Easter season

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Friday, 5 May 2023 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 2 : 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

“Behold the King I have installed, in Zion, upon My holy hill!” I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You.”

“Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall rule them with iron sceptre and shatter them as a potter’s vase.”

Now therefore, learn wisdom, o kings; be warned, o rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and fall at His feet; lest He be angry and you perish when His anger suddenly flares. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

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Friday, 5 May 2023 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 26-33

Paul said to the Jews in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia, “Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent. It is a fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognise Jesus.”

“Yet in condemning Him, they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath but not understood. Even though they found no charge against Him that deserved death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. And after they have carried out all that had been written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.”

But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days thereafter He showed Himself to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They have now become His witnesses before the people. We ourselves announce to you this Good News : All that God promised our ancestors, He has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus, according to what is written in the second psalm : You are My Son, this day I have begotten You.”

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Thursday, 4 May 2023 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded again of everything that God has done for us and all that He has accomplished for us, on our behalf because of His love for us and because of His desire to see us all reconciled and reunited to Him. God created us all out of His love and He has always treasured each and every one of us, and He gave us His best and most precious gift, in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Risen Lord and Saviour so that by His coming into our midst, into this world, as our Good Shepherd and Guide, He might gather all of us together and help lead us down the right path. The Lord has given us the most perfect gift and manifestation of His love so that all of us may come to know of His truth and love, and be saved, reconciled and reunited with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the works of St. Paul who went from place to place, preaching about the salvation in Jesus Christ and the Good News of God, His truth and love. St. Paul went on his missionary journey, travelling all around the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, and in this particular mission trip, he was going through the cities and towns of the region of Asia Minor, where he preached about the Risen Lord in cities like Perga and Antioch in Pisidia. What we heard in our first reading today is the speech that he delivered to the Jewish diaspora and faithful in Antioch in Pisidia as he went to the local synagogue. The early Christian missionaries went about teaching the people both from the Jewish and non-Jewish or Gentile origins, and there were quite a large population of Jewish diaspora back then in many cities of Asia Minor and elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean region.

Hence, St. Paul catered his message and preaching to the Jewish people and believers, as he spoke to them about the Messiah, the crucified and resurrected Christ. Thus he reminded all of them of everything that God had done for their ancestors, in His mighty deeds in Egypt and henceforth, and how He had promised His people of His salvation and protection, and how He would raise His Messiah or Saviour from the family and House of David, the King of Israel. St. Paul spoke of how Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, born into the House of David as David’s Heir, was indeed the One Whom the Lord had promised His people, and of Whom the prophets and messengers of the Lord had spoken, preached and proclaimed about. St. Paul wanted all of them to know everything that God had done for them, and in how He gave them all His own most beloved Son for their salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then from the Gospel of St. John, of what the Lord Jesus told His disciples regarding His followers and the missions they had in proclaiming about Him and His truth. He predicted that one of His own disciples would rise up against Him, as how it indeed happened with Judas Iscariot the traitor, and the Lord also spoke of those who would accept and listen to His truth and His voice spoken through His disciples. In essence, through what the Lord spoke to His disciples in our Gospel passage today, He wanted each and every one of us to know that we have the calling and the mission to proclaim His truth and Good News just as St. Paul and the other Apostles had done. And yet, at the same time, He also laid out the facts that there would be hardships, difficulties and challenges, just as much as there would be opportunities and good things that would come upon the path of His disciples and followers.

Throughout the history of the Church, we have seen many persecutions and hardships that faced the Church and the Lord’s followers, the Christian faithful and servants of God. We have seen how the Church expanded greatly even amidst bitter persecutions, and at times, divisions and intrigues caused the breaking of the unity of the Church, causing harm to many of the Lord’s faithful ones. Yet, the Lord was always with His Church and He did not abandon us at the time and hour of our greatest need, as He journeyed with us and guided us patiently throughout that journey of faith. Despite those who would destroy and harm the unity of the Church and mislead the faithful into the wrong paths, the ones who betrayed the Lord like that of Judas Iscariot and the many heretics and false teachers throughout the history of the Church till this very day, the Lord’s Church remained firmly united, blessed and guided by God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard these Scripture passages and pondered their importance and meaning, let us all really internalise the messages and the key points that we have just discussed so that we may truly understand what it is that we are all called to do with our lives. We have to realise that our existence here in this world is to glorify the Lord, and to honour Him by our dedication and commitment in life. All of us as Christians are expected and reminded to keep the Law and commandments of the Lord, obeying them and following His will, in all things so that in our every words, actions, deeds and interactions with one another, in our every moments and our way of life, we may truly be the shining beacons of God’s Light, His truth and love. Our lives, work and actions, our genuine Christian way of living are indeed the best way for us to evangelise, to proclaim the Good News of God to more and more people.

