On this last Sunday of Advent, as the solemn celebration of Christ's birth approaches, the Church reminds us of that holy day nine months earlier when Jesus was conceived in his Mother's womb.

There are two great mysteries connected with that day. The first is the mystery of God becoming man - the Incarnation.

God has loved us so much that he became one of us, so that he could save us from sin and the meaninglessness that sin brings, and show us the way to a meaningful life, now and forever.

The second mystery is that God didn't - and doesn't - work out that plan of salvation for us all by himself. Instead, he asks for our cooperation.

In today's Gospel, God invites Mary to become the mother of the Savior. It was possible for Mary to reject this invitation. As in the parable of the many townspeople who decline the king's invitation to attend his son's wedding feast.

Mary could have said, "Thanks for the invitation, Lord, but what you're asking is actually very inconvenient for me. I really wish I could do what you want, but I'm just not there yet."

That's how Adam and Eve had responded to God's invitation to take care of the Garden of Eden.

But Mary didn't insult God with an answer like that. She knew God, and knew that his plans are always wise and wonderful.

So she put her life at his service: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto me according to your word." Mary's "yes" reversed Eve's "no", and made room for Christ's undoing of Adam's fall.

When God disrupts our plans, we should follow Mary's example, making our contribution to God's work of salvation, however small it may be.

Salvation is God's business, but it's a partnership; we have a role to play as well.

Mary's "yes" to God wasn't easy; it involved a total change of her plans. Mary had felt called early on to serve God through consecrated virginity, which meant not having children.

This is the reason behind her comment to the angel: "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" That comment would have made no sense if she were planning on leading a normal married life with St Joseph, her fiancée.

Life as a virgin consecrated to God was what she had envisioned for herself and planned for. But then the angel came along and changed those plans.

God often does the same thing with us. Like a good coach, he pushes us out of our comfort zone so that we can reach our full potential as Christians.

There are three ways especially in which God tends to disrupt our plans. First, when we are really busy and don't' want any interruptions he brings us into contact with someone who needs help.

Second, we suddenly discover that certain popular and fashionable behaviors or activities (which we would like to follow) are actually against Church teaching, that they cause damage to us and to others.

Third, when we are really tired, fed up, or angry, our conscience - like the angel Gabriel in today's Gospel passage - sends us a message saying that we really need to keep working, or to do a little extra work, or to be extra patient with someone, or to hold our tongue.

These are three common ways that God disrupts our personal plans in order to invite us to be partners in his plan of salvation.

Today, last Sunday before Christmas, let's ask God for the grace to respond generously to those disruptions, as Mary did, especially during the Christmas season, so that our part in God's plan of salvation is sure to get done. 

As we approach Christmas, the Church invites us to reflect on Mary and Joseph and their courageous faith. I can think of no better models for us to welcome Our Savior than our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph. Their example invites us to accept, with openness of spirit, Jesus who is Emmanuel, God-among-us.

The Gospel tell us about two annunciation. one is Annunciation to Joseph and the other is Annunciation to Mary. These two "Annunciations" are amazing announcements of the Incarnation delivered by heavenly messengers. They also involve the amazing responses, one spoken and the other unspoken, which express the obedient faith of Mary and Joseph to God's will and plan for our salvation.

The angel appeared to Mary when she was awake and the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. In both Annunciations, the angel said: "Do not be afraid." In the case of Mary, she was troubled by the greeting of the angel, not knowing what it meant. In the case of Joseph, he was in turmoil because of Mary's pregnancy, having decided "to divorce her quietly" since he was "unwilling to expose her to shame." They were both afraid and confused, but God's revelation, which they accepted with obedient faith, filled them with peace. It was the revelation of the Incarnation, that the Son conceived by Mary is of the Holy Spirit.

The angel told Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." The angel told Joseph: "It is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her." The angel told both Mary and Joseph that the child should be named "Jesus," a name which means "God saves."

Mary is our exemplar and model of faith in her response to the message of the angel: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Though we have no spoken words of Saint Joseph at the Annunciation to him, the Gospel tells us that "when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home." Both Mary and Joseph responded positively to the word of God. Saint John Paul II wrote that "Joseph is the first to share in the faith of the Mother of God,… the first to be placed by God on the path of Mary's pilgrimage of faith." We are called to walk that pilgrimage of faith, to walk with Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem in these final days of Advent.

