Weeks of Lent

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Saturday, 12 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 37 : 21-28

You will then say to them : Thus says YHVH : I am about to withdraw the Israelites from where they were among the nations. I shall gather them from all around and bring them back to their land. I shall make them into one people on the mountains of Israel and one king is to be the king of them all.

They will no longer form two nations or be two separate kingdoms, nor will they defile themselves again with their idols, their detestable practices and their sins. I shall free them from the guilt of their treachery; I shall cleanse them and they will be for Me a people and I shall be God for them.

My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all. They will live according to My laws and follow and practice My decrees. They will settle in the land I gave to My servant Jacob where their ancestors lived. There they will live forever, their children and their children’s children. David My servant will be their prince forever.

I shall establish a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I shall settle them and they will increase and I shall put My sanctuary in their midst forever. I shall make My home at their side; I shall be their God and they will be My people. Then the nations will know that I am YHVH Who makes Israel holy, having My sanctuary among them forever.

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Friday, 11 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the persecutions, hardships and challenges which we have to face in the midst of our journey of faith and life as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own because the world itself and all those wicked forces all around it have opposed the Lord and His works, persecuting the Lord and even rejecting Him, in their unwillingness to obey the Lord and in refusing to listen to Him. That is why, being made aware of these obstacles, and all the challenges we may face, we should be more resilient and persistent in our desire to follow the Lord and to be faithful to Him at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which we heard of the plots and the dangers which Jeremiah had to face amidst his ministry among the people of God in the kingdom of Judah. For the context, Jeremiah had been sent to the people of the kingdom of Judah at the time just before that kingdom met its end at the hands of the Babylonians, and he came bearing God’s words of warning to the people of Judah, telling them of the consequences of their many sins and wickedness, all of which would prevent them from truly living a righteous and worthy life in God’s Presence. But Jeremiah was hated and reviled for his works and ministry, labelled as doomsayer and even traitor to the nation for what he delivered to the people of God.

There were many false prophets who had risen during that time, misleading the people of Judah and their king to continue on the path of rebellion and disobedience against God. That was how many disregarded Jeremiah’s words and prophecies, as they chose rather to trust in the words of the false prophets and in the arrangements and plans of man, depending and trusting in worldly powers and strengths rather than in their Lord and God Who has always been faithful to them. And those enemies of Jeremiah plotted even the destruction and downfall of the prophet, and almost managed to do so if not for the intervention and protection from God which prevented those people from succeeding in their plots.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the continuation of the bickering and disagreements between many of the Jewish people in Jerusalem and the Lord Jesus, with the former mostly belonging to the group of the Pharisees and their supporters, those who followed the overly rigid and legalistic approach of the observance of the Law of God, in the manner that the Pharisees had observed them. They continued to harden their hearts and minds, closing them against the Lord Who had repeatedly brought His truth and love to His people, but the stubborn attitudes shown by those same people had rebuffed Him and His efforts.

And the main problem as I had mentioned in the previous days was that of pride, ego and arrogance, all of which had hardened the hearts and minds of the people of God against the love of their Master and Creator. They thought that they could not have been wrong in their interpretations and way of living their faith and the Law of God. The Lord revealed to them the truth and many among them could not accept it, being angry and refusing to believe in Him, especially when He revealed that He is the Son of God, the manifestation of God’s perfect Love and kindness, His mercy and compassion towards us all. And this is despite His identity having been alluded in the prophecy of the prophets and servants of God, and despite all the signs and wonders that He had performed before each and every one of them. This is also a prelude to everything that we are about to commemorate in the Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Stanislas, also known as St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów, a Polish bishop and martyr of the Church, whose faith and life should be good inspiration for all of us to follow in our own lives as Christians. St. Stanislas hailed from the village of Szczepanów in Poland during the Medieval era, about a thousand years ago. He eventually joined the priesthood and was ordained first as priest and then as bishop succeeding the Bishop of Krakow who had ordained him. He did many good works in Poland, establishing relationship between the domains of Poland and the Church in Rome, and the establishment of Church hierarchy in Poland, bridging between the King of Poland and the Church.

In what many saw as a parallel as the story of another famous bishop and holy servant of God martyred by the secular ruler due to conflicting ideals and disagreements, like that of St. Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England, St. Stanislas got into a conflict and argument with the Polish king with regard to land disputes pertaining to the Church lands and properties. The king claimed that the lands which the Church had purchased through St. Stanislas as bishop from a man named Piotr, and which was claimed by the man’s family belonged to the family and not the Church. When the king challenged St. Stanislas to produce an evidence of the purchase, deemed impossible because the man Piotr had died, St. Stanislas miraculously brought the man back to life and the latter testified for St. Stanislas and chastised his sons who had claimed the land for themselves.