We have to realise that the works of the Lord entrusted in His Church are still far from being completed. The same missions entrusted by the Lord to His Apostles, to the likes of St. Paul and many other faithful missionaries, are still ongoing, as many more people out there have not yet known about the Lord, all His deeds, His truth and love, His teachings and ways. Not only that, but even there are many within the Church who have lapsed from their faith, becoming lukewarm and ignorant of the truth, and there is indeed a rapidly growing need to re-evangelise and to re-educate many of our Christian brothers and sisters what the true Christian faith is all about. We all know well how many Christians in the recent decades have stopped going to church and ceased their active participation in the Sacraments and the life of the Church, and some even left the faith and the Church altogether for other things.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called and reminded to be exemplary in our lives and faith, so that we may inspire one another in our journey of faith and in proclaiming the Good News of God by our own worthy and faithful lives. May the Risen Lord, Our Saviour and God Jesus Christ, continue to guide us always and may He bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 May 2023 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 13 : 16-20

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his master, nor is the messenger greater than he who sent him. Understand this, and blessed are you, if you put it into practice.”

“I am not speaking of you all, because I know the ones I have chosen, and the Scripture has to be fulfilled that says : The one who shared My table has risen against Me. I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may know that I am He.”

“Truly, I say to you, whoever welcomes the one I send, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes the One Who sent Me.”

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Thursday, 4 May 2023 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

I have found David My servant, and with My holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will be ever with him and My arm will sustain.

My faithfulness and love will be with him, and by My help he will be strong. He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’

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Thursday, 4 May 2023 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 13-25

From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and came to Perga in Pamphylia. There John left them and returned to Jerusalem, while they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent this message to them, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the assembly, please speak up.”

So Paul arose, motioned to them for silence and began, “Fellow Israelites and also all you who fear God, listen. The God of our people Israel chose our ancestors, and after He had made them increase during their stay in Egypt, He led them out by powerful deeds.”

“For forty years He fed them in the desert, and after He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took four hundred and fifty years. After that, he gave them Judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, and he was king for forty years.”

“After that time, God removed him and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.’ It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus.”

“Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : ‘I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.'”

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Wednesday, 3 May 2023 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of not just one but two of the great Apostles of the Lord, namely that of St. Philip and St. James, two of the Twelve Apostles, part of the innermost circle and closest collaborators of the Lord’s ministry and work. Both of them like that of the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord, went through many hardships and trials, and went from places to places to proclaim the Good News of the Lord, delivering the truth and love of God to more and more people who have not yet heard of Him or known Him. They laboured for many years in distant lands and in foreign places, among foreigners and others so that many more may come close to the salvation in God. Through their efforts and hard work, many have come close to the Lord and found the path to His grace, and not few followed in the footsteps of the Apostles.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we heard of the testimony of faith that St. Paul delivered to the faithful in the city of Corinth, reminding them all to pass on the truth, knowledge and the wisdom of God’s truth which they had received from the hands of the Apostles and the other missionaries. St. Paul shared with them how he himself has received the same truth and teachings from the Apostles, who shared and passed on to him the truth about what happened in the Lord’s ministry, in everything that He had done for the sake of the salvation of the whole world. St. Paul himself did not witness everything that had happened but he received the same truth from the hands of the other Apostles and also through the wisdom and inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles have been called and chosen to bring the Good News of the Lord to the nations, and in the case of St. Paul, while he himself never journeyed together with the Lord and His group, and in fact was an ardent and overzealous persecutor of Christians in his early moments, but this did not prevent the Lord from calling St. Paul and making him to be one of His greatest missionaries, proclaiming the message of His truth to more and more people that had not yet known Him and had not yet heard His words of truth and experienced His love. St. Paul hence shared to the people of God, the faithful in Corinth that each and every one of them ought to be missionary and evangelising as well, in committing their lives and works to the glorification of God and the proclamation of His truth and salvation. That is what all of us are called to do this day and henceforth.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard that the Lord told His disciples that He has indeed come from the Father, showing them all the fullness of God’s love and truth to them, and seeing Him is in truth the same as having seen God in His fullness of glory and love. That is because He was indeed the Love of God made manifest and perfect in this world, incarnate in the flesh as the Son of God and as the Son of Man. God has not hold back from us even His own most beloved Son, but sending Him into our midst so that all of us may experience the fullness of God’s love manifested in the flesh, as He appeared before us as the Son of Man, born of His blessed mother Mary, becoming the tangible expression of God’s ever generous love and grace. Through Christ His Son, God wants us all to experience the fullness of His love, and He wants us all to pass that love to more and more people we encounter in our own lives.

