Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 67 : 29-30, 33-35a, 35bc and 36c
Summon Your power, o God, with the strength You have wielded for us. To Your Temple in Jerusalem, kings will come with gifts.
Sing to God, o kingdoms of the world; sing praises to the Lord, to Him Who rides the ancient heavens and speaks in the voice of thunder. Proclaim the might of God.
He is great in Israel, powerful in heavens. Blessed be God!
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 20 : 28-38
Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock the Holy Spirit has placed into your care. Shepherd the Church of the Lord that He has won at the price of His own Blood. I know that after I leave, ruthless wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. And from among you, some will arise corrupting the truth and inducing the disciples to follow them.
Be on the watch, therefore, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease to warn everyone even with tears. Now I commend you to God and to His grace-filled word, which is able to make you grow and gain the inheritance that you shall share with all the saints.
I have not looked for anyone’s silver, gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine, have provided for both my needs and the needs of those who were with me. In every way I have shown you that by working hard one must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus Himself said, “Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving.”
After this discourse, Paul knelt down with them and prayed. Then they all began to weep and threw their arms around him and kissed him. They were deeply distressed because he had said that they would never see him again. And they went with him even to the ship.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard in the Scriptures the prayers and the wishes of those who have done the will of God and been faithful to the end. St. Paul was meeting the elders, the bishops and priests of the Church in Ephesus as a farewell to them, because he knew that afterwards he would never see them again, as he was going to his eventual martyrdom in Rome.
In the Gospel today, Jesus our Lord spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, where He spoke to them about many things at the culmination of His earthly ministry. He prayed to God the Father to bless and strengthen His disciples through the difficult times that was to come, so that they might persevere through those challenging times.
Both St. Paul and Jesus our Lord had completed the respective works which they were given by the Lord, that is to give the people of God the truth and the revelation of the truth of God’s mysteries, and to reveal to them the nature of God’s love and mercy for mankind. They were then going to their end, the end of their earthly lives, having completed what they were supposed to do, faithful to the end and their rewards would be great.
They showed us all the attitudes which we as the disciples and followers of our Lord should have in our lives. We should first put our complete trust in the Lord, and believe in the providence and help which He will give to us and bless us with. We must remember that He will not abandon us in our time of great need, and He will always guard us and protect us as long as we keep our faith in Him.
He will not abandon us to the darkness and to the devil, but we must also realise that the path of being faithful to Him will not be an easy one, just as St. Paul himself had demonstrated, together with the other Apostles, disciples and martyrs of the Church who have encountered those challenges and difficulties in living their lives faithfully and against the forces of the world.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, challenges and obstacles are part and parcel of our lives as Christians, primarily because the ways of this world, as we all should now, are not in accordance to the ways of the Lord, and very often, they would come into conflict against each other. And thus, the world will indeed persecute the faithful people of God, just as they had done in the ages past.
It will not be easy indeed, brethren, many of those who have preceded us lived their lives in difficulty, persevering through the challenges, some were imprisoned, some were tortured and in pain, and some even lost their lives for the sake of the Lord. And yet, these had gone to their heavenly reward, receiving the glory of God and the eternal life promised to them, while those who compromised their faith and submitted to the world had also gone to their just reward, that is eternal suffering and damnation in hell.
We should all realise that for us all, it is now up to us to live our lives, and how we should act and do things in this life, so that we can be either faithful or faithless to God. Let us just ask ourselves this one question, what do we want to see in our own respective lives, if at the very end of our earthly lives, we are able to look back at our every single actions and deeds? What do we want to see, brethren? Do we want to see a life filled with justice and good deeds, worthy of the Lord? Or do we rather see a life of wickedness and evil, and unworthy of the Lord?
The choice is ours brethren, and let us all pray as St. Paul had done, that we may be given the strength and the grace to live our lives filled with faith and with confidence, knowing that if we are faithful to God’s ways, we shall never be disappointed and receive the eternal glory and life promised to all of us. Lord, our God and Father, remain with us always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 17 : 1-11a
At that time, after speaking to His disciples at the Last Supper, Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come! Give glory to Your Son, that the Son may give glory to You. You have given Him power over all humanity, so that He may give eternal life to all those You entrusted to Him. For this is eternal life : to know You, the only true God, and the One You sent, Jesus Christ.”
“I have glorified You on earth and finished the work that You gave Me to do. Now, Father, give Me, in Your presence, the same glory I had with You before the world began. I have made Your Name known to those You gave Me from the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they kept Your word. And now they know that whatever You entrusted to Me, is indeed from You.”
“I have given them the teaching I received from You, and they received it, and know in truth that I came from You; and they believe that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those who belong to You, and whom You have given to Me. Indeed all I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and now they are My glory.”
“I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I come to You.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 67 : 10-11, 20-21
Then You gave a rain of blessings to comfort Your weary children. Your people found a dwelling and in Your mercy, o God, You provided for the needy.
Blessed be the Lord, God our Saviour, Who daily bears our burdens! Ours is a God Who saves; our Lord lets us escape from death.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 20 : 17-27
From Miletus Paul sent word to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the Church. When they came to him, he addressed them, “You know how I lived among you from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia, how I served the Lord in humility through the sorrows and trials that the Jews caused me.”
