Weeks of Lent

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Friday, 5 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Vincent Ferrer, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 33 : 17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

But the Lord’s face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. Many are the troubles of the just, but the Lord delivers them from all.

He keeps all their bones intact, and none of them will be broken. But the Lord will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.

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Friday, 5 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Vincent Ferrer, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Wisdom 2 : 1a, 12-22

Led by mistaken reasons they think, “Let us set a trap for the Righteous, for He annoys us and opposes our way of life; He reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing. He claims knowledge of God and calls Himself Son of the Lord. He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet Him is burdensome to us. He does not live like others and behaves strangely.”

“According to Him we have low standards, so He keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean. He emphasises the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having God as Father. Let us see the truth of what He says and find out what His end will be. If the Righteous is a Son of God, God will defend Him and deliver Him from His adversaries.”

“Let us humble and torture Him to prove His self-control and test His patience. When we have condemned Him to a shameful death, we may test His words.” This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice. They do not know the mysteries of God nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed.

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Thursday, 4 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture reminding us all about the matter of faith and belief in God, that is the cornerstone and centre of our faith, and indeed, of our entire lives. For without true faith and devotion to God, we cannot live our lives in the manner that is in accordance to the way that the Lord has shown us, the path towards salvation.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, the Lord spoke out of His righteous anger before Moses, wanting to destroy the Israelites for the sins which they have committed, sins which were truly grievous and terrible, because they have willingly, consciously and deliberately rejected God despite having witnessed and received the great providence, love and grace from God, Who personally intervened for their sake and liberated them from their enemies and oppressors.

They chose a golden calf, crafted and made by the hands of man to be their god. They abandoned the Lord Who had blessed them and protected them so much, just because they thought that He was not there with them, just when Moses left them for a period of time as he went up the mountain to communicate with God and to get His Laws and commandments. They performed a great sacrilege and betrayal by such an act.

As recorded in the Book of Exodus, it may seem that the Lord is an angry and vengeful God, but this is the same pattern that happened throughout most of the Old Testament, as the people saw Him as One Who did not tolerate dissent or disobedience. But in truth, it was not the Lord Who willingly wanted the destruction of His own people, His beloved ones. Rather, it was their conscious rejection of God’s love and their sins that condemned them to destruction.

Moses interceded on behalf of the people, asking God to turn away from His righteous anger and forgive His people their sins. He reminded Him of the promises and the love that He has shown to His faithful servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He relented and turned away from His wrath because He is a faithful God, Who is faithful to the Covenant that He had made with His servants, His beloved people.

This is a reminder for each and every one of us that we have also experienced the same thing in our own lives due to sin. By our sins we have made ourselves like the Israelites who rejected God’s love and grace and made for themselves an idol out of gold. Likewise, we have made for ourselves many idols, from all of our attachments, desires and all the other longing of our earthly lives.

And the Lord Jesus revealed Himself in the Gospel passage today, as the One Who is interceding for us before God as Moses once did, and called on all of us sinners to listen to Him and to receive His message of truth. He made it plain, clear and simple, that all those who listen to Him and receive His truth with faith, the Lord will bring them all to the salvation that He has promised to all of them. If they otherwise prefer to remain in sin and refuse to repent and listen to the Lord’s call, then they shall be judged and be condemned by the same sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is where we need to keep in mind of just how loving and forgiving our God is. Despite all of our sins, He is still willing to embrace us and to forgive us from our trespasses and wicked ways, as long as we are willing to make the conscious effort to turn away from those sins and accept His truth, as revealed to us through Christ, His Son, Who has pleaded and interceded for us, through His suffering and death on the cross.

Yes, that is just how much God loved us and treasured us, that He was willing to go through all the troubles and difficulties just so that we all may be saved from certain destruction because of our own sins and disobedience. And all of us therefore should love God with all of our hearts, and devote ourselves to Him wholeheartedly, from now on, throwing away all the wicked idols of money, power, fame, influence, worldly glory and all the things keeping us from righteousness in God.

Today we can also model ourselves from the examples shown to us by the saint of the day, St. Isidore of Seville, known as a holy man and devout servant of God, who preached and taught among the people in what is now modern day Spain. He preached the truth of God and called on the people to abandon their sinful and wicked ways, and helped many others to get out of their sins, and seeking the forgiveness of God. He himself lived a holy and austere life, devoted and dedicated to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn to the Lord from now on and spend our effort in trying to make ourselves worthy once again of His love. God wants to forgive us our sins, but do we want to be forgiven? Unless we want to be forgiven, we will not be able to fully reconcile ourselves with God, and worse still, we may fall again and again back into sin, and from there to destruction and eternal damnation, a fate we certainly want to avoid.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us through life, that we may draw ever closer to Him and find the way to the fullness of His love and saving grace. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 31-47

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “If I bore witness to Myself, My testimony would be worthless. But Another One is bearing witness to Me, and I know that His testimony is true when He bears witness to Me. John also bore witness to the truth when you sent messengers to him, but I do not seek such human testimony; I recall this for you, so that you may be saved.”

