Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10
Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.
YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)
Isaiah 40 : 25-31
To whom, then, will you liken Me or make Me equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see : who has created all this? He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name. So mighty is His power, so great His strength, that not one of them is missing.
How can you say, o Jacob, how can you complain, o Israel, that your destiny is hidden from Me, that your rights are ignored by YHVH? Have you not known, have you not heard that YHVH is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, His knowledge is without limit.
He gives strength to the enfeebled, He gives vigour to the wearied. Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in YHVH will renew their strength. They will soar as with eagle’s wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture in which we heard of the wonders of God’s love for each and every one of us, as we pass through this season of Advent, preparing us to celebrate worthily the joyous season of Christmas. God has loved us all so much that He has given us all the perfect gift in His own beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is why in our first reading today we heard of the beautiful vision and prophecy as relayed to us through the prophet Isaiah, of the wonderful promises of God as He promised all of His beloved and faithful ones that they will all enjoy the fullness of His bountiful blessings and the fruits of His providence, in a world where there is no more pain or sorrow, no more tears and sadness, no more suffering but only true joy and happiness with God.
That is the hope with which God has strengthened us all His people, giving us hope and strength at the times when life may be at our darkest, and when the outlook of things seems to be gloomy and without hope. The Lord gave us the encouragement to go through the sufferings and difficulties by letting us all know that it is in Him and through Him alone that we will be able to gain relief and true freedom from suffering and the sorrows of this world.
And we are reminded of this fact, and also of the love of God through what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, in which we heard how the Lord ministered to the multitudes of people who came to him, seeking to listen to His teachings and His words, or to be healed from their physical and bodily complaints and illnesses, to be cared for and protected from the attacks of the evil spirits and demons.
The Lord provided for their needs, healing them from their physical issues and also as presented in the Gospel passage, fed a large multitude of them with just a few loaves of bread miraculously. Through all of these, God wants us all to see just how precious each and every one of us are to Him, and just how great His love, His compassion and His desire to be reconciled fully with us are. And we are truly fortunate to have Him as our loving God.
Yet, it is sad that in fact, it is us mankind who have often disregarded God and abandoned Him, not listening to Him and preferring to follow our own ways and ideals rather than to follow the path that God has shown us. We spurned and rejected His love and His generous offer of mercy, even when He has constantly extended His generous love to us all these while. That is why many of us have been separated and sundered from Him, and many more are not living up to their faith as they should.
This Advent, all of us are challenged to reconnect and reconcile ourselves to the Lord, renewing our commitment to love God and to be more faithful to Him, that we may truly appreciate all that He has done for us, and as a result, we will also then grow to appreciate the true significance and importance of Christmas to all of us. It is at Christmas that we celebrate how God has given such a great and ultimate gift of love to all of us, His beloved people, that He gave us all nothing less than His own Son.
It is by His entry into this world, by assuming our humble humanity and existence that God has brought us all together as His faithful ones, and by His willing and loving sacrifice, taking up all of our sins and the consequences and punishments due to our sins, He suffered and died on the Cross and because of that, we are saved. It was because of Christmas that Easter is possible, and because of that, we should truly appreciate all that God has done for us, out of His enduring love.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps today we can be inspired by the good examples of faith set by one of our dedicated predecessors, namely St. John Damascene or St. John of Damascus, one of the holy saints and priests of the Church who devoted his energy, time, effort and attention to serve the Lord to the best of his capabilities. St. John of Damascus lived through difficult times of the Church as the faithful were struck with forces from both outside and within, with pressures to abandon the teachings of the faith for other faiths and also for false teachings and heresies.
St. John of Damascus was remembered for his great role in opposing the heresy of iconoclasm in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire and Christendom, when the heretics under support from the Emperor and the secular authorities destroyed many precious and holy icons and images of the Lord and His saints, and the holy saint St. John of Damascus launched a particularly strong defence of the veneration of the saints and holy images.
This courageous and holy servant of God did not fear oppression or suffering just because he stood up for his faith as he truly trusted in the Lord and knew how much the Lord loves all those who are faithful and true to Him. St. John of Damascus did his best throughout his life to defend the true and orthodox Christian faith, becoming a paragon and example of sanctity and dedication to all of his fellow men.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to follow in the footsteps of St. John of Damascus, and also many others of our holy predecessors, saints of God? Are we able to appreciate just how much God has loved us all these while and how much He has done for our sake, that we truly should love Him in the same way? Let us all heed the great example of piety and sanctity that St. John of Damascus has shown us, and follow his examples in how we ought to live our lives with faith from now on.
May the Lord continue to guide us as we progress through this blessed season of Advent, that we may truly be able to prepare ourselves wholeheartedly to celebrate the coming of Christmas, with fullness of faith in God and love for Him. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)
Matthew 15 : 29-37
At that time, from the place where Jesus healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman, He went to the shore of Lake Galilee, and then went up into hills, where He sat down. Great crowds came to Him, bringing the dumb, the blind, the lame, the crippled, and many with other infirmities. People carried them to the feet of Jesus, and He healed them.
All were astonished when they saw the dumb speaking, the lame walking, the crippled healed, and the blind able to see; and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I am filled with compassion for these people; they have already followed Me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting, or they may faint on the way.”
