Wednesday

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Wednesday, 4 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Casimir (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Scripture urging us all to stay strong and steady even amidst the torrents of difficulties, challenges, oppositions and all that will come our way when we devote ourselves to the Lord our God. The Scriptures had pointed out, that when the world hates our Lord and had rejected Him, then they will also reject us out and hates us.

But did Jesus shy away from all those challenges? Did He become afraid or reluctant to face those challenges? No, in fact He went on to meet all those challenges head on. He did not fear suffering or dying for our sake. We who are sinners have been marked for death and destruction, and yet, He came between us and death, and through the shedding of His Body and Blood, He purified us and made us worthy of life once again.

The world hated Jesus and His disciples, and all who followed Him, because they did not understand the Lord and His ways. The world is the dominion of the evil one, the fallen Satan, who ruled the world by his corruptions and sinfulness. Naturally, the devil and all of his allies, all the wickedness in the world will plot together as one, in order to stop the salvation and good works of Christ, that they may bring more and more people to fall into corruption.

This is the great challenge that Jesus was facing at that time, all the rebelliousness of mankind, their wickedness and all the unworthy things which they had committed and which they also plan to commit even more. This is the cup of suffering and bitterness that God had to drink through Jesus, who was greatly tormented and troubled by such a prospect of having to endure the great weight of the sins of the world.

It is this cup of suffering which Jesus mentioned to James and John, His Apostles and to their mother. They indeed would also drink from the same cup of suffering that Christ had drunk, because as they followed Him and did His works, the world also would persecute them and caused them great suffering. Yet at that time, when the mother of James and John pleaded for Jesus to grant her sons the incomparable favour of sitting at the side of God, they did not understand what all those mean.

It is very common for us mankind to think in terms of the world, and in terms of worldly benefits and powers. Power, wealth, possessions, privileges, all of these are high in the minds of those who live in the world and therefore are bound to it. Many people work and labour for the sole purpose of self-aggrandisment, self-satisfaction, that is to satisfy one’s own desires, either for power, for wealth, for recognition, or for all of them.

But Jesus showed His disciples, that all these mean nothing, and to be true disciples of the Lord, we have to forgo all of our desires and wants. Yes, precisely what the mother of James and John had asked. By asking for such a special privilege, in her heart, she was trying to edge out all the other Apostles and gained special position and power for her children. But she failed to see that, such position are not granted by power but rather through faithful deeds and through humility.

Jesus did not boast in His power and majesty, even though He is the Almighty God, all powerful and mighty. He is a Leader not by showcasing or abusing His power and authority, but through genuine and real application of His leadership, and acting as what a Leader should be, that is by example and by leading others will genuine concern and love.

Jesus was troubled and His humanity greatly feared the huge burden of sin which God had made Him to bear, so that we may be saved. He led by example, and He drank that cup of suffering and bore all of our sins, out of love for us all. He was not a Leader who cowered in fear while His people were suffering from the effects of sin. Instead, He was in front of them, leading and guiding them, protecting them from harm’s way.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Casimir, also known as St. Casimir Jagiellon, who was the Crown Prince of the kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania. St. Casimir’s youth days were filled frequently with jostling for power and worldly matters, as is common with the nobles and those with power on those days. His father had great ambition for him and for his brothers, aiming to gather more power and glory for his family and dynasty, by claiming the thrones of the kingdoms around them.

Yet, gradually, St. Casimir came to understand that true power does not lie in the aggrandisement of wealth and power, and neither does it involve the use of fear and authority to abuse all those under his rule. He found that it is by listening to God and by doing His will that he can best use the power and authority which God had granted unto him, and his position gave him the privilege to do more for the sake of God’s people.

