Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.
The Lord has set His throne in heaven; He rules, He has power everywhere. Praise the Lord, all you His Angels.
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Acts 25 : 13b-21
As King Agrippa and his sister Berenice were to stay in Caesarea several days, Festus told him about Paul’s case and said to him, “We have here a man whom Felix left as a prisoner. When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews accused him and asked me to sentence him.”
“I told them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over a man without giving him an opportunity to defend himself in front of his accusers. So they came and I took my seat without delay on the tribunal and sent for the man. When the accusers had the floor, they did not accuse him of any of the crimes that I was led to think he had committed; instead they quarrelled with him about religion and about a certain Jesus Who has died but whom Paul asserted to be alive.”
“I did not know what to do about this case, so I asked Paul if he wanted to go to Jerusalem to be tried there. But Paul appealed to be judged by the Emperor. So I ordered that he be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings, through what we have heard from the first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles, in which we heard the great squabble between the Pharisees and the Sadducees during the hearing scheduled in the Jewish High Council regarding the Apostle, St. Paul, who was accused of sedition against the Jewish laws.
St. Paul was alone, facing the opposition from all those who were against him and all that he had preached and taught among the people. The Sadducees were against him and the teachings of the Lord Jesus, as they feared that their esteemed and special position in the society would be seriously threatened, and they were also against the beliefs in the Christian faith, such as the resurrection from the dead among many others.
They had been fiercely against the Lord Jesus, and harassed Him with questions and challenges throughout His ministry. Therefore, the same challenge and difficulty also faced all those who spoke and taught in His Name, as St. Paul had experienced. And in addition to this trouble, St. Paul, just as the Lord had experienced, also faced the opposition from the Pharisees, the other major group holding power in the society, also fiercely against Jesus and His teaching authority.
The Pharisees include many of those who were experts and teachers of the Mosaic law, that is all those who were supposed to safeguard the tenets and the rules found within the law that governed the Jewish people, based on the Law which God had first given His people through Moses, His servant. However, they ended up being too fanatically attached to their interpretation of the Mosaic law, and became too rigid in their enforcement to the point of ignoring and forgetting the true purpose of the Law of God.
Thus, these influential elders and people were also bitterly against the Lord and His Apostles, as they feared that they would lose their influence should the teachings of Jesus spread throughout the people and the towns of Israel. They were afraid that they would lose their esteemed position, just as the Sadducees were afraid of the same thing, and that their authority would no longer be accepted.
But they did not consider and place God in all of their judgments at all. They were instead driven by their greed, pride and desires, which therefore, as we have probably noticed, was why they were divided among themselves, bickering between themselves, when St. Paul put a contentious matter among them. They fought and bickered so greatly that the Roman governor had to rescue St. Paul from their midst lest he was torn apart by the feuding parties.
In this, we see how, even though St. Paul seemed to be alone, but in truth, he was not alone. God was always with him, and all the whole Church was united with him in prayer. And that is what the Lord Jesus had also prayed to His Father, in our Gospel passage today, asking that all those who believe in Him remain as one people, as one united Church, just as He and His Father were one and indivisible.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us are reminded of the fact that we do not exist for ourselves, but rather, first of all, for God. And then, secondly, we exist for each other, for our fellow brethren and for the Church of God. As Christians, we should not be tempted to satisfy our personal desires and ego, over that of our obligations to God and to our need to love and care for one another.
And it is important that we place God at the centre of our lives, just as we can see clearly, how those who did not place God at the centre or as the focus of their lives, like the Sadducees and Pharisees, are prone to division and conflict. And whenever conflict and division arise, it is actually a perfect opportunity for the devil to come in and manipulate us even further, to divide us and therefore, hopefully to snatch us away from God and His salvation.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be role models in faith, devoting ourselves wholeheartedly to God, and committing ourselves to faith in Him, putting our complete trust, knowing that He will be with us along the way, and He will never abandon us in our time of need. May the Lord be with us all, and may He continue to watch over us all, that each and every one of us may always be united in Him, as one Church, and as one people of God. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 17 : 20-26
At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in Me. May they all be one, as You Father are in Me and I am in You. May they be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
“I have given them the glory You have given Me, that they may be one as We are One : I in them and You in Me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that You have sent Me, and that I have loved them, just as You loved Me.”
“Father, since You have given them to Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, and see the glory You gave Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent Me.”
“As I revealed Your Name to them, so will I continue to reveal it, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and also may be in them.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”
I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.
My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.
You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 22 : 30 and Acts 23 : 6-11
The next day the commander wanted to know for certain the charges the Jews were making against Paul. So he released him from prison and called together the High Priest and the whole Council; and they brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
Paul knew that part of the Council were Sadducees and others Pharisees; so he spoke out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee. It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial here.”
At these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the whole assembly was divided. For the Sadducees claim that there is neither resurrection, nor Angels nor spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all these things.
