Easter Sunday Mass

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Thursday, 21 May 2020 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 28 : 16-20

At that time, as for the eleven disciples, they went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Jesus, they bowed before Him, although some doubted.

Then Jesus approached them and said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptise them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. I am with you always even to the end of the world.”

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Thursday, 21 May 2020 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 1 : 17-23

May the God of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Father of Glory, reveal Himself to you and give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that you may know Him. May He enlighten your inner vision, that you may appreciate the things we hope for, since we were called by God.

May you know how great is the inheritance, the glory, God sets apart for His saints; may you understand with what extraordinary power He acts in favour of us who believe. He revealed His Almighty power in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and had Him sit at His right hand in heaven, far above all rule, power, authority, dominion, or any other supernatural force that could be named, not only in this world but in the world to come as well.

Thus has God put all things under the feet of Christ and set Him above all things, as Head of the Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.

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Thursday, 21 May 2020 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 6-7, 8-9

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations, God reigns from His holy throne.

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Thursday, 21 May 2020 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 1-11

In the first part of my work, Theophilus, I wrote of all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when He ascended to heaven. But first He had instructed through the Holy Spirit, the Apostles He had chosen. After His passion, He presented Himself to them, giving many signs that He was alive, over a period of forty days He appeared to them and taught them concerning the kingdom of God.

Once when He had been eating with them, He told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the fulfilment of the Father’s promise about which I have spoken to you : John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit within a few days.”

When they had come together, they asked Him, “Is it now that You will restore the Kingdom of Israel?” And He answered, “It is not for you to know the time and the steps that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.”

After Jesus said this, He was taken up before their eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight. While they were still looking up to heaven where He went, suddenly, two men dressed in white stood beside them, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the sky? This Jesus Who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way as you have seen Him go there.”

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Sunday, 17 May 2020 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the sixth Sunday in the Season of Easter, as we quickly approach the end of this blessed season and time, with the Solemnity of the Ascension coming up within the week, and the Solemnity of the Pentecost coming very soon as well. On this Sunday therefore our attention is brought to the promise of God’s Holy Spirit that He has made to His disciples and which we have therefore received through the same Apostles and disciples of the Lord, passed down through God’s Church.

In our first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles we heard of the work of St. Philip, one of the Twelve Apostles who went to the land and region of Samaria in between Judea and Galilee, and preached there about the truth and salvation in Jesus Christ, and many came to believe in the Lord. And as described, when the Apostles in Jerusalem heard about the conversions of the Samaritans, some of the Apostles, St. Peter and St. John went over there to pray over the newly converted Samaritans and laid their hands on them, giving them the same gift of the Holy Spirit they have received at Pentecost.

The same Holy Spirit has therefore been passed down from the hands of the Apostles to all the faithful people of God, and from the Apostles to their successors, the bishops and priests of the Church who then in turn pass down the same Holy Spirit to the faithful down the many generations since the early days of the Church to this very day. We have received the same Holy Spirit through our Sacrament of Baptism, when we were baptised like that of the Samaritans, in the Name of the Blessed Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and then sealed by the Sacrament of Confirmation.

In our second reading today, from the Epistle of St. Peter, we heard of the Apostle exhorting the faithful to remain true to their faith in God, to keep the tenets of their faith and to be strong amidst the pressure to leave behind their faith and the temptation to abandon their God. The Apostle exhorted the faithful to be genuine in their faith, to be virtuous and righteous in their words, actions and deeds so that all those who slandered and oppressed them would be ashamed and humiliated by their own wickedness and evil.

St. Peter therefore called on all of us as Christians to be active in living up to our faith, to be faithful in all things and deeds that everyone who hear us, witness us and interact with us may know that we are Christians, that we belong to God and are His people, and that we are who we say we are, faithful and dedicated to do the will of God at all times. Otherwise, how can we then call ourselves as Christians? And if we do not sincerely practice our faith, we will end up scandalising it, as others will then then be able to point our faithlessness and lukewarm attitude.

