Quadragesima

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Thursday, 28 March 2024 : Holy Thursday, Chrism Mass (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this morning we all gather together to celebrate this occasion of the Chrism Mass, when everyone assembled together, the priests of each dioceses in the world, in their respective dioceses, together with their respective shepherds, the bishops of the dioceses, to renew their commitment to the Lord, renewing their priestly vows and promises, and at the same time also celebrating the blessing and the consecration of the holy oils that are crucial for the use in the Church and its liturgical celebrations. On this day, this Chrism Mass, which is usually celebrated traditionally on the morning of the Holy Thursday, but which can be celebrated on other days, we all remember how our priests have dedicated and committed themselves and their lives to God, answering and heeding His call to be His servants, to be the ones to minister to His people.

In our first reading today, we heard from the passage of the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the prophecy about the coming of God’s salvation that would come through the Saviour, Messiah or Christ, and everything that He would do for the salvation of the world. It was the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage Who chose this exact same passage given to Him, to proclaim the fulfilment of everything that God has prophesied and promised to all of His people, through none other than Him, as the One Who would save the whole world, all of mankind, from the destruction due to our sins and wickedness, our evils and our infidelities. God has sent His own Beloved Son to our midst so that through Him He might gather us all, and being our High Priest, He might offer for us all, the perfect and most worthy offering and sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.

That is what we are going to celebrate starting this evening with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Institution of the Sacred Priesthood, that is foreshadowed now in this Chrism Mass. This is also what we are commemorating in this Paschal or Easter Triduum, as we are about to enter into the commemoration of the most important and remarkable events that happened two millennia ago, when Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, gave Himself to be betrayed and rejected, persecuted and oppressed, and condemned to death, so that He might offer on the Altar of His Cross at Calvary, the most perfect offering of His own broken and Most Precious Body, and the outpoured Most Precious Blood that He had given freely to all of us.

All these came to be so that He might free us all from the tyranny of sin and death, breaking forever the chains and the power, the dominion and control that sin has over any one of us. Through His perfect obedience, He has ended the dominion of sin, caused by the disobedience of mankind. He has shown us how to be truly and perfectly obedient to God, our heavenly Father and Master, by taking up His Cross, and willingly took it up all the way to Calvary, where He laid dying, suspended between the Heaven and the earth, bloodied and broken, having offered Himself, as our Eternal and True High Priest, giving to us all the new hope of eternal life, the freedom from the dominion of sin and death.

And He did not do it all alone, as He has called those whom He had called and chosen, to walk in this path, to be His servants, to be priests like Him, in the Order of Melchizedek the High Priest, to be God’s priests and servants forever. He has given the authority and power to all of His priests, those who are serving all of the people of God, namely our Pope, our bishops and priests, with the power to turn the bread and wine at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to be His own Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood, being offered freely for us, for our salvation, at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the Mass. He has empowered all the priests to celebrate this Eucharist for us, so that all of us may also benefit and witness the same Sacrifice that He has performed at Calvary, for our redemption and salvation.

That is why today, the priests of the whole world renew their commitment to serve the Lord, to be His representatives in this world, to be the ones to celebrate the Sacraments, particularly that of the Holy Eucharist, to bring forth unto us all the same Sacrifice at Calvary, done in their presence ‘in Persona Christi’ during the time of the Consecration of the bread and wine, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, and by the authority given to all of them through the Church and the Apostles, from the Lord Himself, they may turn all the bread and wine, into the very essence and Real Presence of the Lord Himself, into His Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood, which all of us partake, in one Holy Communion of all the faithful, that we become part of this same One Body of Christ, the Church.

That is why the role of the priests here are very important, as they are the only ones who can do so, and they are the ones given the power and authority to do this, and no one else. Without priests, we will not have the Sacraments to help us in our journey towards God and our salvation in Him. That is why today, as the priests renew their commitment to the Lord, let us all also pray for them and give them more of our support, strength and help, so that in whatever challenges and responsibilities that they are carrying, they can continue to shoulder them faithfully and courageously, doing whatever they can to serve the Lord to the best of their abilities, at all times and circumstances.

