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2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A, 4 December 2022

Note: Homilies & Angelus / Regina Caeli of Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I had been compiled for you after the Mass Readings below. Happy Reading!

Liturgical Colour: Violet

 

Mass Readings from ETWN, USCCB, Universalis.

See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-334. 8-)

First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10,

Responsorial: Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17,

2nd Reading: Romans 15:4-9 &

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12, CCTNtv

 

Others:

Matthew Chapter 3 (video)

Thinking of You this Christmas (Full Album)

 

Please refer to https://twitter.com/Michael65413248 for some latest record. Take care, put on your facemask and stay healthy, because we love you! 8-)

COVID-19 Protection in Singapore.

How to take good care of your cute elderly at home so that they are protected from COVID, remain healthy and you won’t get worried or distressed?

 

1. Criminal Investigation Department, Singapore Police Force harassed Law-abiding Citizen.

Latest! https://twitter.com/Michael65413248/status/1510086218851270658 (2 April 2022)

#Singapore Police Force harassing the same law abiding business owner again from 92298844, 97397514, 83487591, 96645914, 63914706, 82825465, 97378102, 90360045, 92981234! They can’t perform to contain COVID, so they bully to appear busy? Shameless? You decide!

2. See another Police case to frame against the Innocent!

Please spread the News to help them who commit no crime. Many Thanks.

Till this day, the harassment continues and there is no apology from the Rulers and no compensation paid for damages inflicted.

3.  See the Bloggers went MISSING before / after the Singapore General Election on 10 July 2020. Please pray for their safety as we search for them actively. Many Thanks.

4. Please pray for this elderly Catholic Lady who has been victimised & harassed by her sister (also a Catholic) & her sister’s husband. Thanks.

5. Do you want this kind of “pastoral care”?

 

Homilies, Angelus / Regina Caeli

 

A. Pope Saint John Paul II    

 

Homily, 6 December 1998

See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-335. 8-)

 

Angelus, 6 December 1998 

1. On 15 October last the Encyclical Fides et ratio was published. It is addressed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church and deals with themes that are of particular interest to those involved in philosophy and theology. But the basic theme concerns everyone. For this reason, today and on the Sundays to come I will consider several of its important aspects.

 

The Encyclical, as you know, concerns the relationship between faith and reason. But in the last analysis, what is at stake is truth, which both are called to serve.

In this regard, we must first of all stress that the search for truth represents an inescapable and defining requirement of the human being.

 

As long as he has had the use of reason, man has been a being who questions himself. We know how many "whys" sometimes serious and embarrassing are asked by children. Some questions arise from curiosity or the need to solve specific problems. The deeper questions stem from the wonder man experiences at the mystery of himself and of all creation. Often they come from pain. They always express an awareness of his own limits and the effort to overcome them.

 

2. We live in an era when the quantity and speed of information are increasing phenomenally. The risk is that the dizzying flow of news about so many things will stifle questions about the crucial issues of life. "Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life?" (Fides et ratio, n. 1). These questions have always been at the centre of attention for philosophy and religion: in this regard we recall the famous admonition "Know yourself", carved on the temple portal at Delphi.

 

In fact, it is precisely when he looks ardently and in the right direction for the answer to these fundamental questions that the human being shows he is "wise". Philosophy, whose precise meaning is "love of wisdom", is rooted in this fundamental quest. Faith, for its part, does not fear but rather encourages this exercise of reason. I wrote in the Introduction to the Encyclical: "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth".

 

3. Dear brothers and sisters, let us look to Blessed Mary, the sublime model of the search for truth. Mother of the One who is wisdom itself, her life was a pilgrimage from one demanding question to another, through which her reason was opened to the light of faith. May she help us not to avoid the questions that really matter, those decisive for our life. After reciting the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted some of the groups in St Peter's Square.

