4th Week of Easter, Monday, 27-04-2026

Acts 11:1-18 / John 10:11-18 (Year A)   

We don’t like it when we are taken for granted by others.

When we go out of our way for others, when we make sacrifices for others, when we do a thankless task that is dumped onto us, we wished that there can be some gratitude shown to us.

Even if not a word of thanks is said, it would be enough for us to know that a difficulty is overcome or a problem is solved.

What will make us angry and bitter is when others expect us to something that no one else would want to.

And when we don’t do it, we get blamed for making things difficult and creating problems for others.

This may not happen all the time, but when it does, we may wonder if being good and doing good is worth it.

In the gospel, Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd, and the good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep.

On the Cross, Jesus fulfilled what He said about being the Good Shepherd and laying His life for us to save us.

Yes, Jesus died for us so that we can be saved from an eternal death.

So, are we truly grateful and thankful to Jesus for saving us by dying for us.

Let us not take the love of Jesus for granted, and let us also follow Jesus our Good Shepherd in doing good for others.

Let us focus on following Jesus to make this world a loving place.

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.

St. Mark, Evangelist, Saturday, 25-04-2026

1 Peter 5:5-14 / Mark 16:15-20    

St. Mark, whose feast we celebrate today, was not one of the apostles.

Nonetheless, he was one of the disciples of St. Peter, and he was mentioned in the 1st reading as a "spiritual son" of St. Peter.

He could also possibly be one of the followers of Jesus and later on became a disciple of St. Peter and he eventually wrote the account of the life and ministry of Jesus, which became one of the gospels of the Church.

In his gospel, St. Mark captured the core and essence of the ministry and message of Jesus.

As we heard it in the gospel, and what is often called the "Great Commissioning", the way St. Mark puts it across straight and sharp in just a few words.

"Go out, proclaim the Good News, believe or be condemned, cast out devils, work signs and miracles, heal the sick".

As we hear this, we might be thinking - proclaim the Good News sounds ok, healing the sick sounds ok, work signs and miracles ... hmmm ... cast out devils ...

Well, the gospel is not a supermarket for us to pick and choose whatever we like.

It is one whole message; it's either we take all or we take all.

To understand and accept the Good News and the commissioning of Jesus, we need to "Go out" like St. Mark did.

Because when we are out there, and there is no dependency and certainty but Jesus Himself, then we will truly experience the power of the Good News and become true disciples of Jesus Christ.

3rd Week of Easter, Friday, 24-04-2026

Acts 9:1-20 / John 6:52-59       

One of the common traits in people is stubbornness.

For a stubborn person, it is almost impossible to change his mind.

Even if all the facts show that he is wrong, he may not even budge.

It is quite amazing the conviction that a stubborn person has .

In the 1st reading, Saul was so resolute about his conviction that only way of stopping the spread of Christianity was by capturing and slaughtering the Lord’s disciples.

Nothing could change his mind, until that strange encounter on the road to Damascus.

That voice asking him "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" was enough to break his conviction.

But even before that, the prayer of the Christian community cannot be discounted.

They would have prayed for protection against Saul, and in a way, they may have also slipped in a prayer for his conversion, which they thought may have been unlikely.

Even Ananias was hesitant when the Lord told him to go to lay his hands on Saul to give him back his sight.

This account in the history of the early Church tells us this.

In life, we will encounter wicked people doing evil deeds and we are affected.

We must turn to the Lord and pray for protection.

At the same time, we also must pray for the conversion of wicked sinners.

The Lord will do His part in breaking their stubbornness and lead them to conversion.

We then must do our part in accepting them and help them see the beautiful love of God.

3rd Week of Easter, Thursday, 23-04-2026

Acts 8:26-40 / John 6:44-51   

In life, we meet a lot of people.

Some people we had wanted to meet and we make plans as to how to meet them.

Some people just happen to come along as we move on in life.

But whether we intended to meet them or they just happen to come into our lives, we have various experiences with them.

Some were happy and memorable, some were hi-and-bye and forgettable.

In the 1st reading, the meeting between Philip and the Ethiopian officer was a happy and memorable one.

It was the Spirit who arranged the meeting between the two of them and it was also an experience of the presence of Jesus.

Though they never met again after that, it was a moment of rejoicing in their lives.

In the gospel, Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless that person is drawn by the Father who sent Him.

But it can also be said that the people that God sent to us in our journey of life will have an influence in our lives.

Let us thanks for the people that God sent into our lives.

May we have happy and memorable moments with them, and may we also share with them the presence of Jesus.

3rd Week of Easter, Wednesday, 22-04-2026

Acts 8:1-8 / John 6:35-40   

There is no doubt that life is difficult and it has its troubles.

And the difficulties can be anything from frustrations with others to serious troubles that erupt into violence between groups of people.

Even if we have faith in God, when these difficulties and troubles occur, we will question God as to why such things happen.

And if things happen for a reason, then we will surely want to know what is that reason.

In the 1st reading, a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem, and Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church.

In the face of such violence and hostility, the early Church would have asked why this was happening and why isn’t God protecting them.

But the amazing thing was that those who have escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News.

And with that began the missionary activity of the early Church.

So a crisis was turned into an opportunity, and with the grace of God, the early disciples worked miracles, and cured the sick and cast out evil spirits.

And there was even great rejoicing at the proclamation of the Good News.

And all this is possible because the early Church believed that Jesus is the Bread of life, and that He will sustain them and help them to overcome all difficulties and troubles.

We too share that same belief as the early Church, and may we also see the miracles that God will work for us when we meet with difficulties and troubles.

3rd Week of Easter, Tuesday, 21-04-2026

Acts 7:51 - 8:1 / John 6:30-35   

Everyday we use a lot of words, and we may wonder what effects do they have.

Words can be powerless, but they can also be powerful.

When someone uses a lot of words but if they are pointless or unclear, disorganized, illogical, or difficult to understand, then those words are powerless and meaningless.

But words can be powerful when they evoke or bring about a feeling, memory, image, or reaction and even an action.

In the 1st reading, when Stephen spoke to the people, the elders and the scribes, his words were sharp but truthful, and it brought about a hostile reaction.

The listeners were infuriated and they ground their teeth at him.

What Stephen said was inspired by the Holy Spirit, but the people were so angered by it that they decided to kill him so as to silence him forever.

Such is the power of words and it cost Stephen his life.

In the gospel, Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life, and whoever comes to Him will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Him will never thirst.

Those are powerful words of truth and we must decide what our response will be.

We can be indifferent to it or even ignore it.

But when we believe in the words of Jesus, we will be filled with life and love.

And our words will also be words of truth that will echo the Word of God.