Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 105 : 19-20, 21-22, 23
They made a calf at Horeb and worshipped the molten image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a bull that eats grass.
They forgot their Saviour God, Who had done great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.
So He spoke of destroying them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to shield them from destruction.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Exodus 32 : 7-14
Then YHVH said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten calf; they have bowed down before it and sacrificed to it and said : ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.'”
And YHVH said to Moses, “I see that these people are a stiff-necked people. Now just leave Me that My anger may blaze against them. I will destroy them, but of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses calmed the anger of YHVH, his God, and said, “Why, o YHVH, should Your anger burst against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with a mighty hand?”
“Let not the Egyptians say : ‘YHVH brought them out with evil intent, for He wanted to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth.’ Turn away from the heat of Your anger and do not bring disaster on Your people. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the promise You Yourself swore : I will multiply Your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land I spoke about I will give to them as an everlasting inheritance.”
YHVH then changed His mind and would not yet harm His people.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the great compassion and mercy that God has always shown to us, his beloved and precious people, as well as the call and reminder for us to be truly committed to God, to follow His ways and to obey His Law and commandments, and to resist all the temptations and pressures which may always seek to mislead us down the wrong path in life. We have to listen to the Lord speaking to us and calling on us to follow Him from the depths of our hearts and minds, and we have to always be ready to discern and embrace God’s words, His truth and love as He has revealed to us most generously through His Son, or else we may easily be distracted and lose our path.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, in which we heard of the Lord’s words of reassurance and love for His beloved people, the Israelites, whom He assured of His providence and care, of how they would all be blessed and bountiful again by God’s blessings and graces. This came in the context of how the people of Israel by the time of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah had been facing a lot of struggles and hardships, because of the sins which they themselves and their ancestors had committed before. And yet, God did not give up on them and He still patiently guided all of them to Himself, through His sending of the many prophets and messengers that had been sent to help all of His beloved people to find their way back to Him.
And Isaiah was one of these many prophets whom God had sent to be among His people, to chastise them for their sins and wickedness, but at the same time also reminding them of the great and ever enduring love that He has always had for them, despite their stubborn attitudes and rebelliousness. Ultimately, we are reminded that God’s love for us is far greater than all of our sins and iniquities, and through God and His help, by our sincere embracing of the compassion and love of God, we can be healed and brought out from the predicament that is our sins and wickedness, our disobedience and the corruptions that sin has brought unto us. We should always remember the Lord’s love and mercy, and be hopeful and faithful in Him as He will never abandon us willingly. It is rather us mankind who have abandoned God.
Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples in which He detailed to them His relationship with the Father, His heavenly Father Who had sent Him into this world to be the One to save all of us mankind. He as the Son obeyed the will of the Father and did everything that the Father had told Him to do, and through this perfect obedience and commitment, Christ, as the Son of God and Son of Man both, showed all of us the way for us to reach God, our loving Father, as through His incarnation, Christ Our Lord has united all of us and our humanity to His own, making all of us to be beloved children of God as well. And the Lord told us all to obey the Father just as He Himself has obeyed the Father’s will.
Through all of that, the Lord wanted to show us how we can truly be redeemed from our many sins, evils and wickedness, from all the things which had separated us from the fullness of God’s grace and love. The Lord Jesus in that same occasion also told His disciples about the renewal, healing and new life which God has promised to all of them if they all believe in whatever that He had told them. And He also reminded them all of the time of the Last and Final Judgment, in which Christ Himself will be the Judge of all things and of all Creation, the One to judge all of us of our lives, our actions, misdeeds, our failures, our virtues and everything that we do or failed to do in life. Each and every one of us ultimately will have to account for our respective lives before God. And when the time comes, are we ready to face it, and will we be found to be worthy of God?
During this time and season of Lent, we are therefore reminded by these readings and passages from the Sacred Scriptures so that we may be more aware of how our lives have probably fallen far away from the path and the way that God has wanted us all to follow in each and every one of our lives. We should not take all these opportunities and chances that God has generously given to us for granted, or else we may regret our lack of gratitude, appreciation and understanding of just how fortunate we are that God, our most loving and merciful Father, has always had for us, and yet, many of us constantly rebuffed His approaches of love, all of His efforts in reconciling us to Himself and all the avenues and means that He has provided to us to bring us to His grace and salvation.
Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Francis of Paola, a holy servant of God and a renowned hermit, whose faith and devotion to God is truly exemplary and a good inspiration for all of us as Christians. St. Francis of Paola was the founder of the Order of Minims, inspired by the simplicity and the way of life shown by his patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order. He was born into a very poor but pious family, who asked for the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi for a son, and after whose birth, committed him to a life of piety and commitment to God, and since his youth, he had been exposed to religious life and virtues, eventually leading to the young St. Francis of Paola to commit himself to a life of seclusion, withdrawing from the temptations and excesses of the world.
In becoming a hermit, St. Francis of Paola gradually inspired more and more people to follow his examples as he lived an ascetic life dedicated to God, full of self-mortification and resistance to all temptations of the flesh, worldly desires and pleasures. He was especially renowned for his great humility which also inspired many of his fellow religious, committing to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and not to indulge in any sorts of temptations that can lead us astray in our lives in this world. They all live their lives in great humility, seeking to be unknown and hidden from the world, as contrasted with the usual desires of men who sought to be praised, famous and glorified. The examples showed by St. Francis of Paola and his brethren should be inspiration for all of us to follow as well in our own lives.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore make good use of the time and opportunities which we have received during this season of Lent so that we may draw ever closer to God and His loving mercy, embrace His kind forgiveness and hope in Him once more, putting our faith and trust in Him as we should always do. Let us all continue to live our lives worthily as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own. We should not be idle in living our lives or live our lives in manner that is contrary to our faith and beliefs as Christians, or else we are no different than hypocrites who do not truly act in the manner that they believe in. Let us all continue to be humble in realising our sinfulness and embrace God’s mercy, while encouraging each other to seek God’s mercy as well, and be the worthy beacons of God’s light and truth in our communities today. May God be with us all, in each and every things we do. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
John 5 : 17-30
At that time, Jesus replied to the Jews, “My Father goes on working and so do I.” And the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made Himself equal with God, calling God His own Father.
Jesus said to them, “Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. And whatever He does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does; and He will show Him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.”
“As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom He wills. In the same way the Father judges no one, for He has entrusted all judgment to the Son, and He wants all to honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father Who sent Him.”
“Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me, has eternal life; and there is no judgment for him, because he has passed from death to life. Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in Himself, and He has given to the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has empowered Him as well to carry out Judgment, for He is Son of Man.”
“Do not be surprised at this : the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear My voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. I can do nothing of Myself, and I need to hear Another One to judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 