Friday

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Friday, 26 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (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, 19 May 2023 : 6th 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, each one of us are reminded of the hope and strength which we have in the Lord, our God and Saviour, and all of us are called to remain faithful to Him, not to give in to despair and hopelessness because no matter what challenges and trials we may face or encounter along the way, we will always be with the Lord by our side, providing for us and guiding us throughout the journey of our lives. The Lord has always loved us and cared for us, and He has always blessed and provided us with the assistance in various forms and ways. Through all these the Lord has helped His Church and faithful ones to persevere even amidst the most challenging moments throughout history.

In our first reading today, all of us heard from the Acts of the Apostles about the works that the Lord had done through St. Paul, His Apostle in the region of Achaia, which is in today’s area of Greece. St. Paul faced a lot of hardships and obstacles from the people of the Jewish diaspora living there, who accused St. Paul of all sorts of false accusations and with the attempts to discredit and harm him, as they opposed the Apostle’s efforts in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and the truth of Christ in their community and also among the Gentiles in the region. St. Paul spoke courageously before the governor against all those who opposed him and accused him of wrong things, and stood by his faith regardless of all these trials and challenges that he had to face. We heard how those people who opposed his efforts were really stubborn and even went to desperate methods to get St. Paul to be persecuted.

Essentially, like what we have heard from the Lord Jesus Himself in our Gospel passage today, that the life as Christians is truly not an easy journey for any one of us. For some of us like St. Paul himself had experienced, there may be even tangible obstacles, opposition and hardships facing us. But most importantly, we should not let all these deter us from following the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself said that there will be time of sorrow just as there will be time of joy, using the example and analogy of a woman who was going through childbirth as a comparison, in order to bring His point across to us. Those who have gone through childbirth would know that the birthing process is one that is painful, challenging and difficult just as the whole pregnancy period itself may be hard and challenging for many women. However, the moment the baby is born, usually the joy and relief of seeing one’s own baby surpass even all those pain and sorrow.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called to remember that being Christians do not mean that we are going to have a smooth and enjoyable journey in life, or to have blessings and good things all throughout our lives. Some of us misunderstood and failed to realise this fact, and failed to see the examples and the precedent of the Apostles and the early Christians, who suffered a lot and faced a lot of hardships and tribulations for their faith. Not only that, but even right up to this day, there are still often rampant and continued persecutions against Christians, lest we think that persecutions and hardships for Christians are merely a thing for the past. The Church and Christians around the world often still have to face challenges and trials, even just for remaining faithful and true to the teachings and truth of the Lord, and some faced even greater challenges and have to practice their faith in secret.

As we are reminded of all these things today, we are called to remain steadfast in faith, dedicating ourselves anew to the Lord, and to dedicate more of our time, effort and attention to Him, especially if we have not yet done so. As Christians, it is not enough for us just to go and call ourselves as Christians and do nothing at all, thinking that our baptism alone is sufficient to save us. For as the Lord and His disciples themselves had said, and as the Church fathers had taught us, that faith without good works and all the things done in living out that faith, is a dead faith, and dead faith is nothing better than faithlessness and hypocrisy, and those things will not avail us at all on the day of judgment. Instead, each and every one of us have to be truly faithful to the Lord in all things, and doing whatever we can in order to fulfil what the Lord had called us to do, and had entrusted for us to do in our own lives.

Now, as we carry on living our lives as Christians these days, are we inspired to follow the examples of our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs in how courageous they have been, how steadfast they were in defending their faith and in living their lives according to the Christian principles and the teachings of the Church? How willing are we to commit ourselves to follow the Lord and dedicate ourselves each day to serve the Lord ever more faithfully in all things? Each and every one of us as Christians are reminded that we should do our part in becoming inspiration, role model and being good examples for one another and for all those whom we encounter so that our actions, words and deeds, our way of life may inspire others and may help others to know the Lord and to find out about His Good News and truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remain steadfast in faith and commit ourselves ever more wholeheartedly to the Lord, remembering how loving He has been towards us, and how patient He has been in loving us all these while. Let us recall whatever the Lord has called us to do in our lives and in whichever calling we have been called to do, be it as a priest or any other members of the holy orders, as a consecrated men and women in the various religious orders, monasteries and friaries, as members of lay organisations and in our Church ministries, and as members of faithful Christian families, be it as husband and wife, or as parents and children. Each and every one of us have important roles to play in the works of the Church, and we should do our best to fulfil our calling in life as Christians.

May the Risen Lord, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, our most loving God and Good Shepherd, be with us always, be with His Church, and may the Holy Spirit be our inspiration, strength and guide. May the Lord bless our every works and good efforts for His greater glory, and may He help us all to persevere through all the hardships and challenges that we may have to face in this world. May He, the One and only True God, shine the light of His truth and love to the whole of this darkened world. Amen.

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Friday, 19 May 2023 : 6th Week of Easter (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.”

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Friday, 19 May 2023 : 6th Week of Easter (Psalm)

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!

