Thursday

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Thursday, 1 June 2023 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 32 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises. Amid loud shouts of joy, sing to Him a new song and play the ten-stringed harp.

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

The heavens were created by His word, the breath of His mouth formed their starry host. He gathered the waters of the sea into a heap, and stored the deep in cellars.

Let the whole earth fear YHVH; let the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and so it was, He commanded, and everything stood firm.

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Thursday, 1 June 2023 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Sirach 42 : 15-26

Now I shall remind you of the works of the Lord and relate what I have seen. The Lord’s works depend on His word, and creation obeys His will. The sun shines on everything and the work of the Lord is filled with His glory. Not even to His holy ones has the Lord given full knowledge of all His marvellous works. The Lord, Master of the Universe, has ordained that all should stand firm in His glory.

He penetrates both the depth of the abyss and the human heart and knows their secrets. For the Most High has full knowledge and ordains the signs of the heavens. He knows the past and foretells the future and reveals the traces of the world’s mysteries. No thought escapes Him, no word is hidden from Him.

He has ordered the marvellous works of His wisdom, from ever and forever. Nothing can be added, nothing can be taken away and He has no need of counsel. All His works are beautiful, even to the smallest spark of light. All this lives and endures forever : all is useful and obedient to His will. All things are in pairs, one opposite the other, and nothing He makes is in any way deficient. One thing emphasises the excellence of the other; who could ever weary of admiring His glory?

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (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 to stay united with God and to remain firm in our faith in Him at all times, resisting the temptations of worldly ambitions, attachments and other things that may end up misleading us down the wrong path in life. We should not let our desires and the corrupt temptations and attachments to this world lead us astray from the path that the Lord has shown us. As Christians we should continue to keep ourselves attuned to the Lord and firmly continue to uphold the Law and the commandments of God that He has shown us through His Church, amidst and despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to face and endure through as we live our lives faithfully as the followers of Christ.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, of the time when St. Paul the Apostle was standing before the whole Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, which was composed of the most powerful and influential members of the Jewish community back then, including the Pharisees and the Sadducees among them, as the two most powerful factions among the Jews. Each of these groups were bitterly divided and antagonistic against each other, and was then united only in their common hatred and opposition against the followers of the Lord, especially that of St. Paul, who had performed so many works for the Lord and brought many into the Christian faith. Like what we heard in our first reading today, immediately when St. Paul mentioned that he belonged to the group of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Pharisees began to fight against each other in a massive conflict.

This shows that there was no unity among all those who persecuted St. Paul and the other early Christians, and God also gave St. Paul the wisdom to act in such a manner so as to prevent the Sanhedrin from uniting against him and in doing so, allowing St. Paul to commence his journey towards being put on trial by the Emperor in Rome, hence fulfilling what the Lord had called on him to do, to minister to the faithful and to spread the Good News to the very heart and centre of the Empire. Through his tireless efforts and commitment, and as well as all the time and hard work that he had put into place, St. Paul had shown us all what it means for us to be Christians, in trusting in the Lord and in doing what God has called and entrusted upon us to do. And God is always with us, by our side, just as the Lord Himself reassured His disciples as He prayed over them, as He promised them all that they would all see the true glory and joy through Him. Each and every one of us should be inspired to live our lives most faithfully as good Christians.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of three great saints whose lives and devotions to God in their own way may indeed be great source of inspiration and hope for each and every one of us, in how we can emulate their examples in our own lives. They are St. Bede the Venerable, a renowned priest and monk, and also a Church historian whose works and theological writings made him to be remembered greatly and honoured as one of the Doctors of the Church, and then Pope St. Gregory VII, who reformed the Church and led the Church through a turbulent and difficult moment where divisions and struggles between the religious and secular authorities were at its peak. Finally we have St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, a dedicated virgin and holy woman, whose life as a religious and experience as a mystic inspired many during her lifetime and afterwards.

St. Bede the Venerable lived and was active during the early years of Medieval Britain, in which he was renowned for being a great scholar and monk, with extensive library and collection of writings and works that still inspired so many people many centuries after his time. St. Bede the Venerable was ordained as a priest, and went on several travels and trips across the British isles, visiting many places and communities, which helped him to know and understand better about the local communities, especially the Christian Church there, and placed the foundation for the many works that he was writing, in topics as diverse as history and astronomy, among many others, and of course many of them dealing with the teachings of the Church and the Christian truth, which still inspired many who read his works afterwards. Many others made the works of St. Bede as their inspiration, and the rich diversity of his works continued to inspire the Church.

Meanwhile, Pope St. Gregory VII was the leader of the Universal Church during the height of what is known as the Investiture Controversy, which arose because of the dispute between the Pope and the Church with the secular authorities under the Holy Roman Emperor. In the past few hundred years before the time of Pope St. Gregory, both positions have become the greatest religious and secular authorities respectively, and the dispute arose because the Emperor claimed the right to appoint bishops and to control them within his own dominion, being appointed and supreme over all the secular rulers. On the other hand, the Pope St. Gregory VII represented the culmination of the Church efforts to resist secular influence and control of the Church and the members of the clergy, and stood firmly against any efforts of the Emperor and his nobles and supporters in trying to control the Church. He also carried out many other important reforms in purifying the Church from many corruptions and wickedness of that time.