Today we also mark the occasion of the blessing of the holy oils, the Oil of the Catechumens used to mark the catechumens seeking for baptism and reception into the Church, the Oil of the Sick used in the Sacrament of the Sick and for the ministry to the ones who are suffering from illness and in the danger of death, and lastly the Sacred or Holy Chrism used in various purposes in the Church and its various liturgies, from the baptism and confirmation liturgies, for those who are baptised and confirmed in the faith, in the Ordination of those called to the Holy Orders, and in the Consecration and Dedication of churches and altars, to mark as sacred, holy and worthy all those that had been set aside for Divine worship and purpose. Like the kings of old had been consecrated to God with the pouring and anointing with the holy oils, thus, each and every one of us have received the holy oils at different stages and parts of our Christian living as well, as part of our mission and calling in life.

Yes, these holy oils have been blessed today so that we can also remember what the Lord had called us to do with our lives, in the respective missions that have been entrusted to us. While primarily we focus our attention today to those who have given their lives and dedicated themselves to the ministry of sacred priesthood, but we should also remember that each and every one of us in our respective parts and areas of life also have specific calling, ministries and vocations to do, and we have been called and reminded to follow them faithfully, and to do whatever we can so that our lives and vocations may be carried out well and faithfully, and by our lives and actions, we may truly glorify God and lead even more people ever closer to God and His salvation.

All of us must always be active members and parts of the Church, as the priests alone cannot do everything on their own. Instead, each and every parts and members of the Church must actively contribute in whatever way they can, so that through their actions and contributions, each and every one of them may assemble their efforts together and bring about lots of good deeds and actions that will help so many in their journey towards the Lord. Let us all therefore also commit ourselves anew on this occasion, together with all the priests who have renewed their priestly vows and promises this day, that each and every one of us will also continue to commit ourselves to live our lives worthily in the manner that the Lord has shown us through His Church. May the Lord be with us all, and bless particularly all of our priests, in everything that they all do, for His greater glory. Amen.

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Thursday, 28 March 2024 : Holy Thursday, Chrism Mass (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, 28 March 2024 : Holy Thursday, Chrism Mass (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, 28 March 2024 : Holy Thursday, Chrism Mass (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, 28 March 2024 : Holy Thursday, Chrism Mass (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, 27 March 2024 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the need for all of us to resist the temptations of sin and to reexamine our lives and actions, to see if we have not done what the Lord has called us to do in our lives, and if we have allowed the evil one to lead us astray, betraying and abandoning Him for worldly matters, glory and achievements, for the pursuit of worldly attachments, fame and for many other things that have often kept us away from God and His love for us. This is what we are all reminded today especially through the reading of the account of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of the Lord Jesus on this Wednesday of the Holy Week, just as we are about to enter into the most solemn commemoration of the Paschal Triduum.

In our first reading today, we first heard of everything that the Lord Himself would have to suffer as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, who have been entrusted by the Lord with the prophecy of the Suffering Messiah and Suffering Servant of God, foretelling everything that this Saviour that God would send to His people, would do for the sake of all of God’s beloved ones, and how He would have to endure the worst punishments and sufferings all because of our disobedience, wickedness and stubbornness in continuing to sin against God, in all that we have done which caused and brought about hurt and betrayal towards our most loving and faithful God. And yet, this Servant, Our Lord and Saviour Himself, obeyed perfectly and completely, enduring all those sufferings and challenges, for our sake.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, Our Lord Himself had come to us in the flesh, to extend to us the most loving reach of His forgiveness, love and compassion, and He did so in order to gather us all back once again, from being scattered in this world in darkness, evil and sin, being our loving Good Shepherd Who sought us all, His beloved but lost sheep. Despite our stubbornness and our refusal to obey Him, He still reached out to us patiently anyway, calling on all of us to love Him and to seek Him out, as He poured out upon all of us most generous mercy and compassion, all the love and kindness that He has always had for us since the very beginning. He had created us all out of His overflowing love, and He wants us all to share in that love, which He made tangible and approachable to us through His Son.

