Thursday

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Thursday, 12 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 7 : 23-28

YHVH says, “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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Thursday, 5 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all reminded that as the followers and disciples of the Lord, each and every one of us must always strive to live our lives faithfully in accordance to what He Himself has shown and taught us, in showing great love to one another, especially to those whom we love and those whom the Lord has placed in our lives to love, our beloved ones, and then also all those who are marginalised and less fortunate around us, the poor and the needy, and these are not limited only to those who are having financial and material difficulties, but also those who are ostracised, unloved and forgotten by the community.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, we heard of the words of the Lord which had been delivered by Him to His people through Jeremiah, calling on all of them to repent from their sinful and wicked ways, turning back from their worldly ways and returning once again to follow the path of the Lord. Back then, the prophet Jeremiah was sent to the people of God in the kingdom of Judah, at the last days of its existence to tell them all of the terrible fate that they would soon endure because of their lack of faith in the Lord from the time of their ancestors and predecessors, and their dependance on worldly powers and means rather than on the Lord their God, in Whom they should put their faith and trust in.

The people of Judah, the kingdom and the whole body of nobles, according to the Scriptural accounts, chose to depend on the backing and support of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, in the struggle between the regional powers, just as the Babylonians were gaining strength and growing in power at that time. And this choice of depending on worldly means instead of trusting in the Lord was the very reason for their downfall, and there were also false prophets who went against the words of the prophet Jeremiah, convincing the king and his nobles to follow their preferred course of action instead, claiming that the Lord would crush the Babylonians with the help of the Egyptians and their forces.

All of that eventually led to the ruin and destruction of Judah as the Babylonians came with their armies and forces, defeating the armies of the Egyptians and leaving Judah without means of protection. And as the Babylonians came upon them and besieged Jerusalem, destroying other cities and eventually conquering the kingdom, destroying the great Temple in Jerusalem and bringing many of the people of Judah to exile in distant lands, everything that Jeremiah had spoken finally came true. And to all of us listening to these words from the Scriptures, we are reminded that we should not put our faith and trust in the power of man and in worldly devices alone, but we must put our faith in the Lord together with all of our efforts.

Then, from our Gospel pasasge today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord told His disciples and followers, of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, using the example of Lazarus, a poor man who was always sitting by the doorway of the house or mansion of a rich man. We heard in this well-known story of how the rich man ignored the sufferings of the poor man Lazarus at his very own doorstep, refusing to allow him to even have the crumbs of bread from his table, even when there were a lot of opportunities for him to help the poor man. And we heard of how when both Lazarus and the rich man passed away, they ended up in different places.

From what we heard of the great joy and vindication of Lazarus, who was finally enjoying relief and happiness together with Abraham and the other righteous people of God, and in contrast how the rich man was suffering in the fires of hell. Through this example and parable which the Lord had used to highlight His points and ideas to the disciples, we ourselves are also being reminded that we should not ignore the plight of the poor and the needy all around us, or else, we will end up facing the same predicament as the rich man. It was not about his wealth or possessions that made him wrong, but the rich man’s apathy and lack of action had caused him to commit the sin of omission in not helping out his fellow man, Lazarus, when he could have done so, many times.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, let us all remember that all of us as Christians are called to do good in our daily living, to live up to our Christian calling and mission in whatever way we can, in each and every moments of our lives. We should always remember to put God at the centre of our lives and do our very best in our every actions, words and deeds so that by our everyday efforts and works, even in the smallest things that we do, we will always help more and more people all around us. As Christians, we are called to be active in reaching out to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, to our fellow men and women who need our help and company, among other things.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to help and guide us all in our lives, remembering that in each and every moments we should continue to live our lives virtuously, in loving God and in loving one another around us, especially those whom God has given us all to love, and also those whom we encounter in our lives, in our everyday moments that we have been given the opportunities to show care, love and concern for those who have been placed in our paths. Let us all continue to show them the generous love that we can give them, in whatever way we can, so that by our generous love and compassion, we may truly be worthy of God and His love, and show forth God’s love to all those whom we encounter, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 16 : 19-31

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores.”

“It happened that the poor man died, and Angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried. From hell where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.'”

“Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.'”

“The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live, let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'”

“But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'”

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Thursday, 5 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the one who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the law of the Lord and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 5 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 17 : 5-10

This is what YHVH says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings and depends on a mortal for his life, while his heart is drawn away from YHVH! He is like a bunch of thistles in dry land, in parched desert places, in a salt land where no one lives and who never finds happiness.”

“Blessed is the man who puts his trust in YHVH and whose confidence is in Him! He is like a tree planted by the water, sending out its roots towards the stream. He has no fear when the heat comes, his leaves are always green; the year of drought is no problem and he can always bear fruit.”

