Monday

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Monday, 19 April 2021 : 3rd Week of Easter, Sixteenth Anniversary of the Papal Election of Pope Benedict XVI as Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are called to renew our faith in God and to recall our calling as Christians to be the faithful witnesses of the Lord’s truth and Resurrection, the bearers of the Gospels and the Good News of God’s salvation in our world today, just as St. Stephen, the holy Deacon and Protomartyr had done it during his own ministry, and how the other holy men and women of God, our predecessors, had done it.

In our first reading today, we heard the discourse on St. Stephen, one of the seven first Deacons of the Church appointed by the Apostles in establishing the Order of Deacons to minister to the needs of the people of God. St. Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, and passionately carried out his mission, doing the good works for the Lord and His people, as well as preaching the truth of God and the Gospels, and performing wondrous miracles before many.

It was not long that his efforts met tough resistance from the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council. The same people had attempted to stop the works of the Apostles and restrain them by ordering them not to continue the work in the Name of the Lord Jesus. However, as the works of the Apostles and the other disciples, including that of St. Stephen continued to flourish and grow, the Sanhedrin began to find ways to suppress their works, and what happened to St. Stephen was the result of this.

As St. Stephen went up against his opponents, who publicly challenged him and even those who had been paid to make false testimonies, those who were assembled against him realised that not even those were able to discredit, stop or argue against St. Stephen’s wisdom and power given to him by the Holy Spirit. St. Stephen was there alone in the assembly, as many gathered in opposing him and wanting to stop him and condemn him for his efforts and works. But the Lord gave him the courage to continue to preach the truth, and speaking without fear, even before those who hated and despised him and the Lord.

St. Stephen still in fact patiently ministered to those people who were assembled against him, and he spoke in great detail in the parts after today’s first reading in the Acts of the Apostles regarding God’s plan of salvation and how God had patiently led and guided His people throughout the past with love, and finally gave Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, to be the Saviour of all, that by dying, He has taken up all of mankind’s sins, the sins of those same people assembled against St. Stephen, in order to redeem all of them from their sins and to free them from its chains and bondage of death.

This is the truth that the Lord Himself has also spoken before the people of God as mentioned in our Gospel today when He spoke to the assembled multitudes right after He had fed them all, five thousand men and many thousands more of others, with the miraculous breaking of the bread and the fishes. He spoke of Himself as the One Whom God had sent into the world, and as One Who has given Himself, as the Bread of Life, broken and offered for us, for our salvation.

All of us are witnesses and inheritors of the truth, of God’s amazing love to each and every one of us, His providence and blessings, His ever loving presence in our midst, and all that He has done for us, in loving us and in showing compassion towards us. St. Stephen and the many other saints and martyrs all spoke of this same truth, and many among them suffered and died for this truth. As Christians, we are all called to follow in their footsteps and partake in the effort to reach out to our fellow brethren.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we ready to take up our crosses and follow the Lord wholeheartedly? Are we willing and ready to follow in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, St. Stephen and so many other saints and martyrs, to stand up for the truth and to deliver this same truth to this darkened world? We have all been called to be the beacons of God’s light in this world, and therefore, let us all commit ourselves thoroughly to serve Him, and to be His faithful and good disciples at all times.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He strengthen each and every one of us, in each and every moments of our lives. May He empower all of us to be His true disciples, and may all of us grow ever closer to Him, and also grow in faith and love for Him, always. Amen.

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Monday, 19 April 2021 : 3rd Week of Easter, Sixteenth Anniversary of the Papal Election of Pope Benedict XVI as Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 22-29

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

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

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

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

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Monday, 19 April 2021 : 3rd Week of Easter, Sixteenth Anniversary of the Papal Election of Pope Benedict XVI as Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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

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

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

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

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Monday, 19 April 2021 : 3rd Week of Easter, Sixteenth Anniversary of the Papal Election of Pope Benedict XVI as Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 6 : 8-15

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

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

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

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Monday, 12 April 2021 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of the power of God guiding each one of us, as He led His disciples through their missions and works, providing for them and helping them as they navigated through the many challenges and trials, and embarking on the many opportunities they had in evangelisation to the people about God and His saving works.