St. Stanislas also got into another, more serious conflict with King Boleslaw of Poland, whom he chastised for his actions in war and in another immoral behaviours that he had done, leading to St. Stanislas excommunicating the king for his grave sins and faults. This brought about conflict in the royal court and made the king and his allies to accuse St. Stanislas of treason against the king and state, and sentenced him to death. When no one among his nobles and allies dared to lay their hands on the bishop, the king himself came to slay St. Stanislas as he was celebrating the Mass outside the walls of Krakow or within Wawel Castle depending on the traditions. He was martyred defending the Church and the Christian teachings against the immoral and sinful king, leading to great outrage and eventual dethronement of the same king.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect upon the readings from the Sacred Scriptures today and from the life of St. Stanislas, let us all therefore remember that we are all called to be truly holy and worthy of God as His beloved children and people. We should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations present all around us, all the challenges and oppositions that we may have to face in living our lives faithfully as Christians. Many of our holy predecessors like St. Stanislas and ultimately the Lord Himself had faced a lot of persecutions and hardships throughout their lives and ministry, and we should in fact strengthen ourselves with the knowledge and resolve that we are all enduring these for the faith and love that we have for the Lord.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to love and serve the Lord ever more faithfully, doing our very best so that by our commitment, dedication and efforts, we will continue to walk faithfully down this path that the Lord has shown us and led us through, the path that leads to eternal life and to reconciliation with Him. Let us no longer be separated from our loving, merciful and most compassionate God, but instead let us take the initiative and make the conscious effort to follow the Lord our God with zeal and devotion, with true courage and faith so that in everything that we do, we will always glorify Him at all times, coming ever closer to Him and to His salvation. May our Lenten observances and practices continue to bear rich fruits and be truly blessed. Amen.

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Friday, 11 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 10 : 31-42

At that time, the Jews then picked up stones to throw at Jesus; so He said, “I have openly done many good works among you, which the Father gave Me to do. For which of these do you stone Me?”

The Jews answered, “We are not stoning You for doing a good work, but for insulting God; You are only a Man, and You make Yourself God.” Then Jesus replied, “Is this not written in your law : I said, you are gods? So those who received this word of God were called gods, and the Scripture is always true.”

“What then should be said of the One anointed, and sent into the world, by the Father? Am I insulting God when I say, ‘I am the Son of God?’ If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not believe Me. But if I do them, even if you have no faith in Me, believe because of the works I do; and know that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

Again they tried to arrest Him, but Jesus escaped from their hands. He went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John had baptised, and there He stayed. Many people came to Jesus, and said, “John worked no miracles, but he spoke about You, and everything he said was true.” And many became believers in that place.

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Friday, 11 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 17 : 2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7

I love You, o Lord, my Strength, the Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer and my God.

He is the Rock in Whom I take refuge. He is my Shield, my powerful Saviour, my Stronghold. I call on the Lord, Who is worthy of praise : He saves me from my enemies!

A deadly flood surrounded me, devillish torrents rushed at me; caught by the cords of the grave, I was brought to the snares of death.

But I called upon the Lord in my distress, I cried to my God for help; and from His Temple He heard my voice, my cry of grief reached His ears.

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Friday, 11 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 20 : 10-13

I hear many people whispering, “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Yes, denounce him!” All my friends watch me to see if I will slip : “Perhaps he can be deceived,” they say; “then we can get the better of him and have our revenge.”

But YHVH, a mighty Warrior, is with me. My persecutors will stumble and not prevail; that failure will be their shame and their disgrace will never be forgotten. YHVH, God of hosts, You test the just and probe the heart and mind.

Let me see Your revenge on them, for to You I have entrusted my cause. Sing to YHVH! Praise YHVH and say : He has rescued the poor from the clutches of the wicked!

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Thursday, 10 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the Word of God contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the promises and the Covenant which God had given and made with Abraham, the forefather of the Israelites and many other nations, and who is also our father in faith, as the progenitor of all those who believe in one of the major Abrahamic traditions and beliefs, including that of Christianity. And therefore we are reminded that we ourselves are also part of the same Covenant between God and us, and we are all part of this commitment which all of us are expected to fulfil in our daily living and in all the things that we do so that we are truly indeed worthy of God’s grace and love, His promises and reassurances for us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis detailing to us what the Lord had established with Abraham, making a Covenant with him as mentioned earlier on, binding himself and his descendants to God, and therefore blessing Him with the promise of many descendants and the land which God would bestow upon the descendants of Abraham, but at the same time, also requiring them all to follow the Law and commandments that God would give to them. A Covenant is a two-way commitment between two parties, and in this case between God on one side and then Abraham and his descendants on the other. And that God willingly made this Covenant between Himself and us, His beloved people, is a clear sign of His ever enduring and great love for each and every one of us.

