Month: March 2025

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Friday, 4 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all continue to journey through this time and season of Lent, we are reminded of the sufferings, trials and challenges that all of us as Christians may be facing in our journey through life, due to the opposition and incompatibility of the worldly ways with that of the ways and manners of the Lord and His teachings. We are reminded that our journey of life as Christian faithful is not something that is going to be very easy or smooth, and as we journey through this season of Lent, we should prepare ourselves well, spiritually and mentally as we continue to commit ourselves to the Lord, reminding ourselves of the sufferings and persecutions that Our Lord and Saviour Himself had to experience in His efforts to bring us all back to Himself.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the words of the author detailing the plots and the persecutions which the enemies of the Lord’s faithful and servants had to face in their path and journey. In all of the words that the author of this Book of Wisdom mentioned in the part of the passage that we heard today, we saw what kind of malice and wickedness that had been contained in the hearts and minds of many among the people of God, which led to them persecuting and oppressing many of the prophets, messengers and servants of God sent to them to warn and remind them of their obligations to follow the ways of the Lord and to distance themselves away from the sins and wickedness that they had been committing in life.

And this was also a premonition of what the Lord Himself, Our Saviour would experience at the hands of His enemies, when He, as the Son of God and Son of Man, had to endure rejection, resentment and also false accusations meant to destroy Him, betrayed and handed over to the Romans to be crucified and killed. All of these were done out of the pride, hubris and ego of those who refused to believe in the words of the messengers of God because they thought that they were superior and better than everyone else, and that they could not have been wrong or mistaken in the manner that they have lived their lives. This was how the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests treated the Lord, persecuting Him and wishing to see Him destroyed because their agenda and desires were not in accordance with what God wanted from them and His people.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the story of the ruckus and the unrest among the Jewish people due to some among them wanting to kill and destroy the Lord Jesus because of the teachings and works that He had done among the people, which they disagreed with. That was why the Lord was met with such hostility by His enemies, which by that time had begun to seek His destruction by whatever means. And all these were caused by the jealousy which the Pharisees and the elders had against the Lord because they saw Him as a great threat to their influence in the community of the people of God and they also disagreed with His teachings, thinking that their ways and practices were better and could not have been mistaken.

Here we can see how pride and ego had led mankind down the wrong path in life, and how it had prevented those who hardened their hearts and minds from believing in what God had taught, shown and done before all of them, many times. As we have heard earlier on from our passage taken from the Book of Wisdom, it was our pride, ego and jealousy, among other things that often become serious stumbling blocks preventing us from truly finding our way towards the Lord, our loving God and Saviour. And this is why today we are being reminded of this fact so that we ourselves do not become easily ensnared by these temptations and lured by those things that the evil one may be using to lead us into the path towards damnation and destruction. This Lent, we are reminded that we should be more humble and be more aware of our sinfulness, flaws and problems, and seek the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness with contrite hearts.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Isidore, also known as St. Isidore of Seville, a renowned Hispano-Roman scholar and bishop, as the then Archbishop of Seville in what is now southern part of Spain. He was remembered for his great faith and dedication to God, all the hard work he had committed in the evangelisation of the faith among those who have not followed the Lord faithfully. He was especially remembered for his defense of the true, orthodox Christian faith against the falsehoods and waywardness of the heretical Arians, which were still quite prevalent during the time of his ministry among the Visigoths in Hispania. Eventually through his tireless efforts and works, he managed to convert the Visigothic king and many among the nobles to the Nicene Christian faith, after encountering lots of challenges and trials throughout his missions and works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the story of the life and ministry of St. Isidore of Seville, let us all therefore reflect on our own lives and actions, and think carefully on how we can live lives that are more harmonious and in accordance with God’s will. We are called to follow in the path that our holy predecessors had done, and we should indeed make good use of the time and opportunities that had been provided to us so that we may reject resolutely the temptations and dangers of sin, all the false promises and lies of the evil one, embracing instead the love and compassionate mercy from God, allowing Him to heal us all from our sickness and troubles due to our disobedience and corruption through our sins.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to help and strengthen us in our journey of faith and life, and may He grant us the wisdom and the courage to walk ever more faithfully in all things and in all circumstances, becoming good role models, examples and inspirations to one another, coming ever closer to the Lord and His salvation. May God bless us all and our Lenten observances, that we may have a truly fruitful Lenten journey. Amen.