The Lord Jesus put it plainly before all of us in our Gospel passage today, that if we truly love Him, we will keep His commandments and do the will of His Father, and that is to love God with all of our hearts, with all of our might and with all of our efforts and attention. If we truly love God, then we will also love our brothers and sisters, regardless of who they are and how close they are to us, and we will love them through all our actions, caring for them and showing them the same love and compassion that God has shown us all.

This is what is meant for us to be Christians, and to be faithful in our calling as God’s own beloved people. If we are not able to do this, or unwilling to do what the Lord has called us to do, then we cannot call ourselves as Christians. Unfortunately, this is what many among us who call ourselves as Christians are doing in our lives. We carry on our lives treating our Christian faith as merely a formality, just as a badge or name on paper only, and not living with sincere desire and love for God.

Many of us even had to drag ourselves to go to Mass every Sunday, and many more even attended Mass only on Easter and Christmas, and some did not even attend any Mass or faith activities at all! This is the sad state and reality about our faith, which had been happening in the past many years and decades. However, the good news is that in recent years, there had been a surge of hope as more and more Christians, especially the younger generation, began to take their faith much more seriously again. They began to attend the Holy Mass with regularity and genuine desire to know more of the Lord and to love Him.

More and more people are beginning to wake up from their slumber in their faith lives, as they began to take a more active and dedicated approach in their lives to follow the Lord. More and more people begin to seek for God, desire for His love and love Him again with greater sincerity of heart. This is what all of us must embrace too, brothers and sisters in Christ. God has called us to Himself, and He has shown us the path and He has also bestowed upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help and guide, to lead us down the path of truth and hope.

Are we willing to follow this path shown to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to live our lives from now on with Christian sincerity and dedication? The choice is ours alone, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we can choose whether we want to continue to be lukewarm with our faith, to be unfaithful and treating our faith as no more than a nuisance and chore, or whether we want to embrace our faith with zeal and sincere commitment, to walk down the path that God has shown us?

In our current time and day, we are still enduring the painful effects of the various tragedies we have been encountering all these past few weeks and months, particularly the still dangerous threat of the coronavirus pandemic. As of today, over four million people had contracted the disease, and while over one and a half million had recovered, but almost three hundred thousand people had lost their lives, and millions more are still hospitalised and some among them fighting for their lives.

And many tens of millions of people if not more are threatened in their income and employment. Many had lost their precious work and many had to endure significant difficulties in searching for new job, while others had to work extra hard because they are in the frontline and healthcare efforts to combat this pandemic. Others had to endure significant pay cuts or suspension in their pay, and thus worry about how they will feed and take care of their loved ones.

Now, what are we going to do then? How do we live our lives as Christians and indeed, genuine Christians during these difficult and dark moments? It is by showing genuine love for our fellow brothers and sisters, to share hope and encouragement with one another, rather than to act selfishly or to stoke hatred for certain groups of people or individuals. We have heard and read of quite a few sad story of how the current crises led to increase in incidents of racism and attacks against certain group of people, certain acts of ostracising and unfair treatments and judgments of our fellow men, among others.

We have also heard how people acted irresponsibly and selfishly, hoarding essential goods and materials, just so that they could save themselves and get what they wanted, but with disregard for the need of others. And it is the sad truth that not few Christians were among those who have committed all these irresponsible, unjust, and indeed, most un-Christian behaviour. And this is therefore a reminder for each and every one of us that we must not adopt this kind of attitude ourselves.

Rather than spreading hatred, injustice and bitterness, we are called and indeed challenged to spread love, justice and compassion instead. When our hearts and minds are tempted to be selfish in our actions, to be angry at other people and to fear for our safety and our livelihood, to despise and to be filled with despair, let us all remember that God is always there for us, by our side, as our Hope and our Strength, as our Anchor in this most uncertain and darkest moment of our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us bring with us this Hope we have in God, the trust we have in His love and providence, and let us share it with everyone around us. Let us be the beacons of God’s light and hope, brightening the lives of others around us, helping our brothers and sisters to overcome their fears and despair. Let us all be true Christians at all times and bear rich fruits of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. May the Lord be with us always and bless our every good endeavours. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 May 2020 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 15-21

Jesus said to His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, that Spirit of truth Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He is with you and will be in you.”

