Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 113B : 1-2, 3-4, 15-16
Not to us, o Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, for the sake of Your love and faithfulness. Why should the pagans say, “Where is their God?”
There in heaven is our God; whatever He wishes, He does. Not so the hand-made idols, crafted in silver and gold.
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 14 : 5-18
A move was made by pagans and Jews, together with their leaders, to harm the Apostles and to stone them. But Paul and Barnabas learnt of this and fled to Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued preaching the Good News.
Paul and Barnabas spent a fairly long time at Lystra. There was a crippled man in Lystra who had never been able to stand or walk. One day, as he was listening to the preaching, Paul looked intently at him and saw that he had the faith to be saved. So he spoke to him in a loud voice, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to stand up on your feet!” And the man stood up and began to walk around.
When the people saw what Paul had done, they cried out in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come to us in human likeness!” They named Barnabas Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Even the priest of the Temple of Zeus, which stood outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gate; together with the people, he wanted to offer sacrifice to them.
When Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their garment to show their indignation and rushed into the crowd, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are human beings with the same weakness you have and we are now telling you to turn away from these useless things to the living God Who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them.”
“In past generations He allowed each nation to go its own way, though He never stopped making Himself known; for He is continually doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, providing you with food and filling your hearts with gladness.”
Even these words could hardly keep the crowd from offering sacrifice to them.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this fifth Sunday in the season of Easter all of us are called to be filled with love, for we are God’s people and disciples, and God is love. If God is love Himself, then how can we not be filled with love? All those who genuinely believed and called themselves followers of God must be like Him in all things, and in particular, in the matter of love.
And what is love, brothers and sisters in Christ? Love is something that has often eluded our understanding, as there are really so many different interpretations, meanings, and ways how we exhibit and show love in our daily living. And surely many of us equate love with what we have seen in the popular media, when two starry-eyed lovers fall for each other, doing silly things and happy things together.
Yes, love does cause people to be happy and to be joyful, and it is genuine love that will bring about true joy and happiness. But love endures and remains even when things are gloomy and dark, when we struggle and encounter difficulties in life. It is true love that will persist on amidst these challenges and that is also how we know if love is truly present in our relationships and interactions with one another.
First of all, what is love? Love is, in its essence and core, consist of sacrifice and giving of oneself, of commitment and dedication, of care and concern, not for oneself but for another person. If love is based first and foremost on our own desires and wants, then I am afraid that this kind of love is not truly a genuine love, for there are ulterior motives driving behind the facade of love, that will easily fall away in the moment of difficulties and challenges.
That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, in our community today and in our whole world today, there are so many different tragedies and difficulties that people of various backgrounds experience because there is a lack of love or true, genuine love in our interaction and relationship with each other. We show love that is not real love, but one that is basically a transactional relationship where we want things to go our way, and for us to benefit from this love we show.
But that is not love, for real love is something that is giving and not taking away, a sharing and not an exclusion. And there has been no better example of love than indeed, God Himself, He Who is Love, Incarnate in the flesh, in the form of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who came down into this world bearing the love of God not just in words but in action, as He showed us all what God’s love truly is like.
He Himself has shown us what real, genuine and unconditional love is like. He laid down His own life on the cross, bearing all the sufferings and difficulties, the pains and sorrows of our humanity’s innumerable sins. He took up all those without complaints or the desire to gain anything for Himself. He gave Himself so completely to us that He even shed His Body and Blood for our sake, that we may all be saved.
Thus, when the Lord Jesus spoke of His new commandment, the commandment of love that He has brought into this world, He Himself became the first to fulfil that commandment, as He loved His heavenly Father so completely that He obeyed His will that He had to bear the burden of the Cross, and at the same time also loving all of us so much that to bear such a painful burden and going through a most humiliating death of a criminal on the Cross was something that Christ did for us.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians are called to follow the example of Our Lord Himself, in how we should live our lives, in how we interact with one another and in how we should love our friends and families, all those who are dear and precious to us. We are called to bear true love in all of our actions, that instead of being people who are selfish and seeking for only our own benefits, we can be people who are self-giving and compassionate, as Christ had done for us.
That is why, each and every one of us must commit ourselves to the path of love, to die to our pride and desire within us, the two things that often become the ruin of many friendships and relationships, as conflicting desires and human pride cause pain, hurt, jealousy, anger and many other forms of sufferings for us. Instead, we should be role models of our loving faith, so that in everything we do, love and indeed, genuine, compassionate love will be in everything we do and become the foundation of our very existence.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to progress through this blessed season of Easter, let us make it our commitment to be more loving and be more compassionate in all things, and learn to share God’s many blessings and graces He has given us with our brethren who have not been so fortunate. Let us all reach out to them with love, and let the love of God be in everything we do and fill the whole world with the wonders of this love.
