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Friday, 13 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord contained in the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the coming of the end of days, and the end of our own worldly existences just as this current liturgical year is coming to an end. We are also reminded that each one of us as Christians are expected to walk in the path that the Lord has shown to us, to be righteous, just and good as He has taught us to do. And that is our Christian mission and obligation that each one of us have been entrusted with, and we should not forget that, as we carry on living our lives from now on henceforth. We must be good role models for each other and show others how we should follow the Lord our God.

In our first reading today, we heard of the Epistle of St. John the Apostle, the reminder that God loves each and every one of us, and that same love ought to be shown by all of us as Christians, as God’s followers, as His people and children. It is the love which God has for us that made everything possible, and we have hope exactly because of this love. We should have deserved destruction and damnation because of our sins and disobedience against God, and yet, by God’s mercy, love and compassion, we have been given the hope out of our current conundrum and trouble, and we have received the assurance of liberation and salvation from evil, sin and death, all those things that sought to dominate and drag us down to the path towards damnation.

St. John the Apostle spoke to the people of God through his Epistle regarding the commandments and the laws that God has given to each and every one of them. Those laws and commandments teach us to love in the manner that God has loved us first, for us to love others generously, caring for the needs especially for those who are in need of more help and love. Unfortunately, in many occasions throughout our human history and also even within the history of the Church and our Christian faith, many among us have not truly practiced this way of life as the Lord wants us to. We preferred to think of ourselves and our selfish desires, greed, pride and ego instead of caring for others and loving those around us. This is what had become a serious obstacle for so many people in following God truly and faithfully, because they put themselves and their desires before serving God.

St. John also warned the faithful of all those who spread false messages and false ideas contrary to what the Lord Himself had taught and shown us, all those who sought to subvert the messages of truth to their own benefits and desires, to achieve their own ends and goals. At that time, there were all those who sought to change the teachings of the Lord as passed down through the Apostles, as it would also be throughout the history of the Church. Heresies and false teachings had sprung up all the time, causing many of the people of God to be led astray and turn their backs against God and His truth. They gave in to their temptations and refused to listen to God, His Good News and truth. The Lord has reminded us all to remember His love for us, that we may also embody the same love in our own actions.

The Lord Himself has shown us the perfect examples, of Him reaching out to the worst of sinners and all those who had been shunned by the other people, like the tax collectors, the prostitutes and all those who were ostracised because they were diseased, sick, and possessed by evil spirits among others. He did not hold against them their sins, but extended His loving mercy and compassion, reaching out to them, walking among them, and journeying with them, to love them all most tenderly despite the fact that it was them who had earlier on abandoned Him and betrayed Him first, preferring to walk in the path of sin rather than to walk in the path of His righteousness and truth. And that way, God has always been so patient in loving us, that He sincerely and truly desires to be reconciled with us all, despite our many sins.

That was how and why, He decided and willingly took upon Himself the weight and burden of His cross and sufferings, to be rejected and abandoned, betrayed and struck down by the world, and by all those who hated and persecuted Him, so that by His suffering and death, He obeyed His Father’s will most perfectly, and showed unto us the perfect example and manifestation of His love for each and every one of us. He Himself had once said that, there is no greater love than for one to lay down his or her life for a friend, and there, the Lord Himself willingly endured all the sufferings and laid down His life for our sake, that through Him, all of us may be saved and have the sure hope of eternal life and happiness with Him. He endured the most painful and humiliating death, that we may be spared our fated destruction and enter into eternal life.

And why do we have to keep this in mind? That is because God has loved us so wonderfully, that He has generously reached out to us with love. Yet, if we continue to reject and resist Him, then in the end, it is our rejection and refusal for God’s love and mercy that will condemn us to eternal suffering and damnation. Our Gospel passage today is clear, that the Lord Himself reminded us all how the time of reckoning and judgment can come just at any time. Unless we are ever vigilant and ready, and careful in how we live our lives, then we may end up falling down this path towards sin and evil, towards destruction and damnation. We have to be careful as the temptations of worldly desires and greed can indeed be very strong, and even many among the righteous had been tempted and fell from grace because of that.

That is why, as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen, and as we have responded positively and courageously to embrace His call, all of us are reminded that in each and every moments of our lives, we should always make sure that in everything that we say and do, in our every words and actions, we will always embody faithfully each and every aspects of our Christian faith, tenets and beliefs, so that we do not just have faith that is dead and empty, but rather a faith that is truly genuine, organic, real and alive, full of enthusiasm and motivation, living our lives at each and every moments for the greater glory of God and for the good of all those around us, especially for those who have been entrusted to our care.

