Weeks of Lent

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Saturday, 8 March 2025 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (First Reading)

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.

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (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, this time of repentance and reorientation of our lives, we are all reminded that everything which we are doing during this time and season of Lent should always be focused on the Lord, our Saviour and Master. We should not allow ourselves to be deluded and misguided by the temptations of worldly glory, pleasures, or other pursuits and ambitions which can lead us into the wrong paths in life. This Lent we are all called to turn away from our many worldly attachments and distractions, as well as coming closer to the Lord by our deepening of this relationship which we ought to have for Him. Each and every one of us should seek to rend ourselves off the various shackles of worldly desires present around us, and come to the Lord with a sorrowful and contrite heart.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people, the Israelites through Isaiah in which He called on all of them to turn towards Him with genuine faith and desire to love Him, and not merely paying lip service to Him and obeying His Law and commandments out of formality and mere outward observance only. The Lord pointed out how some of the people were doing exactly this, contradicting their own pious practices with other things that were not in accordance to His Law and commandments. The Lord quoted some examples how the people observed the fasting and the festivals, and yet, as they put ashes on their heads and wearing their sackcloth as they fast, they still persecuted and oppressed others around them, manipulating and benefitting over the sufferings of their fellow brethren.

All of those things meant that those people had not truly understood the Law and commandments of God. They fulfilled the requirements of the Law more as formality and perhaps even out of fear for the Lord, but not because they truly desired to seek Him or to follow His path wholeheartedly as they all ought to have done. That is why the Lord reminded all of His people through Isaiah, who wanted to tell them all to turn away from this wicked path, and embrace once again wholeheartedly and meaningfully the path that He has shown them, and which He has helped and reminded them constantly through the many prophets that He had sent to them including that of Isaiah himself. God wanted all of His people, and this is a reminder to all of us as well, that we must truly be sincere in our faith and all the practices we do, especially during this time and season of Lent, that we do not end up being hypocrites, believing in one thing and yet doing something entirely contradictory and opposite on the other.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to the disciples of St. John the Baptist who came up to Him to question why He and His disciples did not practice fasting in the manner that the disciples of St. John the Baptist themselves and the Pharisees had done. Unfortunately, especially for the latter group, many of them did the practice of fasting and other pious practices not for the right purpose and intention, but rather to seek attention and praise from others around them. At the same time, the Lord also used this opportunity to reveal and highlight the truth about Himself and His mission, how He, the Lord God Himself descending into our midst in the flesh and form of Man, being in our presence is no circumstance for His disciples and followers to fast.

Ultimately, this is a reminder for all of us that fasting and abstinence are practices that serve to remind us all of our sin and mortality, our rebellion and disobedience against God. When we fast, we also in a way mourn and show our regret and sorrow against our separation from God, reflecting upon the sad reality of the state of our soul, tainted and corrupted by sin and evil. And yet, at the same time, we must always remind ourselves that God has provided us His help and love, His kindness and grace, offering us all generous forgiveness and mercy. We must not squander these opportunities that God had given us all, as He reached out patiently towards us, gathering us all and calling on us to come into His Holy Presence once again, to be loved by Him again and reunited with Him.

Today, all of us are called to repent from our sins and wickedness as we continue our progress through this penitential season and time of Lent. We are called to reevaluate our path in life, and whether we have truly lived our lives worthily in the Lord or whether we are still being wayward in disobeying the Lord and His commandments. This is why we need to heed the words of the Lord that we have listened to and discussed today so that our Lenten season and whatever we are doing to observe it can be truly beneficial and fruitful for us. We must not do those observances and actions without truly understanding their significance and importance, and whenever we fast, abstain, spending our time in prayer and performing acts of charity, we should do them because we sincerely desire to better ourselves and to come back towards the Lord with contrite hearts.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, two holy and devout women whose martyrdom during the era of persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire inspired many of the faithful throughout history. St. Perpetua was a Roman noblewoman who was recently married at the time of her martyrdom while St. Felicity was a slavewoman, who was arrested and imprisoned together with St. Perpetua during one of the episodes of persecution of Christians in the Empire. Despite their different backgrounds, both were united in the common faith they had in the Lord, in their belief in Christ, the Saviour of all. They refused to abandon their faith, and for St. Perpetua, she refused her father’s desire that she recant her faith in God. Eventually both of them were put to death for their faith in the Lord, courageously defending their faith to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we reflect upon these words from the Sacred Scriptures and upon listening to the examples of the great saints, St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, let us all hence renew our commitments to the Lord, and renew that desire in each and every one of us to seek the Lord ever more wholeheartedly, by our exemplary living and deeds, by our obedience to the Law and commandments of God. The Lord has given us this time of Lent as the wonderful opportunity for us to embrace Him and His mercy, to reevaluate our lives and to reattune ourselves to His path. Let us all not squander these opportunities that He has given us, and let us all seek the Lord faithfully, being good role models for everyone around us, much as our holy predecessors, like that of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity had been for us.

