Tuesday

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Tuesday, 19 March 2024 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Samuel 7 : 4-5a, 12-14a, 16

But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for My Name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever. I will be a Father to him and he shall be My son.”

“Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

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Tuesday, 12 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, we are all reminded of God’s ever present love, compassion and mercy towards each and every one of us. God has called us all to holiness and to leave behind our many wickedness and sins, so that we may be reconciled with Him, just as He has always been so generous in loving us and extending His mercy and compassion towards us. What matters it therefore for us to embrace God’s love and mercy, which He has extended to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. God has given us all His Son as a clear sign and perfect example of His love for us, and through this perfect Love He has manifested for us, He has gathered us all to Himself.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, in which the famous vision of Ezekiel of Heaven and its Temple was highlighted to us. In that vision, the prophet Ezekiel saw God’s Heavenly Temple in all of its glory, seeing the Son of Man bringing him around the place and measuring its dimensions. He witnessed the Holy Presence of God residing in that Temple and how a great stream came forth from the House of God to give life to whichever places and sites that it touched. The great river of life coming out from the Temple of God, that gave life to all things and purified the foul-smelling water, is a representation of Christ, Whose Body is the Church of God, and through His actions, His suffering and death, salvation came to all of us, through the gift of Baptism, that all of us may enter into a new life and existence in God.

This Lenten season, all of us are reminded to reflect more on our lives and actions, and consider carefully our path forward so that we may better know how we can progress in our lives to come ever closer to God. As we draw now ever closer to the beginning of the Holy Week, we are constantly and progressively being reminded more and more of everything that God had done for us, for the sake of our salvation and liberation. God has given us the means to new life and freedom from the tyranny of sin and evil, by sending down His Son, to lead us all through the darkness and guide us into the Light of His salvation, like how He led the Israelites through the Red Sea in the past, out of the land of their slavery in Egypt and into freedom, to the land promised to them. Thus, God has also led us all into our intended destination, that is eternal life with Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the miraculous healing done by the Lord Jesus on a paralysed man who had been lying in wait for a long time at the Pool of Bethzatha, as no one was willing to help him to reach the water of the pool when the Angel of God came to touch it, which according to tradition brought healing to whoever that managed to touch the water first. The Lord Jesus saw that poor man lying down by the poolside, and showed His love and compassion, healing the man from his condition and restoring him to good health. In a parallel to the story of the vision of Ezekiel from the Old Testament, we heard of God’s healing that had come upon the one who had faith in Him, believing in His love and mercy. While no one helped the man for a whole period of thirty-eight years, the fact that he remained there must also be caused by his unwavering faith and trust in the Lord.

This brought us to remember that as Christians, that is God’s beloved people, we must always have faith in the Lord, believing that God is with us, guiding us and journeying with us. He never leaves us alone, and He has always been by our side, providing for us and giving us the necessary strength and encouragement to follow Him with faith. While sufferings, challenges and difficulties may indeed come in our path, disturbing and making our way towards God difficult, but we must not lose heart, as the Lord Himself has reassured us of His continued guidance, help and presence in our midst. We have nothing to fear and we should continue to put our trust in God, regardless of the many challenges, trials and hardships that we may have to face in our lives.

All of us should come towards the Lord, seeking His help, kindness, guidance and help. Through His strength and providence, God will help us to remain firmly committed to His path, and strengthen us so that we may be strong in our endurance and persistence despite the many challenges present all around us. Despite the difficulties and trials we may have to face, but if we truly believe in the Lord and walk in His path, in the end, He will reward us all for our commitment and willingness to stay with Him and in living our lives worthily as Christians, in being good and worthy examples for our fellow brothers and sisters, for everyone all around us. Through our good actions and deeds, we should be the light and beacon for others to follow, to guide them on the path back towards God.

In this season and time of Lent, we should be more attuned with ourselves and with God. In this world where we often faced a lot of temptations, distractions and challenges, we should always keep in mind that God’s love for us and His Presence in our midst can help and strengthen us to face all those difficulties and challenges which we cannot resolve on our own alone. This is why we must keep our focus, attention and emphasis on following the Lord, in centering ourselves on Him. We should continue to be good role models and inspirations for our fellow brothers and sisters, to everyone whom we encounter in each and every moments of our lives. It is by our faithful Lenten actions and observances that we can be better disciples and followers of Christ.

