Passion of the Lord

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Friday, 8 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 26-33

Paul said to the Jews in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia, “Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent. It is a fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognise Jesus.”

“Yet in condemning Him, they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath but not understood. Even though they found no charge against Him that deserved death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. And after they have carried out all that had been written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.”

But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days thereafter He showed Himself to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They have now become His witnesses before the people. We ourselves announce to you this Good News : All that God promised our ancestors, He has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus, according to what is written in the second psalm : You are My Son, this day I have begotten You.”

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Thursday, 7 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture we have been reminded to follow the Lord and obey His ways and teachings, walking in the path of truth that He has shown to us all. We have all been given this wonderful truth and shown the most marvellous love of God through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, by Whom we have been saved and by Whom we have been given the assurance of our salvation and eternal life.

In our first reading we heard of the powerful testimony of faith made by St. Paul as he visited the Jewish community in the city of Antioch in Pisidia in Asia Minor, one of the numerous Jewish communities established after hundreds of years of spreading of the Jewish communities throughout many parts of the Mediterranean. As a renowned young Pharisee in his younger years and born in Tarsus in Asia Minor, St. Paul was certainly known to many in the Jewish diaspora communities, and even after his conversion to the Christian faith, he must have certainly still retained some of that renown and respect.

That was why in that occasion, the Jews there in Antioch in Pisidia welcomed St. Paul and even asked him if he had any words of encouragement for them, in which then St. Paul spoke of the coming of the one true Messiah of God, namely Jesus Christ in Whose Name he has been preaching and travelling around all those while. St. Paul began by reminding the people there of God’s story of salvation, and how He had always guided His people from the time of Moses and beyond.

St. Paul told the people of God in Antioch in Pisidia who at that time were still waiting for the coming of the Messiah of God, promised to come to save the people and restore Israel, that the Messiah had in truth already come, in the person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all. As Jesus and His disciples only restricted their ministries and works within the lands of Judea, Samaria and Galilee, and only after His resurrection and Ascension that the disciples were sent out to the other parts of the world, it was not surprising that many might not have known about Christ yet, even within the Jewish diaspora communities.

St. Paul spoke of the fulfilment of God’s revelations and promises given through His servants and prophets, the promises He made to David, His servant and others, the promises He had given to the people of Israel and Judah in their times of distress. And these must have been very uplifting and been awaited for by all those people who were in distress, having to endure the wait for the coming of the Messiah and for also knowing the recent not so pleasant history of what the Jewish people had to undergo.

Therefore, all of us are also reminded that we have also received the same message of truth and encouragement from the Lord through our faith. We believe that through Christ, everything is possible and that we will never be disappointed if we trust ourselves and our lives in the Lord’s care. Now, let us all look around us and see how during these difficult days, whether we can be like that of St. Paul in how he encouraged the Jewish community in Antioch in Pisidia with his words of encouragement.

We live during these difficult weeks and months, when so many all around the world are suffering from the effects of the global pandemic. Many people have died from the pandemic, and many have lost their loved ones. Parents have lost children, children have lost their parents and elders, and others have lost relatives and loved ones to this disease. And there are also yet still many other troubles that the world has been currently facing in our various communities, all the troubles with our economy and our employments.

Many people have lost their jobs or were forced to take significant pay cuts and reduction in their allowances. Many people do not even know if they can still sustain their current employment and livelihood to the next day, and some are worried that they may not even live and survive to see the next week or the next month, less still the next year. Many people have been suffering mentally as they have to remain isolated and work from home among others, taking care of their families while struggling to cope with feeding them and sustaining their work.

Are we able to bring to all of our fellow brothers and sisters, this hope that we have received from the Lord? Are we able to bring God’s light into this darkened world and awaken hope once again in the hearts of many? In order to do this, we need to embody this hope within our own beliefs, our every words, actions and deeds. How can others believe in us if we ourselves have not been wholehearted in believing that we have this sure hope in God?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Pope St. John Paul II once famously said, that we are all Easter people and Alleluia is our song! This reminds us that no matter what, no darkness can ever overcome or last against the true light of Christ. God has triumphed against sin, death and darkness itself, and no matter how difficult our current situation and our world outlook these days may be, there will always be hope for us as long as we put our faith and trust in God.

May the Lord continue to bless us all and guide us in our journey, and may He empower us all with the courage and strength to carry out living our lives from now on with faith. May God be with us always, and protect us all from the dangers of the evil ones. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 13 : 16-20

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his master, nor is the messenger greater than he who sent him. Understand this, and blessed are you, if you put it into practice.”

