Thursday

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Thursday, 22 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 15 : 7-21

As the discussions became heated, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that from the beginning God chose me among you so that non-Jews could hear the Good News from me and believe. God, Who can read hearts, put Himself on their side by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them and cleansed their hearts through faith.”

“So why do you want to put God to the test? Why do you lay on the disciples a burden that neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry? We believe, indeed, that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”

The whole assembly kept silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas tell of all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done through them among the non-Jews. After they had finished, James spoke up, “Listen to me, brothers. Symeon has just explained how God first showed His care by taking a people for Himself from non-Jewish nations.”

“And the words of the prophets agree with this, for Scripture says, ‘After this I will return and rebuild the booth of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again. Then the rest of humanity will look for the Lord, and all the nations will be consecrated to My Name. So says the Lord, Who does today what He decided from the beginning.'”

“Because of this, I think that we should not make difficulties for those non-Jews who are turning to God. Let us just tell them not to eat food that is unclean from having been offered to idols; to keep themselves from prohibited marriages; and not to eat the flesh of animals that have been strangled, or any blood. For from the earliest times Moses has been taught in every place, and every Sabbath his laws are recalled.”

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Thursday, 15 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to trust in the Lord wholeheartedly and to remember that as God’s servants and followers, we should always live our lives in fulfilling what He has commanded us to do, in doing what the Lord has taught us, in proclaiming His Good News and truth to all the people of all the nations. Each and every one of us as Christians have been given the mission and the responsibilities to be good and faithful disciples, to be dedicated to one another and to be exemplary in our lives and ways so that everyone may know the Lord and His truth and Good News through our lives and actions.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which the works of the Apostles like St. Paul was told to us. St. Paul was speaking in the synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia where he proclaimed the words of encouragement to the people of God, the Jewish community in that place in their synagogue, by going through the history of God’s salvation for His people, and how He has been with all of them throughout history, providing for all of them from the time of the Exodus from Egypt and then afterwards when they were already settled in the land promised to them by God. He continued to show them all His love and all of these were fulfilled completely in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who manifested God’s love in the flesh, making Himself approachable and tangible to us.

St. Paul wanted to share with the Jewish community in that place of the truth and Good News which the Lord had brought into their midst by His coming. He wanted to convince all of them that Jesus was truly the One sent by God, the Messiah long awaited by the world and prophesied by the many prophets throughout history. This is because many among the Jewish community still had not yet believed in the Risen Lord, especially those who sided with the Pharisees and upheld their opposition against the Lord and His ways and teachings. And although St. Paul was chiefly remembered for his missionary works and efforts, as well as focus on evangelising towards the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles, but it did not mean that he neglected ministering to the Jewish people.

This is a reminder for all of us that God’s love and salvation has been meant for everyone, for all of His creation, all mankind, without any exceptions, and no one is truly beyond the reach of God’s love and mercy. That is why we are also reminded of our own respective calling and mission in life to proclaim the Good News and truth of God to more and more people, to everyone whom we encounter daily in life. Each and every one of us have the responsibility to reveal our most loving and compassionate, merciful and kind God to everyone through our own actions, words and deeds in life, through our every interactions and our every moments in life. We have been given the opportunities and more to do what God has entrusted to us, the abilities and all the means through which we can positively impact the lives of others around us, by revealing to them the face of God’s love and truth.

Then from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the account of the moment when the Lord told His disciples that the servant wasn’t greater than the master, and also at the same time predicting how He would be betrayed by one of His own disciples. Then, He also said about how those who truly know Him also know the Father, the Lord and Master of all. As the Lord said this, it was in fact a reminder to all of His disciples and hence all of us to follow the example of Christ’ obedience in all things, in how He obeyed perfectly the Father’s will, even to the point of suffering betrayal and the worst of sufferings, pains and hardships all so that He could perfectly fulfil everything that God had planned for us, the great love that He has for each one of us.

