Lenten season

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Saturday, 30 March 2019 : 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, 29 March 2019 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord through the Scriptures reminding us of the importance of love in our lives, for love is the foundation of our whole lives. In the first reading today, we heard of the love which the Lord our God lavished on us, His beloved people, despite of the sins that we have committed all these while, just as how He showed mercy to His people who have disobeyed Him.

The prophet Hosea lived and ministered at a time when the people of God had been scattered and humiliated because of their disobedience against God and for the wickedness they did before the Lord. But the prophet revealed God’s ever merciful and loving compassion for each and every one of us, because of the tender love and mercy that He has for us. God does not ever desire our destruction, but instead our redemption and reconciliation with Him.

God blessed His people again and again despite them having wrought much pain and sorrow for Him, in their refusal to obey the Law and in their persistence to continue to sin and do what was wicked before God and His people alike. And even when they obeyed the Law, it was not because of the love which they had for God, but rather for their own vanity and selfish desires and intentions, as what the people of the time of Jesus had shown.

In both cases, there was no love between those people and God, and God was sidelined from their hearts, minds and attention. That is why they were not able to appreciate and make good use of the Law and the commandments that God had given to them. Instead of learning to love God and to draw closer to Him by obeying the Law in its full meaning and understanding its purpose, they feared God as One Who was distant and to be feared.

As a result, they did not draw closer to God, and in the way they practiced the Law, they did so out of obligation, or fear, or just for formalities and to fulfil what has been required by the traditions of their ancestors. And some, like the Pharisees, instead made use of the Law to make themselves look righteous, pious and good before the people. But in their hearts, there was no true love and devotion for God.

This is what we all need to overcome, the temptation of worldly desires, the idols of wealth, of human glory and praise, the pressure to conform to the standards and expectations of the world, which have caused us to be unable to realise God’s love being present in our midst. Sometimes, we are just too busy with our daily preoccupations, our concerns for many worldly matters, to be able to realise just how blessed we are, to have a God Who loves us all so dearly.

And this is where Satan is working very hard in trying to prevent us from gaining God’s grace and salvation. He is trying to make us to be too distracted from realising God’s love and wish to forgive us. And if he is not successful, he will then leverage through our fear and doubts, to prevent us from seeking God’s merciful love. This is most evident when we mankind feared of reaching out to God, thinking that He is angry with us and wants to punish us for our sins. But this is in truth, not what the Lord feels about us.

In this time of Lent, we are invited to embrace God’s ever present and ever readily available mercy. He has extended so generously His mercy and forgiveness, that He is willing to overlook all of the trespasses and wickedness that we have committed thus far in life. However, this offer of mercy and forgiveness must also be matched with the genuine and strong desire in our hearts and in our minds to be forgiven.

Are we able to accept God’s loving mercy? In order to be able to receive God’s forgiveness, we need to reorientate ourselves and relook into how we have lived our lives thus far. And this is truly a good time for us to begin making a change in our direction in life. Let us all make good use of this opportunity that God has granted us, so that we may grow ever more faithful towards God and be ever more loving towards Him, each and every days of our life. May God bless us all and our efforts. Amen.

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Friday, 29 March 2019 : 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.

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Friday, 29 March 2019 : 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.

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Friday, 29 March 2019 : 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.

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Thursday, 28 March 2019 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of God in the Scriptures speaking to us about the matter of being united to God and not to dissent by our disobedience and refusal to believe in Him. We are reminded that if we are all united in God, we will stand firm despite the challenges and pressures from the world, and we will not be shaken and lost from God, for God loves us all, and as long as we keep our faith in Him, God will provide for us and protect us.

In today’s Gospel passage, the Lord Jesus rebuked some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who have slandered Him publicly by saying that He performed His miracles and exorcism of demons and evil spirits, by collusion and collaboration with Beelzebul, the prince of demons. The Lord said this with disbelief and probably even anger at the irony presented by those who criticised the works of the Lord.

