Weekdays of Lent

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Friday, 26 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 18 : 21-28

If the sinner turns from his sin, observes My decrees and practices what is right and just, he will live, he will not die. None of the sins he committed will be charged against him, he will live as a consequence of his righteous deeds. Do I want the death of the sinner? – word of YHVH. Do I not rather want him to turn from his ways and live?

But if the righteous man turns away from what is good and commits sins as the wicked do, will he live? His righteous deeds will no longer be credited to him, but he will die because of his infidelity and his sins. But you say : YHVH’s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is My position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong?”

“If the righteous man dies after turning from his righteous deeds and sinning, he dies because of his sins. And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes and turned from the sins he had committed.”

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Thursday, 25 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded of the power of God’s love and providence, and how fortunate we all truly are for having the Lord by our side, constantly loving us and providing for us, as He has also showed to all those who have been faithful to Him. And we only have to ask Him and seek Him for help, to put our trust in God and to have faith in Him and His providence.

In our first reading today, we heard of the prayer of Queen Esther of Persia asking for the Lord’s help and intervention for the sake of her people. Queen Esther herself was a Jew, and by the grace of God she was chosen out of many to be the Queen of Persia, then the mightiest power in the world. At that time, many of the descendants of the Israelites, the Jewish people, were scattered all across the lands of the Persian Empire, and some among them were living in the lands of the Persians, including Queen Esther and her relative, Mordechai.

Queen Esther sought God’s help because the enemies of the Jewish people, led by Haman the Agagite and his family plotted the downfall of the Jewish people, making use of Haman’s powerful position and connections, as well as the animosity and ill-feeling that many had against the Jewish people, as previous generations of Jews had been favoured by the rulers of Media and Persia, and therefore earned the ire and animosity of others. The prophet Daniel for example, had been challenged and encountered opposition from his enemies during his lifetime.

At that time, Haman and his plots managed to result in the king declaring solemnly in the irrevocable formal law of the land, for the destruction of the entire nation and people of the Israelite descent, for the Jewish people to be eradicated completely. And thus, the existence of the entire people of God was under dire threat at the time, and they had no one else to turn to but God. Mordechai, Queen Esther’s relative came to her asking for her help in the matter, and Esther therefore prepared herself to meet the king for the showdown.

Esther’s position was especially precarious because in doing so she would be disobeying her husband, the King. Her predecessor, Queen Vashti was deposed and exiled for precisely the same reason, for her refusal to obey the King and for acting contrary to the orders of the King. As she was not allowed to come to the King uninvited, to do so would be tantamount to her walking the same path as Queen Vashti, therefore risking her position, life and everything she had.

But Esther was ready to do it all for the Lord and for her people, and she asked for the courage, for strength and guidance to walk the path that she was about to take. And God did guide her and help her, with wisdom and strength, and the love that the King had for Esther prevailed, as together Esther and him managed to defeat and overturn Haman’s plots against the Jewish people, allowing the latter to fight back against all those who sought to destroy them.

As we can see here, and as reiterated clearly in our Gospel passage today, God truly is our loving Father Who cares for us and Who desires nothing else other than our own good. If only that we ask Him, seek Him and entrust ourselves to Him, then He shall give us what we need, He shall guide us and strengthen us with wisdom and proper guidance. Alas, many of us were often too impatient, or think that God does not listen to us simply because we thought that He did not grant us what we want and what we desire. But God gives what we truly need, and not what we wanted.

The question is, are we willing to trust the Lord and to entrust ourselves to Him? Are we willing to seek the Lord and to make the effort to find Him and to follow Him wherever He leads us to? Do we have the courage and the love of God, as well as the faith and dedication like that of Queen Esther? Esther has shown us all that if we trust the Lord and ask Him, He will surely provide for us, and we have nothing to fear at all. We may encounter challenges, trials and indeed, suffer a lot, but in the end, we shall be triumphant together with God.

Therefore, these days, as we navigate through the many challenges of life and the various trials we encounter in life, let us all renew our devotion to God, our faith and trust in Him. Let us all not be afraid to seek the Lord and ask Him for protection and guidance. And let us also trust Him when He leads us forth into the journey He has shown us. Let us all follow the Lord from now on and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to His path, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 25 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 7 : 7-12

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks.”

“Would any of you give a stone to your son, when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?”

“So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there you have the Law and the Prophets.”

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Thursday, 25 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bcd-3, 7c-8

I thank You, o Lord, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down towards Your holy Temple and give thanks to Your Name.

