Easter Tuesday

by

Monday, 20 April 2015 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 6 : 8-15

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

As they were unable to face the truth, they bribed some men to say, “We heard him speak against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the Law; they took him by surprise, seized him and brought him before the Council.

Then they produced false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against our Holy Place and the Law. We even heard him say that Jesus the Nazarean will destroy our Holy Place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” And all who sat in the Council fixed their eyes on him, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.

by

Sunday, 19 April 2015 : Third Sunday of Easter, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the occasion of the Third Sunday of Easter, and as we continue to progress through this joyous and great season of Easter, we are called by what we heard today from the Sacred Scriptures, to throw far, far away, our fears and our insecurities, our doubts and our sinfulness, our disobedience and our vanity, to embrace fully the fullness of God’s redemption which He had given us through the Risen Christ, Jesus our Lord and God.

The Apostles feared the Jews and feared their retribution, after they have apparently lost their Lord and Master when Jesus was condemned to death on the cross. Even though they have heard many times from Jesus Himself that He would suffer and die, and yet to be risen from the dead in glory, they still doubted and feared. They were like sheep that had just lost their shepherd, scattered and not knowing where to go, leaderless and without aim.

They trembled in their body, mind and heart, and yet, at that very moment, Jesus appeared in their midst, revealing Himself to them. The words which He said to them indeed have a profound impact and meaning. Peace be with you is the expression of God trying to calm the doubts and the fears in the hearts of the Apostles, and instead replace these with faith, trust and confidence in the Lord.

As in the first reading, St. Peter spoke to the people assembled about the ignorance with which they had condemned the Lord with, therefore, the Apostles also had once been infected with the same ignorance and the same lack of understanding, which came about from the reluctance of all of us to accept the fullness of truth, that Christ is Lord, is King, and is God, Almighty and Creator of the Universe, who have yet come down into this world as a humble Man, through whom we have been saved.

And it is this truth that the Apostles had been made aware of. Jesus Himself told them and revealed to them the fullness of the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures and the history of salvation, and their minds were opened. And later on as we know, they would be sent the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and the One who empowered them in their hearts and minds, that the knowledge and wisdom of the truth is with them.

And from all these rose the foundations of our Church as we know it now. The Apostles continued the works of Jesus, in bringing about the salvation and truth which Christ had brought, to the whole humanity, to the ends of the earth. And all these efforts were united together in the Church which God Himself had established, with the leadership of the Apostles united with Peter, the chief and first of the Apostles, whom God Himself put in charge over all of His faithful ones.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there are still many people in this world today who are still in the darkness and in ignorance of the truth which Christ had brought us. There are many people who have yet to listen to the Good News of our Lord, and it is our duty and responsibility, as members of the Church to carry that message of truth to all of them. Yes, and we have to begin that with our own selves and all the things that we say and do.

In the second reading today, St. John in his epistle mentioned how if we truly know the Lord and profess to others that we know Him, then we have to show it in our own actions and deeds, or otherwise we would be liars and deceivers. No one will believe in us or in what we are preaching to them if we ourselves do not practice what we had preached. We must lead by example and put our faith into real action.

Today we commemorate a great and joyful day, as today marks the tenth anniversary, a decade since the election of the successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the Bishop of Rome, and thus as the Leader and Chief of all the faithful. As the successor of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI is the Vicar of Christ, or Christ’s sole representative on this world.

As we rejoice in God’s blessings which had blessed our Holy Father with this wonderful ten years of service to the Church and all of God’s holy people, we too have to remember that we must continue to support him and all the other leaders of the Church, by doing our best to contribute to the Church’s work to spread the Good News and the truth of Christ to all parts of the world.

Pope Benedict XVI had committed himself to many years of hard and great works to rejuvenate the faith in many people around the world. He had devoted much time to the works of charity and mercy of the Church, to help those who are less fortunate and in suffering, and standing up for those who have been persecuted for their faith and for various other reasons. His writings and publications had clearly spoken the truth of Christ for all to witness and believe.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we know that at this time and era, it is becoming more and more difficult to stay true to our faith, to our Lord and to stand up to all the truth and the teachings which we had received from the Lord Himself through the Church. This is why, we have to support each other, and do our best to help the efforts of the Church. Let us all support our Pope, bishops and all the others involved in the maintenance and governance of the faithful in the Church.

May Almighty God bless our Pope, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the faithful and humble servant of our God, that he will continue to be a blessing to all of God’s Church, and continue to serve as our leader and shepherd, guiding us on the way to the Lord, against all the challenges and all the oppositions, so that we may truly get rid of our fear and doubts, and fully immerse ourselves in the love of God, and be truly faithful to Him in action and deeds. Let us all work together, to help the Church of God in its work for the salvation of all mankind! God bless us all. Amen.

by

Sunday, 19 April 2015 : Third Sunday of Easter, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 24 : 35-48

At that time, the two disciples from Emmaus told what had happened on the road to there, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace to you.” In their panic and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost, but He said to them, “Why are you upset, and how does such an idea cross your minds? Look at My hands and feet, and see that it is I Myself! Touch Me, and see for yourselves, for a ghost has no flesh and bones as I have!” As He said this, He showed His hands and feet.

