Wednesday

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Wednesday, 20 March 2024 : 5th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 3 : 14-20, 91-92, 95

King Nebuchadnezzar questioned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up? If you hear now the sound of horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and other instruments, will you fall down and worship the statue I made? If you will not, you know the punishment : you will immediately be thrown into a burning furnace. And then what god can deliver you out of my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we need not defend ourselves before you on this matter. If you order us to be thrown into the furnace, the God we serve will rescue us. But even if He will not, we would like you to know, o king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s face reddened with fury as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of his strongest soldiers to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the burning furnace.

Then king Nebuchadnezzar suddenly rose up in great amazement and asked his counsellors, “Did we not throw three men bound into the fire?” They answered, “Certainly.” The king said, “But I can see four men walking about freely through the fire, without suffering any harm; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Who sent His Angel to free His servants, who, trusting in Him, disobeyed the king’s order; and preferred to give their bodies to the fire rather than serve and worship any other god but their God.”

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Wednesday, 13 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we are all reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are presented with the important reminders of God’s salvation to all of us mankind, as He reached out to us with love, showing us all His compassion and mercy, the desire to forgive us all our many sins and wickedness, and His efforts in calling us all out of the darkness so that we may turn away from this path of evil and sin, embracing His ever generous mercy, compassion and love. During this time and season of Lent that we are currently progressing through, we should put a good and conscious effort to draw ever closer to God, renewing our commitment to follow Him and in doing our best to live out our lives ever more worthily in His path.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord reassuring His people, the people of Israel, of the love and kindness, the mercy and compassion which He has always had for them, and which He will continue to show, despite their sins and rebelliousness, their refusal to obey His Law and commandments. God has always been patient in caring for those people He loved, and He has always reached out to them, sending unto them His prophets and messengers, reminding them to turn away from the path of sin, evil and wickedness, and calling upon all of them to embrace once again the fullness of His love and grace. The Lord has always loved all of us, and despite our fallen state and corruption by sin, He loves us all equally and if not even greater.

At that time, the people of Israel had been long rebellious and disobedient against God, and they had long chosen to follow the path of evil and sin. They have ignored the messages of the Lord, His reminders and calls which He had made to them through those same prophets and messengers. They rebelled against Him, chose to put their lot and side with the pagan gods and idols of their neighbours and enemies instead. They took for granted all the love, kindness and compassion which God has given to each and every one of them, all the generous blessings that they have received. God despised their sins and wickedness, but that cannot erase the fact that He still loved them all regardless. His love for us endured and is far greater than the power of our sins and wickedness.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because God created us all out of love, and He wanted to love us all, and sharing that love with us, and He still loves us so even after we have betrayed and abandoned Him, preferring to listen to and believe in the evil ones rather than to believe in and trust in Him. God does not want us all to be separated from Him, and His love endured through all time. If He had hated us personally, He could have erased us from existence easily by the mere will of His thought alone, as easily as He had created us, and yet, He did not do that, because He saw in us, the ability and the potential to seek forgiveness and to attain full reconciliation in Him.

That is why, He gave us all the opportunities, help, guidance and the many other means through which He hoped that many of us will come to see reason and His truth, and be called to enter once again into His grace and love, and to walk and journey towards His salvation. He has opened wide the doors of Heaven, His path of mercy to us, so that through His most wonderful love and mercy, He would continue to bring us ever closer to Him, and cleanse from us our corruptions and wickedness, that hopefully one day, upon the time of reckoning, we may all be found worthy and just, and can enter into the everlasting kingdom of true happiness and joy with Him, which we shall enjoy forever.

In our Gospel passage today, we continue to be reminded of this through the words of the Lord Himself, Who affirmed His status to His disciples, the truth about Himself as the Son of God, Who has been sent into this world to come into our midst, to dwell amongst us, and to gather each and every one of us so that through Him all of us may be saved and be reunited wholly with God. The Lord highlighted to the people how He as the Son had to obey the Father’s will, in doing everything that He had been entrusted to do. He had done everything so that He can be the perfect example of faith and obedience for all of us, as the role model for us to follow in how we live our own lives with faith.

In that same occasion, the Lord also made it clear to everyone that the time is coming when the moment of reckoning will come for everyone, be it living or dead, for them to render an account of their lives before the great Judge, the Lord Himself, the One Who will mark if a person is either worthy or unworthy of eternity in Heaven, at the Last and Final Judgment. This reminder is also important for us because of the consequences that our sins and wickedness, all those corruptions and evils can do to us, if we let them to continue ruining our lives and refusing to accept God’s forgiveness and mercy right up to the very last moments. We must not be ignorant of this same reminder and call that the Lord has given us all, firstly through the prophets and messengers, and finally through His own Son.

