Day: March 18, 2015

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Saturday, 21 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Holy Scripture, and we heard about how the Pharisees and the teachers and elders of the people refused to listen to the Lord’s call when He came, and they even refused to acknowledge Him as their Lord and Saviour, even when all the things He had said and done have all spoken volumes about who He really is.

As we have discussed to a great length in yesterday’s discourse, the sins and pride of mankind had prevented them from seeing the truth in the Lord, as those things made them to close in unto themselves, and it caused them to refuse to repent and change their ways even when it was so obvious that they were at wrong. It is our human nature for us to think that we are right first, and we like to assume that others are the ones mistaken while we are right.

They were confused about who Christ was, because they did not recognise Him. To some of them, some of His actions might have made sense, but to others, or other actions might have baffled them. That is because they did not practice the Faith which they had preached. They had their faith in words only, but mostly it was superficial.

Their faith did not go deeper into their hearts, and this is reflected by the way which they had acted in life. They persecuted those whom they deemed not as worthy as they were. They thought highly of themselves and sought human praise for all of their actions. As such, they could not understand when the Lord Jesus showed them what the faith is truly about.

St. Paul in his letter to the Church and the faithful in Philippi spoke about Christ who did not regard His divinity, greatness and majesty as something to be marvelled at. He emptied Himself and cast aside His majesty, assuming the humble form of a Man, that is to be equal with God’s most beloved creation, all except in terms of sin. He humbled Himself and as a result, He was raised to the highest glory, and all worshipped Him and gave Him praise because of what He had done in perfect obedience to the will of the Father.

And so we come to the central message of today’s Scriptures, and indeed the message which all of us should take heed of every single days of our life. We have to realise that what God wants from us is not a superficial declaration of faith or an empty faith without action. If our faith is empty and dead, because we do not act as what we believed, like the Pharisees had done, then our faith is as good as useless.

What God wants from us is love, and not just any kind of love, but total devotion and commitment, which all of us should give. He needs no special offering or sacrifices, for if these are made without our commitment to the Lord, then they are as good as nothing. Even if we have nothing to offer the Lord, we can offer ourselves, our hearts and the entirety of the love which we have in us. This is what the Lord wants from us, and when He sees that love in us, He shall be glad, and His grace will be upon us.

This Lent, let it be a time for us all to seek true conversion for ourselves. Yes, first we have to change our own ways first and be changed for the better, before we can change others. Indeed, the next will be the conversion of the whole world, that everyone should be saved from the sinfulness which had separated them from God. It is time for us to announce the time of God’s mercy and love. Let us all be turned to the Lord and sincerely seek our redemption and salvation in God.

May Almighty God be with us always and empower us, so that in all the things we do, we may bring about true conversion to all of us, that we may have our hearts opened, and we may see and recognise the Lord doing His good works all around us and within us. May God bless us all in all of our endeavours. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 7 : 40-53

At that time, many who had been listening to these words began to say, “This is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some wondered, “Would the Christ come from Galilee? Does the Scripture not say that the Christ is a descendant of David and from Bethlehem, the city of David?” The crowd was divided over Him. Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

The officers of the Temple went back to the chief priests, who asked them, “Why did you not bring Him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this Man.” The Pharisees then said, “So you, too, have been led astray! Have any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in Him? Only these cursed people, who have no knowledge of the Law!”

Yet one of them, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier, spoke out, “Does our Law condemn people without first hearing them and knowing the facts?” They replied, “Do you, too, come from Galilee? Look it up and see for yourself that no prophet is to come from Galilee.” And they all went home.

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Saturday, 21 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 7 : 2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12

O Lord, my God, in You I take shelter; deliver me and save me from all my pursuers, lest lions tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

O Lord, my righteousness; You see that I am blameless. Bring to an end the power of the wicked, but affirm the just, o righteous God, searcher of mind and heart.

You cover me as a shield, o God, for You protect the upright. A righteous judge is God, His anger ever awaiting those who refuse to repent.

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Saturday, 21 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 11 : 18-20

YHVH made it known to me and so I know! And You let me see their scheming : “Take care, even your kinsfolk and your own family are false with you and behind your back they freely criticise you. Do not trust them when they approach you in a friendly way.”

But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me that they were plotting, “Let us feed him with trials and remove him from the land of the living and let his name never be mentioned again.”

YHVH, God of hosts, You who judge with justice and know everyone’s heart and intentions, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have entrusted my cause.

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Friday, 20 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings all speak of the same theme, that is of rejection by the world on Jesus and all of His teachings, just as they have rejected the prophets and messengers sent to remind the world and the people of the sins they have committed and the faults which they have done. The world dislikes what Jesus had done, because it does not belong to God, but it is the dominion of the evil one, Satan, who ruled the world and all of its worldliness.

