Saturday

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Saturday, 23 March 2024 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 11 : 45-56

At that time, many of the Jews who had come with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw what He did; but some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Council.

They said, “What are we to do? For this Man keeps on giving miraculous signs. If we let Him go on like this, all the people will believe in Him and, as a result of this, the Romans will come and destroy our Holy Place and our nation.”

Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all, nor do you see clearly what you need. It is better to have one Man die for the people than to let the whole nation be destroyed.” In saying this Caiaphas did not speak for himself, but being High Priest that year, he foretold like a prophet that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also would die to gather into one the scattered children of God. So, from that day on, they were determined to kill Him.

Because of this, Jesus no longer moved about freely among the Jews. He withdrew instead to the country near the wilderness, and stayed with His disciples in a town called Ephraim. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and people from everywhere were coming to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover. They looked for Jesus and, as they stood in the Temple, they talked with one another, “What do you think? Will He come to the festival?”

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Saturday, 23 March 2024 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 31 : 10, 11-12ab, 13

Hear the word of YHVH, o nations, proclaim it on distant coastlands : He Who scattered Israel will gather them and guard them as a shepherd guard his flock.

For YHVH has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of his conqueror. They shall come shouting for joy, while ascending Zion; they will come streaming to YHVH’s blessings.

Maidens will make merry and dance, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness, I will give them comfort and joy for sorrow.

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Saturday, 23 March 2024 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 37 : 21-28

You will then say to them : Thus says YHVH : I am about to withdraw the Israelites from where they were among the nations. I shall gather them from all around and bring them back to their land. I shall make them into one people on the mountains of Israel and one king is to be the king of them all.

They will no longer form two nations or be two separate kingdoms, nor will they defile themselves again with their idols, their detestable practices and their sins. I shall free them from the guilt of their treachery; I shall cleanse them and they will be for Me a people and I shall be God for them.

My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all. They will live according to My laws and follow and practice My decrees. They will settle in the land I gave to My servant Jacob where their ancestors lived. There they will live forever, their children and their children’s children. David My servant will be their prince forever.

I shall establish a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I shall settle them and they will increase and I shall put My sanctuary in their midst forever. I shall make My home at their side; I shall be their God and they will be My people. Then the nations will know that I am YHVH Who makes Israel holy, having My sanctuary among them forever.

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Saturday, 16 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we are drawing ever nearer to the end of the season of Lent, as we are about to enter into Holy Week in just over a week’s time. That is why we have heard of the words of the Scriptures speaking to us all about the coming of tribulation for the One Whom the Lord had sent into our midst for our salvation, namely Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the Son of God, Who would suffer and die for our sake, enduring bitter punishments and struggles, persecutions and hardships for the sake of us sinners. Through all these, God has opened the path and sure way for us leading to His salvation and the eternal life which He has promised to us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which Jeremiah spoke with the Lord regarding the persecutions and hardships that he had endured during his ministry among the people of the kingdom of Judah. At that time, it was during the final years of the existence of Judah as a kingdom and entity, and the people there continued to live in sin and rebellion against God despite all the efforts which the Lord had done in sending His many messengers and prophets to them to remind and guide them in their path. They chose rather to believe in the false prophets and the falsehoods propagated by their leaders rather than to believe in the prophets like Jeremiah, who were oppressed and even killed on occasion.

But Jeremiah remained firm in his conviction to continue serving the Lord despite having faced such struggles and difficulties. He did grumble and complained to the Lord on occasions because of the hardships and trials that he had to face, and because of the stubborn attitude and the lack of faith among the people who continued to resist his efforts and rejected God’s generous offer of love and mercy to them. Jeremiah nonetheless kept his faith and obeyed the Lord, doing whatever he had been told to do, to proclaim God’s messages and will to the people even if it would mean suffering and hardships for him. He also brought to the people of Judah, the reassurance that while they would have to suffer the consequences for their sins against God, but God’s love for them endured nonetheless, and one day, God would lead them all towards His Presence and reconcile them with Him.

