Second Sunday of Easter

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Saturday, 13 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 6 : 16-21

At that time, when evening came, the disciples went down to the shore. After a while they got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the sea, for it was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. But the sea was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing.

They had rowed about three or four miles, when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and He was drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, but He said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!” They wanted to take Him into the boat, but immediately the boat was at the shore to which they were going.

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Saturday, 13 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 32 : 1-2, 4-5, 18-19

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are just, praise is fitting for the upright. Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises.

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.

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Saturday, 13 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 6 : 1-7

In those days, as the number of disciples grew, the so-called Hellenists complained against the so-called Hebrews, because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So the Twelve summoned the whole body of disciples together and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God to serve at tables. So, friends, choose from among yourselves seven respected men full of Spirit and wisdom, that we may appoint them to this task. As for us, we shall give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”

The whole community agreed and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and Holy Spirit : Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenus and Nicolaus of Antioch who was a proselyte. They presented these men to the Apostles who first prayed over them and then laid hands upon them.

The Word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly and even many priests accepted the faith.

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Friday, 12 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard and listened to from our Scripture readings today, all of us are reminded that everything that we do in fulfilling our calling and respective ministry in our lives as faithful Christians, all of these are supposed to be anchored on God and not on our own personal ambitions, desire for worldly glory or attainments, or any other attachments to the world. Unless we allow God to lead and guide us in all things, in our every actions, words and deeds, then we may find that it is easy for us to be swayed into the wrong paths in life, losing our way and focus on the true path to salvation and eternal life. Many of our predecessors had allowed this to happen to them, and they did not end well, just as we heard in our first reading today.

In that passage, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard from the continuation of the heated occasion when the Apostles were brought before the members of the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Council, the authority ruling over the Jewish community at the time, as the former kept on proclaiming about the Risen Christ despite having been firmly told many times by the latter not to do so. The many members of the Sanhedrin, that belonged to the group of the Pharisees and the Sadducees both had their disagreements and disapproval of the teachings of Christ and the works of the Lord’s disciples, either because of their different view and interpretation of the Law of God, or in the case of the Sadducees, because they refused to believe in the Resurrection or any concept of spiritual matter.

It was so heated that many among the Sanhedrin was seeking the punishment and even death of the Apostles, but as we heard in today’s reading, a well-respected member of the Sanhedrin, the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel spoke to the whole assembly and told them all that they should not do what they wanted to do out of anger, because if the disciples of the Lord was truly on the right side, and the teachings and works of Jesus were really the truth of God, and that He was truly the Saviour, then as Gamaliel himself said, then the whole Sanhedrin could find themselves going against the will of God, and no matter what they do, then God’s will and providence will still prevail in the end. He also highlighted a number of examples of the False Messiahs that had frequently sprung up at that time, and how each one of them fizzled quickly after the death of their so called ‘Messiah’ in their failed uprisings and rebellions.

At that time, it was common for some people to claim themselves as the Messiah, as after all, many prophets had spoken about the coming of God’s salvation through a Saviour, Who would be born into the House of David, as David’s Heir, and many assumed that this Saviour or Messiah would restore the Kingdom of Israel, reminding themselves of the glorious days of the old united Kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon. That time, the Jewish people were under the dominion and overlordship of the Roman Empire, which imposed its rule on the people, who had also been suffering under the rule of the Herodians, the client kings that the Romans put in place to reinforce their rule over the land. The taxes and other difficulties they faced let those so-called ‘False Messiahs’ to rise up in rebellion against the Romans, all of whom failed, killed, and their followers scattered, and their movement fizzled as mentioned.

Now, compare that to our Christian faith and the Church which God had established in this world. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church had endured for about two millennia, and is still going strong and stronger. Throughout the history of the Church, there were many forces and plots against the Church, and those who professed Christian faith, and yet, every time, we managed to persevere through all those challenges, growing ever stronger step by step, showing exactly what Gamaliel had spoken to the assembly of the Sanhedrin, that if God is truly behind us, then there is no power in this world that can totally destroy us. Instead, God will lead us all towards the ultimate triumph and victory in Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the great miracle which we all are certainly familiar with, that is the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and more by the Lord, Who blessed and shared five loaves of bread and two fish, to feed the whole multitude of five thousand men and many thousands more of their wives and children, all those who had come from various places to listen to the Lord teaching them and working His miracles and wonders. This miracle is one among many of the miracles through which the Lord showed that He is truly the One Whom God had promised to send into this world in order to save it, as the true and one only Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

At the same time, the Lord also showed that His purpose of coming into this world was not as what many of the people thought He would do, as it was mentioned in that same Gospel passage that after they had all eaten and had their fill from the Lord’s miracle, they all wanted to make Him to be their King, but the Lord quickly went away into hiding, so that they could not force Him to be their King and rose up against the Romans just like so many other of those so-called False Messiahs had done and failed. Instead, the Lord’s mission was in fact far greater than any earthly plans or considerations, as through His actions, and ultimately by His suffering and death on the Cross, He would lead everyone to salvation and eternal life in God.