For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.

With Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Thursday, 25 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Esther 4 : 17n, p-r, aa-bb, gg-hh (Latin Vulgate version – Esther 14 : 1, 3-5, 12-14)

Seized with anguish in her fear of death, Queen Esther likewise had recourse to the Lord. Then she prayed to the Lord God of Israel : “My Lord, You Who stand alone, came to my help; I am alone and have no help but You. Through my own choice I am endangering my life.”

“As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forebears that You, o Lord, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among their ancestors to be Your lasting heritage; that You did for them, all that You have promised.”

“Remember us, Lord; reveal Yourself in the time of our calamity. Give me courage, King of gods and Master of all power. Make my words persuasive when I face the lion; turn his heart against our enemy, that the latter and his like may be brought to their end.”

“Save us by Your hand; help me who am alone and have none but You, o Lord.”

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Wednesday, 24 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are presented with the great story of forgiveness from God as represented in the conversion of the city Nineveh, its humility and meekness before God, that they sought God’s mercy and they were spared the destruction that should have happened to them.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story of the time when the prophet Jonah was sent to the great city of Nineveh to proclaim God’s judgment and punishment over it, for their transgressions and many sins they have committed. The city of Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire and was a great and powerful city, rich and populous. However, their wickedness had also been a notorious one, and God sent Jonah to them to put them in their place.

Initially Jonah himself was also reluctant and did not want to follow the Lord’s orders, and he tried to flee far away from the Lord on a ship, only for the ship to be swept by a great storm, which only subsided and calmed when Jonah had himself thrown overboard by the shipmen. The Lord sent a great whale that took Jonah and brought him ashore, after which he dutifully carried out what the Lord had told him to do.

As we heard, when Jonah proclaimed God’s words before the people of Nineveh, the whole city, from the great king down to the lowest of the people all took notice and humbled themselves before God, declaring a period of mourning and sorrowful repentance hoping that God would spare them the destruction that He has revealed to them. God saw how the city of Nineveh and its people behaved, and how they were indeed sincere in seeking to be forgiven and to be spared from destruction.

And God withheld His anger and wrath, and forgave the people of Nineveh, sparing the city from the destruction that He had intended upon them earlier on. When Jonah became angry that God did not carry out what He had intended to do with the city of Nineveh, God told Jonah that ultimately, He loved all those people in Nineveh, all the multitudes of the one hundred and twenty thousands of all of them, without exception. Through this, God wants us to know that though we may be sinners, but He still loves us and wants us to be reconciled to Him.

In our Gospel passage today we heard of the same mention of what happened in Nineveh, and we heard of the mention of the Queen of the South, referring to the Queen of Sheba who came to Jerusalem to find king Solomon of Israel and listen to his wisdom and to see his greatness. Through this, we have seen how people from faraway, like from Sheba and from Nineveh, who have not yet listened to the Lord, and yet, chose to humble themselves and come to seek the Lord, to listen to Him and to follow His path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in today’s Scripture passage therefore, of the conversion of the city and people of Nineveh, and also as we heard in the Gospel passage today, of the Queen of the South, we are reminded of the great power and reach of God’s forgiveness and mercy. God has loved us so much that He has called us to be reconciled to Him and to be worthy once again to live in His presence. But are we willing to commit ourselves to Him, brothers and sisters? Are we willing to dedicate ourselves, our time and efforts to follow the Lord and to serve Him?

Let us all then make good use of this time and opportunity given to us in this season of Lent, that we may come to a better and holier life, to a more faithful existence in God. Let us all make the conscious effort to seek the Lord and to ask Him for His forgiveness and mercy just as the people of Nineveh had once done, and to seek His wisdom as the Queen of the South once sought the wisdom of Solomon. Let us all sin no more, and delay no further, doing whatever we can to make good use of the chances given to us that we may find the fullness of grace in God.

May God be with us always and may He guide all of us that in all and everything we do, say and act, we may always bring glory to His Name and that we will always strive to be His true disciple. May all of us be good examples to one another so that by our faith we may receive the gift of everlasting and true joy, and eternal life together with the Lord, our living God. Amen.

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Wednesday, 24 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 11 : 29-32

At that time, as the crowd increased, Jesus spoke the following words : “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, 24 February 2021 : 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, 24 February 2021 : 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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Tuesday, 23 February 2021 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of God’s amazing and most wonderful love by which He generously cared for us and provided for us and our needs. He has loved us all as a father loves all of his children, and to that extent, He has given us the assurance of true happiness and eternal joy through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is our Lord and Saviour.

