Easter Homily

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Wednesday, 15 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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 we must always live our lives well and worthily as God’s holy and chosen people, as Christians, those whom God had blessed and embraced to be His own adopted children. This is because all of us are ourselves expected to be good and worthy role models for everyone around us, through our exemplary lives, actions and deeds. We must be always genuine in our every actions, words and deeds, living our whole existence to glorify the Lord and to proclaim His truth and love at all times. We must strive to be full of God’s love and truth, to abandon all sorts of wickedness and evils in our hearts and minds, so that we may truly serve Him wholeheartedly as His disciples and followers in our world today.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles about the moment when St. Paul the Apostle was saying his farewell to the Church elders and the other members of the faithful in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor, in what is today part of Turkey. At that time, St. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, as he was about to embark on his last missionary journey. The Lord had called upon St. Paul to follow Him and to do His will, as He was sending him to go to Rome, the then capital of the mighty Roman Empire that ruled over much of the Mediterranean region including the whole area of the Holy Land. St. Paul the Apostle definitely had the choice of not continuing with his mission or take refuge in one of the more stable Christian communities in the region, where friendly local Christian population might have made the rest of his mission and works relatively comfortable.

Yet, he chose to obey the Lord, follow Him and strengthen those elders and leaders of the faithful with his own example, obedience and commitment to God. Those elders had been entrusted with the leadership and guardianship over the people of God, and it was their good and worthy leadership which could lead to a great difference between the salvation or damnation of many of the souls of the people. St. Paul told those elders to remain firmly rooted and connected to God, to shepherd the flock of the Lord’s faithful worthily and according to what He had asked them all to do, and not to give in to the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, or any sorts of attachment to our ego, desires and the attachment to the pleasures of this world.

St. Paul also warned the elders of how some might arise and lead the faithful into disarray and confusion as they did not work for the Lord but for the evil one and for their own selfish desires and ambitions. This warning would indeed come true and was truly prophetic given just how quickly after the Church had been established, even during the time of great persecutions, there quickly sprung many false teachers and leaders who did not profess the same faith and teachings as those that the Apostles had preserved in the Church as the deposit of the faith. Those false leaders and guides caused a lot of confusion and trouble in the Church, misleading the people of God and bringing about divisions that break the unity of the Body of Christ in schisms and heresies.

This reminder by St. Paul to the faithful and their leaders before he departed for his final mission still rings true even to this day. It is an important reminder and not just only to our Christian leaders and community figures but in fact also to each and every one of us as disciples and followers of Christ. This means that all of us must always strive to live our lives wholly committed and focused on the Lord, and we should always be ever vigilant not to allow ourselves to be tempted and swayed into the wrong and wicked paths because we allowed the evil one and the temptations of power, glory, ambition and desire present all around us to mislead us down the path of wickedness away from the Lord, His grace and salvation. Each and every one of us by our lives are also called and expected to show genuine and worthy Christian living and way of life, and not just those of our leaders only.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the continuation of the Lord Jesus’ prayer to His heavenly Father for His disciples and followers, which He made shortly before He were to begin His Passion, His suffering and death. He asked His Father to bless, guide and protect those whom He had called and chosen from the world so that they may be strengthened and empowered, that they may remain united and strong amidst all the challenges and trials, all the temptations, pressures and coercions which might exist all around them. He asked His Father to consecrate all of the disciples in the truth, to guide and help them with the wisdom and the strength, the knowledge and understanding needed for them to fully appreciate their Christian faith and truth, which He would bestow upon them through the Holy Spirit.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect upon these words from the Sacred Scriptures, let us all continue to strive to keep the focus of our lives and existence in the Lord, to put Him at the very heart and the forefront of our daily living and actions, in all of the words and deeds we commit, and in every interactions we made so that by our exemplary living and our good and worthy actions, words and deeds, we will be good and shining role models of our Christian life and faith for everyone around us. Each and every one of us must always bear witness to the Lord and to His truth, teachings and love, or else, we may in fact even scandalise Him and His Holy Name if in case our actions, words and deeds are contrary to what we believe in and what the Lord Himself had taught us. Then in that case, we will be held fully accountable for our actions, just as those heretics and false leaders likely had faced their just consequences from God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all henceforth renew our commitment to live our lives ever more faithfully to the Lord, to listen to Him and to obey His will at all times, and to become ever closer and more connected to Him through our prayerful life and through our greater love, commitment and devotion to Him. Let us all continue to glorify Him by our exemplary lives and be the good and worthy role models and inspirations for one another, both for our fellow Christians and also for all those others who have not yet known the Lord and His salvation, His truth and love, that through us, they may come to know Him and believe in Him as well. May the Lord bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 14 May 2024 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthias the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, and the one who was not originally a member of the Twelve chosen by the Lord Himself to be among His chief disciples. There was a vacancy that arose due to the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, one of those Twelve, who betrayed the Lord Jesus to the chief priests and then took his own life shortly afterwards out of guilt and regret. As we heard in the Scriptural account from the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord discerned about this matter and chose from among those deemed worthy to be the twelfth member of the group of the Twelve Apostles.

Historically and according to the tradition of the Church fathers, this took place after the Lord had ascended into Heaven and before the coming of the Holy Spirit in the time of the Pentecost. This happened therefore in that ten days period between the Ascension of the Lord and the Pentecost, when the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem to discern their path forward after the Lord had ascended and was no longer physically with them. But although the Holy Spirit had not been given to them through the Pentecost, it did not mean that the Lord did not act through His Church. As we all heard that the disciples, while were still full of fear then because of the threats and persecutions from the Jewish elders and the chief priests, they were led to consider the needs of the Church and its future, and they discerned well through prayer that God might guide them in the right path.

And that was how St. Matthias was elected to be the one to fill up the vacancy among the Twelve, as the number twelve has a great significance representing the Twelve tribes of the people of Israel, and hence could not be left empty then. Through the election of St. Matthias, and the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit upon all the Lord’s disciples, the Lord sent forth His Church to proclaim His Good News and salvation to the nations just as He had intended. He sent them all so that more and more people may come to know the One and only true God, through Whom alone all grace and salvation can come from. The Apostles therefore went forth afterwards to the many places all throughout the known world then, places distant and even risky, where they had to labour hard and suffer persecutions at times to proclaim the Good News of God.

