Monday

by

Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures of the great love and mercy of God, which He has constantly shown us all throughout time. God has always been faithful and committed to the Covenant which He willingly established and constantly renewed with us, and from time to time, again and again, He has shown us all His love, compassion and mercy, reaching out to us whenever we faltered and fell into the path of sin and darkness, calling upon us to return once again to Him, and to embrace once again the path of His righteousness, virtues and truth. God has always loved us all and while He despises our sins and wickedness, He has always desired to be reconciled and reunited with us, through our repentance and desire to be forgiven from those sins.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel of the prayer and supplication which the prophet Daniel made on behalf of all the people of Israel, many of whom at that time were suffering in exile away from their homeland, having been brought out of the Promised Land and the land of their forefathers by their conquerors, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, who sent them to the far-off lands, to be exiled and humbled, to be reviled and humiliated by the nations, for their sins and evils, their wickedness and failures to obey the Lord’s Law and commandments. They have abandoned the path that the Lord had taught and shown them, and they have rejected the many prophets and messengers sent to them to remind and help them to return to the right and virtuous path.

Thus, as we are all presented in our first reading today, we heard how the prophet Daniel, sent to the people of Israel in exile, who at that time had been humbled and suffered in the foreign lands, enduring persecutions and hardships, and God showed mercy and compassion to them, sending them reassurances and help through the prophet Daniel and all the other messengers and prophets that He sent to them. The Lord wanted all of them to know that He had never abandoned them and that He has always loved them regardless of the sins and wickedness which they had committed. The Lord called on His people to return to Him, and He has opened His hands to welcome all of them to come back to Him. What matters then, is for them all to come towards Him with love and the desire to repent from their sins.

That was why, Daniel represented the people in presenting themselves before the Lord, full of sorrow, regret and desire to repent from their sins and wickedness. While sin might have separated the people of God from Him and His love, but the Lord’s ever generous love and mercy, compassion and kindness to His people have prevailed, and through Him reaching out to His beloved ones, He has extended the ever present and ever enduring mercy, forgiveness and grace to those who have been lost to Him. Daniel brought the people of God to His Presence, and presented all of them with their regret and their willingness to change their way of life to their most loving God and Father. And thus, they have received from Him the assurance of hope, new life and liberation, which God would give to all of them, through none other than His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the words of the Lord Jesus Himself telling His disciples to be merciful just as the Father is and has been merciful to all of them. He told them all that they should all continue to love one another and to be kind, compassionate and merciful, because they themselves have been shown great mercy, love and forgiveness from God. Just as the people of God has always enjoyed the favour and grace that He has bestowed bountifully upon them, and just as the Lord has always extended and renewed the Covenant and promises which He had made with each and every one of them, patiently caring for them, leading and guiding them down the path that He has shown to them, therefore, all of us, as God’s people, must continue to follow this same path of the Lord, in our own respective lives at each and every moments.

Today, as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, we should keep in mind that the Lord has called upon us to follow Him, and to embrace once again His kindness, love, forgiveness and grace. Therefore, having received this calling and mission from the Lord, and having been given this time and opportunities during this time of Lent, let us all continue to walk ever more faithfully in God’s path, resisting the temptations of evil and sin, the temptations of worldly glory and pleasures that can distract and lead us astray in our path. We must make good use of these moments, all the time and opportunities provided to us so that we may turn away from the path of evil, darkness and sin, and bringing forth the light of God into our lives so that we may once again be filled with His grace and righteousness.

Let us all be humble before the Lord and admit just how fallen and wicked our way of life has been all these while, and how much we are in need of His grace, love and salvation. Let us all realise that we are all sinners who are corrupted and unworthy, and are in great need of God’s mercy and love, for it is He alone Who can heal us and save us from our sins and evils. It is He alone Who can deliver us from our troubles, and open for us the path to true joy and everlasting life. Unless we realise this and unless we are all humble enough to appreciate and to accept that we are all unworthy people, who have strayed from the path of the Lord, then we may find it difficult to progress ever more in this path of righteousness and virtue. That is why we are all reminded today to continue to walk the path of repentance and righteousness, embracing God and His ever wondrous love and mercy, now and always.

