3rd Week of Easter

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Saturday, 6 May 2017 : 3rd Week of Easter (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 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, 5 May 2017 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard from the Sacred Scriptures, the passages on the conversion of Saul, once a great enemy of the Church and persecutor of the faithful, who would later on become one of the most faithful and ardent defender of the faith, St. Paul the Apostle. And then we also continue to hear the Lord Jesus speaking of Himself as the Bread of Life, and the giving of His own Body and Blood for the consumption of the faithful.

In all these readings which we have heard and received, we heard how someone who have lived in ignorance and rejection of the truth of the Lord was converted because he came to realise the truth, and in this case it was St. Paul who was touched by the Lord, and came to realise the folly of his past sins and misled zeal, and then came to believe wholeheartedly in the Lord and became His faithful follower.

Jesus revealed Himself to Saul as the One Whom the prophets and the messengers of God had spoken about, the One through Whom God would save all of His people, and this He had done, through none other than by the outpouring of His love, by His act of love on the cross, the greatest singular act of love of all, as He laid down His life for our sake, so that through His death, He might redeem us all mankind from our sins.

He is the Lamb of God, Whose Body had been given for all the faithful, through the bread that He and all of our priests had blessed and transformed into the very essence and reality of His Precious Body, the Lamb of sacrifice that is perfect and unblemished, far greater beyond the lambs that the Israelites ate at their first Passover in Egypt, and beyond the bread of the manna that they ate during their journey in the desert.

The blood of the lambs had been used for the marking of the doorposts of the houses of the Israelites, at the time when God was to send His greatest plague upon Egypt, the plague of death and destruction on all the firstborn sons and children of the Egyptians. All the houses of Israel marked with the blood of the lamb escaped the fated destruction as sent by God throughout the land of Egypt.

And the blood of lambs and bulls were also used to sanctify the people of God, and as a sign of penance and the absolution of sins, as the symbol of the covenant between God and His people. And in the end, God Himself as the true Lamb, shed His own Blood, given to us, through the wine which He Himself had blessed, and which He and all of our priests had transformed into the very essence and reality of His Most Precious Blood.

Through His Most Precious Body and Blood, Christ Himself had come to dwell in each and every one of us who believe in Him, and who place our trust and faith in Him. He has come to redeem us and to free us from our bondage to sin, to open our eyes and allow us to see once again His truth and His light. That was exactly what had happened to Saul as he laid blind for three days in Damascus, unable to see and living in darkness.

That blindness and darkness is a representation of just how wicked and sinful, corrupted and tainted the soul of Saul had been before his conversion. But God did not wish to see him perish in his sins. Instead, the Lord called Saul out of the darkness, and opened his eyes, not just the eyes of his body as Ananias did to him, but also the eyes of his heart and soul.

That was how Saul was transformed completely and thoroughly, being filled anew with a new life blessed by the Holy Spirit, from a creature of darkness and sin, and from a ruthless and terrible enemy of Christ and His Church, into its greatest protector and one of His greatest servants. Such a turnaround is possible because Saul opened himself to God’s love and mercy, and repented from his past sins, and committing himself completely to a new way of life, one that is in accordance with the Lord’s will.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, today as we reflect on today’s Scripture passages, let us all reflect on our own lives, our actions and deeds in life. Let us all think of how we have carried out our lives thus far, and see if we have allowed God to come to us and transform our lives. He Himself had given His own Body and Blood, as real food and real sustenance, that He is living in each one of us, and becoming the source of our strength. Shall we now then do what He wants us to do?

May the Lord bless our works and give us the strength to commit ourselves to a new life filled with grace, hope and love, that we may do everything in life in accordance with what the Lord had taught us and willed us to do. May He strengthen our faith inside us, that we may always strive to be closer to Him and be more like Him in everything. Amen.

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Friday, 5 May 2017 : 3rd 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, lives 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, 5 May 2017 : 3rd 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, 5 May 2017 : 3rd 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, 4 May 2017 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking about the conversion of the Ethiopian official, who heard the truth about Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world, touched in his heart, and therefore, asked to be baptised by St. Philip the Apostle, who explained the meaning of the Word to him.

