Friday

by

Friday, 13 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we continue to progress through this sacred time and season of Lent, all of us are reminded that God’s forgiveness and mercy are both powerful and boundless in nature, and we should appreciate the fact that God has always been kind, merciful and patient towards us at all times. And because the Lord has always been there for us, we should indeed learn to listen to Him and to follow Him wherever He leads us towards, realising that it is only with Him that we can truly move forward confidently in life, knowing that with His guidance all of us will be able to live a truly wholesome life inspired by God’s love and grace.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which God was calling on all of His people to return to Him in repentance and regret over their many sins and wickedness, calling upon all of them to turn back towards Him with contrite and sorrowful hearts, trusting in the power and generosity of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness, which He has always shown freely to every single one of us without exception. This is because God is Love, Love personified and manifested, a perfect Love without limits and boundaries, and He Himself has constantly reassured us of this love which He has always had for us, and ultimately, He created each and every one of us out of His most generous love.

That was why despite the stubborn attitudes of the people refusing to follow the Lord’s commandments and ways, their hardened hearts and minds, their preference to trust in the ways of their pagan neighbours and in worldly means instead on God’s Providence, God still reached out to them patiently nonetheless. The prophet Hosea was sent to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel to minister to them during the last decades of that kingdom’s existence right up to the time of its destruction by the Assyrians. The downfall and destruction of Israel, the ruin of its many cities and the exile of its people were all foretold by the Lord through His prophets including that of Hosea, but God also reassured His people that He still loved them all nonetheless, and that He would still care for them and restore them to His loving Presence and grace eventually.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the conversation between the Lord Jesus and a teacher of the Law who asked Him about the matter of the Law of God, specifically about the Ten Commandments and all the laws, rules and regulations which God has shown to Moses and then passed on to the Israelites. For the context, the whole Law, its application and practices as it had evolved over many centuries up to the time of the Lord’s ministry spanned vast numbers of rules and regulations, so much so that according to tradition, they numbered at least six hundred and thirteen all in all, if not more. And the teachers of the Law, together with the Pharisees were among those who were very particular with their application, imposition and enforcement among the people of God.

And throughout the Gospels, we can see how the Lord often clashed against the Pharisees and also the teachers of the Law with regard to the Law of God and its application and enforcement. The Lord was also often critical against how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law practiced and observed the Law, condemning their rigidity and lack of true appreciation and understanding of God’s Law, its purpose and intention with their elitist and exclusivist attitude, being judgmental and biased against all those whom they disagreed with and disapproved. That was why, with this context, we can understand perhaps why the teacher of the Law was asking the Lord about which of the commandments of the Law is the most important one. It was either to test Him or out of genuine curiosity to find out which of the many rules, precepts and laws were indeed the one that is most important.

And the Lord made it very clear that the whole entire Law can be summarised into two main points, that is loving the Lord our God with all of our might and strength, putting Him above everything else, and then secondly to love others in the same way as well, particularly those whom we love and are precious to us. All the whole Law as God had given to us His people were indeed meant to do nothing more and nothing less than to guide each and every one of us, God’s people, in how we can love God and one another, showing and teaching us the true meaning and purpose of the Law that God has given to us. Essentially through the Law that He has given to us and revealed in its fullness of truth through His Son and His Church, we are all called to live our lives in the manner that is truly pleasing to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we all reflect upon these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that all of us should always listen to the Lord and trust in Him in everything that He has provided to us, and we should not be afraid to walk in His path, understanding His Law and commandments, and knowing that through what He Himself has shown us, we can truly love Him wholeheartedly and we can also show the same love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, to our most beloved ones just as God has always intended for us to do. Each and every one of us are the bearers of God’s love and truth, and we are all called to show this same love in each and every one of our actions, words and deeds, in every moments of our lives.

May the Lord our most loving, compassionate and merciful God continue to guide us all as we continue to progress and journey through life. May He continue to lead us forward in life and especially throughout this time and season of Lent so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His love, and that we may continue to inspire many others around us through our own words, actions and deeds that we may lead more and more towards the Lord and His salvation. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours to glorify Him by our lives, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 13 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Mark 12 : 28b-34

At that time, a teacher of the Law came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is : Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved of this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

by

Friday, 13 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 80 : 6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it, I relieved your shoulder from burden; I freed your hands. You called in distress, and I saved you.

Unseen, I answered you in thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear, My people, as I admonish you. If only you would listen, o Israel!

There shall be no strange god among you, you shall not worship any alien god, for I the Lord am your God, who led you forth from the land of Egypt.

If only My people would listen, if only Israel would walk in My ways. I would feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy you with honey from the rock.

by

Friday, 13 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hosea 14 : 2-10

Return to your God YHVH, o Israel! Your sins have caused your downfall. Return to YHVH with humble words. Say to Him, “Oh You Who show compassion to the fatherless forgive our debt, be appeased. Instead of bulls and sacrifices, accept the praise from our lips. Assyria will not save us : no longer shall we look for horses nor ever again shall we say ‘Our gods’ to the work of our hands.”

