Friday

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Friday, 24 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan, and World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened from the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to remember once again the Law and commandments of the Lord, and our obligations and responsibilities as Christians in obeying God’s will and in doing what the Lord had entrusted to us and what He had taught us to do. Each and every one of us as Christians must always strive to be truly committed to God in all of our words, actions and deeds, to be great role models and inspirations for one another in the way and the manner that we live our lives, so that by our great examples in life and by our worthy way of life, we may truly embody what believe in as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle in which the Apostle continued with his exhortations to the faithful people of God, as part of his reminders to all of them not to live their lives following the wicked ways and temptations of the world, all of which could lead them astray and prevent them from attaining true happiness, joy and salvation in the Lord. All those worldly temptations and glory, fame and pleasures of the world, the pleasures of the flesh and all sorts of gratification and corruption all may lead us down the slippery slope into the path of sin and evil, out of which we may find it quite difficult to escape. Many of our predecessors had been tempted such and fell away from the path of God’s righteousness and grace.

That was why St. James told the faithful to be truly genuine in their faith, and to be truly committed to God. They should no longer be idle in their faith but be truly committed to God in all things, in everything that they all say and do, so that by their lives, the truth and glory of God may indeed be revealed to all. The Lord has called on all of His beloved people, His followers and disciples to be the bearers of His truth and Good News, and the best way for us to do this and to proclaim the Lord, His Good News and truth is to practice our faith in our everyday living, in our every actions, words, deeds, interactions with one another, down to the smallest things we say and do in each and every moments of our existence. That is our calling and responsibility as Christians.

And St. James in particular made a point in his Epistle, that our faith has to be made alive through our concrete actions and works, for faith that is without works is dead. We are all justified by our faith in the Lord, but this faith cannot be one that is lacking in genuine commitment, love and actions, grounded and based upon the faith that we have in the Lord. Otherwise, if we do not act in the manner that our faith has called us to be like, and if we worse still commit things that are in opposition and contradictory to the Law of God, to His will and commandments, then essentially we are hypocrites, who profess this faith in God, and yet we do not live up to our faith as we should have. This kind of faith is dead, and will not lead us into eternal life and salvation. We must remember that our baptism is not the end of the road but rather the beginning of a new life in Christ, a new journey that is complete with its various trials and challenges.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Mark where the Lord was in a deep discussion with the members of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were debating about the matter of marriage and divorce according to the Law of Moses. We heard how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law tested and debated the Lord on the matter of marriage and divorce, because according to the Law of God revealed through Moses and the commandments and laws provided with it, divorce was allowed as long as the necessary proceedings were done. But the Lord rebuked those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, telling them all that they had essentially twisted the purpose, meaning and intention of the Law. What Moses did in making compromises at that time to accommodate the stubbornness of the Israelites had become an excuse for the people of God to disobey God by using the technicalities of the Law.

Essentially, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord Jesus wanted to remind not just the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, but also all of us as Christians, that we all should not end up being superficial in our faith, but rather we must truly be genuine in believing everything that the Lord has taught us. Many among the Pharisees at that time had become too legalistic and literal in their interpretation and application of the Law of God, choosing to focus on the details and rituals involved in the Law and the customs of the people of God, but forgetting why those laws and customs were made in the first place. It is again like those who profess to believe in something and yet act in a different manner, which is why the Lord Jesus often criticised many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as hypocrites. As Christians, we must remember that our every actions and commitments are important in ensuring that we truly are living our lives with true and living, genuine and vibrant faith in God.

Today, the Church celebrates the event of the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, as well as Our Lady of Sheshan, who is the celebrated form of Mary Help of Christians popularised by the pilgrim site of Sheshan Basilica in the area of Shanghai. This site of Sheshan Basilica today, also known as the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians, was built where the early Christian missionaries established themselves in China during the time when China began to open itself to the outside world after years of severely restricting the activities of Christian missionaries. About a century and a half ago, Catholic missionaries began working in and around Shanghai area, where there was a rapidly growing Catholic community owing to the foreign settlement in Shanghai.

