Feast

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Sunday, 19 May 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Romans 8 : 22-27

We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves, although the Spirit was given to us as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day when God will give us full rights and rescue our bodies as well.

In hope we already have salvation. But if we saw what we hoped for, there would no longer be hope; how can you hope for what is already seen? So we hope for what we do not see and we will receive it through patient hope. We are weak, but the Spirit comes to help us. How to ask? And what shall we ask for?

We do not know, but the Spirit intercedes for us without words, as if with groans. And He Who sees inner secrets knows the desires of the Spirit, for He asks for the holy ones what is pleasing to God.

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Sunday, 19 May 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 103 : 1-2a, 24 and 35c, 27-28, 29bc-30

Bless the Lord, my soul! Clothed in majesty and splendour; o Lord, my God, how great You are! You are wrapped in light as with a garment.

How varied o Lord, are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all – the earth full of Your creatures. Bless the Lord, my soul!

They all look to You for their food in due time. You give it to them, and they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are filled with good things.

You take away their breath, they expire and return to dust. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created, and the face of the earth is renewed.

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Sunday, 19 May 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Genesis 11 : 1-9

The whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved from east, they found a plain in the country of Shinar where they settled. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them in fire.” They used brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. They said also, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top reaching heaven; so that we may become a great people and not be scattered over the face of the earth!”

YHVH came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of man were building, and YHVH said, “They are one people and they have one language. If they carry this through, nothing they decide to do from now on will be impossible. Come! Let Us go down and confuse their language so that they will no longer understand each other.”

So YHVH scattered them over all the earth and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there YHVH confused the language of the whole earth and from there YHVH scattered them over the whole face of the earth.

Alternative reading

Exodus 19 : 3-8a, 16-20b

The Israelites camped there in front of the mountain, but Moses went up to God and YHVH called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you are to say and to explain to the Israelites : You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to Myself.”

“Now if you listen to Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My very own possession among all the nations. For all the earth is Mine, but you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” And He added, “This is what you are to say to the people of Israel.”

So Moses went and summoned all the elders of the people and related to them all that YHVH had commanded him to say. All the people responded with one voice, “All that YHVH has said, we will do.”

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast was heard. All the people in the camp trembled. Moses then made the people leave the camp to meet God and stand at the foot of the mountain.

Mount Sinai was completely covered in smoke because YHVH had come down in fire, and the smoke rose as from a furnace. The whole mountain shook violently, while the blast of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke and God replied in thunder. When YHVH had come down to the summit of Mount Sinai, God called Moses who went to the summit.

Alternative reading

Ezekiel 37 : 1-14

The hand of YHVH was upon me. He brought me out and led me in spirit to the middle of the valley which was full of bones. He made me walk to and fro among them and I could see there was a great number of them on the ground all along the valley and that they were very dry.

YHVH said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” I said, “Lord YHVH, only You know that.” He then said, “Speak on My behalf concerning these bones; say to them : Dry bones, hear the word of YHVH! YHVH says : I am going to put spirit in you and make you live. I shall put sinews on you and make flesh grow on you; I shall cover you with skin and give you My Spirit, that you may live. And you will know that I am YHVH.”

“I prophesied as I had been commanded and then there was a noise and commotion; the bones joined together. I looked and saw that they had sinews, that flesh was growing on them and that He was covering them with skin. But there was no spirit in them.”

So YHVH said to me, “Speak on My behalf and call on the Spirit, son of man! Say to the Spirit : This is the word of YHVH : Spirit, come from the four winds. Breathe into these dead bones and let them live!” I prophesied as He had commanded me and breath entered them; they came alive, standing on their feet – a great, immense army!

He then said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all Israel. They keep saying : ‘Our bones are dry, hope has gone, it is the end of us.’ So prophesy! Say to them : This is what YHVH says : I am going to open your tombs, I shall bring you out of your tombs, My people, and lead you back to the land of Israel.”

“You will know that I am YHVH, o My people! When I open your graves and bring you out of your graves, when I put My Spirit in you and you live. I shall settle you in your land and you will know that I, YHVH, have done what I said I would do.”

