holy apostles

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate with great joy the feast of not just one, but two of the Lord’s very own Twelve Apostles, St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon the Apostle was once known as Simon the Zealot, likely from his former work and contributions to the Zealots, a community of people who led an active and passive resistance against the Romans. Meanwhile, St. Jude Thaddeus was a disciple often confused with Judas Iscariot, the traitor, and yet, he had done many wonderful deeds for the Lord and for His people.

In the Scripture readings today, we heard how God called His Apostles from among the people, chose them and charged them to assist Him in His works and missions to help the people of God, to whom Christ had laboured for in His earthly ministry in order to bring them towards salvation. He sent them to help Him in spreading the good works He has intended for His people, and to call them to repentance and to change their ways that they may be saved.

But it was not an easy task, and Jesus our Lord Himself reminded His disciples and Apostles in particular, that challenges facing them would be plenty. They would be tempted to abandon their efforts, just as what the Passion of our Lord showed us. When Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, who was none other than one among His Twelve Apostles, tempted by money, all the other Apostles and disciples abandoned Him and went into hiding, fearing repercussions from the enemies of their Lord.

And when the Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests commenced persecution of all the faithful, spearheaded by Saul, the future St. Paul the Apostle, some among the faithful faltered in their faith and devotion to the Lord, and faced with the choice between suffering and staying faithful to their God, or to enjoy reprieve and safety in the world and abandoning their God, there were those who chose to do the latter.

These are the challenges facing us Christians, not only just during that time, when the Church was still growing and blooming in its early days, but also throughout the history of Christendom right up to now, to this very day, and also in the foreseeable future that we have and which we will experience. It is the challenge for us to remain faithful to the Lord despite the persecutions and challenges, ridicule and rejection that the world has inflicted upon us.

Are we up to the task? And do we indeed realise that as our Lord’s disciples and followers in this modern era and times, there are still a lot of things left to be done in this world? We are the successors of the works of the Apostles and the Church fathers, who had established the Church on the firm foundation of their faith and courageous devotion. We have to follow in their footsteps and be faithful in all of our ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it was told that St. Simon and St. Jude Thaddeus went to many different places, serving the people in various locations and relating to them the revelation of truth which came from God. Through their works and assistance, many had come to believe in God, and many more have repented from their sins and received the salvation from God.

They were not always welcomed, and there were those who were opposed to their works, both among their own people and among the pagan nations. But they never gave up, and through their persistence, the foundations of the Church in many places had been made strong and firm. They have led by example in their faith, encouraging many to remain strong in the faith.

And eventually, even though they met their ends in the faraway lands, St. Simon in Armenia or Persia, where he might have been crucified or sawn in half, and St. Jude Thaddeus in Syria, where it was told that he was beheaded with an axe, and some accounts had his martyrdom together with St. Simon, which was why their feast days are celebrated together.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we then follow the examples of these holy and venerable saints? Shall we follow in their footsteps as well? There are many things that we can learn from them, and perhaps we really should do so. We are called to continue the good works of the Apostles, and be courageous in spreading the message of the Good News of the Gospel, not worrying and fearing challenges that will come our way.

May the Lord help us in our endeavours and good works in serving Him, and may He ever bless us all always with abundant blessings, and bring us all ever closer to His everlasting love and mercy. Amen.

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Luke 6 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.

The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went out from Him and healed them all.

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a Holy Temple in the Lord.

In Him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.

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Wednesday, 21 September 2016 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast day of St. Matthew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ our Lord, His principal disciples, who was also one of the four writers of the Holy Gospels as St. Matthew the Evangelist. Today we glorify the memory of this holy Apostle of God, who have worked hard and contributed so much to the advancement of the cause of the Lord, and through whom many souls have been saved.

But as we all should notice in the Scripture readings and in what we knew of the history of St. Matthew, which he wrote himself in his own Gospel, is that he was once a great sinner and even was rejected by his own people. He was known also as Levi, a tax collector, whose task in those times was to collect the taxes on behalf of the Romans, who have come to rule over the land of Judea and Israel. And many resented him and his fellow tax collectors for this very reason.