Jesuit missionaries built the church in that area to serve as a focal point of the missionary efforts, and to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for her protection from the tumultuous events, conflicts and wars that happened at the time due to the Taiping Rebellion and other hardships facing the Christian faithful in the region. Thus, the Church was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Our Lady of Sheshan in thanksgiving for her patronage and protection of the missionaries and the faithful people of God from harm. Thus the devotion to Our Lady of Sheshan began and many more people would flock to this Basilica in the years and decades to come. And at the same time, for those period, the Church and the Christian faithful continued to face lots of obstacles and hardships, persecutions and challenges.

That is why today in particular we remember first of all the Catholic Church in China, which had been under a lot of persecutions and trials in the past few decades, facing threats to its existence and also persecution from the officials and government who wanted to take over and control the Church and all the faithful, even to the extent of separating the Church from the greater Communion with the Universal Church by operating under close supervision and attachment to the communist and officially atheistic government. All these had led to a lot of grievances to the Church and the faithful people of God in China over these many years, and yet, many if not most of the members of the Church of God in China still continued to be faithful and dedicated to the Lord regardless of the sufferings that they would have to face.

Throughout the world, there are also many challenges and trials that our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord have to experience in each and every moments of their lives. If we are able to celebrate our faith and live our lives as Christians openly and freely, then we must consider ourselves very fortunate as there are many places where to be Christians, as it was in the past and now in the present world, may include hardships and sufferings, and there are also many who has to brave through dangers and even martyrdom in order to be able to worship the Lord and to proclaim Him in their communities and groups. And yet, our faithful brothers and sisters persevered on and they continued to hold on to their faith in God despite the challenges facing them.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the great examples of our brothers and sisters who have to go through great trials and hardships to faithful to God, let us all strive to be truly faithful to the Lord in our own lives. Let us all not be merely faithful on the exterior but dead in faith on the inside. Let us all live our lives worthily and faithfully in the manner how we have believed in the Lord, proclaiming the glory of God and revealing His truth and Good News to all the people through our own exemplary and faithful lives. May the Lord bless us all and our every good efforts and endeavours, and may His Blessed Mother, Mary, Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan, continue to intercede for us all, her beloved children, especially for those who suffer daily in living up to their Christian faith and missions. Amen.

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Friday, 24 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan, and World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan)

Mark 10 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus then left that place and went to the province of Judea, beyond the Jordan River. Once more crowds gathered around Him and once more He taught them as He always did. Some (Pharisees came and) put Him to the test with this question, “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?”

He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.” Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

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Friday, 24 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan, and World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan)

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12

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

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever.

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.

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Friday, 24 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan, and World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady of Sheshan)

James 5 : 9-12

Beloved, do not fight among yourselves and you will not be judged. See, the Judge is already at the door. Take for yourselves, as an example of patience, the suffering of the prophets, who spoke in the Lord’s Name. See how those who were patient are called blessed. You have heard of the patience of Job and know how the Lord dealt with him in the end. For the Lord is merciful and shows compassion.

Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth, or make a habit of swearing. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, lest you become liable for judgment.

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Friday, 17 May 2024 : 7th 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 Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the commitments that are demanded upon us all as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people in what we have been called to do, to be the genuine and worthy bearers of God’s truth and love, His teachings and Good News. All of us are reminded to follow the Lord and to love Him wholeheartedly at all times, which is what we have been expected to do, as those whom God had called and chosen. All of us as Christians should always be ready to proclaim Him, Our Lord and Saviour in all things, to do what He has commanded us to do and to bring forth His light and salvation to the whole world through our every actions, words, interactions and deeds.