Alternative reading

Joel 3 : 1-5

In the last days, I will pour out My Spirit on every mortal. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even upon My servants and maidens, I will pour out My Spirit on that day.

I will show wonders in the heavens, and on earth blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will darken and the moon turn to blood, at the approach of the great and dreadful day of God.

Then all who call upon the Name of YHVH will be saved. For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant, as YHVH has said; in Jerusalem some will be saved – those whom YHVH will call.

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Tuesday, 14 May 2024 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthias the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, and the one who was not originally a member of the Twelve chosen by the Lord Himself to be among His chief disciples. There was a vacancy that arose due to the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, one of those Twelve, who betrayed the Lord Jesus to the chief priests and then took his own life shortly afterwards out of guilt and regret. As we heard in the Scriptural account from the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord discerned about this matter and chose from among those deemed worthy to be the twelfth member of the group of the Twelve Apostles.

Historically and according to the tradition of the Church fathers, this took place after the Lord had ascended into Heaven and before the coming of the Holy Spirit in the time of the Pentecost. This happened therefore in that ten days period between the Ascension of the Lord and the Pentecost, when the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem to discern their path forward after the Lord had ascended and was no longer physically with them. But although the Holy Spirit had not been given to them through the Pentecost, it did not mean that the Lord did not act through His Church. As we all heard that the disciples, while were still full of fear then because of the threats and persecutions from the Jewish elders and the chief priests, they were led to consider the needs of the Church and its future, and they discerned well through prayer that God might guide them in the right path.

And that was how St. Matthias was elected to be the one to fill up the vacancy among the Twelve, as the number twelve has a great significance representing the Twelve tribes of the people of Israel, and hence could not be left empty then. Through the election of St. Matthias, and the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit upon all the Lord’s disciples, the Lord sent forth His Church to proclaim His Good News and salvation to the nations just as He had intended. He sent them all so that more and more people may come to know the One and only true God, through Whom alone all grace and salvation can come from. The Apostles therefore went forth afterwards to the many places all throughout the known world then, places distant and even risky, where they had to labour hard and suffer persecutions at times to proclaim the Good News of God.

St. Matthias according to the Church and Apostolic traditions went to the region of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, proclaiming the Word of God and His salvation to the people living there, calling upon them to follow the Lord and to believe in Him. He also went to various parts of the Levant or the Holy Land early in his ministry, and in some traditions, also went to the land of Ethiopia to proclaim the Gospels, and in his efforts, he gained many people who embraced the Lord and had faith in Him because of everything that He had told them all. However, just like the other Apostles and missionaries of the Lord, he also encountered significant opposition from all those who refused to believe in God and persecuted those who believed in Christ, including the missionaries like St. Matthias himself.

According to one of those traditions, St. Matthias was martyred in that region of Ethiopia during his mission there, as he encountered opposition to his preaching and efforts to proclaim the Good News of God there from the unbelievers. In another tradition, he was martyred in Jerusalem in Judea by the local populace, the Jewish people who refused to believe in the Lord and His message. Regardless of the exact details of the events and where he had been martyred, the fact is that St. Matthias committed himself thoroughly to fulfil whatever missions and works that he had been entrusted with by God, and suffered greatly in the midst of doing all of his ministry, and yet, he remained courageous and strong in proclaiming God’s truth and salvation to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what we are all reminded to do as well in our own lives. As Christians, each and every one of us are called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, those holy predecessors of ours who have gone before us, and have dedicated themselves and their lives to God in all various manners and ways. Yet, they all proclaim the Lord and showed everyone what it truly means for us to become disciples and followers of God by living the message of the Gospel of Christ, that is what we have heard in today’s Gospel passage. The Lord told all of them to love one another just as He has loved all of them, and how the Father has loved all, because the way and the path of the Lord is truly that one of Love and compassion.

This means that to be genuine and true Christians, we must always be filled with love, first and foremost of course directed towards God, but then we must also show the same kind of love towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Without love we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians, as the Lord Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, has shown us the example of perfect love and compassion towards us, by reaching out to us sinners. He shouldered for each and every one of us the burdens and the consequences of our many faults, mistakes and sins, nwillingly suffering and dying for our sake on the Cross at Calvary. This is the perfect and most selfless love that God wants us to have as well, in how we live our lives, ever loving God and our brethren.

