Easter Triduum

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Sunday, 3 May 2020 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Vocation Sunday, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 1-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But the shepherd of the sheep enters by the gate. The keeper opens the gate to him and the sheep hear his voice; he calls each of his sheep by name and leads them out.”

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but rather they will run away from him, because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this comparison, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.

So Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, I am the Gate of the sheep. All who came were thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not hear them. I am the Gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved; he will go in and out freely and find food. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life, life in all its fullness.”

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Sunday, 3 May 2020 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Vocation Sunday, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 2 : 20b-25

But if you endure punishment when you have done well, that is a grace before God. This is your calling : remember Christ Who suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you may follow in His way. He did no wrong and there was no deceit in His mouth. He did not return insult for insult and, when suffering, He did not curse but put Himself in the hands of God Who judges justly.

He went to the cross bearing our sins on His own Body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live an upright life. For by His wounds you have been healed. You were like stray sheep, but you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

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Sunday, 3 May 2020 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Vocation Sunday, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Sunday, 3 May 2020 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Vocation Sunday, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 2 : 14a, 36-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and, with a loud voice, addressed them, “Let Israel then know for sure that God has made Lord and Christ this Jesus Whom you crucified.” When they heard this, they were deeply troubled. And they asked Peter and the other Apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”

Peter answered : “Each of you must repent and be baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise of God was made to you and your children, and to all those from afar whom our God may call.”

With many other words Peter gave the message and appealed to them saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who accepted his word were baptised; some three thousand persons were added to their numbers that day.

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Sunday, 26 April 2020 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the third in the season of Easter, as we enter deeper into the glorious season of Easter, we are brought to focus our attention once again on Christ, our Risen Lord and Saviour. From our first reading passage today, we heard of the testimony of the faith by St. Peter the Apostle, who proclaimed courageously about the Lord Jesus before the assembled people in Jerusalem on the celebration of Pentecost. Then we heard of the same St. Peter reminding us in the Epistle he wrote, part of which is our second reading today, of God’s love and all He had done to save us. And lastly, from the Gospel we heard of the story of the encounter between the Resurrected Christ with two of His disciples who were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus.

In our first reading today we heard St. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking before the many people gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of the Pentecost that takes place fifty days after the Passover. There were many people from various origins and places, many of them Jews who had been scattered across the world, and many among them had been in Jerusalem earlier for the Passover and had witnessed all that happened in the Passion, suffering and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.

They have all seen how this great Man and Teacher of the faith came to Jerusalem, welcomed by many of the people, some of whom were definitely also there before St. Peter as he spoke about this same Jesus. St. Peter spoke of how the Lord had been betrayed and handed over to be killed by the Romans, given the burden of the Cross and the massive suffering He had to endure, that He suffered before many people who saw His Passion and how He suffered and died on the Cross. Many saw Him dead there on the Cross at Calvary.

But St. Peter and the other Apostles stood up and proclaimed their faith in the Resurrected Christ, the same Christ Who had died on the Cross did not remain dead and in the tomb, but He had risen from the dead and showed Himself to the Apostles themselves and to some other people. There were in fact quite a few people who had witnessed the Risen Lord appearing in the flesh before all of them. And this included the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus as described earlier.

As the two disciples had shown us, many of these people may have witnessed or heard about the resurrection of the Lord, and yet in their hearts and minds, they were still filled with doubts, fears and uncertainties. They could not bring it to bear to believe that the Lord had overcome their greatest enemy, that is death. Death has always been something that everyone who have lived feared, from the very beginning since death is the end of our life and worldly existence as we know it.

Many of us have also feared death because it means separation from all that we have known and loved, and we certainly do not like this at all. Yet, at the same time, we are all resigned to having death as our fate, as we know that death is a certainty to all of us, and people from time to time die even at the most unexpected time and circumstances, even those who were healthy, young and in the prime of their years. Many tried to extend their lives and to keep themselves living and young, but every single efforts had failed and none of us could stop death even if we really wanted to.

