Tuesday

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Tuesday, 5 April 2022 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Vincent Ferrer, Priest (First Reading)

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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Tuesday, 29 March 2022 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the passages of the Scriptures reminding us that in Him alone lies true healing, happiness and joy. For in the Lord is our true hope and liberation, our path out of the darkness, the light that dispels the despair and the troubles facing us. If only that we have enough faith in Him and are willing to turn towards Him with renewed conviction and commitment, we shall surely be blessed and be truly happy.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which the vision of Ezekiel of the heavenly Temple of God is told to us. The prophet Ezekiel saw the vision of the great heavenly Temple and sanctuary in which God Himself resides, and saw great rushing of water that came from the Temple. That water is a life-giving water that bursts forth from God’s presence, a great purifying stream that purifies all things. The water makes everything wholesome again, purifying the sea of foul water and giving life wherever it went, and all these are symbolic reminders from the Lord of all that He would do for us.

Through Him, we have received the promise of healing and purification, the cleansing of our corruption and sins, the healing from our sickness and troubles. Through our Lord, we have received the guarantee and sure hope of everlasting life, by the coming of His Son in our midst, Our Lord and Saviour, through Whom the love of God has been made manifest. Through Him, the Lord has renewed the Covenant and promise He had made with us from time immemorial, reminding us yet again and again of His ever enduring love and kindness.

Then, we heard of how the Lord Jesus healed the man who had been sick and was likely paralysed and unable to move for a whole period of thirty-eight years. He had pity on that man who had been waiting forever to have a chance to be healed by the miraculous waters of the Pool of Bethzatha. No one had helped him to come near the water whenever the Angel of God came to touch the water and caused the people who came to it first to be healed. The Lord has shown Him the love that He has again and again showed us, and He became that life-giving water, renewing the life and hope in the sick man.

Thus, the Lord helped and made the sick man whole once again, allowing him to walk once again. He healed him from his troubles and gave him strength. This happened after all those thirty-eight years long suffering he had endured. In the end, he was satisfied and redeemed by the Lord, Who by His great power liberated him from the clutches of his disease and disability. Thus, we heard how God rescued us in our time of greatest trials and troubles, which He did for all of us through the offering and sacrifice He made on the Cross, by which the atonement of our sins had been done and completed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to these readings from the Scriptures, we are all reminded that in this season of Lent, we ought to redirect our attention towards the Lord once again. We are all called to follow Him and to return to Him with faith. Are we willing and able to do so? Are we willing to turn away from our sinful path and our wickedness, and embrace our Lord again with genuine and true love and devotion? These are the questions that we should ask ourselves as we continue to journey through this season of Lent ever closer to Holy Week and Easter.

We have long been dominated and taken control over by sin, which corrupted us and made us weak, sick and diseased, for sin is indeed the corruption of our soul caused by our disobedience against God and refusal to listen to His words, commandments and will. And there is no cure for sin save for the forgiveness, grace and mercy from God. However, we often refuse to allow God’s mercy and love to works wonders with us because we are simply to proud to admit that we could have been wrong or mistaken in our way of life. We refuse to admit that we are sinners and are sickened by those sins, in need of help and healing from God.

Are we willing to humble ourselves and ask the Lord to heal us from those malignant sins within us? Are we willing to make the effort to walk with the Lord and to follow Him wholeheartedly from now on? We are all called to drink from the fountain of God’s mercy, and to receive from Him the life-giving water, the spring of life coming from God Himself. Let us all seek Him and turn ourselves towards Him, looking at His mercy, kindness and love, and entrust ourselves to Him from now on. May our Lenten observances be fruitful and help us to get ever closer to God. May God bless us and our actions, our efforts to walk ever more faithfully in His path, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 29 March 2022 : 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, 29 March 2022 : 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, 29 March 2022 : 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, 22 March 2022 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today through what we had listened from the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love that God has generously given to us, provided us and patiently offered to us, all these while, that through His love we have received such great benefits and bounty, through the many examples that He has shown us through our various predecessors, and through the parable that Our Lord has spoken to His disciples, the parable of the unforgiving servant in our Gospel passage today.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Daniel of the story of the persecution of the faithful, the famous story of how the three friends of Daniel, namely Azariah, Hananiah and Mishael. They were all thrown into a great furnace by the orders of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. They refused to obey the king’s orders to all the people to worship the great golden statue and idol in his own image that he had built and erected over the land. The three of them alone refused to bow down and worship the statue of the king, and remained faithful to the Lord.

The king was made even more furious because the three men stood by their faith and spoke up courageously in the defence of their faith in God. They would rather suffer and die instead of betraying and abandoning their Lord and Master. The king ordered the furnace to be made even hotter than usual, and threw the three men into it. We heard in our first reading today, the prayer that Azariah had made, entrusting themselves to God and asking Him to show His mercy and love to them, showing their utter commitment and dedication to Him.

Azariah prayed to the Lord also on behalf of the entire people of God, who were then mostly exiled and brought far away from their homeland. The people of the ten tribes of the northern Israel kingdom had been brought off into exile much earlier on, while by the actions of same king Nebuchadnezzar, the people of the southern kingdom of Judah had also been brought into exile, cast out of their homeland, having their homes and cities destroyed and occupied by strangers and foreigners. All these were caused by their infidelities and their wickedness, the sins that they and their ancestors had committed. God listened to them and protected them from the fire, and made the whole people and king Nebuchadnezzar astonished and amazed at their miraculous survival.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the parable that the Lord told His disciples and the people gathered to listen to Him, regarding the unforgiving servant, who was forgiven his debts by his master and yet refused to forgive the debt owed to him by his fellow servant. The master showed pity on the servant because he was unable to pay off his debts, and forgave him all of his debts which would have seen his properties, loved ones and more seized. But that servant was not really appreciative and thankful of what he had received from his master.

