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Wednesday, 11 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that each and every one of us as God’s beloved people are all expected to follow His Law and commandments in the manner that is truly good and worthy of Him, with true understanding and appreciation of what the Law is all about, which is the guidance and inspiration that God has placed in our hearts and minds to help us in our paths, that we may truly learn and know of God’s ever enduring love for all of us, and not only that, but each and every one of us are also reminded to show that same love in all of our every actions, in our every dealings with everyone around us, to those whom God has entrusted to us to love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the words of Moses, the leader whom God placed to lead the people of Israel, reminding them of all the Law and commandments which He has placed before them, revealed to them and taught to them, from the time when God first gave it to them at Mount Sinai, until the time when Moses told them and reminded them all these towards the end of his ministry, many years after the Israelites were forced to wander off in the desert after they have repeatedly disobeyed the Lord and refused to believe in Him, doubting His providence and reassurances even when He has constantly reminded them of all those. They still feared, doubted and complained against Him many times even after seeing His great signs and wonders.

And that was why they had to endure the consequences of their lack of faith and disobedience. It was not that God no longer loved them or cared about them, but rather, what we all must understand is that, with every actions come the need for us to be accountable for our actions, in each and every one of them. That was why the Lord was, as the loving Father and Master of His people, chastising them for their lack of faith and trust in Him, for their wayward actions, with the intention and purpose to lead them all ever closer to Himself, rather than doing so because He despised or hated them. God never hated or despised His beloved ones, and instead, He has always patiently reached out even to the most stubborn of His people, to call them to return to His loving care and embrace.

Then, from our relatively short Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus and His words to His disciples speaking to them regarding the matter of what He would do to the Law which God has revealed to His people through Moses, and which has been passed down throughout the generations to the people then living at the time of the Lord’s ministry. Based on what the disciples had experienced with the Lord, in how He disagreed with the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, it might seem that the Lord wanted to abolish the old Law of Moses and replacing it with a new Law, but the Lord told them all that this was not true at all.

The reality was rather that God wanted to reveal the truth and the full intention behind what He has given to them through the Law and the commandments, and He showed them all these through His Son, Whom He has sent into this world to teach all of His people about why He gave them all His Law and commandments in the first place. Those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had inherited a Law that had become bloated over the years, decades and centuries with details and modifications that made its true intention, meaning and purpose concealed, to the point that some of those people were obeying the Law for the sake of obedience, or out of blind faith and adherence without truly understanding God’s intent.

Like for example, those Pharisees and teachers of the Law obeyed and enforced very strictly and rigidly the ‘letter’ of the Law of God but failing to understand its ‘spirit’. They spent so much time and effort to focus on the external aspects of the Law, their implementation, the rituals and detailed steps and practices surrounding the various aspects and rules of the Law, the way how they adapted them to suit their own needs and preferences, which led to them failing to appreciate and understand why God had placed those Law and commandments in the first place. That was why the Lord came into this world to straighten up things and to reveal through His Wisdom and guidance, through the Holy Spirit that He has bestowed upon this world and all of us, His beloved people.

And that was how the Lord wanted to remind each and every one of us that we should not just know and understand the ‘letter’ of the Law, but even more importantly, we must also appreciate, understand and follow the ‘spirit’ of the Law, knowing what it is that the Lord has intended for us all. He does not want us to follow the Law blindly, or worse still, obeying them for the sake of obedience without truly appreciating and growing in His love and grace. It is indeed possible for people to just go through the motion in following the Law and commandments of God, but we are all challenged to practice them all and follow them because we truly love the Lord our God, and that we also love all those whom He has placed all around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to progress through this time and season of Lent with the strong determination to walk down the path of faith with the Lord, renewing our conviction and desire to live our lives ever more faithfully and full of God’s love, in first, loving God above all else, and then showing that same love equally to everyone around us, particularly more so to those whom we love and those who are precious to us. Let us all continue to live up to our calling as Christians, to be loving and good examples of our Christian faith at all times, in all circumstances, and to everyone whom we encounter in life, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 17-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfil them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”

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Wednesday, 11 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 15-16, 19-20

Exalt the Lord, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word. He spreads snow like wool; He scatters frost like ashes.