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Friday, 19 May 2023 : 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, 12 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are called to follow wholeheartedly the commandments of the Lord, to take it to heart and to believe in God most sincerely in all things. We should not forget this call and duty that each and every one of us as Christians have in living our daily lives with commitment and devotion to God. All of us have the calling and the mission entrusted to us to proclaim the truth and Good News of God to all the people all around us. We should do whatever the Lord has told us to do, and live our lives the way that He has taught us, so that by our examples and way of life, we may inspire others all around us to become more committed to the Lord, and to believe in Him as well.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, of the conclusion of the First Council of Jerusalem, the very first Council of the Church assembled to discuss and discern the decision regarding how the Christian faithful, the people of God ought to carry out their lives, as there was then the controversy and division among the Christian faithful whether the Christian faithful ought to follow the full range of the extensive and often oppressive Jewish laws and customs espoused and championed by those who belonged to the group of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, and who embraced the Lord as their Saviour. To those people, the faithful had to embrace the fullness of the Jewish customs and laws, with all of their strict regulations and practices, in order for one to be saved and worthy of God.

However, the Apostles and the elders of the Church decided, after a period of gathering and discernment, guided by the Holy Spirit, that what is important is obeying the Law of God in its true spirit and understanding, and focusing on the key aspects of the Law of God just as the Lord Jesus Himself has revealed it, and not requiring the faithful people of God to subject themselves to the numerous tenets and often difficult to enforce rules and laws, which had in fact made it difficult for many of God’s people to come to Him, as those laws hindered them and prevented them from coming closer to God. Not only that, but as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law also often used those same rules and laws to discriminate against those whom they deemed to be less worthy and condemned as sinners, it became stumbling block for the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law themselves, who became enamoured with worldly glory, pride and ambition, and were blinded by their fanatical ideals and pursuits of their agenda.

They spent more time worrying about how to satisfy the many different aspects and tenets of the various rites and practices rather than truly loving and honouring the Lord their God through the faithful and proper appreciation, understanding and application of those laws and commandments. They often spent so much time focusing on the minute details that they had made an idol out of their way of observing and practicing the Law, zealously and even fanatically guarding their way of observing and practicing the Law, and not willing to listen to others who told them otherwise, even the Lord Himself Who had rebuked them and criticised them for their pettiness and their excessive emphasis on the ‘letter’ of the Law while forgetting the ‘spirit’ of the Law. The Lord reminded all of us, just as He had said to His disciples in our Gospel passage today, that each and every one of us should truly commit ourselves to His commandments of Love, that is to love God our most loving Father and Creator above all else, and then to love one another in the same way.

Unless we have the right focus and motivation, it will likely be easy for us to be distracted and pulled down the wrong path, as like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law themselves have shown us, that we may be externally pious, holy and devout, and yet inside us, within our hearts and minds, it is possible for us not to have space for the Lord at all. Therefore in that case and regard, our faith is no more than an empty and dead faith, one that will not benefit us in our path towards the eternal life in God and in His salvation. Each and every one of us are called to be truly faithful to the Lord, to be filled with generous love like that which our Lord Himself has shown us at every moments. All of us are called to do what He has taught us, to be compassionate and kind towards our fellow brothers and sisters, and to resist the temptations of evil, of pride, greed and worldly attachments.

Today, all of us also can look upon the good examples and inspirations from three among our faithful predecessors, the saints and martyrs, namely, St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, and also St. Pancras. Each and every one of them had lived their lives most courageously with faith, and had endured the hardships and trials, the challenges and obstacles they had to go through amidst their journey of faith. All of them had devoted themselves to the Lord to the very end, as they faced death and martyrdom with courage and joy. To start with, St. Nereus and St. Achilleus were according to some traditions, eunuchs and chamberlains of the niece of the Roman Emperor Domitian, named Flavilla Domitilla, and they lived through the time of a great persecution of the Church and Christians, as the Emperor Domitian was historically known for his intense persecution of Christians, and attempts to eradicate the Church. According to tradition, they faced martyrdom with courage and faith, and did not give up their faith despite the trials that faced them.

Meanwhile, St. Pancras was a young Roman citizen who was also known as St. Pancratius, who lived through another period of great persecution of the Church and the faithful people of God, by the Roman Emperor Diocletian and the Roman state, which was known for the last great official persecution of Christianity, during which many of the faithful were arrested, suffered greatly and many were martyred for their faith in God. St. Pancras himself was a young man who converted to the Christian faith, and was brought before the authorities for being a Christian. He was forced to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods, but refused with firmness and zeal, and his determination to resist moved even the Emperor himself who tried to sway the young St. Pancras with wealth and power without avail. St. Pancras therefore faced martyrdom, in defending his faith in God to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the examples of the holy saints, St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, and St. Pancras, in how they have lived their lives with faith and how they have dedicated themselves to the Lord. Let us all be truly faithful towards the Lord and place Him right at the centre of our lives and existence, and strive to do our best to glorify Him by our lives and by our every good works. May the Lord be with us all and may He continue to guide and strengthen us all in our journey of faith, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 12 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

