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Saturday, 16 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter, 89th Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, what we can take away from what the Lord had said to the people who followed Him, is the very fact that Christ is the bringer of truth, and as the One Who revealed to the world, everything as it is deemed true and good by God, but which the world had failed to understand. It may be hard for us to accept the truth, but if we are to become true disciples of Christ, and therefore as true Christians, then we must learn to accept it.

We may find our path and our ways to be wrong, all that we have believed in thus far to be wrong, because what Jesus brought to us through His words, are the words of truth, dispelling the lies and all the darkness that the devil and his allies had been placing in this world in order to deceive us and to turn us away from our Lord and from His salvation.

The people found it hard to believe in the truth that Jesus had said, because they themselves for a long time had been accustomed to the ways where they were not chastised or rebuked for any of their wrongdoings. In fact, these were encouraged if not tolerated. And they used to think of everything as in accordance to their own human understanding and intellect, dismissing all those that seemed to be foreign and alien to their understanding.

But this is what Jesus precisely brought to them, shattering their presumptions and their sense of self-righteousness, and bringing to them the truth, as difficult and as painful it is to bear the truth in them. That is why many of them wavered, and many of them in the end refused to believe and left Jesus and His teachings behind, continuing their lives as it had been before.

God called on them and they refused to believe, but there were those who were willing to listen, and there were those who were even trying to do as what the Lord had told them to do, as difficult as it was for them. The Apostles themselves were trying very hard in their own efforts, and many times they failed and faltered. And Judas, one who was counted among them, betrayed Jesus in the end, simply because he was unable to detach himself from all the falsehoods and the temptations of the world, and thus chose the world and sin instead of choosing the Lord and His ways.

Brethren, it is a call for us all to reflect on ourselves and on our own actions in life. It is time for us to recall our actions and whatever we have done, all the things which we have done, on whether these are in tune with what the Lord had taught us, or whether we have done things our own way, refusing to follow what the Lord had taught us.

It is not enough for us to be Christians to be just paying lip service to God, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have to be proactive and committed in serving Him in all of our ways. We cannot profess to be faithful to God, and yet we in our actions show it as otherwise, as this will show our hypocrisy, and how our faith is not a genuine one.

And it is not just that, brethren, as if we call ourselves Christians, and yet our actions show otherwise, by our selfishness, and by our lack of love, care and concern for our brethren around us, who are in need of our love and compassion, then how will people believe in us if we call them to become followers of Christ too? We should be bearers of truth, not just in mere words, but also through our real and concrete actions.

Let us therefore use this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to serve the Lord with all of our heart and give our best effort to Him, and from now on, let us no longer be divided in our actions and in our deeds, that everything we say and do from now on, should be in accordance to what God has taught us. May God help us and strengthen us in our faith, so that we may always be faithful to Him, and no longer be swayed by the falsehoods of the world.

May God help us in our endeavours, so that we may always walk in His path and persevere through all the challenges and even the suffering that may come our way if we stay faithful to Him. God be with us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter, 89th Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 60-69

At that time, after hearing this, many of Jesus’ followers said, “This language is very hard! Who can accept it?”

Jesus was aware that His disciples were murmuring about this, and so He said to them, “Does this offend you? Then how will you react when you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, not the flesh. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life. But among you there are some who do not believe.”

From the beginning, Jesus knew who would betray Him. So He added, “As I have told you, no one can come to Me unless it is granted by the Father.” After this many disciples withdrew and no longer followed Him. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Will you also go away?”

Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We now believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”

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Saturday, 16 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter, 89th Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 115 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17

The Lord remembers us and will bless us; He will bless the family of Israel; He will bless the family of Aaron; He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.

May the Lord shower blessings, on you and your children as well. May you be blessed by the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.

Heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth He has given to humans. It is not the dead who praise the Lord, for they have gone down to silence.

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Saturday, 16 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter, 89th Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 9 : 31-42

Meanwhile, the Church had peace. It was building up throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria with eyes turned to the Lord and filled with comfort from the Holy Spirit.