St. Matthias according to the Church and Apostolic traditions went to the region of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, proclaiming the Word of God and His salvation to the people living there, calling upon them to follow the Lord and to believe in Him. He also went to various parts of the Levant or the Holy Land early in his ministry, and in some traditions, also went to the land of Ethiopia to proclaim the Gospels, and in his efforts, he gained many people who embraced the Lord and had faith in Him because of everything that He had told them all. However, just like the other Apostles and missionaries of the Lord, he also encountered significant opposition from all those who refused to believe in God and persecuted those who believed in Christ, including the missionaries like St. Matthias himself.

According to one of those traditions, St. Matthias was martyred in that region of Ethiopia during his mission there, as he encountered opposition to his preaching and efforts to proclaim the Good News of God there from the unbelievers. In another tradition, he was martyred in Jerusalem in Judea by the local populace, the Jewish people who refused to believe in the Lord and His message. Regardless of the exact details of the events and where he had been martyred, the fact is that St. Matthias committed himself thoroughly to fulfil whatever missions and works that he had been entrusted with by God, and suffered greatly in the midst of doing all of his ministry, and yet, he remained courageous and strong in proclaiming God’s truth and salvation to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what we are all reminded to do as well in our own lives. As Christians, each and every one of us are called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, those holy predecessors of ours who have gone before us, and have dedicated themselves and their lives to God in all various manners and ways. Yet, they all proclaim the Lord and showed everyone what it truly means for us to become disciples and followers of God by living the message of the Gospel of Christ, that is what we have heard in today’s Gospel passage. The Lord told all of them to love one another just as He has loved all of them, and how the Father has loved all, because the way and the path of the Lord is truly that one of Love and compassion.

This means that to be genuine and true Christians, we must always be filled with love, first and foremost of course directed towards God, but then we must also show the same kind of love towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Without love we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians, as the Lord Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, has shown us the example of perfect love and compassion towards us, by reaching out to us sinners. He shouldered for each and every one of us the burdens and the consequences of our many faults, mistakes and sins, nwillingly suffering and dying for our sake on the Cross at Calvary. This is the perfect and most selfless love that God wants us to have as well, in how we live our lives, ever loving God and our brethren.

Let us all therefore walk faithfully in the footsteps of the Holy Apostles, committing ourselves thoroughly and doing our very best so that in everything that we do, we will always glorify God and be good role models and examples for one another. Let us all be the great inspiration for our brothers and sisters so that through us, more and more may come to know the Lord, and more may be willing to walk in the path of the Lord. May St. Matthias, Holy Apostle and good servant of the Lord continue to intercede for us sinners, and help us in our journey and path towards God, inspiring us all to be more like Him in all of our actions, words and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 13 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, commemorating the Apparitions of the Blessed Mother of God, Mary most Holy at the site of Cova da Iria near the small town of Fatima in Portugal, over a century ago to young children-shepherds, namely St. Francisco Marto and St. Jacinta Marto who were siblings, and their cousin, the Venerable Lucia dos Santos. They had actually begun experiencing the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima from the previous year, 1916. Historically, it was known that Mary, the Mother of God had made appearances during times and moments when wars and conflicts happened in the world, where a lot of hardships, sufferings and trials were faced by the people, and a lot of wickedness and evils were present all around everyone.

At that time, the First World War or World War I, then known as the Great War was raging throughout the world, but was particularly terrifying and devastating in Europe. While Portugal itself was not directly affected by the war, but it was at the year 1916 that Portugal entered into the Great War on the side of the Entente or the Allies against the Central Powers led by Germany. By that time, the Great War had been raging for over two years and millions had perished due to the continuing warfare and conflicts, while many millions more people were suffering because of the effects of the disruptions to their daily livelihood, the hunger and famine due to the entire national resources of many states being pooled and focused for the war efforts. It was at this tumultuous time that the Mother of God, as Our Lady of Fatima, chose to make her appearance to us all.

Initially, people were skeptical of what the three children-shepherds were experiencing and telling to them, about the apparition of a Woman at the site of Cova da Iria, which they associated with Mary, the Mother of God. The Lady in the Apparition told the three children of many things, including the prayer to end the Great War, and the call to return to peace, and for mankind to abandon all the wicked and evil deeds which they had committed through the War and many other things which had indeed angered the Lord greatly. Mary appeared to the three of them calling on them to pass on the messages and the words that she had brought with her to everyone, so that more and more people would come to turn their hearts and minds back towards the Lord, and away from the evils and wickedness which many of them had committed and led them to sin against God.

On this date of the thirteenth of May in the Year of Our Lord 1917, Mary appeared to the three children again, as she showed herself to them as a great Woman, appearing brighter than the Sun, and with light clearer and stronger than a crystal goblet filled with the clearest water, in the words of the witnesses themselves. The appearance of this Woman, who wore a white and gold-trimmed mantle, with the holy rosary upon her hands would become the inspiration of the images and statues now commonly known and venerated widely all around Christendom as Our Lady of Fatima. The Apparition told the three witnesses to tell everyone to commit themselves to the Lord, the Holy Trinity more and more, and to pray the Rosary everyday to bring an end to the war and return to peace. All those things which the Blessed Virgin had mentioned, eventually came to be, just over a year later.

There were many other things and miraculous signs and wonders which Mary as Our Lady of Fatima had shown to the three children and to many other witnesses in her series of Apparitions, as her messages and words brought upon everyone a message and reminder for them to return once again to God’s love and grace, abandoning the evils and wickedness of the world, to sin no more and to embrace wholeheartedly God’s loving and compassionate mercy, which He has always readily given to us, but yet, our stubbornness and wickedness had often prevented us from being able to receive the fullness of God’s grace, forgiveness and love. And while the messages and the words of Our Lady of Fatima, and the whole Apparition would be approved by the Church authorities, and became one of the most popular and enduring Marian devotions up to this day, but at that time, many were skeptical of the veracity and authenticity of what the three children and witnesses had seen.