Instead, he persecuted his own fellow servant who owed him much lesser than what he had owned his master earlier on. This incident was a reminder from the Lord how we often treat one another with lack of mercy, love and compassion while the Lord has shown us so much of that mercy and love. The master is a representation of the Lord Himself, while the servants represent all of us. The Lord showed His mercy and compassion, forgiving us our sins, and He expected us all to do the same as well. When the master punished the unforgiving servant for his lack of mercy, that is a reminder for us that unless we love one another and show mercy and love for our brothers and sisters, then no mercy shall be shown to us either.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all make good use of this time and season of Lent to be more generous with our love, compassion and mercy to each other, just as the Lord Himself has shown us His great love and mercy. The example of Azariah, Hananiah and Mishael has shown us just how much beloved we are by God, and how He wants to reconcile us to Himself. God has always loved us since the very beginning, and while He could have destroyed us due to our many sins, represented by the debts the servants owed to the master, but He was ever generous and loving, willingly forgiving us our sins.

As we say in the Lord’s Prayer that we are all familiar with, ‘Forgive us our sins just as we forgive those who have sinned against us’. This is the calling made to all of us Christians to show more love and compassion to our fellow brethren, to be more like Christ, Our Lord and our most loving Saviour. Just as He has reached out to us with the outpouring of God’s love and compassion, seeking out the worst of sinners and rebels, we too have to do the same with our own lives. We should do whatever we can to show works of charity, generosity, life and kindness at every possible opportunities and even in the smallest things we do.

May the Lord be with us all and may He empower each and every one of us. May He strengthen us all with the courage and strength to live faithfully in His presence at all times. May all of us draw ever closer to God and help us to be more loving, compassionate and kind to one another, and be willing to walk in the path of repentance as well, accepting God’s generous offer of mercy and love. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 March 2022 : 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, 22 March 2022 : 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, 22 March 2022 : 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, 15 March 2022 : 2nd 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, we are all reminded to be righteous in all of our actions and deeds, in each and every moments of our lives. We have to be humble and attuned to our sins and faults, all the wickedness we have committed, and endeavour to overcome them, replacing them instead with righteousness and virtue. We are reminded to turn away from sin and to embrace God’s path, His love and grace.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard the words of the Lord speaking clearly to His people through Isaiah calling on all of them to remember what they are meant to be as the chosen people of God, as those whom God had called to follow Him and to be role models for all of the other people of this world. They were all reminded of the fates of the wicked, all those who have not obeyed the Lord’s will and committed sins against Him. Hence, that was why Sodom and Gomorrah were mentioned, the fate of those two cities destroyed because of the sins of its people.

At that time, the people of Judah had seen what happened to the northern kingdom of Israel, the ten tribes that rebelled against the House of David and which for most of its history, rebelled against God as well. The northern kingdom had been overcome, overthrown and conquered by the Assyrians, who crushed their kingdom and cities, destroyed their capital of Samaria and brought off the entire people into exile in far-off Mesopotamia, in exile away from their homeland. This was the fate of those who had disobeyed the Lord, persecuted His prophets and refused to believe in Him.

The same fate would be faced by the people of Judah as well, in due time, as after the time of the prophet Isaiah, the people fell again into sin after a brief return to the way of the Lord, and they would abandon and betray Him, resulting in them also losing their kingdom, their homeland, defeated and humiliated, crushed and conquered by the Babylonians, and brought in shame to exile in the far-off lands of Babylon and beyond, sharing in the fate of those who have disobeyed God earlier on.

Yet, God has always been full of mercy and compassion for His people, and just as He has patiently loved all of them for a long time, despite all that they had done to Him, in abandoning and rejecting Him, the Lord still wanted them all to be reconciled to Him, and He called on them all to return to Him, being penitent and humble, willing to abandon their old ways of sin and evil, and embrace the new path of life that God has shown us, the virtuous and righteous way of life that God has presented and taught to us.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to the people regarding the pride and hubris of the elders and the leaders of the people of God, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, all those who were greatly respected in the community for their intellect, guardianship over the Law and the community, and which they then reciprocated with great arrogance and hubris, as they demanded a lot of honour and respect, to be treated with favour and given glory and fame.

That was exactly why many people failed to return to the Lord and remained in rebellion and disobedience against Him. It was the sin of pride, of ego and hubris that had brought many people down into sin, and they were the same ones that had kept people sinning again and again, and falling deeper and deeper into the path of sin and evil. This is why, as Christians, all of us are called to resist these temptations of our pride, ego, our hubris and ambition, all these desires we have for power and worldly glory, for wealth and fame among other things.

Therefore, let us all make great use of this Lenten season to be the good members of the Church and the Christian community. Let us all turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and commit ourselves in each and every moments of our lives, from now on, to face the world with the sight of faith, with the determination to carry on living our lives with genuine faith and trust in the Lord, living our every moments with courage and hope, as great role models of God’s path amidst our fellow brothers and sisters. May God bless us all and may He empower us all to live ever more courageously in His presence, now and always. Amen.