They criticised the Lord that He was using demons to cast out other demons, but the Lord pointed out that it was not the devil and his forces that were divided among themselves, rather, the people of God, who were divided among themselves and unable to unite themselves in thought and belief in God. The devil, that is Satan and all of his allies are all united in the same purpose, that is to bring about our downfall and damnation, while we mankind are often prone to being divided among ourselves.

The moment that men do not put their trust and faith in God, that is the moment when the devil and all of his wicked allies strike, manipulating us and dividing us through pride, through ambition and human greed, through the temptations of desire and other worldly pleasures. The devil is waiting for us when we are at our weakest, to strike at us, knowing that when we are united, he cannot assail us. He tries his best to divide us, one against another, so that it is easier for him to strike us down, one by one.

The devil is using our pride and ego, ambition and desire, greed and jealousy against us. That was how he led the Israelites astray, by hardening their hearts and minds with pride and worldly desires, when the lust and desire for gold, wealth and power brought them to sin against God, in making an idol for themselves, and in disobeying the laws and commandments of God. They bickered and quarrelled among themselves, for God was not at the centre of their lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be mindful that this is how the devil is also constantly striking at us, by luring us with the temptation of power, of pleasures of the flesh, of money and wealth of this world, with fame, influence and glory, all the things that caused us to bicker among one another, and quarrel among ourselves. Even friendships and relationships have been torn apart by the pressure of worldly desires and ambitions.

This is how even within our Church, we often see divisions and conflicts, where the members of the Church ministries quarrel and bicker among each other, gossiping and backstabbing, complaining and being mean and hurtful to one another through our words and actions. The devil is truly busy at work, with all of his allies and agents, in trying to tempt us to sin, by planting in us the seeds of disagreements and dissensions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this time of Lent, we are called and indeed challenged to overcome all of these negative thoughts, emotions and desires within us. But the path forward will not be an easy one, as there will be plenty of opposition, as the devil and his kingdom are hard at work, trying to subvert us and to prevent us from gaining salvation in God. There will be plenty of challenges in our path, and unless we make the conscious effort to restrain ourselves, we will end up being more and more divided among ourselves, and the devil will swoop in for the kill easily.

Let us all strive to be true disciples of Christ in this blessed season of Lent onwards, by turning ourselves and our lives back to be in accordance with God’s will and centre our focus and attention back towards Him. Let us also strive to overcome division and conflict, by putting love in all of our actions, words and deeds. Before we act and say something, let us always put ourselves into considerations of love.

Let us love one another sincerely and graciously, remembering of the love that God Himself has shown us, that each and every one of us may also love one another in the way that He has loved us all, so generously and so sincerely, that even though we have disobeyed Him and walked away from Him, time to time, again and again, He still continues to love us all despite all these. Let us all be generous with our love, and continue to live our lives well, as good and faithful disciples of the Lord from now on. Amen.

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Thursday, 28 March 2019 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 11 : 14-23

At that time, one day Jesus was driving out a demon, which was mute. When the demon had been driven out, the mute person could speak, and the people were amazed. Yet some of them said, “He drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” Others wanted to put Him to the test, by asking Him for a heavenly sign.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.”

“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God, has come upon you? As long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on, and disposes of his spoils.”

“Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters.”

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Thursday, 28 March 2019 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.

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Thursday, 28 March 2019 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 7 : 23-28

YHVH says, “One thing I did command them : Listen to My voice and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in the way I command you and all will be well with you. But they did not listen and paid no attention; they followed the bad habits of their stubborn heart and turned away from Me.”

“From the time I brought their forebearers out of Egypt until this day I have continually sent them My servants, the prophets, but this stiff-necked people did not listen. They paid no attention and were worse than their forebearers. You may say all these things to them but they will not listen; you will call them but they will not answer.”

“This is a nation that did not obey YHVH and refused to be disciplined; truth has perished and is no longer heard from their lips.”

