20260420 DEFENCE OF THE FAITH
20 April 2026, Monday, 3rd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 6:8-15 |
They could not get the better of Stephen because the Spirit prompted what he said
Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they procured some men to say, ‘We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against God.’ Having in this way turned the people against him as well as the elders and scribes, they took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and brought him before the Sanhedrin. There they put up false witnesses to say, ‘This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.’ The members of the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):23-24,26-27,29-30 |
They are happy whose life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
Though princes sit plotting against me
I ponder on your statutes.
Your will is my delight;
your statutes are my counsellors.
They are happy whose life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
I declared my ways and you answered;
teach me your statutes.
Make me grasp the way of your precepts
and I will muse on your wonders.
They are happy whose life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
Keep me from the way of error
and teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of truth
with your decrees before me.
They are happy whose life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn20:29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:22-29 |
Do not work for food that cannot last, but for food that endures to eternal life
After Jesus had fed the five thousand, his disciples saw him walking on the water. Next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side saw that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that the disciples had set off by themselves. Other boats, however, had put in from Tiberias, near the place where the bread had been eaten. When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs
but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’
DEFENCE OF THE FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 6:8-15; PS 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30; JN 6:22-29]
What does it take to defend our faith? Like the early Church, we are constantly being attacked for our beliefs. At one time, it was common for the Catholic Church to be challenged by other religions over her doctrines, such as Purgatory, the use of the sacraments, and our devotion to Mary. Today, however, the opposition arises primarily from a secular world that opposes the moral values of the Gospel — particularly the Catholic teaching on the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the importance of a holistic family, the culture of life, and the authentic culture of faithful, self-sacrificing love.
The Catholic Church used to be the moral spokesperson for the world. When the Pope spoke, the world listened — including political leaders — even if they did not agree or failed to formulate policies that were morally sound and for the greater good of humanity. This is because world leaders often fear losing their political positions if they go against the popular tide. Consequently, many leaders seek to do what is popular rather than what is right, following general consensus instead of the truth.
However, because of scandals within the Church, we have lost our moral standing in society, particularly where the hierarchy has failed in its responsibility to protect the innocent and the young from sexual abuse. This lack of transparency and accountability to the faithful and the world at large has caused the Church to lose credibility; as a result, people have become deeply sceptical of the Church, especially her religious authorities. What we see in the news today are almost exclusively the scandals committed, with very little mention of the good works we do. What, then, are the conditions for us to be true defenders of our faith?
First, we must live a blameless life. As the saying goes, “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” If our lives lack integrity, then even when we speak the truth, no one will believe us; there will always be a shadow of doubt. More than ever, even our own fellow Catholics are challenging the hierarchy’s accountability in finance, governance, and teaching. In the Responsorial Psalm, we declare: “They are happy whose life is blameless.”
What does it mean to live a blameless life? Primarily, it means living in truth and honesty. This requires us to walk the way of the Law. As the psalmist prayed: “Your will is my delight; your statutes are my counsellors. I declared my ways and you answered; teach me your statutes. Make me grasp the way of your precepts, and I will muse on your wonders. Keep me from the way of error and teach me your law. I have chosen the way of truth with your decrees before me.”
St. Paul advised leaders of the Church never to become obstacles to the faith of others: “We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honour and dishonour, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see — we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:3-10).
Very often, it is the scandalous lives of Church leaders and fellow Catholics that strip the Gospel of its credibility in the eyes of non-believers. They see us living a double life — preaching one thing while doing another. This lack of consistency leads people to question the truth of what we profess. Indeed, it is urgent that the Church puts her own house in order before we can hope to serve as moral leaders in the world.
St. Stephen serves as a model of the blameless life. God was clearly with him, for he “was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people.” Because of his sincerity in doing the will of God, the Lord used him powerfully to proclaim the Kingdom in both word and deed. Furthermore, he was granted the wisdom to refute the arguments of those who opposed the Gospel, enabling him to offer a masterful defence of his faith. He must have been a good apologist of the early Church, for his opponents “found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said.”
But he defended the faith not just with brilliant arguments and words; more importantly, he defended it with his life. Indeed, it was his integrity and honesty that eventually won over Saul, the very man responsible for Stephen being stoned to death. His calm demeanour before the Sanhedrin spoke volumes; he spoke with utter conviction and was entirely fearless. He was not afraid to speak the truth plainly, without mincing words. His only intent was to be true to his beliefs and to speak for the good of everyone, including the religious leaders. He had no desire to create trouble; rather, he was driven by the simple desire to lead all people to the truth as he had received it. Ultimately, it was his blameless life — sealed by his witness — that won over even his most ardent enemies.
This was not true of his opponents. Instead of remaining objective while discerning Stephen’s claims, they plotted with others to destroy him when they realised they could not demolish his arguments. “They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom. So they procured some men to say, ‘We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against God.'” They brought false witnesses before the Sanhedrin to incite defensiveness, claiming: “This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.” Once again, such deceitful tactics and unjust accusations were merely a fulfilment of the Scriptures, as the psalmist says: “Though the princes sit plotting against me, I ponder on your statutes.”
For us, too, whether we will stand up for Jesus and remain true to our faith depends on why we come to Him in the first place. For many of us, we do not come to Jesus to love Him or to serve Him, but for ourselves. We seek Jesus only to get something from Him, much like the crowds in the Gospel. They pretended to look for Jesus after witnessing the multiplication of the loaves for the five thousand; they believed He would liberate them from the Romans and thus wanted to make Him king.
Jesus, however, knew their ulterior motives and exposed them: “I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs, but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.” How true this remains today; many of us profess our faith only because we believe Jesus has helped us become rich, successful, famous, or powerful. We want Jesus to do our will and fulfil our vain desires, rather than coming to Him out of love. The moment we obtain what we want, we often forget Him and become arrogant, believing we arrived at our success through our own ingenuity and hard work. We forget that without God’s grace, we would not be where we are today.
Hence, the Lord wants us to seek the “real thing,” which is Himself. The true bread is not the loaves He multiplied, but Christ Himself, who is the Bread of Life. As He told the crowds: “Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.” Jesus is the only one who can truly fulfil us; He is the only One we should seek and to whom we should surrender our lives.
How, then, do we find this Bread of Life? When the people asked, “What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?” Jesus answered, “This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.” Faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the Bread of Life is the key to finding the fullness of life. Commitment to Jesus through this faith is what enables us to live a blameless life — a life of integrity that provides a credible witness to the world. Ultimately, whether we can stand like St. Stephen in defending our faith depends on whether we possess a faith as deep as his: a faith willing to imitate Christ in both life and death.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
