Month: March 2025

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 144 : 8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18

Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

The Lord is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. The Lord lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.

Righteous is the Lord in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 49 : 8-15

This is what YHVH says : “At a favourable time I have answered you, on the day of salvation I have been your help; I have formed you and made you to be My covenant with the people. You will restore the land, and allot its abandoned farms. You will say to the captives : Come out; and to those in darkness : Show yourselves.”

“They will feed along the road; they will find pasture on barren hills. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the scorching wind or the sun beat upon them; for He Who has mercy on them will guide them and lead them to springs of water. I will turn all My mountains into roads and raise up My highways. See, they come from afar, some from the north and west, others from the land of Sinim.”

Sing, o heavens and rejoice, o earth; break forth into song, o mountains : for YHVH has comforted His people and taken pity on those who are afflicted. But Zion said : “YHVH has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” Can a woman forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child of her womb? Yet though she forget, I will never forget you.

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Tuesday, 1 April 2025 : 4th 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 Scriptures, we are all reminded of the power of God’s healing and mercy, the hope and light that we have been assured of from Him, everything that He has done for us, so that by His grace and love, all of us may attain healing and liberation from the attachments and shackles of our sins and evils. All of us as sinners still living in this world have been afflicted by the plague of sin and the corruption of our souls, which have kept us separated and distant from God. But God does not give up on us, and He still wants to be reconciled and reunited with us, and that is why we are constantly being reminded of this great love and mercy of God, freely and generously given to us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which the vision of Ezekiel has been highlighted to us. Ezekiel saw a vision of Heaven and its Temple where the Temple of God and His Holy Presence has been manifested to him, showing the glory of God and the majesty that Heaven is full of, and how from the Temple of God life-giving water came forth and this great flood of life-giving water comes down upon the world, bringing about healing and grace, sanctification and purification. This symbolism of the Heavenly Temple and the life-giving water is a representation of God’s love and mercy for all of us His people, that despite the sufferings and punishments that we mankind are suffering as sinners due to our sins and wickedness, but ultimately God’s love trumps over even all those.

This must be further understood in the context of the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel and events happening during his time. The prophet Ezekiel ministered to the people of God in the land of their exile in Babylon just before and after the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, which saw the Babylonians and their armies ransacking the city of Jerusalem and razing the Temple that King Solomon had built for God to the ground. There was nothing left of that Temple and the once great city of Jerusalem was left in ruins, as a stark reminder of the consequences of the sins which God’s people had committed against Him, their disobedience and sins by which they had been therefore punished and made to endure humiliation in the land of their exile, far away from the lands which God had promised to them and their ancestors.

By this vision of the Heavenly Temple and the healing which God has revealed through this same vision, God wanted to reassure His people of the healing and grace that He would impart to all of them, by which He would forgive them all from their sins and faults, and restore them all once again to their lands, bringing and gathering them back once again to the places where they would dwell again in His Presence. But at the same time, beyond the immediate effects of healing and reconciliation which God promised to all of His people, the Israelites, this same healing is also a premonition of what He would do in bringing about healing to all of us mankind, healing us all from our many sins and wickedness, from all of our troubles and trials, delivering us from the clutches of sin and from the fangs of death.

From our Gospel passage today, we heard of the events that happened at the Pool of Bethzatha in Jerusalem where many people came seeking God’s healing and mercy. As mentioned in the passage, those who went to the water of the Pool right when the Angel of God descended upon it would be healed and made whole again, freed from their troubles and complaints. But for that particular man who was paralysed and had been suffering for thirty-eight years, as mentioned there was no one present to help him for all those years, and he was still waiting for God’s healing and miracle when the Lord came to him at the side of the Pool of Bethzatha. The Lord saw the great faith in the man and had pity on him, and by His power, He made the man to be able to walk once again, healed from his illness and problems.