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Friday, 4 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

At that time, 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, 4 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

But 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 the 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, 4 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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 emphasises 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, 3 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all continue to journey through this holy and penitential season of Lent, we are all reminded of the sins and wickedness which we have committed in this life, and all the things which bring about the Divine displeasure because sin is abhorrent before God, and sin cannot exist in God’s Presence or else we will be crushed and destroyed by those sins. If yesterday we were reminded of God’s generous mercy and love, His ever present desire to forgive us all our sins, then in today’s Scripture readings we are reminded that the same Lord, our God, is also a Holy and Just God, One Who is all good and perfect, and will not have corruption of sin and evil in His Presence.

God’s generous and rich mercy provides for us the sure avenue and path for us to return to Him and to be forgiven from our many sins. However, we must also realise that those sins require us to embrace God’s forgiveness and mercy wholeheartedly, committing ourselves to the path of repentance and reconciliation with God. Without repentance and contrition over our sins, there can be no true forgiveness, because while God’s mercy is truly rich and boundless, but if we are still strongly attached to sin and disobedience against God, eventually we will still be drawn again and again back into sin and its corruptions. That is why especially during this time and season of Lent, we are reminded to rid ourselves of all these sins and the attachments to sin.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when the Israelites committed a great sin against God because they intentionally abandoned and betrayed Him by establishing a golden calf idol over them and calling it their lord and master, their god and the one who saved them out of the land of Egypt. In this well-known occasion and story, the Israelites chose to rebel against God because they were impatient and they also assumed that Moses, the leader whom God had sent to them and appointed to lead them to the Promised Land had perished on the mountain, and therefore, they were free to choose their own path and some among them likely instigated the people to adopt the practices of the Egyptians that they were known well to them, having lived in Egypt for a few centuries before their emancipation by God.

But in doing so, the people of God had broken the very first commandment of the Law which God was about to give them, what we all now know as the Ten Commandments, and at the core of those laws and rules governing the people, is the love that the people of God, and hence, all of us mankind, ought to give wholeheartedly to the Lord, our God and Master of the whole Universe, to Him and Him alone. There is only one God and there is no other gods besides Him, and this is the heart of the Commandments and the guidance which He has given to all of those people. Unfortunately, they had taken His love and generosity for granted, and instead of being thankful and appreciative of the love and kindness that He has shown them, they rejected His love and betrayed Him instead for pagan and false idols.

God was angered by what He had seen and He told Moses that He would destroy all of them, sparing only Moses and that He would make Moses to be the progenitor of a great people like that of Abraham before him. But Moses begged the Lord on behalf of the people of Israel, reminding God of the love which He had for those people, no matter how sinful and wicked they had been. God certainly loved His people very much, and we can see that love being manifested to us as well. But through this moment, we are all reminded of just how serious our sins are, and how dangerous they can be as they can truly lead us down the path to destruction, and if we are not careful, we may end up being judged and condemned by those sins which we had committed in our lives.

In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to the people of God, especially referring to the actions of those who have not yet believed in Him and in everything that He had revealed to them from God up to that point, as well as the words and teachings of St. John the Baptist before Him. For the context, St. John the Baptist was the one sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, and he called on all the people to turn away from their sins and to repent their wicked ways, as the coming of the Messiah and the Kingdom of God was at hand. And everything would indeed come to fulfilment with the coming of Christ. But quite a number among those people, like many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law refused to believe, doubted and even questioned the authority and credibility of both St. John the Baptist and the Lord Himself.

But why did they all harden their hearts and minds as such? The reason was highlighted in our Gospel passage today and also in what the Pharisees believed in, namely in the very strict and rigid interpretation of the Jewish laws and customs, the Law that God had first revealed through Moses and granted to the people as we heard in our first reading passage today. However, they often did not truly understand the true intention and purpose of why those laws and rules were put in place by God. They were meant by God to show and teach His beloved people on how they can love Him and put their hearts and minds with the right focus and attention on Him, and not be easily swayed or tempted to follow the path of the world instead.

But pride is something that is truly difficult to overcome, as it was their sense of superiority, their knowledge and thoughts that they knew it better than others around them, that they were more worthy and more knowledgeable about the Law and the prophets that led them to disobey the Lord and rebel against Him, much as how those Israelites, their ancestors, had thought that Moses had perished at the Mountain of God, and instead, they thought that by establishing a golden calf over themselves as god, they were doing the right thing. And through these things that we have discussed and heard from the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded to distance ourselves from this prideful thoughts and ways, and we should instead humble ourselves, recognising our flaws and sinfulness so that we will not continue to fall into sin.

