Second Week of Easter

by

Saturday, 3 May 2025 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates not just one but two of the great Apostles of the Lord, two of the Twelve Apostles that the Lord had chosen to be His principal disciples and followers, the ones who belonged to His inner circle, those whom He had called and chosen to be the ones to continue to lead His works and all that He had entrusted to His Church. They are St. Philip and also St. James, the latter of which should not be confused with St. James the brother of St. John. The St. James that we are celebrating today is also known as St. James the Less, who was mentioned as such likely because of his smaller posture and not because of lesser in importance. Both of these great servants of God dedicated their lives to the Lord and did their best to carry out the missions entrusted to them.

First of all, let us look through our Scripture passages today before we delve into the lives and works of those two great Apostles. In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Corinth, we heard of the testimony of faith by St. Paul himself who exhorted the people of God to share the faith which they have in God so that many more people may come to believe in Him as well, just as he shared how he himself had received the faith through encounter with the Lord and the other Apostles. Through what we have heard today in this passage from the Epistle to the Corinthians we are reminded that we should always be ready to proclaim our faith wherever we are and to whoever it is that we encounter in life.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. In that account we heard the Lord Jesus interacting with His disciples who listened to Him teaching to them, and that was where St. Philip, whom we celebrate today, asked Him after He said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, for Him to show them the Father. The Lord then told the disciples that whenever they see Him, they had truly seen and known the Father, highlighting the special relationship between Him as the Son and the Heavenly Father. The Lord told them that since He came from the Father, and that He is indeed co-equal and co-eternal, consubstantial with the Father, therefore His Presence in their midst indeed shows the loving Presence of the Father, the Creator Lord Himself.

And this is why the Apostles, having witnessed the Lord Himself, being presented to them in the flesh, approachable and tangible to them, and having listened to the words and teachings of the Lord, the many miracles and signs that He has performed before them, they truly believed and had firm faith in the Lord. This firm and strong faith was what they passed on to the others around them, proclaiming the Risen Lord and His truth and Good News, touching the lives and hearts of many people, calling them to conversion and to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. This faith is what we have ourselves received through the Church, having been passed down to us through the many generations of Christians, many of whom have suffered and faced challenges and difficulties in living their faith in God.

For St. Philip and St. James themselves, they had devoted their lives in ministering to the people of God and to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to more and more people who have not yet heard of the Good News of God. St. Philip went to the region of Syria, Phrygia and Greece together with other Apostles like St. Bartholomew. St. Philip according to one Apostolic tradition was martyred together with St. Bartholomew in the city known as Hierapolis. It was told that through his preaching about the Lord and miracles that he performed, he converted the wife of the city’s pro-consul who was therefore enraged and ordered the Apostles to be arrested, persecuted and eventually martyred by crucifixion. But St. Philip remained firm in his faith to the very end, suffering martyrdom for the glory of God.

Meanwhile, St. James the Apostle, also known as St. James the Less was associated with other St. James the relative of Jesus and St. James, son of Alphaeus. The former was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, ministering to the faithful people of God in Jerusalem and Judea, while the other St. James also took part in missionary activities to the people in various places like that of St. Philip. Eventually, despite the relative lack of detailed evidence and historiography on these Apostles, what is certain is such that those holy servants of God gave their all in serving God, and they suffered persecutions and hardships from all those who hardened their hearts and closed the doors of their minds and hearts against the truth and Good News of God. St. James, like that of St. Philip also faced similar trials and sufferings. But both of them remained strong and courageous amidst the persecutions and kept their faith in the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, as we all reflect upon these words of the Scriptures and upon the lives of the Holy Apostles, St. Philip and St. James, who have dedicated themselves so wonderfully to the Lord and His cause, let us all also follow in their examples in how we ourselves should live faithful and committed lives as Christians, in loving God and in loving those whom we love and everyone else around us. We are the ones to continue the good works that the Apostles had started and there are indeed still a lot of areas where our contributions are important and needed. We must remember that our actions and efforts are part of the larger works and efforts of the Church, and hence we should be active in living our lives faithfully and contributing actively to the good of the Church, to the works of charity and evangelisation, among others.

