Wednesday

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Wednesday, 22 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of the wonderful love of God by which He will certainly protect us, provide for us and guide us down the right path in life. With God’s love and providence, He has provided for us the assurance of a new life and existence in Him, through none other than His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our first reading today, we heard of the efforts of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council in trying to silence the Apostles and the other followers of the Lord by arresting some among them and putting them into prison hoping that such a harsh and drastic measure would make the followers of Jesus scared and bullied into submission to the orders and demands of the Sanhedrin. They wanted to stop the teachings of Jesus from being spread any further in the community of the people of God.

But they were not successful in doing so because God was with those who were faithful and dedicated to Him. He watched over them and sent His Angels to free them from their bondage in prison. The Angels freed them and brought the Apostles out to safety, and obeying God’s will, those Apostles continued their ministry in the public by the Temple without fear, astounding all of those who thought that they had managed to contain those Apostles and the truth and teachings of Jesus.

And in the Gospel today, the Lord further reiterated this love and commitment He has for us all through that now famous words, ‘For God so loved the world, that He sent His only Begotten Son, that all who believe in Him may not perish, but have eternal life through Him.’ These words are what the Lord spoke to Nicodemus, as the affirmation of God’s infinite love for us, and which had manifested in reality and in the flesh in the very person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of all.

That God was willing to go to that extent of doing so much for us, giving us the best and the ultimate gift of His love through His Son, is a clear testimony of His enduring love and compassion for us. And it is not just that. Christ came into our world, but He even endured all of the punishments due for our sins, scorned, rejected and humiliated as He went through His Passion, and was lifted up high on the Cross to die for our sake. He endured it all, and gave us all the assurance of eternal life through that.

He has also promised His Apostles that He would send them the Holy Spirit, the Advocate to be their strength and guide even after He had departed from them on His Ascension. And indeed, the Holy Spirit of God came upon them all and gave them the strength and courage to carry out their difficult and challenging missions, and as we heard in our first reading today, the Lord’s assistance and providence for His faithful ones remained throughout, and He showed that He would always be with us all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to follow the Lord as how the Apostles had done, and are we willing and able to continue their works as they had shown us in their courage and commitment? The works of the Apostles, their missions and their efforts are still far from being done as the Church and the world today is ever more in need of God and His love, and it is now up to us all to continue the works that the Apostles had started, in bringing God’s truth and love, His light and hope to this troubled and darkened world.

And today, especially in these difficult times that we are facing, in many communities in our world, how are we going to be those beacons of light and hope showing many people who are suffering and in despair that God is still there for them all? Let us be a people filled with hope and the light of God, the Easter people, sharing the faith and hope of the Apostles, who had been guided and strengthened by God in all things. Let us all bring the Easter joy and hope to everyone, that all of us may endure these challenges together, and bring more and more people closer to God and His salvation. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 16-21

At that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through Him the world is to be saved.”

“Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God. This is how the Judgment is made : Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

“For whoever does wrong hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear that his deeds will be seen as evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light, so that it can be clearly seen that his works have been done in God.”

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Wednesday, 22 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

The Lord’s Angel encamps and patrols to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

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Wednesday, 22 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 17-26

The High Priest and all his supporters, that is the party of the Sadducees, became very jealous of the Apostles; so they arrested them and had them thrown into the public jail. But an Angel of the Lord opened the door of the prison during the night, brought them out, and said to them, “Go and stand in the Temple court and tell the people the whole of this living message.” Accordingly they entered the Temple at dawn and resumed their teaching.

When the High Priest and his supporters arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, that is the full Council of the elders of Israel. They sent word to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. But when the Temple guards arrived at the jail, they did not find them inside, so they returned with the news, “We found the prison securely locked and the prison guards at their post outside the gate, but when we opened the gate, we found no one inside.”

Upon hearing these words, the captain of the Temple guard and the high priests were baffled, wondering where all of this would end. Just then someone arrived with the report, “Look, those men whom you put in prison are standing in the Temple, teaching the people.” Then the captain went off with the guards and brought them back, but without any show of force, for fear of being stoned by the people.

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Wednesday, 15 April 2020 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the passages of the Scriptures in our readings today we are called to recall that hope which we have in God, as we have received the healing from God and have our lives renewed and rejuvenated through our faith. In our first reading we heard of the miraculous healing of a paralytic by the Apostles, while in the Gospel today we heard of the testimony of the two disciples of Jesus who saw the Lord on their way to Emmaus.

In that first reading passage, we heard how St. Peter and St. John performed one of their first miracles as the Apostles of the Lord, after the Lord had ascended into heaven and entrusted to them to continue the works which He had begun on earth. The crippled and paralytic man sat at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem, and used to beg for money and for mercy from the passersby. When the two Apostles passed by, the crippled man also asked them for money, but St. Peter told him that he had nothing on him except what had been given to him, the power and authority to heal him in the Name of Jesus.

