Wednesday

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Wednesday, 25 December 2024 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Midnight Mass (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 9 : 1-7

The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death. You have enlarged the nation; You have increased their joy. They rejoice before You, as people rejoice at harvest time as they rejoice in dividing the spoil.

For the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors, You have broken it as on the day of Midian. Every warrior’s boot that tramped in war, every cloak rolled in blood, will be thrown out for burning, will serve as fuel for the fire.

For a Child is born to us, a Son is given us; the royal ornament is laid upon His shoulder, and His Name is proclaimed : “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

To the increase of His powerful rule in peace, there will be no end. Vast will be His dominion, He will reign on David’s throne and over all his kingdom, to establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forever. The zealous love of YHVH Sabaoth will do this.

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Wednesday, 18 December 2024 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures and as we continue to move ever closer towards the joyous time of Christmas, we are reminded ever more of everything that the Lord had done for our sake, His beloved ones, as He sent unto us all His Beloved Son, to be our Saviour and Redeemer, freeing us from the chains of sin and death that have afflicted us and prevented us from finding our way back to Him. God has always been ever patient in loving us and in showing us the way to Himself so that we may not be lost forever to Him, but we may be rescued and reunited with Him once again, through everything that He has done for our sake by His Son and all that He showed us, a pure love that has been manifested in our midst.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, we heard of the Lord reassuring His people with the words of comfort and faithfulness, reminding them that He will send to them His deliverance through the House of David, the prophecy of the Messiah that would restore everything to the people of God, bringing them once again to His righteousness and loving embrace, and breaking them free from the bondage to sin, while referring to what He had once done through the liberation of their ancestors in the days of the Exodus from Egypt. The Lord told all of His people how they would remember Him no longer by what He had done in the earlier case, but in what He has done henceforth, in bringing them all free from the bondage to evil and sin, leading them all to eternal life and true happiness with Him.

And that is exactly what the Lord had done with all of us through the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, to bring us all from the slavery to sin and evil, just as He had brought His first chosen people the Israelites out from the slavery in Egypt to the Egyptians and their Pharaoh. That time when the Lord brought His people, the Israelites out of the land of Egypt it was in fact a premonition and precursor of the far greater deed that He would do later on, in freeing not just the select few among mankind to bring them out of their physical slavery to freedom, but He would lead all of mankind to the liberation and freedom through His Son, opening the path to the eternal life and true happiness with Him, just as He had brought and led His people to the Promised Land earlier on.

He also made and renewed the Covenant which He had once made with His people, and this time, it would be an Eternal and unbreakable Covenant, sealed not by the blood of animals and sacrificial offerings, but by the very Blood of the Lamb of God, the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ Himself, Who would go on to offer Himself on the Altar of the Cross. Through His most loving sacrifice, the Lord our Saviour has restored us and redeemed us from our many sins and mistakes, His Precious Blood having purchased the price of our redemption, much as how the blood of the unblemished lamb in Egypt had allowed the Israelites to escape the final plague of death while the Egyptians suffered from it. Through the new Christian Passover, the Lord has liberated us all from certain death and destruction, by the power of His loving and ultimate sacrifice.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of how St. Joseph and Mary came together at the time when the Lord was conceived in the womb of Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit and by the will of the Father. At that time, St. Joseph was betrothed to Mary, but he found out as mentioned in the passage that Mary was with Child, not knowing earlier on that the Child was truly the Saviour, the Son of God incarnate in the flesh. Yet, we heard how St. Joseph was truly an upright and just man, who considered carefully what he was about to do, as it was quite obvious that St. Joseph also trusted Mary, knowing her and how upright and virtuous she was, that it was also impossible for her to have any extramarital relationships with another man before her marriage. If a woman were to be known to have such an affair, the punishment for that was being stoned to death, and it was likely that St. Joseph wanted Mary to avoid that fate.

Then we heard how God sent His Angel to tell St. Joseph in his dream that the Child inside the womb of Mary is none other than the Son of God Himself, the One Who was promised to the world, the Saviour of all, and it was truly by God’s will that Mary had borne this Child. The Angel strengthened and reassured St. Joseph, who faithfully and willingly bore the part that he was to play in becoming the foster father of Our Lord and Saviour, the father figure of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the protector of the Holy Child, caring and taking care of the Lord when He was still young, being His foster father and teacher, teaching Him about the necessary skills and wisdom of the world as He was growing up in Nazareth before His ministry among the people of God.