Then the shouting grew louder, and some teachers of the Law of the Pharisee party protested, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an Angel has spoken to him.” With this the argument became so violent that the commander feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He therefore ordered the soldiers to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him back to the fortress.
That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Courage! As you have borne witness to Me here in Jerusalem, so must you do in Rome.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture telling us again of the moment when St. Paul said his farewell to the elders of the Church in Ephesus, during his journey towards Jerusalem, which would see him embarking on his last mission in his life. He would later on travel to the city of Rome to be judged by the Emperor, and as part of the persecution of Christians in that city, he was martyred by beheading in the year 64 AD.
But despite this fate awaiting him, St. Paul remained positive in his outlook on life, and rather than getting himself scared or worried, he reassured not just himself but also those who were with him, with words of consolation and hope, telling them that God would always be with them and protecting them, as long as they place their trust in Him. However, they must also beware of the challengers and difficulties they would face because they were faithful.
St. Paul reminded the elders to be watchful over their flock, entrusted to them the work and the guardianship over the people of God. They were warned of the challenges and dangers facing the faithful, which included that of false shepherds and guides who would seek to subvert the truth and turn the faithful against God and His truth. Indeed, in times to come, there were many false teachers and heretics attempting to snatch the faithful away from God and His Church.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord Jesus also gave His disciples the same warning, that the world would hate them all just as they had hated Him first. That was what the Lord Jesus mentioned in His prayer to His Father, our Gospel passage today. But the Lord reassured us that He would always be with us, and He will never abandon all those who have placed their trust in Him.
Now, what each and every one of us as Christians need to understand is that, all of us are called to a life of holiness, dedicated and committed to God. But carrying out such a life and living such a faith is not going to be an easy task for us. There will be plenty of challenges along the way, and often we will also be tempted to give in to the temptations of this world. There will be pressure and persuasions, even from those who are close and dear to us, to give in to the demands of this world.
This is where we all need to remember St. Paul and all that he had done throughout his ministry among the people of mostly non-Jewish origin, calling them all to repentance and to be converted to the one and only true faith in God. He encountered many opposition and troubles along the way, and even those who were close and dear to him abandoned him at times. But St. Paul remained strong in his faith and dedication to the Lord.
Now, what many of us lack, is faith, faith that is genuine and strong in us. We are often unable to resist temptation and pressure, and as a result, we tend to conform to the desires and ways of this world, rather than to stand up for our faith and rather than obeying God’s will. We often find ourselves giving in to these temptations and pressures because we easily fall prey to fear, worrying and being afraid of this and that. As such, we end up falling away from the path that God had set before us.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, now, our challenge is for us to learn to put our trust in God, and to live our lives more worthily of our God. How do we do this? It is through our commitment to charity in all of our actions and deeds. We ought to follow the example of the saints and the holy servants of God who have preceded us, that we may live our lives with ever more faith, with ever more trust in God, day after day.
Let us all draw ever closer to God, with each and every action we take. May the Lord continue to bless us and guide us. May He bless us all and our every endeavours, that through what we have done, we will bring ever more souls closer towards God. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 17 : 11b-19
At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “Holy Father, keep those You have given Me in Your Name, so that they may be one, as we also are. When I was with them, I kept them safe in Your Name; and not one was lost, except the one who was already lost, and in this, the Scripture was fulfilled. And now I come to You; in the world I speak these things, so that those whom You gave Me, might have joy – all My joy within themselves.”
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world, I do not ask You to remove them from the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.”
“I have sent them into the world as You sent Me into the world; and for their sake, I go to the sacrifice by which I am consecrated, so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 67 : 29-30, 33-35a, 35bc and 36c
Summon Your power, o God, with the strength You have wielded for us. To Your Temple in Jerusalem, kings will come with gifts.
Sing to God, o kingdoms of the world; sing praises to the Lord, to Him Who rides the ancient heavens, and speaks in the voice of thunder. Proclaim the might of God.
He is great in Israel, powerful in heavens. Blessed be God!
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 20 : 28-38
Keep watch over yourselves, and over the whole flock the Holy Spirit has placed into your care. Shepherd the Church of the Lord that He has won, at the price of His own Blood. I know that, after I leave, ruthless wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. And, from among you, some will arise, corrupting the truth, and inducing the disciples to follow them.
Be on the watch, therefore, remembering that, for three years, night and day, I did not cease to warn everyone, even with tears. Now, I commend you to God, and to His grace-filled word, which is able to make you grow and gain the inheritance that you shall share with all the saints.
I have not looked for anyone’s silver, gold or clothing. You, yourselves, know, that these hands of mine have provided for both my needs and the needs of those who were with me. In every way, I have shown you that by working hard one must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus Himself said, “Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving.”
After this discourse, Paul knelt down with them and prayed. Then, they all began to weep and threw their arms around him and kissed him. They were deeply distressed because he had said that they would never see him again. And they went with him even to the ship.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 