Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 32 : 4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22
For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.
But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.
In hope we wait for the Lord for He is our help and our shield. O Lord, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 2 : 36-41
Peter said, “Let Israel then know for sure that God has made Lord and Christ this Jesus Whom you crucified.” When they heard this, they were deeply troubled. And they asked Peter and the other Apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”
Peter answered : “Each of you must repent and be baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise of God was made to you and your children, and to all those from afar whom our God may call.”
With many other words Peter gave the message and appealed to them saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who accepted his word were baptised; some three thousand persons were added to their numbers that day.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded today as we continue to approach the time of the Easter or Paschal Triduum ever closer now, of the coming events that we are going to commemorate during that most solemn period, remembering how God manifested His love most perfectly to us through His most Beloved and only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, through Whom we have seen the love of God, our heavenly Father, Who has always patiently reached out to us in love, generously providing us all the sure pathway to salvation and eternal life, by nothing less than the breaking of the Body and the outpouring of the Blood of the Lamb of God, Christ Himself, Whose sufferings and death on the Cross is at the centre and focus of our entire Paschal Triduum.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard the continuation of the Lord’s prophecy and words to His people through the prophet Isaiah, in which He proclaimed His salvation to His people and to all the nations, through the Saviour Whom He would one day send into this world to bring about deliverance for all of us away from our sins and the darkness surrounding us. And this Saviour is none other than the Lord Himself, the Divine Word of God, the Logos, incarnate in the flesh, making tangible and real, approachable and direct, His Love being manifested perfectly towards us. Through Him, we have received the promise and the fulfilment of everything which the Lord had reassured us all throughout time.
We heard how the Lord promised His people that they would no longer be scattered all around the world and be separated from the love and grace of God. They would once again be reunited as one people, blessed by God and brought under His light once more. They and their ancestors might have erred and committed sins against God, but God’s mercy and love are greater than His anger towards them and their waywardness. And He is always ever ready to welcome them all back to His loving Presence, to heal them all and to make them whole once again, that everyone will truly know that they belong to God. And this is the same promise that God has also shown towards us as well, and we are therefore reminded of this today that we may continue to have hope in the Lord, in His constant love and providence.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the upcoming betrayal of Judas Iscariot just as it was narrated to us, from the perspective of the Lord and His Twelve disciples at the time of the Last Supper just right before He began His Passion in Jerusalem. We heard how the Lord knew that one of His closest disciples would betray Him, and He knew exactly who that person was, and told everyone about everything that would happen, just as He had foretold to them before. It was at this moment that, as we heard, Judas Iscariot, did exactly as the Lord had told the traitor would do, and yet, everyone were still unaware of the fact. The Lord, knowing exactly what would happen and what would happen to Him, told Judas to do what he must do.
We also then heard in that same passage how the Lord also predicted that the Twelve would be scattered when the enemy were to strike at Him, their Master. Despite the protests from the disciples and especially from St. Peter, who boldly and loudly proclaimed his faith and steadfastness before everyone and the Lord Himself, the Lord told Peter of what would happen to him that very night, how he would deny the very same Lord whom he proclaimed that he would give up his life and die for. The Lord told all these to Peter and the other disciples, reminding them all of the dangers of fear and hopelessness amidst darkness and despair, and how they all should still hold on to faith and hope in Him, regardless of whatever that happened. For hope in God is more powerful than even the greatest darkness.
It is indeed easy for all of us Christians living in this world today, in our various capacities and areas of responsibilities to be facing lots of difficulties and challenges, daily and at every moments. And not only that, but we may realise that often, what makes things even more difficult for us is the fact that those who made these things challenging and difficult for us may even be fellow Christians and those who are close to us, like our friends and members of our own families. Like Judas Iscariot, who betrayed his own Master, the One whom he had been working with closely for few years, we too can face betrayal, hardships and trials even from those closest to us, and this can, and have been proven many times, cause scandal, hurt and evil things to surround us. This is where it is important for us to continue to hold on to hope in the Lord, knowing that in His Love and Providence, God will always be with us, and He always provides.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to these words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that despite all the uncertainties, fears, hardships, struggles and challenges that we may be facing in our respective journeys and paths, we must not lose hope in the Lord, and we must continue to put our trust and hope in Him, keep moving forward with faith and courage no matter what. We must listen to the Lord and know what is His will for us, trusting in Him that He will make a way even when things are really difficult and challenging for us, and even when things seem to be impossible. For with the Lord, nothing is truly impossible, and even in the greatest moment of our sufferings, God can transform that to the greatest triumph in a single moment. Never lose hope in the Lord, never.
