Third Week of Lent

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Saturday, 18 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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 reminded as we progress through this blessed season and time of Lent, that we should not allow pride, ego, ambition, arrogance and all the wickedness in our hearts and minds to distract and mislead us all down the wrong paths. If we allow those things to lead us astray, then we will end up getting further and further away from the Lord and His salvation. Worse still, we may end up in the eternal darkness and damnation, where regret and agony will be ours for eternity, regretting our foolish decisions and our inability to resist the various urges and temptations that surround us, pressure and allow us to walk down this wrong path in life. We should turn away from this path when there is still time and opportunity for us to do so.

In our first reading today, we heard from the prophet Hosea in which God reminded His people of the love that He has for them all, and also the sins and wickedness that they had committed against Him. Yet, despite all those sinful ways and wickedness, the Lord still looked upon all of them with pity and mercy, calling on them to repent and turn away from their sins and embrace His love and grace once again. He has called on all of them to find their way to His salvation, offering them freely His forgiveness and mercy, leading them down the path to righteousness, as He has done through His many prophets and messengers. The prophet Hosea for example has been sent to the people in the northern kingdom of Israel, composed of much of the ten of the twelve tribes of the Israelites that rebelled against the House of David, where many of the people had been wicked and sinful for throughout most of the preceding centuries, refusing to believe in God and persecuting His prophets.

Back then, during the life and ministry of the prophet Hosea, the people of Israel and Judah have been facing a lot of hardships and struggles, being attacked and crushed from all sides by their enemies, and at the time of Hosea, the kingdom of Israel were especially threatened by the growing power of the mighty and conquering Assyrian Empire, which was to destroy and conquer the Israelites towards the end of Hosea’s ministry, destroying their capital Samaria, their cities and towns, and bringing most of them off into exile and scattered them in distant lands far away from their homeland. Then, just another century or so later, the same would happen to the people of Judah as well, because the Babylonians also destroyed Jerusalem and Judah, and brought the rest of the people of God into exile. All those things happened because of the disobedience and the many sins that the people of God had committed against Him, and their refusal to follow Him or listen to His will.

Yet, the Lord did not abandon or forget about His people, despite them having betrayed and refused to listen to Him so many times. God has always remembered them and showed His kindness and love on them regardless. He has generously reached out to all of them and He is willing to forgive them all their sins if only that they repented and changed their sinful and wicked way of life. He had sent them so many prophets and messengers in order to remind and help them in their journey back towards Him, and He always showed His desire to be reconciled with us and to have us back once again in His loving embrace. God desired not their empty love and lack of true faith, but desiring that they all have a genuine conversion of heart, and a wholehearted commitment and dedication to His path, remembering His Law and commandments, His teachings and truth.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the well-known parable that the Lord spoke to the people regarding a Pharisee and a tax collector each praying in the Temple of God. We heard how the Pharisee flaunted his piety and actions, praising himself in an act of self-congratulation and pride, showing his egoistic nature and ambitious desires, and not only that, but he even looked down on the tax collector and criticised him for his supposed failures and wickedness, and making a show of his mocking of the tax collector’s unworthiness and sins before God. Meanwhile, as we heard, the tax collector did not even dare to look up, and was too ashamed and embarassed at his failures and sinful way of life, which he regretted and hoped to atone for before the Lord, begging for His mercy and forgiveness. He came before the Lord seeking for mercy and forgiveness, and that is what he was given, while the Pharisee’s boastful self-praise and action actually led him further into sin.

It was through this story then that the Lord wanted us all to know that each and every one of us are equally beloved by Him, and we should not think that we are deserving more of His love and mercy than others, or to think that others are undeserving and unworthy while we are worthy. The Lord has made it clear that all of us can share in the Lord’s most bountiful love and mercy, as long as we commit ourselves to the path of redemption, and commit ourselves to resist the temptations of sin and evil, distancing ourselves from those wickedness that had caused us to be sundered and separated away from God. The Lord has called on us to return to Him, and He wanted us all to walk this path of faith and forgiveness, showing us His desire to embrace us with His most generous kindness and love, to make us all His blessed people and children once again.

