Sunday

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Sunday, 10 May 2015 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this holy day of Sunday of the Lord, the sixth in the Easter season, all of us heard about how God revealed His love for us through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and how He called all the peoples, of all the nations, to come together and be saved, through the holy waters of baptism, genuine conversion and by receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The message today is very, very clear, that to all of us the faithful, we are always reminded that God is love, and God is merciful, and He has called us out of the darkness, so that we may abandon the darkness, and embrace the fullness of His mercy, grace and love. And then, it is also very clear, that God calls all peoples, of all nations without bias and preference.

What truly matters is indeed, that we whom God have called out of the darkness, follow Him in all of His ways, and heed His teachings. Before the Lord, all of us are equal and same as brothers and sisters. This was to counter the attitudes of the Jews and the people of Israel, who since the time when they were chosen as God’s first called people, have adopted an exclusivist and elitist attitude, to the condemnation and exclusion of others from the possibility of receiving the grace of God.

They thought that they alone were worthy of God’s salvation because they were God’s chosen people and often took for granted the grace and the patience which God has always given to them and show them. As such, they were often rebellious and unrepentant, and they even refused to listen to reason and the truth, when the Lord sent them repeated reminders and revelations through His prophets, and last of all, through the Lord Jesus Himself.

This also continued with the conflicts and struggles between the Jewish members of the faithful and their Gentiles counterparts. The Gentiles are all the non-Jews, which include people from various nations and origins, primarily the Greeks, many of whom had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and by the works and the teachings of the Apostles, they had walked in the way of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God had made it clear, that He intends for the salvation and liberation of all peoples. That is because the new Passover and salvation He brought is a new and more perfect one as compared to what He had given the people of Israel in the past, when He liberated them from the Egyptians through the hands and works of Moses, His servant.

This new Passover is the Passover of the Paschal Lamb, which we are particularly celebrating on in this season of Easter. The Paschal Lamb, that is our Lord Jesus Christ, had become the new Lamb of sacrifice, by whose Flesh and Blood, He had made righteous and chosen, a people whom He had chosen for Himself, and whom He had called from among the nations, that is all who sincerely believe in Him and in all of His teachings.

In that way, He had chosen us, and by His sacrifice and death, which we profess in our faith and proclaim to others, He had freed us from the eventual fate of suffering, pain, despair and destruction in hell. Instead, to those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Master, He grants a new life filled with hope, love and grace. And this is regardless of our background, regardless of our origin and race.

Everyone who heeds God’s call and does His will are worthy of Him and all that He had prepared and promised to them. They have been marked by God for salvation just like the people of Israel had been marked with the blood of the sacrificed Passover lambs. And further on, God did not just wash away our sins through the waters of baptism, He also gave us the Holy Spirit, to dwell in us and to become the source of our hope and inspiration.

The Gentiles received the Holy Spirit as a clear sign from God that everyone without exception enjoy the favour of God as long as they follow His commandments that is Love. As long as we have love in us, and we give that love firstly to our Lord and God who had loved us first, and then also give the same love to our fellow men, by caring for one another and showing care and concern for all those in need, we have been found worthy in the eyes of the Lord.

And today we are all reminded that, all of us have a mission which our Lord Jesus Christ had commanded us all to do, just as He had given the commands to His Apostles. This is to love one another just as He had loved us first, for such a great love that even though we are sinners through and through, rotten to the core and to our souls, but He was willing to come down in humility and obedience, and to give up His life for us on the cross that we may have life.

And therefore, we must show this love to others, especially to all those who have yet to know of this love, and who are still languishing in the darkness, not knowing the way to go. We have to be the ones to bear the light of our Lord to them, by showing it through real and concrete actions, so that when they see us doing love, practicing love and showing love in all things, they too may be moved in their hearts and soul, that they may abandon their sinfulness and wicked world and follow the Lord as we all have done.

Let us all never be judgmental upon others just because we see that they have done something wicked. Let us not judge sinners as we have to remember that we are once sinners too, be it small or great. Our duty and responsibility is to lead them all to mercy and forgiveness by God, and to allow them to see the light through our actions, so that they too may become the children of God.

But we must be careful not to offer false mercy to others who need mercy. False mercy is for us to bring forgiveness to others unconditionally. Yes, it is important for us to be merciful and to forgive, but it also requires others to be repentant, and indeed to be truly sorry for their sins and commit themselves to no longer doing the same sin for the rest of their lives. This is true mercy and not false mercy. False mercy that does not bring about repentance only cause further injustice and wickedness.

Therefore, let us all carry forth this mission with great courage and joy. All of us Christians who have been baptised in the Name of our Lord, and who have received the Holy Spirit ought to, and indeed we must be witnesses of our faith, as witnesses of our Lord’s love in His death and resurrection to all the nations. May all peoples, all mankind be hearkened to come to the throne of our Lord’s most merciful love, so that as many souls as possible are saved from the destruction because of our sins.

