Weekdays of Lent

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Wednesday, 28 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (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, 28 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (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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Tuesday, 27 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season of Lent, we are all reminded through the Scriptures that sin is truly something that is very dangerous to us, and unless we allow ourselves to embrace the love and mercy of God, we will not be able to escape the fate of our destruction and downfall, in which we have been fated to by our rebellion and disobedience against God, His love and truth. We must always keep in mind that our disobedience and refusal to follow the Lord and to believe in His path have sundered us from the fullness of His grace and love, leading us into sin, and through sin, we have been corrupted and stained by the stain of evil. And as long as we are corrupted and stained by these taints of sin, we cannot be truly free from the chains of evil, darkness and death.

That is why we are all reminded that we should always seek God’s mercy and forgiveness before it is too late for us all. We have been given many opportunities, again and again, by our Lord Who has always been full of love, compassion and mercy to each and every one of us. Not even the worst of sinners can be separated from the love of God, His mercy and kindness, the forgiveness for their many sins, unless if they themselves have consciously rejected God’s mercy, forgiveness and love at every possible turns and opportunities that have been given to them. God has given us all the free will, the freedom to choose our course of actions and paths in life, to choose to walk in the path of the Lord, His righteousness and grace, or to choose instead to walk in the path of sin, wickedness and evil.

The first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah showed us all the Lord’s reminders and warnings to His people, the people of Israel and Judah, about the dangers of sin and what sin and evil could bring about for them, ruin and destruction, just as it had happened in the past. The Lord presented the example of the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were infamous for their great wickedness and sins, the evils and disobedience which they had committed, and also their refusal to listen to the Lord and His messengers, that the two cities were destroyed by the great rain of fire and brimstone from Heaven, and henceforth, the two cities were eradicated from the face of the earth, never to be populated or remembered again.

By mentioning those two cities, and remarking that His people were like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord was in fact making a clear point before all of them that they had all been disobedient and wicked in their way of life and in their actions, and the Lord certainly knew about all that they had done. He therefore warned them of what they would also suffer if they continued to persist in their path of rebellion and evil, and if they refused to repent from their many sins, wickedness and faults. However, at the same time, the Lord also presented to His people a clear avenue and pathway for them to come back to Him, telling them that even if their sins were truly terrible, He would still welcome them back to His loving Presence and forgive them, if they would reject their sinful ways and abandon their evil and wickedness.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord spoke to His disciples and followers, and to the people who were assembled to listen to Him, about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law and why they should listen to them but not to follow what they had been doing, in how they practiced their faith and in their actions, in parading their piety and actions before everyone so that they could be praised and honoured for all of those actions. The crux of the problem here is that, many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at the time of the Lord acted high and mighty, lording over the others whom they deemed and considered as less worthy and less pious than they were, and they even persecuted those who did not practice the Law in the manner that they had done.

As such, in their pride, ego and greed, many of them succumbed to the temptations of worldly power and glory, and thus, being blinded by the worldly attachments and pride, they ended up closing their hearts and minds to the Lord, persisting in their mistaken paths and erroneous thinking, in their false sense of superiority and pride. This is what we must not do in our lives, as the more we harden our hearts and minds, thinking that we are better or superior, then the easier it will be for us to fall deeper into the path of sin. Instead, all of us should be humbler when we grow more in faith, realising that we have always been prone to sin, and we have committed sins in various forms from time to time, and we are in need of healing and forgiveness from God. This is where we can allow ourselves to come and approach Him, at the Throne of His Mercy, and be reconciled with Him.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Gregory of Narek, one of the Doctors of the Church who was recently declared as such by Pope Francis, our current Pope, hailing from the Armenian Church tradition during the Middle Ages. St. Gregory of Narek lived in the then Kingdom of Vaspurakan, where he was born as the son of a local bishop. His father was suspected of siding with the Chalcedonian beliefs and ways, which is what we Catholics believe in today, as well as many other Christians, but at that time, the Armenian Church refused to accept the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon because of some issues in the dogma and teachings of the Council which did not fit their beliefs. As such, St. Gregory of Narek’s father was excommunicated, and St. Gregory of Narek himself faced those who doubted his faith and beliefs, being suspected of the same faults as his father.