That is why so many were skeptical that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead, and this, coupled with the efforts from the Sanhedrin to hide the facts by spreading the alternative story that the disciples had stolen the Body of Jesus from His tomb made it truly challenging for many at the time to believe in the Resurrection fully, and even many of those who had witnessed the Risen Lord or heard about Him had their doubts and had not yet fully believed in this truth.

This was where then the Holy Spirit of God came upon the Apostles on Pentecost and gave them all the courage and the strength to believe and to proclaim with great zeal and dedication, the truth of the Resurrection and the Lord’s salvation which had come through the suffering and the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, which had been extended to all the people and everyone, the forgiveness of our many sins and faults, and the promise of reconciliation and new life.

The Lord had saved us all through His death, but many of us remained in the fear of death because we do not yet have that fullness of faith in Him. We still look at other, alternative sources of comfort in our world rather than putting our trust in God. And this is why today all of us are being reminded that in God is our sure salvation and hope, and if we put our trust in Him, we shall never be disappointed. God will be with His faithful ones, and He will provide for all those who trust in Him.

In our second reading, this is what St. Peter had also written on, reminding the faithful that God, our loving Father has given us such a wonderful gift and Saviour in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, that He has brought us a new hope and a new life by the suffering and death of Christ, the Paschal Lamb, Lamb of God Who had sacrificed Himself and put forth His own Precious Body and poured His own Precious Blood for our sake. By His Blood we have been cleansed and absolved of our sins.

In our world today we are filled with plenty of darkness all around us, and many had fallen into hard times, losing hope and despairing amidst all the various challenges that they had to endure, for they feared all the uncertainties that are to come, all the possibilities of losing employments and sources of income as our whole world is now battling the harsh effects of this current pandemic and its associated complications, and of course, many feared the death that can just come and claim us at any time, as many had succumbed to this disease, and many more are still suffering from it.

What are we to do, then, as Christians? It is our calling as Christians and also our missions to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters, even those who are strangers around us, those who are suffering and are in need, that we help them and care for them and their needs. There are many people out there who have been deprived of hope and are in despair, living in darkness and also in sin. It is now then our turn to follow the examples of St. Peter and the Apostles, to bring God’s truth and hope to the world.

Let us all bring hope and strength, faith and trust in God in the hearts and minds of our fellow brethren, just as the Lord Himself strengthened the faith of His two disciples on their way to the town of Emmaus. Those two disciples had been wavering in faith, unsure and reluctant to believe that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. The Lord appeared to them and reassured them, and strengthened, they became courageous witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection, reenergised and full of zeal.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all devote our energy and effort to be the faithful bearers of God’s light and truth, to bring the joy of Easter and the strength and hope to our brethren in distress. May the Lord help us and guide us in our journey and in our efforts, that we may truly be successful in bringing the hope and joy in the Risen Christ to all the whole world, in our own respective communities and to all peoples. May God bless us all and our many endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 26 April 2020 : Third Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 24 : 13-35

At that time, on the same day Jesus rose from the dead, two followers of Jesus were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem, and they talked about what had happened. While they were talking and arguing about what had happened, Jesus came up and walked with them. But their eyes were not able to recognise Him.

He asked, “What is it you are talking about?” The two stood still, looking sad. Then the one named Cleophas answered, “Why, it seems You are the only traveller to Jerusalem who does not know what haw happened there these past few days.” And He asked, “What is it?”

They replied, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a Prophet, You know, mighty in word and deed before God and the people. But the chief priests and our rulers sentenced Him to death. They handed Him over to be crucified. We had hoped that He would redeem Israel. It is now the third day since all this took place.”

“It is also true that some women of our group have disturbed us. When they went to the tomb at dawn, they did not find His Body; and they came and told us that they had had a vision of Angels, who said that Jesus was alive. Some of our people went to the tomb and found everything just as the women had said, but they did not find a Body in the tomb.”

He said to them, “How dull you are, how slow of understanding! Is the message of the prophets too difficult for you to understand? Is it not written that the Christ should suffer all this, and then enter His glory?” Then starting with Moses, and going through the prophets, He explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning Himself.