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, 12 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

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, 12 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

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, 5 May 2023 : 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, each one of us are reminded that all of us have a sure and firm foundation in Christ, and we have been reminded of this fact, as we listened again of everything that He had done for us which culminated in the perfect sacrifice and offering that His Son, Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, has offered on our behalf, as the perfect and worthy sacrifice that is the only one worthy in redeeming all of us from the many and unimaginably great burdens and bondage of our sins. Our Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God, has taken away our many and innumerable sins, upon Himself and became the worthy sacrifice that opened the path for all of us towards the salvation and eternal life in our loving God, Father and Creator.

In our first reading today, we heard of the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Paul continued to speak to the Jewish people in Antioch in Pisidia in their synagogue. St. Paul spoke about the Messiah or Saviour Who had come into their midst, Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate in the flesh, Who has ministered, laboured and preached the Good News of God, the salvation and redemption that have finally come from the Lord Himself. Yet, as St. Paul recounted it to the Jews, those Jewish leaders and people in Jerusalem were swayed by their stubbornness and jealousy to reject the Lord and His teachings, and condemned Him to death after arresting Him, and leading Him to be crucified by the Romans under Pontius Pilate’s leadership. But in doing so, in truth, everything had happened as the Lord Himself willed it.

In taking up His Cross, suffering and dying for us from His Cross, the Lord fulfilled everything that He has ever promised for us just as St. Paul explained it. We ourselves must understand this well, as Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross was the only path through which all of us mankind could be reconciled to God, our loving Father and Creator. Since at the very beginning of time and Creation, mankind chose to abandon the Lord for the sweet lies and falsehoods of Satan, and through their disobedience leading up to sin, they had been sundered from the fullness of God’s love and grace. That was why all of us had to experience suffering and death, because separated from God, there can be no life and true happiness for us. Yet, God did not despise us, but He has loved us all the same, and because of His ever enduring love, He reached out to us, helped and guided us, and ultimately He gave us all His beloved Son.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord Himself reassuring His disciples that He would always be with them regardless of anything, and He would always be by their side. The Lord has not abandoned us, and through His Son, He would prepare for us all a place with Him in Heaven. That was what the Lord Himself told His disciples just prior to His Passion, His suffering and death. That despite Him being persecuted and put to death, but not even death itself can separate us from God and His Love. And the resurrection of the Lord proved us all just exactly this case, that God Himself has conquered and destroyed death for us, and by offering Himself, He has built for us a new Bridge through His Cross and Resurrection, that became sure guarantee and firm passageway in the path that we have towards eternal life and salvation in God.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, as all those who have believed in the Lord and His truth, His love for us and in His sacrifice, and His glorious Resurrection, each and every one of us have been entrusted with the same mission that God has entrusted to His Church and disciples, and that is to proclaim this Good News, this truth and love that He has for each and every one of us to the whole entire world. Yet, many of us are still unaware of this calling and mission we have, and worse still, many of us are lacking real and genuine faith in the Lord, with many of us are only outwardly expressing our faith, or worse still, having stopped showing our faith at all, with many people having stopped celebrating the Sacraments and taking part in the active life in the Church altogether. We can see with great sadness how many Catholics have not been attending the Mass or coming to the church on Sundays, less still doing other things that they should have done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us have become lukewarm in our faith, and many more still have forgotten the important tenets and teachings of the Lord in our Christian faith. That is why, today as we all are reminded of the Lord’s works and actions through the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, we are called to rejuvenate and restore our faith in the Lord, and practice our faith in our lives so that our every words, deeds, actions, our way of life and every interactions with one another be truly filled with the joy of the Lord’s Good News and Gospels, and be truly faithful in all things, not just merely paying lip service or be externally faithful and yet having no real love, devotion and commitment to the Lord within our hearts and minds. Each and every one of us are reminded and challenged to be genuine and missionary Christians, as evangelising disciples and followers of the Lord in our world today.

That is why, let us all continue to strive each day to be ever more faithful to God, deepening our relationship with Him and understanding our faith ever better, by spending the time and effort to come ever closer to the Lord. Each and every one of us should spend more quality time with the Lord, doing our very best to walk in His path ever more worthily and becoming true inspirations and good role models for each other. It is through our actions that we can help many more people to come to know the Lord, His truth and His love. If our actions in fact bring scandal to our faith and to the Lord’s Holy Name, how can we then convince others to come to believe in God as well? We will only end up turning people ever further away from the Lord and from His path, and the consequences of this action will be put against us on the Day of Judgement.

May the Risen Lord, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and King continue to guide and bless us in all things, and may He help each and every one of us to persevere through the challenges facing us in how we live our Christians lives with faith. May the Lord continue to help us to do our best so that we may become great inspiration and role models for others in how we live our lives with faith, now and always. Amen.