Holy Week sermon

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Wednesday, 16 April 2025 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on this Wednesday of the Holy Week, a day also commonly known as the Spy Wednesday, we draw ever closer to the peak of our entire liturgical year, the Paschal or Easter Triduum. And the reason why this day is named as such is because of the reading of the Gospel for today, which touches on the moment when Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed the Lord Jesus went to the chief priests and the Temple authorities, discussing on how they would be able to cooperate in handing over Jesus to the chief priests and the Sanhedrin to be tried and judged, so that they could all condemn Him for the faults and accusations that they would all blame on Him, such as the crime of blasphemy against God and also the crime of treason against Rome and the Emperor.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which we heard of the sufferings to be faced by the One Whom God would send into this world, to save us all mankind, to save all of us, His beloved people. The Suffering Servant, the Suffering Messiah would have to bear the brunt of the many punishments and pains, the trials and challenges that all of us should have faced and endured, all the punishments that we all have deserved because of our disobedience and sins. He faced all these humiliation and disgrace, all the oppressions, rejection and wounds, all because of the ever enduring and great love that He has always had for us. By His perfect obedience, this Servant of God fulfilled everything that God Himself has promised to His people throughout all of history, accomplishing everything through His ultimate, loving sacrifice.

And this Servant of God, suffering and humiliated all pointed towards Jesus Christ, the Son of God made Man, the One Whom had been sent into our midst, born of the Virgin Mother, Blessed Virgin Mary, to be the One through Whom God would sanctify and rescue all of His beloved ones. And during this time of the Holy Week, as we immerse ourselves in the moments of the Passion of Our Lord, and as we gaze our sight upon the Lord crucified on His Cross, all of us should remember how such great love has been shown to us all in everything that He willingly embraced and endured so that He could rescue us from our predicament and fated destruction. By His humble obedience, He is reversing the effects of our disobedience and sins, all of which had separated us from the fullness of God’s love and grace. By His wounds, His broken Precious Body and outpoured Precious Blood, He has shown us all salvation in God.

Then, as mentioned earlier, from the Gospel passage taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the story of the time when Judas Iscariot came before the chief priests, offering to them to betray his own Master and Teacher, cornering Him in a place where the Lord’s opponents and enemies could arrest Him without much opposition from the people, as previously, they feared the reaction of the people whenever the Lord was teaching in public and they dared not to move against Him. Judas was likely unhappy with the Lord through various reasons, but it was also him embracing the temptations of the evil one, who sowed the seeds of dissension and sin in his heart and mind. And this provided the chief priests with the perfect opportunity to seize the Lord and arrest Him.

Therefore, as we heard in the Gospel, they agreed to offer Judas Iscariot a sum of thirty pieces of silver, and this offer of the silver pieces is actually a very significant symbol and fulfilment of the prophecies that the Lord Himself had foretold through His prophets. This is because thirty pieces of silver was the price that a slave was commonly priced for in the slave market at the time, and therefore, Judas had betrayed his own Master for the price of a slave, and it symbolises how Jesus would indeed take the place and position of a slave, and by humbling Himself, emptying Himself of all glory, honour and majesty, He Who is the Incarnation of the Divine, the Word of God made Man. And through His suffering and death, He is uniting us all in our humanity to death to our own sins and wickedness, to all the vices and evils that have kept us separated from God.

We heard then of the account of the moment at the Last Supper from the Gospel today, in which the disciples were gathered together with the Lord while having the Passover meal. It was there that the Lord again predicted that one of His disciples would betray Him. The Lord already knew who that betrayer was to be, and Judas himself in a way confirmed his betrayal, and the Lord was in fact not too discreet in making this fact known. Yet, at that time, the other disciples were all unaware of the significance of what the Lord was telling them clearly before them all. Thus that was how Judas eventually went to betray the Lord, by allowing Satan, the evil one to act through him, in trying to derail the Lord’s plan of salvation for His people, by striking at the One that God had sent to this world to bring forth His salvation.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are reminded today not only of God’s persistence in loving all of us and in His most generous gesture of love, which He has truly shown us all most generously through all that He had done in His Passion, His sufferings and all the wounds and beatings that He had endured for our sake, but all of us are also reminded that we must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations of sin, the temptations of worldly pleasures and all the evils and wickedness around us, all the efforts and works of the evil one and his forces, all trying to lead us all into eternal damnation and destruction. We must not allow the devil and his forces to strike easily at us because we willingly embrace the path of greed, ambition and worldly pursuits, all of which had misled so many down the path of ruin in the past.

Let us all therefore as we prepare to enter into the most holy and solemn Paschal Triduum tomorrow continue to deepen our faith in the Lord and focus ourselves wholly and wholeheartedly on the Lord as we centre our focus and attention on Him and on His most wonderful love, on everything that He had done for us. Let us no longer harden our hearts and minds, and no longer be stubborn or obstinate in our refusal to obey and follow Him. Let us instead do our very best so that we will truly immerse ourselves in the important events we are going to commemorate during this time of the Paschal Triduum. May all of us be truly blessed and be enlightened by our experiences these next few days, and may all of us be ever more strengthened in faith in God, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 15 April 2025 : Tuesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on this Tuesday of Holy Week all of us are reminded ever more of God’s salvation which has been fulfilled through Christ, the Son of God Incarnate, Who has embraced our Human existence and nature, becoming one of us and one like us in all things but sin, becoming the means for our salvation and liberation from the tyranny of sin. Through everything that He has done during the time when He endured His Passion, all the obstacles that He has to bear through and overcome amidst His efforts in bringing us all, His lost children and scattered lost sheep from the darkness all over this world. We are reminded that the Lord has done all these because He loves us all generously and genuinely, showing us truly great love that surpasses all things, and is greater even than our sins and wickedness.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah regarding the words of the Lord for His people reassuring them all of His salvation that He would send unto them through His Saviour, the One that He would send into their midst to gather those who have been scattered around this world, made to wander around in suffering because of our sins. And this Holy One of God would be marked from before He was even born, given the Name above all the other names, and by the will of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, He was given the most important task to bring the Light of God, God’s Good News and love, God’s mercy and compassion to all of His people in this world, to all of us sinners who are still separated from the light of God’s salvation and from His grace.

