Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 105 : 6-7a, 19-20, 21-22
We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. When they were in Egypt, our ancestors had no regard for Your wondrous deeds.
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Kings 12 : 26-32 and 1 Kings 13 : 33-34
Jeroboam thought, “The kingdom could return to the house of David. Should this people go up to offer sacrifices in YHVH’s House in Jerusalem, their heart would turn again to their master, Rehoboam king of Judah. They would kill me and go back to him.”
And so the king sought advice and made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, o Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” He put one of these in Bethel, the other in Dan. This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.
Jeroboam also built temples on high places, appointing priests who were not from the Levites. Jeroboam also appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in imitation of the feast in Judah, and he himself offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel; and sacrificed to the calves that he had made. There he placed priests for the high places he had made.
After this, however, Jeroboam did not abstain from doing evil. Instead he made priests for the high places from among the people. He consecrated anyone who wanted to be a priest for the high places. And this became the sin of the family of Jeroboam for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, in the first reading all of us heard the well-known story of how Satan, the devil, disguised as a serpent tricked our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, into eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, which caused them to sin before God, and therefore, were cast out of the Gardens of Eden, and came under the thrall of sin and death.
It was a very important and defining moment in all of the history of humanity, as the moment when mankind turned away from God and sin entered into their hearts, making them defiled and wicked in the sight of God. It was the moment when darkness overcame us and we became rebels, delinquents, all those who have not obeyed the Lord and therefore would not have had any part in the inheritance originally promised to us by God.
Our fate would have been destruction, death, and damnation in hell, together to suffer the eternity of pain and despair with Satan and his fellow rebel angels, those who have not obeyed the Lord and instead chose to follow their own paths, succumbing to the temptations of their desires, their greed and their pride. But this was not what God intended for us when He created us, because He loved us all, and wanted us all to be freed from this fate.
That is why He sent us the deliverance through His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He came into this world in order to deliver us from our troubles, as we witnessed in the Gospel today, in how He went around, healing the sick and those who were beset by the evil spirits, and lifting up the hearts and minds of those who were in despair and who were downtrodden.
He came to heal us all, of all our bodily complaints and diseases, all of our human and worldly afflictions, but even more importantly, He is the only One Who can heal us of our troubles in our soul, that is our sins. While all the medicines and the cures in this world are able to heal us and make us better after we take them, capable of curing even the most difficult and deadly of diseases, and new cures being discovered from time to time, nothing will ever be able to cure us from our sins, save by the grace of God.
God came offering us mercy and forgiveness, to heal us from the taints of original sin that had corrupted our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. He came offering us this healing through Christ, Who went around healing us and bringing us the revelation of His truth, God’s ways which He offers to all those who live in sin, that they may find the folly and the mistake in their current path, and therefore, hoping that they will change their ways and repent their sins.
But the problem lies in the fact that we often resist the forgiveness of God. We often run away from God’s mercy, either because we are too afraid of Him that He will be angry at us and punish us, or because we are too proud to admit that we have been wrong, and therefore, we persisted in our ways of sin, and did not repent from our faults.
All these are the common reasons why mankind often slipped further and further into sin. These are the reasons why many people were lost forever from God, because of their own reluctance, refusal and stubbornness to reject the offer of God’s mercy and love. This is what all of us Christians must take note about, and what we need to reflect on, lest we ourselves also fall to the same trap.
We should now heed the examples of the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today, namely that of St. Scholastica, a holy and devout woman, who lived in the early days of the Church. She was the twin sister of another holy saint, St. Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the Benedictine religious order. St. Scholastica herself led a faithful and pious life just as her brother had.
St. Scholastica dedicated her whole life to God, living in prayerful existence and it was told that she practiced many acts of charity to her neighbours and peers, and also helped many others who are in need of help, both physically and spiritually. She was an exemplary woman, whose holiness and deeds were matched by her own brother, St. Benedict, whose dedications and faith became a beacon of light leading many others to God.
As Christians, all of us should follow the example of St. Scholastica, learning to be upright and just in all of our dealings and actions. We should become examples for each other, reminding one another to remain true to the teachings of our faith in the Church, and devote ourselves day after day to the works of charity, and dedicate ourselves to those who are in need.
May the Lord help us in all of our endeavours, and may He strengthen in us our faith, and awaken the love and devotion we ought to have for Him in our hearts. May the Lord bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 7 : 31-37
At that time, again Jesus set out : from the country of Tyre He passed through Sidon and, skirting the sea of Galilee, He came to the territory of Decapolis. There a deaf man, who also had difficulty in speaking, was brought to Him. They asked Jesus to lay His hand upon him.
