1st Week of Lent, Monday, 23-02-2026

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 / Matthew 31-46   

The general purpose of religion is about the search for peace and happiness in life.

And if there is a belief in the afterlife, then by living a good life on earth, there will be reward in the afterlife.

But if one lives a life of wickedness and evil on earth, then there will be punishment in the afterlife.

As Christians, we too have these basic beliefs.

And the 1st reading, as well as the gospel parable, tells us how to live a good life here on earth.

In the 1st reading, the Lord spoke through Moses as He tells us not to steal nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with others.

Besides that we are not to exploit or rob others, or curse others.

Besides that, there are also other laws that essentially direct us to live good and upright lives.

Those are basic and fundamental for us as human beings.

Similarly, in the gospel parable, Jesus teaches us to respect the dignity of those in need and to help them to have their basic needs in life.

We adhere to these not because they are laws or commandments that we must obey.

It is in these basic and fundamental laws and commandments that we strive for holiness.

The Lord our God tells us to be holy, just as He is holy.

It is because we want to be holy that we live by God’s laws and commandments.

It is in living holy lives that we will have peace and happiness here on earth, as well peace and happiness with God forever in heaven.

1st Sunday of Lent, Year A, 22.02.2026

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 / Romans 5:12-19 / Matthew 4:1-11  

Over the festive period of the last few days, we may have done the annual visitation of our elders and relatives. 

Of course, we will be able to collect “ang pows” from them, but that will also come at a price. 

Because we will have to bear with those usual questions, or interrogation, like:

Which school are you in? 

When are you getting married? 

How many children do you have?

Other than bearing with that, the next best thing to do will be to stay at home and watch movies on TV. 

There are Chinese New Year movies, blockbuster movies and those cute animated movies like “Kung Fu Panda” and “Finding Nemo”. 

Animated movies are not just computer-generated graphics and drawings and images. 

Animated movies have human voices behind the characters. 

And those voices often belong to movie stars and celebrities. 

It is only when we read the movie credits at the end that we will know the face of the voice behind the character.

Otherwise, it can be difficult to guess the face behind the voice. 

Similarly with songs. We may not know the face of the singer until we see the picture of the singer. 

And quite often, our imagination of the face behind the voice is quite different from the reality. 

The gospel begins with this line: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 

Jesus came to save us from our sins, and to free us from the snares of the devil. 

He wants to face the devil and whatever the devil is going to use as temptations. 

The devil did not disguise himself or hide behind any of his operatives. 

It was a face-to-face confrontation. 

It was unlike the 1st reading, when the devil disguised himself as a snake to tempt Eve. 

Eve, as well as Adam, may not have seen through the devil’s disguise. 

They saw the snake and they heard the voice, but they may not have seen the face of the devil, or realised that it was him. 

And they fell into the temptation. They wanted to believe that they can be like God. 

So, the core of the temptation is about pride. 

The pride of men is to think that they are God, or want to be like God. 

In the confrontation with the devil and his temptations, Jesus turned to Scripture, and with humility, He overcame the devil. 

The devil could not tempt Jesus, but he knows he can tempt Adam and Eve, and he knows he can also tempt us. 

The devil also knows what our main weakness is, and that is our pride. 

And so, the devil will tempt us through using the voices of other people. 

Instead of asking us to turn stones into bread, we might hear people comment about why our children didn't go to an elite school, and we feel our pride hurt.

Or we may hear snide remarks about our state of life and our profession and feel belittled.

So, it is the game of pride. 

Or we may hear voices questioning our faith and luring us into an argument, then we lose our self-control and fall into the trap.

Again, it is the game of pride. 

But Ephesians chapter 6:10-13 tells us this:

“Grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of His power.

Put God's armour on so as to be able to resist the devil's tactics."

For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens.

That is why you must rely on God's armour, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground.”

At the core of the temptations of the devil is the question of pride. 

For the devil it is a game of pride and he makes use of other humans to lure us to play by his rules, which means that we will lose. 

But when we put on God’s armour of humility, we will be able to see that the devil makes use of people who are often our human adversaries or enemies, and we will be able to discern their voices.

For this season of Lent, let us embark on almsgiving, fasting and prayer so that we will learn humility, and be protected by God. 

May the Lenten disciplines of almsgiving, fasting and prayer also lead us to forgive those who have hurt us and done us wrong. 

Let us follow Jesus in His prayer on the Cross: Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday, 21-02-2026

Isaiah 58:9-14 / Luke 5:27-32  

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace" is a famous, oft-quoted phrase frequently attributed to Jimi Hendrix (1942 – 1970).

The same notion can also be applied to other areas of life.

With love, we can move from selfishness to selflessness,.

With love, we can move from sinfulness to holiness.

With love, we will be able to listen to the voice of the Lord and do what He wants of us.

In the gospel, Levi was a tax-collector sitting at the customs house.

Jesus called him, and Levi left everything to follow Jesus.

It was rather surprising and amazing that Levi got up and followed Jesus just like that, and there could be many reasons for it.

But it can be quite certain that there was already a stirring in Levi’s heart and when he heard the call of Jesus, that stirring just cannot be ignored.