Let us all therefore walk faithfully in the footsteps of the Holy Apostles, committing ourselves thoroughly and doing our very best so that in everything that we do, we will always glorify God and be good role models and examples for one another. Let us all be the great inspiration for our brothers and sisters so that through us, more and more may come to know the Lord, and more may be willing to walk in the path of the Lord. May St. Matthias, Holy Apostle and good servant of the Lord continue to intercede for us sinners, and help us in our journey and path towards God, inspiring us all to be more like Him in all of our actions, words and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 14 May 2024 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 15 : 9-17

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

“I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

“I shall not call you servants any more, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father. You did not choose Me; it was I Who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you.”

“This is My command, that you love one another.”

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Tuesday, 14 May 2024 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 112 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Alleluia! Praise, o servants of YHVH, praise the Name of YHVH! Blessed be the Name of YHVH now and forever!

From eastern lands to the western islands, may the Name of YHVH be praised! YHVH is exalted over the nations; His glory above the heavens.

Who is like YHVH our God, Who sits enthroned on high, but also bends down to see on earth as in heaven?

He lifts up the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap. He makes them sit with princes, with rulers of His people.

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Tuesday, 14 May 2024 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 1 : 15-17, 20-26

It was during this time that Peter stood up in the midst of the community – about one hundred and twenty in all – and he said, “Brothers, it was necessary that the Scriptures referring to Judas be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had spoken through David about the one who would lead the crowd coming to arrest Jesus. He was one of our number and had been called to share our common ministry.”

“In the Book of Psalms it is written : ‘Let his house become deserted and may no one live in it.’ But it is also written : ‘May another take his office.’ Therefore, we must choose someone from among those who were with us during all the time that the Lord Jesus moved about with us, beginning with John’s baptism until the day when Jesus was taken away from us. One of these has to become, with us, a witness to His resurrection.”

Then they proposed two : Joseph, called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. They prayed : “You know, Lord, what is in the hearts of all. Show us, therefore, which of the two You have chosen to replace Judas in this Apostolic ministry which he deserted to go to the place he deserved.”

Then they drew lots between the two and the choice fell on Matthias who was added to the eleven Apostles.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, which is celebrated on the fortieth day in the season of Easter. Sometimes this celebration is moved to the Sunday after which is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This important feast marks the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Son of God and Son of Man, Who had risen triumphantly from the dead, ascended in glory into Heaven. Through His Ascension, He returned triumphantly and gloriously to where He had come from, the Throne of God as the only begotten Son of God and the Divine Word Incarnate, and to prepare a place for all of us, His disciples and followers in the world that is to come.

If the Resurrection proved that the Lord had conquered death itself, and broken the chains of sin and evil which had dominated us from the beginning of time, from the moment of our downfall, then the Ascension proved that the Lord truly had come down from Heaven itself, and He rose gloriously by His own power, to show that He is indeed the same Almighty God and Creator of all, one in unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Through His Incarnation, the Lord has shown us all His love and His Presence, manifested and made approachable to us in the flesh, and reminding us that we mankind are indeed made in the image of God. And He has also reassured all of His disciples and followers that He would still be with them even though He has ascended into Heaven and can no longer be physically present with them in the form they are familiar with.

In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, that is what we heard from the accounts of the moment when the Lord ascended into Heaven. As mentioned, He reassured all His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be with them, guiding and strengthening them throughout their journey and ministry. The Holy Spirit would indeed come upon all the Apostles and disciples of the Lord at the Pentecost, ten days later, on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection at Easter, which we will celebrate soon as the Pentecost Sunday. Through the guidance, wisdom and strength provided to them through the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s disciples and followers were strengthened and encouraged to go and continue their works and missions in answering God’s call and in fulfilling what they had been entrusted to do, in proclaiming the truth and Good News of God to the nations.

