Easter Sunday Mass

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Sunday, 8 May 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the fourth Sunday in the season of Easter marks the occasion of Good Shepherd Sunday, or also known as the Vocation Sunday. This Sunday is called as such because the Gospel reading was taken from the Gospel of St. John, in which the Lord referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd and we, the people of God as His sheep and flock. Through Him, our Good Shepherd, the Lord has called on all of us to follow Him and return to Him, to no longer be lost and separated from Him, but be reunited with Him and becoming once again part of that one flock of God in His Church.

In our first reading today, all of us heard from the Acts of the Apostles the works of two of the Apostles, St. Paul and St. Barnabas who were travelling to Antioch in Pisidia in Asia Minor, where they preached about the Lord and His truth in the synagogue. The two Apostles spoke to a large gathering of both Jewish people and the non-Jewish people, the Gentiles. But their efforts in attracting so many people especially the Gentiles caused some among the Jews to be jealous and hostile to their popularity. It was likely that those Jewish people mentioned had belonged to the Pharisees or at least those who were sympathetic of the position of the Pharisees and their opposition against Jesus.

Hence, as we heard, while the Apostles managed to gain great support and following even from among the Gentiles, who were happy to hear the Good News presented to them, but those people who refused to believe in them were offended and angry at the popularity that St. Paul and St. Barnabas managed to get, and considered them as a threat to the way of life and the beliefs of those who held and clung on to the traditions of the Jewish customs as promoted and preserved by the Pharisees and the elders. As such, they did whatever they could to oppose the two Apostles, persecuting them and evicting them from their region.

Yet, the Apostles, St. Paul, St. Barnabas and the Twelve Apostles led by St. Peter all continued to labour hard for the Lord and His Church, going forth to many places and spreading the Good News passed onto them as the shepherds of the Lord’s flock, the servants of the one and true Good Shepherd of all. They proclaimed the Lord’s truth to all the people, to the Jewish people and the Gentiles alike, and although they encountered many opposition and rejection from those who refused to believe in God and His truth, persecuted and having to endure arrest, prison, torture and even martyrdom, they continued to proclaim the word of God faithfully and many others did flock to follow the Lord through them.

In our second reading today, we heard of the vision of St. John the Apostle from the Book of Revelations that he wrote, detailing what he had seen in the series of visions he received at the island of Patmos during his exile there. St. John saw the vision of innumerable holy men and women from across all time and places, all gathered together to proclaim the Lord and glorify Him, to praise Him on His Throne, as St. John saw Him, the victorious Lamb of God, Who has won the ultimate victory over sin, evil and death, and by His sacrifice on the Cross, He has gathered all of us as our Good Shepherd, leading us all to the path towards eternal life.

What victory is it about, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is the great triumph that God had won for us over the forces of evil and sin. We have been corrupted by sin ever since the beginning of time, when we succumbed to the temptations of the devil and allowed sin to enter into our hearts. Because of that, we have been scattered throughout the world and fell into darkness, becoming lost from the Lord, our Good Shepherd. But what is important is that, God’s love for us far surpasses His disgust and anger for our sins. He loves us all beyond anything else, and He created us in the first place because He loved us all. If He did not love us at all, He would not even have created us or given us a chance at all.

Therefore, in coming upon us Himself, through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Divine Word Incarnate, the Lord came to us to show just how much He loved us all and how precious we truly are to Him. The Lord has come to gather us all from the far ends of the world, and to lead us all back to Himself just as He has long promised to us. And to this end, He has established His Church, and called us all to be part of that one flock that He has gathered together in His Name, and entrusted all of us to those whom He had called and dedicated to be shepherds modelled after Himself, the Good Shepherd.

St. Paul, St. Barnabas, the other Apostles and many other holy men and women of God, the saints all showed us what they had done in following the examples set by the Good Shepherd in helping many more lost souls, the lost sheep of the Lord to return to Him. Just as the Lord Himself also said in another occasion, that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, hence, He Who laid down His own life for our salvation inspired His own servants, like St. Paul, St. Barnabas and many more to be willing to lay down their lives and to suffer for the sake of the Lord and His people. Through their courage and determination, countless souls had been saved, and many had been brought to reconciliation with God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we commemorate this Good Shepherd Sunday, what we have just discussed earlier highlighted why we also mark the occasion of Vocation Sunday today. That is because while we remember the Lord, our Good Shepherd in all that He had done for us, we must not forget that He has called all of us to follow Him, and for all of us to embrace our respective calling in life and dedicate ourselves, in whichever capacity and ability we are able to commit, to embrace a good Christian vocation in life. And we must not think or misunderstand that vocation means only vocations to priesthood only.

