Sundays of Easter

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Thursday, 23 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. George, Martyr, and St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded and called to be the bearers of God’s truth, His Good News and revelations to the nations, just as the Apostles and their successors, our many holy predecessors had done before us. We are called to be the evangelising and missionary disciples of the Lord, proclaiming His Good News and truth through our lives, and by our understanding, appreciation, knowledge and immersion in the Law, commandments and truths that the Lord Himself has revealed and taught to us through His Church. As Christians, we are all expected to be good role models and sources of inspiration for one another in faith, so that in our every actions and works, our words and interactions, even to the least significant among these, we truly proclaim our Christian faith to others.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the account of the encounter between St. Philip the Apostle and an Ethiopian official who was returning back to his country from visiting Jerusalem, and St. Philip was sent by the Angel of God to evangelise to the Ethiopian official, ending up in a conversation and discussion between them regarding the passage of the Scriptures that the official had been reading, the curious and peculiar passage from the prophet Isaiah which was in fact referring about the Lord Jesus, His suffering, death and then later on Resurrection. The official must have been perturbed by what he had been reading, and as what others might have experienced as they read that passage from the prophet Isaiah regarding the Suffering Servant or the Suffering Messiah, they might have not understood the significance of that passage.

In truth, as we all ought to know, that passage was referring directly to what the Lord Jesus Himself, as the Messiah or Saviour of all, would have to suffer and endure in the process of fulfilling everything that the Lord our God had intended and planned for us, the plan of our salvation. St. Philip therefore revealed the truth and the Good News to the Ethiopian official, telling him about the Risen Lord and all that He had done and experienced, and how everything that were told by the prophets and the other messengers of the Lord had been fulfilled through Him, how He suffered and endured His Passion for the sake of all mankind, just as the prophet Isaiah had prophesied about that. Yet, St. Philip further revealed that this Suffering Messiah has triumphed and been victorious in the struggle against sin and evil, that by His Resurrection, He broke forever the chains and dominion that sin and death have over us.

That was how then St. Philip convinced the Ethiopian official to become a Christian believer, and the official agreed to be baptised at the water source present nearby, and the moment that he was baptised, St. Philip was taken away by the Angel of God elsewhere, while the Ethiopian official, in his newly baptised joy, returned back to his homeland with great joy and celebration, and was likely the one to begin spreading the Christian faith there. St. Philip on the other hand continued to minister to the people of God and proclaimed the faith and truth of God to more and more of the people, in the various places and communities he visited, causing the Church and the Christian community to grow ever more quickly, despite the many persecutions, challenges, trials and oppositions that Christianity was facing from its many enemies and detractors. The disciples and followers of the Lord dedicated their time and effort to proclaim His Good News to more and more people.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the continuation of the Bread of Life discourse by the Lord Jesus Himself, which we have heard for the past few days, in which the Lord spoke of Himself as the Living Bread or the Bread of Life Who has come down from Heaven. Through Him, all of us who have received and shared in our partaking of the Eucharist, we have received God Himself in the flesh, in His Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood, and consequently, all of us who have received Him, have already received the Lord Himself dwelling in our amidst, among us and within us. We have become the Temples of His Holy Presence, and He has extended to us the most perfect form of unity and the most tangible link between us and His heavenly Father, our most loving God and Creator. For He is the perfect manifestation of God and His love in the flesh, such that man is no longer separated from God by our sins.

