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Thursday, 30 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called and reminded of the love that God has shown us all, and everything that He has provided for us, in calling on all of us to return to Him, to find Him and to be reconciled with Him, so that we are no longer lost to Him but instead be moulded into a new people, a people who are faithful to God and His path, His truth and ways, and a new people who have embraced wholeheartedly the Law and commandments of God. That is also what each one of us as Christians have been called to do in our lives, to be sincere in how we live our lives each day with true and sincere faith in our loving God and Father.

In our first reading today, from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, we heard the Lord speaking to His people through Jeremiah, using the example of a potter working on his spoilt and broken pottery in delivering His point and truth across. He told them all through Jeremiah that just as the potter reshaped and patiently moulded the potter piece that was misshapen and broken, hence, He, the Lord, God of Israel and all also was like a Potter to the people, moulding and guiding them as a people, leading them down the path of righteousness, and patiently guiding them when they became astray, sending prophets and messengers to remind and help them to find their way back to Him.

The Lord used that comparison in order to make His people to understand just how patient He was in helping and guiding all of them, even if they were to be stubborn and unflinching in their position and behaviour. The Lord had done that for hundreds of years, kept on reminding the people through many generations of prophets and servants, sending them to both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In occasions, they succeeded and helped the people to return to the right path, but the people often proved more stubborn, falling back again and again into their sinful ways, despite all that God had done throughout time to help and guide them, and yet He kept on trying and persevering on this out of His love for them.

Those who dwell, work and possess pottery especially back then might know just how difficult it is to make, craft and prepare a pottery work. It often requires patience and precision in order for a good quality pottery piece to be made, and sometimes it requires a long time and repeated efforts in order to achieve the desired product and quality. And what is amazing with pottery is that, as they are being made, they are flexible and easily adaptable in shape, and at the hands of a skilled artisan and potter, it can truly become a great piece of art and masterpiece. The Lord is that masterful potter Who moulded His people, His work of art, ever so patiently and kindly.

However, once the piece of work is completed, the result of the product will depend a lot on the pottery piece itself. If they are lacking in certain substances or parts, then it is more likely than not that the final product may be less than desired in terms of quality. That is what happens when the materials used are defective and flawed. And all of these represent us in our current state of life, just as it was for the Israelites, the people of God to whom Jeremiah spoke to. We are all flawed beings, sinful and corrupted by those sins we have committed. Yet, the Lord, our Potter, Guide and Master ceaselessly and continuously guided us on our way and journey to Him.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord spoke to His disciples regarding the kingdom of Heaven, in which He compared to a great net filled with various fishes of all types and sizes. The Angels will gather all of them and eventually sort them out. Those that are good will be gathered and kept, while the bad ones will be discarded. This is something that certainly many of the Lord’s followers and disciples understand, many of them being fishermen themselves or were working closely with them. The Lord told them all that all the faithful should be like the good fishes or else, they would face the consequences of their own evils and wickedness in the end.

How is that so? The net represents the Church of God, God’s kingdom in this world. To His Kingdom, God has called us all and invited us all to enter into His Presence, through His Church. And we have been given the opportunities and the means for us to embrace God and His ways, His truth and love through what we have heard in the Church. But it is really up to us whether we want to embrace God and His ways, or whether we prefer to follow our own paths and disobey God. If we continue to disobey the Lord and walk in the path of sin, then in the end, we are going to be like the bad fishes to be discarded at the end of time, to be destroyed and annihilated because of our own stubborn disobedience and rebellion.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Chrysologus, a great and holy man of God whose life and devotion to God, great works and efforts should be great inspiration and model for all of us to follow. St. Peter Chrysologus was born in what is now part of northern Italy during the final decades of the Roman Empire in the Western Mediterranean, where he became first a deacon and then archdeacon in service to the Church, before the then Pope appointed him as the Bishop of Ravenna, which was then the de facto capital of the Western Roman Empire. It was told in Church tradition that the Pope saw a vision of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Apolllinaris of Ravenna pointing to a young man who would become the new Bishop of Ravenna, and this vision referred to the then young St. Peter Chrysologus.

