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Thursday, 2 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us of the works of God among us, which we often refused to heed or believe in, resulting in many of us choosing down the path of rebellion and disobedience against God, not trusting in God but instead in our own ways and choices, which we often made in contrary to His will, and not following God and His path. As a result, this led to some of us falling deeper and deeper into the path of sin, and we have to avoid that. This is why we are constantly reminded through these passages of the Sacred Scriptures that we should always strive to resist the temptations of sin and worldliness.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Book of the prophet Amos detailing to us the works that the prophet Amos from Judah had done for the Lord, in fulfilling what he had been called to do in ministering to the wayward and sinful people of the northern kingdom of Israel. We heard first of all of the exchanges between the priest named Amaziah, who was a priest of Bethel that argued with Amos on what the latter had been doing at the time. For the context, we must first understand that Bethel was a holy site and the place of one of two of the temples that the first king of the northern kingdom, Jeroboam, decided to establish against the will of God.

At that time, by the time of the ministry of the prophet Amos, the northern kingdom of Israel had long rebelled against God and the House of David, following their own path and way of worship, ever since the first king of that northern kingdom, Jeroboam, but not the Jeroboam mentioned in today’s passage, led the people into sin by deciding to establish a parallel centre of worship in Bethel, in opposition to the one and true God Who ought to be worshipped at that time in Jerusalem. This happened because Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, was afraid that the people in his kingdom would return to the obedience of the House of David if they continued to visit the Temple of Jerusalem as prescribed by the Law of God.

Amaziah complained to this other king Jeroboam, the second Jeroboam to rule over the northern kingdom just a few decades before its ultimate destruction by the Assyrians. Amaziah as the priest of Bethel, likely representing the same pagan worship as instituted by the first king Jeroboam, found Amos, his works and prophecies to be a great annoyance and interference in his domain, and Amaziah complained to the king himself for what the prophet Amos had prophesied against the king and the northern kingdom itself. Amaziah himself tried to push Amos away and told him off by telling him to go back to his native land of Judah. Yet, to this Amos immediately countered by saying that his mission and calling, and everything he had done come from the Lord and how God called him to do His will.

Amos was to be the one to proclaim a warning and judgment of the Lord on the Israelites in the northern kingdom for all of their continued rebellion against God and refusal to obey His Law and their unwillingness to listen to the words of the many prophets that had been sent to their midst. It was indeed what God had wanted to do and what He had warned His people against, as opposed to the falsehoods propagated by the false prophets and leaders which had not originated from the Lord but from human ambitions and desires running rampant and unbridled that led to many people being led astray into the path of sin and darkness. And Amos was among those whom God had sent to His people to help them find their way out of this darkness.

In our Gospel passage today, similarly we heard the case of when the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, some of whom criticised the Lord harshly for His words in proclaiming forgiveness of sins in the midst of Him healing a man who had been paralysed. The Lord had pity on the man and helped him, healing him from his troubles, and through that occasion, He also highlighted that as the Holy One of God, the Son, the Divine Word Incarnate, He has the authority to forgive sins and to deliver us from those sins, and to heal us from our afflictions, be it physical or spiritual in nature.

We heard how the Lord encountered tough opposition not only in what we encountered in the Gospel passage today but also in other occasions, where He and His disciples had to go up against the forces of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law arrayed against them. It was just like how at the time of the prophet Amos who had to go against the wickedness and stubbornness of the people of Israel, whose pride and arrogance in refusing to listen to God became their undoing. Their downfall was because they were not humble enough to admit that they were wrong and mistaken in their path, and unfortunately many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law fell into that same path.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings ought to highlight to us how as Christians each and every one of us are challenged to embrace God’s calling for us all to be great missionaries and witnesses of our faith in the midst of our various communities, within our families and circles of friends and acquaintances among others. Each one of us are called to be like the prophet Amos, and to be like the Lord Himself in standing up courageously for our faith in the midst of opposition and challenges that we may face in our journey of faith. However, it is not just that, as we are also called to be ever vigilant and on guard against the threat from our pride, ego, greed and desire, all of which could lead us down the wrong path to ruin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed the messages brought forth by the Lord to us in His Church through the Sacred Scriptures, that we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the temptations of worldly glory, pride and ambitions. Let us instead be humble and put our faith and trust in the Lord at all times, trusting that He will help us to walk down the right path, resisting those temptations and pressures of the world around us to conform. Let us all be the examples and good role models for everyone and inspire all to walk courageously and faithfully at all times in God’s Presence, coming ever closer to Him with each and every moments. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus got back into the boat, crossed the lake again, and came to His hometown. Here, they brought to Him a paralysed man, lying on a bed. Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic, “Courage, My son! Your sins are forgiven.”

