Thursday

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Thursday, 19 May 2022 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about the call for us to love the Lord wholeheartedly and to remember and keep His commandments of love well in our hearts and minds at all times. As Christians we are always called to love tenderly and generously following the examples of our Lord in His love for us, which He has always shown us despite our many infidelities and wickedness. He has always loved us and wanted to teach us how to love just as He has loved us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles as we heard the continuation of the account of the First Council of Jerusalem, as we heard of the debate that arose in that very first assembly of the Church and the faithful to address the divisions that came up due to the disagreements between those who advocated for the imposition of the much stricter Jewish laws and customs on all the faithful including on the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people, and those who advocated for the relaxation of the requirements and laws binding all the faithful.

The Apostles and the elders of the Church gathered together to discuss the matter, and through the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit, they decided not to impose the unreasonable strict rules of the Jewish laws and customs on all the faithful, and instead, they all exhorted all the Christians to follow the commandments and laws as explained and made clear by the Lord, the laws and commandments of love, the core essence of what following God is all about. They decided that all the faithful, be it Jews or Gentiles ought to follow the Lord in that way, and not be burdened by the excesses of the way how the Jewish laws and practices had been kept by the Pharisees and the elders.

That was also what the Lord had told His disciples and the people as we heard in our Gospel passage today, as Jesus told them all to love and remain in His Father’s love just as He has loved Him. All those who believe in the Lord ought to love in the same way that God has loved all of them. The old customs and laws as championed and preserved by the Pharisees and their many predecessors distracted the people from this love, and instead of truly loving God, many became ensnared in the path to seek their own self-righteousness and self-promotion, self-loving and ego. That was why the Lord reminded His disciples to turn away from that path and instead return to the Lord with genuine love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to these readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are therefore reminded of our obligation and calling as Christians to follow the Lord with love and devotion, and to love one another just as He has loved us so generously. We are all called to love our fellow brothers and sisters, and even our acquaintances and strangers, as the Lord had told us to do. He even asked us to forgive our enemies, to pray for those who have persecuted us and loving them even if those same people had made our lives truly difficult. That is the essence of Christian love that God Himself has revealed and taught to us through His Son.

And Christ Himself has shown us what true, unconditional love is. Even though He has been condemned and rejected by the chief priests and elders, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, He still forgave them all and prayed for them for His Father to forgive them their sins, as He laid suffering and dying while hanging on the Cross. He chose to suffer and die for all of mankind, for all of us sinners, and even for the sake of those who have arrested, persecuted, condemned and opposed Him. He has loved all of us and patiently showed His compassion and mercy even though we are still sinners and are still rebellious in our ways against Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, remembering just how much the Lord has loved each and every one of us, and how He has given us so many opportunities to reach out to Him and embracing His forgiveness and mercy, then all of us have to commit ourselves to the same way of love as God has shown us. We are all called to proclaim the Lord by His love, so that as the Apostles had mentioned, that we are all Christians, and the people know us and know who we are, as God’s beloved ones by our actions, by our generous love for one another, in the same manner as how God has loved us first.

Are we able then in committing ourselves to the path of God’s love? Are we willing and able to live our lives from now on with courage to love each other in the same manner as the Apostles and the saints, our many predecessors in faith had done? Are we capable of living our lives faithfully in the manner that they had done, and love generously and kindly, unconditionally as they and ultimately, our Lord Himself had done? Let us all discern all these carefully and think of what we can do better to serve Him and to proclaim His truth and glory in our world today.

May God be with us always, our most loving Father, our most beloved Master and Creator. May He empower us all and give us the grace and love so that we may continue to love most generously in each and every opportunities that we have in this world. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless all of our wonderful works and labours for His greater glory, all of our love for one another, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 May 2022 : 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, 19 May 2022 : 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.