That is why we should resist the temptations of pride, greed and all the things that the Israelites and the Pharisee in our Scripture readings today have shown us. Instead, let us all look upon the good examples set by our holy predecessors, who have lived their lives faithfully and with love and devotion to God, especially that of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Cyril of Jerusalem was the Bishop of Jerusalem who was remembered for his dedication to God and his flock, as well as for his courageous efforts and works in defending the true and orthodox faith against those who espoused the false and heretical teachings, especially that of the Arian heresy. Back then, many among the heretics enjoyed the protection of the Imperial court and the support of the powerful members of the community, and swayed by greed and worldly glory, those heretics continued to work in dividing the Church and bringing about the downfall of many into the wrong paths.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem dedicated himself to resist the efforts of those wicked heretics and committed his life and ministry to care for the spiritual well-being of his flock and that of the wider Universal Church, spending a lot of time writing various treatises on the faith, as well as other theological matters, and resisting the various efforts of the false teachers and guides in misleading the people of God down the wrong path. He faced a lot of hardships and trials throughout his ministry, being deposed and exiled on several occasions due to the intrigues and the resistance from the Arian bishops and heretics, but all these did not dampen the spirit and the dedication of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, who continued to commit himself wholeheartedly for the work intended for the salvation of souls and for the glory of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples set by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, and do whatever we can so that we may commit ourselves more wholeheartedly to the path that God has set before us. Let us all seek Him with humble and contrite hearts, loving God with all of our hearts and focusing our attention on Him. Let us all turn away from sin and from all evil, and let us resist the temptations surrounding us so that we may be truly worthy of God in all the things we act, say and do. May God be with us always, and may He guide us in our journey towards Him, and help us to remain strong and persevere against the allure of worldly temptations and evils. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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, 18 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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.

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Saturday, 18 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hosea 5 : 15 – Hosea 6 : 6

For in their anguish they will earnestly seek Me.

“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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Friday, 17 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the need for us to return to the Lord and to remember His love and mercy, particularly during this blessed penitential time and season of Lent, when we prepare ourselves for the upcoming celebration of Holy Week and Easter. We are all called to remember our responsibility and obligations as Christians, to be exemplary in our way of life and to obey the Law and commandments of God in all things. We are reminded to love God and our neighbours above all else, and even perhaps more than how we love ourselves. Definitely we should not allow our own selfishness and self-love to end up causing us to forget about our duties and responsibilities as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own.

In our first reading today we heard the words of the Lord made to His people through His prophet Hosea, calling on them to repent from their wicked and sinful ways, embracing His love and mercy, and returning to His loving grace and compassion. The prophet Hosea back then lived and ministered to the people of God during the final decades and years of the northern kingdom of Israel, which were made of much of the ten of the twelve tribes of the Israelites that broke off from the rule of the House of David. That northern kingdom had spent most of its history and time in rebellion and disobedience against God, as their kings did not obey God and His Law, refusing to follow His commandments and words, and as such led the people down the path of sin and evil. They had been misled by their own wicked desires and the inability to resist the temptations of the world.

That was why the Lord was angry at those people who had repeatedly rejected His kindness and love, hardened their hearts and minds and refused to listen to Him. Not only that, but they also even persecuted those prophets and messengers that God had sent into their midst to help and guide them down the right path. They had no regard for God and His truth, and preferred to live their lives in their own terms and ways. That led them further and further into the path of sin, and into their downfall. They were punished for their delinquence and stubbornness, and their enemies fell upon them one after another, as God pronounced His judgment over them, telling them how they would be scattered and having their homeland and kingdom destroyed by their own actions. But then, the Lord also told them that in the end, despite all that, God still loved them and cared for them.

