Tempus Quadragesima

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Sunday, 10 April 2022 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 21 : 8-9, 17-18a, 19-20, 23-24

All who see Me make a jest of Me; they sneer and shake their heads. “He put His trust in the Lord, let the Lord rescue Him! If the Lord is His friend, let Him help Him!”

Round about Me are vicious dogs, villainous rogues encircling Me. They have tied up My hands and feet. They can count all My bones.

Dividing My garments among them and casting lots for My raiment. O Lord, be not far from Me! O My strength, come quickly to My help.

I will proclaim Your Name to My brothers. I will praise You in the assembly. “All you who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him! All you sons of Israel, revere Him!

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Sunday, 10 April 2022 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Isaiah 50 : 4-7

The Lord YHVH has taught Me so I speak as His disciple and I know how to sustain the weary. Morning after morning He wakes Me up to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord YHVH has opened My ear. I have not rebelled, nor have I withdrawn.

I offered My back to those who strike Me, My cheeks to those who pulled My beard; neither did I shield My face from blows, spittle and disgrace. I have not despaired, for the Lord YHVH comes to My help. So, like a flint I set My face, knowing that I will not be disgraced.

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Sunday, 10 April 2022 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Isaiah 50 : 4-7

The Lord YHVH has taught Me so I speak as His disciple and I know how to sustain the weary. Morning after morning He wakes Me up to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord YHVH has opened My ear. I have not rebelled, nor have I withdrawn.

I offered My back to those who strike Me, My cheeks to those who pulled My beard; neither did I shield My face from blows, spittle and disgrace. I have not despaired, for the Lord YHVH comes to My help. So, like a flint I set My face, knowing that I will not be disgraced.

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Sunday, 10 April 2022 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 19 : 28-40

At that time, Jesus spoke, and then He passed on ahead of them, on His way to Jerusalem. When He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, close to the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples with these instructions, “Go to the village opposite; and, as you enter it, you will find a colt tied up, that no one has yet ridden. Untie it, and bring it here. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you untying this colt?’ You shall say, ‘The Master needs it.’”

So the two disciples went and found things just as Jesus had said. As they were untying the colt, the owner said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they answered, “The Master needs it.” So they brought it to Jesus and, throwing their cloaks on the colt, they mounted Jesus on it. And as He went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

When Jesus came near Jerusalem, to the place where the road slopes down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice, and to praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen; and they cried out, “Blessed is He Who comes as King in the Name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heavens.”

Some Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Master, rebuke Your disciples!” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if they were to remain silent, the stones would cry out.”

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Saturday, 9 April 2022 : 5th 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 Scripture, we are all reminded to prepare ourselves for the beginning of the Holy Week, which as its name suggest is the holiest of all weeks in the entire liturgical year, seven days of celebration of Our Lord’s Passion, beginning tomorrow on Palm Sunday and which ends on the glorious resurrection at Easter Sunday. We ought to prepare ourselves in heart and mind to enter into this solemn occasion and period of time so that we may better appreciate the works and all that the Lord, our most loving God has done for us, for our sake and salvation.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard the words of the Lord concerning His people, Israel and his descendants, the people of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah that had been scattered throughout the nations as they were defeated and conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians respectively, and they had been uprooted from the lands of their ancestors, brought off into exile in those far-odd lands where they had to endure the humiliation of losing their homeland and as a people that had brought ruin upon themselves because of their lack of faith in God.

God has always been patient with His people, and He has always reached out to them with a lot of love and compassion. However, it has always been us who have resisted His love and kindness. We have always been stubborn, just as the people of Israel and Judah had been stubborn in their rebellious attitude, in their refusal to listen to the prophets and messengers that God had placed in their midst to remind them. The Lord has always patiently reached out to His beloved ones despite of their attitudes, but it is indeed shameful to see the way that many if not most of us have behaved.

