preparation for Easter

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Thursday, 29 March 2018 : Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this morning we celebrate together as the whole diocese, the occasion of the Chrism Mass, the moment when annually the bishop of the diocese blesses the oils to be used in the celebrations of the Sacraments of the Church. They are the sacred chrism used in the Sacrament of Baptism and Holy Orders, the holy oil to be used in the Sacrament of Confirmation, and the oil of the sick used for those who receive the Sacrament of the Sick.

These holy oils to be blessed today are a continuation of a longstanding custom from the Scriptures itself, as if we read throughout the entirety of the Old Testament, we see in many occasions that oils are used. First of all, oil is important for life, as it is used in cooking, when the widow of Zarephath was with the prophet Elijah, she used the oil to cook food for herself, her son and for the prophet.

Then oil is also used to sanctify and dedicate an altar to God, as used by the ancient patriarchs and servants of God, the priest or the servant of God would pour the oil onto the altar, and therefore mark the altar as an altar dedicated to the greater glory of God. The use of the holy oils mark the altar as a holy place worthy of sacrificial offerings to God and as the sign of God’s holy presence.

And oil was also used to anoint kings, from Saul to David, both anointed by the prophet Samuel, as the sign of God’s grace and choice as king and ruler over the people. The oil also signifies the king at that time being elevated to the same privilege and order as the priests of God, who were also anointed with holy oils as sign of total dedication to a holy life committed to God.

And ultimately, as mentioned earlier, those holy oils are also used on the Sacraments of the Church, anointing us all as God’s chosen ones, as the ones to whom He has bestowed His grace and love, all of us who believe in Him, and therefore, commit ourselves to live in accordance with His ways. All of us are God’s chosen ones, anointed at our baptism and confirmed at our Confirmation, to be priests, kings and shepherds.

What does this mean? This means that we are all called to share in the priestly, kingly and in the leadership roles of Christ, the one and true High Priest, the King of Kings and the Good Shepherd of all the people of God. All of us are called to live upright lives and lives filled with devotion and commitment to God, ministering to one another with love, and to make evident and concrete, the Good News of God in our own daily lives, that we show others, of God’s love and truth, not just based on our words, but also based on our actions.

And today, especially let us all pray for all of our priests, all of our bishops and all those who have been ordained to the sacred order of priests, bishops and consecrated life to God. They have been called to an even higher purpose in their respective lives, all coming from various backgrounds yet called to be people consecrated to God, surrendering everything to God, and to be the ones who ‘in persona Christi’, reenact the same sacrifice at Calvary at the celebration of the Holy Mass.

The heads and the hands of the priests and bishops have been anointed with the holy oils, to show the sanctity and the importance of their role and vocation, as their hands alone are worthy to hold the Lord in the Eucharist directly, and through their hands, they will feed all of us, God’s own holy people, with His own Most Holy and Real Presence in the Body and Blood that He has laid down for us on the cross.

Let us all pray for them, these most faithful servants of God, who are often at the forefront of slander and gossiping, at the speartips of Satan’s attacks against His Church, as this great enemy of God is always ready to strike at God’s faithful ones, and he knows that if he strikes at the priests and bishops, he can cause so much harm and danger to so many of the faithful ones.

Let us give them our support and strength, our prayer and our assurance, that these holy priests and holy bishops, as well as our Pope, the Vicar of Christ and leader of the Church, will continue to persevere in their constantly ever-growing mission, to care for God’s people and to provide for the spiritual needs of the faithful, and also to bring God’s words and truth to more and more souls out there who are still lost in the darkness of the world.

May the Lord be with His Church, be with His servants and disciples, and be with all of us, that each and every one of us, anointed by the holy oils in accordance with the rites and sacraments of the Church, will grow ever more devoted to God and grow in our commitment to Him, day after day. May the Lord continue to watch over us and guide us in our journey of faith. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 March 2018 : Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 4 : 16-21

At that time, when Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.”

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Thursday, 29 March 2018 : Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 1 : 5-8

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him Who loves us and has washed away our sins with His own Blood, making us a kingdom and priests for God His Father, to Him be the glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

See He comes with the clouds and everyone will see Him, even those who pierced Him; on His account all the nations of the earth will beat his breast. Yes. It will be so. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, He Who is, Who was and Who is to come : the Master of the universe.

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Thursday, 29 March 2018 : Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 21-22, 25 and 27

I have found David my servant, and with My holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will be ever with him and My arm will sustain him.

My faithfulness and love will be with him, and by My help he will be strong. He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’

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Thursday, 29 March 2018 : Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 61 : 1-3a, 6a, 8b-9

The Spirit of the Lord YHVH is upon Me, because YHVH has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up broken hearts, to proclaim liberty to the captives, freedom to those languishing in prison; to announce the year of YHVH’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God; to give comfort to all who grieve; (to comfort those who mourn in Zion) and give them a garland instead of ashes.

