Wednesday

by

Wednesday, 18 May 2022 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 15 : 1-6

Some persons who had come from Judea to Antioch were teaching the brothers in this way, “Unless you are circumcised according to the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Because of this there was trouble, and Paul and Barnabas had fierce arguments with them. For Paul told the people to remain as they were when they became believers. Finally those who had come from Jerusalem suggested that Paul and Barnabas and some others go up to Jerusalem to discuss the matter with the Apostles and elders.

They were sent on their way by the Church. As they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they reported how the non-Jews had turned to God, and there was great joy among all the brothers and sisters. On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Church, the Apostles and the elders, to whom they told all that God had done through them.

Some believers, however, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, stood up and said that non-Jewish men must be circumcised and instructed to keep the law of Moses. So the Apostles and elders met together to consider the matter.

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded of the mission entrusted to us by God, the mission to evangelise and proclaim the word of God in our respective communities, in our lives and to all those whom we encounter in life, that we may faithfully proclaim our Lord, His truth and love in our best ability, dedicating our time and effort to reach out to those who have not yet known or understood the salvation that God has presented before us. Each and every one of us share the same mission that God has entrusted to His Church, and as the members of the Church, we are charged with the works that God had made us sharers in.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we are all presented with the works that St. Paul and St. Barnabas did among the people of God, and their missionary efforts and works, as they were entrusted by the Twelve Apostles and leaders of the Church with the mission of evangelisation, building up the Church communities all across the Mediterranean. The Twelve Apostles laid their hands on both St. Paul and St. Barnabas, praying over them and granting them the guidance of the Holy Spirit, entrusting to them the ministry of preaching and spreading the Good News to the people who have not yet heard of the Lord.

They were sent to continue the good works of the Lord, much as how the Lord Himself had been sent into this world and entrusted with the mission to reconcile the whole world and all mankind to their loving Father. In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Himself speaking of this mission which He has embarked on, as He was sent by His Father to reveal the truth and love of God to everyone. God has given us His Son, that He will become our Saviour and lead us to the eternal life and true happiness that He has promised all those who believed in Him and placed their trust in Him.

The Lord Jesus reiterated again that He was sent into this world to call all the lost sheep of the Lord, all those who have sinned, which is all of us mankind, and have been separated from God, to bring us back to His loving embrace and to reunite us with Him by His infinite and enduring love. He has willingly embraced us all sinners, that by His compassion, mercy and love, all of us may find our way back to Him, and be saved from our fated destruction. For God’s love for each one of us surpasses even the anger He has for our sins and wickedness. But we cannot remain in that sin as if we remain in the state of sin, we will eventually be judged for those sins and be found wanting and unworthy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians all of us are called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, like what St. Paul and St. Barnabas had done in the past, in doing their best and committing their whole lives glorifying the Lord and proclaiming His truth among the people of God. They showed many people the truth of the Lord and called on many to follow the Lord, and many became believers because of what they had done, the love and concern that they had shown to the people longing for the truth, the patience that they showed and the kindness they exhibited even against those who have rejected their message and persecuted them for their faith.

It is these faithful Apostles and disciples whom we ought to emulate in our own lives and actions. All of us are called to be God’s missionaries in every possible opportunity, to be the bearers and beacons of His light to the people of all the nations. And we should not think that missionaries are only limited to those who dedicated themselves as missionaries, in serving the people and in proclaiming the faith in far-off and distant lands. While there are indeed those who have been called and responded with the willingness to do such a vocation in life, but each and every Christians also share the same mission through the Church which I had mentioned earlier.

Each one of us as Christians share this same responsibility to be good role models for each other, so that we may inspire others around us, our own fellow brothers and sisters, to walk in the same path that we have walked and therefore become God’s followers as well. The Apostles, saints and martyrs had done that, and we therefore should commit ourselves to this same mission that God had given us. We ought to do our best, even in the smallest and simplest matters, to be exemplary in our words, actions and deeds so that others who see us and witness our works and actions may be touched by God through us, and may become believers as well.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey of faith, and may He empower each one of us to be committed disciples and followers, to be good Christians by our good and faithful lives. May more and more people and souls be called ever closer to God from now on, always and evermore, following in the leadership and guidance from our Good Shepherd. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 12 : 44-50

At that time, yet Jesus had said, and even cried out, “Whoever believes in Me, believes not in Me, but in Him Who sent Me. And whoever sees Me, sees Him Who sent Me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness.”

“If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I am not the One to condemn him; for I have come, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me, and does not receive My word, already has a judge : the very word I have spoken will condemn him on the last day.”

