2nd Sunday of Lent

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Saturday, 18 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Micah 7 : 14-15, 18-20

Shepherd Your people with Your staff, shepherd the flock of Your inheritance that dwells alone in the scrub, in the midst of a fertile land. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old, in the days when You went out of Egypt. Show us Your wonders.

Who is a God like You, Who takes away guilt and pardons crime for the remnant of His inheritance? Who is like You Whose anger does not last? For You delight in merciful forgiveness. Once again You will show us Your loving kindness and trample on our wrongs, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.

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Friday, 17 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all heard the Scriptures telling us about the story of when Joseph, the beloved and favourite son of Jacob, who was betrayed by his brothers, who sold him off to slavery to the Midianites, who then sold him off to the Egyptians, as many of us certainly remembered in this well known story from our catechism classes or from reading through the Book of Genesis.

Through this story, we saw how jealousy, greed as well as pride has led to us mankind committing sins of various kinds and nature before God and before men alike, as the brothers of Joseph had shown in their actions as described in the Book of Genesis. They were jealous of the attention and the love which Jacob their father had shown to Joseph, being born of his beloved wife, Rachel, and also a child of his old age.

As we heard what happened between them and Joseph, and what the brothers plotted against Joseph, we see first of all, that jealousy and desire easily lead to anger and resentment, and then these lead further into even more jealousy and more anger against those with whom we are angry and jealous with. The brothers were angry against Joseph when he told them that in his dream, all of them would bow down to him.

This is a normal human reaction, for many of us mankind easily succumb to the temptation of our human pride, unwilling to humble ourselves before any other, especially to those who we deem to be inferior to ourselves. Our ego, our pride will not allow us to bend down and humble ourselves. Instead, we try our best to preserve our dignity and our standing, and this is when we mankind begin causing harm, pain and suffering upon each other, whenever we bicker, whenever we are divided against each other.

But God wants to show each one of us that this is not the way forward for us. All of us have been called by God to love one another, and to return to righteousness in Him. He Who created us all out of love wants to love us back and have us all reconciled to Himself. However, more often than not, it is we mankind who have resisted God and did not allow Him to come to us and we refuse to allow His love to enter our lives.

We are so preoccupied in our worldly concerns and desires, that like the sons of Israel, we have been blinded by those desires and concerns, and we are unable to listen to His will in the midst of our preoccupation with ourselves and our needs. We are acting like the evil tenants in the Gospel passage today, a rebuke which Jesus our Lord made to all those who have given in to their worldly concerns, so as to refuse the love and mercy of God.

God has loved us so much that He has given us all hope through Christ His Son, Whom He sent into the world in order to become our salvation. Through Jesus, He shows us how to live like a true Christian, as those whom He had called from the world to be righteous and just, loving and compassionate just like Himself. He wants us to abandon our ways of sin, and abandon all the selflessness, all the jealousy, hatred and evil intent in our hearts, which all of us had done throughout our lives.

In this season of Lent, all of us are called to conversion and change, to abandon our selfish deeds and actions of our past, and embrace the loving ways of our God. We are all called to a change of heart, that while once we are like the sons of Israel, like the evil tenants described in the Gospel passage today, we may now be transformed from beings of darkness and sin, into beings of light and righteousness.

Today we commemorate the feast of the well known saint, St. Patrick of Ireland, the Patron Saint of Ireland, who was sometimes called the Apostle of Ireland, being the one who was contributed with the conversion and the transformation of the whole country Ireland, from a pagan country where druidism and pagan idols thrived before his time, into a faithful Christian nation, whose foundation is in the Lord alone.

St. Patrick was known to be a Romano-British missionary credited with the foundation of the faith and the Church in Ireland, becoming the very first bishop in the island, establishing the Christian community that quickly became the faith of all Irish people just not long after St. Patrick’s time. Before St. Patrick came to Ireland, the island was divided among many different tribes and counties, each ruled by their own kings and rulers, who warred and bickered against each other.