But you will be named priests of YHVH, you will be called ministers of our God. I will give them their due reward and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a race YHVH has blessed.

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Wednesday, 28 March 2018 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the Wednesday of the Holy Week is traditionally known in the Church as the Spy Wednesday, as on this day the Scripture reading from the Gospel of St. Matthew highlights the betrayal of the Lord Jesus by Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples. On this day, according to the tradition of the Apostles, Judas went to the chief priests and the elders to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus because he did not have genuine faith in Him. He followed Him for ulterior motives, that is to profit and enrich himself through his frequent ‘helpings’ to the common fund of the disciples which was placed under his care, and thus he was corrupt in his ways and dealings. All these despite him having followed the Lord Jesus for over three years as one of His closest disciples.

Despite all the miracles the Lord had performed before him and the other disciples, and also all the teachings and parables He had used and mentioned throughout His ministry, Judas ultimately chose to betray the Lord and instead settled for what he has always been tempted to, that is money. He could not resist the temptation of wealth and worldly goods, and Satan made use of it to bring him to commit a great sin against God.

And thus Judas Iscariot was forever placed in the hall of infamy, for having committed the betrayal against Jesus, for his repeated and unrepented sinful acts, cheating his fellow disciples for the sake of his own greed and selfish desires. He had been given the free will to choose whether he should follow the Lord and repent, or whether he ought to continue walking down his path of sin.

Is that the path we want to take, brothers and sisters in Christ? He alone out of the Twelve chosen by the Lord at the start of His ministry fell out of grace and he alone did not die in the state of grace, having failed his Lord and Master, and instead of being obedient, he fell into sin and betrayed Him for worldly wealth, for thirty pieces of silver. To him, the Lord and His ministry was just means to an end, to achieve more wealth and power for himself.

Instead, brothers and sisters in Christ, we should follow the examples of the Apostles, especially that of St. Peter. Why is that so? Just like Judas Iscariot, they have also abandoned the Lord when He was arrested after the Last Supper, and they were scattered in fear after that moment. Yet, they repented and had great regret in their hearts after what they had done, and that was how they were reconciled and eventually became the courageous Apostles.

Those Apostles henceforth had to endure the same pain and suffering that the Lord Jesus had endured, being subjected to ridicule, rejection, anger, persecution, punishment and even prison and exile by those people to whom they had gone to, in preaching the Gospel and the Good News. They had embraced the roles which the Lord had entrusted them with, and did their best to follow the Lord in His ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now as we have heard all these readings from the Scriptures and reflected on it, let us all think of how we can apply it in our own lives. We have been called to be true and devout Christians, to walk in the Lord’s path with faith and devotion, and with genuine and zealous love for God. Are we able to devote ourselves in this manner? Or are we still like Judas Iscariot, who placed his greed and worldly desires ahead of his commitment to God?

As we journey through this time of the Holy Week, let us all turn away from our sinful past, from all of our wickedness, and turn towards the Lord with all of our hearts. Let us all grow ever more faithful day after day, that despite the challenges and temptations we may face along our way, we will continue to persevere regardless and grow deeper in our commitment towards Him.

May the Lord bless us all and may He grant us the strength to persevere in faith, that all of us will grow to understand and appreciate better the love that He has for each and every one of us, that we will no longer be swayed by the temptation of money as Judas had done, but instead, place the Lord as the priority and the centre focus of our lives. May God be with us always, now and forever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 March 2018 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 26 : 14-25

Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “How much will you give me if I hand Him over to you?” They promised to give him thirty pieces of silver, and from then on, he kept looking for the best way to hand Jesus over to them.

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?” Jesus answered, “Go into the city, to the house of a certain man, and tell him, ‘The Master says : My hour is near, and I will celebrate the Passover with My disciples in your house.'”

The disciples did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, Jesus sat at table with the Twelve. While they were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you : one of you will betray Me.” They were deeply distressed, and they asked Him, one after the other, “You do not mean me, do You, Lord?”

He answered, “The one who dips his bread with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man is going as the Scripture says He will. But alas for that one who betrays the Son of Man : better for him not to have been born.” Judas, who was betraying Him, also asked, “You do not mean me, Master, do You?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

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Wednesday, 28 March 2018 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 68 : 8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34

Since I am held in contempt for Your sake, and shame has covered My face. I have become a stranger to My kindred, an alien to My mother’s sons. Zeal for Your house consumes Me as fire and those who insult You insult Me as well.

I looked for sympathy and there was none, for comforters and there was no one. They gave me poison for food and vinegar to drink.

I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving. Let the lowly witness this and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise those in captivity.

