Friday

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Friday, 11 May 2018 : 6th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 18 : 9-18

One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are Mine. I am with you, so no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.

When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the court. And they accused him, “This man tries to persuade us to worship God in ways that are against the Law.”

Paul was about to speak in his own defence when Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your complaint. But since this is a quarrel about teachings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to it yourselves : I refuse to judge such matters.”

Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention to it. Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.

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Friday, 4 May 2018 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the continuation of the earlier story about the struggle of the Jewish and non-Jewish factions in the early Church, as recounted from the Acts of the Apostles. In that account, we see how the Apostles mediated the two factions, and found an ideal solution, the middle way between both factions’ ideas and desires.

The Jewish faction wanted a strict observation of the Jewish law, even among the Christians of non-Jewish background. This made difficulties in the work of evangelisation among the Greeks and the other Gentiles, as some of the provisions of the Jewish law were difficult to be followed by the non-Jewish peoples due to the cultural differences and practices.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles wanted a relaxation of the laws and the rules pertaining to the Jewish customs and tradition, not requiring those Christians of non-Jewish origins to follow those rules and regulations. Instead, as long as the faithful, those who have been newly baptised, obeyed all the rules and commandments as stipulated by the Church elders, which were much simpler and meaningful than the extensive Jewish traditions, then that would have been enough.

The dispute went on to the Apostles, who came together with the entire Church to settle the issue once and for all. They prayed to God over the matter, asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to be with them in their decision-making, and they decided that all the faithful, regardless of their prior background or customs, must adhere to a set of basic and fundamental rules, essentially, what the Lord has revealed to His disciples, as the true Law He has given us.

And this, is what the Christian faithful were exhorted to believe, and not the additional rules which became a burden to the faithful people of God. The Apostles agreed that the faithful should not be burdened by additional rules and regulations which have no meaningful impact on the genuine faith life as expected of all Christians, and this was the decision which was relayed to the entire Church at the time.

All of these ultimately redirected the focus of the Christian faith, back to what we have heard in today’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus said to His disciples, “Love one another just as I have loved you.” In that short sentence, the Lord Jesus summarised essentially all that is meant for us to be a good and faithful Christian, that is by obeying God’s commandments and laws, the Commandments of Love.

For love must be at the centre of every Christian persons, and at the very heart of our faith. Otherwise, our faith and indeed, our life is empty and meaningless, for God is not inside our hearts and beings. First of all, of course, we must love the Lord our God, with all of our heart, with all of our strength and capability, doing our best to focus ourselves on Him and do everything for the greater glory of His Name. This is the first and foremost thing that all of us as Christians must do.

If we do not love God, then of course we cannot call ourselves as Christians. And yet, that is what many of us often do in our lives. How is that so? Let us just see at how we often lived out our lives, in our daily actions, and in all that we do. We often spend so much time trying to attain for ourselves earthly pleasures and satisfactions, that we end up forgetting about God and putting Him aside, in our seeking of power, of wealth, of worldly pleasures and satisfaction?

And then, if we do love God, then we have to show it in our interactions with one another, for each and every one of us are God’s children, the ones whom He loves. If God loves each and every one of us, then how can we not love one another as well? If we hate someone, would it not mean then that we do not love God as well? For surely God also loves the one whom we hate or are angry with?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are therefore called to fulfil our Christian obligation to love, and to serve the Lord with love. Let us all from now on, if we have not done so, love the Lord our God and put Him at the centre of our lives and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. And then, let us all love each other, just as we have loved God, and just as He has first loved us all.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He bless all of our endeavours, so that in all the things we do, we will always be blessed and be filled with God’s grace and love. May God bless all of us, and walk with us, all the days of our lives. Amen.

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Friday, 4 May 2018 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 12-17

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “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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Friday, 4 May 2018 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 56 : 8-9, 10-12

My heart is steadfast, o God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul, awake, o harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, o Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praise to You among the nations. For Your love reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness, to the clouds.

Be exalted, o God, above the heavens! Let Your Glory be over all the earth!