In that prophecy of the prophet Isaiah that we heard today, we heard the prophet speaking as if he was the Saviour that God had sent, speaking in the first person, proclaiming everything that God would do through this same Saviour, the Word of God Incarnate. And through this manifestation of God’s love, His generous mercy and compassion which He has lovingly poured out upon us, and which He has constantly given to us despite our many sins and disobedience, God wants us all to be healed and to be reunited with Him. And the only way that this can be done is through His Son’s coming into this world and what He had done in redeeming us all from the clutches of sin and death. God has made His only Begotten Son to be our Eternal and one True High Priest to redeem us all from destruction and death, to be the Paschal Lamb of Sacrifice, the perfect offering and the only One that is worthy to redeem us all.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist we heard of the moment during the Last Supper between the Lord and His disciples, the Passover meal that He had planned to have with all of them, where He revealed how one among them, namely Judas Iscariot would betray Him to the chief priests and hand Him over to them to be condemned to death and crucified by the Romans. This was part of what the Lord had predicted through the various prophecies and messages that He had given to His disciples throughout time and history. But God also gave us all the freedom of will and the freedom to choose our path in life, whether we want to embrace His righteousness and virtues or whether we want to follow the path of sin and darkness.

Judas Iscariot chose to listen to the temptations of the evil one, who have often tempted him on many things, such as what we have heard in our Gospel passage yesterday, on how he had often stolen from the common funds of the Lord and His disciples to enrich himself, giving in to selfishness and wicked desires. Judas Iscariot also likely clashed with the Lord on other matters that might not have been highlighted or shown in the Gospels or elsewhere, but regardless of the details or specifics, what matters is that Judas chose the easier path of embracing the temptations of desire and greed, the desire for money and wealth and the acceptance of the world over the Lord’s often rather controversial teachings and ways, including how Judas himself was chastised after he criticised Mary for anointing the Lord’s feet with expensive perfume.

Judas clearly had the freedom to choose his path in life, just as Mary, the Mother of Our Lord and God had been given the same freedom to choose. While Mary indeed had the advantage of being free from the taint of original sin due to her Immaculate Conception, she was no doubt also tempted by the various sins and evils of the world around her. Yet, she trusted in the Lord completely over those temptations, fears and uncertainties. That was why she was greeted with the words, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace’ by the Archangel Gabriel. Mary chose to obey the Lord and to trust in Him, while Judas chose to give in to the temptations, to his fears and desires, and that was how he fell into sin, in betraying his Lord and Master for a mere value of thirty pieces of silver, the price for a slave, the price that is to pay for our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we are all reminded today through these readings from the Sacred Scriptures are the revelation of God’s ever enduring love for us and also all the opportunities that God had given to us, in sending unto us His Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, to be our Lord and Saviour, to be the One to heal us all from our faults and iniquities, and to lead us all one by one, all to the Throne of the Mercy of God. And we have also been reminded of the free will and the freedom that God has given to each and every one of us in choosing our path in life. Let us make the conscious effort and choice in our respective lives, directing ourselves towards the Lord because it is in Him alone that we shall find true satisfaction and happiness, and not in all the distractions and temptations that are around us in this world.

May the Lord our God, our Crucified Saviour and King continue to lead and guide us all to Himself, and continue to strengthen us in our faith and commitment to Him, so that in everything that we say and do, in our observance of this sacred period of the Holy Week, this holiest week of all weeks in the year, we will continue to grow ever more committed to God and that we will become more aware of the great love that God has shown us through His Son, Our Saviour and King, and also of our own sinfulness and unworthiness before God. Let us all make the concrete effort and strive to commit ourselves, our time and our whole being to embrace this Holy Week period with dedication and true desire to be reconciled and reunited with our loving God and Father. Amen.

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Monday, 14 April 2025 : Monday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the Monday of the Holy Week and as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are called to remember the role that Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Our Saviour had done in accomplishing everything that God had planned for our salvation, and on this most holy and solemn of all weeks in the year, we remember the things that the Lord has done for us, in loving us most wonderfully and generously, that He was willing to empty Himself of all glory and honour, embracing all of us and bearing our sins and faults upon Himself so that by His sufferings and by His willing endurance of the punishments meant for us, He may show unto us the path to eternal life.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard of the words of the Lord regarding the Servant Whom He would send to His people, the people of God and the whole world, bearing forth the salvation of God made manifest through this same Servant. And God reassured all of His people that He would be with them through this Servant on Whom His Holy Spirit and favour was on, and through Him the salvation and liberation of all of God’s people would be accomplished perfectly, just as He has foretold and prophesied to them through His many prophets including that of the prophet Isaiah. God does not want any of His children and beloved ones to be separated or lost to Him, and that was why He sent to them the salvation and promise of eternal life.

And this Servant Whom He has spoken about through Isaiah was none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate in the flesh, Who has become the Son of Man, bringing forth the love of God perfectly manifested and becoming tangible and reachable to us. This same Christ, Our Lord and Saviour would also indeed suffer just as Isaiah prophesied, revealing how the same Lord Jesus would be rejected, persecuted and oppressed, and would be inflicted with the worst of punishments, but He would not resist or fight, and He accepted those sufferings with genuine and ever enduring love for us. He was led to the slaughter place, like a Lamb brought to be sacrificed, so that by His perfect obedience and most loving and selfless sacrifice, He might heal us all and bring us all to full reconciliation with God our Father.

Then from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord was in Bethany near Jerusalem during the week leading to His Crucifixion, when Mary, the sister of Lazarus came to the Lord before His disciples, anointing His feet with expensive perfume made of pure spikenard, and then wiped the perfumed feet clean with her hair. It was at that moment when Judas Iscariot, as mentioned, being the one who would betray the Lord to the chief priests, immediately criticised her for having wasted the expensive perfume, and in such case, the author of the Gospel, St. John pointed out the hypocrisy of the action of Judas because he himself had stolen from the funds of the Lord and His disciples to enrich his own pocket. Therefore, for him to criticise the actions of Mary was truly pure hypocrisy, and the Lord condemned Judas as such.

What Mary had done was more than just a prefigurement of the Lord’s sufferings and crucifixion, which the Lord hinted on as He mentioned how Mary was preparing His Body for His death, like that of how dead bodies were to be prepared for burial. Even more importantly is the symbolic representations of Mary’s actions before the Lord which should serve as important lessons for all of us to heed and to follow. First of all, Mary humbled herself before everyone and she put perfume on the Lord’s feet, when the feet at that time was considered as the filthiest and dirtiest part of a person’s body. Yet, she touched the Lord’s feet without hesitation, and even used her hair to wipe and clean the Lord’s feet. A woman’s hair is the crown of beauty and the pride of a woman, and Mary humbled herself such that she threw away all that pride in serving the Lord.