As Peter travelled around, he went to visit the saints who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas who was paralysed, and had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And the man got up at once. All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

There was a disciple in Joppa named Tabitha, which means Dorcas or Gazelle. She was always doing good works and helping the poor. At that time she fell sick and died. After having washed her body, they laid her in the upstairs room. As Lydda is near Joppa, the disciples, on hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”

So Peter went with them. On his arrival they took him upstairs to the room. All the widows crowded around him in tears, showing him the clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter made them all leave the room and then he knelt down and prayed. Turning to the dead body he said, “Tabitha, stand up.”

She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the saints and widows and presented her to them alive. This became known throughout all of Joppa and many people believed in the Lord because of it.

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Friday, 15 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the well-known story of how St. Paul, the great Apostle and servant of God was converted from his past life as Saul, the great enemy of the faithful and the nightmare of Christians at that time. St. Paul when he was young, he was a zealous and fanatical Pharisee who strictly obeyed the Law of God, and was inflamed with false zeal against the followers of Christ.

But he led a wrong life, thinking that what he had done was righteous and just, as he thought that he was serving the Lord when he hunted down the disciples and the followers of Christ. But he was mistaken, for in all of those works, he was chasing down the same fault that the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the elders of the people had done, that is to pursue their earthly matters first before that of the truth.

They refused to believe in Jesus, except for some who were willing to listen, because of their ego and pride, which prevented them from opening their hearts and minds to God, and therefore being able to follow Him. And in this misguided path therefore, St. Paul in his youth as Saul ended up committing great sins against many of the faithful, many of whom suffered grievously under his torture and works.

But God chose him to be an instrument of His salvation to the many nations. And he was called from a great sinner he was, a persecutor of the faithful, to be the champion and defender of the Faith in front of many of the enemies of the Lord, including his former friends, the Pharisees and the elders, and later on in his life, against the pagans who refused to follow the Lord and against the Roman authorities.

In all these, we see how great God’s work was. We see the greatness of His plan and His mysterious ways, which many of us may not be able to fathom, and yet from there came the salvation of the Lord to the many nations of this world. We have to keep in mind, as we remember this story of the conversion of St. Paul, from a great sinner who became a great saint, and as the invaluable tool of God’s work and evangelisation among the people especially among the pagan nations, that we too should do the same.

God did not call the mighty and the powerful, nor the perfect and unblemished to be those upon whom He showed His grace and blessings. In fact all of us should realise just how imperfect we were. We are all sinners, and so does all the saints as well. Even saints were themselves once sinners, and they also committed the same sins that we have committed. But there is one very important thing they did which distinguished them in the end.

And what is that, brethren? It is the ability to seek reparations for one’s own sins and faults. It is the ability to humble oneself and realise the nature of one’s own sins that have prevented that person from truly being able to reach out to God and to attain salvation in Him. God is calling not the perfect, but sinners and delinquents, rebels and disobedient ones, whom He was willing to forgive if they themselves make the effort to be forgiven.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all ready to follow the path of St. Paul? St. Paul walked the path of repentance, turning his back against all those things, the awful deeds which he had committed against the followers of Christ. Those were grievous sins indeed, but through his actions and works, St. Paul has earned more than redemption for his faults, by totally committing himself to God, and submitting himself to His will.

We too can follow his examples, by practising our faith actively in our own lives. Let us no longer be lukewarm in our faith, but instead let us all be burning flames of faith, of true zeal in God, not brought out of hatred and human desire, but out of love, from the desire to love both our God, and our fellow men, who are our brethren in the same Lord. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 15 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 52-59

At that time, the Jews were arguing among themselves, “How can this Man give us flesh to eat?” So Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

“My flesh is really food, and My blood is truly drink. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood, live in Me, and I in them. Just as the Father, Who is life, sent Me, and I have life from the Father, so whoever eats Me will have life from Me. This is the Bread which came from heaven; not like that of your ancestors, who ate and later died. Those who eat this Bread will live forever.”

Jesus spoke in this way in Capernaum when He taught them in the synagogue.

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Friday, 15 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.

How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.