May the Lord continue to bless us in our journey of life and strengthen us in our faith and commitment to Him, and bless our Lenten practices and observances so that through them, we may draw ever closer to Him and find the path to His Holy Presence, and remain ever firm in our desire to love and seek Him always in our lives. Amen.

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

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.”

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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 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.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.

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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Friday, 7 March 2025 : Friday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 1-9a

Cry out aloud for all you are worth; raise your voice like a trumpet blast; tell My people of their offences, Jacob’s family of their sins. Is it true that they seek Me day after day, longing to know My ways, as a people that does what is right and has not forsaken the word of its God?

They want to know the just laws and not to drift away from their God. “Why are we fasting?,” they complain, “and You do not even see it? We are doing penance and You never notice it.” Look, on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress your labourers. Yes, you fast but end up quarrelling, striking each other with wicked blows. Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high.

Is that the kind of fast that pleases Me, just a day to humble oneself? Is fasting merely bowing down one’s head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes? Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to YHVH? See the fast that pleases Me : breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke.

Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the glory of YHVH your rearguard. Then you will call and YHVH will answer, you will cry and He will say, I am here.

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Thursday, 6 March 2025 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we embark on this journey through the penitential and contemplative time of the Lenten season, let us all reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received on this day. We are reminded that as Christians all of us must make the decision to consciously follow the Lord and His path in our lives, and make the conscious effort and commitment to persevere in this path no matter what challenges, trials and tribulations may be in the journey that we have towards God. There is likely going to be plenty of obstacles in our path, but we must not allow these to be barriers preventing us from coming towards the Lord with genuine faith and devotion. Instead, they should make us even more committed and willing to follow the Lord more faithfully each day.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses, the leader of the Israelites during the time of the Exodus from Egypt presented before the Israelites the rules and the commandments which the Lord had revealed and passed to them, and the expectations that accompany the Covenant which God had made with them, His beloved people. Moses reminded the people of the path that they ought to choose in their lives, whether they wanted to follow the Lord and obey Him, His Law and commandments, or whether they wanted to walk their own path of disobedience and rebellion against God. Moses made it clear the choices that lay before the people, and how their choices are truly important, in deciding their eventual fate.

What Moses had said to the Israelites highlighted the way that the Lord has always been loving and caring towards His people, and He has always been patient in helping and leading them all to Himself. However, at the same time, He also gave them the free will and the freedom to choose their course of actions in life, the gift that the Lord gave to each one of us. He does not impose on us His will, and He gave us the freedom to walk the way that we choose. At the same time, Moses made it clear that if we put our faith and trust in God, then in the end, we will receive the fullness of His grace and blessings, and we will not regret our choice, as despite the challenges and trials that we may face, we will be vindicated by the triumphant glory with God. On the other hand, if we choose to walk away from God, in the end, there will only be suffering and eternity of regret in Hell.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel of St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord telling His disciples plainly and frankly about what He Himself would experience in the midst of His upcoming Passion, the culmination of His worldly ministry. The Lord said it clearly that He, the Son of Man, would have to suffer rejection, persecution and oppression from none other than the leaders of the people, the chief priests and the elders, to be handed over to His enemies, and to be punished and persecuted although the fault was not His own. And yet, He would obey willingly to follow the path that His heavenly Father has shown Him, the path of redemption for all mankind, which He would accomplish by His most selfless and loving sacrifice on the Cross.

He also predicted His own Resurrection on the third day, and also how the same sufferings would be part of the disciples’ life, mission and journey. He reminded them all that just as the world has rejected and opposed Him, thus it is likely that they would also face the same challenges and obstacles that He had been facing. And they cannot be His true disciples and followers unless they carried their own crosses and follow Him wholeheartedly and faithfully. This is the reality that the Lord presented to His disciples, reminding especially those among them who might be expecting good and comfortable life if they were to follow Him as their Lord and Master. Some among the disciples at the time had the misconception thinking that the Messiah was to come to usher the era of peace and glory, the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel, and this is what the Lord wanted to remind them about the truth.