But St. Patrick came and showed all of them the way to the truth of God. He preached the Good News of God to them, and called them to repent their past sins and wickedness. St. Patrick taught them the truth about God, including what is now famous as his symbol of the Holy Trinity, the three-leaf clover. He taught them how God is a perfect and loving union of three Divine Persons, of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as inseparable as the three-leaf clover’s parts from each other.

And God Who is perfect in Love, and Who is indeed Love, wants to share that love with all of us His people. That is exactly why He has given us His commandments, His laws and ways, and Jesus His Son to be our salvation from the darkness, by bringing us into the light of His new world and life filled with love and grace, no longer with greed, evil, wickedness, ego and all other human ambitions and vileness.

St. Patrick converted many people in Ireland during his lifetime and mission, and many gave up their sinful ways and warlike behaviour. Instead, they began to live in peace, harmony and love, just as St. Patrick had taught them to do, following in the examples and the laws of the Lord. This is in fact, what each and every one of us Christians must do in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this time of Lent, let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and bring ourselves to righteousness and justice through our actions. Let us all do more good works in our lives, as a penance for our sins, and as a sign that we are all sincere in our desire to be forgiven from our sins. Let us all practice love in all of our actions and dealings, and let us all learn to overcome our human desires, our ego, our greed, and all the things that have thus far become our obstacles on our journey towards the Lord and His salvation.

May all of us be able to draw ourselves closer to God by doing more what the Lord wants us to do, and by committing ourselves wholeheartedly to His precepts and laws. May He bless us all and strengthen our faith inside of us, that we may grow ever more in faith, and be ever more righteous and just in life, so that not only this Lent, but from now onwards, we may be true disciples of our Lord, true Christians in name and also in spirit. Amen.

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Friday, 17 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 21 : 33-43, 45-46

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Listen to another example : There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and then went to a distant country.”

“When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another and stoned a third. Again the owner sent more servants, but they were treated in the same way.”

“Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?” They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.” And Jesus replied, “Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it.”

“Therefore I say to you : the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you, and given to a people who will yield a harvest.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realised that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested Him, but they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded Him as a Prophet.

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Friday, 17 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 104 : 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Then the Lord sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; He sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet in shackles, his neck in irons till what he foretold came to pass, and the Lord’s word proved him true.

The king sent for him, set him free, the ruler of the peoples released him. He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions.

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Friday, 17 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Genesis 37 : 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other children, for he was the son of his old age and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. His brothers who saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, hated him and could no longer speak to him in a friendly way.

His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the flock at Shechem.” So Joseph went off after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

They said to one another, “Here comes the specialist in dreams! Now is the time! Let us kill him and throw him into a well. We will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams were all about!” But Reuben heard this and tried to save him from their hands saying, “Let us not kill him; shed no blood! Throw him in this well in the wilderness, but do him no violence.” This he said to save him from them and take him back to his father.

So as soon as Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his long-sleeved coat that he wore and then took him and threw him in the well, now the well was empty, without water. They were sitting for a meal when they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with spices, balm and myrrh, which they were taking down to Egypt.

Judah then said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and hiding his blood? Come! We will sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother and our own flesh!” His brothers agreed to this. So when the Midianite merchants came along they pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the well. For twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph to the Midianites, who took him with them to Egypt.

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Thursday, 16 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are presented by the Scriptures the importance of being righteous in our ways, as shown by the story of Lazarus and the rich man as Jesus had told it to His disciples. Those who are righteous will be rewarded with great rewards by God, while those who are wicked and follow the path of sin will be rejected by God.

The story of Lazarus and the rich man apparently showed how the rich and the powerful oppressed the poor and the weak. But Jesus was not against the rich and the powerful because of what they have and what they possess. However, it was the actions and the deeds of those people that were denounced by Jesus through His story on Lazarus.

The rich man lived lavishly and partied day and night, as what many rich and powerful people at that time normally do. Meanwhile, Lazarus was the poor man who was always hungry and as he was jobless and without money, he was unable to provide for himself, and had to depend on begging for a living. But no one gave him anything or took pity on him, including the rich man who lived on as if nothing else matters other than his own happiness.

