Month: April 2023

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Wednesday, 19 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 17-26

The High Priest and all his supporters, that is the party of the Sadducees, became very jealous of the Apostles; so they arrested them and had them thrown into the public jail. But an Angel of the Lord opened the door of the prison during the night, brought them out, and said to them, “Go and stand in the Temple court and tell the people the whole of this living message.” Accordingly they entered the Temple at dawn and resumed their teaching.

When the High Priest and his supporters arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, that is the full Council of the elders of Israel. They sent word to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. But when the Temple guards arrived at the jail, they did not find them inside, so they returned with the news, “We found the prison securely locked and the prison guards at their post outside the gate, but when we opened the gate, we found no one inside.”

Upon hearing these words, the captain of the Temple guard and the high priests were baffled, wondering where all of this would end. Just then someone arrived with the report, “Look, those men whom you put in prison are standing in the Temple, teaching the people.” Then the captain went off with the guards and brought them back, but without any show of force, for fear of being stoned by the people.

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Tuesday, 18 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of what it means for us to be Christians, that is as faithful disciples and followers of Our Lord and Saviour, living our lives in the path and ways that He has shown and revealed to us. The Lord Himself has revealed His teachings and truth, through His Church and His disciples and their successors, our bishops and priests, who have handed down to us what the Lord Himself has given to His Apostles and disciples. That is why each and every one of us are called to turn once again towards Him and His truth, distancing ourselves from sin and wickedness, and from all the things which have often separated us from the love of God, all the temptations and forces which have kept us from embracing God’s most generous love and compassion, all these while.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles about the life of the early Christian community, which members were filled with love and compassion for one another, as they shared their goods and properties, their blessings with those who have less with them so that none among them lived in want or in misery. In their way of life, those early Christians highlighted what it truly means to be followers and disciples of Christ, in their obedience to God’s will and adherence to His commandments and Law. They loved the Lord and placed Him at the centre of their community and their lives, and they also loved one another and cared for the needs of those around them, instead of selfishly seeking only to satisfy themselves. They are our role models and examples in how we should live our own lives in this world, and all of us should indeed make good use of the time and opportunities presented to us so that we may also live our lives worthily of the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the passage from the Gospel of St. John in which we listened to the story of the time when Nicodemus the Pharisee came to meet Jesus at night time, and discussed about many things, including the identity of the Lord and what He has come into this world for. In that passage we heard how the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that everything which He had revealed to the latter was in fact the revelation of the Spirit, and in order for one to truly be able to believe in what He has spoken, then he or she would have to allow the Spirit to perform His works within them, transforming and guiding them to the path of truth. Without this openness and willingness to let the Lord and His Spirit to guide us in our path and way of life, unfortunately, we will likely end up walking down the wrong path in life and fall into sin.

That is why, all of us are reminded that we should be inspired by the examples of the Holy Apostles, the disciples of the Lord, and those early Christians, all of whom have given themselves to the service of God. All of us are called to show our faith in our way of life and in our every actions and deeds, so that we ourselves may become good source of inspiration for each other, and that we may help to lead more and more people to the Lord, as good and faithful Christians, dedicated and committed missionaries. That is why all of us are reminded of this, when we heard these Scripture passages today, so that we may truly live our lives genuinely as Christians and not just merely in formality only. It is easy for us to fall to the trap of doing what we are expected to do, but lacking in the true appreciation and understanding of what being Christians is truly all about.

As we continue to progress through this season of Easter, all of us should spend some time at least to reflect on what Easter truly means for us. Easter is a time of celebration and rejoicing because we have seen the light of the Risen Lord, all that He had done for our sake, in lifting us all up from the depth of the darkness of sin, into the light of God’s salvation and grace. Through Easter, all of us have been shown the promise of God’s providence and faithfulness, in ensuring that we have the sure path to eternal life through Him. The Resurrection of the Lord proved to us that not even death can separate us from the love of God. As long as we continue to place our trust in the Lord and do whatever we can to be faithful to the Lord’s commandments and path, we shall be assured of an everlasting happiness and joy with Him.

