season of Lent

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Thursday, 14 April 2022 : Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 11 : 23-26

This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and that in my turn I have handed on to you; the Lord Jesus, on the night that He was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, “This is My Body which is broken for you; do this in memory of Me.”

In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, He said, “This cup is the new Covenant in My Blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of Me.” So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until He comes.

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Thursday, 14 April 2022 : Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 115 : 12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18

How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to Me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.

It is painful to the Lord to see the death of His faithful. Truly Your servant, Your handmaid’s Son. You have freed Me from My bonds.

I will offer You a thanksgiving sacrifice; I will call on the Name of the Lord. I will carry out My vows to the Lord in the presence of His people.

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Thursday, 14 April 2022 : Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord’s Supper (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 12 : 1-8, 11-14

YHVH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt and said, “This month is to be the beginning of all months, the first month of your year. Speak to the community of Israel and say to them : On the tenth day of this month let each family take a lamb, a lamb for each house. If the family is too small for a lamb, they must join with a neighbour, the nearest to the house, according to the number of persons, and to what each one can eat.”

“You will select a perfect lamb without blemish, a male born during the present year, taken from the sheep or goats. Then you will keep it until the fourteenth day of the month. On that evening all the people will slaughter their lambs and take some of the blood to put on the doorposts and on top of the doorframes of the houses where you eat. That night you will eat the flesh roasted at the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”

“And this is how you will eat : with a belt round your waist, sandals on your feet and a staff in your hand. You shall eat hastily for it is a Passover in honour of YHVH. On that night I shall go through Egypt and strike every firstborn in Egypt, men and animals; and I will even bring judgment on all of the gods of Egypt, I, YHVH! The blood on your houses will be the sign that you are there. I will see the blood and pass over you; and you will escape the mortal plague when I strike Egypt.”

“This is a day you are to remember and celebrate in honour of YHVH. It is to be kept as a festival day for all generations forever.”

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Thursday, 14 April 2022 : Holy Thursday, Chrism Mass (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we celebrate and gather together in the occasion of this Chrism Mass, all of us are called to remember the gift of God, the gift of the Holy Spirit that He has given to each and every one of us through the laying of hands and through anointing with the sacred oils which are going to be blessed today for the various uses they have in the many aspects of the Church and its liturgies. Holy oils have been used for a very long time and in our Christian usage, they have a lot of symbolic and real meaning and uses, especially to mark that one is holy and as belonging to God.

This Chrism Mass is an annual event during which time the bishop of the diocese, the local ordinary gathers together with all the members of the clergy, the priests and all those who have been consecrated to God as His servants. In this Mass not only that the holy oils are blessed, but the priests together with the bishop also renew their priestly vows and promises, as a reminder that they have been called and set aside, consecrated to God by the same holy oils in the Sacrament of the Holy Orders, whether it is to the diaconate, presbyterate or the episcopate.

There are three holy oils used by the Church that are blessed today in the Chrism Mass. They are namely the Sacred Chrism, the Oil of the Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick. Each of them mark Christians through different moments and stages in their lives, with the Oil of the Catechumens used first to mark the catechumens or those who seek to be baptised and welcomed into the Church. All of them are reminders of how the holy oils mark one as sacred and holy, in the same way of how the kings of Israel like Saul, David, Solomon and others were anointed by God through His servants.

The Sacred Chrism, also known as Sanctum Chrisma is usually the one most frequently used as it is used to anoint the newly baptised Christians, as well as during the Sacrament of Confirmation, and also during the dedication and consecration of churches and altars, the ordination of deacons, priests and bishops. The Oil of the Catechumens, also known as Oleum Catechumenorum, as mentioned marks those who have expressed their willingness to embrace the Christian faith and the Lord as their God and Saviour. Lastly, the Oil of the Sick, also known as Oleum Infirmorum, as its name suggests, is used for the anointing of the sick in the Sacrament of the Sick, for those who are in the danger of death.

Each of these holy oils as mentioned mark us Christians at various stages of our faith and life, and all of them are very significant as they are also reminders of our own vocations, our calling as Christians. As Christians, we are all marked by God as His own, as partakers of the Covenant that He has made with us through Christ, His Son. By all that He had done throughout His Passion, which we focus and reflect on this Holy Week, God has established a new and everlasting Covenant with us, a Covenant that is founded on His enduring and patient, wonderful love for every one of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, while today the clergy, the bishops and the priests all around the world are renewing their vows and promises, the whole Church especially the laity are also involved. This day is not a celebration or reminder just for the clergy but also for everyone, as we must not forget that even the laity have all also been anointed with the sacred oils before and after their baptism, and most of us who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation have also been anointed further and given the affirmation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit entrusted to us all. Each and every one of us have been called and chosen, and some of us have been called to a higher calling to give their whole lives to God, but all are called all the same.

Today all of us are reminded to follow Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Whose life itself is an example for us all to follow, in His obedience to the Father’s will, in His love for each and every one of us, even to the worst of sinners and to the most despised ones among everyone. As Christians, we can no longer be idle in living our faith in our lives. We cannot and should not pay mere lip service to the Lord and pretend to be faithful to Him when in fact we do not have faith in Him. The Lord has always been patient in loving us and in wanting to be reconciled with us, but often it is us who refused to listen to Him and resist His efforts to bring us closer to Him.