I invite you in your prayer during these final days of Advent to contemplate the mystery we prepare to celebrate, maybe even having a little spiritual conversation with Mary and Joseph. Ask them to help you to live the true spirit of Christmas, to be close to their Son. I encourage you to find some quiet time for prayer during these noisy and busy days before Christmas. There is an aura of silence around Saint Joseph. Yet, that silence speaks eloquently to us of the interior life of Joseph, who, like Mary, is a model of humility and prayer. If we desire to experience the true joy of Christmas, we can learn from Mary and Joseph the secret of silence and reflection on the great mystery of the Incarnation.

Mary and Joseph teach us that the true gift of Christmas is Jesus. The best gifts we can give to others at Christmas are not expensive presents. The best gift we can share is the love, joy, and peace of the Lord. We do so by our prayers for others, kind words and gestures, forgiveness, a welcoming home, and joyful witness. Material gifts have value too, when they are expressions of love and generosity. And let us not forget the poor in our gift-giving at Christmas! It is a wonderful custom in our diocese to take up a special collection for Catholic Charities at all our Christmas Masses, an opportunity to support the charitable works of the Church in our diocese, to share with our brothers and sisters in need.

I encourage you to prepare for Christmas by contemplating Mary and Joseph: "Mary, the woman full of grace who had the courage to entrust herself totally to the Word of God; and Joseph, the faithful and just man who chose to believe the Lord rather than listen to the voices of doubt and human pride. With them, let us walk together toward Bethlehem" (Pope Francis).

May this final week of Advent be a prayerful time of joyful preparation for Christmas! Through the intercession of Mary and Joseph, may we be free of all worldliness and ready to welcome anew our Savior!

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

1. With the coming of the "fourth wave" of the Covid-19 pandemic and the rapid resurgence of confirmed infections, the SAR Government has tightened its measures on group gatherings with effect from 02 Dec 2020, in order to minimize the risk of community transmission.To cope with the tightened Government measures, Cardinal John Tong has announced new pastoral measures with effect from 02 Dec 2020, until further notice.  The relevant Pastoral Guidelines can be found here.
   
   
2. The parish is facing a shortage of manpower at the moment, especially Acolytes and Eucharistic Ministers. We encourage all parishioners to consider volunteering for the Church's ministries. If you are interested, please download the Volunteering Form from the website here or pick one up at the back of the church next to parish bulletin.
   
   
3. Our church is open from 7:00 am to 7:00 PM.  Adoration is on 9:00-10:00 AM on Monday – Saturday; 10:00 am - 12:00 noon on Sunday.  
   

My dear brothers and sisters, today is "Gaudete [gow-DEH-tay] Sunday." The word "gaudete" is Latin for "rejoice," and in the Latin version of today's Mass, it's the very first word.

The third Sunday of Advent has been "Gaudete Sunday" ever since the time of Pope St Gregory the Great, in the sixth century [original Catholic Encyclopedia]. It's the reason for the rose-colored vestments and Advent candle.

One thing that can inhibit our experience of Christian joy is wrong expectations. The joy that comes from Christ goes deeper than passing emotions.

It is a joy that comes from knowing that Christ is always with us, guiding us, and loving us, even amidst life's trials. If we are expecting Christ to bring us heaven on earth, we simply won't be able recognize his action in our lives, because that's not what he came to do.

Something like that happened in today's Gospel passage.

The priests, Levites, and Pharisees who come out to investigate John the Baptist are the same leaders from Jerusalem who later rejected Christ and arranged his execution.

When they hear rumors that John the Baptist is attracting huge crowds and preaching to them about the Messiah, they get suspicious.

Since he didn't come from their inner circle, they assumed that he couldn't be a true messenger of God. And so when he answers their questions, they pay no attention to what he says. And as a result, they were not ready to welcome Christ later on.

They were expecting a political Messiah, not a Messiah who would redeem the world from sin.

They listened to John's message only through the filter of their personal agendas, and they missed the point.

Their own preconceived notions impeded their acceptance of God's word spoken through John. They heard the prophecy, but it didn't help them at all. 

Advent and the coming of the savior are now here, and that is cause for the greatest celebration on earth. The savior is coming! Jesus Christ is coming! Help and salvation are on the way! All our real hopes and all our true wishes shall now be fulfilled in the coming of the boy king. We are so blessed this season to think and pray about this one event that changed human history forever. It should be on our minds always because every human being now has a path to heaven. With the coming of the savior, the gateway is now open. As we celebrate this holy season, we are reminded of models that lead us in the ways of patience and virtue and how to celebrate Advent properly.

