Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 115 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.
I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. It is painful to the Lord to see the death of His faithful.
O Lord, I am Your servant, truly Your servant, Your handmaid’s son. You have freed me from my bonds. I will offer You a thanksgiving sacrifice; I will call on the Name of the Lord.
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that our faith in the Lord is truly worth it and we must always hold firmly to this faith and trust that we have in the Lord, no matter what challenges and trials may come our way. We need to continue to be faithful at all times and do not easily lose faith in God, even when times may be challenging and difficult. We must always trust in the Lord that He will be able to do great things for us, on our behalf. After all, He has shown His love and faithfulness all to us throughout history and most evidently through His Son, Who has come to us in the flesh, revealing the great love of God made Man. And since the Lord is always by our side, therefore, that is why we will be triumphant and successful in the end, and we will share in the true happiness and eternal glory that can be found in God alone.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which the High Priest and his fellow chief priests and the other members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council were debating about what they would do to the disciples of Jesus who had been performing miracles, wonders and other works in the Name of the Lord Jesus, the One Whom they had persecuted and handed over to the Romans to be crucified. Many among the Sanhedrin were hostile to Jesus and His teachings, and many of them wanted to destroy the disciples in the same manner how they had done to the Lord Himself. But as we heard, a renowned teacher of the faith, a rabbi known as Gamaliel calmed the whole Sanhedrin and spoke words of wisdom regarding what course of action that they ought to be taking.
Gamaliel quoted the examples of several false messiahs that had arisen during that period of time, stating how each and every one of them had come and claimed that they were the ones sent by God to save the people, and yet, their movement rapidly fizzled out the moment that they were killed and captured by the Romans when they rose up in rebellion against them. Therefore, Gamaliel urged caution and patience to the members of the Sanhedrin, telling them that they should refrain from taking harsh actions against the disciples and followers of Jesus, with the argument that if their movement did not come from God, then it would also fizzle out in the manner of how the other false messiahs’ followers had experienced. On the other hand, if the works of Jesus and His disciples truly came from God, then it would be impossible to stop.
Through this event of Gamaliel and his words to the Sanhedrin and how the disciples continued to proclaim the Lord, His teachings and works joyfully despite the trials, sufferings and hardships that they would have to face and endure amidst their respective ministries, all these are reminders for us of God’s faithful guidance and Presence in our lives. We should not easily be led to give up on God and our struggles for His cause. Instead, our faith should always be stronger, inspired and strengthened by the great love which God has always had for us, the ever wonderful and enduring love which the Lord has lavished on us, and His Resurrection is a reminder of this ever constant reassurance and hope that we can find in God alone. Therefore, with God we can do so many wonderful things, if we can only put more of our trust in Him.
In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the account of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and many others by the Lord taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. In that well-known miracle, we heard how the Lord miraculously multiplied the loaves of bread and fishes to be fed to all the multitudes of the people, and we heard how everyone had their fill and even to the excess, a whole twelve baskets full of food. This is an important reminder for us that God’s love for us is so great that He will fill us up and strengthen us, providing us to the brim and beyond, fulfilling and empowering each and every one of us who trust in Him and who love Him. And we should indeed allow the Lord to guide and strengthen us with His love and blessings, seeking Him as the centre and focus of our lives.
This story of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand serves as an important reminder for each one of us that we should trust in the Lord for His Providence and not be easily swayed or distracted by the many temptations and disturbances, desires and other obstacles present all around us that may lead us astray from the path towards God. We should look to the Lord as the One Who has always loved us, and as the One Who has always provided us with the grace and blessings for us to be able to move forward in life, strengthening us in body, mind, heart and soul. When we have nothing with us, the Lord always provides, and He always knows what we need even when we ourselves may not know them. He has always showed His most patient and enduring love all the time, and He has revealed His loving kindness to every single one of us without exception.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, having been shown such great love of God and how precious we truly are to Him, that is why we must deepen our loves and relationship with Him, doing our very best and striving in each and every moments to glorify Him by our lives in this world. We must allow ourselves to be filled with His great love, and be willing to share the same love with each other, to be loving first and foremost to God, and then to show that same great love to everyone around us, especially to those whom we love the most. In our every moments in life, we should always be steadfast in living our lives as faithful Christians, in showing everyone that we truly belong to God by the way we live, through our continuous, steadfast and enduring love for one another.
Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Athanasius, a great and holy servant of God, a staunch defender of the Church and the Christian faith against all those that sought to lead the faithful astray into the wrong path of heresy and falsehoods. St. Athanasius was the Bishop and Patriarch of Alexandria, and hence, during that time, the middle of the fourth century, he was one of the most influential leaders of the Church, which had just recently emerged from the intense official persecution by the Romans. At that time, the Church was bitterly divided between those who supported the Arian party, namely the heresy proposed by one popular preacher named Arius which denied the equality of Jesus Christ, the Son of God to the Father, with those who, headed by among many, St. Athanasius himself, defended the true teachings of the Church.
St. Athanasius succeeded to the position of Patriarch of Alexandria approximately three years after the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea which affirmed the true, orthodox teaching of the Church and rejecting the heresy of Arianism. However, the influence and support that the Arians were receiving ensured that the conflict between the Arians and those who held on to the true faith would go on for the next few decades, in which St. Athanasius often found himself in direct crossfire, becoming target of those who supported the Arian teachings and heresy, including those in power and close to the Emperor himself. As such St. Athanasius even had to endure several exiles and other hardships that he had faced amidst his ministry as the shepherd of the flock of the faithful people of God. Nevertheless, St. Athanasius remained firm in his resolution to do the best for those entrusted to him, and continued to do God’s great works in good and bad times alike, to the very end of his life.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all heard from the life, ministry, work and dedication of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, let us all therefore strive to do our best in following Christ, our Risen Lord, and be the good role models and inspirations ourselves to our fellow brothers and sisters. Let us all be the bearers of Christ’s Light and Hope, the Light and Hope of His Resurrection to the people of all the nations, to everyone whom we encounter in our daily life, to our brothers and sisters, and even to strangers as well. May the Lord continue to inspire us and strengthen us in our commitment to serve Him most faithfully each day in our lives. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 6 : 1-15
At that time, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed Him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when He healed the sick. So He went up into the hills and sat down there with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
Then lifting up His eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to Him, and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”
Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, so the people, about five thousand men, sat down. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish, and gave them as much as they wanted.
And when they had eaten enough, He told His disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
When the people saw the miracle which Jesus had performed, they said, “This is really the Prophet, the One Who is to come into the world.” Jesus realised that they would come and take Him by force to make Him King; so He fled to the hills by Himself.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 13-14
The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.
One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.
I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 5 : 34-42
But one of the members of the Council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly respected by the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin. He ordered the men to be taken outside for a few minutes and then he spoke to the assembly.
“Fellow Israelites, consider well what you intend to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas came forward, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed or disappeared.”
“After him, Judas the Galilean appeared at the time of the census and persuaded many people to follow him. But he too perished and his whole following was scattered. So, in this present case, I advise you to have nothing to do with these men. Leave them alone. If their project or activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. If, on the other hand, it is from God, you will not be able to destroy it and you may indeed find yourselves fighting against God.”
The Council let themselves be persuaded. They called in the Apostles and had them whipped, and ordered them not to speak again of Jesus Saviour. Then they set them free. The Apostles went out from the Council rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the Name. Day after day, both in the Temple and in people’s homes, they continued to teach and to proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the great love which God has bestowed upon us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and how this great love of God has been manifested in our midst and made real and tangible through the Church, which God Himself established in this world to be the real union of all the faithful people of God, all parts of the same Church, the one united Body of Christ. And we heard of how the early Christians lived their lives in reflection of this loving relationship between God and His Church, as well as between the people of God themselves in their respective communities, which were at that time still at the very early and nascent stage. And yet, they can serve as good examples and inspirations for all of us the faithful people of God.
In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, just as I had mentioned earlier, we heard of the lives of the early Christian communities, which were then still mostly centred around Jerusalem and Judea, and its surrounding regions like Galilee, and parts of Syria among the Jewish diaspora and the Gentiles. It was still a relatively small and simple community of the faithful people of God, and as mentioned, we heard how they all lived in a great and incredible state of grace. The earliest Christians lived in harmony and peace with one another, sharing their goods and possessions to support each other, such that no one among them were to be found wanting for the lack of resources and goods. Those who had more with them and been blessed more bountifully shared more of their riches and blessings with those who had less.
