Seventh Sunday of Easter

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the second last Sunday in this glorious and joyful season and time of Easter. On this Sunday, which in some places the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated, we commemorate the occasion of the World Communications Sunday or the World Social Communications Sunday, as we give thanks to the Lord firstly for having revealed to us His great salvation and grace that He had brought upon us through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Risen One, and we also give thanks to all those who have laboured hard and courageously for the Lord’s sake in proclaiming His truth and Good News to the whole world, especially those who dedicate themselves in the field of communication of the Christian faith.

It is important for us all as Christians to know well about communication as it is how the Lord Himself has revealed to us His truth and love. From the very beginning of time, the Lord has always presented Himself and His love for us through either Him directly speaking to us, His people or through His servants like Moses and the prophets, who then passed on the message and words of the Lord to whom they were sent to. He has always communicated His will and His desire for His people through these means, and the people themselves have also communicated with Him through His representatives like the priests and the prophets, throughout history. It was through all these that the people came to know what the Lord wanted the to do, although often times they did not follow the Lord wholeheartedly and preferred to walk down their own, rebellious paths.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the moment when the Apostles were gathering and discerning about the matter of the twelfth member of their number. This was highlighted as the Lord originally had chosen twelve among His disciples and followers to be His principal disciples, the Twelve, later to be known as the Twelve Apostles. However, as we know, one of those twelve, namely Judas Iscariot, betrayed the Lord and then took his own life out of guilt and regret shortly afterwards. As such, St. Peter, who led all of the Apostles and the Church convened the meeting and the gathering mentioned the need for the Church to discern and select from among themselves to be one of the Apostles to fill up the vacancy created by the betrayal and death of Judas Iscariot.

And we heard how the Apostles gathered and prayed together with the other disciples, invoking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them, and they put their choice between as certain Joseph Barsabbas or Justus, and one named Matthias. Both were worthy and good men, who had been longtime disciples of the Lord, and who had also witnessed everything that the Twelve had witnessed. Eventually, Matthias was selected to be the one to fill up the vacancy and became the twelfth and newest member of the Twelve Apostles, continuing the mission which the Lord entrusted to His Church and Apostles, and henceforth was known as Matthias the Apostle. Then, in accordance to what we have been discussing in today’s theme on communication, the Apostles did not decide based on their own human whim and understanding, but they communicated to the Lord through their prayers and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As St. John the Apostle wrote in his Epistle in our second reading passage today, the Holy Spirit has further revealed, explained and shared to us the love of God manifested to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. By the manifestation of His Son, the Lord has made His love and truth manifested and approachable to us in the flesh, and through the Apostles, the Church had witnessed and experienced this same love and truth, which the same Church and the disciples and followers of the Lord, therefore shared with everyone all throughout the whole world. Through the Holy Spirit, every members of the same Body of Christ, the Church, shared in the same grace, experiences and love which He has revealed and shown to all of us through everything that He had done for our sake, especially in how He suffered and died for our salvation.

Then, through the Holy Spirit, by which the holy people of God, that is all of us, have received the various gifts, namely that of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord, all of which we have been given so that we may grow to love the Lord our God more and more, and commit ourselves ever more worthily and courageously to His cause. We have been taught and shown how to love God with all of our might and strength, to love Him genuinely from the depth of our hearts, and to commit ourselves thoroughly to Him, as well as to show that same love to one another, in our every moments in life, in our every actions, words and deeds. The love of God is what made us Christians to be unique and different from all those who have not yet embraced the Lord our God and believed in Him.

This is where we are all called to be good communicators yet again, not just through prayer and discernment as what the Apostles had done in our first reading in communicating with God in their decision to choose the twelfth Apostle, but also through our own actions and deeds in life. Sometimes a person does not have to communicate with words at all to convey what he or she wants to convey, and in fact, as we all should know that our actions and behaviour in life often may have conveyed greater things and have more impact than mere words to others present around us. There had been many moments in history when many people were scandalised and put off by the actions of many corrupt and wicked people who considered themselves as Christians, even those high in the position of power and responsibilities in the Church, and yet they did not act or behave in the manner as Christians should behave.

This is why it is very important for us to be very careful in how we act, and we ought to make sure that our every words, actions and deeds should always be centred and focused on the Lord, as it is very easy for us to be tempted otherwise to follow the many temptations and desires of this world, of our ambition and vanities, that we end up falling deeper and deeper into the wrong paths in life, and be corrupted ever more by sin. As Christians, it is important that we must always lead lives that are full of God’s grace and love, and we must always keep in mind that we are all also missionaries and bearers of God’s truth and love in our respective communities and groups, in our families and circle of friends, and even to strangers we encounter in our daily living.

