Mary, Mother of God, Saturday, 01-01-2022

Numbers 6:22-27 / Galatians 4:4-7 / Luke 2:16-21

Today is the eighth day of the Christmas Octave, which means that today is the last day of the Christmas Octave. 

And today is also the first day of the New Year, and so today is the day that we turn to God and ask for His blessings. 

Of course, we ask for God's blessings on the first day of the new year and we pray that all will start well and will also end well. 

As for the Church, the eighth day after a great feast has a particular meaning. 

In the gospel, Jesus and John were circumcised on the eighth day after their birth and were given their respective names. 

On the eighth day after Easter Sunday, the Risen Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples in that locked upper room. 

And the eighth day after Christmas Day, the Church honours Mary with the title “Mother of God”. 

That title reiterates the teaching that Jesus is both human and divine, and so Mary is not just the mother of Jesus but also the Mother of God. 

It was on the Cross that Jesus gave Mary to be our mother, and in honouring her as the Mother of God, we are also acknowledging that we are children of God. 

And as we begin the new year, we hold on to our Mother's hand as we look ahead. 

We look ahead with faith and hope that Jesus will be with us every day of the new year. 

The name Jesus means “God Saves” or “God is salvation”. 

So, in each day of the year ahead, we will also walk with Jesus and with Him we will see the wonderful and marvellous saving works that He will show us. 

And in each day of the year ahead, we hold on to Mother Mary's hand to pray with her and to ponder upon the saving love of God for us. 

Yes, we look ahead with hope in God's promises of His blessings, the blessings that we heard in the 1st reading: 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. 

May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. 

May the Lord and uncover His face to you and bring you peace.

Seventh Day Within the Octave of Christmas, Friday, 31-12-2021

1 John 2:18-21 / John 1:1-18    

There is this saying that "all's well that ends well".

It means to say that a person can forget about how unpleasant or difficult something was because everything ended in a good way.

As we come to the last day of the year, we may want to think about how this year has been for us.

Whatever we may want to say about this year, let us be thankful that we are able to be here to offer worship and thanksgiving to God.

Also how we started off the year may not be as that important as how we ended off the year.

But of course, to start off well and to end off well would be the most ideal.

The gospel brings us back right to the very beginning as it presents the Word, who was with God and who was God.

And the Word was made flesh and lived among us, radiating glory of God and bringing us grace and truth.

So Jesus wants us to know that He was with us when we started off the year, just as He is with us now as we end off the year.

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, He is the beginning and the end.

May we begin everything with Jesus, and will be well as we end off  everything with Jesus.

Sixth Day Within the Octave of Christmas, Thursday, 30-12-2021

1 John 1:12-17 / Luke 2:36-40

Whatever profession we are in, we would have to accomplish a related task so as to prove our competency. 

So a doctor would have treated sick patients, a lawyer would have handled a legal case, a pilot would have done some flights, etc.

To be called a prophet or prophetess, one would have at least made a prophecy.

The gospel said that there a prophetess by the name of Anna, though there was no record of any prophecies that she had made.

After becoming a widow, she resided at the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer.

And then at 84 years old, when she saw the Child Jesus, she made her, probably, one and only prophecy, when she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the coming of the Saviour.

And that one moment made her and her whole life complete.

We are reminded, through Anna, that our life has a meaning and a purpose, and it is all in God's plan.

No matter what our status or profession is, when we dedicate our lives to God, He will direct us to His purpose and we will see how wonderful the meaning of our life is.

Fifth Day Within the Octave of Christmas, Wednesday, 29-12-2021

1 John 2:3-11 / Luke 2:22-35     

When we say that something is holy, it usually means that it is considered to be special because it is connected with God and used for worship or prayer. 

When we say that a person is holy, what are the characteristics or traits of that person?

We can say that the person is in union with God by his way of life.

As the 1st reading puts it: that person obeys God and God's love comes to perfection in him.

The gospel mentions of a particular holy person, and he is Simeon. 

Simeon was an upright and devout man. And more than that, the Holy Spirit rested on him.

And the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not see death until he has set eyes on the Christ of the Lord.

And it was upon the Holy Spirit's prompting that Simeon went to the Temple that day and his eyes finally saw the Saviour and he was ready to go in peace.

As we strive to obey the Lord's commands and live upright and devout lives, the Holy Spirit will reveal God's plan for us. 

And like Mary, even when the sword of sorrow pierces our hearts, we will still be faithful to God and we will be at peace to accept God's will for us.