We have one model, in particular, that shows us the proper way to celebrate this holy season, someone we are called to admire and imitate, it's no surprise that it is our Blessed Mother, Mary the mother of Jesus. We all know the story. Mary was a teenage girl living on the fringes of the empire. God revealed His plans for salvation to this one young girl – a nobody in the middle of nowhere – and exclaims to her that she has been chosen above all the others. This makes no sense to us because we live for worldly success, money, rewards, promotion, and fame. But not God. God reveals just how different His ways are from our ways when he chooses this one girl named Mary. And look at how she responds! When the angel Gabriel tells her that she will bear a son, Jesus, who will be the savior of all the world, she responds with a faith that many of us don't have, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." She doesn't hesitate even when she experiences the call of God, and that's our model for this Advent season. We need to stop hesitating, surrender fear and worry, and embrace God with every ounce of strength we have left.

And how do we do that? How do we stop hesitating? Well, first, let's act like Mary – our model of faith – and let's say the words that she said: "Be it done unto me according to thy word." Say those words in your heart right now and ask God for the grace given to Mary. Ask God to grant all your prayers that you have said for family and friends. Tell Jesus, "I want to know you." Tell Jesus, "I want to serve you. I want to change the world for you." These words echo the sentiments of our mother, and she encourages us: Pray constantly. We will never be true Christians until we pray and pray whenever we can.

Mary is our model in patience. Advent is the season of waiting and certainly the season of patience. And we wait, don't we? We have so many things to wait for. The wife who's waiting for her husband's return from his deployment, that woman is in Advent. The man or woman who has Leukemia or suffering from nephrotic cancer, that person is in Advent. The priest who sits in the confessional on Saturday, waiting for someone – anyone – to come back and be reconciled to God, he is in Advent – we are all waiting on the Lord. Where is Advent in our lives? It is all around, but now, we have a reason to rejoice and a reason to hope! Our mother Mary is waiting on the good news to come to fruition, and it does. The savior is born, the King is coming!

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

My dear brothers and sisters, all of us have experienced pessimistic moments. Sometimes we experience pessimism because no matter what we do we can't seem to avoid suffering; painful things just keep happening to us and those we love.

Sometimes we experience discouragement because we can't seem to avoid sin; we just keep falling into the same patterns of greed, lust, impatience, and laziness. Sometimes we experience cynicism when we look at society and see so much that is wrong, so much injustice, degradation, and violence.

Today, as we start the Second week of Advent, God has something to say about pessimism, discouragement, and cynicism.

He is saying: pessimism, discouragement, cynicism will all come knocking at your door, but don't let them in! Do not let yourself be afraid, because I am your Lord and Savior, and I have not forgotten about you!

This is the message of the Gospel, where we hear St John the Baptist's voice ring out with hope in the wilderness of pessimism: the Lord is coming!

From the first reading we listen to Isaiah, who preaches comfort to God's sinful people, reminding them that he is like a shepherd who gathers the lambs of his flock (us) in his arms.

In the Second Reading, St. Peter told us, even if it seems that God is absent, has forgotten about us, or is powerless to help us, we know that he is simply waiting for the right moment to send in his grace.

Because for God, a thousand years are like a day, St Peter reminds us, and a day is like a thousand years; what seems like a long wait for us is in reality just the blink of an eye.

Advent is our yearly reminder that God has not forgotten about us, no matter how we may feel. In fact, he never stops thinking of us, and he is leading us with care to our everlasting reward.

God has not forgotten about us, and he never will; this is the source of our comfort and courage amidst life's trials. And he wants to come with fresh blessings for each one of us this Christmas.

According to the prophet Isaiah, there are two things we can do to get ready to receive those blessings: to fill in every valley and to make low every mountain. The valleys stand for our sins of omission, the things we should be doing but aren't.

For example, if we aren't spending quality time with our family, we need to fill in that valley. If we aren't spending at least a few minutes each day in prayer with God, we need to fill in that valley. If we aren't going regularly to confession to rejuvenate our souls with God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness, we need to fill in that valley.