St. Peter showed the crippled man that the Lord has the power to heal him and make him whole, and by His power, the man was restored to health to the amazement of everyone who had seen the miracle, as everyone knew that the man had been a cripple for many years. And this was a great proof to all that the works of Christ had not ended with His crucifixion and death, but in fact was just beginning as He sent forth His disciples to all the ends of the earth to proclaim His truth.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the passage about the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus, and they had been disheartened and made uncertain by the loss of their Master, Jesus Who was sentenced to death, crucified and died on the Cross. They found it hard to believe when the other disciples said that the Lord had risen from the dead and how others had seen Him appearing before them in His Risen glory.

That was exactly when the Lord Himself appeared before them to strengthen their faith and to make them into even better witnesses of His resurrection and truth. They did not recognise Him at first, and He used the opportunity to strengthen their faith by explaining the Scriptures and reassuring them how everything had taken place just as the prophets had foretold it, and how the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah Whom they had been long waiting for.

The moment their eyes were opened and they realised how it was Jesus Who had been with them all those while, they immediately ran back to Jerusalem in joy to share the good news to all the other disciples, testifying yet again how the Lord had indeed risen and how He has appeared before all as proof that He had indeed been triumphant and conquered sin and death. All of these were why the Apostles and the disciples were so passionate about serving the Lord and proclaiming His truth to the nations, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, that many of them suffered and died in martyrdom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us must have this same passion and excitement inside us to be the bearers of God’s truth and the witnesses of His resurrection. This same truth and revelation had been passed down to us through the Church, through the hands and works of many throughout the centuries and millennia who had suffered and endured persecutions to stand up for their faith and for what they believed in, that is the faith in the Risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called and reminded of our duties as Christians to bring the light of Christ into this world. At this time when the world is facing so many problems and when it is engulfed in so much darkness and despair, we are all here to bring light into this world, to bring and deliver the light of Christ and the hope in Him, to brighten the lives of many and to restore many more people to hope and to happiness through our faith and devotion to the Lord.

Are we able and willing to be that bearer of light and hope in our communities? This is why we are called to turn our gaze to God and be full of trust in Him, so that everyone who see us and witness our words and actions may also find hope through us. Let us all behave and act in ways that restore hope to those who are suffering, the downtrodden and those who are despairing. Let us tell them all that we still have hope in God, and if we put our trust in Him, we will definitely not be disappointed.

May the Lord give us the courage and the strength to carry on living with more hope and with greater faith and devotion from now on. May God be with us always and may He guide us through our lives that we may bring forth this joy of Easter of our Lord’s glorious resurrection to our fellow brothers and sisters in need. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 April 2020 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 24 : 13-35

At that time, on the same day Jesus rose from the dead, two followers of Jesus were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem, and they talked about what had happened. While they were talking and arguing about what had happened, Jesus came up and walked with them. But their eyes were not able to recognise Him.

He asked, “What is it you are talking about?” The two stood still, looking sad. Then the one named Cleophas answered, “Why, it seems You are the only traveller to Jerusalem who does not know what haw happened there these past few days.” And He asked, “What is it?”

They replied, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a Prophet, You know, mighty in word and deed before God and the people. But the chief priests and our rulers sentenced Him to death. They handed Him over to be crucified. We had hoped that He would redeem Israel. It is now the third day since all this took place.”

“It is also true that some women of our group have disturbed us. When they went to the tomb at dawn, they did not find His Body; and they came and told us that they had had a vision of Angels, who said that Jesus was alive. Some of our people went to the tomb and found everything just as the women had said, but they did not find a Body in the tomb.”

He said to them, “How dull you are, how slow of understanding! Is the message of the prophets too difficult for you to understand? Is it not written that the Christ should suffer all this, and then enter His glory?” Then starting with Moses, and going through the prophets, He explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning Himself.

As they drew near the village they were heading for, Jesus made as if to go farther. But they prevailed upon Him, “Stay with us, for night comes quickly. The day is now almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. When they were at table, He took the bread, said a blessing, broke it, and gave each a piece.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised Him; but He vanished out of their sight. And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts filled with ardent yearning when He was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?” They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem.

There they found the Eleven and their companions gathered together. They were greeted by these words : “Yes, it is true, the Lord is risen! He has appeared to Simon!” Then the two told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them.

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Wednesday, 15 April 2020 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 104 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds.

Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

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Wednesday, 15 April 2020 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 3 : 1-10

Once when Peter and John were going up to the Temple at three in the afternoon, the hour for prayer, a man crippled from birth was being carried in. Every day they would bring him and put him at the Temple gate called “Beautiful”; there he begged from those who entered the Temple.

When he saw Peter and John on their way into the Temple, he asked for alms. Then Peter with John at his side looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” So he looked at them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give you : In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, walk!”

