Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 46 : 2-3, 8-9, 10
Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.
God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations, God reigns from His holy throne.
The leaders of the nations rally together with the people of the God of Abraham. For in His hands are the great of the earth, God reigns far above.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 18 : 23-28
After spending some time at Antioch, Paul left and travelled from place to place through Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening the disciples. A certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived at Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and an authority on the Scriptures, and he had some knowledge of the way of the Lord.
With great enthusiasm he preached and taught correctly about Jesus, although he knew only of John’s baptism. As he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila heard him; so they took him home with them and explained to him the way more accurately.
As Apollos wished to go to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly strengthened those who, by God’s grace, had become believers, for he vigorously refuted the Jews, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each one of us are reminded of the hope and strength which we have in the Lord, our God and Saviour, and all of us are called to remain faithful to Him, not to give in to despair and hopelessness because no matter what challenges and trials we may face or encounter along the way, we will always be with the Lord by our side, providing for us and guiding us throughout the journey of our lives. The Lord has always loved us and cared for us, and He has always blessed and provided us with the assistance in various forms and ways. Through all these the Lord has helped His Church and faithful ones to persevere even amidst the most challenging moments throughout history.
In our first reading today, all of us heard from the Acts of the Apostles about the works that the Lord had done through St. Paul, His Apostle in the region of Achaia, which is in today’s area of Greece. St. Paul faced a lot of hardships and obstacles from the people of the Jewish diaspora living there, who accused St. Paul of all sorts of false accusations and with the attempts to discredit and harm him, as they opposed the Apostle’s efforts in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and the truth of Christ in their community and also among the Gentiles in the region. St. Paul spoke courageously before the governor against all those who opposed him and accused him of wrong things, and stood by his faith regardless of all these trials and challenges that he had to face. We heard how those people who opposed his efforts were really stubborn and even went to desperate methods to get St. Paul to be persecuted.
Essentially, like what we have heard from the Lord Jesus Himself in our Gospel passage today, that the life as Christians is truly not an easy journey for any one of us. For some of us like St. Paul himself had experienced, there may be even tangible obstacles, opposition and hardships facing us. But most importantly, we should not let all these deter us from following the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself said that there will be time of sorrow just as there will be time of joy, using the example and analogy of a woman who was going through childbirth as a comparison, in order to bring His point across to us. Those who have gone through childbirth would know that the birthing process is one that is painful, challenging and difficult just as the whole pregnancy period itself may be hard and challenging for many women. However, the moment the baby is born, usually the joy and relief of seeing one’s own baby surpass even all those pain and sorrow.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called to remember that being Christians do not mean that we are going to have a smooth and enjoyable journey in life, or to have blessings and good things all throughout our lives. Some of us misunderstood and failed to realise this fact, and failed to see the examples and the precedent of the Apostles and the early Christians, who suffered a lot and faced a lot of hardships and tribulations for their faith. Not only that, but even right up to this day, there are still often rampant and continued persecutions against Christians, lest we think that persecutions and hardships for Christians are merely a thing for the past. The Church and Christians around the world often still have to face challenges and trials, even just for remaining faithful and true to the teachings and truth of the Lord, and some faced even greater challenges and have to practice their faith in secret.
As we are reminded of all these things today, we are called to remain steadfast in faith, dedicating ourselves anew to the Lord, and to dedicate more of our time, effort and attention to Him, especially if we have not yet done so. As Christians, it is not enough for us just to go and call ourselves as Christians and do nothing at all, thinking that our baptism alone is sufficient to save us. For as the Lord and His disciples themselves had said, and as the Church fathers had taught us, that faith without good works and all the things done in living out that faith, is a dead faith, and dead faith is nothing better than faithlessness and hypocrisy, and those things will not avail us at all on the day of judgment. Instead, each and every one of us have to be truly faithful to the Lord in all things, and doing whatever we can in order to fulfil what the Lord had called us to do, and had entrusted for us to do in our own lives.
Now, as we carry on living our lives as Christians these days, are we inspired to follow the examples of our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs in how courageous they have been, how steadfast they were in defending their faith and in living their lives according to the Christian principles and the teachings of the Church? How willing are we to commit ourselves to follow the Lord and dedicate ourselves each day to serve the Lord ever more faithfully in all things? Each and every one of us as Christians are reminded that we should do our part in becoming inspiration, role model and being good examples for one another and for all those whom we encounter so that our actions, words and deeds, our way of life may inspire others and may help others to know the Lord and to find out about His Good News and truth.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remain steadfast in faith and commit ourselves ever more wholeheartedly to the Lord, remembering how loving He has been towards us, and how patient He has been in loving us all these while. Let us recall whatever the Lord has called us to do in our lives and in whichever calling we have been called to do, be it as a priest or any other members of the holy orders, as a consecrated men and women in the various religious orders, monasteries and friaries, as members of lay organisations and in our Church ministries, and as members of faithful Christian families, be it as husband and wife, or as parents and children. Each and every one of us have important roles to play in the works of the Church, and we should do our best to fulfil our calling in life as Christians.
