Thursday

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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.

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

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 1-11

In the first part of my work, Theophilus, I wrote of all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when He ascended to heaven. But first He had instructed through the Holy Spirit, the Apostles He had chosen. After His passion, He presented Himself to them, giving many signs that He was alive, over a period of forty days He appeared to them and taught them concerning the kingdom of God.

Once when He had been eating with them, He told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the fulfilment of the Father’s promise about which I have spoken to you : John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit within a few days.”

When they had come together, they asked Him, “Is it now that You will restore the Kingdom of Israel?” And He answered, “It is not for you to know the time and the steps that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.”

After Jesus said this, He was taken up before their eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight. While they were still looking up to heaven where He went, suddenly, two men dressed in white stood beside them, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the sky? This Jesus Who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way as you have seen Him go there.”

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Thursday, 11 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the reminders from the Lord for all of us to follow His Law and commandments in all things, to be faithful at all times and to live our lives in accordance with what He has taught and revealed to us. But at the same time, we must also remind ourselves not to be fixated at the routines and the practices of faith that we carry out, or else we may end up losing sight on what is truly important in our lives and our faith. We are all reminded to turn towards the Lord once again, refocusing our attention towards Him and not allowing ourselves to be distracted either by the vices and temptations often present around us, and also by growing ever deeper in our understanding about our Christian faith, by knowing the tenets and precepts of our faith well but without exaggerations and overemphasis on the externals without an internalised understanding of the faith.

In our first reading today, all of us heard about the continuation of the events of the First Council of Jerusalem in which the issue regarding whether the Christian faithful had to follow and obey the extensive and in fact excessive ordinances and the rules of the Jewish laws and customs was resolved by the meeting of the Church leaders and elders. This issue had bitterly divided the early Christian community, with the side of the Jewish converts particularly those who belonged to the group of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law being very adamant in their demands and viewpoint that unless the faithful obeyed the entirety of the Jewish laws and customs, then they could not be saved. Those who belonged to those groups insisted that all the Christian faithful must obey fully the commandments of the Lord as practiced and enforced by them.

However, we must understand that back then, it was very difficult for any of the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles to follow the whole extent of the strict law as practiced and enforced by the Pharisees because some of those laws and customs were abhorrent and alien, repulsive and foreign to those people. With regards in particular to the practice of circumcision for example, it was a practice that was deemed abhorrent and disgusting by the Greeks and the Romans. Hence, if the Church were to require all the faithful to be circumcised as per required by the Jewish laws and customs, then it would have been very difficult for the Gentiles, many of whom found Jewish customs and cultural practices incompatible, to become Christians and to be the followers of the Lord. The strict and outdated dietary restrictions of the Law was another of this obstacle and hurdle.

That is why, guided by the wisdom of the Lord through the Holy Spirit and through the prayers of the Apostles, we heard how St. Peter led the whole assembly of the faithful in the prayerful and careful discussion, discernment and the decision about the path that the Church ought to take going forward then, in the manner of how the faithful ought to be faithful to God. St. Peter related his examples ministering to both the Jewish and Gentile converts to the faith, and told them how everyone were called to follow the Lord, to follow what He Himself had said and taught to them, and to do what the Lord has called them to do. The Church should not make it difficult for all those who seek to be disciples and followers of the Lord, but should instead be most supportive in how they reach out to the people of God, to all those who are marginalised and forgotten.

Essentially, all of us are reminded through these Scripture passages today of the need for us all to rediscover our faith in the Lord and to centre our focus and attention on Him, instead of being distracted by the many temptations and false paths, distortions and many other fallacies present all around us. We should not be like those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who spent so much of their time focusing on the nitty-gritty and the specific tenets, rules and regulations of the Law and commandments of God, and ending up forgetting why the Law and commandments were there in the first place. They were meant to help lead and guide the people who have been lost to the Lord so that they might find the path back towards the Lord and towards His saving grace. Unfortunately, that Law and commandments then had been misused to be tools of power and self-justification, as well as self-glorification and pride.

As we heard in our Gospel passage today, we are reminded by the Lord Himself to return to the very roots and origins of the commandments of God, which the Lord Jesus summarised very well into two main categories, that is the love for God, the love and devotion that we ought to show Him at all times, greater than anything else, and then also the love for our fellow brothers and sisters, particularly for all those who are in need of help. We should not think that we are better and more worthy than others simply because we observe more of the Law and the commandments of God, or because we are more stringent and particular in how we carry out living our faith life. Instead, we should remind ourselves that being Christians first and foremost is a call for us all to be loving just as our Lord, our God and Father is loving and kind towards us.

That is how all of us can be better and more committed Christians, not by doing things that we think make ourselves holier or better, or worse still by putting others down or by thinking that by our actions and merits, we can gain glory or status for ourselves. We should instead follow the examples of the Lord Himself, Who went to the most marginalised and all those who were most prejudiced against in the community, reaching out to them with love and proclaiming to them all the words of God’s salvation and reassuring them of God’s love and grace. All of us as Christians should do well therefore to love our fellow brothers and sisters as much as we love ourselves, and love the Lord our God first and foremost above all else, above all other things in life. We should renew our commitment to Him and be good examples and role models to each other in how we live our lives as Christians.

May the Risen Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey of faith through life, and may He empower us all to live ever more worthily and courageously in His path. May the truth and the love of God guide us always in our path, that we will always draw ever closer to Him, with each and every passing moments. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 9-11

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.”

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Thursday, 11 May 2023 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 10

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.

Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.