Tempus Paschalis

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Monday, 8 May 2023 : 5th 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 Sacred Scriptures, all of us are called and reminded to be the faithful and humble disciples of the Lord, carrying out our lives and living our Christian faith daily to glorify the Lord and to proclaim His Good News to everyone, and not for our own personal glory and ambition. All of us should get rid from our hearts and minds, the dangerous evils of our pride, ego, greed and other things that can become serious obstacles in our path towards the Lord, His grace and salvation. We ought to heed what we have heard from our Scripture passages today relating to the experiences of the Apostles and what the Lord Himself had told His disciples to help us to remain rooted in our faith in the Lord, and not to fall into the many temptations all around us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the time when the Apostles, St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who were in the midst of a missionary journey, went to the area of Lystra in Asia Minor, where they performed several miracles and proclaimed the Good News of God to the people there. However, as we heard, the many pagan peoples of Lystra mistook this miraculous sign as their own pagan gods, Zeus and Hermes having come down into their midst in the person of St. Paul and St. Barnabas. This was actually accurate as per Greek mythology which believed that their gods occasionally walked down this world in the human form, and hence, those people of Lystra misunderstood what St. Paul and St. Barnabas had done, and treated them as if they were gods incarnate in the flesh, worshipping and honouring them like gods.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas pleaded before the people with little effect, as they told them the folly of their actions and the mistakes in their ways and beliefs, in their failure to recognise the one and true Living God, and in their attachments to the inanimate gods and beings of earth, sea, sky and nature as how their pagan beliefs revolved around. By the way they were treated, St. Paul and St. Barnabas were treated with the greatest honours and respect, and it took great courage for them to resist the temptations of pride, glory and worldly power, and not only that, but even also chiding the people for their false ways and erroneous beliefs. They were not swayed by worldly glory and ambition, and while they could have gained and benefitted from the great fervour and honour they were receiving from the people, but they remained firm in their faith and remembered the mission that God has entrusted to them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Jesus Himself as He spoke to His disciples regarding the matter of obedience and listening to His truth, and how His disciples and followers ought to behave as genuine and faithful people of God. The Lord said that those who loves Him, follows and obeys His commandments, carrying out whatever the Lord has told and taught them to do, and those who did not truly love Him would not obey what He had told and commanded them to do, or that they would not carry out the actions and commandments in the manner and way that they should have been carried out. And this was reflected exactly in how the two Apostles, St. Paul and St. Barnabas had carried out their mission and actions, that despite the many challenges they encountered, they remained firm in faith in God, and persevered through those challenges.

And as we heard earlier in our first reading today, as St. Paul and St. Barnabas were treated like they were gods incarnate in the flesh, and worshipped by the people, they did not give in to the temptation of ego and greed, which had in fact brought down so many people and members of the Church throughout the history of the Church in the past two millennia. There were so many heretics and false leaders who had caused divisions in the Church, and misled many of the faithful into the wrong path because they were swayed by the temptations of worldly glory, desires and other attachments in life. Those people chose to put their own selfish desires, ambitions and worldly pursuits ahead of their obligation and responsibilities in following God and doing what the Lord has taught and commanded them to do.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed earlier on, it is important that all of us have to learn to place the right focus of our lives in Christ, in the truth that God has revealed, shown and taught to us. All of us have been called to follow Him, to be His genuine followers and disciples, with hearts and minds attuned and focused on God’s truth and love. Each and every one of us have received the great bounty of God’s grace and love, and we have been guided to the right path by His providence and patient care. Therefore, we should be careful lest we allow the many temptations and distractions all around us from misleading us down the wrong path in life. We should resist the temptations of worldly power and glory, and remind ourselves that in the Lord alone we have true hope and fulfilment.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all then spend our time discerning our path in life. If we all have been living our lives with the focus and emphasis to seek for our own personal gains and advantages, or in seeking our various ambitions and attachments in life, then it is time for us to strive to detach ourselves from all those and return to the root of our lIves and existence, that is God Himself. All of us should refocus our attention towards Him and remind one another to walk ever more faithfully in the path that He has shown us. We should resist the many temptations of the world just as how the Apostles had done, and be inspired by the courage shown by St. Paul and St. Barnabas, among the many other ones of our holy predecessors, the numerous saints and martyrs whose lives and actions should serve as inspiration and strength, role model and guide for each one of us, and not be swayed easily by worldly desires and temptations.