May the Lord continue to guide and bless us in this journey of faith through life, and may He empower each and every one of us so that hopefully through our dedicated and faithful Lenten observances, by deepening ourselves in a life of prayer, in our fasting and abstinence to control our worldly desires and all the temptations in life, and by our ever more generous almsgiving, may all of us continue to draw ever closer to God and to His truth. May He bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, and strengthen us in all things, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 1-16

At that time, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool (called Bethzatha in Hebrew) surrounded by five galleries. In these galleries lay a multitude of sick people : blind, lame and paralysed.

(All were waiting for the water to move, for at times an Angel of the Lord would descend into the pool and stir up the water; and the first person to enter the pool, after this movement of the water, would be healed of whatever disease that he had.)

There was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him, and because He knew how long this man had been lying there, He said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” And the sick man answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; so while I am still on my way, another steps down before me.”

Jesus then said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk!” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his mat and walked. Now that day happened to be the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had just been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and the Law does not allow you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The One Who healed me said to me, “Take up your mat and walk!”

They asked him, “Who is the One Who said to you : Take up your mat and walk?” But the sick man had no idea who it was Who had cured him, for Jesus had slipped away among the crowd that filled the place. Afterwards Jesus met him in the Temple court and told him, “Now you are well; do not sin again, lest something worse happen to you.”

And the man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had healed him. So the Jews persecuted Jesus because He performs healings like that on the Sabbath.

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Tuesday, 12 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9ab

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore, though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of the Lord – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Tuesday, 12 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 47 : 1-9, 12

The man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastwards. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing the east and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

The man had a measuring cord in his hand. As he went towards the east he measured off a thousand cubits and led me across the water which was up to my ankles. He measured off another thousand cubits and made me cross the water which came to my knees. He measured off another thousand cubits and we crossed the water which was up to my waist. When he had again measured a thousand cubits, I could not cross the torrent for it had swollen to a depth which was impossible to cross without swimming.

The man then said to me, “Son of man, did you see?” He led me on further and then brought me back to the bank of the river. There I saw a number of trees on both sides of the river. He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome.”

“Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound. Near the river on both banks there will be all kinds of fruit trees with foliage that will not wither and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”

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Tuesday, 5 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded both of God’s great love and providence, as well as the need for all of us as Christians to embrace, understand and be thankful for all the love, kindness and grace which God has always generously shown us all these times. As we continue to progress through this penitential time and season of Lent, we should not take it for granted that the Lord has constantly and repeatedly shown us His mercy, grace and kindness. We must always centre our lives on the Lord and focus our attention on Him and we must always heed everything which He has told us to do so that by our obedience to His Law and commandments, and by our exemplary way of life, we will be good role models and examples for everyone around us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel in which we listened to the prayer of Azariah, one of the three friends of Daniel mentioned in the Book of Daniel. At that time, the context was that Azariah together with the other two friends of Daniel, Hananiah and Mishael were persecuted by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, who had built a large golden statue in his own image, and ordered everyone to worship the golden statue, essentially making himself as a god. The three men refused to bow down and worship to that golden statue, remaining steadfast in their belief and faith in God, and hence, risking the anger and the persecution from the king. The king threw all of them into a great burning furnace and made it much hotter as he was angry when Azariah and his friends proclaimed that there is no one that should be worshipped except for the Lord, their God.

It was there, within that burning furnace that Azariah made this prayer of supplication to God, asking for His providence and help for His faithful ones. In that same prayer, Azariah also showed the remorse and repentance on behalf of the people of Israel, the people of God, who had disobeyed Him and His Law, and hence, ended up in the predicament of having to suffer being in exile as what happened to everyone there, scattered and led far away from their homeland, forced to endure exile and humiliation in the foreign lands. Azariah asked the Lord for His mercy and compassion, that He might remember all the love that He has shown to His people throughout time. Despite their many sins and wickedness, God still cared for them and showed them His love and forgiveness, and sent His prophets and messengers to help lead them down the right path.