In our first reading today, we heard of the prayers of the Apostles and the disciples, just after St. Peter and St. John were released from the custody and inquiry by the members of the Sanhedrin. They thanked God for His protection over them and prayed for guidance and strength that they might continue to serve Him faithfully at all times, and they sought Him for His continued love and grace.

They were indeed those who had been reborn in the Spirit as mentioned by the Lord Himself to Nicodemus, when they were conversing about the works that the Lord Jesus had done, and the identity of the Lord, as the One Who had come from the Father into the world in order to save it. The Lord had revealed to Nicodemus, one of the few faithful among the Pharisees, Who He really is.

And He told Nicodemus that unless one is reborn again in the Spirit, they will not be able to recognise Him and His works. And all are called to be reborn again in the Spirit, through the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit that the Lord brought unto us, His Church. The Apostles and the disciples had received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and they had been renewed in faith and strengthened, with great courage to carry out the mission that God had entrusted to them.

The Holy Spirit transformed them all from people who were fearful, as they were just after the Lord had been crucified, and then later on, as they feared the persecution by the Jewish authorities. They were transformed into courageous and willing participants in the works of the Lord, as St. Peter and St. John had done, in testifying their faith before the assembled people in Jerusalem, and before the Sanhedrin itself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to reflect on what we have received and heard through the Scriptures, on what we ourselves have been called to do as Christians in our respective lives. Each and every one of us have the share in the same baptism, and received the same Holy Spirit that the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord then had received.

However, are we all willing to let the Lord guide us through His Spirit as the Apostles had done? Are we willing to commit ourselves to the mission that the Lord had entrusted to us, dedicating our efforts, time and attention to serve Him and to glorify Him by our actions, through our every outreach to our fellow brethren, our every little deeds by which we show God’s love and truth to more and more people whom we encounter in this world?

Let us all do our very best therefore to do what the Lord had commanded us to do, to be exemplary in our lives as Christians, to be good and worthy disciples of Our Lord in all things, that by our efforts and works, more and more people may see the light of God’s salvation through us, and therefore, be saved and may enter into the glory of the kingdom of God with us. May God bless us all, and may He guide us in all of our good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 12 April 2021 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 1-8

At that time, among the Pharisees there was a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God to teach us, for no one can perform miraculous signs like Yours unless God is with Him.”

Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above.” Nicodemus said, “How can there be rebirth for a grown man? Who could go back to his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you : No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

“Because of this, do not be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again from above.’ The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

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Monday, 12 April 2021 : 2nd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 2 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-9

Why do the nations conspire? Why do the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth brace themselves and the rulers together take their stand against the Lord and His Anointed. They say, “Let us break their bonds! Let us cast away their chains!”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord looks at them in derision. Then in anger He speaks to them, terrifying them in the fury of His wrath : “Behold the King I have installed, in Zion, upon My holy hill!”

I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You. Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall rule them with iron sceptre and shatter them as a potter’s vase.”

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Monday, 12 April 2021 : 2nd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 4 : 23-31

As soon as Peter and John were set free, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices as one and called upon God, “Sovereign Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, of the sea and everything in them, You have put these words in the mouth of David, our father and Your servant, through the Holy Spirit : Why did the pagan nations rage and the people conspire in folly? The kings of the were aligned and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Messiah.”

“For indeed in this very city Herod with Pontius Pilate, and the pagans together with the people of Israel conspired against Your holy Servant Jesus, Whom You anointed. Thus, indeed, they brought about whatever Your powerful will had decided from all time would happen. But now, Lord, see their threats against us and enable Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and to work signs and wonders through the Name of Jesus Your holy Servant.”

When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered together shook, and they were all filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

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Monday, 5 April 2021 : Monday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we enter into the weekdays of Easter Octave, we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us regarding the matter how the Apostles and the disciples were trying their best to proclaim the Lord and His truth, especially with regards to His glorious Resurrection among the people, beginning with the testimony made by St. Peter the Apostle before the whole assembly of the people, and then also what had happened at the Resurrection of the Lord as we heard it again in today’s Gospel passage.