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Friday, 15 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 9 : 1-20

Meanwhile Saul considered nothing but violence and death for the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus that would authorise him to arrest and bring to Jerusalem anyone he might find, man or woman, belonging to the Way.

As he travelled along and was approaching Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute Me?” And he asked, “Who are You, Lord?”

The voice replied, “I am Jesus Whom you persecute. Now get up and go into the city; there you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were travelling with him stood there speechless : they had heard the sound, but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground and, opening his eyes, he could not see. They took him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. He was blind and he did not eat or drink for three days.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, to whom the Lord called in a vision, “Ananias!” He answered, “Here I am, Lord!” Then the Lord said to him, “Go at once to Straight Street and ask, at the house of Judas, for a man of Tarsus named Saul. You will find him praying, for he has just seen in a vision that a man named Ananias has come in and placed his hands upon him, to restore his sight.”

Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem, and now he is here with authority from the High Priest to arrest all who call upon Your Name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go! This man is My chosen instrument to bring My Name to the pagan nations and their kings, and the people of Israel as well. I Myself will show him how much he will have to suffer for My Name.”

So Ananias left and went to the house. He laid his hands upon Saul and said, “Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus, Who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me to you so that you may receive your sight and be filled with Holy Spirit.” Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see; he got up and was baptised. Then he took food and was strengthened.

For several days Saul stayed with the disciples at Damascus, and he soon began to proclaim in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God.

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Thursday, 14 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the well-known story of how the Apostle St. Philip taught and spoke with the official of the Ethiopian kingdom about the Lord Jesus, and how he convinced him to believe in the truth of God, and to receive the holy sacrament of baptism at the hands of St. Philip himself. In this we see how the word of God’s salvation and truth is brought to more and more people all over the world.

Through the Apostles God had continued the good works which He had begun, calling all mankind to repentance and salvation that can be found only in Him and through Him. Jesus had brought hope into the world, the hope and the light for all the nations, the light that illuminated the path of many souls who were once lost in the darkness, and had now been found and put on the path to eternal life.

He made it very clear in the Gospel today, that in Him alone lies the salvation for many, for those who received His message of truth and then do something in order to bring that salvation upon themselves. Jesus made it very clear that those who want to seek God’s grace and salvation must first believe in Him, for those who refused to believe in Him, also therefore did not believe in God.

That is Who Jesus was indeed, for He is indeed God incarnate, the Bread of Life Who gave Himself for the salvation of the whole world. Through Him, He revealed the truth about God and His love for us, and by His hands, He lifted up all those who have fallen on the way, and gather them all to enter His everlasting inheritance for us.

We have all heard the message of the Lord’s truth, and we have believed in Him. And that is why we call ourselves as Christians. If we have not believed in Him, then we should not call ourselves as Christians, for a Christian is one who is willing to give his or her all, all of their efforts to God, and commit themselves to the cause of the Lord, by words and by actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to live a genuine and dedicated Christian life, by devoting ourselves wholly to God and to the message of truth which He had spoken to all of us. And each and every one of us Christians also have that very important mission in which all of us should spread the truth of God and convince all those who are yet to believe in God, and in order that we too may believe.

And thus, we should follow in the footsteps of St. Philip and the other Apostles in bringing many more souls and people to God, but in the first place, our own faith must itself be strong, or else, how can we convince others to believe in God, if we ourselves do not fully believe in Him with full faith and conviction? We have to practice what we believe in or else we are hypocrites.

Let us all renew our faith in God, and allow God to perform His wonderful works through us. Let us all be filled with the Holy Spirit, and through our hands, may we lay down the foundations for God’s good works, that we may bring salvation and goodness to many people, and together we may be saved and receive the eternal life from God as He had promised all of His faithful ones. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 44-51

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “No one can come to Me unless he is drawn by the Father Who sent Me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets : They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to Me.”

“For no one has seen the Father except the One Who comes from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the Bread which comes from heaven, so that you may eat of It, and not die.”

“I am the Living Bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this Bread will live forever. The Bread I shall give is My flesh, and I will give it for the life of the world.”