03 December 2023 – 1st Sunday of Advent (Year B) | RCIA Rite of Acceptance

by Fr Joachim Robert

Dear friends,

As mentioned today, we begin this whole holy Season of Advent. And the first words that is been highlighted to us today, from the Gospel, is to “Stay Awake.” Perhaps all of us are already fast asleep and need to be awakened.

And this whole awakening tells us that that whole journey that we have taken the last liturgical year perhaps have been tiring, we have been wearied, we have gone through so many challenges and obstacles. And even in that time, now perhaps water is splashed on our face and said: “Awaken. Be awake” as we begin this whole liturgical season once again.

And as we approach this liturgical season, we are reminded, as a parish, we have come to take this theme from Isaiah 54:2 which is: Enlarge the space of your tent. And this invitation, it is not only an invitation that has been given to us in the Scriptures but also by our Holy Father when the whole path of Synodality was moved from 2023 and extended to 2024, this very verse was used to enlarge, to make space, to make room for all people so that we can walk in this path of Synodality together. And we have adopted this as a parish theme.

And throughout this whole Season of Advent, every week we have plans, various opportunities, various moments, where you can enlarge the space of your hearts to make room for Jesus and to make this Advent and Christmas celebration one that is meaningful, one that is spiritual, one that is able to make you reach out in love. 

And again, enlarging the space of your heart is an individual transformation, individual preparation that we make for ourselves so that we can celebrate this Christmas meaningfully. And that conversion and that transformation of heart that you have, individually, must also lead you towards inclusivity, towards care, towards unity.

And as you reach out towards others, because when you reach out to others in love, you too are able to find your own purpose and meaning in this life that God has blessed you with. And together with the individual transformation and that transformation of others, and as this transformation of this whole community of faith, as a parish, we too take this journey together.

And again, I am mindful that this whole preparation of this Advent Season does not tire us even further. We must be mindful to slow down, we must be mindful for us to make space individually, in the silence of our hearts, to recognise the God that is within us. And that is why we have prepared this whole time of silence during this season, beginning tomorrow.

And again, each individual Zones have been given this opportunity to animate but all are invited to come and make time and make space for silence, especially during this Season, so that you are able to acknowledge the God who is within you and is leading you to a transformation of heart. And there too there are many, many various opportunities that you can do in order to enlarge the space of your tent.

Secondly, as you look at the activities as well in the parish, there is also moments of outreach. Moments where you have been given this opportunity to reach out to others in love. And I was quite encouraged to see that whatever outreach that some ministries, some zones and even the list that we have put out for outreach has all been taken up. And that shows that you are enlarging the space of your hearts to allow Jesus to reside within you and Jesus is propelling you and moving you further and further to where God wants of us.

And today as we look at the candidates as well, candidates who perhaps have gone through this whole journey of seeking and searching, where they have enlarged the space of their hearts to make room for Jesus who perhaps was constantly speaking and reaching out to them in so many different ways. And as you enlarge the space of your tent of your hearts, you too see how the enlargement of that tent is able to benefit others as a community.

And because each one of us, dear friends, if we enlarge the space of our hearts, that can be difficult, that can be challenging but that enlarging of the space to grow in hospitality, to grow in a loving relationship with God and with one another, and that enlarging of the space to include others as we have today, people who do the work of caring for the AIDs victim, people who have HIV/AIDs. People who have actually, even the daughters of St Paul are here today to do their book missions and some of our parishioners are also there in Sungai Petani to do an outreach towards the migrants.

And as we enlarge the space, dear friends, and as we enlarge the space of our tent for the RCIA candidates as well to be included as part of this whole celebration, it makes us realise that when we enlarge the space and the tent of our hearts, others are included, others are seen as individual persons who are growing in their loving relationship with God who has called them into this community of faith.

And as we enlarge our space of our hearts, it can be contagious. That is one caution I would like to let you know. Because when you enlarge the space, like I said it is difficult, it is challenging, but when you enlarge the space, we get more and more open to the work of grace at work in our lives.

And every moment, dear friends, as we look at the First Reading today, as the community was crying out in faith, it says: Oh that you would tear the heavens open and come down. Every one of us, dear friends, need this grace of God in our lives, and especially during this time of Advent. And as we open that tent of our hearts, as we cry out to God as a community, as individuals, as people who are in the margins, as people who are with disabilities, as we cry out our whole voice to God, the Responsorial Psalm invites and tells us:
God of Hosts, bring us back, let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
It is that sure confidence that we have that God will be there together with us.

And all through salvation history, and as we will celebrate at Christmas, to continue to remember that the love of God continues to shine in each and every one of us. And are we prepared? Are we allowing that space of our hearts to be extended so that His work of grace will be able to not only transform our own lives but also this whole parish community.

And as they have made space for God in their lives, especially the candidates today, Catechumens today, as you have enlarged the space of your hearts, you have also allowed so many facilitators to come and help you to walk along with you on that journey. And after they have prepared, the whole community now comes to witness that enlarging of your space of your hearts. In doing so, you too become a blessing towards others, towards the community and your own lives as well.

If we are faithful, dear friends, to this invitation that the Lord gives us each and every moment of our lives, and if we are focused in where He is leading us, that is the reason for our hope. That is the reason that we are able to take this journey in faith, trusting that God’s love will continue to accompany us all along the way.

Let us pray that this whole journey that they have taken, that the whole journey that we will be taking as a parish, the whole journey that we will take as church, the universal church, will continue to be blessed by God as we enlarge the space of our tent.

And as we enlarge the space of our hearts, I would like to invite you, dear friends, with all these preparation that has been put forward to you in the parish, and different parish are also doing various ways to engage, trust that desire and that love in your hearts to prepare yourself mindfully, preparedfully and also learn to listen during this time to your heart where you are able to find the God that is within you, with Jesus who wants to be reborn in your life.

And with that preparation of Advent, let this be a moment of grace that you come to acknowledge the love of God for you and for the community.

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