St. Peter Chrysologus gained his epithet of Chrysologus or ‘Golden-worded’ exactly because of his often simple yet powerful homilies which touched the lives and hearts of countless people who were under his care and listened to him. St. Peter Chrysologus explained the Scriptures and the Christian teachings well and he also made a firm and courageous stand against all the falsehoods, heresies and other evils of his time, doing his best to lead the people of God in the path towards God all throughout his whole life. St. Peter Chrysologus is truly a great example for all of us as Christians, in everything that he had done and in the efforts that he had in devoting himself completely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in the footsteps of St. Peter Chrysologus and the many other saints, holy men and women of God in our lives, so that we may continue to do our best to grow ever stronger in our faith in the Lord, and that we may be truly worthy and faithful in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions with one another. Let us all let the Lord to shape and mould our lives, as our loving Potter and Master, so that our lives may be ever more worthy of Him, and that our lives and actions be ever more attuned to His will, in all the things we do, and that we may grow ever closer to Him, now and always, evermore. May God be with us all and bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Matthew 13 : 47-53

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a big fishing net, let down into the sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish into buckets, but throw the bad away. That is how it will be at the end of time; the Angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just, and to throw the wicked into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and gnash their teeth.”

Jesus asked, “Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. So He said to them, “Therefore, every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder, who can produce from his store things both new and old.”

When Jesus had finished these parables, He left that place.

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Thursday, 30 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 145 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, my soul! I will sing to YHVH all my life; I will sing praise to God while I live.

Do not put your trust in princes, in a great one, who cannot save. Not sooner his spirit has left, that he goes back to the earth; on that very day, any plan comes to nothing.

Blessed are they whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in YHVH their God, Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain.

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Thursday, 30 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Jeremiah 18 : 1-6

This is the word of YHVH that came to Jeremiah : “Go down to the potter’s house and there you will hear what I have to say.”

So I went to the potter’s house and found him working at the wheel. But the pot he was working on was spoilt in his hands, so he reworked it all over again into another pot that suits his desire.

Meanwhile YHVH sent me His word, “People of Israel, can I not do with you what this potter does? As clay in the potter’s hand so are you in My hands.”

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Wednesday, 29 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, the friends of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and also some of His closest disciples. Through all of them we are reminded of the great and loving relationships that the Lord shared with His friends and closest confidants, as St. Martha and St. Mary were often hosting the Lord at their house while St. Lazarus was one of those that the Lord resurrected from the dead, after he passed away from sickness. The Lord showed His great love to all of them, and revealed the nature of His generous love and compassion. All of us are truly fortunate that the Lord has not abandoned us and indeed, He will never do so, and that is why, through these three great saints, all of us are reminded to come ever closer to Him and seek Him.

As we heard in our Gospel reading passage today, either of the account of the resurrection of St. Lazarus from the dead, and also how St. Martha and St. Mary welcomed the Lord into their place, we heard of the interactions between these three saints and holy people with the Lord Himself, how they were beloved by God, and how the Lord wanted to tell us that if we believe in Him, then we shall have no need for fear or uncertainties, and there is no need for us to be afraid of anything because the Lord will always be by our side, and we will always be guarded and protected, given the blessings and strength, grace and might from God. St. Lazarus’ death and his resurrection by the Lord showed us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, and not even sin and death can do that, as God, the Master and Lord of life and death, have dominion over all things.

Meanwhile, St. Martha and St. Mary showed us all the love that one ought to have for one’s fellow brother and sister, just as we can see how distraught both of them were at the passing of their brother, and yet, at the same time, they still held on to the faith in the Lord, believing in Him and in the Resurrection, which came to complete fulfilment with the Lord’s resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. St. Martha and St. Mary also showed us in the other occasion, of what it means to dedicate ourselves to the Lord, with all of our heart and attention, and as a reminder that sometimes we may be swayed and distracted by the many worldly matters and attachments which may lead us down into our failure to recognise God’s Presence in our lives, or in being so busy and preoccupied in doing things in our lives, even if for the Lord, that we forget to remember Him and spend time with Him.