As they drew near the village they were heading for, Jesus made as if to go farther. But they prevailed upon Him, “Stay with us, for night comes quickly. The day is now almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. When they were at table, He took the bread, said a blessing, broke it, and gave each a piece.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised Him; but He vanished out of their sight. And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts filled with ardent yearning when He was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?” They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem.

There they found the Eleven and their companions gathered together. They were greeted by these words : “Yes, it is true, the Lord is risen! He has appeared to Simon!” Then the two told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them.

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Sunday, 26 April 2020 : Third Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 1 : 17-21

You call upon a Father Who makes no distinction between persons but judges according to each one’s deeds; take seriously, then, these years which you spend in a strange land. Remember that you were freed from the useless way of life of your ancestors, not with gold and silver but with the Precious Blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish.

God, Who has known Christ before the world began, revealed Him to you in the last days. Through Him, you have faith in God Who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him in order that you might put all your faith and hope in God.

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Sunday, 26 April 2020 : Third Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

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.

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Sunday, 26 April 2020 : Third Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 2 : 14, 22-33

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and, with a loud voice, addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all foreigners now staying in Jerusalem, listen to what I have to say. Fellow Israelites, listen to what I am going to tell you about Jesus of Nazareth. God accredited Him and through Him did powerful deeds and wonders and signs in your midst, as you well know.”

“You delivered Him to sinners to be crucified and killed, and in this way the purpose of God from all times was fulfilled. But God raised Him to life and released Him from the pain of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in the power of death. David spoke of Him when He said : I saw the Lord before me at all times; He is by my side, that I may not be shaken.”

“Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; my body too will live in hope. Because You will not forsake me in the abode of the dead, nor allow Your Holy One to experience corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life, and Your presence will fill me with joy.”

“Friends, I do not need to prove that the patriarch David died and was buried; his tomb is with us to this day. But he knew that God had sworn to him that One of his descendants would sit upon his throne and, as he was a prophet, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah. So he said that He would not be left in the region of the dead, nor would His Body experience corruption.

This Messiah is Jesus and we are all witnesses that God raised Him to life. He has been exalted at God’s right side and the Father has entrusted the Holy Spirit to Him; this Spirit He has just poured upon us as you now see and hear.

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Sunday, 19 April 2020 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Second Sunday in the season of Easter we celebrate what is known as the Divine Mercy Sunday as instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in the Jubilee Year of 2000 AD. This Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted according to the visions of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who saw the vision of the Lord in His aspect of the Divine Mercy a few times and wrote about her experiences, which took a few decades before they were officially approved and accepted by the Church.

In those visions of the Divine Mercy, St. Faustina Kowalska saw the Lord appearing to her and showing her His infinite and great mercy, His love and compassion for all of us mankind. The Divine Mercy of God manifested to her in His divinity, pouring forth from His heart two bright rays of red and white shining forth showing the outpouring of the love of God to us mankind, His divinity and humanity mingled into one, and by His Most Precious Blood we have received, we have been healed from our sins.

The Lord called for this devotion to this Divine Mercy to be made popular and spread among His people, dedicating the second Sunday in the season of Easter to be the Divine Mercy Sunday, as a kind reminder that this joyful and wonderful Easter season is a time for us to appreciate just how fortunate we have been that the Lord had gone through the worst of sufferings and humiliations that He bore in His Passion and death, that through Him and His Resurrection, we now receive the assurance of life eternal.

The Divine Mercy devotion calls on us all mankind to focus our attention once again on the Lord, to ask Him for His mercy on us and the whole world through His wondrous saving work, in the shedding of His Body and Blood, as a perfect offering for the redemption of our sins. That is why the Divine Mercy devotion has in particular become very popular and widespread as the world and many people seek healing from the Lord for their many ailments, the sickness of sin and the corruption of evil in our lives.

