Fourth Sunday of Easter

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded of the mission entrusted to us by God, the mission to evangelise and proclaim the word of God in our respective communities, in our lives and to all those whom we encounter in life, that we may faithfully proclaim our Lord, His truth and love in our best ability, dedicating our time and effort to reach out to those who have not yet known or understood the salvation that God has presented before us. Each and every one of us share the same mission that God has entrusted to His Church, and as the members of the Church, we are charged with the works that God had made us sharers in.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we are all presented with the works that St. Paul and St. Barnabas did among the people of God, and their missionary efforts and works, as they were entrusted by the Twelve Apostles and leaders of the Church with the mission of evangelisation, building up the Church communities all across the Mediterranean. The Twelve Apostles laid their hands on both St. Paul and St. Barnabas, praying over them and granting them the guidance of the Holy Spirit, entrusting to them the ministry of preaching and spreading the Good News to the people who have not yet heard of the Lord.

They were sent to continue the good works of the Lord, much as how the Lord Himself had been sent into this world and entrusted with the mission to reconcile the whole world and all mankind to their loving Father. In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Himself speaking of this mission which He has embarked on, as He was sent by His Father to reveal the truth and love of God to everyone. God has given us His Son, that He will become our Saviour and lead us to the eternal life and true happiness that He has promised all those who believed in Him and placed their trust in Him.

The Lord Jesus reiterated again that He was sent into this world to call all the lost sheep of the Lord, all those who have sinned, which is all of us mankind, and have been separated from God, to bring us back to His loving embrace and to reunite us with Him by His infinite and enduring love. He has willingly embraced us all sinners, that by His compassion, mercy and love, all of us may find our way back to Him, and be saved from our fated destruction. For God’s love for each one of us surpasses even the anger He has for our sins and wickedness. But we cannot remain in that sin as if we remain in the state of sin, we will eventually be judged for those sins and be found wanting and unworthy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians all of us are called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, like what St. Paul and St. Barnabas had done in the past, in doing their best and committing their whole lives glorifying the Lord and proclaiming His truth among the people of God. They showed many people the truth of the Lord and called on many to follow the Lord, and many became believers because of what they had done, the love and concern that they had shown to the people longing for the truth, the patience that they showed and the kindness they exhibited even against those who have rejected their message and persecuted them for their faith.

It is these faithful Apostles and disciples whom we ought to emulate in our own lives and actions. All of us are called to be God’s missionaries in every possible opportunity, to be the bearers and beacons of His light to the people of all the nations. And we should not think that missionaries are only limited to those who dedicated themselves as missionaries, in serving the people and in proclaiming the faith in far-off and distant lands. While there are indeed those who have been called and responded with the willingness to do such a vocation in life, but each and every Christians also share the same mission through the Church which I had mentioned earlier.

Each one of us as Christians share this same responsibility to be good role models for each other, so that we may inspire others around us, our own fellow brothers and sisters, to walk in the same path that we have walked and therefore become God’s followers as well. The Apostles, saints and martyrs had done that, and we therefore should commit ourselves to this same mission that God had given us. We ought to do our best, even in the smallest and simplest matters, to be exemplary in our words, actions and deeds so that others who see us and witness our works and actions may be touched by God through us, and may become believers as well.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey of faith, and may He empower each one of us to be committed disciples and followers, to be good Christians by our good and faithful lives. May more and more people and souls be called ever closer to God from now on, always and evermore, following in the leadership and guidance from our Good Shepherd. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 12 : 44-50

At that time, yet Jesus had said, and even cried out, “Whoever believes in Me, believes not in Me, but in Him Who sent Me. And whoever sees Me, sees Him Who sent Me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness.”

“If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I am not the One to condemn him; for I have come, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me, and does not receive My word, already has a judge : the very word I have spoken will condemn him on the last day.”

“For I have not spoken on My own authority; the Father, Who sent Me, has instructed Me in what to say and how to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life, and that is why the message I give, I give as the Father instructed Me.”

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 6 and 8

May God be gracious and bless us, may He let His face shine upon us, that Your way be known on earth and Your salvation among the nations.

May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with justice and guide the nations of the world.

May the people praise You, o God, may all the peoples praise You! May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 12 : 24 – Acts 13 : 5a

Meanwhile the word of God was increasing and spreading. Barnabas and Saul carried out their mission and then came back to Jerusalem, taking with them John also called Mark.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul.