That was why those three witnesses had to face scrutiny, objections and obstacles from the secular and religious authorities at that time, who questioned them and doubted them, and some did not believe that the Apparition was real or legitimate. But, through the repeated Apparitions, the many signs and miracles which Our Lady of Fatima had shown, eventually, many were convinced of the truth and authenticity of Our Lady’s appearance, that Mary had indeed appeared to the three shepherd children and through them to many others, who were therefore touched and called to propagate her words and reminders, which were all ultimately meant to direct mankind to return once again to righteousness and virtues in God. Our Lady of Fatima, as our loving adoptive Mother, has always been concerned about us, many of whom are always in the danger of losing in the battle for our souls to those who seek our destruction and downfall.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we commemorate this Feast of Our Lady of Fatima today, let us always keep in mind what the Lord Himself told to everyone in our Gospel passage today, ‘Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.’, which indirectly showed the perfect example of this faith and commitment in His own Mother Mary, who had obeyed the Lord’s will and committed herself thoroughly to whatever God had entrusted to her, that through her, many great things had been done for our salvation, by the coming of Our Lord and Saviour, incarnate in the flesh through Mary’s acceptance of her role to be the Mother of God, Our Lord and Saviour. Not only that, but Mary had dedicated herself to love her Son, and to care for everyone whom He had entrusted to her, which He did from His Cross, at the moment of His Passion and death.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, Our Lord had entrusted to us His own Mother to be our Mother, to care and love for us, at all times. At the same time, we have also been adopted by her to be like her own children. That is why it is really not surprising why she had made her many appearances all throughout history, especially during the moments and times like conflicts, wars and hardships facing the people of God, her own adopted children, who were in danger of falling into the wrong paths in life, and who were afflicted by a lot of uncertainties and hardships. Which mother would not care for her sons and daughters hence? Which mother would pretend not to know or to ignore the plight of those whom she loved? That was why Mary, as Our Lady of Fatima and her many other Apparitions, had done so much for our sake, to lead us all once again towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord through His Blessed Mother, Mary, ever Virgin, Our Lady of Fatima. Let us all ask her to constantly intercede for us, and to help and guide us in our journey through life, so that amidst all the challenges, trials, hardships and dangers that we may have to face in this life, as the disciples and followers of Christ, we will continue to proceed onward ever more faithfully, and be directed towards Our Lord and His salvation, by following the great examples and faith as shown by Mary herself, who has always guided us all towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour. Let us all as Christians strive to be ever always worthy of God, and fill our whole lives with prayer and love for both God and for our fellow brothers and sisters all around us.

May the Holy Mother of God, Our Lady of Fatima, our loving Mother and intercessor, continue to pray for us and to guide us patiently as she has always done all these while. May we continue to seek the Lord, by focusing our attention Him through gazing upon the loving face of our beloved Mother, who has shown us the path forward in life as disciples and followers of Our Lord. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, which is celebrated on the fortieth day in the season of Easter. Sometimes this celebration is moved to the Sunday after which is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This important feast marks the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Son of God and Son of Man, Who had risen triumphantly from the dead, ascended in glory into Heaven. Through His Ascension, He returned triumphantly and gloriously to where He had come from, the Throne of God as the only begotten Son of God and the Divine Word Incarnate, and to prepare a place for all of us, His disciples and followers in the world that is to come.

If the Resurrection proved that the Lord had conquered death itself, and broken the chains of sin and evil which had dominated us from the beginning of time, from the moment of our downfall, then the Ascension proved that the Lord truly had come down from Heaven itself, and He rose gloriously by His own power, to show that He is indeed the same Almighty God and Creator of all, one in unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Through His Incarnation, the Lord has shown us all His love and His Presence, manifested and made approachable to us in the flesh, and reminding us that we mankind are indeed made in the image of God. And He has also reassured all of His disciples and followers that He would still be with them even though He has ascended into Heaven and can no longer be physically present with them in the form they are familiar with.

In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, that is what we heard from the accounts of the moment when the Lord ascended into Heaven. As mentioned, He reassured all His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be with them, guiding and strengthening them throughout their journey and ministry. The Holy Spirit would indeed come upon all the Apostles and disciples of the Lord at the Pentecost, ten days later, on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection at Easter, which we will celebrate soon as the Pentecost Sunday. Through the guidance, wisdom and strength provided to them through the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s disciples and followers were strengthened and encouraged to go and continue their works and missions in answering God’s call and in fulfilling what they had been entrusted to do, in proclaiming the truth and Good News of God to the nations.

This is the main purpose and mission which the Lord had entrusted to all of us the members of His Body, the Church of God, all the faithful and holy people who have received the truth and light of His salvation and grace. And since He has revealed to us all these, therefore each and every one of us are also entrusted with the same mission which the Lord had placed upon His Church, also known as the Great Commission, that is to make Him known to all the people of all the nations, and to proclaim His Good News and salvation in all the whole world, to lead the world and all mankind to return back towards God and be reconciled with Him. Then this will lead to the whole world to acknowledge that Christ is truly the Lord and Master of all, and receive baptism in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Then in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the words of St. Paul the Apostle to the faithful reminding them all to remain united as one Body of Christ and one united community of believers, encouraged and strengthened by the same Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit Whom God had sent into this world, to dwell in His Church and among all of His faithful ones. The Apostle reminded all of them of the mission which the Lord had entrusted to each and every one of them through the bestowal of the Holy Spirit, by Whom God had guided and led His Church to continue the good works and missions which He Himself had begun in this world. He has bestowed upon His Church and the faithful many gifts and blessings, the many opportunities and chances for them all to proclaim the Gospel to all.

That was why St. Paul the Apostle also reminded all of the faithful in Ephesus and beyond, that each and every one of them have received those various and diverse gifts, blessings and talents, and everyone have their own calling and mission in life, in doing their part to contribute to the overall great and wonderful works of the Church. Some are meant to be preachers, while others are called to show their contributions in other ways, in their own daily living and actions, while others teach and help others to understand better the meaning of the Christian faith, and many more diverse calling and ministries are present in the Church. This applies to all of us even to this day, just as we all have been given diverse blessings, talents and opportunities in the Church, and in our world today, to which we are all called to minister as God’s disciples and followers.

