For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
3 Apr 2016 – 2nd Sunday of Easter Year C
4 Apr 2016 – The Annunciation of the Lord – Solemnity
5 Apr 2016 – Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Easter
6 Apr 2016 – Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Easter
7 Apr 2016 – Thursday of the 2nd Week of Easter
8 Apr 2016 – Friday of the 2nd Week of Easter
What does Easter really mean to each of us? Is Easter meant to be experienced in an individualistic manner, or in a communitarian manner? Are we Christians only for ourselves, or are we Christians witnessing to all in a community? Today’s readings gives us an indication of how important it is for us to be an Easter people as a community.
In today’s Gospel, we come across the story of Thomas, one of the twelve apostles. When Jesus appeared to the apostles, Thomas was not there. The Gospel does not tell us why he was not there, but we could later get some glimpses of what was happening among the community of believers. The death of Jesus had effected each of the apostles in a different way. Perhaps in the case of Thomas, the death of Jesus caused him to have disillusionment or doubts about the community, since it was one among them who had betrayed Jesus, and many of them had run away when Jesus was arrested. So when Thomas insisted on seeing proofs of Jesus’ resurrection, he did not doubt Jesus nor the fact that he may have risen. He doubted the words of his brothers, the Christian community. A week later, when Thomas was with the others, Jesus appeared and revealed himself to Thomas and to the others in the community. This time, Thomas realised that his brothers were speaking the truth about Jesus, and he said: “My Lord and my God!”
Believing in God and in Jesus isn’t that difficult for most of us. But believing in the community is different matter altogether. We often see the sinfulness, the hypocrisy and the weaknesses of others in the community, and question whether God is really present in such a community. This causes many us to stay away from Church activities because we feel scandalised by the conduct and behaviour of certain persons in the community. But the point is, no community is perfect. The Church is made up of sinners, like you and I. It is in this broken and sinful community, that Jesus continues to be present, guiding us and helping us along the way. But how can we tell that Jesus is in this community and recognise His presence in the Church? Our physical eyes deceive us as they only focus our attention on the weaknesses and sinfulness of others. We must see with the eyes of faith, as Jesus tells us: “Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Today, let us not doubt or feel disillusioned any longer. Let us look at Jesus as our hope and guide, knowing that no matter how difficult or challenging the community we are in may seem, we have confidence and trust that Jesus would be there to help us. May we do our part and be patient and persistent in our efforts to help our Christian community to grow, for the glory of God.
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
27 Mar 2016 – Easter Sunday
28 Mar 2016 – Easter Monday
29 Mar 2016 – Easter Tuesday
30 Mar 2016 – Easter Wednesday
31 Mar 2016 – Easter Thursday
1 Apr 2016 – Easter Friday
Two children were presented with a pile of dung in front of them. One child said, “Oh dear! What a mess. Surely there cannot be a horse in there? How would the horse be able to withstand such a mess?” The other child began to look through the pile of dung with much enthusiasm, and when asked what he was doing, he excitedly said, “If there is a pile of dung, there must be a horse in there somewhere!” When you look at these two children, do you see what is missing, or do you see what is there or potentially there?
In today’s Gospel, we come across the story of Peter and the other disciple, the one loved by Jesus, running to the tomb. Both entered the tomb, but had entirely different experiences. Peter enters and sees that the body of Jesus is missing. He begins to worry and wonder what has happened to Jesus’ body. By doing so, he misses the point by focusing on what is missing, since the empty tomb is actually a sign that Jesus has risen from the dead as He has promised. On the other hand, the other disciple enters the tomb and “he saw and he believed.” The other disciple recognised the significance of the empty tomb, that is, it is not a sign of a missing Jesus, but a sign of Christ’s presence, as Christ has risen and is now present to all again.