“I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you. A little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me, because I live and you will also live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Whoever keeps My commandments is the one who loves Me. If he loves Me, he will also be loved by My Father; I too shall love him and show Myself clearly to him.”

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Sunday, 17 May 2020 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 3 : 15-18

But bless the Lord Christ in your hearts. Always have an answer ready when you are called upon to account for your hope, but give it simply and with respect. Keep your conscience clear so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your upright, Christian living. Better to suffer for doing good, if it is God’s will, than for doing wrong.

Remember how Christ died, once and for all, for our sins. He, the Just One, died for the unjust in order to lead us to God. In the Body He was put to death, in the Spirit He was raised to life.

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Sunday, 17 May 2020 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 65 : 1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a, 16 and 20

Shout with joy to God, all you on earth; sing to the glory to His Name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God, “How great are Your deeds!”

All the earth bows down to You, making music in praise of You, singing in honour of Your Name. Come and see God’s wonders, His deeds awesome for humans.

He has turned the sea into dry land, and the river was crossed on foot. Let us, therefore, rejoice in Him. He rules by His might forever.

All you who fear God, come and listen; let me tell you what He has done. May God be blessed! He has not rejected my prayer; nor withheld His love from me.

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Sunday, 17 May 2020 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 8 : 5-8, 14-17

Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralysed or crippled were healed. So there was a great joy in that town.

Now, when the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for He had not as yet come down upon any of them since they had only been baptised in the Name of the Lord Jesus. So Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

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Sunday, 10 May 2020 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Fifth Sunday in the season of Easter, all of us are called as Christians to turn our focus on Christ, our Lord and Saviour, to put our faith and trust fully in Him as our Master and to entrust ourselves in His providence, for the love and mercy He has shown each and every one of us. The Lord has shown us His ultimate proof of love and commitment, through the gift of His Son to be our Saviour. By His suffering, crucifixion and death, Jesus has delivered us all from the certainty of death and destruction.

Everything has been revealed to us through Christ and His disciples, as He Himself revealed it all before His Apostles and disciples throughout His ministry, and therefore from them, the truth has been passed on through the Church and the faithful for countless generations and finally the same truth has also been handed down to us, as the faith we all now believe in. We all believe in the same faith that the Apostles themselves believed, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah or the Saviour Whom God has sent into the world, and that He is also the Divine Son of God, incarnate in the flesh as the Son of Man.

But as we can see, the disciples themselves were not able to fully comprehend at first all that they have heard and witnessed from the Lord and His actions, and as shown by St. Philip the Apostle, many among the disciples did not yet fully comprehend and appreciate the fact that the One Who had been with them all the while, was none other than One of the Holy Trinity Himself, God incarnate in the flesh. That was why St. Philip, who was in fact one of the most intelligent and educated among the Apostles asked the Lord to ‘show them the Father’, to the Lord’s dismay.

St. Thomas, ever the doubter and the last to believe, also showed his lack of faith, even saying things like ‘we do not know even where You are going’, as a clear sign that he did not really have a strong faith in his heart, and he was not committed to the Lord. And we also should remember how the same Apostles also abandoned the Lord in fear when He was arrested, even after all of them had just promised Him in the Last Supper of their faith and fidelity, with St. Peter even saying that he would readily give his life for Him.

Yet, this was before they were given the help from the Advocate, as the Lord promised His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Who would give them wisdom, courage and strength, as well as the guidance in what they ought to do in carrying out His commandments and His will. The Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and the disciples on the day of the Pentecost, fifty days after the Resurrection of the Lord and ten days after He had ascended into Heaven.

With the gift and help of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and the disciples carried out and fulfilled what the Lord Himself had told them, that they would do works even far greater than what He had done in His brief earthly ministry. He has commanded all of them with His Great Commission to go forth to the nations and baptise them all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, before He ascended to Heaven, that while He ascended and they could not see Him anymore, but He would always still be with them, and He would guide them to do whatever He has commanded them to do.