We must remember that ultimately, while God has always been full of love, mercy and compassion upon us, and while He has always readily extended His love and care for us, calling us ever more to follow Him and to come to His embrace, but we must not take all these for granted, as it is by our own stubbornness and foolish rejection of God’s generous love and compassion that many among us and our predecessors have ended up in Hell and eternal damnation. It is by our own conscious choice in choosing sin over God, evil over righteousness that we have ended up in the fallen state and damnation. We must remember this so that we will not continue to walk down this wrong path. We should also make use of this time and opportunity given to us to deepen our relationship with God and to help others to come closer to God as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed faith and contrite hearts, making best use of the opportunities that He has provided to us, especially during this time and season of Lent, so that we may be able to find our way back towards Him. May God continue to love us and help us in our journey of faith back to Him, lead and guide us ever always in the right path, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 17-30

At that time, Jesus replied to the Jews, “My Father goes on working and so do I.” And the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made Himself equal with God, calling God His own Father.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. And whatever He does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does; and He will show Him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.”

“As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom He wills. In the same way the Father judges no one, for He has entrusted all judgment to the Son, and He wants all to honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father Who sent Him.”

“Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me, has eternal life; and there is no judgment for him, because he has passed from death to life. Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in Himself, and He has given to the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has empowered Him as well to carry out Judgment, for He is Son of Man.”

“Do not be surprised at this : the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear My voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. I can do nothing of Myself, and I need to hear Another One to judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.”

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Wednesday, 13 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 144 : 8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18

Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

The Lord is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. The Lord lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.

Righteous is the Lord in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Wednesday, 13 March 2024 : 4th Week of Lent, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 49 : 8-15

This is what YHVH says : “At a favourable time I have answered you, on the day of salvation I have been your help; I have formed you and made you to be My covenant with the people. You will restore the land, and allot its abandoned farms. You will say to the captives : Come out; and to those in darkness : Show yourselves.”

“They will feed along the road; they will find pasture on barren hills. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the scorching wind or the sun beat upon them; for He Who has mercy on them will guide them and lead them to springs of water. I will turn all My mountains into roads and raise up My highways. See, they come from afar, some from the north and west, others from the land of Sinim.”

Sing, o heavens and rejoice, o earth; break forth into song, o mountains : for YHVH has comforted His people and taken pity on those who are afflicted. But Zion said : “YHVH has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” Can a woman forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child of her womb? Yet though she forget, I will never forget you.

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Wednesday, 6 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures that we must always obey the Law and commandments of God in all things, and strive to be truly exemplary in our entire way of life so that our lives may truly be enriched with our faith and commitment to God. Each and every one of us should be reminded that God has given us all His Law and commandments, His rules and norms so that we may know how we should live our lives and how we should carry ourselves in our every interactions in life. As Christians, it is very important that we must always live our lives filled with true love and dedication to God, in everything that we say and do, in our exemplary and inspirational way of living in this world.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the Lord Who was reminding His people, the Israelites, through His servant Moses, who was the leader of the people. Moses reminded the people of God that they must always obey the laws, rules and norms that the Lord has given them, and did as what the Lord had taught and shown them as He kept on leading them throughout their long forty years journey through the desert on the way to the Promised Land. He told them all that the Israelites should not forget everything that the Lord had done for them, in all the wonders and the signs that He had shown them, in all the great things He had done when He brought them all out of the land of Egypt, freeing them from the enslavement and dominion by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh.

And at that time, during the Exodus and the journey from the land of Egypt, as we read the rest of the account of what had happened, very soon after they left the land of Egypt, the people of God already rebelled and sinned against their own Lord and Master, choosing to worship pagan idols, such as the golden calf that they built when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive God’s Law and commandments. That was not the only time that this had happened, as later on, they would continue to be tempted and swayed by worldly temptations, rebelled against God and chose to follow false gods and idols instead of obeying the Lord, their God and Master. They refused to do as what the Lord had told them to do, preferring to follow their own ways, their desires and attachments to worldly things and matters.

