Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Mark 1 : 12-15
At that time, the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert. He stayed in the desert forty days and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, but Angels ministered to Him.
After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, “The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
1 Peter 3 : 18-22
Remember how Christ died, once, and for all, for our sins. He, the Just One, died for the unjust, in order to lead us to God. In the Body, He was put to death, in the Spirit, He was raised to life, and it was then, that He went to preach to the imprisoned spirits.
They were the generation who did not believe, when God, in His great patience, delayed punishing the world, while Noah was building the Ark, in which a small group of eight persons escaped, through water. That was a type of baptism that now saves you; this baptism is not a matter of physical cleansing, but of asking God to reconcile us, through the resurrection of Christ Jesus.
He has ascended to heaven, and is at the right hand of God, having subjected the Angels, Dominions and Powers.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9
Teach me Your ways, o YHVH; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.
Remember Your compassion, o YHVH, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.
Good and upright, YHVH teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Genesis 9 : 8-15
God spoke to Noah and his sons, “See I am making a Covenant with you and with your descendants after you; also with every living animal with you : birds, cattle, that is, with every living creature of the earth that came out of the Ark. I establish My Covenant with you. Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
God said, “This is the sign of the Covenant I make between Me and you, and every animal living with you for all future generations. I set My bow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the Covenant between Me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember the Covenant between Me and you and every kind of living creature, so that never again will floodwaters destroy all flesh.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day we are all reminded that we should indeed free ourselves from the dominion and bondage of sins and evils, wickedness and all the temptations present all around us, all of which can become very serious obstacles that prevent us from truly attaining righteousness and grace in God. We are reminded of the need for all of us to remove from ourselves all the corruptions of sin, and all the attachments to those sins which had led to so many of us falling into the path of sin all these while. And God has always been full of kindness, mercy and compassion towards us, which is something that we really need to appreciate and be thankful for, as if not for the Lord, we would have been damned, crushed and destroyed because of our many sins and wickedness.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the Lord spoke to His people in the southern kingdom of Judah about the matter of the repentance of the people from their many sins and wickedness, from their rebellions and disobedience, all of which had caused them to endure trials and sufferings, difficulties and humiliations because of their enemies and all those who had gone into conflict with them. At that time, the prophet Isaiah was sent to the kingdom of Judah when their northern neighbour, the kingdom of Israel that ruled over most of the ten out of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, had been subjugated, destroyed and conquered by the mighty Assyrian Empire.
That same kingdom of Israel had persecuted countless prophets and messengers of the Lord that had been sent to them in order to remind them and to help and guide them all back towards God. Despite this, the Lord still patiently reached out to all of the people, His beloved ones whom He wanted to be reconciled with. Yet, they still remained stubborn and chose to do things in their own way rather than to put their trust and faith in the Lord. The people chose to worship the pagan idols and the false gods rather than to believe in the Lord Who has delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, blessed and protected them throughout their whole journey from Egypt through the desert, defended them from their enemies and made them prosper.
Hence, that was why they ended up in their downfall, as they continued to put their trust in their own strength and their own power, in their false idols and all their worldly power and glory rather than to listen to God. They allowed their pride, ego, ambition and desires to be stumbling blocks and obstacles in the path of their return towards the Lord. This was why the Lord sent Isaiah amidst His people to remind them to turn away from this foolish path, which was also affecting the people of Judah, so that they would not end up facing the same fate of destruction and hardships. Those who lived in the northern kingdom were not humiliated just because they have lost their kingdom and nation, but also because many among them were forcefully brought out of their lands and exiled in the lands of Assyria, scattered in far and distant places, while pagans and foreigners were brought in to dwell in the lands which the Israelites had lived in earlier. Something like this unfortunate fate will be ours as well, if we fail to believe in the Lord and keep our faith in Him.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord calling to Levi, the tax collector, in which He gained a new and close follower and confidant, as Levi willingly left behind everything that he had in order to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. The Lord had come and saw Levi at his tax collector’s booth, and He called on the latter, knowing the faith which this man had for God, and all the great things which he would do later on for the sake of God, His glory and His people. At that time, many of the people, especially among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, they had a rather negative view and strong prejudice against the tax collectors, whom they considered as wicked, unworthy of God and sinful, because of their actions and work in collecting the taxes on behalf of the Roman overlords and also that of the local kings and rulers like the Herodians.
