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Sunday, 15 March 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we mark the Fourth Sunday of Lent, all of us notice that today we have a somewhat more festive and joyful atmosphere in our celebration of the Holy Mass, as we mark the occasion of Laetare Sunday, one of the only two days in the whole liturgical year that the colour rose is used as the colour of the day. Together with Gaudete Sunday during the season of Advent, this Laetare Sunday marks the moment when amidst the more penitential and sombre nature of both Advent and Lent, we remind ourselves of the great joy and the exultation that we are expecting and looking ahead towards in Christmas and Easter respectively. Thus, as we continue to progress ever closer to the coming of the Holy Week and the Easter season, all of us ought to remember what we have been preparing ourselves for in this upcoming celebration and festivities, and remind ourselves of our penitential practices this Lent which are meant to prepare ourselves wholly for the great celebrations to come.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel regarding the story of the time when God told Samuel to visit Jesse the Bethlehemite, a man of Judah whom we know as the father of the then future King of Israel, the famous King David. Back then, Saul was the king of Israel, the first one to rule over the people of God, but he has fallen into disobedience and sin against God by not following the instructions and the commands that God had given him and instead following his own desires and whims. Thus, God chose David to be the new king to rule over His people, and sent the prophet Samuel to anoint him with the holy oil. We heard how Jesse presented his seven sons before Samuel, and none of them except David pleased the Lord. When Samuel saw the eldest son of Jesse and thought that he was good in appearance and stature, the Lord told Samuel that He did not judge by appearance but by what is in the heart of man.

David truly loved God, and was a righteous, good and faithful man, who led the people of God faithfully and with great wisdom in his reign as King over them, leading them down the path of faith in God. And despite him failing in some occasions later on throughout his reign, by far and large he remained firm in his faith in following God, and he was also a humble man at heart, who was always ready to humble himself before God and man alike. Compared to other kings and rulers who have been swayed by the temptations of worldly pride and glory, or by their own success and greatness, including that of David’s own son and successor, Solomon, the Lord’s choice of David as King of Israel was indeed reflective of how God chose the best not by their appearances or their outward facade, but by their interior disposition and real self, which God knows all about.

This sets the tone for what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, that is about our ability to see the truth and light of Christ, and seeing the path towards God’s salvation and grace, as well as being truly sincere and genuine in our faith and life. Today, as we remember the love of God and look forward to the joyful celebration of Easter, in our anticipation of that Joy to come, our Laetare Sunday celebration and Scripture passages remind us that each one of us are called to be truly filled by the light of God, His truth and His love. We are reminded that each and every one of us are the children of God, and as the children and people of His light. Therefore, it is important that all of us truly embody in all things, in our whole lives and existence, the true values and beliefs of the Lord’s teachings, His Law and commandments, and not be like those hypocrites who outwardly believed in God but inside, they are all rotten and wicked.

This is also what St. Paul told to the faithful people in Ephesus, calling on them all to arise from the darkness of the world and abandon that darkness for the light of Christ’s truth and love. The Apostle reminded the faithful that they are the children and people of God, and they belong to the Light, and therefore, their actions and way of life should indeed reflect this nature, and that they should be genuinely faithful in all things. They should not scandalise the faith, the Church and all the other faithful people of God because of their wickedness and sinful actions. That is why he has called on all of them to embrace the Lord fully and wholeheartedly, to truly love God with all of their hearts and minds, with all of their strength, and to love one another, especially those dearly beloved to them, in the same way as well. Unless they commit themselves wholly to God and to their beloved ones, and if they continue to allow the temptations and attachments to worldliness to sway and distract them, then the path towards God and His salvation will truly be a difficult one.

That is why in our Gospel passage today, we are reminded yet again about this by the story of the moment when the Lord healed a man born blind, who was blind since birth. The Lord performed that healing on the blind man, opening his eyes and allowed him finally to see the light of this world. Immediately, that brought about the attention of the people who remembered this man who had been blind all the time since his birth, and then suddenly could see clearly. As this happened on the Sabbath, some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law present there immediately questioned the formerly blind man, who it was that healed him, and how he was healed in the first place, with some even doubting that he had been blind in the first place. This was because those people cannot reconcile with the fact that someone had performed this miraculous healing on the Sabbath day, as it had happened.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had often gotten in conflict and disagreements with the Lord because He often performed His healing on the Sabbath, which was to highlight the point that He wanted to bring across that it was truly foolishness that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were interpreting the Law in the way that brought about inconveniences and difficulties for the people of God to live their lives, not only in making it an offence to do anything on the Sabbath, but even forbidding and preventing anything good from being done on the Sabbath. Their way of obeying and observing the Law was based on external and ritualistic observance, on literal understanding of the precepts, but failing to understand the true intention and purpose of the Law, which was in truth meant to help the people of God to live their lives in accordance with His truth and love.