Pope Saint John Paul II (Angelus, 6 December 1998)

 

Angelus, 9 December 2001

See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-335. 8-)

 

Angelus, 5 December 2004

See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-335. 8-)

 

B. Pope Benedict XVI  

 

Angelus, 9 December 2007

See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-336. 8-)

 

Angelus, 5 December 2010

See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-336. 8-)

 

C. Pope Francis I  

 

Angelus, 8 December 2013

See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-337. 8-)

 

Angelus, 4 December 2016

In the Gospel given this second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist’s invitation resounds: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). With these very words, Jesus begins his mission in Galilee (cf. Matthew 4:17); and such will also be the message that the disciples must bring on their first missionary experience (cf. Matthew 10:7). Matthew the evangelist would like to present John as the one who prepares the way of the coming Christ, as well as the disciples as followers, as Jesus preached. It is a matter of the same joyful message: the kingdom of God is at hand! It is near, and it is in us! These words are very important: “The kingdom of God is in our midst!”, Jesus says. And John announces what Jesus will say later: “The kingdom of God is at hand, it has arrived, and is in your midst”. This is the central message of every Christian mission. When a missionary goes, a Christian goes to proclaim Jesus, not to proselytize, as if he were a fan trying to drum up new supporters for his team. No, he goes simply to proclaim: “The kingdom of God is in our midst!”. And in this way, the missionaries prepare the path for Jesus to encounter the people.

 

But what is this kingdom of God, this kingdom of heaven? They are synonymous. We think immediately of the afterlife: eternal life. Of course this is true, the kingdom of God will extend without limit beyond earthly life, but the good news that Jesus brings us — and that John predicts — is that we do not need to wait for the kingdom of God in the future: it is at hand. In some way it is already present and we may experience spiritual power from now on. “The kingdom of God is in your midst!”, Jesus will say. God comes to establish his lordship in our history, today, every day, in our life; and there — where it is welcomed with faith and humility — love, joy and peace blossom.

 

The condition for entering and being a part of this kingdom is to implement a change in our life, which is to  convert, to convert every day, to take a step forward each day. It is a question of leaving behind the comfortable but misleading ways of the idols of this world: success at all costs; power to the detriment of the weak; the desire for wealth; pleasure at any price. And instead, preparing the way of the Lord: this does not take away our freedom, but gives us true happiness. With the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, it is God himself who abides among us to free us from self interest, sin and corruption, from these manners of the devil: seeking success at all costs; seeking power to the detriment of the weak; having the desire for wealth; seeking pleasure at any price.

 

Christmas is a day of great joy, even external, but above all, it is a religious event for which a spiritual preparation is necessary. In this season of Advent, let us be guided by the Baptist’s exhortation: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!”, he tells us (v. 3). We prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight when we examine our conscience, when we scrutinize our attitudes, in order to eliminate these sinful manners that I mentioned, which are not from God: success at all costs; power to the detriment of the weak; the desire for wealth; pleasure at any price.

 

May the Virgin Mary help us to prepare ourselves for the encounter with this ever greater Love, which is what Jesus brings and which, on Christmas night, becomes very very small, like a seed fallen on the soil. And Jesus is this seed: the seed of the kingdom of God.

Pope Francis I (Angelus, 4 December 2016)

 

Important Note: This Vatican web was found to be down starting from 2 December 2022, 15:00 SGT. All the hyperlinks connected to the Homilies, Angelus/Regina Caeli and Audiences only display “404 Not Found, nginx/1.22.0”.

 

Angelus, 8 December 2019

Angelus Video, Text, Text.

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we celebrate the solemnity of Mary Immaculate, which is situated in the context of Advent, a time of expectation: God will accomplish what He promised. But on today’s feast day we are told that something has already been done, in the person and the life of the Virgin Mary. Today we consider the beginning of this fulfilment, which is even before the birth of the Mother of the Lord. In fact, her immaculate conception leads us to that precise moment in which Mary’s life began to palpitate in her mother’s womb: already there was the sanctifying love of God, preserving it from the contagion of evil that is the common inheritance of the human family.

 

In today’s Gospel the Angel’s greeting to Mary resounds: “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). God has always thought of her and wanted her, in His inscrutable plan, to be a creature full of grace, that is, full of His love. But to be filled it is necessary to make room, to empty oneself, to step aside. Just as Mary did, she who knew how to listen to the Word of God and trust totally in His will, accepting it unreservedly in her own life. So much so that the Word became flesh in her. This was possible thanks to her “yes”. To the Angel who asks her to be ready to become the mother of Jesus, Mary replies: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (v. 38).

 

Mary does not lose herself in reasoning, she does not place obstacles in the Lord’s way, but she promptly entrusts herself and leaves room for the action of the Holy Spirit. He immediately makes his whole being and his personal history available to God, so that the Word and the will of God may shape and bring them to fulfilment. Thus, perfectly corresponding to God’s plan for her, Mary becomes the “all beautiful”, the “all holy”, but without the slightest shadow of complacency. She is humble. She is a masterpiece, but remaining humble, small, poor. In her is reflected the beauty of God Who is all love, grace, gift of self.