And in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when Judas Iscariot decided to betray the Lord to the chief priests at the Temple, guided by the devil who went into him and tempted him, having sowed the seeds of disbelief and lack of faith in Judas’s heart and mind. Earlier in this week, we heard how the same Judas Iscariot criticised the actions of Mary who tearfully and humbly anointed the feet of the Lord with perfume, and we heard his motivations for doing so, how he had been stealing for himself from the group’s common funds that had been entrusted to him under his care. Judas Iscariot was likely an intelligent person, as he was entrusted with a responsibility that usually only an educated person could have done, and yet, he allowed himself to be tempted by the evil one.

Why did Judas betray the Lord? It was not revealed for certain, but likely his love for money and worldly pursuits, and his frustrations at the Lord’s rebuke on him against his criticism of Mary led him to commit such a heinous act, in selling off his own Lord and Master for a price of thirty pieces of silver coins. This act was in fact prophesied by the prophets who spoke about how the Lord, the Saviour of all and Master of all Creation would be priced at the mere price of a slave, which at the time of the Lord Jesus was indeed about thirty pieces of silver coins. Judas betrayed his Lord and Master for his greed for money, and because he let the devil to tempt him with all those worldly desires and attachments that he lost sight of the truth of God.

Now, as I have said it earlier on this week, before we are then quick to judge or point finger at Judas for what he had done, let us all first look at ourselves and reflect on our own lives and actions. Have we truly been innocent and without sin ourselves, and have we really not done something similar to what Judas himself had done? Each and every one of us have sinned at some point in our own lives, and we have disobeyed God in different ways. Yet, the Lord finds it in His love and compassion to be patient with us and He has kept on calling on us to return once again to His loving embrace and to be in His grace once again. He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him, and that is why we are reminded today not to follow the path of Judas into sin and damnation.

Let us all make good use of all the opportunities and moments that we have been given in this time of Holy Week, during this particularly solemn and holy occasion that we may remember what it truly means for us to be Christians in the first place. Our lives and way of living them should indeed be filled with true dedication and commitment to God, and we must always remind ourselves how fortunate and blessed we have indeed been, to be loved in such a manner by the Lord our God, although we have frequently disappointed and rebelled against Him. Let us all be attuned ever more deeply to God’s will and realise how we should carry on living our lives, no longer overshadowed by sin and evil, but following in God’s light, truth and love henceforth.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God, Whose Passion we are remembering this most solemn Holy Week, continue to be with us all and bless us in our journey of faith and life. May He continue to strengthen our faith and empower each and every one of us so that we may persevere and remain committed to Him despite all the challenges, trials and obstacles that we may face in life. May God bless us all, now and always, and bless our remaining Holy Week observances and Paschal Triduum beginning tomorrow. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 March 2024 : 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, 27 March 2024 : 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, 27 March 2024 : 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, 26 March 2024 : Tuesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened through our Scripture passage today, we are all reminded of the important events of this great Holy Week, and what we are all called to commemorate and remember, so that we may truly be able to immerse ourselves in the whole extent of the many things we ought to focus ourselves on during this period of time. We are reminded that we have been separated from God through our disobedience and lack of faith, which led us to sin against Him, and because of this, we have not enjoyed the fullness of His grace and love. This week as we focus ever deeper on the important events in the history of our salvation, let us all do our part so that we can continue to deepen our faith as well as coming to a greater realisation of just how sinful we are, and how much we are in need of God’s mercy, forgiveness and love.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, in which the prophet spoke of the salvation of God which had been prepared and given to us, and which He has promised and proclaimed to His beloved people from much earlier on, telling on all of them that despite their rebelliousness and sins, that He still loved them nonetheless, desiring to be reunited and reconciled with them, and He would send unto them His deliverance and salvation, through the One Who would come into our midst, to bring us all back once again into God’s loving embrace and grace. God has always been patient in looking out for us, in reaching to us with His ever generous forgiveness and mercy. He sent unto us His own Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour so that through Him all of us may have the hope and assurance of eternal life.