Thus, Moses reminded the people sternly that they all have to continue to strive in following God faithfully, rejecting the various temptations and all the allures of sin, which could lead them astray. They should also live their lives worthily of the Lord, in doing His will and obeying His commandments, and be thankful and grateful that God has truly loved them all so much that He has always shown them His kindness, love and patience in His constant guidance and help, and all the things that He has always provided to those who are in need of them. Despite their stubbornness and rebelliousness, God was still patient with them, and while He chastised and punished them for their wickedness, but He continued to care for them and has always desired to be reconciled with those who erred and fell out of His grace and favour.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, this reminder has also been given to each and every one of us that we may realise how important it is for us to do what God has told us all to do, through the rules and ways that the He has given to us through His Church. We must not think that we can do whatever we want in life, and that we can go against the path and the ways that the Lord has shown and taught us all to do. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the the responsibilities and the vocations in life, in our various areas in life that we may come to follow him worthily in each and every moments of our lives. As good and worthy Christians, we must always do what is right and just, virtuous and good in the eyes of God and mankind alike.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus Himself speaking to the people assembled to listen to Him, that He came not to override or replace the Law of God, but instead, He came to reveal the true meaning, intention and purpose of the Law of God to the people, teaching them what the Law of God is truly all about, and calling upon all of them to do God’s will and to obey His Law and commandments in the manner that they should have done. This is because by that time, many of the people of God had lost sight of the true intention and purpose of the Law of God, and hence, has become ignorant of the path that God has called all of them to walk through and follow in their respective lives. God has given them all His Law so that they may all come to know Him and to love Him, and yet, they allow themselves to be swayed and tempted into the path of sin and disobedience.

Many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law became too particular with the many tenets and rules within the Law that they ended up being overly preoccupied with the details, failing to realise the true meaning and purpose of the Law. They became proud, arrogant and self-serving in their actions and attitudes, with regards to the observances and practices of the Law. They became biased and prejudiced, judgmental and harsh against all those who refused to follow their ways and to side with their views and ideals. This is why the Lord came to remind all of the people what the Law is truly all about, and how they should not misrepresent and misunderstand the Law, its intentions and purpose, and see the Law as the path towards God rather than means of self-righteousness or as a burden because of the excessive attention to details.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is why all of us must come towards the Lord with renewed hearts and minds, full of the desire to love the Lord our God, and to follow Him ever more wholeheartedly from now on. Let us all seek the Lord with all of our strength and might, and let us commit ourselves to walk virtuously and righteously in God’s path henceforth, to be good role models and examples in all things, to be the good examples and inspirations to all the people all around us. Let us all be the bearers of God’s truth, His light and salvation to everyone around us, so that more and more people may come ever closer towards the Lord through us. Let us all resist the evils and temptations of sin present all around us, and may the Lord be with us always, and strengthen us amidst all the challenges and trials that we may have to face in the path of our obedience and journey of faith towards Him. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 17-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfil them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”

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Wednesday, 6 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 15-16, 19-20

Exalt the Lord, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word. He spreads snow like wool; He scatters frost like ashes.

It is He Who tells Jacob His words, His laws and decrees to Israel. This He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Wednesday, 6 March 2024 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Deuteronomy 4 : 1, 5-9

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, gives you.

See, as YHVH, my God, ordered me, I am teaching you the norms and the laws that you may put them into practice in the land you are going to enter and have as your own. If you observe and practice them, other peoples will regard you as wise and intelligent. When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, ‘There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.’

For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as YHVH, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today?

But be careful and be on your guard. Do not forget these things which your own eyes have seen or let them depart from your heart as long as you live. But on the contrary, teach them to your children and to your children’s children.

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Wednesday, 28 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, and as we reflect upon the words of the Sacred Scriptures which we have just heard from, let us all realise that we have to be truly committed and faithful to the path which the Lord has shown and led us into as Christians, as those whom He has called and chosen. All of us have been reminded that as Christians, it is likely that we will encounter some forms of hardships and challenges, trials and persecutions in our path in life, just as our Lord and Saviour has been rejected and persecuted for everything that He had done for our sake. If we have not suffered for being Christians, then it is likely that we have not truly lived our lives with true and genuine faith as we should have done.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the prophet lamented for the persecutions, hardships, oppressions that he faced from the people of God, the people of the kingdom of Judah that he had been sent to minister by the Lord. At that time, the kingdom of Judah was the only remaining kingdom of the people of Israel, after the northern kingdom, called the kingdom of Israel, had been destroyed and conquered by the Assyrians. All that came about because of the sins and the wickedness of the people, who refused to follow the Lord, abandoned His Law and commandments, and persecuted the messengers and prophets sent into their midst to remind and help them to come back towards God.

