holy apostles

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 11 : 21b-26 and Acts 13 : 1-3

A great number believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favour, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to the Lord; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul. On one occasion while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.”

So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

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Tuesday, 24 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and our Lady of Sheshen in China, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Marian Feasts)

Mark 10 : 28-31

At that time, Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “We have given up everything to follow You.” Jesus answered, “Truly, there is no one who has left house, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children, or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive his reward.”

“I say to you : even in the midst of persecution, he will receive a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands in the present time, and in the world to come eternal life. Do pay attention : many who are now the first will be last, and the last, first.”

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Tuesday, 17 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 9 : 30-37

At that time, after leaving the place where Jesus cast a demon out of a mute and deaf boy, He and His disciples made their way through Galilee; but Jesus did not want people to know where He was because He was teaching His disciples. And He told them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, but three days after He has been killed, He will rise.”

The disciples, however, did not understand these words and they were afraid to ask Him what He meant. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they did not answer, because they had been arguing about who was the greatest.

Then He sat down, called the Twelve and said to them, “If someone wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child, placed him in their midst, and putting His arms around him He said to them, “Whoever welcomes a child such as this in My Name, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes not Me but the One Who sent Me.”

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Tuesday, 17 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

James 4 : 1-10

What causes these fights and quarrels among you? Is it not your cravings that make war within your own selves? When you long for something you cannot have, you kill for it and when you do not get what you desire, you squabble and fight.

The fact is, you do not have what you want because you do not pray for it. You pray for something and you do not get it because you pray with the wrong motive of indulging your pleasures. You adulterers! Do you not know that making friends with the world makes you enemies of God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy.

Can you not see the point of the saying in Scripture : “The longing of the Spirit He sent to dwell in us is a jealous longing?” But God has something better to give, and Scripture also says, God opposes the proud but He gives His favour to the humble. Give in, then, to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw close to God and He will come close to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubters. Recognise your distress, be miserable and weep. Turn your laughter into tears and your joy into sadness. Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will raise you up.

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Monday, 16 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

James 3 : 13-18

If you consider yourself wise and learnt, show it by your good life and let your actions, in all humility, be an example for others. But if your heart is full of bitter jealousy and ambition, do not try to show off; that would be covering up the truth; this kind of wisdom does not come from above but from the world and it is earthly and devilish.

Wherever there is jealousy and ambition, you will also find discord and all that is evil. Instead, the wisdom that comes from above is pure and peace-loving. Persons with this wisdom show understanding and listen to advice; they are full of compassion and good works; they are impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow peace reap a harvest of justice.

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Saturday, 14 May 2016 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate together the feast of one of the Twelve Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, namely St. Matthias, who was not counted among the original Twelve Apostles. However, after the betrayal of Judas, who not only betrayed the Lord Jesus to the Pharisees and the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver, but also took his own life in guilt and regret, the Twelve Apostles became incomplete.

And as prophesied in the Scriptures, this had been foretold in the ages past, that someone else more worthy would take up the place vacated by the unworthy betrayer. And that worthy disciple is St. Matthias, who had followed Jesus as the other Eleven Apostles had, and therefore were admitted into their number. The Apostles were the chief and principal disciples of our Lord, through whom the Church were built upon.

And they have been sent by the Lord with the mission, to evangelise the Gospel to the people in the pagan nations who still have yet to hear the Good News of God, and to bring the light of Christ to all of them. And they passed on this mission to the other disciples, who helped them and helped in establishing the Church of God in many places, saving many souls in the process.

It was told that St. Matthias went to many places to preach the Gospel and gained many people for the Lord. Many were baptised and received the Lord as their Master and Saviour. His hard work and efforts contributed to the thriving communities of Christians in several places, including places as far as Ethiopia and Georgia, and helped to establish future works of evangelisation.

It was told that he was martyred in Judea and Jerusalem, where the Jewish authorities had been oppressive against the early Christians. Or another tell mentioned that he met his death in the faraway Ethiopia where he went to evangelise. In the end, he fulfilled the duty and the charge given to him as the Apostle of Jesus Christ, gaining the eternal glory promised to him by our Lord Himself.

St. Matthias was not originally counted among the Twelve Apostles, and yet, because Judas Iscariot was unworthy, he was cast out from their number and damned to perdition, while St. Matthias took the place of glory reserved to the faithful servants of our Lord, and he proved it through his faith and his many works in fulfilling the call of the Lord.

All these are lessons for us, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we all have to always work hard and seek to be righteous in all of our actions. It does not mean that we as Christians are guaranteed salvation, as even though Judas Iscariot was chosen among the members of the Twelve, but he betrayed the Lord and failed to do what he was supposed to do, and as a result what he got was instead eternal damnation.

And it is also a reminder for us that God calls us and He wants to make us worthy. He has chosen us all from among the world, and He has shown us His truth by revealing Himself to us through our priests and bishops, who themselves received the same truth from the Apostles, and who therefore received it from the Lord Jesus Himself. We are part of this great mission to save all mankind, and we too have an important role to play in this.

Shall we all also continue the works of the Apostles in delivering the light of Christ into the world? All of us Christians have to really be Christ-like in our words, deeds and actions, that is by loving one another, showing mercy and compassion, and caring for all those who are unloved. We should heed the examples of Christ and practice these in our own lives.

If others see and witness all the things which we have done, surely they will also follow in our footsteps. Who will believe us and follow us if we ourselves did not do what the Lord had asked us to do? We have to lead by example as the Apostles themselves had once done, as St. Matthias showed us through his hard work, labour, hardships and the tribulations he faced.

May God help us on our path, and may He give us courage to walk in the footsteps of His Apostles and saints, that as St. Matthias had done before us, we too may be important tools and instruments of God’s love and mercy in this world. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 14 May 2016 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 15 : 9-17

At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

“I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

“I shall not call you servants anymore, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father.”

“You did not choose Me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you. This is My command, that you love one another.”

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Saturday, 14 May 2016 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 112 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Alleluia! Praise, o servants of the Lord, praise the Name of the Lord! Blessed be the Name of the Lord now and forever!

From eastern lands to the western islands, may the Name of the Lord be praised! The Lord is exalted over the nations, His glory above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord our God, Who sits enthroned on high, but also bends down to see on earth as in heaven?

He lifts up the poor from the dust, and the needy from the ash heap. He makes them sit with princes, with rulers of His people.

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Saturday, 14 May 2016 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 1 : 15-17, 20-26

It was during this time that Peter stood up in the midst of the community – about one hundred and twenty in all – and he said, “Brothers, it was necessary that the Scriptures referring to Judas be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had spoken through David about the one who would lead the crowd coming to arrest Jesus. He was one of our number and had been called to share our common ministry.”

“In the book of Psalms it is written : Let his house become deserted and may no one live in it. But it is also written : May another take his office. Therefore we must choose someone from among those who were with us during all the time that the Lord Jesus moved about with us, beginning with John’s baptism until the day when Jesus was taken away from us. One of these has to become, with us, a witness to His resurrection.”

Then they proposed two : Joseph, called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. They prayed : “You know, Lord, whakt is in the hearts of all. Show us, therefore, which of the two You have chosen to replace Judas in this Apostolic ministry which he deserted to go to the place he deserved.”

Then they drew lots between the two and the choice fell on Matthias who was added to the eleven Apostles.