May God be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen our faith so that we will continue to persevere and do our very best in living our lives in accordance with the way that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, in doing His will, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 13 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 26-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. In those days people ate and drank and got married; but on the day Noah entered the Ark, the flood came and destroyed them all.”

“So it was in the days of Lot : people ate and drank, and bought and sold, and planted and built; but on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven, which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”

“On that day, if you are on the rooftop, do not go down into the house to get your belongings; and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again.”

“I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it might happen that one will be taken, and the other left; though two women are grinding corn together, one might be taken and the other left.” Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this take place, Lord?” And He answered, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.”

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Friday, 13 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18

Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the law of the Lord.

Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.

I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.

In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my Lord.

Be kind to Your servant, that I may live to follow Your word.

Open my eyes that I may see the marvellous truths in Your law.

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Friday, 13 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 John 4-9

I rejoiced greatly on meeting some of your children who live in accordance with the truth, according to the command we have received from the Father. And now, I ask you, Lady – I write to you not a new commandment but that which we had from the beginning – I ask you : let us love one another.

This is love : to walk according to His commandments. And this is the commandment : that you walk in love as you have learnt from the beginning. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ Who came in the flesh. They are impostors and antichrists.

Take care of yourselves that you do not lose the fruit of your labours, but receive a perfect reward. Everyone who goes beyond and does not remain within the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

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Thursday, 12 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the Scriptures, we are all presented with the matter of the coming of the kingdom of God into this world, and how it is actually already happening to us all even as we have experienced it all these time, all these while. We must not see God’s kingdom as something that is disconnected from the present life we have today, as it is definitely very tempting for us to think of that God’s kingdom has yet to come to us, while the truth is that the kingdom of God has actually been amongst us all these times. Yes, brothers and sisters, the fact is that we are already part of this blessed kingdom of God, in the Church and our Christian communities we have all around us, in which we participate daily and at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard the account from the Epistle of St. Paul to the other disciple of the Lord named Philemon. In that account, we heard St. Paul telling Philemon that he was sending him one of his godsons, Onesimus, to accompany him and the other faithful, in the ministry and mission entrusted to them all in the Church of God. At that time, St. Paul himself was likely suffering in prison after he was arrested due to the many challenges and trials that he had to undergo throughout his ministry and missionary journeys. Yet, St. Paul faced it all with faith and devotion in God, entrusting himself completely in the hands of the Lord, and not fearing the sufferings, consequences and hardships that he had to endure, because he truly cared for the needs of his fellow brethren, to whom God had sent him to as a minister of His Good News and truth.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the encounter between the Lord and some Pharisees who questioned Him regarding when the kingdom of God would come. And we must understand that at the time, the most popular idea and expectation among the people about the coming of the Messiah and God’s salvation was that they expected that the Messiah or the Saviour would be the Son and Heir of David, to restore the old glory of the kingdom of Israel, of the days of David and Solomon, the greatest kings of Israel and those moments when all the people of Israel were still united as one kingdom and one people, and before they were torn apart by internal strife and conflicts that eventually brought down the kingdom of Israel.

Hence, back then, the common interpretation and understanding of the nature of the coming of the Messiah was that this Messiah would lead the people of God in liberating their homeland from the rule by the Romans and other foreigners who had then imposed their rule, power and sovereignty over the Jewish people. Hence, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who disagreed with the Lord and saw His actions as against what they believed in, their ideals of what the Messiah would do and who this Messiah would be. To them, the Lord Jesus could not have been the Messiah because He did not fit their ideal and stereotype of the Messiah of the people of God. Yet, in their pride and ego, they had failed to realise that it was their arrogance, presumptions and mistaken ideals that had become serious obstacles preventing them from finding their way towards God’s truth.

The Lord has shown them and all of us that the kingdom of God was not what the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the other people often thought it would be. Instead, the kingdom of God does not equate the monarchy of the Israelites of the old days, or anything like that. Instead, the kingdom of God is the establishment of God’s reign on this world, which has actually happened when the Lord Jesus came to this world and established His Church. Through the Church, the Lord made His kingdom tangible in this world, in our own communities and societies, wherever we are. By His New Covenant, sealed through His suffering and death on the Cross, He broke the barriers separating us from God, and hence brought us much closer to His heavenly glory and joy.