“I am not speaking of you all, because I know the ones I have chosen, and the Scripture has to be fulfilled that says : The one who shared My table has risen against Me. I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may know that I am He.”

“Truly, I say to you, whoever welcomes the one I send, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes the One Who sent Me.”

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Thursday, 7 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

I have found David My servant, and with My holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will be ever with him and My arm will sustain.

My faithfulness and love will be with him, and by My help he will be strong. He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’

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Thursday, 7 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 13-25

From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and came to Perga in Pamphylia. There John left them and returned to Jerusalem, while they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent this message to them, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the assembly, please speak up.”

So Paul arose, motioned to them for silence and began, “Fellow Israelites and also all you who fear God, listen. The God of our people Israel chose our ancestors, and after He had made them increase during their stay in Egypt, He led them out by powerful deeds.”

“For forty years He fed them in the desert, and after He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took four hundred and fifty years. After that, he gave them Judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, and he was king for forty years.”

“After that time, God removed him and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.’ It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus.”

“Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : ‘I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.'”

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Wednesday, 6 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day let us all spend some time to reflect on what we have just heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, in which we are called to have that genuine and strong faith in God, to be passionate and dedicated in how we live our lives so that we may truly be examples and inspiration for each other in our way of living our faith. We are called to devote our time and attention to the Lord in our daily living as best as we can.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard about the work of the Apostles especially that of St. Paul and St. Barnabas in going to various places in the Eastern Mediterranean region, as they went to the various Jewish and Gentile communities to spread the Good News of God to all of them. The Lord gave them the strength, courage and wisdom to carry out His will and the mission entrusted to them, and the Apostles and other disciples prayed over all the missionaries before they embarked on their journey.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we have heard in our Scripture passages today highlight how all those very dedicated and committed servants of God laboured for the sake of the Lord and His Church during the early days of the Church. Unlike today, at that time, most places that the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord visited were truly places where the Lord, the faith and His truth were still completely ignorant of the truth of God, full of pagan practices and in some cases even immorality.

It was indeed very difficult for the Apostles and all the missionaries to carry out their missions, as they had to contend with various obstacles and challenges throughout their journey. They had to risk a lot during their mission and their journey, just as the other Christians also often had to hide and persevere through many persecutions against them. Yet, all of them seemed to be passionate and committed regardless, and there does not seem to be any logical reasons for those many martyrs of the faith who chose to remain faithful even to the point of facing death.

And that is because they know that they belong to the Lord, and the Lord will always be by their side and will be faithful to the Covenant which He has made with all of them. God is always loving and committed to us, and we can indeed trust Him and put our lives in His hands. That was what those early Christians had in their minds and in their hearts whenever they were going through tribulations and difficult challenges. They trusted the Lord and followed Him wherever He guided them to.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, even till this very day, all these still hold true, as we are God’s people and He is our Lord and Shepherd. And the fact is that the works of the Apostles and the missionaries of the Lord are far from over. In fact, in our world today there remain an even greater need for the Lord’s truth to be brought to all the peoples of all the nations. Many people are still living in ignorance of God’s truth, and this apply even, sadly, to those within the Church and many of those who call themselves as Christians.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, at present, there are plenty of lukewarm attitude in how many among us Christians are living our lives and our faith. We treat the faith as nothing more important than a side activity, or even as a chore and formality, something that should not have been the case. But this is the sad reality and truth, knowing how so many among us treat the Lord and our Christian faith with such lukewarmness, apathy, ignorance and even disdain. It is sad that quite a few treat their faith as nothing more than a formality.

This is why, in these days we are living now, we have this same challenge facing the Church and all of us, to continue the works of the Apostles in being the bearers of the Good News and the Lord’s truth in our world today, even among our own Christian communities. We are all called to be the good and faithful witnesses of our faith to our fellow brothers and sisters, by living our lives with genuine commitment to our Christian faith and following what the Lord has commanded and taught us to do.

We have to be faithful ourselves if we want to convince others to be faithful. That is why we are called today to reflect on the faith of our many predecessors, all those Christians who had endured such difficult persecutions and challenges, and all those missionaries and bringers of the truth of the Gospel who had laboured hard for the sake of God and His Church in this world. Are we able to follow in their footsteps, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to commit ourselves and our lives for the Lord?

Let us all discern carefully then on what we all can do from now on to spread the Good News of God, His truth and His salvation to all the peoples. May the Lord be with us in our journey of faith and may He help us with our efforts, guide us in our path and help direct our efforts, that in everything we do, we will always bring glory to the Lord and bring ever more souls to salvation in God, through His Church. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 12 : 44-50

At that time, yet Jesus had said, and even cried out, “Whoever believes in Me, believes not in Me, but in Him Who sent Me. And whoever sees Me, sees Him Who sent Me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness.”

