Monday

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th 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 Scriptures, and as we continue to journey through this season and time of Lent, all of us are reminded of the great providence and love by which God has always provided for us. We are reminded how in God we can find consolation and renewal, the freedom from all the bonds and shackles that we have been imposed with due to those sins we have committed in our own lives. All of us have been given these wonderful opportunities for us to turn away from our sins and to embrace wholeheartedly the rich mercy and compassion that God our Father has for each and every one of us, His beloved children. However, many of us often delayed in seeking God’s mercy and love, and we took it for granted that God loves us, to the point that we continue to live in the state of sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God reassured His beloved people, the Israelites of the renewal, hope and good things that they would enjoy once again after they had been freed from their troubles, their domination by sin, all of which had made them to suffer separation from God, the misfortunes and difficulties that they had to experience because of their rebelliousness and stubborn attitudes. But God did not easily give up on His people despite all of that, and He remained committed to the Covenant which He had made with them all, and He still sent to them lots of help and guidance nonetheless, providing them with the means to reach out to His salvation and reconciliation with Him.

He promised all of His beloved people of the coming of the Saviour through Whom He has revealed to us His plan of salvation, the redemption and the new life that He would grant all of them, liberation from all the forces of evil and wickedness that have dominated them all those while. And through what we have heard, we ourselves are reminded of this great love of God which He desired to show and deliver to us, to bring us all into His loving Presence and kindness once again. During this time and season of Lent, we have been given the time, opportunities and chances to turn away from the path of darkness and evil, from our rebelliousness and waywardness, so that we may be found worthy again to be the holy and beloved people of God, His children, whom His favour has been given to.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of how the Lord Jesus, the same Saviour that we have just mentioned and discussed about, performed great miracles and deeds, proving to everyone of the truth and promises that God has given to us all His people throughout all of history. We heard how the Lord Jesus performed those wonderful miracles and works, amazing deeds that He has shown to everyone so that they might be convinced and encouraged in following the Lord, their God, and believe in His Providence and all that He has promised to them. God has always been loving to His people, and He does not want any one of them to be separated from Him, and He has offered us all His most generous love and kindness, opening the way to come back to Him, and through His Son, He made manifest and tangible all these before us.

We heard how the Lord encountered an official whose son has been very sick to the point of death, and how the official begged Him to heal his son. The Lord told the official at first with the words saying that unless he and others saw the signs and wonders performed before their eyes, they would not believe, likely referring to how many of the Lord’s own people in Judea and Galilee refused to believe in Him as mentioned in the same Gospel passage, despite having seen and witnessed with their own eyes, all the things and wonders that the Lord had performed before them. Especially those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, many of whom followed the Lord on His works and ministry, and continuously shown doubt and disagreements with the Lord in His teachings and works, despite having witnessed HIs miracles and heard of His Wisdom themselves.

The official professed his faith in the Lord, believing that He could heal his son despite not having to witness the deed in person. Therefore, when the Lord told him that his son would be healed, he believed and trusted in the Lord, and as we all heard, he encountered his servant who told him that his son recovered precisely the very moment that the Lord said to him that his son would be healed. By his faith in God, the official has received the great grace from God, the healing for his son and the promise of redemption which God has made evident and true by those miracles that He has performed. And all of us are reminded today through this story that we too are God’s beloved ones, and we shall receive His great grace and love, His kindness and mercy if we are truly faithful and committed to Him like that of the official.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as all of us continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, let us make good use of the opportunities that God has provided to us so that by His providence, we may come ever closer to Him and to His holy Presence, ever trusting in Him and realising that being separate from Him, there is no true future for us. There is hope in God alone, and we should make use of the opportunities provided to us such that we may embrace this hope and light that God has shown to us, so that immersed in His light and in His love, we may be renewed and made whole again by His grace, and be freed from the bondage and shackles of our many sins and evils, from all the temptations and attachments of earthly desires and more, all the things that had kept us away from God.

May the Lord, our most loving and merciful God continue to guide us all in our journey of faith through life, and may He continue to strengthen us especially during this season and time of Lent so that we may be healed from our transgressions and sins, and be truly reconciled and reunited with God, Whose love for us has always endured despite all the disobedience and stubborn attitudes we have shown Him. Let us all no longer harden our hearts, but let us instead be humble and recognising our sinfulness, embracing God’s healing and mercy. May God bless us all and our Lenten journey, and make us to have a truly fruitful Lenten season. Amen.