And we heard how this healing happened during the Day of the Sabbath when the people of God were supposed to cease their activities and focus on prayers to God. However, the Pharisees above all enforced a particularly strict version of this Law on the Sabbath, where they forbid even all kinds of actions including the actions of mercy and love, good and beneficial actions that are necessary for the good of the people of God. They often clashed with the Lord and refused to listen to Him despite the Wisdom that He has shown in their interactions with Him. Those same Pharisees also criticised the Lord in His action in healing the paralysed man as we heard in today’s Gospel passage. They all refused to admit that what the Lord had done for the paralysed man was truly a good thing and not something that is unlawful.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God does not desire the destruction of His people, and He certainly does not want to see us to suffer. We have to suffer from sin and its consequences because we have hardened our hearts and disobeyed His Law and commandments, but in the end, all these sufferings will come to an end and God will forgive us our sins if we seek Him sincerely with contrite and sorrowful hearts and minds. Through His love and mercy, God has brought freedom and consolation to the suffering paralysed man, and this action is a reminder for each one of us of God’s love and mercy, His compassion and kindness, in His ever present desire to be reconciled and reunited with us, His beloved people and children.

Now, during this time of Lent, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to love the Lord our most loving God and Father, striving to be at our best each day in being good role models in our actions and lives so that by our good examples and inspirations, we may inspire many others around us, our fellow brothers and sisters to follow our examples and to walk in the same path that we the faithful and holy people of God had walked. Let us all be humble and be cognisant of our flaws, mistakes and sins, and seek God’s rich and most generous mercy so that He may heal us all and bring us to true and genuine reconciliation with Him. May the Lord continue to bless us in our Lenten journey and observance, and may He guide us all in each and every moments of our lives so that we may draw ever closer to Him and come ever closer to His salvation and grace. Amen.

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Tuesday, 1 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 1-16

At that time, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool (called Bethzatha in Hebrew) surrounded by five galleries. In these galleries lay a multitude of sick people : blind, lame and paralysed.

(All were waiting for the water to move, for at times an Angel of the Lord would descend into the pool and stir up the water; and the first person to enter the pool, after this movement of the water, would be healed of whatever disease that he had.)

There was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him, and because He knew how long this man had been lying there, He said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” And the sick man answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; so while I am still on my way, another steps down before me.”

Jesus then said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk!” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his mat and walked. Now that day happened to be the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had just been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and the Law does not allow you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The One Who healed me said to me, “Take up your mat and walk!”

They asked him, “Who is the One Who said to you : Take up your mat and walk?” But the sick man had no idea who it was Who had cured him, for Jesus had slipped away among the crowd that filled the place. Afterwards Jesus met him in the Temple court and told him, “Now you are well; do not sin again, lest something worse happen to you.”

And the man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had healed him. So the Jews persecuted Jesus because He performs healings like that on the Sabbath.

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Tuesday, 1 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9ab

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore, though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of the Lord – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Tuesday, 1 April 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 47 : 1-9, 12

The man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastwards. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing the east and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

The man had a measuring cord in his hand. As he went towards the east he measured off a thousand cubits and led me across the water which was up to my ankles. He measured off another thousand cubits and made me cross the water which came to my knees. He measured off another thousand cubits and we crossed the water which was up to my waist. When he had again measured a thousand cubits, I could not cross the torrent for it had swollen to a depth which was impossible to cross without swimming.

The man then said to me, “Son of man, did you see?” He led me on further and then brought me back to the bank of the river. There I saw a number of trees on both sides of the river. He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome.”

“Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound. Near the river on both banks there will be all kinds of fruit trees with foliage that will not wither and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th 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 Scriptures, and as we continue to journey through this season and time of Lent, all of us are reminded of the great providence and love by which God has always provided for us. We are reminded how in God we can find consolation and renewal, the freedom from all the bonds and shackles that we have been imposed with due to those sins we have committed in our own lives. All of us have been given these wonderful opportunities for us to turn away from our sins and to embrace wholeheartedly the rich mercy and compassion that God our Father has for each and every one of us, His beloved children. However, many of us often delayed in seeking God’s mercy and love, and we took it for granted that God loves us, to the point that we continue to live in the state of sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God reassured His beloved people, the Israelites of the renewal, hope and good things that they would enjoy once again after they had been freed from their troubles, their domination by sin, all of which had made them to suffer separation from God, the misfortunes and difficulties that they had to experience because of their rebelliousness and stubborn attitudes. But God did not easily give up on His people despite all of that, and He remained committed to the Covenant which He had made with them all, and He still sent to them lots of help and guidance nonetheless, providing them with the means to reach out to His salvation and reconciliation with Him.