That is because there are many vocations for us as Christians in the Church. Most prominent indeed are those whom God had called to serve Him wholeheartedly and completely as those who embrace the call to the priesthood as well as religious life. They have been called to serve the Lord and His people, following in the footsteps of the Apostles, in continuing their works of evangelisation and in ministering to the people of God. However, this does not mean that all the others who have not followed this same path then do not have any role to play in the works of the evangelisation or as part in the Lord’s mission entrusted to His Church.

On the contrary, as members of God’s Church, each and every one of us have very important roles to play, and the laity have immense role that all of them have to play and take part in faithfully and with commitment in order to make sure that the Church’s efforts and its missions will be successful. The responsibility for evangelisation and spreading the Good News of God is not that of the priests and religious, or missionaries alone. All the faithful people of God share in the same mission, inspired by the Good Shepherd, Our Lord’s own examples, His love and dedication for us, His lost sheep, in gathering all of them to His loving embrace.

That is why, all of us have to live our lives worthily of the Lord and doing whatever we can to contribute to the mission of the Church in reaching out to the lost sheep of the Lord’s flock, all those who have not yet known the Lord and His salvation, and all those who have fallen astray in the path towards God. Each one of us can help one another, and even the priests and missionaries need the constant support from every members of the Church so that they may be able to do their works effectively. It is indeed not easy to be priests, especially in our world today, and we need to support the priests, our shepherds, that they may be inspired to follow the path of their predecessors, the Apostles and their successors, and the Lord Himself, the Good Shepherd.

That is why all of us have to pray for our priests, for more vocations to the priesthood. But at the same time, should any of us are called to the priesthood, then we should not ignore that call either. A most common thing in the Church is that we do not mind if others are called to the priesthood, but when some parents encounter the fact that it is their own children who are called to the priesthood, or religious life, or other vocations that are not according to what they wanted, they became defensive or even putting objections to that vocation or desire of their own children. It is truly hypocritical if we want others to embrace their vocation but not those in our own families. Yet, sadly, this is one of the main reason why it is truly difficult for some to embrace their vocation to priesthood and religious life.

Now, at the same time, we must also not forget to reflect on our vocation as married people, as those who have been called to a life in matrimonial bond and in growing up faithful Christian families. As mentioned, that is also a very important vocation, and one that cannot be ignored. For faithful and committed Christian families are truly the bedrock of the Church, and the first places where our children will learn about the faith. If our Christian families are not founded upon firm faith and the strong desire to serve and follow God, then sooner or later, not only that we may lose a lot of our children to indifference to their faith, to apostasy and more, but the whole entire Church community will also be negatively affected.

There are also of course those among us called to other purposes in life, even those who are called to remain single and devote themselves to the Lord. Many of them are not even members of any religious orders, but they dedicated themselves to a particular purpose or some missions to do things for the good of others, and to advance the cause of the Lord, to proclaim His Good News and more. Those are also wonderful vocations that each one of us, should we be called, have to embrace as well. We are all called to different purposes in life and we really should do our best to follow Him, and commit ourselves to God as best as we can.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday, let us ask the Lord, our Good Shepherd, to guide us all and to give us the strength and courage so that we all can be faithful shepherds, role models and examples for one another in faith. Let our actions, words and deeds be inspiration at all times, and let more and more people come to believe in God through us. May each one of us devote more of our time and effort to follow our vocations in life, and may God, our loving Good Shepherd be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 8 May 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 27-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them; they follow Me and I give them eternal life. They shall never perish, and no one will ever steal them from Me. What My Father has given Me, is greater than all things else. To snatch it out of the Father’s hand, no one is able! I and the Father are One.”

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Sunday, 8 May 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 9, 14b-17

After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands.

