Monday

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Monday, 21 March 2016 : Monday of the Holy Week (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 42 : 1-7

Here is My Servant Whom I uphold, My Chosen One in Whom I delight. I have put My Spirit upon Him, and He will bring justice to the nations. He does not shout or raise His voice, proclamations are not heard in the streets. A broken reed He will not crush, nor will He snuff out the light of the wavering wick. He will make justice appear in truth.

He will not waver or be broken until He has established justice on earth; the islands are waiting for His Law. Thus says God, YHVH, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spreads the earth and all that comes from it, Who gives life and breath to those who walk on it :

I, YHVH, have called You for the sake of justice; I will hold Your hand to make You firm; I will make You as a covenant to the people, and as a light to the nations, to open eyes that do not see, to free captives from prison, to bring out to light those who sit in darkness.

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Monday, 14 March 2016 : 5th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the long story from the Old Testament, of the encounter between Daniel, the faithful servant of God in the land of exile in Babylon, with another exile, Susanna, a very pious and Godfearing woman, who refused to live in sin and to compromise her own faith to God. And we heard how she was tested when the two elders entrusted with rulership and judgment over the people, wanted to sin with her, and she refused to listen to them or to give in to them.

And even though she had to go through even the risk of death for refusing the attempts of the two elders, but she kept herself strong and deeply anchored in the knowledge that God would come to the rescue of those who placed their trust and faith in Him. And indeed, God did not abandon her to die at the hands of those who would bring her to harm. She was framed and blamed for something that she did not commit, and God would not let His faithful ones to suffer and die in such a manner.

And thus He aroused His Spirit inside Daniel, and made him to speak up and stand up for the sake of the beleaguered Susanna. And in the end, as we heard, the wisdom of God made clear to all through Daniel, managed to overturn all the wicked plots and conspiracies, and all the shrouds of lies that the wicked elders had put in place in order to safeguard themselves at the expense of an innocent, an excuse to get them out of the responsibility for their own sins.

There are indeed a few lessons that we can bring away from all that we have heard today. First of all, it is a reaffirmation by the Lord, a very strong and firm reassurance to us that all those who placed their trust and keep our faith in Him, and who walk faithfully and with commitment upon His ways. We shall not falter and fail, as long as we are faithful to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we put our trust in our human strength alone, we shall fail. Susanna did not worry about whether she could endure all the persecutions by herself, as she was not alone, and God was with her in all of her tribulations. And in fact, God was fighting for her and through His mighty works, He condemned the wicked who conspired against her and tried to push her to sin against her will.

And this brings us to the next thing that we ought to learn. This is that we should be responsible over whatever it is that had been entrusted to us. If we have been entrusted with power and with care over others, our fellow men, then we really should not abuse such power and use it for our own benefit. This is one place where many of us mankind have failed to do, and many of us fell into sin because of this.

The two elders were unable to restrain themselves and they gave in to their lust, their heart’s desire for earthly and worldly pleasures and gain for themselves, even if others were to suffer because of them. In this season of Lent, we practice to control our urges and desires, holding back our greed and the desires of the flesh, so as not to sin further and to be more righteous in all of our actions.

But more importantly, those two elders used their position as the judges and rulers over the people, the position of leadership and great esteem over the people to gain for themselves such wicked pleasures, trying to even cover up their tracks by condemning others who were innocent, with false accusations that brings about death and suffering.

This is a lesson for all of us, that with power and privilege comes responsibility and great burden for us to bear. We must use power responsibly, and we have to realise that whatever God had entrusted to us and given to us, they are nothing more than to bring all of us closer to Him, and to help one another in our lives in this world, and not to make ourselves better at the expense of others.

We have to realise that in this season of Lent, it is a time of great renewal for us, that if we have once allowed ourselves to be corrupted by power and by whatever have been given to us, now we should open ourselves to the opportunity to love and to care for one another, and to give of ourselves freely to those who need our help, especially the poor, the sick, the unloved and all those rejected by the world.

May God help us in our path that we may persevere through the temptations of life, and may we be able to reach out to Him and be saved in the redemption and forgiveness which He had offered us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 14 March 2016 : 5th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 8 : 12-20

At that time, Jesus spoke to the people again, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have light and life.”

The Pharisees replied, “Now You are speaking on Your own behalf, Your testimony is worthless.” Then Jesus said, “Even though I bear witness to Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going.”

“You judge by human standards; as for Me, I do not judge anyone. But if I had to judge, My judgment would be valid for I am not alone : the Father Who sent Me is with Me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid; so I am bearing witness to Myself, and the Father Who sent Me bears witness to Me.”

They asked Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know Me or My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.” Jesus said these things when He was teaching in the Temple area, in the place where they received the offerings. No one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come.