Jesus took him apart from the crowd, put His fingers into the man’s ears, and touched his tongue with spittle. Then, looking up to heaven, He groaned and said to him, “Ephphata!” that is, “Be opened!”
And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about it, but the more He insisted, the more they proclaimed it. The people were completely astonished and said, “He has done all things well; He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 31 : 1-2, 5, 6, 7
Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven, whose iniquity is wiped away. Blessed are those in whom the Lord sees no guilt and in whose spirit is found no deceit.
Then I made known to You my sin and uncovered before You my fault, saying to myself, “To the Lord I will now confess my wrong.” And You, You forgave my sin, You removed my guilt.
So let the faithful ones pray to You in time of distress; the overflowing waters will not reach them.
You are my refuge; You protect me from distress and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Liturgical Colour : White
Genesis 3 : 1-8
Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the wild creatures that YHVH God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say : You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden, but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden God said : You must not eat, and you must not touch it or you will die.”
The serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, but God knows that the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the fruit was good to eat, and pleasant to the eyes, and ideal for gaining knowledge. She took its fruit and ate it and gave some to her husband who was with her. He ate it.
Then their eyes were opened and both of them knew they were naked. So they sewed leaves of a fig tree together and made themselves loincloths. They heard the voice of YHVH God walking in the garden, in the cool of the day, and they, the man and his wife, hid from YHVH God among the trees of the garden.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we begin the season of Lent, the time of preparation before the great and glorious celebrations of Easter, a time for repentance, for forgiveness, and when the faithful and the whole Church unite together in fasting and abstinence, to remind ourselves that we are all sinners, unworthy and had been tainted by our disobedience against God.
The ashes today symbolised the nature of our sins, and how small we are before God, despite all of our greatness, our achievements, our talents and all the things we have accomplished and all the properties and goods we possess in this world. Remember the words of the priest, as he places the ashes on our foreheads or on our heads, that we are all man, mortal and sinners, and from dust we have come, and so to dust we shall return.
Ashes has been used since a long time ago, and also by the people of Israel as a sign of penitential intention, the desire of one to repent from one’s mistakes, as a symbol of humility and of unworthiness one feels because of one’s actions and misdeeds. And today the ashes we receive came from the palm branches used in the last year’s Palm Sunday celebration, which we also use for the same purpose, that is to remind us all that we are all penitents, all sinners seeking God’s ever loving mercy.
In the first reading today, we heard the prophet Joel who called the people of God to repent from their sins, casting aside their sinful ways and to repent before God, making a genuine change in their lives, and therefore receive the forgiveness from God, and a time of mercy when God would reunite all His people to Himself. Through the prophet Joel, we are reminded that God is compassionate and willing to forgive those who have sinned against Him.
And we must have heard about the prophet Jonah, who was sent to the city of Nineveh and its people, the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire, to bring the words of the Lord that the city and all of its people would be destroyed because of their sins and their iniquities. And even though it was not mentioned what their sins were, but it was likely to be pagan gods, debauched lifestyle, and all the sins that the mighty Assyrians had done, in killing and causing harm to others.
And we heard how the people of Nineveh, all from the king to the lowest servants and people, all immediately stopped in their track, and they repented before God, regretting their wicked ways and asking for God to spare them the destruction and the punishment which He had intended for them. And God Who saw their sincere repentance, withheld His anger and showed His mercy to them, sparing them from the destruction which should have come their way.
In this, we see how God is loving and merciful to all of His people, even to the pagans and sinners. What is important however, is that this requires great effort and work in order for this to come into effect. Indeed, God offers His mercy generously and freely to all sinners and to all those who have wandered away from His path. But those to whom mercy had been shown, have they accepted God’s offer of mercy and have they done something to show their acceptance in sincerity?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in these days, as we often talk about mercy, and indeed, in this year, during this special Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, many of us often have a misconception about mercy and forgiveness. And there are even those who have espoused the thoughts that God’s mercy requires no effort from those to whom mercy have been shown, or that we should show mercy to others without requiring the other party to change their way or do something about their faults.
No, this kind of mercy is false mercy, and it is not what today’s Ash Wednesday celebration is about. For true mercy requires us indeed to show genuine mercy that is accompanied with the demand for sincere and genuine effort from the penitents to change their ways, sin no more and follow the Lord with all of their heart and might from now on.