May God bless us all and may He empower us all to live courageously with faith, with hope and with love from now on, each and every days of our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 13 : 31-33a, 34-35
At that time, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. God will glorify Him, and He will glorify Him very soon. My children, I am with you for only a little while.”
“I give you a new commandment : Love one another! Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Revelations 21 : 1-5a
Then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband.
A loud voice came from the throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals : He will pitch His tent among them, and they will be His people; He will be God-with-them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was, has passed away.”
The One seated on the throne said, “See, I make all things new.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 144 : 8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab
Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.
All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.
That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 14 : 21b-27
Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra and Iconium, and on to Antioch. They were strengthening the disciples, and encouraging them to remain firm in the faith; for they said, “We must go through many trials to enter the kingdom of God.” In each church they appointed elders and, after praying and fasting, they commended them to the Lord, in Whom they had placed their faith.
Then they travelled through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. They preached the word in Perga and went down to Attalia. From there, they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been commended to God’s grace, for the task they had now completed. On their arrival, they gathered the Church together, and told them all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the non-Jews.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we have heard a reminder that if we are to remain faithful and true to the Lord, in our faith to Him, we will encounter difficulties and challenges in our path, as there will definitely be those who will be opposed to us and to our faith, namely those who are clinging on to the ways of the world and would not want to see their influence challenged by us.
That means, our lives as Christians, if we truly cling onto our faith in God, and practice wholeheartedly what we believe in, will not be that smooth-going and easy. If we have found our lives to be easy and manageable, without crisis or difficulty, perhaps that is because God had indeed blessed us so, or which we hope that is not the case, that we have not been truly faithful in our ways and in our lives.
Many of us want to be accepted by the world, and to that extent, we conform to the ways and customs of the world, even if that ran contrary to the teachings of our faith. At the same time, we know that the reality in our Church is that there are many who are ‘cafetaria Christians’, which means those who pick and choose what they want to believe in our faith, and refuse to believe or that they are ignoring those tenets which they found to be too difficult to be followed or complied with.
That was what happened to the disciples of Jesus two millennia ago, as Jesus went about preaching about the coming of the kingdom of God to them and speaking about Himself, the truth of what would happen to them should they became His followers, and what they needed to believe in, even when they found the teaching to be difficult to be complied with. Indeed, many left the Lord behind because they were not willing to open their hearts and listen to Him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not we all should be like, as all of us should be true and devoted to our Lord in all things we do, and believe in Him wholeheartedly, and not conditionally. After all, the Lord had given us all His life and His love unconditionally, by His loving sacrifice on the cross. He has loved us with all of His heart, generously granting us pardon and mercy, forgiveness and grace even when we are all still great sinners and rebels.
If the Lord had not hold back His love for us, then why should we then hold back our love for Him? Why do we have to choose or to select what we want to believe in His message? Why should we set conditions for the Lord? It is not right, if He had already suffered for our sake, bearing the burden for our sins, the burdens which should have been ours, and died on the cross for us, then we should not and indeed cannot treat the Lord with ignorance or apathy.
We must devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, and learn from the examples of the holy saints, especially St. Bernardine of Siena, whose feast day we are celebrating on this day. St. Bernardine of Siena was a devout and holy priest, as a Franciscan missionary who lived during the late Medieval era. He was renowned as the ‘Apostle of Italy’ for his tireless works in bringing many people, especially throughout Italy, the heart of Christendom, back to the Lord.
For at that time, many of the people did not live in accordance with the ways of the Lord, living in debauchery and sin, in wickedness and doing what is vile and evil in the sight of God. People are more concerned with money and worldly livelihood rather than serving the Lord and obeying His will. St. Bernardine went around many places, preaching directly to the people in those places, and his words of encouragement and call to repentance have brought many people back to the loving embrace of the Lord.
His sincerity and devotion to the Lord inspired those lost souls who saw the light of God through St. Bernardine of Siena, like that of darkness being pushed back by the light. His examples and his dedication to the salvation of souls should be our inspiration, brothers and sisters in Christ, in how we ought to live our lives faithfully to the Lord. We should be exemplary in our actions and deeds, so that all those who see us will also then come to believe in God through us.
May the Lord awaken in all of us the desire to love Him, and to obey Him in all of His teachings. May we follow in the footsteps of St. Bernardine of Siena, that in all the things we say and do, we will always proclaim the glory of the Lord and remain true to His ways. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 15 : 18-21
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If the world hates you, remember that the world hated Me before you. This would not be so if you belonged to the world, because the world loves its own. But you are not of the world, since I have chosen you from the world; because of this the world hates you.”
“Remember what I told you : the servant is not greater than his master; if they persecuted Me, they will persecute you, too. If they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. All this they will do to you for the sake of My Name, because they do not know the One Who sent Me.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 5
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.
For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 