Saturday

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Saturday, 4 May 2024 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 18-21

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If the world hates you, remember that the world hated Me before you. This would not be so if you belonged to the world, because the world loves its own. But you are not of the world, since I have chosen you from the world; because of this the world hates you.”

“Remember what I told you : the servant is not greater than his master; if they persecuted Me, they will persecute you, too. If they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. All this they will do to you for the sake of My Name, because they do not know the One Who sent Me.”

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Saturday, 4 May 2024 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Saturday, 4 May 2024 : 5th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 16 : 1-10

Paul travelled on to Derbe and then to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy lived there, whose mother was a believer of Jewish origin but whose father was a Greek. As the believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him, Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him. So he took him and, because of the Jews of that place who all knew that his father was a Greek, he circumcised him.

As they travelled from town to town, they delivered the decisions of the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem, for the people to obey. Meanwhile, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number every day.

They travelled through Phrygia and Galatia, because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

There one night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and begged him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” When he awoke, he told us of this vision and we understood that the Lord was calling us to give the Good News to the Macedonian people.

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Saturday, 27 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all listened to the words of the Scriptures in which we are reminded yet again of the responsibilities and the calling we have as Christians to proclaim the Risen Lord to all the people, just as He has told His Apostles and disciples to do, and which works and ministries have not yet been completed. In this world today, there are still many more opportunities and occasions in which we have been provided with in order to proclaim the Lord and His truth to the many people all around us, in our workplaces and schools, and in the various other occasions and places where we may be in our lives, where many people have yet to know the truth about Christ, our Risen Lord and Saviour, and have yet to witness His light and truth, experience His love and grace.

In our first reading today, we heard from Acts of the Apostles in which the Apostles St. Paul and St. Barnabas were mentioned as ministering to the faithful and proclaiming the truth of Christ to the people during their missionary journey and time in the region known as Pisidia in Asia Minor, where there were both Jews and Gentiles alike who responded positively to the message which both Apostles were bringing and proclaiming to them. St. Paul had spoken at length earlier on about everything that the Risen Lord Jesus had done for the salvation of all the whole world, and convinced quite a few among the Jewish diaspora to become the followers and believers in Christ, while the others among the Jewish population refused to believe in the Lord, hardening their hearts and minds against Him and His Apostle.

That was why from those Jewish diaspora population who resisted the Lord and His truth, the two Apostles faced a lot of opposition and obstacles. This was likely because those Jewish people belonged to the group of the Pharisees, many of whom rejected the Lord, refused to believe in Him and stubbornly persecuting Him and His disciples simply because they did not agree with the Lord’s way and teachings. The Pharisees believed and adopted a very strict and rigid interpretation of the Law of God, immersing themselves in the intricate details and rules of the Law and its practices, all the rituals and observances which made them to criticise almost everything that the Lord and His disciples had done, thinking that they were better and knew things better, or more worthy in the eyes of the Lord.

In addition, many of them also held the belief that the descendants of Israel, the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the first chosen people of God were superior and preferred than everyone else. They took it to the extreme by thinking that salvation and grace of God only belonged to the Jewish people, and that the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles had no place in God’s Kingdom, unless and only unless they adopted the whole entirety of the Jewish customs and practices, laws and rules, essentially making them to be part of the Jewish nation and people. Some of the early Christians who converted from among the Pharisees shared this view and attempted to enforce Jewish customs and practices on all the early Christians and the Church, but the Apostles led by St. Peter decided against this erroneous path and idea.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas were among those who championed better outreach and support for the none-Jewish people, embracing them and not enforcing the Jewish customs and practices on them, requiring them only to obey the central tenets of the Christian faith as taught by the Lord and agreed and decided by the authority of the Church through the Apostles. As we heard, this quickly earned the ire and opposition from the Jewish people who opposed the teachings of the Lord, when they heard how the two Apostles proclaiemd that the Lord’s salvation was also given to the Gentiles, and how the Lord’s grace and love have been extended to everyone, and not just to the Jewish people only. This led to the friction and hardships endured by St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who were cast out of the town by the efforts of those Jewish opponents of the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the conversation between the Lord Jesus and His disciples, represented by St. Philip the Apostle, who asked the Lord to show them the Father, which the Lord responded with some frustration and disbelief at how His disciples still failed to appreciate what He had been doing all those while, having told them everything about the Father and having shown them the love of the Father manifested in Himself, as the Son of God, the perfect manifestation of God’s Love in the flesh, having been shown to us, made approachable and tangible that while once God is One Who is infinitely far beyond us, now we can truly experience His love and compassion, through what His Son had provided to us. The Lord told all of His disciples and followers that everything that He had revealed to them truly came from the Father, and is the absolute truth.