Through the example of Mary, the Lord Jesus wanted His disciples and hence all of us to take note what it truly means to become His disciples and followers. As the Lord Himself would do on the Last Supper a few days after this event, He would humble Himself and wash His disciples’ feet, an action which also drew a similar comment and astonishment from His disciples, especially from St. Peter the Apostle. But the Lord showed that true Christian love and leadership is one of service and not one of vainglory and ambition. He came into this world to lead us all to salvation and to reconciliation to the Father, and He showed this to us not through glorious and mighty deeds, but through humble and perfect obedience to the Father’s will. To be Christians, we have to follow the example of Our Lord Himself, Who has been always full of love, and like Mary, whose love for the Lord made her to humble herself and to serve Him in the manner that few would have thought of or considered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to deepen our faith in the Lord as we continue to progress through this Holy Week period. Let us make good use of the time and opportunities which had been presented to us so that we may truly benefit fully from this time when we commemorate Our Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross, all of which He had done for our sake, for His great and ever enduring love for us. We should always be grateful at what we have received from God and all the opportunities that we have been given for us to come back to Him, being called and reminded many times by our loving and most compassionate Father. Let us all continue to focus our gaze upon the Cross of Christ this Holy Week, and spend good quality time to reflect on our sinfulness and how God’s love and compassion had made it possible for us to overcome those sins and return back to God, forgiven and reconciled with Him by the sacrifice of Christ on His Cross.

May the Lord continue to guide us all through this time and period of the Holy Week, helping us to focus our attention on the Lord and His Passion, His love and sacrifice for us amidst all the busy schedules and things that we have daily in our time this week. May He continue to encourage us all with the strength and wisdom to carry on living our daily lives with faith and obedience, with righteousness and desire to follow God in all things, to be the inspiration for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. May God be with us all and may He bless our every good efforts and works this Holy Week, and bless our family and loved ones too. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the second last Sunday in this glorious and joyful season and time of Easter. On this Sunday, which in some places the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated, we commemorate the occasion of the World Communications Sunday or the World Social Communications Sunday, as we give thanks to the Lord firstly for having revealed to us His great salvation and grace that He had brought upon us through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Risen One, and we also give thanks to all those who have laboured hard and courageously for the Lord’s sake in proclaiming His truth and Good News to the whole world, especially those who dedicate themselves in the field of communication of the Christian faith.

It is important for us all as Christians to know well about communication as it is how the Lord Himself has revealed to us His truth and love. From the very beginning of time, the Lord has always presented Himself and His love for us through either Him directly speaking to us, His people or through His servants like Moses and the prophets, who then passed on the message and words of the Lord to whom they were sent to. He has always communicated His will and His desire for His people through these means, and the people themselves have also communicated with Him through His representatives like the priests and the prophets, throughout history. It was through all these that the people came to know what the Lord wanted the to do, although often times they did not follow the Lord wholeheartedly and preferred to walk down their own, rebellious paths.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the moment when the Apostles were gathering and discerning about the matter of the twelfth member of their number. This was highlighted as the Lord originally had chosen twelve among His disciples and followers to be His principal disciples, the Twelve, later to be known as the Twelve Apostles. However, as we know, one of those twelve, namely Judas Iscariot, betrayed the Lord and then took his own life out of guilt and regret shortly afterwards. As such, St. Peter, who led all of the Apostles and the Church convened the meeting and the gathering mentioned the need for the Church to discern and select from among themselves to be one of the Apostles to fill up the vacancy created by the betrayal and death of Judas Iscariot.

And we heard how the Apostles gathered and prayed together with the other disciples, invoking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them, and they put their choice between as certain Joseph Barsabbas or Justus, and one named Matthias. Both were worthy and good men, who had been longtime disciples of the Lord, and who had also witnessed everything that the Twelve had witnessed. Eventually, Matthias was selected to be the one to fill up the vacancy and became the twelfth and newest member of the Twelve Apostles, continuing the mission which the Lord entrusted to His Church and Apostles, and henceforth was known as Matthias the Apostle. Then, in accordance to what we have been discussing in today’s theme on communication, the Apostles did not decide based on their own human whim and understanding, but they communicated to the Lord through their prayers and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As St. John the Apostle wrote in his Epistle in our second reading passage today, the Holy Spirit has further revealed, explained and shared to us the love of God manifested to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. By the manifestation of His Son, the Lord has made His love and truth manifested and approachable to us in the flesh, and through the Apostles, the Church had witnessed and experienced this same love and truth, which the same Church and the disciples and followers of the Lord, therefore shared with everyone all throughout the whole world. Through the Holy Spirit, every members of the same Body of Christ, the Church, shared in the same grace, experiences and love which He has revealed and shown to all of us through everything that He had done for our sake, especially in how He suffered and died for our salvation.

Then, through the Holy Spirit, by which the holy people of God, that is all of us, have received the various gifts, namely that of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord, all of which we have been given so that we may grow to love the Lord our God more and more, and commit ourselves ever more worthily and courageously to His cause. We have been taught and shown how to love God with all of our might and strength, to love Him genuinely from the depth of our hearts, and to commit ourselves thoroughly to Him, as well as to show that same love to one another, in our every moments in life, in our every actions, words and deeds. The love of God is what made us Christians to be unique and different from all those who have not yet embraced the Lord our God and believed in Him.

This is where we are all called to be good communicators yet again, not just through prayer and discernment as what the Apostles had done in our first reading in communicating with God in their decision to choose the twelfth Apostle, but also through our own actions and deeds in life. Sometimes a person does not have to communicate with words at all to convey what he or she wants to convey, and in fact, as we all should know that our actions and behaviour in life often may have conveyed greater things and have more impact than mere words to others present around us. There had been many moments in history when many people were scandalised and put off by the actions of many corrupt and wicked people who considered themselves as Christians, even those high in the position of power and responsibilities in the Church, and yet they did not act or behave in the manner as Christians should behave.

This is why it is very important for us to be very careful in how we act, and we ought to make sure that our every words, actions and deeds should always be centred and focused on the Lord, as it is very easy for us to be tempted otherwise to follow the many temptations and desires of this world, of our ambition and vanities, that we end up falling deeper and deeper into the wrong paths in life, and be corrupted ever more by sin. As Christians, it is important that we must always lead lives that are full of God’s grace and love, and we must always keep in mind that we are all also missionaries and bearers of God’s truth and love in our respective communities and groups, in our families and circle of friends, and even to strangers we encounter in our daily living.

That is why just as we have heard ourselves from the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, Who prayed to His heavenly Father asking for Him to guide His disciples and followers in His path, that we must always be firmly rooted in the Lord, and develop a strong and living relationship with Him, at all times. The Lord Jesus Himself always frequently prayed to His Father at different places and times, sometimes privately and sometimes before His disciples, teaching them all how to pray and to follow the Lord. This is because unless one is firmly attached and centred upon the Lord, it is easy for him or her to be swayed by the many worldly temptations and pressures, and fall away from the path of virtue and righteousness, and be separated from the truth and grace of God.

