by

Friday, 13 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 and as we continue to progress through this sacred time and season of Lent, all of us are reminded that God’s forgiveness and mercy are both powerful and boundless in nature, and we should appreciate the fact that God has always been kind, merciful and patient towards us at all times. And because the Lord has always been there for us, we should indeed learn to listen to Him and to follow Him wherever He leads us towards, realising that it is only with Him that we can truly move forward confidently in life, knowing that with His guidance all of us will be able to live a truly wholesome life inspired by God’s love and grace.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which God was calling on all of His people to return to Him in repentance and regret over their many sins and wickedness, calling upon all of them to turn back towards Him with contrite and sorrowful hearts, trusting in the power and generosity of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness, which He has always shown freely to every single one of us without exception. This is because God is Love, Love personified and manifested, a perfect Love without limits and boundaries, and He Himself has constantly reassured us of this love which He has always had for us, and ultimately, He created each and every one of us out of His most generous love.

That was why despite the stubborn attitudes of the people refusing to follow the Lord’s commandments and ways, their hardened hearts and minds, their preference to trust in the ways of their pagan neighbours and in worldly means instead on God’s Providence, God still reached out to them patiently nonetheless. The prophet Hosea was sent to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel to minister to them during the last decades of that kingdom’s existence right up to the time of its destruction by the Assyrians. The downfall and destruction of Israel, the ruin of its many cities and the exile of its people were all foretold by the Lord through His prophets including that of Hosea, but God also reassured His people that He still loved them all nonetheless, and that He would still care for them and restore them to His loving Presence and grace eventually.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the conversation between the Lord Jesus and a teacher of the Law who asked Him about the matter of the Law of God, specifically about the Ten Commandments and all the laws, rules and regulations which God has shown to Moses and then passed on to the Israelites. For the context, the whole Law, its application and practices as it had evolved over many centuries up to the time of the Lord’s ministry spanned vast numbers of rules and regulations, so much so that according to tradition, they numbered at least six hundred and thirteen all in all, if not more. And the teachers of the Law, together with the Pharisees were among those who were very particular with their application, imposition and enforcement among the people of God.

And throughout the Gospels, we can see how the Lord often clashed against the Pharisees and also the teachers of the Law with regard to the Law of God and its application and enforcement. The Lord was also often critical against how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law practiced and observed the Law, condemning their rigidity and lack of true appreciation and understanding of God’s Law, its purpose and intention with their elitist and exclusivist attitude, being judgmental and biased against all those whom they disagreed with and disapproved. That was why, with this context, we can understand perhaps why the teacher of the Law was asking the Lord about which of the commandments of the Law is the most important one. It was either to test Him or out of genuine curiosity to find out which of the many rules, precepts and laws were indeed the one that is most important.

And the Lord made it very clear that the whole entire Law can be summarised into two main points, that is loving the Lord our God with all of our might and strength, putting Him above everything else, and then secondly to love others in the same way as well, particularly those whom we love and are precious to us. All the whole Law as God had given to us His people were indeed meant to do nothing more and nothing less than to guide each and every one of us, God’s people, in how we can love God and one another, showing and teaching us the true meaning and purpose of the Law that God has given to us. Essentially through the Law that He has given to us and revealed in its fullness of truth through His Son and His Church, we are all called to live our lives in the manner that is truly pleasing to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we all reflect upon these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that all of us should always listen to the Lord and trust in Him in everything that He has provided to us, and we should not be afraid to walk in His path, understanding His Law and commandments, and knowing that through what He Himself has shown us, we can truly love Him wholeheartedly and we can also show the same love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, to our most beloved ones just as God has always intended for us to do. Each and every one of us are the bearers of God’s love and truth, and we are all called to show this same love in each and every one of our actions, words and deeds, in every moments of our lives.

May the Lord our most loving, compassionate and merciful God continue to guide us all as we continue to progress and journey through life. May He continue to lead us forward in life and especially throughout this time and season of Lent so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His love, and that we may continue to inspire many others around us through our own words, actions and deeds that we may lead more and more towards the Lord and His salvation. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours to glorify Him by our lives, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 13 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Mark 12 : 28b-34

At that time, a teacher of the Law came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is : Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved of this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

by

Friday, 13 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 80 : 6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it, I relieved your shoulder from burden; I freed your hands. You called in distress, and I saved you.

Unseen, I answered you in thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear, My people, as I admonish you. If only you would listen, o Israel!

There shall be no strange god among you, you shall not worship any alien god, for I the Lord am your God, who led you forth from the land of Egypt.

If only My people would listen, if only Israel would walk in My ways. I would feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy you with honey from the rock.

by

Friday, 13 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hosea 14 : 2-10

Return to your God YHVH, o Israel! Your sins have caused your downfall. Return to YHVH with humble words. Say to Him, “Oh You Who show compassion to the fatherless forgive our debt, be appeased. Instead of bulls and sacrifices, accept the praise from our lips. Assyria will not save us : no longer shall we look for horses nor ever again shall we say ‘Our gods’ to the work of our hands.”

I will heal their wavering and love them with all My heart for My anger has turned from them. I shall be like dew to Israel like the lily will he blossom. Like a cedar he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow and spread. His splendour will be like an olive tree. His fragrance, like a Lebanon cedar.

