Ash Wednesday Mass

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Friday, 19 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard in the Scripture readings about the importance of being righteous in our actions in life, and how important it is for us to remain committed to the righteousness in our lives. God wanted to show us that no one is truly beyond redemption, and there is hope for us all, as long as we are willing to commit ourselves to the way of our Lord.

There is no such thing as immediate damnation until it is too late for us or if we constantly and repeatedly refused the offer of mercy from God. And there is also no such thing as privileged status for us if we are righteous, and if we are not careful or if we do not stay vigilant, we may easily fall back into sin, and therefore back into damnation and the risk of hellfire.

God wanted us to know that our faith cannot be one that is passive and without action. And neither can our faith be contradicted by our actions that do not show our faith, and instead bring about scandal because of our wickedness. Instead, we have to live our lives filled with real action based on our faith, and in all of our dealings and actions, they must be filled with the grace of God and in accordance with God’s commandments.

In this season of Lent, have we all done what is expected from us as Christians, as those who believe in the Lord our God? Have we done the actions that show us as true Christians not just on paper, but also through real and concrete acts as well? This is the perfect opportunity for us to take up our crosses and follow our Lord, and proving through our dedication and commitment, to be faithful to God in all things.

We are all called to bring forth peace, harmony and love among peoples, between ourselves and our brethren and neighbours around us, in our own families, in our own societies and communities, that everyone may live with one another in peace, and in harmony to do the will of God, and by loving and caring for one another, we may bring each other closer to God.

It is important for us to keep ourselves pure and far away from sin, and even though temptations to sin will always be there, but if we put forth the effort of our bodies, hearts and minds, together as one people of God, and if we help each other, surely then we will be better able to resist the temptations of sin and better able to reject with certainty the lies of Satan.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all renew our commitment to the Lord this Lent, and let us all work together, to keep ourselves and our actions pure and righteous before God. Let us not give any chance for Satan to infiltrate our hearts and tempt us to sin, but cast him out and reject him with firm faith, knowing that if we follow him, we are heading to eternal damnation.

May God help us in this journey and this life, so that we may draw ever closer to Him, and that we may find our way to Him and be saved from the certain destruction awaiting those who have not been faithful to Him. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Friday, 19 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister “Fool!” deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell.”

“So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.”

“Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.”

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Friday, 19 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord. O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.

If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness, and for that You are revered.

I waited for the Lord, my soul waits, and I put my hope in His word. My soul expects the Lord more than watchmen the dawn. O Israel, hope in the Lord.

For with Him is unfailing love and with Him full deliverance. He will deliver Israel from all its sins.

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Friday, 19 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 18 : 21-28

YHVH said, “If the sinner turns from his sin, observes My decrees and practices what is right and just, he will live, he will not die. None of the sins he committed will be charged against him; he will live as a consequence of his righteous deeds. Do I want the death of the sinner? – word of YHVH. Do I not rather want him to turn from his ways and live?”

“But if the righteous man turns away from what is good and commits sins as the wicked do, will he live? His righteous deeds will no longer be credited to him, but he will die because of his infidelity and his sins. But you say : YHVH’s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is My position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong?”

“If the righteous man dies after turning from his righteous deeds and sinning, he dies because of his sins. And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes and turned from the sins he had committed.”

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Thursday, 18 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we see the truth behind the love that God has for all of us. He is a Father to all of us, for He had created us all. And just as all fathers love their children, therefore, He too loves all of us, and even more than fathers do love their children. And He will not abandon His children in times of need, but He will succour us and protect us from everlasting harm.

And Jesus in the Gospel today made clear of this fact, that God will care for His children well, and He will not bring them to harm or bring them into trouble. If we only would ask when we are in trouble, and sincerely opening ourselves and our hearts to Him, then He will succour us and help us for sure. If we seek Him and try to find help in Him, then help will be given to us.

In the first reading today, we heard about the Queen Esther of Persia, a Jew who became the queen of the Persian Emperor, at the time when the enemies of the people of God were trying to bring about their destruction. The people of Israel were in very dire straits indeed, as the order of death and destruction had been placed on them, under the laws of the Persians and the Medians, which could not be revoked, and the enemies of the Lord and His people were then rejoicing for the coming destruction of Israel.

Therefore, at that time, Queen Esther sought the help of the Lord, praying and seeking His divine protection, beseeching the love which God has for His people and begging for Him to intercede for their sake, in tears and in in humble supplications, in mourning and in sorrow, and the Lord heard the prayers of Esther and the people of Israel, doomed to death and destruction, and yet God Who loved them would not let that fate to befall them.

How are these relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is very relevant as all of us in our own respective lives on earth, and as we continue living on in this world, we all have our own troubles, difficulties, challenges and obstacles. And we all have no one better to turn to in case of difficulties, than our Lord Himself. He is the only One Who shall not abandon us in times of difficulties. Friends and even families may abandon us, but not God.

And yet there is one thing that all of us need to remember and take note of, and that is the need for us to reach out to the Lord, to be proactive, seeking Him, asking Him and finding Him, and we should not forget that while we must humble ourselves before Him, but we should not be afraid to approach Him, as He loves us all, and there is nothing worse than us being lost just because we are afraid to bring about God’s anger if we seek Him.

