great solemnity

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Sunday, 27 April 2025 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 2-4, 22-24, 25-27a

Let Israel say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let those who fear YHVH say, “His loving kindness endures forever.”

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This was YHVH’s doing and we marvel at it. This is the day YHVH has made; so let us rejoice and be glad.

Save us, o YHVH, deliver us, o YHVH! Blessed is He who comes in YHVH’s Name! We praise You from the house of YHVH. YHVH is God; may His light shine upon us.

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Sunday, 27 April 2025 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 12-16

Many miraculous signs and wonders were done among the people, through the hands of the Apostles. The believers, of one accord, used to meet in Solomon’s Porch. None of the others dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. So, and ever-increasing number of men and women, believed in the Lord.

The people carried the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and on mats, so, that, when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and all of them were healed.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! He has triumphed and conquered sin and death, and has brought us all into a new Hope and Light of His salvation, let us all rejoice and be glad! All of us have come to this most joyful and happy occasion of Easter, and on this Sunday, the day of Easter Sunday, we remember all of the preparations that we have done in getting ourselves ready to celebrate this most momentous and important occasion. It is at the core of our Christian beliefs and faith that we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Son of God Who has been crucified for the sake of all mankind. And this belief in the Resurrection of Jesus is truly important because without the Resurrection then our faith is nothing more than an empty faith and belief.

Without the Resurrection of the Lord, then Jesus Christ is no more than just a mere Man or a Prophet like others, and worse still, it might have affirmed what the Jewish elders and chief priests had accused the Lord of doing, that is being a False Messiah and as someone who has blasphemed against God. But the reality is that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead and this faith has been passed down to us for generations after generations to our present day through the Church of God. The Resurrection is something that we ourselves have not seen, experienced and witnessed and yet we chose to believe in this truth, just as many of our predecessors had done before us. All of us truly believe in Jesus Christ, in Him being the Son of God Incarnate, in everything that He had taught and revealed to us, and in His suffering, death and resurrection.

People always debate on whether Christmas or Easter is the greater and more important celebration. The truth is that it is more complicated than it seems to be, and it is truly imprudent and inappropriate to compare the two of them. The reality is that both of them are very important events in the history of our salvation and neither is complete without the other one. But ultimately, Easter is more important and crucial to our salvation because without what happened at Easter, then the Child born into this world at Christmas would just be another one of the countless mankind that had been born into this world, just like any one of us. If Christ never rose from the dead, then everything that He had taught, all the prophecies that He had fulfilled all ultimately would have come to nothing, and His followers would have eventually scattered and ceased to exist just as what had happened to so many other False Messiahs.

But at the same time, Christmas is important because it provided the foundation for what happened during the whole Holy Week and Easter. In Christmas, we have seen the manifestation of God’s love made Man, the Divine Being Himself being incarnate in the flesh and appearing before us. After spending nine months in His mother Mary’s hallowed womb, the Lord Himself was born into this world and showed Himself to us, from the once intangible and unapproachable, transcendent beyond imagination into the realm of reality, approachable, touchable and tangible to us. Through Christmas, we know that God has made His salvation clear and tangible to us, and not merely just a mighty deed done from afar, but a real action from a loving God Who has assumed our Humanity, and becoming Man as we are, He has united us all to Himself and made His salvation available to us.

That is because by His perfect obedience to the Father’s will, Christ as the New Adam and the New Man showed us all what all of us mankind are supposed to be, pure, blameless, full of faith and obedience to God. God has created us all in His image and likeness, but we have all been corrupted due to our fall into sin, failing to resist the many temptations that prevented us from truly achieving our full potential in what we have been meant to be. God created us all good and perfect, all full of grace and holiness, just as the Lord Himself has shown us in His perfect humanity, untainted by sin. But we have been led astray by sin and because of this we have been forced to wander off in this world and suffer the consequences of our disobedience and lack of faith and trust in God.

Our Scripture readings this Easter Sunday then highlight to us all the things which the Lord had done to overcome sin and death, and reunite us all with our most loving God and Father, our Creator and Master. Christ our Risen Lord has endured the worst of sufferings and challenges, trials and pains, by Him embracing willingly our many sins and their punishments upon Himself, by making Himself the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God to be slain for the New and Eternal Passover and Covenant that God wanted to establish with us all. The sacrifice and offering of our Risen Lord has been accepted in His perfect obedience, as the one and only worthy offering that is good enough to redeem and heal us all from our afflictions and corruptions by sin, as our Eternal High Priest, offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood for our salvation.

