Wednesday

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Wednesday, 15 April 2015 : 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, 15 April 2015 : 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, 8 April 2015 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to rejoice in the Easter season and through this octave or eight days of great joy for our Lord’s resurrection and triumph, we heard about the story of how Peter and John, our Lord’s Apostles, who healed the beggar who could not walk at the Temple, at the Name of Jesus. The beggar could walk again and the people were astonished.

And in the Gospel reading, we heard about the disciples of Jesus who encountered the Risen Lord on their way from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. They started with heavy heart, uncertainty and sorrow, when they left Jerusalem, bereft and without hope, having witnessed their supposed Lord and Saviour rejected by the people, condemned and died a criminal’s death on the cross.

But Jesus came into their midst and even though they did not realise it at first, and even though they did not recognise Him at first, and He healed the problems of their heart. He lifted up their spirit and encouraged them at heart with the words of the Scriptures made clear through His own words and teaching. It was like the moment when the veil of great darkness was torn apart and light gushes forth like a torrent, the moment of truth and hope which all of them had been waiting for.

And thus, this is also the essence of our celebration of this Easter. Easter is not just about rejoicing, partying and merrymaking without clear reason why we do so. Easter is truly about the moment of truth, where all lies and darkness fail, and the truth of our Lord’s salvation and love for us was made real through Jesus. This is the true joy, knowing that our Lord cares for us greatly, and He will not let us to fall into damnation, unless it is we ourselves who purposefully look for it.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we heard today in the Scriptures are proofs of God’s love for us, and the healing He wanted to bring to all of us, the healing of the body, mind and spirit. And the most important of which is the healing of the spirit, and of the soul. For while external and physical afflictions and diseases may cause great discomfort and pain, they do not last forever, and there will indeed be a time when we all shall be free of those, but the effects of the illness and sickness of the soul, shall last forever if we are not vigilant.

The sickness of the soul is sin, and sin is a taint upon our otherwise immaculate soul. The pure and clean soul had been dirtied by the presence of sin, through our greed and human desires, through our pride and selfishness, and through the many acts we had committed which were not in accordance to the will and to the teachings of the Lord. These things distanced ourselves from God, and in time, they will bring about condemnation for us.

And that is why, all of us should realise that we still have the chance and opportunities given to us by the Lord, to change our ways and repent. If we accept fully His Laws and commandments, and committing ourselves to reject all forms of sin and wickedness, in our daily life and actions, then truly, we have hope. It is therefore, a reminder to all of us this Easter season, that we ought to conquer sin and wickedness in this time of grace, just as Christ had conquered death itself.

Let us take up this opportunity to renew and strengthen our faith to the Lord, and let us make real the renewal of our baptismal promises which we have just made on the Easter Sunday. Let us not be afraid anymore, or be uncertain in any way, for indeed our Lord had triumphed, and He shall bring us all healing and succour. Just as through His Name the beggar was healed, and just as the two disciples on their way to Emmaus were strengthened and healed in spirit, we too will receive the same healing and grace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 April 2015 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 24 : 13-35

That same day, 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 has 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, 8 April 2015 : 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, 8 April 2015 : 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, 1 April 2015 : Wednesday of the Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented with simple, clear and undeniable fact of how we are so weak so as to be corrupted by sin, to the point of even betraying our Lord, who had endeavoured to love us and to carry us out from the pit of darkness and back into the light. What Judas had done, is also what we have often done in our own lives, albeit one that is of lesser severity, but yet all the same in nature.

As we draw ever closer to the celebration of the Easter Triduum, of our Lord’s Passion and death, and also His resurrection from the dead, all of us should be jolted and be awakened from our slumber, from our apathy and ignorance. Many of us today live as if we do not care what has happened to us, and especially what our Lord had done for us two millennia ago.

It is the time now for us to realise that our Lord had done so much for us, for the simple reason that He does not wish for us to be lost forever in the darkness. He desires for all of us to receive His grace and goodness, and He wants us all to be changed for the better. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is why Jesus came into the world, and why He came into our lives.

He did not come to gloat over our sins and our faults, and neither did He come to expect our praise and glorification. Instead, He came into this world, fully knowing that He would suffer and be rejected by the world and by His own people, betrayed by His own disciple, loathed and cursed by the same ones who adored and glorified Him when He entered into Jerusalem in triumph, and to be crucified like a sinner with thieves and criminals.

Such was the great price that our Lord has paid in order to deliver us from sin and from the domination of the evil one. In Him lies our salvation, and in Him lies our only hope. Without Him, then our lives would be meaningless, for no matter whatever we do in this life, we know that because of our sins, we are forever separated from God, as it had been in the days of Adam, when our first ancestors were cast out of Eden, out of God’s presence because of their sins.

Jesus had become our Bridge, the one and only bridge linking us back to God our Lord and Father. It is because of Him that we have hope once again, because He allowed us the chance to return to our Father, with repentance and humility, knowing that we are sinners and yet we have been given the great grace of God, forgiven from our sins and welcomed with open hands to return once again to His embrace.

What more can we ask from Him? He has given us so much, and yet it is so often that we do not show gratitude for the care and love which He had given us. We are often so indignant in our ways and ungrateful, that this is why we remain in sin. It is important that as we prepare to enter into the celebration of the most important aspect of our faith, we have to be ready for it.

What can we do? We can begin from small things and take small steps, from something as simple as changing our bad habits in life. If we once often loathed against our brethren and said bad things to them, or if we have done injustice to our brethren and slandered against them, then I say that we take the chance and put in a lot of effort to change our ways.

I am certain that if we do so, slowly we will grow stronger in God’s grace, and as long as we are sincere in our desire to serve the Lord and to walk in His ways, we will triumph. May Almighty God keep us in His ways, and may He enlighten us all and show us the path to redemption, so that we may no longer be lost in the darkness but return to the light. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 1 April 2015 : Wednesday of the Holy Week (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 26 : 14-25

At that time, 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 Scriptures say 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.”

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Wednesday, 1 April 2015 : Wednesday of the Holy Week (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 68 : 8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34

Since I am held in contempt for Your sake, and shame has covered My face. I have become a stranger to My kindred, an alien to My mother’s sons. Zeal for Your house consumes Me as fire and those who insult You insult Me as well.

Dishonour has driven Me to despair; I looked for sympathy and there was none, for comforters and there was none. They gave Me poison for food and vinegar to drink.

I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving. Let the lowly witness this and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise those in captivity.

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Wednesday, 1 April 2015 : Wednesday of the Holy Week (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 50 : 4-9a

The Lord YHVH has taught Me so I speak as His disciple and I know how to sustain the weary. Morning after morning He wakes Me up to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord YHVH has opened My ear. I have not rebelled, nor have I withdrawn.

I offer My back to those who strike Me, My cheeks to those who pulled My beard; neither did I shield My face from blows, spittle and disgrace. I have not despaired, for the Lord YHVH comes to My help. So, like a flint I set My face, knowing that I will not be disgraced.

He who avenges Me is near. Who then will accuse Me? Let us confront each other. Who is now My accuser? Let him approach. If the Lord YHVH is My help, who will condemn Me?