Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Luke 6 : 36-38
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Psalm 78 : 8, 9, 11, 13
Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let Your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.
Help us, God, our Saviour, for the glory of Your Name; forgive us for the sake of Your Name.
Listen to the groans of the prisoners; by the strength of Your arm, deliver those doomed to die.
Then we, Your people, the flock of Your pasture, will thank You forever. We will recount Your praise from generation to generation.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Daniel 9 : 4b-10
Lord God, great and to be feared, You keep Your covenant and love for those who love You and observe Your commandments. We have sinned, we have not been just, we have been rebels, and have turned away from Your commandments and laws. We have not listened to Your servants, the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings, leaders, fathers and to all the people of the land.
Lord, justice is Yours, but ours is a face full of shame, as it is to this day – we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in all the lands where You have dispersed us because of the infidelity we have committed against You. Ours is the shame, o Lord for we, our kings, princes, fathers, have sinned against You.
We hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, because we have rebelled against Him. We have not listened to the voice of YHVH, our God, or followed the laws which He has given us through His servants, the prophets.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this penitential period of Lent, we are reminded through the Scripture passages of the need for each one of us to be righteous in all of our actions and deeds, as we are all to be judged by our own actions and all of our deeds or misdeeds at the end of time. This was the core message of the Scriptures, a clear reminder to us to turn away from sin and be righteous.
In today’s Gospel passage we heard of the Last Judgment as detailed by the Lord Himself to His disciples, in which at the appointed time, God will gather all of His creatures, all mankind from the first man to the last, and assemble them all before Him, dividing them between the righteous and the wicked based on their actions and all the things that they have committed in life, as well as whatever they have not done in the opportunities which have been given to them.
Those who have not listened to the word of God, or acted in ways that He has shown us, as He made it clear before His people in our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, these will be placed among those who will be condemned because of their own sins. It is ultimately not God Who wants to condemn those who have been sinful and wicked, but rather, they themselves who voluntarily rejected God’s love.
In the passage from the Book of Deuteronomy, God spoke clearly before His people of what He expected from each and every one of them in their actions and deeds in life. They were expected to act justly towards one another, not to oppress others or cause sufferings to those who they encounter in life, not to slander others or gossip, or to cause pain and difficulties just for the sake of our own selfish desires.
Failing to do this means that the people have not been obedient to the ways of the Lord, and they sinned because they disobeyed God, His will and what He had taught them to do, as instead of putting their trust in God, they rather placed their trust in their own flawed, biased and unfair judgments. That is why we see so much suffering in our world today, because many of us have acted in ways that are selfish and desiring our own advantage, pleasure and joy, at the expense of others.
But, brothers and sisters in Christ, besides this, we must also keep in mind what we have heard in today’s Gospel passage, about the matter of sin caused by conscious omission of action, when we see something or an opportunity for us to act in a righteous and good way, and yet, refusing to act or to do something that is right and just. This is called the sin of omission, which all of us need to take note of.
That is what we need to be aware and be mindful of, as sin of omission is something that we ourselves may not realise, as we carry on our actions in life. We surely do not want to end up as those whom the Lord cast out from His sight just because they refused to do what is right and just, and chose willingly to ignore the plight of the suffering and the poor, the abandoned and the ostracised in their midst.
In this season of Lent, we are called to be righteous and to abandon our old ways of sin, and not to forget that we should also avoid the sin of omission. We may think that it is enough just for us to settle our own affairs and not needing to worry about others, or that as long as we are pious in life, then everything will be good and well for us. No, brothers and sisters in Christ, in this season of Lent, we are reminded yet again, that we need to extend and share our blessings with others, and care for the needs of others, especially when we are in the position of being able to do so.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, let us all grow more in our love for God and be more generous with our love and sharing towards our brethren, especially for those who are in need, so that our Lenten experience may be more wholesome, and our spiritual growth will be complete. Let us no longer be ignorant of the needs of others, but be sensitive to the sufferings of the world around us, and do what we can to love each other, just as God has shown us by His love for us. May God bless us all and our endeavours, and may He judge us to be worthy in the end, to receive the eternal glory with Him. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 25 : 31-46
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory with all His Angels, He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be brought before Him; and, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will He do with them, placing the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left.”
“The King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, blessed of My Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed Me. I was sick, and you visited Me. I was in prison, and you came to see Me.’”
“Then the righteous will ask Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and give You food; thirsty, and give You something to drink; or a stranger, and welcome You; or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and go to see You?’ The King will answer, ‘Truly I say to you : just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it to Me.’”
“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Go, cursed people, out of My sight, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give Me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not welcome Me into your house; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’”
“They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in prison, and did not help You?’ The King will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you : just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me.’ And these will go into eternal punishments; but the just, to eternal life.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 15
The Law of YHVH is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of YHVH is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of YHVH are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of YHVH are clear : they enlighten the eyes.
The fear of YHVH is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of YHVH are true, all of them just and right.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour in Your sight, o YHVH – my Redeemer, my Rock!
