Monday

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Monday, 6 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the story of the persecution and the eventual martyrdom of St. Stephen, the very first martyr of the Church, one of the seven men who were chosen to be the first Deacons of the Church in serving the people of God. That was at a time when the Church was still in its very earliest beginnings, when the numbers of the faithful rapidly increased as many more of the people came to believe in the Lord Jesus and in His salvation.

However, great persecutions were soon to follow, as the Jewish authorities and the religious and community leaders began to lead an oppressive and intimidatory campaigns and crackdowns against all those who believed in the Lord and in His teachings, as shown in what happened to St. Stephen. False witnesses were brought in to accuse the holy servant of God, as the enemies of the Lord were not able to match him in wisdom and power.

St. Stephen nonetheless stood faithfully and courageously against his enemies, against all those who persecuted and oppressed him and his Master. He spoke with wisdom and eloquence of the Holy Spirit, even though he was alone amidst many enemies and all those who cried out for his death. The Lord was with him and He guided him, and that was how St. Stephen could be so courageous and faithful, despite all the challenges he faced.

And this is related to what the Lord has said to the people in our Gospel passage today, when the people looked for Jesus after He has performed the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and countless other women and children. He told the people how they were looking for superficial things in their minds and desires, when they flocked to see Him, because they wanted to receive satisfaction of their flesh, to be filled with good food and other earthly pleasures.

That was what they sought when they went to find the Lord, and in fact, they wanted to make Him their King, but the Lord went away from them and hid Himself. That was why they went searching for Him in the first place. But the Lord told them and in fact rebuked them, saying that to be His true disciples and followers, they must truly have faith in Him, and not just because they think that they are able to benefit and enjoy pleasures in life through Him.

As what our first reading passage reminds us all today, to be the true, dedicated and faithful followers of Christ in fact requires us to be firm and steadfast in our faith, in our belief in the Lord’s truths, even despite challenges, oppositions, difficulties and trials we may have to face in life. St. Stephen endured it all, because he truly had faith in God, and he had entrusted himself so completely to Him, that he gave it all to the Lord.

While the people in the Gospel passage sought satisfaction, fulfilment and pleasure for themselves, St. Stephen sought for true justification and glory in God, by his own steadfast faith and by his courageous actions, standing up for the truth of God even in the face of persecution and opposition from the whole world. St. Stephen knew that all the goodness and the joys of this world could not be compared to the true joy that God alone can give.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as the Lord Himself mentioned in our Gospel passage today, He is the Bread of Life, and all of us who truly share in His Body and in His Blood, having received Him into our lives with faith, as St. Stephen had, will receive the true joy and satisfaction in life. Are we all able to overcome the temptations of the world, the seduction of pleasure and worldly ambitions? We may encounter the same challenges and difficulties that St. Stephen and our predecessors had encountered, as they were persecuted and oppressed in many occasions, but with God by our side, we will be able to persevere and triumph in the end.

May the Lord be our guide, and may He grant us the strength, wisdom and the courage, that we may follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and the saints, St. Stephen and all those who have faithfully stood by the Lord and devoted themselves to defending the faith that they have received through the Church. May all of us be true disciples of the Lord, in all of our words, actions and deeds. Amen.

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Monday, 6 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 22-29

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

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

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

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

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Monday, 6 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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

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

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

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

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Monday, 6 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 6 : 8-15

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

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

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

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Monday, 29 April 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened first of all of the frustrations as shown in the prayers uttered by the Apostles, St. Peter and St. John, who at that time had just healed the sickness of a crippled man and restored him to full health in the Name of the Lord, and yet, they were oppressed, persecuted and treated like criminals, by the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council who wanted to stop them from performing miracles and teaching in the Name of the Lord Jesus.

They voiced out their frustrations at the stubbornness of all those who refused to believe in God and in His truth, and constantly placed obstacles in the path of the disciples of the Lord. But they trusted in the Lord and believed that He would not abandon them to their enemies. They prayed that God would guide and protect them as they embarked on the challenging and dangerous mission that He has commanded them to do.

And God sent them all the Holy Spirit, Who descended on them and filled their hearts and minds with courage and strength, with the desire and conviction to carry out the mission which has been entrusted to them. And as compared to how they were prior to receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples had undergone a great transformation in action and in their way of life. Where they were once fearful, doubtful and easily shaken in their faith, they became courageous defenders of the Lord from then on.

And this is what the Lord Jesus actually meant in our Gospel passage today, when He discussed with Nicodemus the Pharisee, on the matter of being born again in the Spirit. Nicodemus was initially puzzled when the Lord mentioned that for him to be able to see and witness the kingdom of God, he must be born again in God. He thought that to be born again meant that one had to literally go back into his or her mother’s womb, which was not possible.

But the Lord clarified it for him, and through the examples of the Apostles, all of us have also received the truth about what being born again truly means for each and every one of us. It means that each and every one of us must go through that profound change in our lives, that is just so profound and complete, that one must seem to be unrecognisable and transformed by the change, so as to be ‘born again’.