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Monday, 14 March 2016 : 5th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : 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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Monday, 14 March 2016 : 5th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 13 : 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62

There lived in Babylon a man named Joakim, who was married to a very beautiful Godfearing woman, Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter, whose pious parents had trained her in the law of Moses. A very rich man and greatly respected by all the Jews, Joakim was frequently visited by the Jews in his house adjoining a garden.

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, in whom this word of the Lord became true, “Wickedness has come forth from Babylon, through the elders appointed judges, who were supposed to govern the people.” These men frequented Joakim’s house, and all who had legal disputes used to come to them.

After the people had left at noon, Susanna would go into her husband’s garden for a walk. The two old men began to lust for her as they watched her enter the garden every day. Forgetting the demands of justice and virtue, their lust grew all the more as they made no effort to turn their eyes to heaven.

One day, as they were waiting for an opportune time, Susanna entered the garden as usual with only two maids. She decided to bathe, for it was a hot day. Nobody else was there except the two elders watching her from where they had hidden themselves. She said to the maids, “Bring me oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors while I bathe.”

When the maids had left, the two elders hurried to her and said, “Look, the garden doors are shut and no one sees us. We desire to possess you. If you refuse to give in, we will testify that you sent your maids away for there was a young man here with you.”

Susanna moaned, “Whatever I do, I am trapped. If I give in to your desire, it will be death for me; if I refuse, I will not escape your persecution. I would rather be persecuted than sin in the eyes of the Lord.” Susanna shrieked, but the old men shouted, putting the blame on her. One of them ran and opened the garden doors.

Hearing the noise in the garden, the household servants rushed in by the side entrance to see what was happening. They were taken aback when they heard the elders’ accusation, for never had anything like this been said of Susanna. The next day a meeting was held at Joakim’s house.

The two elders arrived, vindictively determined to have Susanna sentenced to death. They ordered before all the people, “Send for Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter and Joakim’s wife.” They sent for her, and she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. Her family and friends and all who saw her wept.

The two elders stood up and laid their hands upon her head. Completely trusting in the Lord, she raised her tearful eyes to heaven. The elders started making their accusation, “We were taking a walk in the garden when this woman came in with two maids. She ordered them to shut the garden doors and dismissed them.”

“Then a young man came out of hiding and lay with her. We were in a corner in the garden, and we saw this crime from there. We ran to them, and caught them in the act of embracing. We were unable to take hold of the man. He was too strong for us. He made a dash for the door, opened it and ran off. But we were able to seize this woman. We asked her who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. This is our statement, and we testify to its truth.”

The assembly took their word, since they were elders and judges of the people. Susanna was condemned to death. Susanna cried aloud, “Eternal God, nothing is hidden from You; You know all things before they come to be. You know that these men have testified falsely against me. Would You let me die, though I am not guilty of all their malicious charges?”

The Lord heard her, and as she was being led to her execution, God aroused the Holy Spirit residing in a young lad named Daniel. He shouted, “I will have no part in the death of this woman!” Those present turned to him, “What did you say?” They all asked.

Standing in their midst, he said to them, “Have you become fools, you Israelites, to condemn a daughter of Israel without due process and in the absence of clear evidence? Return to court, for those men have testified falsely against her.” Hurriedly they returned, and the elders said to Daniel, “Come and sit with us, for you also possess the gifts bestowed by God upon the elders.”

Daniel said to the people, “Separate these two from one another and I will examine each of them.” When the two elders were separated from each other, Daniel called one of them and said, “How wicked you have grown with age. Your sins of earlier days have piled up against you, and now is the time of reckoning.”

Remember how you have passed unjust sentences, condemning the innocent and freeing the guilty, although the Lord has said, ‘The innocent and the just should not be put to death.’ Now, if you really witnessed the crime, under what tree did you see them do it?”

The elder answered, “Under a mastic tree.” Daniel said, “Your lie will cost you your head. You will be cut in two, as soon as the Lord’s Angel receives your sentence from God.” Putting the first one aside, Daniel called the other elder and said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, you have long allowed yourself to be perverted by lust.”

“This is how you have dealt with the daughters of Israel, who out of fear have yielded to you. But here is a daughter of Judah who would not tolerate your wickedness. Tell me then, under which tree did you catch them committing the crime?”

The answer came, “Under an oak.” “Your lie has also cost you your head,” Daniel said. “God’s Angel waits to cut you both in two.” The whole assembly shouted and blessed God for helping those who hope in Him. They turned against the two elders who, through Daniel’s efforts, had been convicted by their own mouths.

In accordance with Moses’ law, the penalty the two elders had intended to impose upon their neighbour was inflicted upon them. They were sentenced to death. Thus was the life of an innocent woman spared that day.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Daniel 13 : 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 41c-62

There lived in Babylon a man named Joakim, who was married to a very beautiful Godfearing woman, Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter, whose pious parents had trained her in the law of Moses. A very rich man and greatly respected by all the Jews, Joakim was frequently visited by the Jews in his house adjoining a garden.