The disciples of the Lord witnessed everything that He had done, and heard everything that He had taught to them and to the people, and they had seen many other wonders, miracles and signs that He had performed, and when the Holy Spirit was sent to them, and the Lord Himself blessed and strengthened them all, they hence went forth courageously and fearlessly, just as they had done before the Jewish authorities, in continuing to proclaim the Risen Lord despite the trials, challenges, persecutions and hardships that they had to face at the time. They did not let those persecutions, oppressions, coercions or any of their fears to prevent them from doing what they had been entrusted to do, to be God’s most faithful disciples and missionaries in the world.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, all of us have received this same truth and revelation of what the Lord had taught us through His Church, passed down to us through many generations from the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord themselves, who had witnessed Him and all of His works, and the Holy Spirit Who had guided the Church and all the actions of faithful Christians throughout history. This is where we need to realise that we have the very important mission to be good and faithful missionaries of our faith, in proclaiming the truth of the Lord, His Good News to everyone, through our own exemplary lives and in our every actions, words and deeds.

May the Risen Lord continue to guide us in our journey throughout life, and may He empower and strengthen us all so that we may continue to be faithful and committed to serve Him as best as we can, despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to endure in our path. May God bless us all and be with us in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 12 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 1-15

At that time, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed Him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when He healed the sick. So He went up into the hills and sat down there with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Then lifting up His eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to Him, and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, so the people, about five thousand men, sat down. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish, and gave them as much as they wanted.

And when they had eaten enough, He told His disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

When the people saw the miracle which Jesus had performed, they said, “This is really the Prophet, the One Who is to come into the world.” Jesus realised that they would come and take Him by force to make Him King; so He fled to the hills by Himself.

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Friday, 12 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 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.

One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.

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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Friday, 12 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 34-42

But one of the members of the Council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly respected by the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin. He ordered the men to be taken outside for a few minutes and then he spoke to the assembly.

“Fellow Israelites, consider well what you intend to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas came forward, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed or disappeared.”

“After him, Judas the Galilean appeared at the time of the census and persuaded many people to follow him. But he too perished and his whole following was scattered. So, in this present case, I advise you to have nothing to do with these men. Leave them alone. If their project or activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. If, on the other hand, it is from God, you will not be able to destroy it and you may indeed find yourselves fighting against God.”

The Council let themselves be persuaded. They called in the Apostles and had them whipped, and ordered them not to speak again of Jesus Saviour. Then they set them free. The Apostles went out from the Council rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the Name. Day after day, both in the Temple and in people’s homes, they continued to teach and to proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah.

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Thursday, 11 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord through the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded yet again of the need for all of us as Christians, as God’s disciples and followers, to be ever ready to proclaim His truth and Good News in our world today, at every opportunities and in every circumstances and places that we have found ourselves in. This is such that by our every words, actions and deeds, by our every way of life and commitments, our efforts, we may proclaim the Risen Lord faithfully and truthfully like how our holy predecessors had done, in their tireless and ceaseless efforts and hard work, in doing God’s will and in showing the truth through their whole beings.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the continuation of the moment when the Apostles were arrested yet again after they continued to preach about the Risen Lord, the Saviour of all mankind, despite having been warned earlier on not to do so anymore, and despite having been arrested and made to suffer for the sake of the Risen Lord. They continued to preach courageously and fearlessly in public, in the grounds of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, where many people witnessed their good works and miracles, listening to the wisdom of God and the revelation of truth through those same Apostles, which had been revealed to them through Christ and the Holy Spirit Who had been sent to them to guide and strengthen them.

Those chief priests, the members of the Pharisees and the Sadducees that made up the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Council were angered at the continued persistence of the Apostles in proclaiming the Risen Lord, the same One Whom they had arrested, charged with blasphemy, surrendered to the Romans to be condemned to death on the Cross. Despite their many efforts, including spreading of fake information about what happened to the Lord’s Body and the Empty Tomb which were proofs of His Resurrection, they could not contain the truth from spreading out ever more quickly and vigorously, especially because of the great efforts and tireless works of those Apostles. They tried to threaten them, but as we heard, the Apostles led by St. Peter courageously refused to obey the demands made upon them.