In our first reading today, we heard of the discussion between King Agrippa, the Herodian ruler of the region of Judea and that of Festus, the Roman governor who was responsible for the region of Judea and its surroundings, about that of St. Paul the Apostle, who had been incarcerated in Jerusalem ever since he arrived there and faced the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council. He had also been put on trial by the earlier Roman governor Felix, who received the complaints against St. Paul from the Jewish leaders, and at that time, to fulfil what the Lord had entrusted to him and the mission which he was to be sent to, the last one of his life, St. Paul chose to appeal his case to the Roman Emperor in Rome, as a privilege of him being a Roman citizen.

Thus, St. Paul was awaiting for the moment when he would be brought to Rome to appeal to the Emperor and to complete his trial there. In that meantime, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, he had encounters with King Agrippa and his wife, Berenice, as well as with the Roman governor himself, and the Jewish elders and leaders tried to pursue their case against St. Paul, but St. Paul stood his ground firmly and gave very compelling arguments against those who falsely accused him of blasphemy and any other wrongdoings which he did not do. It was also mentioned that the conflicts and disagreements were seen then as internal divisions and disagreements within the Jewish community, as Christianity was then still viewed as a sect within Judaism.

St. Paul could very well have chosen an easier way and not to have to deal with all those difficult things and challenges that he had to endure as part of his ministry, enduring persecutions and prisons, one after another. But he remained steadfast in faith, entrusted everything to the Lord, believing that He would lead him to the right path, and that He would provide for His Church in the best way possible. And if he and the other disciples had to suffer, it has indeed been expected as part of their faith in the Lord, and as part of the mission which had been entrusted to them. The Lord Himself had told His disciples that they might have to suffer rejection and persecution just as He Himself had been rejected and persecuted by the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus after His Resurrection, as He was meeting with His disciples in Galilee, had a time to converse privately with St. Peter the Apostle, His chief disciple, to whom He had entrusted His Church as His Vicar. In this occasion, the Lord asked St. Peter three times, ‘Peter, do you love Me?’, to which St. Peter responded empathically with his profession of love, and as the Lord kept on repeating this same question, we heard how St. Peter was touched and felt the guilt in him as this was a clear reference and parallel to his own threefold denial of the Lord earlier on at the beginning of His Passion, when St. Peter denied knowing the Lord not just once, but three times. This was in fact the confirmation that the Lord had indeed forgiven St. Peter for his thrice denial, which St. Peter himself made with his thrice declaration of his undying love for his Lord and Master.

St. Peter according to the Gospel accounts was very ashamed and regretful over that event, and he was struck with great shame and anguish after he had committed the deed then, when he heard the cock crew after his third denial just as the Lord Himself had predicted it. However, unlike Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed the Lord to the chief priests and then shortly after took his own life out of despair and guilt, St. Peter remained faithful to the Lord and loved Him despite his own shortcomings and failures. Judas Iscariot chose to abandon hope and did not trust in the Lord’s providence and mercy, allowing Satan to lead him down the wrong path, and then he refused God’s love and mercy to the very end. On the other hand, St. Peter was truly repentant over his sins and failures, and he sought the Lord for His forgiveness and mercy.

That is why the Lord chose him, a humble fisherman, a nobody from the Lake of Galilee, a poor and brash, uneducated and illiterate man to be His chief Apostle, and to be His Vicar. God sees inside our hearts and minds in ways that we ourselves may not be able to fully realise. He sought not those whose ambitions and hubris lead them to their downfall through pride, ego and those ambitions and temptations themselves, but rather those who truly love Him wholeheartedly as St. Peter had done. St. Peter truly loved the Lord, not just in mere words as he had said it again and again to the Lord, but he also showed it through his actions and commitments, in his later many decades of hard work and contributions, efforts and leadership of the Church, as the one to whom God had entrusted His entire Church, His entire flock to. St. Peter himself was not perfect, and he was just as flawed as each and every one of us are. Yet, what matters is that, he allowed the Lord to lead and guide, to strengthen and encourage him amidst the many challenges and trials that he had to face.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded that to be a disciple of Christ, we often need to be fully and wholeheartedly committed to His cause, and there may also be many challenges, trials and obstacles in our path. But as long as we continue to commit ourselves to Him, the Lord will be always by our side and we must always have faith and trust in Him that in everything we do, we will always be strengthened, guided and empowered by His loving hands and guidance. Like St. Peter and St. Paul who have dedicated themselves fully to God’s path, and allowed themselves to be led by their faith in their actions, to endure even the worst of sufferings for our sake, let us all also allow God to lead and guide us in our path so that in everything that we say and do, we will continue to glorify Him and that we will always be ever more faithful to Him, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us all and be with us all, His beloved Church, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 17 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 21 : 15-19