“For I have not spoken on My own authority; the Father, Who sent Me, has instructed Me in what to say and how to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life, and that is why the message I give, I give as the Father instructed Me.”

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 6 and 8

May God be gracious and bless us, may He let His face shine upon us, that Your way be known on earth and Your salvation among the nations.

May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with justice and guide the nations of the world.

May the people praise You, o God, may all the peoples praise You! May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

by

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 12 : 24 – Acts 13 : 5a

Meanwhile the word of God was increasing and spreading. Barnabas and Saul carried out their mission and then came back to Jerusalem, taking with them John also called Mark.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul.

On one occasion while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.” So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

These then, sent by the Holy Spirit, went down the port of Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. Upon their arrival in Salamis they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogue.

by

Wednesday, 4 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the Easter season and listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded of the works of the Apostles who ministered to the people of God, proclaiming the Gospels and the word of God’s truth and salvation to them, caring for their sick and many more, building up the Church community and sharing in the Eucharist, the same Bread of Life that is Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Who had commissioned the Apostles and His Church to go forth to the nations and proclaim His Good News and truth to them.

In our first reading, as mentioned, from the Acts of the Apostles we heard how the despite the persecution that the Church began to face from the Jewish authorities and its other opponents, especially after the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, the Apostles despite being scattered all over Judea and in other places, tried their best to continue the works of God, ministering to the people of God, proclaiming the truth and salvation in Jesus Christ, and despite the hardships and trials they had to endure, the early Christian communities continued to grow and flourish, spreading even beyond the lands of Judea, Samaria and Galilee.

This had to be credited to the hard work and labour of the Apostles, who went through the land, with the other disciples of the Lord, evangelising to those who have not yet heard about the Lord and His actions, His teachings and truths. Often times they had to do things in secret, hiding from the persecution of the authorities, which chronologically at that time was intensifying and led by Saul, one of the young Pharisees who zealously persecuted the faithful people of God, before later on he himself would be converted to be the Lord’s disciples as St. Paul the Apostle. Regardless of the hardships, the Church continued to grow and flourish.

The Apostles and disciples of the Lord continued to work for the greater glory of God, to speak about Him, the One Whom in our Gospel passage today referred to Himself as the Bread of Life. They had seen the Lord Himself, Who at that time referred to Himself as the Bread of Life and said that He would give them His own flesh to eat and His own Blood for them to drink. They would not have understood it yet at that time, but later on, they would witness the Passion, the suffering and death of the same Lord, Who offered Himself on the Cross as the perfect and worthy offering and sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.

The Apostles witnessed the Lord’s sacrifice and death, and how at the Last Supper He gave Himself to His disciples, which meaning again eluded them until they saw His suffering and death, and eventually after the Holy Spirit came to them, giving them the wisdom and strength, the understanding and knowledge to know what the Lord had done for His people, in offering Himself and sharing in His Body and Blood with us all that we may share in the eternal life He has promised us, that in His own words He Himself had said that those who eat of His flesh and drink His Blood will not perish, but have eternal life.

Through Him, and the gift of the Eucharist to the Apostles, the Lord had made all of us partakers of His Covenant and the members of His Church. The Apostles proclaimed the Lord to the people who have not yet seen or heard of Him so that they too may become part of the ever growing Church of God and find their way to His salvation and eternal life, by their faith and trust in the same Lord Jesus, the Bread of Life and Lamb of God, Who had given Himself for the life of all mankind, for the salvation and liberation of all the beloved children of God from the tyranny of sin and death.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, we ourselves are part of this Church of God, and we share in the same mission that the Lord had entrusted to His Apostles and disciples. The Lord has called us all to be His missionaries, to be His witnesses and be the ones to proclaim His truth to all the nations. If we are all wanting to be better disciples of the Lord, then we should also proclaim the Lord, the Bread of Life and the Saviour of all to whoever it is that we encounter in life. And lest we think that we are incapable of doing so, the Lord calls us to do whatever we can, in our own capacity and within the opportunities that He had presented to us.

Are we willing then to commit our time and effort to walk in the path trodden by the Apostles? Are we willing and able to dedicate ourselves to the service of God and do our best to glorify the Lord by our very own lives and actions? Let us all be sources of inspiration for one another so that by our lives we may inspire more and more people to come to believe in God because they can see the love and truth of God through us and our exemplary way of life. May God bless us all and our efforts and actions, now and always. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 4 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 35-40

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me shall never be thirsty. Nevertheless, as I said, you refuse to believe, even when you have seen. Yet all those whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me, I shall not turn away. For I have come from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the One Who sent Me.”