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 4 : 43-54

At that time, when the two days Jesus spent with the Samaritans were over, He left for Galilee. Jesus Himself said that no prophet is recognised in his own country. Yet the Galileans welcomed Him when He arrived, because of all the things which He had done in Jerusalem during the Festival, and which they had seen. For they, too, had gone to the feast.

Jesus went back to Cana of Galilee, where He had changed the water into wine. At Capernaum there was an official, whose son was ill, and when he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked Him to come and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe!” The official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” And Jesus replied, “Go, your son lives!”

The man had faith in the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way. As he was approaching his house, his servants met Him, and gave him the good news, “Your son has recovered!” So he asked them at what hour the child began to recover, and they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday, at about one o’clock in the afternoon.”

And the father realised that was the time when Jesus had told him, “Your son lives!” And he became a believer, he and all his family. Jesus performed this second miraculous sign when He returned from Judea to Galilee.

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; O Lord, my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Monday, 31 March 2025 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 65 : 17-21

I now create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind again. Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in My people.

The sound of distress and the voice of weeping will not be heard in it any more. You will no longer know of dead children or of adults who do not live out a lifetime. One who reaches a hundred years will have died a mere youth, but the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant crops and eat their fruit.

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Monday, 24 March 2025 : 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, we are reminded of the power of God’s healing and mercy, as He forgives us all our sins and faults, our trespasses and mistakes. And we are also reminded of the importance of humility in our lives and actions so that we will not allow ourselves to be swayed and tempted by pride, which is one of the greatest obstacles that may lead us to our downfall and destruction. We are reminded that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy, and if we come towards Him with contrite hearts, with genuine intention and desire to be forgiven from our many sins, and to be reconciled to Him, God will surely show us His love and kindness, granting us all the pardon and reconciliation that we seek from Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah in which the story of Naaman, the famous general of the Kingdom of Aram, the neighbour of the northern kingdom of Israel, went to seek healing and resolution for his issue of leprosy, which had affected him greatly due to it being seen as a sign of curse and Divine displeasure. That was why Naaman came to the land of Israel, seeking the king of Israel to ask for the favour from the famous prophet Elisha, whose miracles were well known even to Naaman’s own homeland. And we heard how Naaman came to Elisha seeking this healing, in which the prophet told him to immerse seven times in the River Jordan in order to be healed from his leprosy.

Naaman was initially angered at the instruction, proudly declaring how he expected the prophet ought to have come out and heal him in the manner that he wanted it, and how he could have done it as well in the rivers of his own homeland. Naaman was unhappy because of the expectations that he had in his mind on how he ought to be healed, being a person of high status and well-respected, and hence likely he was unused to being told what to do, and instead of being healed by the service of the prophet as he had expected it, he was told to do a menial task, at least in his perception, to get himself healed. But Naaman’s servant shook Naaman out of his pride and arrogance, and told him that what the prophet Elisha asked of him was not something unreasonable or difficult to do, and hence, Naaman obeyed, and was healed of his leprosy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this healing of Naaman is a reminder for all of us of our own ‘leprosy’, that is sin, the leprosy of the soul. Our own souls, and hence, our whole bodies, hearts, minds and indeed our whole beings have been corrupted by sin, and hence tainted, we have been made unworthy of God and His grace, and sundered therefore from His love and grace, we have been forced to wander off in the darkness of the world, to suffer the consequences of our disobedience and sins. But God loves each and every one of us as well, and He does not want us to be lost or separated from Him, and that is why He gave us all the means to reach out to Him and to return to Him, by giving us all the promise and assurance of salvation through none other than His own only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

Like Naaman who came seeking the prophet Elisha, all of us especially during this time of Lent are reminded to seek God’s healing and forgiveness for our sins, to be healed of our ‘leprosy’ of sin, which can be done through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which the Lord has readily made available for all of us. The Lord has given His Church and disciples the power and authority to forgive sins, which they then passed on to us today through their successors, the Popes, the bishops and priests who tirelessly minister to us the faithful and holy people of God. The problem is that, many of us are unaware of the need for all of us to seek this healing from our corruption by sin, and as a result, we continue to live in the state of sin, and are in danger of falling into the path towards eternal damnation and destruction.

Many of us are perhaps also too proud to admit that we are wrong, and we, like Naaman before us, expect that we are forgiven without effort or contrition. But as Naaman had been kindly reminded by his servant to be humble and obedient, therefore, we too should be obedient and humble in allowing ourselves to be forgiven by God by showing a contrite and truly sorrowful heart to the Lord. Pride is one of the greatest vices that led so many people to their downfall, including Satan himself, and in a similar manner pride is also a crucial reason why so many people failed to come and seek God’s healing and mercy, which He has offered us all so generously and lovingly. Unless we humble ourselves and be willing to rid ourselves of our sins, we may find it difficult to come back towards God.