His disciples said to Him, “And where shall we find enough bread in this wilderness to feed such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
Jesus ordered the people to sit on the ground. Then, He took the seven loaves and the small fish, and gave thanks to God. He broke them and gave them to His disciples, who distributed them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the leftover pieces filled seven wicker baskets.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)
Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.
He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.
You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.
Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)
Isaiah 25 : 6-10a
On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more. The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken.
On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For on this mountain the hand of YHVH rests.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the messages from the Scriptures reminding us all of the reality that being a follower of the Lord will often mean that we will encounter challenges, trials, upset, humiliation and persecution while we walk in the path of God, and we will likely face pressures and temptations to abandon our path and to walk away from the way of the Lord.
Yet, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we heard of the Lord reassurance that He would be with those who are ever faithful to Him. He will not abandon them to the darkness and neither will He allow us to face destruction. Yes, there will be challenges in our path and throughout our journey, but as long as we remain true to our faith and persevere strongly in our commitment to God, He will be faithful to us and to the Covenant He has made with us all.
In our Gospel passage today, we are reminded of the fact that God will always be by our side even though things may be difficult for us. God has always provided for us in everything that we need, giving us strength and encouragement in our most difficult moments, as He promised us the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit as He reiterated in our Gospel passage today, that His disciples do not need to worry about what they were to say or do, as the Lord Himself will guide them.
Ultimately, all these are reminders to us all that God will always triumph in the end, no matter what we the faithful had to endure in part of our daily struggles in life, as being faithful disciples of the Lord. If we keep up our hope in the Lord and remain true to Him, we will certainly not be disappointed as God Himself will be by our side, vouching for us and keeping for us the inheritance that He has kept for us.
In our first reading today, we heard yet another occasion of how God remained true to His promises and care for His faithful ones, as we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel the story of how God eventually delivered His people Israel from the hands of their oppressors, as the last Babylonian king, Belshazzar met his end and the end of his kingdom. King Belshazzar was being very disrespectful to God, as he and his nobles made use of the sacred vessels seized from the Temple of God as drinking vessels as a mockery to God.
At that very occasion, the Lord showed a great sign that would usher in the end of the great and proud kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, as God’s own hands traced the words on the wall of the palace in plain view of the king and all of his nobles, proclaiming the end of Babylon and its imminent takeover by the Persians under king Cyrus who would be the one to emancipate and free the exiles of Israel in Babylon and allowed them to return to their homeland.
And what God said through the prophet Daniel came true that very night as the Persians overthrew the rule of Belshazzar and crushed forever the ones who insulted the honour and glory of God by their wicked acts. And God was faithful to His people having atoned for their sins, remembering them at all times and brought them back to the lands which once belonged to them and their forefathers.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all therefore reminded that as Christians all of us must not be afraid to follow the Lord and to commit ourselves to Him because ultimately, God is forever faithful to the Covenant which He has established with us. He will not forget about us, but He will reward us all who remain truly faithful to Him, enduring and persevering through various trials and challenges in our journey towards Him.
Now, we are all challenged to remain truly faithful to the Lord, to take up our crosses in life and follow the Lord. Are we able to dedicate ourselves with zeal and be committed to serve the Lord’s greater glory from now on? Are we willing and able to stand up for our faith when the situation demands of it? Are we able to live our lives from now on with genuine love for God and to be witnesses of His truth at every moments of our lives?
These are the questions that we should have with us, to remind us and to strengthen us in our resolve to be faithful Christians from now on. May God be with us always and may He strengthen us and empower us in our journey, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 21 : 12-19
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison, and for My sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”
“So keep this in mind : do not worry in advance about what to say, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. But even though, because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone, not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Daniel 3 : 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
Sun and moon, praise and exalt Him forever.
Stars of heaven, praise and exalt Him forever.
Rain and dew, praise and exalt Him forever.
All winds, praise and exalt Him forever.
Fire and heat, praise and exalt Him forever.
Cold and heat, praise and exalt Him forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Daniel 5 : 1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his nobles; a thousand of them attended; and he drank wine with them. Under the influence of wine, he ordered that the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought in, so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines might drink from them.
The gold and silver vessels taken from God’s Temple were brought in; and the king and his nobles, his wives and concubines drank from them. While they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone. Suddenly a man’s fingers appeared opposite the lamp stand and wrote on the plastered wall of the king’s palace.
Watching the hand as it wrote, the king turned pale. So terrified was he that his knees knocked and his legs gave way. Daniel was brought in and questioned by the king, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father brought from Judah? I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods, that you have insight and extraordinary wisdom. I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around your neck, and be appointed third in rank in my kingdom.”
Daniel replied, “You may keep your gifts or give them to someone else. Just the same, I will read and interpret the writing for you. You have defied the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels from His Temple brought to you, and, together with your nobles, your wives and concubines, you drank wine from them. You praised the idols made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron and stones, which neither see, nor hear, nor understand; but you never glorified God Who has power over your life and all your fortunes.”
“So He sent the hand that wrote the inscription which read MENE, TEKEL, PHARSIN. And these words mean : MENE, God has numbered the days of your reign and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PHARSIN, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 