Palm Sunday

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Tuesday, 5 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we come together and witnessed how God was with the Apostles and the disciples as they went forth and spread the message of the Gospel and its Good News to the regions which have yet to hear the message, and the Church continued to grow at that time, despite opposition and persecution from the Jewish authorities and the Romans and local authorities alike.

There were challenges and trials facing the Apostles and all the other disciples who went to many places to spread the word of God. Jesus Himself had warned His disciples that this would happen to them, because of the opposition of the world that did not know Him and His ways. But God is with them, and He sent to His faithful ones the Helper, or the Advocate, that is the Holy Spirit, as aid and guide, to help them to overcome the mentioned challenges and difficulties.

The disciples took their duties and missions very seriously, and they walked on many paths to deliver the message of God’s truth to many nations. They did not mind or fear persecution, rejection or opposition because they knew that no matter what happens, Satan and his forces could not harm them, for God is with them and protecting them at all times. Satan, the prince of this world and ruler of all that is wicked can only harm the flesh but not the soul.

Thus, the Apostles, St. Paul and many other disciples rejoiced at the thought of having to suffer persecution for the sake of the Lord and in being rejected by the world, for this showed that they truly belonged to the Lord and not to the world, for the world does not know God and thus, what the Apostles had done is an aversion to it. And great is the reward of those who have walked in the path of righteousness and those who bring goodness to others around them by preaching and examples of faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings remind us that there are still many things that we can do as the members of His Church in this world. Much like the time of the Apostles, this world is still covered in darkness, and even worse that many who had once been faithful to the Lord are turning their backs against Him and betrayed Him for the many idols of this world.

There is always a need for faithful disciples to carry out and continue the works of the courageous and holy Apostles who first preached the Good News to the multitudes living in the darkness. We are all called by our baptism and therefore by our membership and shared responsibility in the Church of God, to be witnesses of the Good News of God through not just our words and preaching, but also through all our deeds and actions that make alive all that we have spoken in the Name of the Lord.

On this day, therefore, let us all sincerely and deeply reflect in our hearts, on whether we have done anything or if we have done enough to merit being called the children of God and a member of His Church. If we have not done enough, then perhaps it is time for us to do more, and devote ourselves more to the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ by loving our brethren more and showing mercy and compassion to all who need them.

May Almighty God be with us always and bless all of our dealings and works, that in all of them we may always be justified by them, and therefore be worthy to receive God’s salvation and the eternal life and true joy that He had promised all those who are faithful to Him. Amen.

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Tuesday, 5 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 27-31a

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace be with you! I give you My peace; not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Do not be troubled; do not be afraid. You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, but I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would be glad that I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

“I have told you this now before it takes place, so that when it does happen you may believe. It is very little what I may still tell you, for the prince of this world is at hand, although there is nothing in Me that he can claim. But see, the world must know that I love the Father, and that I do what the Father has taught Me to do.”

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Tuesday, 5 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 21

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

Let my mouth speak in praise of the Lord, let every creature bless His Holy Name, forever and ever.

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Tuesday, 5 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 14 : 19-28

Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the people against them. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, leaving him for dead. But when his disciples gathered around him, he stood up and returned to the town. And the next day he left for Derbe with Barnabas.

After proclaiming the Gospel in that town and making many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and on to Antioch. They were strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain firm in the faith, for they said, “We must go through many trials to enter the Kingdom of God.”

In each Church they appointed elders and, after praying and fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had placed their faith. Then they travelled through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. They preached the Word in Perga and went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been commended to God’s grace for the task they had now completed.

On their arrival they gathered the Church together and told them all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the non-Jews. They spent a fairly long time there with the disciples.

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Monday, 4 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard a central theme to today’s Scripture readings, which is indeed a very important aspect of our life. And this theme is obedience and humility, that is the obedience to the will of God and the humility to recognise our shortcomings and weaknesses, and that in all the things that we do, we ought to give thanks to God and give glory to Him, instead of taking all the credits for ourselves.