That is why each and every one of us are reminded that we should walk in the footsteps of the Holy Apostles. Both St. Philip and St. James were mentioned in today’s Scripture readings, with St. James being one of those from whom St. Paul mentioned that he had received the truth of God from, and St. Philip being present among the disciples as the Lord revealed to them in our Gospel passage today, about the truth of His nature and ministry. As mentioned, both Apostles having received, experienced and shared in the same truth of God, the fullness of His love manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son, Who has suffered in His Passion, died on the cross and then Risen in glory to show us all the path to eternal life, they courageously and fearlessly went forth to proclaim this same truth to the many people and to the other disciples and followers of the Lord that they had encountered, like St. Paul and many others.

Now, as Christians, all of us have received this same truth and we are all called to follow the Apostles who had gone forth in proclaiming this truth, like St. Philip who had gone to many places in order to evangelise and spread the Good News. In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Philip was the one who proclaimed the Risen Lord to an Ethiopian official who then agreed to be baptised and become a Christian, and he was also involved in the evangelisation in the regions of Judea and Samaria, and then, he went on to other places like Syria, Greece and Phrygia in Asia Minor, among others. He ministered to the faithful and helped to build up the foundations of the Church in many places, showing encouragement and support for many of the faithful facing hardships and persecutions for their faith. According to Apostolic tradition, both St. Philip and St. Bartholomew went to the region of Hierapolis and proclaimed the Good News there, and it was there that he was martyred for his faith, either by crucifixion or beheading.

Meanwhile St. James, also known as St. James the Less, is often associated with another James, that is James son of Alphaeus, who also ministered to the faithful people of God, and proclaimed the Good News to many people all around the many regions where he had worked tirelessly to glorify the Lord. St. James also faced a lot of hardships and struggles, but he continued to spread the Good News nonetheless and inspired many among the faithful to carry on doing the same, as St. Philip and the other Apostles had done. According to one Apostolic tradition, he was martyred in the southern region of Egypt while in the midst of carrying out his mission, but what is certain is that, he died faithfully amidst the efforts he carried out to proclaim more and more of the Lord and His truth. This is the spirit that all of us should inherit as well, to be courageous in living our Christian lives and in proclaiming the Good News of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the dedication and examples showed by the Holy Apostles, St. Philip and St. James, and be strengthened and inspired to walk in the same path that they had walked. Let us all turn towards the Lord faithfully and dedicate ourselves to Him thoroughly, doing our very best to be faithful missionaries and evangelisers of our Christian faith, not just through mere words only, but also through genuine actions and works, in doing God’s will and obeying His Law and commandments, becoming true shining beacons of the Light of Christ in the midst of our community. May the Lord continue to be with us always and may He empower each one of us to walk in His presence at all times. St. Philip and St. James, Holy Apostles and devout servants of God, pray for us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 May 2023 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 14 : 6-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you know Me, you will know the Father also; indeed you know Him, and you have seen Him.”

Philip asked Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough.” Jesus said to him, “What! I have been with you so long and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever sees Me sees the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?”

“All that I say to you, I do not say of Myself. The Father Who dwells in Me is doing His own work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; at least believe it on the evidence of these works that I do. Truly, I say to you, the one who believes in Me will do the same works that I do; and he will even do greater than these, for I am going to the Father.”

“Everything you ask in My Name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Indeed, anything you ask, calling upon My Name, I will do.”

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Wednesday, 3 May 2023 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

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

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

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Wednesday, 3 May 2023 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Corinthians 15 : 1-8

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest.

Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me.