Thursday

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Thursday, 18 April 2013 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

John 6 : 44-51

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 has 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, 18 April 2013 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

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, 18 April 2013 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

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 the 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?”

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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Thursday, 11 April 2013 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we commemorate the memorial and feast of a great Saint, that is Saint Stanislas or Stanislaus of Poland, who proudly defied the King of Poland and chastised him for his improper behaviour in his governance. He earned martyrdom for his bravery and uprightness, and despite offers from the King for him to stand down his accusation and opposition, St. Stanislas remained firm in his morale standing and ideals, fearing neither death nor persecution.

Indeed, in Christ, the Son of God, had been given all the authorities in heaven and on earth, by God the Father, who entrusted to Him the authority as King of all the universe. In this, then, as we have observed in many situations, we see the conflict, that is ever present in obedience and authority, for in God we have our great and only true King, but in this world too, we see an earthly ruler either appointed to rule over us, or elected as a leader, and therefore in them too, lay a kind of authority vested in them and their office.

Who to obey then? The earthly ruler or the heavenly ruler? Our worldly king or the king of heaven, who is also our Saviour and our God? It is indeed difficult, especially because it is very often that the world does not conform to that of heaven, and the ideals of the teachings of God were often abandoned for the earthly pursuits of temporal fame, glory, and wealth, which many kings coveted and desired to possess.

King Boleslaw the Bold, who had slain Saint Stanislas, did exactly that, gathering authority and power to himself, and although he ruled rather well, but he often abused his powers at the expense of his subjects entrusted to him. That was why Saint Stanislas, one of the founders and pillars of the Church in Poland, which then had just recently converted to Christianity, stood up against the excesses of his king and his liege, disobeying the earthly ruler, so that he would not disobey the teachings of the Lord.

It is not that we should disobey our rulers in this world, appointed or elected to lead over us. But we must not take for granted whatever decisions and policies they had decided to select and impose over us all, but we must, in consultation with these rulers, ensure that they keep the teachings of God and maintain the justice that is of the Lord, in their rule, that they would not abuse the power and authority entrusted to them.

Christ, our King, was a humble and unassuming man, and indeed, exactly the opposite of the characteristics that a king would have according to the common people. He did not flaunt His authority and His power, but yet, when He exercised His authority in His teachings, it is undeniable that everyone could feel the great presence of His authority. Yet, many still refused to listen to Christ and follow His teachings, preferring the other ‘king’, that is the worldly king, the evil one, who deceived this world, and controlled the powers of this world, and used them against the works of Christ.

When we refused Christ and rejected His teachings and commandments, essentially we profess that our king is not the True King, who is Christ, but rather, the worldly king, that is the devil. When our rulers and those in the position of authority abused their power or neglected their duties, they too, profess that they follow the evil one, as kings modeled after this evil, instead of Christ, whom we should emulate indeed.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us take this time to reflect, whether we had reflected Christ in our life through our actions, that especially when we are given responsibilities, power, or authority, whether we had exercised them with prudence and justice, as our king, Jesus Christ would, or whether we had abused the authority entrusted to all of us, preferring to follow the evil one instead, and causing pain to others through our actions.

Let us strive then, to be more like St. Stanislas, that we will not be afraid to stand up against injustice and abuse of power by the authorities, and that we will be brave to defend our faith in God as well. May God bless us with strength and courage, to continue the good works which had began in the apostles and continued down to us today. Saint Stanislas, pray for all of us, that we may truly be inspired by your life and your actions. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 April 2013 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

John 3 : 31-36

He who comes from above is above all; He who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and His word belongs to the earth. He who comes from heaven speaks of the things He has seen and heard; He bears witness to these things, but no one accepts His testimony. Whoever does receive His testimony acknowledges the truthfulness of God.

The one sent by God speaks God’s words, and gives the Spirit unstintingly. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything into His hands. Whoever believes in the Son lives with eternal life; but He who will not believe in the Son will never know life, and always faces the justice of God.

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Thursday, 11 April 2013 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Psalm 33 : 2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

But His face is set against the wicked, to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. Many are the troubles of the just, but the Lord delivers them from all.

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Thursday, 11 April 2013 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Acts 5 : 27-33

So they brought them in and make them stand before the Council and the High Priest questioned them, “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.”

When the Council heard this, they became very angry and wanted to kill them.