We are also reminded through the words of the prophet Isaiah that God’s salvation, His love and blessings have been extended to everyone, and not just to the race of the Israelites, who were God’s first chosen people. Through His Son, the Lord revealed His love manifested and made approachable to all of us, and He has extended His ever generous love and mercy to all of us, to all the sons and daughters of mankind, without exception. Each and every one of us are truly beloved by God, and we have to keep this in mind, remembering everything that He has done for our sake, in reaching out to us, in sending us His Son, and everything that the Son had to endure for the sake of our sins, His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the account from the Gospel of St. John of the moment when the Lord predicted how He would be betrayed by one of His own closest disciples, at the moment when He and His disciples were having the Last Supper. The Lord foretold that Judas Iscariot would be the one to betray Him, but at that time no one understood the significance of what He was saying, and no one thought that Judas Iscariot would have betrayed his own Lord and Master, being one of His own closest disciples and collaborators. And yet, we heard of how our faith can be weak and unsettled, so much so that the devil can come in and stir us into committing sin against God, just as what Judas Iscariot himself had done.

Not only that, but the Lord Jesus also predicted how Peter, one of his staunchest disciples and supporters, would also lose faith and deny Him not once but three times. This would eventually come true when Peter was faced with the challenge from the people present at the courtyard of the Temple at the moment when the Lord Jesus was persecuted and being condemned to death. He lost his faith and courage, and denied his Lord and Master three times out of self-protection, desiring not to be found out that he was one of the Lord’s chief disciples, when he himself had proclaimed before the Lord and the others that he would gladly die and give his life up for Him. All these reminded us all that sin can indeed be very harmful and dangerous for us, leading us into this path of disobedience against God.

But lest we are quick to point fingers upon others and blame them, or discriminate against them for their sins, let us all first remember that we ourselves are sinners too, having also committed things that are against God’s Law and commandments, disobeyed Him at some point of time in our lives. We ourselves have also been unworthy before God, and what Judas Iscariot and St. Peter the Apostle had done, we ourselves had done them as well in various ways. During this time of Holy Week therefore we should do what we can in order to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, humbly beseeching Him to help and guide us through these difficult moments in our journey of faith. We must always focus our attention on the Lord, keeping in mind that it is in Him alone that we can have hope and healing, fulfilment and liberation from all of the sins and all the chains that have been keeping us down all these while.

This is why, as we continue to journey through this sacred and solemn commemoration of the Holy Week, let us all remember that through everything that He had done for us, Our Lord, our most loving God and Saviour has given us all the means through which we can approach Him, finding our path towards the salvation and assurance of eternal life which we shall receive if we remain true and faithful to the Lord. Let us all turn away from the path of sin and evil, rejecting all the wickedness and evils that had caused us to be separated from God. Let us all remember the wonderful and ever enduring love that God has always had for us, and which He had kept renewed, strengthened and living in His interactions with us, giving us all the perfect manifestation of His love through His Son, Who has suffered andd died for us, and which we remember this Holy Week.

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and forgiving God and Father, continue to be with us all and help us all throughout our struggles and journey, giving us the strength and courage to continue carrying on living our lives with faith, with the strength and the commitment needed for all of us to follow His path at all times. May our Holy Week observances and our heightened emphasis and focus on the Lord continue to help us to deepen our relationship with Him, and to be able to strive living our lives ever more faithfully and worthily at all times. May God bless us always in our every good endeavours and deeds, now and always. Amen.