Do we remember what Jesus did with the woman who was caught by the Pharisees and the elders having committed adultery with another man than her husband? In that, we heard how Jesus confronted those who desired to see her dead and those who wanted to stone her, by reminding them Himself, that as fellow sinners, for all of us have sinned be it in small or great degree, they have no right to judge others on their sins, and only God truly have the right for judgment.
But Jesus also said to the woman to sin no more and urged her to follow God’s path from then on. He did not let the woman go on with her old life and with her adulterous ways, but He showed her, and also all of us, that while we cannot be judgemental and condemning upon those who have sinned, but not doing anything to bring sinners back into the light of God is also something that is very wrong.
This is why, this season of Lent is the perfect time and opportunity for all of us, the reminder that we are all sinners who have committed sin before God, and how God wants to show us His mercy and love, but many of us remained adamant in our sinful ways, and how some can be obstinate and how they can turn a deaf ear against God’s loving mercy.
This is the time for us, to help one another to seek God’s mercy and to accept His offer of mercy with the sincerity from the heart. It is our duty and obligation, brothers and sisters in Christ, to bring one another closer to the throne of our Lord’s great mercy, and to inspire one another in seeking and having genuine repentance, turning away from all of our sins, abandoning all the sinful ways we have done, and beginning a new life blessed by God.
And the Church is helping us to do this, by providing us with this time and opportunity of Lent, to prepare ourselves, body, mind, heart and soul as we head towards Easter, the season of joy and renewal. And this is why we also fast and abstain during the time of Lent, to discipline ourselves, our bodies and minds, from the temptations of the evil one, and to genuinely seek the salvation of our God through our good works and efforts in faith.
We fast on this day, to remind our bodies, that desire and greed lead us to nowhere. And rather than seeking earthly and worldly pleasures, which is temporary and preventing us to find true joy, we should restrain ourselves and use the opportunity to find the way to reach out to God, to repent from our sins and change our ways. And this is why we also abstain from the bad things that we often do as well, to remind us that while sin and sinful things may seem to be good, but they lead us nowhere else but condemnation and hell.
And as Jesus said in the Gospel today, this day is not a day of gloom and sorrow, for we indeed do not fast or abstain to gain man’s approval. It is also not to show off our own abilities and greatness. Instead, this day should be a day of great joy, but tempered with the understanding and the desire for all of us to change our ways for the better, that indeed, God had been merciful to us, and because of that, we are saved.
Therefore, let us not be gloomy today, and let us not be shy to wear the ashes on our heads. Today is the day when our faith truly goes to the open, where everyone can see the sign of the ashes on our forehead or on our heads. Wear the ashes with joy, and with the understanding that the time of mercy has come. And let us not scandalise the Lord and our faith, that in our actions today and from now on should show our sincere efforts to be forgiven from our sins. Otherwise, we will be hypocrites, and there is no place for hypocrites save for hell.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us change our ways of old, our sinfulness and wickedness. Let us all change ourselves for the better and get rid of our past unworthiness, all the darkness that had covered the true light inside each and every one of us. Let us show the faith and love we have for God, and let us all go forth in being good disciples and followers of our Lord, preaching His Good News through our efforts and deeds wherever we are.
May God bless our observation of Lent, that it will be a great time of renewal for us all, and may He ever strengthen the desire in our heart to love Him and to be forgiven of our sinfulness. God be with us all, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18
At that time, Jesus spoke to the people and to His disciples, “Be careful not to make a show of your righteousness before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be seem in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by the people. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.”
“If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be seen. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.”
“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father Who is with you in secret; and your Father Who sees what is kept secret will reward you. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this, they have been paid in full already.”
“When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father Who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
2 Corinthians 5 : 20 – 2 Corinthians 6 : 2
So we present ourselves as ambassadors in the Name of Christ, as if God Himself makes an appeal to you through us. Let God reconcile you; this we ask you in the Name of Christ. He had no sin, but God made Him bear our sin, so that in Him we might share the holiness of God.
Being God’s helpers we beg you : let it not be in vain that you received this grace of God. Scripture says : At the favourable time I listened to you, on the day of salvation I helped you. This is the favourable time, this is the day of salvation.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 12-13, 14 and 17
Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion, blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.
For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone have I sinned; what is evil in Your sight I have done.
Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and I will declare Your praise.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 