Today, we are invited to put on the eyes of faith like the other disciple who “saw and believed.” We may face all sorts of problems, struggles and difficulties, but God is not absent but present to help and guide us. We must not look for Jesus among the dead but among the living. We must not remain at the empty tomb and waste our efforts looking at it, since Jesus Christ has risen! He is pointing the way out of the empty tomb and pointing us the way to new life. Let us give thanks to God and enthusiastically share this message of hope to all, that Jesus has risen!
Posted in Easter Triduum, Easter Vigil, Good Friday, Holy Week, Housekeeping, Maundy Thursday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
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For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
20 Mar 2016 – Palm Sunday
21 Mar 2016 – Monday of Holy Week
22 Mar 2016 – Tuesday of Holy Week
23 Mar 2016 – Wednesday of Holy Week
24 Mar 2016 – Maundy (Holy) Thursday
25 Mar 2016 – Good Friday
26 Mar 2016 – Easter Vigil
At the beginning of every Easter Vigil, we are plunged into darkness. The darkness seems overwhelming. But soon, the darkness is defeated by the light of candles. Starting with one candle, the Paschal candle, the church is slowly illuminated by a sea of candles. Jesus is that single candle that gave the world a new vision and a new hope. Jesus reminds us that we no longer need be slaves of the darkness and that we no longer need be afraid of the dark. Jesus, the Light of the World, has come and defeated the darkness of sin and death.
In the readings, we begin with the creation story, where we see how God brings order to chaos. In our lives, we too may be experiencing chaos, but God brings order and harmony to our lives, if we submit ourselves to him. We then see how God leads His people from slavery in Egypt to freedom. We are reminded of how we too have passed through the waters of liberation through the waters of baptism. We have been set free from the power of sin, and are no longer slaves to sin unless we choose to remain as slaves. Some think that they are powerless when faced with their sinfulness, but God reminds us that we are no longer slaves. We are free because Christ’s resurrection has set us free. So, shouldn’t we begin to live as free men and women?
In every Easter Vigil, we are also reminded that death is not the end of life but the beginning of eternal life. Jesus has risen and has conquered death. Through Jesus we too can conquer death. Death no longer has a hold on us and we do not have to be afraid of death any longer. We are an Easter People and we should proclaim this great message of hope and joy. The light has overcome the darkness; order has overtaken chaos; freedom has triumphed over slavery; and eternal life is victorious over death. Let us no longer live lives as if there is no hope, since our hope is in the risen Lord, and let us share this message that “The Lord is risen” to all around us.
When we are facing good times, do we ever think about God? Some people seem to have forgotten about God in the midst of good times, happy times, or when they have attained something and are caught up with the festivities and celebrations. But when we are faced with disaster or tragedy, some would begin to question: “Why did this happen?” or “How could God allow this evil to take place?” or even “Where is God? Why is He not helping now?” Some may even begin to lose faith in God, thinking that God has abandoned them or is not going to help them come out of their predicament. But isn’t it strange? Some of us don’t give thanks to God when good things occur, but we begin to complain or blame God when bad things happen.
Today we celebrate Good Friday, where God gives us an answer to our complaints about human suffering and pain. Here is God who chose to be like us as Jesus Christ; who walked in our shoes, who shares our joys and sorrows and experiences our pain and suffering. Here lies the creator of the universe; now on the cross, He lies dead, crucified by our own sinfulness, our indifference, our ambitions, our greed, and our selfishness. God is with us not only when we are good, but also with us in our sinfulness even though He has no sin.
Sometimes, we hear parents telling their children: “I will love you if you are good.” or “If you are naughty, I will not love you.” Such children begin to think that their parents love them only if they are good, and that love is conditional and a reward for goodness, and that love needs to be earned. But God shows us that love is given to both saint and sinner. God loves us even while we were still sinners. The cross is proof of this. The cross is the symbol of God’s unconditional love, since Jesus died on the cross for all, not only for those who are good.
Today, let us give thanks to God for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save us from our sins, because of His immense love for us. Let us also set aside our pride, ego and prejudice, and learn to love others unconditionally, just as God loves us unconditionally.