Lazarus therefore died in agony and pain, and according to the story of Jesus, he went to Paradise, where he enjoyed with Abraham and the saints. In contrast, the rich man when he died, he went to the depths of hell, where he suffered greatly and in constant agony, in some sorts of a reversal of roles. Lazarus suffered in this world, and he received the succour of happiness and eternal rest in heaven, and the rich man suffered for eternity though he lived in joy in the world.

In this story, which many of us are quite familiar with, as we have heard it from our catechism classes, or from our parents, or by our reading of the Scriptures, we have witnessed what both heaven and hell are like, what it is like for us to enjoy the eternal bliss and happiness in heaven, or for us to suffer eternally in hell. But many of us think of heaven and hell in terms of happiness and suffering, in worldly terms. We always think of hell as a very hot place with fire and the torture of flames.

But in reality, the suffering in hell is so great not because of flames or any other worldly forms of sufferings. It is the separation that we have to endure for eternity which leads to the suffering we have, the despair present in our hearts. And the suffering is so great because we know that there is absolutely no hope for escape and redemption, for then it will be too late for us, when there is no more turning back for us. And we will know true suffering when God Himself has been separated from us, God Who has created us, and Who is the reason for our very existence.

And that, brothers and sisters in Christ, will be our fate if we do not turn our back to sin and continue to commit whatever is wicked and sinful in the sight of God and men alike. God is ever loving and ever merciful, but His mercy will not have any impact on us if we do not act accordingly in order to accept that mercy into our own lives. Remember that we cannot be servant to two masters, meaning that we cannot be faithful to God and at the same time remaining a sinner without repentance.

In addition to this, we also need to realise that sin is not merely just caused by our actions, for those are the sins of action and wickedness. What we have heard in the Gospel today shows us the sin of omission, that is to ignore what we could have done when we are perfectly capable of doing something to help and contribute to those who need our help.

The rich man could have done something to help Lazarus with all that he had possessed in life, all the food and drink that he had consumed. But he did not lift his fingers to do anything to help him, and left him hungry, homeless and suffering at his doorsteps, even though inside his house, food and drink flowed on without stopping. He could have done something to alleviate the suffering of the poor ones like Lazarus, but he did not do so.

He therefore committed the sin of omission, which many of us certainly had done before as well, during some parts or moments in our life. We are often guilty of ignoring those brethren of ours who are in need, and who are looking for our help. We are often blind against the sufferings and the needs of those around us, because we have been accustomed with serving our own needs and wants first, at the detriment of our fellow brethren.

In this season of Lent therefore, it is time for us to reevaluate our lives, our actions and all the things we have done so far in our lives. It is time for us to see if we have brought about good things for each other, or whether by our actions or by our lack of actions we have caused sufferings for others around us, or by ignoring those who are in need. In this time of Lent, each and every one of us as Christians are called to restrain our human desires and greed, and to deepen the love, mercy and forgiveness we have for one another.

Let us all help one another and love tenderly and graciously just as the Lord our God has loved us first. Let us make use of this time of Lent to practice almsgiving and penance, being generous in our gifts and help for those who are less fortunate than us. Let us all share the joy and the blessings that God had given us, so that no one may ever suffer any more as Lazarus had, and helping one another, being reminded of the suffering of those who have sinned and refused to repent, let us all strive to seek for the heavenly glory promised by God to all those who remain true and faithful to Him.

Let us remember that Jesus did not condemn the rich, for the rich and those blessed by God with more worldly blessings have in fact been given the means by which they will be able to help their less fortunate brethren. Rather, what the Lord condemned, is the attitude which many of us often exhibited, clinging stubbornly and jealousy to our wealth and possession that we end up being greedy as well as ignorant to the plight of the poor and the less fortunate.

May the Lord bless us all and bless all of our endeavours during this season of Lent. May He empower each and every one of us to live faithfully in accordance with the ways which the Lord had shown us, that by walking in His path, we may find our way to eternal life and salvation. May God be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 16 : 19-31

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores.”

“It happened that the poor man died, and Angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried. From hell where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.'”

“Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.'”

“The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live, let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'”

“But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'”

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Thursday, 16 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the one who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the law of the Lord and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 16 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Jeremiah 17 : 5-10

This is what YHVH says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings and depends on a mortal for his life, while his heart is drawn away from YHVH! He is like a bunch of thistles in dry land, in parched desert places, in a salt land where no one lives and who never finds happiness.”

“Blessed is the man who puts his trust in YHVH and whose confidence is in Him! He is like a tree planted by the water, sending out its roots towards the stream. He has no fear when the heat comes, his leaves are always green; the year of drought is no problem and he can always bear fruit.”

“Most deceitful is the heart. What is there within man, who can understand him? I, YHVH, search the heart and penetrate the mind. I reward each one according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds.”

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Wednesday, 15 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, as we go on through the time and season of Lent, through the Scripture passages we heard today, we should know that by following the ways of the Lord, and by turning our backs against our sinful past, more often than not, we shall encounter difficulties, challenges and oppositions from all those who are in the world, and who obey the ways of this world.

The ways of this world are different and in opposition to the ways of our Lord, for this world is filled with wickedness, with prejudice, with hatred, with anger, with pride and arrogance, and with all the things that had led us mankind into sin. In our human greed we have caused suffering upon others from whom we covet for our worldly possessions and things. We have caused great sorrow and suffering because of the hatred and the lack of love between ourselves and our brethren.

But as Christians all of us are called by God to overcome all of these, and to convert ourselves to His ways, leaving behind all forms of hatred, of jealousy, of human greed and desire, and we have been called to be righteous and just as the Lord our God is righteous and just. When we do these, there will be those who are inspired by our examples and follow in our footsteps, but there will also be those who refuse to acknowledge our actions as good, and oppose us.

Let us remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that our Lord Jesus Himself made it clear to His disciples, that He came into this world bearing His truth and His salvation, which according to Him would bring about division and strive to arise within families and within communities, where people would be divided against each other because some would come to believe in God, while some others would take up the stand against God.

Many of us may not have realised this, especially if we have been born to the faith, and having good environment of growth, supported by a loving, Catholic and faith-filled community. Many of us may not have realised this if all the people around us have been supporting for us and for our faith, but the reality is that there are persecutions in this world, as it was in the past, as it is now, and as it will be in the years to come.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be aware of our brethren in many parts of the world who are still suffering the effects, even daily, of persecution against them because of their faith in God. Let us remember all of them in our prayers, and let us help them whenever we are able to do so. And we ourselves may also encounter challenges throughout our lives, be it in the form of persecution and rejection, as well as opposition and temptation to leave our faith behind.

How are we then going to resist those difficulties and manage those challenges? It is by using our time this Lent and henceforth, even beyond this season of Lent fruitfully and meaningfully. We must deepen our relationship with God, and make sure that we remain close to Him, obeying Him in all of His laws and precepts. We must strengthen our faith as well as our resolve to remain faithful to the Lord, so that we will be able to persevere when the time comes for us to be tested for our faith.

There will indeed be those times when we feel so miserable and desperate, when we are in the midst of great sufferings and persecutions, when we will want to give up and throw away our faith, because we may think that God is not with us, and that our resistance is useless. But remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, when Jesus our Lord suffered on the cross, He encountered the same issue, a normal human reaction, when pain and suffering comes our way.

But Christ remained faithful and true to His mission to the very end. He showed us the example of perfect obedience and adherence to the will of God, knowing that God our Father is always with us through everything. Jesus Himself, Who suffered on the cross for our sake is the ultimate proof of the love which God our Father has for each one of us, that He was willing to share our sufferings and our pains, our sorrows and our difficulties, as He suffered on the cross for our sake.

May the Lord strengthen our faith, and help us to deepen our relationship and our devotion to Him. May He empower us to become His faithful disciples and followers. May this season of Lent be fruitful for us, and become a time when we are able to become closer to God, and through which we are able to help one another, fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, on our way and journey towards God and His salvation. May God bless us all. Amen.