That is why just as we have heard ourselves from the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, Who prayed to His heavenly Father asking for Him to guide His disciples and followers in His path, that we must always be firmly rooted in the Lord, and develop a strong and living relationship with Him, at all times. The Lord Jesus Himself always frequently prayed to His Father at different places and times, sometimes privately and sometimes before His disciples, teaching them all how to pray and to follow the Lord. This is because unless one is firmly attached and centred upon the Lord, it is easy for him or her to be swayed by the many worldly temptations and pressures, and fall away from the path of virtue and righteousness, and be separated from the truth and grace of God.

We ourselves have to make the conscious effort to communicate with God, to be closely attuned with Him, by spending quality time to discern His will and to find out what it is that He wants us to do, just as the Lord had taught His disciples, and which they did at all times. If we do not even spend the slightest bit of time to be with the Lord, then how can we truly know what is His will for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Many people have fallen away from their faith in God and lost trust in Him because they allowed themselves to be distracted from Him so that they barely spent any time with Him at all, and hence, they did not truly know Him or recognise His Presence in their lives as they should have done.

Then, at the same time, as I have discussed earlier on, as Christians each and every one of us must also be genuine in our actions and in our way of life so that by our examples of life, full of love towards the Lord and towards one another, we may truly indeed communicate well the truth of God and His love to the world, to everyone around us, just as the Lord has told us to do. We have been entrusted with the important mission to proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation to all the people of all the nations, but we cannot do this unless we ourselves have been in constant communication and being well-attuned to God’s will, and also in being truly and genuinely faithful in our actions and way of life as well.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all continue to do our best in living our lives ever more faithfully as Christians, in all things and at all times so that by our good and exemplary way of life, we may truly be effective evangelisers and worthy missionaries of our Christian faith at all times. May the Risen Lord continue to guide and bless each and every one of us in our efforts, that we may continue to be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, leading more and more people towards their salvation in God, that we may be saved altogether, and worship and praise God together as His one, united and holy people. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 17 : 11b-19

At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “Holy Father, keep those You have given Me in Your Name, so that they may be one, as we also are. When I was with them, I kept them safe in Your Name; and not one was lost, except the one who was already lost, and in this, the Scripture was fulfilled. And now I come to You; in the world I speak these things, so that those whom You gave Me, might have joy – all My joy within themselves.”

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world, I do not ask You to remove them from the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.”

“I have sent them into the world as You sent Me into the world; and for their sake, I go to the sacrifice by which I am consecrated, so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 11-16

Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love comes to its perfection in us.

How may we know that we live in God and He in us? Because God has given us His Spirit. We ourselves have seen, and declare, that the Father sent His Son to save the world. Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them, and they in God.

We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is love. The one who lives in love, lives in God and God in him.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.

YHVH has set His throne in heaven; He rules; He has power everywhere. Praise YHVH, all you His Angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding.

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Sunday, 12 May 2024 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Social Communications Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 15-17, 20a, 20c-26

It was during this time that Peter stood up in the midst of the community – about one hundred and twenty in all – and he said, “Brothers, it was necessary that the Scriptures referring to Judas be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had spoken through David about the one who would lead the crowd coming to arrest Jesus. He was one of our number and had been called to share our common ministry.”

“In the Book of Psalms it is written : ‘May another take his office.’ Therefore, we must choose someone from among those who were with us during all the time that the Lord Jesus moved about with us, beginning with John’s baptism until the day when Jesus was taken away from us. One of these has to become, with us, a witness to His resurrection.”

Then they proposed two : Joseph, called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. They prayed : “You know, Lord, what is in the hearts of all. Show us, therefore, which of the two You have chosen to replace Judas in this Apostolic ministry which he deserted to go to the place he deserved.”

Then they drew lots between the two and the choice fell on Matthias who was added to the eleven Apostles.

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Saturday, 4 June 2022 : 7th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we almost come to the end and conclusion of the season of Easter, with tomorrow being the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday, the last day of the fifty glorious days of Easter. Today we are therefore reminded that the works of the Lord and His Apostles are far from being completed, and in fact they are still being done and continuing even to this day, and even beyond to the future. The mission that the Lord has entrusted to each and every one of us still continues through us, the same mission that God told His disciples, to go forth to all the peoples of all the nations, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Lord has called us all to follow Him, to do the same as His disciples had done all those years ago, just as we heard from our first reading today, from the Acts of the Apostles, of St. Paul the Apostle who went to Rome and continued his ministry even as he was waiting for his appeal to the Roman Emperor for his case. He was free to go anywhere and in that way, he ministered to the faithful Christians in Rome, and the Jewish people as well as the Gentiles there who were interested to know more about the Lord Jesus and His teachings and truth. St. Paul continued to work there until he was martyred during the Great Fire of Rome and the intense persecution of Christians after that.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples after He had risen from the dead and just before He was about to ascend into Heaven in glory. He spoke to them regarding what was to come and what they ought to expect. The disciples asked about St. John, the disciple who was closest to the Lord, and He mentioned that St. John would not die or perish before the end of times, when the Lord comes again. This can be understood in many different ways, but most common opinion is that St. John would see the end comes as he received it in a vision as he related them to us through the Book of Revelations. Alternatively, some believe that St. John, the only Apostle not to die a martyr, was just sleeping and still waiting for the coming of the Lord.