In our Gospel passage today, we have heard how the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council and most of its members had gathered together and plotted against the Lord Jesus because they had disagreed with Him constantly and even found Him as a great threat to their own legitimacy, authority and power. The Sanhedrin was made from the most influential members of the Jewish community, including the elders and the chief priests, the members of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Many among these people had found issues against the Lord, and mostly they were afraid that the great popularity that the Lord Jesus managed to gain would end up resulting in them losing their privileges, power and status.

That was why they discussed what to do with Him, and they resolved to crush Him, even if they had to resort to using backhanded methods such as false accusations and others, and even plotted to hand Him over to the Romans to be condemned and punished to death. They justified themselves, as Caiaphas, the High Priest at that time, argued that they were doing it all for the good of their whole nation. As they argued that if the Lord continued to gain popularity, eventually the Romans would remove the privileges and relative independence that they had granted the Jewish elite, the very same members of the Sanhedrin that were persecuting the Lord Jesus.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard today the reminder of just how difficult the Lord’s tasks were, as He had to go against those who refused to even open their hearts and minds to His truth and love. Yet, He did not give up on us, and He fulfilled the promises He had made to all of us since the very beginning. Just as He had promised to Adam and Eve, that Satan would eventually be defeated, and that the deliverance for mankind would come from the Lord, thus, Jesus our Lord came into our midst to fulfil all those promises, the promises God had made with each and every one of us mankind, all throughout time.

And He revealed that He would do all that by offering His own life on the Altar of the Cross. Through the Cross, He will claim all of us, as our Lord and King, Whom God had promised to us, that He will be King over all of us, as prophesied by Ezekiel and the other prophets. He has always been faithful and kind to us, always ever compassionate and patient in everything, and He gave us His own life, offering His Most Precious Body and Blood so that we can be saved from eternal damnation and destruction. Tomorrow we will commemorate the moment when He entered in triumph to Jerusalem, as the King Who has come to be with His people, and began the moments of His Passion.

The Lord knew well what He had to do and what He had to endure for the sake of His beloved ones. He had to be rejected, betrayed, and then made to suffer the worst sufferings and punishments for our sake, in atonement for our sins. Yet, He willingly endured all of them, because He truly loved us so very much, so much that He was willing to endure those humiliations, persecutions, the worst of pain and to go through the gates of hell and death for us, through His crucifixion. All these are what we will commemorate and remember throughout the Holy Week that will start tomorrow.

Let us ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ, if we are ready to commemorate Holy Week and the upcoming Easter season with faith and true understanding of their significance for us. And are our ways of life in accordance with what the Lord had taught and shown us? Or are we still living our lives in the state of sin? If the latter is the case, then that means we have to remind ourselves of everything that Our Lord has done for us, His constant and enduring love for each one of us sinners. And as long as we are still living and breathing air in this world, we still have the opportunity to make amends and return to Him for forgiveness.

Let us all wait no longer and tarry no more, and instead, make the conscious effort to find our way back to the Lord with faith. May all of us draw ever closer to God and do our very best to be good examples to one another in how we live our lives, with exemplary actions and good attitude, inspiring each other to be good disciples and followers of our Lord and Saviour. May God bless us always and remain with us throughout our journey of life, and may all of us have a blessed and wonderful Holy Week observance starting tomorrow. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 April 2022 : 5th Week of Lent (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, 9 April 2022 : 5th Week of Lent (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, 9 April 2022 : 5th Week of Lent (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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Friday, 8 April 2022 : 5th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Gospels yet another account of the confrontations that happened between the Lord and those who opposed Him, all those who refused to listen to Him and continued to stubbornly hardened their hearts and minds. The same thing had happened to the prophet Jeremiah in the past as well, and we heard the plots and the things that people had done to the prophet and servant of God. But God has always stood by His faithful ones and He would not let those who are dear to Him to suffer and be crushed. Even if they were to suffer, in the end, those who remain faithful to God shall triumph together with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah regarding the time when persecutions faced by Jeremiah at the hands of his enemies, which at that time opposed Jeremiah and his works among the people of Judah, calling on all the people to return back towards God with faith. God had sent him to His obstinate and stubborn people to remind them of His ever generous mercy, which He has always made available to them, but which they had frequently ignored and spurned.