We are reminded as the servants and followers of God, all of us should always imitate our Lord and Master in all things, and this means that we should always be full of love just as He is Love itself, manifested perfectly in the flesh and in all of His actions. All the love that He has generously shown to us, we should also have in us, and we should love Him first and foremost above all else, and then we should also show that same love to our fellow brothers and sisters as well, loving everyone around us to the best of our abilities. Without love, we are empty and dead in us, and without love, our faith is meaningless and empty. That is why, as Christians, we truly must reflect the light of Christ in us, His love and kindness, His mercy and compassion, just as the Apostles like St. Paul had done, in inspiring everyone that he encountered with the love of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the works of the Apostles are far from over, and there are still many areas where the efforts of the Church are still needed in this world. There are still many areas where evangelisation and the teachings of the faith are needed, and our contributions, in whatever areas we can contribute and commit are very important, as although each one of our efforts may be small and minute in comparison, but all of these combine together as the efforts of the whole united Church, the Body of Christ into a mighty endeavour and effort for the Lord. We must not neglect our responsibilities as Christians to help lead others towards the Lord, and we have to begin from ourselves, from how we live our own lives as Christians and from how we interact with those around us.

May the Risen Lord continue to be with us and guide us in all of our journey, our sufferings and trials, in everything that we do, so that by our every good efforts and works, we will always continue to be faithful and committed to His cause. Let us all proclaim Him ever more courageously through our own exemplary works and actions in each day, in doing our best for the greater glory of God, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 15 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 13 : 16-20

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his master, nor is the messenger greater than he who sent him. Understand this, and blessed are you, if you put it into practice.”

“I am not speaking of you all, because I know the ones I have chosen, and the Scripture has to be fulfilled that says : The one who shared My table has risen against Me. I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may know that I am He.”

“Truly, I say to you, whoever welcomes the one I send, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes the One Who sent Me.”

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Thursday, 15 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

I have found David My servant, and with My holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will be ever with him and My arm will sustain.

My faithfulness and love will be with him, and by My help he will be strong. He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’

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Thursday, 15 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 13-25

From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and came to Perga in Pamphylia. There John left them and returned to Jerusalem, while they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent this message to them, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the assembly, please speak up.”

So Paul arose, motioned to them for silence and began, “Fellow Israelites and also all you who fear God, listen. The God of our people Israel chose our ancestors, and after He had made them increase during their stay in Egypt, He led them out by powerful deeds.”

“For forty years He fed them in the desert, and after He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took four hundred and fifty years. After that, he gave them Judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, and he was king for forty years.”

“After that time, God removed him and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.’ It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus.”

“Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : ‘I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.'”

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Thursday, 8 May 2025 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we continue to progress through this joyful and blessed season of Easter, we are all reminded yet again of our faith in the Risen Lord, in our Saviour and Master, which we should proclaim to everyone around us, in how we live our lives as Christians, as God’s followers and disciples, faithfully in each and every moments. All of us should always strive to proclaim the salvation of God and His Good News to everyone whom we encounter in life. Such is our calling as Christians, our obligations and duties as those whom God had called and chosen from this world, to be the ones showing the light of Christ’s salvation to the world.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, in which the tale of the works of St. Philip, one of the Apostles were highlighted to us. At that time, there were persecutions and hardships facing the faithful people of God, with the Jewish authorities, the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council and all those seeking to destroy the nascent early Church. St. Stephen had been martyred as we heard from our readings earlier in the week, and Saul the young and zealous Pharisee was chasing after the Christians, persecuting, arresting and torturing them to seek to destroy the Church of God. And yet, the Lord continued to be with His Church, guiding and protecting His disciples, inspiring His Apostles like St. Philip with the wisdom, courage and strength to carry out His missions and works.

St. Philip encountered the official of the Ethiopian queen, who was on his way from Jerusalem back to his homeland. Tradition was that since the days of the Queen of Sheba coming to Jerusalem, the Ethiopians had come to know of the Lord and share in the faith of the Israelites, or at least some among them showed interest in the teachings and knowledge of the Lord. At that time, by God’s grace and timing, the Ethiopian official was reading through the words of the prophet Isaiah who was prophesying about the Messiah or Saviour, which St. Philip therefore explained to the Ethiopian official as referring to Christ, the One Who had just been persecuted and crucified in Jerusalem, rose from the dead and ascending in glory to Heaven.

