4th Week of Lent, Saturday, 05-04-2025

Jeremiah 11:18-20 / John 7:40-52  

It is really something when one has a status or a reputation in the world.

It may be in the form of credentials, or qualifications, or titles, etc.

Add on to that with power and authority and the world will pay attention to whatever one says and does.

But the ways and the preferences of God are mysterious.

God often speaks through the voices of the humble and lowly.

But the voices of the high and mighty often drown out that of the humble and lowly.

In the gospel, the Temple police actually attested that Jesus spoke with authority.

And the Pharisee Nicodemus actually spoke up for justice and truth.

But their voices were not heeded and pushed aside by the high and mighty.

In the world, we hear many voices. Some are loud and sharp, while others are gentle and mellow.

But let us pay attention to the voices of the humble and low.

When we hear in them the voice of love and truth, justice and compassion, then we know that indeed, God speaks through the voices of the humble and lowly.

4th Week of Lent, Friday, 04-04-2025

Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 / John 7:1-2, 10,25-30   

To talk about a good deed or doing a good deed is certainly edifying and motivating.

That will get others to want to contribute in whatever ways they are able to.

But to talk about a bad and evil deed in public is disgusting and deplorable.

In the face of such public evil actions, will there be any reactions or response to it.

In the 1st reading, the godless say to themselves with their misguided reasoning.

And what they said seems to be in the public.

Their evil talk and thoughts include trapping and persecuting the virtuous man, put his faith to the test with cruelty and torture, and finally killing him.

But the 1st reading concludes with a response to such evil and their actions.

Their malice makes them blind, and they do not know the hidden things of God.

In the gospel, it also seems that it is public knowledge that the authorities want to kill Jesus.

Those with power and might may publicly propagate their evil intentions and even make know their evil deeds.

But, in the end, they will have to be accountable to God.

Let us pray that we stand firm in the face and evil, and let us also place our hope in Jesus that holiness will be rewarded.

4th Week of Lent, Thursday, 03-04-2025

Exodus 32:7-14 / John 5:31-47   

Whenever we say that we agree with a person, it usually means that we agree with that person’s opinions and suggestions.

But when we agree with a person’s life-style, the person’s habits, the person’s beliefs and principles, then that is something else.

Because that means that we agree and accept everything about that person.

It is like almost one more little step to believing totally in that person in whatever that person does and says.

In the gospel, Jesus declared that He came to testify to God.

And human approval means nothing to Him.

The people look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from God.

In our discussions and proposals, whether at work or in Church, we too would want support and approval for our ideas and suggestions.

But as Christians, we need to place our plans, our ideas and even our inspirations before the Lord.

We need to ask the Lord for His blessings on what we are going to do.

And we must be prepared to change our plans and our ideas according to God’s plan and His will.

In life, we must submit to God’s plan and His will.

Because God’s will and plan is always for our good and the good of others.

4th Week of Lent, Wednesday, 02-04-2025

Isaiah 49:8-15 / John 5:17-30  

People who have a good memory will impress us.

They not only remember names, they can even remember phone numbers, dates and events.

On the other hand, most of us may be hampered by our own forgetfulness, or the forgetfulness of others.

Forgetfulness can happen when we are distracted, when we are too busy or that we are not interested in remembering.

And we also don’t like the thought that we have been forgotten by others, that we are left out because we are not important to them.

In the 1st reading, the people of God lamented that the Lord has abandoned them, that the Lord has forgotten them.

The Lord God responds by saying that even if a woman forgets her baby at the breast, which is almost impossible, He will not forget His people.

And at the favourable time, God will answer them, and on the day of salvation, He will help them.

So God will not forget us. But it is we who will forget God.

In a time of plenty and when we are too comfortable, God may be the furthest from our minds.

The season of Lent reminds us that we are nothing without God.

May we always remember that.