May Almighty God be with all of us, that in all of our deeds and actions, He may always remind us in our heart and mind, to be faithful to Him and to show others what it truly means to be a Christian. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 May 2015 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 9-17

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.”

“This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

“I shall not call you servants any more, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father.”

“You did not choose Me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you. This is My command, that you love one another.”

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Sunday, 10 May 2015 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 7-10

My dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Those who do not love have not known God, for God is Love.

How did the love of God appear among us? God sent His only Son into this world that we might have life through Him. This is love : not that we loved God but that He first loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

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Sunday, 10 May 2015 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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

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

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

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

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Sunday, 10 May 2015 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 10 : 25-26, 34-35, 44-48

As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius went to him, fell on his knees and bowed low. But Peter lifted him up saying, “Stand up, for I too am a human being.”

Peter then spoke to them, “Truly, I realise that God does not show partiality, but in all nations He listens to everyone who fears God and does good.”

Peter was still speaking when the Holy Spirit came upon all who listened to the Word. And the believers of Jewish origin who had come with Peter were amazed, “Why! God gives and pours the Holy Spirit on foreigners also!” For indeed this happened : they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter declared, “Can we refuse to baptise with water these people who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have?” So he had them baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ. After that they asked him to remain with them for some days.

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Sunday, 3 May 2015 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the key and heart of the messages of today’s readings is simple, that we are nothing without God, and we cannot survive on our own without God, and detached from God, or if we are cast out of His grace, then we truly have nothing and will perish, no matter how many possessions we have in life. For our Lord is the source of all life, and the source of all the things that made us who we are.

He is the true Vine, from which all the branches came from. In a plant, the true Vine means the roots and the stem, that is the core body of the plant. The branches in the plant, the leaves, the fruits and the flowers are all coming out from that stem, and gain their water and supplies from the bountiful earth from the roots through the stem. And it is with this analogy and perfect comparison that Jesus taught His disciples and the people, what it means to be the disciples of the Lord.

Jesus compared Himself with the Vine, while God the Father as the Vinegrower. The Vinegrower tends for the Vine and gives It life through the care He has given. And therefore, by the loving care of the hands of the Father, He brought forth the Son in Jesus Christ, and through Jesus, He gives life also to the world. This is precisely just as the Vinegrower gives life to the branches through the care of the Vine.

Without the vine, the branches will die and not live. All the branches must be connected to the vine or the stem, just in the same way that our limbs and organs are all attached together to the same body. All are members of the same body, that is the Mystical Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, universal and united to our Lord.

Why is this important, brethren? That is because our world grows ever more individualistic, selfish and filled with ego and wickedness. The way of this world speaks volumes on the glorification of the self and self-praising attitudes. We often think in ways that bring glory to ourselves. In the many things that we do, we often were raised up to think that we are the only ones who have done them and the success, if there is any, is solely attributed to our own efforts.

And this is how we often forget God and His role in each of our lives. This is how we forget to give thanks to Him who have given us this life and opportunity to live out that life on every single day. Without God, we would not have any life, and our life would have been devoid of meaning. It is to give praise to God, for all the wonders of His grace and works, that we live our daily lives.

I recently visited a farm and observed how the farmers treat their plants and crops. The plants were treated very well, given all the nutrients and water they need to grow healthy and strong. Those plants that bear good fruits and healthy in appearance are taken care of even more, and the workers pruned the plant in order to maximise the yield of the fruits. The parts that are not so productive are pruned off and cut, so that the plant can focus its attention to the parts bearing good fruits.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This means that while we have our lives from God, we also have been given grace and blessings, gifts and talents by the Lord for us, each unique to ourselves. These gifts and blessings are not meant to be kept within ourselves and left idle. These gifts and blessings are like the nutrients which the farmers had provided the plants, and thus, it is like all the graces that God had given us.

All the plants have a purpose, that is to bear good fruits, so that the good fruits may be harvested and gathered, and when sold, the fruits may bring decent and good profits to the farmers. The plants that bear bad and rotten fruits or no fruit at all, or if the plants are sickly and dying, or infested with many pests and diseases, they all will not be favourable to the farmers. They would uproot them and then throw them away to die and rot, and the place given to other plants that show more promise.

Thus, if we also produce bad fruits, or do nothing to bear fruits that befit what God had given us in His love and blessings, then we too shall not be able to enjoy God’s favour, as then there is no need for us and our existence indeed. Worse still if the rotten fruits cause the downfall to the fruits that are healthy and good. These diseases and sicknesses are causes by our sins and disobedience against God. And thus as a result, we did not bear good fruits, but rather, the fruits which had been tainted by evil.

If we profess to be the children and servants of our God, then all of our words and actions must show this very fact. And we also cannot be idle, thinking that believing in God is enough, or just being passive is enough. If we ignore the plight of others around us, and ignore those who live in the darkness while we are in the position to bring them succour and relief, then it will be the same as the plants that bear no fruit or bad fruits.