May the Risen Lord, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to guide us all and help us in our journey, so that we all may come ever closer to His presence, and be inspired to live our lives with ever greater devotion and commitment to the Law and commandments that He has taught and shown us how to do. May all of us be the worthy and great beacons of God’s light, truth and love, in all of our various communities, at every possible opportunities presented to us. May all of us continue to live the true spirit of Easter joy and glorify our Risen Lord by our lives. Amen.

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Monday, 8 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 21-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever keeps My commandments is the one who loves Me. If he loves Me, he will also be loved by My Father; I too shall love him and show Myself clearly to him.”

Judas – not Judas Iscariot – asked Jesus, “Lord, how can it be that You will show Yourself clearly to us and not to the world!” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him; and We will come to him and make a room in his home.”

“But if anyone does not love Me, he will not keep My words; and these words that you hear are not Mine, but the Father’s Who sent Me. I told you all this while I was still with you. From now on the Helper, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I have told you.”

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Monday, 8 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 113B : 1-2, 3-4, 15-16

Not to us, o Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, for the sake of Your love and faithfulness. Why should the pagans say, “Where is their God?”

There in heaven is our God; whatever He wishes, He does. Not so the hand-made idols, crafted in silver and gold.

May you be blessed by the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. Heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth He has given to humans.

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Monday, 8 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 14 : 5-18

A move was made by pagans and Jews, together with their leaders, to harm the Apostles and to stone them. But Paul and Barnabas learnt of this and fled to Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued preaching the Good News.

Paul and Barnabas spent a fairly long time at Lystra. There was a crippled man in Lystra who had never been able to stand or walk. One day, as he was listening to the preaching, Paul looked intently at him and saw that he had the faith to be saved. So he spoke to him in a loud voice, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to stand up on your feet!” And the man stood up and began to walk around.

When the people saw what Paul had done, they cried out in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come to us in human likeness!” They named Barnabas Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Even the priest of the Temple of Zeus, which stood outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gate; together with the people, he wanted to offer sacrifice to them.

When Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their garment to show their indignation and rushed into the crowd, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are human beings with the same weakness you have and we are now telling you to turn away from these useless things to the living God Who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them.”

“In past generations He allowed each nation to go its own way, though He never stopped making Himself known; for He is continually doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, providing you with food and filling your hearts with gladness.”

Even these words could hardly keep the crowd from offering sacrifice to them.

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Sunday, 7 May 2023 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded yet again of why we celebrate most joyfully this holy and blessed season of Easter. We celebrate it because of the ever enduring Love of God Who has sent unto us His most beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Risen Lord, through Whom we have received the fulfilment of the promises of God, and through Whom we have been redeemed and saved from the impending destruction and damnation due to those many sins and wickedness that we have committed. God reached out to us with His love which endured even through the most difficult moments, and He patiently cared for us all and He still loved us despite of our frequent stubborn attitude and rebelliousness, which had often hampered us in the path towards salvation and true grace in God.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord told His disciples that they all have to trust in Him and to listen to Him, and be reassured with everything that He has said and promised to them, as He would do whatever He had told them, and that even though they might not see Him for a little while, as He predicted His own suffering and demise, but He would never abandon them. Not only that, but this Sunday, as we come ever closer to the ending of the Easter season and particularly the celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we are all reminded that God is still there with us, protecting and guiding us throughout our journey. As He Himself said in the same Gospel passage today, that He would go on forward to prepare the places and rooms for us in Heaven, in the presence of God. By His Ascension, the Lord went up in glory, returning to His rightful place and Throne, and is now there reigning gloriously while still remembering each and every one of us.