May the glorious Risen Lord continue to be with us all, His faithful ones just as He has always guided His faithful servants, especially St. Philip and St. James, Holy Apostles, whose lives and works we remember today. May He continue to bless us in our every good works, our deeds and actions so that by our every endeavours, our dedication and commitment to Him, we may truly glorify Him and proclaim Him to our world today. Holy Apostles, St. Philip and St. James, pray for us all always. Amen.

by

Saturday, 3 May 2025 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 14 : 6-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 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.”

by

Saturday, 3 May 2025 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

by

Saturday, 3 May 2025 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Corinthians 15 : 1-8

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest.

Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me.

by

Friday, 2 May 2025 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that our faith in the Lord is truly worth it and we must always hold firmly to this faith and trust that we have in the Lord, no matter what challenges and trials may come our way. We need to continue to be faithful at all times and do not easily lose faith in God, even when times may be challenging and difficult. We must always trust in the Lord that He will be able to do great things for us, on our behalf. After all, He has shown His love and faithfulness all to us throughout history and most evidently through His Son, Who has come to us in the flesh, revealing the great love of God made Man. And since the Lord is always by our side, therefore, that is why we will be triumphant and successful in the end, and we will share in the true happiness and eternal glory that can be found in God alone.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which the High Priest and his fellow chief priests and the other members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council were debating about what they would do to the disciples of Jesus who had been performing miracles, wonders and other works in the Name of the Lord Jesus, the One Whom they had persecuted and handed over to the Romans to be crucified. Many among the Sanhedrin were hostile to Jesus and His teachings, and many of them wanted to destroy the disciples in the same manner how they had done to the Lord Himself. But as we heard, a renowned teacher of the faith, a rabbi known as Gamaliel calmed the whole Sanhedrin and spoke words of wisdom regarding what course of action that they ought to be taking.

Gamaliel quoted the examples of several false messiahs that had arisen during that period of time, stating how each and every one of them had come and claimed that they were the ones sent by God to save the people, and yet, their movement rapidly fizzled out the moment that they were killed and captured by the Romans when they rose up in rebellion against them. Therefore, Gamaliel urged caution and patience to the members of the Sanhedrin, telling them that they should refrain from taking harsh actions against the disciples and followers of Jesus, with the argument that if their movement did not come from God, then it would also fizzle out in the manner of how the other false messiahs’ followers had experienced. On the other hand, if the works of Jesus and His disciples truly came from God, then it would be impossible to stop.

Through this event of Gamaliel and his words to the Sanhedrin and how the disciples continued to proclaim the Lord, His teachings and works joyfully despite the trials, sufferings and hardships that they would have to face and endure amidst their respective ministries, all these are reminders for us of God’s faithful guidance and Presence in our lives. We should not easily be led to give up on God and our struggles for His cause. Instead, our faith should always be stronger, inspired and strengthened by the great love which God has always had for us, the ever wonderful and enduring love which the Lord has lavished on us, and His Resurrection is a reminder of this ever constant reassurance and hope that we can find in God alone. Therefore, with God we can do so many wonderful things, if we can only put more of our trust in Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the account of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and many others by the Lord taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. In that well-known miracle, we heard how the Lord miraculously multiplied the loaves of bread and fishes to be fed to all the multitudes of the people, and we heard how everyone had their fill and even to the excess, a whole twelve baskets full of food. This is an important reminder for us that God’s love for us is so great that He will fill us up and strengthen us, providing us to the brim and beyond, fulfilling and empowering each and every one of us who trust in Him and who love Him. And we should indeed allow the Lord to guide and strengthen us with His love and blessings, seeking Him as the centre and focus of our lives.

