Day: February 25, 2015

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Friday, 27 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial.’ But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister ‘Fool!’ deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell.”

“So if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.”

“Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.”

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Friday, 27 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord. O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.

If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness, and for that You are revered.

I waited for the Lord, my soul waits, and I put my hope in His word. O Israel, hope in the Lord.

For with Him is unfailing love and with Him full deliverance. He will deliver Israel from all its sins.

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Friday, 27 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 18 : 21-28

YHVH said, “If the sinner turns from his sin, observes My decrees and practices what is right and just, he will live, he will not die. None of the sins he committed will be charged against him; he will live as a consequence of his righteous deeds. Do I want the death of the sinner? – word of YHVH. Do I not rather want him to turn from his ways and live?”

“But if the righteous man turns away from what is good and commits sins as the wicked do, will he live? His righteous deeds will no longer be credited to him, but he will die because of his infidelity and his sins.”

“But you say : YHVH’s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is My position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong? If the righteous man dies after turning from his righteous deeds and sinning, he dies because of his sins. And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes and turned from the sins he had committed.”

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Thursday, 26 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the purpose of today’s readings are very clear, that is to present to us, the Lord our God as our loving Father who cares for us all tenderly and delightfully, seeking only our own good and happiness. Yes, that is the desire of our Lord, to deliver us from sins and from the sufferings caused by those sins, and break away the bonds which death had imposed on us.

This is clearly represented by the prayer of the Queen Esther of Persia, the Jewish wife of the mighty Persian Emperor at the time after the exile to Babylon, when the enemies of God’s chosen people were encamped against them and sought about their destruction. Through Haman, the Agagite, the enemy of the people of God, the destruction of the people of God seemed certain, having been officially backed by the laws of Persia and the approval of the Emperor.

Esther, in her position as the Queen of Persia and wife of the Persian monarch, had the great opportunity to help her people and intercede for their sake, but she was truly risking herself and even her own life if she was to do so. The queen prior to Esther was cast away and exiled in disgrace because she had not obeyed the king’s call. Conversely, to come into the presence of the monarch to beg for pardon for the people of Israel without the invitation of the monarch is considered a kind of crime that is punishable indeed by death.

It is against all these, the fears and uncertainty, amidst the love and concern which Esther had for her people, that she prayed to God for help. God listened to her prayers and fulfilled His plans through her works. He gave her strength and courage to come up and seek the monarch, even without his permission, in order to beg for mercy for the people of Israel that they might not be destroyed by their enemies.

All these are to show us that our Lord is full of love and mercy, and He is our Father while we are all His children, having been adopted as sons and daughters through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who became Man out of God’s everlasting love for us. God is kind, and He will give us what we need, if we ask it from Him. That is the essence of the Gospel today. God will not harm us or do something that cause us harm, because He is our Father and like all fathers, He cares for His children and will do good deeds for them.

But this does not mean that He is not strict in His interactions with us. Like all fathers, God also chastises us, His children, whenever we become wayward and lost, and whenever we disobey Him and do things our own way which lead us inevitably and eventually into sin. If He the Father of all truly loves us, then He will surely chastise us and punish us for our wrongdoings, and indeed that He had done, not to destroy us but instead to bring us to the right path and thus be saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should know that we can depend on the Lord our God and our Father, and while all other hopes and ways are lost, the Lord is always there, ready to help and ready to provide us what we need. Queen Esther trusted in the Lord and she was not disappointed. The Lord guided her hand and she managed to overcome the devices of the enemy, and triumphed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have the Lord who is our Father, and who loves us as a father does. If only that we put our trust in Him, He will surely provide us and help us with bountiful blessings. May God be with us always and may we also always walk righteously in His path. Amen.