Then, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was a woman who had been attracted and called to a spiritual life from a very young age, and who eventually joined the Carmelite monastery, becoming one of the Carmelite religious sisters. She has begun receiving mystical visions from a young age, and this continued on through her time and experience as a Carmelite religious. Her great piety and dedication to God, her exemplary actions and care for others, as well as her great holiness and the visions she experienced inspired many others to follow her examples in faith and dedication to God. Through her dedication, many have come to seek the Lord and endeavour to follow the good examples that this faithful and dedicated woman had done in her own life. Thus, all of us should also be inspired by the examples of those whose lives and commitments to God we have just discussed.

Let us all therefore seek to glorify the Lord and proclaim His truth, love and Good News through our own works and actions. Let us all be good and faithful disciples and followers of our Lord and God, spending much of our time and effort to do the will of God and to proclaim Him in the midst of all the things that we have dedicated unto Him. Let us all be good role models and sources of inspiration for each other, in how we lead our lives and carry out our every actions, even in the smallest and seemingly least significant of actions and interactions with others around us. May the Lord continue to guide us in all things and help us to remain ever firmly faithful in Him, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 17 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in Me. May they all be one, as You Father are in Me and I am in You. May they be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”

“I have given them the glory You have given Me, that they may be one as We are One : I in them and You in Me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that You have sent Me, and that I have loved them, just as You loved Me.”

“Father, since You have given them to Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, and see the glory You gave Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent Me.”

“As I revealed Your Name to them, so will I continue to reveal it, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and also may be in them.”

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”

I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 22 : 30 and Acts 23 : 6-11

The next day the commander wanted to know for certain the charges the Jews were making against Paul. So he released him from prison and called together the High Priest and the whole Council; and they brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

Paul knew that part of the Council were Sadducees and others Pharisees; so he spoke out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee. It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial here.”

At these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the whole assembly was divided. For the Sadducees claim that there is neither resurrection, nor Angels nor spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all these things.

Then the shouting grew louder, and some teachers of the Law of the Pharisee party protested, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an Angel has spoken to him.” With this the argument became so violent that the commander feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He therefore ordered the soldiers to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him back to the fortress.

That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Courage! As you have borne witness to Me here in Jerusalem, so must you do in Rome.”

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Thursday, 18 May 2023 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the whole Church celebrates the occasion of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, marking the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ, forty days after His glorious Resurrection from the dead, ascended in glory to His heavenly Throne. The Lord Jesus ascended in glory by His own power, leaving behind this world but not abandoning His disciples and followers. He ascended to prepare for us all our places by His side in Heaven, to welcome us all in the end of time, to prove to us that we all truly have something to look forward to in our faithful and dedicated life. Each and every one of us are reminded of this most joyous moment and time, emphasising to us that Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in Whom we have put our faith, truly came from the Father in Heaven, and has returned to His place in Heaven, the Son of God incarnate, showing us the love of God manifested in the flesh.

In our first reading today, we all heard from the Acts of the Apostles detailing to us how the Lord ascended to Heaven in glory, before His assembled disciples and followers, and promising to them all the coming of the Holy Spirit, Who would guide and strengthen them in their journey and work, and Who would lead them to go forth and fulfil the commands and mission that He has entrusted to them, to proclaim the Good News of God to all the people of all the nations, and to baptise them all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He ascended to Heaven afterwards and this was witnessed by His disciples, many of whom would suffer persecution and even martyrdom in subsequent years and decades, and they endured all those sufferings with faith, exactly because they have seen everything that the Lord had done, how He has risen from the dead and was with them, and ascended into Heaven.

If the Lord Jesus has not truly come from Heaven and if He had been a fraud and false Messiah as how some among His enemies and opponents claimed, then His disciples and followers would not have persevered and endured in their faith in such a manner. Many of them have experienced everything that the Lord had said and done, and witnessed His Resurrection and Ascension as mentioned, and therefore, they were willing to even die to defend their faith in the Lord. Everything also happened as how the Lord has promised the disciples, with the Holy Spirit coming down upon the Apostles and the other disciples, heralding the birth of the Church, and encouraged them all to go forth and proclaim the Good News, spreading the words of the Gospels of salvation to more and more people who also come to believe in the Lord Jesus and His truth.

In our second reading today, all of us heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians regarding how Lord has revealed to His Church, to all of us the revelation of His truth and glory, everything that He has told and brought upon us, and most importantly, how all of us believe in and follow this Lord and God, Who is the Almighty God, the Master and King of all Creation. Not only that, but it also reminded us that we believe in this Jesus Christ, as Christians, and that He is not just merely like any Man, or any other beings. By His Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven, the Lord has shown us all that He truly came from His heavenly abode, from eternity and glory, coming down upon each and every one of us so that by dwelling among us and by His appearance in this world, He might save each one of us from being destroyed and crushed by our sins and wickedness.