In our first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the great testimony of faith from St. Peter the Apostle, the Lord’s chief disciple who spoke courageously and full of the Holy Spirit after he and the other disciples had received the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, fifty days after the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. He spoke bravely and courageously on behalf of the Lord because he himself had seen and witnessed everything that happened, and as recorded in the Scriptures, he and many others had seen the Risen Lord Himself in the flesh, in the glory of His Resurrected Body, which has transcended death. Initially, he and the other disciples were afraid because of the intense pressures, intimidations and efforts by the Jewish elders and chief priests who sought to keep the news about the Resurrection from spreading, even to the point of spreading false stories about how the disciples had stolen the Lord’s Body from His tomb.

But there St. Peter stood courageously before the many people assembled in Jerusalem for the Festival of the Pentecost, proclaiming all the good things that the Lord had done and accomplished through the same One Whom the people had persecuted and crucified just weeks earlier, and Who had died and yet rose again gloriously from the dead despite the lies and the falsehoods that the Temple authorities and the members of the Sanhedrin attempted against the Lord. He proclaimed the salvation which the Lord had won for all of us, the people beloved by God because of His triumphant Resurrection from the dead. And because they themselves have all experienced it, St. Peter and the other Apostles and disciples, all the witnesses of the Resurrection that our Gospel passage today had presented to us and all the great deeds that the Lord had done would not remain silent, and they proclaimed them all in great joy.

In our second reading this Easter Sunday, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Colossians, in which he exhorted all of them to seek what is holy and worthy, and not in earthly and worldly things. He challenged the faithful people of God to live in the manner that they have been called and expected to do as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own beloved and holy people. Therefore, this is the same reminder to all of us that we should always be truly be active and committed in each and every moments of our lives, in carrying out our every actions, words and deeds in the manner that the Lord had taught us all through His Church. We should not merely be faithful in the manner of formality only, but we must be like the Apostles, who courageously and faithfully defended their faith in the Risen Lord.

This Easter season and beyond, we are also reminded that as Christians, as Pope St. John Paul II once famously said, that we are all Easter people, and Alleluia is our song. This means that all of us are called to live a truly holy and worthy lives, lives that are truly active, committed to God and missionary, full of compassion for one another and righteousness, justice and virtues in all of our actions throughout life. We must have the right disposition and attitude in life in order for us to be able to follow the Lord worthily in our lives. And just as the Israelites still continue their journey after crossing the sea out of Egypt, which is a symbolism and prefigurement of our baptism, therefore, baptism is not the end of our journey towards God, but rather, marks the new beginning in this journey we have towards God. As we renew our baptismal promises, we are reminded of this commitment that we have in following God and obeying His commandments.

Essentially, we are called to proclaim the Lord and His Resurrection, His Good News and salvation to the world. But in order to do this, we must first live our lives worthily as good and faithful Christians, and this is something that many of us have difficulty doing because we face so many obstacles, temptations and challenges in our daily lives. And this is why as we enter into this joyful Easter season, we have to renew our commitment and dedication to the Lord, in doing our best to live our lives worthily and to commit ourselves to a truly holy and blessed existence in God, in all of our actions, words and deeds, and in how we interact with others around us. We cannot be hypocrites who claim to believe in the Lord and yet act in the manner that is contrary to our faith and beliefs in God.

That is why as we all enter into this joyous season of Easter, celebrating the Lord’s glorious Resurrection, let us all strive to commit ourselves to be ever more faithful and sincere in following our Risen Lord in everything that we say and do. Let the transformations and conversions that we have experienced during the Lenten season continue to bear their fruits through this time of Easter and beyond. May all of us be faithful and ever more courageous witnesses of Our Lord and His Resurrection, being good role models and inspirations to our fellow brothers and sisters, helping ever more people to come closer to God and His salvation. May our Risen Lord continue to bless us all and give us His light of Hope, and strengthen us in our resolve to follow Him wholeheartedly, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 1-9

At that time, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb; he, too, saw the linen cloths lying flat.

The napkin, which had been around his head, was not lying flat like the other linen cloths, but lay rolled up in its place. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed. Scripture clearly said that He must rise from the dead, but they had not yet understood that.

Alternative reading

Luke 24 : 1-12

At that time, on the Sabbath the women rested according to the commandment, but the first day of the week, at dawn, the women went to the tomb with the perfumes and ointments they had prepared. Seeing the stone rolled away from the opening of the tomb, they entered, and were amazed to find that the Body of the Lord Jesus was not there.