Then he took the beggar by his right hand and helped him up. At once his feet and ankles became firm, and jumping up he stood on his feet and began to walk. And he went with them into the Temple walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God; they recognised him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were all astonished and amazed at what had happened to him.

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Wednesday, 8 April 2020 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, traditionally as indicated in the Gospel passage of the day, the Church remembers the moment when Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, went to the Temple to collude with the elders and the chief priests that he might betray and hand Him over to them. It was at this moment which Judas Iscariot received the thirty pieces of silver in exchange for his betrayal of the Lord, as we are preparing ourselves heart and mind for the coming of the Easter Triduum.

As prophesied in the Book of the prophet Isaiah, part of which is our first reading today, the Lord had to suffer, that He as the Saviour of the world had to go through much pain and great difficulties because of His commitment to bring to us His salvation and grace. The prophet Isaiah spoke of this suffering Servant of God, to Whom the Lord would give all the punishments and sufferings due for us, that He might suffer them all instead of us. And yet, He would neither protest or grumble against this, as it was by His own desire and will that He had taken up His Cross and suffer for our sake.

But through these events which we commemorate during this Holy Week and the upcoming Easter Triduum, we are called to reflect on the wonderful love by which God had redeemed us and liberated us from the certainty of death and sin. God has willingly endured the worst of indignities and humiliations, to be treated like a servant and slave, and even less than a human being, as He was arrested, treated with such terrible and harsh treatment from all those who persecuted Him, sent to the Romans to be sentenced to death on the Cross.

The Lord has endured all of these for us because He genuinely loves us all. As St. Paul said, that no one would be willing to suffer and die for another person, unless that person is indeed very virtuous and good, and perhaps if that person is truly beloved and dear to us. And even in that case, many of us are likely to think twice, thrice if not more, before we commit ourselves in such a total manner, in giving of ourselves to the other person. Yet, this is what the Lord had done for each and every one of us, even when we are still sinners and still disobedient and wicked in His sight.

And that is just how wonderful God’s love for us is, how magnanimous He has been to us, and how generous and compassionate He is in His merciful ways, that He is willing to forgive us our sins and in fact He wants to be reconciled with us through that forgiveness. But forgiveness and reconciliation cannot truly happen without that commitment and desire from us to seek reconciliation and forgiveness for our sins and shortcomings.

We also have to realise that for every sins we have committed, we are no better than Judas Iscariot who had betrayed the Lord for the gain of money and for his own selfish purposes. The devil tempted him just as he had tempted us with various temptations, and we have fallen just as Judas had fallen into sin. When we sin, no matter whether that sin be great or small, we are still betraying the Lord for our own various selfish desires and wants in life. We should therefore spend some time thinking about all these as we are about to enter into the great mystery of the Easter Triduum beginning tomorrow.

Now, as we are also currently still struggling from the terrible worldwide pandemic that is still causing many deaths and many more people to suffer everywhere in the world, perhaps it is indeed the best time for us to focus our attention away from all the fears, uncertainties and darkness present all around us now, and focus our attention instead on God and His light. There is hope for us in God, and if we put our trust and hope in Him rather than in any human and worldly solace, we will surely gain consolation and strength amidst this difficult time.

And as Christians, we are all called to be more Christ-like in our lives, in how we live our lives from now on and especially during these difficult moments. Rather than being selfish as how Judas Iscariot had been selfish, causing hurt and sufferings to others by our own attitudes and behaviours, let us instead show love, care and compassion to our fellow brethren. If we see someone around us who is in need of love and hope, let us bring these to him or her.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all enter into the glorious Easter Triduum with a new heart of love, and with a renewed faith in Our Lord and Saviour. Let us all devote more of our time and focus on Him our attention, placing our hope in Him in the midst of these dark and uncertain times. Let us be the bearers of His light in our world, that we may brighten the lives of others who are struggling, sorrowful and are in difficulties. Let us empathise with them and share with them God’s generous love, which He has so generously poured onto us, by His sacrifice on the Cross. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 April 2020 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 26 : 14-25

Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “How much will you give me if I hand Him over to you?” They promised to give him thirty pieces of silver, and from then on, he kept looking for the best way to hand Jesus over to them.

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?” Jesus answered, “Go into the city, to the house of a certain man, and tell him, ‘The Master says : My hour is near, and I will celebrate the Passover with My disciples in your house.'”

The disciples did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, Jesus sat at table with the Twelve. While they were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you : one of you will betray Me.” They were deeply distressed, and they asked Him, one after the other, “You do not mean me, do You, Lord?”

He answered, “The one who dips his bread with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man is going as the Scripture says He will. But alas for that one who betrays the Son of Man : better for him not to have been born.” Judas, who was betraying Him, also asked, “You do not mean me, Master, do You?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”