We all know why Jesus came to earth. He came to redeem the fallen world, to pay the price for our sins, to lead every member of the human family back into friendship with God. We all know that, and we don't usually forget about it.

But we do sometimes forget that Jesus doesn't want to do all the work himself. As St Augustine used to say, although God created us without us, he won't save us without us.

In other words, he has chosen to accomplish his mission of salvation with our cooperation. Every one of us, since the moment of our baptism, has been called by God to be co-missionaries with Jesus Christ.

This is why, in today's First Reading, the prophet Isaiah hears God ask the question: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" God wants us to participate in his mission of salvation. He gives us a chance to join him in building up the eternal Kingdom. All we have to do is say, with Isaiah, "Here I am! Send me!"

The encounter between Jesus and his first Apostles in today's Gospel gives us the same message. First, Jesus asks Peter to lend him his boat, so that he can have a better podium for addressing the huge crowds. That boat was Peter's livelihood, his life.

Jesus also wants to speak to the desperate, discouraged crowds of today's world from our boats, from the words, deeds, and example of our lives. And then, after the miraculous catch of fish, Jesus invites Peter to follow him and become "fishers of men," co-missionaries.

Christ's mission is to save the world, but he is no Lone Ranger; he has chosen to depend on a volunteer army of co-missionaries – Peter, James, John, and each and every one of us.

This is one of the reasons that we call the Church "apostolic" when we recite the creed.The word "apostle" comes from the Greek for "to be sent out." The first Twelve Apostles were sent out into the world as Jesus' co-missionaries. But they weren't the only ones; the whole Church, us included, is apostolic. Here's how the Catechism explains it:

863 The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth."

Key Requirement for the Mission: Humility

Why did Jesus choose to require co-missionaries to save the world? Not because the job was too much for him; after all, as God he is all-powerful. Rather, because he knew that we needed a mission, a purpose in life that reaches behind the fleetingness of earthly life and plugs us into eternity.

He knows we need a transcendent meaning, because that's how he designed us when he created us "in his own image." We will only find fulfilment if we accept this invitation to be active co-missionaries in the service of Christ's eternal Kingdom. Most of us here today have already accepted the invitation. But we may not be as fully engaged in the mission as we should be. And if that's the case, we may not be experiencing to the full the meaning God wants us to experience.

What could be holding us back? It could be that the key ingredient for our calling to be Christ's co-missionaries is in low supply. That ingredient is humility.

Isaiah only heard God's call and received the grace to accept it after he recognized that by himself, he was unworthy to do so, that he was a man of "unclean lips."

Peter only understood Christ's call and received the courage to follow it after he discovered and admitted his own sinfulness: "Depart from me!" he told the Lord after the miraculous catch, "because I am a sinful man."

And in today's Second Reading, St Paul shows that he too had to learn the lesson of humility: "I am not fit to be called an apostle," he admitted, but then added "by the grace of God I am what I am."

That same grace of God will come to us in this Mass, and it can transform our lives too, in spite of all our limitations – if we are willing to let it. 

We have just heard some of the most beautiful words in all of Sacred Scripture. God spoke to them to the prophet Jeremiah more than two thousand years ago, but that same God – our Lord – made sure that they weren't forgotten when Jeremiah died.

He inspired the sacred writer to record them for all time. He wanted to make sure that we would hear those same words spoken to us, twenty-five centuries later.

That's what the Bible is, remember: God's inspired and living word, meant to enlighten, encourage, and strengthen each one of us in every situation of our lives. And if we let these incredible words really penetrate our hearts today, that's exactly what will happen.

Which words am I referring to?

These: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you."

Let us read them again, pausing after the word "you," so that each of us can insert there our first name, because that's how God wants us to hear these words: "Before I formed you [pause] in the womb I knew you [pause], before you [pause] were born I dedicated you [pause]."

None of us is here just by chance, as the Darwinists want us to believe. None of us is an unwanted mistake, as the pro-abortionists would like us to believe. None of us is a just a toy or experimental product manufactured by scientists, as the cloning-advocates and artificial reproduction companies seem to think.

Each one of us is a beloved, desired child of the living, eternal, all-wise, all-powerful God of the universe.