This is the main purpose and mission which the Lord had entrusted to all of us the members of His Body, the Church of God, all the faithful and holy people who have received the truth and light of His salvation and grace. And since He has revealed to us all these, therefore each and every one of us are also entrusted with the same mission which the Lord had placed upon His Church, also known as the Great Commission, that is to make Him known to all the people of all the nations, and to proclaim His Good News and salvation in all the whole world, to lead the world and all mankind to return back towards God and be reconciled with Him. Then this will lead to the whole world to acknowledge that Christ is truly the Lord and Master of all, and receive baptism in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Then in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the words of St. Paul the Apostle to the faithful reminding them all to remain united as one Body of Christ and one united community of believers, encouraged and strengthened by the same Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit Whom God had sent into this world, to dwell in His Church and among all of His faithful ones. The Apostle reminded all of them of the mission which the Lord had entrusted to each and every one of them through the bestowal of the Holy Spirit, by Whom God had guided and led His Church to continue the good works and missions which He Himself had begun in this world. He has bestowed upon His Church and the faithful many gifts and blessings, the many opportunities and chances for them all to proclaim the Gospel to all.

That was why St. Paul the Apostle also reminded all of the faithful in Ephesus and beyond, that each and every one of them have received those various and diverse gifts, blessings and talents, and everyone have their own calling and mission in life, in doing their part to contribute to the overall great and wonderful works of the Church. Some are meant to be preachers, while others are called to show their contributions in other ways, in their own daily living and actions, while others teach and help others to understand better the meaning of the Christian faith, and many more diverse calling and ministries are present in the Church. This applies to all of us even to this day, just as we all have been given diverse blessings, talents and opportunities in the Church, and in our world today, to which we are all called to minister as God’s disciples and followers.

In the Gospel passage, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus speaking to the disciples, proclaiming His guidance and providence to all of them, reassuring them that as long as they continue to proclaim His truth and Good News, while they might indeed encounter hardships and difficulties, challenges and tribulations, but they shall be protected and guarded, and the Lord would always be by their side, suffering and enduring all those things with them, and through His Holy Spirit, the Church and all the faithful servants of God will continue to be strengthened and empowered even through their greatest moments of hardships and their deepest trials. The Lord would guide and bless them so that they might indeed continue to live their lives worthily of Him, and to continue to proclaim His truth and Good News to all the people of all the nations.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore realise well that we are all called to continue the good works that the Lord had begun with His Apostles and our holy predecessors. There are indeed still many opportunities and chances presented to us in our world today, with its unique challenges and difficulties, and with many are still lost to the Lord, or having forgotten His love and truth, in their pursuit of worldly glory, ambition and pleasures. It is up to us then to make good use of the blessings, talents and opportunities that God has given to us so that we may continue to be good role models and inspirations for one another, at all times. Through our lives and examples, we may indeed be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, proclaiming His Good News to all the people around us and beyond.

May the Risen Lord Who had ascended in glory into Heaven, as He takes up His Throne, continue to be with us all His Church, and continue to guide and strengthen us all in our path. May He continue to empower each and every one of us with the strength and courage to see things through and to persevere despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to encounter and endure in our respective paths in life and in our respective vocations and ministries. May He continue to bless and guide us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory and for the good and salvation of all mankind. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 16 : 15-20

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned.”

“Signs like these will accompany those who have believed : in My Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

So then, after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took His place at the right hand of God. The Eleven went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 4 : 1-13

Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, Who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.

But to each of us, divine grace is given, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, it is said : When He ascended to the heights, He brought captives and gave His gifts to people. He ascended, what does it mean, but, that He had also descended to the lower parts of the world? He, Himself, Who went down, then ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.

As for His gifts, to some, He gave to be Apostles; to others, prophets, or even evangelists; or pastors and teachers. So, He prepared those who belong to Him, for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united, in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity, and sharing the fullness of Christ.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Ephesians 4 : 1-7, 11-13

Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, Who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.

But to each of us, divine grace is given, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. As for His gifts, to some, He gave to be Apostles; to others, prophets, or even evangelists; or pastors and teachers. So, He prepared those who belong to Him, for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united, in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity, and sharing the fullness of Christ.