Linking to our first reading passage today, in which we heard of the baptism of the Ethiopian official, through that act of baptism and acceptance by the Ethiopian official of the truth that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who has died on the Cross and Risen fromt the dead, is his Lord and Saviour, that Ethiopian official had become part of the Church, just like all of us. Through our own baptism, whether we were baptised as infants or as teenagers or as adults, or even those of us who got baptised in the old age, or at the doors of death, all of us have become partakers and sharers in the New and Eternal Covenant that the Lord Himself has sealed with us and for us. Through baptism we have been made parts and sharers of the Lord’s missions and works in His Church, and all of us are members of His Body, the one united Communion of all the faithful.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of two great and holy servants of God, whose lives, examples and actions can indeed serve as inspiration and examples for all of us. St. George was a Roman military officer that went through martyrdom for the sake of his faith, renowned for his courage and commitment to the Lord, while St. Adalbert was a bishop and martyr who was known for his commitment to his faith and to the missionary works in the region now known as Czech Republic and the surrounding regions. Both of them dedicated themselves to follow the Lord in all things and to do His will, enduring difficulties and challenges, suffering and eventually martyrdom, giving up even their own lives for the glory of God in the midst of their obedience to God’s call and mission.

St. George, also known as St. George of Lydda, was renowned in Church tradition as a Roman soldier, but little was known beyond the fact that he lived and endured his martyrdom during the time of the Diocletianic persecution, the last great wave of persecutions against Christians in the Roman Empire about three centuries after the birth of Christ. According to tradition, he was arrested and tortured for his Christian faith, just like many others who were martyred during the same intense persecution. He was martyred by decapitation, but his legacy remained and endured for long, to this day, as a great symbol of courage and chivalry, and for his legendary slaying of a dragon. Many people and military institutions have St. George as their patron.

Meanwhile, St. Adalbert, also known as St. Adalbert of Prague was born in the region of Prague in today’s Czech Republic during the time when the lands then known as Bohemia had not long embraced the Christian faith. St. Adalbert eventually joined the priesthood and then became the Bishop of Prague at a rather young age succeeding his predecessor who died, and he became a courageous bishop and leader of his flock, against the often difficult political and social condition at the time, where rival families and groups bickered and struggled for power and glory, which St. Adalbert endured and struggled through. Then, later on, St. Adalbert chose to go forth in missionary work to the then still pagan land of Prussia, where he had some success, but facing great opposition from many of the pagans, he was eventually martyred by a pagan mob in the land of his mission.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect on our calling as the bearers of the Good News and truth of God, as those who truly believe in the truth of Our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, the Living Bread Who came down from Heaven. Let us all be genuine Christians in being joyful and dedicated in our willingness to proclaim the Lord and His truth in the midst of our various communities and places, inspired by the good examples of our predecessors like St. George and St. Adalbert, doing whatever we can so that we may indeed bear forth the light of God’s truth to more and more people. All of us as parts of God’s Church have the same responsibilities and duties in being good role models and inspirations in faith that our every words, actions and deeds, our every interactions and works may become the inspiration and help for many others, such that many more will come to believe in God through us and our good works.

May the Risen Lord, our God and Saviour Jesus Christ continue to be with us and guide us always, and may He continue to empower and strengthen us so that we may persevere faithfully and continue to commit ourselves to His path, much as how our early Christian predecessors had done, in their missionary and evangelising zeal. May God be with His Church always, and bless its every works and good efforts. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. George, Martyr, and St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 6 : 44-51

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “No one can come to Me unless he is drawn by the Father Who sent Me; and I will raise Him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets : They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to Me.”

“For no one has seen the Father except the One Who comes from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the Bread which comes from heaven, so that you may eat of it, and not die.”

“I am the Living Bread which as come from heaven; whoever eats of this Bread will live forever. The Bread I shall give is My flesh, and I will give it for the life of the world.”

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Thursday, 23 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. George, Martyr, and St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 65 : 8-9, 16-17, 20

Praise our God, o nations, let the sound of His praise be heard, for He has preserved us among the living and kept our feet from stumbling.

All you who fear God, come and listen; let me tell you what He has done. I cried aloud to Him, extolling Him with my tongue.

May God be blessed! He has not rejected my prayer; nor withheld His love from me.

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Thursday, 23 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. George, Martyr, and St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 8 : 26-40

An Angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south towards the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road.” So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians; he had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and catch up with that carriage.” So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian replied, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

This was the passage of Scripture he was reading : He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, He did not open His mouth. He was humbled and deprived of His rights. Who can speak of His descendants? For He was uprooted from the earth.