All of us are reminded that as Christians, as the disciples and followers of the Lord, we must always be ready to face persecution and difficulties in our path, and we should not expect that our lives will be good and smooth. This does not mean that God will not bless us, as He will surely bless us abundantly and give us His guidance and strength. However, we have to put our faith and trust in God whenever the challenges and trials come by us, or else we may be easily tempted and swayed to abandon our faith in the Lord and abandon His path, choosing to embrace instead the other allures of worldly temptations and solutions to our struggles and issues. All these may lead us astray in our journey in life, and in the end, we may end up being lost forever to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter into this time and season of Lent, we are all called to turn over a new leaf in our lives, embracing the truth of God and His love, His path wholeheartedly as we all should have done. We have been given these many wonderful opportunities by the Lord which we should never squander, and we should try our best such that we use them well in changing our way of life and our attitudes, putting ourselves wholly in the path of righteousness and virtue, doing our very best to live in accordance to the manner that the Lord has shown us. We have been given the freedom to choose our path in life, and we have been reminded and shown what each of those paths will lead into, and therefore we should really spend the time to discern how we are to move forward in life from now on.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen and encourage us all in our lives, each and every moment of these precious lives we have been blessed with. Let our Lenten practices and observances be truly good, worthy and fruitful in leading us ever closer towards the Lord, and help us to remain true and faithful to this path towards God’s salvation and eternal life. May all of us not easily be swayed or tempted to abandon our struggles and perseverance despite all the challenges and difficulties that we may have to face in this journey. May God bless us all in our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 6 March 2025 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 9 : 22-25

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and be put to death. Then after three days He will be raised to life.”

Jesus also said to all the people, “If you wish to be a follower of Mine, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow Me! For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for My sake, you will save it. What does it profit you to gain the whole world, if you destroy or damage yourself?”

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Thursday, 6 March 2025 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the man who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the Law of YHVH and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For YHVH knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 6 March 2025 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Deuteronomy 30 : 15-20

See, I set before you on this day life and good, evil and death. I command you to love YHVH, your God and follow His ways. Observe His commandments, His norms and His laws, and you will live and increase, and YHVH will give you His blessing in the land you are going to possess.

But if your heart turns away and does not listen, if you are drawn away and bow before other gods to serve them, I declare on this day that you shall perish. You shall not last in the land you are going to occupy on the other side of the Jordan.

Let the heavens and the earth listen, that they may be witnesses against you. I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life that you and your descendants may live, loving YHVH, listening to His voice, and being one with Him. In this life for you and length of days in the land which YHVH swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

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Wednesday, 5 March 2025 : Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is Ash Wednesday, the very first day of the penitential season of Lent, the forty days plus period of spiritual renewal and reorientation of our lives, so that we may prepare ourselves well for the upcoming important celebrations and events during the Holy Week and Paschal Triduum towards the glorious season of Easter. During this time and period of Lent, all of us as Christians commit ourselves to a renewal of our lives and reattune ourselves to the Lord. We remind ourselves that as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us ought to live our lives worthily and devote ourselves to His ways, distancing ourselves from all the corruptions of evil and sin, from the various temptations of the world around us so that we may truly be faithful disciples and followers, worthy of the Lord, our most loving God and Father.

Today we recall our weakness and mortal nature, as sinful men and women, who because of our disobedience and sins against God, had been sundered from the fullness of God’s love and grace. This is why the blessed ashes imposed on us is a reminder of this fallen state and our mortality, with the words of the priest imposing the ashes, ‘Remember man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return’, linking to the fact that God crafted and made us all from the dust of the earth, and when we die, our bodies shall rot and perish, returning back to the earth where it came from. No matter how great or glorious our background or life may be, in the end, all of us will have to face death and the end of our earthly existence. But with God there is an everlasting life and existence beyond this life we have in this world.

Alternatively the priest would also have said as he imposed the ashes, ‘Repent, and believe in the Gospel’, which again highlights the penitential nature of this time and season. On this Ash Wednesday, all of us are required to fast and abstain from meat, in which these practices are meant for us to restrain our physical bodies and desires, our worldly wants and pursuits, and reminding us all to purify ourselves, our bodies, minds, hearts and our whole being so that through this repentance and purification of our beings, we may truly be worthy once again, through God’s grace and forgiveness, to be His holy and beloved people, filled with the fullness of His grace and love. We are all required to fast today, eating just one main meal and two smaller meals called collations, and the aforementioned abstinence to remind us of the futility of worldly glory and desires, and to focus ourselves to the Lord once again.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Joel, we heard of the words of the Lord spoken through this prophet calling on all the people of God to return to their Lord and Master with repentance and sincere desire to turn themselves towards His mercy and forgiveness. The prophet Joel was sent by God to minister to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, the southern half of the kingdom of God’s people, to remind them all of the Lord’s Law and commandments, calling upon all of them to restore the faithful practices of their ancestors and for them to turn away from their sins and wickedness. At that time, the kingdom of Judah and the people of God had fallen far away from the path of the Lord, disobeying and disregarding the commandments which God had taught to them and their ancestors and requiring them to follow and obey. And as a result, they had been beset by troubles, difficulties and persecution from their enemies.