God did not want them all to end up being cast out into the utter darkness and destruction, as after all, He loves each and every single one of us, without exception, even to the worst of sinners among us. However, what He truly despises is our many sins and wickedness, and our refusal to listen to His words and reminders, our stubbornness and arrogance among other things. Those are the things that have often led many among us to continue to walk down the path of rebellion and evil, and hence, He calls on every one of us through what we have heard from the prophet Hosea, to turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils, all the things that can often lead us down the path of sin and destruction. He wants us all to remember His Law and commandments, which He has presented before us so that they may become our guide and help in our journey towards His salvation and grace.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the conversation between a teacher of the Law and the Lord Jesus in which the former asked the Lord what among the commandments of God is the most important commandment in the Law of God. Whether the intention was to test the Lord or out of pure curiosity is open to interpretation, but essentially, the Lord told the teacher of the Law that the whole entire Law of God, its commandments and precepts, all of them can be summarised completely into two main Law, that is to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and with all of our might, and to love our fellow brothers and sisters, our fellow men and women, in the same manner as well. The whole entire Ten Commandments indeed describe these two Law perfectly, and also the many other commandments and precepts of God’s Law, as revealed through Moses and the prophets.

Unfortunately, as time went on, the knowledge and understanding of the Law of God, its true intention and purpose had become warped and altered, as the Law of God no longer became the means by which the people of God came to be closer to Him, and instead, the people became focused more on how the Law was to be practiced and enforced, the rituals and the practices, the details and the intricacies of those rites became paramount and more important than the meaning and the intention of the Law. This was why so many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were criticised by the Lord for their irrational and particularly strict interpretation of the Law, which was also warped by the many additions and alterations done throughout the centuries which did not always remain faithful to the original intent and purpose of the Law as God taught and revealed it to His people.

The Law was meant to teach the people to remember God first and foremost in their lives, and to place Him as the main centre of attention and focus of their lives. It is a reminder that first of all, God loves us all, and He wants us all to be with Him, and to be with Him, Who is full of love, we too must be filled with the same kind of love, love that is unconditional and selfless, which brings us to love God Himself first, and then to show that same love to our fellow brothers and sisters, just as the Lord wanted us to do in our lives. Unfortunately, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees made the Law to be such an oppressive and rigid set of rules, that it even drove people away from the path of the Lord, as many found it hard to follow such a way, and many others still were even openly discriminated against by those same people whom the Lord had entrusted with the care of His Law, commandments, precepts and teachings.

That was why the Lord came into our midst to reveal before us the true intention of His actions, His Law and commandments, and remind us yet again of His desire to be reconciled with each and every one of us. As mentioned earlier, that while we may have indeed greatly sinned against God, but God wants us to seek Him and to be reconciled with Him, to be forgiven from our many faults and sins. He wants us to learn again how to love Him and how to love one another, distancing ourselves from the kind of selfishness and pride, the greed and jealousy, lust and all the attachments we had to worldly desires and things which often became great obstacles in our path towards Him and His salvation. That is why today we should remind ourselves that we should get rid from our midst all those things that kept us away from God, and follow the good examples of our holy predecessors, especially that of St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland and a great saint, whose feast we celebrate today.

St. Patrick was a well-known missionary of the faith, who was born in the area of Britain in the fifth century, and it was told that he was captured and enslaved by Irish pirates in his youth, before he managed to flee and eventually made his way back to his homeland, where he studied to become a missionary and a priest. He went to the mainland Europe and was then appointed as a priest and missionary, sent to the region of Ireland, and became the first bishop of the land, where there were still mainly pagan populations throughout the whole island. St. Patrick ministered faithfully and patiently to the people of Ireland, spending many years reaching out to them, to the kings, the nobles and the commoners alike, and managed to touch many hearts and many lives, convincing quite a lot of people to turn away from sins and their old idols, and became followers of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all take the good examples of the life and the works of St. Patrick to inspire us in how we should live our own lives as Christians, loving God first and foremost, and dedicating ourselves to Him and His cause, and also loving one another in the same manner, remembering the patient love that both God and St. Patrick had shown to those who were beloved to them. Let us all ask the Lord for the strength and grace that we may follow Him with great faith and commitment, from now on, and walk always ever in His path. May God continue to guide us and bless us in our journey of faith throughout this life. May God bless us always, in all of our good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 17 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Mark 12 : 28b-34