This reminds us all that our faith in the Lord is not something that is nonsense and imaginary. By the testimony of faith and the evidence that the Church as well as other historical records have passed down to us, all of us know that our God is real, and although He did not leave behind much earthly existence, because He has ascended into Heaven, but He was there for us all, has been with us and shown us the love of God manifested to us, and He is and will always be there for us, guiding and helping us all throughout the way. He has sent us all the Holy Spirit to guide us and to strengthen us, to encourage and empower us, just as how the Holy Spirit encouraged the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord to do what they had been sent forth to do, in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel, the words of God’s salvation to His people.

In our Gospel passage today, that is what the Lord has told hIs disciples to do, to go forth to the nations and to all the people, and to proclaim God and His truth, His love and everything that He has done through the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ Himself, Who has shown us the love of God manifested and approachable in the flesh, and by Whose Passion, suffering and death has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life and glory. All these are brought upon us through Christ, and the Good News have to therefore be spread throughout the whole world, so that more and more people may come to believe in the truth that Christ Himself has proclaimed. And all of us as the members of the same Church of God are the bearers of this Good News and truth, which we have to proclaim in our own works and in whatever capacity and opportunities that the Lord has given us.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this great Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, all of us are reminded as well that forty days have passed in this joyful and glorious season of Easter. How have we been living through our Easter season? Have we been idling around and been ignorant of our calling and mission as Christians? Have our words, actions and deeds been reflective of our Christian faith and beliefs? If we call ourselves as Christians and yet we do not practice our faith, our carry out our actions, deeds and works, and if our words and interactions with each other are not reflective of our faith in God, then how can we expect others around us or those whom we encounter and interact with can become believers as well? Not only that, in fact, there had been many cases where people both within and outside the Church had been scandalised by the wicked and less-than-worthy actions by our fellow Catholics, who have not lived their lives the way they should have. The sad reality is that there are many Christians within the Church who have become lukewarm and even dead in the faith, abandoning the Lord for worldly pursuits and other things.

And lest we easily point finger and blame others, or think that this problem is what others have but not us, let us all look upon ourselves first, our way of life, our predisposition and our actions. If we truly have lived our lives in the most Christian manner, obeying the Law and commandments of God, showing love for both God and for our fellow men alike, then well done indeed, and we should continue doing that. It is by all these that we can truly be missionary and evangelising in the way how the Apostles and the many saints and holy missionaries in the past had done. Many became believers not only because of the miracles and wonders that they had done, but also because of the faith and dedication which our holy predecessors had shown in their lives, in how they committed themselves to God and to His path, and also in how they loved and cared for each other.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called to be the beacons of the light of God, which Christ our Lord has shown and passed on to us. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves to a virtuous and worthy life that all of us as Christians have been expected to do in our own respective lives? All of us should no longer be hesitant or ignorant to do as God has told us all to do, as our first and most important mission as Christians is evangelisation, to go forth and spread the faith to others, just as the Lord told His disciples in the Great Commission, ‘Go forth and make disciples of all the people of all the nations, and baptise them all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ And we do not have to seek for great things or worry that we have to aim for great achievements and wonders. We do not have to compare or worry, but instead let the Holy Spirit to help and lead us down the path, and entrust ourselves to God Who will show us how we can glorify Him by our lives.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this great Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, let us all remind ourselves that we have important mission in our lives, by doing our best in whatever we do in life, in whatever opportunities we have received and in whichever places that we have been called to, in our various respective ministries and vocations, be it as those called to the priesthood and holy orders, or those called to the religious and consecrated life, or those called to a life of holy singlehood and other forms of ministry associated with that, and of course as Christian couples and families tasked with the building of the faithful Christian families, the foundations of our Church and Christian faith, where our faithful future and young generations ought to be raised well in the Christian faith and truth of God. Each one of us should do our best to proclaim the Lord and His Good News, to those around us, both within and outside the Church, by our exemplary and faithful life.

May the Lord, ascended in glory onto His Throne in Heaven, most excellent and almighty, continue to guide us all His Church and all of us His beloved ones, in our path and way of life so that we may truly be the inspirational and worthy beacons of His light, truth and love. May all of us continue to strive to be faithful in all things, and do our best to be good role models and inspiration as the missionaries and disciples of our Lord in our world today, ever inspired, strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 May 2023 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 28 : 16-20

At that time, as for the eleven disciples, they went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Jesus, they bowed before Him, although some doubted.

Then Jesus approached them and said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptise them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. I am with you always even to the end of the world.”

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Thursday, 18 May 2023 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 1 : 17-23

May the God of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Father of Glory, reveal Himself to you and give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that you may know Him. May He enlighten your inner vision, that you may appreciate the things we hope for, since we were called by God.

May you know how great is the inheritance, the glory, God sets apart for His saints; may you understand with what extraordinary power He acts in favour of us who believe. He revealed His Almighty power in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and had Him sit at His right hand in heaven, far above all rule, power, authority, dominion, or any other supernatural force that could be named, not only in this world but in the world to come as well.

Thus has God put all things under the feet of Christ and set Him above all things, as Head of the Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.

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Thursday, 18 May 2023 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 6-7, 8-9

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations, God reigns from His holy throne.