All of these Jesus had also summed up in His parables, one on the fig tree, where the fig tree that produces no fruit, He cursed and it withered and died, as well as the story which we heard today itself, on the vine and its branches. We are all born good and endowed with many good things, for we are anchored on the good vine, the true Vine, that is Jesus our Lord. But what matters is how we make use of all that goodness and develop it for the benefits of all, of everyone around us and not just ourselves.

In the first reading we heard how the great enemy of the faithful, Saul, who had been converted by the Lord Himself on the way to Damascus, and from someone who would arrest anyone who believed in Jesus at sight and persecute them to no end, into someone who now would not hesitate to preach a testimony of faith in front of the people, professing openly and teaching the people that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour of all.

Such was the complete transformation of Saul, from someone whose life once was driven by false zeal and by the desires of worldly praise, power and accomplishment, into a life that is transformed as a light for others, carried out in humility and true zeal, that one pursue no longer the desire of his own, but the desire of the Lord who had called him out of the darkness to be the servant to carry out His word to the masses.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, today, as we celebrate together this Holy Mass, this holy day of the Lord, all of us witness the reminders from the Holy Scriptures, that we all should indeed put our whole attention to the Lord our God, and stop being so inward looking and so concerned about ourselves and our desires. It is in our nature to be selfish to the exclusion of others, but as we have heard, we are part of one big family, one whole body of the community of all the faithful ones, all united through Christ our Lord.

We also must heed our Lord’s will and do things in accordance to what He had taught us. If we want to remain part of the Lord and continue to remain in His grace, then we truly should focus on our actions, words and deeds. Have we been faithful in all of them, and have we practiced our faith in our daily life? Or have we idled and did nothing to show the faith which we have for God? Remember, if we do nothing to act according to our faith, then we are the same as those plants that bear little or no or bad fruits.

God often gives us chance and opportunities to change our ways of life, and indeed, if we have not done according to His will up to now, then now is indeed the time to take concrete action and devote ourselves anew on the new path, a path blessed by God. There are many temptations for us to do things against this, as Satan certainly does not want us to be saved. He would do all things in his power to distract us and lure us away from salvation.

God is our true Vine, the source of all our life and all of our goodness and blessings. He is also our Shepherd and Guide, who leads us to the true path. Let us from now on, if we have not done so, or have not done enough, help one another, and keep each other in faith, as members of the same Body, the Church, united in Christ. It is that eventually all of us may gain eternal life and salvation, liberation from all the consequences of sin, by having life through our Lord.

Let us all pray, that God will strengthen our faith, and help us so that we may be courageous in living up to our faith, and bear plentiful fruits, good fruits of faith, by loving one another, walking righteously in life, rejecting all the lies of the devil and helping each other to keep the faith living and strong. May Almighty God bless us this day and from now on, forevermore. Let us all be one in Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 May 2015 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 1-8

Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinegrower. If any of My branches does not bear fruit, He breaks it off; and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit.”

“You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in Me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you do not remain in Me.”

“I am the Vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in Me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not remain in Me is thrown away, as they do with branches, and they wither. Then they are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned.”

“If you remain in Me and My words in you, you may ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you. My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit : it is then that you become My disciples.”

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Sunday, 3 May 2015 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 18-24

My dear children, let us love not only with words and with our lips, but in truth and in deed. Then we shall know that we are of the truth and we may calm our conscience in His presence. Every time it reproaches us, let us say : God is greater than our conscience, and He knows everything.

When our conscience does not condemn us, dear friends, we may have complete confidence in God. Then whatever we ask we shall receive, since we keep His commands and do what pleases Him. His command is that we believe in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another, as He has commanded us.

Whoever keeps His commands remains in God and God in him. It is by the Spirit God has given us that we know He lives in us.

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Sunday, 3 May 2015 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 21 : 26b-27, 28, 30ab, 30c-32

I will fulfill my vows before all who revere You. The lowly will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

The whole earth will acknowledge and turn to the Lord; the families of nations will worship Him.

Before Him all those who rest in the earth will bow down, all who go down to the dust.

My soul will live for Him. My descendants will serve Him and proclaim the Lord to coming generations; they will announce His salvation to a people yet unborn, “These are the things that He has done.”

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Sunday, 3 May 2015 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 9 : 26-31

When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples there, but they were afraid of him because they could not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the Apostles. He recounted to them how Saul had seen the Lord on his way and the words the Lord had spoken to him. He told them also how Saul had preached boldly in the Name of Jesus.

Then Saul began to live with them. He moved about freely in Jerusalem and preached openly in the Name of the Lord. He also spoke to the Hellenists and argued with them, but they wanted to kill him. When the believers learnt of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Meanwhile, the Church had peace. It was building up throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria with eyes turned to the Lord and filled with comfort from the Holy Spirit.