Holy Easter

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Wednesday, 17 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 8 : 1b-8

This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. All, except the Apostles, were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church. He entered house after house and dragged off men and women, and had them put in jail.

At the same time, those who were scattered went about, preaching the word. Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him, and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For, in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralysed or crippled, were healed. So there was great joy in the town.

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Tuesday, 16 April 2024 : 3rd 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, we are all presented with the continuation of the story of the martyrdom of the very first martyr of the Church, namely that of St. Stephen the protomartyr, and we heard how this faithful man of God had to endure the persecutions, stubborn rejection and refusal by all the enemies of the Lord in hardening their hearts and in stubbornly refusing to embrace God’s truth and Good News in the person of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. We also heard the reminders of the Lord Who is our Bread of Life, the One and only Source of our Hope and Life, the One Whom we should focus our attention and efforts upon. This reminds us that as long as we centre our lives upon the Lord, then we shall have nothing to worry about, and we should not be concerned about how we will turn out to be, because the Lord Himself is with us, guiding us and strengthening us.

In our first reading today, as mentioned, we heard the continuation of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, after he had spoken courageously and fearlessly before all the assembled people who were all against him. Those people had hardened and closed their hearts and minds against the Lord and His words, and even though St. Stephen had spoken with great wisdom and eloquence, explaining to them in vain about the works of the Lord in His salvation of the whole world. St. Stephen spoke at length about how God had been with His people, guiding and empowering them, despite their many rebellions and refusals to follow Him faithfully. God continued to patiently lead them by hand through His many prophets, messengers and appointed leaders, who helped them all to remain faithful to Him, and which culminated in the sending and arrival of His own Beloved Son, the One to be the Saviour of all.

Yet, as St. Stephen pointed out, the people had rejected the great grace of God, His patient love and salvation, persecuting the very One Whom God had sent to help and save them. They crucified the Lord, persecuted His servants and disciples, and tried to stop the works of God being done, harassing the disciples at every turn of the way, like what they had done with St. Stephen himself. Yet, the Lord was still being patient with the people, and through St. Stephen, despite seemingly futile, He was still trying to reach out to them and convince them to believe in Him. This did not happen though, and those people persecuted St. Stephen, whom they punished and stoned to death, a punishment that was reserved for blasphemers and sinners. Yet, despite being the righteous one, St. Stephen, like that of the Lord Himself before him, forgave all of his persecutors and murderers.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the beginning of the Lord’s discourse of the Bread of Life, as He described how the ancestors of the people to whom He had been sent to, the Israelites of the time of the Exodus, received the heavenly bread, known as the manna, that God provided to the Israelites for the entirety of the forty years period when they were journeying from Egypt to the Promised Land, including the entire time that they were sojourning in the desert as a chastisement and consequence of their rebelliousness and lack of faith. Yet, despite all the evils and wickedness that the people had done, God still ultimately loved them and cared for them, and hence, He still fed them and gave them the bread from Heaven itself. This came up after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand men, in which the Lord miraculously fed the many multitudes of people with unending supply of food.

Thus, yet again, we can see the great and enduring love of God, in His perseverance and persistence to love each and every one of us, reaching out to us sinners, despite us having repeatedly disobeyed Him, disregarded His Law and commandments, refusing to believe in His truth and love. He still sent to us His only begotten Son, the One and only Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, Who has come into our midst, manifesting perfectly the love of God in the flesh, becoming approachable and accessible to us, bridging the gap between God and all of us, a gap created by our disobedience and sins. Through His loving sacrifice on the Cross, Christ has not only bridged the gap that once existed between us and God, but through the breaking of His Body and the outpouring of His Blood, He has shared with us the Bread of Life and the Blood that sanctifies us, sealing the New and Eternal Covenant between us and God.

Through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us should always first of all be grateful because God has always been so kind, patient and loving towards us despite our many disobedient actions and sins, and despite our frequent refusal to follow Him and His path. God has always patiently reached out to us and embraced us all, again and again, that while we may fall from time to time due to our faults, mistakes and frailty, our inability to resist the temptations of sin, but as our loving Father, God has continuously and persistently led us all to enter into His loving embrace, guiding us and showing the way for us to follow so that we may find the right path towards Him and His salvation, and that we may no longer be lost to Him.

