Wednesday

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Wednesday, 17 February 2016 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jonah 3 : 1-10

The word of YHVH came to Jonah a second time : “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce to them the message I give you.” In obedience to the word of YHVH, Jonah went to Nineveh. It was a very large city, and it took three days just to cross it. So Jonah walked a single day’s journey and began proclaiming, “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.”

The people of the city believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. Upon hearing the news, the king of Nineveh got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes.

He issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh : “By the decree of the king and his nobles, no people or beasts, herd or flock, will taste anything; neither will they eat nor drink. But let people and beasts be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call aloud to God, turn from his evil ways and violence. Who knows? God may yet relent, turn from His fierce anger and spare us.”

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not carry out the destruction He had threatened upon them.

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Wednesday, 10 February 2016 : Ash Wedneday, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we begin the season of Lent, the time of preparation before the great and glorious celebrations of Easter, a time for repentance, for forgiveness, and when the faithful and the whole Church unite together in fasting and abstinence, to remind ourselves that we are all sinners, unworthy and had been tainted by our disobedience against God.

The ashes today symbolised the nature of our sins, and how small we are before God, despite all of our greatness, our achievements, our talents and all the things we have accomplished and all the properties and goods we possess in this world. Remember the words of the priest, as he places the ashes on our foreheads or on our heads, that we are all man, mortal and sinners, and from dust we have come, and so to dust we shall return.

Ashes has been used since a long time ago, and also by the people of Israel as a sign of penitential intention, the desire of one to repent from one’s mistakes, as a symbol of humility and of unworthiness one feels because of one’s actions and misdeeds. And today the ashes we receive came from the palm branches used in the last year’s Palm Sunday celebration, which we also use for the same purpose, that is to remind us all that we are all penitents, all sinners seeking God’s ever loving mercy.

In the first reading today, we heard the prophet Joel who called the people of God to repent from their sins, casting aside their sinful ways and to repent before God, making a genuine change in their lives, and therefore receive the forgiveness from God, and a time of mercy when God would reunite all His people to Himself. Through the prophet Joel, we are reminded that God is compassionate and willing to forgive those who have sinned against Him.

And we must have heard about the prophet Jonah, who was sent to the city of Nineveh and its people, the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire, to bring the words of the Lord that the city and all of its people would be destroyed because of their sins and their iniquities. And even though it was not mentioned what their sins were, but it was likely to be pagan gods, debauched lifestyle, and all the sins that the mighty Assyrians had done, in killing and causing harm to others.

And we heard how the people of Nineveh, all from the king to the lowest servants and people, all immediately stopped in their track, and they repented before God, regretting their wicked ways and asking for God to spare them the destruction and the punishment which He had intended for them. And God Who saw their sincere repentance, withheld His anger and showed His mercy to them, sparing them from the destruction which should have come their way.

In this, we see how God is loving and merciful to all of His people, even to the pagans and sinners. What is important however, is that this requires great effort and work in order for this to come into effect. Indeed, God offers His mercy generously and freely to all sinners and to all those who have wandered away from His path. But those to whom mercy had been shown, have they accepted God’s offer of mercy and have they done something to show their acceptance in sincerity?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in these days, as we often talk about mercy, and indeed, in this year, during this special Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, many of us often have a misconception about mercy and forgiveness. And there are even those who have espoused the thoughts that God’s mercy requires no effort from those to whom mercy have been shown, or that we should show mercy to others without requiring the other party to change their way or do something about their faults.

No, this kind of mercy is false mercy, and it is not what today’s Ash Wednesday celebration is about. For true mercy requires us indeed to show genuine mercy that is accompanied with the demand for sincere and genuine effort from the penitents to change their ways, sin no more and follow the Lord with all of their heart and might from now on.

Do we remember what Jesus did with the woman who was caught by the Pharisees and the elders having committed adultery with another man than her husband? In that, we heard how Jesus confronted those who desired to see her dead and those who wanted to stone her, by reminding them Himself, that as fellow sinners, for all of us have sinned be it in small or great degree, they have no right to judge others on their sins, and only God truly have the right for judgment.

But Jesus also said to the woman to sin no more and urged her to follow God’s path from then on. He did not let the woman go on with her old life and with her adulterous ways, but He showed her, and also all of us, that while we cannot be judgemental and condemning upon those who have sinned, but not doing anything to bring sinners back into the light of God is also something that is very wrong.

This is why, this season of Lent is the perfect time and opportunity for all of us, the reminder that we are all sinners who have committed sin before God, and how God wants to show us His mercy and love, but many of us remained adamant in our sinful ways, and how some can be obstinate and how they can turn a deaf ear against God’s loving mercy.

This is the time for us, to help one another to seek God’s mercy and to accept His offer of mercy with the sincerity from the heart. It is our duty and obligation, brothers and sisters in Christ, to bring one another closer to the throne of our Lord’s great mercy, and to inspire one another in seeking and having genuine repentance, turning away from all of our sins, abandoning all the sinful ways we have done, and beginning a new life blessed by God.

And the Church is helping us to do this, by providing us with this time and opportunity of Lent, to prepare ourselves, body, mind, heart and soul as we head towards Easter, the season of joy and renewal. And this is why we also fast and abstain during the time of Lent, to discipline ourselves, our bodies and minds, from the temptations of the evil one, and to genuinely seek the salvation of our God through our good works and efforts in faith.

We fast on this day, to remind our bodies, that desire and greed lead us to nowhere. And rather than seeking earthly and worldly pleasures, which is temporary and preventing us to find true joy, we should restrain ourselves and use the opportunity to find the way to reach out to God, to repent from our sins and change our ways. And this is why we also abstain from the bad things that we often do as well, to remind us that while sin and sinful things may seem to be good, but they lead us nowhere else but condemnation and hell.

And as Jesus said in the Gospel today, this day is not a day of gloom and sorrow, for we indeed do not fast or abstain to gain man’s approval. It is also not to show off our own abilities and greatness. Instead, this day should be a day of great joy, but tempered with the understanding and the desire for all of us to change our ways for the better, that indeed, God had been merciful to us, and because of that, we are saved.

Therefore, let us not be gloomy today, and let us not be shy to wear the ashes on our heads. Today is the day when our faith truly goes to the open, where everyone can see the sign of the ashes on our forehead or on our heads. Wear the ashes with joy, and with the understanding that the time of mercy has come. And let us not scandalise the Lord and our faith, that in our actions today and from now on should show our sincere efforts to be forgiven from our sins. Otherwise, we will be hypocrites, and there is no place for hypocrites save for hell.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us change our ways of old, our sinfulness and wickedness. Let us all change ourselves for the better and get rid of our past unworthiness, all the darkness that had covered the true light inside each and every one of us. Let us show the faith and love we have for God, and let us all go forth in being good disciples and followers of our Lord, preaching His Good News through our efforts and deeds wherever we are.

May God bless our observation of Lent, that it will be a great time of renewal for us all, and may He ever strengthen the desire in our heart to love Him and to be forgiven of our sinfulness. God be with us all, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 10 February 2016 : Ash Wedneday, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18

At that time, Jesus spoke to the people and 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 seem 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 been paid in full already.”

“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, 10 February 2016 : Ash Wedneday, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (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, 10 February 2016 : Ash Wedneday, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (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, 10 February 2016 : Ash Wedneday, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (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, 3 February 2016 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we heard today’s first reading from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we may become confused by the meaning of the story. After all, it happened during the reign of king David that after God had made his reign secure and defeated all of his rivals and enemies. And then suddenly, God punished David and his kingdom for his supposed disobedience. What did happen actually?

The key here to understand the meaning of the passage, and the actions of those who are involved in the Gospel passage. Why did king David act in the way that he had done? It was likely because of comfort and human tendency to hubris and pride, that when one is given power, authority and affluence, one tends to be complacent and allow pride to enter one’s heart.

King David asked for a census and a count of the entire people of the kingdom of Israel. It seems like something that is normal and not beyond anything strange, but if we see how God had blessed David with so many good graces and blessings, then we should realise how this act showed clearly how David was affected by the poison of pride.

It is the same with many of us mankind. For after we have already gained many things, it is very difficult for us to be satisfied, desiring ever more things and goods, so that we are never satisfied and wanting more things for ourselves. That is why in our greed we often bring about our own destruction, as we end up doing things contrary to what our Lord had taught and shown us, and instead embarking on a path of self-fulfilment.

David wished to count how many people he had, because in his heart, even though he knew how God had blessed him with prosperity, triumphant victories and glory throughout his life and reign as king, but in his heart, he was careless and allowed power and greed to corrupt him, and he desires to know how many subjects he had, to highlight and revel in his own glory, human power and affluence.

Is this not the same with people who always worry about their possessions, and count how many coins and how much money they have? It is because of the concerns of the world, the temptation of possessions, pleasures of the earth and other things that had made so many people to fall down into the pit of sin and darkness. It was what made king David stumble in this case too, just as he once also sinned with Bathsheba, the wife of his own loyal servant.

All these then come to what we heard in the Gospel today, where we heard how our Lord Jesus was rejected by His own townspeople. He was cast out and even the townspeople wanted to kill Him, all because He had shown them many things that they could not comprehend in their minds, and they could not take it upon themselves to believe that He Whom they had known as a simple carpenter, and the Son of a mere carpenter could have been God’s Messiah.

They thought that they knew Jesus and Who He was, where He came from, and what He was capable of, but in their judgmental attitude and bias, they had forgotten that the ways of the Lord are not always the same as the ways of men. And therefore, through Jesus, God made it clear to the world that in order to follow Him, we have to cast aside our human biases, our human ambitions, desires and wants, so that we may not be corrupted by them but instead be purified by the Lord and by His grace.

Today we commemorate the feast of two great and renowned saints, whose deeds and actions had shown how faithful they were to the Lord and how loving they were in their service of His people, in bringing them closer to Him and rescuing the souls of those who have been lost in the darkness. They are St. Blaise, a bishop and martyr of the faith, and St. Ansgar, who was also a holy servant and bishop of God.