In our first reading today we heard St. Peter speaking before the large number of people gathered at the moment after the Pentecost, when the Apostles received the Holy Spirit from God and began proclaiming courageously their faith in the Lord, and spoke openly regarding the Lord Jesus before all assembled, even when the chief priests and the Sanhedrin had been against such actions and works, and warned against all those who preached in the Name of the Lord. St. Peter spoke clearly and with conviction, calling on the people to follow the Lord.

St. Peter spoke to the people of how the recently crucified Man was indeed the Messiah or the Saviour of God, the One Who had been promised to all the people, and the One through Whom God’s salvation had come. And this was the truth that the chief priests and many among the members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council were trying to suppress and prevent from spreading. As we heard in the Gospel passage today, they tried to bribe the guards to tell the people how the disciples had plotted to steal the Body of Jesus and used that to claim how the Lord had risen from the dead.

That was truly a heinous attempt to stop the message of the Lord’s truth from being spread, to snuff out the Christian faith at its very infancy. However, the Lord guided those who were faithful to Him, giving them the courage and strength to speak up the truth even amidst the challenges and trials, the difficulties and threats that they were facing. They were guided by the Holy Spirit Who gave them the hope and the fire in their hearts to speak out what was in their hearts and minds.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on these readings, let us all consider carefully what it truly means for us to be Christians, to be those who believe in Christ, in His truth and Resurrection. As shown in those Scripture passages and as was evident throughout the long history of the Church, the faithful often had to contend against the popular opinion and also the general society, norms and rules, as persecutions of the faithful happened from time to time, again and again at different places and among different peoples.

Many of our brethren are still suffering from all sorts of persecutions and prejudices, bias and being ostracised, and yet, they held on to the faith firmly in the Lord despite the trials that they had to face. Then how about us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Have we allowed ourselves to be complacent in faith and take our Christian faith for granted? Let us remember the courage that was shown by the Apostles and the members of the early Church in standing up for their faith in Christ.

What are we going to do, brothers and sisters in Christ? We have all received the truth of God, and the Risen Lord had been revealed to us. Are we then going to be His witnesses in our world today? We do not have to do wonderful or amazing things in order to do so. Rather, we need to begin from the simple acts and our own daily living, each and every moments and interactions we have with our fellow brothers and sisters, with our neighbours and even with strangers we encounter.

How are we going to convince others if we ourselves have not led an exemplary Christian life, and commit ourselves thoroughly to a Christian way of living and also in the way we carry ourselves and act in this world? Let us not be like those hypocrites who pretended to believe and yet, in their hearts they did not truly love God at all. And let us all also not harden our hearts like those chief priests and the members of the Sanhedrin either.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all live our lives from now on, as faithful Christians, as good role models of our faith, that we may truly be inspirations and beacons of light, of the light of Christ in the midst of all the darkness in this world. Let us all turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and dedication, with commitment and the courage to walk in the path that the Lord had set before us, following the examples of the Apostles.

May the Lord, our Risen Saviour and Master, be with us all, and may He bless us all and our good works and endeavours. May He continue to strengthen and encourage us all daily, as we continue to live our lives, hopefully ever more faithfully with each and every passing moments. Amen.

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Monday, 5 April 2021 : Monday within Easter Octave (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 28 : 8-15

At that time, the woman left the tomb at once in fear, yet with great joy, and they ran to tell the news to Jesus’ disciples. Suddenly, He met them on the way and said, “Rejoice!” The women approached Him, embraced His feet and worshipped Him. But Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid! Go and tell My brothers to set out for Galilee; there they will see Me.”

While the women were on their way, the guards returned to the city, and some of them reported to the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests met with the elders, and decided to give the soldiers a large sum of money, with this instruction, “Say that His disciples came by night while you were asleep, and stole the Body of Jesus. If Pilate comes to know of this, we will explain the situation and keep you out of trouble.”

The soldiers accepted the money and did as they were told. This story has circulated among the Jews until this day.