2nd Week of Easter

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Thursday, 11 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 33 : 2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. Many are the troubles of the just, but the Lord delivers them from all.

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Thursday, 11 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 5 : 27-33

So the High Priest and his supporters brought the Apostles in and made them stand before the Council and the High Priest questioned them, “We gave you strict orders not to preach such a Saviour; but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend charging us with the killing of this Man.”

To this Peter and the Apostles replied, “Better for us to obey God rather than any human authority! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus Whom you killed by hanging Him on a wooden post. God set Him at His right hand as Leader and Saviour, to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses to all these things, as well as the Holy Spirit Whom God has given to those who obey Him.

When the Council heard this, they became very angry and wanted to kill them.

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Wednesday, 10 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us listened to the words of the Lord from the Sacred Scriptures in which we are all reminded of our responsibilities and missions in life as Christians to be the ones to proclaim the truth of Our Lord’s Resurrection, His truth and salvation for all the people. Each and every one of us as Christians must always remember our calling and mission, to proclaim the Risen Lord in all opportunities and in every moments that the Lord Himself had presented to us. We are reminded of the light and hope, the renewal and reconciliation that Our Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death, and then His glorious Resurrection from the dead had brought us, which we celebrate joyfully throughout this time and season of Easter.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the moment when the Apostles were arrested while they were performing their ministry, their work and preaching at the Temple of God in Jerusalem. It was done by the Temple officials and authorities who opposed the works of the Lord and His disciples, refusing to believe and listen to Him and His truth. Those were the same ones who persecuted the Lord and handed Him over to the Romans to be condemned to death and crucified. They also tried to spread misinformations regarding the Resurrection of the Lord by saying that His disciples had gone to steal His Body from the tomb, in the desperate effort trying to silence the truth of the Lord’s Resurrection. We also heard the Sadducees, those influential members of the Jewish community who did not believe in spiritual matters and resurrection of the dead, tried hard to go against the truth about the Lord’s Resurrection.

However with the guidance and strength given to them by the Lord through the Holy Spirit, the disciples of the Lord refused to be silent or to be intimidated to keep quiet about what they themselves had experienced and witnessed. They still went forth and proclaimed boldly to the people about the Risen Lord, not fearing the persecutions, hardships and oppressions that they had to endure in the midst of their ministry and missions, and they went forth courageously, revealing the truth of God to everyone, and even when they were imprisoned for their activities as we have heard from the Acts of the Apostles, they remained faithful and trusting in God, and God was with them, delivering them out of their troubles, miraculously bringing them out of the prison, and they continued to preach about the Lord yet again before the people.

Through what we have heard in our first reading today, we are all shown what it truly means for us to be faithful to God, to be committed to His cause and to embrace everything which He has entrusted to us, all the truth and all the revelations that He has passed to us through His Church. Like what the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord had experienced, often it might mean that we may also have to face trials and difficulties amidst living our lives faithfully as Christians. We cannot be idle or ignorant of our calling as those whom God had called and chosen, and we should continue to stand up for our faith and to live our lives worthily as best as we are able to do so. We should continue to devote our time, effort and attention to follow the Lord and His will, as the disciples had done.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the continuation of the passage from the Gospel of St. John detailing for us the conversation between the Lord Jesus and one Nicodemus, a Pharisee who believed in the Lord Jesus, His teachings and the truth that He has brought into this world. Nicodemus came secretly at night to avoid being seen with the Lord as it would have created an uproar and trouble with the rest of the Pharisees, many of whom had rejected the Lord and refused to listen or believe in His teachings. But Nicodemus believed in Jesus and wanted to know more about what He had been teaching and revealing to the people of God, and hence, this was when the Lord revealed God’s great plan, sending His own Son to this world, in Jesus Himself, to save everyone.

Through those famous words, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life.’, the Lord wanted us all to know that God’s love for each and every one of us is so great and has always endured despite our rebelliousness and unwillingness to adhere to His path, as He continued to give us time and opportunities, again and again, so that we may find our path back towards Him, and be reconciled with Him. And then, as the Lord continued with, ‘God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world. Instead, through Him the world is to be saved.’, He wanted everyone to know that through the coming of His Son into our midst, the salvation of the whole world was nigh, and He would do it all through His ultimate and most loving sacrifice on the Cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are all reminded through the passage from the Gospel about what the Lord had done for us through His Son, Our Risen Lord and Saviour, and from the earlier first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we are therefore reminded and called that as Christians, as the Lord’s own disciples and followers, each and every one of us should do well to proclaim His truth, His love, His Resurrection and everything that God has done for us, for the sake of our salvation and liberation from the tyranny of sin and death. We are the ones who have been entrusted with these respective missions and vocations in life, proclaiming His Good News by our own lives, which should indeed be full of righteousness and virtues, as we do what the Lord had commanded us to do.

Let us all be not afraid to stand up for our faith in the Risen Lord, brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us all proclaim the truth of God faithfully at all times, by living our every way of lives with faith, in our every actions, words and deeds throughout all circumstances and in every places and occasions. May the Risen Lord continue to guide us and be with us always in our every struggles, commitments and efforts throughout each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Wednesday, 10 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 16-21

At that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through Him the world is to be saved.”

“Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God. This is how the Judgment is made : Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

“For whoever does wrong hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear that his deeds will be seen as evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light, so that it can be clearly seen that his works have been done in God.”

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Wednesday, 10 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

The Lord’s Angel encamps and patrols to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

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Wednesday, 10 April 2024 : 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, 9 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all reminded today of the joy of the Lord’s salvation which He has revealed and passed on to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. In His glorious Resurrection from the dead that we celebrate during this time and season of Easter, and we are all also reminded of the love which He has shown us through His Son as ultimately, everything that He had done for us, He did them all because He truly loves us all from the very beginning, and He never stopped loving us and He never gave up on us. That is the essence of what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, reminding us what it truly means for us to be Christians, to be always full of love for the Lord, our ever loving and generous God, as well as to love our fellow brothers and sisters all around us, in our community.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard about the lives of the early Christians who lived their lives with great grace of God present in their midst, living their lives obediently as how the Lord and His Apostles had taught them. They shared their possessions and goods among them, with the Apostles governing over them and helping them to manage their lives. All of them showed love, care and concern for their fellow brothers and sisters, and did not stock the riches of the world or the material possessions for their own use and purpose, but rather, sharing them generously with one another, so that everyone have enough for themselves and are well taken care of by the whole community of the faithful. This is used as a good example of Christian charity and love, and as an inspiration for all of us in how we should act towards our fellow brothers and sisters.

However, we need to take note the context and situation of the Christian community at that time so that we can understand better how the Christian faithful at the time lived their lives in the described manner. At that time, the Christian community was still relatively small and closely knit together and hence it was relatively easy for them to gather and share their resources, all the materials and goods they need in the manner that they had done. However, this way of living soon encountered many challenges, as if we read on further in the Acts of the Apostles, there were disagreements and complaints because certain members of the Christian community were overlooked, particularly those from the non-Jewish origins, which was why the Apostles later on instituted the order of the Diaconate or the Deacons to help serve the rapidly growing Christian community.

Yet, what we should learn from the lives of the earliest Christian communities is how they had great love and compassion for one another, where they truly cared for the well-being of their fellow Christians around them. They trusted in the Lord and in one another, living with their focus and emphasis in the Risen Lord and in His ways, and not in amassing worldly wealth, possessions, or in seeking the glory and the pleasures of the world. They truly embody the joyful spirit of Easter, living righteously and worthily as the chosen people of God, being the good and worthy beacons of His Light, Hope and Salvation to everyone, through their exemplary and inspirational lives, which drew many others to come to believe in God as well. While the circumstances and conditions are different now, but it does not mean that we cannot strive to live in the manner that enriches the faith of everyone around us by our own exemplary way of life.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. John where the interactions and conversations between Nicodemus the Pharisee and the Lord Jesus Himself was recorded. Nicodemus was a member of the Pharisees, a group of very influential and powerful block of power that existed at the time during the time of the life and ministry of the Lord, two millennia ago. They, together with the Sadducees, another influential group, formed the governing body of the Jewish community, as many of their members were part of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council. The Pharisees themselves were those who were intellectual, knowledgeable about the Law of God as revealed through Moses, and also were very particular about keeping the commandments, rules, precepts and the details of the Law of God, to even the smallest of details.

And since the Pharisees tend to be very strict in their interpretation and enforcement of the Law, all of its rules and tenets, hence, that was why many of them often opposed the Lord and His teachings, refusing to listen to the wisdom and the words of truth which He had brought into the midst of the people of God. Yet, it does not mean that all of the Pharisees rejected and opposed the Lord, as Nicodemus himself had shown us. Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees who was in fact attracted to the Lord’s teachings and was drawn to the truth of God. He came to the Lord at night in order to avoid being seen with Him, which would have caused complications, but he truly had questions in his heart and mind, which he asked of the Lord. The Lord therefore told Nicodemus part of the truth of what He would be doing for the salvation of mankind, prefiguring His Passion, His crucifixion and death.

Yes, as we heard in that same Gospel passage today, we heard how the Son of Man, Jesus Himself would be raised up and shown to everyone as the Sign of Salvation, just as Moses once raised the bronze serpent on the standard back when the people perished because of their disobedience against God. This is a reference for His Passion and death on the Cross, as He was raised up on the Cross at Calvary, suffering and dying for our sins and faults, offering Himself, His own Precious Body and Blood as the perfect and worthy offering for our salvation. This is something that Nicodemus certainly recalled, as the same Nicodemus was also mentioned after the Passion and death of the Lord, because together with another secret disciple of Jesus from among the Pharisees, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus helped to take down the Body of the Lord from the Cross and prepare Him for burial.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, having been reminded of the examples from the loving and faithful lives of the early Christian communities and also from the faith and readiness to listen which Nicodemus the Pharisee had shown us in our Scripture readings today, let us all therefore strive to follow the Lord and live our lives as Christians in the same manner. Let us all be exemplary and worthy in each and every moments of our lives so that by our good examples and our every moments in life, we may inspire more and more people to come ever closer to God, and that we may truly proclaim the Risen Lord, His truth and salvation through our own lives, our every actions, words and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 9 April 2024 : 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, 9 April 2024 : 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, 9 April 2024 : 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.