We have received our existence directly from him; if from all eternity he had not yearned for our friendship and envisioned a lasting purpose for each of us, we would not be here.

That is the dignity of human life – every human life, mine and yours included.

Spreading the Good News

This truth, that every human being is desired and loved by God for our own sake, that he yearns for the friendship of every person and has a transcendent purpose in mind for each human being, is at the very core of Christ's revelation.

But today's globalized world is in danger of losing sight of this truth because popular culture is no longer Christian. It tends to value human beings by externals: according to how much money they can make, or how athletic they are, or how beautiful they are.

Therefore, evils like abortion, euthanasia, and forced population control are not lessening, but spreading. The old law of the jungle is starting to re-emerge, and justice is being sacrifice – the strong, instead of helping the weak, are simply dominating them.

When a scientist in a laboratory creates, experiments on, and then disposes of the most vulnerable human beings, like tiny human embryos or babies in the womb, that's exactly what's happening.

Today, the Church is reminding us that we, the ones who do know the true source of human dignity, are called to do something about it.

We are like Jeremiah: God has sent us into this world not just to survive in it, but to transform it. "Stand up and tell them all that I command you," God said to Jeremiah, and he says the same thing to us.

With our example, our words, and our creative and active efforts to promote true human dignity, we can and must spread God's light and follow the "still more excellent way," as St Paul calls it in today's Second Reading, of Christ-like love.

It may be hard and uncomfortable at times, but God promises to guide us: "They will fight against you but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD."

This week, convinced that every human being matters eternally to God, let's give him a chance to put his money where his mouth is. 

In his book Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI asks a surprising question. He asks "What did Jesus actually bring?"

Think about it. We still have wars. We still have famine. People still suffer. People still get sick and die. So, what did Jesus actually bring?

And Pope Benedict answers the question by saying: "Jesus brought us God. Jesus brings us God."

We believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man. He is God made visible for us, and he came to give us life. He came to set us free so that we could be truly alive.

In other words, Jesus is much more than a social worker. He's not a nice guy who came to teach us a few useful things about living together in harmony. He's not a philosopher who gives us a theory about life. He's not a politician who promises to fulfill every wish we could ever have.

Jesus is a savior. The gospel today brings this out with startling clarity. Jesus says that he has been anointed to "proclaim liberty to captives and to let the oppressed go free."

In the Bible, anointing meant that you were chosen and given a special power by God. So, Jesus is very serious when he says this. He is a savior who comes to set us free. He comes to bring us back to God.

Let's be honest: we can't save ourselves. Sometimes we find ourselves wondering why we seem to commit the same sins over and over again. Sometimes we all say with St Paul: "I don't do the good I want to do, I do the evil I don't want to do."

Caryll Houselander tells the following story in the Reed of God. "Through sin we forget what God looks like... I once saw an old, old woman shaking the photograph of her long-dead husband, while tears, which seemed literally to hiss from her eyes, blistered it. 'It won't speak to me', she said, "and I have forgotten his face." Sin is like that. We forget what God looks like.

Who will save us from this? Who will give us the strength to be able to love? Who will remind us what God looks like? Who will give peace and rest to our hearts? Jesus. He is truly a savior.

A savior brings hope

Sometimes we can get used to being Christians. We can lose sight of how a relationship with Christ as our savior changes our lives.

When the first Christian missionaries arrived in Britain at the beginning of the 7th century, some of them went to visit the pagan King Edwin of Northumbria. After listening to the monk Paulinus, Edwin asked his chief advisors for advice about how to proceed. Should they become Christians or not?

One of his advisors replied with the following parable. Imagine a cold winter night. Howling gusts of wind tear through the darkness, and snow falls furiously upon the roof of a banqueting hall.

Inside the hall a roaring fire provides warmth and light for the merrymakers. Suddenly, a sparrow flies in through one door of the hall and out through another. In the hall the bird is warm and safe, but once he flies out, he disappears and no one knows where he has gone. The king's counselor said that we are that sparrow, and the hall is this present life. We don't know what came before it, and we don't know what comes after it.

But, he concluded, if this Christ reveals to us what comes before and what comes after, it seems right that we should follow him. As our savior, Jesus frees us from darkness and doubt. He sets us free from fear.