Through his explanations and teachings, St. Philip enlightened the Ethiopian official, helping him to understand that everything that had happened in Jerusalem recently at that time was in fact the fulfilment of everything which the Lord had revealed through the prophet Isaiah. And through this opportunity and exchange, that was how St. Philip as an Apostle continued to do the good works of God even during those difficult moments when the Church was being persecuted and the faithful people of God were arrested and tortured for being those who believed in the Risen Lord and His truth and Good News. He touched the heart, mind and soul of the Ethiopian official who agreed to be baptised and therefore becoming a disciple of the Lord, bringing the Christian faith to his homeland in Ethiopia, where the Church still remains strong to this day.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist where the Lord Jesus continued with His discourse on the Bread of Life which we have heard these past few days. The Lord told the people who were listening to Him about how He as the Son of the Father has revealed to them all about the Father, the loving Heavenly Father Who seeks to be reunited with all of us, to be reconciled with us and which was why exactly He sent to us His Son, to be the bearer of this assurance of salvation and eternal life, the One to lead us to Himself, to give us all the providence and strength to journey towards Him with genuine love and contrite hearts. That is what Our Lord Himself had done, by offering Himself to us as the Living Bread from Heaven.

The Lord Jesus made a mention of the heavenly bread manna that the Israelites had received and shared from the Lord in the past, and how although they had been provided this sustenance of the bread of Angels for a whole period of forty years, but they all still perished in the end, and what He was offering to them was far greater than the manna, as the Living Bread that He was offering them was none other than His own Most Precious Body, and the Most Precious Blood which He willingly offered and laid down for all of us. This gift of His own Body and Blood has been made real for us through the Eucharist, the most Holy Sacrament that He has provided to us through His Church and which we receive at the every celebration of the Holy Mass.

For truly, as we receive the Eucharist, the Living Bread and the Precious Blood of the Lord Himself, all of us are united to Him and to one another, all of us as members of God’s Church, to be the ones to share in the promise of happiness and true joy which the Lord Himself has promised and reassured to us. By this most wonderful gift that He has given us, the Lord has strengthened and reassured us, giving us the sustenance needed for us to continue in persevering through the many challenges and hardships in life. This is why we should not allow ourselves to be easily struck down by the many challenges and trials present around us. We should always remember that God is always with us, journeying with us and providing for us, encouraging and strengthening us all the way.

Therefore, let us all pray that the Lord, our Saviour and our Living Bread from Heaven will continue to guide and strengthen us all through the gift of His own Most Precious Body and Blood in the Eucharist, so that all of us who partake of His Body and Blood may be strong in our faith and be committed to God in all things, and that we may be good and worthy bearers of His Good News and salvation. May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen us in all of our endeavours, good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 8 May 2025 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

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, 8 May 2025 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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, 8 May 2025 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

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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Thursday, 1 May 2025 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the occasion of the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the patron saint of all workers and those who labour in this world, which is essentially many among us who toil, labour and work each day to make ends meet and to provide for our families and loved ones. This celebration of St. Joseph the Worker is a response from the Church, instituted by Pope Pius XII exactly seventy years ago in the Year of Our Lord 1955, to mark the occasion of May Day, also known as Labour Day. Back then, communism was ascendant throughout most of the world, a great force of evil and wickedness that caused a lot of hardships for the Christians in many areas. And the labour movement was key to the growth of communist ideology, which the Pope then therefore decided to counter by invoking the patronage of St. Joseph over all the workers.

In our first reading today, we heard from the account of the creation of the world and the universe by the Lord from the Book of Genesis, in which God our Master and Creator made all things to be, and today’s passage focus specifically on the creation of mankind, all of us, who have been created in God’s own image and likeness, to be the ones to share His love and blessings, His grace and compassionate kindness. We have been created as the pinnacle of God’s creation and we have been made such that we may be the ones to take good care of everything which God had created. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that account of creation of man reminds us all that all of us share the responsibility of living our lives virtuously and with proper guidance from God, in how we exercise our control and use of the many resources and things that have been entrusted to us in this world.