He promised all of His beloved people of the coming of the Saviour through Whom He has revealed to us His plan of salvation, the redemption and the new life that He would grant all of them, liberation from all the forces of evil and wickedness that have dominated them all those while. And through what we have heard, we ourselves are reminded of this great love of God which He desired to show and deliver to us, to bring us all into His loving Presence and kindness once again. During this time and season of Lent, we have been given the time, opportunities and chances to turn away from the path of darkness and evil, from our rebelliousness and waywardness, so that we may be found worthy again to be the holy and beloved people of God, His children, whom His favour has been given to.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of how the Lord Jesus, the same Saviour that we have just mentioned and discussed about, performed great miracles and deeds, proving to everyone of the truth and promises that God has given to us all His people throughout all of history. We heard how the Lord Jesus performed those wonderful miracles and works, amazing deeds that He has shown to everyone so that they might be convinced and encouraged in following the Lord, their God, and believe in His Providence and all that He has promised to them. God has always been loving to His people, and He does not want any one of them to be separated from Him, and He has offered us all His most generous love and kindness, opening the way to come back to Him, and through His Son, He made manifest and tangible all these before us.

We heard how the Lord encountered an official whose son has been very sick to the point of death, and how the official begged Him to heal his son. The Lord told the official at first with the words saying that unless he and others saw the signs and wonders performed before their eyes, they would not believe, likely referring to how many of the Lord’s own people in Judea and Galilee refused to believe in Him as mentioned in the same Gospel passage, despite having seen and witnessed with their own eyes, all the things and wonders that the Lord had performed before them. Especially those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, many of whom followed the Lord on His works and ministry, and continuously shown doubt and disagreements with the Lord in His teachings and works, despite having witnessed HIs miracles and heard of His Wisdom themselves.

The official professed his faith in the Lord, believing that He could heal his son despite not having to witness the deed in person. Therefore, when the Lord told him that his son would be healed, he believed and trusted in the Lord, and as we all heard, he encountered his servant who told him that his son recovered precisely the very moment that the Lord said to him that his son would be healed. By his faith in God, the official has received the great grace from God, the healing for his son and the promise of redemption which God has made evident and true by those miracles that He has performed. And all of us are reminded today through this story that we too are God’s beloved ones, and we shall receive His great grace and love, His kindness and mercy if we are truly faithful and committed to Him like that of the official.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as all of us continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, let us make good use of the opportunities that God has provided to us so that by His providence, we may come ever closer to Him and to His holy Presence, ever trusting in Him and realising that being separate from Him, there is no true future for us. There is hope in God alone, and we should make use of the opportunities provided to us such that we may embrace this hope and light that God has shown to us, so that immersed in His light and in His love, we may be renewed and made whole again by His grace, and be freed from the bondage and shackles of our many sins and evils, from all the temptations and attachments of earthly desires and more, all the things that had kept us away from God.

May the Lord, our most loving and merciful God continue to guide us all in our journey of faith through life, and may He continue to strengthen us especially during this season and time of Lent so that we may be healed from our transgressions and sins, and be truly reconciled and reunited with God, Whose love for us has always endured despite all the disobedience and stubborn attitudes we have shown Him. Let us all no longer harden our hearts, but let us instead be humble and recognising our sinfulness, embracing God’s healing and mercy. May God bless us all and our Lenten journey, and make us to have a truly fruitful Lenten season. Amen.

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 4 : 43-54

At that time, when the two days Jesus spent with the Samaritans were over, He left for Galilee. Jesus Himself said that no prophet is recognised in his own country. Yet the Galileans welcomed Him when He arrived, because of all the things which He had done in Jerusalem during the Festival, and which they had seen. For they, too, had gone to the feast.

Jesus went back to Cana of Galilee, where He had changed the water into wine. At Capernaum there was an official, whose son was ill, and when he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked Him to come and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe!” The official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” And Jesus replied, “Go, your son lives!”

The man had faith in the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way. As he was approaching his house, his servants met Him, and gave him the good news, “Your son has recovered!” So he asked them at what hour the child began to recover, and they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday, at about one o’clock in the afternoon.”

And the father realised that was the time when Jesus had told him, “Your son lives!” And he became a believer, he and all his family. Jesus performed this second miraculous sign when He returned from Judea to Galilee.

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; O Lord, my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 65 : 17-21

I now create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind again. Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in My people.

The sound of distress and the voice of weeping will not be heard in it any more. You will no longer know of dead children or of adults who do not live out a lifetime. One who reaches a hundred years will have died a mere youth, but the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant crops and eat their fruit.