Monday

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Monday, 17 April 2023 : 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, 17 April 2023 : 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, 10 April 2023 : Monday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all continue to celebrate with great joy the celebrations of Easter that began with Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, as this is just the second day of the Octave of Easter, which lasts until the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, and in fact, the whole Easter season lasts a period of an entire fifty days until the Pentecost Sunday. Yet, from what we have also heard from our Scripture passages today, we are also reminded that our Easter joy and celebrations should not be limited and restricted just to that period only, as we must realise that what we celebrate this Easter is something fundamental and important in our Christian faith, as we rejoice and celebrate together our Lord’s glorious Resurrection from the dead, and how He has saved each one of us from our predicament and sins, by His Passion, His suffering, death and Resurrection.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the works of the Apostles, led by St. Peter, who went forth amongst the people on the day of the Pentecost, fifty days after the Lord’s Resurrection, to proclaim among them all the truth about the Lord, all of His works, His Resurrection and all that He had done, for the salvation of all the people. Back then, the disciples of the Lord had been hiding in fear after the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven, as the Jewish leaders, the chief priests and the elders who had mostly been opposed to the Lord and His teachings, had banned anyone from teaching or speaking in His Name, and vowed to persecute anyone who did so. That was why they were in hiding, while praying and gathering together as a community of believers. Then, on the day of the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples just as the Lord Himself had promised, and the Holy Spirit strengthened the disciples and encouraged them, gave them Wisdom and power to carry out what the Lord wanted them to do.

That was how they all became so courageous, in going forth from their hiding, and no longer hiding their beliefs, but preaching about the Risen Lord openly among the people, during the time when many people from the Jewish diaspora and beyond came to Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival. They all spoke with vigour and strength, and as St. Peter had done, they told them all of the wonderful things that God had done through His Son Jesus Christ, the One Whom the people had just recently rejected and condemned to death, put on the Cross to die and yet, by Whose death, God has willingly accepted His perfect offering and sacrifice, to redeem all of us from our many sins and wickedness. God has been reconciled with us through His Son, and by His Resurrection, Christ has shown us the sure path to eternal life. St. Peter spoke to all assembled of how Christ has revealed God’s salvation to all through His coming into this world and His Resurrection, fulfilling the promises that God had made to all their forefathers.

This is the same truth that they themselves had received from the holy women, Mary of Magdalene and others who went to the tomb of the Lord on the morning of Easter Sunday, only to see the tomb empty and open, without any Body and anyone inside. We heard from our Gospel passage today how the Angel of God proclaimed to the women that the Lord has risen gloriously from the dead just as He has foretold. We heard how the fulfilment of God’s promises had indeed come through Christ, and then of how those same chief priests and their supporters tried to hide and conceal the truth in the same Gospel passage, by bribing the soldiers and the officials to tell lies and untruths about what had actually happened, to the point of stating that the disciples had come to steal the Body of the Lord while the soldiers were sleeping, which was something that was truly unbelievable as the Roman soldiers then were renowned for their discipline and watchfulness.

That was unfortunately the extent of the lack of faith of the people of God, those whom the Lord had first appeared to and called first. Many of those chief priests and elders were so hard set in their ways and beliefs that they were unable to open their hearts and minds to listen to the Lord and to His truth that has been delivered and shown to them, despite the many times that they had witnessed the works of the Lord, His truth and all that He has taught among the people of God. This is because they had allowed worldly vices and ambitions, their attachments to worldly glory and desires to cloud their vision and judgments, leading them to close their hearts and minds against God, and turning themselves into obstacles and barriers in the path of many who are coming to seek the Lord. And yet, the Lord still called His disciples to proclaim His truth to them, as what many of them would do to reach out to these stubborn ones.

As we all know, God even made one of them to be one of His own most fervent followers, as one of the most passionate and courageous defenders of the faith, namely St. Paul the Apostle, who was once a great persecutor of Christians and an enemy of the Lord. In his foolish pursuit for power and influence, and in the misguided path he traversed as a young Pharisee named Saul, easily swayed by the temptations of worldly glory and by his misdirected zeal, caused by the distortions and falsehoods that the chief priests and the Pharisees themselves had spread, in making themselves to believe that the Lord Jesus was a fraud and that His teachings were blasphemous and a heresy, hence, causing St. Paul as the young Saul and many others to do what was against God’s will, resisting His good works and actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now as we all gather together today to continue to rejoice in the Easter joy, and as we continue to live our lives as faithful and good Christians, let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord, to be evangelising disciples in our outreach and efforts to proclaim the Word of God, His truth and resurrection to more and more people all throughout the whole world, in our respective communities, families, circles of friends, in our schools and workplaces. Let us all be the beacons of the Light of Christ and the Hope of His Resurrection, in the midst of all the communities that we are all part of. Let us all be the source of inspiration and hope for everyone who are still suffering and enduring a lot of hardships, or are in the midst of sorrows and despair, that just as Christ has come into our midst bearing His Light of Hope and salvation, we may also bring that same Light to our brethren in need.