Hence, this prejudice led to the tax collectors being persecuted and ostracised from the general community, as they were generally disliked and even hated because of the work they carried out, and some even considered them as traitors to the people for having colluded and worked with those who conquered the lands and the nation of the Israelites. Yet, this led to those same Pharisees and the teachers of the Law commonly having a self-righteous and selfish personality, in thinking that they were superior, better and more worthy than those whom they deemed to be inferior, sinners, corrupt and wicked, like the tax collectors and prostitutes. Nonetheless, the Lord called one of His Twelve Apostles from among these tax collectors, recognising that such prejudice was nonsense.
In fact, as the Lord Himself mentioned elsewhere, that the tax collectors and the prostitutes were closer to the Lord and His salvation than the self-righteous and arrogant Pharisees as the former were aware and repentant over their sins and wickedness, and desired to seek the Lord for forgiveness and for reconciliation with Him, and through God’s generous mercy and love, they were all indeed forgiven and empowered to live and enter into a new life blessed by Him. But the latter persisted in their sins because they were too proud and haughty to realise and recognise their errors and mistakes, and thus, continuing to persist in their waywardness and lack of true and genuine faith in the Lord. This is a reminder for all of us that we ourselves have to be humble and willing to listen to God, and get rid from ourselves all pride, haughty and self-righteous attitudes.
Today, the Church also celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. These seven Holy Founders of the Servites, namely Bonfilius, Alexis, Manettus, Amideus, Hugh, Sostene and Buonagiunta, all of whom were men from the city of Florence that were called by the Lord and they all bound themselves in strong and lasting spiritual friendship that eventually became the foundation of the Servite Order, in their strong faith in the Lord as well as in the intense devotion which they all had for the Blessed Mother of God. All of them led holy and devout lives, committed wholly to God, and they all became great source of inspiration for their fellow men and women, many of whom were drawn to follow their examples as well.
Through the examples shown by those holy men of God, the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, all of us are shown what it truly means for us to be genuine and faithful Christians in all things, in all that we say and do, and at all opportunities. We should be inspired by their good role models and examples, their actions and deeds in doing what God had told and commanded them all to do. Let us all be the worthy and faithful bearers of God’s light and truth, His Good News and His teachings, so that like Levi, who would later be known as St. Matthew the Apostle, a great evangelist and servant of God, and like the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, we too may live our lives in each and every moments ever more faithfully and that we may draw ever closer to God.
May God be with us always and may He continue to guide and strengthen us in the path which we are walking in, in doing what is right according to His teachings, ways and to our Christian beliefs and faith. May God bless our every good efforts, endeavours and our faithful observances and actions in this blessed penitential season of Lent, so that we may continue to do what God had entrusted to us to do, and be ever more worthy and faithful, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 5 : 27-32
At that time, after Jesus healed a paralytic man, He went out, and noticing a tax collector named Levi, sitting in the tax office, He said to him, “Follow Me!” So Levi, leaving everything, got up and followed Jesus.
Levi gave a great feast for Jesus, and many tax collectors came to his house, and took their places at the table with the other people. Then the Pharisees and their followers complained to Jesus’ disciples, “How is it, that you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
But Jesus spoke up, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to a change of heart.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 85 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Listen, o YHVH, and answer me, for I am afflicted and needy. Preserve my life, for I am God-fearing; save Your servant who trusts in You.
Have mercy on me, o YHVH, for I cry to You all day. Bring joy to the soul of Your servant; for You, o YHVH, I lift up my soul.
You are good and forgiving, o YHVH, caring for those who call on You. Listen, o YHVH, to my prayer, hear the voice of my pleading.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Isaiah 58 : 9b-14
If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word. If you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.
YHVH will guide you always and give you relief in desert places. He will strengthen your bones; He will make you as a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fall. Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt, the age-old foundations will be raised. You will be called the Breach-mender, and the Restorer of ruined houses.