That is why, the Lord told them all that while they might be physically capable of seeing, unlike how the blind man was, but they were suffering from spiritual blindness. Their pride and ego, their arrogance and greed for power and worldly glory and praise led them to shut the doors of their hearts and minds, and also their spiritual eyes to the truth and the light of God. That is why although they could see perfectly well and had witnessed many of the miracles that the Lord had performed before them, but they consistently and stubbornly refused to believe, kept on asking the Lord for more signs when they had witnessed so many things and heard so many words of Wisdom and truth that the Lord had done before them. They even doubted Him and cast doubts in the hearts of others by openly challenging Him and accusing Him of colluding with the demons in the action of His miracles.

All those things happened because they allowed sin to cloud their minds and to make them blind to God’s truth and love. They had practiced their faith outwardly and were pious in the sight of others, showing all their ritual expertise and knowledge of the Law, but most if not all of those were superficial in nature. Below all of that, there was no true love for God. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is possible for one to be outwardly faithful to the Lord but in the inside, to have no real or genuine faith in Him. It means that they were just going through the motion as they practiced their faith, and they just carried on doing all their works without real understanding and appreciation of the true intentions of God’s Law and commandments. They were like a brilliant pot that is highly polished on the outside, but the inside is empty, or even ugly and dirty. That is what St. Paul had warned the faithful against, that they should not be bereft of the light of Christ in their hearts.

How do all these then relate to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that as we continue to progress through this season of Lent, all of us are called to reflect deeply in our hearts, and look within us if Christ’s Light can be found within, and if His truth and love are the bedrock and strong foundation of our faith and lives. What the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had been doing, are exactly what we ourselves had been doing as well. How many of us practiced our faith in the way that we were just going through the motion? How many of us went and attended the Holy Mass or other celebrations of our faith, and yet we were not spiritually or mentally present there. How many of us cannot wait until everything is over so that we can go back to our usual daily routines and pursuits in life? Some of us even have the bad habit of leaving before the Holy Mass had concluded, even when we did not have the legitimate reason to do so.

The list can go on and on for us, like how many of us prayed by reciting the prayers and devotions and yet did not mean what we were saying. That is why I call these recitations and utterances rather than true, genuine prayer. We may think that we have done what our faith has been asking us to do, but we forget that what the Lord wants from us is to build a genuine and living relationship with Him, that of course begins from us spending more quality time with Him and nurturing that relationship we have with God. We do that by refocusing our lives and our attention truly on the Lord, and by learning to listen to Him instead of us just keep on reciting, telling or demanding for Him to do something for us. And we can also spend more time to reflect on our way of life and actions as well, on whether they have been truly a reflection of what God’s holy people should be like.

In this season of Lent, all of us are called to spend more time in prayer so that we may deepen and build up a genuine relationship with God, and we are also called to practice fasting and abstinence, not so that others may see how pious or great we are in our faith, but so that we may restrain the allure of worldly pride, greed and desire. All those things are great obstacles and barriers that keep us separated from God, and which have also kept causing us to fall again and again into sin. That is why this Lent we are constantly being reminded to distance ourselves from those sinful way of life and from all the obstacles that have been making it difficult for us to reach out to God. We are also called to be more generous in sharing our love and blessings to others, by practicing more almsgiving, again not for fame or praise from others, but so that others who are less fortunate than us may also truly experience joy and relief in their lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we look forward to the coming of our true Joy in Christ this Easter, let us all open the barred doors of our hearts and minds, and humble ourselves, seeking God for His forgiveness and compassionate mercy. Let us all remember the love and kindness that He has always shown us, and endeavour therefore to live our lives from now on in accordance with the path that He has shown us. Let us all be good examples and role models for each other, and inspire the people around us by our genuine faith and love-filled hearts in loving those beloved to us even more dearly and in loving those strangers that come into our paths, that also shine with the Light of Christ, so that more and more people may also come to believe in God through us. May God bless us all in the remaining time we have this Lent and help us to continue doing our best in living our lives and faith as good and truly devoted children of God. Amen.

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Sunday, 15 March 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

John 9 : 1-41

At that time, as Jesus walked along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Master, was he born blind because of a sin of his, or of his parents?”

Jesus answered, “Neither was it for his own sin nor for his parents’ sin. He was born blind so that God’s power might be shown in him. While it is day we must do the work of the One Who sent Me; for the night will come when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

As Jesus said this, He made paste with spittle and clay, and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man. Then He said, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (This word means sent.) So the blind man went and washed and came back able to see. His neighbours, and all the people who used to see him begging, wondered. They said, “Is this not the beggar who used to sit here?” Some said, “He is the one.” Others said, “No, but he looks like him.” But the man himself said, “I am he.”

