Apostle of Jesus Christ

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Friday, 28 August 2020 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 1 : 17-25

For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to proclaim His Gospel. And not with beautiful words! That would be like getting rid of the cross of Christ. The language of the cross remains nonsense for those who are lost. Yet for us who are saved, it is the power of God, as Scripture says : I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and make fail the foresight of the foresighted. Masters of human wisdom, educated people, philosophers, you have no reply! And the wisdom of this world? God let it fail.

At first, God spoke the language of wisdom, and the world did not know God through wisdom. Then God thought of saving the believers, through the foolishness that we preach. The Jews ask for miracles and the Greeks for a higher knowledge, while we proclaim a crucified Messiah. For the Jews, what a great scandal! And for the Greeks, what nonsense! But He is Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God, for those called by God among both Jews and Greeks.

In reality, the “foolishness” of God is wiser than humans, and the “weakness” of God is stronger than humans.

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Thursday, 27 August 2020 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 1 : 1-9

From Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother, to God’s Church which is in Corinth; to you, whom God has sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called, to be holy, together, with those, who, everywhere, call upon the Name of Our Lord Christ Jesus, their Lord and ours.

Receive grace, and peace from God, Our Father, and Christ Jesus, Our Lord. I give thanks, constantly, to my God, for you, and for the grace of God given to you, in Christ Jesus. For you have been fully enriched, in Him, with words, as well as with knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you. You do not lack any spiritual gift and only await the glorious coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

He will keep you steadfast to the end, and you will be without reproach, on the day of the coming of Our Lord Jesus. The faithful God will not fail you, after calling you to this fellowship with His Son, Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate the feast of one of the Holy Apostles of Christ, who although he did not belong to the Twelve Apostles, the principal Apostles and disciples of our Lord, but nevertheless, his role in the propagation of our Faith and in the development of the early Church was very crucial indeed.

St. Barnabas the Apostle travelled extensively with St. Paul the Apostle, who was also not counted among the Twelve Apostles, and yet both of them indeed played a very crucial role in the early and developmental years of the Church. Through their work and preachings throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region, from Syria to Roman Asia and Ephesus, to Cyprus and to Roman Greece, Macedonia and beyond, they have laid the important foundations of the Church in those places.

In doing so, he and the other Apostles have done what the Lord Himself commanded them to do, which we heard as part of our Gospel passage today. The Gospel spoke about the Lord Jesus sending out His disciples to preach the Good News and the kingdom of God to the people, and to bring the message of salvation to them.

And they were also sent with the authority to cast out demons and evil spirits, and to heal the sick and minister to the poor and the outcasts of the society. God gave them the power and authority to do so, and giving them the gifts of His Holy Spirit to bless and guide them along the journey, inflaming their hearts with the courage and hope, as well as with strength to carry out the mission which has been entrusted to them. And they did carry the mission with full faith in God and devoted all their time and efforts for that purpose.

And what is that mission, brothers and sisters in Christ? Our Lord Jesus Himself mentioned that just before He departed and ascended in glory to heaven, as the last of His commands to His disciples. The goal of all the faithful is to declare and to preach the Good News and the salvation of God as shown through Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Lord of all, and to bring these to all mankind to the very ends of the earth.

And St. Barnabas had carried out that mission faithfully and with great courage. He met many difficulties, challenges and even harsh persecutions from the Jews and the pagans alike. And with St. Paul he persevered through all of them, even though he had been cursed, rejected, shouted against, had stone cast on him, and cast out of the cities and towns he has been working and preaching in.

The works and examples of St. Barnabas can indeed be an inspiration to all of us. And we all need to realise that the works that the Lord had laid out for His Apostles had not ended yet, and neither had the work been completed, as it is still ongoing and in progress. The Church may be completely different from how it was during the time of the Apostles, at the time when St. Barnabas still lived and walked on this world, but the core mission of the Church remains yet the same.

Now in our world today, in fact the need is even far greater for us to reach out to the world and to all the people whom we have been sent to by the Lord. There are many areas in this world, and many more people who are in need of our help. God has sent us all to bring His word to them, to reveal to them His truth and salvation. But there are yet many more people who have not heard of the Lord, or they have misunderstood His truth, or even rejected Him.

It is important therefore that we should understand how important is the role which we have as part of the Church of God. We have to know that the works of the Apostles that continue on to this very day is now our responsibility and ours to bear. If none of us are to take up the challenge, then who else will? Who else will be there to bring the word of God to the multitude of people who still live in denial and in the darkness?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we live our lives today, let us all realise that there is much that we can do in order to be part of this Church’s effort to bring the light of the world into this world and reveal the wholeness of His truth to mankind. Let us pour forth our effort and works in order to contribute to the evangelising mission of the Church, by starting with ourselves and in our communities, devoting ourselves and our time for the Lord.

May God bless us all and give us the strength and courage to carry out this mission. May we not be daunted by the challenges we are to face ahead of us if we continue on this path, just as St. Barnabas had persevered through those challenges, the rejection from the world and even threats and dangers to his life. Let us never back down from the mission God had entrusted to us, and may we always be forever faithful to Him, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 10 : 7-13

At that time, Jesus spoke to His twelve disciples, “Go and proclaim this message : The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift. Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses. Do not take a traveller’s bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a staff : workers deserve their living.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people in the house deserve it, your peace will be on them; if they do not deserve it, your blessing will come back to you.”

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 11 : 21b-26 and Acts 13 : 1-3

A great number believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favour, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to the Lord; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul. On one occasion while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.”

So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

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Friday, 11 September 2015 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Timothy 1 : 1-2, 12-14

From Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus by a command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.

I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is my strength, who has considered me trustworthy and appointed me to His service, although I had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a rabid enemy. However He took mercy on me because I did not know what I was doing when I opposed the faith; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, together with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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Monday, 26 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Timothy 1 : 1-8

From Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of His promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy. May grace, mercy and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I give thanks to God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. I recall your tears and I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, so like the faith of your grandmother Lois and of your mother Eunice, which I am sure you have inherited.

For this reason I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you received through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of bashfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in labouring for the Gospel with the strength of God.

Alternative reading

Titus 1 : 1-5

From Paul, servant of God, Apostle of Christ Jesus, at the service of God’s chosen people, so that they may believe and reach the knowledge of truth and godliness. The eternal life we are waiting for was promised from the very beginning by God who never lies, and as the appointed time had come, He made it known through the message entrusted to me by a command of God, our Saviour.

Greetings to you, Titus, my true son in the faith we share. May grace and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I left you in Crete because I wanted you to put right what was defective and appoint elders in every town, following my instructions.