Friday after Ash Wednesday

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season of Lent, this time of repentance and reorientation of our lives, we are all reminded that everything which we are doing during this time and season of Lent should always be focused on the Lord, our Saviour and Master. We should not allow ourselves to be deluded and misguided by the temptations of worldly glory, pleasures, or other pursuits and ambitions which can lead us into the wrong paths in life. This Lent we are all called to turn away from our many worldly attachments and distractions, as well as coming closer to the Lord by our deepening of this relationship which we ought to have for Him. Each and every one of us should seek to rend ourselves off the various shackles of worldly desires present around us, and come to the Lord with a sorrowful and contrite heart.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people, the Israelites through Isaiah in which He called on all of them to turn towards Him with genuine faith and desire to love Him, and not merely paying lip service to Him and obeying His Law and commandments out of formality and mere outward observance only. The Lord pointed out how some of the people were doing exactly this, contradicting their own pious practices with other things that were not in accordance to His Law and commandments. The Lord quoted some examples how the people observed the fasting and the festivals, and yet, as they put ashes on their heads and wearing their sackcloth as they fast, they still persecuted and oppressed others around them, manipulating and benefitting over the sufferings of their fellow brethren.

All of those things meant that those people had not truly understood the Law and commandments of God. They fulfilled the requirements of the Law more as formality and perhaps even out of fear for the Lord, but not because they truly desired to seek Him or to follow His path wholeheartedly as they all ought to have done. That is why the Lord reminded all of His people through Isaiah, who wanted to tell them all to turn away from this wicked path, and embrace once again wholeheartedly and meaningfully the path that He has shown them, and which He has helped and reminded them constantly through the many prophets that He had sent to them including that of Isaiah himself. God wanted all of His people, and this is a reminder to all of us as well, that we must truly be sincere in our faith and all the practices we do, especially during this time and season of Lent, that we do not end up being hypocrites, believing in one thing and yet doing something entirely contradictory and opposite on the other.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to the disciples of St. John the Baptist who came up to Him to question why He and His disciples did not practice fasting in the manner that the disciples of St. John the Baptist themselves and the Pharisees had done. Unfortunately, especially for the latter group, many of them did the practice of fasting and other pious practices not for the right purpose and intention, but rather to seek attention and praise from others around them. At the same time, the Lord also used this opportunity to reveal and highlight the truth about Himself and His mission, how He, the Lord God Himself descending into our midst in the flesh and form of Man, being in our presence is no circumstance for His disciples and followers to fast.

Ultimately, this is a reminder for all of us that fasting and abstinence are practices that serve to remind us all of our sin and mortality, our rebellion and disobedience against God. When we fast, we also in a way mourn and show our regret and sorrow against our separation from God, reflecting upon the sad reality of the state of our soul, tainted and corrupted by sin and evil. And yet, at the same time, we must always remind ourselves that God has provided us His help and love, His kindness and grace, offering us all generous forgiveness and mercy. We must not squander these opportunities that God had given us all, as He reached out patiently towards us, gathering us all and calling on us to come into His Holy Presence once again, to be loved by Him again and reunited with Him.

Today, all of us are called to repent from our sins and wickedness as we continue our progress through this penitential season and time of Lent. We are called to reevaluate our path in life, and whether we have truly lived our lives worthily in the Lord or whether we are still being wayward in disobeying the Lord and His commandments. This is why we need to heed the words of the Lord that we have listened to and discussed today so that our Lenten season and whatever we are doing to observe it can be truly beneficial and fruitful for us. We must not do those observances and actions without truly understanding their significance and importance, and whenever we fast, abstain, spending our time in prayer and performing acts of charity, we should do them because we sincerely desire to better ourselves and to come back towards the Lord with contrite hearts.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, two holy and devout women whose martyrdom during the era of persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire inspired many of the faithful throughout history. St. Perpetua was a Roman noblewoman who was recently married at the time of her martyrdom while St. Felicity was a slavewoman, who was arrested and imprisoned together with St. Perpetua during one of the episodes of persecution of Christians in the Empire. Despite their different backgrounds, both were united in the common faith they had in the Lord, in their belief in Christ, the Saviour of all. They refused to abandon their faith, and for St. Perpetua, she refused her father’s desire that she recant her faith in God. Eventually both of them were put to death for their faith in the Lord, courageously defending their faith to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we reflect upon these words from the Sacred Scriptures and upon listening to the examples of the great saints, St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, let us all hence renew our commitments to the Lord, and renew that desire in each and every one of us to seek the Lord ever more wholeheartedly, by our exemplary living and deeds, by our obedience to the Law and commandments of God. The Lord has given us this time of Lent as the wonderful opportunity for us to embrace Him and His mercy, to reevaluate our lives and to reattune ourselves to His path. Let us all not squander these opportunities that He has given us, and let us all seek the Lord faithfully, being good role models for everyone around us, much as our holy predecessors, like that of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity had been for us.