The Jesus Prayer

It's hard to stay focused on God throughout the day. There are so many distractions: traffic, emails, social media, etc.It is easy to forget where we come from and where we are going.

The early monks had a prayer they used to say. It's called the Jesus Prayer, and it's a wonderful way to stay in contact with Christ as our savior.

It's simple: "Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner." Just 12 words, but they will change the rhythm of our day. "Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner."

As we prepare to receive Christ in the Eucharist, let's speak those words from the heart: "Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner."

Let's make them part of our daily lives. In the car, in the bus, in the MTR, in the elevator, or while waiting in line in the store we can say those words: "Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner."

When we're frustrated or filled with doubt, we can say those words: "Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner." When we're weighed down by our own sins or the sins of others, we can pray those words: "Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner." And Jesus does. 

The mother church reminds us that, as members, we need to walk together and journey together.  Walking together means deepening our faith and knowledge together. For this reason, St. Anne's Church will start regular Bible Study, and we are seeking more people to be team members. 

If you are interested, please contact Margie at +852 68011288 or the Church WhatsApp on +852 55890100.

In the Gospel of John, we have heard the last words uttered by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Bible -- "Do whatever he tells you." Mary doesn't speak often in the Sacred Scriptures, but every time she does speak, her words overflow with wisdom. And this is no exception.

Life is full of challenges, surprises, and temptations, and it's easy to get distracted. With her last words in the Bible, the Blessed Virgin Mary gives us the three keys to stay on-task in our efforts to follow Christ and discover the happiness that only he can give. Let's look at these three keys one by one and see how we can apply them to our lives.

I: Attitude of Creative Service

The first key is an attitude of creative service. Mary was not in charge of this wedding at Cana. In the ancient world, it was always the bride's father who was in charge.

Weddings were some of the very few occasions in ancient times when common, working-class people could take time off to celebrate and enjoy themselves. As a result, most weddings would include five to seven days of festivities.

But the interesting thing is that the head caterer (the "headwaiter"), the one who was responsible for providing food and drink throughout the wedding festivities, was not the one who noticed that the wine was running short.

Instead, it was the Blessed Virgin Mary. Even in the midst of a rollicking party, a wedding feast where she was a guest and not a hostess, she kept her attention on the needs of others.

She didn't become so self-absorbed in having a good time that she forgot about those around her. Instead, she recognized the potential disaster, and then she took the initiative to do something about it – to help avert the great embarrassment and disappointment that running out of wine would cause to the bride's family. That was Mary's habitual approach to life: she always fostered an attitude of creative service.

She kept her eyes open for opportunities to help others, and she took the initiative to seize those opportunities. This is how she reflected in her own day-to-day life the goodness and generosity of God, who is always thinking of us and providing for us and watching over us.

An attitude of creative service is the first key to being a true follower of Christ. St Vincent Pallotti said it well: "Remember that the Christian life is one of action; not of speech and daydreams... In heaven we shall rest."

II: Confidence in Jesus

The second key is unbounded confidence in Jesus. Mary noticed the problem, and she wanted to do something about it. But what exactly could she do?

She was not a rich woman, and there was no Park 'n Shop in Cana where she could go to buy a few more gallons of cheap wine. Even though she didn't have the resources to solve the problem all by herself, she knew exactly who did have the resources: her son. And so she goes to Jesus, catches his eye, and simply puts the need before him: "They have no wine."

She knows her son very well. She knows that his heart is full of goodness, mercy, and love. She knows that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, omnipotent. And so, she approaches him with total confidence and openness, knowing that the unique combination of infinite love and unlimited omnipotence will be able to solve this problem.

That's how we need to approach Jesus. He is our Savior; he came to earth for our sake – as we pray each week in the Creed. He loves us without condition, and his infinite wisdom and power are at the service of that love.

Even when Jesus doesn't answer our prayers the way we would like him to, we can be certain that he knows what he is about. In our needs, in our confusion, in our troubles and sufferings, we should make Mary's prayer our own: "They – we, I – have no wine…"

Confidence in Jesus – trust in the incomparable combination of his limitless love, power, and wisdom. This is the second key to spiritual maturity.

III: Obedience to God's Will

But Mary doesn't stop with a mere attitude of confidence in Jesus. She puts her confidence into practice.