Back then the Apostles and the other disciples managed this distribution of goods and resources, which the faithful brought regularly to be offered to the Church through the Apostles. That was how the very earliest Church community lived, in great love both for God and for their fellow brothers and sisters. There we can see how God’s instructions and teachings were manifested in the livelihood of His Church, where the faithful lived with great harmony with each other and in dedication to God. Of course this is not practical or possible in our Church community today, which spans the whole entire world and numbering over 1.4 billion people. However, in our own parishes and smaller Christian communities we should apply the same way of living our lives wherever applicable, to be truly loving towards God and our fellow brothers and sisters alike.
Essentially, as Christians all of us are called and reminded to be truly filled with God’s love and grace, in everything that we say and do, in our every actions and deeds, our every interactions with each other. We should always be doing what the Lord has taught us to do in our lives, to be good and caring, loving and compassionate people who share our blessings with one another. Without genuine love and care for others, we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians, because as Christians we follow God and His ways, and God is Love. We cannot be true Christians if we do not practice love in our actions and way of life, and if we do not carry out Christ’s teachings and love in our every interactions with those we encounter in life. That is why we have been constantly reminded today and on previous days to be truly filled with God’s love in all things.
Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, in which the Lord Jesus continued with His discussion with Nicodemus the Pharisee, who was one of the few who were sympathetic about the Lord’s teachings and ways, unlike many among his fellow Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin. The Lord Jesus continued to speak about the matter of being born again in the Lord and how He alone knew all these things and truths hidden from even the wise and learned ones at that time, like Nicodemus and his fellow Pharisees, as Jesus Himself came from God, our Heavenly Father. By the will of the Father, His Son and Word has become incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit, manifesting perfectly the love of God in the flesh, becoming tangible and real for us.
And yes, this great love of God that has been manifested to us would show this perfect love by His selfless and most willing sacrifice on the Cross, which was alluded in that Gospel passage today, in the conversation of the Lord with Nicodemus, by referring to how the Son of Man would be raised up just as Moses had raised up the bronze serpent during the time of tribulation for the Israelites. At that time, the Israelites had sinned greatly against God and in their stubborn disobedience, they had to suffer and die because of their sins, when fiery serpents from the Lord came against them and bit many among them. But when they all cried towards God and asked Him for His mercy and forgiveness, God gave them this mercy and forgiveness through Moses, who made for them the image of the bronze serpent, which would become the archetype of the Crucifixion and Christ’s salvation.
For by His Cross, His Crucifixion, all of His suffering and death on that same Cross, Christ has made Himself visible to all, the love of God most wonderful and most generous, made available to all of us sinners. Through Him, the Lord has made the path to His salvation and eternal life visible to all, restoring our hope and bringing back the Light of God to all of us who have been living in the darkness. Through Christ and His loving sacrifice, God has opened for us the path to redemption, and hence, the restoration of our unity with Him, as He calls upon each and every one of us to come back to Him with sincere love for Him and with contrite and repentant hearts. All of us as Christians should always heed and remember God’s most generous love, and show that same love to one another as Christ Himself has shown us.
Today also marks the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, a truly renowned saint and holy woman, who devoted herself and her whole life to God as a committed laywoman and a mystic who received many visions and inspirations from the Lord, which she wrote extensively about and which eventually led to her being designed as one of the few Doctors of the Church for her contributions. St. Catherine of Siena was born into a large family as one of the youngest children of her parents, and since her youth she had been growing up in a pious state, receiving visions from the Lord from the age of as young as about five years old. She committed herself strongly to God and devoted herself to the service of others around her, eventually becoming a great inspiration to many people around her, helping many who were sick and suffering, and was even involved in the resolution of conflicts and bickering among the people.
St. Catherine of Siena went extensively around the region in her many ministries and involvements in the Church, and was even advising the Pope himself on the need for him to return to Rome during those turbulent years when there were rival claimants to the See of St. Peter, in the years of the Avignon Papacy and the later Western Schism. Through her many efforts, St. Catherine of Siena brought many people close to God and as a result, many more people came to be saved and brought inspiration to countless others throughout the centuries after her time, as she is also to us Christians today, in showing us how we can be truly filled with God’s love, and be loving towards both God and our fellow brothers and sisters, in the manner that St. Catherine of Siena had done.
May the Lord, our most loving God, our Risen Lord continue to be with us all His people, that each and every one of us as Christian faithful, God’s disciples and followers, may continue to walk faithfully in the path that the Lord has shown us. May He continue to bless our efforts and good works, everything that we have done for His greater glory, for the good of the Church and all of His people, now and always. Amen.
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.”
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.
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.
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