The official asked Philip, “Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of Someone else?” Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point. As they travelled down the road they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, “Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptised?”

And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Then he ordered the carriage to stop; both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.

Philip found himself at Azotus, and he went about announcing the Good News in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

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Wednesday, 22 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded again today that as Christians all of us are always facing hardships, trials and struggles, challenges and difficulties amidst the lives and the journey that we embark on in this world. However, we must not easily lose hope an we must remain firm in our faith in the Lord, because it is in Him alone we can find the hope, strength and consolation, as well as the assurance of eternal life and true joy and glory. We must always strengthen our faith and trust in the Lord, wholeheartedly believing that He, our Lord and Saviour, the Bread of Life, has the power to help us and to raise us up with Him, and that He will always be with us, never abandoning us even in our darkest and most difficult moments.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the persecutions and hardships faced by the earliest Christian community and the Church, in how the faithful were persecuted, arrested and encountered a lot of opposition and challenges especially from the Jewish community and the leaders, namely the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council. One of the seven Deacons appointed by the Apostles to serve the Church had been put to death by the mob, as St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, spoke courageously in the defence of the Christian faith and truth, amidst all the falsehoods and false testimony of the people whom they had bribed and employed to accuse St. Stephen wrongly of crimes and misdeeds against the Lord and against God’s people. St. Stephen defended his faith courageously, but he was stoned to death by the crowd.

As we then heard from that same passage, we heard of the beginning of a time of persecution against Christians, which the Sanhedrin treated as a wayward sect and misguided people, led astray by the False Messiah, Whom they believed to be Jesus Christ, the Man Whom they had arrested, handed over to the Romans, and condemned to death because of His supposed blasphemous acts against the Jewish Law and traditions. This was in fact due to the stubbornness of many of the members of the Sanhedrin, who belonged to the group of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as well as the Sadducees, each of whom had gripes and issues in opposing the works and teachngs of the Lord. Each one of them had in truth been mistaken and misguided in their way of observing the Law of God and in their way of life, but they adamantly and stubbornly believed that their beliefs were the right ones.

Those misconceptions and prideful attitude was the reason why many of them hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to believe in the Lord and in His truth despite having witnessed, seen, heard and experienced many of His miracles and words of great Wisdom, unparalleled and unprecedented. Some of them even associated what the Lord had done with the work of the demons, and accused Him of colluding with the demons, or in blasphemy against God. All of those attitudes and misunderstandings, stubbornness and attachment to worldly glory, power and desire ultimately prevented many from among the ranks of the Sanhedrin from coming to believe in the Lord. As we then heard about Saul, the future St. Paul, who was a young Pharisee filled with great and fiery zeal, in persecuting, arresting and torturing the followers of the Lord, the same kind of attitude, prejudices and wickedness was shown in the actions of the young Saul.

Yet, despite all the hardships and challenges faced by the followers of the Lord, most of them remained firm in their faith and endured faithfully the sufferings that they had faced. The Lord has also kept them in His providence and protection, leading them through their difficult times and sending them encouragement and strength to persevere through those challenges. He Himself has foretold all these to His disciples and followers, warning all of them that if the world had opposed, persecuted and treated Him as such, then His disciples and followers must also be prepared that they would be treated in a similar way as well. But He assured them that He would give them guidance and strength, and through the Holy Spirit that He sent to His Church, despite the trials and challenges that His followers had to face, but the Church still thrived and grew rapidly throughout those early years. Not only that, but even Saul himself was converted, and called to become one of the Lord’s greatest servants, as St. Paul the Apostle later in his life.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the continuation of the discourse of the Bread of Life by the Lord Jesus to the assembled people, as He highlighted to them, how He is the Bread of Life Who has come down from Heaven, which was in truth a premonition and advanced revelation of what He would do for the sake of everyone, for the salvation of the whole world. As the Bread of Life, He would be broken down and given up for everyone to partake, much as how earlier on He had fed the multitudes of thousands of people who had no food with the multiplication of loaves. This time, He would feed them with His own Body, the Most Precious Body offered, broken and given to all of His people, and His own Most Precious Blood, also offered and outpoured for the salvation of the whole world, for all the people of God. He spoke to them revealing all of this truth, which the disciples likely would not have realised until everything had happened as the Lord Himself foretold it.

