Easter Vigil Mass

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Sunday, 13 May 2018 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday and Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we celebrate the seventh Sunday in the season of Easter. Therefore, in just one week’s time we will come to the celebration of the Solemnity of the Pentecost, and mark the end of this holy season of Easter. I hope that for all of us Christians, each and every one of us have made good use of this particularly blessed season to deepen our faith in God.

On this Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Church also commemorate the occasion of the World Communications Sunday. On this occasion, we remember the important command that the Lord gave to all of us, His disciples and followers, that we are to go forth to the peoples of all the nations, testifying our faith and belief in the Lord, Who has come upon this world to save us, by His death on the cross and by His resurrection.

And in order to be able to do that, of course, each one of us as Christians must know how to communicate. Then, many of us surely wonder, ‘Ah, but I know how to talk well!’ or ‘Ah, it is not a problem for me at all, for I am a good speaker and I can persuade people very well!’. Yet, do we actually know what communication is truly about, brothers and sisters in Christ? Is it all about talking and how well we can speak and talk to others?

No, that is not all, brothers and sisters. Good communicators are also good listeners, just as they are good speakers. And they are also usually good thinkers and contemplators. One cannot communicate properly, if one just speak right off from his or her mouth, without first thinking about it or contemplating what he or she is about to say. Otherwise, very easily the person could have gotten into trouble for what he or she had said, as those words had not been carefully thought of.

And if someone is quick to talk, and yet also refuse to listen, then he or she is also not a good communicator. That is because we will then find ourselves in a situation where we will end up misunderstand the intentions of each other. We will also not be able to communicate well, as if each side of the people in communication insist that they be heard first, and refuse to listen to the other person’s opinion, very quickly it will end up in a struggle and even conflict.

Unfortunately, that is who we often are, and that is how we also often act, and that was how wars have been started, conflicts and destruction of human lives, just because we failed to communicate well. People misunderstood each other’s intentions from time to time, and unless we make the effort to learn from our past mistakes, the same problems and mistakes are likely to arise again and again.

Then, brothers and sisters in Christ, do we realise that there are many ways we can communicate, more than just by words? Verbal speeches and words are just one way through which we are able to communicate with another person. There are many other ways through which we can convey what we want another person to know, that is through gestures and actions. Unfortunately, the same can also be said of our actions that are in fact contrary to what we are saying.

What do I mean by saying that, brethren? It means that as Christians, just as I have mentioned earlier that we are all called by God to be His witnesses to all the nations, to all the peoples, we cannot just depend on our words alone. It is often that actions carry much greater weight than words, and it is such that words that are not backed by concrete actions are often considered empty and meaningless.

And unfortunately, in our actions and in how we carry out our lives, we often did not do as what our faith said that we should do in our lives. Just as St. John in his Epistle, our second reading today said to the faithful, we are all called to love God and love one another, with all of our hearts, and with all of our efforts. And yet, how many of us actually truly love God with all of our hearts? How many of us actually prioritises God over all the other things we have in life?

The reality is that for many of us Christians, we tend to put God aside in our lives, as we are often too busy and too caught up in our worldly dealings and matters, to the point that we forget about God, and we only remember Him, if we even remember Him, in times when we are in need of His help. And when things start to go better once again for us, we forget to thank Him and we continue in our usual busy lifestyle and push Him aside once again.

And how about our love for our fellow men? Many of us Christians profess to be members of God’s Church, and yet, in our actions and interactions with one another, many of us do things that are anything but showing love for each other. How many of us, in our respective parishes and communities, often fall into the tendency and the bad habit of gossiping against each other, against fellow laity, and even against the priests? And even amongst the priests, sometimes we also see division and unpleasantness between each other.

Now, let me ask you all a question, brothers and sisters in Christ. If we want to communicate to those whom we intend to preach the message of the Good News of God, how can we then, in our own respective lives and actions, do things that are contrary to what we preach and what we believe? How can people believe in us, if we ourselves do not do as we say, and if we do not show that we truly believe in our faith, through action?

If we have done all these, then we are no better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. They were hypocrites, just as we are. The Lord Jesus Himself said to the people, ‘Listen to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, but do not imitate them in what they were doing’. Through this, the Lord rebuked those who claim to believe, and yet, their actions show completely different fact altogether.