The mountains are the selfish and sinful habits that we have built up; the sins of commission. If we like to gossip and spread criticism, we need to tear down that mountain. If we are leading a double life, indulging in hidden sins or lies that are poisoning our souls, we need to lay low that mountain. If we are arrogantly treating our colleagues, teammates, or family members like lower class people, we need to topple that mountain.

The mountains and valleys inhibit God's grace from traveling into our hearts; they are roadblocks that keep out God's mercy, peace, and wisdom.

Advent is the season to smooth out and clear up the roads to our hearts. Christ wants to help us do that, as he will prove again during Eucharist. Everytime we receive him in Holy Communion, let's promise that we'll give him that chance.

The Advent season helps us to prepare for Christmas where we recall in faith Christ's coming among us. It is also a time in which we look at our present lives and reflect on the second coming of Christ in our own lives and at the end of the ages.

It is a season of joyous expectation in light of the Feast of Christmas. However, it is also a time of preparation in which we are invited to renew our Christian faith. We can become more attentive to the gift of our faith and to explore the implications of what it means to believe in the person of Christ and above all to become more grateful for the presence of God's love which is fully manifest in the person of Christ.

One important gift of faith which we can receive in Advent and Christmas is a profound sense of gratitude for his presence and thus the need to prepare our hearts for the power of such an event in our lives today. This Christian attitude and disposition to gratitude is most vividly reflected in the role of Mary- the Mother of our Lord.

In the early Church we know that there was a progressive discovery through faith to see the fullness of Mary's role in God's plan of salvation history. Scripture records her role in God's plan of salvation from the outset as the Mother of our Lord. In the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel he records the infancy of Christ but what is most interesting is that Mary is only named and speaks no words. The birth of our Lord is recorded almost exclusively from the viewpoint and experience of Joseph. In contrast, Luke's gospel portrays Mary in a much more prominent role.

And thus, it is through this inspired narrative that we see the outline of her vocation from God, the Annunciation – the greeting and the message from the angel Gabriel. The stirrings of Mary's heart and her initial response in faith is that of a question "How can this be?" … then "Let it be done unto me according to your Word." The progress of her belief in God's promises and her confidence to say "Let it be done according to your Word" is truly inspiring for each Christian who has struggled to answer their vocation call.

Then through prayer and the reflection upon God's grace at work in her life we see the ultimate response of gratitude: "Mary treasured all of these things and pondered them in her heart."

From the beginning she was fixed on the mystery of this newborn child, that she was attentive to this experience as the mystery of God's salvation, and that her "fiat," her yes, progressively unfolded in her life and that thus her memory played an important role in the faith of the Church.

In the Advent season the Church's memory becomes reflected through the memory of Mary.To identify with Mary in faith during this season of Advent is to be open to receive what she received.

The first gift was that of a profound sense of gratitude for the warmth of God's love given to her in Christ. His birth, his coming into this world was to reveal the fullness of God's love and Mary was the first to believe in this love and to experience it in her life.

The second gift that Mary received was the grace of being ready and attentive, of being open to God and the power of this event in her life. This coming of Christ would disrupt her plans, it would challenge her life, the relationships of family and friends, yet through her yes, she would begin to see how God had chosen to reveal the Incarnate vision of His Son through her life. This is the grace that each of us receives to respond in truth and freedom to our vocation and calling in life. We are called to model our response of Mary in accepting and choosing our life's vocation.

As Advent unfolds it is our hope that the gifts Mary received may be part of our own preparation and reflection of the coming of Christ in our lives: a gratitude for our faith and an openness to live our vocations in Christ with greater fidelity.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

The parish is facing a shortage of manpower at the moment.

We encourage all parishioners to consider volunteering for the Church's ministries.

If you are interested, please fill this application form, including signing the "Personal Information Collection & Privacy Policy Statements" and pass it to the parish secretary Esther. 

1. The parish is facing a shortage of manpower at the moment, especially Acolytes and Eucharistic Ministers. We encourage all parishioners to consider volunteering for the Church's ministries. If you are interested, please get the form next to parish bulletin at the back of the church.
2. Weekly meditation has resumed. Every Tuesday, from 7 - 7:45 PM, a group meets in the sanctuary to practice the Silence, Stillness, and Simplicity of Christian meditation. We belong to the World Community for Christian Meditation, which teaches meditation as a form of prayer to be close to Jesus. If you have any question, please contact Vivian Lee, WhatsApp or Tel: 6100-0880.
3. Resumption of Sacramental CCD Classes - CCD classes will resume on December 6, 2020 | 10:00 - 11:00 AM for children in Sacramental classes (birth years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2013). There is still time to register.
4. There will be a Youth Group Meeting on 11 December 2020 (Friday) from 7:30 - 8:30 PM at the Parish Hall. All teenagers are welcome.For further information, please contact either Fr. Paulus or Fr. David.