However, in our world today, there are truly a lot of distractions and things that can become serious obstacles and challenges for us in our path, and there are plenty of temptations and false sources of joy and pleasures which can lead us astray from the path of the Lord. That is why we are always constantly reminded to be vigilant and to be strong amidst all of these distractions and challenges, so that we do not easily falter in our journey of faith and life. All of us have to strengthen our relationship with God, and deepen our understanding of our Christian faith and truth, so that we can resist the temptations and the things that the devil and all of those seeking our destruction may send our way. We must always have the faith that God is always by our side, and that with Him, there is indeed plenty of hope and redemption.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do our part as Christians, as we continue to carry on living our lives in this world, and let us be good role models and examples in all things so that through our works, actions and deeds, we may inspire many more people to come to believe in the Lord. Let us all strive to be the good disciples and followers of our Lord, doing our best to proclaim the truth of God, the glory of Our Lord and Saviour in our every actions and words. Let all of our lives, in in the smallest and simplest things, be the shining beacons of Christ’s Light and Hope, illuminating all those who are still living in the darkness, and are still lacking hope and strength. Let our actions and interactions with our fellow brothers and sisters in need help us to show them the path to the true hope and eternal joy in the Lord.

May the Risen Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in our journey of life, that we may resist the many temptations and pressures all around us. May the Lord be with us and may He empower each one of us to be prepared and ever ready to do His will, and may continue to inflame us with His Holy Spirit, to allow us to walk with faith in the Lord. May God bless us always in all things, in our every good works and deeds, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 18 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 7b-15

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again from above. The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus asked again, “How can this be?” And Jesus answered, “You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things! Truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we witness to the things we have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony. If you do not believe when I speak of earthly things, what then, when I speak to you of heavenly things? No one has ever gone up to heaven except the One Who came from heaven, the Son of Man.”

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

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Tuesday, 18 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5

YHVH reigns, robed in majesty; YHVH is girded with strength.

The world now, is firm; it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o YHVH; from all eternity You are.

Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your House, day after day, without end, o YHVH.

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Tuesday, 18 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 4 : 32-37

The whole community of believers was one in heart and mind. No one claimed private ownership of any possessions; but rather, they shared all things in common. With great power, the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, for all of them were living in an exceptional time of grace.

There was no needy person among them, for those who owned land or houses, sold them and brought the proceeds of the sale. And they laid it at the feet of the Apostles, who distributed it, according to each one’s need. This is what a certain Joseph did. He was a Levite from Cyprus, whom the Apostles called Barnabas, meaning : “The encouraging one.” He sold a field which he owned and handed the money to the Apostles.

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Monday, 17 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of God’s great providence and love to all of us, His beloved people. He has sent His Son into this world, Our Risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to be the One to redeem all of us from our fallen state of sin, and to raise us up with Him into a new life and existence, filled with grace and blessings of God. Each and every one of us have been called by God to follow Him and to commit ourselves to His path, entrusting ourselves and our lives to Him. We should also allow His Spirit to come to us and transform our lives, changing our outlook and way of life for the better, to be more in alignment with the Lord and His commandments and Law, to do what He has taught and commanded all of us to do in our own lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the time after St. Peter and St. John had been released from the custody and questioning by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council, which sought to restrain and prevent them from preaching or teaching anything in the Name of the Lord Jesus. But despite the threats, pressures and coercions, none of those could deter the Apostles from teaching the people and delivering to them the truth of God. This is the same spirit and encouragement that they shared with the other disciples of the Lord, and we heard how they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, praying fervently together to God with one voice, seeking His guidance, providence and protection against the forces of the evil ones and those who persecuted them. They asked the Lord to remember all of those who have been faithful to Him, so that they will be guarded against those with malicious and evil intent on them.

The Apostles and the disciples through their prayers reminded us all of the love that God has always shown His people throughout time and history, how He has always stood by those who were faithful and committed to Him. The Lord remembered His faithful ones despite the constant trials and challenges that they have always faced, reaching out to them and providing for them throughout their journey, and He did not let them to falter and fail. The very fact that His Church and works had endured all these while despite efforts and concerted attempts by many throughout history to destroy the Church and to prevent the success of the works of the Lord, in the end, the Church still prevailed and endured the past two millennia even when governments, regimes, kingdoms and peoples rose and fall, and even as many of those who oppressed the Church faltered and failed, and some of them still even became disciples of the Lord and believers themselves.

