Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, sorrow is part and parcel of our lives as we walk in this world. It is our due, as the Lord had mentioned, that we are now in sorrow, because precisely we are in a world filled with darkness and lacking God. It is because we are distant from God then we are filled with sorrow, since within us, we have this innate desire to be reunited to God, our loving Father and Creator.

But our sorrow is not eternal, and neither will it be a completely hopeless situation. In fact, as we all know, that Christ is our hope and our joy, the Easter Lamb, through whom we have been given new hope in order to come closer to the Lord and gain the wondrous blessings and joy, which only God can give, and not the world.

We are in this world today, and we are in the time when we labour for the eternal joy. Life is difficult and full of opposition, if we choose to remain faithful to our calling in life, that is to serve God. There is an alternative indeed, a quick escape and a shortcut, which the devil provided for us. This is exactly to immerse ourselves in the wicked pleasures of the world, that is the pleasure of the flesh, and enjoying the fruits of the world’s earthly desires and goods.

We mankind are naturally predisposed and vulnerable to sin, as we have sinned before the Lord and ever since our ancestors disobeyed Him, we have tasted the sweet fruits of sin. Mankind finds joy and happiness in the pleasures and abundance offered by the world, but are these true happiness and joy, or are they just mere illusions?

The joy and happiness are real, but these are not true joy, which I have to again emphasise that only God can give us true joy. The joy that we experience in this world is fleeting and temporary, and those joy and happiness will not satisfy us forever, and indeed, they may instead lead us away from the Lord and the ability to understand what is true joy and happiness.

In this era in particular, especially in the developed countries, and increasingly apparent in the rapidly developing countries, that we have grown to be pampered even since when we were very young, and still yet continue until when we have reach adulthood. Our lives are growing more and more comfortable and filled with ever-increasing desires and wishes.

The world feeds this desire and lifestyle, by directly feeding our wants and our longings. We have in us the negative emotions such as sloth, greed, pride and many others, which helped to prevent us from escaping the endless cycles of desire and consumerism, which are increasingly becoming more and more prevalent in our world today. Just look at the amount of advertisements in our television, and you will know how decadent and hedonistic our world is becoming today.

It does not mean that we should abstain and avoid every kind of worldly attachments and live like an ascetic, but we should take everything in moderation, including the pleasures of the world. Sure, it is very tempting for us to want this and that, but it should not make us slaves to our will and desires, but rather, we have to control ourselves and our wants. Do not let our desires control us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not be trapped in the pleasures of the world, but let us seek the pleasures that last everlasting. Yes, the true pleasure and the happiness that only God can give us. Let us resist our temptations and our desires, and do not allow the devil to influence us. Resist the goodness of this world, in that while we may enjoy them, but they should not be excessive.

May the Lord guide us on our way, and help us to seek Him, and seek the joy and happiness that He can give. Let us remain focused on our way, and commit ourselves completely to Him, that we may in the end, receive eternal and everlasting glory in heaven. God bless us all. Amen.