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, in whom this word of the Lord became true, “Wickedness has come forth from Babylon, through the elders appointed judges, who were supposed to govern the people.” These men frequented Joakim’s house, and all who had legal disputes used to come to them.

After the people had left at noon, Susanna would go into her husband’s garden for a walk. The two old men began to lust for her as they watched her enter the garden every day. Forgetting the demands of justice and virtue, their lust grew all the more as they made no effort to turn their eyes to heaven.

One day, as they were waiting for an opportune time, Susanna entered the garden as usual with only two maids. She decided to bathe, for it was a hot day. Nobody else was there except the two elders watching her from where they had hidden themselves. She said to the maids, “Bring me oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors while I bathe.”

When the maids had left, the two elders hurried to her and said, “Look, the garden doors are shut and no one sees us. We desire to possess you. If you refuse to give in, we will testify that you sent your maids away for there was a young man here with you.”

Susanna moaned, “Whatever I do, I am trapped. If I give in to your desire, it will be death for me; if I refuse, I will not escape your persecution. I would rather be persecuted than sin in the eyes of the Lord.” Susanna shrieked, but the old men shouted, putting the blame on her. One of them ran and opened the garden doors.

Hearing the noise in the garden, the household servants rushed in by the side entrance to see what was happening. They were taken aback when they heard the elders’ accusation, for never had anything like this been said of Susanna. The next day a meeting was held at Joakim’s house.

The two elders arrived, vindictively determined to have Susanna sentenced to death. They ordered before all the people, “Send for Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter and Joakim’s wife.” They sent for her, and she came with her parents, children and all her relatives.

The assembly took their word, since they were elders and judges of the people. Susanna was condemned to death. Susanna cried aloud, “Eternal God, nothing is hidden from You; You know all things before they come to be. You know that these men have testified falsely against me. Would You let me die, though I am not guilty of all their malicious charges?”

The Lord heard her, and as she was being led to her execution, God aroused the Holy Spirit residing in a young lad named Daniel. He shouted, “I will have no part in the death of this woman!” Those present turned to him, “What did you say?” They all asked.

Standing in their midst, he said to them, “Have you become fools, you Israelites, to condemn a daughter of Israel without due process and in the absence of clear evidence? Return to court, for those men have testified falsely against her.” Hurriedly they returned, and the elders said to Daniel, “Come and sit with us, for you also possess the gifts bestowed by God upon the elders.”

Daniel said to the people, “Separate these two from one another and I will examine each of them.” When the two elders were separated from each other, Daniel called one of them and said, “How wicked you have grown with age. Your sins of earlier days have piled up against you, and now is the time of reckoning.”

Remember how you have passed unjust sentences, condemning the innocent and freeing the guilty, although the Lord has said, ‘The innocent and the just should not be put to death.’ Now, if you really witnessed the crime, under what tree did you see them do it?”

The elder answered, “Under a mastic tree.” Daniel said, “Your lie will cost you your head. You will be cut in two, as soon as the Lord’s Angel receives your sentence from God.” Putting the first one aside, Daniel called the other elder and said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, you have long allowed yourself to be perverted by lust.”

“This is how you have dealt with the daughters of Israel, who out of fear have yielded to you. But here is a daughter of Judah who would not tolerate your wickedness. Tell me then, under which tree did you catch them committing the crime?”

The answer came, “Under an oak.” “Your lie has also cost you your head,” Daniel said. “God’s Angel waits to cut you both in two.” The whole assembly shouted and blessed God for helping those who hope in Him. They turned against the two elders who, through Daniel’s efforts, had been convicted by their own mouths.

In accordance with Moses’ law, the penalty the two elders had intended to impose upon their neighbour was inflicted upon them. They were sentenced to death. Thus was the life of an innocent woman spared that day.

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Monday, 7 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the Lord Who chastised His people for their lack of faith, and for their refusal to believe, unless they see the signs and wonders, the miracles and all the supernatural things that they asked of the Lord Jesus to do and perform for them. They had no love for the Lord in their hearts, but instead, they only wanted to be awed and be satisfied of their curiosity.

They did not understand how God loves them so much and desires for them to be saved, from all of their shortcomings, their unworthiness, the wickedness of their sins and all of the evil and wicked things that had separated them from the fullness of God’s love and grace. But fortunately for us, our Lord loves us very greatly, and despite of our sins, He still wants to bring us out of our misery and suffering in sin, and lead us into eternal life.

However, what He needs from us is our commitment, our obedience and devotion to Him, the desire we need to have, the choice we need to make, in consciously walking on His paths towards salvation in God. This we can see in our Gospel today, where we heard about an official who came begging for Jesus our Lord to come and heal his son who was very sick and who was on the verge of death.