St. Casimir refused his father’s approaches with worldly power as well as the plans that he had crafted for him. He pursued great charitable acts with the poor and the less fortunate, helping them and serving them wherever possible. His health however, was failing and he was dying even as his piety grew to be more well-known and widespread. Nevertheless, what he lost in the world, he gained even much greater in heaven.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to be courageous in our faith. Do not let fear besiege us any longer or cause us to hesitate in our actions. Whenever we are in the position to help others who are in need, we must be ready to render our help and our love. True disciples of Christ and true leaders show by example, that is by loving one another and passing on the love of God to those who need it most.

We can no longer be ignorant or passive in how we live our faith. May God our Lord guide us always, and give us strength and courage so that in all the actions we do, we may do them for the glory of God, and for the benefit of all mankind. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Casimir (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 20 : 17-28

At that time, when Jesus was going to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “See, we are going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, who will condemn Him to death. They will hand Him over to the foreigners, who will mock Him, scourge Him and crucify Him. But He will be raised to life on the third day.”

Then the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down, to ask a favour. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “Here You have my two sons. Grant that they may sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, when You are in Your kingdom.”

Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We can.” Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink My cup, but to sit at My right or at My left is not for Me to grant. That will be for those, for whom My Father has prepared it.”

The other ten heard all this, and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations act as tyrants over them, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you : whoever wants to be more important in your community shall make himself your servant. And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man who has come, not to be served but to serve, and to give His life to redeem many.”

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Wednesday, 4 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Casimir (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 30 : 5-6, 14, 15-16

Free Me from the snare that they have set for Me. Indeed You are My Protector. Into Your hands I commend My spirit; You have redeemed Me, o Lord, faithful God.

I hear whispering among the crowd, rumours that frighten Me from every side – their conspiracies, their schemes, their plot to take My life.

But I put My trust in You, o Lord, I said : “You are My God;” My days are in Your hand. Deliver Me from the hand of My enemies, from those after My skin.

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Wednesday, 4 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Casimir (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 18 : 18-20

Then, they said, “Come, let us plot against Jeremiah, for even without him, there will be priests to interpret the Teachings of the Law; there will always be wisemen to impart counsel and prophets to proclaim the word. Come, let us accuse him and strike him down instead of listening to what he says.”

“Hear me, o YHVH! Listen to what my accusers say. Is evil the reward for good? Why do they dig a grave for me? Remember how I stood before You to speak well on their behalf so that Your anger might subside.”

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Wednesday, 25 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the story of Jonah, who was famously eaten by a whale and dwelled in its stomach for three days and nights, when he tried to escape from the mission which God had entrusted him, that is to warn the great city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, of the impending doom and destruction God was bringing upon it for its sins and wickedness, the sins of its people.

We see through the readings, how God forgives, rescues and helps His people, who had been lost to sin, wickedness and the darkness of the world, through the means of the sending of His own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is part of Himself, the Divine Word of God, who proclaimed the doom of the wicked and destruction of the haughty and sinful ones, who refused to repent from their sins, and yet, at the same time also assured those who were willing to repent and change their ways, the promise of eternal life and salvation.

God did not desire the destruction of His beloved people, as much as He hated their sins and disobedience. He wants them to be saved and reconciled with Him, and the way to do this is through genuine repentance and changing of our ways, that we would no longer sin but be righteous people and servants of God from now on. This was just like the people of Nineveh who sincerely repented from their sins and wickedness, and humbled themselves before the Lord.

But if we read further on in the Book of the prophet Jonah, we would realise that Jonah became angry with God, who forgave the people of Nineveh and did not carry out the punishment He intended for them. He refused to listen to God’s explanation for His mercy and he was deep in his anger, and when a plant that grew and sheltered him became parched and died, he burst out in anger against the Lord for that.

God chastised Jonah, by saying that, if the life of a single plant mattered so much for him to the point of being angry for its death, then the people of Nineveh, which number more than a hundred thousand were even more important for the Lord, for every single one of them are significant in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord cared for each one of them.

That was why He tried to show them His love and mercy, by sending Jonah to them, and the same was repeated when the Lord Jesus came, and this time, not just for the people of Nineveh or for a group of people, but instead for all of mankind, past, present and future, including all of us. But, for this to happen, that is for forgiveness to occur, we must play an active role in seeking for that forgiveness, and that means, to be humble and to lower ourselves before the Lord, as the people of Nineveh, and to dispose of all forms of pride, anger and others from ourselves.

Many of us are like Jonah, who thought that because he was the messenger of God’s will, then he could look down upon the people of Nineveh as condemned people and people destined for annihilation. He misinterpreted the will of God, and ended up dwelling in his pride, prejudice and hubris, thinking that he alone is worthy and not the people of Nineveh. Thus, his ego welled up inside of him.

The same also often happens to us. We are often too caught up with our ego and pride such that we fail to see our own sinfulness and inability to seek God’s forgiveness because of that ego and pride. As long as we refuse to bend down our knee, acknowledging that we are all also sinners, before the presence of God, it will be difficult for us to be forgiven for our numerous sins and therefore receive God’s salvation.

May all of us be awakened to the reality of our sinfulness, and be aware of how much God loves us and how great is the care which He wants to show us all, the desire which will bring us much happiness and grace, if only we follow the path of the people of Nineveh, who repented from their sins and in their humility begged for God’s mercy and forgiveness. May God be with us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 11 : 29-32

At that time, as the crowd increased, Jesus began to speak in this way, “People of the present time are troubled people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a Sign for this generation.”

“The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah.”

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Wednesday, 25 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 12-13, 18-19

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.

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.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart You will not despise.

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Wednesday, 25 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (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, 18 February 2015 : Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the beginning of the holy and solemn season of Lent, the forty days period that begins today and ends on the beginning of the Holy Week, as a season of preparation for the approaching celebration of the most important aspects of our faith, that is the celebration of our Lord’s death and resurrection from the dead.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the beginning of that penitential season, a time for us to reflect on ourselves and on our own lives, in terms of what we had done in this life and in what we have failed to do as the Lord commanded us. This is a time for us to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, taking advantage of the rich mercy and love which He had shown us through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In today’s readings, first taken from the Book of the prophet Joel, the content is one of humble lamentation and begging for supplication, by the people of God who had longed for a long period of time, the salvation in God. They have longed for the rescue and the help which only our Lord could give, the true joy and happiness which only He can give us and nothing else of this world could.

And in that same reading, we can see how our Lord Himself also desired for the salvation of His beloved people, no matter how sinful or wicked they were. It is only one thing that the Lord wants out of them, that is for them to abandon their sins, and from then on to love Him with all of their hearts and with the full and complete strength of their beings.

Sin is a great bane for mankind, that is the one which has separated us from the love of God, and it has caused us much great sufferings in this world. Before sin entered into the world and into the hearts of men, everything were good and perfect, and mankind were destined for a life in eternal joy and happiness as the Lord intended it, to live with Him and reign with Him forever.

Yet, our pride, our desire and greed, our emotions and our prejudice had prevented us from accomplishing such a wondrous life. Our ancestors were tempted and they failed. They gave in to the temptation of Satan, that is the temptation of knowledge. And ever since then, mankind had been in rebellion against God, and without God, mankind cannot stand up and preserve themselves, for truly we need God in our daily life.

Yes, our Lord and God provided us with everything that we need and He knows all that we will ever need. There is absolutely no need to worry for anything, as if we trust in Him, we shall never be disappointed. But, many of us continue to worry about the things of this world, and we are often swayed to follow our peers and be corrupted by the many concerns and pleasures of this world, the pleasures of the flesh.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, ever since sin entered into the hearts of men, we have been made dirty and unworthy, as desire and greed became a part of us. We are not easy to be satisfied, and we also easily becoming jealous and hateful towards others, all because of desire and vanity, pride and arrogance, thinking that the world is all about us and everything revolves around us.