Through this sharing of His Most Precious Body and Blood, the Lord instituted the Eucharist to us, and bringing us together through His sacrifice, suffering and death on the Cross, and ultimately His Resurrection, into the Communion of the faithful, uniting all of us into His Body, the Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. That is why the Eucharist we receive, which we believe is truly the Real Presence of the Lord in His Most Precious Body and Blood, is called Holy Communion, and only those who have lived and shared faithfully the full teachings of our Christian faith can partake in this most sacred gift that the Lord has granted to all of us. Through this Communion, uniting all of us in the Church, both those in this world, all of us, and all those who had gone before us, the Lord has shown us that He has always been with us, and He never abandoned us at all, even in our darkest moments and challenging times.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are reminded of this fact today, and as we continue progressing through this most holy and blessed season of Easter, let us all therefore do our part as the Christian faithful, the members of God’s own Body, the Church of God, to be evangelising and missionary disciples, righteous and good, faithful and just in all of our works, actions and deeds. Let us all be good role models and examples of our faith in our every words and actions, as well as in all of our interactions with one another. May the Risen Lord, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, continue to bless and guide us all, and strengthen us so that we may persevere faithfully and continue to commit ourselves to His path, much as how our early Christian predecessors had done. May God be with His Church always, and bless its every works and good efforts. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 35-40

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me shall never be thirsty. Nevertheless, as I said, you refuse to believe, even when you have seen. Yet all those whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me, I shall not turn away. For I have come from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the One Who sent Me.”

“And the will of Him Who sent Me is that I lose nothing of what He has given Me, but instead that I raise it up on the last day. This is the will of the Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in Him shall live eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

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Wednesday, 22 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 65 : 1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a

Shout with joy to God, all you on earth; sing to the glory of His Name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God, “How great are Your deeds!”

All the earth bows down to You, making music, in praise of You, singing in honour of Your Name. Come, and see God’s wonders; His deeds, awesome for humans.

He has turned the sea into dry land, and the river was crossed on foot. Let us, therefore, rejoice in Him. He rules by His might forever.

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Wednesday, 22 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 8 : 1b-8

This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. All, except the Apostles, were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church. He entered house after house and dragged off men and women, and had them put in jail.

At the same time, those who were scattered went about, preaching the word. Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him, and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For, in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralysed or crippled, were healed. So there was great joy in the town.

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Tuesday, 21 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are called to put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, the Bread of Life and Son of God, Who has willingly offered Himself and gave Himself for us, to be the sustenance and the providence through which He shared with us the grace of new life blessed and provided for by His love. All of us have been guaranteed a share of this divine grace and love, and what we need to do is to accept Him fully as Our Lord and Saviour. We are reminded that every time we receive Him in the Eucharist at the celebrations of the Holy Mass and elsewhere, we are strengthen by His Real Presence within us, with the gift of grace and love.

However, as we heard in our Scripture passages today, this is much easier said than done. There are many who still refuse to believe in the Lord or to embrace Him fully, and there were many who had even persecuted those who believed in the Lord. As we heard in the persecution and martyrdom of St. Stephen in our first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles that the Sanhedrin and many of its members who opposed the works of the Apostles condemned St. Stephen to death and stoned him just as they had earlier on condemned the Lord Himself to death. There were many of those who were opposed to the Lord and His teachings, and which was why they persecuted and condemned Him to death in the first place.

