Supreme Pontiff

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Thursday, 3 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 7 : 23-28

One thing I did command them : Listen to My voice and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in the way I command you and all will be well with you. But they did not listen and paid no attention; they followed the bad habits of their stubborn heart and turned away from Me.

From the time I brought their forebearers out of Egypt until this day I have continually sent them My servants, the prophets, but this stiff-necked people did not listen. They paid no attention and were worse than their forebearers.

You may say all these things to them but they will not listen; you will call them but they will not answer. This is a nation that did not obey YHVH and refused to be disciplined; truth has perished and is no longer heard from their lips.

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Wednesday, 2 March 2016 : 3rd 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 had given us all His laws and covenant, the commandments and guide on how we ought to live out our lives, in full alignment to His ways and in full and perfect obedience to His laws and ordinances. If we say that we are Christians, then indeed all of us have to be those who do the will of God with all of us heart’s zeal and strength.

In the Gospel today, Jesus challenged the teachers of the Law, the Pharisees and the elders of Israel for their aberration and their twisted following and observance of the Law of God. These people called themselves as pious and holy people, and they maintained that they have been obedient and observant of God’s laws and ordinances, by maintaining close observation and preservation of the laws according to Moses.

But they have not been obedient in the way that God wanted them to. They thought that Jesus tried to destroy and alter the laws that they had tried to protect for many years and generations, without knowing that whatever they attempted to protect had been twisted and turned away from the truth due to years of corruption by human interests and ego.

Yes, this means that instead of truly using the Law to seek out the Lord and to love Him more in all things, they have used the Law to oppress the people, to force upon them customs, observances and rituals that were done for the sake of doing them, and which did not help to bring God’s people closer to God. In all their attempts, they were only trying to satisfy their human needs, the need for praise and adulation for their ‘faith’ rather than true love for the Lord.

Our Lord Jesus showed them the errors of their ways, and thus, He was showing it to us all as well. It was not by showing off our faith, or by public display of prayers and piety that we can be saved, but it is through real and concrete dedication of ourselves, our efforts and our whole beings for the love and the commitment we can show to the Lord.

This means that we should do all things that God had asked us to do, His commandments and laws, because in the first place, we know that we are sinners, and we have been delinquents and rebels, stubborn people who had refused to listen to God in many occasions, and now, knowing that God is full of mercy to all those who are willing to turn from their evil ways and return to Him, then we want to make a difference in our own lives.

How to do so, brothers and sisters in Christ? In this season of Lent in particular, it is the perfect opportunity for us all to renew our faith and to restart our own lives on the path towards righteousness and salvation in God. We cannot call ourselves true Christians if we do not act and behave like one. Being Christians mean that we imitate our Lord Himself in all the things that He had done, and He had indeed shown all these through Jesus His Son, Who came into the world in order to save us.

And this means that we should show care and concern for the poor, for those who are less fortunate than us, either because they had less things than us, or having even little or none to eat and drink, and also those who were unloved and ostracised from the society, making sure that we ourselves do not participate in actions that bring about misery upon others for our own benefits.

Therefore, let us all pray, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we may become ever better and more faithful disciples of our Lord through real action, and may all of us in this season of Lent be completely and thoroughly converted to the Lord. Let us all turn our every effort, our every focus and attention to God and His ways, and let us sin no more, but do His will from now on with proper understanding, and with genuine love for Him and for our fellow brethren, God’s same children. Amen.

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Wednesday, 2 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 17-19

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfil them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”

“So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of heaven.”

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Wednesday, 2 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 15-16, 19-20

Exalt the Lord, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word. He spreads snow like wool; He scatters frost like ashes.

It is He Who tells Jacob His words, His laws and decrees to Israel. This He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Wednesday, 2 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Deuteronomy 4 : 1, 5-9

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, gives you.

See, as YHVH, my God, ordered me, I am teaching you the norms and the laws that you may put them into practice in the land you are going to enter and have as your own. If you observe and practice them, other peoples will regard you as wise and intelligent. When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, “There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.”

For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as YHVH, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are just as this Law which I give you today? But be careful and be on your guard. Do not forget these things which your own eyes have seen nor let them depart from your heart as long as you live. But on the contrary, teach them to your children and to your children’s children.

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Tuesday, 1 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the passage from the Holy Scriptures, which message is very clear, asking us all to practice mercy and forgiveness in all things, as well as humility and sincerity in seeking to purify ourselves and free ourselves from our chains and bonds of sinfulness. We should not judge others unjustly and thinking that we are in the position to place ourselves as better than others, as we too were once sinners like them.

We heard Jesus speaking to Peter and to His other disciples, when he asked Him about forgiveness of those who have slighted or offended them. When we look at how mankind normally deal with this, our human nature would have made us to be angry against those who have slighted us, and we would have sought to make a revenge against them, and inflict on them the same pain that they have caused to us.

But Jesus reacted otherwise and told us to do things differently. He told Peter and the other disciples to forgive those who have wronged them, many, many times. Jesus told Peter not just to forgive seven times, but seventy-seven times. Did Jesus tell Peter and the other disciples to literally forgive their enemies seventy-seven times precisely? No, it is not what Jesus meant.

What Jesus wanted from them, and thus from all of us is that we all should learn to forgive one another our sins, so that we may always learn to let go of our anger, our jealousy and all of our hatred on others, and learn to forgive those who have caused us harm and those who have ill-intent on us. That means, we must have the heart to forgive others, and must have the heart filled with love that will love and care for all our brethren regardless of what they have done to us.