In their joy they did not dare believe, and were still astonished; so He said to them, “Do you have anything to eat?” And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish. He took it, and ate it before them. Then Jesus said to them, “Remember the words I spoke to you when I was still with you : Everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

And He said, “So it was written : the Messiah had to suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. Then repentance and forgiveness in His Name would be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.”

by

Sunday, 19 April 2015 : Third Sunday of Easter, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 1-5a

My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an Intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

How can we know that we know Him? If we fulfill His commands. If you say, “I know Him,” but do not fulfill His commands, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. But if you keep His word, God’s love is made complete in you.

by

Sunday, 19 April 2015 : Third Sunday of Easter, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 4 : 2, 4, 6b-7, 9

Answer when I call, o God, my Justice! When I was in distress, You gave me solace. Have compassion on me and hear my plea.

But you must know that the Lord has shown His kindness to me. When I call to Him, He hears me.

Put your trust in the Lord your God. Many ask, “Who will give us a happy time? Would that His favour shine upon us!”

I lie down and sleep in peace, for Your alone, o Lord, make me feel safe and secure.

by

Sunday, 19 April 2015 : Third Sunday of Easter, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 3 : 13-15, 17-19

Peter said to the people, “The God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over to death and denied before Pilate, when even Pilate had decided to release Him. You rejected the Holy and Just One, and you insisted that a murderer be released to you. You killed the Master of Life, but God raised Him from the dead and we are witnesses to this.”

“Yet I know that you acted out of ignorance, as did your leaders. God has fulfilled in this way what He had foretold through all the prophets, that His Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.”

by

Saturday, 18 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about two stories, one from the Acts of the Apostles which told us of an account of how the deacons were selected and chosen for the community of the faithful, to serve them and distribute the communal goods to them. And in the Gospel we heard also about how Jesus came to the disciples in the midst of a storm, and calmed the Apostles who were afraid of the sudden apparition.

The deacons are an extant order in the Church, which we know even until today, as one of the hierarchy within the servants of God, who were once initially meant for the distribution of goods in the community of the faithful, who shared everything they had in a truly communal way of living, filled with love and care for each other. The deacons helped the people of God, serving them even as they still do today, albeit in a much different way.

Today’s readings are calling us to give more to the Lord, more of our dedication and efforts, and more of our faith and trust for Him. The deacons have been called and chosen by our Lord to give their loving and heartful service to the people of God, to minister to them and guide them on the path towards the Lord. They assisted the Apostles and the priests of the Lord, who taught the faith to the people and led them in their journey of faith.

Therefore, all of us are also called to do the same too. The servants of our Lord, all in the order of priesthood, our Pope, the Cardinals, the bishops and all the priests, and even the deacons themselves, be it transitional ones on their journey to the priesthood, or those who have committed themselves to a lifetime of permanent deaconate, all of them need our help, assistance and active participation.

Many of us falsely thought that it is the job and duty of the priesthood and the deacons to serve the people, the poor and the unloved, and that we all in the laity can just sit back and relax while we see these faithful servants of God doing their job. And many of us even criticised them when we thought that they were not doing their ‘supposed’ and ‘expected’ duty.

But do we know that we ourselves also have responsibility and duty as fellow members of God’s Church and community of the faithful? We have to carry out this duty, that is to care and love for each other, and to give what we have more to those who have less or none. The laity formed the vast majority of the faithful, and those who have given themselves to the service of the Lord is just a tiny minority amongst the faithful.

We have to realise that within the Church, there should be clear division of labour. We who have been baptised have also shared in the ministry which God had entrusted to His disciples. Today serves as a reminder for all of us to help one another, and most importantly, to help all the faithful servants of God who had dedicated their time and effort for the cause of us all.

Let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment to our Lord, that inspired by the example of the holy deacons, especially that of St. Stephen, who worked hard and zealously to spread the Good News of Christ until his death, as the first martyr of the Faith, we too may grow to serve the Lord in ever more ways and devote ourselves ever more to Him. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Saturday, 18 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 16-21

At that time, after the feeding of the five thousand, when evening came, the disciples went down to the shore. After a while they got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the sea, for it was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.

But the sea was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing. They had rowed about three or four miles, when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and He was drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, but He said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!”

They wanted to take Him into the boat, but immediately the boat was at the shore to which they were going.

by

Saturday, 18 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 32 : 1-2, 4-5, 18-19

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are just, praise is fitting for the upright. Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises.

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.

by

Saturday, 18 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 6 : 1-7

In those days, as the number of disciples grew, the so called Hellenists complained against the so called Hebrews, because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So the Twelve summoned the whole body of disciples together and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God to serve at tables. So, friends, choose from among yourselves seven respected men full of Spirit and wisdom, that we may appoint them to this task. As for us, we shall give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”

The whole community agreed and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and Holy Spirit; Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenus and Nicolaus of Antioch who was a proselyte. They presented these men to the Apostles who first prayed over them and then laid hands upon them.

The Word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly and even many priests accepted the faith.