And God did indeed answer Azariah’s prayer, and their faith in Him brought them protection and deliverance from the harm that should have befallen them. The flames would not harm them, and no matter what, they remained in perfectly safe condition, protected by the Angel that God had sent to them, witnessed by the same king Nebuchadnezzar and all who witnessed the event. God truly showed His love and mercy, His compassion and kindness to His faithful ones, remembering that each and every one of them are truly precious and beloved to Him, and hence He safeguarded and protected Azariah and his peers, showing everyone not just the wonders of His love, but also the mercy and forgiveness that He has shown them.

This is related closely to our Gospel passage today, which was taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew, which was about the parable of the ungrateful servant that the Lord told to His disciples and followers. In that parable, the Lord related the story of a servant who owed a huge sum of money to his master, ten thousand pieces of gold, which was truly an astronomical sum. He could not pay his due and there should have faced consequences and punishments for that. Yet, when he begged for his master to show him leniency and to give him time to settle his debts, not only that the master showed pity and mercy on him, but the master completely erased all of his huge sum of debts. This is a representation of how the Lord, our loving and merciful God, represented by the master, has forgiven us all our many sins and faults towards Him.

Yet, that ungrateful servant immediately went after one of his fellow servants as we heard in that parable, threatening him and refused to forgive or to give chance for the other poor servant to pay his due. Essentially, as the Lord elaborated further, the ungrateful servant did not take pity or show mercy upon his fellow men although he himself had been shown great mercy from the master. That was how he was punished eventually, even more than what he should have had to suffer earlier, because of his lack of gratitude for everything good that had been done for him, and for lacking compassion and mercy for others who were not as fortunate as he was. The master would have expected him to show the same kind of mercy and love for his fellow men, and not to take what graces and blessings he had received for granted.

This is thus a very important reminder for each and every one of us that we must show the same kind of love and mercy, compassion and forgiveness to one another just as the Lord Himself has loved us all first, and just as how He has willingly embraced us and reached out to us, calling upon us to return to Him and to walk in the path of His grace and love once again. Like the master who has forgiven the massive gift of the first, ungrateful servant, we all should be thankful to have been given the chance to repent and to be forgiven from our many and innumerable sins, wickedness and evils, and then, just as the Gospel parable has kindly reminded us to forgive others their sins and faults to us just in the same manner how God has been willing to forgive our far more serious sins and faults towards Him. When the Lord told St. Peter to forgive seventy times seven times, it is not meant to specify how many times we must forgive, but rather, it is a representation of how all of us must forgive always and generously.

Let us all therefore make the best use of this time and period of Lent, this penitential period where we are all called and reminded to return once again towards the Lord, our loving God and Creator. Let us all turn back towards the Lord with hearts and minds that are opened and renewed, with the strong faith and desire to love and serve God. Let us all be more loving and be kinder upon others around us, showing care and compassion to everyone in need around us. Let us all be there for them and let us all help and support each other so that in everything that we say and do, and in our every interactions, hopefully we may grow ever stronger in our faith and commitment, as a people whom God Himself has blessed and made holy. Amen.

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Tuesday, 5 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 18 : 21-35

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

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

“The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When the servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his companions, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the neck and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!'”

“His companion threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ The other did not agree, but sent him to prison until he had paid all his debt. Now his fellow servants saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord.”

“Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your companion, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry, so he handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.”

Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”

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Tuesday, 5 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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Tuesday, 5 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 3 : 25, 34-43

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

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

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

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

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Tuesday, 27 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season of Lent, we are all reminded through the Scriptures that sin is truly something that is very dangerous to us, and unless we allow ourselves to embrace the love and mercy of God, we will not be able to escape the fate of our destruction and downfall, in which we have been fated to by our rebellion and disobedience against God, His love and truth. We must always keep in mind that our disobedience and refusal to follow the Lord and to believe in His path have sundered us from the fullness of His grace and love, leading us into sin, and through sin, we have been corrupted and stained by the stain of evil. And as long as we are corrupted and stained by these taints of sin, we cannot be truly free from the chains of evil, darkness and death.

That is why we are all reminded that we should always seek God’s mercy and forgiveness before it is too late for us all. We have been given many opportunities, again and again, by our Lord Who has always been full of love, compassion and mercy to each and every one of us. Not even the worst of sinners can be separated from the love of God, His mercy and kindness, the forgiveness for their many sins, unless if they themselves have consciously rejected God’s mercy, forgiveness and love at every possible turns and opportunities that have been given to them. God has given us all the free will, the freedom to choose our course of actions and paths in life, to choose to walk in the path of the Lord, His righteousness and grace, or to choose instead to walk in the path of sin, wickedness and evil.

