Arnold and Rebecca share with us their trip to Taize in France. They will describe their daily lives in this prayerful place filled with harmony and peace.

The liturgical colour for this Sunday's Mass is green. Now that the Christmas season has ended and Lent has yet to come, it is Ordinary Time and green represents growth and hope. The Gospel reading is John 1:29-34 - after baptizing Jesus, John the Baptist calls Him the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. The Baptist came from a priestly family, so his words have a priestly tone. During the Passover, the lamb commemorated the rescuing of the Jewish people from slavery; Jesus was the lamb of the new Passover who would rescue humanity from slavery to sin. The Old Testament lamb was slaughtered every morning and evening in the Temple to enable the repentance and forgiveness of the people. But Jesus alone is able to forgive sins through His Precious Blood and the Prophet Isaiah describes the suffering servant as a lamb offered to death. During Mass, we also call Jesus the Lamb of God before Communion, reminding us of His Presence in the Eucharist.

【Globe Tour】Taize (2) ( Press here to revisit 【Globe Tour】 - Taize (1) ) 【Spiritual Talk】Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Anthony Ho 【Edwin’s blog】January 18, 2020

In the 1950s, a Polish nun, Sr Rozalia Ellerik, FMM, came to Macau to start a school for girls from underprivileged families. Throughout the years, Escola Stella Matutina (Morning Star School) survived entirely on donations solicited by Sr. Rozalia. From humble beginnings, using straw sheds as classrooms, converting pig pens into dormitories, and relying on food aids, Escola Stella Matutina gradually transformed into a school with proper facilities, enjoying a good reputation.

In this episode of the Life Lounge, Sister Jessica Wong and Sister Po Yee Yeung will introduce their new religious community, and also share with us about the band - Siervas.

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord, which commemorates Jesus' revelation to the Jews, as opposed to His revelation to the Gentile Magi at the Epiphany and to His apostles at the Marriage at Cana. Jesus' baptism appears in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but only Matthew records the dialogue between John the Baptist and Jesus before the baptism. Originally, John was not willing to baptize Jesus and said Jesus ought to baptize him since he knew his lowliness before Jesus. But Jesus permitted it anyways to fulfill all things. Matthew's Gospel mentions the word "fulfill" many times, meaning to fulfill the Old Testament. He describes angels, magi, John, even God the Father testifying to Jesus' identity and mission. The Holy Spirit descends as a dove on Jesus' head, while God the Father says, "This is my son in whom I am well pleased." The descent of the Holy Spirit reminds us of the Spirit of God moving above the waters in Genesis and of the dove sent above the floods by Noah - both times representing the new beginning of the world. Jesus' baptism is a new beginning and the end of the Christmas season. Our baptism is also a new beginning and gives us a new birth.

【Life Lounge】Member of Siervas and a fans 【Spiritual Talk】Baptism of the Lord - Fr. Anthony Ho 【Edwin’s blog】January 11, 2020

The Church designates January 1 as the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. "Prep for Christmas" takes you to Ephesus, Turkey to reflect on the role the Blessed Virgin Mary plays in the Christian faith.

Epiphany is an important feast. For the first time since his birth, Jesus Christ reveals himself to gentiles – Wise Men from the East. Our “Tri-Colour Baked Cauliflowers” talks about the Wise Men and the gifts they presented to Jesus.

Fr. Francis will be answering two questions. One of them is about how to love God more, and another question about destiny.

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany, which commemorates the coming of three wise men from the East who followed a star to worship Jesus and give Him gifts, as recorded in the reading from the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12. Normally, this feast is celebrated on January 6th, but in some countries such as Canada, this day is not a public holiday, so it is celebrated on the nearest Sunday instead. Some people have attempted to explain the star's appearance with natural means, but the star stopped above Jesus, so this is very difficult. More people use the Jewish tradition to explain the star as an angel, just as an angel lead the Jewish people to the Promised Land. When the three wise men arrived at the house of the baby and His mother, they did not merely kneel but also prostrated themselves, a sign of worship. In Jerusalem, the chief priests and the scribes did not worship Jesus, but only foreigners did. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which were the first fruits of the Gentiles and showed Jesus as true God and true man. The early Church fathers admired the wise men's faith: although their physical eyes saw a baby, their eyes of faith saw God, and that is why they prostrated themselves and offered gifts. As faithful Catholics, our physical eyes see the Blessed Sacrament as bread, but our eyes of faith see God, hence why we kneel and offer up spiritual gifts.