We ourselves have to make the conscious effort to communicate with God, to be closely attuned with Him, by spending quality time to discern His will and to find out what it is that He wants us to do, just as the Lord had taught His disciples, and which they did at all times. If we do not even spend the slightest bit of time to be with the Lord, then how can we truly know what is His will for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Many people have fallen away from their faith in God and lost trust in Him because they allowed themselves to be distracted from Him so that they barely spent any time with Him at all, and hence, they did not truly know Him or recognise His Presence in their lives as they should have done.

Then, at the same time, as I have discussed earlier on, as Christians each and every one of us must also be genuine in our actions and in our way of life so that by our examples of life, full of love towards the Lord and towards one another, we may truly indeed communicate well the truth of God and His love to the world, to everyone around us, just as the Lord has told us to do. We have been entrusted with the important mission to proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation to all the people of all the nations, but we cannot do this unless we ourselves have been in constant communication and being well-attuned to God’s will, and also in being truly and genuinely faithful in our actions and way of life as well.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all continue to do our best in living our lives ever more faithfully as Christians, in all things and at all times so that by our good and exemplary way of life, we may truly be effective evangelisers and worthy missionaries of our Christian faith at all times. May the Risen Lord continue to guide and bless each and every one of us in our efforts, that we may continue to be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, leading more and more people towards their salvation in God, that we may be saved altogether, and worship and praise God together as His one, united and holy people. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 May 2024 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the Sixth Sunday of Easter, all of us are reminded yet again of why we celebrate most joyfully during this time and season of Easter, that is because the Lord has shown His love, kindness and compassion towards each and every one of us, and manifested that perfect and most wonderful love in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom He has shown us all His ever enduring love and compassion, as He constantly reached out to us with great patience and ever-enduring care, seeking to reunite us with His loving Father and our Creator. God has indeed been so generous with His love and compassion that we should always be grateful and be reminded of His ever present love in our midst.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the experiences of St. Peter the Apostle, who went to the town and region of Joppa which was by the Mediterranean coast, where he encountered a Roman centurion named Cornelius who was well respected by the local community and his family, in which prior to that he experienced a vision from the Lord Who showed him all sorts of food and animals which the Jewish laws and customs had considered to be unclean, and how the Lord told St. Peter to eat of those, which initially he refused to do because those were unclean according to the old Jewish customs and laws. The Lord told St. Peter that whatever He had deemed to be clean, should not be deemed as unclean.

This was in fact a premonition of what St. Peter would soon encounter in his journey in Joppa as he encountered Cornelius and his family, and saw the great faith which they had in the Lord, the honour they showed to the Lord and His Apostles, and how they were willing to embrace God and His truth. However, at that time, the common perception among the Jewish people, especially those among the Pharisees was that the non-Jewish people, also known and called collectively as Gentiles, consisting of mainly the Romans and the Greeks, the Egyptians and other people of the region, all of them were commonly seen and considered as pagans and unworthy of God, and as recorded in the Gospels, this went to the extent that associating or going to the house or residence of a Gentile would render one unclean according to the Jewish laws and customs.

However, the Lord revealed that His grace and love, His mercy and compassion are extended towards everyone, and all the Gentiles have also been called and led into God’s love, as He sent to them the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that He has sent to all of His Apostles and disciples. This was the testimony which St. Peter himself presented to the whole assembly of the faithful as they discerned and debated on what they ought to do regarding the believers who came from among the non-Jewish origins. We heard how the Holy Spirit descended upon the converts from among the Gentiles, as they received the same gifts that the Apostles had received, and hence, we heard how St. Peter baptised all those among the Gentiles who had been called by God and embraced Him as their Lord and Saviour.

In our second reading this Sunday, we heard of the words of the Apostle St. John in his Epistle directed to all the faithful people of God reminding them all of the truth of God’s loving nature, and how He loves every one of His beloved children and people, and manifesting this great and most generous love for us in His Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour, the perfect example and manifestation of His eternal and ever-present love for each and every one of us. It is the same love which He has shown us all most generously, and which the Lord Himself said that God truly loved the world and all of us so much that He has given us all His only begotten Son, Jesus Himself, to be the bearer of God’s love and salvation for all of those who are truly precious to Him.

The love of God has been manifested in the flesh, and became tangible, approachable and reachable to us all. While once God was transcendent and far beyond our ability to comprehend Him and His love, but through His Son, all of us have received the assurance of His ever enduring love for us, and we have received from Him the perfect gift of His love and commitment to everything which He has promised to us since the very beginning of time. By the actions which the Lord Jesus had done, in His ministry and works in our midst, in His revelation of God’s truth and love, in explaining the Law and commandments that God had bestowed on us, out of His ever constant and enduring love, and ultimately, by His own perfect and most loving sacrifice on the Cross, each and every one of us have received through Christ the assurance of life eternal.

Then, in our Gospel this Sunday, we heard from the Gospel of St. John in which the Lord spoke to His disciples about His commandments to them, the Law of God which He has brought and revealed to them in all of its truth, in its intention and purpose, that is to teach us how to love God and one another just as He has first loved all of us. God has loved us all from the very beginning and it was love that led Him to create all of us, so that we may share in the fullness of His love and grace, to enjoy forever the favour and true bliss in our existence with Him. Unfortunately, this has been denied to us because of our disobedience against God and our refusal to believe in Him, and through this disobedience, sin has corrupted our hearts and minds, turning us away from the love of God and making us to fall ever further and deeper into the wrong paths in life.

That is why God in His infinite and most wonderful love for each one of us has always been so patient in reaching out to us in each and every moments, sending His servants and messengers at all times, trying to reach out to us and call us all out of the darkness and into the light. He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him, and He wants us all to be reconciled to Him, and find our way to Him, by showing us all the path of His love and redemption, and giving us all His Law and commandments, which were meant to help and lead us in our path in life so that we may do what is necessary that we may draw ever closer to Him and His salvation. Through His Law and commandments, the Lord wants to teach us all how to love Him and to love one another, that they may rediscover the joy of living in His Presence and the desire to be reunited with Him.

However, by the time of the Lord’s life and ministry in this world, many people had forgotten or ignored the truth and failed to realise the true significance and purpose of the Law and commandments which God had bestowed on them. Throughout the many centuries since the Law was first revealed to the people of God, it had undergone extensive modification and changes, as the elders and the people attempted to adjust the Law according to their own customs, preferences and ways, and by the time of the Lord Jesus’ ministry, a movement to impose a very strict and rigid, excessive and overbearing implementation of the Law and commandments of God came to rise with the group known as the Pharisees, who together with the teachers of the Law imposed this to the rest of the community of the people of God.