And today in the Gospel, God made it clear to us that He meant business. He showed the depth of our wickedness as even in fasting we can commit sin, by fasting for the sake of doing it, or even worse, as the Pharisees had done it, by showing off their supposed piety by fasting very publicly and openly to gain human praise and earthly prestige, but in their hearts there was no place for God.

In their pride and arrogance, they showed the worst human qualities and capacities for sin and wickedness. They were so caught up in their pride, for being supposedly the elites of the society and the role models in faith, that they forgot to give glory to God, the One whom they ought to serve and welcome into the world. Instead, they rejected Him and piled troubles and obstacles upon obstacles in God’s work of salvation, and as a result, they were accursed and rejected as well by God.

What is the best attitude, brothers and sisters? What is the attitude we should adopt then? It is through humility and understanding of our own sinfulness, and in knowing the corruptions and wickedness that had separated us from the Lord, then we can be led on the right path towards salvation and life in the Lord our God. And on this day, this Ash Wednesday is a reminder of our own frailty, of our own sinfulness and wickedness, and of how much we need the Lord our God to be in our lives.

When the priest imposes the ashes upon our forehead, and with the words that accompany it, these are a reminder for all of us to know that as we are created from dust, from the earth, then to the earth too our bodies will return. Our bodies may perish when we die and turn back to the dust, but our soul is eternal and will live forever, either in eternal joy with God, or in eternal suffering in hell. And on the day of the resurrection, on the last day, God will raise us up all body and spirit, and we will rejoice forever in His glory, with a renewed body of glory, if we remain faithful to Him.

We are all reminded through this, that whatever achievements we have in this life, and whatever glory and praises we have accumulated in this life. And whatever honour and fame we have received from men, in the end all these will not benefit us. Jesus our Lord had repeated this many times, with the example of the parable telling us how a rich man piled up his great wealth and thinking he had it all secure for his future happiness and indulgence, when the Lord was in fact about to end his life there and then.

An important lesson for us all is that we should not build for ourselves a treasure that will not last. Build instead the eternal treasure and riches which we can only build through our obedience to our Lord, and not through greed and hoarding of the resources and the goods of this world. Our earthly life is just temporary, and is a precursor to the eternal life which we will all receive from God Himself at the end of time, if we remain faithful to His laws and precepts.

It is imperative therefore for us to reflect on this imposition of the ashes, and as we begin our Lenten journey, the forty days of retreat and recollection of our own lives, which is designed to help us to find our way again to the Lord and to rediscover the focus and purpose of our lives, that is to bring glory to God by our actions and deeds. We have to indeed recall the forty days of suffering and difficulties which our Lord Jesus went through as He walked in the desert for forty days and nights without food.

The devil tried to dissuade Him and pull Him away from His works of salvation by telling all sorts of lies about humanity, and taking advantage of the human emotions, needs and wants in order to prevent the salvation of many souls to be done. But the Lord Jesus remained completely obedient to the wishes of His Father in heaven, and despite the temptations, Jesus continued on without qualms and with firm conviction in the faith of the Lord.

In the same way therefore too, we will all eventually encounter difficult times in life. There will be temptations that threaten to cause us to sin and do even more wicked things. If we are unable to resist, then the lures of Satan will get to us eventually. What is at stake is nothing else than the fate we are to face, whether it be eternal suffering for our disobedience or eternal life and happiness for our obedience.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter into this season of Lent and begin our preparation for Easter earnestly, let us all take a step back in our lives, take the time out from our busy daily schedules, and learn to find some time to be with the Lord our God. This is a season of prayer, of sincere atonement and seeking for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Fasting and abstinence are meant to help us to achieve this, and when we fast and abstain, we must have a clear goal in mind, that is to help us overcome the distraction and temptation on our way to God, and not to show it off to others.

May this season of Lent help us to become ever more faithful children and servants of our God, and may He continue to watch over us and guide us so that we will not be overcome by the forces of evil arrayed against us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 February 2015 : Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or 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.”