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Thursday, 19 May 2022 : 5th Week of Easter (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, 12 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are shown again of more of the works of the Apostles who had gone to proclaim the truth of God in more and more places in their long years and periods of ministry, reaching out to the people who have not yet known the Lord and speaking of the history of God’s salvation among His people, which He had fulfilled and made whole through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, Whose coming into this world heralded the coming of the time of grace, the time when the Lord came to gather His beloved people and reconciling all of us to Himself.

In our first reading today, we heard of the account of the works of St. Paul in evangelising amongst the Jewish people in Antioch in Pisidia in Asia Minor, where he went among the local Jewish diaspora community and spoke up about the Lord in the synagogue. He spoke courageously and at length about the works of God’s salvation among His people, on how He had led them out of Egypt, guiding them and protecting them all the way, appointing judges and kings, and also prophets to help them to remain on the right path, and sending them reminders and help whenever they faltered and fell into the wrong paths.

St. Paul also then spoke of the more recent events back then, regarding the works of St. John the Baptist that was quite well-known and popular among the Jewish people, even in the diaspora, and how he was the precursor and the one to prepare the path for the coming of the one true Messiah or Saviour for all the people, namely Christ Himself, the Son of God and the Holy One, Who has called and sent St. Paul and the other Apostles and disciples to become His witnesses and missionaries among the people. St. Paul courageously spoke up about God’s truth and emphatically encouraging the people to come to believe in Christ and His teachings, and to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.

However, this calling and mission was truly a difficult one, and there were plenty of obstacles and trials that the Apostles like St. Paul would have to endure, as they strive to minister to the people and proclaim the Good News of God, recalling what the Lord Himself had suffered and experienced at the hands of His enemies and even from one of His own closest collaborators, as highlighted in our Gospel passage today. The Lord was betrayed even by one of His own members of the Twelve, namely by Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him and handed Him over to the chief priests for a meagre sum of thirty pieces of silver.

That reality was why the followers of Christ will likely go through the same challenges, trials and sufferings as the Lord Himself had experienced, as after all, if they had rejected their Master’s teachings, and the Gospel today spoke of how the servants are not greater than their master, then all those who follow the Lord and work to proclaim His truth would therefore likely suffer similar kind of rejection, persecution and suffering. But they must not be afraid because God Himself will be with them and will be by their side, no matter what. This is the same truth that all of us have to believe in just as we also continue to carry out the works of evangelisation in the Name of the Lord.

We should be inspired by the examples set by some of our holy predecessors, the holy martyrs, St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, as well as St. Pancras. All of them had devoted their lives and works to the Lord and for His glory, and in their own ways, they had endured many sufferings and tribulations, and were eventually martyred for the sake of their faith, and they faced those sufferings and ultimately their martyrdom, full of faith and trust in the Lord, believing that what they had done for the Lord’s sake, will be justified and worthy of God in the end, and they will be by the Lord’s side in triumph. They did not give up their struggles for their faith, to the very end.

St. Nereus and St. Achilleus were chamberlains or servants of the niece of the Roman Emperor Domitian according to the Christian tradition, whose name was Flavia Domitilla. According to tradition, they were martyred together with Flavia Domitilla, as they were Christians and the niece of the Emperor had also converted to the Christian faith, during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Domitian himself, which was one of the more vicious ones in the series of persecutions against the Church, and it was told that both St. Nereus and St. Achilleus joyfully welcomed their suffering and martyrdom, in defending their faith.

Meanwhile, St. Pancras, also known as St. Pancratius of Rome, was a young man who lived through during yet another vicious moment of persecution against Christians, this time under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who was infamous for his particularly harsh persecution of all Christians. It was told that he was forced to offer sacrifices to the traditional Roman pagan gods, and he refused. The Emperor, impressed by St. Pancras’ bravery and courage, tried to persuade and coerce him through wealth and other means, to abandon his faith, but he would not be moved or persuaded. He remained faithful to the end and accepted his martyrdom with grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all follow the great examples of our predecessors in faith, and do whatever we can to proclaim the Lord and His truth by our faithful lives, at every moments and opportunities. Let us all be great inspiration and examples for one another in faith, and endeavour to bring even more people to the Lord and His salvation through our exemplary life. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