May the Lord, in His ever generous love and infinite mercy, and all the compassion and kindness which He has always shown us, continue to love us all wonderfully and help us in our journey of faith towards Him. May He empower and strengthen us all in our path, so that in our every good efforts and endeavours, we will always do what is pleasing to Him, and that we may grow ever closer to Him, rejecting all the temptations of evil and sin, and becoming ever more worthy and righteous in all of our every words, deeds and actions. May God bless us all, and may He lead us all ever more into His Holy Presence, and bless our Lenten observances and journey. Amen.

by

Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (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.”

by

Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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.

by

Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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.

by

Monday, 19 February 2024 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to proceed through this time and season of Lent, each and every one of us are reminded that as Christians, all of us must always strive to do what God has called and commanded us all to do with our lives, in being righteous, just and committed to the path which He has taught and shown us. Otherwise, if we do not do so, then we will end up being held accountable for our lack of faith and real commitment to the path of God, and in the end, we will have to account for all of our actions and commitments to God, or for our failure to do so, if we neglect our responsibilities and calling as Christians, in whichever areas and opportunities that we have been given by God.

In our first reading today, we heard the exhortations from the Book of Leviticus in which God spoke to His people, the Israelites, whom He had brought out of the land of Egypt through Moses, His servant, whom then He entrusted with the responsibilities of leading and guiding the Israelites through their time in Egypt, their liberation and then the journey through the desert to the Promised Land of Canaan. God told all of His people that they must be holy just as He is Holy, loving just as He is always full of Love, devoted to Him just as He has always been devoted to the Covenant that He had made with each and every one of them and with their ancestors. That was why Moses told the people what they all ought to do, in doing what is right and just, in loving and caring for one another, and in not oppressing or causing hardships and sufferings to others.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, although this happened a really long time ago, but whatever Moses had told the people of Israel are still applicable to us all as well. For are we not God’s beloved and chosen people as well? Through baptism we have willingly embraced the Lord as our God and Saviour, and we have become part of God’s One Church, His united Body, where all of us have been brought together to be one holy people, filled with grace and blessings of God. That is why all of us should also strive to be righteous and just, full of love for God and for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should not ignore all these things, the Law and the commandments which the Lord had given and revealed to us, and which He has also explained and taught to us through His Church.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of the Last Judgment as presented by the Lord Jesus to His disciples and all those who have gathered to listen to Him. He told all of them that He Himself, the Son of Man, will come at the end of time, the moment of the Final Judgment of all the living and the dead, when everyone will have to account for everything which they have said, done, and even all those things that they had failed to say, do or act upon when they had been given the good opportunities and means to by the Lord. The Lord Jesus showed how everyone will be separated by whether they have been found worthy of the Lord and His salvation, or whether they have been found lacking and wanting in their faith.

The Lord also made it clear that all those who have been deemed worthy are all those who have always lived their lives faithfully, and did whatever they could to reach out to their fellow brethren, particularly those who are less fortunate and blessed than they are, that through their care and love, they have shown themselves to be the epitome of Christian love and truth. Meanwhile, all those who have been found lacking and wanting for their faith are not only those who did what are wicked and evil in the sight of God, but also those who neglect their responsibilities, calling and spurned all the opportunities which God had provided them, as they cared more for themselves and selfishly caring and loving themselves only at the expense of others around them.

The Lord made it very clear too of what will happen to the righteous and to those who have been condemned and are deemed unworthy. The worthy and righteous ones will share together in the glory of God, forever enjoying the fullness of God’s grace and all the joy and happiness they shall receive from the Lord Himself, while those who are wicked and unworthy have condemned themselves by their wickedness and by their lack of genuine faith, to an eternity of suffering and darkness, despair and destruction in Hell. The fates of each of these groups have been made clear to us, and therefore we are given the choice by the Lord on which path we want to follow and end up in. We should not waste and squander these opportunities which God has given us, and while it is not yet too late for us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, having been reminded of all these things from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore do whatever we can so that we may always strive to fulfil what we have been entrusted to do, to do what we can so that our lives may be holy, worthy and exemplary in all things. Let us all resist the temptations of Satan and all the false promises and lies which he and all the other fallen beings had given us, and also we ought to restrain our pride, ego, greed and all the things that may lead us all to our downfall if we allow ourselves to be easily swayed and tempted by them. Let us all remind ourselves of our Christian duties and our respective vocations in life, as we all embark through this Lenten journey, journeying with renewed faith in the Lord.