Jesus made it clear in the Gospel today, that whoever loves Him will do as He had taught them, and they will not contemplate doing things that are beyond the scope of what is expected from them as the people of God and servants of the Light. Those who love the Lord will keep His words and follow His commandments, practicing their faith and devoting their efforts to walk in the righteous path of God.

This will be the case if our faith is real and genuine, and we truly have faith in God, and not merely lip service or be faithful for show or appearances before others. Everything that we do in this life, everything that we say and utter from our mouth, and every thoughts that come in our minds, and every single breath we take in and expel, all of these will be filled with the purpose of God, and be filled with that sole and clear purpose of serving the Lord our God and give glory to His Name.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas clearly showcased this to us, when they healed the sick people in Lycaonia, in the region of the Asia Minor. Most of the people in that region and indeed throughout the Roman Empire at such an early period in the Church were still pagan believers, who believed in the traditional pagan gods. They believed in the traditional Greek gods such as Zeus, Hercules, Hermes, Ares, and many others, and each of which have their own priests and customs.

And it is against this tradition that the two Apostles and disciples of the Lord went up against, as they preached the true faith to the people. When they healed the sick and the dying from their sickness, it is when the mentality of the people and their beliefs kicked in. They thought that the gods themselves had taken up human form and walked among them. For those of us who are familiar with the Greek mythology, this is a recurring theme, that the gods walked among men and performing wonders.

The Greek gods were vain and they were just like men, that is filled with all sorts of emotions, both good and bad. As a matter of fact, they and the many other false pagan gods are often the personification and manifestation of the people’s desired and emotions, which they paired together with what they observed around them in natural phenomena and miraculous wonders.

But the Lord showed through St. Paul and St. Barnabas that it is He who is the One and only True God, with all power and authority that the other gods of gold, silver and stone cannot show. Yet, the people misunderstood its meaning and they instead worshipped both Paul and Barnabas as the avatars and manifestations of their supposed Greek pagan gods.

In our human nature, we are by our nature always predisposed to pride, arrogance, greed and other desires we have in us. It is therefore must have been difficult for any man to resist the temptation of power, fame and greatness when presented with the same situation that was faced by both St. Paul and St. Barnabas in Lystra and Derbe. But the two of them showed us all a great example how a disciple and follower of Christ should act.

They rebuked the people and preached to them the truth, although certainly the temptation of praise, power and pride must have assailed them. Imagine if you are being surrounded by so many people who cheered for you and said great things about you because of what you have performed admirably and greatly in their sight and presence.

But they knew that all the things they had done came from the Lord, and it is for His glory that they had done all those wonders and miracles. Today’s psalm perfectly captures this, by its first few lines. The phrase which in Latin reads, “Non nobis Domine, sed Nomine Tuo da gloriam” that means, “Not to us o Lord, but to Your Name we give glory.” Indeed, it is not for human glory we should act and work, but for the greater glory of God.

Therefore, today, as we reflect on these readings from the Sacred Scripture, let us all realise how we should be humble in all of our dealings and works. Let us learn to be humble and obey the Lord in all things, so that we may listen to Him and know what He wants from us. Let us all grow lesser and smaller in our pride and hubris, and grow deeper and stronger in our humility and obedience to God, that in all the things we do, we proclaim the great glory of God. May God be with us always. Amen.

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Monday, 4 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 21-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever keeps My commandments is the one who loves Me. If he loves Me, he will also be loved by My Father; I too shall love him and show Myself clearly to him.”

Judas – not Judas Iscariot – asked Jesus, “Lord, how can it be that You will show Yourself clearly to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, He will keep My word and My Father will love him; and We will come to him and make a room in his home. But if anyone does not love Me, he will not keep My words; and these words that you hear are not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”

“I told you all this while I was still with you. From now on, the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I have told you.”

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Monday, 4 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 113B : 1-2, 3-4, 15-16

Not to us, o Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, for the sake of Your love and faithfulness. Why should the pagans say, “Where is their God?”

There in heaven is our God; whatever He wishes, He does. Not so the handmade idols, crafted in silver and gold.