At that time, after Jesus and His disciples had finished breakfast, He said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” And Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.”

A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Look after My sheep.” And a third time He said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

Peter was saddened because Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” and he said, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” Jesus then said, “Feed My sheep! Truly, I say to you, when you were young, you put on your belt and walked where you liked. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will put a belt around you, and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

Jesus said this to make known the kind of death by which Peter was to glorify God. And He added, “Follow Me.”

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Friday, 17 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, 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.

The Lord has set His throne in heaven; He rules, He has power everywhere. Praise the Lord, all you His Angels.

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Friday, 17 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 25 : 13b-21

As King Agrippa and his sister Berenice were to stay in Caesarea several days, Festus told him about Paul’s case and said to him, “We have here a man whom Felix left as a prisoner. When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews accused him and asked me to sentence him.”

“I told them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over a man without giving him an opportunity to defend himself in front of his accusers. So they came and I took my seat without delay on the tribunal and sent for the man. When the accusers had the floor, they did not accuse him of any of the crimes that I was led to think he had committed; instead they quarrelled with him about religion and about a certain Jesus Who has died but whom Paul asserted to be alive.”

“I did not know what to do about this case, so I asked Paul if he wanted to go to Jerusalem to be tried there. But Paul appealed to be judged by the Emperor. So I ordered that he be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.”

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Friday, 10 May 2024 : 6th 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 Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the hardships, challenges, persecutions and trials that we may have to endure in our path of life as Christians, as we all heard the examples and the persecutions facing the early Christian communities and the missionaries like the Apostles, especially what St. Paul and his companions had endured throughout their ministry among various people in their missionary journeys. We also have the history, life examples and evidences from the many saints and martyrs of the Church, throughout its long two millennia of history, where Christian faithful had been persecuted, enduring challenges and trials one after another, and yet, many of them still remained firmly in faith in God.

In our first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles, as mentioned earlier, we heard of the moment when St. Paul the Apostle was carrying out his missionary work and journey in the region of Macedonia and Greece, after he had laboured on firstly in Philippi and then in Athens, proclaiming the truth and love of God to the people who have not yet known Him, and even sparring words with the pagan philosophers and those who worshipped the Greek idols, to reveal the truth about God, the One and only True Master and Creator of all. He continued his work and mission in the nearby region of Achaia just as we heard from the passage of the Acts of the Apostles and how he stayed on in that region for a year and a half, spreading the truth of God and converting many among the people to the Christian faith.

We then heard how the some of the Jewish people in Achaia plotted against St. Paul by complaining against the Roman governor, Gallio, accusing St. Paul of having committed blasphemy against God by teaching in manner contrary to their own practices and ways. Contextually, it was likely that those Jews belonged to the group of the Pharisees, many of whom were very particular about how the Law of God ought to be followed, practiced and obeyed, as they took a very literal and excessive emphasis on the rituals and practices of the Law, embellished by centuries of modification and changes which had actually corrupted and turned the Law of God away from its original purpose, meaning and intention.

It was a similar issue which led to the Lord Jesus facing intense opposition and persecution from the members of the Pharisees and many among the chief priests for His teachings and ways, which the former disapproved of and considered as even wicked and blasphemous. St. Paul taught exactly what the Lord Himself had taught and revealed to this world, and especially his generous outreach towards the Gentiles, proclaiming salvation of God for the non-Jewish people was particularly disliked by the more conservative segments of the Jewish community then. To those people, salvation and grace of God could only belong to the Jews, and everyone else who were not God’s chosen people would not have a share in His glory and inheritance.

But as we heard, St. Paul kept on carrying out his mission nonetheless, just as the governor Gallio refused to intervene on behalf of the Jews, as he considered the matter as a private religious issue within the Jewish community. It was common for that time in the early history of the Christian Church that the early Christians were often considered as a sect of Judaism, and were therefore treated by the local Roman authorities as such. However, the Apostles clearly pointed out that the Christian faith and truth is the sole truth that sought to call all the people, Jewish and non-Jewish alike to follow the path and the way which the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, had shown to us. Those same missionaries like St. Paul and others committed themselves wholeheartedly to proclaim God’s truth and Good News, spreading the words of the Gospel to the ends of the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord telling His disciples about the sufferings that they would have to encounter and endure amidst their ministry and missions in various parts of the world. He told this to them in a rather veiled manner by comparing it to the woman who was suffering and enduring the pangs, pain and difficulties of childbirth. Then He also highlighted how all those pain and hardships would be overcome once the woman has given birth, which is actually an allusion to how the disciples and followers of the Lord would have to endure bitter sufferings and hardships as they laboured to proclaim the truth and Good News of God, facing persecutions and rejection from many, like what St. Paul himself had endured in Achaia and other places that he had ministered and preached in.

Yet, in the end, despite all these sufferings, the Church would continue to grow, and in the end, the Lord promised to all of us, His faithful ones, that we shall be triumphant with Him. Throughout its history the Church and the Christian faith had faced lots of difficulties and challenges, and yet all those did not prevent the Church from continuing to grow and to spread the truth to more and more people. Many had attempted to destroy the Church and the Christian faithful, and many martyrs had been made throughout all those many moments of sufferings and great trials, and yet, the Lord was always with His Church, guiding and providing for His faithful ones, and more and more people were called to the truth of God, to embrace His salvation and grace. All these are precisely just as how He Himself had foretold it.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. John of Avila, a great and holy priest who was honoured much later as a Doctor of the Church for his many contributions to the Church and the works of theology and other areas that he had done. He was born into a pious family and grew up well-known for his great sanctity and faith in God. Eventually he became a priest and devoted his time and efforts to serve the Lord and initially wanted to go to proclaim the Lord as a missionary in distant lands, but was dissuaded by the local Archbishop who saw great potential in this young priest. St. John of Avila therefore committed himself to the regions of Spain particularly in Andalusia, preaching and ministering to many of the faithful, while calling for reforms and criticising the excesses of the aristocratic families of his time.

Like St. Paul and the other disciples of the Lord before him, St. John of Avila also encountered lots of challenges and difficulties as he continued to work hard to champion the cause of the reform in the Church which at that time was beset by many troubles, especially that of the corrupt attitude and behaviours of the aristocracy and the members of the clergy which brought great scandal upon the Church and the Christian faith. That is why St. John of Avila was persecuted because of his outspokeness against the establishment, and he was once even put under the Inquisition, but he was exonerated from all of the charges put against him. The Lord was with St. John of Avila, and he continued to do many good works for the benefit of the Church and the faithful and holy people of God to the end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to do our very best so that in whatever we do, we will always strive to proclaim His words and Good News to everyone we encounter in our daily lives. We should always do our best that our good lives and examples may be great inspiration for others around us in how we all should live our lives faithfully, and despite the many challenges and trials we may have to face and endure, let us always continue to persevere and be faithful and holy in our every moments in life, for the greater glory of God. Amen.

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Friday, 10 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 16 : 20-23a

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth is in distress because her time is at hand. But after the child is born, she no longer remembers her suffering because of such great joy : a human being is born into the world.”

“You feel sorrowful now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice; and no one will take your joy from you. When that day comes you will not ask Me anything.”