And this happens when we allow the Lord to enter into us, and perform His work through us, by the bestowing of His Holy Spirit and His Real Presence in each and every one of us. The Apostles as we have heard earlier, prayed, and the Holy Spirit was given to the discipled who were gathered with them, so that despite all of the challenges and difficulties that they had to endure, they endured them nonetheless with great courage and faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have also received the same gift of the Holy Spirit, and God Himself has entered into our lives, being present in us and with us. However, many among us have not been able to make use of these gifts God has given to us, and we remain aloof and indifferent to the calling and the mission which God has called us to do. This is because of our own inability to recognise God being present in us, and how we have shut ourselves from God and His love.

Today, all of us are called to reflect on our own lives, on how we have lived our lives all these while. Are we able to be truly born again in faith, by embracing what the Lord has given to us all in our own respective lives? And this requires us all to be more faithful and to be more committed in our faith in God. And perhaps, we should learn from the experiences and the examples shown to us by our holy predecessors, especially St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast day we are celebrating today.

St. Catherine of Siena was a very renowned saint of the Church, who dedicated herself into a life of sanctity and devotion to God from early on in her life. She did these all despite the oppositions from her family and the many challenges she had to encounter throughout her life. Yet, her commitment to God, her sanctity and great wisdom, in her many writings and letters inspired many others to return to their faith in God.

She was in fact so influential that she even had a crucial role in the ending of the great Western Schism, when rival Popes came to power being elected by the opposing factions and groups in the Church. She exhorted the faithful and the Pope to put their faith and obedience to God’s will as the first and foremost focus in their choice of action. And therefore the Lord showed His wonderful works through this faithful saint, by which many were saved.

Let us all therefore follow in the footsteps of St. Catherine of Siena, holy woman and servant of God, and also the examples of the Apostles and the many other holy disciples of the Lord. Let us all renew our faith and commitment, just as the disciples and St. Catherine of Siena had done, and live up to the calling which God had called us to, to be good and devoted Christians, all those whom God has called to be His own. Amen.

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Monday, 29 April 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (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, 29 April 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (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, 29 April 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (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, 22 April 2019 : Monday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture as we progress through the Octave of Easter, rejoicing together in the Easter joy of Our Lord. And we are constantly being reminded that as Christians filled with the joy of Easter, we are to be role models for one another, and to be the bearers of this same joy in our evangelising mission towards all those who have yet to know of Christ and His salvation.

The Lord has truly risen from the dead, and His resurrection brought about a great new hope for all of His disciples, especially because they were filled with fear by the sudden loss of their Lord and Master in such a humiliating and terrible way. They were fearful of the repercussions from the Jewish authorities, all those who have arrested the Lord and sentenced Him to death, sending Him over to the Romans to be crucified, a punishment reserved to the worst of criminals.

As we heard in the Gospel passage today, there were many who witnessed firsthand the resurrection of the Lord, both at the tomb as we heard in today’s Gospel, as well as in the subsequent apparitions of the Risen Lord to His disciples before He ascended into heaven. Yet, the Sanhedrin or the Council of the elders of the Jewish people bribed the guards who also witnessed the resurrection of the Lord, to tell a false story that the disciples had stolen the Lord’s Body and hid Him in order to cover up the truth.

They opposed the Lord and His disciples such that they put a very harsh opposition and even oppression on all those who taught and preached in the Name of Jesus. They forbade all people from mentioning or teaching in His Name, and all these efforts to eradicate the truth of the Lord made many among the disciples to be fearful. They already fled and were scattered right at the moment when the Lord was arrested, and did not dare to stand by Him at the moments of His distress.

Yet, in the first reading today, we heard the great, courageous and wonderful testimony made by St. Peter the Apostle. This is the same St.

Peter who had denied the Lord three times at the night of His agony and suffering, despite his earlier promise that he would even die for the sake of the Lord. But as we heard, St. Peter has been totally transformed by the Holy Spirit, as he and the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord received the promised Spirit of God at the Pentecost.

We saw how St. Peter spoke openly and plainly on the truth that has happened and which Christ has spoken before them all, even when the Sanhedrin, the chief priests, the Pharisees and the opponents of the Lord threatened to take severe actions against them. In various occasions throughout the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, we can see how those same disciples of the Lord who had once fled in fear, had become courageous servants, who even willingly embraced martyrdom for their faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore today, as we continue to progress through the season of Easter, we must remind ourselves that we have to follow the examples and the courage of the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord. We have received the same Holy Spirit as they have received, at the time of our Baptism, and for those among us, who have also received the Sacrament of Confirmation, the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us have been affirmed and strengthened.

And we have been called to continue the same mission which the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord have received, and that is to bring forth the truth of God and to bear witness to Him, Our Risen Lord and Saviour, before the people of various nations and origins, that we may truly show, not only by words, but even more importantly, through our every actions and by the sincerity of our attitudes in life, that each and every one of us may inspire many others to also follow us in our journey towards God.

May the Risen Lord Jesus, Our Saviour be with us always, and may He strengthen in us our faith and dedication to Him, that we may endure more patiently the challenges in our lives and that we may do our very best to live our lives in the most Christian way, so that more may come to believe in God, Our Risen Saviour, through us and our exemplary lives. May God bless us always. Amen.

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Monday, 22 April 2019 : 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.