On one occasion while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.” So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

These then, sent by the Holy Spirit, went down the port of Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. Upon their arrival in Salamis they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogue.

by

Tuesday, 10 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of the works of the Lord and His Apostles, through which many people had been saved from the threat of eternal damnation and hell. Through the many works that God has done through His Son, His saving works and through the Church that He has established in this world, the Lord has gathered many of His beloved ones back to Himself, as a Good Shepherd Who truly loves His sheep. He has entrusted to us His Church, to be the shining beacon of His light and truth to the nations.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to the Jewish people who questioned and doubted Him, and whom despite having seen His many miracles and having heard His teachings, wisdom and words still refused to believe and acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is truly the Messiah and Holy One of God. They had seen and witnessed everything the Lord had done, and yet they failed to realise the truth behind all that they had seen and heard. The Lord told them all that His sheep and flock knew Him and would answer His call, Him being the Good Shepherd of all, and all those whom the Lord had called and believed in Him would come to His presence.

This means that as long as those people refused to accept the truth and open their hearts and minds to the Lord, His love and truth, no matter how the Lord had done, how many miracles He performed and all the truths and wisdom that He has spoken about, all these would not mean anything to them unless they were willing to let go of their pride and ego, turning away from their worldly desires and attachments, and all of their stubbornness, then they cannot be those counted among the people of God, as they voluntarily and knowingly rejected Him despite Him having reached out patiently to them out of love.

Those who believe in God on the other hand will find solace and salvation in God, and as long as they have their faith in God and love for Him in their hearts and minds, they will not be falling into damnation and the Lord will always be with them. He reached out to all the people nonetheless, even those who remained stubborn and had hardened their hearts against Him. The Lord would not abandon any of His beloved children to the very last moment. However, the Lord will also judge us all at the same time at the end, and we will have to answer with either our faith and dedication, or with our sins and wickedness.

In our first reading passage today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the works of the Apostles in spreading the words of God’s truth, His Good News and the message of His salvation to more and more people, establishing Christian communities throughout the places that they had visited. We heard how the disciples of the Lord went to the various places throughout the region, serving the Lord and the mission entrusted to them. They carried on the works that the Lord had begun, following in the footsteps of the Lord, Who as the Good Shepherd has willed to gather us all, the lost sheep of His flock.

The Apostles like St. Paul and St. Barnabas, and the Twelve Apostles all dedicated their time and effort to proclaim God’s truth and calling on more and more people to believe in Him. They built up vibrant and expanding community and family of believers which as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles passage today, were called as Christians, those who believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, just as exactly who we are today. We are all Christians because we believe in Christ, in all of His truth and love, in the message of His Good News and the eternal life that He has promised all of us.

And we are called to continue the great works that had been done, as there are still many opportunities and areas where there are still in need of the work of evangelisation, with many people, many souls, the lost sheep of the Lord who are still in need of reconciliation with their Shepherd and Guide, our Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd. We have to continue the works of the Apostles, in proclaiming the truth of God to more and more people all around the world. And we should be inspired by the examples set by St. John of Avila, whose feast we are celebrating today.

St. John of Avila was a great missionary and priest who had dedicated much of his life to the evangelisation to the people in southern regions of what is today Spain, the region of Andalusia, preaching to those who have not truly known God and all those who have followed the false faith and heresies of the past. The great saint spent a lot of time building vibrant communities of the faithful much as how the Apostles had done earlier, and his many writings and works influenced even many more people after his time, calling on them to follow the Lord, their Good Shepherd.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the examples of St. John of Avila, the Apostles and many other saints of God, let us all therefore dedicate ourselves to walk faithfully in the path of God and His love. Let us all seek the Lord and be good role models and examples in our way of life, and may the Lord guide us and strengthen us always, that we may lead others towards Him. May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower us to be great Christians, as those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Good Shepherd, wholeheartedly, at all times. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 10 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 22-30

At that time, the time came for the Feast of the Dedication. It was winter, and Jesus walked back and forth in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him and said to Him, “How long will You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in My Father’s Name proclaim Who I am, but you do not believe because, as I said, you are not My sheep. 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 the Father has given Me is above everything else, and no one can snatch it from out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”

by

Tuesday, 10 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 86 : 1-3, 4-5, 6-7

He Himself has built it in His holy mountain; the Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all of Jacob’s towns. Great things have been foretold of you, o city of God.

Between friends we speak of Egypt and Babylon; and also Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia : “Here so-and-so was born.” But of Zion it shall be said, “More and more are being born in her.” For the Most High Himself has founded her.

And the Lord notes in the people’s register : “All these were also born in Zion.” And all will dance and sing joyfully for You.

by

Tuesday, 10 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 11 : 19-26

Those who had been scattered because of the persecution over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message, but only to the Jews. But there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene among them who, on coming into Antioch, spoke also to the Greeks, giving them the Good News of the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them so that a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favour, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to the Lord; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

by

Monday, 9 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all called to remember that each and every one of us are members of this same one Church, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, belonging to the one Body of Christ, with Christ Himself as the Head, Who is also our Good Shepherd. We are the lambs of the Lord’s flock and we have been called from the world by the Lord and been reunited into this one flock by His guidance and help. And all that are made possible because of His ever enduring love for each one of us, without exception, that even the least of us, and the worst sinners amongst us are called by God to return to Him.