As we heard from the famous account of how St. Martha hosted the Lord in her house with her sister St. Mary, we heard of how St. Martha was really very busy preparing everything for welcoming the Lord, which presumably included cooking, preparing the food, the table and everything, in trying to be as hospitable as possible. Meanwhile, St. Mary was seated by the Lord’s side, spending time with Him and listening to Him, and when St. Martha complained to the Lord about her sister not helping her, the Lord quietly chided her obsession and preoccupation with her works and efforts, which made her to forget what she should also be doing at that time, which is to spend good, quality time with the Lord and to listen to His words, rather than to spend so much time preparing all things for Him, but ignoring Him and His presence and words in the process.

That is a reminder for us that the Lord wants from us our love and attention, our whole hearts and minds, undivided focus and more, and not all the busy actions and preoccupations we have in life, in all the things that may distract us from focusing ourselves upon the true focus of our lives, that is the Lord Himself, the Lord and Master of us all. That is why today, all of us are reminded as we rejoice in the glorious memories of the three siblings turned saints, St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, that each and every one of us should always put our faith and trust in the Lord, and we should always place the Lord first and foremost before everything else. We must always do our best so that we will not be swayed easily by the temptations and obstacles present all around us, threatening to mislead us away from the path of the Lord and His salvation.

As Christians, each and every one of us are expected to be wholly devoted to the Lord, and to live our lives with great commitment and focus on Him, so that all the others who witness our works, actions and deeds, and who hears us and our words, and interact with us all, they may be inspired to come to know more about the Lord and His salvation. You can essentially say that we are all God’s missionaries and the beacons of His light and truth in our communities and in the world. It is through us that we can either help to bring more and more people to come towards the Lord and His salvation, or to deter and discourage the same people from coming to approach the Lord by our own scandals and lukewarmness in faith. We must not allow worldly desires, distractions and temptations from leading us down the path towards our downfall.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the examples of faith shown by those three great saints, particularly that of St. Mary, in her focus and attention on the Lord, in her devotion and commitment to Him. And from St. Martha, let us all be inspired by her desire to serve and love the Lord, but at the same time, let us all keep reminding ourselves that we should not allow our actions, our piety and all to distract us somehow from our love and focus on the Lord. As it is very easy for us, just as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had shown throughout the Gospels, to be swayed and distracted, to become proud and haughty over our own actions of faith, that our faith become inward looking and exclusive, self-righteous and lacking in genuine and true love for the Lord. This is something that we all must be careful of, and strive to avoid, by keeping our focus solely on the Lord alone.

May the Lord, ever glorified through the lives and actions of His holy ones, the glorious saints and martyrs, and particularly on this day, through St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, who are dear to Him, continue to bless us all and guide us in our own journey of faith and life, so that we may always be ever faithful to the Lord in all things. May we continue to strive and persevere in faith, even amidst the many challenges and trials all around us. May God bless our efforts and good works, our every endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 29 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 11 : 19-27

At that time, many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, after the death of their brother, to comfort them. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replied, “I know that He will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.” But Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha then answered, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He Who is coming into the world.”

Alternative reading

Luke 10 : 38-42

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Wednesday, 29 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

I will praise YHVH all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in YHVH; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

Oh, let us magnify YHVH; together, let us glorify His Name! I sought YHVH, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, YHVH hears and saves them from distress.

YHVH’s Angel encamps and patrols, to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of YHVH! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

Revere YHVH, all you, His saints, for those who fear Him do not live in want. The mighty may be hungry and in need; but those who seek YHVH lack nothing.

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Wednesday, 29 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 7-16

My dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves, is born of God and knows God. Those who do not love have not known God, for God is love. How did the love of God appear among us? God sent His only Son into this world, that we might have life, through Him.

This is love : not that we loved God, but that, He first loved us and sent His Son, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love comes to its perfection in us.

How may we know that we live in God and He in us? Because God has given us His Spirit. We ourselves have seen, and declare, that the Father sent His Son to save the world. Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them, and they in God. We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is love. The one who lives in love, lives in God, and God in him.