Let us all therefore make good use of the opportunities which had been provided to us in this time and season of Lent so that we may truly be sincere in seeking God’s love and mercy, to be forgiven from our many sins and faults, and to be reconciled fully with our loving Father and Creator. We must not take for granted God’s love for each one of us, but we must strive to seek Him with sincere and contrite hearts, desiring forgiveness for our many sins. Let us all not harden our hearts or be prideful any longer, but instead strive to live our lives henceforth with faith and true devotion towards God, be exemplary in our way of living that we may truly be worthy of being called as Christians. May God be with us always, and may He continue to bless us in everything we do. Amen.

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Thursday, 3 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 31-47

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “If I bore witness to Myself, My testimony would be worthless. But Another One is bearing witness to Me, and I know that His testimony is true when He bears witness to Me. John also bore witness to the truth when you sent messengers to him, but I do not seek such human testimony; I recall this for you, so that you may be saved.”

“John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were willing to enjoy his light. But I have greater evidence than that of John – the works which the Father entrusted to Me to carry out. The very works I do bear witness : The Father has sent Me. Thus He Who bears witness to Me is the Father Who sent Me. You have never heard His voice and have never seen His likeness; therefore, as long as you do not believe His messenger, His word is not in you.”

“You search in the Scriptures, thinking that in them you will find life; yet Scripture bears witness to Me. But you refuse to come to Me, that you may live. I am not seeking human praise; but I have known that love of God is not within you, for I have come in My Father’s Name and you do not accept Me. If another comes in his own name, you will accept him. As long as you seek praise from one another, instead of seeking the glory which comes from the only God, how can you believe?”

“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. Moses himself, in whom you placed your hope, accuses you. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

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Thursday, 3 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 105 : 19-20, 21-22, 23

They made a calf at Horeb and worshipped the molten image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a bull that eats grass.

They forgot their Saviour God, Who had done great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.

So He spoke of destroying them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to shield them from destruction.

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Thursday, 3 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Exodus 32 : 7-14

Then YHVH said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten calf; they have bowed down before it and sacrificed to it and said : ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.'”

And YHVH said to Moses, “I see that these people are a stiff-necked people. Now just leave Me that My anger may blaze against them. I will destroy them, but of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses calmed the anger of YHVH, his God, and said, “Why, o YHVH, should Your anger burst against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with a mighty hand?”

“Let not the Egyptians say : ‘YHVH brought them out with evil intent, for He wanted to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth.’ Turn away from the heat of Your anger and do not bring disaster on Your people. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the promise You Yourself swore : I will multiply Your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land I spoke about I will give to them as an everlasting inheritance.”

YHVH then changed His mind and would not yet harm His people.

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Wednesday, 2 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (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 great compassion and mercy that God has always shown to us, his beloved and precious people, as well as the call and reminder for us to be truly committed to God, to follow His ways and to obey His Law and commandments, and to resist all the temptations and pressures which may always seek to mislead us down the wrong path in life. We have to listen to the Lord speaking to us and calling on us to follow Him from the depths of our hearts and minds, and we have to always be ready to discern and embrace God’s words, His truth and love as He has revealed to us most generously through His Son, or else we may easily be distracted and lose our path.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, in which we heard of the Lord’s words of reassurance and love for His beloved people, the Israelites, whom He assured of His providence and care, of how they would all be blessed and bountiful again by God’s blessings and graces. This came in the context of how the people of Israel by the time of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah had been facing a lot of struggles and hardships, because of the sins which they themselves and their ancestors had committed before. And yet, God did not give up on them and He still patiently guided all of them to Himself, through His sending of the many prophets and messengers that had been sent to help all of His beloved people to find their way back to Him.