Brothers and sisters, all of us have been separated from God due to sin, and sin is caused by our refusal to obey the Lord and His will. We trust instead in our own human desires and judgments, and we tend to deviate from the path that God has set before us and hence, ended up falling deeper and deeper into the wrong path in life. Yet, God has always ever been patient in reaching out to us, in patiently calling upon us to embrace Him, His compassionate love and mercy, and to be reconciled once again with Him. He, our ever loving Good Shepherd has looked upon each and every one of us, the members of His flock, with love and compassion, with the desire to be reunited with us, as He does not want us to be lost to Him.

That is what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, in the account of the Lord’s discourse to His disciples on the Good Shepherd. We heard the Lord referring to Himself as the Good Shepherd, and how He presaged what He would do Himself to save His flock, that by laying down His life, He has opened for us the path to salvation and eternal life with Him. He revealed to His disciples and hence also to all of us, through the Scriptures, how His love for each one of us is truly ever encompassing, ever present, and He would dedicate Himself to the Covenant He had made with all of us, protecting us and caring for us.

The Lord told all of us that as the Good Shepherd, He is not like that of the other hired men who were paid to look after the sheep, and did not know the sheep well. He made a comparison between what He would do and what those hired men did, as those hired men did not give themselves totally and wholeheartedly to the flock they were entrusted with, fleeing at the first sign of danger. Meanwhile, the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep, and that was what the Lord had done, our of His love for us, when He willingly accepted and shouldered upon Himself the many punishments due for our sins, and lead us all to Himself through His Cross.

For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only begotten Son, so that all those who believe in Him may not perish but have eternal life. Such was the other words the Lord had spoken in another occasion in the Gospels. He came into our midst through His Son, so that by His actions, in gathering us, scattered throughout the world, and He has also reached out to the lost ones, like those who had been branded as sinners and unworthy of God, people like the tax collectors, prostitutes and adulterers, as well as those who had been crippled or afflicted by many diseases, and those possessed by the evil spirits.

Through this, God as our Good Shepherd leads everyone, all sinners back to Himself. He was patient and welcoming even to the Pharisees and many of the teachers of the Law who had constantly disagreed with Him and refused to listen to Him or believe in His truth. The Good Shepherd was patient in going forth, in looking out for His lost sheep, that they may be found once again, and be reconciled fully with Him, and that they all will be worthy to enter into the kingdom of eternal glory and true happiness together with Him. However, as we are also reminded today, the works of the Lord are far from being completed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of how St. Peter spoke to the Jewish Christian converts regarding the matter of the outreach and approach in evangelisation to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people. Quite a few of those Jewish Christians had once belonged to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were very particular in terms of their adherence to the Jewish customs and laws, such as the enforcement of circumcision, the food and dietary prohibitions of the Jewish laws and customs, which would have made it very difficult for the Gentiles to accept the Christian faith or to live as Christians meaningfully.

Hence, St. Peter enlightened those hard-hearted Jewish Christians with the revelation of how God Himself had made known His desire to him, through a vision that he had received regarding the matter, as he saw the vision of a great many food and animals that are considered unclean according to the Jewish laws and customs. Naturally St. Peter refused to eat when the Lord asked him to eat from those food, but God showed and asked him to listen to him three times, and saying that he should not consider what God had deemed to be clean as unclean. This vision, coupled with what St. Peter himself experienced in meeting Cornelius and the other non-Jewish people who were interested in the Christian faith and truth remind us that God truly calls everyone to be His followers, to be gathered and reconciled to Him.

As our Good Shepherd, the Lord wants each and every one of us to find our way back to Him, and He called us all to return to Him and tasked His Church, disciples and servants to bring His salvation to all of the lost sheep of His flock. St. Peter and the other Apostles hence worked hard to spread the word of God and His salvation among the Gentiles just as much as they were labouring amongst the Jewish community. Through them and their successors, many people had managed to find their way back to the Lord, returning to the Holy Mother Church, to God’s loving embrace and forgiving mercy.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have also been called to do the same in our own lives. We are all called to be the ones to lead others to the Lord and His salvation, and in order to do that, we are challenged to live our lives in the most worthy way we can, so that in all things, our lives will reflect the light of God’s truth and love, and inspire many more people to follow Him. Let us all reflect the love and compassion that Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Good Shepherd has shown us. May God be with us always, and may He continue to guide us all through our journey of faith in life, now and always, leading us to the right path. Amen.

by

Monday, 9 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 1-10

Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Not so the hired hand, or any other person who is not the shepherd, and to whom the sheep do not belong. They abandon the sheep as soon as they see the wolf coming; then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep. This is because the hired hand works for pay and cares nothing for the sheep.”

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. Because of this, I give My life for My sheep. I have other sheep which are not of this fold. These I have to lead as well, and they shall listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, since there is one Shepherd.”

“The Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down freely. It is Mine to lay down and to take up again : this mission I received from My Father.”