Saturday

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Saturday, 21 March 2026 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season and time of Lent, and as we are approaching the last two weeks of this Lenten season, we are reminded ever more through our Scripture readings of the things that happened around the Passion of Our Lord, building up towards the climax at the events we commemorate at the Easter or Paschal Triduum. We are reminded of all the plotting, hardships, trials and oppositions that the Lord encountered throughout His ministry and works, all of which came about because of the pride, ego and ambition of many among the people of God at that time, especially the leaders and elders of the people, all of whom sought to silence and destroy the Lord, seeing Him as a great threat to them and their status in the community.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which we heard the conversation between Jeremiah and God, where the prophet confided to God everything that the people had carried out against him, in their plots and designs to destroy him and to silence him despite everything that he had done for the good of the people of God, in bringing to them the warning from the Lord and also telling them at the same time of God’s continued patience and love for each and every one of them. And instead of appreciating what God had done for them through the labours of His prophet Jeremiah, they all tried to crush him and strike at him with all sorts of oppositions.

But God is a Just and Mighty God, Who is always kind, compassionate and caring towards those who are faithful to Him. He does not abandon His faithful ones to destruction and ruin, and He was certainly not silent when those who have held on to hope in Him faced challenges, trials and difficulties. He was always with each and every one of them, guiding and strengthening them all throughout their journey and struggles, carrying them and supporting them, providing them with the necessary courage and inspiration throughout those difficult moments. There were indeed times when the prophet Jeremiah almost lost it amidst all the plots and challenges facing him, and yet, in the end, he still trusted fully in the Lord and His Providence.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in which the continuation of the debates and the disagreements among the leaders and elders of the people, the elders and important persona of the Jewish community, were heard by us, as they gathered and debated about what the Lord Jesus had told them in their confrontation if we recall what it was as highlighted in our readings yesterday. The Lord rebuked those people for lacking faith and for not believing in Him despite everything that He has shown them and done before them all, all the miracles and wonders He had done, all the Wisdom that He had delivered to them, which they refused to believe out of pride and ego.

And they all debated as we heard in today’s Gospel passage, doubting and refuting Christ’s claim simply because they thought that it was impossible for someone like Him to have been the Messiah, thinking that they knew His background and identity, as a mere Son of a carpenter from Nazareth in Galilee, a region from which no prophet or Messiah was prophesied to come or originate from, but little did they know that the Lord was truly born in Bethlehem in Judea, and His foster-father was none other than the Heir of David himself, the King of Israel, and therefore, fulfilling perfectly all that God Himself had proclaimed and repeatedly reassured to all of His people through His many prophets and messengers.

The Lord has not withhold anything from us, and He gave us only the best of the best, none other than His own Beloved and Begotten Son, Whom He has sent into our midst to bring unto us the healing and reconciliation that is necessary so that we may find our way back to Him and His loving embrace. Having been separated from Him due to our disobedience and sins, we should have deserved death and destruction. And yet, God Who is always loving, kind and compassionate towards us always show us all His love, His ever present grace and His patient care, ever always reaching out to us all despite our stubborn attitudes and refusals to follow Him or listen to His words and reminders, as our ancestors had done to the prophets and to the Lord Himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to journey through this time and season of Lent, with the spirit and fervour in our hearts, doing our best in every time and moment, seeking to strengthen our connection and relationship with God once again, if we have not been doing so regularly so far. Let us all continue to strive to spend more good and quality time with the Lord and to reorientate our lives so that we may truly walk faithfully and courageously with the Lord, be it in good times or bad times, in times of plenty and in times of suffering. Let us all continue to be good role models and examples in our every actions, words and deeds, in our every efforts and endeavours in life.