But the prophet Joel highlighted how God is truly loving and merciful, and all of us ought to come to Him seeking His mercy and forgiveness, as He forgives those who sincerely seeks Him and wants to be forgiven. Through our repentance, our fasting and abstinence done with the right intentions and desire for us to be rid of our impure and corrupt thoughts, desires and other temptations, we shall gain the grace of God, the generous love and compassionate mercy that our loving Father has always had for us. Nonetheless, this is as always, easier said than done, as despite our best intentions, there will always likely be temptations and other things which may hinder us on our path and journey towards God, and it is during this time of Lent that we should do our best to reorientate our lives towards the Lord and be more aware of the dangers of sin and the temptations around us.

In our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth, the Apostle reminded all the faithful there of the great grace and mercy which God has shown to all of them, the beloved people of God, and how they all should seek the compassionate love and mercy from God because this very moment is indeed the favourable time to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. What St. Paul told to the faithful among the Corinthians is also a reminder for all of us that we should not procrastinate or delay in our efforts to seek the Lord, as some among us may delay in doing so because we think that we still have ample amount of time in our lives to be forgiven from our many sins and wickedness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be reminded again of the reality of our mortality and the fact how any one of us can be called to account for our lives before the Lord at any moment. No one knows for certain when we will meet the end of our lives, beside the certainty that we will indeed face death in the end of our earthly life and existence, be it that we have a long or short life. All of us are mortals who will not endure and exist forever in this world, and hence, we should make good use of all the opportunities and means that the Lord has generously given to us, to seek Him and His ever generous love and kindness. We must not wait until it is too late, when all of our means to reach God has been exhausted, and we can no longer attain His forgiveness. Let us all be quick to seek to repent from our sins, and receive regularly the forgiveness from God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Church.

Then from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle, we are reminded of the matter of practices of our faith and things related to what we do during this time and season of Lent such as fasting and abstinence, prayers and almsgiving among others. As the Lord made it clear to His disciples and all those gathered to listen to Him, when we fast, abstain, make our prayers and do other things that we often do during this time of Lent, we must not make a show out of it. We also should not do these actions in order to be praised and adored by others around us. Instead, we should do them because we are truly and sincerely repentant over our many sins and wickedness, realising the depth of our unworthiness and iniquities before God.

As we receive the blessed ashes on our heads and foreheads, we are all reminded of the need for repentance and renewal in our lives, as we are called to embrace God’s rich and merciful love, making use of the chances that had been provided to us to turn once again towards God, and as His children, full of love for our Father, let us all beseech Him for His mercy and kindness, knowing that in Him alone we can find true forgiveness and peace, salvation and eternal life, and if we are willing to commit ourselves to the path that God our Father has shown us, then God will surely forgive us our sins and allow us to be reconciled with Him. And hence, as we symbolically wear the ashes on our heads and foreheads, we are reminded of this sinfulness that is in us, and of the commitment required from us to abandon these sins for the righteousness of God.

The Gospel passage also reminds us all of the three important pillars of our Lenten practices in order to prepare us all well for the upcoming celebrations of Holy Week and Easter. These as mentioned earlier on are fasting and abstinence, as well as prayer, and lastly being almsgiving. Each one of these practices were meant to help direct our focus and attention towards the Lord, and through them hopefully we may be ever more restrained in our greed, desires and ego in life, and become more attuned to the Lord and His path. We should not do these just in order to satisfy Church requirements and laws, or do them for the sake of doing them. We should also appreciate and understand the significance and importance of each one of these practices so that we may benefit most wonderfully from each one of them in bringing ourselves ever closer to God this Lent and beyond.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let our fasting, abstinence, prayers and almsgiving be truly centred on God, and may they help us to continue to grow in faith and dedication to the Lord, and remind us all of our own frailty, mortality and also our sinfulness so that we may truly be humble in life, in desiring and seeking healing and forgiveness from God. Let us all come towards our merciful and ever loving Father and Creator, our Lord and Master with contrite hearts, asking Him to heal us from our afflictions and corruption by sin, and help us all to enter into His glorious inheritance, to bring us all into the eternal life and true happiness that He has promised us, through our genuine reconciliation and reunion with Him. May all of us have a truly blessed and fruitful season of Lent, and be blessed by God in our every good works, efforts and endeavours this Lent. Amen.