And Isaiah was one of these many prophets whom God had sent to be among His people, to chastise them for their sins and wickedness, but at the same time also reminding them of the great and ever enduring love that He has always had for them, despite their stubborn attitudes and rebelliousness. Ultimately, we are reminded that God’s love for us is far greater than all of our sins and iniquities, and through God and His help, by our sincere embracing of the compassion and love of God, we can be healed and brought out from the predicament that is our sins and wickedness, our disobedience and the corruptions that sin has brought unto us. We should always remember the Lord’s love and mercy, and be hopeful and faithful in Him as He will never abandon us willingly. It is rather us mankind who have abandoned God.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples in which He detailed to them His relationship with the Father, His heavenly Father Who had sent Him into this world to be the One to save all of us mankind. He as the Son obeyed the will of the Father and did everything that the Father had told Him to do, and through this perfect obedience and commitment, Christ, as the Son of God and Son of Man both, showed all of us the way for us to reach God, our loving Father, as through His incarnation, Christ Our Lord has united all of us and our humanity to His own, making all of us to be beloved children of God as well. And the Lord told us all to obey the Father just as He Himself has obeyed the Father’s will.

Through all of that, the Lord wanted to show us how we can truly be redeemed from our many sins, evils and wickedness, from all the things which had separated us from the fullness of God’s grace and love. The Lord Jesus in that same occasion also told His disciples about the renewal, healing and new life which God has promised to all of them if they all believe in whatever that He had told them. And He also reminded them all of the time of the Last and Final Judgment, in which Christ Himself will be the Judge of all things and of all Creation, the One to judge all of us of our lives, our actions, misdeeds, our failures, our virtues and everything that we do or failed to do in life. Each and every one of us ultimately will have to account for our respective lives before God. And when the time comes, are we ready to face it, and will we be found to be worthy of God?

During this time and season of Lent, we are therefore reminded by these readings and passages from the Sacred Scriptures so that we may be more aware of how our lives have probably fallen far away from the path and the way that God has wanted us all to follow in each and every one of our lives. We should not take all these opportunities and chances that God has generously given to us for granted, or else we may regret our lack of gratitude, appreciation and understanding of just how fortunate we are that God, our most loving and merciful Father, has always had for us, and yet, many of us constantly rebuffed His approaches of love, all of His efforts in reconciling us to Himself and all the avenues and means that He has provided to us to bring us to His grace and salvation.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Francis of Paola, a holy servant of God and a renowned hermit, whose faith and devotion to God is truly exemplary and a good inspiration for all of us as Christians. St. Francis of Paola was the founder of the Order of Minims, inspired by the simplicity and the way of life shown by his patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order. He was born into a very poor but pious family, who asked for the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi for a son, and after whose birth, committed him to a life of piety and commitment to God, and since his youth, he had been exposed to religious life and virtues, eventually leading to the young St. Francis of Paola to commit himself to a life of seclusion, withdrawing from the temptations and excesses of the world.

In becoming a hermit, St. Francis of Paola gradually inspired more and more people to follow his examples as he lived an ascetic life dedicated to God, full of self-mortification and resistance to all temptations of the flesh, worldly desires and pleasures. He was especially renowned for his great humility which also inspired many of his fellow religious, committing to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and not to indulge in any sorts of temptations that can lead us astray in our lives in this world. They all live their lives in great humility, seeking to be unknown and hidden from the world, as contrasted with the usual desires of men who sought to be praised, famous and glorified. The examples showed by St. Francis of Paola and his brethren should be inspiration for all of us to follow as well in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore make good use of the time and opportunities which we have received during this season of Lent so that we may draw ever closer to God and His loving mercy, embrace His kind forgiveness and hope in Him once more, putting our faith and trust in Him as we should always do. Let us all continue to live our lives worthily as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own. We should not be idle in living our lives or live our lives in manner that is contrary to our faith and beliefs as Christians, or else we are no different than hypocrites who do not truly act in the manner that they believe in. Let us all continue to be humble in realising our sinfulness and embrace God’s mercy, while encouraging each other to seek God’s mercy as well, and be the worthy beacons of God’s light and truth in our communities today. May God be with us all, in each and every things we do. Amen.

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Wednesday, 2 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 17-30

At that time, Jesus replied to the Jews, “My Father goes on working and so do I.” And the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made Himself equal with God, calling God His own Father.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. And whatever He does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does; and He will show Him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.”

“As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom He wills. In the same way the Father judges no one, for He has entrusted all judgment to the Son, and He wants all to honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father Who sent Him.”

“Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me, has eternal life; and there is no judgment for him, because he has passed from death to life. Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in Himself, and He has given to the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has empowered Him as well to carry out Judgment, for He is Son of Man.”

“Do not be surprised at this : the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear My voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. I can do nothing of Myself, and I need to hear Another One to judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.”