In the Gospel today, then we heard about Jesus Who spoke to the people who followed Him, after He had fed them with bread, at the breaking of the five loaves and two fishes, that more than five thousand men, and many more women and children were filled to satisfaction with much food to spare. Many of the people followed Jesus because He fed them with food, and this was a reminder of the manna which God Himself gave to the Israelites as they journeyed through the desert to the Promised Land.

But Jesus showed the people that all the bread that they have received, and all the manna, even as bread from heaven that their ancestors had received and ate, all of these were not true fulfilment for them. All these physical nourishment and food satisfy the body and give strength to mankind, but they did not give true life to them. Instead, Jesus revealed that He Himself is the true Bread from Heaven, through which God bestowed on the world the fullness of life.

It is through Christ, and the generous giving of His own Flesh and Blood, which Jesus our Lord offered freely for the salvation of our souls, that all of us mankind have received the promise of salvation and the hope of eternal life. For He is the Divine Word of God, through which God had willed the whole creation into being, as the Book of Genesis told it, how God created the whole universe by just willing it into being through His Word.

And the same Word of God became incarnate into Man, taking up the humble flesh and blood of mankind, to walk amongst us and be one like us in Jesus Christ. And He has come into this world bearing the truth of God, and all who listened and believed in Him became His disciples. In the same manner, the Word of God, the truth of Jesus Christ had been delivered by St. Philip to the official of the Ethiopian Queen, and the Word dwelled in the heart of the official, and sealed by the sacrament of baptism, he was saved.

That was what had happened to all of us Christians as well. We have received the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, His ways and teachings, by the teachings and the traditions of our faith passed down to us through the Church, via our priests and bishops, who faithfully kept the same teachings that the Lord had passed onto His Apostles and disciples, the same truth and teachings as St. Philip preached to the Ethiopian official.

But even more than all these, we all have received the very Body and Blood of our Lord Himself, in the Most Holy Eucharist, the greatest and most precious of all God’s gifts for us. At the Last Supper He had with His disciples, He broke the bread just as He had done when He fed the five thousand men and more, but He did something even more extraordinary at that supper. He gave them the bread, that had been transformed into His own Body, and the wine, which had been transformed into His own Blood.

Yes, this is what all of us believe, that the Lord has given us His own Body and Blood as the perfect spiritual food, the true Bread of Heaven, and the Bread of Life as He had mentioned. The bread and the wine that we use in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass may seem to appear as bread and wine, but in reality, in essence and all, the bread and wine had been completely transformed in reality and substance into the Most Precious Body and Blood, the very Holy Presence of our Lord Himself.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, now that we realise how God is living in us, dwelling in us, let us all reflect this reality and think of what we can do from now on in order to worthily be able to follow the Lord as His disciples, as those upon whom He had shown His favour and love. Let us remember that God has loved us so much, that He was willing to give it all for our sake, even to die on the cross for us, and to bear the burden of our sins.

What is it then that all of us must do? It is by remembering what the Apostle St. Philip had done, in revealing the truth of God and teaching it to the Ethiopian official. In our time today, there are still many people who have not yet known about God, or indeed they knew about Him, but they distanced themselves from Him, because they did not know Him, or worse still, they knew Him, but kept themselves away from Him because of the actions of Christians that scandalised God and made people to refuse to believe in Him.

Therefore, in all of our actions, in everything that we say and do, we must make sure that we truly live a Christian life, in all we act, so that by showing our mercy to the poor and the sick, by showing our love, care and concern for those who are rejected by others, to those who have been unloved, we may inspire more people to believe in God, not because of what we have said or taught them alone, but also through our own actions in life.

May the Lord empower all of us to become ever better disciples of His, and give us the strength and perseverance to walk in His ways, and become a people worthy of the Lord and His love. May the Lord bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 May 2017 : 3rd 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 as 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.”

