Rejoice o Jerusalem

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Friday, 11 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the plotting of the wicked against the Righteous One, as predicted in the Book of Wisdom written before the time of Jesus, and how all of that which had been written came true in Jesus, when He came into this world bearing His truth upon the world. Jesus came revealing the truth to all mankind, and He came to save us from our own downfall in sin.

And yet, from what we have seen in the Scriptures, mankind, we ourselves are resistant to God’s attempts to rescue us, and instead of wanting to embrace God and to be forgiven from our sins, we tend to persist instead in our wicked and mistaken behaviours, disobeying God in all things, and we continued in our ways and paths of sin and darkness.

This is because we have this natural tendency to love sin and wickedness, simply because these things make use of our desires and our hearts’ corruption by our greed and by our human tendencies to sin. We like to do things that bring us pleasure, happiness and joy, even if these joy and happiness come about at the expense of others. And this is why mankind can at times be very cruel to one another. And this is sin.

And worst of all is our pride, the pride in each one of us, the ego that engulfs us and swallows us whole. It is pride that had brought Satan down from his position once as the greatest and mightiest Angel in heaven, and it is the same pride that will also destroy us and bring us to our downfall. It is the pride of the wicked that we saw in the Book of Wisdom that brought them to plot against the Righteous One.

And thus, just as it had been prophesied, the wicked represented the Pharisees, the elders and the teachers of the Law who throughout the Gospels showed great resistance against the teachings and works of Jesus in this world, plotting at every possible opportunities to thwart His work, to disturb the works of mercy and salvation, and to mock and ridicule all that He had brought into this world, His truth.

They did so because for long they had enjoyed a position of great privilege, and unable to take on the criticism and the rebuke which the Lord had blatantly showed them as He came through Jesus, they continued deeper in their disobedience, and rather than repenting and seeing the truth in Jesus and His words, they found Him as a threat to their own worldly influence and legitimacy, and thus tried hard to destroy Him.

And when they have failed to thwart Him even by condemning Him to death, as He rose into glory and ascended into the glorious Heaven, they tried to persecute His Church and made life difficult for His followers and disciples. All these were caused by their jealousy, their pride and their inability to tear themselves away from all the negativities, from all the desires, and all the corruptions of sin that had eaten away at their hearts.

Today, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of all these, all of us should reflect on our own lives. How many times have we disobeyed the Lord as we listen more closely to our own hearts’ desires and to our pride? How many times have we betrayed the Lord, and betrayed our own fellow men just to serve and to satisfy our own selfish needs?

Let us all use this opportunity given to us by God to reflect on our own actions, and see what we can do in order to gain salvation through God. Let us all change our ways and repent for all of our sins, that by turning over a new leaf, we may find ourselves in a new life blessed by God. May the Lord keep us and bless us, and may He bring us all into everlasting life. Amen.

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Friday, 11 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 7 : 1-2, 10, 25-30

After this Jesus went around Galilee; He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews wanted to kill Him. Now the Jewish feast of the Tents was at hand. But after His brothers had gone to the festival, He also went up, not publicly but in secret.

Some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Is this not the Man they want to kill? And here He is speaking freely, and they do not say a word to Him? Can it be that the rulers know that this is really the Christ? Yet we know where this Man comes from; but when the Christ appears, no one will know where He comes from.”

So Jesus announced in a loud voice in the Temple court where He was teaching, “You say that you know Me and know where I come from! I have not come of Myself; I was sent by the One Who is true, and you do not know Him. I know Him for I come from Him and He sent Me.”

They would have arrested Him, but no one laid hands on Him because His time had not yet come.

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Friday, 11 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 33 : 17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

But the Lord’s face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. Many are the troubles of the just, but the Lord delivers them from all.

He keeps all their bones intact, and none of them will be broken. But the Lord will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.

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Friday, 11 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Wisdom 2 : 1a, 12-22

Led by mistaken reasons they think, “Life is short and sad and there is no cure for death. Let us set a trap for the Righteous, for He annoys us and opposes our way of life; He reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing.”

“He claims knowledge of God and calls Himself Son of the Lord. He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet Him is burdensome to us. He does not live like others and behaves strangely. According to Him we have low standards, so He keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean. He emphasises the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having God as Father.”