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and merciful God continue to show us all His most generous mercy, love and kindness at all times, strengthening each one of us with the necessary courage and inspiration, the patience and perseverance necessary to continue pushing on regardless of the challenges and trials that we may be facing in life. Let us not lose hope and be overcome by fear whenever we encounter difficult moments and struggles, remembering that the Lord Himself has suffered the worst of sufferings and punishments for our sake. Even as we journey patiently through all these challenges, let us remember that God is always with us, and there are those whom He has placed to help and journey with us too. Therefore, let us all continue to trust in the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 March 2026 : 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, 21 March 2026 : 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, 21 March 2026 : 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, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, each and every one of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures to continue serving the Lord our God faithfully and trusting in Him wholeheartedly because He loves each and every one of us and He can see all that we need, all the things that are blocking us and preventing us from coming towards Him. He knows us all very well in and out, everything that we are, and even things that we may not be fully aware of. That is why we are reminded this Lent to be more attuned to the Lord and to follow Him ever more faithfully in each and every moments in our lives, this Lent and beyond.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea, we heard about the words of the Lord delivered to His people through His prophet, whom He sent to minister to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Lord has foretold the destruction and downfall of Israel because of their repeated disobedience and wrongdoings, their lack of faith and trust in Him. However, as we also heard in our reading yesterday and today both, God also reassured them all with His love and commitment, as per the Covenant He had made with their ancestors. God still loved them regardless of their sins and mistakes, and He would not abandon them in the manner that they had abandoned Him first.

That was why He told them all just as He was calling on each one of them to return to Him, that He would restore them all once again in honour and grace, allowing them to rebuild their lives and their cities once again after they had suffered the period of misfortune and difficulties in the future. He would gather them all once again after they had been scattered all over the world, and they would once again be His beloved people. All these would indeed came to fruition and fulfilment over the next few decades and centuries, as the people of God gradually and eventually repented from their sinful ways, and eventually found their way back to God’s grace. It is also therefore a reminder for all of us to do the same for ourselves as well.

Then from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples using the well-known parable of a tax collector who prayed together with a Pharisee in the Temple of God. In that parable we heard how the Pharisee praised himself for all of his deeds and works, all of his pious efforts and then the same Pharisee also sneered and looked down on the tax collector, full of self-praise and pride, thinking that he was better over that tax collector. Meanwhile, the tax collector as we heard, humbled himself and was so apologetic and repentant before God, and the Lord praised the faith of the tax collector, his humility and desire to seek God as opposed to the self-aggrandising and proud attitude of the Pharisee.

In this Gospel passage and parable we are reminded that each and every one of us should not think that we are better in any way than others, especially with regards to our spiritual nature and relationship with God. We should not think that we are in any way better or superior than others, or be prejudiced or biased against anyone because we disagree with them or disapprove of them. We must remember first and foremost that God loves each and every one of us equally and unconditionally, and He does not play preferences or have any bias or prejudice against any of us. Even the greatest of sinners are deserving of God’s great and ever enduring love, and we cannot assume that we are better or less a sinner than another person.

Instead of the pride which blinded us all to God’s love and truth, to His mercy and forgiveness, let us all be more humble like the tax collector, who recognised his faults, mistakes and sins before the Lord. God knows all of our good actions and deeds, and also all of our wicked deeds and failures, and hence there is really no need for us to boast about our good deeds before Him. This is even worse still if we choose to boast over our prejudiced and judgmental attitudes over others just as the Pharisee had done. Rather, let us all trust in God’s mercy and compassion ever more from now on, knowing that no matter how great our sins may be, but if we put ourselves in His mercy, God will heal us and bring us back to His loving Presence.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings are important reminders for each and every one of us that we should not allow ourselves to be taken by our pride and ego within us that we fail to see that we ourselves are in need of God’s mercy and healing, and that each and every one of us are equally beloved by God, and His love is not something that we can consider in transactional way or in any way to boast over one another. Let us all remember instead just how lovingly God has treated us with, and how generous He has always been with His kindness, love and all that He has shown us all these while despite our many trespasses against Him and our stubborn attitudes and behaviours.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God Who always sees our hearts and minds, and Who has always cared for each and every one of us patiently all these while, continue to provide for us, show us His most generous mercy and love as we come towards Him with contrite and sorrowful hearts, seeking Him earnestly so that we may be healed from the afflictions affecting us, particularly those of our sins and wickedness. May God be with us always throughout this time of Lent and beyond, helping us to persevere and to continue moving forward in life with faith. May He continue to bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (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, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (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.

