Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 46 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.
He brings peoples under our dominion and puts nations under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us – the pride of Jacob whom He loves!
God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
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.” And he sent them out of the court.
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, continuing from our discourse yesterday, and continuing with the readings from the Holy Scriptures from yesterday, we heard again about how the Apostles were reassuring those disciples of our Lord who were not of Jewish origin, but instead, belonging to the Greeks, or the Romans and the other peoples collectively known as the Gentiles.
Even though at the earliest days of the Church, most of the faithful were Jews, but very quickly many non-Jews also came to believe in the Lord. They came to join the Church in droves in the many cities, particularly in the places where the Church was to be born and which were to be the foundations of the Universal Church in the years to come. Gentiles eventually rapidly outnumbered the Jews in the number of the faithful and the members of the Church.
Thus, as we have discussed and mentioned it yesterday, the ones among the faithful who wanted to enforce strict discipline in accordance with the laws of Moses and the laws in accordance to the Jewish tradition, namely the Pharisees who became the disciples of our Lord, their idea and argument was rejected as this unnecessarily brought burdens to those who want to believe in God.
Instead, the Apostles made it clear that many of those laws were redundant and unnecessary, and it was such as a result of many hundreds and thousands of years of modification and additions to the original Law passed down to them from Moses, and which Moses himself received from God. The extent of such modification and addition was such that the original meaning, intent and purpose of the Law was lost.
That was why Jesus came into the world, besides to save us, He also revealed the truth once again of His love, and how He has given the Law to help guide mankind to Him, to know of His love, and to love Him unconditionally, and do the same to their fellow brethren, without being buried underneath layers after layers of protocols and difficult commitments.
And thus, it comes now to our responsibility and the task waiting ahead of us, as the Lord has laid it Himself for us. The works of the Apostles are not done, and these have been continuing since the days when the Apostles still walked about and roamed around the earth. But the works of evangelisation, the conversion of sinners, and calling people to the presence of God still continue even to this day, and on the days to come, and the task is placed squarely on our shoulders.
There are still many people who await God’s salvation, and there are still many more souls who are waiting for God’s love and mercy, as well as His forgiveness and blessings. There are many who through our works and commitments to helping them, can find their way out of the darkness of the world and into the light of our God, but all these will require us to stand up and be courageous to take up our crosses, the commitments we have as members of God’s Church.
Today we celebrate the feast day of a great woman and a great saint, St. Catherine of Siena, well renowned since her days and even unto today, for her great zeal and piety, and for her many works in bringing mankind and many souls to salvation in God. St. Catherine of Siena was a member of the Dominican religious order, and she together with St. Francis of Assisi are the patron saints of Italy.
She encountered many visions of our Lord Jesus Christ, which propelled her to commit herself to even more good works among the people of God, through prayers and charity, giving away alms and charity to the poor, the sick and the dying, sometimes even causing annoyance to her own family. But St. Catherine of Siena never stopped doing what she thought was right in the sight of God, and indeed, she helped many on their way to God.
She travelled through many places and helped to inspire many people to follow her example, helping others on their way to Christ, and helped to rejuvenate the faith among the people who have fallen along the way and became lost in the darkness of the world. And ultimately, in her most well-known work, she even managed to push and persuade the Pope himself, who was then in a self-exile in the city of Avignon, away from Rome, to return to the city and the place where he should have been, Rome itself.
The many works of St. Catherine of Siena, and her tireless commitments to the people of God, in bringing about salvation of God to them should become our inspiration, and we should walk in her footsteps. Today therefore, let us pray and let us commit ourselves anew to God, and let us all be ever better disciples of our Lord, finding ways to devote ourselves in love to our brethren around us, and of course to the Lord as well, giving all of our heart’s attention to Him. God bless us all in our endeavours and may He always be with us. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 15 : 12-17
At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “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 anymore, 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.”
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!
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are given the reassurance from God, that He will bring about our salvation, and that He will keep His promise, and bring us from the darkness of this world into the everlasting light of the heavenly glory. And if we are to remain faithful to Him, then surely we will receive all the goods of the heavenly inheritance promised to us.
And yet, many of us have a problem in this matter. Why is this so, brethren in Christ? That is because many of us behave like Thomas, one of the Twelve Apostles of our Lord, who was also known for his doubts and his lack of strong faith. If we read through the Holy Gospels, we would realise just how often it was that Thomas doubted about the Lord Jesus, even though he continued to follow Him regardless.
On one occasion, he criticised Jesus, for wanting to go back to Judea for the case of Lazarus, who died, and whom we know to be resurrected back into life by Jesus. Thomas cynically remarked that as he and the other disciples followed Jesus, they were following Him into trouble and into death, and that they ought to die together with Him.
In another occasion, after Jesus had risen from the dead, we should have known how Thomas doubted that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead and conquered death Himself. And he even blatantly stated that he refused to believe until he saw the Lord Himself and touched the holy wounds with his own hands. And that was what Jesus exactly did, chiding Thomas for his unbelief and lack of faith.
And today we heard another time when Thomas doubted Jesus again, at the Last Supper, when Jesus reassured His disciples that even though they were going to encounter significant difficulties in the days ahead, He would not leave them behind, and that their path forward was clear. The remark of Thomas, as well as his behaviour, either in the passage from the Gospel today or from the other occasions, is a classic example of how mankind tend to often doubt about God’s love for them.
Let us ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ, how many times in our own respective lives, that we have doubted about God, and doubted that He was here with us? How often was it that we doubted that God walked with us, especially when we encountered difficulties and challenges in life? And how many people indeed had abandoned God because they thought that God either had abandoned them or was not at their side?
This is the challenge which God had often warned us about. The devil, Satan and all of his fellow fallen angels would not stay silent or passive while we are attaining our salvation and redemption from the darkness into the light. He and his fellow fallen angels would prowl about seeking the harm for our souls, by trying to pull us out of the path towards God and His salvation.
And there had been many occasions throughout history, when given enough pressure, temptation and threats, suffering and persecution, men were even willing to abandon God for the other pursuits and temptations. And this is what we must resist and avoid. Each and every one of us should remain faithful to our God no matter what.
Therefore, in this season of Easter, let us make the very best of our effort in order to keep one another worthy of the Lord, rejecting all sorts of wickedness and temptations of the evil one, and cast out the darkness from our lives, and endeavour instead and aim for the light of our God. Let us help one another to live our lives faithfully in God, and may God help us in this endeavour. May God keep us in His love, and may we draw ever closer to His saving grace. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 14 : 1-6
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper, “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.”
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 anher suddenly flares. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 13 : 26-33
Paul said to the Jews 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 had 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, today I have begotten You.”