They continued to proclaim the truth, and fearlessly spoke about the truth of everything that had happened, and professed as they had done before the people in Jerusalem and elsewhere, how the Risen Lord had indeed risen from the dead, and they had witnessed everything that happened, and they would not remain silent anymore, not even with the threats upon themselves and their own safety. They had been strengthened by the Lord Himself, and the Holy Spirit had given them the courage and power to carry on their ministry despite the tough challenges, trials, suffering and difficulties that they had to endure. They did not allow fear to mislead them down the path of inactivity anymore, but allowing the Lord to lead them in their path of faithfulness.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the words from the Gospel of St. John in which the words of St. John the Baptist, the one that the Lord had sent to prepare the way for the Lord, the Saviour of the world. St. John the Baptist, as the Herald of the Saviour, had spoken about Him and called upon all the people to come back to their Lord with contrite heart and the desire to be forgiven from all of their many sins and wickedness. St. John the Baptist told the people that the One Who would come after Him would come from Heaven itself, and would proclaim the salvation of God to all, and all of that would come true indeed with the coming of Christ, the Son of God Whose coming St. John the Baptist was preparing.

In his efforts and works, St. John the Baptist himself also faced a lot of hardships and struggles, as he faced the opposition and rejection even from the same Pharisees and all those who also opposed the Lord later on. He also had to face difficulties from the immoralities of the leaders of the people at the time, particularly that of King Herod, the ruler of Galilee at that time, who he criticised and rebuked for his immoral attitude, in his adulterous behaviour with his own brother’s wife Herodias, whom he had taken as his own wife despite his brother still likely being alive at the time. For that, St. John the Baptist arrested and eventually, through the mechanism and plotting of Herodias, he was martyred.

Once again, we have heard and witnessed how the servants of the Lord often faced a lot of hardships and difficulties in the conduct of their missions and ministry, and they had to endure those challenges amidst their fulfilment of the things and missions entrusted to them. Yet, they embraced those sufferings and hardships with joy as they knew that through their faith, obedience and commitment to God, they would receive their just rewards in the Lord, the promise of eternal life and glory with Him, that even though they might have to suffer persecutions and challenges, in the end, they shall all be triumphant together with the Lord. The Lord has strengthened and given them the courage to carry out their mission with faith, committing themselves wholeheartedly to God.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great saint and martyr, whose life and dedication to God, and eventually whose martyrdom echoed what we have heard in our Scripture readings today regarding the sufferings, challenges and trials that we may have to face amidst our lives and ministries as faithful and devoted Christians, as disciples and followers of the Lord. St. Stanislas was a renowned Bishop in Medieval Poland, who was martyred in defence of his faith by the Polish King himself, and whose commitment to the Lord and His Church inspired many people during his life and ministry, as well as after his martyrdom. He was one of the earliest native Polish bishops, as it was just a century or so after the conversion of Poland. He worked hard and was crucial in the establishment and the strengthening of the Church and its institutions throughout Poland at that time.

He ended up in disputes with the then King of Poland, Boleslaw II, over disagreements about certain matters such as Church land and property, which according to tradition led him to miraculously resurrect a dead man who had sold the land to the Church, only for the land to be claimed by his family, so that the man could testify before the king and his court, and everyone assembled, that the land had indeed been legally and rightfully sold to the Bishop, St. Stanislas himself. Then later on, he ended up in even bigger dispute over the treatment that the King gave to his own men during his wars, and their wives which were punished for their lack of faith in their husbands. St. Stanislas disagreed with the brutal nature of the King’s punishments and treatments, and these acts among others were seen by the King as being disobedient against royal authority and undermining his power, culminating in the King personally slaying the faithful Bishop as he said the Mass, when his servants were hesitant to act.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we can see very clearly how it can be challenging for us to embrace God’s path faithfully, living them with faith and dedication to Him. It can be difficult for us to follow the path of God because of all the difficulties, trials and oppressions that we may face in our journey. However, that should not discourage us from committing ourselves to the Lord, but instead it should strengthen and encourage us ever more, like how St. Stanislas and many others of our holy predecessors, the holy martyrs and saints, had done in their own lives and ministries. Let us all therefore ask them all to intercede for us so that God may bless us and strengthen us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 3 : 31-36

At that time, John the Baptist said, “He Who comes from above is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and his words belong to the earth. He Who comes from heaven speaks of the things He has seen and heard; He bears witness to these things, but no one accepts His testimony. Whoever does receive His testimony acknowledges the truthfulness of God.”

“The One sent by God speaks God’s words, and gives the Spirit unstintingly. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything into His hands. Whoever believes in the Son lives with eternal life; but he who will not believe in the Son will never know life, and always faces the justice of God.”

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Thursday, 11 April 2024 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 33 : 2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. Many are the troubles of the just, but the Lord delivers them from all.