3rd Week of Lent, Thursday, 12-03-2026

Jeremiah 7:23-28 / Luke 11:14-23    

Phrases like these are heart-warming and encouraging: 

I will be here for you, or, I will journey with you no matter what, or, I want to grow old with you.

Such phrases are usually used between good friends and loving couples.

When we use such phrases, we want to mean what we say and say what we mean.

But humans are only humans, with fragility, weaknesses and failings.

Even with all good intentions, we may not be able to completely fulfill what we say.

But where and when we fail, we need to come to this realization.

God will not fail us. And when we follow His ways, He will fulfil His Word to us.

But the 1st reading also tells us that the people did not want to follow God’s ways.

They want to have it their way, only to fail over and over again.

So, that is why God says this of them:

Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God, nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.

In the gospel, Jesus says it plainly: He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.

Let us pledge our obedience and faithfulness to Jesus and may He help us to keep our word to Him.

And when we fall and fail, let us remember that Jesus will still fulfil His promise to us that He will help and save us.

3rd Week of Lent, Wednesday, 11-03-2026

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 / Matthew 5:17-19   

To follow instructions and procedures can be quite straight-forward.

Whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not, we just need to go along with it.

And if we don’t want any trouble, then we keep to the letter of the law.

And we can become so focused on it that we may not think deeper about it or reflect about the purpose of it.

In the 1st reading, Moses taught the people the laws and the customs that came from God.

And if the people were to keep the laws and customs faithfully, they will become a great nation.

They will also demonstrate to other nations the wisdom and the prudence that came from God.

But they also must not forget that those laws and customs came from God.

Those laws and customs demonstrate that God is with them and they have a relationship with God through those laws and customs.

In the gospel, Jesus declared that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to complete them.

Jesus completed the Law and the Prophets by becoming man and putting flesh and blood into the Law and the Prophets.

May we too understand not just the letter of the Law but also the spirit of the Law.

Through Jesus, we enter into a relationship with God.

It is in this relationship with God through Jesus, that we will be wise and prudent in our way of life.

3rd Week of Lent, Tuesday, 10-03-2026

Daniel 3:25, 34-43 / Matthew 18:21-35   

Which is easier to do? To forgive or to ask for forgiveness?

It may depend on the situation and the circumstances.

At times, the hatred is so deep that forgiveness is out of the question.

And also to forgive makes us feel vulnerable.

What if we forgive that person and then he hurts us again?

That seems to be the question that Peter is asking Jesus in the gospel.

Must we keep forgiving someone knowing quite well that he will do us wrong again?

But what if that person keeps asking us for forgiveness?

On the other hand, it is also not that easy to ask for forgiveness.

We would have to lay aside our pride and humble ourselves to admit that we have done wrong.

But the prayer of Azariah in the 1st reading tells us God accepts a contrite soul and a humbled spirit.

If we can kneel before God to beg for forgiveness, then we also need to bend a little to forgive others, regardless of their sincerity.

Because it is in forgiving and asking for forgiveness that God’s peace will slowly but surely prevail.

3rd Week of Lent, Monday, 09-03-2026

2 Kings 5:1-15 / Luke 4:24-30   

Many commentaries have been made about what is happening in the world.

So, the experts and the analysists give their opinions.

Many people want to have a say and they want to be heard.

But would the world want to hear the truth and accept the truth?

Very often, the truth is in the simple and the humble.

In the 1st reading, when Naaman approached the prophet Elisha for a cure for his leprosy, he expected some elaborate religious rituals.

But when he was told to go and wash himself seven times in the Jordan, he flew into a rage because he felt humiliated.

However, Naaman’s servants reasoned with him that it is not humiliating to do something simple and humble.

In the gospel, when Jesus recalled the two occasions when God helped outsiders, the people of His hometown were enraged.

They couldn’t accept that God will bless outsiders. They wanted to be the sole recipients of God’s blessings.

So, as the world talks and thinks about the complexities and difficulties of the situations in the world, let us turn to God in humility and simplicity.

Let us humbly pray for God’s blessings on the world that God’s truth will prevail.

The simple truth is that kindness and compassion is what the world really needs.

May we be the first to offer kindness and compassion, and then forgiveness and reconciliation will bear witness to the truth.

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A, 08.03.2026

Exodus 17:3-7 / Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 / John 4:5-42   

To begin a conversation, the obvious thing to do is to talk. 

To talk might seem easy, because what is needed is to open our mouths and speak to the other person. 

But what if the two parties don't want to talk to each other. 

Then there is what is called “cold war”.

So, there is cold war in the family, cold war between neighbours, cold war in work-place, and maybe even cold war in the Church.

The parties involved in the cold war don’t want to talk to each other. 

But they talk to everyone else about the other. 

And obviously, the more they talk about the other, the more the resentment against the other. 

And that is also a bit like how when we don’t want to talk to each other. 

We talked to others about the other, and obviously what we say about the other are not nice or pleasant things. 