However, this led to the marginalisation of the ones whom the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law deemed and considered as being less than worthy of God’s salvation and love. They deemed all those who did not belong to their group and those who did not follow the Law of God as strictly and as particularly as they had done as being less than worthy, and they openly prejudiced and being judgmental against all those whom they deemed as unclean, sinners and cursed by God, such as the prostitutes and tax collectors, and all those who had been afflicted by diseases and ailments. This is however not what the Lord had desired from His Law and commandments, and it was not how He intended this same Law and commandments to be practiced and used by the people whom He has loved so much. He did not discriminate against anyone, and loves everyone equally.

Thus, He showed us this most perfect love through His own Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the One through Whom the salvation of the whole world had been presented to us. He revealed His love for us through His most selfless and wonderful sacrifice, as He endured all the beatings, the sufferings and pains, bearing all the whole burden of our sins and wickedness, all the punishments and consequences meant for us and our rebelliousness, and loving us truly very much, despite our own lack of faith and love towards Him, He showed us all by His own perfect example what true love is all about. True love is when one is willing to lay down everything, for the love of God and mankind alike just as Christ our Lord had done for us, to love truly from the heart and to show true care and compassion towards our fellow brothers and sisters.

Now, are we all willing to learn this path and way of love that the Lord Himself has shown us, and which He has entrusted to us through His Law and commandments, which the Church had faithfully preserved and taught to us? Let us all as Christians always be full of God’s love and commit ourselves ever more to the Law and commandments which He had taught and shown us, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, and by our way of life, we will show everyone we encounter and meet in life, how we should truly live our lives so that we may truly be worthy of Our loving God, our Lord and Creator. May God be with us always, and be with His Church, and may He continue to show us His ever generous love, just as we too share His love with one another, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 April 2024 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we all celebrate the occasion of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, and as we continue to mark with great joy our Easter commemoration and festivities, we are all reminded to continue to place our focus and emphasis in life upon none other than Our Lord Himself, in all His truth and love, and in everything which He Himself has revealed and given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. On this Sunday all of us are reminded that if we truly call ourselves as Christians then we really have to centre our whole lives and existence, our every actions, words and deeds upon the Lord, so that in everything that we say and do, we will always be the good role models and inspirations for one another, helping many more people to come ever closer to God and His salvation.

In our first reading today, we heard of the moment when Saul, the former enemy of the Lord and His Church, began to do his work and ministry among the people of God in Jerusalem after he was converted through his dramatic encounter with the Lord on his way to Damascus earlier on. Saul had embraced the Lord wholeheartedly and turned away completely from his previously erroneous path, actions and way of life, no longer a persecutor of Christians, of God’s followers and people, but instead, becoming a great role model and champion for the same Christians instead, in proclaiming the truth of the Risen Lord, His teachings, His resurrection and His ways to everyone, to the surprise and astonishment of the Jewish authorities and the early Christian community alike.

St. Paul was called by the Lord to be His disciple and follower, and to be the one who would bear the truth of God to the non-Jewish people, the Gentiles. St. Paul, who was a Jew, was also born and spent his youth in Tarsus, in the area of the diaspora away from the lands of the Jews in Judea and Galilee, where he had lots of experiences and encounters early on with the Gentiles like the Greeks, Romans and other local populations living in the region. His experiences and expertise, his mission and vocation therefore is reasonably centred around the outreach towards all those people, opening the path of God’s salvation to more and more people, reminding everyone that the Lord loves all of His children, all those whom He had created, regardless of their race, background and origin, and thus, he began his ministry in proclaiming the truth of God to all the people of all the nations.

And it is this great missionary zeal and efforts which St. Paul carried out throughout his ministry, all that was how the Church kept on growing rapidly and from strength to strength despite the challenges and trials that they were constantly facing, simply because they were with the Lord, and the Lord guided and strengthened them all through all those difficult moments and struggles, the hands He guided St. Paul and the other disciples with. As long as the Lord was with His people, with His disciples and missionaries, the Church will overcome all things, even the greatest trials and challenges, just as He Himself had said, that not even the gates of hell will be able to hold against His Church which He has established in this world upon the foundation of the Apostles, and is the visible union of all of His faithful ones.

This is what St. John the Apostle also reminded all the faithful people of God in his Epistle, part of which is mentioned in our second reading passage today, where St. John told the faithful to continue living their lives in accordance to the commandments and the Law of God, obeying whatever it is that the Lord Himself has revealed to us through His Church and through the Holy Spirit, ever guiding us in our lives and actions, in each and every moments of our lives. All of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, those whom He has called and chosen, all of us must embody within us the true faith in Christ and everything that we have been taught and shown so that in all things and at every moment, we will always continue to do our best to glorify the Lord by our lives.

If we truly believe in the Lord and consider ourselves as Christians, then we will certainly do our utmost in order to live in accordance with the path and ways that God has shown us. Each and every one of us are reminded that in everything we say and do, we should always be filled with God’s love and grace, full of love firstly for the Lord our God Himself, and then surely for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters, in how we interact with one another, with those whom we encounter in our daily lives. We have to be truly committed and full of compassion for our fellow men, in whatever we say and do, that by our examples, God’s love may touch more and more of those who have not yet known or realised His ever generous love, compassion and mercy.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples using a parable, the Parable of the True Vine, in order to tell all of them to remain firmly attached to Him and His truth, and not to separate themselves from Him, or to follow their own path and desires. The Lord revealed Himself as the True Vine, the One through Whom all truth, all life shall come from, using the terms that were familiar to the people of the time, as vineyards were common in the lands of the Israelites, and the people, including the disciples themselves, would have recognised what is meant by the Lord’s parable. This is because if the grapes are not attached to the vine, then they would not only not grow, but they would perish and die. This is therefore an important message and reminder by the Lord to His Church, to all of us that we must always be firmly centred and attached to Him, in all of our faith and lives.

If we allow ourselves to be swayed by the temptations of worldly glory and pleasures, fame and ambition, we may end up falling away, further away from the true path of Christ. All the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, the early Church fathers and missionaries have remained firmly true in this path, in the missions and journey that they had undertaken in proclaiming the truth and salvation of God to the nations. There were however many others who have gone astray, who have embraced worldly ambitions and temptations, leading many into the false paths and evils, the path of heresy and disobedience against God. That was how many heresies sprung up in the early Church, leading to divisions in the Body of Christ, the Church of God, breaking the unity of the Church and leading to many people falling into the path of sin and darkness.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all realise that we must always adhere closely to the fullness of the teachings of the Lord as preserved and taught by His Church, and not to give in to the temptations to embark on our own ideals and interpretations that may lead us down the path of error and even heresy, as what many of our predecessors had done. We have to remember that as parts and members of the same Church of God, the Body of Christ, all of us are united in Our Lord and Saviour, and we ought to believe in Him and His truth wholeheartedly. Otherwise, if we allow ourselves to be swayed by those temptations and wicked desires all around us, then we may end up falling ever deeper into the path of sin and evil, and from there, we may find it hard to get out and return to the path towards the Lord and His salvation. We must remember that separated from the Lord, we can do nothing and there is absolutely no hope for any one of us.