This link to St. Joseph was highlighted to us in our Gospel passage today to remind us all that Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour is truly the One promised by God, the Son and Heir of David Who had been sent into this world in order to save it from destruction, leading us all from the edge of damnation and back into the path towards eternal life. This is because St. Joseph according to his genealogy was the senior heir of King David by descent from him, and by the order of succession in the ancient Israelite kingship, and hence, by his legal fatherhood as the husband of Mary, the Mother of Our Lord Jesus, this made the Lord Jesus to be the legitimate Heir of David, and hence, the fulfilment of all the prophecies that God had made to His people about the coming of His salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to uphold this faith which all of us should have in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the One Whose coming into this world we are about to celebrate this upcoming Christmas season. Let us all as Christians be good role models in how we live our lives so that by our every actions, words and deeds, and by how we prepare our Christmas festivities and celebrations, we will always put Christ at the centre of all things and place Him at the heart of everything that we say and do. Let us all be good inspiration to everyone around us and be the good and worthy bearers of God’s light, hope and truth to all, to bear forth the Good News of God to everyone we encounter in each and every moments of our lives.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us in our Advent journey and preparations so that all of us may find this time fruitful and meaningful in helping us to centre our focus and attention once again to the Lord in this coming joyful season and time of Christmas. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 December 2024 : 3rd Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 1 : 18-24

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, she has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ fo He will save His people from their sins.”

All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet : The Virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means : God-with-us. When Joseph awoke, he did what the Angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.

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Wednesday, 18 December 2024 : 3rd Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 71 : 1-2, 12-13, 18-19

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.

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.

Praised be YHVH, God of Israel, Who alone, works so marvellously. Praised be His glorious Name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 December 2024 : 3rd Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 23 : 5-8

YHVH further says, “The day is coming when I will raise up a King Who is David’s righteous successor. He will rule wisely and govern with justice and righteousness. That will be a grandiose era when Judah will enjoy peace and Israel will live in safety. He will be called YHVH-Our-Justice!”

“The days are coming,” says YHVH, “when people shall no longer swear by YHVH as the Living God Who freed the people of Israel from the land of Egypt. Rather, they will swear by YHVH as the Living God Who restored the descendants of Israel from the northern empire and from all the lands where He had driven them, to live again in their own land!”

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Scriptures, we are all reminded that God is the source of our Hope, comfort and joy, and it is in Him alone that we shall find true satisfaction and liberation from our many troubles and challenges, difficulties and hurdles in life. Unfortunately many of us often do not realise this and we do not perceive His love and compassion for us enough, and many of us sought comfort and satisfaction in worldly things instead of putting our trust and faith in God. This is why we are reminded through these readings from the Scriptures so that we do not end up going down the wrong path in life and seek the false pleasures and satisfactions that came not from God but from the evil ones.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord through Isaiah in which He lamented how the people had not realised that they had been taken care of, given attention and help by the Lord all the way at that time, and yet, those people still complained and refused to believe in Him whenever He gave them His help, love and providence. They often hardened their hearts and minds, and closed them off to the Lord, Who had often come to them offering His help and guidance. And yet, the Lord still patiently cared for them and loved them even as He constantly chastised them for their sins and wickedness, like a loving Father who cared for his children while disciplining them.

The Lord has repeatedly shown His love and kindness to His people, that even though they had always been rebellious and stubborn in their attitudes and ways, but He has never given up on them. Instead, He kept on sending them His messengers and guides, the prophets and many others to help them to find their way back towards Him. He reassured all of them that despite all the sufferings and difficulties that they might be facing, but His might, power and love transcend and surpass all those challenges and trials. As long as they remain firm in their faith in Him and put their faith in Him then He will provide for them, bless them and strengthen them, and they shall share in His glorious promise and inheritance, all the good and wonderful things that He had intended for them.

In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of reassurance from the Lord Jesus to His disciples and all of us, that all of us can come to Him and we will have rest in Him. He offers us all a yoke that is lighter and more manageable than the yoke of the world. Truly, this is just as what I had just mentioned earlier, how God is truly like a loving Father Who truly cares for all of us His beloved children. Each and every one of us are precious to Him, and that was why He sent to us all His beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour so that through Him we may see and witness His love manifested to us in the flesh, in Christ, Who is tangible and approachable by us all.