The kingdom of God therefore has existed in our midst, within the Church and our own various groups and communities. What we must then realise is how we manifest this kingdom of God in our own families, in our circle of friends and relatives, loved ones and others, even in our workplaces and elsewhere. It is here then that as Christians, each one of us are charged and entrusted with the task of making the kingdom of God being fully present and tangible in our world today, wherever we are and in whatever we are doing in life. And we have to be genuine in living our lives with faith, as members of God’s Church and as parts of His living and present Kingdom here in this world, already manifested and tangible in our midst, one where all the faithful people of God are filled with love for both God and for one another.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, a faithful and holy servant of God, who as bishop of the Church was truly a courageous and dedicated servant of God, being martyred for his faith against all those who refused to listen to reason and embrace the true teachings of the Church and the unity of the Church against all the divisions that had brought about much harm to the Church and the faithful. St. Josaphat was one of the Eastern Orthodox bishops in Ruthenia, what is today part of Poland and Ukraine, where he was one of the leaders of the faithful people of God. Amidst the efforts of the time in that region to reconcile the divided Church and the Christian communities between those who are in communion to the Pope and those who have separated themselves from the communion of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, St. Josaphat rose to prominence in his efforts to bridge this gap.

St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was one of the bishops who accepted the agreements of reunion between the Churches, which was also known as the Union of Brest, about four centuries ago. He worked hard to bridge the differences between all those who supported and those who refused to embrace the efforts at reunification and reconciliation between the faithful members of the Body of Christ, the Church. But he still faced a lot of opposition and rejection from many of those who refused to listen to reason and truth, and in the end, he was martyred and suffered a terrible fate as those who opposed him and his efforts at reunion of the churches mobbed and attacked him, and brutally murdered him. Nonetheless, the inspiration and courageous examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych continues to inspire many people even to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discerned and discussed from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and as we have heard from the life and inspiring examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, let us all therefore be resolved to live a good and worthy life in the manner that God has called us to in each and every moments, opportunities and occasions throughout our lives. Let us all be the shining examples and role models for one another in faith in all things, and help one another to remain firmly faithful to the Lord, to be truly committed in actions and deeds, to be courageous despite all the challenges and difficulties, trials and hardships we may encounter in our journey in life, to bring to full realisation and manifestation the Kingdom of God in this world, through the Church, through our communities and our own faithful lives. May God continue to bless us all, and may He empower us all to remain ever always in His loving presence, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 17 : 20-25

At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”

And Jesus said to His disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.”

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Thursday, 12 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 145 : 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

The Lord is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger.

The Lord sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Thursday, 12 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Philemon 7-20

I had great satisfaction and comfort on hearing of your charity, because the hearts of the saints have been cheered by you, brother. Because of this, although in Christ I have the freedom to command what you should do, yet I prefer to request you in love. The one talking is Paul, the old man, now prisoner for Christ. And my request is on behalf of Onesimus, whose father I have become while I was in prison.

This Onesimus has not been helpful to you, but now he will be helpful both to you and to me. In returning him to you, I am sending you my own heart. I would have liked to keep him at my side, to serve me on your behalf while I am in prison for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your agreement, nor impose a good deed upon you without your free consent.

Perhaps Onesimus has been parted from you for a while so that you may have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave. For he is very dear brother to me, and he will be even dearer to you. And so, because of our friendship, receive him as if he were I myself.

And if he has caused any harm, or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this and sign it with my own hand : I will pay it…. without further mention of your debt to me, which is you yourself. So, my brother, please do me this favour for the Lord’s sake. Give me this comfort in Christ.

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Wednesday, 11 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded to give thanks to God for all of His love, mercy and kindness towards us through the words of the Scripture we have just heard earlier on. We heard these in our first reading today, in the Epistle written by St. Paul the Apostle to his protege and brother bishop St. Titus, as well as in the Gospel passage today in the story of the healing of the ten lepers by the Lord Jesus. Firstly, In our first reading today, St. Paul wrote to St. Titus on some reminders for the Christian communities and the faithful, as part of his many Epistles or letters addressed to the different communities, urging all of them to keep their faith in Christ firmly and hold onto whatever the Lord had taught them through His Apostles and not fall into the wrong paths. The Lord through St. Paul is reminding all of us here to be good and righteous, to follow His laws and commandments faithfully.

This was what St. Paul spoke of in today’s segment of his Epistle, saying that while once we had been selfish and corrupt in the ways of the world, foolish and disobedient against God, but through Christ, God’s beloved Son sent into this world to be our Saviour, we have been called into a new life and existence that is holy and good, through the path that He has shown us and which He now calls us all to follow. Through that passage, we can see how God has showed us all His love and grace, in His desire to save all of us from eternal damnation and lead us into a new, eternal life. He does not want us all to perish and end up in eternal darkness, and therefore, He showed us His most genuine love and compassion, one example of which we have heard in our Gospel passage today in the healing of the ten lepers by the Lord Himself.