May you be blessed by the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. Heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth He has given to humans.

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Monday, 4 May 2015 : 5th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 14 : 5-18

A move was made by pagans and Jews, together with their leaders, to harm the Apostles and to stone them. But Paul and Barnabas learnt of this and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued preaching the Good News.

Paul and Barnabas spent a fairly long time at Lystra. There was a crippled man in Lystra who had never been able to stand or walk. One day, as he was listening to the preaching, Paul looked intently at him and saw that he had the faith to be saved. So he spoke to him in a loud voice, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to stand up on your feet!” And the man stood up and began to walk around.

When the people saw what Paul had done, they cried out in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come to us in human likeness!” They named Barnabas Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Even the priest of the Temple of Zeus, which stood outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gate; together with the people, he wanted to offer sacrifice to them.

When Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their garments to show their indignation and rushed into the crowd, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are human beings with the same weakness you have and we are now telling you to turn away from these useless things to the living God who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them.”

“In past generations He allowed each nation to go its own way, though He never stopped making Himself known; for He is continually doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, providing you with food and filling your hearts with gladness.”

Even these words could hardly keep the crowd from offering sacrifice to them.

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Sunday, 3 May 2015 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the key and heart of the messages of today’s readings is simple, that we are nothing without God, and we cannot survive on our own without God, and detached from God, or if we are cast out of His grace, then we truly have nothing and will perish, no matter how many possessions we have in life. For our Lord is the source of all life, and the source of all the things that made us who we are.

He is the true Vine, from which all the branches came from. In a plant, the true Vine means the roots and the stem, that is the core body of the plant. The branches in the plant, the leaves, the fruits and the flowers are all coming out from that stem, and gain their water and supplies from the bountiful earth from the roots through the stem. And it is with this analogy and perfect comparison that Jesus taught His disciples and the people, what it means to be the disciples of the Lord.

Jesus compared Himself with the Vine, while God the Father as the Vinegrower. The Vinegrower tends for the Vine and gives It life through the care He has given. And therefore, by the loving care of the hands of the Father, He brought forth the Son in Jesus Christ, and through Jesus, He gives life also to the world. This is precisely just as the Vinegrower gives life to the branches through the care of the Vine.

Without the vine, the branches will die and not live. All the branches must be connected to the vine or the stem, just in the same way that our limbs and organs are all attached together to the same body. All are members of the same body, that is the Mystical Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, universal and united to our Lord.

Why is this important, brethren? That is because our world grows ever more individualistic, selfish and filled with ego and wickedness. The way of this world speaks volumes on the glorification of the self and self-praising attitudes. We often think in ways that bring glory to ourselves. In the many things that we do, we often were raised up to think that we are the only ones who have done them and the success, if there is any, is solely attributed to our own efforts.

And this is how we often forget God and His role in each of our lives. This is how we forget to give thanks to Him who have given us this life and opportunity to live out that life on every single day. Without God, we would not have any life, and our life would have been devoid of meaning. It is to give praise to God, for all the wonders of His grace and works, that we live our daily lives.

I recently visited a farm and observed how the farmers treat their plants and crops. The plants were treated very well, given all the nutrients and water they need to grow healthy and strong. Those plants that bear good fruits and healthy in appearance are taken care of even more, and the workers pruned the plant in order to maximise the yield of the fruits. The parts that are not so productive are pruned off and cut, so that the plant can focus its attention to the parts bearing good fruits.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This means that while we have our lives from God, we also have been given grace and blessings, gifts and talents by the Lord for us, each unique to ourselves. These gifts and blessings are not meant to be kept within ourselves and left idle. These gifts and blessings are like the nutrients which the farmers had provided the plants, and thus, it is like all the graces that God had given us.

All the plants have a purpose, that is to bear good fruits, so that the good fruits may be harvested and gathered, and when sold, the fruits may bring decent and good profits to the farmers. The plants that bear bad and rotten fruits or no fruit at all, or if the plants are sickly and dying, or infested with many pests and diseases, they all will not be favourable to the farmers. They would uproot them and then throw them away to die and rot, and the place given to other plants that show more promise.