It is He Who tells Jacob His words, His laws and decrees to Israel. This He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Wednesday, 11 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Deuteronomy 4 : 1, 5-9

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, gives you.

See, as YHVH, my God, ordered me, I am teaching you the norms and the laws that you may put them into practice in the land you are going to enter and have as your own. If you observe and practice them, other peoples will regard you as wise and intelligent. When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, ‘There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.’

For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as YHVH, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today?

But be careful and be on your guard. Do not forget these things which your own eyes have seen or let them depart from your heart as long as you live. But on the contrary, teach them to your children and to your children’s children.

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Tuesday, 10 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the power of God’s love and mercy for us all His beloved people, as we are constantly being reminded of the great love and compassion, mercy and kindness that He has always had for each and every one of us His beloved ones. We are never distant from God’s love and kindness, and He is always ever ready to welcome us back should we seek Him and His loving Presence. As our most loving Creator and our ever present Father, God has always been kind and patient towards us, in loving us all genuinely and sincerely, in generously extending His love and mercy to us, and in the same manner then, we too are expected to show that same love and mercy in our own lives, to one another.

In our first reading passage today, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, we heard of the prayer uttered by Azariah, one of the three friends of Daniel mentioned in that Book, where all of them, the four of them were members of the people from the former kingdom of Judah that had been sent into exile in the distant lands from their homeland in Judah, to the land of Babylon and beyond. They had faced a lot of trials and difficulties in those lands, uprooted from the lands of their ancestors and having to endure that shame, as well as being coerced, pressured and forced to abandon their customs and practices, and even their worship of the Lord their God, in favour of the pagan gods and idols of the Babylonians.

Yet, Daniel and his friends persevered on and remained faithful to God. And in this particular occasion, Azariah and his friends were being forced to worship the great golden statue and idol which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had built in his own likeness together with many others of his subjects. And among all those people only the three of them refused to bend the knee and worship the golden statue, resulting in them earning the king’s great wrath, who ordered them all to be put into a blazing furnace. Not only that, but their courageous rebuttal and refusal before the king himself incensed the king even more, who ordered the fire to be made even hotter than usual. And this was the context of what we heard in our first reading passage today, as Azariah prayed to the Lord from within the blazing furnace.

Azariah prayed to the Lord asking for His providence, protection and mercy for His people who were suffering and who faced trials and tribulations, reminding Him of His love for all of them despite their sinfulness and wickedness, knowing and having full faith and trust that God would never abandon them all to destruction and harm. Azariah presented the regret that the people had at their sins, having been humiliated at losing their homeland and having suffered greatly for their earlier faults, beseeching the Lord to show His mercy and kindness, to move on their behalf and to help His faithful ones in their hour and time of distress. They all trusted in God’s Providence and placed themselves completely in His mercy, and indeed God protected them from harm.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and the people gathered to listen to Him using the well-known parable of the ungrateful and unforgiving servant, where there was a servant who was deeply indebted to his master and he had no means by which to pay off his debt, and yet, his master took pity on him and forgave him from all of his debts out of compassion. That very same servant then immediately launched himself on a fellow servant who owed him a much smaller debt as compared to what he himself had owed his master earlier on. We heard how that ungrateful servant refused to forgive that debt owed to him even after the other servant pleaded for mercy and patience from him.

This was then followed by the great anger of the master upon knowing how the ungrateful servant that he had forgiven refused to forgive his fellow servant a debt that was far smaller and lesser than what he owed the master himself, ending with the ungrateful servant having to pay again all the debts that he had been forgiven from earlier on. And thus the unforgiving and ungrateful servant had to endure the consequences of his lack of mercy, kindness and love towards his fellow brethren, and as was mentioned in the Gospel’s parable, it was implied that the master would have expected his servants, including the ungrateful servant to follow his example in mercy, love and kindness, in forgiving one another their debts just as he has forgiven them their debts.