In that occasion, we have ten lepers who because of their condition had to stay outside the community as in accordance to the laws of God revealed through Moses. This Law came from the time of the Exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites were living together in tents in close proximity to one another. At that time, as the people came into frequent contact with each other, both in their persons and possessions, a disease like leprosy were deeply feared, and therefore, to prevent an outbreak, those who contracted the disease were forced to live outside the community until they were healed. Those ten lepers who came by the Lord Jesus were those who suffered the same fate, being excluded and forced to live away from their community, from their families and loved ones, to wander in the wilderness until they were proven to be healed and made whole. They sought the Lord to heal them from their sickness, and the Lord told them to go and see the priests as prescribed by the Law. By right, they could only go to see the priests once they had been completely healed, which at that time they were obviously not healed yet.

Nonetheless, all of them did as the Lord asked them to, and went on their way to see the priests. By their faith they were saved and healed, and along the way, they were healed from their leprosy and became whole again. They noticed what had happened to them, and they went off very happy and joyful for what had happened to them. However, out of all ten lepers, only one of them remembered the Lord and came back to see Him and thank Him for all that He had done for him. And that man was a Samaritan, an important fact to notice at that time because the Jews often considered the Samaritans as pagan and godless people who worshipped idols and were wicked in their lives. Yet, as we have seen here among other instances throughout the Gospels, it is clear that Samaritans were no different from the Jews, and God made it clear through this occasion that His love and mercy is for everyone who seeks Him.

The question now is, have we loved God as we should? Have we thanked Him for all of His kindness to us? Or have we been like the other nine lepers who were so happy for the healing that happened to them and forgot to give thanks to God? We really need to spend some time reflecting about this and our lives, and how we should proceed onward in life as good and dedicated Christians through our actions and deeds, and not just by mere words or formality. And sometimes we ourselves are deluded by our own sense of self-righteousness in which we think that we are beyond reproach and that we cannot be flawed or mistaken, and that we are better than those whom we are prejudiced against that we forget that we too may be flawed and in need of healing and correction. Each and every one of us needs to embrace God’s ever generous love, His mercy and kindness in always loving us no matter how we have treated Him, for all the compassion that He has constantly showered us with.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great saint of God, a great and dedicated servant of God whose righteous deeds and works, outstanding and exemplary life can become great examples and inspirations for us all to follow in how we live our own lives with faith in God. St. Martin of Tours was a soldier turned man of God, who was renowned for his commitment and faith in God, his virtuous life and actions, from even before he gave everything to the Lord. St. Martin of Tours was once a soldier in the Roman army during the late period of the Roman Empire, and it was told that he was called by God during his time as soldier, and one of that unique experiences is when he encountered the Lord Himself disguised as an old man in a blizzard.

At that time, according to the story, St. Martin of Tours was travelling on horseback in his centurion’s armour, and he encountered an old man in the midst of a blizzard or cold weather, who was naked and had nothing to protect him against the cold. It was there and then that St. Martin of Tours cut half of his cloak with his own sword, and then used that half of the cloak to cover the old man’s body. Later on, as he was sleeping, St. Martin of Tours encountered a vision of the Lord appearing to him, and revealing to him that the old man was after all, the Lord Himself in disguise. Through this experience and others, St. Martin of Tours eventually left his life as an army centurion behind, and thereafter, he dedicated himself to God, following the teachings and examples of another great saint, St. Hilary of Poitiers.

Eventually, he became a hermit and preacher, committing himself to preach the word of God and to evangelise to the people, in which many people were convinced and became believers in Christ. Later on, he was chosen by acclamation by the people to become the Bishop of Tours, in which capacity, St. Martin continued to do his best in caring for the needs of the flock entrusted to him. He cared for their spiritual needs and served them well, and established good administration and missionary works in his Diocese, while protecting his flock from the effects of various heresies and falsehoods running rampant at that time. Right up to the end of his life, St. Martin of Tours dedicated himself completely to God and to the people whom He had been entrusted with, truly a great example and role model for us.

May the Lord continue to strengthen us in our faith and give us the courage and the power to endure the many challenges and trials present all around us, that hopefully we will continue to live righteously and worthily in the path that God has shown and taught us, and following in the examples of the holy saints and martyrs, particularly that of St. Martin of Tours, whose feast we celebrate and whose memory we venerate and remember today. May all of us be touched by the great generosity that St. Martin of Tours had shown, the love he has shown to the needy and the poor, so that we too may be inspired to live our lives in the manner that God Himself has shown and taught us in love, that we grow ever greater in humility and not in pride. May the Lord bless us all in our every good deeds, efforts and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 November 2026 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 17 : 11-19

At that time, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria and Galilee, and as He entered a village, ten lepers came to meet Him. Keeping their distance, they called to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Jesus said to them, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests.” Then, as they went on their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice; and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave Him thanks. This man was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Did none of them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”