God knows the limitations of our human nature very well - after all, he created it. We can only focus our attention - really focus it - on one or two things at a time; we can't keep everything in mind all at once. But on the other hand, we can't focus our attention on the same thing all the time either; we need variety, otherwise we become depressed.

These limitations of our human nature are one reason God inspired the Church to divide the year into liturgical seasons.

The mystery of our salvation includes the whole Bible, the whole life of Christ, and the whole history of the Church.

But we can't possibly keep all those things in mind all the time.

So we focus on different aspects of them at different times of the year (which has the added benefit of giving variety to our spiritual lives): in Lent we focus on the reality of sin and mercy and the need for repentance; during Easter we focus on the power of God and the Resurrection; during Ordinary Time we focus on the everyday life and teachings of Christ and the wisdom they impart for our everyday lives; and now, during Advent, we focus on God's faithfulness.

St Paul puts it briefly in today's Second Reading: "God is faithful." God didn't abandon the human race after original sin. He promised to send a Savior, and he fulfilled his promise on the very first Christmas.

And God has also promised that this Savior, Jesus Christ, will come again to bring our earthly exile to its completion, just as in Old Testament times God brought his Chosen People out of their exile in Babylon, as today's First Reading reminded us.

God is faithful; he will fulfill his promises - that's one of the key themes for Advent.

In today's First Reading, Isaiah says twice, "Lord, you are our Father." By reminding us today that God always fulfills his promises, the Church wants to put that same prayer in our hearts.

God is our Father; he is always looking after us, protecting us, and loving us. And unlike earthly fathers, God's fatherly love has no limits, no imperfections, no blind spots.

Advent is meant to be a time when we renew our awareness of God's perfect Fatherhood in our lives, letting his love for us renew our spirits.

The best way to do that is to spend more time with God in prayer during this Advent season. But that will be impossible unless something else happens first.

Prayer is a funny thing: even though we usually don't see God with our physical eyes or hear him with our physical ears, when we turn our attention to him, he really is present, and we know it. As we become aware of this presence, we also, almost automatically, become aware of our own sinfulness, because God is truth, and his light shines into all the hidden corners of our heart.

If in those corners we have been hiding some un-repented and un-confessed sins, or harboring some sinful habits, as soon as we sincerely try to pray, they will come into view and distract us.

So, if we want to spend more time in prayer this Advent, filling our hearts with the Father's goodness and wisdom, the first thing we need to do is clean out those dark corners by taking a trip to the confessional.

Today, as we begin this sacred season, let's promise that we will let him clean up our dark corners, so that we can enjoy his presence as we prepare for the great commemoration of Christmas Day. 

The roots of the English word ADVENT are found in two Latin words. The verb, VENIRE, which means to come and the preposition, AD, which means toward. The four weeks of Advent focus on the coming of God to us. Advent has three meanings.

There is the coming of God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth who entered into time and history born into human flesh in Bethlehem of Judea. This coming is celebrated and remembered annually at Christmas. Advent prepares us for the coming of Christ at His birth.

There is the coming of God at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. God will appear as Lord in majesty on the last day. Advent looks to the final times, which some refer to as the Rapture, and it prepares us for when the Lord will come and usher in the fullness of God's Reign and the end of this world.

There is the coming of God in the present moment, when we may least expect it — the advent of God into my own life. Some refer to this as God's coming in mystery. God's nearness can be experienced in a variety of ways, in persons, events, in the Sacraments and in prayer.

In the past God came: the historical coming of Jesus Christ to save us. In God's hands is the future; God will come again. And, in the now of everyday God comes to us. Advent invites us to be ready, alert and prepared for these many comings of God to us.

While Advent is structured around these comings of God to us. That it is also the time for us to come to God. Advent is like a two-way street — God to us and us to God. Mary can be our guide. She can teach us how to come to God. God has taken the initiative to come to us and God continually comes to us and God will come to us; it is what God does. How do we respond to these divine actions or comings? We make the move to come to God.