Instead, let us all continue to embrace the Lord and remind ourselves to stay faithful to His Law and commandments, doing our very best to live our lives in accordance with His ways. Let us all continue to bear rich fruits of grace and righteousness, of virtue and love, of Christ’s light and truth, by our every good works and deeds, and by everything that we do, in our every endeavours and efforts, to glorify the Lord by our lives. May the Risen Lord continue to bless us all and may He continue to guide and strengthen us in our path in life, in whatever we do for the sake of His glory, and for all that He has called us to do in our respective lives, to be His worthy and good missionaries, all throughout our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 21 April 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday being the fourth Sunday in the season of Easter, we are celebrating the occasion of Good Shepherd Sunday, because of the Scripture readings which highlighted the actions of the Lord in being our Good Shepherd, in everything that He had done in gathering all of us to Himself, and helping us all to find our way back to His loving Presence and embrace. This Sunday we are constantly reminded again that Our Lord’s love for each and every one of us is truly great and ever enduring, and we really should consider ourselves as being really fortunate for having been loved in such a way. Our Lord and Good Shepherd is truly the One that we should be rejoicing about this glorious and most joyful Easter season, because by His love, He has shown us the sure path to eternal life.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the testimony of faith which St. Peter the Apostle mentioned how the healing of a man that had been healed from his affliction came about from the power and authority of the Risen Lord, the One Whom the Jewish authorities had opposed and rejected, persecuted and handed over to the Romans to be judged, sentenced and condemned to death on the Cross, in the most humiliating and painful way possible. And yet, all the proofs, evidences and events of that time pointed out how the Lord Jesus did not remain dead but rose from the dead just as He Himself had predicted it, appearing before many people and from which the belief in His Resurrection and His works began to propagate, as those disciples of the Lord who had witnessed His death and resurrection all went forth to proclaim His truth to more and more people.

St. Peter told everyone of the salvation in this same Messiah, the One through Whom everyone shall receive justification and liberation from the tyranny of sin, evil and death, because of everything that He had done out of love for us, truly our Good Shepherd, Who knows us all and loves each one of us, and Who does not want any one of us to be lost to Him or to be separated from Him. That is why He went out all the way to seek us, His lost sheep, calling upon us, the ones who have been lost to the darkness of this world and sin, so that we may find our way back to Him, and His light may help lead us on the way back to the right path towards salvation and eternal life. As our Lord and Good Shepherd, He wants us to listen to His call, that we may not wander off anymore in this world, and be found by Him.

In our second reading this Sunday, we then heard of the words of the St. John the Apostle in his Epistle or letter to the Church and the faithful in which he reminded and encouraged everyone that God has truly loved and cared for all of them because He has considered all of us to be His own children, whom He truly loved, because we share in the humanity of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Who is both the Son of God and Son of Man. Therefore, we are all considered to be sons and daughters of God, and having been loved as such, naturally He wants us all to be like Him and to follow Him, in doing His will and living our lives worthily as Christians, that is as all those whom the Lord had called and chosen from this world. By our membership in the Church, we have been made partakers of God’s love and made to be His own adopted children.

And to gather all of us, He sent us His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, as mentioned. He is our Good Shepherd and Guide, the One through Whom we can find the one and only way to our Heavenly Father, helping us to reconcile ourselves with the Lord, so that despite our rebelliousness and sins, we may be gathered once again to live with Him, through the patient and loving hands of Our Lord and Good Shepherd, Who has reached out to us sinners, the lost sheep of the Lord, to find us and to help us reunite with God, our loving Father, Master and Creator. He knows all of us, and He has given us all His love and compassion, that even the greatest of sinners are not beyond the reach of His generous offer of mercy and redemption. As long as one is willing to commit himself or herself to repent from his or her sins, there is a path forward and an assurance of a new life in God.

In that same passage, the Lord Jesus also highlighted how He would do this, as He hinted that He would lay down His life for His sheep. In another account of this parable of the Good Shepherd, the Lord clearly mentioned that ‘The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep’, referring to any good shepherds out there in general, who have cared for their flock even at the cost of their own sufferings and even lives, and specifically at His own case and example, as He would lay down His own life on the Cross, suffering and dying for the sake of all the beloved people of God, for all mankind without exception. He suffered and died for all, even for all those who have persecuted, oppressed and condemned Him to death, asking His Father to forgive them from their mistakes and sins.

Through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, therefore we are all presented with the Lord in His Aspect as our Good Shepherd, reminding us first of all of how fortunate we are having been beloved in such a way by our Lord, as we receive this most generous and constant offer of love and kindness from Him. And then we are also reminded of how we have been wayward in our way of life, not following and obeying Him as we all should. Like lost sheep, we have chosen to do everything other than what our Lord and Good Shepherd had told us to do. We sought for the pleasures of worldly glory, fame and satisfaction that we have ended up being misguided and misled down the path of darkness and sin. And yet, the Lord still continued to love us all regardless, and made all the efforts to save us and to bring us back to Himself.

That was why He, as our Good Shepherd, chose to come into our midst, in seeking all of us, the ones who had been lost to Him, so that we will not end up being lost forever from Him. He has called us all by name, calling on all of us to embrace His love, mercy and forgiveness. Our Lord and Good Shepherd wanted to show us that we are truly precious to Him, and He did not mind to bear the grievous sufferings, hardships and trials for our sake. It is through His loving sacrifice for us, out of His ever enduring love that He stood between us and the power of death. Through Him, His wounds and His Body and Blood, which had been broken and outpoured upon us, we have been brought to the assurance of this new life and existence, reconciliation and reunion with God.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we going to respond to the call that Our Lord and Good Shepherd had made to us, as He called upon us to follow Him? Or are we going to continue to ignore Him and walking down our own path, which may lead us into the wrong path in life? Are we going to embrace the Light and Hope shown by our Lord and good Shepherd, or are we going to continue to seek the pleasures and the darkness of this world, and all the temptations and pleasures of life? We have all been given the freedom to choose and to decide for ourselves what we want to do with our lives and the path we are to choose. It is thus really up to us if we want to embrace God’s love and guidance, or whether we want to continue to go down the path of rebellion and sin agaist God.