And then, we are also reminded that we have to be ever courageous and committed as the holy people of God, not to be easily swayed by the temptations of the world, by the many pressures, trials and challenges present all around us. All those things may lead us to give up on our efforts and struggles to do God’s will, but as St. Stephen has shown us, through his fearless efforts and his perseverance despite the many trials and oppositions he faced, all of us should also be strengthened and encouraged in our own lives and dedication as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. We cannot be idle and ignorant of our calling and missions as those whom God had called and chosen. To each one of us God has entrusted the responsibilities and the missions to proclaim His truth and salvation to the nations.

The question now is, what are we then going to do in fulfilling our missions and calling in life? Are we going to embrace God’s call and follow Him in His path, doing what He has called on us to do, so that in each and every moments of our lives we will continue to live our lives with the right actions and convictions, with the strong and enduring desire to walk in God’s path without losing focus and hope on His promises and truth. Let us all ever be worthy of God in all things, and do our best so that our every actions, words and deeds, our whole lives may glorify the Lord, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 16 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 30-35

At that time, the Jews said to Jesus, “Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe You. What sign do You perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says : They were given bread from heaven to eat.”

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. The Bread God gives is the One Who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.” And they said to Him, “Give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me shall never be thirsty.”

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Tuesday, 16 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 30 : 3cd-4, 6ab and 7b-8a, 17 and 21ab

Be a Rock of refuge for me, a Fortress for my safety. For You are my Rock and my Stronghold, lead me for Your Name’s sake.

Into Your hands I commend my spirit; but I put all my trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in Your love, for You have seen my affliction.

Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me in Your love. In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from human wiles; You keep them in Your dwelling.

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Tuesday, 16 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 7 : 51 – Acts 8 : 1a

Stephen said to the Council, “But you are a stubborn people, you hardened your hearts and closed your ears. You have always resisted the Holy Spirit just as your fathers did. Was there a prophet whom your ancestors did not persecute? They killed those who announced the coming of the Just One Whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the Law through the Angels but did not fulfil it.”

When the Council heard the reproach Stephen made against them, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Then he knelt down and said in a loud voice : “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he died. Saul was there, approving his murder. This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem.

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Monday, 15 April 2024 : 3rd 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, we are all reminded through them of the important mission which we have as Christians, that is as God’s chosen and beloved people, as His disciples and followers, to proclaim Him in the midst of our communities and societies, in our various areas of commitment and lives, so that by our good and faithful living as well as by our dedication to the Lord, we may inspire more and more people to come to believe in the Lord as well. Each one of us have been entrusted with the unique mission and calling in our respective lives, so that by our lives we may truly proclaim the Risen Lord, His Good News and salvation to the whole world, and not to fear losing the glory and pleasures of the world.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church and one of the seven first deacons was told to us. St. Stephen had been appointed to minister to the people of God, the first and earliest Christian community as a deacon, one of the seven who were tasked with the distribution of the common communal goods and the care of the needs of the faithful. He proclaimed the Good News and salvation of God like those of the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord. St. Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom of God, and through his works, he managed to convince many to follow the Lord and to turn towards the true faith. This brought about the ire and anger, jealousy and hatred from the Jewish authorities.

At that time, the Jewish authorities, many of the members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council opposed the Lord and His works, His teachings and truth, and they persecuted not just Him but also all of His disciples and followers who continued His works and proclaimed the truth in the many places all throughout the land. The Lord’s truth could not be silenced or kept on hold, and through His many disciples like that of St. Stephen, His works of salvation and the spreading of His truth continued quickly and unabated, with more and more becoming believers, embracing the truth of God, day after day. This led to desperate measures from the chief priests and the other members of the Sanhedrin who resorted to making and paying people to be false witnesses and utter lies and false accusations against St. Stephen.

Yet, as we heard in the despite their desperate efforts in trying to falsely accuse St. Stephen of blasphemy and sin against God, they could not stand against the truth and wisdom of God which St. Stephen brought against those who sought to slander and accuse him of misdeeds without firm evidence. The Holy Spirit guided and strengthened St. Stephen, gave him the strength, courage and wisdom to proclaim God’s truth and Good News, His revelation and truth against all those who were ganging up against him. The enemies of St. Stephen all were gathering up and trying very hard to discredit and defeat the arguments of St. Stephen, but they could not do so, no matter what they tried to do, and they still hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to believe in the truth and wisdom which St. Stephen had received from the Lord.