Most of us (hopefully) would know that the Mass is divided into two essential parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. If you have been paying attention during Mass, you would have observed that during the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest says the words: “He took bread and gave you thanks. He broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples …” These words reflect Jesus’ whole life and ministry: “He took bread”, “gave thanks,” “He broke the bread” and “gave it to His disciples…”
From these words, we can learn some important points. Firstly, Jesus ‘took bread.’ By doing so, Jesus took whatever was given to him by His Heavenly Father and did not refuse anything, not even death on the cross. This means that Jesus was totally open to God and let God have full control of His life. In the same way, we too should take whatever may come to us from God and not be choosy. We must also learn to accept people as they are and not as how we want them to be. By taking, we affirm that whatever we have, whether it be posessions or capabilities, ultimately come from God. Secondly, Jesus ‘gave thanks’ to his Father not only for the good times but also for the bad. Many of us seem to give thanks only when good things come our way, but what about bad things? Do we thank God even when bad things occur? To have a grateful heart is the foundation of Christian joy and we must thank God for everything that comes our way. Thirdly, Jesus ‘broke the bread’ to share a meal with his disciples, Jesus’ entire life too was broken and poured out for the salvation of all. We find it hard to allow ourselves to be broken, because of some reason such as shame or we fear others would take advantage of our weakness. But Jesus invites you today to share your brokenness with him and with others, since many others too experience brokenness and are consoled and comforted, knowing that they are not alone, when we share our brokenness with them. Lastly, Jesus “gave it to His disciples…” By giving bread to His disciples, Jesus is giving them life, and in the same way, we too should give and be generous in our giving, just as Jesus gave to us.
Today, let us offer our lives as a fragrant offering to God and to others, so that all may have life in Jesus. Let us be humble and willing to take what God has given us, and be generous in our giving, since all that we have comes from Him. May we learn from our Eternal Master, and grow in relationship with Him as He cares and guides us each day.
What is our worth in this world? What sort of criteria do we use to determine our worth? Some people seem to think that their worth is determined by how much or how little they are able to do things. Such people think that if they are talented and skilled in doing many things, then they are worth it, otherwise they think they are useless and a burden to others. This means that for some, we must always be doing something, otherwise we feel worthless, useless and helpless.
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. Over the past few weeks, we had seen Jesus being very active in His ministry and great crowds followed Him to be healed and to listen to His words. But now we begin to see Jesus having a change in His ministry from an active one to a passive one. Jesus shows us during this time that the value of life is not dependent on what we can do but what God can do for us. When we are active and able to do things for ourselves, we do not seem to have room for God’s help, since we think we are self-sufficient. But when we are powerless and helpless, we come to realise that life is meaningless without God. Over the next few days, we would recall how Jesus will be arrested, persecuted, nailed to the cross and finally left to die. He will become powerless and helpless, but it is in His powerlessness that He will accomplish our salvation. What seemed to be a life of failure will end in victory because God is victorious over sin and death.
When we look at our lives and those around us, we too see changes taking place. There are some who were quite active before, but are no longer able to do much. For some, it seems scary and frightening to be helpless and powerless. This is because no one likes to grow old and become useless; or become sick and needing to be cared or helped by others. But we should also realise that unless we move from the active to the passive, unless we learn to let go and let God to be in control, we would not be able to experience true peace and happiness, the kind which only God can give.
Thus, during this Holy Week, let us learn not to focus too much on being active. Let us learn to be passive, and learn to discern and hear His voice. Let us journey with Jesus as we slowly die to ourselves, so that we may have everlasting life in His love and care.
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
13 Mar 2016 – 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
14 Mar 2016 – Monday of the 5th Week of Lent
15 Mar 2016 – Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent
16 Mar 2016 – Wednesday of the 5th Week of Lent
17 Mar 2016 – Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent
18 Mar 2016 – Friday of the 5th Week of Lent