The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the Blood of the Lamb. This is why they stand before the Throne of God, and serve Him, day and night, in His sanctuary.”

“He, Who sits on the throne, will spread His tent over them. Never again, will they suffer hunger or thirst, or be burnt by the sun, or any scorching wind. For the Lamb, near the Throne, will be their Shepherd, and He will bring them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away their tears.”

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Sunday, 8 May 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Sunday, 8 May 2022 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 14, 43-52

Paul and his companions went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. After that, when the assembly broke up, many Jews and devout God-fearing people followed them, and to these, they spoke, urging them to hold fast to the grace of God.

The following Sabbath almost the entire city gathered to listen to Paul, who spoke a fairly long time about the Lord. But the presence of such a crowd made the Jews jealous. So they began to oppose, with insults, whatever Paul said.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out firmly, saying, “It was necessary, that God’s word be first proclaimed to you, but since you now reject it, and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we turn to non-Jewish people. For thus we were commanded by the Lord : I have set you as a light to the pagan nations, so that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Those who were not Jews rejoiced, when they heard this, and praised the message of the Lord; and all those, destined for everlasting life, believed in it. Thus the word spread, throughout the whole region. Some of the Jews, however, incited God-fearing women of the upper class, and the leading men of the city, as well, and stirred up an intense persecution against Paul and Barnabas.

Finally, they had them expelled from their region. The Apostles shook the dust from their feet, in protest against this people, and went to Iconium, leaving; the disciples, filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

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Sunday, 1 May 2022 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the third in the glorious and joyous season of Easter, all of us are called to remember once again, through the Sacred Scriptures, of the reason why we celebrate this season and why we rejoice so happily, all because of the great victory and triumph that Our Lord and Saviour has won for us, that by His death and resurrection, He has purchased for all of us, the freedom and liberation from the tyranny of sin and death. Through Him, all of us have received the assurance of eternal life and true joy, assured of the final victory that will come with Him, if we remain faithful and steadfast, staying true to Him to the very end.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the confrontation between the Apostles and disciples of the Lord led by St. Peter, against the Sanhedrin, the powerful High Council of the Jewish people led by the High Priest, who had arrested the Apostles and ordered them to stop preaching in the Name of the Risen Lord. At that time, the Lord had risen and ascended into Heaven, and the Holy Spirit had descended upon the Apostles, whom encouraged and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, went forth to proclaim courageously the truth about God and His salvation, in Jesus Christ, the same One Whom the Sanhedrin had arrested and accused, sent to the Romans to be crucified and killed.

The Apostles, led by St. Peter firmly and courageously refused to remain silent or to obey the order of the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, as they had been tasked and entrusted by God with the very important mission of revealing the truth and the Good News of His salvation, His great and amazing love, all that He had done for the sake of His beloved people through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who had cone into this world to gather all the lost sheep of His flock, and lead them to the reconciliation with God and hence, the assurance and certainty of eternal life. And the Apostles had been entrusted with the role as shepherds in the image of the one and true Good Shepherd, Christ Himself, to lead the people of God towards Him.

Despite the threats and warnings that the Sanhedrin gave to them, the Apostles were not afraid at all. They proclaimed courageously their Lord and Saviour, Whom they had witnessed and seen Risen from the dead with their own eyes, witnessed Him performing His miracles even before He had gone through His Passion, suffering, death and resurrection, and as we also heard from our Gospel passage today, they had also seen and witnessed the miracles that God continued to perform after He had risen from the dead. They had been called and sent forth by the Lord, and they would not betray or abandon their Lord and Master.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. John detailing to us what happened that day when the Lord appeared to His disciples in Galilee just not long after He had risen from the dead. He has told the women who witnessed His resurrection that He would go before His disciples to Galilee, and He would see them there later on. Before this, He Himself had also appeared to His disciples in two occasions just as we heard it in our last Sunday’s Gospel, where St. Thomas who earlier on doubted the Lord’s resurrection was dumbstruck in awe and finally believed when the Lord appeared before him and the other disciples in the flesh. He showed them that He had truly risen from the dead.