Mary came to God without the stain of any sin. Destined to be the Mother of the Savior, this unique privilege was extended to her alone. Her Immaculate condition from conception lasted throughout her life and continues into eternity. She is sinless and, as such, is an image of the Church. Filled with the grace of Christ, this is what the Church is to be — sinless. However, we who are the Church are not without sin. Dealing with our sins. Ridding ourselves of them. Coming to God free from them. These are worthy Advent initiatives that the Immaculate Virgin Mary teaches us.

Mary, the Mother of the Lord, waited for His birth as do all pregnant mothers. She is an expectant mother filled with child, expecting the birth of a baby. For us, longing for God is another very worthy Advent project. We should express that longing in our prayer. "Come, Lord Jesus" is an ancient Advent prayer. Easy to remember. Easy to pray each day.

These Advent days of waiting and expecting challenge us to respond to God who comes to us. Recognizing that there is sin in our lives and in our world, let us open ourselves to the action of God who sent His Son to rescue us from evil and sin. Let us prepare to come to the Lord whose comings in History, Mystery and Majesty are toward us. And, let us fervently and frequently pray, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

The Solemnity of Christ the King, which every Catholic throughout the entire world is celebrating today, is a new thing.

The Church has existed for almost 2000 years, but this Solemnity is less than 100 years old. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925.

He explained his reasons for doing so in an encyclical letter called "Quas primas".

First, he explained that throughout history liturgical feasts have been instituted in response to particular needs that arise in the life of the world and the Church (#22).

He gives the example of the feasts in honor of the martyrs, of the celebration of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart. And then he explains which need this new celebration addresses.

He was writing this encyclical in 1925, when the world was still trying to recover from World War I, which had devastated Europe and shattered modernity's hopes for unlimited progress based solely on human reason.

1925 was also only a few years after the Russian Bolshevik Revolution, which had given birth to the world's first explicitly atheist totalitarian regime: Soviet communism.

Everywhere the pope looked, he saw human societies abandoning Christian values and trying to build paradise on earth through other means.

But if humanity had been able to perfect itself by itself, without God's help, then Jesus Christ would never have come to earth.

The fact is, Jesus did come. He brought his Gospel and his grace to a fallen race, and only by believing in that Gospel and accepting that grace can individuals and societies achieve true and lasting peace and prosperity.

Pope Pius XI instituted today's Solemnity as a way to remind the world that to reject Christ, either in private life or in public life, is to reject our only hope, and to accept him is to accept salvation.

As Pope Pius IX wrote: "...When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony... That these blessings may be abundant and lasting in Christian society, it is necessary that the kingship of our Savior should be as widely as possible recognized and understood, and to that end nothing would serve better than the institution of a special feast in honor of the Kingship of Christ." (Quas primas, #19, 21)

The existence of purgatory — where all those souls who die in the state of sanctifying grace and yet still have to undergo a period of purgation before entering the kingdom of God, because according to Scriptures nothing sin will enter heaven — is a dogma of our Catholic faith.

This is how St. Faustina described purgatory: "I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently for themselves but to no avail for only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. They answered me in one voice, that their greatest torment was longing for God."

She saw Our Lady visiting these souls. All the Holy Souls in purgatory call her "The Star of the Sea." As she was leaving, St. Faustina heard a voice say to her, "My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it."

The church teaches that once in purgatory, those souls cannot gain any more merit to help themselves. They rely on our charity, our prayers, our sufferings and our sacrifices. But even if we should forget those in purgatory, Our Lady cannot forget them because she loves all her children, especially those who need her most.

Our Lady once said to St. Bridget, "I am the Mother of all the souls in purgatory, and I am Mother of Mercy to these my children who are in the greatest need of my assistance, since in their torments they cannot help themselves."

St. Bernardine of Siena says "that in that prison where souls that are spouses of Jesus Christ are detained, Mary has a certain dominion and plentitude of power not only to relieve them but even to deliver them from their pains."

Again, she told St. Bridget that as a compassionate Mother, she condescends to go herself often into that Holy Prison to visit and comfort her suffering children.

To her children who are devoted to the recitation of the Holy Rosary every day, Our Lady promises "to personally deliver them from purgatory herself." That promise is pictured in the painting of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo, where Our Lady is seen pulling two souls out of purgatory by means of the chain of the Holy Rosary.