And the Lord’s words are important reminders for all of us that as Christians we must also be prepared to expect challenges and hardships, difficulties and obstacles in our path. That is why the Lord referred to the presence of His yoke, which is lighter than that of the yoke of the world. If we become Christians and expecting that we will have good and smooth, easy and comfortable lives, then we may be easily disappointed once we realise that there are likely plenty of challenges, oppositions and labours that we may have to endure throughout our lives and journeys as God’s faithful people. In fact, the more committed we are to the Lord’s path, the chances are that we may encounter even more challenges and difficulties in our journey because this world that has been corrupted by sin and evil, it will be in opposition to the Lord and His righteous path.

However, we must remember that we do not go through this path and journey alone. The Lord is always by our side, guiding and helping us whenever we need His help and guidance, and He will never abandon or leave us alone in our time of greatest need. We may indeed have to suffer and endure hardships, but in the end, we will be triumphant with God and He shall justify us all and bring us all into the true happiness and everlasting glory that we have been promised. In fact, His yoke is indeed lighter and better for us not because it may seem to be easier or less challenging, but rather because it does not lead us into the path towards downfall and eternal damnation. As a comparison, the alternative paths offered by the world may seem to be easier and better, lighter and less challenging, but they give us false hope and delude us into this path of darkness.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Damasus I, one of the Popes of the early Church. Pope St. Damasus I was the leader of the Universal Church as the Pope and Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff in the middle of the fourth century. Pope St. Damasus I was born into a family of a priest in Rome and that eventually inspired and led him to be a priest in turn, rising up to the position of the Archdeacon of Rome under Pope Liberius and when the latter was exiled by the Roman Emperor, it was the future Pope St. Damasus I that helped to take care of the governance and the issues of the Roman Church. Later on, he was elected as Pope to succeed Pope Liberius after the Pope’s death, during a time of strive in the Church. 

At that time, he had to contend with rival claimant and candidate to the Papacy, a popular deacon named Ursinus who became an Antipope for a short time and whose supporters and Ursinus himself continued to oppose Pope St. Damasus I’s election as Pope. Nonetheless, despite the challenges and the difficulties that Pope St. Damasus I had to face, he managed to gain a lot of important achievements in successfully navigating the Church through the difficult period at that time filled with divisions within the Church and conflicts, opposing quite a number of serious heresies that affected many in the Church such as Arianism, Apollinarianism, Macedonianism and many others. He also led the Church courageously through such difficult moments and helped many people to remain strong and firm in their faith.

The great examples shown by Pope St. Damasus I should inspire each and every one of us in our own faith in God, and remembering how even this great servant of God had suffered and endured many challenges in the midst of his ministry throughout his years in service to the Lord, as priest, archdeacon and then as Pope and leader of the Universal Church. He remained firmly faithful to the Lord and did not allow all those difficulties and challenges to stop or dissuade him from continuing to do what God had entrusted to him, and he continued to serve the Lord ever more faithfully in his ministry. This is something that we all as Christians should be doing as well. And therefore, let us all reflect upon these and discern carefully our path forward in our respective lives.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to help and bless us, and strengthen us all with the courage and inspiration to continue to do what He has entrusted to us to do. May He continue to love us all and patiently lead us all into His embrace, that we may be always firmly faithful in Him despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to endure in our journey towards Him. Let our actions and efforts continue to be good examples and inspiration for one another to follow, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

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.”

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Psalm)

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.

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (First Reading)

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.

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Wednesday, 4 December 2024 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all continue to progress through this blessed time and season of Advent, and as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are reminded of God’s providence and love for each and every one of us, how He has always been truly generous towards us, providing us all that we needed and guiding us all patiently and lovingly despite our constant stubborn attitude against Him, our refusal to follow His path faithfully and our waywardness in embracing the temptations, evils and sins of this world rather than to trust in Him. God has always shown us all His love, and He has given us all many opportunities and means for us to reach out to Him. What is left for us to do is to answer His call and to turn away from our sinful ways.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God spoke to His people in the southern kingdom of Judah giving them His reassurance and promises, reminding them of the love and faithfulness which He has always had for them all despite their constant rebelliousness and disobedience against Him. At that time, as I have mentioned earlier this week the people of Judah wre already in dire straits, surrounded by hostile neighbours and enemies, and having their fellow brethren from the northern kingdom of Israel having been defeated, conquered and exiled by the mighty Assyrians. And during that period, the same Assyrians were also threatening Judah and Jerusalem itself, which truly did not bring about any good prospects for the people in Judah and Jerusalem for sure.

