Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 10
Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.
Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Acts 15 : 7-21
As the discussions became heated, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that from the beginning God chose me from among you so that non-Jews could hear the Good News from me and believe. God, Who can read hearts, put Himself on their side by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them and cleansed their hearts through faith.”
“So why do you want to put God to the test? Why do you lay on the disciples a burden that neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry? We believe, indeed, that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
The whole assembly kept silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas tell of all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done through them among the non-Jews. After they had finished, James spoke up, “Listen to me, brothers. Symeon has just explained how God first showed His care by taking a people for Himself from non-Jewish nations. And the words of the prophets agree with this.”
“For Scripture says, ‘After this I will return and rebuild the booth of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again. Then the rest of humanity will look for the Lord, and all the nations will be consecrated to My Name.’ So says the Lord, Who does today what He decided from the beginning.”
“Because of this, I think that we should not make difficulties for those non-Jews who are turning to God. Let us just tell them not to eat food that is unclean from having been offered to idols; to keep themselves from prohibited marriages; and not to eat the flesh of animals that have been strangled, or any blood.”
“For from the earliest times Moses has been taught in every place, and every Sabbath his laws are recalled.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the parable of the vine and its branches, and of the vineyard and its grower from our Lord Jesus, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John. In this parable, Jesus was speaking about Himself and God His Father, and how if mankind were to have true life in them, then they must be attached to Him, and continue to be attached to Him.
The Vinegrower of the field is God the Father Who created all things and all life. And through His Word He has created all things at the beginning of time. The Word was through which God created all and gave life to all. And that Word has been incarnate to be one of men, as the Vine referred to in the Gospel today by Jesus. Jesus Himself is the Vine, through which all of its branches has life and are able to grow.
Those who keep themselves solidly attached to the Vine that is our Lord, will receive true life and grace. They will remain in God’s love and grace, and His blessings will be with them always. But those who severed themselves from the Vine, would therefore be excluded from the grace of God, and they shall be cast out into the utter darkness and damnation, unless they repent and change their ways.
The branches refer to all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, for all of us who have believed in the truth of Jesus our Lord, and all of us who have received baptism as the Sacrament of sanctification and as the seal of faith, shall be joined to the Lord as the members of His one Body, the Church. Jesus Himself mentioned in another occasion, how the Church is one united Body, with all of its members comprising all of us who believe in the Lord.
And as members of that Church, the one Body of Christ, we should realise that all of us have been brought together by God, just as in the days of Noah, when God sent the great flood to wipe out all those men and creatures who were wicked and evil, all those who refused to listen to God and who refused to walk in His ways. Only those who were brought and gathered in Noah’s Ark, namely only Noah and his immediate family were saved.
Therefore, in the same manner, only those who God have gathered in His Church will be saved and receive the guarantee of safety and eternal life from God. Those who consciously chose to remain outside the Church of God, is like lost sheep lying outside the flock. And when the Shepherd comes, all those who are inside the flock will be saved, and those who are outside shall be left behind.
Therefore, if we are not part of the Church, and all those who are outside the bounds of the Church, then all of us will have no part in the salvation which God is promising to those who are faithful to Him. Only by being connected, and staying connected to God, the One and True Vine, that we will have life in us, and only through Him that we will receive salvation and eternal life.
Therefore, if we have been separated from the love and grace of God by our sins, then we should realise that it is up to us, whether we want to continue our current path and walk further and further away from God, or whether we want to turn around now, and turn away from all of our sinful ways. It is our choice, whether we want to be separated from God or to be reunited with Him. What matters now is do we want to be loved by God?
Let us all remind one another, that we may find the way to be reconciled with God our loving Creator and Father. Let us all seek to be ever closer to God and to walk forever always in His ways, and never again be separated from Him. May our sins be cleansed and our flesh and souls be purified from all the darkness that have enveloped us all. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 15 : 1-8
At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “I am the true Vine and My Father is the Vinegrower. If any of My branches does not bear fruit, He breaks it off; and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit.”
“You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in Me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you do not remain in Me.”
“I am the Vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in Me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not remain in Me is thrown away, as they do with branches, and they wither. Then they are gathered and thrown into the fire and burnt.”
“If you remain in Me and My words in you, you may ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you. My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit : it is then that you become My disciples.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 121 : 1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” And now we have set foot within your gates, o Jerusalem!
Jerusalem, just like a city, where everything falls into place! There the tribes go up.