This is therefore the same truth which St. Paul and St. Barnabas had proclaimed as mentioned in our first reading today, and which the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord had also proclaimed throughout their various missionary journeys and works. Through their efforts, their works and sacrifices, the time that they spent in telling the people about the Risen Lord and the salvation that God had promised through His Son, all these had brought many people to come towards His grace, opening the doors of His mercy and forgiveness to countless people who have come to seek His love and mercy. They courageously went forth to do so despite the challenges and oppositions that they had to encounter from the enemies of the Lord and from all those who rejected His love and truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians are therefore reminded of the important obligations that we have in proclaiming Christ our Lord and Saviour through our way of life, our every actions, words and deeds. May the Risen Lord continue to strengthen and encourage us all in our every path, and in what we do, for His greater glory, so that by our exemplary lives and efforts, we may truly bring the Lord and His truth, His salvation and grace ever closer to all those whom we encounter in life, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 27 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 7-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you know Me, you will know the Father also; indeed you know Him, and you have seen Him.”

Philip asked Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough.” Jesus said to him, “What! I have been with you so long and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever sees Me sees the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?”

“All that I say to you, I do not say of Myself. The Father Who dwells in Me is doing His own work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; at least believe it on the evidence of these works that I do. Truly, I say to you, the one who believes in Me will do the same works that I do; and he will even do greater than these, for I am going to the Father.”

“Everything you ask in My Name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Indeed, anything you ask, calling upon My Name, I will do it.”

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Saturday, 27 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.

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Saturday, 27 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 44-52

The following Sabbath almost the entire city gathered to listen to Paul, who spoke a fairly long time about the Lord. But the presence of such a crowd made the Jews jealous. So they began to oppose, with insults, whatever Paul said.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out firmly, saying, “It was necessary, that God’s word be first proclaimed to you, but since you now reject it, and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we turn to non-Jewish people. For thus we were commanded by the Lord : I have set you as a light to the pagan nations, so that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Those who were not Jews rejoiced, when they heard this, and praised the message of the Lord; and all those, destined for everlasting life, believed in it. Thus the word spread, throughout the whole region. Some of the Jews, however, incited God-fearing women of the upper class, and the leading men of the city, as well, and stirred up an intense persecution against Paul and Barnabas.

Finally, they had them expelled from their region. The Apostles shook the dust from their feet, in protest against this people, and went to Iconium, leaving; the disciples, filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

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Saturday, 20 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded that as the disciples and followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of all, each and every one of us must always be ready to stand by our faith in Him and to do whatever it is that He has entrusted to all of us. As those whom the Lord had entrusted with His truth, Good News and revelation, and as the ones that He had called and chosen from this world, we are all expected to live our lives truly worthily of Him, and to do our part as the members of this same Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. To His Church, the Lord had given the mission to proclaim this salvation and liberation which He Himself had brought into our midst, so that more and more people may come to know Him and seek to embrace His love and mercy, that everyone may be gathered together in His Presence.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which the Apostles continued their ministry and works, as the persecutions and hardships, trials and challenges against the Church abated at that time with the conversion of Saul the Pharisee, and with the end of his so-called ‘witch hunt’ and efforts to eradicate the early Christians and the Church, the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council lost their greatest champion. As mentioned, the Church had a moment of peace and reprieve from the persecutions and challenges it faced, and the growth of the Church continued just as it had been during the times of troubles. The Lord continued to guide His disciples to go forth and proclaim His truth and Good News to more and more people. The Apostles were going round to minister to the faithful in various places.