This Sunday, we also celebrate the occasion of Vocation Sunday, as we remember and especially pray for all those people who had answered God’s call to be His servants and disciples, to be the ones who live their lives and carry out their actions as the shepherds of the flock of the Lord, in the model of the Good Shepherd Himself, namely our priests and bishops, and of course, our Pope Francis. Each and every one of them had committed themselves to the good works of the Lord, dedicating themselves wholly to the ministry of priesthood, by which they truly showed the same love and care that our Lord and Good Shepherd had shown us, and this Sunday in particular we pray for all of them that the Lord will continue to guide them and strengthen them all in all their works.

However we must not forget that each and every one of us as Christians also have our own unique vocations in life. Vocation in the Church is not just the vocation to priesthood only, as there are also those who continue to live in the world and living our own respective and diverse ways of life as members of the laity, as people who build up faithful Christian families and societies, as well as all those who also give themselves into consecrated life to God, or those who commit themselves to a life of singlehood and purity, all in the service of God. Each and every one of these vocations are truly important, and we are hence reminded that as Christians we must always be active in living our Christian faith and life at all times.

As Christians, we too should also be good role models and inspirations for one another, that we can truly live our lives and faith being just like Our Lord, the Good Shepherd Himself. As Christians, we should help one another to come ever closer to God, and hence, we should live our lives worthily and in accordance to God’s will, and in the way that He has taught and shown us so that by our own good examples we may truly inspire and help more and more people to come ever closer to the Lord and to His salvation. We should be the beacons of Christ’s light, hope and truth to the whole world, in all of our whole lives, actions and deeds, so that more and more people may come to believe in God through us. Let us all go forth in faith, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to serve the Lord, now and always. Amen.

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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.

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Sunday, 7 April 2024 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter, the last day of the Easter Octave that began last Sunday with the glorious celebration of Easter and our Lord’s Resurrection from the dead. On this Sunday, we continue to rejoice greatly for the Lord’s triumphant victory over sin, evil and death through His Resurrection, showing all of us the certain hope and way out from the dominion, tyranny of sin and evil, breaking their hold and control over us mankind. Through the Risen Lord we have received the hope of eternal life, the liberation from the darkness surrounding us all, that we now once again can rejoice fully with God as a people whom He has called and chosen to be His own.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which we are told about how the earliest Christian communities lived their lives, detailing to us how they cared for one another and showed genuine care and charity in all of their actions. They shared their possessions and goods among them, with the Apostles governing over them and helping them to manage their lives. Every one who had extra with them shared with all those who had less or insufficient amount, such that as mentioned, everyone had enough for themselves and their needs. This is used as a good example of Christian charity and love, and as an inspiration for all of us in how we should act towards our fellow brothers and sisters.

We do have to take note the context and situation of the Christian community at that time so that we can understand better how the Christian faithful at the time lived their lives in the described manner. Back then, the Christian community was still relatively small and closely knit together and hence it was relatively easy for them to pool and share their resources in the manner that they had done. However, this way of living soon encountered many challenges, as if we read on further in the Acts of the Apostles, there were disagreements and complaints because certain members of the Christian community were overlooked, particularly those from the non-Jewish origins, which was why the Apostles later on instituted the order of the Diaconate or the Deacons to help serve the rapidly growing Christian community.

Nonetheless, we should be inspired by the manner how those early Christians lived their lives as they truly gave their all to serve the Lord and to focus their lives upon Him. They trusted in the Lord and in one another, showing genuine love and care for each other just as the Lord has told and taught them to do. They truly embody the joyful spirit of Easter, living righteously and worthily as the chosen people of God, not worrying about earthly concerns and desires but focusing themselves upon the Lord and their calling to be good and worthy disciples of the Lord. While the circumstances and conditions are different now, but it does not mean that we cannot strive to live in the manner that enriches the faith of everyone around us by our own exemplary way of life.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the account of what happened after the Resurrection of the Lord, as we remember how the Risen Lord appeared suddenly before all of His assembled disciples save for St. Thomas the Apostle. At that time, the Lord showed Himself in all His Risen glory before them, proving to them that He was indeed risen from the dead and not merely a ghost or a spirit. He reassured them with His words, reminding them that everything had happened just as He Himself had foretold it. He told them to go forth and proclaim everything that they had themselves seen and witnessed, while breathing over them and granting them the Holy Spirit to guide them and strengthen them in their journey and efforts.

Then as we heard, St. Thomas was not present in that first moment the Lord appeared to His disciples and he refused to believe when the other Apostles told him of what they themselves had seen and witnessed. St. Thomas was always a doubter, and in earlier occasions in the Gospels, he had also shown this doubt publicly before the other disciples as well. He thus essentially challenged the Risen Lord Himself, as he said that he would not believe unless he could see and experience Him in person, and touch His wounds to know that He has indeed truly risen from the dead just as the other disciples had said to him. That was when then the Risen Lord afterwards showed Himself to St. Thomas and to the other disciples that he finally believed in the Resurrection.

St. Thomas’ attitude is not surprising as there were quite a few people at the time of the Lord who also did not believe in the resurrection from the dead like those of the Sadducees. And throughout history, even until this present time and age, there are people who refused to believe in the resurrection from the dead, or the concept of faith in the Risen Lord, or in anything spiritual simply because they could not rationalise them or experience the things that they would expect to encounter and experience before they would believe in such a belief. This is why we must understand that our belief in the Resurrection cannot be rationalised or proven through experience, but having seen how those same Apostles, including St. Thomas himself, believed in the Risen Lord so much and proclaimed His Resurrection and truth at the cost of even their own lives, therefore, the Resurrection is and must indeed be true.

After all, St. Thomas himself who had doubted the Lord, His Resurrection and all, turned over a new leaf and embraced the Lord wholeheartedly, enduring persecutions and sufferings, spent a lot of efforts to proclaim the Lord in distant lands, and suffered martyrdom in the end, all these showed us all that, what our faith had taught us, and all the truth passed down to us through the Church of God, is nothing less and nothing else than the truth, even after two millennia had passed from the time when everything happened at that time. Each and every one of us as Christians are reminded that the belief in the Resurrection is a core tenet of our Christian faith, and we should always held up this faith firmly in our hearts and minds.

This Sunday is also known as the Divine Mercy Sunday because of the decision made by Pope St. John Paul II who decreed in the Year of Our Lord 2000, the Great Jubilee Year upon the canonisation of the Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska, the one who had received the visions of the Lord in His Aspect as the Divine Mercy. For many years, St. Faustina Kowalska received those visions of the Divine Mercy, recorded what she had witnessed, seen and heard, and then, she had to face many hardships and struggles when many around her, priests, confessors, other nuns and Church authorities figures showed skepticism at the things which she had revealed and written in her books and diaries. Yet, St. Faustina Kowalska continued to persevere in her efforts and remained firm in her commitment to spread the devotion to the Divine Mercy till the end of her life.