As they stood there wondering about this, two men in dazzling garments suddenly stood before them. In fright the women bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why look for the living among the dead? You will not find Him here. He is risen. Remember what He told you in Galilee, that the Son of Man had to be given into the hands of sinners, to be crucified, and to rise on the third day.” And they remembered Jesus’ words.

Returning from the tomb, they told the Eleven and all the others about these things. Among the women, who brought the news, were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. But however much they insisted, those who heard did not believe the seemingly nonsensical story. Then Peter got up and ran to the tomb. All he saw, when he bent down and looked into the tomb, were the linen cloths, laid by themselves. He went home wondering.

Alternative reading (Easter Sunday Evening Mass)

Luke 24 : 13-35

At that time, on the same day Jesus rose from the dead, two followers of Jesus were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem, and they talked about what had happened. While they were talking and arguing about what had happened, Jesus came up and walked with them. But their eyes were not able to recognise Him.

He asked, “What is it you are talking about?” The two stood still, looking sad. Then the one named Cleophas answered, “Why, it seems You are the only traveller to Jerusalem who does not know what haw happened there these past few days.” And He asked, “What is it?”

They replied, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a Prophet, You know, mighty in word and deed before God and the people. But the chief priests and our rulers sentenced Him to death. They handed Him over to be crucified. We had hoped that He would redeem Israel. It is now the third day since all this took place.”

“It is also true that some women of our group have disturbed us. When they went to the tomb at dawn, they did not find His Body; and they came and told us that they had had a vision of Angels, who said that Jesus was alive. Some of our people went to the tomb and found everything just as the women had said, but they did not find a Body in the tomb.”

He said to them, “How dull you are, how slow of understanding! Is the message of the prophets too difficult for you to understand? Is it not written that the Christ should suffer all this, and then enter His glory?” Then starting with Moses, and going through the prophets, He explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning Himself.

As they drew near the village they were heading for, Jesus made as if to go farther. But they prevailed upon Him, “Stay with us, for night comes quickly. The day is now almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. When they were at table, He took the bread, said a blessing, broke it, and gave each a piece.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised Him; but He vanished out of their sight. And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts filled with ardent yearning when He was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?” They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem.

There they found the Eleven and their companions gathered together. They were greeted by these words : “Yes, it is true, the Lord is risen! He has appeared to Simon!” Then the two told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Colossians 3 : 1-4

So then, if you are risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things. For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is your life, reveals Himself, you also will be revealed with Him in Glory.

Alternative reading

1 Corinthians 5 : 6b-8

Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise? Throw out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread. Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 1-2, 16ab-17, 22-23

Alleluia! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel say, “His loving kindness endures forever.”

The right hand of the Lord is lifted high, the right hand of the Lord strikes mightily! I shall not die, but live to proclaim what the Lord has done.

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing and we marvel at it.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 10 : 34a, 37-43

Peter then spoke to them, “No doubt you have heard of the event that occurred throughout the whole country of the Jews, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism John preached. You know how God anointed Jesus the Nazarean with Holy Spirit and power.”

“He went about doing good and healing all who were under the devil’s power, because God was with Him; we are witnesses of all that He did throughout the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem itself. Yet they put Him to death by hanging Him on a wooden cross.”

But God raised Him to life on the third day and let Him manifest Himself, not to all the people, but to the witnesses that were chosen beforehand by God – to us who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection from death. And He commanded us to preach to the people and to bear witness that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. All the prophets say of Him, that everyone who believes in Him has forgiveness of sins through His Name.”

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Tuesday, 25 March 2025 : Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the great occasion of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the moment when we celebrate the time that the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and King, Our God and Lord of all the Universe, was incarnate in the flesh, and was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, His mother. This must not be confused with the moment of the Lord’s birth into this world, His Nativity, which we celebrate at Christmas, exactly nine months from today. And it is precisely because today is nine months away from Christmas and it marks the beginning of the Lord’s nine months period spent in the womb of His mother Mary, that we celebrate this Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

On this day, the Lord sent one of His great Archangels, the Archangel Gabriel to proclaim the Good News long awaited by His people, who have long awaited the fulfilment of God’s promise of salvation, the sending of the deliverance and Saviour, which had been given to us through this Incarnation of the Son of God, Who embraced our human nature and existence, becoming Man and therefore manifesting perfectly the love of God, which had thus been made tangible, real and approachable to us. No longer God is merely a concept or myth, or a Being far removed from us by His Almighty transcendence. Yes, God remains all-powerful and transcendent, far beyond us in might and glory, infinite in majesty and power, but at the same time, by the mystery of His Incarnation, God has made Himself close to us, approachable and real.