And the more we talk about the other, the greater will be the rift and the greater the resentment. 

In the gospel, Jesus and His disciples came to the Samaritan town of Sychar. 

His disciples went to buy food, and Jesus tired out by the journey, sat down by the well, tired and obviously thirsty. 

Then, a Samaritan woman came by to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. 

The gospel narrative made it clear that Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans. 

Between the Jews and Samaritans, there is a deep-rooted centuries-long animosity and tension. 

They would avoid contact and not talk to each other. 

So, when Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink, she was surprised and probably agitated. 

She would be hesitant to continue the conversation, and besides, she also wouldn’t want to be seen talking with a Jewish man. 

But as the conversation went on, Jesus turned the request for water into an offer of living water. 

The Samaritan woman became interested in the living water that Jesus was talking about. 

And coming to the well at noon, also indicated that she didn’t want to meet anyone or talk to anyone, because there is something in her life that she wants to hide. 

As the conversation went on, she revealed her real thirst, and that is her thirst for God. 

And it is Jesus who will quench her thirst with living water, the water of God’s love. 

Today’s gospel makes us reflect and ponder about our interactions with others. 

As we come to Church, as we come to the House of God, do we greet each other as brothers and sisters in Christ? 

A polite nod, or a “hello”, would be enough to acknowledge each other’s presence.

There is this story of a woman who worked in a meat-processing factory. 

One day, after she was about to finish her work, she went into the cold storage room to carry out a routine inspection. 

Suddenly, the cold storage door accidentally shut automatically. She was locked inside and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

She shouted and banged on the door with all her strength, but no one could hear her. By then, most of the workers had already gone home from work, and no one knew that she was in the cold storage room.

Five hours later, when she was almost frozen to death, the factory security guard opened the door of the cold storage room and miraculously saved her.

Later, she asked the guard, “Why did you go to open the cold storage door? That’s not part of your job!”

The guard explained, “I’ve worked in this factory for 35 years. Every day, hundreds of workers come in and go out. Many people treat me as if I’m invisible. But you are the only one who greets me ‘good morning’ when you arrive at work and says “goodbye” to me when you leave.

“Today, after you greeted me in the morning, I didn’t see you say goodbye to me when work ended. I felt something was strange, so I decided to look around the factory. I was waiting to hear your ‘hi’ and ‘goodbye,’ because those words remind me of who I am and made me very happy. That is why I searched every corner for you.”

When we greet others, we also show our respect for them, and we are also letting them know then we care about them. 

When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, He also respected her, although He knew what was going on in her life. 

In their conversation, Jesus shared with her the living water of God’s love. 

May our conversation with others also be dignified and respectful. 

And may our conversations also be like living waters that flow from the heart of Jesus into our hearts. 

May the living waters of God’s love quench our spiritual thirst, and heal that dryness and burnt-out areas of our lives.

And may our hearts be filled with the living waters of God’s love so that we will talk to those whom we have stopped talking with.

2nd Week of Lent, Saturday, 07-03-2026

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 / Luke 15:1-3, 11-32  

As much as we know that we should live a good and upright life, very often, it is the opposite that happens.

Maybe it is out of curiosity, or just out of defiance, we venture into the wild and dark side of life.

But something keeps calling us back to the light and to what is right.

One thing is certain is that it is the prayers of our loved ones with the power of God that will bring us to our senses.

In the famous parable of the “prodigal son”, that wayward son came to his senses in the depths of his misery.

Nothing was mentioned of how he came to his senses.

Maybe it was the pain of hunger and isolation, the coldness of loneliness, or the thoughts of his home and his father.

Whatever it may be, when we reflect on the parable in the reality of our lives, we may also come to this realization.

When we turn away from the wild and dark side, and come back to light and what is right, we can be sure of this.

And that is someone, or some people, prayed for us.

And God, in His love for us, made us come to our senses.

May we also remember to pray for those who are still in the wild and dark side of life.

With our prayer, and with the power of God’s love, they will come back to the light and to what is right.

2nd Week of Lent, Friday, 06-03-2026

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 / Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46   

One of the most difficult questions to answer is the question of taking lives, or plainly putting it, the question of killing.

So, what makes a person take another person’s life?

What makes a person kill another person?

It is a very difficult question to answer.

At most, it can be said that something in the human nature just snapped, and then something inhuman erupted.

In the 1st reading, the brothers of Joseph wanted to kill him.

Their jealousy was so intense that it erupted into an intention to kill their own brother.

In the gospel parable, there is also killing – the servants were killed, and even the landowner’s son was killed.

Even though it is a parable, yet it reveals the darkest side of humanity.

But, on the other hand, when we look at the Cross, we see Jesus crucified and died for us.

Actually, He was killed, but in His death, Jesus saved us.

Jesus has already shed His blood for us and died to save us.

Let us not shed any more blood, literally or figuratively.

On the Cross, Jesus taught us this great truth of life.

In the face of inhuman acts, the response is love.

Only with love, will killing and shedding of blood be stopped.