That is why, as we listened to our Gospel passage today, we are reminded yet again by the Lord Himself that each and every one of us must allow ourselves to be guided by Him and by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of courage and counsel, as we continue living our lives in this world. Unless we allow ourselves to be guided by the Lord and His counsel, we may end up failing miserably and terribly, as we cannot solely just depend on worldly things to get us to what we want and desire to happen, and in doing the will of God. Instead, we have to spend a lot of our time and effort in discerning what God wants us to do with our lives, through everything that He has provided and given to us, the many gifts, graces and blessings that He has bestowed upon us. The Lord has granted us the opportunities and the abilities to do what we can to proclaim Him, His truth, love and compassion to everyone.

That is what our mission is as Christians, as the members of God’s Church. Each and every one of us in truth share the responsibility and mission to go forth and proclaim the Gospels and the Good News of God, and it is not just the responsibility and the duty of the ordained ministers, the priests and all the others to do the will of God. In fact, each and every one of us, the members of the laity, are integral and important parts of the Church, without which the Church cannot truly function and do what it has been called to do. The ordained ministers cannot do the works of the Lord without support from the laity, and vice versa. But what is important is that we ought to know that each one of us have been given unique and powerful gifts, graces and opportunities to do what the Lord wants us to do. However, more often than not we are ignorant of this and we do not realise what each one of us are supposed to do as part of our ministry as Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now as we are reminded of this need for us to follow the Lord and to entrust ourselves to His guidance and help, let us all therefore discern carefully so that in our daily living, each and every one of us may spend the precious time and energy to do what is right and just, appropriate and worthy for all of us as Christians. Each and every one of us are the parts of the same Body of Christ, the Church of God, and every one of us should have the unity of purpose and work, and we should really do our best to be exemplary and worthy in all things, and not to be just faithful merely in name only. Unless we do our part and strive to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, how can we then be faithful and dedicated disciples of the Lord, in everything that we have done and in our every actions and interactions with others all around us?

Let us all truly be inspirational and good role models for our fellow Christian brothers and sisters, and even also for many others who witness our works and interact with us. Let our path and actions be guided by the Holy Spirit and by the Wisdom of God, as we open ourselves wholly to the Lord, allowing Him to lead and guide us down the right path. Let us all strengthen our devotion and commitment to glorify the Lord in each and every moments presented to us, and let us help one another in our journey of faith, particularly during this blessed time and season of Easter, when we should remind ourselves of our true Easter joy in seeing and receiving the fullness of God’s grace and love through the Passion, death and Resurrection of His only begotten Son, Our Risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, our Light, Hope and Source of inspiration and strength.

May the Risen Lord, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, continue to be with us and help us in our journey of faith, so that we may continue to be strong and courageous in our ministry in the Church, in whatever it is that we have been called into, in our perseverance in living our faith with zeal and in loving one another with genuine love and compassion. Let us all be the shining beacons of the Resurrected Christ and His Light, that many more people may come to believe in Him and His salvation through us and our exemplary living. May the Risen Lord bless us always, and may He bless our Easter season and celebrations, bless our loved ones always. Amen.

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Monday, 17 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 1-8

At that time, among the Pharisees there was a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God to teach us, for no one can perform miraculous signs like Yours unless God is with Him.”

Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above.” Nicodemus said, “How can there be rebirth for a grown man? Who could go back to his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you : No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

“Because of this, do not be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again from above.’ The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

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Monday, 17 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 2 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-9

Why do the nations conspire? Why do the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth brace themselves and the rulers together take their stand against the Lord and His Anointed. They say, “Let us break their bonds! Let us cast away their chains!”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord looks at them in derision. Then in anger He speaks to them, terrifying them in the fury of His wrath : “Behold the King I have installed, in Zion, upon My holy hill!”