Even as St. Stephen spoke most eloquently and wonderfully with the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and even as his arguments and words were most convincing and unrefuteable, those who opposed him still hardened their hearts and closed off their mind, blatantly closing off their ears and covering them to shut the words of St. Stephen, charging at him and stoned him to death. Their pride and ego prevented them from seeing the truth of God. And therefore, just as they had persecuted the Lord, they also ended up persecuting St. Stephen and all those who have spoken up in His Name, proclaimed His truth and teachings courageously against the opposition of the Jewish authorities and the chief priests.

It was a similar attitude showed by the people whom the Lord spoke to in our Gospel passage today. They showed doubt and refusal to believe that the Lord is the Bread of Life when He spoke to them referring to Himself as that. Contextually, the Lord had just fed the multitudes of over five thousand men and thousands of others who were gathered miraculously with only five loaves of bread and two fishes. He revealed Himself as the Bread of Life to pre-empt and show what He would do for the salvation of all. Through the Incarnation of the Son of God in the flesh, God Himself has come and dwelled among us all, reaching out to us, seeking us all to love all of us most wonderfully and generously as He has always intended for us.

But the people still doubted and refused to believe that this Man could have fed them, especially with His own Flesh and Body as He mentioned. And in the end, after the events mentioned in today’s Gospel, many of those who followed the Lord initially left Him and abandoned Him. They could not take the hard truth and reality that He has revealed to them, and chose to walk away from that truth. It was no surprise therefore that St. Stephen faced the same issues and problems when he spoke of the same truth to the people gathered against Him. This is because of their pride and ego, which were holding them back from believing. They either could not accept the fact that what the Lord spoke about was the truth, or that they thought they knew it better.

This is why as Christians, all of us are reminded that it is often our faith will bring us into contradiction and opposition against the world, and what we may face along the way, may indeed be discouraging for us and hard for us to accept. Yet, that is the reality of our Christian faith and what we have been called to do as those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Lord, our Master and our Saviour. We are all called to be His faithful disciples, and to be His witnesses in our daily living, that we may, through our words, actions and deeds truly proclaim that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. We are the ones to continue bearing the truth and love of Christ our Lord into this world, manifesting all these through our own lives and actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, the saints and martyrs, like that of St. Stephen who had devoted himself thoroughly to even suffer and die for the Lord’s sake? As Christians, we are yet again reminded that we cannot remain idle in our faith, but instead our faith must be one of giving, the generous giving of ourselves in reaching out to all those who hunger for the truth of God, and as the beacons of the light of God to those who are still living in the darkness, that through the light we bring forth, we may illuminate the path for many on their way to God. And today we have a good role model and source of inspiration to follow in St. Anselm.

St. Anselm, whose feast day we celebrate today, also known as St. Anselm of Canterbury was a great and dedicated servant of God, who committed himself to the ministry and the calling that he had been entrusted with. The Lord has called him to be His servant, becoming eventually a monk and abbot, and then after years of faithful work and ministry, he was appointed a bishop and was sent to minister the faithful as shepherd, which during his time of leadership and ministry, had become a great centre of learning and many were touched by his dedication and efforts. St. Anselm eventually was sent to England, to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, as the leader of all the faithful in all of England. He faced great trials and challenges throughout his ministry, and even went through exile during his work, having to endure persecution and rejection from his enemies. Yet he continued to dedicate himself and kept on going in his works and ministry regardless, entrusting himself to the Lord wholeheartedly.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all pray that God will guide and strengthen us all with faith, and with the courage so that we may embark ever more faithfully and courageously to live our lives at each and every moments as devout and committed Christians, so that as far as possible, our every actions and our very lives will proclaim God’s truth and show that we are truly God’s children, His beloved and chosen people. May the Lord bless us and our many good works, that through us, He may bring His light and salvation to more and even more people, our fellow brothers and sisters. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 30-35

At that time, the Jews said to Jesus, “Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe You. What sign do You perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says : They were given bread from heaven to eat.”

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. The Bread God gives is the One Who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.” And they said to Him, “Give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me shall never be thirsty.”