“Most deceitful is the heart. What is there within man, who can understand him? I, YHVH, search the heart and penetrate the mind. I reward each one according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds.”

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Thursday, 26 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we reflected upon them during this time and season of Lent, we are reminded that we should always trust in the Lord our God even during the most difficult and challenging moments. We must always trust that the Lord has the power to change our situation and that He will never leave us alone in our struggles and difficulties. God has always loved us all unconditionally and most generously no matter what, and He has always consistently showed us His Presence when we needed Him the most. Even when we suffer, we do not suffer it alone because with the Lord by our side, Who has suffered far greater for us, we will be triumphant in the end.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Esther we heard of the moment when Esther, the Queen of Persia, who came from the people and race of Israel, went to seek the Lord for help, in her great anguish and desperate effort to help her people which was at that time under threat of annihilation and destruction, prayed before the Lord asking Him to help and to remember the love He has always had for them. For the context, the story began from the ascent of Esther from a humble Israelite woman living in exile in the community of the people of God in Persia, whom together with her relative, Mordecai, gained great favour from the king because the Lord was with them, and while Esther became the new Queen of Persia, Mordecai, who had saved the life of the king before from an attempted plot, received honour from the king.

However, within the court of the King of Persia there was one named Haman, the Agagite, known as such because he was directly descended from Agag, the historical king of Amalek. The Amalekites were the bitter enemies of the Israelites in the past, and despite several centuries having passed since the time when Israel destroyed Amalek and their king Agag, but their descendants likely sought vengeance against the Israelites, and they had the perfect opportunity through Haman. This Haman also rose greatly in the court of the King of Persia and became very powerful as the right hand man of the king and as vizier of the kingdom, essentially the most powerful person in the whole kingdom after the king himself.

And Haman, fueled by jealousy against Mordecai and anger against the Israelites, managed to get the king to declare a law against all the Israelites, considering them as outlaws and making it legal and allowed for anyone to attack them and to seize their properties and materials without any repercussions. Hence, it would have been the end of the Israelites, and because the Law of the kingdom of Persia could not be repealed, then it would have been certain doom and destruction for the whole people of Israel. That was therefore why Queen Esther was in a particularly difficult situation, and she was in the perfect opportunity and place to help her people. However, as what happened to her predecessor, Queen Vashti, if she did so, she was risking her position and even her own life.

That was why Esther prayed to the Lord asking Him to assist her and to give her the strength and courage to carry out what she was about to do, all for the sake of God’s own beloved people. She trusted the Lord wholeheartedly and allowed Him to guide her actions, eventually leading to her coming before the king and pleading for her people, and leading to the downfall of Haman, who got his just consequences of all his plots and attacks against the people of God. And the people of Israel were saved because the Lord was with them and Esther moved the heart of the King and convinced him to allow the Israelites to defend themselves against their enemies. That was how the people of God was saved and liberated from the plots of their enemies, and Haman, the prime instigator, was put to death by the king.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and reminding them that God is indeed like our loving Father, Who truly cares for us and Who has always been loving towards us, showing us His ever patient and wonderful love, which He constantly lavished on us without end. The Lord told His disciples with the words, ‘Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks.’ reminding them and all of us that all that God is and has always been available for us, as our ever patient and loving Father.

Unfortunately, many of us do not have enough faith and trust in the Lord, not realising that if we only open our mouth and ask Him, open our hearts and minds to welcome Him into them and to listen to Him, communicate with Him as like that of a father and his children, and vice versa, therefore, we need to put that faith and trust in Him because just as the Lord said it, no father especially fathers who live their children, would ever treat their children with disdain and ignoring their needs and pleas. No father would also harm his children, and hence, everything that God, our most loving, generous and compassionate Father and Master has done for us, all were meant for the good and the benefit of each one of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, as we all realise just how powerful God’s love and guidance have been for us, His constant presence and care for each one of us, which we should appreciate. As we continue to progress and journey through this time and season of Lent, let us all therefore continue to grow in faith in the Lord, and do our very best to proclaim Him faithfully through our own love for Him and from our exemplary living, actions and every deeds we carry out in each and every moments of our lives, obeying all that He has shown and taught us all to do. Let us seek Him wholeheartedly and entrust ourselves to Him just as Queen Esther had done, and just as how the Lord has reminded us of God’s ever present love. Amen.

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Thursday, 26 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 7 : 7-12

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks.”

“Would any of you give a stone to your son, when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?”

“So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there you have the Law and the Prophets.”

