Sunday

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Sunday, 17 April 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, Vocation Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 9, 14b-17

After this I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands.

The elder replied, “They are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed and made their clothes white in the blood of the Lamb. This is why they stand before the Throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. He Who sits on the Throne will spread His tent over them.”

“Never again will they suffer hunger or thirst or be burnt by the sun or any scorching wind. For the Lamb near the Throne will be their Shepherd, and He will bring them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away their tears.”

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Sunday, 17 April 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, Vocation Sunday (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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Sunday, 17 April 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, Vocation Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 14, 43-52

Paul and his companions went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down.

After that, when the assembly broke up, many Jews and devout God-fearing people followed them and to these they spoke, urging them to hold fast to the grace of God.

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 Holy Spirit.

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Sunday, 10 April 2016 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about the works of the Apostles in preaching about Jesus our Lord and Saviour, and how the Pharisees and the elders were unhappy about that, and attempted to stop the Apostles from teaching the truth to the people in the Name of Jesus. But the Apostles were not at the least daunted or threatened.

They were in fact encouraged and heartened by the fact that they were able to endure the same suffering that their Lord had suffered at the hands of those who rejected Him. And they became ever more dedicated in carrying out the work entrusted to them. And because of their hard work, and the commitment of all those who came after them, countless souls had been saved, including us all, from the threat of eternal damnation and death.

And this is related to what we have heard in the Gospel today. The Gospel from the Gospel according to St. John told us about what happened in the days after Jesus had risen from the dead. On that occasion, at the shore of the Lake of Tiberias, while the disciples of Christ spent their time doing about what they have used to do before following Jesus, that is fishing, Jesus appeared to them.

And while they had spent the whole night trying to catch fish and yet caught nothing, He told them to follow His instruction, and spread the net on the side of the boat. Immediately they caught so many fishes, that the net almost broke, and the ship almost sank under the weight of the catch. And yet the two of them held on, and the Lord showed His Apostles the way through this yet another miracle He had performed.

In that reading, we should notice that there are many symbolisms related to our faith and our Church, as well as the mission which Jesus was giving His Apostles, and through them to all of us living even today, for us to undertake and to be responsible for. Therefore, let us now go through them one by one as we reflect on the words of our Lord today.

The fishermen, the Apostles represent all of us, God’s chosen people, including His chosen priests and all those who have given themselves to the service of the Lord and to His people, and the boat represents the Church, in which all the faithful are part of, and where all the faithful ones should be contained in. It is the vessel of salvation through which we find our liberation from sin and death, and find our path to eternal life.

Just as in another occasion when Jesus walked on the water approaching the disciples who were on a boat in the middle of a storm, the same symbolism is applied, where the Church is the boat, rocked by the waves and the winds from the terrible storm, representing the opposition of the world and the difficulties it is facing, as shown in our first reading today by the opposition of the elders and the chief priests.

But the Lord shows us that He stands by His Church and His faithful ones, and knowing this very well, the Apostles knew that the Lord was with them, and that was why they did not give up, even though they faced great persecution, scrutiny and pressure from the authorities to give up their work of evangelisation among the people. They continued their hard work regardless, and most of them indeed were martyred defending their faith.

And what is the hard work that they have done? It is the hard work of bringing the truth of God, the words of our Lord Jesus as He had spoken it, and delivering these to the people who have yet to hear of them. This is the command that our Lord had given to His disciples just before He ascended into heaven, and the command which is still relevant and in force even unto this very day, and likely into the future as well.

Why is this so? That is because we have to realise that, even though our Church today has grown to the point that it is definitely irrecognisable to the Apostles in the past, but the same conditions still apply. There are still many people who are outside the bounds of the Church, who are still outside the relative safety of the vessel of salvation, who have yet to hear the words of our God’s salvation and truth.

There are also many, even within the Church itself, and who called themselves as Christians, and yet, they hang dangerously at the edge of the precipice to damnation, as their actions showed contrary to their faith. And these are in danger of falling outside of the Church and the guarantee of salvation, as by their own actions they had made themselves unworthy of God’s promise.

The Apostles had been called to become fishers of men, leaving behind their old job behind, and instead of looking for fishes to be eaten and sold, they have been called to a higher purpose. They were to call upon men and get them to listen to the salvation which God has offered through His Church. And when they caught those so many fishes inside the net, this was in fact a representation of what they were to do, that is to gather many people from many nations, to be included as part of the Church and thus sharers in God’s salvation.

The same task is now awaiting us as well. There are so many of our brethren out there who need our help, our guidance and our assistance in leading them to God. If we do not do our part, then who else will? Let us therefore learn from the example of the Apostles, in their courage and commitment to God, and in their faith, in how they followed the Lord, knowing that doing so would earn them hatred, persecution and condemnation by the world, but eternal life and glory from God.