The Lord helped and strengthened them, and they began the foundation of the Church, with more than three thousand people being baptised on the Pentecost alone, and many more came to believe in the Lord through whatever the Apostles had done, in their courageous preaching and testimony of faith, in the miracles they have done in the Name of the Lord, among many others. And as the community of Christians across Judea, Jerusalem and other places grew, so did the Church and its supporting structures.

That was why in our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the institution of the Holy Order of the Diaconate, as the Apostles appointed seven holy and devout men to be the first Seven Holy Deacons of the Church. And the most renowned among them was St. Stephen, who would later on became the very first martyr of the Church, as described in detail in the same Acts of the Apostles. St. Stephen defended his faith vigorously and with devotion when he was faced with bitter opposition and false accusation by the enemies of the Church, and died a martyr.

The Holy Spirit gave St. Stephen great wisdom and courage that stunned even his most ardent and stubborn enemies, as they could probably not believe the courage that this deacon had shown when he was alone facing all of those who were crying out for his death. And the same happened to the other Apostles as well, as they carried out their missions with great joy and dedication, suffering and dying in martyrdom in distant lands in various occasions. The only Apostle to die of old age, St. John the Apostle himself endured many trials, sufferings and prisons all throughout his years of ministry.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are called to remember the great courage of the Apostles, as well as that of St. Stephen and the many other saints and martyrs of the Church. Many of them were simple, regular people, and many among the Apostles were poor people, uneducated and unknown, ordinary and as we have discussed earlier, had lots of fear and doubt, and unable to commit themselves. But they turned to the Lord, put their faith in Him and chose to follow Him wholeheartedly even though at first they were unsure, doubtful and afraid.

In turn, the Lord strengthened them, gave them great wisdom and courage, helping them to persevere through the challenges each of them had to face. When we heard all the amazing stories of faith and the dedication of the many martyrs of the Church, they all showed courage and fearlessness even in the midst of suffering and death, and many among them still did what they could to do the will of God and show their faith to convince others to also believe in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of these were possible because they all trusted God and put Him at the centre of their lives and existence, trusting Him to guide their lives and their path, and they had therefore that genuine faith which all of us Christians should also have in our own lives. However, the sad truth and reality is that so many of us have been lukewarm in our faith, and many of us have treated the Lord as One Who is distant and to be sidelined. We only remember God when we are in great need, and when we do not need Him, we leave Him behind and continue with our own worldly concerns and works.

We have become too preoccupied with many worldly and materialistic concerns and thoughts, and we have no time or attention to be spared for the Lord as we should have. When we need Him is the only time we actually remember Him, and we demand Him to quickly come and intervene for our sake and benefit, and when we do not get what we want, we often become angry with God and abandon Him ever the more. This is not what we should be doing, brothers and sisters in Christ.

On this day, we are all thus called to remember the examples of the early Christians, as well as the many holy saints and martyrs who had given their all to the Lord, who have put their trust in God and dedicated themselves to God. We are called to see how the Apostles and those whom the Lord had called to be His followers, had been transformed from a people filled with fear and uncertainties, with doubts and infidelities, with sin and darkness in them, into people who are truly belonging to the Light of Christ, virtuous and exemplary in their piety and courage.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all realise that God can transform each and every one of us in the same manner, and indeed, we are called to walk in the same path that the Apostles and the saints and martyrs of the Lord had walked on, and we are called to continue the mission which He has entrusted to us all, His beloved people and Church. He has sent us all to go forth to the people of all the nations, to proclaim His truth and salvation to everyone, that more and more may come to believe in Him and have eternal life.

Let us all pray to the Lord today, that He will continue to guide us and strengthen us with the Holy Spirit, that with His wisdom and encouragement, we will be drawn ever closer to His presence and that we will be able to dedicate ourselves to do whatever we can in our capacity and respective areas of responsibilities, in our communities and in our families and among our friends, to be the bearers of the Good News of God and the witnesses of His truth and resurrection by our own good examples and faithful life.

Let us all be the beacons of light and hope for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ especially during these few weeks and months when there are so many people out there who are troubled and without hope, who are in difficulties and who have encountered even personal tragedies and troubles. Let us bear God’s light and hope to them and share our hope, faitu and joy with one another, that we will endure these together with God. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.