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Thursday, 4 April 2013 : Thursday of the Easter Octave (Scripture Reflection)

The Risen Christ is truly risen, our Messiah, and our Lord. He is not dead anymore, because God had given to Him a glorious life, to conquer death, that in Him, if we believe in Him, we would also find the same life, that is life eternal in God, and with God. He is truly risen, and truly has been raised from the dead, in body and in the spirit, that He is truly, bodily, our Risen Lord. That is why He said to His disciples when He first appeared to them. Why are you afraid? Why fear? It is I, Christ, and I am truly risen! My body is real, and I am not a spirit of the dead, unlike your ancestors!

Yes, while all mankind died in death that is our punishment for our rebellion against God, that from dust we had come, and into dust we would return, Christ was not worthy of death, because He is perfect and spotless, as He is without sin, and yet He suffered sin and death for our sake, and was unjustly punished and condemned for our faults. All these so that it would not be us who would have to bear the burden of our rebellion and that of our forefathers, but through Christ we would gain eternal life, that is our reward, if we would repent, believe in Christ, and put our hope in Him.

Through Christ lay forgiveness for our faults and our rebellion against our loving God, and through Him lay the only path to life, for is He not the way, the truth and the life? Yes, only if we put our complete trust in Christ, and put in Him all our beings and our dedication, that we can be brought from eternal death and separation from God, back into God’s favour. He offered all these freely as He hung from that cross on Calvary. His Blood He offered freely for all of us, as the blood of the new Covenant that would seal all who believe in Him and save them all.

Yet, many of us remain blind to Christ’s mercy and kindness, and blind from His redemptive works. The same happened to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, and to all the disciples gathered in fear of the authorities, because all of them had lost their hope and pivot on Christ. Their faith and heart had wavered, and they had let the evil one to sow seeds of fear and uncertainties and let them grow within their hearts, that they were frozen with lack of faith when Christ appeared to them. Yes, to all of us it may seem that if Christ is to appear before us, given if we have no knowledge of Christ’s resurrection, which had been prophesied by the prophets, we may also not believe in Him.

But the disciples had listened directly from Christ Himself, that He was to suffer, and to die, and then to rise again from the dead in glory on the third day, which He had mentioned frequently to the disciples, especially as He approached the time of His Passion. It is the inflexibility and the hardness of their hearts that prevented them from truly understanding what Christ had said to them, and that also made them, and so many other people of Israel at the time, especially the Pharisees and the chief priests, that Christ is truly the Messiah, the suffering Messiah, through whom the world’s salvation was to come.

Yet Christ did not give up on them, and He opened their minds and hearts to His truth, just as He revealed Himself to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Therefore brothers and sisters in Christ, will we then also welcome Christ into our hearts? That He will then come in and open the doors of our hearts and our minds, and also remove the veil of fear and doubt from our eyes, that we will see Him? in the great glory of His resurrection? Keep our prayer life strong, that we will always have the Lord within our hearts.

Remember, that our works and actions will not reflect God’s work if we do not keep a strong faith in Him, which can only be built up and maintained through prayerful life. Pray at all times, that God will always be with us, and strengthen us, and speak to us, to lead us into the path that God had desired for us, for the good of all of us. Let our faith in God shines within us, and with this great faith and strength, may all of us be courageous and strong, to carry out God’s mission to spread His words and love to all mankind, through service and love.

May God bless all of us, and may we make best use of this most holy season of Easter, to renew our commitment to our Lord and to our fellow mankind, to love ever more, and to be ever more faithful. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 April 2013 : Thursday of the Easter Octave (Gospel Reading)

Luke 24 : 35-48

Then the two disciples told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them. While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace to you.”

In their panic and fright they thought they were seeing a ghost, but He said to them, “Why are you upset, and how does such an idea cross your minds? Look at My hands and feet, and see that it is I Myself! Touch Me, and see for yourselves, for a ghost has no flesh and bones as I have!” As He said this, He showed His hands and feet.

In their joy they didn’t dare believe, and were still astonished; so He said to them, “Have you anything to eat?” And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish. He took it, and ate it before them.

Then Jesus said to them, “Remember the words I spoke to you when I was still with you : ‘Everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.'” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And He said, “So it was written : the Messiah had to suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. Then repentance and forgiveness in His Name would be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.”

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Thursday, 4 April 2013 : Thursday of the Easter Octave (Psalm)

Psalm 8 : 2a and 5, 6-7, 8-9

O Lord, our Lord, how great is Your Name throughout the earth! What is man that You be mindful of him, the Son of Man, that You should care for Him?

Yet You made Him a little lower than the angels; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.

Sheep and oxen without number and even the beasts of the field,  the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all that swim the paths of the ocean.