May God help us and may He awaken in each one of us the desire to love Him and to love our fellow men, so that we may be stirred in our hearts and encouraged in our limbs and bodies, that our mouths may speak the truth of God, our eyes may see the plight of our brethren still living in sin and darkness, our ears may hear their pleas, and our arms and legs may be moved to touch them and to help bring them closer to God and to His salvation. May God strengthen us and our faith, and keep us always in His love. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 April 2016 : Third Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 21 : 1-19

At that time, after Jesus appeared to His disciples, He revealed Himself to the disciples by the Lake of Tiberias. He appeared to them in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas who was called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together; and Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They replied, “We will come with you.” And they went out and got into the boat, but they caught nothing that night.

When day had already broken, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus called them, “Friends, have you anything to eat?” They answered, “Nothing.” Then He said to them, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something.” When they had lowered the net, they were not able to pull it in because of the great number of fish.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” At these words, “It is the Lord!” Simon Peter put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and jumped into the water. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish; they were not far from land, about a hundred metres.

When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed into the boat and pulled the net to shore. It was full of big fish – one hundred and fifty-three – but, in spite of this, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” And not one of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” for they knew it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples after rising from the dead.

After they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” And Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.”

A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Look after My sheep.” And a third time He said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

Peter was saddened because Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” and he said, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” Jesus then said, “Feed My sheep! Truly, I say to you, when you were young, you put on your belt and walked where you liked. 

Alternative reading (shorter version)

John 21 : 1-14

At that time, after Jesus appeared to His disciples, He revealed Himself to the disciples by the Lake of Tiberias. He appeared to them in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas who was called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together; and Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They replied, “We will come with you.” And they went out and got into the boat, but they caught nothing that night.

When day had already broken, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus called them, “Friends, have you anything to eat?” They answered, “Nothing.” Then He said to them, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something.” When they had lowered the net, they were not able to pull it in because of the great number of fish.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” At these words, “It is the Lord!” Simon Peter put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and jumped into the water. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish; they were not far from land, about a hundred metres.

When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed into the boat and pulled the net to shore. It was full of big fish – one hundred and fifty-three – but, in spite of this, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” And not one of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” for they knew it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples after rising from the dead.

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Sunday, 10 April 2016 : Third Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 5 : 11-14

I went on looking : I heard the noise of a multitude of Angels gathered around the Throne, the living creatures and the elders, numbering millions of millions, crying out with a loud voice : Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour, glory and praise.

Then I heard the voice of the whole universe, heaven, earth, sea and the place of the dead; every creature cried out : To Him Who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be praise, honour, glory and power forever and ever.

And the four living creatures said, “Amen”, while the elders bowed down and worshipped.

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Sunday, 10 April 2016 : Third Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o You His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; O Lord, my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Sunday, 10 April 2016 : Third Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 27b-32, 40b-41

The High Priest questioned the Apostles, “We gave you strict orders not to preach such a Saviour; but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend charging us with the killing of this Man.”

To this Peter and the Apostles replied, “Better for us to obey God rather than any human authority! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus Whom you killed by hanging Him on a wooden post. God set Him at His right hand as Leader and Saviour, to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses to all these things, as well as the Holy Spirit Whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

The Council 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.

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Sunday, 3 April 2016 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the Second Sunday of Easter, all of us the faithful celebrate together as well, the Feast of the Divine Mercy, celebrating the most merciful love of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, through Whom and Whose works have brought mercy and forgiveness to mankind steeped deep in sin and darkness.

The essence of today’s celebration is the fact that we mankind have lived in sin, and darkness have corrupted our hearts, minds and soul. Ever since the very first moment mankind had sinned through Adam and Eve, our forebears, we have been tainted by the wickedness of sin, and by the vile nature of our human pride, our greed and desire.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, sin is what had separated us from the love of God, from His grace and blessings, and it is what keeping us away from truly being able to receive the Lord’s promised inheritance, and the eternal life which He has promised us. Remember, brethren, that God created all of us because He loves us all, and He loves us all whom He had created with His own hands. He never intended for us to be cast out and to be destroyed, but we ourselves, we have rejected Him and refused to walk with Him in His path.

It was by our refusal to obey the commandments of the Lord, by our desire to follow our own wishes and wants, that had led us to such a state of sin and separation from God, beginning from the time of Adam and Eve, when they were tempted by Satan to disobey God and eat from the forbidden tree, because they desired to be like God and to be great and filled with knowledge.

And we also know of how the people of Israel refused to listen to God and to His servant Moses, and they constantly grumbled, rebelled and disobeyed His commands, despite having made the covenant, the pact sealed with the blood of sacrifices with God. They thought better of their own wants and needs, and they acted in ways which came contrary to the way of the Lord, all to satisfy their own desires.

And we continued in this manner for many generations. Across time and ages, people continued to live in accordance with how they wanted to live and not obeying the Lord, but rather listening to the words and sweet lies of Satan, to his temptations and lures to pull us away and to make us to be far apart from God and the salvation and life He intended to give us.