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Saturday, 14 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hosea 6 : 1-6

Come, let us return to YHVH. He Who shattered us to pieces, will heal us as well; He has struck us down, but He will bind up our wounds. Two days later He will bring us back to life; on the third day, He will raise us up, and we shall live in His presence.

Let us strive to know YHVH. His coming is as certain as the dawn; His judgment will burst forth like the light; He will come to us as showers come, like spring rain that waters the earth. O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? O Judah, how shall I deal with you?

This love of yours is like morning mist, like morning dew that quickly disappears. This is why I smote you through the prophets, and have slain you by the words of My mouth. For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice; it is knowledge of God, not burnt offerings.

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Saturday, 7 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, and as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the great mercy and compassion which God has always shown us all, His beloved people. God is our Father Who has always been loving towards each and every one of us, despite our rebelliousness and refusals to obey His commandments and Law, and despite our stubborn attitudes, to which He has always shown patience and kindness, in His great perseverance in reaching out to all of us His people, to lead us all patiently back towards Him and to embrace us all once again with His ever generous and infinite love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Micah, we heard of the words of the Lord as passed through the prophet Micah to the people of God in the southern kingdom of Judah, to which the prophet had been ministering in, in calling all those people to repentance from their sins and wickedness. For the context, like their northern neighbours, those living in the kingdom of Israel, which kingdom had been recently destroyed by the Assyrians, the people of Judah had also disobeyed the Lord and committed sins against Him through their worship of pagan idols and gods, and their stubborn attitudes in refusing to listen to the words of the prophets who had been sent to them to remind them.

And yet, as we have heard from the prophet Micah, God is truly a loving and forgiving God, Who like a Shepherd and loving Father, has always wanted nothing but the best for His beloved ones, His people, the Israelites, who had erred and fallen away from their paths, and seeking for all of them to return to Him with contrite and sorrowful hearts, regretting their sins and mistakes. As the loving Father and Shepherd of the people of God, Micah was also praying to Him asking for the Lord to show mercy and compassion on His beloved people, that despite of their sins and wickedness, He would still forgive them and help them out, just as how He has helped them out and provided for them all from their time of the Exodus from Egypt, before that and henceforth, throughout all history.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the famous parable of the prodigal son, in which we heard the story of the prodigal and rebellious younger son of a rich father, who had two sons. That younger son chose to take the portion of his inheritance and leave his family behind, to enjoy a hedonistic and wicked lifestyle in distant, foreign lands, and eventually as we all know, that prodigal son ran out of money and possessions, and ended up as a penniless man in that distant and foreign country, with no one to care for him, and with all of his former friends and associates caring only about the wealth and possessions that he had, and not truly loving him, unlike his father back at home, whom the prodigal son had chosen to leave behind.

We heard how the prodigal son returned to the father with shame and humility, humbling himself and begging himself to be taken back to his house, even if he were to be like one of the servants, as he told his own father that he no longer deserved to call him as his father for everything that he had done. Yet, the father welcomed back the prodigal, rebellious and wicked younger son with great pomp, as he has found him once again, and he saw how this son had repented and regretted his past sins and faults, and hence, by coming back all the way to him, instead of staying on in that distant lands, that son had once again gained the favour of the father, and there was indeed a great joy as the prodigal son was once again part of the father’s family, and this represents just the way that all of us should act in reaching out to God, our most loving Father, Creator and Master.