In the Gospel passage, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus speaking to the disciples, proclaiming His guidance and providence to all of them, reassuring them that as long as they continue to proclaim His truth and Good News, while they might indeed encounter hardships and difficulties, challenges and tribulations, but they shall be protected and guarded, and the Lord would always be by their side, suffering and enduring all those things with them, and through His Holy Spirit, the Church and all the faithful servants of God will continue to be strengthened and empowered even through their greatest moments of hardships and their deepest trials. The Lord would guide and bless them so that they might indeed continue to live their lives worthily of Him, and to continue to proclaim His truth and Good News to all the people of all the nations.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore realise well that we are all called to continue the good works that the Lord had begun with His Apostles and our holy predecessors. There are indeed still many opportunities and chances presented to us in our world today, with its unique challenges and difficulties, and with many are still lost to the Lord, or having forgotten His love and truth, in their pursuit of worldly glory, ambition and pleasures. It is up to us then to make good use of the blessings, talents and opportunities that God has given to us so that we may continue to be good role models and inspirations for one another, at all times. Through our lives and examples, we may indeed be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, proclaiming His Good News to all the people around us and beyond.

May the Risen Lord Who had ascended in glory into Heaven, as He takes up His Throne, continue to be with us all His Church, and continue to guide and strengthen us all in our path. May He continue to empower each and every one of us with the strength and courage to see things through and to persevere despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to encounter and endure in our respective paths in life and in our respective vocations and ministries. May He continue to bless and guide us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory and for the good and salvation of all mankind. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the second last Sunday in this glorious and joyful season and time of Easter. On this Sunday, which in some places the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated, we commemorate the occasion of the World Communications Sunday or the World Social Communications Sunday, as we give thanks to the Lord firstly for having revealed to us His great salvation and grace that He had brought upon us through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Risen One, and we also give thanks to all those who have laboured hard and courageously for the Lord’s sake in proclaiming His truth and Good News to the whole world, especially those who dedicate themselves in the field of communication of the Christian faith.

It is important for us all as Christians to know well about communication as it is how the Lord Himself has revealed to us His truth and love. From the very beginning of time, the Lord has always presented Himself and His love for us through either Him directly speaking to us, His people or through His servants like Moses and the prophets, who then passed on the message and words of the Lord to whom they were sent to. He has always communicated His will and His desire for His people through these means, and the people themselves have also communicated with Him through His representatives like the priests and the prophets, throughout history. It was through all these that the people came to know what the Lord wanted the to do, although often times they did not follow the Lord wholeheartedly and preferred to walk down their own, rebellious paths.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the moment when the Apostles were gathering and discerning about the matter of the twelfth member of their number. This was highlighted as the Lord originally had chosen twelve among His disciples and followers to be His principal disciples, the Twelve, later to be known as the Twelve Apostles. However, as we know, one of those twelve, namely Judas Iscariot, betrayed the Lord and then took his own life out of guilt and regret shortly afterwards. As such, St. Peter, who led all of the Apostles and the Church convened the meeting and the gathering mentioned the need for the Church to discern and select from among themselves to be one of the Apostles to fill up the vacancy created by the betrayal and death of Judas Iscariot.

And we heard how the Apostles gathered and prayed together with the other disciples, invoking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them, and they put their choice between as certain Joseph Barsabbas or Justus, and one named Matthias. Both were worthy and good men, who had been longtime disciples of the Lord, and who had also witnessed everything that the Twelve had witnessed. Eventually, Matthias was selected to be the one to fill up the vacancy and became the twelfth and newest member of the Twelve Apostles, continuing the mission which the Lord entrusted to His Church and Apostles, and henceforth was known as Matthias the Apostle. Then, in accordance to what we have been discussing in today’s theme on communication, the Apostles did not decide based on their own human whim and understanding, but they communicated to the Lord through their prayers and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As St. John the Apostle wrote in his Epistle in our second reading passage today, the Holy Spirit has further revealed, explained and shared to us the love of God manifested to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. By the manifestation of His Son, the Lord has made His love and truth manifested and approachable to us in the flesh, and through the Apostles, the Church had witnessed and experienced this same love and truth, which the same Church and the disciples and followers of the Lord, therefore shared with everyone all throughout the whole world. Through the Holy Spirit, every members of the same Body of Christ, the Church, shared in the same grace, experiences and love which He has revealed and shown to all of us through everything that He had done for our sake, especially in how He suffered and died for our salvation.

Then, through the Holy Spirit, by which the holy people of God, that is all of us, have received the various gifts, namely that of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord, all of which we have been given so that we may grow to love the Lord our God more and more, and commit ourselves ever more worthily and courageously to His cause. We have been taught and shown how to love God with all of our might and strength, to love Him genuinely from the depth of our hearts, and to commit ourselves thoroughly to Him, as well as to show that same love to one another, in our every moments in life, in our every actions, words and deeds. The love of God is what made us Christians to be unique and different from all those who have not yet embraced the Lord our God and believed in Him.

This is where we are all called to be good communicators yet again, not just through prayer and discernment as what the Apostles had done in our first reading in communicating with God in their decision to choose the twelfth Apostle, but also through our own actions and deeds in life. Sometimes a person does not have to communicate with words at all to convey what he or she wants to convey, and in fact, as we all should know that our actions and behaviour in life often may have conveyed greater things and have more impact than mere words to others present around us. There had been many moments in history when many people were scandalised and put off by the actions of many corrupt and wicked people who considered themselves as Christians, even those high in the position of power and responsibilities in the Church, and yet they did not act or behave in the manner as Christians should behave.

This is why it is very important for us to be very careful in how we act, and we ought to make sure that our every words, actions and deeds should always be centred and focused on the Lord, as it is very easy for us to be tempted otherwise to follow the many temptations and desires of this world, of our ambition and vanities, that we end up falling deeper and deeper into the wrong paths in life, and be corrupted ever more by sin. As Christians, it is important that we must always lead lives that are full of God’s grace and love, and we must always keep in mind that we are all also missionaries and bearers of God’s truth and love in our respective communities and groups, in our families and circle of friends, and even to strangers we encounter in our daily living.

That is why just as we have heard ourselves from the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, Who prayed to His heavenly Father asking for Him to guide His disciples and followers in His path, that we must always be firmly rooted in the Lord, and develop a strong and living relationship with Him, at all times. The Lord Jesus Himself always frequently prayed to His Father at different places and times, sometimes privately and sometimes before His disciples, teaching them all how to pray and to follow the Lord. This is because unless one is firmly attached and centred upon the Lord, it is easy for him or her to be swayed by the many worldly temptations and pressures, and fall away from the path of virtue and righteousness, and be separated from the truth and grace of God.