May the Lord continue to bless us in our journey of life and strengthen us in our faith and commitment to Him, and bless our Lenten practices and observances so that through them, we may draw ever closer to Him and find the path to His Holy Presence, and remain ever firm in our desire to love and seek Him always in our lives. Amen.

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 9 : 14-15

At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast.”

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 18-19

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.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart, You will not despise.

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 1-9a

Cry out aloud for all you are worth; raise your voice like a trumpet blast; tell My people of their offences, Jacob’s family of their sins. Is it true that they seek Me day after day, longing to know My ways, as a people that does what is right and has not forsaken the word of its God?

They want to know the just laws and not to drift away from their God. “Why are we fasting?,” they complain, “and You do not even see it? We are doing penance and You never notice it.” Look, on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress your labourers. Yes, you fast but end up quarrelling, striking each other with wicked blows. Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high.

Is that the kind of fast that pleases Me, just a day to humble oneself? Is fasting merely bowing down one’s head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes? Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to YHVH? See the fast that pleases Me : breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke.

Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the glory of YHVH your rearguard. Then you will call and YHVH will answer, you will cry and He will say, I am here.

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Friday, 16 February 2024 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today through the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are once again reminded of what we really need to do during this time and season of Lent, in what we have been called to do and practice, in living our lives with greater desire to turn once again wholeheartedly towards God, in our love and desire to follow Him, in our commitment to reject sin and evil, and in renouncing the path of wickedness and worldliness. Each and every one of us should make good use of the opportunities and the time which had been provided to us this Lent so that we may indeed be ever closer to God once again, and be freed from the tyranny and oppression of sin which have separated us from the Lord and His love, and which had corrupted us and made us fallen into the darkness and evil ways.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God made it clear to His people of what He expected of all of His beloved people, in how they all should return to Him and to the path which He has called them to. The prophet Isaiah was sent to the people of God at a time when they had faced a lot of hardships, trials and difficulties because of their disobedience against God, their lack of faith and commitment against Him, their refusal to follow His Law and commandments, and their stubbornness and constant rebellions against Him. At that time, the once united kingdom of Israel had long been divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, and it was during the early years of the ministry of Isaiah that the northern kingdom was destroyed and conquered by the Assyrians who laid siege to Samaria, the northern kingdom’s capital and destroyed it, carrying many of its people into exile, and foreigners were sent to dwell in the lands that belonged to the people of God.

Therefore, Isaiah was sent mainly to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah in order to remind all of them of the wicked state that they themselves were in, and telling them all to turn away from all those wickedness, which would have led them ever further and deeper into the path of destruction and downfall, just as they themselves had witnessed through what happened to their separated brethren of the northern kingdom, and how the people of Judah themselves also faced a lot of troubles and hardships, when the Assyrians and others of their enemies were defeating them and conquering their cities and towns. Isaiah wanted all of the people to realise that in God there was indeed a lot of hope and opportunities for them to seek reconciliation, because God Himself is always ready to welcome all of His beloved ones back to His loving embrace.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who questioned Him on why His disciples did not fast in the manner that the Pharisees themselves and the disciples of St. John the Baptist had fasted. This was when the Lord told them all that His disciples did not fast because He, the Bridegroom was with them, and hence it was indeed not appropriate for them to fast at that joyous time. This was then followed by the prediction that the Lord Himself would go away, which was a premonition of what He would experience, when He would suffer and die on the Cross, and how His disciples would then be sorrowful and fast hence, in anticipation of His glorious Resurrection and return to them.

