6th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 10.05.2026

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 / 1 Peter 3:15-18 / John 14:15-21  

Last Thursday, 8th May, was a significant and meaningful day for the Church. 

If we are wondering about the significance and meaning of that day, then we need to recall the events of one year ago. 

On the 8th May 2025, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the new Pope. 

The pre-election and post-election stories were interesting and maybe even amusing. 

We may remember the family of seagulls perched on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, just before the white smoke bellowed from the chimney. 

There was also a baby seagull in that family, and some commented that the seagulls were having a bird’s eye view of the Conclave. 

And those seagulls appearing before the white smoke was interpreted as a good sign. 

And some people also remembered that seagulls were also present on the roof at the election of Pope Francis. 

That was the pre-election event. When Cardinal Robert Prevost was presented as the new Pope, the comments came in fast. 

So, he is the first American Pope. But he was literally an unknown candidate, and he was not among the so-called favourites. 

And the American Cardinals don’t quite know who he is. 

For all that had happened one year ago on 8th May, the meaning and significance are now being slowly unfolded. 

And there is no doubt that the process of the election of Pope Leo XIV was guided by the Holy Spirit. 

In the gospel, Jesus says that God will send another Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to be with us forever. 

An Advocate is a protector, an Advocate also means to speak in favour of or plead for something. 

The Spirit of truth protects us from falsehood and from going the wrong way. 

And the Spirit of truth is also the Spirit of love, for truth and love are like the two sides of the same coin. 

Truth without love is cold and hard, and it can be used to accuse, to judge and to condemn. 

Love without truth has no principles or directions, and it is like a kite that is not grounded with a string. 

Through the Spirit of truth and love, God has chosen Leo XIV to be the Pope to lead the Church in this anxious and challenging times.

With the Spirit is the Advocate, Pope Leo XIV has spoken out for the respect of the dignity of the person, as well as the dignity of nations, in the midst of hostilities.

Pope Leo XIV has taught us to speak the truth with love. 

The truth is the truth and nobody can deny it, even if nobody admits to it. 

And the truth spoken and acted with love is like a light that silently scatters the darkness. 

And as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we honour our mothers for being our advocate, just as Holy Spirit is the Advocate of the Church. 

Very often, our mothers have the first say and also the last say. 

But we also acknowledge that whatever they say, they say it with truth and love. 

That is why we often say this: My mother used to tell me ... 

Yes, we remember the truth because it was spoken with love. 

May God bless our mothers as they teach us about the truth of life with love in their hearts. 

And may the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, protect us from danger and evil. 

And may the Spirit of truth help us to be witnesses of the truth that is lovingly proclaimed with the love of God.

5th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 03.05.2026

Acts 6:1-7 / 1 Peter 2:4-9 / John 14:1-12  

One of the deepest desires in life is to be happy. 

To be happy may mean that we don't have any anxieties and worries. 

It may also mean that we don’t have to face the struggles and troubles of life. 

So, if there are no anxieties and worries, no struggles and troubles in life, then we would be happy in life. 

But happiness in life seems to be so elusive. The moments of happiness are short and few. 

Whereas, anxieties and worries, struggles and troubles, seemed to come one after another. 

All these forms the burdens in our hearts and make us drag our feet along in life. 

We are anxious and worried about our health, our future, our financial security, our work stress, our children, our parents. 

Our hearts are troubled when relationships with family members, relatives and friends become tensed due to some misunderstanding or quarrels. 

That is enough to say what we already know, and that is, life is difficult. 

Sure, life is difficult, but that is not the end of the statement; it is just a pause. 

Because in the gospel, Jesus said this to His disciples: 

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, in trust in me. 

Jesus made a promise to us that there are many rooms in His Father’s house, and He has prepared a place for us there. 

That promise is our greatest assurance and consolation from Jesus. 

In short, Jesus is telling us that He has already saved us and that He will bring us to heaven. 

So, it means that while we walk in the struggles and troubles of life, our minds and our hearts should be on the promise of above. 

But we get distracted by the anxieties and worries of life. 

And with that, our hearts become disturbed, and we forget about the promise of that place in heaven. 

Yes, we forget because we get distracted. 

We get distracted by the anxieties and worries, about the struggles and troubles, and our hearts become disturbed. 

And when we look at the distraction, and reflect upon the disturbance, what is the cause of it?

Well, the question is not about what, but about who is the cause of it. 

Needless to say, the devil is the cause of it; he is the cause of our disturbance and distraction. 

He wants to distract and disturb us so that we will forget about the promise of Jesus. 

He wants to bring our minds and hearts down to the things of earth and forget about the promise of above. 

We see that in the 1st reading when there was a problem in the early Church about the distribution of food. 

But, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles chose seven men to look into the task of the distribution of food. 

As the apostles pointed out: It is not right for us to neglect the Word of God so as to give out food. 

So, when we don't do what is right, our hearts will be troubled. 

And when we neglect we will also forget. 

So, we need to look at our anxieties and worries, and also our struggles and troubles. 

It is like looking at our reflection in a basin of water. 

We will not be able to see a good reflection when the water is boiling. 

Only when the water is still and calm, then can we see our reflection clearly. 

May the consoling and assuring promise of Jesus put out the sharp flames of distraction and disturbance in our hearts. 

May Jesus our Saviour, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, lead us towards that place in heaven which He has promised us.

4th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 26.04.2026

 Acts 2:14, 36-41 / 1 Peter 2:20-25 / John 10:1-10  

The animals in this world are, by and large, beautiful as well as amazing. 

And they also have peculiarities that we have heard of, or have experienced it. 

For example, don’t ever wear red-colour clothes and stand in front of a bull. 

We don’t want to see those horns coming fast at us. 

And also don’t approach a horse from the back. We just might get a kick of our lives. 

As for good eyesight, it goes to the birds, especially the eagles and the hawks. 

They can spot a prey from distances of three to five kilometres. 

As for the sense of smell, it goes to the dogs. A lady wanted to bring some bak-kwa for her daughter who was studying in a country that bans cooked meats. 

So, she wrapped the bak-kwa with layers and layers of plastic, thinking that it can pass through the customs. 

But at the immigration, the sniffer dog went sniffing at the luggage, and then just sat on her luggage. 

She had to surrender the bak-kwa. 

When it comes to sheep, we may not know much about their peculiarities, although we know that wool comes from sheep. 

But we have heard about two of their characteristics, and that is their sense of hearing, and their silence, even in the face of mortal danger. 

In today’s gospel, Jesus says that He is the gate of the sheepfold. 

He goes on to say that the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. 

The shepherd leads his sheep, and the sheep follow him because they know the shepherd’s voice. 

The sheep never follow a stranger, but run away from him. 

They do not recognise the voice of strangers. 

Today, the Church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday, with an emphasis on the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and also to the religious life. 

Yes, the harvest is rich but the labourers are few, and we have to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to His harvest. 

The Lord of the harvest has called labourers to work in His harvest. 

Many are called, but not that many have responded. 

One of the reasons that not that many have responded is because the world has many loud noises.

These noises are loud, and even attractive, and they appeal to human desires and pleasures. 

Yes, we desire to be rich, famous, popular, successful and to have a high status in life. 

With these comes the benefits of pleasures and luxuries of gratification, although it may be momentary. 

And those cravings for pleasures and desires are like a bottomless pit; there can never be enough of it. 

In the midst of all these loud noises is that soft and gentle voice of the Good Shepherd, calling out to the chosen labourers of His sheepfold. 

More often than not, as well as in most cases, the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard in Church. 

The Church is the House of God and the House of prayer. 

It is in Church that the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard in worship and in prayer. 

And it is in worship and prayer that the chosen servants of the Lord are able to listen and respond to His call. 

On the 1st June, four deacons will be ordained to the sacred order of the priesthood. 

One of them, Deacon Eugene Chan, is from this parish. He was chosen from among us. 

He heard the Lord’s call in Church, and it is back to the Church that he response to the call. 

We pray for him as he makes his final preparation for his ordination.

We do this in the form of spiritual bouquets, and we will receive a spiritual bouquet card on our way out. 

Our little spiritual offering would be a great blessing for Deacon Eugene Chan, and also for the other three deacons. 

And on the 21st May, we will gather in prayer for the four deacons, and also to pray for vocations. 

May those whom the Lord has called be able to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

And may our prayer give them strength and courage to follow in the steps of the Good Shepherd, who came to give us life and life to the full.

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A, 19.04.2026

 Acts 2:14, 22-28 / 1 Peter 1:17-21 / Luke 24:13-35  

There was a popular song in the early 1980s that was played over the radio almost every day. 

It was a high energy disco-type of dance song, and it was heard in every discotheque during that era. 

Most of us would have heard of that song. The title is “One-way ticket”. 

At that time, the lyrics of songs were not that easily available. 

What mattered was the upbeat music, and the people of that era just like to hear it and dance to it. 

But when we look at the lyrics, it is actually quite a sad song about heartbreak and the loneliness and turmoil after that. 

Well, the lyrics say it all: “one-way ticket to the blues, gonna take a trip to lonesome town, gonna stay at heartbreak hotel”. 

But the 1980s version of that song was so upbeat, so energetic that we just want to get up and dance, and never mind what the song is about. 