After Jesus gives her a rather ambiguous answer to her prayer, she turns to the waiters and gives them the best piece of advice that any human being has ever given anyone: "Do whatever he tells you."

The true test of our confidence in God's goodness and power is our obedience to his will. If we truly believe that God is our Father, our Savior, and our King, we will obey his commandments and his teachings; we will "do whatever he tells" us. Inspired by Mary's confidence, these waiters do exactly that.

They can't imagine why Jesus tells them to fill up these huge stone containers with water. Logically speaking, that's not going to help the situation at all. And physically speaking, that's a lot of work. Only Mary's confidence in Jesus, overflowing into their own hearts and minds, gave them the faith they needed to obey. And as a result, they became part of a miracle and saved the day.

The same thing happens in our own lives. Amid life's difficulties and temptations, obeying God's commandments and the teaching of the Church often appears illogical: everyone else is using contraception, it must be OK, everyone else is doing in vitro fertilization, and it's perfectly legal after all, everyone else is doing drugs and having sex before marriage and living together, what could possibly be wrong with it?

During pressure from popular culture, obeying Church teaching often seems to be too much work: How can we fit daily prayer into our busy schedules? How can we possibly afford another child? Sunday Mass is such an inconvenience, why can't I just pray out in nature? How can we find time to visit the sick and imprisoned, to feed the hungry, to instruct the ignorant and love our neighbor as ourselves?

And yet, whenever we allow Mary's confidence in Jesus to overflow into our own hearts and minds, we too will find enough faith to obey what God, in his infinite love and wisdom, asks of us, and then we too will become part of a miracle and save the day.

Conclusion: Following Mary to Christ

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven and Mother of God, is teaching us today how to follow Christ, how to become a mature Christian: By imitating her attitude of creative service, by sharing in her confidence in Jesus, and by joining her obedience to God's will, we will travel surely and swiftly along the path of a truly fulfilling, meaningful, and everlasting life.

As we continue with this Mass, let's ask her to intercede on our behalf, just as she did for the newlyweds at Cana, so that even when we don't seem to have any wine left in our hearts, God's grace will still flow freely in us and through us. 

Why do children need baptismal grace for salvation?

Because they inherit original sin from the moment of conception. The psalmist laments: "Indeed, in guilt was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me." (Ps 51:7).

The apostle Paul tells us that "through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death" (Rom 5:12). He does not say that this sin is manifested only when the person reaches the age of reason. Rather, he writes before baptism "we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest." (Eph 2:3)

Because babies are born with original sin, they need baptism to cleanse them, so that they may become adopted sons and daughters of God and receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the kingdom of God also belongs to children (see Mt 18:4; Mk 10:14). He never put an age limit upon those eligible to receive His grace.(Lk 18:15-17; Mt 18:2-5)

When St. Paul addresses the "holy ones" of the Church (see Eph 1:1; Col 1:2), these include the children whom he addresses specifically in Ephesians 6:1 and Colossians 3:20. Children become "holy ones" of the Church and members of the body of Christ only through baptism.

Pastoral Directives

Since the well-being of an infant's future Christian life is closely related to the parent's life of faith, the Church will not entrust parents with the task of nurturing an infant's faith if they themselves do not practice the faith.

The above instruction declares: "Assurances must be given that the gift granted (by baptism) can grown by an authentic education in the faith and Christian life, in order to fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament. As a rule, these assurances are to be given by the parents or close relatives, although various substitutions are possible within the Christian community. But if these assurances are not really serious there can be grounds for delaying the sacrament; and if they are certainly non-existent, the sacrament should be refused."(n. 28,2)

Indications that these assurances are existent are regular attendance at Sunday Mass, devout reception of sacraments, prayers, Scripture readings, acts of charity, etc.

On the other hand, when parents ask to have their child baptized simply for worldly or superstitious motives (e.g. for admittance to a Catholic school to obtain corporal blessings or to be saved from misfortune), baptism should be refused or delayed until, through catechetical instruction, they can grasp the real significance of baptism.