Many of us have also not lived our lives as Christians in the way that we should have. We spent a lot of time worrying and caring about our own personal matters, concerns and ambitions, but we barely spent any time with the Lord, and let us ask ourselves if we even thought of having to attend Masses on Sundays as a chore? How many of us cannot wait until the Mass is over so that we can continue with our own daily activities, our own worldly pursuits, the pursuit for money, power, glory, fame and many others? Have we even spent good, precious and quality time with the Lord? Remember, brothers and sisters, this Holy Week is a call for us to recall God’s great love for us, that He willingly took up His Cross to redeem us, because He loved us more than He despised our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect on the importance of answering God’s call in our lives. Let us all turn towards God with faith, with renewed zeal and commitment, that each and every one of us may draw ever closer to God and be His true disciples and followers. Through the anointing with the holy oils we have been marked and made holy for God, and it is time for us to answer His call for us, and embracing Him wholeheartedly from now on. May God be with us always and may He empower us to live ever faithfully in His presence from now on, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 April 2022 : 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, 14 April 2022 : 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, 14 April 2022 : 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, 14 April 2022 : 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, 13 April 2022 : Wednesday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in our Scripture passages today we heard of the sufferings that the Lord would receive at the hands of His oppressors, as well as everything that would happen to Him in the moment of His Passion, His suffering and death. He would be abandoned by His disciples, betrayed by one of His closest collaborators, and He would have to endure the punishments and sufferings for mistakes, crimes and sins that He Himself did not commit.

Through Christ, our Lord and Saviour, God has willed to redeem us all from our sins, and through Him, He has called us out of the darkness, bringing His light of hope and truth into our midst, as He revealed His perfect and ever-enduring love and kindness, His compassion and mercy through Christ, the manifestation of His love in the flesh. God has become Man so that through this act of supreme love, He can be reconciled with us, and that we may find our way back to Him, and will not perish but have eternal life, as He has always intended for us.

Yet, in order to do that, He had to suffer, and suffer most grievously because the consequence and punishment for sin is rightly death. We have disobeyed and abandoned the Lord and Master of all life, the Source of our life and the One from Whom we gained our existence, and therefore, we deserve death and destruction. We should all have been condemned to hell and the eternity of sufferings, as what the devil and his fellow fallen angels had been sentenced to.

But God loved us all above everything else. For He created us out of love, making us all in His own image, as the most perfect and beloved of all of His creations. He gave us life because He loved us all and wanted us all to enjoy forever with Him the goodness and the bounty of His wonderful works, with the Gardens of Eden, the paradise that existed at the beginning of time supposedly where we should have been, if not for our downfall into sin.

Through sin we have been defiled and therefore separated from God, and yet, God did not condemn us, destroy us or annihilate us when He could perfectly and easily have done so. Instead, He still loved us all very much, and His love for us all surpassed the disgust and the anger He has against our sinfulness. He despised not us, the sinners, but our sins and wickedness. His love for us endures and even grows stronger, as He continued to watch over us and wanted to be reconciled with us.

God has loved us so much that He gave us all His one and only begotten Son, that through Him we may not perish, but have eternal life. He has reached out to us through His Son, Who willingly endured that betrayal and rejection, all the insults and humiliations, the worst of all pains and sufferings imaginable, as He shouldered His Cross and endured countless blows and wounds to His Body. That is why today we heard all of these from the Scriptures as a reminder for us of how much beloved we are by God that He has willingly done all these for our sake, to go through all the worst sufferings for us.

Today we also heard how Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord for the mere price of thirty silver coins, which contextually was the price of a slave. Therefore, God allowed Himself to be treated like a slave, to be punished for us, so that like what He had once done to the Israelites in leading them out of their slavery in Egypt, He may also lead all of us out of our slavery to sin. Judas Iscariot showed us how our greed and desire can be our great undoing and lead us down the path towards ruin. We can end up doing things that we regret, just as Judas was swayed by Satan and overwhelmed by his desire for money and lack of faith to betray his own Lord and Master.

Then, this Holy Week as we draw closer to the beginning of Easter Triduum tomorrow, have we prepared ourselves worthily in our hearts, minds and indeed in our whole entire beings? Have we prepared ourselves so that we may physically, spiritually and mentally celebrate the upcoming greatest events and mysteries surrounding our Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death, His Resurrection by which all of us have received the guarantee of eternal life and true happiness? We are all called to put our faith in Him and spend this time to reflect on our own lives. Have we lived our lives in accordance with God’s ways or not?

May the Lord continue to guide us and help us, so that in everything we do, we will always be exemplary in all things, and be good role models and examples for our fellow men and women. Let us all make good use of our time and the opportunities given to us so that we may be ever better disciples and followers of Our Lord. Let us all not be like Judas Iscariot who easily gave in to temptations and betrayed the Lord for money. May all of us be ever closer to God and be ever more reflective of His love and truth in our lives and actions, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 April 2022 : 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.”