2nd Sunday of Advent – Year B
John the Baptist: the one who knew his space
One of the persons that the Liturgy of the Word during the season of Advent draws our attention to is John the Baptist. Evangelist Mark presents John the Baptist as a person who resisted the temptation to be more than himself (in fact all the Gospels): “In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, ‘After me is coming someone who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’ (Mk 1:7, 8). From the narrative of Mark, there are three qualities that stand out in John the Baptist: his simplicity, […]
Advent
Sermon for 1st Sunday in Advent – Year C Homily
They will see the Son of Man coming (Lk 21:27)
1st of Sunday of Advent – Year C
One of the advent hymns that I like most is:
We long to see thee so!
To see Thee newly-born.
We long for Christmas morn.
The sands of time run slow.
I like this hymn because it arouses in me the nostalgia for homecoming, or actually going back home. As a young boy studying in boarding school this song reminded me of the joyful time of going back home for Christmas. I remember how the sands of time ran so slow, especially just before Christmas. In the past years, especially as a priest being busy during Christmas, and as I unwrap the celebration of Christmas of its nostalgic feelings I have also begun to appreciate its spiritual depth. I am not in anyway playing down the importance of […]
4th Sunday of Advent Sermon – Year B Homily: Mary Contemplates
She “asked herself what this greeting could mean” (Lk 1:29)
Mary, a woman of contemplation
4th Sunday of Advent – Year B
As a priest it is not easy to separate your academic interests, your faith-life, and your ministry. At least I don’t find it that easy. In my current academic research for a PhD, I am studying the effect of Christian contemplative practice on recovery from addictive behaviour. Past few weeks I have been analysing the journal entries and interviews of some of the participants in the intervention-study that I conducted a few months back. The method of contemplation that I used is called ‘Jesus Prayer’ – it originated among the desert fathers and mothers in the 4th centuryEgypt, and is still very popular in the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches. It simply consists of repeating the prayer from the gospels: “Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me […]
3rd Sunday of Advent – Special Sermons
3rd Sunday of Advent – Special Sermons
The Role of Joseph in the Mystery of Incarnation
As I had said at the beginning of the Season of Advent, this year, I am sharing reflections on four persons related to the first Christmas. This, I thought, would avoid certain repetition of themes during Advent year after year. In this series, we have already reflected on Zachariah and John the Baptist. Today our reflection is on Joseph.
We are all aware of the annunciation of angel Gabriel to Mary. When we think of annunciation, we only think of the annunciation to Mary (Lk 1:26-38). It is interesting to note that there are at least two other annunciation stories in the gospels, prior to the birth of Jesus. These two stories are actually about annunciation to two men. The first is in the Gospel of […]
Sermon for the 1st Sunday in Advent – Year B Homily
1st Sunday in Advent
Zachariah, the reluctant collaborator
My four sermons for this year (2014) will focus on four personages who were part of the first advent! (CLICK HERE if you would like to see other sermons for Advent). These individuals somehow contributed to the first Christmas. And the four people that I would like us to focus on, this year, are:
1st Sunday of Advent, 2014: Zachariah, the reluctant collaborator
2nd Sunday of Advent 2014: John the Baptist, the one who knew his space
3rd Sunday of Advent, 2014: Joseph, the man of honour
4th Sunday of Advent, 2014: Mary, who waited in contemplation
How can I know this?
The Gospel according to Luke begins with the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Zachariah (Lk 1:4-23). Interestingly, the scene of this annunciation is the temple itself. For Zachariah, this […]