And how about Our Lady's second great scapular promise known as the "Sabbatine Privilege," which was given by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Pope John XXII in the year 1322: "Those who wear the Scapular and fulfill two other conditions (Chastity and Prayer) can obtain early liberation from Purgatory, through the special intercession of the Virgin Mary, on the first Saturday after their death, the day consecrated to her."

St. Bernadine of Siena said the Blessed Virgin has the power of delivering souls from purgatory, but more particularly those who were most devoted to her.

The church teaches that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most effective means of assisting souls in purgatory. Another effective means is reciting the rosary. By the rosary, we offer to God all the merits of Our Lord in union with Mary for the suffering souls.

How much it must please Our Lady when we offer the rosary in union with her to liberate her suffering children from that holy prison to be with her in heaven, and in the process, she promises to also liberate us from that prison to be with her forever.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

Weekly meditation has resumed. Every Tuesday, from 7 - 7:45 pm, a group meets in the sanctuary to practice the Silence, Stillness, and Simplicity of Christian meditation. We belong to the World Community for Christian Meditation, which teaches meditation as a form of prayer to be close to Jesus. 

If you have any question, please contact Vivian Lee, WhatsApp or Tel: 6100 0880.

Would your child like to serve at Mass? We are in need of new servers.

We train all acolytes before their first Mass, and both the Priest and the other acolytes will help them during the service. Many children find serving at Mass far more engaging and meaningful than attending in the pews.

We set up the Acolyte Schedule based on your availability. Your child is not expected to serve every week--only when they are available.

Please contact Kym Kettler-Paddock at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if your child might be interested or if you have any questions. 

The annual Caritas Hong Kong Charity Raffle Ticket sale will be held until 27 November 2020. The price for each booklet is HK$200 (a total of 10 tickets per booklet).All funds raised will be used to support Caritas Hong Kong's various services to the community (including education, medical and social work services).

The master in today's parable stands for Christ. The servants stand for each one of us. That's the first lesson we should think about. Do we think of ourselves as servants, as dependent on God?

In this fallen world, most people tend to think of themselves as the center of the universe. And our contemporary society, so full of technological power and easy pleasures, increases that tendency of our fallen nature.

But this parable and many others are very clear: we are not God; we are not the center of the world; we are dependent upon God and our job in this life is to know him, love him, and serve him.

Only by doing that will we find the happiness we desire, because doing that is what we were created for. Squirrels were created to be cute and bury nuts. Humans were created to know, love, and serve God.

And the parable also tells us how we are supposed to do that. God has given each of us a certain number of "talents." In Greek that word referred to a large sum of money. In the actual meaning of the parable, however, it refers more to what the English word implies - all the abilities and blessings we have received from God.

God has given them to us, and we are free either to squander our gifts, burying them in the hole of self-indulgence, fear, laziness, and greed, or to use them as Christ would have us use them, which is the secret to happiness in this life and the life to come.

There are three steps we must follow in order to invest our gifts well - from a supernatural perspective.

First, we must identify what our gift is. We should always thank God for all countless blessings, but we should also reflect on the one or two strong characteristics, traits, or talents that God has given us personally.

The second step is to get right with God and stay that way. The third servant left his life-mission unfulfilled because he didn't have a good relationship with his master.

We will follow his tragic path unless we pray daily, clean our consciences every week or every month by going to confession, and continue to study the Bible and Church teaching; this is how we get to know our Lord and Savior and stay connected to the vine; and unless we do that, our talents will bear no fruit.

The third step: put our gift at the service of others. Be creative, be courageous, be like Christ! He left us his new commandment - to love one another as he has loved us.

Today Jesus will give us yet again the perfect example of this self-giving in this Mass, through the Eucharist. When we receive him in Holy Communion, let's promise that starting this week, we will go out and courageously invest our God-given gifts. 

Man is composed of body, soul and spirit. When a man dies, his body corrupts, but the soul does not die. According to our Christian faith, it will be raised by Christ on the last day. That is why death is not the end of our life. The soul goes on to live in eternity. It has to leave this world and take either of the two destinations: heaven or hell; eternal life or eternal damnation. It is not God's will that man goes to hell. He wants all men to be saved. But there are those who are condemned to hell, not because God likes it, but because they have willfully rejected God. And God cannot do anything about that because He has to respect the freedom of man. God cannot force a man to go to heaven if he wants to go to hell.