And why did all these things happen to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because we are not a good communicator, and we need to learn to be good communicators. We are often people who are easy to talk and give words out of our mouths, but we find it hard to act in the same manner, because we do not truly mean what we say, and we often do not think and discern before we say something.

This is where, we need to reflect on what we have just heard in our Gospel passage today, which is the prayer which Our Lord Jesus made, and addressed to His Father in heaven, for the sake of all of His disciples. He prayed for them to His Father, that He would keep them safe and protect them, and guide them, and make them to remain united as one people, as one body together, which St. John in his Epistle also elaborated further, that the love of God has dwelled in us, through His Holy Spirit.

But many of us often do not realise this, as we are often too distracted by the many things and concerns we have in this world. We do not spend enough time in prayer, and prayer is a very important part of our Christian life. The Lord Jesus often spent time in quiet places to pray to His Father, and we saw it in many occasions throughout the Gospels. He maintained a close and loving relationship with His Father, listening to Him and obeying His will.

And by that action, He has also shown us all as Christians, how we ought to devote ourselves to God through prayer. It is also important that we know how to pray in the right manner. Many of us think that our prayers have to follow a certain formula or that by saying longer and more concise prayers, our prayers will then be answered, or we can gain more from what we have prayed for.

However, it is too often that many of us are again not good communicators in this case, as we end up spending all the time talking and making our demands and desires known to the Lord, without allowing ourselves to hear the will of God, and we shut ourselves off from the word of God, speaking softly in the depths of our hearts and within our minds. We end up speaking all the time and not allowing God to speak to us. In this manner, we have failed in our communication to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to realise that each and every one of our prayers are actually meant to be communication between us and God. And as in any proper communication, it should be two-way in nature, allowing both parties involved to speak and to listen at the appropriate time. The problem is, as mentioned, we do not listen enough, and we demand that God listen to our demands, when we do not even open our hearts and minds to listen to His will.

May the Lord therefore, allow our hearts and minds, our senses to be open to God. If we have often been distracted and swayed from the path that God has shown us, then perhaps it is time now for us to turn wholeheartedly and completely towards God, with all of our hearts and with all of our minds. Let us all develop a good and working spiritual relationship with God, that we may come to know His will for us, and He may draw us ever closer to Him, with each and every passing day.

May we grow to be good communicators, that is, with the wisdom which the Holy Spirit has given us, we may be good listeners just as we are good speakers, and through the same wisdom, may we all discern and think carefully through all the things that we want to convey and say to others, that we may say them with grace, truth and charity. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 May 2018 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday and Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 17 : 11b-19

At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “Holy Father, keep those You have given Me in Your Name, so that they may be one, as we also are. When I was with them, I kept them safe in Your Name; and not one was lost, except the one who was already lost, and in this, the Scripture was fulfilled. And now I come to You; in the world I speak these things, so that those whom You gave Me, might have joy – all My joy within themselves.”

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world, I do not ask You to remove them from the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.”

“I have sent them into the world as You sent Me into the world; and for their sake, I go to the sacrifice by which I am consecrated, so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”

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Sunday, 13 May 2018 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday and Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 11-16

Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love comes to its perfection in us.

How may we know that we live in God and He in us? Because God has given us His Spirit. We ourselves have seen, and declare, that the Father sent His Son to save the world. Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them, and they in God.

We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is love. The one who lives in love, lives in God and God in him.

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Sunday, 13 May 2018 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday and Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.

YHVH has set His throne in heaven; He rules; He has power everywhere. Praise YHVH, all you His Angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding.

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Sunday, 13 May 2018 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday and Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 15-17, 20a, 20c-26

It was during this time that Peter stood up in the midst of the community – about one hundred and twenty in all – and he said, “Brothers, it was necessary that the Scriptures referring to Judas be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had spoken through David about the one who would lead the crowd coming to arrest Jesus. He was one of our number and had been called to share our common ministry.”

“In the Book of Psalms it is written : ‘May another take his office.’ Therefore, we must choose someone from among those who were with us during all the time that the Lord Jesus moved about with us, beginning with John’s baptism until the day when Jesus was taken away from us. One of these has to become, with us, a witness to His resurrection.”