And yet, while God often chastised His people and warned them of the impending destruction and ruin if they continued to disobey Him and if they kept on following the false gods and pagan idols instead of obeying His Law and commandments through HIs prophet including that of Isaiah, God also reminded all of the people that ultimately, He still loved them all and cared for them, and wanted them all to be reconciled and reunited with Him. And there is nothing that He spared from the details just as we have heard in our first reading passage today, how God truly reassured His people that everything will be truly good and wonderful when the Lord comes to gather all of His beloved ones, to bless them and to bring them all into His Holy Presence once again, truly a great light and hope amidst all the darkness of the world.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the account of the famous miracle of the Lord in feeding the multitude of many thousands who were assembled there to listen to His teachings and were hungry. The Lord as mentioned in that Gospel passage showed compassion and care for His people, those who have come flocking to Him to listen to His words, as they all still had physical needs for food and sustenance, and He did not want them to go hungry just as they all came to Him seeking His wisdom and truth. Hence, He asked His disciples about the way how they could feed all those multitudes of people despite having known of what He would do for the sake of all those people.

The Lord took the seven loaves of bread and some small fishes that were available there, and prayed over them, and miraculously, He multiplied all of that small quantities of food so that there was enough food for all the thousands of people to share and have until they were all full, and even still with seven wicker baskets full worth of extra food were gathered by the disciples and the people. Through this miraculous occasion, the Lord wanted to remind us all, His beloved people that His love for us is so great that it surpasses even our disobedience and sins. Nothing can truly separate us from the love and mercy of God unless it is we ourselves who have consciously and repeatedly rejected His love and mercy, compassion and kindness. It is by our sins that we have been condemned, and not God Who desires our destruction and damnation.

This is why we are all reminded today as we continue to progress through this blessed time and season of Advent that we should not lose hope in the Lord because He has indeed been truly kind and compassionate towards us, ever always doing all that He can in order to save us all and to lead us into His light and grace once again. We must remind ourselves to keep our focus and attention in life to the Lord, so that we do not end up falling again and again into the path of evil, corruption and sin. Hence, we should spend this time and opportunity provided for us this Advent well so that we may always come ever closer to the Lord and His salvation. We must remind each other of the wonderful grace and mercy of God, and allow ourselves to be guided by Him in our journey towards righteousness and God’s grace.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. John Damascene, also known as St. John of Damascus, a great and renowned servant of God who was a monk and priest living in what is today Syria and then the Holy Land, where he spent many years of his life as a monk in a monastery near Jerusalem. He was born into a family of prominent Roman or Byzantine official, during the time when the region came under the rule of the Arab Muslim rulers. However, the family of St. John Damascene remained prominent even in the service of the new rulers and the young St. John grew well-educated and prepared for the world. Eventually he decided on joining the religious life and priesthood, becoming a monk and priest, devoting himself to the Lord henceforth.

At that time, the Christian world was also being divided among themselves especially with regards to the heresy of iconoclasm that was then promoted even by the Roman Emperors and the powerful nobles of the Empire, which affected many parts of Christendom. This false teaching and heresy believed that the veneration of holy icons and images were idolatrous and hence many of those who supported the iconoclastic heresy destroyed the holy icons, images and others they encountered. St. John of Damascus was one of the Church fathers that opposed strongly this false teaching and courageously wrote theses and other works supporting the veneration of icons, as well as on many other topics about the Christian faith. He remained firm in his faith and dedication to God to the end of his life, but his legacy and works continue to inspire many others even afterwards.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great faith and dedication showed by our holy predecessor, St. John Damascene, so that we ourselves may live our lives ever more faithfully as Christians in each and every moments of our lives. And let us all continue to hold strongly to the hope that we have in the Lord, our God and Saviour, Whose love for us has endured all these while. May the Lord also continue to help and guide us all in our journey throughout our lives so that by our commitment to Him and by our own exemplary lives and faith, we may be truly worthy of the Lord and His saving grace, now and always, forevermore. Amen.