But despite our sins and our wickedness, and despite our constant rebellions, which had aroused His great wrath and anger, God still loves us all, each and every one of us. If He does not love us and instead despises us, it would have been easy for Him to destroy us if that is His intention. He created us, therefore it would have been equally easy for Him to cast us out into the utter darkness. But it was not His intention for us.

God wants to show us His love and mercy, and rescue us from our afflictions. And this year, this is a very special occasion where we celebrate the nature of mercy itself. This year is the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, when we are coming together to reflect on God’s merciful heart, and to bring His works of mercy to all the people who have not yet received His mercy.

Therefore, all of us are called and invited to partake together the wonderful mercy of our Lord. And we are called to realise how great is His mercy, and how we should open ourselves, our hearts, minds and soul so that He may come in and bring His merciful love into each one of us, so that we may be thoroughly transformed from creatures who lived in darkness and filled with rebelliousness, into those who seek the light of God and are righteous and just in all their deeds.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, yet, there is something very important that all of us have to take note here. While we speak about mercy, there seems to be quite a serious misunderstanding and misrepresentation of mercy, especially regarding the mercy of God in our Christian communities, even among the hierarchy and the leaders of the Church. We misrepresent mercy in the way that may end up leading sinners not to salvation but to even greater sins.

Why is this so? That is because there were those of us who urged that the Church and the faithful had not done enough to show mercy upon sinners, people who have not been obedient to the teachings of the Church, those who committed adultery through illegal remarriages, those who followed aberration forms of relationships and living a life of sin, and many others. And these were calling for us essentially to unconditionally show the mercy of God to them that they may be saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must never forget that there are always two sides to a coin. And similarly, for God’s mercy we have to know that there is God’s justice too. What does this mean brothers and sisters? God loves us, and all of us are deserving of His mercy, but He does not love our sins, and thus He does not approve of the sins which we have committed in this life.

Many people mentioned that we should not judge others because of their sins, and rightly, yes, we should not do so, because God will judge us equally for our own sins in the same way that we have judged others for their mistakes and sins. However, not being judgmental does not equate with tolerating the sins of sinners and allowing them to continue with their sins, as some of those in the Church were proposing to do, in the name of greater ‘pastoral care’ or ‘inclusiveness’.

True mercy is what we need to show, brothers and sisters in Christ, and this means that we must not judge, but must do all we can to persuade and bring the sinners back into the light of Christ our Lord. And sometimes, many of us think that making the path easier for them to walk on will help them, but it is not necessarily so, and certainly Jesus Himself had said that, if we are to follow Him, difficulties will be on our path, and we have to carry our own crosses if we are to follow Him.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we do not allow those who have sinned, particularly those who have committed adultery and serious forms of sin to receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, as they were not yet worthy to receive Him worthily until they have repented their sins. Some favoured welcoming them and making it easier for them that they may repent, but the risk is there, brethren, that they may continue to walk in their sinful paths, and commit even greater sins by receiving the Lord unworthily.

It is not that we want to condemn sinners, as we certainly do not do so, and we are also sinners too. But what we are concerned with, what the Church is concerned about, is the salvation of souls. Remember the Lord said that might as well we lose our lives in faith in the Lord and yet gain the eternal life and salvation, rather than gaining the approval of the world and yet lose our souls? It is the same in this manner.

Are we all concerned enough for one another, for ourselves, sinners and wicked people before the Lord, that we want to try to help one another by understanding the meaning of repentance and penitence? Let us all make it clear to one another, that we welcome everyone, and all sinners are called to God’s mercy, but then, it is ultimately our choice. Do we want to change our lives and our ways of life? Do we want to take up God’s offer of mercy? And if we accept His mercy, which means changing our lives, then should we not abandon all of our past sins and abandon behind all wickedness without reservation?

Yes, let us all make it clear at the end of today’s discourse. God’s mercy is given to all, and offered to all, but in order for the mercy to have work in us, then we have to accept it, not just by mere words or proclamations, but also through real deeds and actions. And we cannot continue to live in sin, pretending that nothing have changed, or that God will forgive us no matter what we have done. We have to abandon our adulterous and wicked ways, aberrations of relationships and other things not in accordance with God’s ways.

Let us all bring God’s true mercy to one another, that God’s mercy and love may awaken them from their slumber in the darkness and bring them into the eternal light. Let us all strive to die to our sins and to reject all forms of wickedness and temptations that Satan had placed on us to prevent us from reaching salvation. Let us all reject all worldly ways and seek the Lord in all things. God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 April 2016 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 19-31

At that time, on the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came, and stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” Then He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples kept looking at the Lord and were full of joy.

Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.” After saying this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain, they are retained.”

Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he replied, “Until I have seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into My side. Do not be an unbeliever! Believe!”

Thomas then said, “You are my Lord and my God.” Jesus replied, “You believe because you see Me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

There were many other signs that Jesus gave in the presence of His disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Believe, and you will have life through His Name!