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Thursday, 26 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bcd-3, 7c-8

I thank You, o Lord, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down towards Your holy Temple and give thanks to Your Name.

For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.

With Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Thursday, 26 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Esther 4 : 17n, p-r, aa-bb, gg-hh (Latin Vulgate version – Esther 14 : 1, 3-5, 12-14)

Seized with anguish in her fear of death, Queen Esther likewise had recourse to the Lord. Then she prayed to the Lord God of Israel : “My Lord, You Who stand alone, came to my help; I am alone and have no help but You. Through my own choice I am endangering my life.”

“As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forebears that You, o Lord, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among their ancestors to be Your lasting heritage; that You did for them, all that You have promised.”

“Remember us, Lord; reveal Yourself in the time of our calamity. Give me courage, King of gods and Master of all power. Make my words persuasive when I face the lion; turn his heart against our enemy, that the latter and his like may be brought to their end.”

“Save us by Your hand; help me who am alone and have none but You, o Lord.”

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Thursday, 19 February 2026 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we embark on this journey of the Lenten time and season, we are reminded that all of us as Christians, that is all those whom God Himself has called and chosen to be His own people, we are all caleled to live our lives in the manner that is truly worthy and pleasing to God. This means that we should always do our best to walk in the path that God Himself has revealed to us and led us through. We should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly temptations, glory, desires and all the things which can lead us astray in our path towards God and His salvation. Each and every one of us as Christians should be good role models in living our lives with great and genuine faith at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the words of Moses, the one whom God had sent to the midst of His first chosen people, the Israelites, to be the one to lead them out from the land of Egypt to their Promised Land of Canaan where they would dwell in true happiness and satisfaction after many years and decades at least living under the tyranny of the Egyptians. The Lord Himself had led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt through Moses, and defeated their enemies before them, and He also made a Covenant with every one of them at Mount Sinai, putting His Law and commandments to them.

And with those Law and commandments in place, the Lord revealed that as His people, each and every one of them ought to live their lives faithfully in the manner that He has taught and shown them through those same Law and commandments, which in essence were meant to guide and help them all in their manner of living so that their lives and actions, all of those would always be aligned to God and His ways and that they would always live their lives with God at the very centre of their existence as they should all have done.

The Israelites often disobeyed the Lord and rebelled against Him, if we read through the whole account of the Exodus from the Old Testament, and many among those same Israelites perished and died in the desert because of their rebelliousness. They perished and died because of their disobedience and refusal to follow the ways of the Lord, allowing themselves to be swayed by worldly desires and temptations that led them to sin against God. But at the same time, God also revealed that He has always been full of love and mercy towards His people, and wanted them all to be reconciled with Him.

Therefore, Moses as he gathered the people in the latter part of his ministry and towards the end of the long Exodus journey from the land of Egypt to Canaan, he told them all very clearly and bluntly that they all had been given the freedom to choose their course and path in life, and that if they were to choose to obey the Lord, then they would be blessed and receive the bounty of God’s grace. However, like those who had perished earlier on during their sojourn in the desert, should the people of God choose to disobey God, then they would suffer for their disobedience and lack of faith.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers on how He would be betrayed by His own, handed over to His enemies and made to suffer grievously for the sins and mistakes of the people, all of which were due to the wickedness and the ego, pride and greed of those who have frequently opposed the Lord and His efforts to minister to the people of God, such as many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the Temple authorities, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin and many others.

The Lord also told His disciples and followers that if they want to be His true disciples, then they all ought to take up their crosses and follow Him. Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, what does it really mean by taking up the crosses? It is a figurative speech representing the need for all of us as the disciples and followers of the Lord to follow Him wholeheartedly and confidently, in resisting the temptations of sin and worldly vices, which is a path that is more difficult to take and walk in as compared to following the worldly ways and manners. Hence, this is the cross that all of us have to bear as Christians.

But, we must also remember that we do not carry these crosses alone, by ourselves, as the truth is that, we carry them together with the Lord, and we never suffer alone, as the Lord Himself is always often by our side, providing for us and giving us the strength necessary for us all to persevere and to walk faithfully in the ways that He has revealed to us. When He is calling on us to follow Him, He is not putting unreasonable demand from us, and He is there with us, journeying together with us, as we walk side by side towards His salvation and grace as one people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, having been reminded of our calling and obligation as Christians, as those whom the Lord had called to be His disciples and followers, let us all live our lives worthily from now on, in obedience to His will, to follow faithfully the Law and commandments that He has passed down to us and taught us all through the Church. Let us all continue to observe this Lenten season faithfully and meaningfully, doing our very best to practice our faith and our Lenten practices with good appreciation and understanding of their importance in our lives. Amen.