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Friday, 4 May 2018 : 5th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 15 : 22-31

Then the Apostles and elders together with the whole Church decided to choose representatives from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. These were Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers. They took with them the following letter :

“Greetings from the Apostles and elders, your brothers, to the believers of non-Jewish birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We have heard that some persons from among us have worried you with their discussions and troubled your peace of mind. They were not appointed by us.”

“But now, it has seemed right to us in an assembly, to choose representatives and to send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have dedicated their lives to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. We send you then Judas and Silas who themselves will give you these instructions by word of mouth.”

“We, with the Holy Spirit, have decided not to put any other burden on you except what is necessary : You are to abstain from blood from the meat of strangled animals and from prohibited marriages. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

After saying goodbye, the messengers went to Antioch, where they assembled the community and handed them the letter. When they read the news, all were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.

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Friday, 27 April 2018 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the continuation of St. Paul’s testimony before the Jewish community in a synagogue, which was recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. In that testimony of faith, St. Paul mentioned how God had continued to show His love and mercy to His people, sending help after help to them through time, culminating in the coming of the Messiah, Who was promised to them.

But many of the people refused to acknowledge Him or to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. Indeed, there were many of those who plotted to have Him destroyed and viewed Him as a threat to their own position and authority within the society. These included the Pharisees and many among the priests and the elders of the people. In the end, not only that they refused to believe in the Lord, but they arrested Him, levied false charges against Him and crucified Him.

Yet, having known all that would have happened to Him, the Lord Jesus continued on regardless with His mission, and He faced the challenges and oppositions courageously, knowing that by His obedience and by His commitment, He would save the people of God, and rescue them from their sins. That He would also do, even to all those who have wronged Him and rejected Him.

That was why, if we remember, the Lord Jesus, as He laid crucified on the cross at Calvary, prayed even for His very enemies and persecutors, asking His heavenly Father not to take into account what they had done on that day, for ‘they did not know what they were doing’. He forgave them, even after all that they had done, fulfilling what He Himself had taught His disciples, to forgive their enemies and to pray for those who have persecuted them.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, what is the significance of these things to ourselves? How can these be relevant to us? Indeed, it is important that in order to appreciate and fully understand what we have heard today, that we reflect on our own lives and actions thus far. And let us all ask ourselves this question, how have we lived our lives as Christians all these while? Have we truly believed in the Lord as we should have?

The reality is that, for many of us, we have not been living a true Christian lifestyle, as we often put our own worldly desires and concerns ahead of our obligations and responsibilities as Christians. We often forget about God and we only remember Him whenever we are in need of something, a favour from Him, and once we get what we wanted, we often quickly turn away from God and forget Him yet again.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why many of us are at the moment, merely Christians by formality only, as we do not truly embody our Christian faith in our actions and in our dealing with one another. Rather, we are like the Pharisees and the elders who rejected the Lord, doubting Him and turning their hearts from Him. We spurned His love because we love ourselves too much, and we are too engrossed in our own concerns that we forget how much God has loved us.

How often do we pray to the Lord? And how many of us always think that we do not have the time for Him? That is because God did not occupy a place of greatest honour in our hearts, as we all really should have done. When we are so self-centred and thinking only about ourselves, then it is easy for Satan to enter into our hearts and tempt us with all sorts of things that will prevent us from realising God’s presence and love in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not the way that we must be taking in our lives. No, definitely it cannot be the path we walk through. Let us all remember that God must be the centre and the focus of our lives, as without God, truly we are nothing, and our existence mean nothing. Remember, that we have initially been doomed to an eternity of suffering and annihilation because of our sins, but God chose to allow us to escape that fate, because He loves us all.

Let us all from now on, devote ourselves anew to our God, remembering just how much He loved us all, to the point of accepting death, death on the cross, for our sake. And just as He has risen into glory, He wants us all to share in His glory as well, through our faith in Him, and by the virtue of our baptism and by our genuine and honest Christian life, that we may be saved.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen our faith within us, that we will grow ever more devout and more committed as Christians, day after day. May the Lord bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 27 April 2018 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 1-6

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not be troubled! Trust in God and trust in Me! In My Father’s house there are many rooms; otherwise, I would not have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to Me, so that where I am, you also may be. Yet you know the way where I am going.”