That same passage from the Book of Jeremiah also contained the prophecy of what would happen to the Saviour Whom God would send to His people, in the words that the prophet Jeremiah himself said, that ‘he is like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter’ and how the people treated him badly, and ‘would plot to remove him from the land of the living’. While this firstly referred directly to what Jeremiah had himself experienced, but it was in fact also a prediction of what the Messiah, Our Lord Himself would experience during His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross. The Lord Jesus would endure all these challenges, trials and hardships, and eventually be slaughtered and killed, as the Paschal Lamb, sacrificed for us all, for our redemption and salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the discord and disagreements between the members of the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Council with regards to the Lord Jesus, in what they were trying to decide to do about Him. Many of them were against the Lord and were skeptical about His teachings and works, while some were outright hostile in their opposition against Him, seeing Him as a great threat to the order and the influence that the members of the Sanhedrin, be it Sadducees or Pharisees, had over the community. And yet, there were also those like Nicodemus, who were sympathetic and supportive of the Lord, believing in Him.

The disagreements arose because those who supported the Lord tried to defend Him and His actions, while the majority who refused to believe in Him used arguments such as the fact that the Lord Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to disprove the authenticity and the authority of the Lord as the Messiah promised by God, not knowing that the Lord Himself was born in Bethlehem, in the city of David, just as prophesied by the prophets, and all that He had done, essentially had affirmed and manifested that Jesus is truly the One Whom God had sent. He was opposed and persecuted because those religious leaders and societal elites could not bring it to humble themselves before God and listen to reason and truth.

Therefore, just as we listened from the Scripture readings today, let us all be reminded of everything that God had done for us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, as we come ever closer to the beginning of the Holy Week, so that first of all we can be reminded of His love and kindness, His compassion and mercy for each and every one of us, and then, that we may be able to prepare ourselves well so that we can celebrate the Holy Week and the most wonderful mysteries and events surrounding the Easter Triduum with hearts and minds that are truly attuned to the Lord, and to be filled with the strong desire and love for God, as we all should have.

Let us all therefore do our part from now on, to live our lives worthily of the Lord, heeding His call and doing whatever He has asked us all to do, following the faithful example and perseverance of the prophet Jeremiah and the many other prophets and servants of God, and of course, ultimately, that of the Lord Himself, Who obeyed His Father’s will so perfectly, that He chose willingly to embrace His Cross, to suffer and die for us on that Cross, so that by His death and Resurrection, He may restore us all to new life with God. May all of us be blessed and guided by God, in all of our whole lives, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 7 : 40-53

At that time, many who had been listening to these words began to say, “This is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some wondered, “Would the Christ come from Galilee? Does Scripture not say that the Christ is a descendant of David and from Bethlehem, the city of David? The crowd was divided over Him. Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

The officers of the Temple went back to the chief priests, who asked them, “Why did you not bring Him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this Man.” The Pharisees then said, “So you, too, have been led astray! Have any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in Him? Only those cursed people, who have no knowledge of the Law!”

Yet one of them, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier, spoke out, “Does our law condemn people without first hearing them and knowing the facts?” They replied, “Do you, too, come from Galilee? Look it up and see for yourself that no prophet is to come from Galilee.” And they all went home.

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Saturday, 16 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 7 : 2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12

O Lord, my God, in You I take shelter; deliver me and save me from all my pursuers, lest lions tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

O Lord, my righteousness; You see that I am blameless. Bring to an end the power of the wicked, but affirm the just, o righteous God, searcher of mind and heart.

You cover me as a shield. Oh God, for You protect the upright. A righteous judge is God, His anger ever awaiting those who refuse to repent.

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Saturday, 16 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 11 : 18-20

YHVH made it known to me and so I know! And You let me see their scheming. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me that they were plotting, “Let us feed him with trials and remove him from the land of the living and let his name never be mentioned again.”

YHVH, God of hosts, You Who judge with justice and know everyone’s heart and intentions, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have entrusted my cause.