This story of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand serves as an important reminder for each one of us that we should trust in the Lord for His Providence and not be easily swayed or distracted by the many temptations and disturbances, desires and other obstacles present all around us that may lead us astray from the path towards God. We should look to the Lord as the One Who has always loved us, and as the One Who has always provided us with the grace and blessings for us to be able to move forward in life, strengthening us in body, mind, heart and soul. When we have nothing with us, the Lord always provides, and He always knows what we need even when we ourselves may not know them. He has always showed His most patient and enduring love all the time, and He has revealed His loving kindness to every single one of us without exception.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, having been shown such great love of God and how precious we truly are to Him, that is why we must deepen our loves and relationship with Him, doing our very best and striving in each and every moments to glorify Him by our lives in this world. We must allow ourselves to be filled with His great love, and be willing to share the same love with each other, to be loving first and foremost to God, and then to show that same great love to everyone around us, especially to those whom we love the most. In our every moments in life, we should always be steadfast in living our lives as faithful Christians, in showing everyone that we truly belong to God by the way we live, through our continuous, steadfast and enduring love for one another.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Athanasius, a great and holy servant of God, a staunch defender of the Church and the Christian faith against all those that sought to lead the faithful astray into the wrong path of heresy and falsehoods. St. Athanasius was the Bishop and Patriarch of Alexandria, and hence, during that time, the middle of the fourth century, he was one of the most influential leaders of the Church, which had just recently emerged from the intense official persecution by the Romans. At that time, the Church was bitterly divided between those who supported the Arian party, namely the heresy proposed by one popular preacher named Arius which denied the equality of Jesus Christ, the Son of God to the Father, with those who, headed by among many, St. Athanasius himself, defended the true teachings of the Church.

St. Athanasius succeeded to the position of Patriarch of Alexandria approximately three years after the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea which affirmed the true, orthodox teaching of the Church and rejecting the heresy of Arianism. However, the influence and support that the Arians were receiving ensured that the conflict between the Arians and those who held on to the true faith would go on for the next few decades, in which St. Athanasius often found himself in direct crossfire, becoming target of those who supported the Arian teachings and heresy, including those in power and close to the Emperor himself. As such St. Athanasius even had to endure several exiles and other hardships that he had faced amidst his ministry as the shepherd of the flock of the faithful people of God. Nevertheless, St. Athanasius remained firm in his resolution to do the best for those entrusted to him, and continued to do God’s great works in good and bad times alike, to the very end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all heard from the life, ministry, work and dedication of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, let us all therefore strive to do our best in following Christ, our Risen Lord, and be the good role models and inspirations ourselves to our fellow brothers and sisters. Let us all be the bearers of Christ’s Light and Hope, the Light and Hope of His Resurrection to the people of all the nations, to everyone whom we encounter in our daily life, to our brothers and sisters, and even to strangers as well. May the Lord continue to inspire us and strengthen us in our commitment to serve Him most faithfully each day in our lives. Amen.

by

Friday, 2 May 2025 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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.

by

Friday, 2 May 2025 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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!

by

Friday, 2 May 2025 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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.

by

Thursday, 1 May 2025 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the occasion of the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the patron saint of all workers and those who labour in this world, which is essentially many among us who toil, labour and work each day to make ends meet and to provide for our families and loved ones. This celebration of St. Joseph the Worker is a response from the Church, instituted by Pope Pius XII exactly seventy years ago in the Year of Our Lord 1955, to mark the occasion of May Day, also known as Labour Day. Back then, communism was ascendant throughout most of the world, a great force of evil and wickedness that caused a lot of hardships for the Christians in many areas. And the labour movement was key to the growth of communist ideology, which the Pope then therefore decided to counter by invoking the patronage of St. Joseph over all the workers.

In our first reading today, we heard from the account of the creation of the world and the universe by the Lord from the Book of Genesis, in which God our Master and Creator made all things to be, and today’s passage focus specifically on the creation of mankind, all of us, who have been created in God’s own image and likeness, to be the ones to share His love and blessings, His grace and compassionate kindness. We have been created as the pinnacle of God’s creation and we have been made such that we may be the ones to take good care of everything which God had created. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that account of creation of man reminds us all that all of us share the responsibility of living our lives virtuously and with proper guidance from God, in how we exercise our control and use of the many resources and things that have been entrusted to us in this world.