“If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I am not the One to condemn him; for I have come, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me, and does not receive My word, already has a judge : the very word I have spoken will condemn him on the last day.”

“For I have not spoken on My own authority; the Father, Who sent Me, has instructed Me in what to say and how to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life, and that is why the message I give, I give as the Father instructed Me.”

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Wednesday, 6 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 6 and 8

May God be gracious and bless us, may He let His face shine upon us, that Your way be known on earth and Your salvation among the nations.

May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with justice and guide the nations of the world.

May the people praise You, o God, may all the peoples praise You! May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

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Wednesday, 6 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 12 : 24 – Acts 13 : 5a

Meanwhile the word of God was increasing and spreading. Barnabas and Saul carried out their mission and then came back to Jerusalem, taking with them John also called Mark.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul.

On one occasion while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.” So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

These then, sent by the Holy Spirit, went down the port of Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. Upon their arrival in Salamis they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogue.

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Tuesday, 5 May 2020 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded that even at the worst and most difficult moments of our lives, we must never lose hope and faith in the Lord for our hope and life lie in His hands alone. We must put our complete trust and faith in Him and follow Him. In our Scripture passages today we heard how the Lord was with His Church, and how He, as our Good Shepherd is always by our side and caring for us.

We heard in our first reading today from the Acts of Apostles how persecutions and oppressions happened to the Church and the faithful beginning with the persecution and martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first of the many martyrs of the Church, and many more then would suffer because of the actions taken by the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, as well as through the actions of some of the zealous enemies of the Christian faith, especially that of Saul, the young, misguided Pharisee, who would later on be known as St. Paul the Apostle after his conversion.

But at that time, Saul was still a vigorous and even violent enemy of the early Christians, arresting many of the followers of Christ across Judea and Jerusalem, making many of them suffer persecution and prison, for his misguided agenda in trying to eradicate the Christian faith and stop the teachings and truth of Christ from spreading further. Many of them had to flee to the surrounding regions and countries to avoid the persecutions, but even during these difficult and challenging moments, the Apostles and various missionaries still ventured forth to bring the Good News to many people.

From the same passage in the Acts of the Apostles, we heard how the Apostles and servants of God enthusiastically went around many cities and towns throughout the Mediterranean region preaching the Good News and gaining more converts in those places. There were of course plenty of rejection and also plenty of sufferings and troubles during their missionary journey, but as with their troubles and challenges in Judea and Jerusalem, these did not stop them or discourage them from doing the mission entrusted to them.

Instead, as the Lord was with them and guided them along their journey, they became even more enthusiastic and willing to commit themselves to the works of the Lord. They believe in the Lord, their Master and their Good Shepherd, Who has promised as He Himself mentioned in our Gospel passage today, that He will lead them all, all those who believe in Him, into eternal life and glory with Him in heaven. And those who put their trust and faith in Him will not be lost, and will have sure anchor in the Lord.

That is why despite the challenges that the disciples and the early Christians had to face, it is even more encouraging for them that the Lord was by their side and with them even through their most difficult moments, having received the assurance that their Good Shepherd and Lord was with them, suffering with them and walking with them as they courageously went from place to place proclaiming God’s truth and salvation to all the peoples of all nations.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are therefore today reminded that we are all also part of this one and same Church, with the same mission that has been revealed and entrusted to the Apostles and the disciples, that Great Commission, when the Lord Jesus commanded all of us to go forth to all the nations and gather all the people from every nations and make them all His disciples, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Through us, our Lord and Good Shepherd is gathering all of His scattered flock into one flock once again.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to realise that we all have a part to play and to contribute as members and parts of God’s one Church, and we have to follow the good examples set by our Good Shepherd, and subsequently, what His Apostles and disciples had done, as they themselves walked in the path set before them as shepherds entrusted with the care and guardianship of the people and flock of God. We are all also part of this journey of faith together, and we must take part in it wholeheartedly.

Are we able to dedicate ourselves and commit ourselves to the Lord as how our many holy predecessors had done? Let us do our best in whatever it is that God has called us to do, and contribute our efforts as best as we can from now on. May all of us by our actions and by our exemplary life and dedication to the Lord, our Good Shepherd be inspiration and guide to our fellow brethren that more and more souls may come to the Lord and be reconciled with Him.

May God bless us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us to live faithfully and to give ourselves in the service of God. May the Lord guide us all, as He has promised us, to the land of eternal joy and true glory with Him, our loving Good Shepherd, Master and Creator. Amen.