But God still loved His people nonetheless, and He kept on sending His messengers and servants, the many prophets including Jeremiah to help and guide the people back to the right path. He sent Jeremiah to warn His people that if they persisted on their sinful and wicked way of life, then they would also suffer the same fate as their brethren that once lived in the northern kingdom, in having their kingdom and cities destroyed and conquered, and in being uprooted and exiled from their homeland to distant, far-off lands, being foreigners that faced humiliation and sufferings for having abandoned and betrayed the Covenant which God had established with them and with their ancestors. Yet, the people often refused to listen and continued to stubbornly harden their hearts and minds.

And hence, the people of Judah, misled and misguided by the false prophets that Satan had placed in their midst, refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning and his reassurances of God’s loving compassion and mercy. Jeremiah was persecuted, and faced great tribulations that he even almost lost his life on occasions. He had to endure prison and other forms of hardships throughout his ministry, and this was actually the similar fate which many of the martyrs and the saints of the early Church had suffered throughout their lives and works. Many of our holy predecessors had suffered and endured bitter struggles and humiliations, and not few even lost their lives, in the midst of their actions in loving and obeying the Lord. And yet, they remained true to their faith, and continued to commit themselves to God.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus told His disciples clearly of the hardships and the struggles that He Himself was soon to endure, in facing oppression, persecution and rejection from the chief priests and all those who were opposed to Him and His teachings. The Lord Jesus made it clear to all of them that He had to face those hardships as part of what He had been sent to do, in suffering and embracing all of the punishments due to our sins and wickedness, that by His sufferings and ultimately through His death on the Cross, He might lead us all into freedom from the bondage and the tyranny of sin, darkness, evil and death. And at the same time, it also means that those who follow Him may likely face the same oppressions, sufferings, trials and difficulties as He Himself has suffered.

Then, afterwards in the same passage we heard how the mother of St. James and St. John, two of the Lord’s Twelve inner circle, the Twelve Apostles, came to Him with her sons, and asked Him if He could grant them favourable places on His left and His right when He comes into His Kingdom. This act was specifically an act asking for favour and preference from the Lord for her sons, St. James and St. John. At that time, as is the case now, to be able to sit beside the King is truly an honour that not everyone may have, and therefore, St. James, St. John and their mother were looking at the situation from the perspective of the commonly known earthly and worldly kingship, where they might have thought that they would enjoy earthly benefits, honour and glory, having been brought to witness some of the Lord’s miracles exclusively, as those who were closest to Him.

Yet, this was where the Lord told the two brothers and their mother, that they failed to recognise what being His disciples truly means. To be a disciple and follower of Christ, it does not mean that one will receive worldly honour, glory and satisfaction, and they should not think that by following Him, then they shall be glorious in the world or that they shall enjoy good and prosperous lives. Instead, the Lord told them all again that following Him would likely mean for them to face sufferings and hardships, which He symbolised with the cup of suffering that He had to drink, representing the suffering and death that He had to suffer at the moments of His Passion and death. Then, the Lord also told the two disciples that they would indeed drink the same cup of sufferings that He had to drink, foreshadowing what they both would have to endure for His sake.

St. James the Apostle, also known as St. James the Greater, would be the first among the Twelve Apostles to be martyred, which was highlighted in the New Testament, as he was arrested, imprisoned and eventually martyred at the orders of King Herod, who wanted to please the Jewish people and authorities by doing so. Meanwhile, St. John the Apostle would be the only one among all the Apostles who was not martyred, but in his long life, he had to endure so many hardships, difficulties, persecutions, arrests, exiles and other trials, that he had essentially lived his life through a kind of martyrdom called the ‘white martyrdom’, referring to all those who did not suffer death for their faith in God, and yet still suffered greatly for their faith and dedication to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard from the Sacred Scriptures today, and from the things that we have just discussed, let us all therefore be reminded that our lives are meant to glorify the Lord, and our actions, words and deeds should be filled with genuine faith and obedience to God, in all things. We should not allow the temptations of worldly glory, fame, comfort and pleasures to distract and mislead us in our journey of faith towards God. Let us all ask the Lord to bless and guide us in this journey of faith, and let us continue to do our best, so that in everything that we say and do, we will continue to glorify Him, and to be great role models and inspirations for one another. May God be with us all, and may He bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.