Some teachers of the Law said within themselves, “This Man insults God.” Jesus was aware of what they were thinking; and said, “Why have you such evil thoughts? Which is easier to say : ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? But that you may know, that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralysed man, “Stand up! Take your stretcher and go home!”

The man got up, and went home. When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to human beings.

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Thursday, 2 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 11

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

They are more precious than gold – pure gold of a jeweller; they are much sweeter than honey which drops from the honeycomb.

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Thursday, 2 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Amos 7 : 10-17

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, then sent word to king Jeroboam of Israel, “Amos is conspiring against you in the very centre of Israel; what he says goes too far. These are his very words : Jeroboam shall die by the sword and Israel shall be exiled from its land.”

Amaziah then said to Amos, “Off with you, seer, go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there by prophesying. But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is a king’s sanctuary and a national shrine.”

Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet or one of the fellow prophets. I am a breeder of sheep and a dresser of sycamore trees. But YHVH took me from shepherding the flock and said to me : Go, prophesy to My people Israel. Now hear the word of YHVH, you who say : No more prophesy against Israel, no more insults against the family of Isaac!”

“This is what YHVH says : Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city, your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword, your land shall be divided up and given to others, and you, yourself, shall die in a foreign land, for Israel shall be driven far from its land.”

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Wednesday, 1 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that the Lord our God Who truly loves us all wants each and every one of us to be saved through Him and His providence, has set before us all His Law and commandments, His guidance and help, and everything which He had provided to us so that we may persevere in our journey towards Him and all that He has promised to us. God has always been with us and He will never abandon us in our time and hour of need, and what He had done throughout history, some of which had been highlighted in today’s readings should serve as important reminders and reassurances of God’s ever present and enduring love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Amos, we heard of the moment when God continued to call upon His wayward people living in the northern kingdom of Israel where the prophet Amos laboured at, so that they might turn away from their wickedness and stubborn attitudes, in all of their disobedience against God and all of their unworthy behaviours. For the context, the prophet Amos who came from the land of Judah, the southern kingdom, was called and sent by God to minister to the people of the northern kingdom, known as Israel, as many among them, from their kings, to their nobles and the bulk of the people had no longer followed the Lord, His Law and His commandments.

The prophet Amos had a truly difficult and uphill task entrusted to him, as he had to deal with the hostile attitudes and reception by those living in the northern kingdom, from their king, the priests of the northern kingdom who viewed his works with suspicion and even hostility, from the pagan worshippers who worshipped the pagan and false idols of the Israelites’ own neighbours, and from many among the people themselves who were unwilling to listen to the words of this prophet of God, preferring to continue living in ignorance of God’s Law, commandments and ways. And yet, as He had done many times previously, God still continued to send His prophets and messengers nonetheless, to the very end.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus and His disciples went to the region known as Gadara, an area beyond the River Jordan from the land of Judah. It was also an area of wilderness that were far beyond the settlements, and where outcasts like lepers and those possessed by evil spirits were forced to wander at, away and ostracised from the rest of the community of God’s people. It was there therefore at Gadara that the Lord and His disciples encountered during their journey two men who were so possessed by the evil spirits, that everyone else feared them and stayed away from them.