“You know that I never held back from doing anything that could be useful for you; I spoke publicly and in your homes and I urged Jews and non-Jews alike to turn to God and believe in our Lord Jesus. But now I am going to Jerusalem, chained by the Spirit, without knowing what will happen to me there. Yet in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and troubles await me.”
“Indeed I put no value on my life, if only I can finish my race and complete the service to which I have been assigned by the Lord Jesus, to announce the good news of God’s grace. I now feel sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom of God will ever see me again. Therefore I declare to you this day that my conscience is clear with regard to all of you. For I have spared no effort in fully declaring to you God’s will.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard in the first reading how St. Paul approached and spoke to the followers of Christ, who had heard of the word of God through the preachers and the other disciples, but who have not yet comprehended the fullness of the mysteries of God’s truth. They understood the basic tenets of the Lord’s teachings, but have yet then to receive the Holy Spirit of God.
But through the works and the teachings which St. Paul brought to them, they then understood the fullness of God’s truth and teachings, and they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit came down upon them through St. Paul. And thus, the foundations and the strength of the Church in Ephesus was strengthened and solidified.
And it is the same Spirit which all of us have received at our baptism and confirmation, when we have received the fullness of the three sacraments of Initiation, namely of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. The same Holy Spirit has been passed down to us from the Apostles, through their successors, our priests and bishops who then ministered to us and blessed us with the Holy Spirit.
And because of that, by the dwelling of the Lord inside each and every one of us, we have been renewed and strengthened, and indeed we have been prepared to be with God when He comes again. But then we should ask ourselves, how would the Lord find us when He comes again? Will He find us in a ripe and good state, filled to the brim and even overflowing with the fruits of the Holy Spirit? Or will we instead find ourselves filled with rotten fruits of sin and wickedness?
In one occasion, Jesus was passing by a fig tree on His way to Jerusalem, and He was hungry. He looked at the fig tree, hoping to find some fig fruits for Him to eat, but He could not find any fruit on the tree. Thus, He cursed the tree and when He and the disciples passed through the tree again on the next occasion, it had withered all the way to its roots.
If we just look at this passage with face value alone, then we indeed would be confused, thinking how come the Lord would be so angry at the fig tree for having no fruit while it was not yet the fig season yet. Surely it would be unreasonable and uncharacteristic for our Lord to be angry right? But if we look at it more carefully, ponder on it and reflect on what it means, surely we can see that those actions of Jesus spoke a thousand words.
Remember that Jesus always said that He will come again, and that we ought to be ready, as His coming will be swift and unnoticeable, unpredictable and unknown just as a thief comes to steal? What does this mean, brethren? Just as He came to the fig tree out of season, so He will also come to us in unpredicted time, when we do not expect Him to come at all. And when He comes, will He also find us barren as the fig tree was barren too?
What are the fruits that we ought to bear? We ought to cultivate what the Lord through His Spirit has given us and planted in us, that by our actions and deeds, we may bear forth love, hope, compassion, care and many other good fruits, particularly in how we deal with one another, and in how we live our faith with real commitment to love God and to love our fellow men.
If we have been truly faithful, then in our actions we should have shown how much we are able to obey Him, by loving Him as He has asked us, and loving each other in the same manner, rich in forgiveness and compassion, and unbending in seeking and demanding righteousness and justice in all things. Then, when the Lord comes again, He shall find us righteous, worthy and filled with precious fruits. Otherwise, it is only His curse that we shall get if we do not do all these.
Let us pray today, that all of us may grow strong in faith, and devote ourselves and our time to the Lord, that we may be fruitful and be worthy of the Lord as we approach the solemnity of the Pentecost Sunday this coming Sunday. May God bless us all and keep us, and may He fill us always with His Holy Spirit. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 16 : 29-33
At that time, the disciples of Jesus said to Him, “Now You are speaking plainly and not in veiled language! Now we see that You know all things, even before we question You. Because of this we believe that You came from God.”
Jesus answered them, “You say that you believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me.”
“I have told you all this, so that in Me you may have peace. You will have trouble in the world; but, courage! I have overcome the world.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 67 : 2-3, 4-5ac, 6-7ab
Arise, o God, scatter Your enemies; let Your foes flee before You. As smoke is blown by the wind, so blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish before You.
But let the righteous be glad and exult before God; let them sing to God and shout for joy. Sing to God, sing praises to His Name. The Lord is His Name. Rejoice in His presence.
Father of orphans and Protector of widows – such is our God in His holy dwelling. He gives shelter to the homeless, sets the prisoners free.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 19 : 1-8
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul travelled through the interior of the country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples whom he asked, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
They answered, “We have not even heard that anyone may receive the Holy Spirit.” Paul then asked, “What kind of baptism have you received?” And they answered, “The baptism of John.”
Paul then explained, “John’s baptism was for conversion, but he himself said they should believe in the One Who was to come, and that One is Jesus.” Upon hearing this, they were baptised in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Then Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came down upon them; and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of them in all.
Paul went into the synagogue and for three months he preached and discussed there boldly, trying to convince them about the Kingdom of God.
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