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Wednesday, 28 March 2018 : Wednesday of Holy Week (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 50 : 4-9a

The Lord YHVH has taught Me so I speak as His disciple and I know how to sustain the weary. Morning after morning He wakes Me up to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord YHVH has opened My ear. I have not rebelled, nor have I withdrawn.

I offered My back to those who strike Me, My cheeks to those who pulled My beard; neither did I shield My face from blows, spittle and disgrace. I have not despaired, for the Lord YHVH comes to My help. So, like a flint I set My face, knowing that I will not be disgraced.

He Who avenges Me is near. Who then will accuse Me? Let us confront each other. Who is now My accuser? Let him approach. If the Lord YHVH is my Help, who will condemn Me?

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Tuesday, 27 March 2018 : Tuesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings we are reminded of God’s salvation that He sent to us through His Son Jesus Christ, Our Lord, of Whom the prophet Isaiah wrote in our first reading passage today, of the coming of the liberation and reconciliation of the descendants of Israel to their Lord and God. God sent His Messiah or Saviour into the world, to gather back all the scattered children of God, and to reconcile them to Himself.

But remembering what we have just heard in another passage taken from the book of the prophet Elijah in our Palm Sunday readings, about the suffering Servant of God, the Suffering Messiah, God did all of His works through the suffering and the obedience of Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, that by accepting death, death on the cross, persecuted and rejected, and even betrayed by His own disciple, Judas Iscariot, He became the source of salvation for us all mankind.

That is how God gave us His love, the proof of His dedication and love for each and every one of us, that He was willing to bear and suffer the unimaginably heavy burden of the cross. The cross that the Lord Jesus bore was extremely heavy not only because of the physical mass and dimensions of the wooden cross, but even more so, because as He bore that cross, He bore for us, the multitudes of our countless sins and trespasses.

Every wound He endured and suffered from, every lashes of the whip He received, every ridicule and rejection He received and heard from those same people who have just so recently welcomed Him as King, but then quickly rejected Him and condemned Him to death, all of these, every single one of them, are our sins and wickedness. Yes, our sins and evils are the wounds that we have inflicted upon the Lord’s Body.

But many of us do not realise this, and we are not aware how our sins and faults have been borne by the Lord, Who suffered because of all the things we committed in our respective lives. Instead, we continue to sin more and more, and we continue to do what is wicked and unworthy in the sight of God. As a result, we are dragged deeper and deeper into the state of sin, and we become even more desensitised from sin, that we are no longer ashamed of what we have done.

Our attitude is also often like that of St. Peter, when he said before the Lord Jesus, that he would defend Him, even to the point of giving up his own life for His sake. The same thing was repeated by the other disciples as well. But when the time came, all of them abandoned the Lord and ran away, scared for their own lives, and when confronted about being a disciple of Christ, St. Peter denied knowing Him three times, just as He had foretold.

How many of us have this kind of faith, brothers and sisters in Christ? How many of us are not firm in our faith, that we flee the moment persecution and trouble come to us? Let me ask you now, brethren, when the Lord Jesus was presented with the great suffering and tribulation that He had to endure as part of His work of salvation, having to bear the heavy and painful cross, did He run away or reject the responsibility?

Indeed, His humanity agonised over this, for no human being should ever have to suffer such great misery and trouble. But in the end, He is always obedient to the will of His Father, Who loves each and every one of us, and thus He was obedient unto death, death on the cross for us, because of His great and undying love. If God can love us so much, to the point of enduring everything for our sake, then can we not love Him in the same way?

Today, as we continue to progress towards the Easter Triduum at the end of this Holy Week, are we reflecting upon these realities of our faith? Have we lived our lives with true and genuine faith? Have we loved the Lord just as He has loved us? If He can love us so much so as to accept a most painful death and to endure the most horrible of sufferings and pains, then why can’t we do the same?

Too many of us think that we have no time for God. But if we actually spend some time to think about it, we can actually take some time of our busy schedule if we want to. But do we want to? Do we want to spend time with God? Remember that He spent an entire six hours on the cross, and not counting the many more hours on the way to Golgotha, since the moment when He was arrested, full of ridicule, persecution, suffering, torture and difficulties for our sake.

Shall we all make a new commitment to the Lord during this Holy Week? Shall we devote our time, effort and attention to the Lord with renewed zeal and love for Him? This is what we should do, and which we should prioritise in our own lives. Remember, that if God can do so much for us, then at least we should give our very best to love Him as well.

May the Lord continue to be with us, guiding us on our way and blessing us all the days of our lives. May He empower us to live ever with more commitment and love for God, day after day, living with faith, alive and zealous. May our Holy Week celebrations be fruitful for us, for our salvation in God. Amen.