Then they asked him, “How is it that your eyes were opened?” And he answered, “The Man called Jesus made a mud paste, put it on my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went, and washed, and I could see.” They asked, “Where is He?” And the man answered, “I do not know.”

The people brought the man who had been born blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made mud paste and opened his eyes. The Pharisees asked him again, “How did you recover your sight?” And he said, “He put paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, for He works on the Sabbath”; but others wondered, “How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?” They were divided, and they questioned the blind man again, “What do you think of this Man who opened your eyes?” And he answered, “He is a Prophet!”

After all this, the Jews refused to believe that the man had been blind and had recovered his sight; so they called his parents and asked them, “Is this your son? You say that he was born blind, but how is it that he now sees?” The parents answered, “He really is our son and he was born blind; but how it is that he now sees, we do not know, neither do we know Who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is old enough. Let him speak for himself.”

The parents said this because they feared the Jews, who had already agreed that whoever confessed Jesus to be the Christ was to be expelled from the synagogue. Because of that his parents said, “He is old enough, ask him.” So a second time the Pharisees called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Tell us the truth; we know that this Man is a sinner.”

He replied, “I do not know whether He is a sinner or not; I only know that I was blind and now I see.” They said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” He replied, “I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

Then they started to insult him. “Become His disciple yourself! We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; but as for this Man, we do not know where He comes from.” The man replied, “It is amazing that you do not know where the Man comes from, and yet He opened my eyes! We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone honours God and does His will, Hod listens to him. Never, since the world began, has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

They answered him, “You were born a sinner and now you teach us!” And they expelled him. Jesus heard that they had expelled him. He found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said, “You have seen Him and He is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe”; and worshipped Him.

Jesus said, “I came into this world to carry out a judgment : Those who do not see shall see, and those who see shall become blind.” Some Pharisees stood by and asked Him, “So we are blind?” And Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty. But you say, ‘We see’; this is the proof of your sin.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

John 9 : 1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

At that time, as Jesus walked along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth.

As Jesus said this, He made paste with spittle and clay, and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man. Then He said, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (This word means sent.) So the blind man went and washed and came back able to see. His neighbours, and all the people who used to see him begging, wondered. They said, “Is this not the beggar who used to sit here?” Some said, “He is the one.” Others said, “No, but he looks like him.” But the man himself said, “I am he.”

The people brought the man who had been born blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made mud paste and opened his eyes. The Pharisees asked him again, “How did you recover your sight?” And he said, “He put paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, for He works on the Sabbath”; but others wondered, “How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?” They were divided, and they questioned the blind man again, “What do you think of this Man who opened your eyes?” And he answered, “He is a Prophet!”

They answered him, “You were born a sinner and now you teach us!” And they expelled him. Jesus heard that they had expelled him. He found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said, “You have seen Him and He is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe”; and worshipped Him.

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Sunday, 15 March 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Ephesians 5 : 8-14

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Behave as children of light; the fruits of light are kindness, justice and truth in every form. You yourselves search out what pleases the Lord, and take no part in works of darkness that are of no benefit; expose them instead.

Indeed it is a shame even to speak of what those people do in secret, but as soon as it is exposed to the light, everything becomes clear; and what is unmasked, becomes clear through light.

Therefore it is said, “Awake, you who sleep; arise from the dead that the light of Christ may shine on you.”

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Sunday, 15 March 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Sunday, 15 March 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

1 Samuel 16 : 1b, 6-7, 10-13a

YHVH asked Samuel, “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way to Jesse the Bethlehemite for I have chosen My king from among his sons.”

As Jesse and his sons came, Samuel looked at Eliab the older and thought, “This must be YHVH’s anointed.” But YHVH told Samuel, “Do not judge by his looks or his stature for I have rejected him. YHVH does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; YHVH sees the heart.”

Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel who said, “YHVH has chosen none of them. But are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, tending the flock just now.” Samuel said to him, “Send for him and bring him to me; we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him to Samuel. He was a handsome lad with ruddy complexion and beautiful eyes. And YHVH spoke, “Go, anoint him for he is the one.” Samuel then took the horn of oil and anointed him in his brothers’ presence.