Similarly, when Catholics who are married civilly only ask for baptism of their children, the sacrament should also be refused or delayed unless, meanwhile, they make a sincere promise to have their marriage regularized and return to Church life. In any case, whenever baptism has to be deferred or refused, it must be made absolutely clear that this is being done not as a means of exercising pressure on the parents, but simply because, in the circumstances, the probability of the child being educated and brought up as a Catholic is absent. (https://catholic.org.hk/en/infantbaptism/)

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

Due to the current announcement from both the government and the diocese, ALL PUBLIC MASSES from JANUARY 10 - 20 are CANCELED. However, the Church remains open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM for personal prayers.

• In response to the latest situation of the COVID epidemic in Hong Kong, please leave the church as soon as possible after mass, and those who enter the church must take the following epidemic prevention measures:
  • Scan the "Leave Home Safe" QR code / register your name and phone number to record your visit.
  • Always wear mask. If you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, then dispose sensibly
  • Body temperature must be screened.
  • Use hand sanitizer to clean hands.
  • Those present should keep a social distance of at least 1.5 meters from each other.
  • Do not step on the kneeling stool of the church.
• The First English Ministries Meeting will be held on Tue, 11 Jan at 7:45 PM in the Parish Hall and also via Zoom.All are welcome to attend.Please check with any Council Member for details.
• Due to the current announcement from both the government and the diocese, ALL PUBLIC MASSES from JANUARY 10 - 20 are CANCELED. However, the Church remains open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM for personal prayers.
• In view of the latest tightening of social distancing, the Youth Group Meeting on Fri, 14 Jan is cancelled.

Please come and join the Christian meditation meeting every Tuesday from 7:00 - 7:35 PM inside the church. Before the meeting, we listen to some meditative music to quiet down. At 7 PM sharp we will listen to a teaching on meditation (<10 minutes), then we meditate for 25 minutes, and finish with a prayer. Instruction on meditation will be given. For more information, contact Vivian Lee, mobile & WhatsApp: 6100 0880.

St Luke tells us that at the time of Jesus' baptism, which marked the beginning of his public ministry, the people were "filled with expectation."

There were two reasons for this. First, rumor had it that according to the prophecies of Daniel, the time was ripe for the arrival of the promised Messiah, the King anointed by God to restore the independence and greatness of the long-suffering people of Israel.

Scholars at the time didn't agree about the actual characteristics and identifying marks of that Messiah, but a sense that the time had come was widespread.

Second, no true prophet had arisen in Israel in over two centuries. And so, when John the Baptist came onto the scene, they knew something big was afoot. Many hoped that he himself was the Messiah.

The prophecy of Daniel and the preaching of John the Baptist, then, were clear, dramatic signs sent by God to indicate the coming of Jesus.

Even so, Christ found a welcome in only a few hearts; the majority gave him up to be crucified.

Why? Could it be that the people of Israel were expecting one kind of Lord, and God wanted to give them another?

We often fall into the same trap; we know clearly the things we want, but God sends us others, and we resent it. But if Jesus is truly the Lord, and if the greatest prophet of all time was not even worthy to "loosen the thongs of his sandals" (a job reserved to slaves at the time), why do we expect him to do things our way?

Why do we expect him to adjust to our schedule? Isn't it possible that he knows better? God often acts in unexpected ways, so it's up to us to adjust our expectations, or else we may miss his grace altogether.

Taking a Daily Spiritual Vitamin

It's true: God often acts in unexpected ways. And if we aren't humble and flexible, we may, like so many at the time of Christ, miss out on his grace, fail to recognize his action, or reject it even when we do recognize it. And that's exactly what the devil wants.

He wants us to evaluate God's activity not in accordance with God's own standards – the unexpected, surprising standards – but in accordance with the limited, prejudiced, self-centered standards of our fallen human nature.

How can we avoid playing into the devil's hand? There are many things, but one of the most essential is to make sure that we take at least one spiritual vitamin every single day.

Spiritual vitamins keep our faith healthy, so that our minds see reality the way it really is, not the way the devil wants us to think it is.

Spiritual vitamins take many forms, here are some examples.