Nonetheless, despite all those challenges and difficulties, St. Gregory of Narek, having been raised in a religious family, grew to be God-fearing and faithful, and eventually took up the calling to be a priest and monk. He was a truly humble and pious man, who was very bright intellectually and wrote extensive works such as his renowned Book of Lamentations, showing many others how to connect to the Lord ever deeper spiritually. He also spent a lot of time teaching the other monks and those who desired to seek the Lord, and devoted himself to a life of prayer and seclusion until his passing from this world. Despite his humble demeanour, the great faith and commitment that St. Gregory of Narek has shown brought countless souls to salvation in God, and still inspired many even to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed heart and mind, with the strong and genuine desire to be forgiven and to be reconciled with Him, with the strong desire to repent and turn away from our many sins and wickedness. Let us all seek the forgiveness and mercy of God, and do our best so that our lives from now on may be truly worthy of Him in all things, which we can gain inspiration from the life and faith that St. Gregory of Narek has shown us. May God be with us always and may He bless us all in our every actions and deeds. May God strengthen and encourage us in our faith. Amen.

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Tuesday, 27 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 23 : 1-12

At that time, then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say, but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even raise a finger to move them.”

“They do everything in order to be seen by people : they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and reserved seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called ‘Master’ by the people.”

“But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father because you have only one Father, He Who is in heaven. Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you.”

“Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.”

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Tuesday, 27 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 49 : 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me. I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens.

What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.

Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you. Those who give with thanks offerings honour Me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God.

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Tuesday, 27 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 1 : 10, 16-20

Hear the warning of YHVH, rulers of Sodom. Listen to the word of God, people of Gomorrah. Wash and make yourselves clean. Remove from My sight the evil of your deeds. Put an end to your wickedness and learn to do good.

Seek justice and keep in line the abusers; give the fatherless their rights and defend the widow. “Come,” says the Lord, “let us reason together. Though your sins be like scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they be as crimson red, they will be white as wool.”

“If you will obey Me, you will eat the goods of the earth; but if you resist and rebel, the sword will eat you instead.” Truly the Lord has spoken.

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Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd 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 of the great love and mercy of God, which He has constantly shown us all throughout time. God has always been faithful and committed to the Covenant which He willingly established and constantly renewed with us, and from time to time, again and again, He has shown us all His love, compassion and mercy, reaching out to us whenever we faltered and fell into the path of sin and darkness, calling upon us to return once again to Him, and to embrace once again the path of His righteousness, virtues and truth. God has always loved us all and while He despises our sins and wickedness, He has always desired to be reconciled and reunited with us, through our repentance and desire to be forgiven from those sins.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel of the prayer and supplication which the prophet Daniel made on behalf of all the people of Israel, many of whom at that time were suffering in exile away from their homeland, having been brought out of the Promised Land and the land of their forefathers by their conquerors, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, who sent them to the far-off lands, to be exiled and humbled, to be reviled and humiliated by the nations, for their sins and evils, their wickedness and failures to obey the Lord’s Law and commandments. They have abandoned the path that the Lord had taught and shown them, and they have rejected the many prophets and messengers sent to them to remind and help them to return to the right and virtuous path.

Thus, as we are all presented in our first reading today, we heard how the prophet Daniel, sent to the people of Israel in exile, who at that time had been humbled and suffered in the foreign lands, enduring persecutions and hardships, and God showed mercy and compassion to them, sending them reassurances and help through the prophet Daniel and all the other messengers and prophets that He sent to them. The Lord wanted all of them to know that He had never abandoned them and that He has always loved them regardless of the sins and wickedness which they had committed. The Lord called on His people to return to Him, and He has opened His hands to welcome all of them to come back to Him. What matters then, is for them all to come towards Him with love and the desire to repent from their sins.