They will dwell in My shade again, they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like a vine, and their fame will be like Lebanon wine. What would Ephraim do with idols, when it is I Who hear and make him prosper? I am like an ever-green cypress tree; all your fruitfulness comes from Me.

Who is wise enough to grasp all this? Who is discerning and will understand? Straight are the ways of YHVH : the just walk in them, but the sinners stumble.

by

Thursday, 12 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to proceed through this time and season of Lent, and as we all continue to walk through this time of reconciliation and reconnection with God, we are all reminded through the passages of the Sacred Scriptures that we should always keep ourselves open-minded and willing to listen to the Lord speaking to us and calling on all of us to follow His path and to adhere to His teachings and ways. During this time and season of Lent, we are reminded that we should not harden our hearts and minds, and instead of allowing our ego and pride to keep us away from listening to Him and believing in Him, we should learn to be more humble and come to put ourselves in the loving presence of God, allowing Him to heal us from our afflictions, particularly those of our sins.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people, the people living in the southern kingdom of Judah during the final years and decades of its existence as an independent kingdom, and as we heard it, we can see how the people of Judah had been disobedient against God just as their ancestors and predecessors had been, in refusing to obey the Law and the commandments of God, in shutting their hearts and minds stubbornly against God and against all the prophets and messengers who had been sent to them to remind, guide and help them to walk faithfully and righteously in the path that God has set before them. Yet, they instead persecuted those prophets and murdered them.

That was why, understandably God was furious and unhappy at the behaviours shown by those stubborn and ungrateful people, whom God has always cared for and loved despite their lack of faith and obedience to Him, and He told them all therefore through the prophet Jeremiah of all of their misdeeds and wrongdoings, a nation of stubborn and hardened hearted people that had not appreciated everything which God had lovingly done for them. In the end, they would all suffer the consequences of their actions, and they had to be accountable for their misdeeds and misbehaviours, for God Who is always loving towards His beloved people is also a just God Who does not want any injustice to remain before Him, as what the people of Judah had done.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which the contention between the Lord and those who doubted and opposed Him came to an argument between them particularly because the latter accused Him of having performed His miracles, signs and wonders through the powers and workings of the demon prince Beelzebul. This Beelzebul according to tradition was one of the mighty prince of demons that was one of the chief lieutenants of Hell, a powerful adversary of the Lord and His people, and therefore those accusations were really serious ones, as they not only tried to undermine the Lord’s credibility but even accusing Him of blasphemy and wicked deeds by colluding with the demons.

That was when the Lord then immediately pointed out the folly in their argument and false accusation, highlighting how it would be foolish and unimaginable for the devil and the other evil ones to be divided against each other in their efforts to bring about ruin and destruction for the people of God. Yes, indeed, they might have quarrelled and disagreed with each other as were probably their nature, but regardless of their different methods and works, those forces of evil and wickedness were always united in their purpose to bring about our damnation and destruction. As the Lord Himself mentioned, no countries or states would have survived and remained standing or strong if they were divided amongst themselves.

Hence, there is absolutely no reason to believe that Beelzebul would have helped the Lord to perform those miracles and works against the other forces of evil. And the Lord Jesus highlighted and proclaimed clearly that He has done all of His works and signs, miracles and wonders by the power of God made manifest through Him against all those who falsely accused Him of collusion with the forces of evil. It was likely that those people who opposed the Lord consisted of the Pharisees and their supporters, who were still quite adamant in their opposition against Him despite all the evidence pointing out otherwise, that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah or Saviour that God has promised His people through all of His prophets.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all those opposition and hardened hearts, all came about because of the pride and ego of mankind, all the insecurities and fears that we all have in us, which led us all to resist God’s works and efforts to reach out to us as the people of Judah and the opponents of the Lord like the Pharisees had shown. We must instead be examples of those who put their trust and faith in God, and we should do our best at all times so that we may be good examples and inspirations for everyone around us, leading more and more people back towards the Lord. It is through us and our actions that the Lord can truly be glorified, and by our many contributions, even the smallest ones, we can do so many great and wonderful things.

May God be with us always and may He bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always, especially throughout this time and season of Lent, so that our Lenten observances and practices may truly be fruitful, and be centred appropriately on Him and not on our own selfish desires, ambitions or on any desire to be recognised and praised for our faith. Amen.

by

Thursday, 12 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 11 : 14-23

At that time, one day Jesus was driving out a demon, which was mute. When the demon had been driven out, the mute person could speak, and the people were amazed. Yet some of them said, “He drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” Others wanted to put Him to the test, by asking Him for a heavenly sign.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.”

“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God, has come upon you? As long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on, and disposes of his spoils.”

“Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters.”

by

Thursday, 12 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.

by

Thursday, 12 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 7 : 23-28

YHVH says, “One thing I did command them : Listen to My voice and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in the way I command you and all will be well with you. But they did not listen and paid no attention; they followed the bad habits of their stubborn heart and turned away from Me.”

“From the time I brought their forebearers out of Egypt until this day I have continually sent them My servants, the prophets, but this stiff-necked people did not listen. They paid no attention and were worse than their forebearers. You may say all these things to them but they will not listen; you will call them but they will not answer.”

“This is a nation that did not obey YHVH and refused to be disciplined; truth has perished and is no longer heard from their lips.”

by

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.

by

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.”