Nonetheless, whatever the case is, the sufferings of the Apostles and the many other disciples and holy people of God highlighted to us that the work of the Church and the ministry that we all share in various different ways in our world today, are far from over. On the other hand, the challenges awaiting the Church and the faithful in the present day are just as hard and difficult for the faithful to endure and overcome. Often times in our world today, we have to struggle and face rejection, hardships and obstacles as we walk down this path that the Lord has set before us, as we follow the guidance of Our Lord and Shepherd.

But those should not then become excuses for us not to follow the Lord faithfully as we must remember how our predecessors have suffered for their faith, and yet they faced those sufferings with great courage and faith. They carried on their crosses in life, and dedicated their time and efforts to walk in the path shown by them through the Holy Spirit. They showed how even if one were to suffer and were persecuted and challenged in their faith, they could not be shaken and they could remain firm in faith even if they had to go through worst of treatments, and they also inspired one another to remain committed and trusting in God as well.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, the responsibility is ours to continue the good works that our predecessors had done, and there are indeed still a lot to be done. There are still a lot out there who have not yet been touched by the light and hope of Christ, and many have yet to hear the Good News of His salvation. It is up to us to continue the good works that the Apostles had begun and which their many successors throughout the generations had continued, the Popes, bishops, priests and many others, all those who committed themselves to the spreading of the message of the Gospels, the salvation of God to all mankind.

As I mentioned earlier, we have to stay firm in our faith in the Lord and trust in His guidance and providence. The saints and martyrs, many of our holy predecessors were inspired and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, that came onto them from God, giving them the power and courage, the ability and desire to commit themselves to the Lord in ever greater way. They might have been ordinary people, but they allowed God to lead them and guide them, and giving them the strength to do even things that man might have considered impossible. That was how they endured through even the hardest challenges and persecutions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore commit ourselves to a new life inspired and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and as we commemorate Pentecost tomorrow, let us all ask for the Holy Spirit to continue to guide us and our path, and give us the courage to step forward and commit ourselves for the benefit and good of all, in obeying the laws and commandments of God, and in being truly faithful and worthy sons and daughters of God, all of us who call ourselves as Christians, who through our common baptism share in the same mission to evangelise the whole world. May God bless us and be with us always, with our every work. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 June 2022 : 7th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 21 : 20-25

At that time, Peter looked back and saw that the disciple Jesus loved was following as well, the one who had reclined close to Jesus at the supper, and had asked Him, “Lord, who is to betray You?”

On seeing him, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until Income, does that concern you? Follow Me!” Because of this the rumour spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, “He will not die,” but, “Suppose I want him to remain until I come.”

It is this disciple who testifies about the things he has written here, and we know that his testimony is true. But Jesus did many other things; if all were written down, I think the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

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Saturday, 4 June 2022 : 7th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 10 : 4, 5 and 7

The Lord is in His holy place – our God Whose throne is in heaven. He looks down to earth to observe the race of Adam.

The Lord searches both righteous and wicked. He hates those who delight in violence, for the Lord is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.

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Saturday, 4 June 2022 : 7th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 28 : 16-20, 30-31

Upon our arrival in Rome, the captain turned the prisoners over to the military governor but permitted Paul to lodge in a private house with the soldier who guarded him. After three days, Paul called together the leaders of the Jews.

When they had gathered, he said to them : “Brothers, though I have not done anything against our people or against the traditions of our fathers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and wanted to set me free, for they saw nothing in my case that deserved death.”

“But the Jews objected, so I was forced to appeal to Caesar without the least intention of bringing any case against my own people. Therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I bear these chains.”

Paul stayed for two whole years in a house he himself rented, where he received without any hindrance all those who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught the truth about Jesus Christ, the Lord, quite openly and without any hindrance.