• Reading and studying the Bible for fifteen or twenty minutes every day is an excellent spiritual vitamin – if we use truly Catholic resources to help us do so. We will do bible study at our parish.
• Learning how to do a daily Christian meditation (not just transcendental or yoga meditations) is a great way to get your spiritual vitamin. Our parish has regular weekly Christian Meditation every Tuesday evening.
• Spending a few minutes at night to prayerfully reflect on whether we acted like faithful Christians during the day is a good one.
• Reading regularly from the lives of the saints and other good spiritual books is a strong spiritual vitamin.
• Trying to have a meal as a family every day, and starting and ending that meal with a family prayer is another spiritual vitamin.
• Dropping by a Catholic church on the way home from work or school to spend a few minutes praying in the presence of the Eucharist – another good one.

If we want to stay tuned to God and be ready to recognize and welcome his action in our lives, we have to administer a daily antidote to the poisonous world view that popular culture is constantly feeding into our imaginations.

Today, as Jesus renews his commitment to us in this Mass, let's renew our commitment to him, and identify specifically which spiritual vitamins we will take during the coming week.

Obligation of Infant Baptism

"Baptism, the gateway to the sacraments, is necessary for salvation, either by actual reception or at least by desire. By it, people are freed from sins, are born again as children of God and, made like to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated into the Church" (can. 849). The Catholic Church has been baptizing babies ever since Christ commanded His apostles to baptize all people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (see Mt 28:18-20).

Parents bring their babies to the waters of baptism by professing a belief in Christ on behalf of the child, and promising to raise him or her in the faith.Because baptism confers saving grace, the earlier a person comes to baptism, the better.

In infant baptism, then, though the child is too young to have faith, the parents extend their faith on the child's behalf. On what basis does the Church believe that the faith of one person may be effective on behalf of someone else? The Scriptures are full of examples in which Jesus extends healing grace to people based on the faith of others.

For example, Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic based on the faith of those who brought him (see Mt 9:2; Mk 2:3-5).Jesus heals the centurion's servant based on the faith of the centurion (Mt 8:5-13).Jesus exorcises the child's unclean spirit based on the father's faith (Mk 9:22-25).We might also note that in the Old Testament, God spares the firstborn child's life during the Passover based n the parent's faith (see Ex 12:24-28).Given these examples, then, we must ask ourselves:If God is willing to effect spiritual and physical cures for children based upon the faith of their parents, how much more will He give the grace of baptism to children based upon the faith of their parents?

Infant Baptism – no violation of the child's freedom

In recent years, some people have objected that baptizing infants is an obstacle to their freedom.They say it is contrary to the dignity of children as persons to impose on them future religious obligations that they may perhaps later reject.In this view, they insist, it would be better to confer the sacrament only at an age when free commitment has become possible; until then parents and teachers should restrain themselves and avoid exercising any pressure.

Rejecting this view, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in the "Instruction on Infant Baptism" which it issued on 20 October, 1980, pointed out that "there is no such thing as pure human freedom, immune from being influenced in any way. Even on the natural level, parents make choices for their child that are essential for its life and for its orientation towards true values. A so-called neutral attitude on the part of the family with regard to the child's religious life would in fact be a negative choice that would deprive the child of an essential good" (n. 22).

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

• There will be a Youth Group Meeting on Fri, 14 Jan from 8:00-9:00 PM at the parish hall upstairs.  All youth are welcome. 
• There will be No Adoration held on 2 January (Sun) from 2:00-3:30 PM in our church.
• Bishop Ha will be celebrating the 10:00 AM Mass at St. Anne's Church on 13 Feb (Sun).  
  

From His Fullness We Have Received Mercy

In a homily, St Bernard of Clairvaux said that when we look at the Baby Jesus, it's as though God the Father sent a purse full of his mercy. It was a very small purse, but it was very full. Jesus is that purse of God's mercy. And we need to receive the money of God's mercy before we can offer him anything in return.

The gospel we just read tells us that the wise men opened their treasures. They opened their hearts to receive Christ's mercy. From his fullness, we have received mercy. Before the wise men could offer anything, they had to open their treasures. They had to open their history to Jesus; they had to allow his mercy to fill their hearts with joy.

They had to experience, as the psalm today put it, that "God shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him… The lives of the poor he shall save." God's mercy reveals his reverence for the human person –for each human person, --created in his image and likeness.

We need to experience this again and again in our lives. When we experience the merciful love of Jesus, it becomes a gift for others too

We're able to help them experience the transforming power of God's mercy, and share it with others. Like the wise men, we have received mercy from the fullness of God's love.