And in our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard the prophecy of the coming of Christ, Who is indeed the very Word of God mentioned in that passage of the prophet Isaiah. The prophet spoke of the Lord sending His Word into the world and how the Word would not return to Him before He has done the will of His heavenly Father, which is to bring about the salvation to all peoples of all the nations. The Lord sent His Son to reveal to us His most wonderful mercy and love, and to gather us all in, as a Shepherd gathering all of the lost sheep.

And thus, we have seen the glory and love of God revealed to us through Christ, the Son of God and the Divine Word Incarnate, Who by assuming our humble human nature and existence, united us to Himself, and by sharing in our humanity, has made us all the adopted sons and daughters of God, our heavenly Father. Just as Christ is the Son of God, and as the Son of Man is like a brother to us, that we have shared in the relationship that He has with His Father in heaven, and thus, become those whom God had favoured and called to be His own ones.

And gathering us all in, the Lord Jesus also taught us what it means for us to be a true disciple and a follower of His, to be devoted to God, His laws, ways and commandments. Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples and teaching them all how to pray to their heavenly Father, to the Lord, their God. This is the prayer that we now know as the Lord’s Prayer, being taught by the Lord Himself, or the Pater Noster in various languages, which means ‘Our Father’.

Through the prayer that the Lord taught us, He wanted to teach us that to pray is for us to speak, communicate and interact with our own beloved Father, the One Who had loved us so much. And the essence of prayer is one of communication and the willingness to engage in a meaningful conversation and spending time with God, to praise Him and to thank Him for all the wonderful things that He had done for us, and to seek His forgiveness for our many faults and wrongdoings.

All these were contained in the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer that is all of thanksgiving, petition, glorification of God and communication all in one. Through that prayer, the Lord Jesus wanted to teach us to pray in the right way, not to pray as if we are seeking for things to magically and miraculously happen to us by asking the Lord to do things for us. The Lord is not a miracle granter or wish granter that we can just ask for something or even worse still, demand for something.

And with this, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all reminded and asked to reflect on our own faith and lives thus far. Have our way of life thus far been truly reflective of true Christian discipleship? Have we had a good and healthy relationship with the Lord, a regular life of prayer and constant communication with God? Or have we allowed our faith to wither and go to waste, to remain idle and lacking in genuine commitment to love the Lord?

Have we remembered God only in times of desperation and great need, brothers and sisters in Christ? Or have we consistently and constantly been making the effort to strengthen our relationship with Him through prayer and charity, by listening to Him in the depth of our hearts and in speaking to Him, to know what it is that He has been calling us to do with our lives? Today we are all called to reflect on this carefully as we discern how to move forward in life.

As we progress through the season of Lent, we have been given this excellent opportunity to reevaluate our lives and to reconsider how our way of living our Christian faith has been. Are we willing to commit ourselves anew to the Lord, by deepening our spiritual existence through prayer, through generosity and charity in all of our dealings in life? Today we are all called to follow the examples of one of our holy predecessors in faith, namely that of St. Polycarp, in how he had lived his life virtuously and courageously.

St. Polycarp was one of the early Church fathers and the Bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor, renowned for his links to the early leaders of the Church such as St. John the Apostle, who was still alive during the lifetime of St. Polycarp, as well as St. Ignatius of Antioch, the successor of St. Peter in the important See of Antioch. St. Polycarp himself was also remembered for his interactions with the then Pope and Bishop of Rome, Pope St. Anicetus, for his writings and correspondences with other bishops in the region.

Then, St. Polycarp was remembered for his courageous faith and defence of his beliefs in martyrdom, when he in his old age he was martyred for refusing to offer sacrifices to the Roman Emperor under the pain of suffering and death. He remained firm and resolute in staying true to his conviction and dedication to the Lord to the very end, and his example in faith inspired many others who came after him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the same courage and faith showed by St. Polycarp, in all that he had done for the sake of the Church and the faithful. Let us all seek the Lord with a renewed faith and zeal, and strive to dedicate ourselves to glorify the Lord by our lives, through our actions and deeds in life. Let us all deepen our relationship with the Lord, and let us be ever better Christians in life, making best use of this season of Lent to bring ourselves ever closer to God, to be His beloved and worthy children.

May God bless us always, and may He strengthen our faith and may He guide us all to the path to eternal life, true happiness and joy with Him. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.