“And the will of Him Who sent Me is that I lose nothing of what He has given Me, but instead that I raise it up on the last day. This is the will of the Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in Him shall live eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

by

Wednesday, 4 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 65 : 1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a

Shout with joy to God, all you on earth; sing to the glory of His Name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God, “How great are Your deeds!”

All the earth bows down to You, making music, in praise of You, singing in honour of Your Name. Come, and see God’s wonders; His deeds, awesome for humans.

He has turned the sea into dry land, and the river was crossed on foot. Let us, therefore, rejoice in Him. He rules by His might forever.

by

Wednesday, 4 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 8 : 1b-8

This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. All, except the Apostles, were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church. He entered house after house and dragged off men and women, and had them put in jail.

At the same time, those who were scattered went about, preaching the word. Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him, and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For, in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralysed or crippled, were healed. So there was great joy in the town.

by

Wednesday, 27 April 2022 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we continue to progress through the season of Easter, we are constantly reminded again of the Risen Lord, Whose coming into this world has revealed God’s most amazing love for us, and Whose death and resurrection had broken the chains of sin and death that had once enslaved and held us. And in being the followers of the Lord, as Christians, we are likely going to face challenges, trials and oppressions for our faith in Him. As Christians we may have to endure the same sufferings that the disciples and Apostles had suffered for their faith in God.

In our first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of how the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council were angered by the actions of the Apostles, and the many other disciples of the Lord who had continued to carry on His works, proclaimed His truth and love among the people, many of whom were convinced and witnessed the miracles they had performed. The Sanhedrin were fearful of the Apostles and the Lord’s continuing influence, that despite their successful efforts in condemning the Lord Jesus to death by the Romans on the Cross, instead that had invigorated the Lord’s followers all the more.

Hence, we heard how the Sanhedrin attempted to crush the early Church as much as possible by arresting the Apostles and the other disciples. However, the Lord was with His servants and His beloved ones, and He protected them, sending them His Angels to rescue them from their prison, breaking free their chains. And the Lord told His disciples to continue their work, to proclaim His truth and love among the people of God, and not fearing the attempts of those who tried to dissuade or force them to abandon their missions and works. Hence, those same disciples of the Lord continued to preach the Good News of God’s salvation fearlessly, and saved numerous more people.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus that He spoke to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who was quite sympathetic to Him and His teachings. Nicodemus had come at night to ask the Lord and to discuss matters with Him, and the Lord revealed to him many things about Himself, and most importantly, the truth that He is indeed the Son of God, and this same, only begotten Son of God has been sent to us, to be with us and to show us the amazing love of God. The Lord loved His people so much that He would be willing to endure the toughest challenges and trials for our sake, in order to call us back into the Light.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Our Lord and Saviour had done all these because He does not want us to fall into eternal damnation and be lost from Him forever. And hence, He has given us the means to leave behind our past, sinful existence and enter into the new existence in His light and truth. Through Him and His teachings, He has called on all of us to return to the path of justice and righteousness, abandoning our rebellious and wicked attitudes, obeying once again the Law and the Commandments of God wholeheartedly as we should have done.

And He also pointed out that those who believe in Him shall walk in the path of the Light, doing what is right and just before God. He has presented to us the path of righteousness, the path of light that all of us the children of God should follow faithfully. If we call ourselves as Christians and consider ourselves as the followers of Christ, then naturally we should have followed Him and His path instead of following our own flawed path and ways. Unfortunately, more often than not, in reality, many of us Christians had not walked in the right path, and many of us do not act and do things according to what our faith dictates.

That is why many of us are still like hypocrites in our way of living our faith. Many of us are lukewarm and not serious at all in living our lives in accordance with God’s will. Too often we are more concerned with our own worldly pursuits and desires than listening to God and His words of truth. In the way we live our lives, many of us even bring scandal to our faith, making people to find it difficult to believe in God because it is we Christians who in fact live our lives in ways worse than what other, non-Christians are doing. Then, how can we be inspiration for them to follow? How can we evangelise to them if we ourselves have not sorted out our own actions and way of life?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are being reminded again today to put our faith in the Risen Lord and to follow Him wholeheartedly. We should no longer allow worldly desires, temptations, or any fears and doubts to prevent us from doing what has been expected of us as Christians. Let us all henceforth commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and strive to do our best in our respective way of life so that we may be good examples and inspiration for many others that they too may come to believe in God through us, just as how the Apostles and the countless saints and martyrs had inspired us.

May God be with us always and may He continue to guide us through life, bless our actions and our dealings, all of our good efforts and works. May He empower and strengthen us to do His will faithfully, at all times and in every place we are at. May our Risen Lord be ever glorified through us. Amen.