Then, as we heard today’s Gospel passage, we heard how the disciples had been out fishing in the lake for the entire night without success, before that morning when the Lord appeared to them on the shore, but without them recognising Him at first. The Lord told them to follow His instructions, and they immediately captured a large number of fishes, more than what they could manage. It was there and then that St. Peter recognised the Lord and immediately, he jumped into the water to come to the Lord. It was there and then that the disciples yet again saw the Risen Lord, His love for them and the mission which He had entrusted to them to do.

We also heard of the Lord’s exchanges with St. Peter after their meal, in which the Lord asked St. Peter, ‘Peter, do you love Me?’ To which St. Peter responded with, ‘Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.’ And the Lord then responded with, ‘Feed My lambs’. This was repeated three times in a very symbolic mirror and reversal of St. Peter’s own three times denial of the Lord at the time of His Passion. It shows that the Lord had forgiven St. Peter and not only that, but He was entrusting His Church and all of His flock, the lambs that He had called and gathered from among the nations, to St. Peter, just as He had earlier on established His Church on the firm foundation of this ‘Rock’ that is St. Peter and his faith.

St. Peter might have been illiterate, brash and impulsive at times, doing things like cutting the ears of the High Priest’s servant when the guards were about to arrest the Lord, and he might have also been fearful and shaken in faith, as how he denied knowing the Lord three times, but in the end, the Lord chose him to be the leader of His entire Church and to be the leader of the Apostles, because He knew what his faith and love for Him were like. The Lord saw deep in the people’s hearts and minds, and He saw in St. Peter, a true faith and commitment, and which strengthened and encouraged by all that he himself witnessed, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, hence, he courageously led the Apostles in resisting the efforts of the Sanhedrin to silence them.

In our second reading, we heard of the reading from the Book of Revelations of St. John, in which St. John the Apostle saw the great heavenly vision, of the Lamb of God, Christ Himself, and His Throne in Heaven, and how all the twenty-four elders assembled, the Angels and all the countless millions upon millions of the faithful of all the ages praised and worshipped Him, glorious, triumphant and victorious, seated on His Throne, having conquered evil, sin and death, and in that vision, St. John related to us how the same triumphant Lamb of God will come again in His Second Coming, to claim all of His beloved and faithful ones to Himself. He will gather all of His faithful ones and lead them towards His light.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all that we have heard from the Scriptures today are what the Apostles had witnessed, experienced and received from the Lord throughout their labours and ministries among the people of God. They had seen the Risen Lord, all of His truth and wonders. The Lord was with all of them and His Church, and He would lead them to the ultimate victory, that despite all the challenges and trials that they would face, but He is with them, and He will never abandon them, and He entrusted to them the great mission to spread His love and truth to all the peoples of all the nations. Just as we heard in our Gospel today, the disciples managed to gather so many fishes upon the Lord’s arrival and them following His instructions.

All of these remind us that each and every one of us as members of the Church of God are part of the same mission which He has entrusted to His Apostles and disciples all those years ago. What is this mission, brothers and sisters in Christ? The Lord called His disciples to be the fishers of men, to gather all the people to Himself, all the lost sheep to be gathered once again. St. Peter was entrusted with the leadership of the Church, in ‘feeding’ the lambs of the Lord, in caring for all of them as the members of the Church, called and chosen from the world. His works and that of the other Apostles had been passed down to their successors, right to this very present day, in the bishops and priests.

But these works and ministries are not their responsibilities alone, brethren. As members of God’s Church, we also share part of the responsibility to be the witnesses and bearers of God’s truth. The Apostles and many others had witnessed this truth, and they suffered great persecutions for their faith, and yet they endured because they trusted in the Lord and they wanted all their fellow brothers and sisters to be saved in Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour. They passed this faith and truth to us so that we too may be moved and inspired to follow in their footsteps and do our part as Christians to be the Lord’s faithful disciples in our respective communities today.

This means that we are all sharers in the mission of the Church to reach out to those who have not yet known the Lord or are still living in darkness of sin, in denial of the Lord’s truth and love, and in rebellion against Him. We are all called to be courageous like the Apostles in proclaiming the truth about the Lord, His love and compassion for us, His resurrection and all that He had done for our sake as Our Lord and Saviour. We are all called to be exemplary in our actions and way of life so that by our works and deeds, our contributions and even in the smallest and simplest things we do, we may inspire others to believe in God as well.

