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.

2nd Week of Lent, Thursday, 05-03-2026

Jeremiah 17:5-10 / Luke 16:19-31   

In the spectrum of the social economic status, there are those who are very very rich.

And there are those who are very very poor.

In between is the majority who are neither that rich nor that poor.

But whether rich or poor, the important thing is how does one live life?

If one becomes rich by ill-gotten gains, then it will be of no lasting value, and even lead to ruin.

If a poor person tries to make an honest living, he may not make much money but he will be respected.

That is the teaching from the Lord in the 1st reading as He says:

“A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of the flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.”

But, “a blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope.”

In the gospel parable, the rich man was in eternal torment because he only wanted to enjoy life while on earth, and didn’t bother that poor beggar at the gate.

The poor Lazarus was in eternal comfort not because he was a poor beggar but because he didn’t complain or protest about his miserable state.

One of the spiritual directions of the season of Lent is almsgiving.

Let us share with the poor in whatever we can afford.

And let us also do it in secret, and God who sees all that is done in secret, will bless us.

2nd Week of Lent, Wednesday, 04-03-2026

Jeremiah 18:18-20 / Matthew 20:17-28   

There is one question that seems to have an obvious answer.

The question is: How is it that we have enemies?

The obvious answer would be that someone has done us a terrible wrong and we can’t forgive that person.

So that person is our enemy, and because the pain and the hurt is too deep, we can’t forgive that person.

In the 1st reading, the enemies of the prophet Jeremiah were plotting against him.

Although Jeremiah had done nothing wrong or harmful to them, they were offended by his call to repentance.

Jeremiah’s enemies were not taking revenge. They just wanted to get rid of a nuisance and silence the truth.

In the gospel, Jesus knew what His enemies would do to Him.

They wanted nothing less than to take His life.

But Jesus and Jeremiah taught us that in the face of adversaries and adversities, they turned to God for help and protection.

Let us not fight against our enemies, but let us pray for them.

God is the Divine Judge and He will see justice done.

Let us stand by God and He will stand by us.

2nd Week of Lent, Tuesday, 03-03-2026

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 / Matthew 23:1-12   

The saying that “practice makes perfect” is a good motto for improvement and achievement.

It also means that consistency and perseverance will eventually bear results.

Certainly, when it comes to skills and other abilities, then constant practice will develop to perfection.

While it is a good motto to adopt in many areas of life, it needs to be understood correctly in the spiritual life.

Whether in worship or prayer or in works of charity, there is no need for perfection.

The danger of perfection can be limited to just function or achievement.

And it can lead to the erosion of devotion and even reverence.

In the 1st reading, the Lord tells His people to wash, to make themselves clean and to take their wrong-doing out of His sight.

God tells them to get the basics right, and that is to cease to do evil, to learn to do good, to search for justice, to help the oppressed, to be just to the orphan and to plead for the widow.

The people may get all the rituals right and prayers said correctly, and keep to the letter of the law.

But the reality of their lives is not connected with their worship and prayer.

We are reminded in the 1st reading, as well as in the gospel, that the spiritual life is not about external perfection or even to gain the attention of others.

Our worship and our prayer should lead us to the obedience of God’s will.

It is in obedience to God’s will that we will understand what is salvation.

2nd Week of Lent, Monday, 02-03-2026

Daniel 9:4-10 / Luke 6:36-38

The world that we live in is such a volatile world.

Humanity does not seem to want to live in peace.

Another large-scale war has broken out again.

The whole world will be affected, but the biggest tragedy is that lives are lost and there are destructions.

We, the Church, cannot just look away or worry about how badly we will be affected.

That would be the sin of omission, as we need to look at the problems of the world as our problems.

With all this happening in this holy season of Lent, the direction and the mission is clear for us.

We need to have recourse to the greatest power that we have, and that is the power of prayer together with penance.

As the prophet Daniel prayed for his people, so must we pray for peace in the world.

As Jesus taught us in the gospel, let us not judge who is at fault and who started the war.

Let us pray that God will be compassionate on the world and on us.

May our prayers be poured out for the innocent and those who are suffering from the violence and the tragedy of the war.

Let us beg for God’s mercy on the world and on ourselves.

2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A, 01.03.2026

Genesis 12:1-4a / 2 Tim 1:8-10 / Matthew 17:1-9  

In life, we have many desires. And there is no doubt that one of the top desires is the desire for happiness. 

So, putting it simply, in life we want to be happy. 

But the reality is that life is difficult. 

Indeed, life is difficult, but we don’t seem to accept this reality. 

So, we will find ways and means to make life as happy as possible. 

We want to be happy and to enjoy life. 

So, we will try to gain as much money as possible, so that we can do the things we want to do and be happy. 

We would want to go for holidays, and enjoy good food and the luxuries of life. 

We dream of enjoyment and happiness, but life turns up with many difficulties and challenges. 

But it must also be said that life does have its moments of happiness, and that gives us the motivation and inspiration to go on in life. 

In the gospel, Jesus went up a high mountain and brought along Peter, James and John. 

Up there on that mountain, Jesus was Transfigured. 

Jesus was in His divine glory, and Moses and Elijah also appeared and they were talking with Him. 

The disciples saw all that, and they were amazed with what they saw. 

Peter started talking about building three tents and all that. 

Then suddenly, a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said: 

This is My Son, the Beloved, He enjoys My favour. Listen to Him. 

And then, just as suddenly as Jesus was Transfigured in His glory, then it was back to normal. 

Moses and Elijah were not there anymore, and only Jesus and the three disciples were around. 

Then on the way down, Jesus told His disciples not to tell anyone about what they had seen until He is risen from the dead. 

Jesus would go on with His mission of proclaiming the Good News of salvation. 

But He would also face mounting opposition and rejection, that would finally end with Him nailed to the Cross. 

So, it can be said that for Jesus, life was difficult, and His life came to an end with a shameful death on the Cross. 

But the Transfiguration was a bright moment in the surrounding darkness. 

It was in the Transfiguration that Jesus felt the love and affirmation by His Father. 

And it was that one moment that gave Jesus the strength and the courage to go on and complete His mission. 

So yes, life is difficult, but God will give us moments of happiness to rise above the difficulties and challenges. 

We may have heard of the baby monkey named Punch who was born in the Ichikawa zoo in Japan. 

Punch was rejected by his mother at birth, but somehow he kept surviving. 

Videos on the internet about his story have gone viral with viewers rooting for him. 

The zookeeper came to his help, he was given a plushie, a soft toy, in the form of an orang-utan.

But he was also bullied by the other monkeys and chased around. 

His heart-wrenching story touched the human experiences of rejection, opposition, suffering, survival and resilience. 

But in the midst of all that difficulties and challenges, an older female monkey came around and took Punch, the baby monkey, into her care. 

And then another male monkey also took Punch under his care and taught him how to live as a monkey. 

The story of Punch is still developing, but his story also touched the depths of our human experiences and taught us lessons about life. 

The Transfiguration of Jesus also taught us many lessons about the difficulties and challenges of life. 

Through the Transfiguration, we learn this:

In difficult moments, let us keep something beautiful in our hearts. 

For Jesus, He remembered His Father’s voice from heaven and those words of love. 

May we also remember the voices of love and the words of love that others had spoken to us. 

And may we be a voice of love that speaks words of love to others who are facing challenges and difficulties in life.