In this case, the Lord highlighted how He is the One, the Bridegroom of the Church, the Holy One and Saviour of all Whom the Lord has promised and sent to His beloved ones, to bring unto all of us the salvation, liberation and love which He has always promised to us from the very beginning. The Lord has always been kind and generous to us, and He showed us the perfect manifestation, proof and example of His love in His beloved and only begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He has come to our midst so that, He, as the Bridegroom of the Church may help to bring us all, who are parts of His Body, His One Church, to a perfect, full and complete reconciliation with the Lord, our loving God, Father and Creator.

We are all reminded today that we have often fallen into the path of sin, evil and darkness, and hence, we have drifted ever further away from the path that the Lord has wanted us to walk through. We often followed the whim of our desires, our ambitions, pride and greed, which had led so many of our predecessors into their downfall, like the examples of the people of Israel and Judah themselves have shown us. If we continue to allow all those temptations to mislead and to bring us deeper into the path of sin and evil, then in the end, we will have nothing but regret for our waywardness and our downfall, especially when it is already too late for us, in constantly resisting and rejecting the Lord’s ever generous offer of love, compassion and mercy until the last possible moment before our deaths and judgment.

Let us all therefore remind ourselves once again today and henceforth that we should not allow all those temptations, desires and all the obstacles present all around us from stopping or slowing us down in our path and pursuit of the righteousness and grace in God. Let us all make use of this penitential time of Lent to help us to restrain our many desires, and help us to detach ourselves from the excessive attachments of worldly pleasures and glories. We must be good role models and inspirations for each other as well, in how we all live our each and every moments in life, in doing what God has commanded us all to do, in proclaiming His Good News and truth through our every words, actions and deeds, and in everything that we do in interacting and working with one another.

May the Lord continue to guide and empower us all so that in all the things we do, we will always strive to be ever closer to Him, and to follow Him ever more sincerely and with greater desire to abandon our wickedness and evils, and to be freed from the tyranny, bondage and dominion of sin and evil all around us. May God bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always, in glorifying His Name, forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 16 February 2024 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 9 : 14-15

At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast.”

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Friday, 16 February 2024 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 18-19

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.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart, You will not despise.

by

Friday, 16 February 2024 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 1-9a

Cry out aloud for all you are worth; raise your voice like a trumpet blast; tell My people of their offences, Jacob’s family of their sins. Is it true that they seek Me day after day, longing to know My ways, as a people that does what is right and has not forsaken the word of its God?

They want to know the just laws and not to drift away from their God. “Why are we fasting?,” they complain, “and You do not even see it? We are doing penance and You never notice it.” Look, on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress your labourers. Yes, you fast but end up quarrelling, striking each other with wicked blows. Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high.

Is that the kind of fast that pleases Me, just a day to humble oneself? Is fasting merely bowing down one’s head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes? Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to YHVH? See the fast that pleases Me : breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke.

Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the glory of YHVH your rearguard. Then you will call and YHVH will answer, you will cry and He will say, I am here.

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Friday, 24 February 2023 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are called to focus on the matter of fasting as highlighted throughout the Scripture readings today. During the season of Lent, there are two days in which we are all required to fast, which is the Ash Wednesday at the very beginning of Lent, and then on the Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord, the day when we commemorate our Lord Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the Cross just before Easter. We are also called to Abstinence on those two same days, and all Fridays throughout the season of Lent and throughout the entire year. This practice of fasting as well as abstinence are all meant to help us to redirect our lives and attention towards the Lord and away from the many temptations and wickedness of sin and evil all around us.