May the Lord continue to strengthen us in our resolve to walk ever more courageously and faithfully at all times, doing our best to glorify Him by our every actions, attitudes and conduct, so that through every moments, everything that we do, we will draw ever closer to Him and be ever greater and better examples for everyone around us. May God be glorified through us and may He continue to strengthen our faith, each and every moments of our lives. May our Holy Week observances be truly good and fruitful too. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
John 13 : 21-33, 36-38
At that time, after He said a discourse to His disciples after He washed their feet, Jesus was distressed in Spirit, and said plainly, “Truly, one of you will betray Me.” The disciples then looked at one another, wondering whom He meant. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining near Jesus; so Simon Peter signalled him to ask Jesus whom He meant.
And the disciple, who was reclining near Jesus, asked Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “I shall dip a piece of bread in the dish, and he to whom I give it, is the one.” So Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And as Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus then said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
None of the others, reclining at the table, understood why Jesus said this to Judas. As Judas had the common purse, they may have thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or “Give something to the poor.” Judas left as soon as he had eaten the bread. It was night.
When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. God will glorify Him, and He will glorify Him very soon. My children, I am with you for only a little while; you will look for Me, but as I already told the Jews, so now I tell you : where I am going you cannot come.”
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but afterwards you will.” Peter said, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I am ready to give my life for You.”
“To give your life for Me?” Jesus asked Peter, “Truly I tell you, the cock will not crow, before you have denied Me three times.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 70 : 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15 and 17
In You, o Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. In Your justice help me and deliver me, turn Your ear to me and save me!
Be my Rock of refuge, a Stronghold to give me safety, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God, from the hand of the wicked.
For You, o Lord, have been my Hope, my Trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.
My lips will proclaim Your intervention and tell of Your salvation all day, little though it is what I can understand. You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim Your marvels.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Isaiah 49 : 1-6
Listen to me, o islands, pay attention, peoples from distant lands. YHVH called me from my mother’s womb; He pronounced my name before I was born. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me into a polished arrow set apart in His quiver.
He said to me, “You are Israel, my servant, through you I will be known.” “I have laboured in vain,” I thought, “and spent my strength for nothing.” Yet what is due me was in the hand of YHVH, and my reward was with my God. I am important in the sight of YHVH, and my God is my Strength.
And now YHVH has spoken, He Who formed me in the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, to gather Israel to Him. He said : “It is not enough that you be My servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.”
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 of the love that God has always patiently shown upon us that even though we have often sinned against Him, but that did not prevent Him from continuing to reach out towards us with love, as He continued to care for us and shower us with His kindness and love. He still looked upon us with forgiveness and the willingness to be reconciled with all of us. No one can be excluded from His love, and unless we ourselves have rejected God’s love and grace right to the very end, there is always a path for us towards redemption and reconciliation with Him. We shall gain justification and strength through Him, and will be forgiven our sins if only that we repent from them and sincerely desire to turn away from the wickedness of our evils. But if we sin against God and continue to do so, we have to face the consequences for those sins, as the Scriptures had shown us today.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Numbers how the people of Israel, those whom God had rescued and led out from the land of their misery and enslavement by the Egyptians, rebelled against the Lord and complained against Him, despite having been shown such great care and love from God. They committed vile deeds and hardened their hearts against God, and thus they have sinned against God. Then, for their stubborn attitude and behaviour, the Lord sent fiery serpents to strike at those who have persistently disobeyed against Him and refused to listen to Him. This is representative of what sin entails, that is because sin leads to separation from God and hence death, since without God, we can have no life. Those who disobeyed God and sinned against Him essentially had to suffer the consequences of their own sins and wickedness.
But it did not mean that God despised His people, as in truth, God still loved His people very much, and still cared for them regardless. That was why He showed them His mercy and compassion as He gave them the path out of their predicament when they showed repentance and regret over their sins, as He told Moses to make a great bronze serpent standard, lifted up high on a pole before the people, so that all those who were bitten and then saw the bronze serpent would not perish but live. This was a prefigurement of what the Lord Himself would do through His own Son, Whom He would send into the world so that He might save us all, that by looking upon Him Who has been crucified for us, we may all find forgiveness and true reconciliation with God. Yes, what we have heard in our first reading today, is a prefigurement for our Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross for the salvation of the whole world.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus as He spoke to the Jewish people who assembled and gathered in order to listen to Him. He told them all more of the truth about Himself, proclaiming about what He Himself would do for the salvation of all and the whole world. He told them all how He would have to suffer and be raised up for everyone to see, the Son of Man, raised up like the way the bronze serpent of Moses was lifted up for everyone to witness. Thus, again, what we have heard today from the Gospel is one important moment when the Lord revealed that He was about to suffer for everyone’s sake, to gather all of the Lord’s scatted people and all those who loved Him to Himself. He went through all the humiliation and sufferings so that all of us may have the assurance of new life and existence with Him.