I will heal their wavering and love them with all My heart for My anger has turned from them. I shall be like dew to Israel like the lily will he blossom. Like a cedar he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow and spread. His splendour will be like an olive tree. His fragrance, like a Lebanon cedar.

They will dwell in My shade again, they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like a vine, and their fame will be like Lebanon wine. What would Ephraim do with idols, when it is I Who hear and make him prosper? I am like an ever-green cypress tree; all your fruitfulness comes from Me.

Who is wise enough to grasp all this? Who is discerning and will understand? Straight are the ways of YHVH : the just walk in them, but the sinners stumble.

by

Friday, 6 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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 harm and dangers that our greed, desires and ambitions, as well as jealousy and other negative traits which can lead us into our downfall and destruction if we continue to follow them, as what the Scripture passages today highlighted with the story of Joseph and his brothers, where jealousy almost led to those brothers committing fratricide, as well as the story of the parable of the evil tenants which the Lord Jesus told to His disciples, to remind them all of how our greed and personal ambitions can lead us into committing untold harm and evil deeds.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis, we heard of the beginning of the story surrounding Joseph, one of the many sons of Jacob or Israel, whom we may all know as the one who was brought to Egypt and becoming regent there in that land, and ultimately rescuing his whole family from danger due to the great famine raging over the whole world at the time, making the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob or Israel, prosper greatly in Egypt and in the lands that God had brought them all to stay in. Through this story we can see how God was with His people, protecting them and providing for them, and even turning things that were meant for evil into good things.

First of all, Joseph as mentioned was one of the favourite sons of Jacob, and this was due to him being one of the two sons of Rachel, the woman whom Jacob truly loved wholeheartedly, more than his sister, Leah, who had also married Jacob and gave him the other children. Joseph and Benjamin were the sons borne to him by Rachel, and as his youngest sons, naturally it would have made them their father’s favourites. Joseph in particular received the ire of his other elder brothers because Benjamin was likely still very young, and therefore did not end up in their brothers’ crosshairs. Joseph himself also received many preferential treatments from his father, and his dreams which he shared with his brothers and family, highlighting how they all would be bowing down before him, brought about even more of his brothers’ jealousy.

And that was how Joseph eventually ended up being plotted against by his own brothers, and almost lost his life because many among his brothers wanted to kill him. Instead, by the intervention of some of his elder brothers, Joseph was instead sold off to the slavers of Midian who were on their way to the land fo Egypt, and was spared death. All of these were indeed part of God’s grand design, who influenced the brothers and prevented them from committing such a heinous sin of killing their own brother. He turned the misfortunes of Joseph into great plans for the future, which at that time no one could have seen yet, but it was in fact Joseph’s visions slowly coming to fruition and accomplishment.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus told His disciples and followers using a parable to teach them about the dangers of worldly glory, ambitions and desires, which He highlighted with the story of the wicked and evil tenants who were given the plots of land by the landowner to work on, and yet, they all refused to pay their dues and the parts of the proceed just as they had certainly agreed on with the landowner. Those wicked tenants became greedy and wanted to keep all of their proceeds and profits, reneging on their earlier agreement, refusing to listen to the reminders sent to them by the landowner through his servants.

And not only that, just like the story of Joseph earlier in our first reading today, those evil tenants were affected by their greed and jealousy of the great wealth of the landowner, which led them to commit heinous crimes, persecuting and even murdering those servants sent to them to remind them of their obligations and works. We heard then how last of all, the evil tenants ganged up and plotted against the landowner’s son, whom he sent to those wicked tenants with the same purpose, thinking that they would have at least respected his son. This was in fact a premonition and prefigurement of what Christ Himself, represented by that landowner’s son, would go through as He would be persecuted and killed by those who opposed Him, those represented by the evil tenants.

This is why all of us are reminded as Christians, we should not allow these things to influence us negatively and leading us down the slippery slope towards wickedness and sin. We must realise that first and foremost we should focus our lives and attention on the Lord, and keep in mind that our every actions, words and deeds should always be rooted in our belief in the Lord, and not be rooted in our worldly ambitions, desires and greed. We must remember that nothing we have and gained in this world will last forever, and none of them will endure through difficulties and challenges we may encounter in our path. But if we put our faith and trust in the Lord, everything that we go through, all the challenges and difficulties, we will eventually be able to overcome it, and we will gain true eternal glory with Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect upon all these which we have heard from the Lord, from the words He has spoken to us and reminded us all with. Let us all no longer hesitate to walk ever more courageously with Him, going forward with great faith that does not dim even amidst the most challenging and difficult moments. All of us should always do our best to live up to our Christian beliefs, particularly in our great love for God and in our generous love for one another, not putting ourselves and our selfish desires ahead of what we should do in loving God and His people, as we have been called to do.