We ourselves have to make the conscious effort to communicate with God, to be closely attuned with Him, by spending quality time to discern His will and to find out what it is that He wants us to do, just as the Lord had taught His disciples, and which they did at all times. If we do not even spend the slightest bit of time to be with the Lord, then how can we truly know what is His will for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Many people have fallen away from their faith in God and lost trust in Him because they allowed themselves to be distracted from Him so that they barely spent any time with Him at all, and hence, they did not truly know Him or recognise His Presence in their lives as they should have done.

Then, at the same time, as I have discussed earlier on, as Christians each and every one of us must also be genuine in our actions and in our way of life so that by our examples of life, full of love towards the Lord and towards one another, we may truly indeed communicate well the truth of God and His love to the world, to everyone around us, just as the Lord has told us to do. We have been entrusted with the important mission to proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation to all the people of all the nations, but we cannot do this unless we ourselves have been in constant communication and being well-attuned to God’s will, and also in being truly and genuinely faithful in our actions and way of life as well.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all continue to do our best in living our lives ever more faithfully as Christians, in all things and at all times so that by our good and exemplary way of life, we may truly be effective evangelisers and worthy missionaries of our Christian faith at all times. May the Risen Lord continue to guide and bless each and every one of us in our efforts, that we may continue to be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, leading more and more people towards their salvation in God, that we may be saved altogether, and worship and praise God together as His one, united and holy people. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we continue to be reminded of our calling and obligation to proclaim the words and truth of God as we have been commissioned to do by the Lord through His Church. Each and every one of us as members of God’s Church have been made partakers of the mission of the Church in proclaiming the truth and the Good News of God to all the people of all the nations. This is the Great Commission which the Lord has entrusted to His Church and faithful ones, the Commission to go forth to bear God’s salvation and light to everyone. We must still be properly instructed and guided in our faith and works so that we can truly proclaim the right truth to everyone.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation from the Acts of the Apostles of the works of the Apostles, as St. Paul continued to carry out his mission throughout the region of Asia Minor and elsewhere, in the long missionary journeys that he carried out to proclaim the Good News of God to more and more people throughout the places he had visited. While St. Paul’s ministry was the most well-known and written due to the Acts of the Apostles likely being written by St. Luke the Evangelist, who accompanied St. Paul on many of his missionary works and travels, but there were also others like Apollos as mentioned in the passage today, also revered as St. Apollos, a Jewish convert to the Christian faith, who was very charismatic and capable in his preaching among the people.

However, as we heard, Apollos did not fully know the fullness of the teachings of the Lord, and taught the people according to what he knew from his Jewish background. It was likely that he was a supporter of the Lord or a disciple of St. John the Baptist, who later on followed the Lord Jesus and believed in Him. At that time in the early Church, before the full codification and formalisation of the teachings of the Church, there was no fixed set of teachings that every Christians adhered to yet unlike that of today, and there were indeed regional variations in the details of the Christian beliefs and teachings which the disciples and missionaries of the Lord proclaimed like that of St. Apollos. However, we heard that some of the Christians in the region, St. Priscilla and St. Aquila, a missionary couple, helped to correct St. Apollos and guided him in what he should be teaching to the people.

Even in this case we can see the great beauty of the Church and how it encompassed all the faithful, both those from the Jewish and non-Jewish or Gentile origins alike. Both the Jews and the non-Jewish people were all called to God’s presence and everyone are truly equal before the Lord regardless of their background and origin. The fact that St. Apollos himself, a devout Jew from Alexandria, worked amongst the non-Jewish people in the region proclaiming the Word of God among both the Jews and Gentiles alike, showed just how egalitarian and open the Christian faith and Church were. The Church therefore kept on growing rapidly, welcoming more and more converts from all people, who sought the Lord for His grace and salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord telling His disciples that He has revealed to them the truth and wisdom which He had brought into this world, which He has imparted to them and which He would show them all through His actions and teachings, as He loves all of them, and wants everyone to know of His love and compassion towards them. God’s love has always ever been patient and generous, and all those who love the Lord will truly receive the fullness of His love and grace, and the promise of everlasting life and true joy with Him. Each and every one of us must continue to do the missions and works which Our Lord Himself had entrusted to us and to His Church, doing our very best so that in everything we say and do, we will always glorify the Lord.

This is why He wants to remind us all as His disciples that He is truly a loving and compassionate God, Who seeks to reunite all of us with Himself, through our reconciliation and by the forgiveness of our many sins and wickedness. We are all called to abandon our past sinful and wicked way of life, turning away from the path towards darkness into the new path of God’s light and salvation. We are all the children of Light and through our Lord’s guidance, help, and strength, and by His truth and Good News, He shall lead us all into a most triumphant path and victory, as we acclaim Him in all the encounters we have with everyone we meet, in our daily lives and in our schools and workplaces. All of us need to proclaim the Lord and bring forth His truth and love to the world, which is our primary mission and calling in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all reflect upon these words from the Scriptures, and having heard and been reminded of the great examples shown by our holy predecessors, we are all called to proclaim God’s truth and love to all the people we encounter in our respective lives, to reveal Him and His truth to more and more people who have not yet known Him. Each and every one of us should continue to do what God has commanded us to do, to reveal Him to everyone, and it is imperative that we must always continue to live our lives being focus and centred on God so that in all the things that we say and do we will always glorify the Lord our God and reveal Him to our fellow brethren. We are all called to continue the good works which the Lord had begun with His Apostles and our holy predecessors.

May the Risen Lord continue to guide us and may He continue to empower us in our journey to do God’s will. May He continue to bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, to do what is right and just in all things so that by our good examples we will continue to be the inspiration for everyone to follow, just as our holy predecessors have been our inspiration and strength. May all of us glorify God always by our worthy lives, our every actions, words and deeds. Amen.

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Friday, 10 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the hardships, challenges, persecutions and trials that we may have to endure in our path of life as Christians, as we all heard the examples and the persecutions facing the early Christian communities and the missionaries like the Apostles, especially what St. Paul and his companions had endured throughout their ministry among various people in their missionary journeys. We also have the history, life examples and evidences from the many saints and martyrs of the Church, throughout its long two millennia of history, where Christian faithful had been persecuted, enduring challenges and trials one after another, and yet, many of them still remained firmly in faith in God.