And it was during some of these mission trips that we heard in today’s passage, how St. Peter performed a great miracle by the power of God when he visited the faithful community in the city of Lydda, where he healed a man named Aeneas who was paralysed, and upon seeing the miraculous healing of the man from his illness, many more people came to believe in the Lord and embraced the Christian faith. Then, we heard after that of the illness and death that claimed a certain Tabitha, a good and faithful woman, who had been well-known in the community for her righteousness and virtues. St. Peter came to her place, prayed over her and raised her up from the dead, by the Name and authority of the Risen Lord Himself, showing to everyone how the Lord truly is the Lord and Master over life and death, and has authority over all things. Even more people came to believe in the Lord by these miracles and events, and the Church continued to grow rapidly.

This is a reminder that God has always been with His Church, and while many of its members might have to suffer because of the opposition that many in the world held stubbornly against the Lord, and just as the Lord Himself had faced bitter persecutions and hardships, thus the Church would have to face sufferings and difficulties, challenges and trials as part of its journey. God has always guided all the faithful towards Himself, and as they all carried their crosses in life, they were carrying their crosses with the Lord. And with every actions and deeds which they had done, those disciples of the Lord had proclaimed the truth and the revelation of His salvation, and more people came to be part of the Church, just as the popular saying goes, that the ‘blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians’, with more and more people being convinced to follow the Lord by the exemplary courage of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the conclusion of the discourse of the Bread of Life by the Lord to the people which we have heard in the past week or so. In that discourse, we heard how the Lord highlighted His role as the Bread of Life, the Heavenly Bread Who would share His own Most Precious Body and Blood with everyone, so that they all may have eternal and new life, new existence full of grace with Him. But as we heard, the people refused to listen to the Lord and hardened their hearts and minds, saying to the Lord that how can He, as a mere Man, could give to them His own Body and Blood for them to eat and drink. In fact some of them if not many among them were likely disgusted at those words, but they failed to understand what the Lord meant, and they did not have faith in Him, choosing to use their own limited understanding and appreciation of the matter for them to judge Him instead.

This was why as mentioned in that same Gospel passage, many of the Lord’s disciples stopped following Him and abandoned Him. They refused to accept those teachings which they found difficult to follow or to understand using their understanding and appreciation. But those who were closest to Him, like the Twelve and some others stayed by His side and continued to follow Him despite the reservations and the questions that they themselves might have also had in their hearts and minds. It was these same truths which they later on proclaimed courageously and fearlessly among the people of God, like what St. Peter the Apostles, the other Apostles and disciples had done as they ministered to the people, performing the same miracles and wonders that the Lord had done in their midst. They trusted in the Lord and allowed Him to lead them in their mission and calling, to glorify the Lord by their lives and works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore this is why all of us are also called and reminded to put our faith and trust completely in the Lord. Each and every one of us should continue to embrace Him and His love, and strive to do whatever we can such that by our commitment and dedication, we may truly be the good role models and examples for one another, and be the shining beacons and light of God’s truth, illuminating the path for many around us, so that they may come to believe in the Lord as well. This is why each and every one of us must always be truly sincere and genuine in how we follow the Lord, in each and every moments of our lives, in our every actions so that by all of those we may help many more people to come to the Lord. It is through our actions, words and deeds that the light of God, His truth and Good News are made manifest and real to many, who experienced God through us and our lives.

May the Risen Lord continue to help and lead us in our journey of faith and life, so that as we continue to persevere and endure amidst all the challenges and trials that we may face, and that we may continue to obey Him and do His will in our world today, being active part of the Church’s mission in proclaiming the Good News and Christ’s salvation in our world today. May the Lord continue to bless our every efforts and endeavours, our every actions and works, our interactions and all that we do to proclaim His Name and His truth to all the people around us. May He remain with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 20 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 60-69

At that time, after the Jews heard Jesus, many of His followers said, “This language is very hard! Who can accept it?”

Jesus was aware that His disciples were murmuring about this, and so He said to them, “Does this offend you? Then how will you react when you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, not the flesh. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life. But among you there are some who do not believe.”

From the beginning, Jesus knew who would betray Him. So He added, “As I have told you, no one can come to Me unless it is granted by the Father.” After this many disciples withdrew and no longer followed Him. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Will you also go away?

Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We now believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”

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Saturday, 20 April 2024 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 115 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17

How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.

I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. It is painful to the Lord to see the death of His faithful.

O Lord, I am Your servant, truly Your servant, Your handmaid’s son. You have freed me from my bonds. I will offer You a thanksgiving sacrifice; I will call on the Name of the Lord.