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Tuesday, 28 July 2026 : 17th 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 Lord speaking to us through the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, regarding the matter of God’s love for each one of us, and how each one of us are also called to lead a life that is both holy and worthy of God. We are constantly being reminded to turn towards God with faith, sin no more and to do no more what is wicked and unbecoming of our status as Christians. We are all called to be holy just as our Lord and God is holy, and to be righteous and just in the way that He has shown and taught us, so that our lives will truly reflect genuinely what we believe in and we are not merely paying lip service in our faith in God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, of the prayer which the prophet Jeremiah made on behalf of the people of God in Judah, which began with the Lord’s words mentioning how the Lord was sorrowful of the sufferings and the plight endured by His people in Jerusalem and Judah. They had endured a lot of trials and tribulations because of their own mistakes and disobedience against God, in turning towards the pagan gods and idols instead of the Lord, following the wicked ways of the world rather than turning back towards the Law and the commandments of God, as many among our ancestors and predecessors had done.

The Lord has sent His prophets again and again to help set His people on the right path and to remind them of what they had to do as His disciples and followers, as His flock and His people. However, the people had often hardened their hearts and minds, closed themselves off from the Lord and disobeyed Him time and again, and they often persecuted those prophets and messengers who had been sent to remind and guide them in the right paths. Yet, God was still ever patient in reaching out to them, because ultimately should they remain in sin, they would be lost to Him forever, and that is not something that God wants to happen to us, His beloved ones.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the continuation of the parable which the Lord told His disciples, the parable of the wheat and the weeds, in which an enemy had spread weeds among the wheat crops in a field. The weeds cannot be removed from the wheat without killing the wheat crops themselves, and they also compete with the wheat crops for nutrients, water, space and more. The owner of the field, who represents the Lord our God, let both to grow together until the day of the harvest, when all the wheat were collected into the barns while the weeds are finally removed, burnt and destroyed.

This is a reminder to all of us, God’s beloved people that if we continue to live our lives in the manner of the wicked and if we remain in the state of sin, then we are like weeds growing in the field of the Lord, that is this world. On the other hand, if we are faithful to the Lord, then we are like the wheat growing wonderfully and fruitfully in the field of the Lord. And we have that choice whether we want to be like the wheat or to be like the weeds. God has given us all plenty of time and opportunities, the choices and the means for us to embrace Him, His love, His truth and His path. If only that we have the courage and the willingness to commit ourselves to that path towards His salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded that while we still have the time and opportunity to do so, we should do our best to turn towards the Lord with contrite hearts and minds, seeking Him with all our hearts and with all our might and strength, and we should do our best to glorify God by our lives and actions from now on. We are all called to be exemplary in faith and to be role models for one another so that we can be true disciples of the Lord and truly are the healthy and fruitful wheat of the Lord’s field. That is our calling as Christians today, and we should do better by looking upon the examples of the great saints, our holy predecessors.

That is why we are all reminded that we are the ones whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His own, to be truly loved by Him and that we are all indeed precious in His sight. Each and every one of us as God’s holy and beloved people ought to nurture within us the strong desire to follow the good examples of the Lord, all that He Himself has shown and taught us, and inspired us to do through His Church. We are the ones who ought to make manifest the light of Christ’s truth and love in our world today, just as our world today is filled with so much darkness and evil. Our faithful living of our lives will be our greatest witnesses we can possibly give to the Lord, in fulfilling what He has shown and entrusted to us to do.

May the Lord, our ever loving, kind and compassionate God continue to help us in being ever more faithful, committed and dedicated to Him, in each and every moments of our lives so that we may indeed be the worthy bearers of His Good News and truth, His love and Presence in this world today. We are all called to be truly fruitful in everything that we do, in our every moments in life. May all of us bear forth this faith wonderfully as best as we can, in living as exemplary Christians at all times, in leading more and more people towards God and the eternal life in Him. Amen.

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Tuesday, 28 July 2026 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 13 : 36-43

At that time, Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” Jesus answered them, “The One Who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed are the people of the kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one. The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil; the harvest is the end of time, and the workers are the Angels.”

“Just as the weeds are pulled up and burnt in the fire, so will it be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send His Angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil. And these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the just will shine, like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.”