May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey through life, so that we may truly be blessed by our faith and commitment to Him, and may our lives be good inspirations and examples for everyone else all around us, so that all of us may share together the desire to love the Lord and to obey Him, to follow His Law and commandments, rejecting the evil and wicked ways of the world. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

by

Monday, 19 February 2024 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

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.”

by

Monday, 19 February 2024 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

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!

by

Monday, 19 February 2024 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

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.”

by

Monday, 12 February 2024 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we are all presented with these readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that we should always be faithful and committed to the Lord at all times, and that we should not easily be tempted and swayed from the path that the Lord has shown us. Each and every one of us as Christians must always strive to do what God has shown and taught us to do, in each and every moments of our lives. We must not be misled by our pride, ego and greed, all of which can bring us down the path towards our downfall and destruction. We must always steady ourselves in faith, in the Lord so that by our steadfastness in following God, we can be good role models and examples for everyone else present around us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James in which the Apostle St. James the Greater told the faithful to put their faith and trust in the Lord, and whatever that they may be lacking, be it in wisdom or anything else, they should seek them in the Lord, Who would guide them and strengthen them in all things. They should not doubt or be filled with anxiety or uncertainty, as in the Lord there is true and real assurance of hope and redemption, help and recourse from our trials and troubles. Those who doubt and are divided in their minds will not have peace and happiness, because they cannot trust in God’s Providence, and will always try to seek for consolation and help in the various other means and assistance from the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we are all presented with the confrontation between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees, who argued with Him and doubted His works and teachings. Those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had witnessed the signs and wonders, miracles and all the glorious things which the Lord had done, and yet, they failed to believe in Him, and they still kept on pestering Him with many questions and queries, doubting His authenticity and authority, and even accusing Him of colluding with evil spirits. Ironically, those same Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were the ones who were most familiar and knowledgeable about the Law of God as well as the words and teachings of the Prophets, and hence they should have been the ones who should be the earliest to recognise the Lord by the signs and wonders He had done.

This was because of the words and promises of the Lord which He has sent through His prophets and messengers, and those same signs, the miraculous healings and works of the Lord Jesus should have immediately made Him recognisable as the One Whom the Lord had promised to His people, the Saviour or Messiah that He has promised to send into our midst. And this Messiah turned out to be no less than the Son of God Himself in the flesh, appearing before all of us bearing the love of God perfectly manifested to us, showing His compassion and kindness, and His desire to reach out to us and be reconciled with us so that all of us may be reunited with Him, and no longer lost from Him. He came to seek the last, the lost and the least among us, and to raise us up once again from the depth of the darkness of our sins.

But those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law refused to believe in God because they were proud and arrogant, thinking that just because they were all intelligent and knowledgeable about the Law of God and the teachings of the Prophets, then they could not be wrong on their understanding and perspective about the Law and the teachings of the prophets. Hence, despite having frequently followed and shadowed the Lord for much of His ministry, and witnessing many of His works and miracles. They hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord because they refused to humble themselves and be open-minded, to accept the truth and revelation of God’s Good News.

This is why today, as we listened and remembered the words of these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we should not allow pride, ego, ambition, greed and other worldly matters from becoming obstacles in the path for us to come towards God and His salvation. We should be humble and be willing to allow the Lord to come into our midst, and to do what He will do in bringing us all towards His grace and truth. Otherwise we are likely to fall into the same trap of sin and faithlessness as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who did not allow the Lord’s truth and love to enter into their hearts and minds.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do our part, in our own daily lives, at each and every moments so that we may be sources of inspiration and good role models for one another. Each and every one of us as Christians must always be the shining beacons of God’s Light, Good News and love, showing everyone all around us Who He is, and what He has promised and reassured us all with. Through us, our words and actions, all of our deeds and interactions, we can be good and faithful missionaries and disciples of the Lord just as all of us have been called to do.

May the Lord continue to strengthen our faith in Him, and give us all the courage and the hope, the perseverance and the power to carry out our lives with His grace, guided through His wisdom and love, that we may be true and genuine Christians in all things, and not just merely a formality only. May God bless our every efforts, good works and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

by

Monday, 12 February 2024 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 8 : 11-13

At that time, the Pharisees came and started to argue with Jesus. Hoping to embarrass Him, they asked for some heavenly sign. Then His Spirit was moved. He gave a deep sigh and said, “Why do the people of this present time ask for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people.”

Then He left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake.