Wednesday

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Wednesday, 14 February 2018 : Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we mark the beginning of the forty days of the season of Lent. On this Ash Wednesday, as we celebrate it every year, blessed ashes are imposed on the foreheads or heads of the faithful, reminding them of the penitential nature of this season. The time of Lent is a time of preparation for us to prepare ourselves in our hearts, minds and our whole being for the upcoming celebration of the mysteries of the Holy Week and Easter.

Ash Wednesday mark the beginning of this wonderful season and time, a time to turn inwards into ourselves and reflect about our lives, our actions and deeds thus far, whether everything has been going on well and whether we are in good standing with God, or whether we have lapsed and fallen along the way, due to the temptations we face in life, and due to our inability to resist the allures of the devil who is constantly trying to undermine us and drag us into sin.

On this day, the ashes are imposed on our heads with the words uttered by the priest, ‘Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.’ These words remind each and every one of us that we are mortals and mere creation, and that we were created from dust and had the breath of life given to us by God, as mentioned in the Book of Genesis. Without God we are nothing, and without His love and grace, our existence is empty and meaningless.

Yet, many of us have forgotten about God and His love for us, and instead, we were busy with our many concerns and pursuits in this world. We spent most of our time trying to earn ourselves more money, more prestige, more worldly goods, praise from others, more pleasure and other things that led to our further slide deeper and deeper into sin.

Many of us are also too proud to admit that we have been wrong and mistaken, sinful and unworthy. We think that nothing can go wrong in our own lives, and that we are in control of everything we do. We think that we are the masters of our own lives and everything have to go in accordance to what we desire it to be, and when things do not go according to our desire, we end up becoming angry, jealous and negative.

In the world we live in today, we are inundated and often overwhelmed from every possible sources with the subliminal and often hidden messages, which are the ways that the devil tempt us with, of the materialistic and hedonistic way of life many of us are familiar with. We are presented with a way of life centred on our very selves, on the ‘I’ and ‘Me’ at the main focus, and we are conditioned to be selfish, to put our needs and desires ahead of others.

But let us ask ourselves, what does gaining more power, more wealth, more glory in this world, more prestige and status and all the other things we often desire in our lives can do to us? Can all these things last forever? Can all of them withstand the test of time, fire and all other things that often cause us sorrow because they can destroy all these things we deem to be precious to us?

Can any of those things I mentioned extend our life in this world for even a single second, or even a small fraction of a second? No! None of these will come to any use when the time appointed by the Lord for each and every one of us come upon us, the time of our death. That is the fact and reality which all of us must understand and be aware of, that all man must die. Death is the only certainty in life, and nothing else is less certain than the time of death.

That is why beginning from this Ash Wednesday and throughout the season of Lent, we are all invited to take a break from our daily schedules, business and all the things that have preoccupied us all these while. Year after year, the season of Lent represent a time for us to prepare ourselves, in mind, heart and body, to be able to celebrate the most important mysteries and aspects of our faith with proper disposition and understanding.

We must realise that we are mere mortals, and we will one day die, and we have to face this fact. Many of us are in fact obsessed and desiring to find ways to prevent death, or at least postpone the onset of death. We spent many hours and much money trying to find ways to keep ourselves healthy and looking young, some even resorting to medicines and physical surgeries and modifications, in order to make ourselves look younger and healthier, but how do all these things benefit us?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as I have mentioned earlier, our existence and life has no meaning without God, for it is God Who gave us our life, the breath of life He has given to each one of us. And just as He has freely given this life to each one of us, He is also free to take back the life at the time of His choosing, and it is not for us to decide when we are to die. Today, we all receive the ashes on our foreheads as reminders for our mortality and our sins.

For sin has corrupted us all, as the disease that is slowly consuming us from within. Sin is caused by our disobedience and refusal to follow the Lord’s will, and instead, following our own desires and wants, we rebelled against God and sin entered into our hearts. And unless if we do something about our sinful and corrupted state, we will not be allowed to enter into the new life and the eternal glory which God has prepared for us, His people.

We must be purified and cleansed before we are considered worthy of the Lord, and in order to achieve this, we must be willing to repent and turn away from all the sins and wicked things we do in life. Some of us are afraid to do so, because we are afraid that God is angry with us and therefore we hide from Him, and pretend as if everything is going fine. But if we do so, we are only lying to ourselves, and just as He knew about the sins committed by Adam and Eve, who pretended at first not to know anything about what they had done, God Who knows everything also knows every single sins we have committed, from the smallest to the greatest.

God knows that we have sinned, and He is disgusted and angry at all the sins we have committed. But His great love for us is far greater than His anger and disgust at us, and instead of being angry, He is rather more worried about us, on what will happen to us should we continue to walk in our path of sin. He is always ready to give us another chance, to show us the way back to His embrace and to love us once again fully with all of His most loving heart. However, it is us mankind who have always been stubborn and rejected His attempts to reconcile us with Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, as we enter into this sacred and contemplative season of Lent, and as we receive the blessed ashes on our forehead, let us first and foremost recognise that we are sinners and we are in need of help. And there is no one else we can turn to besides the Lord Himself. He is ever ready to welcome us back and to love us back fully as He had done before, but are we willing to open ourselves to accept His free offering of love and forgiveness?

During this season of Lent, we practice fasting and abstinence, as ways for us to restrain our human desires and to open ourselves to contemplation and direct our thoughts towards the Lord. However, when we fast and abstain from certain pleasures in life, we must also keep in mind that we must do them with the right reason in mind, or else, as mentioned in the Gospel today, we will end up falling back into sin. Do not fast or abstain for the sake of being praised by others, but rather because we want to return to God’s loving embrace.

Let us all then renew our faith in God, and commit ourselves to a new life, turning away from all the past sins we have committed, discarding from ourselves, the anger, the jealousy, the greed, the worldly desires and all that have thus far been obstacles in our journey back towards the Lord. May this time of Lent be a turning point in our lives, that we may reorientate ourselves towards God, to He Who loves us and reconcile ourselves with Him. May God be with us always, throughout this journey of faith. Amen.

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Wednesday, 14 February 2018 : Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be careful not to make a show of your righteousness before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be seen in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by the people. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.”

“If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be seen. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.”

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father Who is with you in secret; and your Father Who sees what is kept secret will reward you. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this : they have already been paid in full.”

“When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father Who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.”

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Wednesday, 14 February 2018 : Ash Wednesday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

2 Corinthians 5 : 20 – 2 Corinthians 6 : 2

So we present ourselves as ambassadors in the Name of Christ, as if God Himself makes an appeal to you through us. Let God reconcile you; this we ask you in the Name of Christ. He had no sin, but God made Him bear our sin, so that in Him we might share the holiness of God.

Being God’s helpers we beg you : let it not be in vain that you received this grace of God. Scripture says : At the favourable time I listened to you, on the day of salvation I helped you. This is the favourable time, this is the day of salvation.

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Wednesday, 14 February 2018 : Ash Wednesday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 12-13, 14 and 17

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone have I sinned; what is evil in Your sight I have done.

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and I will declare Your praise.

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Wednesday, 14 February 2018 : Ash Wednesday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Joel 2 : 12-18

YHVH says, “Yet even now, return to Me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. Rend your heart, not your garment. Return to YHVH, your God – gracious and compassionate.” YHVH is slow to anger, full of kindness, and He repents of having punished.

Who knows? Probably He will relent once more and spare some part of the harvest from which we may bring sacred offerings to YHVH, your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, proclaim a sacred fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the community, bring together the elders, even the children and infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his bed, and the bride her room.

Between the vestibule and the altar, let the priests, YHVH’s ministers, weep and say : Spare Your people, YHVH? Do not humble them or make them an object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples : Where is their God?

YHVH has become jealous for His land; He has had pity on His people.

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Wednesday, 7 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we listened today to the words from the Scripture telling us about the moment when the Queen of Sheba from the land of Ethiopia travelled to Jerusalem to see for herself all the glory that was told about Solomon, God’s chosen king and leader for His people, Israel. Solomon was widely known at his time because of his great wisdom, his great wealth and power.

Solomon showed her all of his glory, his wisdom and all that God had granted him, and the Queen was amazed at all that she had seen, which surpassed all the rumours and news she had heard from her homeland. Solomon had great number of wives and concubines, and great amount of wealth, and he had a strong army and rich stores of grains and goods, all that the people of this world would have ever wanted.

However, those riches and his wives and concubines corrupted Solomon, who fell into pride and hubris, disobedience against God and lack of faith, as he gave in to the demands and allures of his wives to allow pagan worship in accordance with the customs of their respective people, leading Israel back into sin, as they turned away from the Lord their God. His great wealth and power made him proud of his achievements, and God was no longer the centre of his life.

But, did those wealth, riches and the wives cause the corruption in Solomon? And do all these things lead him to sin by themselves? If we remember what we have also just heard from the Gospel today, and heed what the Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, then we will realise that it was not the case. The Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because of their extreme dedication to the external observances of the Law.

The Pharisees were very strict with the observances of the rules and regulations of the Law, particularly in the matter of cleansing and purification, as they grumbled upon seeing Jesus and His disciples not performing the ritual purification as described by the Jewish customs at the time. According to them, the washing of the hands before meals should be done in a particular way, from the tip of the fingers right down the whole arms all the way to the elbow.

And they were also very particular with regards of the food prohibitions, on food that was considered to be unclean in accordance with the Jewish law, that no one could touch the unclean food, and in fact, they could not even come in contact with people considered to be unclean, such as those deemed to be sinners like the prostitutes, tax collectors, criminals, and all those who were deemed to be unworthy.

But in their insistence and enforcement on all to obey the rules and regulations right down to the smallest details, being afraid that external defilements might make them unclean and impure, ended up becoming irrational and made them to lose their focus and purpose in fulfilling those laws and commandments. Instead of bringing them closer to the Lord, as what the Lord intended when He gave those laws to His people, it ended up leading the people away from God.

Sin and disobedience, all the defilements and wickedness came about not from the outside but from the inside. This is what the Lord Jesus wanted to point out to the people. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law might be outwardly pious and obedient to the Law, but their hearts have no God in them. Instead of God being at the centre of their lives, it was their ego that takes the most prominent place.

They sinned not because of all their external actions, which were probably good, but because of their insincerity and lack of faith, because of their hubris and ambition, because of their greed and inability to resist their human desires and wishes. It was all of these negative emotions and feeling coming up from inside of them, which led them to sin against God. On the other hand, people who were deemed sinners were saved, because they sincerely desired to be forgiven from their sins.

It was the same with king Solomon as well, as king Solomon’s wealth, all of his kingdom’s might, power and glory are all just means to be used, and they are by no means good or evil. Money can be used as much for good purpose such as charity and good deeds, as they can be used for wicked purposes, to cause suffering and pain for others. Rather, his sin and disobedience came about because of his pride and the growing greed inside his heart and mind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of these are reminders to us all, that as Christians, we have to strive to live faithfully to God, not just for the sake of appearances or for the sake of fulfilling our obligations, but instead, we must truly love God through everything we say and do. Otherwise, our faith will be empty and meaningless, and we will easily fall into temptation, the temptation of pride and greed, the temptation of worldly pleasures and power, as king Solomon and the Pharisees had succumbed to.

Let us all renew our faith with a new zeal, so that in all that we do, we will always do them for the glorification of God, and for our great love and dedication towards Him. After all, He has blessed us and loved us all, just as He has blessed Solomon greatly. But let us not be swayed and tempted by the blessings we have, and instead, let us learn to share the blessings we have, loving our brethren in need, so that we may be true Christians, sharing God’s love with one another, particularly to those who need it most.

May God be with us always, and may He continue to bless all of our endeavours, so that in everything we do, we will be filled with joy, knowing that God is with us along the way, and He will be with us and we will share in His eternal glory, reserved for all those who are loyal and faithful to Him. Amen.

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Wednesday, 7 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 7 : 14-23

At that time, Jesus then called the people to Him again and said to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean. Let everyone who has ears listen.”

When Jesus got home and was away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him about this saying, and He replied, “So even you are dull? Do you not see that whatever comes from outside cannot make a person unclean, since it enters not the heart but the stomach, and is finally passed out?”

Thus Jesus declared that all foods are clean. And He went on, “What comes our of a person is what defiles him, for evil designs come out of the heart : theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.”

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Wednesday, 7 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 36 : 5-6, 30-31, 39-40

Commit your way to YHVH; put your trust in Him and let Him act. Then will your revenge come, beautiful as the dawn, and the justification of your cause, bright as the noonday sun.

The mouth of the virtuous utters wisdom and his tongue speaks of what is right. His steps have never faltered, for the Law of God is in his heart.

YHVH is the salvation of the righteous; in time of distress, He is their refuge. YHVH helps them, and rescues them from the oppressor; He saves them, for they sought shelter in Him.

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Wednesday, 7 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 10 : 1-10

The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame, and came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a vast retinue and with camels loaded with spices and an abundance of gold and precious stones.

When she came to Solomon, she told him all that she had on her mind and Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing that the king could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food on his table, the residence of his officials, the attendance of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings which he offered at YHVH’s House, it left her breathless.

Then she said to the king, “All that I heard in my own land concerning you and your wisdom was true. But I did not believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. And what did I see! I was told only half the story; for your wisdom and wealth surpass the report I heard.”

“Fortunate are your wives! Fortunate are your servants who are ever in your presence and hear your wisdom! Blessed be YHVH your God, Who has looked kindly on you and has put you on the throne of Israel! Because of YHVH’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king so that you may dispense justice and righteousness.”

Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in abundance, and precious stones. Such an abundance of spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon was never again seen.

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Wednesday, 31 January 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we listened to the Scripture passage relating to us about what happened to David, the king of Israel in his later years, after God has granted him rest from the troubles and challenges in the early years of his rule as king. David then asked Joab, his commander of the army, to conduct a great survey of the whole realm, and count the numbers of his people.

We might not understand what was the problem with this request done by David, but if we are to think about it more carefully, what David has done is a natural reaction by many of us mankind, because of our human greed and prideful nature. By asking such a command to be done, David fell into sin as he became enamoured by the power and influence he commanded at the time, as his kingdom grew in might, wealth and power.

When he wanted to count the number of his subjects, it is not different from us, when we have gained a lot of money or earned something substantial, and we want to count them all. That is because when we have them, we desire for even more, and as we count what we possess, be it in terms of money or in terms of other material goods, we actually feel, deep in our hearts, a sense of pride and arrogance because we think that it was by our own power and ability that we have achieved all that we gained.

God was angry at David because of that short, momentary occurrence of pride and arrogance. He has allowed himself to be swayed by that pride and the temptation of the flesh, as those were what had led many people into their downfall, into committing sins against God. Thus, God reminded David of his errors and corrected him by means of admonition and just punishment.

And David’s reaction was truly admirable, as he humbled himself before God and admitted all the wrongs which he had done. He accepted the just punishments that God had meted out against him and against his kingdom. He recognised that he was a sinner and that he had gone astray in his path, and resolved to return to the right path. Such was the behaviour which God loved in David, His servant, and He continued to bless him henceforth.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard about the Lord Jesus Who went to His hometown, likely the village of Nazareth, where He performed miracles and taught among them in the synagogue, and yet, He was not well accepted by them. The people quickly grumbled and spoke among themselves, questioning His credibility and doubting all that He had done and performed among them.

They used their human prejudices and judgments to look upon the Lord and His actions. As such, they doubted Him simply because He was the Son of a mere carpenter, a person whose job was not well respected at the time, and considered to be uneducated, poor and generally as people who were looked down upon at that time. That is why they had that preformed judgment in their minds, and they therefore stubbornly closed their hearts and minds to the Lord.

What they have done is not different from what king David had once done. If king David was proud of his own achievements and greatness, the vastness and glory of his kingdom, then the people of Nazareth doubled down on their pride and trust in their own human judgments rather than allowing the Lord to speak to them through His actions. And they refused to listen to Him, and hardened their hearts against Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, essentially, what we have heard in today’s readings are reminders for us that each and every one of us will always and indeed, have always faced temptations, challenges and difficulties in our lives. In various ways, we have been burdened by those difficult moments and obstacles, and we may have fallen many times into the temptation to sin. However, we have to persevere and resist through those temptations and overcome those challenges we face along the way.

As Christians, all of us are called to live righteously, filled with courage and dedication, that we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, and spend our energy and time doing what the Lord had commanded us to do, what He has shown us and taught us. And perhaps, we should follow an exemplary role model, whose life has been shaped by the Lord, and whose devotion to Him can be good examples for us to follow.

St. John Bosco was the founder of the religious order now known as the Salesians of St. John Bosco or the Salesians, one of the largest religious orders in the world today. Members of the religious order dedicate themselves to follow in the footsteps of St. John Bosco in his missionary outreach and efforts, as well as in his dedicated service to the people of God, particularly to the youths, to the underprivileged and to the weak among the people.

St. John Bosco was an Italian priest renowned for his efforts in educating the youths and the homeless in his community, establishing schools and dormitories for young boys who were homeless and without occupation, getting them to be educated and bringing them up in the right way, giving them the opportunity to be good and contributing members of the community.

St. John Bosco wanted to do more, and he wanted to embark on missionary works to evangelise the faith among the people, and therefore, he established with several others who were inspired by St. John Bosco, in a new religious congregations which eventually became the Salesians we know of today. Through the good examples set by St. John Bosco, which was followed by many of those who have dedicated themselves to God in the same manner, many have been saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves to the Lord in the same way as St. John Bosco has committed himself. Let us all turn towards the Lord, and rededicate ourselves completely to Him, just as king David turned away from his folly and admitted his mistakes before God. Let us all be true Christians, filled not with pride and arrogance, or with the greed of our human desires, but instead be filled with love, care and compassion, especially for our brethren, those who have less and are not as fortunate as us to have a good and comfortable life.

May the Lord strengthen each one of us, that we may live in accordance with His ways, and devote ourselves ever more strongly and genuinely to Him. St. John Bosco, pray for us all, that each and every one of us may be strengthened to live our lives with faith as you have done with your own. May God bless us all. Amen.