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Wednesday, 27 March 2019 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us of the Law which God has given to us, as the precepts and guides for us all to follow, in how we ought to live our lives, with faith and obedience to God. And through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Our Saviour, God has revealed to us all what His Law is truly about, and how the Law can guide each and every one of us to righteousness.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard about the moment when Moses gathered the people of Israel before him as they journeyed through the desert after their Exodus from Egypt, and just before they entered the Promised Land. Moses reminded the people of the special privilege that they have received, for being God’s chosen ones, those to whom God has revealed His Law and commandments.

Moses had brought the Law of God to the people, in the Ten Commandments and in the many other precepts and commandments of the Law as passed on from God to the Israelites through Moses. And Moses also reminded the Israelites of the special relationship that they all had with God, as God was with them and guided them, such that they were able to persevere through the hardships of the forty years of journey through the desert.

God provided His people with everything that they needed, feeding them with manna daily, the bread of heaven itself, as well as clear and sweet water flowing from the rocks. It was even told that a rock was following the Israelites, as a sign of God’s providence, that He would always provide for the needs of His loved ones. He even drove away and destroyed all those who sought to bring ruin to the Israelites, their enemies and all those who did not welcome God’s chosen people.

God was so close to His chosen people, and this was in fact a foretaste of what each and every one of us, who are called and chosen, will enjoy through God’s love and providence. God is leading us all to Himself, and it is His will that each and every one of us be closer to Him, but unfortunately, God’s people did not fully understand what His Law truly meant. That was why they constantly disobeyed and rebelled, as they thought of God as an angry and exacting God, Who oppressed them with the Law.

That is why it was up to Christ to come and reveal the fullness of the truth of God’s Law before all of His people, to reveal fully why God gave the Law to His people, to the generations of people who have failed to understand the true purpose and intention why God gave the Law to His people. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at the time of Jesus accused Him of disobeying and trying to discredit the Law by His actions, and hounded and persecuted Him and His disciples endlessly because of this.

That is why the Lord made it clear to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as well as all those who have heard of His message, that He came into this world bearing the fullness of God’s truth and wisdom, and not to override what God has given to mankind. He was in fact going to purify the Law and the practices of the Law rather than to override or abandon it. For many ages and centuries, the Law had been corrupted in its understanding and purpose by human desires and corruption.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God Himself revealed to us that His Law is the Law of love, not of oppression and fear. His Law was intended to teach us the way of love, and the Lord did not just impose those ways on us. On the contrary, He Himself showed by example through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For Jesus Himself summarised the Law into two main categories, that is first of all, loving God with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, and then secondly, to love our fellow brothers and sisters with the same love.

The Lord Jesus loved His Father dearly, spending a lot of time to pray in secluded area to talk to Him in prayer. He obeyed the Father’s will to the very end, when He willingly accepted death, death on the cross for His love of His heavenly Father, as well as for all of us. He also loved each and every one of us because of His compassion for those among us who are the last, the lost and the least. He reached out to those who are sick in body and in spirit.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now we are all challenged to follow what the Lord Himself has done, in fulfilling the Law so perfectly and in the examples that He has shown us all. Are we able to commit ourselves from now on to live faithfully according to the Law of God? And this means for us to abandon pride and ego, human greed and desire in all of our actions. But this is not something that can easily be done.

Temptations and challenges will be in our midst at all times, and unless we restrain ourselves and try our best to do what pleases the Lord, by loving Him and our fellow brethren, we will fall again and again into sin. But, remember, brothers and sisters, that the Lord is ever patient, ever forgiving and ever loving. God will guide us and lead us to the right path if only we allow Him to do so. Too often we are too distracted and busy to seek Him or to understand just how much He loves each and every one of us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all make a new commitment to the Lord from now on, beginning this Lent, that we will be ever more generous in love, first of all for God, spending our time and prioritising Him above everything else, and then, loving our fellow men, reaching out to those who are around us. Let us all grow ever more in faith and love for God, and obey the Lord in His laws and commandments, in its true purpose and intention, for us to love God and to be closer to Him always. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.