St. Blaise was renowned by the blessing of St. Blaise, in which two crossed candles are placed in front of the throats of the faithful as a sign of God’s protection and blessing upon them to guard against the diseases and sickness of the throat through the intercession of St. Blaise. But the history behind this popular and ancient rite went much deeper into how St. Blaise lived his life in faith to God and how he met his martyrdom for His sake.

St. Blaise was a Roman bishop who lived in the area now known as Turkey, where he ministered faithfully to the people of God entrusted to him as their bishop, as shepherd and guide, and he was also a renowned physician who was able to heal many bodily ailments. After having devoted himself to the service of God, he became a great healer of souls, bringing many people back from the darkness and into the light.

It was told that during a particularly vicious persecution by the Eastern Emperor, Licinius, St. Blaise was arrested with many others of the faithful, and when in prison, he helped to heal a sick child who had a fish bone stuck in his throat. Through his prayers and by the grace of God, the child was healed from his illness and recovered. This he had done just prior to his martyrdom, and it was from where the popular devotion and blessing of St. Blaise came from.

Meanwhile, St. Ansgar was a German saint, a renowned preacher and a faithful servant of God, who ministered to the pagans and all the unbelievers who still lived in the area now encompassing the northern regions of Germany. He went from place to place, preaching the word of God and calling for the repentance of sinners, and for their genuine conversion to the faith.

St. Ansgar encountered many challenges, difficulties, oppositions and threats against his safety and life throughout his missions, but he never gave up or feared the challenges presented to him. Instead, he continued to push forward and preached the word of God with even greater fervour and devotion. Many listened to his call, received baptism from his hands and from his followers, and became faithful Christians.

Through his hard work and devotion, not withstanding and submitting to his own desires, St. Ansgar, and similarly with St. Blaise, both of these faithful and courageous servants of God show us that if we are faithful and if we are able to commit ourselves and remove from ourselves the temptations of power, pride and all the things of the world that distract us, we can really go very far in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to take note of what king David had done immediately after he had realised his error. He did not proudly boast of his achievements or refused to change, but immediately, he lowered himself and humbled himself before God, asking Him to have mercy on him and on his people. This is what we must do as well, whenever we have erred and sinned.

Let us all cast away our shackles of pride, desire, and all the darkness that is in us. Let us then allow the Lord to come into our lives, and let us ask Him to give us His Holy Spirit, so that our bodies, our minds, hearts and souls may be made pure and be worthy of Him. And let us all also do and say things in accordance with His will from now on, following the examples of the great saints, St. Blaise and St. Ansgar.

May God be with His people always, and may He continue to bless us, and keep us in His love always. May He forgive us our sins and bring us all into the eternal life He had promised all of His faithful ones. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 February 2016 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Mark 6 : 1-6

At that time, leaving the place where He raised up the dead girl, Jesus returned to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach on the synagogue, and most of those who heard Him were astonished.

But they said, “How did this come to Him? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him, that He also performs such miracles? Who is He but the Carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the Brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offense at Him.

And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And He could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying His hands on them. Jesus Himself was astounded at their unbelief. Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.

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Wednesday, 3 February 2016 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Psalm 31 : 1-2, 5, 6, 7

Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven, whose iniquity is wiped away. Blessed are those in whom the Lord sees no guilt and in whose spirit is found no deceit.

Then I made known to You my sin and uncovered before You my fault, saying to myself, “To the Lord I will now confess my wrong.” And You, You forgave my sin, You removed my guilt.

So let the faithful ones pray to You in time of distress; the overflowing waters will not reach them.

You are my Refuge; You protect me from distress and surround me with songs of deliverance.

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Wednesday, 3 February 2016 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr and St. Ansgar, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

2 Samuel 24 : 2, 9-17

The king said to Joab and the commanders of the army who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people that I may know how many they are.”

Joab gave the total count of the people to the king : eight hundred thousand sword-wielding warriors in Israel and five hundred thousand men in Judah. But after he had the people counted, David felt remorse and said to YHVH, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done, but now, o YHVH, I ask You to forgive my sin for I have acted foolishly.”

The following day, before David awoke, YHVH’s word had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, “Go, and give David this message : I offer you three things and I will let one of them befall you according to your own choice.” So Gad went to David and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine in your land? Or do you want to be pursued for three months by your foes while you flee from them? Or do you want three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, think and decide what answer I shall give Him Who sent me.”

David answered Gad, “I am greatly troubled. Let me fall into the hands of YHVH Whose mercy is abundant, but let me not fall into human hands.” So YHVH sent a pestilence on Israel from morning until the appointed time, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan to Beersheba.

When the Angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, YHVH would punish no more and said to the Angel who was causing destruction among the people, “It is enough, hold back your hand.” The Angel of YHVH was already at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite.

When David saw the Angel striking the people, he spoke to YHVH and said, “I have sinned and acted wickedly, but these are only the sheep; what have they done? Let Your hand strike me and my father’s family.”