Christ, our Risen Lord, by His suffering and death on the Cross has lifted us up from the deepest depth of our darkness and misery. He has unlocked for us the gates of Heaven and the path to reconciliation with God our loving Father and Creator, leading us down the sure path to redemption. The Lord has reached out to us with His most wonderful love, loving us most generously and with the gift of His Son, He has shown us all just how beloved and fortunate we are, that despite of our attitude and our mistakes and faults, God’s love still triumphed and overcame even all of those things. He despises our sins and wickedness, but He loves each and every one of us, His beloved children, and there is nothing that can separate us from His love, unless it is we ourselves who have consciously and purposefully refused His love and rejected His mercy.

All of us always have the choice whether to follow the Lord or to turn away from Him. But today we are reminded yet again therefore of God’s love and naturally, because God has loved us so much, then all of us should love Him in the same way as well, and have this love in our lives, in our actions and way of life, in how we interact with one another, in our every words and commitments in life. We are reminded that all of us Christians are a people that God had called and embraced with love, and we have been consecrated and chosen by Him, to be His tools and means through which His light, truth and love may be propagated ever more to our communities and to our societies today in the world that we are living in. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the opportunities and the time for us to show forth the way of the Lord and His truth in our own lives.

As we heard in our second reading today from the Epistle of St. Peter, all of us as Christians are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings, a consecrated nation, and a people that God has made His own to proclaim His wonders. What St. Peter told all the faithful in this Epistle passage is a reminder for us all that through our baptism, in which we have become part of the Church of God, entering into this one community of believers and the faithful in the Lord, we have been sanctified and consecrated, marked with the very mark of the Living God, and all of us have entered into the New and Eternal Covenant that God has established with us through the works and sacrifice that His own beloved Son, Our Risen Lord, had done on the Cross. We have been called and brought into a new existence through Christ, a new life and existence that is full of God’s grace and free from sins.

Again, St. Peter had spoken about how the Lord was rejected by the people that He had been sent to, persecuted, arrested and made to suffer and die, because of the stubbornness of all those who have refused to listen to Him and His truth, all those who have allowed the vices of this world and their pride and ego to get the better of them. Yet, the Lord did not let all these to stop Him, and instead, He gave it all for our sake, by enduring the worst of persecutions and humiliations on our behalf, that through His perfect obedience and love, He might show to us what it truly means to live our lives worthily of the Lord, and to be a good and genuine Christian, full of faith and love for our loving God and Creator. He has become the Cornerstone, the Foundation of His Church, establishing His kingdom and dominion in this whole world, freeing us from the power and dominion of sin and death.

Therefore, each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy people, all of us are called to live our lives well and worthily as how Christians should be like, in doing the will of God and in obeying His Law and commandments at all possible opportunities. Each and every one of us have been blessed and given various talents and abilities, and we have been called to different vocations in life. But all of us are reminded to dedicate ourselves and our lives to the Lord in the manner how our Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord and Saviour, had dedicated His life, work and ministry, in perfectly obeying the will of His heavenly Father, in doing what He had been sent into this world for, even to the point of laying down His life for us, because He truly loves each and every one of us. He is the perfect role model for all of us Christians in how we should live our lives.

Then, in our first reading today, we heard lastly from the Acts of the Apostles of the time when the Church under the leadership of the Apostles decided to appoint holy and devout men as the first Deacons of the Church, instituting therefore the Order of Deacons, which role is to assist the Apostles and their successors in the management and the daily running of the Church in its various ministries. Seven holy and worthy men were chosen from among the followers of the Lord, including the well-known St. Stephen, who would become the Protomartyr, or the very first martyr of the Church, who died in defending his faith in the Lord and in proclaiming the Good News and truth to the people. All of the deacons were appointed and charged with the mission to help in the care of the faithful, and later on in assisting the bishops and priests in their own ministry.