When the soul goes to hell, there is no more chance of getting out. The fire in hell is eternal, and the main cause of the sufferings of the souls in hell is the total and final absence of God. There is no possibility of seeing God anymore. The soul that does not go to hell is destined for heaven. Ordinarily a soul cannot go direct to heaven. It has to go through a process or stage of purification so that it will be worthy to face God. When we commit a mortal sin, we go to sacramental confession. The sin is erased through the absolution in the sacrament. But the temporal punishments of sin still remain. They are like the scars or stains of the soul. When a man dies, his soul will not anymore go to hell because his sins have been forgiven. But he has to undergo purification because of these temporal punishments of sins. That is purgatory.

The fire in purgatory is the same fire in hell. But while the souls in hell are violently suffering in eternal fire and they are cursing and angry because they know there is no more way out and no more possibility of seeing God, the souls in purgatory, on the other hand, are patiently enduring the pains of purification because they know that this is only for some time and they are assured of heavenly glory and union with God for eternity. Nevertheless, they are still suffering.

That is why we refer to the as the "poor souls in Purgatory." They are "poor" in the sense that they are suffering, and secondly, because they cannot do anything more for themselves. They totally rely on the prayers and sacrifices of their loved ones in their behalf. Their suffering is caused mainly by two reasons: first, the pains of purification; and second, the state of being so near God but they still cannot see God because they are not yet worthy and ready.

But in God's abundant mercy, and through the rich deposits of divine graces in the Church, there is a way for the faithful to cleanse his soul while still in this world, so that when he dies, he can be exempt from the fires of purgatory. This is by gaining indulgences. "An indulgence is the remission in the sight of God of the temporal punishment due for sins, the guilt of which has already been forgiven" (can. 992, Code of Canon Law). A plenary indulgence cleanses all temporal punishments; a partial indulgence only partially cleanses them. So, it is possible for a soul to go direct to heaven if he has gained a plenary indulgence for himself. Moreover, he can also apply this indulgence to a soul in purgatory by way of suffrages. One plenary indulgence will send a soul in purgatory to heaven. When that soul reaches heaven, he will definitely intercede before God in behalf of the person who gained for him the plenary indulgence.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

Weekly meditation has resumed. Every Tuesday, from 7 - 7:45 pm, a group meets in the sanctuary to practice the Silence, Stillness, and Simplicity of Christian meditation. We belong to the World Community for Christian Meditation, which teaches meditation as a form of prayer to be close to Jesus. If you have any question, please contact Vivian Lee, WhatsApp or Tel: 6100 0880.

Wisdom is personified in today's First Reading, which is one way that the Old Testament has of speaking about God: personified Wisdom.

In this reading, Wisdom is given two key characteristics. First, she is someone eager to bring her gifts to us. But second, at the same time, Wisdom depends on our being eager to receive them.

This is because our relationship with God is a kind of friendship; it is based on freedom and love. He won't force himself on us; he respects us too much. He wants our love and our friendship, not our slavery.

So he invites, but has to leave it up to us to respond. "Wisdom hastens to make herself known…" the First Reading tells us, but "whoever watches for her… shall not be disappointed."

The right attitude of our hearts in relation to God, then, is active searching, which results from cultivating a deep desire for God. This is what today's Psalm is all about: "My soul is thirsting for you."

And this ties in to today's Gospel passage. The foolish virgins didn't prepare themselves adequately for the wedding feast. They didn't take it seriously.

They were careless and superficial in their relationship with the bridegroom, not eager, intelligent and active in their pursuit of wisdom. It's as if they called themselves Christians and it appeared on the outside that they were, but it was just appearances.

Their lamps were empty; they did not lead deep lives of prayer; they did not love Jesus Christ in their hearts; they did not truly seek the Lord.

What is God asking us do right now? Has he put something on your conscience recently? Is there a relationship that you need to fix, or perhaps to finish? Is there someone you need to forgive?

Do you merely need to renew your commitment to the ABCs of being a Catholic: daily prayer, regular communion and confession, supporting the Church, a reasonable ongoing effort to know what the Church teaches?

God doesn't want our lamps to run out of oil. He wants his light to keep shining in our hearts, for our own benefit, and for the benefit of those around us, now and forever. But he won't force us to fill up that lamp and keep it filled.

Today, as he comes again to offer himself to us and for us in the Eucharist, let's tell him that we will do our part, whatever it may be. Let's make that promise today, and then during this week, let's keep it. It's the wise thing to do, and no one really wants to be a fool.