In the gospel, the two disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was 7 miles from Jerusalem. 

As they walked along, they talked about all that had happened. 

But it was a sad and disappointed journey to Emmaus. It was like a one-way ticket. 

Even when Jesus came to walk along with them, they could not recognise Him. 

Maybe their sadness and disappointment were so deep that all they could see was hopelessness and darkness. 

As they walked along, they shared with Jesus how they had placed all the hope in Him. 

But with His death on the Cross, their hopes were shattered, to the point that there were not even broken pieces to pick up. 

So, their journey to Emmaus was like a one-way ticket to a lonesome town and to stay at some heartbreak hotel. 

Beyond Emmaus, they seem to have no further plans other than to go away as far as possible from Jerusalem. 

As they talked about their disappointment, sadness and hopelessness, Jesus listened, but He did not remain silent. 

He spoke to them about the full message of the prophets, that the Christ should suffer and so enter into His glory. 

And starting from Moses and going through all the prophets, Jesus explained to them the passages in the Scriptures that were about the Christ. 

Meanwhile, as Jesus spoke, something was happening in the hearts of the two disciples. 

Their hearts began to burn as Jesus explained the Scriptures to them. 

And then at the breaking of bread, their eyes were opened, and they recognised Jesus. 

They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem, and told the disciples about what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how they recognised Jesus at the breaking of bread. 

So, in short, it was a story of brokenness and hopelessness turning into hopefulness and gladness. 

It was not a one-way ticket into terminal disappointment, but a return ticket into gladness and consolation. 

All that is possible because the God we believe in will not let hopelessness be a one-way ticket into desolation. 

The God we believe in is the God of the Resurrection. 

He raises those who are bowed down, and He lifts up the lowly. 

We may feel that our lives and our faith are like mundane, going flat, and sliding down a one- way journey into desolation. 

But let us keep doing that little bit to keep that little flame of our faith alive by coming regularly for Mass. 

One day, our ears will be opened to listen to the voice of God in the Scriptures. 

One day our eyes will be opened and our hearts will burn, and we will tell others how we have experienced Jesus in our disappointment and desolation. 

But most of all, may we recognise Jesus at the Mass where bread is broken. 

Yes, the Bread of Life is broken, so that hearts that are broken will come back to life and will burn with love.

2nd Sunday of Easter, Year A, 12.04.2025

 Acts 2:42-47 / 1 Peter 1:3-9 / John 20:19-31  

One of the challenges that we face in the morning is waking up. 

In the morning, the bed is like a big magnet and our body is fighting the magnetic pull of the bed. 

And if we didn't have a good night’s sleep, or running under the weather, then we are really like stuck to the bed. 

So even if the alarm clock is ringing on and on, we will tell ourselves, just another 5 or 10 minutes, and then we will over-sleep and run late. 

And talking about alarm clocks, there is this joke about a husband and wife having a cold war. 

However, the husband had an early morning flight to catch the next day, but he didn’t want to talk to his wife and tell her about it. 

So, he wrote a note and stuck it on her bedside table with this message, “Wake me up at 7:00 am”. 

The next morning, he happened to open his eyes and he glanced at the clock, and it was already 8:30 am. 

And there was a note stuck next to the clock that is written by his wife, and it read, “Wake up, wake up, it is already 7:00 am”. 

So, the moral of the joke is that it is not worth having cold wars, because we will not gain anything and we will also be late for everything. 

Not only alarm clocks may not be able to wake us up. 

What we see around us, and what others say, may not wake us up either. 

Especially when the issue is inconvenient, troublesome or burdensome to us. 

We would ignore or resist, or look away and don’t want to hear about what really matters. 

In the gospel, the risen Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples, and they were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. 

But Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. 

When the disciples told him that they had seen the Risen Lord, he was skeptical, to say the least.

And Thomas also made a very bold demand, and it is this: Unless I see the holes that the nails made in His hands, and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into His side, I refuse to believe. 

For Thomas, seeing is not enough, he wants to touch the wounds of Jesus. 

Maybe the death of Jesus on the Cross had broken the faith of Thomas, such that his faith also crumpled and withered away. 

Maybe that is why Thomas made such a bold and challenging demand. 

More than just doubting what the disciples said, Thomas wants the truth, and he even wants to touch the truth. 

God is truth and God is life. 

When Thomas was with the disciples, Jesus appeared again. 

Jesus not only wanted Thomas to see and to touch the truth, He also came to give a wake-up call to the faith of Thomas. 

From a crumpled and withered faith, Thomas woke up and declared: My Lord and my God. 

Yes, God is truth and God is life. 

But when it comes to the truth, we can ignore it or reject it, we can doubt it or disregard it. 

