Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 10
Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.
Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.
Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Acts 15 : 7-21
As the discussions became heated, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that from the beginning God chose me from among you so that non-Jews could hear the Good News from me and believe. God, Who can read hearts, put Himself on their side by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them and cleansed their hearts through faith.”
“So why do you want to put God to the test? Why do you lay on the disciples a burden that neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry? We believe, indeed, that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
The whole assembly kept silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas tell of all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done through them among the non-Jews. After they had finished, James spoke up, “Listen to me, brothers. Symeon has just explained how God first showed His care by taking a people for Himself from non-Jewish nations. And the words of the prophets agree with this.”
“For Scripture says, ‘After this I will return and rebuild the booth of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again. Then the rest of humanity will look for the Lord, and all the nations will be consecrated to My Name.’ So says the Lord, Who does today what He decided from the beginning.”
“Because of this, I think that we should not make difficulties for those non-Jews who are turning to God. Let us just tell them not to eat food that is unclean from having been offered to idols; to keep themselves from prohibited marriages; and not to eat the flesh of animals that have been strangled, or any blood.”
“For from the earliest times Moses has been taught in every place, and every Sabbath his laws are recalled.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 21
All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.
That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.
Let my mouth speak in praise of the Lord, let every creature bless His Holy Name, forever and ever.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b
I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.
Sing to the Lord, o You His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.
Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; O Lord, my God, forever will I give You thanks.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we continue the celebration of the joyful season of Easter by listening to the words of the Scripture which tells us first about the community of the first Christians in the early Church, as told by the Acts of the Apostles, how they lived in great harmony and love, filled with care and compassion for one another, and having left behind worldly concerns, they were living righteously and justly.
And in the Gospel we heard the conversation between Jesus our Lord and the faithful Pharisee, Nicodemus, one of the few righteous to be counted among them, as he was willing to open his ears, his mind and his heart to the word of God spoken through Jesus. That was why he met Him, albeit secretly during the time of night, and discussed with our Lord about the things which He had spoken to the people of God in His teachings.
And Jesus spoke of the need of the faithful to receive a new birth in Him, to be born again in the Spirit. And He also mentioned how the teachers spoke of the things they have witnessed and which they have learnt and known, and thus He, as the great Teacher of all, spoke of the things which He knew about, that is things on earth and in heaven.
But many among the people, especially the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the elders refused to listen to Him, save for Nicodemus, when He spoke to them. They closed their ears, minds and hearts to the words of truth that our Lord is delivering to them. And as a result, that was why they had no part in the salvation which God is bringing upon His people through Jesus and His loving sacrifice. For all those who refused to believe in God and in the One Whom He sent, has no share in the eternal life.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the elders of Israel and the members of the priestly class were all concerned mostly about their own needs, wants and desires. They were concerned and worried about their own social standings and status in the society, as they were very highly respected and regarded among the people of Israel at that time. And they viewed Jesus as a rival to their teaching authority and their position.
Each was concerned about his or her own needs and wants, and that is the hallmark and the common thing about our own society today. Our selfishness is the obstacle which prevented us from truly being able to reach out to the Lord and to attain salvation in our God. It is just the same as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, and if we ask ourselves, and reflect on our own actions, we should see how we too are acting in a similar manner to those who have refused our Lord and rejected Him.
We should look at the examples of the first Christians and how they have lived together in great harmony. We should model our own actions and life after their exemplary actions, and seek not to just think about ourselves and satisfy our own selfish needs and wants alone, but to also be able to empathise and to think of the needs of others around us, especially if they need those even just in order to be able to survive on and continue living.
Today we also celebrate the feast of a holy priest of God, a saint, St. Vincent Ferrer, who was a Dominican friar living during the time of the ending of the Medieval Era in Europe about more than six centuries ago. From his youth he has spent his life in the service of God, joining the religious order at a young age, and resisting the temptations to do otherwise, he continued to become a great priest and a great missionary.
He preached in many places, and taught countless peoples about the faith. Through what he has done, and many people found the true faith through him and through his work, because he abandoned behind ways of this world, selfishness and all the desires of the flesh, and instead gave himself, in the same manner of life as the early Christians, to the service of God and to His people.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we can do the same as well in our own lives. We are all called to be good brothers and sisters to one another, and to live in the same manner as those first Christians had lived. It does not mean that we have to literally sell everything we have and share all our goods with one another, but certainly we can begin by rejecting our own selfishness, our selfish attitudes and open ourselves to love one another and to bring God’s love to His people.
Let us all help one another and live in love, and may God’s blessing shine ever more on His beloved ones. Let us commit ourselves anew to the life blessed and graced by God’s love. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 3 : 7b-15
At that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again from above. The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus asked again, “How can this be?” And Jesus answered, “You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things! Truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we witness to the things we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. If you do not believe them when I speak of earthly things, what then, when I speak to you of heavenly things?”
“No one has ever gone up to heaven except the One Who came from heaven, the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5
The Lord reigns, robed in majesty; the Lord is girded with strength.
The world now is firm, it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o Lord, from all eternity You are.