May the Lord our God continue to strengthen us all and empower each and every one of us in our every efforts and endeavours especially throughout this time and season of Lent, so that all of us may continue to walk faithfully in the path which the Lord has shown us. Let us all remain firm in faith and trust in Him, and resist the temptations of worldly ambitions, glory and desires, all of which can drag us down the path of ruin and destruction. This Lent, let us all continue to strive to be ever more faithful and committed people of God, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 6 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (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.

by

Friday, 6 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (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.

by

Friday, 6 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (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.

by

Friday, 27 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together to listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and to reflect on all these which we have heard and received from God through the Church, we are reminded that each and every one of us are called to a life of holiness and virtue in accordance with what the Lord has called us all to do, in each and every aspects of our lives. All of us as Christians are always expected to do our best in each and every moments, in our every interactions and endeavours so that we may always be worthy bearers of God’s truth and love. We are all the ones who are supposed to live up to our Christian faith and beliefs in the Lord that all those who witness our lives and actions may truly believe in God through us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard of the Lord speaking to His people, the Israelites, telling them all of how everyone will be judged and have their fates determined by each and every one of their actions and deeds, their words and interactions in life. The Lord essentially told His people that there is no one who is already condemned from the beginning, and opportunity is always provided to all those who seek for reconciliation with Him. God is always ever generous with His love and mercy, and He never ceases to love us all, caring for us and giving us the necessary guidance and help in life, so that by all these, He hopes that each and every one of us may find salvation through Him, and be truly free from our bondage and enslavement by sin. Sin is a great enemy to all of us, and one which we have to overcome in order for us to come closer to God.

The Lord told His people that those who were considered as righteous can fall into sin and be damned for their sins they committed, if those sins truly were serious and were not repented or overcome, forgiven by God and absolved by Him. Meanwhile, all those considered and deemed as wicked, evil and sinful, could be saved if they repented from their sins and change their ways. The Lord will forgive all those who came seeking Him and His forgiveness, with the sincere and real desire to love Him and to return to Him, and this is what the Lord wanted all of His people, including all of us to know. Back then, during the time of the prophet Ezekiel, the people of God had suffered a lot and been humbled and thrown down, for all the wickedness that they and their ancestors had committed, and even so, God still loved each and every one of them, and desired for them to be reconciled with Him.

He called on them to return to Him, and gave them help, reassurance and assistance all throughout their way, sending His prophets, messengers and guides to them, and eventually, even His own beloved Son, the One promised to be the Saviour of all mankind, Our Lord Jesus Christ. In our Gospel passage today, the Lord said to His disciples of how they ought to be truly faithful and dedicated to God, and that they have to be genuine in their beliefs, and their way of life ought to truly reflect of their status as God’s beloved children and people, and that is, they have to be truly good and righteous in all of their ways and actions. Otherwise, if we profess to believe in God and yet act in ways that are contrary to our faith and beliefs, we are then no better than hypocrites and unbelievers in our faith and way of life, and worse still, we can even cause scandal for our faith and tarnish the Lord’s Holy Name.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we are reminded by the Lord Jesus Himself as He told His disciples of the reminder that they all had to believe in the manner that is better and more comprehensive than that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, or else they would not have truly believed in God as they should have. This must be understood in the context that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law having often practiced their faith in God by having a very strict and rigid interpretation of such laws and rules, emphasising a lot on the details and ritual aspects of the Law while neglecting the understanding and appreciation of the true intention, meaning and purpose of the Law.

Not only that, but many among them also had different motive and intention while they were observing the Law and commandments of God. As the Lord often mentioned in other occasions in the Gospels, those people who were the intellectual and religious elites of the community often took great pride in their way of observing the Law, loudly proclaiming their prayers and visibly exhibiting their practices so that they could be seen by everyone around them, and be praised for what they had done and for their piety and devotion. This is not what the Lord had wanted from His people, and especially not those who were entrusted with the care and guardianship of the Law and the people. And that was why the Lord also taught His disciples how they could be truly faithful to God in all of their ways.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Gregory of Narek, one of the Doctors of the Church who was recently declared as such by Pope Francis, our current Pope, hailing from the Armenian Church tradition during the Middle Ages. St. Gregory of Narek lived in the then Kingdom of Vaspurakan, where he was born as the son of a local bishop. His father was suspected of siding with the Chalcedonian beliefs and ways, which is what we Catholics believe in today, as well as many other Christians, but at that time, the Armenian Church refused to accept the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon because of some issues in the dogma and teachings of the Council which did not fit their beliefs. As such, St. Gregory of Narek’s father was excommunicated, and St. Gregory of Narek himself faced those who doubted his faith and beliefs, being suspected of the same faults as his father.

Nonetheless, despite all those challenges and difficulties, St. Gregory of Narek, having been raised in a religious family, grew to be God-fearing and faithful, and eventually took up the calling to be a priest and monk. He was a truly humble and pious man, who was very bright intellectually and wrote extensive works such as his renowned Book of Lamentations, showing many others how to connect to the Lord ever deeper spiritually. He also spent a lot of time teaching the other monks and those who desired to seek the Lord, and devoted himself to a life of prayer and seclusion until his passing from this world. Despite his humble demeanour, the great faith and commitment that St. Gregory of Narek has shown brought countless souls to salvation in God, and still inspired many even to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed heart and mind, doing our very best to live our lives ever more faithfully, devoting our time and attention to follow Him like how St. Gregory of Narek and our other holy predecessors had done. Let us all be good role models and examples in how we carry ourselves, in all of our actions, words and deeds, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 27 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus said 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.”