Then, in our Gospel passage today we all heard of the story of the time when the Lord Jesus was in His hometown of Nazareth, as He came there bearing the Good News of God’s salvation, which had come to fruition and its perfect fulfilment with the arrival of Jesus Himself, the One Who was born into this world, the Divine Word Incarnate, Son of God born into our midst as the Son of Man, showing unto us the love of God manifested in the flesh. However, when the people of Nazareth listened to the words of the Lord and His proclamation of the fulfilment of the prophets, they were all filled with amazement and disbelief, because to them, Jesus was merely the Son of the town or village carpenter, St. Joseph. And at that time, carpenters were not highly regarded by the people as a profession.

Therefore, when the Lord claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the Messiah, many among them likely thought that He was being preposterous in doing so, and this was when the Lord them that unfortunately the reality is such that the prophets, messengers and servants of God are treated badly in their own homeland and countries, those places where they had hailed from. This is again because the people’s pride and arrogance, thinking that they know it better, and that they could not be wrong or no one whom they knew all ought to tell them what to do. As I mentioned earlier, this is one of the greatest challenges that we face in seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy, in our attempts to be reconciled to God, our loving Father and Master.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore resist the temptations of pride and desire in our daily lives, especially during this time and season of Lent when God has renewed His assurance and promises to us, His assurance that His mercy and compassion have been extended most generously to us. Like Naaman, let us all be humble and be willing to rid ourselves of our pride, ego, arrogance and ambitions, and instead be willing to walk down the path of repentance and reconciliation with God. Are we willing to make this commitment, brothers and sisters? Let our Lenten observance and journey be truly fruitful and blessed, and may God empower each one of us to walk ever more courageously in His path, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 24 March 2025 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 4 : 24-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people of Nazareth, “No prophet is honoured in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.

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Monday, 24 March 2025 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 41 : 2-3 and Psalm 42 : 3-4

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?

Send forth Your light and Your truth; let them be my guide, let them take me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You reside.

Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my gladness and delight. I will praise You with the lyre and harp, o God, my God.

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Monday, 24 March 2025 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

2 Kings 5 : 1-15a

Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram. This man was highly regarded and enjoyed the king’s favour, for YHVH had helped him lead the army of the Arameans to victory. But this valiant man was sick with leprosy.

One day some Aramean soldiers raided the land of Israel and took a young girl captive who became a servant to the wife of Naaman. She said to her mistress, “If my master would only present himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would surely cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to tell the king what the young Israelite maidservant had said. The king of Aram said to him, “Go to the prophet, and I shall also send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman went and took with him ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces and ten festal garments.

On his arrival, he delivered the letter to the king of Israel. It said, “I present my servant Naaman to you that you may heal him of his leprosy. When the king read the letter, he tore his clothes to show his indignation, “I am not God to give life or death. And the king of Aram sends me this man to be healed! You see, he is just looking for an excuse for war.”

Elisha, the man of God, came to know that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, so he sent this message to him : “Why have you torn your clothes? Let the man come to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stopped before the house of Elisha. Elisha then sent a messenger to tell him, “Go to the river Jordan and wash seven times, and your flesh shall be as it was before, and you shall be cleansed.”

Naaman was angry, so he went away. He thought, “On my arrival, he should have personally come out, and then paused and called on the Name of YHVH, his God. And he should have touched with his hand the infected part, and I would have been healed. Are the rivers of Damascus, Abana and Pharpar not better than all the rivers of the land of Israel? Could I not wash there to be healed?”

His servants approached him and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had ordered you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? But how much easier when he said : ‘Take a bath and you will be cleansed.’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft like that of a child and he was cleansed.

Then Naaman returned to the man of God with all his men.