In our first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles, as mentioned earlier, we heard of the moment when St. Paul the Apostle was carrying out his missionary work and journey in the region of Macedonia and Greece, after he had laboured on firstly in Philippi and then in Athens, proclaiming the truth and love of God to the people who have not yet known Him, and even sparring words with the pagan philosophers and those who worshipped the Greek idols, to reveal the truth about God, the One and only True Master and Creator of all. He continued his work and mission in the nearby region of Achaia just as we heard from the passage of the Acts of the Apostles and how he stayed on in that region for a year and a half, spreading the truth of God and converting many among the people to the Christian faith.

We then heard how the some of the Jewish people in Achaia plotted against St. Paul by complaining against the Roman governor, Gallio, accusing St. Paul of having committed blasphemy against God by teaching in manner contrary to their own practices and ways. Contextually, it was likely that those Jews belonged to the group of the Pharisees, many of whom were very particular about how the Law of God ought to be followed, practiced and obeyed, as they took a very literal and excessive emphasis on the rituals and practices of the Law, embellished by centuries of modification and changes which had actually corrupted and turned the Law of God away from its original purpose, meaning and intention.

It was a similar issue which led to the Lord Jesus facing intense opposition and persecution from the members of the Pharisees and many among the chief priests for His teachings and ways, which the former disapproved of and considered as even wicked and blasphemous. St. Paul taught exactly what the Lord Himself had taught and revealed to this world, and especially his generous outreach towards the Gentiles, proclaiming salvation of God for the non-Jewish people was particularly disliked by the more conservative segments of the Jewish community then. To those people, salvation and grace of God could only belong to the Jews, and everyone else who were not God’s chosen people would not have a share in His glory and inheritance.

But as we heard, St. Paul kept on carrying out his mission nonetheless, just as the governor Gallio refused to intervene on behalf of the Jews, as he considered the matter as a private religious issue within the Jewish community. It was common for that time in the early history of the Christian Church that the early Christians were often considered as a sect of Judaism, and were therefore treated by the local Roman authorities as such. However, the Apostles clearly pointed out that the Christian faith and truth is the sole truth that sought to call all the people, Jewish and non-Jewish alike to follow the path and the way which the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, had shown to us. Those same missionaries like St. Paul and others committed themselves wholeheartedly to proclaim God’s truth and Good News, spreading the words of the Gospel to the ends of the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord telling His disciples about the sufferings that they would have to encounter and endure amidst their ministry and missions in various parts of the world. He told this to them in a rather veiled manner by comparing it to the woman who was suffering and enduring the pangs, pain and difficulties of childbirth. Then He also highlighted how all those pain and hardships would be overcome once the woman has given birth, which is actually an allusion to how the disciples and followers of the Lord would have to endure bitter sufferings and hardships as they laboured to proclaim the truth and Good News of God, facing persecutions and rejection from many, like what St. Paul himself had endured in Achaia and other places that he had ministered and preached in.

Yet, in the end, despite all these sufferings, the Church would continue to grow, and in the end, the Lord promised to all of us, His faithful ones, that we shall be triumphant with Him. Throughout its history the Church and the Christian faith had faced lots of difficulties and challenges, and yet all those did not prevent the Church from continuing to grow and to spread the truth to more and more people. Many had attempted to destroy the Church and the Christian faithful, and many martyrs had been made throughout all those many moments of sufferings and great trials, and yet, the Lord was always with His Church, guiding and providing for His faithful ones, and more and more people were called to the truth of God, to embrace His salvation and grace. All these are precisely just as how He Himself had foretold it.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. John of Avila, a great and holy priest who was honoured much later as a Doctor of the Church for his many contributions to the Church and the works of theology and other areas that he had done. He was born into a pious family and grew up well-known for his great sanctity and faith in God. Eventually he became a priest and devoted his time and efforts to serve the Lord and initially wanted to go to proclaim the Lord as a missionary in distant lands, but was dissuaded by the local Archbishop who saw great potential in this young priest. St. John of Avila therefore committed himself to the regions of Spain particularly in Andalusia, preaching and ministering to many of the faithful, while calling for reforms and criticising the excesses of the aristocratic families of his time.

Like St. Paul and the other disciples of the Lord before him, St. John of Avila also encountered lots of challenges and difficulties as he continued to work hard to champion the cause of the reform in the Church which at that time was beset by many troubles, especially that of the corrupt attitude and behaviours of the aristocracy and the members of the clergy which brought great scandal upon the Church and the Christian faith. That is why St. John of Avila was persecuted because of his outspokeness against the establishment, and he was once even put under the Inquisition, but he was exonerated from all of the charges put against him. The Lord was with St. John of Avila, and he continued to do many good works for the benefit of the Church and the faithful and holy people of God to the end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to do our very best so that in whatever we do, we will always strive to proclaim His words and Good News to everyone we encounter in our daily lives. We should always do our best that our good lives and examples may be great inspiration for others around us in how we all should live our lives faithfully, and despite the many challenges and trials we may have to face and endure, let us always continue to persevere and be faithful and holy in our every moments in life, for the greater glory of God. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 May 2024 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, which is celebrated on the fortieth day in the season of Easter. Sometimes this celebration is moved to the Sunday after which is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This important feast marks the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Son of God and Son of Man, Who had risen triumphantly from the dead, ascended in glory into Heaven. Through His Ascension, He returned triumphantly and gloriously to where He had come from, the Throne of God as the only begotten Son of God and the Divine Word Incarnate, and to prepare a place for all of us, His disciples and followers in the world that is to come.

If the Resurrection proved that the Lord had conquered death itself, and broken the chains of sin and evil which had dominated us from the beginning of time, from the moment of our downfall, then the Ascension proved that the Lord truly had come down from Heaven itself, and He rose gloriously by His own power, to show that He is indeed the same Almighty God and Creator of all, one in unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Through His Incarnation, the Lord has shown us all His love and His Presence, manifested and made approachable to us in the flesh, and reminding us that we mankind are indeed made in the image of God. And He has also reassured all of His disciples and followers that He would still be with them even though He has ascended into Heaven and can no longer be physically present with them in the form they are familiar with.

