disciples of Christ

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Monday, 28 October 2013 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Today, brothers and sisters in Christ, we celebrate the feast of two of the Twelve Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, namely St. Simon, well known once as the Zealot, because he belonged to the faction of the Jews called the Zealots who were bitterly opposed to the Roman Empire dominance over Judea and the people of Israel. The other one is St. Jude, son of James, also often better known as St. Jude Thaddeus, to distinguish them from the traitor, Judas Iscariot.

They were among those who had given their all for the cause of Christ after they had witnessed Jesus and His ministry in this world, even unto giving up their own life in sacred martyrdom as they spread the Good News of salvation to the far ends of the world. St. Simon the Zealot went far and travelled to the ends of the known world at the time, spreading the word of God to people of many nations.

He was martyred in his mission, and met his death defending the faith he had in God, after a life of full dedication to the Lord, and after having saved many souls of nations and bring them back to God. St. Jude Thaddeus, whom we all know as a patron saint for hopeless and difficult cases, also went far and travelled around the regions, preaching the Gospel and salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

He converted many to the cause of the Lord, and bring the faith to faraway lands, including Armenia, Libya, and present day Iraq. He was martyred in area now known as Lebanon, together with St. Simon the Zealot I had mentioned earlier, and were beheaded together in the defense of their faith. Their deaths on the same occasion, is the reason why we celebrate their feasts together on the same day, that is this day.

The Apostles were called from among the many disciples of Christ, to be the closest confidants and followers of Christ, and to be the witnesses of the Lord’s grand plan for salvation, witnessing the rebirth of mankind from the darkness which had engulfed them for so long, into the light of God.

These were witnessed by the Apostles, as well as some of the disciples, in its entirety, save for Judas Iscariot, who faltered along the way and betrayed the Lord to His death. He is no longer counted among the Apostles, and indeed, perhaps even among those who are saved in Christ. The other Apostles too faced difficulties, and they too faltered especially when Christ was taken away from them by the chief priests and the Roman authorities.

Yet, the Holy Spirit came upon them and dwell deep in their hearts, and they were empowered and encouraged, to stand up and defend the faith they have received from God, and went on to be on the front lines, working, preaching, and spreading to all nations the Good News of salvation. Their mission, given to them by God is not an easy one, but they persevered and feared not any persecution nor opposition.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today, therefore, follow in the example of the Holy Apostles, especially that of St. Simon the Zealot and St. Jude Thaddeus, whose feasts we are celebrating today, proclaiming God’s glory and power to all the nations, without fear and with complete faith in the Lord our God. Let us strive for the Lord’s sake and for the sake of His people, our brethren, especially those who still live in the darkness of sin.

May the Lord strengthen us and our faith, empowering us with His love. God’s love be with us all. Amen.

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Monday, 28 October 2013 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 6 : 12-19

At this time Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon.

They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured. The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went out from Him and healed them all.

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Monday, 28 October 2013 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Monday, 28 October 2013 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus.

In Him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.

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Friday, 18 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the feast of one of the Four great Evangelists, the four writers of the Gospel of salvation, the Good News of the Lord made apparent to all of us through Jesus His Son, in His life, death, and glorious resurrection. It is through the Gospel that the truths of the Lord are made evident to all, through the inspiration by the Holy Spirit on those appointed to be the writers of the Good News of salvation. Luke, the disciple of the Lord, was one of those four chosen.

We have to first look at what is the nature of this Good News, the wonderful news that we read in the Gospels, written by Luke and the three other Evangelists. In the Gospel, lies the fullness of the Lord’s promise of salvation, as well as the perfect fulfillment of that promise, in Jesus His Son, through whom He brought the Good News into the world, and through whom, by the means of His death and resurrection, the Good News in the Gospels were fulfilled perfectly, along with the prophecies of the prophets as written in the Old Testament.

In Christ we have hope, and in Him our bondage to sin and Satan were broken, and in Him, the path to salvation in God was once again opened to all of us. This is what the Gospels are about, and this is what the Apostles and the other disciples of Christ had preached, ever since the Day of the Pentecost, converting people to the cause of the Lord. That was the true essence and reason of their hard work and dedication, even to the point of shedding their blood and giving up their lives for He who is God.

As we see in the First Reading, we see that St. Luke was one of the companions of St. Paul the Apostle, in his travels and preaching visits around the cities across the Mediterranean Sea. St. Luke was a physician or a doctor, who became a follower of Christ after receiving the revelation of the truth through the Apostles and Christ Himself. Ever since, he had been part of the missionary effort, as Christ had commanded, to bring the words of salvation to the ends of the earth.

St. Luke was part of that mission, which Christ Himself had initiated, with the commissioning and sending of the seventy-two disciples to the towns and villages as heralds for the coming of Christ. With His death and resurrection, the Lord sends forth all of His disciples to all mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike, bringing to them the Good News and the salvation in Jesus Christ.

And just like the Apostles like St. Peter, leader of all of God’s disciples had once been a fisherman, and was made a fisher of mankind, thus, St. Luke too had been called, from his profession as a physician, as a doctor of the illness of the physical body, to be a doctor for our souls. And just as Peter as fisher of man ‘fished’ mankind out of the waters of darkness into the light, therefore St. Luke too, become the one who cured mankind out of the darkness of their hearts and their souls.

How did St. Luke do that? That is through the Gospel that he had written, the Holy Gospel according to Luke, which is rich in history and details, and which made clear to all who read them, on the fullness of God’s love and care for us, that in great detail, St. Luke explained the process through which, the Lord Jesus accomplished and fulfilled perfectly God’s planned salvation for all, beginning from His humble birth in Bethlehem, rejected by all, through His life and ministry, and until His Passion, death, and glorious resurrection.

Brethren! This Holy Gospel, as is the rest of the Holy Scripture is that cure for the darkness that had corrupted our hearts, the key to unlocking the doors of our heart, allowing God to enter into ourselves and make us worthy once again. But beware that we would not be deceived by Satan and his agents, who can twist the words of the Scripture to serve his own purposes. Remember the time when Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the desert.

That is why, brethren, all of us, firstly, must regularly read the Holy Scriptures, particularly the Gospels of salvation, where we read on Jesus and His divine words and on the central tenets of our faith. And then, we must also pray fervently and seek guidance, that we will not be tempted by the evil one, and will be able to internalise within our hearts, the Good News of our Lord’s salvation, and do not just remain at that, but spread it to the whole world, to all mankind.

May we, therefore, be able to follow in the footsteps of St. Luke and the Apostles,  to carry out the words of the Lord in the Gospels to all the nations, that through us, our own actions and words that reflect the Holy Gospels, we may bring all mankind towards God their Father, who will welcome them into His eternal kingdom. May we be courageous to follow in the footsteps of St. Luke, the Holy Apostles, and the other disciples of Christ. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 18 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 10 : 1-9

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest.”

“Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you.”

“Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house. When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick, who are there, and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God has drawn near to you.

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Friday, 18 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 4 : 10-17b

You must know that Demas has deserted me for the love of this world : he returned to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is a useful helper in my work. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, in Carpos’ house and also the scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander the metalworker has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. Distrust him for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.

At my first hearing in court no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it.

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Wednesday, 9 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priest)

Luke 11 : 1-4

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this :

Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”

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Tuesday, 8 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 38-42

As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words.

Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Monday, 7 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 12-14

Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is a fifteen-minute walk away. On entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying.

Present there were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus; Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.

All of these together gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.