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

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Friday, 27 April 2018 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 2 : 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

“Behold the King I have installed, in Zion, upon My holy hill!” I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You.”

“Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall rule them with iron sceptre and shatter them as a potter’s vase.”

Now therefore, learn wisdom, o kings; be warned, o rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and fall at His feet; lest He be angry and you perish when His anger suddenly flares. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

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Friday, 27 April 2018 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 26-33

Paul said to the Jews in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia, “Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent. It is a fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognise Jesus.”

“Yet in condemning Him, they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath but not understood. Even though they found no charge against Him that deserved death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. And after they have carried out all that had been written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.”

But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days thereafter He showed Himself to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They have now become His witnesses before the people. We ourselves announce to you this Good News : All that God promised our ancestors, He has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus, according to what is written in the second psalm : You are My Son, this day I have begotten You.”

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Friday, 20 April 2018 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the story of the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, the one who was once Saul, a great enemy of the Church and the bane of many of the faithful in the earliest days of the Church, and yet, later on would become the greatest champion and defender of the faith. St. Paul’s story of conversion to the faith is truly an inspiration to all of us.

Why is that so? That is because we are all sinners like St. Paul, and we have once been without hope and wicked, just as Saul had been. We may think that we are unworthy of God, and that we are far away from God and His salvation. But we should not forget the fact that God wants each and every one of us to be saved, by accepting the forgiveness and mercy He has given us freely and generously.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what God has wanted to do with us, to love us and to reconcile us to Himself. And He has done it through the ultimate giving of Himself, that He gave us everything, even His very own life. From the cross came outpoured the gift of ultimate love and grace, by the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb of God, the giving of His own Flesh and Blood, the Living Bread that came down from heaven.

That is what the Lord meant when He said in our Gospel passage today, that He is the Living Bread, by Whom all of us mankind, God’s own beloved people, would be saved and receive eternal life. He gave us through the Apostles and their successors, His Real Presence in the Eucharist, that in the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, the bread and the wine we offer, become truly the Body and Blood of Our Lord, which we then partake as one family of the Church.

The Lord Himself has chosen to dwell among us, as one of us, sharing our humanity, and now, He has chosen to commit Himself even deeper, by choosing to dwell within us, as we partake His Real Presence, His Body and Blood, and thus, the Lord Himself is in us, in our bodies, our minds, our hearts, in our whole being. We are therefore, God’s Holy Temple, as St. Paul himself had written in one of his Epistles.

And because of that, we need to be aware that we have to do our best to make ourselves worthy to be God’s own dwelling house. The Temple of God in Jerusalem at the time of Solomon was decorated with the most precious metals and riches of the world, just as it was at the time of Jesus, to show just how glorious God was, and how mighty He was, and that we mankind were trying our best to glorify Him in whatever way we could do.

Then, should it not be the same with each one of us? As Christians who have received baptism, and shared in the same Body and Blood given to us by Our Lord Jesus, all of us are God’s Holy Temple, in the entirety of our being, our bodies, our minds, hearts and souls. Yet, many of us treat our body and our being with such contempt and lack of respect for its status as God’s Temple and dwelling amongst us.

Therefore, we are all called, that from now on, we may do our best in order to treat ourselves and our whole being as God’s worthy House, dwelling in us by the Real Presence in the Eucharist which we partake together at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Let us all follow in the footsteps of St. Paul the Apostle, who devoted all of his time to serve the Lord, turning away from all of his sinful ways and past history of persecuting the people of God.

Let us all remember that there is always hope for all of us sinners, as long as we are willing to accept the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy in our lives. Let us all commit ourselves to good and honest Christian lives from now on, turning our attention fully to the Lord. May He be with us always, and may He continue to guide our actions and bless us all the days of our lives. Amen.