Through what we have heard today, all of us are reminded to do what the Lord has entrusted to each one of us to do in our own lives as well. The deacons had been called with a particular mission to serve the Church and the faithful, just as the Apostles and their successors, the bishops as well as the priests have their own missions and vocations to carry out throughout their respective lives. Then, there are also those who have been called to religious and consecrated life, dedicating themselves to a life of prayer, virtue, poverty and common life in certain communities and groups, as well as those others called to married life, to give glory to God through their families and by raising up children and new generations of faithful Christians. There are yet others called to holy single life, to the work of missions among others, called to glorify God in their own ways.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask ourselves, what is our own vocation in life? What have we been called to do and what have we committed ourselves to do with our lives? Let us all spend the time today and afterwards to discern carefully how we can live our lives better as Christians, in embracing more fully our various respective vocations in life, and doing the will of God in all things. Let us all do our best to carry out our Christian calling and obligations, our respective missions in life, making good use whatever opportunities, time and chances that God has presented to us. All of us have been entrusted by the Lord to do His will, to do our best in our lives and proclaiming His Good News and truth at all times. Our lives should serve as inspiration and guide for others all around us so that they may be inspired to follow our examples as well.

May the Risen Lord continue to guide and strengthen each one of us, and may He empower all of us to live our lives to the best of our abilities, to glorify Him by our lives and works. May God be with His Church and all of His faithful ones, at all times. May He bless our works and efforts, and remain with us always. Amen.

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Sunday, 7 May 2023 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not be troubled! Trust in God and trust in Me! In My Father’s house there are many rooms; otherwise, I would not have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to Me, so that where I am, you also may be. Yet you know the way where I am going.”

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you know Me, you will know the Father also; indeed you know Him, and you have seen Him.”

Philip asked Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough.” Jesus said to him, “What! I have been with you so long and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever sees Me sees the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?”

“All that I say to you, I do not say of Myself. The Father Who dwells in Me is doing His own work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; at least believe it on the evidence of these works that I do. Truly, I say to you, the one who believes in Me will do the same works that I do; and he will even do greater than these, for I am going to the Father.”

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Sunday, 7 May 2023 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 2 : 4-9

He is the living Stone rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to Him; set yourselves close to Him so that you, too, become living stones built into a spiritual temple, a holy community of priests offering spiritual sacrifices that please God through Jesus Christ.

Scripture says : See, I lay in Zion a chosen and precious Cornerstone; whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. This means honour for you who believed, but for unbelievers also the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and it is a stone to stumble over, a rock which lays people low. They stumble over it in rejecting the Word, but the plan of God is fulfilled in this.

You are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings, a consecrated nation, a people God has made His own to proclaim His wonders. For He called you from your darkness to His own wonderful light.

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Sunday, 7 May 2023 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 32 : 1-2, 4-5, 18-19

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are just, praise is fitting for the upright. Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises.

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.

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Sunday, 7 May 2023 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 6 : 1-7

In those days, as the number of disciples grew, the so-called Hellenists complained against the so-called Hebrews, because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So the Twelve summoned the whole body of disciples together and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God to serve at tables. So, friends, choose from among yourselves seven respected men full of Spirit and wisdom, that we may appoint them to this task. As for us, we shall give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”

The whole community agreed and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and Holy Spirit : Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenus and Nicolaus of Antioch who was a proselyte. They presented these men to the Apostles who first prayed over them and then laid hands upon them.

The Word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly and even many priests accepted the faith.