First of all, just as the prodigal son had a choice of staying on in the distant lands instead of humbling himself and swallowing his pride to return to his home, thus, we also have the option to remain stubborn in our path and way of sin, instead of humbling ourselves to seek God’s forgiveness and compassionate mercy. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why pride is such a dangerous thing for us, as pride often becomes a great obstacle in our path of seeking God’s forgiveness and grace. Pride has led so many people to their downfall, including Satan himself, and many other of our predecessors, as pride led us to separate ourselves from the love of God, and often prevented us to admit that we have been wrong and are in need of healing and forgiveness from God. Many people steadfastly continued to walk in their wrong paths because they rejected the fact that they were in need of help from God.

Then, if we heard and recalled the action of the elder son, who was angry at the father for welcoming the younger son back, it is also a reminder to all of us not to be judgmental on others just because we think that we are better than them. Like the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law back then during the time of the Lord Jesus, who often thought of themselves as holier and better than everyone else, condemning and being judgmental on those whom they deemed as sinners, unworthy and hopeless in their path towards God, they had closed the door of God’s mercy and kindness to so many of these people whom they could have helped if not for their own pride and arrogance. Again, here we can see how pride can even be the downfall of the righteous, if we allow pride to take over our actions and judgments in life.

Today, we all can also be inspired and strengthened by the good examples set by our holy predecessors, the holy martyrs and saints, St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, who were renowned martyrs of the Church, honoured and venerated for their righteousness, holiness and dedication to God, even in the face of suffering and martyrdom. According to the Church traditions and hagiography, St. Perpetua was a young noblewoman who was recently married and was a mother to a young infant son, while St. Felicity was a slave who were arrested with St. Perpetua for their Christian faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus. It was told that this happened because St. Perpetua had a conflict with her father because he wanted her to abandon her Christian faith, and St. Perpetua refused to do so. It was likely that St. Perpetua met with St. Felicity and other fellow martyrs in prison, and they all endured the trials and hardships, resisting the temptations and pressures to abandon their faith in God.

The courage and dedication that those martyrs showed us all ought to remind us of the love and commitment that we ourselves ought to have for the Lord, and we are all reminded of how many of our predecessors have given their lives for the sake of the Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect upon the story of the repentant prodigal son which we heard earlier on, and also the reminders of God’s love and mercy which He has generously provided us, let us all walk in great faith and trust in the Lord, in His mercy and compassion following the examples of the saints, like those of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity among others. May the Lord be with us always in our journey of faith and life, and help us to be good and worthy role models for another, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 7 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 15 : 1-3, 11-32

At that time, tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what He had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, ‘This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So Jesus told them this parable : “There was a man with two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the estate.’ So the father divided his property between them. Some days later, the younger son gathered all his belongings and started off for a distant land, where he squandered his wealth in loose living.”

“Having spent everything, he was hard pressed when a severe famine broke out in that land. So he hired himself out to a well-to-do citizen of that place, and was sent to work on a pig farm. So famished was he, that he longed to fill his stomach even with the food given to the pigs, but no one offered him anything.”

“Finally coming to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will get up and go back to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against God, and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me then as one of your hired servants.’ With that thought in mind, he set off for his father’s house.”

“He was still a long way off, when his father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.'”

“But the father turned to his servants : ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Bring out the finest robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Take the fattened calf and kill it! We shall celebrate and have a feast, for this son of mine was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found!’ And the celebration began.”

“Meanwhile, the elder son had been working in the fields. As he returned and approached the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what it was all about. The servant answered, ‘Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your father is so happy about it that he has ordered this celebration, and killed the fattened calf.'”

“The elder son became angry, and refused to go in. His father came out and pleaded with him. The son, very indignant, said, ‘Look, I have slaved for you all these years. Never have I disobeyed your orders. Yet you have never given me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends. Then when this son of yours returns, after squandering your property with loose women, you kill the fattened calf for him.'”

“The father said, ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But this brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found. And for that we had to rejoice and be glad.'”