It is a clear reminder to all of us that as long as we profess our faith in the Lord, the world, that is Satan and all of his fellow fallen angels, will always oppose and harass us as to the best of their abilities. The first reading from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah shows us that just as the wicked people refused to listen to Jeremiah, his words and warning to them, therefore they have done the same to Jesus, refusing to listen to Him and being adamant in their sinfulness. The same too will happen to us who remain faithful in He who had come into the world.

All of those rejection and wickedness, the stubbornness of heart are all because of one thing, that is our pride and arrogance, and our refusal to let go of that pride and ego. We are by our nature prideful and filled with desires. Just like the people of Israel when they continued to complain and rebel against the Lord and His will during their journey through the desert to the Promised Land.

How many times we always think about ourselves first? And whenever we do something wrong, how many times do we find excuse to save ourselves first? How many times we use the word, ‘I’ whenever we talk with others? All these are signs of our own insecurities, and our inability to deal with our pride and desires, all of which threaten to bring us all to damnation.

All of us are called in this holy season of Lent, in order to think through our actions and whatever we have done in this life. We are called to conversion and to change our way of life, so that if we were once sinners and like the attitudes of the people in the past, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who rejected Jesus and plotted against Him, then from now on, we should open our hearts and allow the Lord to enter into it and speak to us from deep within us.

It may not be easy for us to begin to change, as we all have our temptations and insecurities, and the pull of inertia, in refusing to change is truly great. But if we never begin, then it is most likely that we will never do it at all. We have to learn to resist the temptations of sin and all the other allures of Satan and the world. It is the purpose of why we fast and do all the penance works during this season.

In this season of Lent, let us all learn to shut out more of our desires, our pride and all the evil temptations and corruptions that Satan had placed inside each one of us. We have to learn to listen more to the Lord, who speaks in our heart, deep in the silence of our soul. If we are too busy and too preoccupied with ourselves, then most likely we will not be able to listen to God speaking in our hearts, and we will be prone to fall into sin.

Let us all find a time to retreat from all the busy schedules we have in the world, and be in deep conversation with our Lord and God. We have to intensify our prayer life, that is contemplation and focusing ourselves on the Lord and what He wants from us. It is important that we do so now and do not delay any longer. We never know when the Lord will come and judge us for whatever we have done or for whatever we have failed to do.

May this time in Lent be a beneficial one for us all, that we may all be called to genuine conversion to the cause of the Lord. May Almighty God shows His grace upon us and bless us with His abundant blessings. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 20 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 7 : 1-2, 10, 25-30

At that time, after Jesus told the people that He is the bread of life, Jesus went around Galilee; He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews wanted to kill Him. Now the Jewish feast of the Tents was at hand.

But after His brothers had gone to the festival, He also went up, not publicly but in secret. Some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Is this not the Man they want to kill? And here He is speaking freely, and they do not say a word to Him? Can it be that the rulers know that this is really the Christ? Yet we know where this Man comes from; but when the Christ appears, no one will know where He comes from.”

So Jesus announced in a loud voice in the Temple court where He was teaching, “You say that you know Me and know where I come from! I have not come of Myself; I was sent by the One who is true, and you do not know Him. I know Him for I come from Him and He sent Me.”

They would have arrested Him, but no one laid hands on Him because His time had not yet come.

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Friday, 20 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 33 : 17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

The Lord’s face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. Many are troubles of the just, but the Lord delivers them from all.

He keeps all their bones intact, and none of them will be broken. But the Lord will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.

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Friday, 20 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Wisdom 2 : 1a, 12-22

Led by mistaken reasons they think, “Let us set a trap for the Righteous, for He annoys us and opposes our way of life; He reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing.”

“He claims knowledge of God and calls Himself Son of the Lord. He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet Him is burdensome to us. He does not live like others and behaves strangely.”

“According to Him we have low standards, so He keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean. He emphasizes the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having God as Father. Let us see the truth of what He says and find out what His end will be. If the Righteous is a Son of God, God will defend Him and deliver Him from His adversaries.”

“Let us humble and torture Him to prove His self-control and test His patience. When we have condemned Him to a shameful death, we may test His words.”

This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice. They do not know the mysteries of God nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed.”

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Thursday, 19 March 2015 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2nd Anniversary of the Installation of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great feast day and solemnity of St. Joseph, who is the foster-father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the most devoted and chaste spouse of His mother, Mary. On this day we honour with great dedication the memory of the one person whose faith, devotion to God and whose hard works had brought so much good unto the works of Christ, whom as His adopted father, he did his best to smoothen the path of the Lord.