“Let us see the truth of what He says and find out what His end will be. If the Righteous is a Son of God, God will defend Him and deliver Him from His adversaries. Let us humble and torture Him to prove His self-control and test His patience. When we have condemned Him to a shameful death, we may test His words.”

This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice. They do not know the mysteries of God nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed.

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Thursday, 10 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about God Who was angry at His people when they betrayed Him and went for the worship of the pagan idol, in the form of a golden calf, in a story that all of us are surely familiar with, as we must have heard it during our catechism classes. We heard how God became angry and how He punished them for their wrongdoings, by destroying those who have led the people to sin, and those who have refused to repent and follow God.

But many of us would not know or remember the part saying that Moses pleaded with God to spare His people from His anger and from the destruction He intended for them because of their sins. Many of us would not remember how Moses pleaded before God to think of the covenant which He had established with His faithful servants, and to remember of the great love which He had for all of mankind, His beloved creations.

In this story, we see the same narrative of sin and redemption which we often hear during this season of Lent, a time of penitence and repentance, where we are all called to change our wicked and mistaken ways, and to turn away from all these, following once again the path towards God our Lord and Saviour. In the story which we heard today, we hear a very important message for us all, that there is hope for us as long as we are willing to repent and commit ourselves to God.

But it will not be an easy path for us to take, for the path towards redemption and salvation in God is likely to be filled with challenges and obstacles, and Satan who is trying to tempt and lure us away from God, will certainly not remain passive or quiet while we are being drawn into the Lord’s salvation. He is actively trying to pull us away from God and to bring us down into the deepest depths of hell.

Shall we then follow his path or the path of the Lord? Satan’s path is apparently easier for us, more enticing, and more pleasurable, and indeed, more exciting than the path that God offers us, but at the end of that path is a great cliff, from which if we fall, we can never rise back up. On the other hand, God’s path, is a path of challenges, difficulties and also filled with many sufferings, and yet at the end of the journey is our eternal rewards in God.

The people of God in the desert chose the easy way out, when they thought that Moses and God had abandoned them after he ascended for forty days at Mount Horeb. They were too quickly tempted by the temptations of their flesh, and they did not have patience in them. They placed their trust in the gold and in all the wealth that they received when they left Egypt. The love for God was not in their hearts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a reminder to all of us, that through this season of Lent, and indeed throughout our lives, we should endeavour to resist the temptations of our flesh, and abandon the false idols that had kept us away from truly being devoted and faithful servants of the Lord our God. Are these false idols the same as the idols of Israel at that time? Maybe, and maybe not.

If we are talking about idols from stone, wood or anything else carved in the images of animals, beasts, and other worldly things, then we may not have these common in our world today, but if we talk about the false idols and gods of money, of wealth and human desires, then we can see indeed, how these, the pursuits of wealth, the greed of men for more and more, are keeping us away from God.

Let us all therefore learn and strive to keep faithfully God’s laws and commandments, and let us be disciplined in our lives, so that we may resist all the temptations of the devil and all of his seducers, and remain true in love to the Lord our God. May God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Thursday, 10 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 31-47

At that time, Jesus spoke to the Jews, “If I bore witness to Myself, My testimony would be worthless. But Another One is bearing witness to Me, and I know that His testimony is true when He bears witness to Me. John also bore witness to the truth when you sent messengers to him, but I do not seek such human testimony; I recall this for you, so that you may be saved.”

“John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were willing to enjoy his light. But I have greater evidence than that of John – the works which the Father entrusted to Me to carry out. The very works I do bear witness : The Father has sent Me.”

“Thus He Who bears witness to Me is the Father Who sent Me. You have never heard His voice and have never seen His likeness; therefore, as long as you do not believe His messenger, His word is not in you. You search in the Scriptures, thinking that in them you will find life; yet Scripture bears witness to Me. But you refuse to come to Me, that you may live.”

“I am not seeking human praise; but I have known that love of God is not within you, for I have come in My Father’s Name and you do not accept Me. If another comes in his own name, you will accept him. As long as you seek praise from one another, instead of seeking the glory which comes from the only God, how can you believe?”

“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. Moses himself, in whom you placed your hope, accuses you. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

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Thursday, 10 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 105 : 19-20, 21-22, 23

They made a calf at Horeb and worshipped the molten image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a bull that eats grass.

They forgot their Saviour God, Who had done great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.

So He spoke of destroying them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to shield them from destruction.