At that time, a teacher of the Law came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is : Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved of this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

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Friday, 17 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 80 : 6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it, I relieved your shoulder from burden; I freed your hands. You called in distress, and I saved you.

Unseen, I answered you in thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear, My people, as I admonish you. If only you would listen, o Israel!

There shall be no strange god among you, you shall not worship any alien god, for I the Lord am your God, who led you forth from the land of Egypt.

If only My people would listen, if only Israel would walk in My ways. I would feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy you with honey from the rock.

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Friday, 17 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hosea 14 : 2-10

Return to your God YHVH, o Israel! Your sins have caused your downfall. Return to YHVH with humble words. Say to Him, “Oh You Who show compassion to the fatherless forgive our debt, be appeased. Instead of bulls and sacrifices, accept the praise from our lips. Assyria will not save us : no longer shall we look for horses nor ever again shall we say ‘Our gods’ to the work of our hands.”

I will heal their wavering and love them with all My heart for My anger has turned from them. I shall be like dew to Israel like the lily will he blossom. Like a cedar he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow and spread. His splendour will be like an olive tree. His fragrance, like a Lebanon cedar.

They will dwell in My shade again, they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like a vine, and their fame will be like Lebanon wine. What would Ephraim do with idols, when it is I Who hear and make him prosper? I am like an ever-green cypress tree; all your fruitfulness comes from Me.

Who is wise enough to grasp all this? Who is discerning and will understand? Straight are the ways of YHVH : the just walk in them, but the sinners stumble.

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Thursday, 16 March 2023 : 3rd 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 Scriptures, all of us are reminded not to give in to our pride and ego, our stubbornness and our waywardness in how we and our ancestors had often behaved in the past, in resisting God’s love and compassion, and in rejecting His ever generous kindness and attention, as we preferred to follow our own path and hardened our hearts, unable to resist the temptations being present all around us that pulled us away from the path of God’s righteousness and grace. We often allowed those temptations to mislead and delude us, leading us further and further away from the path towards eternal life and justification in God. And that is why today, all of us are reminded to turn away from sin and from our disobedience, and humble ourselves, so that we may once again walk in the path of the Lord.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord spoke in lamentation and frustration over the sins of His people to Jeremiah, whom he had sent to the kingdom and the people of Judah, the remnants of the Israelites who have rebelled against God again and again, over the period of time, and despite repeated reminders from the Lord through His prophets, messengers and servants, they still allowed themselves to be swayed by sin and the temptations to disobey the Lord. Their northern neighbours, the kingdom of Israel centred in Samaria had been crushed and destroyed by the Assyrians decades before the time of the prophet Jeremiah, for their continuous sin and disobedience, and they had been scattered and exiled from the lands of their ancestors. It was just a matter of time before the same fate would befall the people of Judah as well.

The Lord had done many good things for His beloved people, and He has reached out to them again and again, guiding and chastising them whenever it was necessary, to help them to remain true to the path that He wanted them all to follow. Unfortunately, more often than not, they chose to listen to the false leads and prophets, to the corrupt guides and all the various temptations all around them, of power, fame, glory, material possessions among other things. All those things had steered them away from what God had told them all to do. Despite God having rescued them from their slavery in Egypt, cared for them and showed them His love and kindness, all throughout the years, but the people of God were often ungrateful and forgot about Him, continuing to follow the path of sin and wickedness and rejecting his love and compassion.