St. Stephen was eventually martyred by being stoned to death, but not before standing up firmly for his faith before the assembly of the members of the Sanhedrin, the powerful and influential members of the Jewish community. He remained adamant in his commitment, dedication and faith in God despite the challenges he faced, and the fact that everyone assembled was against him. He spoke with great vigour, empowered by the Holy Spirit, through which St. Stephen proclaimed the work of God’s salvation in the succeeding parts of this day’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles, showing how God had done His works among His people throughout all history from the very beginning, and culminating in the coming of the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord Whom those same people persecuting St. Stephen had once persecuted and condemned to death. St. Stephen kept on proclaiming the truth of God right up to the very end.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when many people came flocking to find the Lord after He had miraculously fed a whole multitude of five thousand men and many thousands more of women and children. The Lord told all of them that they were looking for Him because they were mesmerised at the miracle that they had witnessed, and how they all had their fill from all the bread and fishes that they had eaten and partaken. They therefore might not have sought the Lord out of true faith and desire to commit themselves to Him and His teachings, but rather because they sought comfort and satisfaction in life, that is the desire to seek worldly glory, pleasures and attachments, all of which were not what the Lord wanted to have in all of them. He told all of them were meant to come seeking the Lord and His truth, and to do what the Lord had called them to do, much as what St. Stephen had done.

Essentially it is an important reminder for each and every one of us that as Christians we must not allow the temptations and desires of the world to mislead us down the wrong path and to distract us from doing what we are all supposed to do, in serving the Lord faithfully at all times, and in living our lives in a most Christian manner. The Lord has shown us the way and has taught us, given us the Holy Spirit and His Wisdom to strengthen and guide us in our journey. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the various gifts, blessings and missions for us to proclaim ever more the salvation and Good News of the Lord to more and more people. This is why all of us should always strive to do God’s will, to be ever faithful in all the things we say and do in every moments of our lives, and place the Lord as the focus and emphasis of our whole lives.

Let us all therefore walk in the path that St. Stephen, holy deacon and protomartyr of the Church has shown us. Let us all strive to proclaim God’s truth and salvation to more and more people by living holy and worthy existence, in all that we say and do. Let us all be truly genuine in our desire to love and serve the Lord, and be the shining beacons of God’s Light and truth amidst the darkness surrounding all of us in our world today. May the Risen Lord continue to be with us and be our source of Hope, strength and power as we continue to navigate the trials and difficulties present in each and every moments of our lives. May the courage of His servant, St. Stephen, his dedication unto the very end, be our inspiration at all times, and help us to draw ever closer to Him. Amen.

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Monday, 15 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 22-29

At that time, the next day after Jesus fed the five thousand men, the people, who had stayed on the other side, realised that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with His disciples; but rather, the disciples had gone away alone.

Bigger boats from Tiberias came near the place where all these people had eaten the bread. When they saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Master, when did You come here?”

Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, you look for Me, not because of the signs which you have seen, but because you ate bread and were satisfied. Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give it to you, for He is the One on Whom the Father has put His mark.”

Then the Jews asked Him, “What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?” And Jesus answered them, “The work God wants is this : that you believe in the One Whom God has sent.”

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Monday, 15 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 118 : 23-24, 26-27, 29-30

Although princes conspire against me, Your servant will observe Your decrees. Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.

When I explained my ways, You responded; instruct me then in Your precepts. Explain to me all Your ordinances, and I will meditate on Your wondrous deeds.

Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your law. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart upon Your laws.

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Monday, 15 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 6 : 8-15

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

As they were unable to face the truth, they bribed some men to say, ‘We heard him speak against Moses and against God.’ So they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the Law; they took him by surprise, seized him and brought him before the Council.

Then they produced false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against our Holy Place and the Law. We even heard him say that Jesus the Nazarean will destroy our Holy Place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” And all who sat in the Council fixed their eyes on him, and his face appeared to them like the face of an Angel.

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Sunday, 14 April 2024 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Third Sunday of Easter and we are again being constantly reminded of what we believe in the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our God and Saviour, Whose glorious Resurrection and triumphant victory over sin and death are the sources of our great joy and celebration during this whole entire season and time of Easter. On this day we heard this reminder yet again because of just how central the Resurrection is to our entire Christian faith. Without believing in the Resurrection, one cannot truly call himself or herself as a Christian, and without the Resurrection, there is no use of believing in Christ because if Christ has not conquered death, then all of us would have succumbed to destruction and death, to eternal damnation and despair.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Peter was speaking to the people who were gathered at Jerusalem during the time of the Pentecost, which was fifty days from the Passover and Resurrection of the Lord. It was at that occasion which the Lord sent the Holy Spirit upon all the disciples who were gathered there in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit strengthened and encouraged the Apostles and the other disciples, who were once fearful and afraid of the repercussions and reactions from the Jewish authorities that they spent most of their time in hiding, so that they no longer feared the sufferings and punishments of the world. The Holy Spirit empowered them and gave them the ability to stand up against the oppressions and oppositions to their efforts, and proclaim faithfully the truth as St. Peter had done.