The tax collectors were seen as people of greed and money, and they were resented and despised by many because they were seen as collaborators and even traitors to the nation of the Jews, as they served the needs and wishes of the Roman conquerors, and even collected taxes on their behalf. No one certainly like to pay taxes, and not least to those who have been seen as pagan overlords by the Jews who that time had strong desire to be free.

And the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in particular resented them and looked down on them because they saw these tax collectors as sinners beyond the mercy of God. They scorned and treated these tax collectors with contempt, thinking that they alone deserve salvation from God because of their piety and faith in observing all the commandments of God in the laws of Moses.

And yet, God through His Apostle St. Matthew and his other disciples, including St. Mary Magdalene wanted to show these people, that His salvation is extended to all peoples, and all who desire to be forgiven and to be redeemed from their sins have equal chance in gaining the eternal life and grace promised to mankind by God. He wanted to let us know that as long as we are willing to change ourselves, the way will always be open for us.

We have to realise, brothers and sisters in Christ, that even great saints were once great sinners too. There is no man who has been born without sin, save for our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, for He is God ever perfect and good, and His mother Mary, whom the Lord had prepared specially to be the bearer and Ark of the New Covenant in Christ our Lord. All others have sinned in their lives, be it small or major.

What matters is that they, that is all of us as well, have to change our ways, that we sin no more and commit no more abhorrent and wicked things in the sight of God. St. Matthew was once a tax collector named Levi, but once the Lord called him as He passed by his booth, he left everything behind, his workplace, his work, his money, possessions, and even his old name, taking up for himself the greater reward found in the Lord alone.

We too can follow in his footsteps, and in our own way, dedicate ourselves to help the Lord and His cause in His Church. St. Matthew used his great intellect and the gift given to him by the Lord, the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to write the account of the life and the works of Jesus and His Apostles, which we now know as the Gospel of St. Matthew, through which many have been saved and brought to the justification in God.

We ourselves can devote our time, effort and attention to serve the Lord and His people, evangelising His Good News to the whole world, through our own words, actions and deeds. And in this, it is imperative that all of us take heed that our own actions and deeds matter a lot, since how else would people believe in what we are preaching and teaching to them about the Lord, if we ourselves do not practice and do what the Lord had asked us to do?

Therefore, brethren, as we rejoice in the glory of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, and in all of God’s holy saints and people, let us all follow the Lord with all of our heart and minds, following the example of St. Matthew who left everything in order to follow the Lord his God, giving his all to the new cause to which he has been called.

Let us all renew our faith and commitment to God, and devote ourselves ever more to help the works of the Church, caring for the less fortunate and the needy, loving those who have been ostracised and hated, and showing mercy on our brethren, forgiving those who have brought us pain, misery and suffering. May the Lord help us in these endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 21 September 2016 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 9 : 9-13

At that time, as Jesus moved on from where He cured a paralytic man, He saw a man named Matthew at his seat in the custom house, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And Matthew got up and followed Him.

Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is it that your Master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”

When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and find out what this means : What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Wednesday, 21 September 2016 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Wednesday, 21 September 2016 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 4 : 1-7, 11-13

Therefore I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you the unity of Spirit through bonds of peace. Let there be one body and one spirit, for God, in calling you, gave the same Spirit to all.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God, the Father of all, Who is above all and works through all and is in all. But to each of us divine grace is given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. As for His gifts, to some He gave to be Apostles, to others prophets, or even evangelists, or pastors and teachers.

So He prepared those who belong to Him for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity and sharing the fullness of Christ.

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Saturday, 3 September 2016 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White



1 Corinthians 4 : 6b-15

Learn by this example not to believe yourselves superior by siding with one against the other. How then are you more than the others? What have you that you have not received? And if you received it, why are you proud, as if you did not receive it?

So, then, you are already rich and satisfied, and feel like kings without us! I wish you really were kings, so that we might enjoy the kingship with you! It seems to me that God has placed us, the Apostles, in the last place, as if condemned to death, and as spectacles for the whole world, for the Angels as well as for mortals.