May the Risen Lord, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, our most loving God and Good Shepherd, be with us always, be with His Church, and may the Holy Spirit be our inspiration, strength and guide. May the Lord bless our every works and good efforts for His greater glory, and may He help us all to persevere through all the hardships and challenges that we may have to face in this world. May He, the One and only True God, shine the light of His truth and love to the whole of this darkened world. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 16 : 20-23a
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth is in distress because her time is at hand. But after the child is born, she no longer remembers her suffering because of such great joy : a human being is born into the world.”
“You feel sorrowful now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice; and no one will take your joy from you. When that day comes you will not ask Me anything.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 46 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.
He brings peoples under our dominion and puts nations under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us – the pride of Jacob whom He loves!
God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 18 : 9-18
One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are Mine. I am with you, so no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.
When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the court. And they accused him, “This man tries to persuade us to worship God in ways that are against the Law.”
Paul was about to speak in his own defence when Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your complaint. But since this is a quarrel about teachings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to it yourselves : I refuse to judge such matters.”
Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention to it. Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the whole Church celebrates the occasion of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, marking the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ, forty days after His glorious Resurrection from the dead, ascended in glory to His heavenly Throne. The Lord Jesus ascended in glory by His own power, leaving behind this world but not abandoning His disciples and followers. He ascended to prepare for us all our places by His side in Heaven, to welcome us all in the end of time, to prove to us that we all truly have something to look forward to in our faithful and dedicated life. Each and every one of us are reminded of this most joyous moment and time, emphasising to us that Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in Whom we have put our faith, truly came from the Father in Heaven, and has returned to His place in Heaven, the Son of God incarnate, showing us the love of God manifested in the flesh.
In our first reading today, we all heard from the Acts of the Apostles detailing to us how the Lord ascended to Heaven in glory, before His assembled disciples and followers, and promising to them all the coming of the Holy Spirit, Who would guide and strengthen them in their journey and work, and Who would lead them to go forth and fulfil the commands and mission that He has entrusted to them, to proclaim the Good News of God to all the people of all the nations, and to baptise them all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He ascended to Heaven afterwards and this was witnessed by His disciples, many of whom would suffer persecution and even martyrdom in subsequent years and decades, and they endured all those sufferings with faith, exactly because they have seen everything that the Lord had done, how He has risen from the dead and was with them, and ascended into Heaven.
If the Lord Jesus has not truly come from Heaven and if He had been a fraud and false Messiah as how some among His enemies and opponents claimed, then His disciples and followers would not have persevered and endured in their faith in such a manner. Many of them have experienced everything that the Lord had said and done, and witnessed His Resurrection and Ascension as mentioned, and therefore, they were willing to even die to defend their faith in the Lord. Everything also happened as how the Lord has promised the disciples, with the Holy Spirit coming down upon the Apostles and the other disciples, heralding the birth of the Church, and encouraged them all to go forth and proclaim the Good News, spreading the words of the Gospels of salvation to more and more people who also come to believe in the Lord Jesus and His truth.
In our second reading today, all of us heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians regarding how Lord has revealed to His Church, to all of us the revelation of His truth and glory, everything that He has told and brought upon us, and most importantly, how all of us believe in and follow this Lord and God, Who is the Almighty God, the Master and King of all Creation. Not only that, but it also reminded us that we believe in this Jesus Christ, as Christians, and that He is not just merely like any Man, or any other beings. By His Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven, the Lord has shown us all that He truly came from His heavenly abode, from eternity and glory, coming down upon each and every one of us so that by dwelling among us and by His appearance in this world, He might save each one of us from being destroyed and crushed by our sins and wickedness.
This reminds us all that our faith in the Lord is not something that is nonsense and imaginary. By the testimony of faith and the evidence that the Church as well as other historical records have passed down to us, all of us know that our God is real, and although He did not leave behind much earthly existence, because He has ascended into Heaven, but He was there for us all, has been with us and shown us the love of God manifested to us, and He is and will always be there for us, guiding and helping us all throughout the way. He has sent us all the Holy Spirit to guide us and to strengthen us, to encourage and empower us, just as how the Holy Spirit encouraged the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord to do what they had been sent forth to do, in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel, the words of God’s salvation to His people.