Then they proposed two : Joseph, called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. They prayed : “You know, Lord, what is in the hearts of all. Show us, therefore, which of the two You have chosen to replace Judas in this Apostolic ministry which he deserted to go to the place he deserved.”

Then they drew lots between the two and the choice fell on Matthias who was added to the eleven Apostles.

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Sunday, 6 May 2018 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this holy day, the sixth Sunday of the season of Easter, all of us are called to reflect on the one fundamental nature of our faith, and indeed, of Our God, in Whom we believe. And this fundamental nature is indeed so important that it is from which all of our faith came from, and by which, we have been saved. And what I have just spoken about, is love.

In the first reading today, we heard about St. Peter the Apostle, who went to visit the house of a Roman citizen named Cornelius, who together with his family greeted the Apostle and asked about the Christian faith. They wanted to believe in the Lord Jesus, and they listened to the teachings of the Apostle St. Peter, whom God also called to visit their house. They became believers, and received the Holy Spirit as St. Peter himself witnessed.

This is a very important event in the early Church, which was then divided between those who wanted to impose strict Jewish laws and discipline, and in fact, wanted the faith to be kept within the Jews only, as they believed that salvation was given only to the Jewish people, the direct descendants of Abraham, as God’s chosen people, and those who believe that the Lord did not restrict salvation from being given to the non-Jewish people, and in fact, as He had commanded, wanted everyone to be saved, and to follow Him.

And the Lord showed St. Peter, and the other Church fathers and elders, how He desired for the salvation of all mankind, for all of the race of men have been chosen by God, out of His love for all of them. When He showed a vision to St. Peter earlier prior to his visit to the house of Cornelius, in which a multitude of unclean animals according to the Jewish tradition was presented to St. Peter as food as commanded by God, and upon his refusal, God said to him that ‘what God has decreed to be clean, you cannot say to be unclean.’

This is related to what we heard in the Gospel today, as the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “I shall not call you servants anymore, but I shall call you friends.” Through this, God revealed to us His true intention and nature. In the Old Testament, God was always portrayed as a mighty and angry God, Who is always ready to punish His people whenever they erred or turned against Him. But in reality, He did all of those because He loved His people.

Otherwise, why would God love those people who have rebelled against Him, disobeyed His commandments and laws? God did not intend for all of us to suffer difficulty and hardships in this world, as if we read the Book of Genesis, we should see how God intended for us all to live in perfect bliss and harmony, in eternal happiness with Him, as God had intended with Adam and Eve, our first ancestors in the Gardens of Eden.

Alas, our ancestors disobeyed God’s commandments and followed the lies of Satan instead, believing more in his sweet false promises rather than to obey the Lord, Who has given us His love so much, that He gave us everything in this world to be our own. Instead, we were banished out of Eden into the suffering of this world, and we came under the thralldom and tyranny of sin.

God could have destroyed us right there and then, and He could have crushed us, as He Who created us surely could also destroy us with the mere projection of His will. However, that was not what God has done. Instead, He called us to return to Him, beginning with the sons and daughters of Abraham, His faithful servant, and then by giving them His Law and commandments, the Ten Commandments.

But the people continued to sin and refused to obey Him, and instead, worshipping pagan gods and idols, performing what were wicked in God’s sight, by their unjust treatment of their peers and fellow men, they disgusted God and made Him to be angry at them. But that was not the true nature of God. God was angry at His people, because of their disobedience and their sins. It was these wickedness that God was angry with them for, but not because of themselves as human beings.

What does it mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that God ultimately still loves us all, even though we are sinful and wicked in our deeds. However, it is these sins and wickedness which have separated us from Him, and which then prompted God to do what He had to do, in order to save us all from certain destruction because of those unrepented and unsettled sins.

And in this day’s Gospel passage, the Lord Jesus made it clear what He would do in order to fulfil the promise He has made to us mankind, that He would love us again and reconcile us to Himself, freeing us from our sins. He has considered us to be His friends, as those who are truly dear to Him. And what would Jesus do to His friends? In another Gospel passage, He said, “There is no greater love for someone than for him to lay down his life for a friend.”

