College Chaplain

Friends,

We are coming to the end of the first term, called Easter break. The term itself tells us about what is going on in Christianity, in our society. It tells us the truth in which the whole world believe that Jesus died and resurrected for our sake, for our salvation.The Church will celebrate the three most important days, the Paschal Triduum, the Passion of the Lord. These celebrations remind us who our Saviour is, what he has done for you and me. 

Tomorrow we will enter the Paschal Triduum with the Last Supper. And the Lord says to us all today. “My time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples.”What is your response? Two weeks ago we together celebrated the sacrament of reconciliation to prepare ourselves, to prepare the house in our soul to welcome the Lord to come and celebrate the Passover Feast with you and me.You know on the night of Passover all families of the Israelites in Egypt had eaten a lamb.  They used its blood to mark on the doorpost and waited for the angel of the Lord to go to all the houses of the Egyptians.You know Jesus becomes that sacrificial lamb who offers himself to God for our salvation and uses his blood to wash away our sins and eternal death.We all know that at the Last Supper, the Lord instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and during that dinner, he took the bread and said THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU. And he took the chalice and said, THIS IS MY BLOOD WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY, FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.

Not only has Jesus said it, but he had done it on the cross, even on the cross Jesus had said the word of forgiveness to his executioners and us all. “Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.”When teaching about Holy Week, I often say to students, I would like to invite you all to come to my funeral mass, and at that time, I hope you would say, It is good, Fr Paul died.All children in the classes opened their mouths and said, No way, It’s so rude. Probably we would not say something like that at the funeral, especially in the presence of the grieving families. But you know what, the day in which Jesus died, we call it’s a good day. Good Friday. Why?  Why is the death of Jesus good? I am sure that many of us know the reason. Jesus died because of our sins and the sins of humankind. He died on the cross to free us from sins, to free us from eternal death and to show us the way to eternal life. To tell the truth that God loves you and me to the point of death. 

What is your response to his love? Are you welcoming him into your life, your soul and acknowledging him as your Lord and Saviour?As we enter into the Paschal Triduum, I invite you all to join your parish church, with your community of faith, to reflect on the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.Every Holy Mass, actually we celebrate the Passion of the Lord and his resurrection. We ask the Lord to show his mercy upon us so that we can be worthily joining the Last Supper, the Eucharistic celebration. 

Before the moment of Holy Communion, the priest will break a fraction of the Host and put it into the chalice to signify the moment of the Resurrection of the Lord, that’s why when you receive the Holy Communion, you receive the living body of Christ, the resurrected body of Christ.Brothers and sisters, let us come together to show our gratitude to the Lord for his holy sacrifice and give us the hope of eternal life. Let us prepare ourselves not only during this Holy Mass but for the next three important days Paschal Triduum and follow the footsteps of our Lord to Calvary so that we can fully join the joy of the Resurrection with the Lord.Come to the celebration of Easter because the Lord has truly risen. He has risen indeed, Alleluiah. 

Happy Easter to you all. I also wish you all a good holiday.