 

I also like to underline the word with which Mary defines herself in her surrender to God: she professes herself “the handmaid of the Lord”. Mary’s “yes” to God assumes from the beginning the attitude of service, of attention to the needs of others. This is testified concretely by the fact of the visit to Elizabeth, which immediately follows the Annunciation. availability to God is found in willingness to take on the needs of one’s neighbour. All this without clamour and ostentation, without seeking places of honour, without advertising, because charity and works of mercy do not need to be exhibited as a trophy. The works of mercy are done in silence, in secret, without boasting of doing them. Even in our communities, we are called to follow the example of Mary, practicing the style of discretion and concealment.

 

May the feast of our Mother help us to make our whole life a “yes” to God, a “yes” made of adoration of Him and of daily gestures of love and service.

Pope Francis I (Angelus, 8 December 2019)

 

Angelus, 4 December 2022

Angelus Video, Video (American Sign Language), Text.

Extracts:

Today, the Second Sunday of Advent, the Gospel for the Liturgy presents the figure of John the Baptist. The text says that John “wore a garment of camel’s hair”, that “his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4), and that he was inviting everyone to conversion. And he was saying this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (v. 2) And he was preaching the nearness of the Kingdom…

 

In reality, the Baptist, more than being a harsh man, is a man who is allergic to duplicity. Listen well to this: allergic to duplicity. For example, when the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were known for their hypocrisy, approach him, his “allergic reaction” is quite strong! In fact, some of them probably went to him out of curiosity or to gain something because John had become quite popular. These Pharisees and Sadducees believed they had it all together and, faced with the Baptist’s blunt appeal, justified themselves, saying: “We have Abraham as our father” (v. 9). Thus, due to duplicity and presumption, they did not welcome the moment of grace, the opportunity to begin a new life. They were closed in the presumption of being right. So, John tells them, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance!” (v. 8) This is a cry of love, like the cry of a father who sees his son ruining himself and says to him, “Don’t throw your life away!” In essence, dear brothers and sisters, hypocrisy is the greatest danger because it can even ruin the most sacred realities. Hypocrisy is a serious danger. This is why the Baptist – as Jesus would be later – is harsh with hypocrites. We can read, for example, the 23rd chapter of Matthew (video, NRSVCE, NIV, NIV audio) where Jesus speaks really strongly to the hypocrites of that time. And why do the Baptist as well as Jesus do this? To shake them up. Instead, those who sensed they were sinners went “out to him [John], and they were baptized by him, confessing their sins” (v. 5). Therefore, bravura is not important to welcome God, humility is. This is the path to welcome God. Not bravura – “We’re strong, We are great people!” No, no. Humility. I am a sinner. But not in the abstract, no – “because of this and this and this”. Each of us needs to confess our own sins, our own failings, our own hypocrisy. It requires getting off the pedestal and being immersed in the water of repentance.

 

…We forget that in one case is it legitimate to look down on someone else: when it is necessary to help them get up. This is the only case; the others are not legitimate. Advent is a moment of grace to take off our masks – every one of us has them – and line up with those who are humble, to be liberated from the presumption of the belief of being self-sufficient, to go to confess our sins, the hidden ones, and to welcome God’s pardon, to ask forgiveness from those whom we have offended. This is how to begin a new life. There is only one way, the way of humility – to be purified from the sense of superiority, from formalism and hypocrisy, to see ourselves, along with our brothers and sisters, as sinners, and to see Jesus as the Saviour who comes for us, not for the others, for us, just as we are, with our poverty, misery and failings, above all with our need to be raised up, forgiven and saved.

Pope Francis I (Angelus, 4 December 2022)

 

Daily Blessings to You from Emmanuel Goh & Friends

 

Note: This webpage has many hyperlinks to the Vatican Webpage. The above extracts were compiled for your easy reading.

This Publication is aimed to encourage all of Goodwill around the World. It is not for business or profit purposes but it is our way to thank our Creator for His continuous blessings!

 

Compiled on 30 November 2019, 20:00 SGT

Last updated : 4 December 2022, 23:38 SGT

 

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