The Annunciation of the Lord marks this moment when the long awaited Hope and Salvation of the world has finally come into a reality, and the Light of Hope is restored to the world, long slumbering in darkness, and what is significant is that the Lord chose not to come in glory and majesty, or as a conquering and mighty King, but instead, He chose to be incarnate and born of a humble, unknown Virgin, Mary, who was merely a peasant girl in the totally unimportant and small town or even village of Nazareth, at the fringe of the Jewish world at that time. Yet, from what we have heard in the accounts of the Annunciation today, we are reminded of exactly why the Lord chose to do this, to bring about our salvation.

The Lord chose to become one of us because it is by this action that He can undo the harm and damage which our ancestors had done in disobeying God, in embracing the falsehoods and lies of Satan. By His coming into this world, He would unite us all mankind through His own humanity, and show to us the ultimate love and compassion through His Son, Who would lay down His life for our sake, freeing us from the domination and tyranny of sin. By His perfect obedience, Christ as the Son of Man would bear the many burdens of our sins, our trespasses and mistakes, which He bore on His Cross, and through this perfect obedience and ultimate sacrifice of love, He made for us a New and Eternal Covenant between God and us, giving us the sure path to eternal life through Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to journey through this time and season of Lent, we are all reminded of why we observe this penitential season of Lent in the first place. We are preparing ourselves to celebrate the most important events in the story of our salvation, which the Lord had made possible through the Incarnation of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour, into this world. Therefore today, as we all remember the moment of His Incarnation at this Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, we should remember the great love and compassion which God has manifested before us all in His Son, and be filled with the same love towards Him just as He has shown us all first. We should be grateful that the Lord has been so patient in loving us all despite all of our faults and transgressions so far.

By offering Himself willingly and selflessly for us, just as the second reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews had highlighted, the Lord by His enduring love for us has fashioned for us the means of our salvation, to purify and sanctify us all by His grace, cleansing us all from the corruptions of our innumerable sins. And by this most wonderful and generous love of God, we have been healed and made whole once again, shown the compassionate and most loving Heart of God, full of love for us as always. Therefore, we too should be filled with love and devotion towards Him, and do our very best during this time and season of Lent to seek His forgiveness and mercy, and strive to distance ourselves from all sorts of corruptions, evils and sins that can lead us all further away from God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we should also look upon the great example of faith and obedience which Mary, the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour, the Mother of God, has shown each and every one of us. Despite her uncertainties and her inexperience, Mary chose to entrust herself to the Lord and His plans, devoting herself thoroughly to the mission which has been entrusted to her through the words of the Archangel Gabriel. Mary is our perfect role model and example, and just as Christ her Son is the New Adam that led us all by His perfect obedience to His heavenly Father, thus Mary, as the New Eve also directs us all towards her Son, towards the salvation that He has generously offered to each and every one of us. We should follow Mary’s examples in our own lives, in each and every moments.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord this Lent, and strive to do our best in living our daily lives as good and faithful Christians in all the things we say and do. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, let us all continue to draw closer to the Lord and devote our time and attention to Him, so that by each and every moments of our lives, by our every actions, ever devoted to Him, we may draw ever closer to Him and His grace, and be truly worthy to receive the pardon and forgiveness for our many mistakes and faults. Through our humility and obedience, which we should deepen ever more during this time and season of Lent, we should follow the examples of Christ Himself and His blessed Mother Mary, our own beloved Mother so that we may continue to humble ourselves before God, sinners in need of God’s mercy and healing.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to show us all His love, and help us in this journey of life, as we come ever closer to His Presence this Lent. May He welcome us back through His generous mercy and compassion, forgiving us our sins when we come to Him with truly humble and contrite hearts. May God bless us all, and bless our Lenten journey and observances. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 March 2025 : Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Tuesday, 25 March 2025 : Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 10 : 4-10

And never will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins. This is why on entering the world, Christ says : You did not desire sacrifice and offering; You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said : “Here I am. It was written of Me in the scroll. I will do Your will, o God.”

First He says : “Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire nor were You pleased with them – although they were required by the Law. Then He says : Here I am to do Your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the Body of Christ Jesus.