But the Lord showed His power and authority over those many evil spirits, such that those who had brought terror and fear to the hearts of many, were themselves trembling and scared of the power of God, Who truly held dominion and authority over them all. Those evil spirits knew well that the Lord could have ordered their destruction and annihilation should He desire it to be, and hence, they begged that the Lord should send them away from those two men into the herd of pigs that were nearby there at that place. And that was what happened, that the Lord ordered those evil spirits to leave, healing them from their afflictions and allowing them to return once again to their community and families.

Essentially, through what we have heard in these readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that God is always with us, and He has manifested that enduring and ever present love that He has shown us, through none other than His own most beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. And through Christ, the Love of God had been made manifest, real and tangible, and not even those considered by many as being beyond hope and saving are truly lost from God, as highlighted through what the Lord Himself had done in reaching out to those two men at Gadara possessed by numerous evil spirits. We heard how God rescued and liberated them both, and restored them once again to His grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all come to realise that each and every one of us are truly beloved and precious to the Lord, that He gave us all the ultimate gift of Love in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. Let us all realise that despite our disobedience and sinfulness, God is His ever enduring Love and infinite mercy continues to love each and every one of us regardless, and He continues to reach out to us, just as He has reached out to those who were sick, marginalised and ostracised by the society for various reasons, and showed us all that God’s Love is truly greater than all of that, and He wants each one of us to know this truth and remember it well in every moments of our lives.

May the Lord, our most loving and gracious God, continue to guide us all through our journey in life so that we may always be faithful and committed to Him at all times and in each and every occasions. May He continue to empower all of us with the courage to follow Him wholeheartedly, obeying Him and His commandments at all times, while also showing our true appreciation and understanding of God’s ways, His love, kindness and compassion through our own actions, words and deeds in our own respective lives. May God be with us always and bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 1 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 8 : 28-34

At that time, when Jesus reached Gadara, on the other side, He was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged Him, “If You drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” Jesus ordered them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

The men in charge of the pigs ran off to the town, where they told the whole story; and also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. The whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

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Wednesday, 1 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 49 : 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16bc-17

“Hear, o My people, for I am speaking. I will accuse you, o Israel, I am God, your God!”

“Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me. I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens.”

“For I own all the beasts of the forest and the animals of My thousand hills. All the birds of the air I know; all that move in the fields are Mine.”

“I need not tell you if I were hungry, for Mine is the world and all that it contains. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?”

“What right have you to mouth My Laws, or to talk about My Covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.”

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Wednesday, 1 July 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Amos 5 : 14-15, 21-24

Seek good and shun evil, that you may live. Then YHVH, the God of hosts, as you have claimed, will be with you. Hate wickedness and love virtue, and let justice prevail in the courts; perhaps YHVH, the God of hosts, will take pity on the remnant of Joseph.

YHVH said, “I hate, I reject your feasts, I take no pleasure when you assemble to offer Me your burnt offerings. Your cereal offerings, I will not accept! Your offerings of fattened beasts, I will not look upon! Away with the noise of your chanting, away with your strumming on harps. But let justice run its course like water, and righteousness be like an ever-flowing river.”

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Tuesday, 30 June 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all heard the words from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us to put our trust and faith in the Lord our God, in Him Who is our anchor and the foundation of our lives. We should always have faith in God even during the hardest and most difficult moments, just as our predecessors whose stories we are going to discuss and elaborate in depth in a while, can show us. During difficult and challenging moments, instead of turning away from the Lord and chasing after worldly means, validation and sources of comfort, we truly should realise that none of the latter can truly bring us satisfaction, and it is in God alone is our eternal help and true joy.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Amos, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people in the northern kingdom of Israel through the prophet Amos, who came from the land of Judah and yet was sent by God to minister to His wayward ones in the northern kingdom. And as we heard from that passage today, we heard how moments of reckoning and judgment would come upon those people who had consistently hardened their hearts and minds against their Lord and God, and persecuted His many prophets, preferring to follow the wicked ways of their pagan neighbours, worshipping the false idols and gods instead of obeying and following their Lord and God.