Does this sound familiar, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because it is prominently mentioned in what we all are very familiar with, The Lord’s Prayer that Our Lord Jesus Himself has taught His disciples and all of us to pray, at the latter part of the prayer where it says, ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us’ and through these words, whenever we pray it and as we continue living our lives, each and every one of us are called to be forgiving to each other for whatever faults and mistakes, hurt and hardships we have caused one another, whether intentionally or unintentionally, remembering that God Himself has always been so forgiving towards us, and He has always loved us all no matter what, despite our disobedience, sins and stubborn attitudes.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why during this time and season of Lent, let us all pray for the grace to be more like God, our most loving and merciful Father in all things. We are all called to be more loving, more forgiving, kinder and be more generous with our love, not only for God, but also for everyone around us. It is easy for us to end up spending this Lent focusing so much on ourselves and our spiritual life, but if we neglect those who are around us, and especially those whom God has entrusted to us to love, those dearest and most beloved to us, then this is not what the Lord wants us to do, and we cannot truly call ourselves faithful Christians, servants of God Most High unless we ourselves also do the same as our Lord and Father has done.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us all in our respective journeys in life, giving us the courage and strength to persevere through even the most difficult challenges and trials in life, remaining ever firm in our faith and trust in Him, at all times, and becoming great inspirations and role models to everyone around us. May God bless our endeavours and good efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 10 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 18 : 21-35

At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle the accounts of his servants.”

“Among the first was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment. The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.'”

“The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When the servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his companions, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the neck and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!'”

“His companion threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ The other did not agree, but sent him to prison until he had paid all his debt. Now his fellow servants saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord.”

“Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your companion, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry, so he handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.”

Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”

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Tuesday, 10 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Remember Your compassion, o Lord, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

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Tuesday, 10 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 3 : 25, 34-43

Azariah stood up in the midst of the fire and prayed aloud : Do not abandon us forever, do not reject Your covenant for Your Name’s sake. Do not withdraw Your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, Your friend, of Isaac, Your servant, of Israel, Your holy one, to whom You promised to multiply their race as the stars of heaven and the sand on the shore of the sea.

Lord, see, we have become the least among the nations in all the world, and we are humiliated because of our sins. At this time, we no longer have a king, or prophet, or leader. We cannot offer You holocausts, sacrifices, offerings, or incense. We have no place to present to You the first-fruits of our crops, and so obtain Your favour.

But at least when we present ourselves with a contrite soul and humbled spirit may we then be acceptable to You, more than by offerings of rams and calves as holocausts, and of thousands of fat lambs. May this sacrifice of ours today obtain for us Your favour for we know that those who trust in You shall never be disappointed.

And now, we serve You with our whole heart, we fear You and we seek Your face. Do not leave us in our humiliation, but treat us according to Your kindness and Your great mercy. Free us in keeping with Your wonders, and give us the glory of Your Name, Lord.

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Monday, 9 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard from our passages of the Sacred Scriptures the power of God’s healing and mercy, as He has shown to us all, in healing us from our physical sickness and maladies, and even more importantly, in healing us from the sickness of our souls, that is our sins. Through God’s most generous love and mercy, all of us have received from Him the wonderful gift of grace and mercy, forgiveness and healing from all the things that have held us back from embracing Him and His most generous love, His kindness and all that He has patiently given to us through His Son, manifesting His perfect love in the flesh, and extending to us all the powerful healing that can make us all whole again and be worthy of Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, of the story of the healing of Naaman, a powerful and renowned general of the army of the Aramaeans, the sworn enemies of the Israelites, who had been locked in bitter conflicts against the Aramaeans for many years and generations. Naaman was greatly respected and feared, but he faced a great predicament which was him contracting leprosy that disfigured him and made it very difficult for him. For the context, what the Scriptures referred here as leprosy might not necessarily be the same as what we now know as leprosy. Leprosy at that time referred to a rather diverse group of skin diseases, which was nonetheless contagious and hideous, making it difficult for the sufferer to carry on their usual daily life.

Amidst all that therefore, Naaman and the Aramaean king was desperate to find cure for the former, as leprosy was rather difficult to cure, and that was why Naaman went to the land of Israel seeking the help of the famous prophet Elisha, who was at that time ministering to the people of Israel and was well-known for his many miracles and wonders. Naaman eventually managed to find Elisha after some efforts and searching, and the prophet told him to do a simple task of immersing himself seven times in the River Jordan, and reassuring him that if he were to do that, then he would be made whole and well again.