He has revealed God’s love in the flesh, that everyone may see the Love of God personified and made clear in this world. The Lord has given us His own Son to us as the clear sign of His love, just as He has given the bronze serpent to Moses as the means for the Israelites to escape from their predicament of being bitten by those terrible serpents. The Lord gave His Son to us so that by Him bearing upon Himself all the sins and faults that we have made, which bore down heavily on His shoulders as He lifted up His Cross, we may all be redeemed and freed from the bondage to sin, to the tyranny of evil and death. This is what we are all reminded of today, as we listened to these Scripture passages. We are reminded both of the dangers and threats posed to us by our sins, and how God has most generously provided us with the means to get away from all those threats.
That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to come ever closer to the beginning of Holy Week, and we progress ever deeper into the mysteries of Lent and of God’s love for us, let us all therefore spend some time to reflect on our own lives and actions, particularly in everything that we have said and done in the past year. Have we been truly good and faithful disciples of the Lord in all those things, in being good and exemplary, faithful and inspirational in showing our faith through our way of life? Or have we instead lapsed and fallen away from the path of righteousness, as we allowed ourselves to be swayed and tempted by the many temptations and allures of worldly glory and pleasures around us? Have we been stubborn and obstinate just like the Israelites who frequently and repeatedly rejected God’s most generous love and compassionate mercy?
This season and time of Lent, let us all make good use of the opportunities and time provided to us so that we may remind ourselves of our calling as Christians, that is to be holy and worthy of God, and to distance ourselves from the wickedness of worldly attachments and sins. Let us all be good role models, examples and inspiration for one another in how we live our lives, in everything we say and do, even in the smallest and the seemingly least significant matters, so that all of us may be the true and faithful beacons of God’s light and love, and be the faithful witnesses of Our Lord’s truth in the midst of our respective communities in our today’s world. This Lent should be a time for us to reexamine our focus in life so that we may turn away from the wickedness of the world and from the falsehoods of the devil, and instead, embrace wholeheartedly the loving and righteous ways of the Lord, our God and Saviour. We are also reminded and called to love one another ever more generously and lovingly, especially those whom we love the most.
May the Lord therefore be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us with the strength and the courage to be able to stand up for our faith, and to do what is right and just according to what He has shown and taught us to do. May God bless us all in our every endeavours and good efforts, in everything we do for His greater glory. May God bless our Lenten journey and perseverance through life. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
John 8 : 21-30
At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “I am going away, and though you look for Me, you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” The Jews wondered, “Why does He say that we cannot come where He is going? Will He kill Himself?”
But Jesus said, “You are from below and I am from above; you are of this world and I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you shall die in your sins, unless you believe that I am He.” They asked Him, “Who are You?”; and Jesus said, “Just what I have told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the One Who sent Me is truthful and everything I learnt from Him; I proclaim to the world.”
They did not understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of Myself, but I say just what the Father taught Me. He Who sent Me is with Me and has not left Me alone; because I always do what pleases Him.”
As Jesus spoke like this, many believed in Him.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 101 : 2-3, 16-18, 19-21
O Lord, hear my prayer; let my cry for help come to You. Do not hide Your face from me when I am in trouble. Turn Your ear to me; make haste to answer me when I call.
O Lord, the nations will revere Your Name, and the kings of the earth Your glory, when the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in all His splendour. For He will answer the prayer of the needy and will not despise their plea.
Let this be written for future ages, “The Lord will be praised by a people He will form.” From His holy height in heaven, the Lord has looked on the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoners, and free those condemned to death.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Numbers 21 : 4-9
From Mount Hor they set out by the Red Sea road to go around the land of Edom. The people were discouraged by the journey and began to complain against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna.”
YHVH then sent fiery serpents against them. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, speaking against YHVH and against you. Plead with YHVH to take the serpents away.”
Moses pleaded for the people and YHVH said to him, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard. Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived.
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