We are fools for Christ, while you show forth the wisdom of Christ. We are weak, you are strong. You are honoured, while we are despised. Until now we hunger and thirst, we are poorly clothed and badly treated, while moving from place to place.

We labour, working with our hands. People insult us and we bless them, they persecute us and we endure everything; they speak evil against us, and ours are works of peace. We have become like the scum of the earth, like the garbage of humankind until now.

I do not write this to shame you, but to warn you as very dear children. Because even though you may have ten thousand guardians in the Christian life, you have only one father; and it was I who gave you life in Christ through the Gospel.

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Wednesday, 24 August 2016 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast day of one of our Lord’s holy Twelve Apostles, namely St. Bartholomew the Apostle, one of the brave and courageous chief disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, who fearlessly went forth to many places far and wide in order to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the people who were still unaware of the Lord and His salvation.

He was also known as Nathanael, which story we heard in the Gospel today taken from the Gospel according to St. John. Nathanael, St. Bartholomew was known to be an educated Jew, who could also speak Greek and was very wise by that day’s standard. Indeed, he was probably the most intelligent and the best educated among all of Christ’s Apostles.

Yet in that intelligent mind and body, existed a heart that yearned for the Lord, which desired to seek the Lord and find His love. He sought the One Who would lead the people of God back to their glory, and He Who would liberate His people from their torment and suffering. And he did find the One Whom he sought in Jesus, Who came to call him and praise him for his wisdom, uprightness and faith.

That same Apostle, St. Bartholomew would go on to serve the Lord throughout His earthly ministry, caring for the poor, serving the people to whom God had revealed Himself to, frequently even having to suffer persecution and challenges from the Jewish authorities and from all those who were opposed to the works of Christ. Yet, he persevered and endured through all of them and remained committed to his calling.

It was told that St. Bartholomew continued his mission after Christ had risen from the dead and departed from this world in His Ascension. He went on to evangelise in many regions, such as India and Armenia, where records attested to his many works on the people who lived in those places. He preached to them and led them to the revelation of truth in God.

St. Bartholomew eventually met his death in martyrdom in Armenia, where it was told that he managed to convert the king of the Armenians, whose brother then took over power and in revenge for such an act, tortured St. Bartholomew and his fellow Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, was martyred defending their faith in God, and they were raised to the glory of heaven promised to them, after having done so much for the Lord, for His Church and for the salvation of His people.

In the first reading, we read about the vision of St. John the Apostle in his book of Apocalypse or the Book of Revelations, showing to us at the end of the series of his visions, after seeing the vision of tribulations and challenges that would come to face the Church and the faithful, he saw the glorious Holy City of Jerusalem. It is the representation of the eternal life and the glory that God had promised to all those who have kept their faith in Him to the end.

God rewards all those who have walked in His ways and those who have given themselves to Him, leaving behind their sinfulness and old ways of the world. He does not abandon His beloved ones to the darkness, but shows them instead the way to reach out towards the light. However, the examples of St. Bartholomew the Apostle and that of the other holy Apostles, disciples, saints and martyrs serve to remind us that the way forward for us will not be an easy one.

Trials and tribulations, challenges and difficulties, and all other obstacles are always part of this journey of faith, as those who do not desire our salvation and liberation from the tyranny and oppression by sin are at work to undermine our salvation, and to keep us in the darkness. But never fear, brethren, for God is always ever faithful to His beloved ones, and we are assured and guaranteed the eternal rest and glory that can be found in Him alone, as St. John the Apostle had seen in his wonderful vision.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all devote ourselves to the Lord anew in the footsteps of the holy Apostles, walking in the path that St. Bartholomew had initiated before us. Let us all follow his example, his upright and just actions, learn from his wisdom and from his desire to seek and love the Lord, and more importantly, the desire to spread the Good News of salvation to many more people that they too may be saved together with us.

Let us all be modern day Apostles and disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, not be fearful but instead be filled with joy and courage, knowing that God is on our side, guiding us and helping us on the way, that we may merit to receive the glory of His kingdom, and together as one people, may we be able to help each other to reach out to the promise of the heavenly kingdom and eternal life God will give to those who keep their faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.