Jesus came to save and to call sinners.

When sinners repent and even become saints, then that is the power of love.

Friday after Ash Wednesday, 20-02-2026

Isaiah 58:1-9 / Matthew 9:14-15   

When we are hungry, it is obvious that we will look for something to eat.

We eat not just to satisfy the hunger of our stomachs, but also to have the strength to do work.

And also we eat to live.

So when we are hungry and there is food, we will surely eat.

And if there is food in abundance, then we will even feast, and eat till our hearts content.

But in religious practice, there is this spiritual act of fasting.

It may even be a spiritual discipline, where only a limited amount of food is eaten a day, or even going on for a few days without eating.

Whatever it may be, the act of fasting is a form of prayer.

Fasting has the benefits of denying earthly pleasures and desires.

And it also helps to come into a deeper union with God.

During this season of Lent, let us embark on the spiritual act of fasting.

May it cleanse us of our sins and may we also be more focused on what God’s will is for us.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 19-02-2026

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 / Luke 9:22-25   

When making choices, it is quite obvious that we choose what we think is good.

So we will choose what benefits us most, we will choose what is convenient and easy, we will choose the path of least resistance.

Our human thinking is often focused on immediate gratification or results.

We don’t see beyond nor reflect deeper about the outcome or the consequences.

In the 1st reading, Moses set before the people life and prosperity, death and disaster.

Moses even narrowed it down to life or death, blessing or curse.

Obviously we want life and blessing over death, disaster and curse.

But the distraction and the temptation of sin lead us to desire for pleasure and gratification, that will eventually lead us to death and disaster.

In the gospel, Jesus made it clear what is His destiny and His choice.

He chose to accept suffering, rejection and even a shameful death.

And Jesus tells us that if we want to be His disciple, then we must renounce ourselves, to take up our cross and to follow Him.

So while winning the whole world may look attractive, would we want to ruin our lives to do so?

To renounce ourselves and take up our cross is difficult and even painful.

But if we really want life and blessing, then our choice must be for the cross.

In doing so, we follow Jesus to receive life and blessing.

Ash Wednesday 2026, 18-02-2026

Joel 2:12-18 / 1 Cor 5:20 – 6:2 / Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18  

During the season of Lent, the emphasis is on penance, and rightly so. 

Today is Ash Wednesday, and with it the season of Lent begins. 

Today is also a day of obligatory fasting and abstinence, but a dispensation is given because of the festive season. 

The gospel gives a spiritual direction for the season of Lent. 

Jesus spells out three spiritual disciplines that will help us to turn away from sin, and turn back to God. 

The act of alms-giving addresses our sense of security. 

To have money is to have a sense of security. 

To share it or to give it away makes us uncomfortable and makes us feel needy. 

But in doing so, we can also see how much we trust and depend on God. 

The need for food is a basic human need. 

In the act of fasting, we also reflect on our need for God, and to see that we need God over and above everything else. 

To pray is to acknowledge that God is our Creator, and we are mere creatures. 

By God’s love, we came into existence. 

But one day our life will come to an end. 

The ashes that will be marked on our foreheads remind us of our mortality and frailty. 

We are created beings, but the sinful tendency in us makes us think that we are the Creator.

May the season of Lent, with the spiritual disciplines of alms-giving, fasting and prayer help us to turn away from our sinful tendencies. 

To turn away from sin is to turn back to God and to be loved by Him. 

May the ashes on our foreheads be a reminder of our human mortality and frailty. 

But may those ashes also remind us of God’s saving love for us.

Chinese New Year Mass, Tuesday, 17-02-2026

Numbers 6:22-27 / Matthew 6:31-34  

Today we are gathered in this Mass to celebrate the beginning of the Lunar New Year. 

In the Chinese calendar, this year is the year of the "fire horse". 

And since it is the year of the horse, we would want many good things to come our way. 

And the horse also stands for strength and endurance. 

The Bible also speaks about the strength and the power of the horse. 

Warriors ride on powerful horses to win battles. 

Chariots are pulled by horses to attack the enemy. 

But the Bible also reminds us that no matter how powerful the horses are, those who rely on the strength of the Lord will overcome all difficulties. 

The gospel talks about blessings of the Kingdom of God.

We have come for Mass on the first day of the Lunar New Year to ask God for His blessings. 

The greatest blessing we will receive will be Jesus who gives Himself to us at Holy Communion. 

From Jesus we will learn how to rely and be dependent on God for all our needs. 

From Jesus we will learn how to be gentle, how to forgive, how to do what is right and good. 

And most of all, we learn from Jesus how to love by giving thanks to God and helping those in need. 

At the end of the mass, we will receive blessed oranges in a carrier bag. 

Printed on the bag is a red horse with flames for its mane and tail, to symbolise the blessings of the Holy Spirit. 

The horse is also galloping towards the cloud, a symbol of God, to symbolise that we want to love God with all our strength and to lead others to God. 

May the New Year give us the strength of the horse to love God and to love others. 

May the New Year also bring us God’s abundant blessings of peace and joy, and may we be prosperous in good deeds.