The Lord showed and proved His commitment to the Covenant which He had made with all of us, and this includes His guidance to Abraham and his descendants, providing for them and protecting them through difficult times and moments. He provided for them in their time and hour of need, shielding them from their enemies, bringing them out of their slavery in the land of Egypt and showing His might to the Egyptians and their Pharaoh. He was always with His people, guiding and providing for them even when they have often hardened their hearts and rebelled against Him. The Lord showed us all His persistent and powerful love, and we truly should be grateful for what He has shown us, all the kindness that He has bestowed upon us, and hence, we should return His love with the same kind or commitment and dedication as well.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the continuation of the interactions and disputes between the Lord Jesus and the Jewish people, which were referring to the zealous Pharisees and the members of the community that supported them, in their refusal to believe in the Lord, in His teachings and works. And today we heard the increasing hostility between the crowd and the Lord, when the crowd, proudly claiming their descent from Abraham just as we heard in our Gospel passage yesterday, took offense at the Lord when the Lord told them that if they believed in Him, they would not experience death, saying that He was uttering nonsense or even blasphemy by stating such things.

But the Lord was saying the truth when He told them all that, telling them that His truth and all that He delivered to them would indeed save them all from certain destruction and death. But those people, many of whom had witnessed the Lord’s miracles and works, and heard His Wisdom and truth failed to believe in Him despite of what they themselves had experienced, all due to their pride and ego which had made them to harden their hearts and minds against God. They were proud of their descent from Abraham, and as was common at the time, they considered others to be unworthy of God, inferior and sinners who would defile and corrupt them if they were to mingle with those people. Yet this is not what God had taught and wanted His people to do in their lives.

For to God, each and every one of us mankind are important and beloved, and we are all equally beloved by Him, and He does not discriminate us based on our descent, background or origins. He made all those who believe in Him and have been faithful to Him to be His beloved children, and as the children of Abraham by faith, by adoption and by our partaking of the same Covenant which God had promised to Abraham. Therefore, all of us are also worthy of everything that God had promised to Abraham and his descendants, as long as we believe in God and live our lives in the manner that is truly pleasing to Him. We should not be like those who claimed to be worthy because they were descended from Abraham, and yet, refused to believe in the Lord when He came to their midst, and those who were hypocrites in their faith and life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed the messages that we have heard today from the Sacred Scriptures and be reminded that we are all part of the Covenant which God had made with us, and henceforth, all of us are expected to observe faithfully the commandments and Law that God had taught, shown and revealed to us. We should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations of the world, of ambitions and glory, prejudices and all other things which may lead us astray in our journey towards God. Instead, we should abandon our pride and ego, and grow more in humility, realising the depth of our sinfulness and wickedness, all the things which had kept us away from God and His love.

During this time and season of Lent, let us all hence renew our commitment to God and turn away from all of our rebellious attitudes, doing our very best to embrace God’s love and mercy, and doing our part to fulfil our obligations and commitments to God. We are all called to be good role models and examples for our fellow brothers and sisters around us, in living our lives faithfully out of compassion for our brethren and our genuine love for God. Let us all therefore as Christians be truly faithful to the Lord and show our faith through our everyday living and actions, now and always. Especially during this time of Lent let us all be the good and worthy bearers of the truth and light of God’s Good News and salvation. Amen.

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Thursday, 10 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 8 : 51-59

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “Truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never experience death.” The Jews replied, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets as well, but You say, ‘Whoever keeps My word will never experience death.’ Who do You claim to be? Do You claim to be greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets also died.”

Then Jesus said, “If I were to praise Myself, it would count for nothing. But He Who gives glory to Me is the Father, the very One you claim as your God, although you do not know Him. I know Him, and if I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I know Him and I keep His word. As for Abraham, your ancestor, he looked forward to the day when I would come; and he rejoiced when he saw it.”

The Jews then said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old and You have seen Abraham?” And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” They then picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the Temple.

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Thursday, 10 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 104 : 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

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Thursday, 10 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Genesis 17 : 3-9

Abram fell face down and God said to him, “This is My covenant with you : you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but Abraham, because I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you more and more famous; I will multiply your descendants; nations shall spring from you, kings shall be among your descendants.”

“And I will establish a covenant, an everlasting covenant between Myself and you and your descendants after you; from now on I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you, for generations to come. I will give to you and your descendants after you the land you are living in, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession and I will be the God of your race.”

God said to Abraham, “For your part, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation.”