It is important for us to learn to love as our God has loved us, and to learn to forgive as God has loved us. We are all called to follow our Lord and Father in all the things that He has done. Just as children learn from their fathers and therefore gain good things that their fathers had done, thus, we too imitate our Lord in all the things that He had done, and take them up as our own.

This is because we cannot be hypocrites, those who profess faith in the Lord and yet our actions and words speak otherwise. This will instead bring scandal to our faith. How can people believe in us when we preach to them about the Lord, if our actions by themselves have made us all liars and hypocrites? How will people then listen to the Lord and His truth, if they see how wicked our actions have been?

If God has forgiven us all many, many times, even though we are sinners through and through, then we too must forgive one another, and seek to be forgiven ourselves. We have to learn to forgive those who have hurt us, just as we have to remember that we ourselves are sinners too. If we condemn others, then we ourselves will be condemned, and if we do not forgive others, then we too should not deserve to be forgiven. No one is truly beyond redemption.

It is not up to us to decide the fate of others around us, in the matters of sin and forgiveness of those sins. But we can do our part to do what our Lord had told us to do, that is to forgive others their faults, just as we heard in our Lord’s Prayer, that we ask God to forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.

Let us in this season of Lent be model for one another in faith and in our lives. Let us commit ourselves anew to God and love Him and His creations, that means loving one another with all of our hearts, and devoting ourselves in love to the less fortunate ones among us. May God bless us in our endeavours, and may He awaken in our hearts the charity, care and concern for each other, that through our loving actions, we may be absolved from our sins and be brought into the life everlasting in God. Amen.

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Tuesday, 1 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 18 : 21-35

At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle the accounts of his servants.”

“Among the first was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment. The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt.”

“When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his companions, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the neck and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ His companion threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ The other did not agree, but sent him to prison until he had paid all his debt.”

“Now his fellow servants saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord. Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound have pity on your companion, as I had pity on you?'”

“The lord was now angry, so he handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.” Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”

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Tuesday, 1 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Remember Your compassion, o Lord, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

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Tuesday, 1 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 3 : 25, 34-43

Azariah stood up in the midst of the fire and prayed aloud : “Do not abandon us forever, do not reject Your covenant for Your Name’s sake. Do not withdraw Your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, Your friend, of Isaac, Your servant, of Israel, Your holy one, to whom You promised to multiply their race as the stars of heaven and the sand on the shore of the sea.”

“Lord, see, we have become the least among the nations in all the world, and we are humiliated because of our sins. At this time, we no longer have a king, or prophet, or leader. We cannot offer You holocausts, sacrifices, offerings, or incense. We have no place to present to You the first fruits of our crops, and so obtain Your favour.”

“But at least when we present ourselves with a contrite soul and humbled spirit may we then be acceptable to You, more than by offerings of rams and calves as holocausts, and of thousands of fat lambs. May this sacrifice of ours today obtain for us Your favour for we know that those who trust in You shall never be disappointed.”

“And now, we serve You with our whole heart, we fear You and we seek Your face. Do not leave us on our humiliation, but treat us according to Your kindness and Your great mercy. Free us in keeping with Your wonders, and give us the glory of Your Name, Lord.”

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Monday, 29 February 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the famous and well-known story of how God healed Naaman, the Syrian general through the prophet Elisha, from his disease of leprosy when he sought for help and healing in God. Naaman was made whole and had his leprosy healed, when he obeyed the commands of Elisha to wash himself seven times in the River Jordan.

However, that did not come about easily, as initially Naaman refused to do as the prophet Elisha commanded him to do, thinking that he was above doing the seemingly simple chore that Elisha had asked him to do. In his anger, he almost left and went away without being healed, if not for his servants who tamed down his anger and then persuaded him to be humble and to listen to the will of God spoken through His prophet Elisha.

And in the Gospel today Jesus our Lord made it clear to the people of His time, how God at that time, chose not the people of Israel but someone from Syria, from the neighbouring kingdom of Aram, a stranger, a foreigner and even an enemy of Israel, to heal him from his afflictions of leprosy. And it was also reiterated how God chose the suffering widow of Zarephath in Sidon, also an outsider and foreigner to Israel, to bring His help and mercy.

The people of Israel at the time thought that because they were the chosen race, the chosen people of God, then they were favoured and could do things as they liked, and they would still receive the favour from God, and shunned the other peoples of the other nations as pagans and barbaric, unworthy of God’s favour and forgiveness. And yet, they were proven wrong, as God showed that His love is given freely to all.

It was not about one’s background, birth, upbringing, descent or any other parameters that decided our faith, but rather, it is our actions, our words and deeds that lead us to either do things that are in accordance with the will of God, or things that are abhorrent and wicked in the sight of God. And all of us have been given freedom to choose by God, our free will, to decide what we are to do with our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the story of Naaman, and also the widow of Zarephath is a reminder to all of us that God is trying to reach out to us, and He wants us to be reconciled with Him. It is contrary to what many of us must be thinking, if we thought that God is an angry God Who punished all those who have sinned against Him without any chance of redemption. It was we ourselves and our refusal to accept His mercy that had condemned us to destruction.

In this season of Lent, we are called like Naaman to be freed of our own affliction, the leprosy of our souls, that is sin. Sin is the disease that had been corrupting us and causing us all to be sick, and the cure can only be found in God, in our obedience to God and to His will. We must not be proudful or be filled with hubris and with selfishness, or else we might be like Naaman before he submitted to God’s will, or be like the Israelites who have sinned against God.

Therefore, let us all in this season of Lent commit ourselves to do things and works that bring good to others around us, helping one another and sharing the love which we ought to have inside each one of us, and therefore through what we have done in obedience to God, we may be found righteous and worthy, and He will bestow upon us all that He had promised on us. God bless us all. Amen.