The tribes of the Lord, the assembly of Israel, to give thanks to the Lord’s Name. There stand the courts of justice, the offices of the house of David.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 15 : 1-6
Some persons who had come from Judea to Antioch were teaching the brothers in this way, “Unless you are circumcised according to the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Because of this there was trouble, and Paul and Barnabas had fierce arguments with them. For Paul told the people to remain as they were when they became believers. Finally those who had come from Jerusalem suggested that Paul and Barnabas and some others go up to Jerusalem to discuss the matter with the Apostles and elders.
They were sent on their way by the Church. As they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they reported how the non-Jews had turned to God, and there was great joy among all the brothers and sisters. On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Church, the Apostles and the elders, to whom they told all that God had done through them.
Some believers, however, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, stood up and said that non-Jewish men must be circumcised and instructed to keep the law of Moses. So the Apostles and elders met together to consider this matter.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded yet again that the work of the Apostles were hard and perilous work, where they endured suffering, persecution and rejection, one after another during their time when they evangelised and spread the Good News of the Gospel to the people of God. But their rewards were great, and none less than the kingdom of God which is given to them to enjoy forever in the glory of heaven.
They travelled from places to places, from cities to cities, from towns to towns, villages to villages, preaching the salvation of God to all the people, and God blessed them from time to time, leading them and guiding them to bring forth His light to even more people, especially to those who did not have the chance to witness His graces and works, and those who have not yet heard His words.
In the Gospel today, as Jesus spoke to His disciples during His Last Supper with them, He reaffirmed them and encouraged them to be courageous and strong in their faith, and to give it their all in helping to realise the good works of God. He reassured them that they belonged to Him, and the prince of this world had no power or authority over them, no matter how hard he would try.
That prince of the world was Satan, the devil and the great enemy of us all. And to all those who believe in God, indeed he is the great adversary, who is trying actively at all times to bring us to our downfall and to our destruction through various means, be it by coercion or temptation, or through persecution or pressure to force the people of God to walk the path to ruin.
But we should not fear him, brethren, as neither did the Apostles and the disciples of our Lord fear him. God had promised them that they would not be lost to the darkness, and He would never abandon them so long as they remained faithful to Him and walked in His ways. And thus, even though the Jews rejected them, the Jewish authorities chased after them, and later on they encountered opposition from the Roman authorities, but they did not stop their evangelising efforts.
And all of these should inspire us all, the disciples and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ living today in this world. We should also walk in their footsteps, and continue their good works, which they have started and initiated. We are the members of the Church in this time and age, and the responsibility and obligation fall therefore upon us to do the good works of our Lord as He had commanded us.
Let us all commit ourselves anew to the cause of our Lord, devoting our time, our commitment and efforts to spread His Good News to all of the world, sending the light of Christ to all those who are still living in the darkness and ignorance of the Lord. If the world hates us for doing that, then we should know that the world is in opposition to God, and as we hold on to the side of the Lord, then we should all be aware of what good things we shall receive from God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us venture forth to bring and share God’s blessings with one another. We are called to be Christians to be active and to put forth through our works, the light that will illuminate the path for many that they may find their way to God, and therefore attain eternal life and salvation. Let us all be part of this great endeavour, and let us not lose heart, even if the world itself conspires against us, for God is and will always be with us. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 14 : 27-31a
At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “Peace be with you! I give you My peace; not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Do not be troubled; do not be afraid. You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, but I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would be glad that I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”
“I have told you this now before it takes place, so that when it does happen you may believe. It is very little what I may still tell you, for the prince of this world is at hand, although there is nothing in Me that he can claim. But see, the world must know that I love the Father, and that I do what the Father has taught Me to do.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 21
All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.
That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.
Let my mouth speak in praise of the Lord, let every creature bless His Holy Name, forever and ever.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 14 : 19-28
Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the people against Paul and Barnabas. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, leaving him for dead. But when his disciples gathered around him, he stood up and returned to the town. And the next day he left for Derbe with Barnabas.
After proclaiming the Gospel in that town and making many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and on to Antioch. They were strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain firm in the faith, for they said, “We must go through many trials to enter the Kingdom of God.” In each church they appointed elders and, after praying and fasting, they commended them to the Lord in Whom they had placed their faith.
Then they travelled through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. They preached the Word in Perga and went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been commended to God’s grace for the task they had now completed.
On their arrival they gathered the Church together and told them all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the non-Jews. They spent a fairly long time there with the disciples.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 