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Friday, 3 June 2022 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of God, reminding each and every one of us yet again that becoming Christians and walking faithfully in the presence of God is something that is not easily done and which likely will end up bringing us hardships and challenges, just as we have been constantly reminded especially in the past few days through the Scripture readings of this week. Following Christ often required us to make sacrifices and to experience those hardships and trials mentioned, just as our predecessors, and the saints and martyrs can easily attest.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the conversation between King Agrippa of Judea and that of Festus, the new Roman governor in charge of the case surrounding St. Paul. If we had been following the Scripture readings from the earlier part of this week, all these happened due to the opposition that the Apostle faced due to his work and ministry, in proclaiming the Christian truths and evangelising to many people, Gentiles and Jews alike that earned him the ire of many among the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, which then persecuted him and handed him over to the Romans to be judged for the accusations they levied on him.

This was pretty much just like what the Lord Jesus Himself experienced earlier on, but St. Paul was following the guidance and lead of the Holy Spirit, Who told him that he was destined to travel to Rome and to die there, in martyrdom just like the other Apostles and many other disciples. However, this would not happen before he brought the word of God, His truth and love to the people in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, planting the seeds of the faith there, at the very heart of the Empire and superpower of that time, which would soon become the greatest persecutor of Christianity.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the calling that God gave to St. Peter, His foremost and chief disciple, as He called on him after His resurrection to be the one to lead the people of God and to shepherd His entire flock, as the leader of the Church on His behalf, His Vicar on earth. St. Peter has been appointed to be the leader of the Church, as the first Pope because of the faith that he had shown and all the commitment that he would later on do for the sake of the Church, as the Lord Himself knew that St. Peter would become His most faithful servant, and he truly loved Him from his heart, and God knew all that is in man’s hearts and minds.

Hence, St. Peter dedicated himself and his life to love and serve the Lord, to feed the flock of the sheep of the Lord, to fulfil what the Lord had entrusted to him and the other leaders of the Church, the Apostles and those whom they had chosen to be their successors, the Popes and bishops. St. Peter himself would also eventually go to Rome, and according to tradition, he and the other Christians were persecuted by the intense persecutions under the Roman Emperor Nero, at whose rule and command, the Apostle St. Paul as mentioned earlier eventually faced martyrdom by beheading.

Apostolic tradition states that St. Peter fled Rome with some of the other faithful because of the intense persecutions, and on the way out of Rome, he saw the Lord carrying His Cross in the opposite direction, towards Rome, which led to St. Peter asking Him where He was going. The Lord replied to St. Peter that He was going to Rome to be crucified again. That encounter according to Apostolic tradition gave St. Peter the courage and strength to endure the bitter persecutions that he had to endure in Rome, and was eventually martyred by crucifixion, and he chose to be crucified upside-down as in his own words, St. Peter said that, he was unworthy to die in the same way as his Lord, Master and Saviour. Thus, everything happened just as the Lord predicted it for St. Peter as we heard in our Gospel today.

Today we also mark the Feast of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda, also known as the Ugandan Martyrs, St. Charles Lwanga and his many companions in martyrdom in Uganda, where they who were persecuted, arrested, tortured and killed for their faith in Uganda, during the early years of Christian mission in that area. There were missionaries and local converts amongst the martyrs, all those who have given themselves for the service of God, and all those who remained faithful to the Lord despite the persecutions and sufferings they encountered. They faced intense challenges just to live their lives faithfully as Christians.

At that time, Christian missionaries just arrived in Uganda, over the several years in which they ministered to the locals. Many among the locals welcomed the missionaries and many chose to become Christians, including that of St. Charles Lwanga, who was an important official in the court of the king of Buganda, the largest local kingdom. The king saw the increasing conversion to Christianity among his people as a threat to his own power and influence, and began to persecute Christianity throughout his realm. But this did not stop the Christian faithful from continuing to endure the persecutions and remaining faithful to God.

All these became worse when the converts among the royal pages and courtiers refused to obey the king’s debaucherous desires and shunned his wicked actions. The king ordered all Christians in his court and also foreign missionaries to be rounded up and put to death, and the locals if they would not abandon their faith. St. Charles Lwanga and his companions in martyrdom refused to abandon their faith, and in prison, he even managed to convert some more people, before being martyred by being burnt alive after refusing again to abandon the Christian faith. And not only that, but through martyrdom, they had shown many others what true faith in God is like.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to these courageous and great examples of faith despite persecution and hardships, all of us are reminded to be strong and faithful ourselves, to steel our resolve to be good and dedicated Christians at all times. We should not let the challenges and hardships we encountered and will face in the future from changing this faith and commitment we have in God. Let us all look upon the examples of the Apostles, the saints and martyrs like the Holy Martyrs of Uganda, St. Charles Lwanga and his companions. Holy Martyrs of Uganda, courageous servants of God and beloved disciples of Our Lord and Saviour, pray for us! Amen.