St. Peter spoke vigorously and in great spirit about the many things which the Lord had done for His people, in all that He had endured for the salvation of the whole world, in the sufferings and trials that He had to endure and bore through His Cross, but one which He willingly took up because He truly loves each and every one of us and He wanted to reach out to us, loving and caring for us, providing us with the means to find the path towards our salvation. The Lord has loved us all of us from the very beginning, and He desired that each and every one of us should be reconciled to Him, finding our way back to Him and be reunited to Him through His ever generous mercy and love. By His Cross, He has led us all to freedom from our sins, liberating us from the tyranny of sin, evil and death.

However, as we heard, many of the people rejected Him and refused to listen to Him, or to embrace the generous offer of mercy which He has given to them. The Lord was arrested, punished and condemned to death for the sins and wickedness of the people, and yet, He continued to show us all His mercy, forgiving us all of our sins, as He asked the Heavenly Father to forgive those who have betrayed, abandoned, and condemned Him to death. His intentions for us all have always been really clear. He wants to be reconciled with us, and He wants us to be able to find our way back to Him, and that was why, He entrusted His Apostles and the other disciples with the important mission to proclaim His salvation to the whole world, just as St. Peter had done before all the assembled people, and the many other works that he and the other Apostles and disciples had done.

Then, in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John, we heard yet again a reminder from the St. John the Apostle of the salvation which the Lord Jesus, Our Saviour has brought upon us, by His actions and selfless sacrifice on the Cross as mentioned. Again this same truth and fact have been reinforced to us, to remind us all that we have the obligation and calling to follow the Lord in all things, and in everything that we say and do in our lives. We cannot be truly good and faithful Christians, and we are no better than hypocrites and unbelievers unless we truly embody what we believe and profess in our faith, in all of our every words, actions and deeds, just as we are expected to. Essentially, we must be truly sincere in believing and committing ourselves in following God and His path.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the disciples who were gathered in Jerusalem on the day of the Lord’s Resurrection and when they witnessed the Risen Lord in person as He appeared to all of them. It was at that time that the Risen Lord reassured them all that He has indeed truly risen from the dead, and was not merely a spirit or ghost. He showed them His Body and all, and showed them that He was risen from the dead, Body and Soul, and the empty tomb which they saw earlier that same morning, was another proof of this glorious event, and reassurance that Christ has indeed been victorious and triumphant against the power of sin and death. And it was this witnessing of the Risen Lord which those discipled of the Lord had experienced in person, which later on became the source of their strength and encouragement in their mission to proclaim Him to the whole world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we continue to progress through this joyous season and time of Easter, we are therefore constantly being reminded of the calling and mission which each and every one of us as Christians have, in proclaiming the Risen Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, His salvation and all that He has taught and revealed to us, through our own exemplary lives and actions, through our genuine living of our everyday lives and moments with the desire to glorify the Lord through even the smallest and the seemingly simple things that we do in our respective lives. Each and every one of us have been given the diverse gifts and blessings, abilities and opportunities that are unique to the areas that God has entrusted to us and called us to contribute ourselves into.

Let us all hence be ever courageous and committed in serving the Lord in all things and in the best way we can do, so that like the Apostles and disciples of the Lord before us, our holy predecessors, we may also be inspirational and dedicated in our lives, in our actions to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters, proclaiming the Risen Lord, His Good News and salvation to all, so that more may come to believe in our Lord and Saviour, and come to seek the Lord and to be reconciled with Him. Through all of us and our commitment to Him, we may indeed make more people to realise the depth of their sins and wickedness, so that they may open their hearts and minds to welcome the Lord into themselves, allowing Him to transform us all to be good and worthy children of the Light, the Light of His salvation.

May the Risen Lord continue to bless us all in all of our good efforts and endeavours, and may He continue to guide us through our journey in life, in all the struggles and in enduring the many trials and challenges that we may encounter in our journey, now and forevermore. Amen.