In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, that is what we heard from the accounts of the moment when the Lord ascended into Heaven. As mentioned, He reassured all His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be with them, guiding and strengthening them throughout their journey and ministry. The Holy Spirit would indeed come upon all the Apostles and disciples of the Lord at the Pentecost, ten days later, on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection at Easter, which we will celebrate soon as the Pentecost Sunday. Through the guidance, wisdom and strength provided to them through the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s disciples and followers were strengthened and encouraged to go and continue their works and missions in answering God’s call and in fulfilling what they had been entrusted to do, in proclaiming the truth and Good News of God to the nations.

This is the main purpose and mission which the Lord had entrusted to all of us the members of His Body, the Church of God, all the faithful and holy people who have received the truth and light of His salvation and grace. And since He has revealed to us all these, therefore each and every one of us are also entrusted with the same mission which the Lord had placed upon His Church, also known as the Great Commission, that is to make Him known to all the people of all the nations, and to proclaim His Good News and salvation in all the whole world, to lead the world and all mankind to return back towards God and be reconciled with Him. Then this will lead to the whole world to acknowledge that Christ is truly the Lord and Master of all, and receive baptism in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Then in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the words of St. Paul the Apostle to the faithful reminding them all to remain united as one Body of Christ and one united community of believers, encouraged and strengthened by the same Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit Whom God had sent into this world, to dwell in His Church and among all of His faithful ones. The Apostle reminded all of them of the mission which the Lord had entrusted to each and every one of them through the bestowal of the Holy Spirit, by Whom God had guided and led His Church to continue the good works and missions which He Himself had begun in this world. He has bestowed upon His Church and the faithful many gifts and blessings, the many opportunities and chances for them all to proclaim the Gospel to all.

That was why St. Paul the Apostle also reminded all of the faithful in Ephesus and beyond, that each and every one of them have received those various and diverse gifts, blessings and talents, and everyone have their own calling and mission in life, in doing their part to contribute to the overall great and wonderful works of the Church. Some are meant to be preachers, while others are called to show their contributions in other ways, in their own daily living and actions, while others teach and help others to understand better the meaning of the Christian faith, and many more diverse calling and ministries are present in the Church. This applies to all of us even to this day, just as we all have been given diverse blessings, talents and opportunities in the Church, and in our world today, to which we are all called to minister as God’s disciples and followers.

In the Gospel passage, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus speaking to the disciples, proclaiming His guidance and providence to all of them, reassuring them that as long as they continue to proclaim His truth and Good News, while they might indeed encounter hardships and difficulties, challenges and tribulations, but they shall be protected and guarded, and the Lord would always be by their side, suffering and enduring all those things with them, and through His Holy Spirit, the Church and all the faithful servants of God will continue to be strengthened and empowered even through their greatest moments of hardships and their deepest trials. The Lord would guide and bless them so that they might indeed continue to live their lives worthily of Him, and to continue to proclaim His truth and Good News to all the people of all the nations.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore realise well that we are all called to continue the good works that the Lord had begun with His Apostles and our holy predecessors. There are indeed still many opportunities and chances presented to us in our world today, with its unique challenges and difficulties, and with many are still lost to the Lord, or having forgotten His love and truth, in their pursuit of worldly glory, ambition and pleasures. It is up to us then to make good use of the blessings, talents and opportunities that God has given to us so that we may continue to be good role models and inspirations for one another, at all times. Through our lives and examples, we may indeed be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, proclaiming His Good News to all the people around us and beyond.

May the Risen Lord Who had ascended in glory into Heaven, as He takes up His Throne, continue to be with us all His Church, and continue to guide and strengthen us all in our path. May He continue to empower each and every one of us with the strength and courage to see things through and to persevere despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to encounter and endure in our respective paths in life and in our respective vocations and ministries. May He continue to bless and guide us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory and for the good and salvation of all mankind. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Sacred Scriptures presented to all of us with the reassurance and reminder that as Christians, each and every one of us are the bearers of God’s truth and love, His salvation and light to the nations. Each and every one of us have received from God the assurance of His love and salvation, and He has blessed us all wonderfully with His care and compassion, leading us down the path of truth, and we are then entrusted with the responsibility and the mission to reach out to more and more of our fellow brothers and sisters so that through us and our efforts and works, through our every good actions, words and deeds, our interactions and outreach, we may inspire ever more people to come to believe in the Lord as well.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the time when St. Paul continued his missionary journey and this time, he went to Athens, the centre of Greek culture and civilisation for many centuries, and where philosophical debates and studies were commonplace. St. Paul went to Athens, to the place called the Areopagus, where historically philosophers went to debate and discern their philosophical theories and thinking. He spoke courageously to those who were there about their pagan ways and how they recognised an ‘Unknown God’ amidst their numerous gods and goddesses in their vast pantheon of divine beings. St. Paul introduced them all to the One and only True God, the Creator of the whole Universe, the Almighty God, the One that he associated with this Unknown God.

St. Paul presented it in a way that the Greeks had been worshipping inanimate objects and beings, and their pagan gods and goddesses, all the beings that were mythological and not real, and yet, the Lord and God that he was revealing to them was indeed true and genuine, and has shown His truth and might, His signs and wonders through none other than His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, through Whom we have seen and witnessed the perfect manifestation of God and His love in the flesh. St. Paul told the Greeks and their philosophers in Athens of the truth of God, and of everything that He had done and revealed to us, through His Son and the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom and truth bestowed upon the Church.

He told the people not to worship the inanimate and created objects and beings of the Universe, which were what the Greeks worshipped then, the deities and false gods and goddesses based on natural phenomena and observances, as many if not most of their gods and goddesses were based on those aforementioned phenomena, places like the sky, the seas and the earth itself, which were given human perspective and actions to bring them to life, as those who are familiar with the Greek mythology and pantheon will quickly know and realise how the Greek gods and goddesses in their actions and behaviour, were no different at all from the people who were supposed to be their subjects, and in fact those gods and goddesses might even behave in a worse and more scandalous way than that of the people themselves.

