Pope election

by

Thursday, 21 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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.'”

by

Wednesday, 20 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us have been shown the truth about the Lord, Who through Jesus Christ His Son, has come into the world as the great Light, which is the guidance and the pathway for many who are now, and many others who once wandered throughout the great darkness of this world. Through Him, all those who have believed in God have received the guarantee and the promise of salvation and eternal life.

Those who accepted the words of our Lord have received life in them, because the Word Himself, the Word of God, Divine Incarnate had entered into the world through Jesus, the Son of God, Who have then given up Himself for our sake on the cross, laying down His life for us, and giving to us His own flesh and blood, His Body and His Precious Blood as our life-giving eternal sustenance.

The Apostles worked hard around the clock, going from places to places, and sometimes even to faraway and dangerous places, so that they might bear this truth and the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ to all those who lived far and have not yet heard about the salvation which God offered to all those who would put their complete trust in Christ, Who died for all that they might live.

In the first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard how God had chosen His servants and sent them to evangelise to the peoples and communities of the people of God, so that they might hear the words of the Lord and come to believe in Him. And thus all those who believe in God would receive the redemption promised to them, and they would be made worthy of eternal grace and life.

The Church leaders supported one another, and they laid their hands on those whom God had chosen. This act represents the passing down of the Holy Spirit and the gifts which God had given them through the same Spirit. God blessed them with the authority over the spirits of this earth and beyond, and authority to forgive sins and to absolve the souls of men from their faults.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is now therefore we are all called to pay attention to what all of us are expected to do as members of the Church. The laying of the hands on the heads of the Apostles and the saints represent the continuous chain and the continuity from the Apostles themselves to our very own priests today, who all receive their ordination and authority from the bishops, who then received the same authority passed down to them from the Apostles, and then from our Lord Jesus Himself.

And of course all of us who are part of the Church also needs to play our part to commit ourselves to help the Church to spread and continue its good works to many others who are in need of salvation and liberation from their troubles. We also that same obligation to do what Jesus our Lord had commanded His disciples to do, that is to bear His word of truth, and spread them to the very ends of the earth, and preach the salvation in Him to all mankind.

Let us all therefore use this time and opportunity for us to reflect on our own lives and our actions. Let us all renew our commitment to help one another, especially those who lay in danger of falling into the darkness and eternal damnation of being separated from the love of God because of their actions that come to be contrary to the ways of the Lord.

May God help us in our endeavours, and may He strengthen our faith together as one people, belonging to the one and only Church through which He will save us from the eternal darkness and sufferings in hell. God bless us all and keep us in His grace forevermore. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 20 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 12 : 44-50

At that time, 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.”

by

Wednesday, 20 April 2016 : Fourth 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 peoples praise You, o God, may all the peoples praise You! May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

by

Wednesday, 20 April 2016 : Fourth 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 has 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 to 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.

by

Tuesday, 19 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate together the anniversary of the election of our Pope and Supreme Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, the Bishop of Rome and Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, the chief and Prince of all the Apostles and the Vicar of Christ. We rejoice in the eleven years that have passed since Pope Benedict XVI was elected to be the leader of the entire Universal Church and as God’s vice-gerent on earth.

Therefore, as we celebrate together this great occasion, today we are called to remember the words from the Sacred Scriptures which mentioned to us about the works of the Holy Apostles in the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles. It was mentioned all the great and wonderful works that the Apostles Paul and Barnabas had done in evangelising and spreading the Good News to all mankind.

The works of the Apostles were of great importance in establishing the foundations of the Church. And thus we were told how the Church was established during the first days and months of the early Church, and the number of followers grew rapidly during this time as more and more people received and accepted the Lord’s call to repentance and forgiveness.

And in the Gospel today we heard how Jesus mentioned about Himself as the Shepherd of all, and how we are all belonging to His flock, as sheep and all entrusted to Him. And there, we saw how Jesus contrasted those who accepted His message and believed in Him, as those whom He calls as His sheep, and those who refused to believe in Him and rejected His message. These are those who consciously refused to stay in the flock and went off on their own.

The flock of the Lord, all those whom the Lord had gathered, all these have received the word of God, and the revelations of truth from the Lord Himself. And how did they get the message of the Lord’s truth? It was none other than by the hard work and the labours of the Apostles, the saints and the martyrs, all the holy servants of God who had given all their lives for the sake of the salvation of the many souls lost in this world.

By their dedication and hard work, they had delivered the truth of God, and brought the salvation of God to the many souls who would have been lost and faced condemnation if they had not laboured hard for their sake. And that was the reason why the Church we have today is a thriving one, where more and more people are coming to believe in the Lord, and the works of the Apostles are continued through our Pope, the bishops and the priests who are working together to bring the Church of God to the fulfilment of its missions.

But we must all beware lest we are caught unprepared against the wicked things and the oppositions lined up against the Church. As it was in the days of the Apostles, the holy saints and martyrs of the early Church, there are oppositions against the good works of the Lord, both from the outside and even from the inside of the Church itself. These are the works of those who refuse to acknowledge the graces of God, and those who even rejected the Lord’s rich offer of mercy and salvation.

But now, it is our time to realise that there are so much we can do in order to help the works of the Church. For the Church is not just made up of its leaders and all the dedicated servants of the Lord who have given their lives in the service of God. Instead, all of us are also full members of the Church, and united as we are in this holy Body of the Lord, we should take part in bringing the Church’s works and evangelisation efforts, and continue the good works of the Apostles.

Being Christians should not mean that we are just believers in our Lord Jesus Christ by mere name only. Instead, we should give our very best and commit ourselves to actions that show how truly faithful we are, that our faith is not by merely words alone, but also through real actions and concrete plans that bear rich fruits.

Let us all help each other, and commit ourselves to serve the Lord ever more through our daily life actions, and may we draw ever closer to the Lord and attain His salvation and the life He promised to all those who are faithful to Him. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 19 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 22-30

At that time, the time came for the feast of the Dedication. It was winter, and Jesus walked back and forth in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him and said to Him, “How long will You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in My Father’s Name proclaim Who I am, but you do not believe because, as I said, you are not My sheep.”

“My sheep hear My voice and I know them; they follow Me and I give them eternal life. They shall never perish, and no one will ever steal them from Me. What the Father has given Me is above everything else, and no one can snatch it from out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”

by

Tuesday, 19 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 86 : 1-3, 4-5, 6-7

He Himself has built in His holy mountain; the Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all of Jacob’s towns. Great things have been foretold of You, o city of God.

Between friends we speak of Egypt and Babylon; and also Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia : “Here so-and-so was born.” But of Zion it shall be said, “More and more are being born in her.” For the Most High Himself has founded her.

And the Lord notes in the people’s register : “All these were also born in Zion.” And all will dance and sing joyfully for You.

by

Tuesday, 19 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 11 : 19-26

Those who had been scattered because of the persecution over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message, but only to the Jews. But there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene among them who, on coming into Antioch, spoke also to the Greeks, giving them the good news of the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them so that a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favour, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to the Lord; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.