For many years, her works were scrutinised by the Church authorities, and at times they were even banned and prohibited by those who were determined that her works were not divinely inspired and were false, or even delusions. Nonetheless, the Devotion to the Divine Mercy continued to spread, and slowly but surely, with better understanding of the context and details of the revelations received by St. Faustina Kowalska, the works, revelations given to her and the Devotion to the Divine Mercy finally received support, endorsement and approval, and as mentioned, ever since Pope St. John Paul II declared it twenty-four years ago, the Second Sunday of Easter has also been known as the Divine Mercy Sunday, with the Devotion to the Divine Mercy of God ranking as one of the most popular contemporary devotions of the Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we have discussed today and through what we have heard in our Scripture passages, we are all reminded that our faith in the Lord must always be firm and strong, and we must remember that in our own limitations and inability to comprehend the whole truth of God, His many mysteries including that of His Resurrection and the nature and Aspect of His Divine Mercy, we must entrust ourselves ever more strongly to the Wisdom of God, to the teachings of the Church which we have received throughout all these years of our lives. Most importantly, we must also embody this faith and belief in our own actions, words and deeds in each moments of our lives or else, we are no better than hypocrites who claim to believe in God and yet did not have true faith in Him.

Let us all hence renew our faith in the Resurrection of Our Lord, in His great love and compassion for us, that He, as the Divine Mercy, continues to show us His desire to forgive us our sins and to embrace us all when we come back to Him with regret and sorrow for all the sins and wickedness we have committed in our lives. Let us all also be the good and faithful witnesses to His Resurrection, His truth and Good News, His Love and most generous Mercy to all, that by our lives, the Risen Lord will always be glorified and proclaimed to the nations. Eternal Father, I offer You, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. Amen.

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Sunday, 31 March 2024 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is Risen from the dead, He has risen and conquered sin, destroyed the chains that had held us down all these while, broken free the prisons of the underworld, and led all of those who have faith in Him to Himself. Alleluia! He is Risen! And we all truly rejoice greatly and wonderfully this evening because at this moment we mark the occasion when Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the Son of God, on the third day of the Triduum of His Passion, His suffering, Crucifixion and death, rose in glory just as He Himself had predicted and told to His disciples, showing them and all of us, that sin and death truly have no power over Him, and that those do not have the final say over all of us.

At this moment of Easter Sunday, after having gone through the entire season and time of Lent from Ash Wednesday, having not sung the great and most joyful Alleluia, now we finally sing out with great joy this hymn of great praise to God, and rightly so because we give Him thanks for everything the He had done for our sake, and we thank Him most graciously for having given us all His Son to save us all, just as we have commemorated everything that happened throughout His Passion or Suffering, when Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, endured the worst punishments, sufferings and trials, all for the sake of our salvation and liberation from evil, sin and death. We rejoice because through His Resurrection afterwards, the Lord Jesus showed us all that not even sin and death can rule over us, and in the end, we can have the sure hope of eternal life with God.

In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard the words of St. Peter the Apostle who exhorted the faithful, the disciples of the Lord, proclaiming all that had happened and taken place at that time and earlier, with the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, the Son of God Who has brought the revelation of God’s truth and salvation into our midst. He was rejected, oppressed and made to suffer for all of our sins, but one which He has willingly accepted and embraced out of His love for us all. Through His Cross, Christ has brought us the sure hope of eternal life as well as the assurance of redemption because by His Cross, His death and ultimately by His Resurrection from the dead, He has conquered death, and broken forever the hold which sin has over us. His Light has dispelled the darkness present all around us, and showed us all the path towards God.

The Lord had told St. Peter and the other Apostles and disciples, shown Himself to them and proclaimed the truth about His mission, and how He has entrusted this mission to them all, to the Church of God. Each and every one of us as Christians have been called to various different missions, vocations and purpose in life, in each and every areas that are pertinent or unique to us, to the abilities and opportunities which the Lord has given to us and blessed us all with. The Apostles and disciples of the Lord responded faithfully and courageously to their calling, proclaiming the Risen Lord with great courage and dedication, being witnesses of His truth and love, His Good News to all the people of all the nations. Through their exemplary lives and actions, their commitments to God’s Law and commandments, they have indeed become the shining beacons of God’s light and salvation, which is something that we must do as well in our own lives.

In our second reading taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians, and the alternative from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, all of us are reminded by the Apostle of the grace which God has blessed us all generously with, and the path which Our Risen Lord has shown us, in leading us all towards God’s grace and salvation, leaving behind our old and past sinful way of life, our past attachments to worldly pleasures, desires and all the things which have often kept us all away from the fullness of God’s grace and love. We must get rid from ourselves all the ‘yeasts’ of sin, the impurities of our worldly attachments and all those obstacles that often kept us away from truly being able to develop a strong, lasting and wonderful relationship with the Lord. We have to focus our attention on the Risen Lord, and look upon His Light and Hope, so that we may tear ourselves away from the darkness of sin in this world.

Then finally, we are reminded yet again through the Gospel passage in which the account about the Resurrection of the Lord was highlighted to us, how the Lord has truly indeed risen from the dead and did not remain in the dominion and realm of death, for sin and death had no hold over Him, and He Himself has conquered those two, breaking forever the chains binding us to their dominion and power. Through His Resurrection, the Lord showed us all that His Light, His love and the hope in His salvation are far greater than the greatest power and forces that sin, darkness and evil can muster against us, and hence, as Christians, we must not be afraid of following the Lord and entrusting ourselves to Him, in whatever it is that He has called us all to do, to be His disciples and missionaries, His witnesses in our world today.

That is why on this most joyous occasion of Easter, as we finally rejoice in great joy and exultation upon the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord, let us all therefore remember our own moment of baptism, the time when we pass through from the old life and existence of sin into the new life and existence once again filled with God’s grace and love. We must remember our calling, mission and whatever God has entrusted to us all as Christians, in embarking on this journey we have been entrusted with through our baptism. Baptism is merely just the beginning of our journey as Christians, the moment when we enter into this new life, and not the end of the journey. There are bound to be trials, challenges, difficulties and many other obstacles in our path, and if we are not careful, we may easily slip and fall again back into the path of sin. However, if we continue to remain true and faithful to our calling and mission as Christians, then we will surely remain true in our path towards God and His salvation.

Therefore, just as we pray today for our all those who have just joined the Church earlier at Easter Vigil, let us all remind ourselves of our own journey as Christians, renewing the promises we have made at our baptism so that each and every one of us will continue to go forth, ever joyfully proclaiming the Lord and His truth, His love and salvation to all the whole world through our lives, through our every actions, words and deeds. Let us all be truly good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord, by doing His will and by continuing the great works which He has entrusted to us through His Church. May the Risen Lord be with us all and may He bless our every actions, efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Alleluia! Amen!