It is an important reminder for us that in our daily living in this world, in how we carry on our lives, we must always be centred on God and do everything for the greatness of God, in all of our work, our toils, struggles, labours and in everything that we say and do. We must not easily be swayed by the many temptations and desires present all around us which may lead us astray, keeping us away from the Lord and His righteous path. Many among us and our predecessors had been so tempted and attached to the many worldly desires and ambitions all around us such that we seek and desire for them, in the expense of our own connection with God and others, and in many of those occasions in fact, many among us have caused hurt and sufferings to others because of our desires and attachments to our ambitions and pride.

Instead we are all called to reorientate ourselves and our lives, our works and efforts to the Lord. We should do our work, efforts, labours and toils not for our own selfish desires and advantages, for our desire for money, pleasures and all the things which can bring us ever further away from God. We should dedicate ourselves to the Lord instead and strive to do our best such that we always perform each work and actions with God at the centre of our existence and efforts. Our good works and labours should always be fruitful and good for everyone around us, and responsible to this world and creation which God had made for us all. We are the stewards entrusted with God with this world around us, and not just the world itself, but also with one another, our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Then from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the people of Nazareth confronting the Lord Jesus when He returned back to His hometown of Nazareth and taught in their synagogue. He proclaimed the words of the Scriptures taken from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, in which the prophecy of the Messiah was contained. In that prophecy, Isaiah spoke of the coming of God’s salvation through the signs and wonders that would accompany the coming of His Messiah or Saviour, and the Lord proclaimed that everything had indeed come true just as the Lord had said it would be, and that He Himself is the Saviour that God had promised to His people, and that very day they heard the words of Isaiah, everything had been fulfilled according to God’s will and plan.

But as we heard, the people of Nazareth grumbled and complained, because to them, Jesus was merely the Son of the village carpenter, the One Whom they thought they had known for many years, and therefore it was impossible for them, in their perception, that Jesus could be the very Messiah that the prophet Isaiah had spoken about, and they also doubted what they had heard about the Wisdom and the many miracles that Jesus had performed, despite having witnessed and heard these themselves, with their own eyes and ears. All these were caused by their own prejudices and biases, their arrogance and expectations. They thought that since carpenter was then a very poorly regarded job, often disregarded and being prejudiced against, as the job for the uneducated and the poor, therefore it was impossible for the Lord Jesus to be Who He said He was, according to their prejudices and ideas.

The Lord wants to show us all therefore that we should not be preoccupied by titles, by prestige or other worldly matters and ideals which often framed how we perceive things around us. As employees, many of us often looked down on ourselves just because we perceive or think that our kind and nature of work is something that is less worthy or ideal, and the same can be said of employers too, that we as employers tend to look down on our own employees and on those whom we deem to be less worthy, inferior and not as good as ours in livelihood and work. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not the attitude that any one of us as Christian workers and faithful should be adopting, and we should keep ourselves distant and free from the shackles of these worldly desires and ambitions which can lead us down the wrong path in life.

Therefore, we invoke the patronage of St. Joseph the Worker, the faithful and courageous, virtuous and just St. Joseph, the foster-father of the Lord, a simple and yet great carpenter, the ever hardworking servant of God who lived his life with great virtues and as good role models for all of us, just as he had been great role model and teacher for his foster Son, our Lord Jesus Himself. Let us all follow his good examples, his virtues, faith and dedication to God, so that by our own works, blessed by God, our own willingness to walk the path of our Christian faith with true dedication and commitment to God, we shall come ever closer to the Lord and His Presence, and be worthy one day to share in the eternal inheritance that He has promised to all those who are faithful to Him.

May the Lord, our most wonderful and loving Master continue to bless each and every one of us, and bless us with the strength, courage and perseverance especially when we encounter a lot of hardships and challenges in our lives. May our lives continue to bring glory to God and may He continue to guide us all with the examples like that shown by St. Joseph the Worker, our inspiration and example, in our own commitment to live a truly faithful Christian life, now and always. Amen.

by

Thursday, 1 May 2025 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

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.”

Alternative reading (Mass of St. Joseph)

Matthew 13 : 54-58

At that time, Jesus went to His hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did He get this wisdom and these special powers? Is He not the carpenter’s Son? Is Mary not His mother and are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas not His brothers? Are not all His sisters living here? How did He get all this?” And so they took offence at Him.

Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is their hometown and in their own family.” And He did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.