Naturally, as we heard how punishments and harsh consequences were coming for the people of the northern kingdom, Amos himself did not have it easy and he himself faced ridicule and persecutions for his efforts and works. In one occasion, Amos was told by the King of Israel himself to go back to his own land, because he was a troublemaker and doom-bringer. Yet, Amos responded firmly with faith and testified that everything that he had been sent to do were upon the Divine commandment and will of God, Who had sent him to reveal His intentions to those wayward people, hoping that at least some of them would repent and change their way of life.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which we heard of the story of the time when the Lord and His disciples were travelling in the boat on the Lake of Galilee, and a great storm, strong waves and wind were battering on the boat, threatening to sink the boat, which terrified the disciples a lot. And the fact that at least four among those disciples were themselves fishermen used to the conditions of the storm and waves at the place where they used to work and fish gave evidence to just how powerful and fearsome that great storm must have been. And in that moment, the disciples sought the Lord and in panic pleaded with Him to help them all.

The Lord chided His disciples for their lack of faith and trust in Him, and told them that they ought to believe in Him and trust that He can provide them deliverance and help, and that they absolutely have no need to be afraid at all no matter what might happen, as the Lord was with them and never abandoned them in their time and hour of greatest need. And this is in fact also a representation of what the Church faces on daily basis and how God is always with His faithful and beloved ones, when they are all facing hardships and challenges. The Church is often represented as a boat, just our church buildings usually have the same shape and structure, a reminder to both God’s salvation in the Noah’s Ark and in this story of Jesus calming the storm.

Therefore, all of us, represented by the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, the Church of God, is always led and guided by the Lord Himself, Who is the Head of the Church, leading us all through the storms and hardships of this life, all the challenges, trials and tribulations with the call for all of us as Christians to continue to trust in God’s guidance, providence and reassurance. We should never abandon the Lord and His Church, and instead choosing to persevere on together with Him. In the end, we will be triumphant together with the Lord, and all of our sufferings, trials and journeys will be all worth it, because God is always with us, by our side throughout the whole journey.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church, commemorating all those who have perished in the great persecutions of the Christians in Rome, at the heart of the Roman Empire, also the heart of Christendom, during the time of the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. At that time the early Christians began to grow in number across the Roman Empire, even at the very heart of the Empire in Rome. During the reign of the Emperor Nero, it happened that a great fire broke out throughout the city of Rome, what would be known as the Great Fire of Rome, in which the Emperor laid the blame on the Christians in the city, which were therefore persecuted and arrested, and many were martyred during this intense persecution.

Yet, despite the challenges and trials, the sufferings and hardships which they had to face, those faithful Christians in Rome endured and remained firm in their faith, and most did not give up their faith, although many were thrown to the lions and to be tortured. They were blamed for crimes and faults that they themselves did not commit, and most people in fact assigned the blame to the Emperor Nero himself, who obviously sought a scapegoat for his actions. Those faithful Holy Martyrs in Rome remained firm in their conviction and dedication to God, and they became the inspiration and strength for many others who were also facing hardships and trials in life throughout the succeeding years and generations. All of us should also therefore be inspired and strengthened in the same way as well.

Let us all hence commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the service of God from now on, and let us all be reminded of God’s ever gracious love and compassion, and do our part to love the Lord as well, as part of the Covenant which He has established with us. Let us all therefore renew our commitment and faith in God, doing our very best to glorify Him by our every efforts and endeavours, our good and exemplary lives, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 30 June 2026 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 8 : 23-27

At that time, Jesus got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Without warning, a fierce storm burst upon the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep.

The disciples woke Him up and cried, “Lord save us! We are lost!” But Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?” Then He stood up and rebuked the wind and sea; and it became completely calm.

The disciples were astonished. They said, “What kind of Man is He? Even the winds and the sea obey Him.”