【 Ask Fr. Francis】How to love God? 【Spiritual Talk】Feast of the Epiphany - Fr. Anthony Ho 【Edwin’s blog】January 4, 2020

Christmas is a season of love. One of the most well-known passages from the Bible is the hymn of love written by St. Paul. Prep for Christmas takes you to Corinth, Greece for a closer look of what is love.

The Holy Family is the perfect model for every family. When a family puts Christ in the centre and always relies on St. Joseph and Mary, the family will be like a church. All family activities, such as cooking together, are done based on love.

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family. The Gospel reading is from Matthew 2:13-23, which describes the Holy Family's flight into Egypt to escape King Herod the Great's proclamation that all male children under the age of two be killed. This was foretold by the Pharoah's proclamation in the Book of Exodus that all male Jewish children be killed. At that time, only Moses was saved by the princess who rescued him from the water; now, only Jesus was saved by Joseph who brought Him into Egypt. Moses and Jesus both played the role of saviour: Moses saved his people from slavery, while Jesus saved both His people and the entire world from slavery to sin. When Herod died, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to return to the Holy Land. In fact, the Joseph of the New Testament shares many similarities with the Joseph of the Old Testament: both were dreamers, both had fathers named Jacob, and both were persecuted by a king and his brothers respectively. The Holy Family later moved to Nazareth, a small town whose population numbered no more than 480 people at the time. Joseph led a humble life there as a carpenter, teaching us the road to sanctity: to perform well our duty to pray and work in front of the Child Jesus, and in doing so grow with Him.

【Last of 2019】It is the time of the year where we reflect on what happen in the past year, and look forward to the new year. Our hosts will share with us their reflection and count the many blessings they have received in 2019, and also set up their new year resolution for 2020. 【Spiritual Talk】Feast of Holy Family - Fr. Anthony Ho 【Edwin’s blog】December 28, 2019

Through colours and images, Byzantine icons bear witness to the truths of salvation without words. "Prep for Christmas" takes you to Greece to visit the icon studio run by an Orthodox priest. We would also deepen our understanding about mysteries related to the birth of Christ through icons.

Turkey has long been a Christmas tradition. While celebrating the birth of Christ, we must also remember our brothers and sisters in need. Let us come to their aid through corporal works of mercy.

This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Advent and the Gospel reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25, which talks about Mary's betrothal to Joseph. To the Jews, betrothal was different from our modern-day engagement: the betrothed were already considered husband and wife, but the wife would continue living with her parents for another year before fulfilling the marital oath and moving in with her husband. When Mary was found to be pregnant, she had not yet lived with Joseph. Under the Mosaic law, married persons discovered to have committed adultery were to be stoned to death but the Jews were under Roman rule, so they were unable to execute death sentences and oftentimes just enacted divorces instead. There are two ways to explain Joseph's motivations for wanting to divorce Mary: (1) he knew that he was not the child's father and suspected that Mary was unfaithful yet he did not want to expose Mary to shame, so he decided to divorce her quietly; (2) he had always known that the Messiah would be born of a virgin and never suspected Mary of infidelity but felt himself unworthy to be adoptive father of the Messiah and hence wanted to divorce her. Regardless, an angel appeared to Joseph and told him that he was a descendant of David and that the child came from God, so he ought not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. The angel also told Joseph to name the child Jesus, indicating that the child would inherit the line of David. Since the name Jesus means "God saves" and Jesus would save men from sin, it also indicated that Jesus was God. At the time, many Jews expected a political Messiah to free them from Roman rule, unlike Jesus, who came to free people from sin.