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Wednesday, 9 April 2025 : 5th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in our today’s Scripture readings we have all been reminded of God’s love, mercy and kindness for those who have been faithful to Him. And as God’s holy and beloved children, His disciples and followers, all of us are expected to put our faith and trust in Him, and not to be easily swayed by the temptations of evil and sin around us in this world. That is why today we are called to put our faith in God and not in men, not in the glory and powers of the world. If we allow ourselves to be tempted, swayed and led astray by our worldly desires and by all the temptations around us, then we are bound by those temptations and sins which we have indulged in, and we cannot truly consider ourselves as being free and in the state of grace. In the end, if we continue to persist in our sinful ways, then we shall be judged for those sins we have committed.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, we heard of the story of the moment when the three friends of Daniel, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, faced a great dilemma when the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, built for himself a great statue of gold in his own image, as the ultimate symbol of ego and greed, being the ruler of many lands and having conquered many countries and territories, including that of Judah and Jerusalem where Daniel and his friends had come from. The dilemma was that King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that all of his subjects gathered there, including that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego must bend their knees and worship the golden idol made in the king’s own image, essentially declaring himself to be a god or like a god. But this was contrary to the beliefs of the Israelites, who believe in only one and only one God.

That was why the three friends of Daniel courageously stood up to their faith in God, and while everyone else obeyed the king’s commands and orders, they alone among the multitudes of people refused to worship the golden idol of the king. And we heard then how they remained firm in their conviction to remain true and faithful to their faith in God despite being threatened and having to face the wrath of the king. They did not fear certain suffering and death that the king had threatened against all those who refused to obey him, and their resolve and firm courage in refusing the demands of King Nebuchadnezzar made the king so much angrier, ordering the great furnace designed to punish the dissidents to be made far hotter than it had been, meant to torture and destroy the three servants of God.

And yet, as we have heard in that same passage today, the Lord protected and guarded His servants, sending His Angel to help them, and they were completely unharmed in that furnace, to the total surprise and astonishment of Nebuchadnezzar and all who witnessed the event. They were all aghast seeing how those people could have survived and was in fact unharmed by the flames, and in the end, Nebuchadnezzar was humbled and chastised by the Lord through this miraculous occasion, and he praised the Lord God and His servants who had shown courage and perseverance, faith and commitment despite the threats and sufferings which they had to face in defending their faith. The golden idol and statue was also brought down and destroyed afterwards according to the Scriptures.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in which we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus continued to have heated arguments and discussions with the Jewish people, which in this context referred to those people who belonged to the Pharisees and the religious elites of the community of the people of God in Judea, as well as their supporters and partisans. These people were quite vocal and stubborn in their opposition against the Lord Jesus, His teachings and works because many among them saw Him as rival and threat to their influence and prestige in the community, drawing away many of the people especially the poor and the marginalised away from them and the Temple as they flocked to seek the Lord and listen to Him.

The Lord told all of them that unless they all believed in Him and listened to His words, keeping whatever truth and revelations that He had brought unto them, then they would remain bound by the chains and enslavement to their sins and evils, which would therefore prevent them from coming towards true reconciliation and reunion with God, their loving Father and Creator. But as we heard, those people hardened their hearts and answered proudly saying that they were the descendants of Abraham, and because of that, they were not slaves and were free. This shows to us the problems that were associated with many among the people to whom the Lord had been sent to at that time, that is pride and arrogance, all of which were keeping them away from God and from being truly worthy and righteous in His path.

Many of those people, especially the Pharisees and the members of the Sanhedrin, the religious and societal elites were proud and arrogant in their attitudes, thinking that they were superior and better than the others around them. They thought that their way of observing and practicing the Law was the correct one, and they did not take it lightly any kind of criticism or practices and ways that were different or contrary to the way that they were doing things. And this was why they often ended up in conflict and disagreements with the Lord and His disciples in how they conducted themselves and practiced the Law of God. The Lord Himself pointed out many times the hypocrisy of these so called elders, leaders and guides, reminding the people while they should listen to them, they should not follow the way that they were observing the Law of God.

That is a reminder to all of us that as faithful and obedient people of God, as Christians, we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by pride and ego, or by other kinds of temptations around us which can lead us astray as they had done to those Pharisees and elders, in hardening their hearts and minds against God. We should instead be humble and be willing to listen to God calling upon us in our lives to follow Him and to embrace His path. We should not let hubris and ego overcome us like what happened to the King of Babylon, thinking that we are superior and better, and instead, we should realise the extent of our flaws and faults, coming to Him and embracing His love and kindness. This Lent especially we have been given these opportunities for us to return to our loving God and Father, and we should not squander it.

May the Lord be with us always and may He in His most generous and rich mercy and compassion continue to help us in our journey back to Him. May our Lenten journey and observances be truly fruitful and blessed, and may God bless us in everything we do, in making us all to be good role models and examples for our brethren around us. May all of us continue to grow in our love and trust in God, and grow ever stronger in our relationship with Him, with each and every passing moments. Amen.