I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You. Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall rule them with iron sceptre and shatter them as a potter’s vase.”

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Monday, 17 April 2023 : 2nd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 4 : 23-31

As soon as Peter and John were set free, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices as one and called upon God, “Sovereign Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, of the sea and everything in them, You have put these words in the mouth of David, our father and Your servant, through the Holy Spirit : Why did the pagan nations rage and the people conspire in folly? The kings of the were aligned and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Messiah.”

“For indeed in this very city Herod with Pontius Pilate, and the pagans together with the people of Israel conspired against Your holy Servant Jesus, Whom You anointed. Thus, indeed, they brought about whatever Your powerful will had decided from all time would happen. But now, Lord, see their threats against us and enable Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and to work signs and wonders through the Name of Jesus Your holy Servant.”

When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered together shook, and they were all filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

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Sunday, 16 April 2023 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us have come to the completion of the glorious Easter Octave, the Second Sunday of Easter, as we continue to embark on this joyful journey and time, and as we gather together to celebrate joyfully the Lord’s glorious Resurrection, we are reminded as always of the love and kindness that He has always shown us. Through His Passion and death, His glorious Resurrection, the Risen Lord has brought us all from the darkness into the light, and He has rejuvenated all of us, restored hope to all of us who have been suffering in the darkness, so that each and every one of us may once again live with Him in true joy and happiness. This is why, Pope St. John Paul II through his decision, named this Second Sunday of Easter as the Divine Mercy Sunday, in reference to the vision of St. Faustina Kowalska on the Aspect of the Lord as the Divine Mercy, focusing on the merciful and compassionate nature of our loving God and Father.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the early beginnings and the early days of the Church, after we have heard in the past week of the many deeds of the Apostles in proclaiming the truth about the Lord’s Resurrection, and how many people have become convinced that the Lord is the Saviour of the world, and believed in Him. That was the beginning of the Christian Church and community, and we heard how the early Christians lived, sharing their goods and properties, living in wonderful peace and harmony with each other. They lived in God’s grace and cared for each other, living righteously and faithfully in God’s path. They truly embodied the spirit of being true disciples and followers of the Lord. They did what they had been taught by the Apostles and the Christian missionaries, striving to do what they could to glorify the Lord by their lives, by their every actions, words and deeds.

They trusted in the Lord and obeyed Him, focusing themselves and their lives on the Risen Lord, and in loving one another in the manner that the Lord Himself has shown His love upon them, that everyone who witnessed them and their works, their lives and actions were indeed touched by the love of God made manifest and real through the actions of His called and chosen people, those who are called Christians. They embodied what we heard in our second reading today from the First Epistle of St. Peter. The Apostle spoke of how Lord has shown all of us, His beloved people the hope and salvation through the Resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord and Saviour, through Whom all of the people faithful to the Lord had been brought to reconciliation and reunion with our beloved Father and God. St. Peter also spoke of how each and every members of the Church ought to put our trust in the Lord, and hold fast onto this faith we have in Him.

St. Peter also mentioned how putting our trust in the Lord is much better and far more important, a wiser and better choice than putting our trust in worldly means, by comparing between gold and faith, and how gold provided something that will not last forever while faith gives us things that the world cannot give and lasts forever. For while gold, wealth, riches and the resources of this world may fail us and may be destroyed and lost from us, as long as we entrust ourselves to the Lord and remain faithful to Him, the Lord will always be by our side, guiding us in our path and providing for us, even in the midst of our darkest and most difficult moments. The Resurrection itself was the strongest proof of this, as coupled with the Passion and death that Our Lord and Saviour endured on His Cross, it proves that God’s love endured even through His death, and through His Resurrection, we have seen once again His love and compassion for us, undimmed and shown to us in all its fullness.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the example of how the Lord showed His beloved ones that He truly remembered all of them and loved them, appearing before them at the moment when they were still confused and lost at what had just happened in the preceding days. Back then, right after the Resurrection, the disciples of the Lord were still filled with fear and uncertainty, as they experienced a great whirlwind of events from the moment when the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem, hailed and glorified like a King, only to be betrayed by one of His own disciples, abandoned by everyone and rejected by the same ones who had welcomed Him with such great joy and festivities. They witnessed how the Lord was persecuted, tortured and broken, forced to carry His Cross to Calvary, pierced with nails and suffered until His death, and His Body interred in a tomb. Then, a most bewildering news were told to them by the women who went to the Lord’s tomb, telling them that the Lord had risen from the dead.