That was why St. Paul presented to those philosophers and others who were there listening to him, the One and only True God, the One Who created all things and the One Who alone is worthy of all worship and honour, and not the inanimate idols and objects, or the natural phenomena and other things which the Greeks and other pagans had been adopting as their gods and deities. St. Paul tried very hard to convince them that the Lord alone is worthy of following and worship because He has indeed shown His truth, His identity and fulfilled all that He had promised through all the events which had happened and which St. Paul himself was one of the witnesses, sharing the many testimonials of faith made by the other ones who have seen and experienced the Lord’s works and wonders. And as we heard, while he was mocked by quite a number of those philosophers especially when he talked about the Resurrection, but there were also some who were genuinely intrigued and wanted to know more about God.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples, reminding them of His guidance and the Holy Spirit, the Helper and Advocate that the Father would be sending to all of them through Him. The Lord reminded His disciples that the Lord would send them all His wisdom and strength, His guidance and providence so that even after He had departed from them eventually, after He would ascend into the glory of Heaven, to return to where He came from, but the Church and all those who are part of it shall always be guided, strengthened and provided in their path and way by the Lord, through His many works and wonders, and through His guiding hand and encouragement, He would lead them to do great and wonderful things just as the Apostles like St. Paul and many others had done.

Therefore, each and every one of us as Christians today are also reminded to do the same as well in our own respective lives. All of us have been given various blessings, opportunities and vocations specific to whichever areas in life that God has called us into. The Lord entrusted to us His many blessings and wonders, so that through all these, we may truly do great things and proclaim His truth, Good News and salvation to many more people all around us. And hopefully, we may touch the lives of more people who have not yet seen and experienced God’s light, truth and salvation. Each and every one of us should indeed be good and worthy bearers of God’s truth and salvation, in living our own lives worthily, that our every actions and words, our every interactions will truly bear the light of God’s truth, that all may come to see Who He is, and realise that He alone is worthy of our worship and adoration.

Brothers and sisters, let us all therefore continue to live our lives with God’s guidance and help, so that we may continue to be good and shining examples of our Christian faith and virtues in wherever we are living in, in our various communities and areas of responsibility, in our dedication and commitment to God. Let our Christian faith and truth continue to lead more and more people towards the Lord, so that they may also be saved from the darkness and destruction because of sin. May God be with us all and with His Church, and may He continue to empower all of us to walk ever more faithfully in His path, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the reading passages taken from the Sacred Scriptures of the many trials, obstacles and challenges that we shall face as God’s holy people, as we embark on our respective missions and vocations in life. Each and every one of us must realise that to be Christians is not going to be like a walk in the park, as to be true, genuine and active Christians, we may often have to go up against the currents and customs of the world, just as the Lord Himself had done. If He Himself had been persecuted, endured hardships and rejection, then as He said to His disciples, then all of us can also expect similar treatment, challenges and difficulties in our path as well. But we must not worry or be afraid, because God is always ultimately by our side at every step of the way.

In our first reading today, we heard of the difficulties which the Apostle St. Paul and his companion, St. Silas encountered as they were carrying out their ministry among the people in Philippi, in the region of Macedonia in northern part of Greece. Over there, as they began the ministry among all those who have not yet known the Lord, they attracted the attention of many slaves in the region, who welcomed the message and encouragement of the Apostles and the other Christian missionaries who presented to them the message of Christian equality and egalitarianism in the face of the rampant slavery which was quite common at that time in the Roman Empire. Because slaves were often exploited and badly treated, therefore the promise of equality in the eyes of God and the liberation that Christ has brought and promised to everyone is truly promising indeed.

However, as we heard, this led to stiff opposition and rejection by the slave owners who considered the efforts of the Apostles and the Christian teachings to be great threats to their position, status and way of life. That was why St. Paul and St. Silas encountered such great hardships, as the slave owners rose up against them and plotted to throw them into prison with the assistance of the local magistrate and rulers. We heard how both of them were imprisoned by the machinations of their enemies, and how God intervened most miraculously when an earthquake struck the area and the prison, which allowed both of the Apostles not just being unharmed, but was also free to leave the prison. We heard how the jailor of the prison was so distraught at what happened that he almost wanted to take his own life, as undoubtedly, he would be blamed for the escape of the prisoners.

Yet, the Apostles intervened and reached out to the jailor, who became a believer in Christ together with that of his entire family. We heard how God was with His servants and messengers in their time of great need, being with them, guarding and providing for them whenever they were in need. Despite the sufferings they faced, and all the challenges they encountered, God gave them the courage and the necessary help, the opportunities, and even the chance to continue their mission in the most unexpected way, just as we have heard from the conversion story of the jailor and his family. The same therefore happened to the Church, which continued to grow and flourish even amidst the intensifying persecutions and challenges against them, and many more people would come to be believers in Christ in the years afterwards.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord telling His disciples that He would go away from them, but He would still remain by their side, in His guidance through the sending of the Helper or the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. This was a reference of how the Lord Jesus eventually would leave the disciples physically and would no longer be visible to them after He has died, risen from the dead and then ascended into Heaven. Those same disciples witnessed the Risen Lord Who appeared to them on several occasions, and they saw His Ascension into Heaven, when the Lord reassured all of them once again of the promised Holy Spirit that God would send to them to help and guide them all in their work and ministry.

The Lord told them all everything that they might have to suffer and endure, and saying to them that the greatest flaw and sin that the world committed is that of disbelief, that is refusing to believe in the truth and love which God has revealed and shown to everyone, preferring to follow their own erroneous and wicked paths in life, ignoring the truth and the path which the Lord had revealed and shown to them, and this was often because they were not willing to open their hearts and minds to listen to His truth and to witness His loving care and compassion. Therefore, if the Lord Himself had faced this stubborn rejection and all sorts of persecutions and hardships, thus His Church and disciples might encounter the same things too.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remind ourselves that living as Christians is not something that should be taken lightly and we should no longer be idle in our lives or in being ignorant of the truth which the Lord Himself has shown us. As Christians, that is as God’s chosen, holy and beloved people, we should always strive to be good role models and inspiration for one another in how we live our lives, in our every words, actions and deeds so that we may continue to proclaim the Lord and His truth in even the smallest actions we do, and like how the Apostles, the Christian missionaries and other holy men and women of God had inspired countless people to come and believe in God as well.

May the Risen Lord continue to guide each and every one of us, His Church, in our every efforts and endeavours so that by His guidance and strength, all of us may continue to persevere through the difficult challenges and trials which we may encounter in our journey. May all of us continue to put our trust and faith in the Lord and do our very best so that in everything that we say and do, we will always glorify the Lord and we will continue to proclaim Him in every occasions throughout our whole lives, now and always. Amen.