If you stop profaning the Sabbath and doing as you please on the holy day, if you call the Sabbath a day of delight and keep sacred YHVH’s holy day, if you honour it by not going your own way, not doing as you please and not speaking with malice, then you will find happiness in YHVH, over the heights you will ride triumphantly, and feast joyfully on the inheritance of your father Jacob. The mouth of YHVH has spoken.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today through the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are once again reminded of what we really need to do during this time and season of Lent, in what we have been called to do and practice, in living our lives with greater desire to turn once again wholeheartedly towards God, in our love and desire to follow Him, in our commitment to reject sin and evil, and in renouncing the path of wickedness and worldliness. Each and every one of us should make good use of the opportunities and the time which had been provided to us this Lent so that we may indeed be ever closer to God once again, and be freed from the tyranny and oppression of sin which have separated us from the Lord and His love, and which had corrupted us and made us fallen into the darkness and evil ways.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God made it clear to His people of what He expected of all of His beloved people, in how they all should return to Him and to the path which He has called them to. The prophet Isaiah was sent to the people of God at a time when they had faced a lot of hardships, trials and difficulties because of their disobedience against God, their lack of faith and commitment against Him, their refusal to follow His Law and commandments, and their stubbornness and constant rebellions against Him. At that time, the once united kingdom of Israel had long been divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, and it was during the early years of the ministry of Isaiah that the northern kingdom was destroyed and conquered by the Assyrians who laid siege to Samaria, the northern kingdom’s capital and destroyed it, carrying many of its people into exile, and foreigners were sent to dwell in the lands that belonged to the people of God.
Therefore, Isaiah was sent mainly to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah in order to remind all of them of the wicked state that they themselves were in, and telling them all to turn away from all those wickedness, which would have led them ever further and deeper into the path of destruction and downfall, just as they themselves had witnessed through what happened to their separated brethren of the northern kingdom, and how the people of Judah themselves also faced a lot of troubles and hardships, when the Assyrians and others of their enemies were defeating them and conquering their cities and towns. Isaiah wanted all of the people to realise that in God there was indeed a lot of hope and opportunities for them to seek reconciliation, because God Himself is always ready to welcome all of His beloved ones back to His loving embrace.
In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who questioned Him on why His disciples did not fast in the manner that the Pharisees themselves and the disciples of St. John the Baptist had fasted. This was when the Lord told them all that His disciples did not fast because He, the Bridegroom was with them, and hence it was indeed not appropriate for them to fast at that joyous time. This was then followed by the prediction that the Lord Himself would go away, which was a premonition of what He would experience, when He would suffer and die on the Cross, and how His disciples would then be sorrowful and fast hence, in anticipation of His glorious Resurrection and return to them.
In this case, the Lord highlighted how He is the One, the Bridegroom of the Church, the Holy One and Saviour of all Whom the Lord has promised and sent to His beloved ones, to bring unto all of us the salvation, liberation and love which He has always promised to us from the very beginning. The Lord has always been kind and generous to us, and He showed us the perfect manifestation, proof and example of His love in His beloved and only begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He has come to our midst so that, He, as the Bridegroom of the Church may help to bring us all, who are parts of His Body, His One Church, to a perfect, full and complete reconciliation with the Lord, our loving God, Father and Creator.
We are all reminded today that we have often fallen into the path of sin, evil and darkness, and hence, we have drifted ever further away from the path that the Lord has wanted us to walk through. We often followed the whim of our desires, our ambitions, pride and greed, which had led so many of our predecessors into their downfall, like the examples of the people of Israel and Judah themselves have shown us. If we continue to allow all those temptations to mislead and to bring us deeper into the path of sin and evil, then in the end, we will have nothing but regret for our waywardness and our downfall, especially when it is already too late for us, in constantly resisting and rejecting the Lord’s ever generous offer of love, compassion and mercy until the last possible moment before our deaths and judgment.
Let us all therefore remind ourselves once again today and henceforth that we should not allow all those temptations, desires and all the obstacles present all around us from stopping or slowing us down in our path and pursuit of the righteousness and grace in God. Let us all make use of this penitential time of Lent to help us to restrain our many desires, and help us to detach ourselves from the excessive attachments of worldly pleasures and glories. We must be good role models and inspirations for each other as well, in how we all live our each and every moments in life, in doing what God has commanded us all to do, in proclaiming His Good News and truth through our every words, actions and deeds, and in everything that we do in interacting and working with one another.
May the Lord continue to guide and empower us all so that in all the things we do, we will always strive to be ever closer to Him, and to follow Him ever more sincerely and with greater desire to abandon our wickedness and evils, and to be freed from the tyranny, bondage and dominion of sin and evil all around us. May God bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always, in glorifying His Name, forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 9 : 14-15
At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”
Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 