In truth, the Lord Himself has predicted that all these would happen, but none of the disciples realised the truth until everything had happened. The Lord appearing before those same disciples therefore revealed all of the truth that He has been telling them all the while, and relighted the hope in the hearts of those who have been afflicted by fear and darkness. The Lord appeared to all of them except for St. Thomas who have been away during the time that the Lord appeared to His disciples. We heard of how St. Thomas refused to believe what the other disciples had told him, and refused to believe that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead, even to the point of proclaiming that unless he could verify everything right up to touching and putting his fingers into the Lord’s wounds, he refused to believe in the resurrection of the Lord.

It was there then that the Lord proved Himself and His Risen glory to St. Thomas, appearing before him and the other disciples and telling him to do exactly as what he had wanted to do. St. Thomas was awestruck, and he immediately professed his faith in the Lord, with the words that we are now familiar with, ‘My Lord and my God’. These are the exact same words that we usually say whenever the Most Holy Eucharist, the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of Christ is presented before us, at the moment when the Eucharist is elevated by the celebrant, at the Consecration during the Eucharistic Prayer. We utter the same words as St. Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God’ and more significantly, just as the Lord had said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.’ Unlike St. Thomas, who have seen the Risen Lord Himself and believed in Him, we have not seen the Risen Lord and yet we believed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in essence that is what our Christian faith is all about. Our Christian faith is the belief we have in the salvation and eternal life that we have been offered most generously by the merciful and compassionate love of God, the Divine Mercy. This Sunday that is the reason why we commemorate this Divine Mercy Sunday, to remind us all that the Resurrection of the Lord is the proof of the Lord’s ever enduring Love and Mercy towards us, in His ever loving actions and works to reach out to us and to reconcile us to Himself. He has sent us all His own beloved Son after all, to suffer most grievous injuries and hardships, persecution, humiliations and rejection so that by His wounds, pains and sufferings, He might save us all and redeem us from our many sins and faults. By His sorrowful Passion, the Lord, our most loving and compassionate Divine Mercy have redeemed us and healed us from our fallen state of sin.

Now, as we celebrate the Divine Mercy of God and this joyful Easter season, let us all therefore spend our time to proclaim the most Divine Mercy of Our Risen Lord to the whole world, to all those whom we encounter in life. All of us as Christians have the solemn obligation and mission to proclaim the Lord to the world, and the best way that we can do this, is by doing His will, obeying His Law and commandments, and living our lives in the manner that is truly worthy of the Lord, much as how the early Christians mentioned in our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles had lived their lives. We have to show that we truly believe in the Lord, truly present in our midst, and by Whose works of mercy we have been redeemed from our terrible state in life. Do we truly believe in the Risen Lord like how the disciples, the numerous saints and martyrs of the Church, our holy predecessors, had done? Or do we doubt Him like how St. Thomas once doubted Him?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore ask the Lord, our Resurrected Saviour and God, to show us all His mercy and forgiveness, pouring down from His own Most Sacred Heart upon each and every one of us. What St. Faustina Kowalska had seen in her visions, and the words she has received reminded us that the Lord first and foremost loved us all, although He despised our sins and wickedness. He wants us all to change our way of life for the better, so that we may truly embrace His mercy in full. Forgiveness and healing for our many sins can come from the Lord alone, and it is in Him therefore that we should put our full trust in, entrusting ourselves wholeheartedly from now on if we have not yet done so. Let us all draw ever closer to Him, to the Divine Mercy, to the Lord’s Throne of Mercy, beseeching Him to remove from us the blight of these sins we have committed. May the Risen Lord, the Divine Mercy continue to bless and guide us all to Himself, and may He remain with us always, now and at all times. Amen.