Your decrees can be trusted, holiness dwells in Your house day after day without end, o Lord.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 4 : 32-37
The whole community of believers was one in heart and mind. No one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but rather they shared all things in common. With great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, for all of them were living in an exceptional time of grace.
There was no needy person among them, for those who owned land or houses, sold them and brought the proceeds of the sale. And they laid it at the feet of the Apostles who distributed it according to each one’s need.
This is what a certain Joseph did. He was a Levite from Cyprus, whom the Apostles called Barnabas, meaning : “The encouraging one.” He sold a field which he owned and handed the money to the Apostles.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard again how Judas Iscariot went on to betray the Lord Jesus, bargaining with the chief priests and the Pharisees to hand Him over for the thirty pieces of silver coins they offered to him. Today is the traditional day in the tradition of our Church when it was told that Judas went to deal with the Pharisees about the price he would receive for betraying his Lord and Messiah.
And how is this relevant to all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ? As tomorrow is the beginning of the Easter Triduum, we should enter it with good understanding of what we are celebrating, so that when we go through it, we may find ourselves t benefit far more rather than if we do not understand or are aware of what all the important celebrations of our liturgical year are about, especially that of the upcoming few days.
Judas chose the world and its wealth instead of Jesus, His teachings and truth. He was a thief whom Jesus called to be one of His disciples. God called His disciples from various origins. Some were fishermen, some were zealots and tax collectors, and some were criminals like Judas. But what distinguished him from the others of the Twelve was that, even though the others abandoned their past lives, leaving behind everything to follow the Lord, but Judas did not.
We know how St. Peter, the chief of all the Apostles and the most devoted disciple of Jesus once also betrayed Jesus when out of fear as the Jews arrested his Lord and Master, and under suspicion because he was counted among His disciples, then he denied knowing Him, denying his own Lord, to Whom he had promised that he would even lay down his life for Him.
But what is the difference here? The difference is that, while St. Peter realised the gravity of his sins, and in the same manner, Judas also did, when he regretted having sold out his Master for thirty pieces of silver, but while Judas gave up on himself, and out of despair, hanged himself on a tree, seeking the easy way out of the trouble, but St. Peter began a long path to redemption and greatness.
Judas did not repent from his sins even though he did feel regret for his actions. He had given himself up to the temptations of the world, the temptation of money, which he was not able to resist throughout the time when he was following Jesus. He helped himself to the funds of the group, stealing from the money that should have been used to help the poor and for the common good for his own selfish benefits. And therefore, he was condemned because of his failure to turn himself away from sin, resisting those sins and seeking forgiveness from God.
St. Peter professed one more time his faith to the Lord when He asked of him three times, whether he loved Him. And as St. Peter professed his sincere and genuine love for his Lord, the Lord was happy and pleased with His faith, and entrusted to him the flock which He had established in this world, that he would become the anchor and the core through which the Church of God would grow and encompass all the people who have been saved in Him.
In all these, we have to realise one simple fact, that even all saints were themselves once sinners, and some of them were even great sinners. St. Augustine of Hippo is one of the most prominent and well-cited example, of how even a great sinner can become a great saint, only if he or she would come to realise the gravity of their sins, and know that they need to do something about it, and indeed, take the necessary action.
Today, we commemorate the feast of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, one of the first saints hailing from the New World, or which is now known as the American continent. St. Turibius de Mogrovejo lived a few hundred years ago during the time when the people living in those places lived under slavery and harsh treatment by the Spanish who ruled over them and pressed hard on their lives, exploiting them at every possible opportunity.
St. Turibius de Mogrovejo led the people to live faithfully, and in his actions, he showed his examples to them, and worked among them even though heat, through difficult and challenging times. He helped to build facilities and infrastructures that benefited the indigenous peoples, and therefore helping them to live more comfortably and as a champion of their rights, St. Turibius de Mogrovejo helped the people to rediscover their rights.
In all these, we all should see how even the act of a single man could have such a great impact on many others. It does not need extraordinary works and events in order for us to do something that is good and something that can benefit our brethren around us. What we need to do is that we need to begin doing something and committing ourselves to do things that will bring happiness to others, and begin from small things and taking small steps to help us to become ever more righteous and committed to our Lord.
May God bless us all strengthen us, and may He keep us close to His side, and awaken in us the strong desire to love Him, so that in all the things we do, we will always strive to reach out to Him and to the salvation He offers us all with love and great kindness. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 26 : 14-25
At that time, one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “How much will you give me if I hand Him over to you?” They promised to give him thirty pieces of silver, and from then on, he kept looking for the best way to hand Jesus over to them.
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover meal for You?” Jesus answered, “Go into the city, to the house of a certain man, and tell him, ‘The Master says : My hour is near and I will celebrate the Passover with My disciples in your house.'”
The disciples did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, Jesus sat at table with the Twelve. While they were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you : one of you will betray Me.” They were deeply distressed and they asked Him, one after the other, “You do not mean me, do You, Lord?”
He answered, “The one who dips his bread with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man is going as the Scriptures say He will. But alas for that one who betrays the Son of Man : better for him not to have been born.” Judas, who was betraying Him, also asked, “You do not mean me, Master, do You?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 