The first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah showed us all the Lord’s reminders and warnings to His people, the people of Israel and Judah, about the dangers of sin and what sin and evil could bring about for them, ruin and destruction, just as it had happened in the past. The Lord presented the example of the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were infamous for their great wickedness and sins, the evils and disobedience which they had committed, and also their refusal to listen to the Lord and His messengers, that the two cities were destroyed by the great rain of fire and brimstone from Heaven, and henceforth, the two cities were eradicated from the face of the earth, never to be populated or remembered again.

By mentioning those two cities, and remarking that His people were like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord was in fact making a clear point before all of them that they had all been disobedient and wicked in their way of life and in their actions, and the Lord certainly knew about all that they had done. He therefore warned them of what they would also suffer if they continued to persist in their path of rebellion and evil, and if they refused to repent from their many sins, wickedness and faults. However, at the same time, the Lord also presented to His people a clear avenue and pathway for them to come back to Him, telling them that even if their sins were truly terrible, He would still welcome them back to His loving Presence and forgive them, if they would reject their sinful ways and abandon their evil and wickedness.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord spoke to His disciples and followers, and to the people who were assembled to listen to Him, about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law and why they should listen to them but not to follow what they had been doing, in how they practiced their faith and in their actions, in parading their piety and actions before everyone so that they could be praised and honoured for all of those actions. The crux of the problem here is that, many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at the time of the Lord acted high and mighty, lording over the others whom they deemed and considered as less worthy and less pious than they were, and they even persecuted those who did not practice the Law in the manner that they had done.

As such, in their pride, ego and greed, many of them succumbed to the temptations of worldly power and glory, and thus, being blinded by the worldly attachments and pride, they ended up closing their hearts and minds to the Lord, persisting in their mistaken paths and erroneous thinking, in their false sense of superiority and pride. This is what we must not do in our lives, as the more we harden our hearts and minds, thinking that we are better or superior, then the easier it will be for us to fall deeper into the path of sin. Instead, all of us should be humbler when we grow more in faith, realising that we have always been prone to sin, and we have committed sins in various forms from time to time, and we are in need of healing and forgiveness from God. This is where we can allow ourselves to come and approach Him, at the Throne of His Mercy, and be reconciled with Him.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Gregory of Narek, one of the Doctors of the Church who was recently declared as such by Pope Francis, our current Pope, hailing from the Armenian Church tradition during the Middle Ages. St. Gregory of Narek lived in the then Kingdom of Vaspurakan, where he was born as the son of a local bishop. His father was suspected of siding with the Chalcedonian beliefs and ways, which is what we Catholics believe in today, as well as many other Christians, but at that time, the Armenian Church refused to accept the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon because of some issues in the dogma and teachings of the Council which did not fit their beliefs. As such, St. Gregory of Narek’s father was excommunicated, and St. Gregory of Narek himself faced those who doubted his faith and beliefs, being suspected of the same faults as his father.

Nonetheless, despite all those challenges and difficulties, St. Gregory of Narek, having been raised in a religious family, grew to be God-fearing and faithful, and eventually took up the calling to be a priest and monk. He was a truly humble and pious man, who was very bright intellectually and wrote extensive works such as his renowned Book of Lamentations, showing many others how to connect to the Lord ever deeper spiritually. He also spent a lot of time teaching the other monks and those who desired to seek the Lord, and devoted himself to a life of prayer and seclusion until his passing from this world. Despite his humble demeanour, the great faith and commitment that St. Gregory of Narek has shown brought countless souls to salvation in God, and still inspired many even to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed heart and mind, with the strong and genuine desire to be forgiven and to be reconciled with Him, with the strong desire to repent and turn away from our many sins and wickedness. Let us all seek the forgiveness and mercy of God, and do our best so that our lives from now on may be truly worthy of Him in all things, which we can gain inspiration from the life and faith that St. Gregory of Narek has shown us. May God be with us always and may He bless us all in our every actions and deeds. May God strengthen and encourage us in our faith. Amen.