But along with truth is also life, and the Lord of life will give us a wake-up call so that we will wake up to life, and the truth will also set us free. 

And God is giving us a wake-up call through Pope Leo XIV. 

The Pope called for a worldwide vigil of prayer for peace on the 11th of April. 

We cannot ignore that call for prayer for peace. 

To ignore is to disregard and even to doubt the horrors and the tragedies of war and violence. 

But the truth is that blood is shed, and innocent lives are lost, and children and the defenceless are in danger. 

When the world is not at peace, we won’t be at peace. 

When blood is shed, we must pray, because only God can stop the violence and the bloodshed. 

Let us heed the call to prayer because we must wake up to life, and the truth will also set us free, free to believe in the love of God, and to pray for the power of God to overcome war and violence and bloodshed.

Easter Sunday, Year A, 05.04.2026

 Acts 10:34, 37-43 / Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6-8 / John 20:1-9 

The past three days were days that was filled with prayer as we came for Mass. 

On Thursday morning, there was the Chrism Mass at our parish. 

At the Chrism Mass, the Archbishop and the priests of the Archdiocese gathered for the renewal of priestly promises and the blessing of the Holy Oils. 

Then in the evening was the Mass of the Lord’s Supper followed by Holy Hour. 

On Good Friday, there was the recalling of the suffering and death of Jesus and the veneration of the Holy Cross. 

Last evening, was the Easter vigil where we witnessed 28 adults being baptised and joining our parish family. 

In all these Masses and moments of prayer, God is calling out to us, the Church, and telling us this: 

Through the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is sending His blessings on us, on the Church and on the world. 

That was also the message at the beginning of Lent, and that is also the message as we begin Easter. 

As we reflect and meditate on the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross, God is telling us that our sins are forgiven and we are saved from the snares of the devil and the fires of hell. 

As we reflect and meditate on the Resurrection of Jesus, God is telling us that He wants to restore us back into the image of Christ, which is an image of love.

Later, we will renew our baptismal promises, where we declare that we reject the devil, and profess our faith in God. 

We will also be sprinkled with Holy Water as a reminder of our baptism in Christ. 

God is calling us out of the empty tombs of our sinfulness to rise with Jesus to a new life of holiness. 

Yes, we will still have our resentment and frustrations, our anger and greed, our desires and fantasies, our unfaithfulness and our weakness. 

The devil will use all that to draw us back into the tomb of sin and to die there in the darkness. 

But God is calling out to us through the Resurrection of Jesus, and to follow the light of life. 

As the 2nd reading, (Colossians 3:1-4) say:

Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, and not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. 

To die to sin is to come back to life and to be truly human, and to be restored back into the image of love, which is the image of Christ. 

A child was asked, “Do you like to come to church?” 

She answered “Yes.” When asked why, she replied, “Because the aunties and uncles in church talk to me and they are nice to me.” 

That is as basic as being human can be, and that is to be childlike, to be kind and gentle, to be loving and welcoming.

To be truly human, we don’t look at the things of earth, but we look at the things of above, where Christ is sitting at God’s right hand. 

And as we look at Jesus Christ our Risen Lord, let us ask Him for His blessings, so that we can be truly human and be an image of love to others.

Palm-Passion Sunday, Year A, 29.03.2026

 Isaiah 50:4-7 / Philippians 2:6-11 / Matthew 26:14 – 27:66

Today, as we come from Mass, we received palm branches. 

At the beginning of the Mass, we held up and waved the palm branches happily, as the priests sprinkles Holy Water to bless them. 

The palm branches are a symbol of the triumphant entry of Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem. 

It is also a symbol of our welcoming Jesus into our hearts. 

So, it was a joyful and a happy mood, until we heard the readings, especially the long gospel reading. 

The mood and the atmosphere became solemn and heavy. 

We hear of betrayals and denials, of promises  made but broken later. 

We hear Jesus, in the depths of prayer and submitting to the Father’s will. 

We hear of accusations, of suffering, crucifixion and death. 

But we also hear of mercy and forgiveness as a repentant criminal was promised with entry into eternity. 

Yes, Palm Sunday moved into Passion Sunday, into the suffering and death of Jesus. 

This coming week is called Holy Week, and we journey with Jesus into His suffering and death on the Cross. 

We stay with Jesus and see His heart of mercy and compassion. 

We await with the hope of His Resurrection, when we hear once again the Good News of our salvation. 

Yes, by His suffering and death, Jesus saved us from our sins. 

As we stay with Jesus in prayer, let us also reflect about our lives and the experiences of pain and suffering, of rejection and disappointment and frustration. 

With Jesus, let us accept God’s will, let us carry the Cross with love, so as to receive the gift of salvation from Jesus.