Saturday

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Saturday, 19 March 2022 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day we celebrate the great Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this great St. Joseph’s day, we celebrate this wonderful man of God who had so faithfully dedicated his whole life to God’s service, and who had shown us what it means for us to be disciples and followers of the Lord, by our faith and actions. As the Spouse of Mary, the Mother of God, St. Joseph was also the Foster-Father of the Lord, as although he was not the biological father of the Lord, but he was His legal father, through his marriage to Mary, our Lord’s Mother.

St. Joseph dedicated his life to the Lord and to do His will. He has always lived virtuously and honourably, a model Christian in all things. Although he was just merely a humble carpenter of a small village at the periphery of the Jewish world at that time, St. Joseph was indeed a great man, one whom God had chosen to be the instrument through whom He would enter into the world and perform His works. St. Joseph was also the upright and courageous man who have always shown love for both God and for his fellow men.

St. Joseph whose feast we celebrate today is the great Protector of the Church and all of us Christians just as he is the loyal, committed and faithful Protector of the Holy Family. And we remember all that he had done in caring for the Holy Family, that is first and foremost in how he laboured hard to protect the vulnerable Child Jesus from the hands of His enemies, all those who sought for His death. He protected Jesus and Mary from harm even before Jesus was born, caring for Mary and helping her to find a lodging as she and St. Joseph made their way down to Bethlehem for the census of the Emperor Augustus.

And later on St. Joseph brought Mary and Jesus to Egypt fleeing from the hands of King Herod, who wanted the Child Jesus to be killed, as the former saw the Lord as a threat and rival to his power. St. Joseph followed the word and advice of the Angel of God who told him to bring his family out to Egypt. He cared for them there and brought Mary and Jesus back to Nazareth after the enemies of the Lord had passed on. He was truly a great father and a righteous man, dedicating himself and his life to the mission that has been entrusted to him. He might be just a mere lowly carpenter often looked down by everyone else, but his virtues and greatness far surpassed anything else.

Through St. Joseph, Our Lord Jesus was born legally as the Heir and Son of David, as according to the genealogy that we heard today from the Gospel of St. Matthew, Joseph was the rightful heir of David, born of his line and house, and therefore, just as the Lord promised to David that his rule, house and kingdom would be forever firm, these all were fulfilled in Christ. Through Jesus Christ, God has come into this world, to reign as our King, claiming the Kingship of His forefather David, and reestablish the true Kingdom of God in this world.

But as I have mentioned just earlier, we celebrate the glorious memory of St. Joseph more than just because he was the foster-father of Our Lord and Saviour. It was because of his great virtues and righteousness that we rejoice to have such a great role model and inspiration in our own lives. St. Joseph is that great example whom we can follow in our own lives, as we look upon him as our guide in our own journey of faith through life towards God. We are constantly reminded that we too have to be righteous, good and committed in our lives, walking with God and helping to guide one another in faith towards Him.

That is why, in this season of Lent, all of us are called to look upon the good examples set by St. Joseph and we are called to emulate him in our own lives, reminding ourselves to be more righteous and just, more committed to follow the Lord by following the examples of St. Joseph, who laboured hard in life with honesty and justice, not minding his own personal desires, ambition, ego or greed. He placed God above all else and the mission that He has entrusted to him, he has carried out with patience and virtue all the same.

All of us must remember that as Christians we have to exhibit these virtues in life, in our every moments and actions, in whatever we say and do. Let us really make good use of the time and opportunity afforded to us this Lent for us to rediscover our faith in God, reconnect our lives to Him, reorientate our ways, thoughts and all the things we say and do, that all those may come harmoniously along with God and His path. Let us all do our very best and come ever closer to God and His salvation, that we may be filled with His grace and love, at all times.

May God be with us all, and may He empower each and every one of us that we may always walk faithfully in His presence, and may He bless all of our actions and works, and may St. Joseph, the Protector of the Holy Family and the Protector of the Church, intercede for us always, and help us through his inspirations and his prayers, that we may always walk courageously as he himself had done, in the path of his foster Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. St. Joseph, holy saint of God, pray for us! Amen.

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Saturday, 19 March 2022 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 1 : 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus Who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel of the Lord had told him to do.

Alternative reading

Luke 2 : 41-51a

Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them, according to the custom of this feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the Boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it.

They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.” Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them.

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Saturday, 19 March 2022 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 4 : 13, 16-18, 22

If God promised Abraham, or rather his descendants, that the world would belong to him, this was not because of his obeying the Law, but because he was just and a friend of God through faith.