Jeremiah had to go through a lot of troubles for the sake of the Lord, and yet, He endured all of it patiently, and entrusted himself and his works to the Lord. Of course there were moments when he was exhausted and tired of facing all the oppositions, and which he spoke to the Lord about, but in the end, he believed that God sent him for a good reason, and no matter what, in the end, those who believe in Him and trust in Him will never be disappointed. Jeremiah, just as many other prophets who came before him and those who came after him, might have to endure all those bitterness and hardships, but through their faith and dedication, they had done a lot of good works for the sake of the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord were opposed by the Jewish people in Jerusalem and Judea who were against Him and were incensed and angry when He spoke of His truth, that He is indeed the Son of God, the Messiah or Saviour sent into this world. The people were stubborn and refused to believe in Him, because they refused to admit that the Man they saw before Him, a mere Son of a carpenter from Galilee, could have been the Saviour of the world. They refused to listen to Him because they were prideful and filled with ego and hubris, particularly those who saw themselves as more righteous than others.

Yet, the Lord kept on speaking the truth and would not be deterred by the opposition He had faced, just as Jeremiah had once done his best and continued to carry out the mission entrusted to him despite the challenges and oppositions he encountered. The Lord Jesus spoke the truth and revealed more and more of what the Lord, the Almighty God, would very soon be doing for the sake of the whole world, through Him, the One Who had been sent into this world as its Saviour and Hope. The Lord would soon enter into His Passion and He was prepared to carry out the mission entrusted to Him to the very end, even though He would have to endure the bitter sufferings for that.

Through our Scripture readings today continue to prepare us for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, His suffering, death and resurrection which we will all focus on throughout the Holy Week next week. Now, we have heard all the trials and challenges that the faithful servants of the Lord had to endure in their works of faith, and ultimately, the Lord Himself would face the ultimate trial in His Passion, His crucifixion and death. All of us as Christians must remember the Lord’s words, that He had told us, how if we are to be His disciples, we have to carry our crosses and follow Him.

Are we ready to enter into the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, the most important events happening throughout the Holy Week leading to Easter? Are we able to focus our attention on Him and all that He had done for the sake of our salvation? Or are we going to remain stubborn and obstinate in the manner of how the Jewish people, especially the members of the Sanhedrin, the High Council of the Jewish people, the elders and the Pharisees had done, in opposing the Lord and His truth? Are we going to continue living in the state of sin, and walking down the path towards our destruction and death?

Let us all reflect on all these things carefully as we ponder the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, and let us focus our attention on Him as we remember everything that He had done for our sake, as He reached out to us with love, mercy and compassion, to be reconciled with us and to help us to return to Him. Let us all do our best to walk the path of this journey of faith, and do our best to endure whatever trials, challenges and obstacles that we may have to face in this journey, and not be afraid, following in the footsteps of Jeremiah and many other of God’s most faithful servants.

May God be with us all, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully in His Presence, now and always, evermore. Let us all be good inspiration for one another, and be role models of faith, at all times. Amen.

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Friday, 8 April 2022 : 5th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 10 : 31-42

At that time, the Jews then picked up stones to throw at Jesus; so He said, “I have openly done many good works among you, which the Father gave Me to do. For which of these do you stone Me?”

The Jews answered, “We are not stoning You for doing a good work, but for insulting God; You are only a Man, and You make Yourself God.” Then Jesus replied, “Is this not written in your law : I said, you are gods? So those who received this word of God were called gods, and the Scripture is always true.”

“What then should be said of the One anointed, and sent into the world, by the Father? Am I insulting God when I say, ‘I am the Son of God?’ If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not believe Me. But if I do them, even if you have no faith in Me, believe because of the works I do; and know that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

Again they tried to arrest Him, but Jesus escaped from their hands. He went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John had baptised, and there He stayed. Many people came to Jesus, and said, “John worked no miracles, but he spoke about You, and everything he said was true.” And many became believers in that place.