5th Week of Lent, Tuesday, 24-03-2026

Numbers 21:4-9 / John 8:21-30   

In the Church we see many religious symbols.

Most of these religious symbols have meanings that are obvious.

The Cross is the most profound sign of Christianity.

It symbolizes the sign of salvation, that Jesus died on the Cross to save us.

But in the 1st reading, God told Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and put it on a standard.

And anyone who was bitten by a fiery serpent would just have to look at it and will live.

It can be rather puzzling to make an image of a creature that caused death with its bite.

Even more puzzling is that the image is raised up on a standard and then it became a means of healing.

But that can only make some sense when seen with the image of the Cross.

The Cross was an instrument of torture and death.

But with Jesus raised on it, the Cross becomes a sign of salvation.

So in the 1st reading, God sent the fiery serpents to punish the people for their sinfulness.

The image of the fiery serpent on a standard is to remind the people of their sinfulness and also the healing forgiveness of God.

God sent His Son Jesus to save us. 

When Jesus died on the Cross, it is also to remind us of the cross of our sins but Jesus died on it to save us.

Let us ponder, reflect and meditate on the Cross and give thanks to Jesus for saving us.

5th Week of Lent, Monday, 23-03-2026

Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 / John 8:1-11 

No one can ever say that they have never done wrong.

It may be just a small mistake, or it can be a serious offence.

Whatever it may be, the question is what happens after that.

Generally, there are two possible consequences.

One is punishment, the other is correction.

In the 1st reading, the punishment of the two wicked elders was inevitable.

They not only had done wrong, they even wanted to end the life of an innocent woman.

But divine justice prevailed through the young man Daniel, and it was an expression of God’s protection on the innocent.

But in the gospel, the situation was rather complicated.

The woman had done wrong, but the scribes and Pharisees wanted to use her to test as well as a trap.

And in this case, it was divine wisdom that prevailed as Jesus says: If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.

It was a wisdom that did not judge or punish, but it taught everyone about God’s mercy and compassion.

So when a mistake is made or a serious offence is committed, let us turn to the Lord to see what He is teaching us.

May we learn that God is truth and justice, but He is also merciful and compassionate.

And for all the wrong we have done and the sins we have committed, let us beg the Lord for forgiveness and healing.

5th Sunday of Lent, Year A, 22.03.2025

Ezekiel 37:12-14 / Romans 8:8-11 / John 11:1-45  

Singapore does not have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. 

So, we may not see snow in our country, or we can go somewhere else where there is snow, if we so desire to see and feel the snow. 

Singapore is like perpetual summer, and even during the rainy season, the sun will still appear to heat up the weather. 

But because it is like perpetual summer here, then it is like paradise for plant lovers. 

Plants and flora will thrive with the abundance of sunshine and rain. 

So, Singapore’s reputation as a “Garden City” comes naturally with the local weather. 

But with the hot and humid weather, plants are also in danger of drying up and even dying if they are not watered. 

It is an amazing experience to grow a plant from a seed. 

It is wonderful to see the beauty and the miracle of life even in plants. 

But when seeds don't germinate or when plants die for some reason, it reminds us of the truth. 

The truth is that life, in all its forms, is fragile. Yes, life is fragile, so we have to handle it with care, and also to handle it with prayer. 

Today’s gospel can be summarised in just three words, “life and death”, but there is more to it. 

In life, we need to prepare for death. Yet in death, there can also be life. 

There is this story of a CEO who planned to retire, and he plans to pick a successor from among the executives. 

So, he called the executives together and gave them each a seed, and told them to plant it, and bring it back six months later. The one with the best plant will be the next CEO. 

One of the executives by the name of Jim, went home with the seed and told his wife about it and together they planted it in a pot. 

They watered it and also put it under the sun and waited with expectation. 

At first, the executives inquired about each other’s seeds, and then a few weeks later, they was sharing about the growth of their plants. 

As Jim hears their conversations, he was getting worried because there was nothing happening to his seed. 

He and his wife watered it, put it under the sun, put fertiliser on it and even prayed over it, but nothing was happening. 

As weeks turned into months, the other executives were talking about how beautiful their plants were. 

But Jim was getting desperate and despondent, and he thought of himself as a failure. He can’t even make a seed grow. 

Jim wanted to just buy a pot of plant to show it when that day comes, but his wife told him to be honest and to accept the truth. 

Then came the day for the executives to bring their plants to show it to the CEO. 

All the executives brought in their beautiful pots of plants. 

All except Jim, who brought along the pot with no plant, and he hung his head low in embarrassment. 

When the CEO came in to look at the plants, he was impressed by the variety and the beauty of the plants. 

When he came to Jim, and saw his empty pot, Jim was terrified that he would be scolded and even fired. 

When the CEO asked Jim what happened, Jim told him the whole story. 

Then the CEO asked the executives to be seated, and then he said:

Six months ago, I gave you seeds to plant. But I didn’t tell you they were dead seeds, and so they won’t grow or germinate. 