For that reason, faith is the way and all is given by grace; and the promises of Abraham are fulfilled for all his descendants, not only for his children according to the Law, but also for all the others who have believed.

Abraham is the father of all of us, as it is written : I will make you father of many nations. He is our father in the eyes of Him Who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence what does not yet exist, for this is the God in Whom he believed. Abraham believed and hoped against all expectation, thus becoming father of many nations, as he had been told : See how many will be your descendants.

This was taken into account for him to attain righteousness.

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Saturday, 19 March 2022 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”

“He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’ I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure.

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Saturday, 19 March 2022 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Samuel 7 : 4-5a, 12-14a, 16

But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for My Name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever. I will be a Father to him and he shall be My son.”

“Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

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Saturday, 12 March 2022 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the Lord speaking to us through the Scriptures in which we are all called to fulfil His Law and commandments, to live our lives wholeheartedly according to the way that He has shown to us. The Lord has called on us to follow Him and in order to do this, we have to listen to Him and to the teachings that He has shown us and passed onto us through His Church, through His Apostles and disciples, from whom we have been called to be true servants and followers of God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses, the leader of the people of Israel in their Exodus from Egypt, told the people to follow the Lord, His Law and commandments, for they had been chosen by God to be His own people and to be counted among His blessed ones, as God Himself has made a Covenant with them, renewing the Covenant that He once made with Abraham, their forefather. And as part of that Covenant, just as God would bless them and keep them safe, caring for them, therefore the people had to keep their part of the Covenant, which is to follow the Law and commandments of God.

At that time, the people of Israel had journeyed for a long time in the desert, for about forty years after they had disobeyed the Lord and distrusted Him in His love and providence, not listening to Him or trusting Him when He reassured them that He would be with them as they entered into the promised land, and instead rebelled against Him in fear. That led to the whole people having to endure that journey of penance for the entire forty years duration, as they wandered in the desert while waiting for the time that the Lord would once again lead them into the land He has promised to them.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord telling His disciples and the people who were gathered to listen to Him that they were all called to love one another generously and unconditionally. This means that we cannot just love those who love us or give us happiness and benefit, but love has to be universal and unconditional. This was just exactly how the Lord Himself has loved us, as Jesus pointed out that God still loved and cared even for the wicked and for the greatest of sinners, blessing them just as He had done for the good ones.

The Lord still loved all of His people, all of us mankind, even from the moment when we began to sin against Him. He could have just crushed and destroyed us, annihilated us by there mere power of His will alone. Yet, He did not do so. He reached out to us and patiently sought to gather us back into His presence and embrace once again. The Lord has shown us this generous love, His compassion and mercy all the time, always ever patiently waiting for us to be reconciled to Him, when we realise our sinfulness and our fallen state, and make the concrete steps to return to Him.

But the Lord also reminds us therefore that in order to be His true disciples, hence we need to make the effort to follow Him in the way that He has taught us to do, to turn away from our sinful path, rejecting the temptations of our ego, pride, desire, ambition among other things, the pursuit of the pleasures of the flesh and many other distractions that are often found around us. As long as we do not make the conscious effort to go down the path that God has shown us, we will likely still remain separated from God, His love and grace.

That is why, during this blessed season of Lent, all of us are called to rebuild this relationship with God, the forty days of Lent and our fasting, abstinence and other observances recalling the forty years of the journey of the Israelites in repentance for their sins, their disobedience and refusal to believe in God, His love and His truth. This season of Lent, all of us are called to purify ourselves from the ravages of sins and evil that had corrupted and afflicted us for so long all these while. We are called to renew our faith and trust in the Lord, to know that it is in God alone that we can find true healing and salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore make great use of this time and season of Lent to seek the Lord with contrite hearts and minds, willing to humble ourselves, we sinners who are in need of God’s forgiveness and compassionate love. Let us rediscover the love that we ought to have for God, and let us turn once more towards Him with genuine faith. May the Lord continue to be with us in this journey of faith and life. May He encourage and strengthen us to be generous in loving one another too, to all men and to all people, even those who have not loved us back or even hated us.

May God be with us all and may He bless us in all the things we say and do, that through our Lenten observances, we will be purified and renewed, drawing ever closer to God. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 March 2022 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 43-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “You have heard that it was said : Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”

“If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.”

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Saturday, 12 March 2022 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 118 : 1-2, 4-5, 7-8

Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the Law of the Lord. Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.

You have laid down precepts to be obeyed. O, that my ways were steadfast in observing Your statutes!

I will praise You with an upright spirit when I learn Your just precepts by heart. I mean to observe Your commandments. O, never abandon me.