That was why, Daniel represented the people in presenting themselves before the Lord, full of sorrow, regret and desire to repent from their sins and wickedness. While sin might have separated the people of God from Him and His love, but the Lord’s ever generous love and mercy, compassion and kindness to His people have prevailed, and through Him reaching out to His beloved ones, He has extended the ever present and ever enduring mercy, forgiveness and grace to those who have been lost to Him. Daniel brought the people of God to His Presence, and presented all of them with their regret and their willingness to change their way of life to their most loving God and Father. And thus, they have received from Him the assurance of hope, new life and liberation, which God would give to all of them, through none other than His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the words of the Lord Jesus Himself telling His disciples to be merciful just as the Father is and has been merciful to all of them. He told them all that they should all continue to love one another and to be kind, compassionate and merciful, because they themselves have been shown great mercy, love and forgiveness from God. Just as the people of God has always enjoyed the favour and grace that He has bestowed bountifully upon them, and just as the Lord has always extended and renewed the Covenant and promises which He had made with each and every one of them, patiently caring for them, leading and guiding them down the path that He has shown to them, therefore, all of us, as God’s people, must continue to follow this same path of the Lord, in our own respective lives at each and every moments.

Today, as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, we should keep in mind that the Lord has called upon us to follow Him, and to embrace once again His kindness, love, forgiveness and grace. Therefore, having received this calling and mission from the Lord, and having been given this time and opportunities during this time of Lent, let us all continue to walk ever more faithfully in God’s path, resisting the temptations of evil and sin, the temptations of worldly glory and pleasures that can distract and lead us astray in our path. We must make good use of these moments, all the time and opportunities provided to us so that we may turn away from the path of evil, darkness and sin, and bringing forth the light of God into our lives so that we may once again be filled with His grace and righteousness.

Let us all be humble before the Lord and admit just how fallen and wicked our way of life has been all these while, and how much we are in need of His grace, love and salvation. Let us all realise that we are all sinners who are corrupted and unworthy, and are in great need of God’s mercy and love, for it is He alone Who can heal us and save us from our sins and evils. It is He alone Who can deliver us from our troubles, and open for us the path to true joy and everlasting life. Unless we realise this and unless we are all humble enough to appreciate and to accept that we are all unworthy people, who have strayed from the path of the Lord, then we may find it difficult to progress ever more in this path of righteousness and virtue. That is why we are all reminded today to continue to walk the path of repentance and righteousness, embracing God and His ever wondrous love and mercy, now and always.

May the Lord, in His ever generous love and infinite mercy, and all the compassion and kindness which He has always shown us, continue to love us all wonderfully and help us in our journey of faith towards Him. May He empower and strengthen us all in our path, so that in our every good efforts and endeavours, we will always do what is pleasing to Him, and that we may grow ever closer to Him, rejecting all the temptations of evil and sin, and becoming ever more worthy and righteous in all of our every words, deeds and actions. May God bless us all, and may He lead us all ever more into His Holy Presence, and bless our Lenten observances and journey. Amen.

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Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 6 : 36-38

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”

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Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 78 : 8, 9, 11, 13

Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let Your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.

Help us, God, our Saviour, for the glory of Your Name; forgive us for the sake of Your Name.

Listen to the groans of the prisoners; by the strength of Your arm, deliver those doomed to die.

Then we, Your people, the flock of Your pasture, will thank You forever. We will recount Your praise from generation to generation.

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Monday, 26 February 2024 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 9 : 4b-10

Lord God, great and to be feared, You keep Your covenant and love for those who love You and observe Your commandments. We have sinned, we have not been just, we have been rebels, and have turned away from Your commandments and laws. We have not listened to Your servants, the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings, leaders, fathers and to all the people of the land.

Lord, justice is Yours, but ours is a face full of shame, as it is to this day – we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in all the lands where You have dispersed us because of the infidelity we have committed against You. Ours is the shame, o Lord for we, our kings, princes, fathers, have sinned against You.

We hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, because we have rebelled against Him. We have not listened to the voice of YHVH, our God, or followed the laws which He has given us through His servants, the prophets.