This season of Lent is the perfect time and moment for our conversion and for our renewal. Let us draw closer to God, and let us be courageous to speak to Him and to ask Him for His mercy and help, but at the same time, let us all also be committed fully to change ourselves for the better, abandoning our sinful ways and finding our way to the Lord. Let us all be saved and be freed from our sins, and find our way to the Lord, our loving God and Father. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 7 : 7-12

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks.”

“Would any of you give a stone to your son, when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

“So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there you have the Law and the Prophets.”

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Thursday, 18 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bcd-3, 7c-8

I thank You, o Lord, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down towards Your Holy Temple.

And I give thanks to Your Name, for Your love and faithfulness, for Your word which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.

With outstretched arm, You save me from the wrath of my foes, with Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Thursday, 18 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Esther 14 : 1, 3-5, 12-14

Seized with anguish in her fear of death, Queen Esther likewise had recourse to the Lord. Then she prayed to the Lord God of Israel : “My Lord, You Who stand alone, come to my help; I am alone and have no help but You. Through my own choice I am endangering my life.”

“As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forebears that You, o Lord, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among their ancestors to be Your lasting heritage; that You did for them, all that You have promised.”

“Remember us, Lord; reveal Yourself in the time of our calamity. Give me courage, King of gods and Master of all power. Make my words persuasive when I face the lion; turn his heart against our enemy, that the latter and his like may be brought to their end. Save us by Your hand; help me who am alone and have none but You, o Lord.”

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Wednesday, 17 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the story from the prophet Jonah, where he was sent to the city and to the people of Nineveh, the great city and capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire, the world superpower at the time. The Assyrians conquered many nations, and they enslaved many of the peoples around them, and they grew mighty and proud with their achievements.

But the Lord knew of their pride and haughtiness, and he sent Jonah to them to warn them of their impending destruction because of whatever sins and wickedness that they have committed. And the prophet Jonah did just as what he was told to do, and preached the word of God to the people of Nineveh. He told them that catastrophe and destruction would soon come to claim the whole city and all who dwelled in it.

What was remarkable and noteworthy was how the people of Nineveh, from the king and the greatest nobles, to the humblest and the smallest of the people, all turned from their evil ways and repented, hoping that God would spare them the destruction He had intended for them. And so sincere was their desire to repent and to change their wicked ways, that God had mercy on them, forgave them and gave them a new chance.

God did not carry out the sentence which had been intended for them, and He spared them from the destruction which He had designed on them because of their repentance, and He had mercy on them. God forgave them their sins as an example to all mankind, that if they too, are to turn their back to the sins and wickedness of their past, they have a chance at salvation and redemption in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ rebuked the people in our Gospel today, and chided particularly the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law because of their refusal to believe in what the Lord Jesus Himself had come into this world to reveal to them, and despite all the good things and the miraculous wonders He had performed before their very own eyes.

And the people of Nineveh who did not even see what Jesus or what God Himself had done, and they neither saw anything performed by Jonah, as it was not mentioned that Jonah performed any miraculous deeds in that city, and yet they all believed, repented and changed their ways. They did not see and yet they believed, and for their faith, they were justified by God.

Remember what Jesus told one of His disciples, Thomas, who initially did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, when He appeared to him on one occasion? Thomas had not believed until Jesus had risen from the dead and Jesus said that while his faith was indeed good, as he believed, unlike those who had seen all the miracles Jesus had performed and refused to believe, but better still are those who have not seen and yet believed.

And the people whom Jesus rebuked did not believe, no matter what, and they asked for signs from Him. And Jesus replied that the only sign He would show is the sign of Jonah, and we knew how Jonah was swallowed by a whale for three days and three nights, before he was then released at the seashore. In the same way therefore, Jesus had died and then was buried in the earth for three days before on the third day He rose from the dead.

And how is this significant for us, brethren? This Lent, we are all called to be believers, and not just any believers, but true believers of our Lord in faith and in action. Let us be inspired by the examples of the holy saints whose feast we celebrate today, namely that of the seven Holy Founders of the Servite order, who were faithful servants of God, who devoted themselves to the service of God and of His people.

The seven holy founders were once merchants of the city of Florence, during the height of the medieval era, who left everything they had, that they might discover the Lord, and they led a new life of poverty and penance, withdrawing and turning their backs completely against the sins and wickedness of their past lives. They led a life of virtue and purity justified by God.

Many people followed their examples, and they helped establish what would be known as the Servite order. They obeyed the Lord and served Him faithfully, helping to lead the people of God back to Himself. They did not have a smooth journey however, as challenges and rejections came their way, but they remained faithful and they met the challenges with full faith in the Lord.

Through these examples, the dedication and commitment of the founders of the Servite order, let us all also follow in their footsteps, and let us all renew our own commitment to God, and let us all in this season of Lent be ever filled more and more with the righteousness and justified actions, that we will draw ever closer to God and to His mercy and love. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 17 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 11 : 29-32

At that time, as the crowd increased, Jesus began to speak in this way, “People of the present time are troubled people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation.”

“The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon.”

“The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah.”