But as we heard, Naaman was proud and became angry at the prophet’s suggestion, thinking of why he had to do such menial tasks in immersing himself in the River Jordan when he could have done that in the river of his own home country. He likely had this expectation that after all the efforts that he made to look for the prophet, that Elisha would perform the miracle healing through signs and wonders directly to him. However, his servant begged him to reconsider and to think that it was indeed a very easy task for him to perform, and as we heard, Naaman eventually relented and did as he was asked, and he was indeed cured from his condition. From this passage, we can see that it was Naaman’s pride that became his stumbling block earlier on.

That is therefore the reminder for all of us that we ourselves must not allow our pride, ego and all those things from preventing us as our stumbling blocks in attaining the grace and mercy of God. Too many times, many people fail to repent from their sins and wickedness, and persist on in their mistakes and problems because they were too proud to admit that they were facing problems and have fallen in their ways and paths. What the Lord asked of us is for us to listen to Him and to allow Him to make us whole again, and to trust Him in whatever He told us and guided us to do in each and every moments of our lives. And unlike the maladies and sickness of this world, which can be cured and healed, none can heal us from the afflictions of our sins, save that by the Lord’s compassionate mercy and forgiveness. That is why we should seek Him to be forgiven from our many sins and to be reconciled with Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the account of what happened at the time when the Lord Jesus came to His hometown of Nazareth to proclaim the Good News of God, and ended up facing rather cold and apathetic treatment and reception from those of His own hometown, as many among those people even doubted and refusing to accept the fact that one of their own could have received such great gift from God, and calling to be a great Teacher of the Faith, and less still what the Lord Himself had claimed, from their perspective, of being the One sent by God, the Messiah or Saviour promised by the Lord through His prophets.

And the Lord therefore lamented the lack of faith which was prevalent among those in His own hometown, which was partly due to their own prejudices and biases, as they all saw Him grew up and knowing and thinking that He was merely just the Son of the town carpenter, St. Joseph, the Lord’s foster-father, as no one but those within the Holy Family and perhaps very few others knew that the Lord was truly Incarnate in the flesh in Jesus, and He was not the biological son of St. Joseph. Hence, compounded with the fact that carpenter’s job was considered to be an honest and yet lowly job, this made the townspeople of Nazareth to look down on the Lord and hardened their hearts and minds against Him.

That was why the Lord mentioned the story of Naaman’s healing and the miracle that happened to him, and highlighted the irony of how it was an Aramaean who was not one of the twelve tribes of Israel who actually believed in God and put his faith in Him, while the Israelites themselves were unwilling to listen to the prophet Elisha and believing in God’s words that he bore towards them. It was then the same at the time of the Lord’s ministry among the people, where many among the Jewish people and their elders and elites of their community in particular, refused to listen to Him and believe in Him, and in fact they made it difficult for Him to carry out His mission. On the other hand, as highlighted in some parts of the Gospels, it was the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people who eagerly sought the Lord and had faith in Him.

Today perhaps we should then also look upon the good examples set by our holy predecessor, St. Frances of Rome, a holy woman and servant of God, who had dedicated her life to follow and serve the Lord. St. Frances of Rome was a wife and mother who was known in her role of caring for the poor and the sick in her community. St. Frances spent a lot of time and effort in reaching out to the less fortunate all around her, and when she became a widow, she even made part of her own family’s country estate into a hospital for the poor and the sick. She experienced a lot of hardships, challenges and difficulties throughout her life and ministry, but all those things did not discourage her from continuing to carry out her work and mission, and inspiring many others to follow her examples and doing what they could to care for the good of the people of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent let us all reflect on our attitudes in life, in whether we have allowed our pride, ego and other obstacles in our path towards God to prevent us from truly being able to be reconciled with Him. We should reexamine our way of living our lives and do our very best so that we can truly find the Lord amidst all the hustle and bustle of the world around us. Let us all be humbler and realise that each and every one of us are imperfect, broken beings, who are in need of God’s love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. May the Lord our God forgive us all our sins and bring us all into His most loving embrace, and help us to show the same love to our brethren around us, especially to those who are dearest and most beloved to us. Amen.

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Monday, 9 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 4 : 24-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people of Nazareth, “No prophet is honoured in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.