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Monday, 17 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the great mercy which the Lord, our most loving God and Father has shown to each and every one of us, the compassion and love which He has given to us all as His beloved people. We are reminded especially during this time and season of Lent, we have been given the opportunity to turn away from our sins and wickedness, and we have been given the generous opportunity to return to our loving God and Father, embracing His compassion and kindness, in His desire to reconciled and reunited with all of us. God has been generous in His mercy, and today we are all reminded to be thankful and appreciative of what we have received from Him.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, we heard of the words of the prophet Daniel beseeching the Lord and asking Him to show mercy and compassion on His people, the Israelites and their descendants. They and their ancestors had rebelled and sinned against God, and therefore they had been cast out of the land that had been promised to them, the Land of Canaan, which their ancestors had dwelled in, but which by the time of Daniel, foreigners like the Assyrians and the Babylonians had conquered their kingdoms, destroyed their cities and exiled many among them to the distant lands, as Daniel himself had experienced and suffered. And in those distant lands, they had to bear the humiliation of their fate, the loss of their homeland, and the ignominy of their exile.

Daniel gathered the prayers and thoughts of the people of God, many of whom had repented from their sins in their time and period of exile from their homeland. He asked the Lord on their behalf, presenting their sorrow and repentance, their regret for all of their mistakes and sins in the past, seeking God to forgive them their sins so that they might once again be loved and blessed by Him, and be allowed to return to their homeland, after their punishment and sufferings had come to an eventual end. He showcased Israel’s regret for their many disobedience and sins, and this is showing us how our attitude should be like in how we live our lives especially during this penitential time and season of Lent. We should also seek God’s generous mercy and forgiveness, and commit ourselves to His path, from now on.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples, telling them clearly to be merciful in their actions just as God their loving Father has shown them lots of mercy and compassion. Just like in the prayer which the Lord Jesus Himself had taught them said, that, ‘Forgive us our trespasses just as we forgive those who have trespassed against us’. And this is an important reminder for us all that just as we seek to be forgiven from our many sins and mistakes, we too should be ready to forgive others around us, be it our own family members, relatives, colleagues and even strangers who have caused hurt to us, or those who have wronged and done mistake to us.

To forgive others is something that is not easily done, but we must still strive to do it nonetheless. And the best example we can follow is none other than the Lord Himself, our most loving and generous Father, Who has loved us all and desired to forgive us our sins should we come to Him with sincere repentance and desire to be forgiven from those sins. Not only that, but He has also given us all His own only Begotten Son to save us from our fated destruction, and through this same Son, Who was punished for our sins, He forgave us all the trespasses, mistakes and sins we have committed, just as His Son forgave those who have persecuted and condemned Him to death from His Cross, praying for them to the Father not to count their sins against them. This is an example of forgiveness and mercy that all of us as Christians ought to follow. 

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Patrick, a holy bishop and great servant of God, who is well-known as the missionary who brought the Christian faith to Ireland and established the foundation of the Church there in that island. He is well-celebrated especially amongst the members of the Irish diaspora, which is now spread all around the world. St. Patrick himself was born in the then late Roman Britain, and he was born to a Romano-British family, whose father was apparently a decurion, a rather important official in the Roman government. In his youth, it was reported that he was captured by Irish pirates who brought him to Ireland and enslaved him for a whole period of six years. Eventually he was able to escape from his captors and returned home, but his experiences in Ireland was truly a premonition of what he would do there in the future.

Eventually, St. Patrick continued his studies and was ordained as a deacon and then priest, and then sent as a missionary back to Ireland, acting on a vision that he has seen and received since the day of his captivity there. He was ordained as a bishop and became the one to lead the path for other missionaries to evangelise the land of Ireland. St. Patrick laboured patiently for many years among the many pagan peoples throughout Ireland, and while he had some successes in converting some of the local kings, lords and people, but there were lots of opposition that he had to endure throughout his ministry in Ireland. But slowly, through his patient teaching and genuine Christian love, virtues and righteousness, more and more people came to believe in God through him and that was the beginning of Christian Ireland.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed through our reflection on the Sacred Scripture passages and from the life and works of St. Patrick, we are reminded to be aware of our sinfulness and seek God for His forgiveness and mercy, for Him to heal us from our sins and corruptions, so that we may once again be worthy to come to His Holy Presence and embrace Him fully in His love. And we are also reminded that we have the calling and obligation to be missionary as what St. Patrick and our other holy predecessors had done in their respective lives and works. That is why all of us are called to remember today our faith in the Lord and the generous mercy that God has given and reassured us with. We should not take God’s love for granted any longer, but appreciate every opportunities that we have been given.

Let us all therefore continue to journey through this time and season of Lent with contrite heart, desiring to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, and at the same time, showing mercy and love, compassion and kindness to those around us as well. May all of us be truly forgiven by God and be reconciled with Him through this great opportunity of this Lenten time and season. May God be with us always, and may He continue to bless us in our every efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 17 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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.”