That is exactly what the Lord has done, by voluntarily accepting the cross, as a punishment for all of our sins, the whole sum of the consequences that should have fallen unto us mankind, and yet, God willingly took all of them upon His own shoulders, and bore them on the way to Calvary, and He was crucified on it. He endured an unimaginably immense pain and sorrow, suffering and torture on the Cross, but He bore it all patiently.

And that is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Cross is the concrete and undeniable proof of God’s ultimate love for each and every one of us. God has loved us so much, that He did not only give us His only Son, through Whom He created us, the Word of God, made incarnate into the flesh of Man, but, in fact, through His singular act of perfect love and completely selfless sacrifice, He gave Himself up and His life, so that, by that loving act, He redeemed us all from our sins.

Now we have seen just how wonderful and amazing God’s love for us is. He has loved us all from the very beginning, and He wants to continue to love us. But unfortunately, many of us have not loved Him in the same manner. This is what God wants from each one of us, that we all love Him just as He has loved us first, and then we ought to show this love in our action and interactions with one another. That is the true essence of God’s commandments and Law.

Yet, how many of us truly love God in our hearts? How many of us put God as the priority in our lives? Instead of loving Him, we spent far more time worrying about our worldly concerns, about our career, our possessions and material wealth, about our relationships and concerns of the flesh? How many of us only remember God when we have need and we demand that God do something for us?

If we truly love God, then we cannot act in this manner. True love for God does not mean for us to just superficially be faithful to Him. Many of those Pharisees who obeyed the numerous rules and regulations of the Jewish customs seemed to be obedient to the Lord, but they did not love Him, for their love was for worldly power and influence, for their own satisfaction and pleasure, and not God.

How about us? Haven’t many of us been doing the same thus far? We are so busy and so preoccupied trying to accumulate for ourselves all these things, that we end up forgetting about God and about our obligation to Him. And then, we have also often forgotten about our obligation, to show the same love to our fellow brethren. Instead, we end up backstabbing others, being angry and jealous at others, desiring what others have and what we do not.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, all of us are called to be true agents of love, that is the pure love which God has shown us, unconditional and selfless. Then, what is it that we need to do? We should begin to practice genuine love in our daily lives, by showing care and concern to those who are around us, forgiving those who have wronged us, and helping even strangers who need our help.

Let us not be prejudiced on others based on racial or national background, just as God Himself has not prejudiced against us, and love us all equally all the same. He has shown this to St. Peter, and by calling all the Gentiles, all the peoples from every nation, He wants to show us that He loves all mankind equally, and we too, should do the same with our own lives and in how we interact with our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, all children of the one and same God.

By doing these things, then we will grow stronger in our love for God, as we truly now internalise and appreciate the same love which He Himself has given us from the cross, and which we imitate in our own actions to one another. In this way then, we will grow ever more faithful to Him, and draw ever closer to Him. Let us all pray then, brothers and sisters, that God will always be with us, loving is as He has always done, and may He guide us in our lives, that we may love Him all the more, with each and every passing day. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 6 May 2018 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 9-17

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

“I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

“I shall not call you servants any more, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father. You did not choose Me; it was I Who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you.”

“This is My command, that you love one another.”

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Sunday, 6 May 2018 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 7-10

My dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves, is born of God and knows God. Those who do not love have not known God, for God is love.

How did the love of God appear among us? God sent His only Son into this world, that we might have life, through Him. This is love : not that we loved God, but that, He first loved us and sent His Son, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

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Sunday, 6 May 2018 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.

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Sunday, 6 May 2018 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 10 : 25-26, 34-35, 44-48

As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius went to him, fell on his knees and bowed low. But Peter lifted him up saying, “Stand up, for I, too, am a human being.”

Peter then spoke to them, “Truly, I realise that God does not show partiality, but in all nations He listens to everyone who fears God and does good.”

Peter was still speaking when the Holy Spirit came upon all who listened to the word. And the believers of Jewish origin who had come with Peter were amazed, “Why! God gives and pours the Holy Spirit on foreigners also!” For indeed, this happened : they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter declared, “Can we refuse to baptise with water these people, who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have?” So he had them baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ. After that, they asked him to remain with them for some days.