Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to proceed through this time and season of Lent, each and every one of us are reminded that as Christians, all of us must always strive to do what God has called and commanded us all to do with our lives, in being righteous, just and committed to the path which He has taught and shown us. Otherwise, if we do not do so, then we will end up being held accountable for our lack of faith and real commitment to the path of God, and in the end, we will have to account for all of our actions and commitments to God, or for our failure to do so, if we neglect our responsibilities and calling as Christians, in whichever areas and opportunities that we have been given by God.

In our first reading today, we heard the exhortations from the Book of Leviticus in which God spoke to His people, the Israelites, whom He had brought out of the land of Egypt through Moses, His servant, whom then He entrusted with the responsibilities of leading and guiding the Israelites through their time in Egypt, their liberation and then the journey through the desert to the Promised Land of Canaan. God told all of His people that they must be holy just as He is Holy, loving just as He is always full of Love, devoted to Him just as He has always been devoted to the Covenant that He had made with each and every one of them and with their ancestors. That was why Moses told the people what they all ought to do, in doing what is right and just, in loving and caring for one another, and in not oppressing or causing hardships and sufferings to others.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, although this happened a really long time ago, but whatever Moses had told the people of Israel are still applicable to us all as well. For are we not God’s beloved and chosen people as well? Through baptism we have willingly embraced the Lord as our God and Saviour, and we have become part of God’s One Church, His united Body, where all of us have been brought together to be one holy people, filled with grace and blessings of God. That is why all of us should also strive to be righteous and just, full of love for God and for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should not ignore all these things, the Law and the commandments which the Lord had given and revealed to us, and which He has also explained and taught to us through His Church.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of the Last Judgment as presented by the Lord Jesus to His disciples and all those who have gathered to listen to Him. He told all of them that He Himself, the Son of Man, will come at the end of time, the moment of the Final Judgment of all the living and the dead, when everyone will have to account for everything which they have said, done, and even all those things that they had failed to say, do or act upon when they had been given the good opportunities and means to by the Lord. The Lord Jesus showed how everyone will be separated by whether they have been found worthy of the Lord and His salvation, or whether they have been found lacking and wanting in their faith.

The Lord also made it clear that all those who have been deemed worthy are all those who have always lived their lives faithfully, and did whatever they could to reach out to their fellow brethren, particularly those who are less fortunate and blessed than they are, that through their care and love, they have shown themselves to be the epitome of Christian love and truth. Meanwhile, all those who have been found lacking and wanting for their faith are not only those who did what are wicked and evil in the sight of God, but also those who neglect their responsibilities, calling and spurned all the opportunities which God had provided them, as they cared more for themselves and selfishly caring and loving themselves only at the expense of others around them.

The Lord made it very clear too of what will happen to the righteous and to those who have been condemned and are deemed unworthy. The worthy and righteous ones will share together in the glory of God, forever enjoying the fullness of God’s grace and all the joy and happiness they shall receive from the Lord Himself, while those who are wicked and unworthy have condemned themselves by their wickedness and by their lack of genuine faith, to an eternity of suffering and darkness, despair and destruction in Hell. The fates of each of these groups have been made clear to us, and therefore we are given the choice by the Lord on which path we want to follow and end up in. We should not waste and squander these opportunities which God has given us, and while it is not yet too late for us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, having been reminded of all these things from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore do whatever we can so that we may always strive to fulfil what we have been entrusted to do, to do what we can so that our lives may be holy, worthy and exemplary in all things. Let us all resist the temptations of Satan and all the false promises and lies which he and all the other fallen beings had given us, and also we ought to restrain our pride, ego, greed and all the things that may lead us all to our downfall if we allow ourselves to be easily swayed and tempted by them. Let us all remind ourselves of our Christian duties and our respective vocations in life, as we all embark through this Lenten journey, journeying with renewed faith in the Lord.

May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey through life, so that we may truly be blessed by our faith and commitment to Him, and may our lives be good inspirations and examples for everyone else all around us, so that all of us may share together the desire to love the Lord and to obey Him, to follow His Law and commandments, rejecting the evil and wicked ways of the world. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.