May all of us be courageous in proclaiming the word of God and may we continue to be exemplary in our lives and actions so that we may truly be genuine Christians in our way of life, in our every actions, dealings and interactions. May the Risen Lord continue to encourage and strengthen us so that we may keep on venturing further like the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, in doing the good works of the Lord, for the salvation of many people who are in need of the light and hope of God in their midst. May all of us be the faithful bearers of Christ’s Light in our communities and societies all around us. Amen.

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Monday, 10 April 2023 : 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.

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Monday, 10 April 2023 : Monday within Easter Octave (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”

I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.

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Monday, 10 April 2023 : Monday within Easter Octave (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 2 : 14, 22-33

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and, with a loud voice, addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all foreigners now staying in Jerusalem, listen to what I have to say. Fellow Israelites, listen to what I am going to tell you about Jesus of Nazareth. God accredited Him and through Him did powerful deeds and wonders and signs in your midst, as you well know.”

“You delivered Him to sinners to be crucified and killed, and in this way the purpose of God from all times was fulfilled. But God raised Him to life and released Him from the pain of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in the power of death. David spoke of Him when He said : I saw the Lord before me at all times; He is by my side, that I may not be shaken.”

“Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; my body too will live in hope. Because You will not forsake me in the abode of the dead, nor allow Your Holy One to experience corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life, and Your presence will fill me with joy.”

“Friends, I do not need to prove that the patriarch David died and was buried; his tomb is with us to this day. But he knew that God had sworn to him that One of his descendants would sit upon his throne and, as he was a prophet, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah. So he said that He would not be left in the region of the dead, nor would His Body experience corruption.

This Messiah is Jesus and we are all witnesses that God raised Him to life. He has been exalted at God’s right side and the Father has entrusted the Holy Spirit to Him; this Spirit He has just poured upon us as you now see and hear.

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Monday, 3 April 2023 : Monday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are brought ever deeper into the mysteries and the details of Our Lord’s Passion, His suffering and trials, leading up to His death on the Cross which we are going to commemorate soon on Good Friday during the Easter Triduum. Hence, on this day, all of us are reminded yet again of everything that God had done for our sake, all the love that He has shown us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, in showing His kindness and love so wonderfully to us sinners who are in need of His help and healing. We are reminded that God loves each and every one of us, even no matter how great our sins have been. As long as we come to Him with contrite hearts and endeavour to turn away from our sinful path and way of life, there is a way for us to be reconciled with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which we listened to the proclamation about a certain Chosen One Whom God had appointed to be the One to bear His salvation and deliverance to the nations. We have heard how the Lord revealed His truth to the nations, of His love and compassion towards them, that He has sent into our midst His Servant, the One Who would be crushed and persecuted for us, to suffer and even die for our sake. This is the same Messiah that the prophets and messengers of the Lord have been prophesying about and which they had promised and proclaimed for many ages. The Lord has willingly sent His salvation into our midst, in the form of His own Beloved Son, born into this world and taking up our own human existence such that by His coming into this world, He may reunite us with God, our loving Father and Creator.

That is what the Lord has done, by reaching out to us, coming down to dwell among us, so that all of us sinners may find our consolation and help through Him, as we are reminded yet again of His love and faithfulness to the Covenant that He has made and renewed again and again with us. God has never forgotten about His people and He has reached out to them, every time they had faltered and fallen into sin. He reminded them of His ever patient and most generous love, and called on them to reject the path of sin and disobedience. Through His Son, God made us all partakers of a New and Eternal Covenant sealed by the breaking of His own Most Precious Body and by the shedding and outpouring of His own Most Precious Blood, broken and poured out for us and our salvation, as the most worthy offering made on the Altar of the Cross, at Calvary.

In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel of St. John, we heard of the curious moment when Mary, the sister of Lazarus, came to the Lord at a dinner, and anointed His feet with an expensive perfume made from pure spikenard, which cost quite a fortune back then. She poured the perfume on the Lord’s feet and with tears and her hair, she wiped the Lord’s feet with them. This was then criticised immediately by Judas Iscariot, the traitor among the Lord’s disciples. The writer of the Gospel, St. John the Apostle gave the explanation and the context that Judas Iscariot, being the one entrusted as the treasurer of the Lord’s group, had not been honest and upright in his actions, as he often stole from the common fund that had been assembled by the disciples, which should have been used to support their work and ministry. Judas Iscariot evidently loved money and continued to be dishonest in his actions.