All of you brought in pots of plants that didn’t grow from those seeds. 

Only Jim was honest and truthful about this. So, he will be the next CEO. 

That is like a fairy tale story, but it is also about truth and honesty. 

But a deeper reflection on it is that a dead seed brought up a life of truth and honesty for Jim. 

So even in death, there can be life. 

Jesus is the Resurrection, and He is the Lord of life. 

He rolls away the stone of death and calls us by name to come out of our tombs of fear, of sin, and of a living death. 

In Jesus, death is not a hopeless situation. 

So, when we feel that all is lost and there is no hope left, let us remember the lobsters and fishes swimming in the tank at the restaurant on the Titanic. They thought it was a dead end. 

In Jesus there is hope, there is life. 

In Jesus, death will also teach us about the meaning of life and the meaning of love.

4th Week of Lent, Saturday, 21-03-2026

Jeremiah 11:18-20 / John 7:40-52  

One of the images of God is that of a judge, much like that of a judge in a court.

A judge would look at all the facts and then make a judgement.

So, with the judge pronouncing the judgement, the wrong-doer would be punished, and the innocent would be vindicated.

But there have been instances when the facts were twisted, or that the judge was bribed, resulting in the innocent being punished, and the wrong-doer escaping punishment.

But with God, He sees and knows everything, and hence, His judgement is always right and just.

But God is not an impartial judge who just looks at the cold hard facts and then makes a judgement.

God is on the side of the weak, the oppressed and the persecuted.

In the 1st reading, God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah the scheming of the wicked.

God warned him of their plots to destroy and kill him.

But Jeremiah turned to the Lord God and submitted to His protection.

God is the divine judge and vengeance belongs to Him alone.

Like Jeremiah, let us trust in the Lord God and He will protect us, and He will also reveal and warn us of the evil intentions of the wicked.

4th Week of Lent, Friday, 20-03-2026

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

The presence of sin is expressed in the bad and evil deeds that we see around us.

Faced with such bad and evil deeds, we may wonder what is in the minds of those who commit such wicked deeds.

Why do these people commit such deeds and think that there is no punishment for sin?

The 1st reading begins with this line: The godless say to themselves with their misguided reasoning.

What follows after that are plots and traps against the good and upright.

It becomes clear that the godless do not need a reason to commit evil and wicked deeds.

They just want to put down the good and to make them suffer for nothing.

In the gospel, the enemies of Jesus were out to kill Him.

Those wicked people think of nothing about killing and taking a life.

But they are godless people, and their minds are filled with evil and wickedness against the good and upright.

As for us, we are the People of God.

We will not return evil with evil, and Jesus has also taught us to love our enemies.

When we stay faithful to the teachings of Jesus, then there will be the hope that evil will be overcome by the love of God in us.

St. Joseph, Spouse of the BVM, Thursday, 19-03-2026

2 Sam 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 / Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 / Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24 or Luke 2:41-51  

Today's feast of St. Joseph is a big feast, a solemnity actually, with the Gloria and Creed being said.

The feast is that of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

That title says very much about who St. Joseph is, who Mary is, and inevitably who Jesus is.

St. Joseph is the patron saint of workers, of the dying, of fathers, but in 1870, Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph as the patron saint and the protector of the Church.

Today's feast celebrates the patronage of St. Joseph and the Church asks for his intercession and protection.

As we heard in the gospel, St. Joseph was called to be the husband of Mary and in accepting to do so he was also taking the responsibility to take charge and to protect Jesus as his son.

In not knowing fully the meaning of the events that led to the birth of Jesus, and yet accepting the responsibility to protect and care for mother and child, St. Joseph showed that he was not only obedient to the will of God but also carried out God's will with love.

In celebrating this feast, we also pray that fathers and workers will take St Joseph to be their model, and that the dying will turn to him for his powerful intercession.

We also pray that priests who are guardians of the sacred mysteries of the Church would also look to St Joseph as their model, that they will protect and care of the Church just as St. Joseph protected and cared for Mary and Jesus.

4th Week of Lent, Wednesday, 18-03-2026

Isaiah 49:8-15 / John 5:17-30    

Doing spring-cleaning and packing can be tiring and boring.

But, at the same time, it can be an experience of discovery.

We did discover how many things we have kept and not used or seen them for such a long time.

And we will also discover the things we have forgotten, or thought we have lost or thrown away, but now we found them back.

As with things, when they are out of sight, they will be soon out of mind.

As it is with things, so it is with people. 

When we don’t keep in contact with some people, or see them once in a while, they will slowly fade away from our minds.

In other words, we forget about them, as in we don’t meet or interact with them regularly.

In the 1st reading, the people of God was saying: The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me.

But the Lord replies: Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.

Yes, at the favourable time, God will answer us, on the day of salvation, God will help us.

Let us not forget about God’s promises to us, because He will never forget us.