We do not have to do great and wonderful things, brothers and sisters. As I said, even in the smallest and simplest things we do in life, we can touch the lives of others, inspire others to come to believe in God as well. It is in the ordinary things we do that God is glorified, and we must not forget that we cannot be idle and ignorant of our calling and obligations in life as part of the same Church of God. Remember brothers and sisters, that Our Lord Himself said that, unless we carry our crosses and follow Him, we cannot be His true disciples and followers. If we want to be truly Christians, then we have to commit ourselves to the Lord wholeheartedly.

Are we then willing and able to commit ourselves to God in the same way the Apostles and disciples of the Lord had done? Are we willing to spend the time and effort to follow the Lord and to do His will, in all the things we say and do? Let us do whatever we can as Christians, as Our Lord’s disciples, to proclaim Him in our communities and in whatever opportunities we have, that we may indeed be good role models and inspirations for others to follow just as we ourselves look up to the Apostles for inspiration. May Our Risen Lord be with us always, bless our works and efforts, and guide us in our journey and faith. May God be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 May 2022 : Third Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 21 : 1-19

At that time, Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples by the Lake of Tiberias. He appeared to them in this way : Simon Peter, Thomas who was called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together; and Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They replied, “We will come with you.” And they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. Jesus called out, “Friends, have you anything to eat?” They answered, “Nothing.” Then He said to them, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something.” When they had lowered the net, they were not able to pull it because of the great number of fish.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” At these words, “It is the Lord!” Simon Peter put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and jumped into the water. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish; they were not far from land, about a hundred metres. When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

So Simon Peter climbed into the boat and pulled the net to shore. It was full of big fish – one hundred and fifty-three – but, in spite of this, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” And not one of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” for they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples after rising from the dead.

After they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these do?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” And Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.” A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Look after My sheep.” And a third time He said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

Peter was saddened because Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” Jesus then said, “Feed My sheep! Truly, I say to you, when you were young, you put on your belt and walked where you liked. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will put a belt around you, and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

Jesus said this to make known the kind of death by which Peter was to glorify God. And He added, “Follow Me!”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

John 21 : 1-14

At that time, Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples by the Lake of Tiberias. He appeared to them in this way : Simon Peter, Thomas who was called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together; and Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They replied, “We will come with you.” And they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. Jesus called out, “Friends, have you anything to eat?” They answered, “Nothing.” Then He said to them, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something.” When they had lowered the net, they were not able to pull it because of the great number of fish.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” At these words, “It is the Lord!” Simon Peter put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and jumped into the water. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish; they were not far from land, about a hundred metres. When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

So Simon Peter climbed into the boat and pulled the net to shore. It was full of big fish – one hundred and fifty-three – but, in spite of this, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” And not one of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” for they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples after rising from the dead.

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Sunday, 1 May 2022 : Third Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 5 : 11-14

I went on looking; I heard the noise of a multitude of Angels, gathered around the Throne, the living creatures and the elders, numbering millions of millions, crying out with a loud voice : “Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain, to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour, glory and praise.”

Then, I heard the voice of the whole universe, heaven, earth, sea, and the place of the dead; every creature cried out : “To Him Who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, be praise, honour, glory and power, forever and ever.” And the four living creatures said, “Amen,” while the elders bowed down and worshipped.

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Sunday, 1 May 2022 : Third Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me.

O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit. Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; O Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; You have taken off my sackcloth and wrapped me in the garments of gladness. And so my soul, no longer silent, now sings praise without ceasing. O Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Sunday, 1 May 2022 : Third Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 27b-32, 40b-41

The High Priest questioned the Apostles, “We gave you strict orders not to preach such a Saviour; but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching; and you intend charging us with the killing of this Man.”

To this, Peter and the Apostles replied, “Better for us to obey God, rather than any human authority! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, Whom you killed by hanging Him on a wooden post. God set Him at His right hand, as Leader and Saviour, to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses to all these things, as well as the Holy Spirit, Whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

And the Council ordered them not to speak again of Jesus, the Saviour. Then they set them free. The Apostles went out from the Council, rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the Name.