Indeed, Jesus is both fully God and fully Man at the same time, having assumed the flesh of Man through the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As God, He is omnipotent, All Powerful and All Knowing, but yet, in His humanity, He was also once a small and weak child, as all child are, and He was cared for very well by His parents, St. Joseph and Mary, His mother.

It was most likely St. Joseph who taught Jesus on the crafts and trades of the world, telling Him and teaching Him how to live well in this world, as all fathers are indeed supposed to do. Meanwhile, Mary most likely taught Him how to love and to be gentle to others, just as it was in her nature to love others. In that therefore, Jesus walked in the footsteps of His family, and He was also likely to be a carpenter as Hi foster-father Joseph was.

It was because of that then Jesus was persecuted and rejected by His own fellow townspeople, the people of Nazareth. These were the ones who had known Jesus since when He was just a Baby, and followed Him up as He grew in the care of His parents, Joseph and Mary. Being the Son of a carpenter certainly did not bring much prestige in those days, as even though the work of a carpenter is tough and honest, but no one is likely to want to have such a profession.

It was certainly not a job that brought about prestige, fame or human praise, and neither did it bring much wealth. The family of Jesus was most likely poor or even very poor, barely just making it through with the income they had and with meeting barely just the daily necessities. And yet, the Holy Family is indeed the happiest and most loving and perfect among the families ever present and ever will be in this world.

And part of that was because of St. Joseph himself and what he has done. St. Joseph was a righteous and upright man, who did not hesitate to do what is right and just before God and men alike. And he was also a person with a heart for mercy and love. This was shown when he found out that Mary had conceived a Baby prior to their marriage and consummation. This would have constituted adultery, and the ones involved in it would have been sentenced to death by stoning.

Being an upright man, as well as a loving person, St. Joseph did not want to subject Mary to this kind of suffering and humiliation. Although he did not know what had happened and even though he knew that Mary could not have committed adultery, given her character, St. Joseph was an upright and God-fearing man who would not let injustice be part of his action. Thus, to him the best act was to divorce her quietly, which would not bring about harsh punishment to Mary.

Yet, St. Joseph was told that he was being brought into the greater plan of God, which He had crafted and planned for many years and ages. Through Mary, God intended to bring about His salvation and to finally reveal Himself to the world. By the incarnation of the Divine Word and Son of God as the Son of Man, the Son of Mary, St. Joseph was made to be the foster-father or adopted-father of our Lord, by the ties of marriage which bonded him to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of our Lord.

And what St. Joseph had done in whatever little information we had on him, and from the Apostolic Traditions have shown us how a father in a family should have behaved like. As the father in the household, he is the head and leader of the family, and by leading his family, the Holy Family, through times of both difficulty and danger, and through times of happiness and joy, he had shown examples that would make many of us be ashamed.

He was a faithful and devoted husband who helped and who was with his wife Mary when she was heavily pregnant with Jesus and was about to give birth, and yet they had to travel a great distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, of whom Joseph is the heir and descendant. In this, the prophecies and words of the Scriptures were fulfilled, that the Heir and Son of David was to be born in His city, Bethlehem.

He endured on even as inns after inns and houses after houses rejected them. He found a stable where eventually the Saviour of this world was born into the world. He led the Holy Family, especially Jesus, to safety when king Herod wanted to kill Him out of jealousy and fear for his rule, which Christ would supplant eventually. He led them to live in Egypt for a while as an exile before leading them back to Nazareth after Herod’s death.

He was a dutiful and devout father, who presented Jesus in the Temple and brought Him to the Temple when He was of age. Although as mentioned in the Scriptures that Jesus recognised God as His true Father, nevertheless we also heard that He also obeyed His parents and followed their instructions as He grew up to be a Man filled with grace and blessing of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this feast and solemnity of St. Joseph, all of us, especially fathers and parents among us, we should reflect on our actions in this life. We have to ask ourselves, on whether we have tried to live up to the standards of the works and actions of St. Joseph. If we have not done so, then we truly have a lot of work ahead of us.

Today we also commemorate the second anniversary of the Installation and Coronation of our Pope, Francis, the Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff, leader of the Universal Church who is called Holy Father because he is indeed like our father. In this we have to understand that we have to give our obedience to the Pope, the Magisterium and the entirety of the Church authority and teachings, all of which served to guard the true and authentic faith as passed down to us from the Lord through His Apostles.

In this season of Lent therefore, and from what we reflect on this solemn occasion, we should aim to follow the examples of St. Joseph, in his works, in his actions and also in his faith and devotion to God. There are many of us in this world who can benefit greatly by walking in the footsteps of the foster-father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the most faithful spouse and husband of our Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. St. Joseph, pray for us all. Amen.