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Saturday, 12 March 2022 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Deuteronomy 26 : 16-19

On this day, YHVH, your God, commands you to fulfil these norms and these commandments. Obey them now and put them into practice with all your heart and with all your soul.

Today YHVH has declared to you that He will be your God, and so you shall follow His ways, observing His norms, His commandments and His laws, and listening to His voice. Today YHVH has declared that you will be His very own people even as He had promised you, and you must obey all His commandments.

He, for His part, will give you honour, renown and glory, and set you high above all the nations He has made, and you will become a nation consecrated to YHVH, your God, as He has declared.

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Saturday, 5 March 2022 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are all called to continue this journey of purification of our whole entire beings, as we are called to do in this season of Lent. We are reminded to get rid from ourselves the excesses of worldly temptations and corruptions, seeking the Lord for His forgiveness and mercy, and to grow ever further in our love for Him, dedicating and spending our time and effort to walk in His presence always.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard the words of the prophet reminding the people of Judah to whom he had been sent to, calling on them to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and reject the sins and the wicked ways that they and their ancestors had done. The prophet relayed the words of the Lord to the people, calling on them to reject sin and evil, to follow once again the path that the Lord has shown them. The Lord wanted all of them to turn back towards Him and to find healing and consolation in Him.

The people of Judah and Israel at that time as well as during the time of their ancestors had fallen far away from the path that God has shown them, as they followed the pagan gods and idols, persecuted the prophets and the many messengers that God had sent to them in order to remind them and help them. They had torn down the altars of God and built altars for the pagan gods and idols in their place. And despite all of these, God still loved His people above all else, and despite having been betrayed and abandoned by those same people, God was still willing to welcome them all back to His embrace, provided that they all repented from their sins.

This is what the Lord Himself had shown us in our Gospel passage today, as He called upon Levi, the tax collector to be His follower. Levi listened to the Lord, abandoning everything behind and followed the Lord henceforth, becoming one of His disciples and eventually as one of the Twelve Apostles, St. Matthew, he became a very important and fundamental part of the development of the Church of God. St. Matthew and many other followers of the Lord such as St. Mary Magdalene, among others, were considered as sinners and unworthy by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

Yet, those were the same ones who willingly devoted their lives to God, rejecting their past, sinful way of life, embracing God’s forgiveness and mercy at its fullest, and walking down the path of God henceforth. The Lord called all sinners to come to Him, all of us the sons and daughters of man, without exception, as He wants us to be healed from the sickness and corruptions caused by our sins, and free us from the tyranny and bondage of those sins and evils. In God alone we can find healing and liberation, and He has generously extended to us this offer of love and compassionate mercy.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard all these words from the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we are so fortunate to have the Lord and His kindness by our side, and yet, many of us are still unaware of this and remained away from the Lord, separated from Him and remaining in the state of sin. This time of Lent we are all reminded that God’s mercy and love for us persists, and what we all need to do is to embrace that mercy and love. It is unfortunate that many of us have not taken up the opportunities presented to us to embrace God’s love and still ignored His generous offer of mercy and forgiveness.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to make use of the opportunities given to us in this season of Lent to be more attuned to God and to be more aware of our mortality, our weaknesses and our sins, remembering just how we should have suffered the terrible consequences for those sins, and yet, God gave us the opportunity to be redeemed and to find our way to His salvation and grace. He has opened for us the path to eternal life with sure guarantee, only if we are willing to follow Him. We have to strive to resist the many temptations of the world present all around us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be like St. Matthew, and all the other sinners and rebels who have responded to the Lord’s call and committed themselves to a new life that is free from sin and full of Christian virtues and righteousness. St. Matthew and the others have shown us that there is a great future for us sinners, as long as we have that desire to seek the Lord for His forgiveness and commit ourselves to follow Him wholeheartedly from now on.

Let this season of Lent be a time of renewal and a rediscovery and rejuvenation of our faith, as we come closer to God and His throne of mercy and love. Let us all spend more time with the Lord and deepen our relationships with Him, through prayer and more genuine efforts to communicate with Him, spending quality time together and doing more to walk faithfully in His path. Let us be more humble and be more committed to the Lord as we go through this season of Lent, and practice our Lenten observances with genuine faith and desire to love the Lord more and purifying ourselves from the many corruptions of sin.

May the Lord be with us all and help us as we journey with faith through this time of preparation and purification, and may He inspire in us the courage and strength to continue living our lives with dedication and commitment at each and every moments of our lives. May God be with us all, now and always, through this season of Lent and beyond. Amen.