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Thursday, 10 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Exodus 32 : 7-14

Then YHVH said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten calf; they have bowed down before it and sacrificed to it and said : ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.'”

And YHVH said to Moses, “I see that these people are a stiff-necked people. Now just leave Me that My anger may blaze against them. I will destroy them, but of you I will make a great nation.”

But Moses calmed the anger of YHVH, his God, and said, “Why, o YHVH, should Your anger burst against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with a mighty hand? Let not the Egyptians say : ‘YHVH brought them out with evil intent, for He wanted to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth.'”

“Turn away from the heat of Your anger and do not bring disaster on Your people. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the promise You Yourself swore : I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land I spoke about I will give to them as an everlasting inheritance.”

YHVH then changed His mind and would not yet harm His people.

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Wednesday, 9 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings from the Sacred Scriptures speak to us about the affirmation of God’s love and devotion to us, and how He cares for us and wanted us to be loved and to be saved from eternal damnation, by bringing us all out of the darkness and into the light, out of wickedness and into righteousness and justice.

He spoke the truth and had shown us the truth through the sending of His own Son, Jesus, into the world, that all those who believe in Him, the Son of God, may believe in the Father also Who had sent His Son, so that we may be saved. Remember the passage, that God so loved the world, that He sent us His only Son, so that all who believe in Him will not perish, but have eternal life? That is exactly what I meant.

He does not desire our destruction or our damnation to hell, although many of us might have think so. As the Scripture says, He does not take pleasure in seeing the suffering of His children, His people, and His beloved ones. And this is why He showed His love in such a way, that He gave us nothing less than the perfect gift of His own Son, to be our Redeemer through even His own suffering and death.

Therefore, as we embark and continue through this season of Lent, it is important for us to take note of this truth and make use of the many opportunities which He had given us, so that we may accept His rich offerings of mercy and forgiveness, and turn back to Him with all of our strength and with all of our hearts. God does not want our destruction, but if we continue in our path in this world as we have often done, then we are risking our downfall and damnation.

If God has shown us such love and tender care, then why should we ignore Him or even reject Him and all the love He had shown us? We have nothing to lose from following God and being obedient to Him, although many of us are easily tempted by the temptations of this world, which Satan and his allies are trying to push onto us, so that we may not be saved and instead fall into sin.

Sin is our great enemy, and it is a great obstacle for all of us who are trying to reach out to God and to His salvation. It is the chains that keep us bound and separated from the love of God. If we want to be freed from this chain, then all of us ought to commit ourselves to change our ways and cast away all of our wicked ways, and find the way to salvation by doing what God had taught us to do, to obey all of His laws and commandments.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Frances of Rome, a woman religious, who devoted herself completely to the service of the Lord. She committed herself to a life of devotion and service to the people of God. Even though she was born to the rich and aristocratic class, but after her husband passed away, she devoted herself to a life of service for the poor, the destitute and the dying.

She allowed her own house to become a hospital for the sick and the dying, opening her doors for those who are suffering and the poor who did not have anyone who cared for them. She experienced many ridicule and challenges throughout the course of her work and dedication, and she faced them all with faith and commitment that all of us can indeed be inspired with. She continued to work hard regardless, and did her best to love those whom had been unloved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, looking at the examples of St. Frances of Rome, all of us should also spend our time during this season of Lent to devote our time to serve the poor, the less fortunate, and help all those who have not been so blessed as we are. We should keep in mind those who are suffering, and do all that we can to help them, and to love them just as God had loved all of us.

Let us all imitate our Lord and His glorious saints, and let us love one another just as He had loved us. Let us reject all forms of sins and wickedness, and commit ourselves to a life of righteousness and justice. God bless us all and be with us always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 17-30

At that time, Jesus replied to the Jews, “My Father goes on working and so do I.” And the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made Himself equal with God, calling God His own Father.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. And whatever He does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does; and He will show Him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.”

“As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom He wills. In the same way the Father judges no one, for He has entrusted all judgment to the Son, and He wants all to honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father Who sent Him.”

“Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me, has eternal life; and there is no judgment for him, because he has passed from death to life. Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in Himself, and He has given to the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has empowered Him as well to carry out Judgment, for He is Son of Man.”

“Do not be surprised at this : the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear My voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. I can do nothing of Myself, and I need to hear Another One to judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.”