Through the Divine Mercy of God, all of us are brought to remember that Christ our Lord is our Eternal High Priest Who has offered Himself for the atonement for our sins, as we recall this whenever we recite the Divine Mercy chaplet and prayers with the words, ‘Eternal Father, I offer You, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world,’ and the other one ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.’

Through all of these, and linking with what we have just heard in our Scripture passages today, we will realise that we have to have faith in the Lord and believe that through Him there is a hope for us and for our salvation. That is why we heard of the story of the doubt which St. Thomas the Apostle had in our Gospel today, when he, usually the most doubtful and cynical of the Apostles, refused to believe that the Lord had risen from the dead, and wanted tangible proof before he was to believe that the Lord had indeed been resurrected.

It was only when the Lord Himself had appeared before him and the other disciples that St. Thomas came to believe in the Lord and in His Resurrection. St. Thomas from then on became a firm believer, and since then he laboured hard for the sake of God and His people, ministering to the various communities and proclaiming the truth of the Gospel to many others, founding the community of Christians in the southern parts of India, known as St. Thomas Christians who endured for many centuries and beyond after until this very day. St. Thomas himself was martyred in the defence of his faith in God.

What we have heard thus far is a reminder for each and every one of us to have more faith in God, to believe in His ever generous and wonderful mercy. God has always been merciful to us, loving and ready to forgive us, and He extends this rich offer of mercy without any hesitation at all. But it is us mankind who have hesitated, took our time, being stubborn and resisted the efforts of the Lord Who has tried to be reconciled with us. We are like St. Thomas who doubted the Lord, who refused to believe fully and unconditionally, or worse still, like many of the Pharisees who hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to believe in God’s truth.

Many of us carry on living in the state of sin, living our lives as we have lived them so far, indulging in all sorts of evils and wickedness. But we must realise that sin is truly dangerous and unless we get rid of ourselves these sins and wickedness, we are in great danger of falling into eternal damnation because of those sins. This is because death and hell are the consequences for our sins, and unless we repent from them and are forgiven and reconciled with God, we may end up in an eternity of regret and despair.

It is God alone Who is capable of healing us from our sins, making us good and whole again. No one else has the power to forgive our sins, and that is why we need to have this forgiveness and healing by the Divine Mercy of God. In this Sunday, we are all called to focus our attention on the Divine Mercy, His loving face and countenance directed towards us, His ever present care and compassion towards our fallen state and our wretched situation. This is why we need to focus our attention to the Lord and embrace His mercy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all called to be the disciples of the Lord in all things, to be His followers and to bring forth His mercy, His light and love to all the people of God. We are all called to share this faith which we have, to embrace this love and mercy and show them in the same manner to our brethren out there who are still living in the darkness, to those who are still ignorant of the truth of God, those who have yet to know of God’s infinite love and mercy.

The Lord wants us all to bring forth this light of hope, the hope for the Divine Mercy to our fellow brethren, just as how St. Faustina Kowalska tried for many years to bring forth the attention to the devotion to the Divine Mercy according to the visions that she had received. And this is important especially in our troubled and darkened times, during this particularly difficult year when the whole world is facing so many challenges, from the pandemic that occupied the minds of most people and made many suffer, to the other forms of natural disasters and also political instabilities suffered by several communities.

During this time, many people do not know where they ought to turn to for help, and many people has lost their path. They sought consolation in other things, either to distract themselves from the sorrow, or to find temporary happiness or pleasures, which would not last. This is why we should be the witnesses of Christ our Lord, the Divine Mercy in our communities and in our families, among every brothers and sisters whom we encounter in our daily lives and whom we interact with, and even with the strangers and other people we encounter as well.

Let us all, through our words and actions bring forth the exemplary Christian faith and life that shine brightly as beacons for others to follow, to inspire others and to guide many in their path of life, that they may find true consolation, happiness, joy and peace in God, the Divine Mercy, Who is ever ready to forgive us and to be reconciled with us, and Who is always ever filled with love, in each and every moments of our lives. May God continue to guide us all in life, and may He grant us the courage and strength to be ever more faithful, now and always. O Divine Mercy, we trust in You. Amen.