In the past, the Church practiced a much stricter regime of fasting and abstinence than it is today, which is still actually practiced by our brethren in the Eastern Catholic Churches as well as our separated brethren in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox faith. They fasted essentially for the entire season of Lent and adopted a stricter form of abstinence in which unlike our current practice of only not allowing the consumption of red meat in Abstinence, they all abstain from all consumption of meat and fish, and also even egg and milk during the whole duration of the season of Lent, in conjunction with fasting right up to the glorious moment of Easter Vigil. This practice of fasting did have its roots from the Jewish traditions and the customs of the Apostles and the early Church fathers, as a means to self-mortify one’s body and flesh so as to restrain the temptations of the flesh and the worldly pleasures, and help one to refocus their attention towards the Lord, as intended.

However, in its implementation, this practice of fasting had veered off from its original intent, as the people of God fasted and did all that was asked of them, but it had not been done with true sincerity and understanding of why the fasting was done in the first place. As the prophet Isaiah highlighted it in our first reading today, the Lord lamented the actions of the people who did not have true faith and commitment to Him, as they continued to act in ways that were contrary to His Law and commandments. The people complained that God did not notice their actions, their fasting and other faith practices, but God countered with the detailing of how they had not been sincere in living their lives with faith, as was evident in how they continued to sin even though they fasted, and did what the Law prescribed them to do.

It means that the people were only doing all those for maintaining superficial appearances and formality of obedience to God’s Law and commandments. They were merely going through the motions when they practiced fasting and other expressions of their faith, while their hearts, minds and souls, their bodies and whole beings were still enslaved to sin and evil. They still did things that were against the Law of God, in acting selfishly and in hurting others, in doing things that brought about scandal to the Lord and to His Holy Name, among other things. All these show us that it is indeed possible for one to do everything that has been told to him or her to do, obey the Law and commandments of God, and yet, remaining in the state of sin and separated from God, because he or she has no real and genuine faith in the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to the disciples of St. John the Baptist who came to Him asking why the disciples of the Lord did not fast in the manner that they and the Pharisees had done, and the Lord responded that they would indeed fast at the right and appropriate time, when the Lord would be taken away from them. Not only that, but those who follow the Lord and call themselves as His disciples will give Him the kind of fast that He desires. It means that unlike the Pharisees or the disciples of St. John, especially that of the former, for which fasting means observing and being particular about the details and the rituals of fasting, rather than to focus on the reason and purpose why they fasted in the first place, the Lord’s followers ought to remind themselves of why they fast, and they should fast because they desire to become closer to the Lord.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to progress through this season of Lent, let us remind ourselves that as we fast, abstain or do whatever practices that we are going to do throughout the duration of this holy and blessed season, we ought to do them not because we seek fame or praise for our actions, or because we feel obliged to obey the rules and laws regarding the Lenten practices, be it by the Church or the practices within our parishes and communities. Instead, we should do everything because we truly desire to rend our hearts, our minds and souls, our whole being, regretting all the sins and wickedness that we have committed in life, and for all our disobedience against God and the lack of faith in Him. We should make good use of this season of Lent to draw ever closer to God and to follow Him more wholeheartedly.

That is why, brothers and sisters, all of us are called to do whatever we can, even in the smallest things we do, in what we say and how we interact with one another, in bringing God’s love and truth, His light and hope to the midst of our lives and our communities. Let us all be more loving and forgiving towards others, and be more generous in giving, of both time, attention and maybe material help, to all those around us who are in need. God has placed them in our reach because it is through us that He expected us to share our blessings and good things, to help those who are less fortunate. That is why we should not ignore the calling that God has given to each one of us, to be more loving and charitable, especially to those who are less fortunate than us, in whatever way it is. We must remember what the Lord Himself had told His disciples, that whatever we do for the sake of our brothers and sisters, who are least and last among us, we do it for the sake of the Lord Himself.

May all of us therefore continue to grow ever stronger in faith, draw closer to the Lord and do whatever we can so that this season of Lent will be truly meaningful and fruitful for us, in helping and leading us on our way and journey back towards the Lord. May all of us become sources of inspiration and strength to one another so that each and every one of us may become ever more committed and faithful to the Lord, and help many more souls on their way to salvation. May God bless us all in our Lenten journey, in our every good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 24 February 2023 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 9 : 14-15

At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast.”