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Leviticus 19 : 1-2, 11-18
YHVH spoke to Moses and said, “Speak to the entire assembly of the people of Israel and say to them : Be holy for I, YHVH, your God, am holy. Do not steal or lie or deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by My Name so as to profane the Name of your God; I am YHVH.”
“Do not oppress your neighbour or rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse a deaf man nor put a stumbling block in the way of the blind; but you shall fear your God; I am YHVH.”
“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor nor bow to the great; you are to judge your neighbour fairly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not go about as a slanderer of your people and do not seek the death of your neighbour; I am YHVH.”
“Do not hate your brother in your heart; rebuke your neighbour frankly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or nurture a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself; I am YHVH.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the fact of how difficult it is for us to enter into the kingdom of God, and how we cannot be idle in our lives as Christians as we have plenty of expectations for us in living as true and devout Christians. At the heart of it all is the love that we must have for the Lord, our commitment and dedication towards Him.
In the Gospel passage today, we heard about the encounter between the Lord Jesus and a young, rich man who professed his intention of wanting to follow the Lord Jesus. When the Lord asked the rich young man whether he had done everything that the laws of Moses had specified for him to do, the young man responded that he had been faithful in everything that the law prescribed. Yet, when the Lord asked him to leave everything behind and follow Him completely, the young man left in sorrow.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, what actually happened in that encounter between the Lord and the rich, young man? The Lord did not intend to condemn or treat the rich with contempt, but instead, He wanted to make a point before His disciples and the people who followed Him, that in order for us to be true disciples of the Lord, we must have that love and commitment in us, to be ready and to be able to do everything for the Lord.
We must be careful here not to understand the Lord’s words and actions literally at the surface level, or else, we will misunderstand His intentions, thinking that He is asking all of us Christians must sell everything that we have and give everything we have to the poor. This is not what He intends for us to do, for then, if everyone is accounted under the same rule, then who should we give all the proceeds to in the end? For those who are poor and receive the possessions will become richer in turn, and then they too have to sell theirs and it will end up in endless cycles of passing on of possessions and wealth from one to another person.
And neither did Jesus condemn the rich or those with possessions and power. Instead, what He warned us all is the dangerous attachments we can develop to these worldly things, that can prevent us from being true disciples of His, for our hearts and minds are not centred and focused on Him, but rather on those wealth, power, fame, glory and other forms of worldly temptations and attachments we have.
As in the case of the young and rich man, who left in sorrow after the Lord has asked him to sell everything that he had possessed and follow Him, we can see that his love, his concern and attachment to his possessions is much greater than his love and commitment to the Lord. That was why he immediately left in sorrow, and not even giving a reply to the Lord’s request for him. He could not bear to part with all the riches and glory he had.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, God has blessed us all with these riches, blessings and all the goodness of the world. Some of us have more while some others have less. God has given all these to us, for us to make good use of them, to share them with those who are less fortunate and suffering, that we do not ignore their pleas for help. We should not be selfish or be overly attached to those possessions, for it is not that God does not want us to possess anything, but instead, He does not want us to idolise and be overly attached to them.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to overcome our often unhealthy attachments to worldly materials and goods? Are we able to look beyond worldly matters, and refocus our attentions in life to the Lord, that we can overcome our greed and pride, ego and desires within us, and therefore, be able to redirect our efforts to serve the Lord in various ways, and be generous in giving and in sharing our love and blessings with each other?
Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Casimir, a royal prince of Poland and Lithuania, who despite of his wealthy and noble upbringing and birth, did not hesitate to show his love and compassion for the needy, the sick and the poor, being known for his generous dedication of money as well as effort and time to care for the poor in the kingdom. St. Casimir was also renowned for his great piety and love for God. When he died at a young age of twenty-five, everyone remembered him for his love both for God and for his fellow men.
Let us all dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord just as St. Casimir has shown us, that from now on we will no longer live our lives for the purpose of self-gratification and self-glorification, but instead, strive for the greater good of all, and for the greater glory of God, through our every words, actions and deeds in life. May God be with us always, and may He bless all of our good works. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Mark 10 : 17-27
At that time, just as Jesus was setting out on His journey again, a man ran up, knelt before Him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments : Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat, honour your father and mother.” The man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.”
Then Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him and He said, “For you, one thing is lacking. Go, sell what you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow Me.” On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful, for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God” The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus insisted, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
They were more astonished than ever and wondered, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked steadily at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God; all things are possible with God.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Psalm 31 : 1-2, 5, 6, 7
Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven, whose iniquity is wiped away. Blessed are those in whom the Lord sees no guilt and in whose spirit is found no deceit.
Then I made known to You my sin and uncovered before You my fault, saying to myself, “To the Lord I will now confess my wrong.” And You, You forgave my sin, You removed my guilt.
So let the faithful ones pray to You in time of distress; the overflowing waters will not reach them.
You are my refuge; You protect me from distress and surround me with songs of deliverance.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 