In our Gospel passage today, that is what the Lord has told hIs disciples to do, to go forth to the nations and to all the people, and to proclaim God and His truth, His love and everything that He has done through the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ Himself, Who has shown us the love of God manifested and approachable in the flesh, and by Whose Passion, suffering and death has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life and glory. All these are brought upon us through Christ, and the Good News have to therefore be spread throughout the whole world, so that more and more people may come to believe in the truth that Christ Himself has proclaimed. And all of us as the members of the same Church of God are the bearers of this Good News and truth, which we have to proclaim in our own works and in whatever capacity and opportunities that the Lord has given us.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this great Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, all of us are reminded as well that forty days have passed in this joyful and glorious season of Easter. How have we been living through our Easter season? Have we been idling around and been ignorant of our calling and mission as Christians? Have our words, actions and deeds been reflective of our Christian faith and beliefs? If we call ourselves as Christians and yet we do not practice our faith, our carry out our actions, deeds and works, and if our words and interactions with each other are not reflective of our faith in God, then how can we expect others around us or those whom we encounter and interact with can become believers as well? Not only that, in fact, there had been many cases where people both within and outside the Church had been scandalised by the wicked and less-than-worthy actions by our fellow Catholics, who have not lived their lives the way they should have. The sad reality is that there are many Christians within the Church who have become lukewarm and even dead in the faith, abandoning the Lord for worldly pursuits and other things.
And lest we easily point finger and blame others, or think that this problem is what others have but not us, let us all look upon ourselves first, our way of life, our predisposition and our actions. If we truly have lived our lives in the most Christian manner, obeying the Law and commandments of God, showing love for both God and for our fellow men alike, then well done indeed, and we should continue doing that. It is by all these that we can truly be missionary and evangelising in the way how the Apostles and the many saints and holy missionaries in the past had done. Many became believers not only because of the miracles and wonders that they had done, but also because of the faith and dedication which our holy predecessors had shown in their lives, in how they committed themselves to God and to His path, and also in how they loved and cared for each other.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called to be the beacons of the light of God, which Christ our Lord has shown and passed on to us. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves to a virtuous and worthy life that all of us as Christians have been expected to do in our own respective lives? All of us should no longer be hesitant or ignorant to do as God has told us all to do, as our first and most important mission as Christians is evangelisation, to go forth and spread the faith to others, just as the Lord told His disciples in the Great Commission, ‘Go forth and make disciples of all the people of all the nations, and baptise them all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ And we do not have to seek for great things or worry that we have to aim for great achievements and wonders. We do not have to compare or worry, but instead let the Holy Spirit to help and lead us down the path, and entrust ourselves to God Who will show us how we can glorify Him by our lives.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this great Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, let us all remind ourselves that we have important mission in our lives, by doing our best in whatever we do in life, in whatever opportunities we have received and in whichever places that we have been called to, in our various respective ministries and vocations, be it as those called to the priesthood and holy orders, or those called to the religious and consecrated life, or those called to a life of holy singlehood and other forms of ministry associated with that, and of course as Christian couples and families tasked with the building of the faithful Christian families, the foundations of our Church and Christian faith, where our faithful future and young generations ought to be raised well in the Christian faith and truth of God. Each one of us should do our best to proclaim the Lord and His Good News, to those around us, both within and outside the Church, by our exemplary and faithful life.
May the Lord, ascended in glory onto His Throne in Heaven, most excellent and almighty, continue to guide us all His Church and all of us His beloved ones, in our path and way of life so that we may truly be the inspirational and worthy beacons of His light, truth and love. May all of us continue to strive to be faithful in all things, and do our best to be good role models and inspiration as the missionaries and disciples of our Lord in our world today, ever inspired, strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 28 : 16-20
At that time, as for the eleven disciples, they went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Jesus, they bowed before Him, although some doubted.
Then Jesus approached them and said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptise them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. I am with you always even to the end of the world.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Ephesians 1 : 17-23
May the God of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Father of Glory, reveal Himself to you and give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that you may know Him. May He enlighten your inner vision, that you may appreciate the things we hope for, since we were called by God.
May you know how great is the inheritance, the glory, God sets apart for His saints; may you understand with what extraordinary power He acts in favour of us who believe. He revealed His Almighty power in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and had Him sit at His right hand in heaven, far above all rule, power, authority, dominion, or any other supernatural force that could be named, not only in this world but in the world to come as well.
Thus has God put all things under the feet of Christ and set Him above all things, as Head of the Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 46 : 2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.
God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations, God reigns from His holy throne.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 