Jesus did not come with him, but instead, He just said simply that his son would live, and the official believed in him. He had faith in Jesus, and indeed, his son was healed and made whole again. Because of the faith which he had, and because of the commitment and devotion that he was willing to make to God, he has been granted his wishes, and God showed His favour upon him and his family.

This is contrasted to the attitude of the other people, which Jesus Himself showed in the very same Gospel passage, as they demanded Jesus to perform miracles and wonders, and even when He has done so many, many times, healing the sick and the dying, and even when He had raised the dead back to life, they still would not believe and doubted Him and refused to listen to Him.

This is an attitude which we cannot have, brothers and sisters in Christ, but rather, we should be more like the faithful official, having faith in God, even if we do not see His wonders and miracles right before our eyes. Our faith should not be founded upon awe and satisfaction of the flesh, but instead it should be based upon a genuine desire to love the Lord our God.

Today we commemorate the feast of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, two great saints and martyrs, two great and holy women, whose life and examples can indeed be great inspiration for us, on how we ought to live our lives as the children and follower of our God. They were faithful and committed to the end, and they did not even fear death in the effort to keep themselves faithful to God.

They had different origins, St. Perpetua as a mother bearing a child, while St. Felicity was a slave, but both believed in God, and they met their end together having complete faith in God’s salvation. It was told that St. Perpetua converted to the faith and then when the Roman Emperor persecuted the faithful, despite the wishes of her father and others for her to reject her faith, but she remained committed and was imprisoned as a result.

The same devotion was shown by St. Felicity who was just a mere slave, and yet truly, through her faith in God, she had been made free from her true slavery, the slavery to sin and to the chains of the flesh. Through her dedication, commitment and courage, she had made herself worthy of God’s eternal life, salvation and redemption.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we also seek to be like them, and do the same as what they have done? This means, shall we be truly faithful to the Lord in all things, and commit ourselves totally to Him? Let us no longer be separated from the love of God because of our disobedience, our reluctance and fear to follow Him, but instead, like the official, let us put our trust in Jesus, and commit ourselves to walk in His path and follow Him with all of our strength. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 7 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 4 : 43-54

At that time, when the two days of Jesus staying 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 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, 7 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (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, 7 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (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 anymore. 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 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, 29 February 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the famous and well-known story of how God healed Naaman, the Syrian general through the prophet Elisha, from his disease of leprosy when he sought for help and healing in God. Naaman was made whole and had his leprosy healed, when he obeyed the commands of Elisha to wash himself seven times in the River Jordan.

However, that did not come about easily, as initially Naaman refused to do as the prophet Elisha commanded him to do, thinking that he was above doing the seemingly simple chore that Elisha had asked him to do. In his anger, he almost left and went away without being healed, if not for his servants who tamed down his anger and then persuaded him to be humble and to listen to the will of God spoken through His prophet Elisha.

And in the Gospel today Jesus our Lord made it clear to the people of His time, how God at that time, chose not the people of Israel but someone from Syria, from the neighbouring kingdom of Aram, a stranger, a foreigner and even an enemy of Israel, to heal him from his afflictions of leprosy. And it was also reiterated how God chose the suffering widow of Zarephath in Sidon, also an outsider and foreigner to Israel, to bring His help and mercy.

The people of Israel at the time thought that because they were the chosen race, the chosen people of God, then they were favoured and could do things as they liked, and they would still receive the favour from God, and shunned the other peoples of the other nations as pagans and barbaric, unworthy of God’s favour and forgiveness. And yet, they were proven wrong, as God showed that His love is given freely to all.

It was not about one’s background, birth, upbringing, descent or any other parameters that decided our faith, but rather, it is our actions, our words and deeds that lead us to either do things that are in accordance with the will of God, or things that are abhorrent and wicked in the sight of God. And all of us have been given freedom to choose by God, our free will, to decide what we are to do with our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the story of Naaman, and also the widow of Zarephath is a reminder to all of us that God is trying to reach out to us, and He wants us to be reconciled with Him. It is contrary to what many of us must be thinking, if we thought that God is an angry God Who punished all those who have sinned against Him without any chance of redemption. It was we ourselves and our refusal to accept His mercy that had condemned us to destruction.

In this season of Lent, we are called like Naaman to be freed of our own affliction, the leprosy of our souls, that is sin. Sin is the disease that had been corrupting us and causing us all to be sick, and the cure can only be found in God, in our obedience to God and to His will. We must not be proudful or be filled with hubris and with selfishness, or else we might be like Naaman before he submitted to God’s will, or be like the Israelites who have sinned against God.

Therefore, let us all in this season of Lent commit ourselves to do things and works that bring good to others around us, helping one another and sharing the love which we ought to have inside each one of us, and therefore through what we have done in obedience to God, we may be found righteous and worthy, and He will bestow upon us all that He had promised on us. God bless us all. Amen.