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Thursday, 4 May 2017 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 65 : 8-9, 16-17, 20

Praise our God, o nations, let the sound of His praise be heard, for He has preserved us among the living and kept our feet from stumbling.

All you who fear God, come and listen; let me tell you what He has done. I cried aloud to Him, extolling Him with my tongue.

May God be blessed! He has not rejected my prayer; nor withheld His love from me.

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Thursday, 4 May 2017 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 8 : 26-40

An Angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south towards the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road.” So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians; he had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and catch up with that carriage.” So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian replied, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

This was the passage of Scripture he was reading : He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, He did not open His mouth. He was humbled and deprived of His rights. Who can speak of His descendants? For He was uprooted from the earth.

The official asked Philip, “Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of Someone else?” Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point. As they travelled down the road they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, “Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptised?”

And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Then he ordered the carriage to stop; both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.

Philip found himself at Azotus, and he went about announcing the Good News in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

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Wednesday, 3 May 2017 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great feast of not just one, but two of the Lord’s very own Twelve Apostles, namely St. Philip the Apostle, and St. James the Apostle, or St. James the Greater, to distinguish him from the other St. James, the Lesser, the half-brother and relative of the Lord. The Apostles were all those whom God had chosen to be His principal disciples, those whom He had entrusted great tasks in carrying out the Good News and its preaching to the many nations, and also as those who would lead the Church that He had established in this world.

It was told in the Acts of the Apostles that St. Philip converted the official of the Queen of the Ethiopians, who was travelling home from Jerusalem to his homeland. St. Philip taught him the truth about what the prophets, particularly that of the prophet Isaiah, had spoken out about the coming of the Messiah and the salvation of the world. He explained to him how Jesus is the Messiah and the perfect fulfilment of God’s long promised salvation for His people.

St. Philip explained with such great clarity and zeal that the official believed in him and the truth which he had heard. As a result, the official asked to be baptised as a Christian, and St. Philip agreed to do so. The official then went on his way to home, carrying the truth of God and the message of the Gospels to his own people. This was told to be the beginning of the Church and the Christian faith among the Ethiopians.

St. Philip and also St. James went to various places, from town to town, and from places to places, spreading the Good News of God to the people, preaching about the salvation in Jesus Christ among the Jews, among the Samaritans and among Gentiles, the Greeks and other foreign peoples. Many converted to the faith and believed in the Lord, having heard the testimony of the faith of the Apostles, and after having seen the miracles of God performed through them.

St. Philip went to many places, throughout what is now Greece and Turkey, helping to establish many early Christian communities in those places. St. James meanwhile was told to travel to many places throughout the Roman Empire, and ended up in Spain, then called Hispania, preaching the Gospel of Christ there and helping to establish the first foundation of the Church in that remote area of the Empire.

Both St. Philip and St. James would encounter great persecutions, rejections and sufferings during their ministries and works. St. James himself was among the first of the Apostles of the Lord to suffer martyrdom, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. St. James was arrested by king Herod, king of Galilee, who then proceeded to put him to death in order to please the Jewish leaders.

St. Philip, meanwhile, met great resistance in some of the places he went to, and eventually was put to death in the Greek city of Hierapolis by the local governor, who persecuted the Christians there and rejected the teachings of Christ. It was told that St. Philip, together with the other Apostle, St. Bartholomew, were crucified upside down, but they met their end in martyrdom with joy, knowing that God was with them all the way to the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of the holy Apostles St. Philip and St. Bartholomew should be inspiration for each one of us, in how we should live out our faith life. There are still many people out there who have not yet heard the Good News of the Lord, and still lived in the darkness of ignorance and sin. If we do not do anything, then these brethren of ours may fall into eternal damnation in hell, and surely, we should not allow such a thing to happen.

All of us should be courageous in our faith, and be strong in our commitment to the Lord as they had done. Let us all commit ourselves to God more faithfully and with more zeal and strength, as we listened to the truth and the story of the Apostles today. We have to continue the good works they have started, for the salvation of all mankind. Amen.