When he criticised Mary, saying that the perfume should not have been wasted in such a manner and could have been sold for the proceeds to be given to the poor, as we heard, it was showing us the extent of how humanity has both the capacity to disobey and sin against God, as well as the capacity for repentance and forgiveness. In Judas Iscariot, we saw how man may easily succumb to the temptations of worldly desires and attachments, to wealth, glory, fame, human praise, pleasures of all sorts and many other things that often kept us away from the Lord and His grace. Judas Iscariot allowed his love and desire for money to delude him and to allow him to be tempted by the devil, allowing Satan to enter into his heart and persuade him to not only say such vile words against Mary, but also later on to betray the Lord for a sum of thirty pieces of silver, to the chief priests and the other enemies of the Lord.

On the contrary, we saw Mary’s humility and sincerity in loving the Lord, and in humbling herself such that she gave her best to glorify Him, by using her own hair, the crown of her beauty and worldly glory, to wipe His feet, the feet being usually associated as the dirtiest and most unfavourable part of the human body. Yet, Mary had no qualm at all of doing such an action before everyone assembled, shedding herself of all honour and glory in doing so, and using her best perfume in giving glory to God. As the Lord Himself mentioned, this was a prefigurement of His Passion, His suffering and death, and how she was anointing Him and preparing His Body for burial. But Mary also prefigured the Lord in a more subtle way, as her actions showed what the Lord Himself would do, first at the Last Supper, in humbling Himself to wash the feet of His disciples, and then later on, to humble Himself and empty Himself of all honour and glory, to suffer and die for us on the Cross, for our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, all of us are reminded first of all, of God’s ever enduring and patient love for us, which we should always keep in mind throughout this most solemn week commemorating our Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death. It was for our sake that He has willingly suffered all of that, so that by everything that He had to go through, He might deliver us from our fate of destruction and death, and offer us the sure path to eternal life through Him. Then, we are also reminded of the need for us to listen to the Lord and His patient calling for us to embrace His love and mercy, as we are all called to be humble like Mary, the sister of Lazarus, in realising our sinfulness and unworthiness before God, and in obeying the will of God like the Lord Jesus Himself, Who obeyed the Father’s will so perfectly, for our salvation. Let us also distance ourselves from the dangers of pride and worldly temptations, that we do not fall into the same trap as Judas Iscariot had experienced.

May the Lord continue to help us in our journey of faith and life, especially throughout this season of Lent and this most solemn time of the Holy Week. May He continue to strengthen each and every one of us and help us to persevere through the many hardships, trials and challenges that we may have to face daily in life. May God bless each and every one of us and help us all to be ever more faithful and committed in our lives, in following Him at all times. Amen.

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Monday, 3 April 2023 : Monday of Holy Week (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 12 : 1-11

At that time, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where He had raised Lazarus, the dead man, to life. Now they gave a dinner for Him, and while Martha waited on them, Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus.

Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume, made from genuine spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Judas Iscariot – the disciple who was to betray Jesus – remarked, “This perfume could have been sold for three hundred silver coins, and the money given to the poor.” Judas, indeed, had no concern for the poor; he was a thief, and as he held the common purse, he used to help himself to the funds.

But Jesus spoke up, “Leave her alone. Was she not keeping it for the day of My burial? (The poor you always have with you, but you will not always have Me.)” Many Jews heard that Jesus was there and they came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.

So the chief priests thought about killing Lazarus as well, for many of the Jews were drifting away because of him, and believing in Jesus.

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Monday, 3 April 2023 : Monday of Holy Week (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 26 : 1, 2, 3, 13-14

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

When the wicked rush at me to devour my flesh, it is my foes who stumble, my enemies fall.

Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fail; though war break out against me, I will still be confident.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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Monday, 3 April 2023 : Monday of Holy Week (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 42 : 1-7

Here is My Servant Whom I uphold, My Chosen One in Whom I delight. I have put My Spirit upon Him, and He will bring justice to the nations. He does not shout or raise His voice. Proclamations are not heard in the streets.

A broken reed He will not crush, nor will He snuff out the light of the wavering wick. He will make justice appear in truth. He will not waver or be broken until He has established justice on earth; the islands are waiting for His law.

Thus says God, YHVH, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread the earth and all that comes from it, Who gives life and breath to those who walk on it. I, YHVH, have called you for the sake of justice; I will hold your hand to make you firm; I will make you as a covenant to the people, and as a light to the nations, to open eyes that do not see, to free captives from prison, to bring out to light those who sit in darkness.