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Saturday, 6 May 2023 : 4th 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, all of us are reminded of the need for us all to have faith in the Lord and to be humble in listening to Him and allowing Him to speak to us in the depth of our hearts and minds. Sometimes we have allowed our ego and pride to get the better of us, and those things prevented us from being able to come close to the Lord and becoming His true disciples and followers. We are all reminded to have this strong and genuine faith in the Lord, committing ourselves and our efforts, time and attention to glorify Him in all of the moments of our lives. As Christians, all of us should be great role models and inspirations for others all around us in how we live our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the works of St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who preached and spoke courageously and zealously about the salvation in God which have been made available to all the people, be it to the Jewish people or the non-Jewish ones, also known as the Gentiles among the Jews then. The word Gentile itself came from the Latin word ‘gentes’ which means clan and family, that in the context of the then relationship between the Jewish and non-Jewish people became associated with the non-Jewish people, and that was how the Jews called those who did not belong to their race and to their beliefs, with some considering the Gentiles as being pagans, impure, evil and wicked, being unworthy of God, while they viewed themselves as being superior, better and more worthy of God.

This stemmed forth from the beliefs of some amongst the Jews that being descended from the ancient people of Israel, the people that God had first called and chosen to be His people, then they had exclusive privileges and access to the Lord, while the Gentiles were barred from similar access because they did not believe in the Lord in the same way as the Jewish people had done, especially referring to the way how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done, in their very extensive and strict observance of the Jewish Law and customs as passed down unto them from the time of Moses, and which was modified further with numerous rules and regulations. All those things unfortunately made the Law becoming more and more cumbersome, and losing its initial meaning and purpose of bringing the people of God closer to their Lord and Master.

In truth, God did not want to save only His people Israel exclusively, as it has always been His intent to save every one of us, all the children of mankind, regardless of our race and origins, because He loves each and every single one of us all the same. The Jewish people and their ancestors, the Israelites, were merely the ones who have been called by the Lord first, and it was through them that the salvation of God, made manifest in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, came through from. He wants everyone to realise that His love is ever enduring and universal, and everyone has the same chance to come to His love, to be reunited and reconciled with our most loving God, Father and Creator. And our Risen Lord is the Way through Whom all of us can find the sure path to this salvation and grace, the path of eternal life and redemption.

The Gospel passage today made it even clearer of this love of God that has been manifested and made real for us through Christ, the Son of God incarnate in the flesh, has indeed come into our midst, and He has shown us all the true love that God has always kept for each and every one of us. This same love is carried on all the way to the Cross, promising and guaranteeing for all of us who are faithful to the Lord, the promise of eternal life and grace with God. The Lord has reached out to us through His Son, gathering all of us who have been lost to His Father, because of our sins, as our Good Shepherd and Guide, leading and guiding us so that we may find our path and our way to our loving Father. Through Christ, all of us have received the pardon and forgiveness, and yet, one that requires us to embrace Him and His love and mercy wholeheartedly and fully.

However, the problem facing many of us today, is just like that of the Jewish people in the past, that many of us think that we are all alright and have no need for God or His mercy. Many of us are too preoccupied with our many worldly desires, concerns and attachments, all of our pursuits for fame, glory and worldly pleasures among other things which prevented us from finding our path towards the Lord and His salvation. Worse still, we also tend to become judgmental of others and thinking that we are better and more worthy, while the fact is that many of us are in need of God’s healing and mercy, and many of us have also become lukewarm and wayward in our way of life, as many of us have forgotten about God’s Law and precepts, no longer obeying Him and His commandments as we should, living our lives the way we want it to be. Today hence all of us are reminded to purge from ourselves all traces of this ego and pride barring us from God and the fullness of His love.

All of us have been given the chance and the time for us to turn once again towards the Lord with renewed faith and zeal, with the devotion and commitment to serve Him once again. We have been given many opportunities to return to the Lord and to His path, and we have been shown many guidance and help along the way. But it is truly up to us to make the commitment and the conscious effort to seek the Lord wholeheartedly, and we have many good examples in the Apostles, the innumerable saints and martyrs, our holy predecessors, who should be good role models and inspirations for all of us to follow, so that hopefully we ourselves will be good Christians and disciples of the Lord ourselves.

Let us remember the mission that each and every one of us as Christians have in our lives to be exemplary disciples and role models for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters. And may the Risen Lord, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and King continue to guide and bless us in all things, and may He help each and every one of us to persevere through the challenges facing us in how we live our Christians lives with faith. Amen.