It is an important reminder for us that in our daily living in this world, in how we carry on our lives, we must always be centred on God and do everything for the greatness of God, in all of our work, our toils, struggles, labours and in everything that we say and do. We must not easily be swayed by the many temptations and desires present all around us which may lead us astray, keeping us away from the Lord and His righteous path. Many among us and our predecessors had been so tempted and attached to the many worldly desires and ambitions all around us such that we seek and desire for them, in the expense of our own connection with God and others, and in many of those occasions in fact, many among us have caused hurt and sufferings to others because of our desires and attachments to our ambitions and pride.

Instead we are all called to reorientate ourselves and our lives, our works and efforts to the Lord. We should do our work, efforts, labours and toils not for our own selfish desires and advantages, for our desire for money, pleasures and all the things which can bring us ever further away from God. We should dedicate ourselves to the Lord instead and strive to do our best such that we always perform each work and actions with God at the centre of our existence and efforts. Our good works and labours should always be fruitful and good for everyone around us, and responsible to this world and creation which God had made for us all. We are the stewards entrusted with God with this world around us, and not just the world itself, but also with one another, our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Then from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the people of Nazareth confronting the Lord Jesus when He returned back to His hometown of Nazareth and taught in their synagogue. He proclaimed the words of the Scriptures taken from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, in which the prophecy of the Messiah was contained. In that prophecy, Isaiah spoke of the coming of God’s salvation through the signs and wonders that would accompany the coming of His Messiah or Saviour, and the Lord proclaimed that everything had indeed come true just as the Lord had said it would be, and that He Himself is the Saviour that God had promised to His people, and that very day they heard the words of Isaiah, everything had been fulfilled according to God’s will and plan.

But as we heard, the people of Nazareth grumbled and complained, because to them, Jesus was merely the Son of the village carpenter, the One Whom they thought they had known for many years, and therefore it was impossible for them, in their perception, that Jesus could be the very Messiah that the prophet Isaiah had spoken about, and they also doubted what they had heard about the Wisdom and the many miracles that Jesus had performed, despite having witnessed and heard these themselves, with their own eyes and ears. All these were caused by their own prejudices and biases, their arrogance and expectations. They thought that since carpenter was then a very poorly regarded job, often disregarded and being prejudiced against, as the job for the uneducated and the poor, therefore it was impossible for the Lord Jesus to be Who He said He was, according to their prejudices and ideas.

The Lord wants to show us all therefore that we should not be preoccupied by titles, by prestige or other worldly matters and ideals which often framed how we perceive things around us. As employees, many of us often looked down on ourselves just because we perceive or think that our kind and nature of work is something that is less worthy or ideal, and the same can be said of employers too, that we as employers tend to look down on our own employees and on those whom we deem to be less worthy, inferior and not as good as ours in livelihood and work. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not the attitude that any one of us as Christian workers and faithful should be adopting, and we should keep ourselves distant and free from the shackles of these worldly desires and ambitions which can lead us down the wrong path in life.

Therefore, we invoke the patronage of St. Joseph the Worker, the faithful and courageous, virtuous and just St. Joseph, the foster-father of the Lord, a simple and yet great carpenter, the ever hardworking servant of God who lived his life with great virtues and as good role models for all of us, just as he had been great role model and teacher for his foster Son, our Lord Jesus Himself. Let us all follow his good examples, his virtues, faith and dedication to God, so that by our own works, blessed by God, our own willingness to walk the path of our Christian faith with true dedication and commitment to God, we shall come ever closer to the Lord and His Presence, and be worthy one day to share in the eternal inheritance that He has promised to all those who are faithful to Him.

May the Lord, our most wonderful and loving Master continue to bless each and every one of us, and bless us with the strength, courage and perseverance especially when we encounter a lot of hardships and challenges in our lives. May our lives continue to bring glory to God and may He continue to guide us all with the examples like that shown by St. Joseph the Worker, our inspiration and example, in our own commitment to live a truly faithful Christian life, now and always. Amen.