed Lady of Guadalupe that she ought to call someone else of greater importance for that purpose. But Our Lady insisted on St. John Diego to carry out what she had told him, and eventually the bishop told him to ask the Lady for a sign.

Then, St. John Diego’s uncle fell seriously sick and he was unable to meet Our Lady at the appointed day and time, and as he was embarrassed by that, he tried to take another route to Tepeyac hill, only to be intercepted by Our Lady who admonished St. John Diego for not having sought her intercession, saying ‘Am I not here, who am your mother?’, reminding him that all of us had been entrusted to her as her own adopted children. Then Our Lady asked St. John Diego to collect some flowers in his cloak as sign to show the bishop, and he found some rare flowers at the place shown to him, collected the flowers and brought it to the bishop.

When St. John Diego gave the flowers to the bishop, what was miraculous is that the flowers left an imprint of the image of Our Lady, the Mother of God that surprised the bishop and which immediately led him to believe in St. John Diego’s words and accounts of the Apparition. Hence after, the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe grew immensely, and many people were drawn to God through His mother, and through those like St. John Diego who dedicated their lives in the service of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the story of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin and the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who called for mankind to repent from their sins and turn to God is also a call for each and every one of us. We are all called to reject the path of sin, and embrace fully God’s love and grace. We are all called to be faithful disciples and followers of Our Lord, at all times and in our every works and endeavours. Let us therefore respond to His call this Advent, and transform ourselves and our lives for the better, in the service of His greater glory. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 December 2020 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Matthew 11 : 28-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For My yoke is easy; and My burden is light.”