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Saturday, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, each and every one of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures to continue serving the Lord our God faithfully and trusting in Him wholeheartedly because He loves each and every one of us and He can see all that we need, all the things that are blocking us and preventing us from coming towards Him. He knows us all very well in and out, everything that we are, and even things that we may not be fully aware of. That is why we are reminded this Lent to be more attuned to the Lord and to follow Him ever more faithfully in each and every moments in our lives, this Lent and beyond.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea, we heard about the words of the Lord delivered to His people through His prophet, whom He sent to minister to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Lord has foretold the destruction and downfall of Israel because of their repeated disobedience and wrongdoings, their lack of faith and trust in Him. However, as we also heard in our reading yesterday and today both, God also reassured them all with His love and commitment, as per the Covenant He had made with their ancestors. God still loved them regardless of their sins and mistakes, and He would not abandon them in the manner that they had abandoned Him first.

That was why He told them all just as He was calling on each one of them to return to Him, that He would restore them all once again in honour and grace, allowing them to rebuild their lives and their cities once again after they had suffered the period of misfortune and difficulties in the future. He would gather them all once again after they had been scattered all over the world, and they would once again be His beloved people. All these would indeed came to fruition and fulfilment over the next few decades and centuries, as the people of God gradually and eventually repented from their sinful ways, and eventually found their way back to God’s grace. It is also therefore a reminder for all of us to do the same for ourselves as well.

Then from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples using the well-known parable of a tax collector who prayed together with a Pharisee in the Temple of God. In that parable we heard how the Pharisee praised himself for all of his deeds and works, all of his pious efforts and then the same Pharisee also sneered and looked down on the tax collector, full of self-praise and pride, thinking that he was better over that tax collector. Meanwhile, the tax collector as we heard, humbled himself and was so apologetic and repentant before God, and the Lord praised the faith of the tax collector, his humility and desire to seek God as opposed to the self-aggrandising and proud attitude of the Pharisee.

In this Gospel passage and parable we are reminded that each and every one of us should not think that we are better in any way than others, especially with regards to our spiritual nature and relationship with God. We should not think that we are in any way better or superior than others, or be prejudiced or biased against anyone because we disagree with them or disapprove of them. We must remember first and foremost that God loves each and every one of us equally and unconditionally, and He does not play preferences or have any bias or prejudice against any of us. Even the greatest of sinners are deserving of God’s great and ever enduring love, and we cannot assume that we are better or less a sinner than another person.

Instead of the pride which blinded us all to God’s love and truth, to His mercy and forgiveness, let us all be more humble like the tax collector, who recognised his faults, mistakes and sins before the Lord. God knows all of our good actions and deeds, and also all of our wicked deeds and failures, and hence there is really no need for us to boast about our good deeds before Him. This is even worse still if we choose to boast over our prejudiced and judgmental attitudes over others just as the Pharisee had done. Rather, let us all trust in God’s mercy and compassion ever more from now on, knowing that no matter how great our sins may be, but if we put ourselves in His mercy, God will heal us and bring us back to His loving Presence.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings are important reminders for each and every one of us that we should not allow ourselves to be taken by our pride and ego within us that we fail to see that we ourselves are in need of God’s mercy and healing, and that each and every one of us are equally beloved by God, and His love is not something that we can consider in transactional way or in any way to boast over one another. Let us all remember instead just how lovingly God has treated us with, and how generous He has always been with His kindness, love and all that He has shown us all these while despite our many trespasses against Him and our stubborn attitudes and behaviours.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God Who always sees our hearts and minds, and Who has always cared for each and every one of us patiently all these while, continue to provide for us, show us His most generous mercy and love as we come towards Him with contrite and sorrowful hearts, seeking Him earnestly so that we may be healed from the afflictions affecting us, particularly those of our sins and wickedness. May God be with us always throughout this time of Lent and beyond, helping us to persevere and to continue moving forward in life with faith. May He continue to bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 18 : 9-14

At that time, Jesus told another parable to some people, fully convinced of their own righteousness, who looked down on others : “Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.”

“The Pharisee stood by himself, and said, ‘I thank You, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and give a tenth of all my income to the Temple.’ In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’”

“I tell you, when this man went back to his house, he had been reconciled with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised up.”

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Saturday, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab

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.

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.

Shower Zion with Your favour : rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then, You will delight in fitting sacrifices, in burnt offerings, and bulls, offered on Your altar.

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Saturday, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hosea 6 : 1-6

Come, let us return to YHVH. He Who shattered us to pieces, will heal us as well; He has struck us down, but He will bind up our wounds. Two days later He will bring us back to life; on the third day, He will raise us up, and we shall live in His presence.

Let us strive to know YHVH. His coming is as certain as the dawn; His judgment will burst forth like the light; He will come to us as showers come, like spring rain that waters the earth. O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? O Judah, how shall I deal with you?

This love of yours is like morning mist, like morning dew that quickly disappears. This is why I smote you through the prophets, and have slain you by the words of My mouth. For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice; it is knowledge of God, not burnt offerings.

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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.