“John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were willing to enjoy his light. But I have greater evidence than that of John – the works which the Father entrusted to Me to carry out. The very works I do bear witness : The Father has sent Me. Thus He Who bears witness to Me is the Father Who sent Me. You have never heard His voice and have never seen His likeness; therefore, as long as you do not believe His messenger, His word is not in you.”

“You search in the Scriptures, thinking that in them you will find life; yet Scripture bears witness to Me. But you refuse to come to Me, that you may live. I am not seeking human praise; but I have known that love of God is not within you, for I have come in My Father’s Name and you do not accept Me. If another comes in his own name, you will accept him. As long as you seek praise from one another, instead of seeking the glory which comes from the only God, how can you believe?”

“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. Moses himself, in whom you placed your hope, accuses you. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

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Thursday, 4 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 105 : 19-20, 21-22, 23

They made a calf at Horeb and worshipped the molten image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a bull that eats grass.

They forgot their Saviour God, Who had done great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.

So He spoke of destroying them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to shield them from destruction.

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Thursday, 4 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Exodus 32 : 7-14

Then YHVH said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten calf; they have bowed down before it and sacrificed to it and said : ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.'”

And YHVH said to Moses, “I see that these people are a stiff-necked people. Now just leave Me that My anger may blaze against them. I will destroy them, but of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses calmed the anger of YHVH, his God, and said, “Why, o YHVH, should Your anger burst against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with a mighty hand?”

“Let not the Egyptians say : ‘YHVH brought them out with evil intent, for He wanted to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth.’ Turn away from the heat of Your anger and do not bring disaster on Your people. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the promise You Yourself swore : I will multiply Your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land I spoke about I will give to them as an everlasting inheritance.”

YHVH then changed His mind and would not yet harm His people.

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Wednesday, 3 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about the love that God, our loving Creator and Father has for each and every one of us, and by which love we are so fortunate, because despite of our sins and all the wicked deeds and actions that we have done, God still loves us and is willing to forgive us from those sins and wickedness, provided that we are able to follow and commit ourselves to the path that He has shown to us all.

In both our first reading passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel passage today, this truth is reiterated before us all firmly, reminding us of the great love that God, our loving Father has for each and every one of us. In the book of the prophet Isaiah we heard how the Lord reminded His people of the love that He has for each and every one of them, and how He would save them from their enemies and from their troubles.

He reminded all of them that they will no longer need to worry and ought to rejoice because God has come to save them all. And this is precisely echoed and revealed through what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus also mentioned the very same things, the assurance of God’s love and faithfulness, when He, our loving Father, will bless us and gather us into the bliss and eternal joy He has promised all of those who are faithful to Him.

And therefore, today we are reminded of the fulfilment of God’s promises that He has made through Jesus Christ, His Son, through Whom God has revealed to all of us, His perfect love, that He was willing to send His Son to us as the perfect gift, and as the Hope of our salvation. Through Christ, God’s own Son, God has brought us all from the darkness of this world and into the eternal joy and bliss He has prepared for all of us.

Today’s readings repeat this important truth because each and every one of us ought to remember why we go through this period of Lent, this time and period of purification and self-rediscovery. And that is because we are looking forward to the coming of the true joy of our lives, that will come with the fullness of our reconciliation with God, through Jesus Christ, His sacrifice and death on the cross, by which He has redeemed us all from our sins.

As we draw ever closer to the end of the season of Lent, and as we head towards the holiest week of our entire liturgical year, the Holy Week itself, we ought to spend some time to reflect on our own lives, and how we have lived these lives of ours thus far. Have we placed our faith in God and have we loved Him just as He Himself has first loved us? Have we realised just how much God cared for us, and how He has blessed us all these while without us probably even knowing it?

Indeed, just as we heard in the Gospel passage today, that some among the people who heard Jesus’ teachings opposed Him and wanted to kill Him because they refused to believe in Him, thus, our lives will be far from being smooth and easygoing. There will be plenty of challenges and obstacles in our journey, as there will be many of those who disagree with us and our choice to follow the Lord. And the devil is always busy at work trying to snare more souls to follow his lead into damnation.

But, shall we follow the falsehoods and the empty promises of Satan? He is full of sweet lies and false pretenses, that we can end up falling for if we do not have a strong faith and trust in God. This is where we need to strengthen our dedication to God, that each and every one of us may grow stronger and firmer in our faith, and not easily give in to the temptations of evil. This season of Lent is truly a time for us to make a difference in our lives, by changing our way of life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards the Lord from now on with all of our strength, and focus our attention and effort towards Him. Let us grow ever more in love for Him and put our complete trust in Him, for He is ever always faithful, and will not abandon us at the time of our need. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent (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, 3 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent (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, 3 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent (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.