All of those things happened because the people were focused too much on their worldly attachments and desires, all the things that ended up causing them to lose track and control over their lives, and dragged them ever further into the path of damnation and evil. They could not resist the pull and allure of those worldly attachments and desires in their hearts, and as such, they kept on falling again and again into sin. That was also why many among the people refused to listen to the Lord and to believe in Him all throughout the history of salvation, as highlighted in the Scriptures. They were so busy and preoccupied with their worldly pursuits and concerns that they had no place for God in their lives, and they thought in terms of the world and not in terms of what they had been taught and guided with by the prophets and messengers of God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard one such occasion when the Lord Jesus was confronted by the people who accused Him of colluding with the prince of demons, Beelzebub as He performed His miracle in healing a man who had been struck dumb by demonic possession. This accusation was truly baseless and did not make sense at all, just as the Lord Himself pointed out the folly of such an argument. The Lord told them all that if the demons and evil spirits were divided against each other, then they could not stand or do anything as they would spend all their time just quarrelling and fighting over each other, just like how it worked and what had happened in our world, when a country, a nation and a people were divided against each other in civil wars and conflicts. And those that are divided against the other is truly unlikely to flourish and prosper.

Hence, accusing the Lord falsely of being complicit and colluding with demonic forces is really nonsensical and vile in nature. This accusation came about because those who accused the Lord hardened their hearts and minds and refused to accept the fact and truth that the Lord’s work had been genuine and authoritative. While it was not mentioned explicitly in the Gospel passage today, but it was likely that those who accused the Lord either belonged to the group of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law or their supporters. Many among those people had often opposed the Lord and were criticial of Him and His disciples, because they could not accept Him as a legitimate source of teaching authority on their faith, and even saw Him as a dangerous rival and threat to their own power and influence in the community.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, they likely opposed the Lord at every turn and opportunity out of jealousy, fear and pride. Many of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests feared that the Lord’s growing influence and popularity in the community of the people of God would destroy whatever power structures, influence and privileges that they had gathered, built up and established among the people at that time. Hence, they refused to accept the truth of God, hardened their hearts and minds, resisting the Lord’s effort to reach out and explain the truth to them. That was why despite having witnessed many of the Lord’s miracles again and again, but they still failed to believe in God and even accused Him vilely of such false accusation as what we heard in our Gospel passage today.

Ironically, they were doing exactly what the Lord had been telling them about the folly of the demons being divided against each other. Yes, essentially, by their actions, those who accused the Lord of colluding with Beelzebub were causing division by their actions and words, and also hindered the good works of the Lord, just as how they had hindered many from coming towards the Lord and His salvation by their self-righteous attitude and imposition of an overly strict interpretation of the Law of God. On the contrary, the fact is that the devil and all those who seek our destruction, those demons and evil spirits are no less united in purpose and intention to bring about our downfall, and are united in their actions to crush us and to make us falter and fail in our path towards God’s salvation and grace. They planted the seeds of pride and arrogance in those who opposed the Lord so that more people would have been prevented from coming to reconciliation and salvation in God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all resist the temptations of worldly glory and desire, and learn to be humble and to open our hearts and minds to listen to the Lord, to His Wisdom and truth, and harden our hearts and minds no more, so that we may not act like those who have resisted the Lord. Let us all help one another to come to the Lord by our righteous and faithful attitude, doing whatever we can to follow Him and to inspire others to do the same as well. May the Lord help us in our journey towards reconciliation with Him, especially during this blessed penitential season of Lent. May He empower each one of us to be able to follow Him more earnestly and with greater commitment and zeal. May He bless our every efforts and good endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 11 : 14-23

At that time, one day Jesus was driving out a demon, which was mute. When the demon had been driven out, the mute person could speak, and the people were amazed. Yet some of them said, “He drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” Others wanted to put Him to the test, by asking Him for a heavenly sign.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.”

“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God, has come upon you? As long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on, and disposes of his spoils.”

“Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters.”