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Saturday, 9 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we continue being reminded of the need for us all to come towards the Lord and seek His mercy and love, as He is truly a loving, compassionate and merciful God, Who has always loved each and every one of us without cease from the very beginning. The Lord has given us many opportunities to come back towards Him, and He has also reminded us to seek His mercy and forgiveness. It is therefore up to us whether we want to embrace this generous offer of mercy and forgiveness or not. In particular, this Lent we should spend more time to come ever closer to God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea a reminder and calling that Hosea had made to the people of God living in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah for them to turn away from their sinful and wicked ways, to reject their evil and disobedient actions, embracing once again God’s path, His truth and love, and coming towards Him with contrite and sorrowful hearts and minds. Hosea was sent to a people who were rebellious and stubborn, who refused to listen to reason and to the words of the Lord that had been brought to them by His many prophets and messengers. God continued to send His prophets to them regardless, and through those like Hosea, He first warned them of the consequences and sufferings that they would have to suffer if they kept on walking down the path of sin, but at the same time, He also reassured them of His love and kindness.

The Lord has loved His people all the time since the very beginning, and while He despised their many sins and wickedness, He still wanted to call them all back to His loving embrace and Presence, and thus, He reminded them of their sinfulness and wickedness, turning themselves away from the path of sin and evil. Each and every one of us are called to do the same as well, as we should realise that if we continue to sin against God, then in the end, we will have to face the consequences of those sins we have committed. God gave us all His reassurances that if we are truly repentant and regretful for our sins and faults, then we shall be forgiven and reconciled with Him, and we shall enjoy once again the fullness of His love and grace.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus told His disciples and all those assembled about the story of how a Pharisee and a tax collector prayed in the House of God. In that story we heard how the Pharisee prayed with great pride and arrogance, praising himself and looking down on the tax collector who was there praying to the Lord as well. Meanwhile, the tax collector prayed with humility, bowing down low before the Lord, recognising his sins and wickedness. The Lord made it clear that it was the prayer of the humble tax collector that was heard by God and it was him who would be forgiven and be found more worthy than the prideful and arrogant Pharisee. treats us well, and we are all precious and beloved by Him, and we really should not take it for granted. He has given us all many opportunities and chances to reach out to Him for help and liberation from our many sins, and we should embrace His love and mercy.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of a great and holy woman, whose faith and dedication in serving others who are less fortunate, her piety, holiness and commitment to God should be good examples and inspirations for all of us to follow. St. Frances of Rome was born into a wealthy Roman family during the late Middle Ages, and while she wanted to be a religious nun early on, her wealthy family forced her to marry an influential and wealthy man. Regardless, this marriage proved to be a long-lasting and happy one. She was truly a virtuous and holy woman, an exemplary wife and servant of God in all things.

St. Frances of Rome dedicated herself in her own ways to contribute to the Church and to the people around her as best as she could. She involved herself very actively in her community, in reaching out to the poor and the sick, caring them and showing them gentle care, affection and love. In one occasion, during a period of flood and famine, it was recorded that she even opened her rich family’s large estate and turned part of it into a hospital to care for the sick and the dying. This led to opposition from her father-in-law, but the same man ceased his opposition when St. Frances miraculously caused the corn bins and wine barrels to be refilled after she prayed for them, showing clear signs of Divine favour.

St. Frances continued to involve herself in the many affairs of the Church and her community at the time, especially at the moment when there were lots of conflicts and divisions in the community. She continued to take care of the poor and the sick, using her blessings and other means within her reach to help those who had no one to help or care for them. She lived a very devout and holy life, and she inspired many other women to join her effort and cause, eventually leading to the foundation of the religious confraternity called the Olivetan Oblates of Mary, through which she continued to do her charitable works to the end of her life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to follow the good examples and inspiration shown to us by St. Frances of Rome, who have dedicated herself and her whole life to serve the Lord and the people around her, that we may also live our lives with great faith in God, and ever always filled with generous love for one another. In this time and season of Lent, let us all continue to live our lives with ever stronger desire to follow the Lord our God, to commit ourselves to Him and to do His will. Let us all continue to do what we can so that our whole lives may continue to be good examples for everyone around us. May God be with us all and may He empower us to be His faithful disciples and followers at all times. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 18 : 9-14

At that time, Jesus told another parable to some people, fully convinced of their own righteousness, who looked down on others : “Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.”

“The Pharisee stood by himself, and said, ‘I thank You, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and give a tenth of all my income to the Temple.’ In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’”

“I tell you, when this man went back to his house, he had been reconciled with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised up.”

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Saturday, 9 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart, You will not despise.

Shower Zion with Your favour : rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then, You will delight in fitting sacrifices, in burnt offerings, and bulls, offered on Your altar.