Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that despite all of our disobedience, rebelliousness, our waywardness and evils, God’s love for us still endures nonetheless, and He still cares for each and every one of us. That was why He went through all the trouble of sending down to us none other than His own Beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to be the means through which we are all brought together to His salvation, grace and eternal life, reassuring us all of His constant love, providence and protection.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words of the Lord and His reassurances that He made to all of His people, that He had made through the prophet Ezekiel, reminding them all that despite of their many sins, wickedness and rebelliousness, in the end, He still truly cares for each and every one of them nonetheless. At that time, when the prophet Ezekiel was active, he was ministering to the exiles of the people of God in the distant lands of Babylon, where many of the people had ended up in after they had disobeyed the Lord and thus, facing hardships and destruction of their homeland when the Babylonians came to conquer and destroy their land, their city of Jerusalem and its Temple, carrying many of the people to the distant lands.

All those were caused by the stubborn attitudes of the people of God, who have preferred to follow their own ways and paths, not heeding or listening to the message of God’s reminders and truths which He had given them all through His many prophets and messengers. They thought that they were better and more knowledgeable than others, and they refused to admit their mistakes and flawed way of life when the prophets and messengers of God pointed out their errors before them. They instead persecuted those whom the Lord had sent to them in order to help and guide them along, leading to the murder of innocents and the holy servants of God, because the people refused to admit their weakness and sinfulness.

It was these same attitudes that we have also seen exhibited by many of the leaders of the Jewish people, the members of the Jewish High Council or also known as the Sanhedrin, which members were composed of the powerful and influential members of the Pharisees and also the Sadducees. They had different points of contentions and disagreements with the Lord, but essentially, all of them refused to believe in the Lord or to listen to the words and the revelations which He Himself had brought to them, or to trust in Him through the signs and miracles that He had shown them, as proofs that He was indeed the One that God had promised to send to His beloved ones that He might save all of them from damnation and destruction.

That was why we heard the discussions and disagreements among the members of the Sanhedrin, and many of them, including the High Priest, Caiaphas, wanted to eliminate the threat that the Lord Jesus posed to them, because His teachings and activities were not just in accordance or agreement with how the Pharisees and the Sadducees often did their observances of the Law and the commandments of God, but they were also afraid that His activities could lead to the Romans destroying and cancelling the privileges and good life that those Jewish elites had been enjoying, and thus, they agreed that they should condemn the Lord Jesus and hand Him to the Romans to be condemned to death. Thus, on this last day before the commencement of Holy Week, the stage has been sent for the events that would soon transpire during that most momentous week.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, a great and holy servant of God who was renowned for his efforts and works as the Archbishop of Lima in what is today part of Peru, during the time of the Spanish rule of the territory. He was very active in his many missions and works among the people throughout his diocese, carrying out his duties faithfully and caring for his flock with dedication, defending the rights of the poor, the weak and the less privileged against the powerful, the landowners and nobles who often took advantage against them. St. Turibius campaigned bravely against the exploitations and the efforts from those who greedily sought to expand their worldly gains on the expense of others.

St. Turibius de Mogrovejo spent a lot of time ministering to the people entrusted to him, often going around his diocese on foot, preaching the word of God to the natives of the region, baptising many people who have been convinced of the truth and salvation in God through his works. According to records and Church tradition, he baptised no less than one and a half million people personally throughout his ministry, and called many people to come closer to God. St. Turibius helped to establish many facilities and places for the benefit and good of the faithful, such as roads and schools, chapels and hospitals among other things. Through his efforts, many of the less privileged, the poor and the sick got well taken care of, and shown God’s great love.

St. Turibius also spent a lot of time in reforming his diocese and clergy, uprooting many scandals and corruptions that had plagued the Church at that time. He enforced and introduced the decrees and reforms from the Ecumenical Council of Trent to his diocese and helped to reestablish discipline among the clergy and the members of the Church, and through his great dedication and works, he had brought about many good changes and improvement to the Church, and brought many souls and people of God ever closer to His Presence and to salvation in Him. As contrasted to the attitudes of those who have not obeyed the Lord as highlighted in the Scriptures today, St. Turibius de Mogrovejo showed us all what it truly means to be followers and disciples of the Lord, and showed God’s great love for us through his works and missions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all therefore capable of following the good examples and inspirations shown to us by St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, and keep in mind how we all should live our lives with faith, with commitment and obedience to God? Are we all capable of following the Lord wholeheartedly once again, dedicating ourselves thoroughly to Him, so that we may continue to glorify Him at each and every moments of our lives? As we all enter into the most solemn occasion and commemoration of Holy Week tomorrow, let us all remind ourselves of our sinfulness, unworthiness and all the things which have kept us away from God and His love, and let us all seek His forgiveness, with the resolve to cast aside our sins and wickedness, so that we may once again be truly worthy of God and His love. May the Lord bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.