Holy Innocents, Martyrs, Tuesday, 28-12-2021

1 John 1:5 - 2:2 / Matthew 2:13-18      

A civilised society is judged by the way it treats the weakest and lowest members.

In other words, a civilised society is only as strong as its weakest link, and only as intelligent as its most ignorant.

And if a civilised society not only does not protect its weakest and lowest members, but even persecutes and harms them, that society is barbaric and so are its leaders.

In the gospel, we heard of that king Herod who was paranoid about the infant king of the Jesus, and he was also furious when he realised that he was outwitted by the wise men.

And then he did the unimaginable, and that was ordering all the male infants who were two years and under to be massacred.

With that kind of atrocity coming from a king, it only goes to show how barbaric he was, and the same could be said for those who carried out his orders.

The feast of the Holy Innocents reiterates the code of a civilised society that the innocent, the weak and lowly are to be respected and protected.

Any violation against them is a violation against the authority of God.

Let us always respect and protect the innocent, the weak and the lowly, for how we treat them reflects our true human values. 

St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, Monday, 27-12-2021

1 John 1:1-4 / John 20:2-8           

The gospel of John reached its final form around AD 90–110, and it is the fourth of the four gospels.

The purpose of this gospel, as stated by John himself, is to show that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the Son of God, and that believers in Him might have eternal life.

St. John is often identified as the disciple that Jesus loved, and in the gospel of today, he went into the empty tomb, he saw and he believed.

It was then that he believed that Jesus has risen from the dead, and that Jesus is truly Lord and God.

The gospel of John was written so that we too might come to believe in the Risen Christ and be saved.

In another part of the gospel of John, Jesus was quoted as saying that blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

Hence we walk in faith and not so much by sight, and it is by faith that we believe that Jesus is the Risen Lord and our divine Saviour.

And it is also by faith that we live our lives in Christ and to see everything with the eyes of faith.

May our lives be a reflection of the Risen Christ, and may others come to believe in Jesus by the way we live our lives.

Holy Family, Year C, 26.12.2021

Eccelisiasticus 3:2-6, 12-14 / Colossians 3:12-21 / Luke 2:41-52

By now, the Nativity set would have been fully laid out, except for the figures of the three wise men who will make their appearance at the Feast of the Epiphany. 

The Nativity set that we see in church will have all the representations as told in the Christmas story. 

So that is the Baby Jesus lying in the manger or Crib, there is Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the sheep, as well as a donkey and a cow. 

All the figures are in perfect condition and intact, with no chips or cracks here and there. 

This is the one and only Nativity set that we have that is considered fitting for public display and we really have to handle it with care. 

But somewhere in the storeroom, there are at least two incomplete Nativity sets that may not be that appropriate for public display. 

That is either because some of the figures are missing, or that some of the figures have chips and cracks here and there. 

Obviously, we can't mix and match those figures together to make up a Nativity set. Somehow it is not appropriate. 

Because what we would like to see is a perfect and intact Nativity set. At least a set that is appropriate for public display. 

But the reality of life is not so perfect or intact. In fact, there are chips and cracks, and even breaks and fractures. 

Today, as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, the gospel account gives a rather tense moment in the life of the Holy Family. 

After a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, the boy Jesus stayed behind without His parents knowing it. 

And when they found Him three days later, Mary was emotional as she said, “My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.” 

The reply of the boy Jesus was neither that comforting or consoling, and Mary and Joseph also did not understand what He meant, and we could almost sense that it was heading towards a parent-and-child argument. 

But nothing more was said, and Jesus went back with Mary and Joseph and lived under their authority. 

Jesus showed that even though He was the Son of God, He respected and subjected Himself to the authority of Mary and Joseph. 

Jesus lived out the commands of God that is found in the 1st reading, by honouring Joseph and upholding the rights of Mary over Him. 

Jesus is teaching us through this incident in the gospel, that obedience to His parents is also obedience to God His father. 

And as a family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph showed us how to bear with one another as the 2nd reading tells us. 

In going for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they showed that they are a devout and prayful family, and as it is said, a family that prays together stays together. 

But as it happened even to the Holy Family, we too in our own family will have disagreements and also get into each other's way. 

But family is about love and forgiveness, and that can only be possible with family prayer. 

May Mary and Joseph pray for us and our families, and may the love of Jesus be in our homes and may He grant us His peace and His joy to live like the Holy Family.