Death on the Field

They tell the story of two soldiers together on the battlefield. In the midst of a firestorm of bullets, one soldier saves the other's life by stepping in front of him and taking a bullet in his place.

As he's dying, the other man says, "What can I ever do to thank you?" He replies: "Take my dog tags. My name is now yours. My life is yours. Live in a manner worthy of the sacrifice I've made for you."

That's a glimpse into what Christ did for each one of us on the Cross. He died for us; he took on the fate of our shattered love, as Pope Benedict XVI put it, and he gives us his name and his life.

The greatness of God's mercy is beyond our grasp; from his fullness, in Christ, we have all received more than we could have ever asked or imagined.

Receiving Mercy in the Mass

In the Mass, we're present at Calvary, where Jesus lays down his life for us.

The one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is made present in real time, here on the altar, each time Mass is celebrated. Christ offers us his name (we are Christians) and his life in the Eucharist.

Do we prepare our hearts for this? Let's do this today. During the offertory, let's say these words: "Jesus, I want to receive your mercy. Jesus, I want to receive your mercy."

We're about to receive the Gift of all gifts. God's merciful love brings him to give himself to us in the Eucharist. With joy and with gratitude, we prepare to receive him. 

Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ's life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God's Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him.

Here we can learn to realize who Christ really is. And here we can sense and take account of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded and affected his life on earth: the places, the tenor of the times, the culture, the language, religious customs, in brief, everything which Jesus used to make himself known to the world. Here everything speaks to us, everything has meaning. Here we can learn the importance of spiritual discipline for all who wish to follow Christ and to live by the teachings of his Gospel.

How I would like to return to my childhood and attend the simple yet profound school that is Nazareth! How wonderful to be close to Mary, learning again the lesson of the true meaning of life, learning again God's truths. But here we are only on pilgrimage. Time presses and I must set aside my desire to stay and carry on my education in the Gospel, for that education is never finished. But I cannot leave without recalling, briefly and in passing; some thoughts I take with me from Nazareth.

First, we learn from its silence. If only we could once again appreciate its great value. We need this wonderful state of mind, beset as we are by the cacophony of strident protests and conflicting claims so characteristic of these turbulent times. The silence of Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God's inner wisdom and the counsel of his true teachers. Nazareth can teach us the value of study and preparation, of meditation, of a well-ordered personal spiritual life, and of silent prayer that is known only to God.

Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family's holy and enduring character and exemplify its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children – and for this there is no substitute.

Finally, in Nazareth, the home of a craftsman's son, we learn about work and the discipline it entails. I would especially like to recognize its value – demanding yet redeeming – and to give it proper respect. I would remind everyone that work has its own dignity. On the other hand, it is not an end in itself. Its value and free character, however, derive not only from its place in the economic system, as they say, but rather from the purpose it serves.

In closing, may I express my deep regard for people everywhere who work for a living. To them I would point out their great model, Christ their brother, our Lord and God, who is their prophet in every cause that promotes their wellbeing.

The angels announced to the shepherds that a Savior was born for them. They called this "news of great joy," since this Savior was going to bring "peace to those on whom his favor rests."

The peace that Christ brings is the source of that joy. The two always go together. Joy is the emotion we feel when we come into the possession of good things. But unless we have peace, we cannot really have possession of anything.

Without peace there is conflict, and conflict means that someone is trying to take away the good things we possess.That aggression causes turbulence, instability - the opposite of peace.

Without peace, there is no joy. Christ was born to give us true, lasting joy, because he came to establish true, lasting peace.

Christ is a King, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. When someone becomes his subject, they no longer need to fear anything, because God is now their protector.

But Christ's Kingdom is not a material Kingdom. It is a spiritual Kingdom. He was born in a stable, not a palace.

The peace Christ brings is the interior, spiritual peace that comes from a conscience cleansed by his forgiveness and a heart which knows that our heavenly Father loves us. No one can take away a clean conscience or the knowledge that we are loved by God. That's why Christ's peace is lasting - it is unassailable.

This interior peace can also overflow into political peace when enough people in a community are filled with it. But, from Christ's perspective, that's secondary.

The earthly kingdoms and conflicts of this world will all pass away. But Christ's Kingdom, the community of his followers, the Church, will last forever.