Thus, if we also produce bad fruits, or do nothing to bear fruits that befit what God had given us in His love and blessings, then we too shall not be able to enjoy God’s favour, as then there is no need for us and our existence indeed. Worse still if the rotten fruits cause the downfall to the fruits that are healthy and good. These diseases and sicknesses are causes by our sins and disobedience against God. And thus as a result, we did not bear good fruits, but rather, the fruits which had been tainted by evil.

If we profess to be the children and servants of our God, then all of our words and actions must show this very fact. And we also cannot be idle, thinking that believing in God is enough, or just being passive is enough. If we ignore the plight of others around us, and ignore those who live in the darkness while we are in the position to bring them succour and relief, then it will be the same as the plants that bear no fruit or bad fruits.

All of these Jesus had also summed up in His parables, one on the fig tree, where the fig tree that produces no fruit, He cursed and it withered and died, as well as the story which we heard today itself, on the vine and its branches. We are all born good and endowed with many good things, for we are anchored on the good vine, the true Vine, that is Jesus our Lord. But what matters is how we make use of all that goodness and develop it for the benefits of all, of everyone around us and not just ourselves.

In the first reading we heard how the great enemy of the faithful, Saul, who had been converted by the Lord Himself on the way to Damascus, and from someone who would arrest anyone who believed in Jesus at sight and persecute them to no end, into someone who now would not hesitate to preach a testimony of faith in front of the people, professing openly and teaching the people that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour of all.

Such was the complete transformation of Saul, from someone whose life once was driven by false zeal and by the desires of worldly praise, power and accomplishment, into a life that is transformed as a light for others, carried out in humility and true zeal, that one pursue no longer the desire of his own, but the desire of the Lord who had called him out of the darkness to be the servant to carry out His word to the masses.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, today, as we celebrate together this Holy Mass, this holy day of the Lord, all of us witness the reminders from the Holy Scriptures, that we all should indeed put our whole attention to the Lord our God, and stop being so inward looking and so concerned about ourselves and our desires. It is in our nature to be selfish to the exclusion of others, but as we have heard, we are part of one big family, one whole body of the community of all the faithful ones, all united through Christ our Lord.

We also must heed our Lord’s will and do things in accordance to what He had taught us. If we want to remain part of the Lord and continue to remain in His grace, then we truly should focus on our actions, words and deeds. Have we been faithful in all of them, and have we practiced our faith in our daily life? Or have we idled and did nothing to show the faith which we have for God? Remember, if we do nothing to act according to our faith, then we are the same as those plants that bear little or no or bad fruits.

God often gives us chance and opportunities to change our ways of life, and indeed, if we have not done according to His will up to now, then now is indeed the time to take concrete action and devote ourselves anew on the new path, a path blessed by God. There are many temptations for us to do things against this, as Satan certainly does not want us to be saved. He would do all things in his power to distract us and lure us away from salvation.

God is our true Vine, the source of all our life and all of our goodness and blessings. He is also our Shepherd and Guide, who leads us to the true path. Let us from now on, if we have not done so, or have not done enough, help one another, and keep each other in faith, as members of the same Body, the Church, united in Christ. It is that eventually all of us may gain eternal life and salvation, liberation from all the consequences of sin, by having life through our Lord.

Let us all pray, that God will strengthen our faith, and help us so that we may be courageous in living up to our faith, and bear plentiful fruits, good fruits of faith, by loving one another, walking righteously in life, rejecting all the lies of the devil and helping each other to keep the faith living and strong. May Almighty God bless us this day and from now on, forevermore. Let us all be one in Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 May 2015 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 1-8

Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinegrower. If any of My branches does not bear fruit, He breaks it off; and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit.”

“You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in Me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you do not remain in Me.”

“I am the Vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in Me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not remain in Me is thrown away, as they do with branches, and they wither. Then they are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned.”

“If you remain in Me and My words in you, you may ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you. My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit : it is then that you become My disciples.”