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, 12 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

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, 12 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

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, 5 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what we heard in our Scripture passages today are again reminders for us as Christians to be the active partakers of the mission of the Church in the mission to evangelise and reveal the truth of God to more people of all the nations. We are all members of God’s Church and we are all expected to bear His truth and light to more people throughout the world, following in the examples of the Apostles and the other holy saints, holy men and women of God. We have to proclaim the Lord in all of our words, actions and deeds throughout life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles the moment when St. Philip the Apostle encountered an Ethiopian official who was on his way home from Jerusalem. The official was reading the passage of the Scripture from the prophet Isaiah speaking about the Messiah, when St. Philip accompanied the official and explained the meaning of the Scriptures to him, and revealing that everything that he read in the Scriptures had been fulfilled in Christ, the One Whom God had sent into the world to save all mankind.

The Apostles had witnessed the Lord and His works, His many miracles and wonders, listened to His words and teachings, and they had also witnessed His suffering, death and resurrection from the dead. They had also received the gift of the Holy Spirit which strengthened them and gave them the courage to proclaim their faith in the Lord to all the people that they went to, and in the case of St. Philip, he proclaimed the Lord and all of His truth and works truthfully before the Ethiopian official, who therefore became convinced of everything he had heard, and that led him to desire to be baptised.

That was how the Apostles continued to reach out and touched the lives and hearts of those who came even from the distant, foreign lands, and from there, brought forth the truth of the Lord to more and more people. They revealed the truth about Christ, the Bread of Life, Who has delivered His truth into the world, just as we heard it and are reminded of by our Gospel passage today. Christ is the Bread of Life, the Son of God Who has laid down His life for us, obeying the will of His heavenly Father for our sake, so that by His suffering, death and resurrection, we may have new life and be reconciled with God.

In that Gospel passage, we heard the continuation of the account of the Lord speaking to the disciples and the other people on Him being the Bread of Life. The Lord Jesus referred to Himself as the Bread of Life to the consternation of the people listening to Him, as they must have been astounded hearing that He would give them all His own Body and Blood to eat and drink, and comparing what they would have against the bread of heaven that their ancestors once had, the manna, during the time of their Exodus out of Egypt and journey in the desert towards the Promised Land. He said clearly that those who partake of His Body and Blood will have eternal life.

And that was exactly what He would do later on, although the people who were listening to Him could not have realised or understood what He was going to do. The Lord gave to us all His Precious Body and Blood through the Eucharist, which He gave to us all through His Church and His Apostles. He completed His offering and sacrifice through His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross, and by His wounds and by His Body and Blood shared with us, we have been made partakers of His New and Eternal Covenant, sealed by His own Blood, and which He Himself offered as our Eternal High Priest.

Having seen and witnessed all these themselves, and having been empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s disciples hence gave their all to proclaim the salvation of God and His truth to more and more people they encountered, much as how St. Philip spoke the truth to the Ethiopian official, gaining yet another person to the Lord’s cause. It is then also our own duty and mission as Christians to be the propagator and missionaries of Christ’s truth and the love of God, all that He had done for our salvation in each and every opportunities that we have been given. Each and every one of us have this important mission to be disciples of Our Lord and His witnesses in our respective communities today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all follow the examples of the Apostles and the many other disciples of the Lord, the many holy men and women, the various saints and martyrs who had gone before us, and whose lives are truly inspiration for us to follow in how we ought to live our lives with faith and dedication to God. We are all called to serve the Lord and do our best to bring His truth upon this world today. We do not have to do great and amazing things, as even the smallest and simplest things we do will matter a lot in leading more and more souls towards the salvation in God. May God be with us and may He continue to help us living our lives with faith and as Christ-like as possible. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 May 2022 : 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.”