And so the angels don't hesitate to announce their "good news of great joy," because they know that Jesus Christ truly does bring lasting peace to everyone who lets him be their King.

Following Mary's Example

We all believe in Jesus - at least to some extent. So why don't we experience his joy and peace as deeply and constantly as we would like to?

The saints give constant testimony through the centuries that a real friendship with Christ makes it possible to experience deep fulfillment and joy even in the midst of life's worst sufferings. Why don't we experience the same thing?

It's because we don't trust God enough. We are afraid to let Christ rule our lives completely - we are afraid to let him be the King that he was born to be, that he truly is.

We are like the innkeeper in the Gospel passage.Our lives are crowded –filled with personal pleasures and hopes, maybe even with unhealthy relationships and habits.And Jesus comes knocking on the door of our hearts and wants us to let Him in.But we are afraid that if we do, there won't be enough room for our little idols.

So we let him stay in the stable, out back, where we can keep an eye on him, where we can be sure he doesn't clean out our closets and junk drawers. But unless we give Jesus free rein, he cannot give us his true peace and joy.

Instead of being like the innkeeper, we need to be like Mary. When Jesus knocked on the door of her life, she put all her plans aside. She risked her reputation and her engagement; she opened every closet and every junk drawer to Christ.

Today, of all days, let's let Jesus bring us his joy and peace. With Mary's help, let's pray Mary's prayer, saying to Jesus in Holy Communion: "Lord, let it be done to me according to your word - Thy will be done, not mine."

The earliest uses of a crib in worship date back to fourth-century Rome. Of the three masses observed at Christmas, one was called AdPraesepe (meaning "to the crib"). This mass took place in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, at a shrine built from boards believed to have come from the original stable of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Churches throughout Italy and Europe gradually adopted the custom of saying mass over a crib at Christmas time.

St. Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) generally receives the credit for popularizing the Nativity scene as we know it. It is said that at Christmas time in 1224 he recreated the manger scene using real people and animals in a cave near the Italian village of Greccio. Mass was said in this novel setting and St. Francis preached about the humble birth of the newborn King. Onlookers enjoyed this reenactment of Christ's birth so much that the custom soon spread throughout Italy and Europe.

Saint Bonaventure, Francis's biographer, said of the scene, "Many brothers and good people came at Francis's bidding, and during the night the weather also was beautiful. Many lights were kindled, songs and hymns were sung with great solemnity so that the whole wood echoed with the sound, and the man of God stood by the manger, filled with the utmost joy, and shedding tears of devotion and compassion. By his order the manger had been so arranged that Mass was celebrated on it, and blessed Francis ... sang the gospel and preached to the people on the Nativity of Christ our King, and whenever he pronounced His name with infinite tenderness, he called Him the 'little Babe of Bethlehem'".

In a society where few could read, the explanations of theologians and the beautiful Latin chant of the Christmas liturgy passed over the heads of ordinary people. Who would explain to them what it meant that God became human, that Jesus felt at home among the poorest and loved them above all? They needed something visible, something they could see, touch, and so adore the beauty of the newborn child among the hay. So they came, saw, understood, and remembered.

Through the centuries Catholic people have continued the tradition, and it is the most wonderful affirmation of what our faith is about. The Christmas crib is a ringing proclamation about the kind of God we worship—a God who lives with the poor and ordinary and welcomes them.

We need the Christmas crib. Ours is the God who is vulnerable, who needs love, who waits and welcomes. The Christmas crib doesn't need to be great art; it just needs to be tender, human, and full of joy. If we have crib scenes in our churches, they too should be homely, full of the awe and ordinariness of a God who lived with poor, treated their sick, made friends with women and other despised people, felt comfortable with children, and preached liberation for the poor.

The Christmas crib is a precious heritage, and if we lose or trivialize it or make it a sophisticated work of art to be admired, we are in danger of losing touch with the very heart of the Christmas mystery. The model of the child in the manger with all his loving and delighted attendants reminds us of the joy at the heart of the universe, of God who touches us and lives in us bodily—a God who is incarnate.

The Christmas crib is a sign of defiance in the face of what is greedy and cruel in our society and a sign of hope that the goodness is in us and near us as we greet the newborn child

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.