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Tuesday, 28 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr, and St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the call and responsibilities that each and every one of us have as Christians in proclaiming the truth of God to more and more people around us, to all those who have not yet heard of Him and those who have yet to know Him. All of us are called to be the bearers of God’s truth and love to the world, through our every words, actions and deeds. All of us ought to proclaim our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord, and everything that He had done for us, in bringing us all out of the darkness and into the light, in saving us all from the threat of eternal damnation and death by freeing us from our sins. As Christians, each and every one of us are called and reminded to be good and faithful missionaries through our lives and our good examples.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the continuing growth of the early Church, as there were more and more people who came to believe in the Lord and became believers, were baptised and welcomed into the community of the Christian faithful. It was told how the Apostles sent St. Barnabas to Antioch upon hearing of the vibrant and rapid growth of Christians in those regions, and despite the many challenges, trials, persecutions and hardships that they faced, it was said that the Lord was with His disciples and faithful ones, as He guided and strengthened them, protected and provided them throughout their journey of faith and life. The Apostles through St. Barnabas ministered to the Christian faithful, spreading the Good News of God and proclaiming His truth, calling on many to turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

The Lord has shown us all His faithfulness and love through this, and through many more examples, as He was with them all through even the most difficult and challenging moments, as a Good Shepherd guiding His beloved sheep in His flock, as we heard in our Gospel passage today. He cared for them, for their needs and provided for them, guarded and protected them, and gave them the love and attention, leading them from the darkness of this world into the true Light of His glory and truth. All of us are reminded that Christ is truly our Good Shepherd, the most loving Lord and God Who has showered and shown us His most generous love and attention, Who knows each and every one of us very well, and Who wants all of us to follow Him and become members of His flock, as Christians, those whom the people of Antioch called as such because of their belief in the Risen Christ.

Now, all of us are reminded today if we have lived our lives as the Lord has taught us to do, and whether we have committed our time and effort to glorify Him by our lives. As Christians, we are all those who have committed ourselves to the Risen Lord, Whom we have taken as our Lord, Master and Saviour. However, if we spend some time to look deep into ourselves and our way of life, very soon we may realise that it was often that we did not act in the way that the Lord has called and expected us to do, and on the contrary, we often acted in ways that were contrary to His teachings and truth. Many of us failed to embrace His path wholeheartedly and not only that, but often through our wayward actions and way of life, we turned people away from the Lord and His Church, because our actions, words and deeds, our way of life were abhorrent and against what our faith truly is.

That is why today all of us are reminded that as Christians all of us must first of all do what the Lord has commanded and taught us to do, to be devoted and committed to Him in all things. Each and every one of us have been given the gifts, grace and blessings, the opportunities and the abilities to carry out our respective parts in doing the work of God, to be faithful and committed in our lives as Christians. All of us should do our best and strive to be good role models, inspirations and examples to one another in our faith and way of life. For we have to realise that it is by our works and deeds, by our words and interactions with others that we may let the world know of the truth and the identity of Our Lord and Saviour, the One Whom we ought to be proclaiming about. But too often we allowed ourselves to be tempted by various temptations, and chose to walk the path of wickedness and evil instead.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore today, all of us are also reminded of more good examples of our holy predecessors to follow, in the two saints whose feasts we celebrate. St. Peter Chanel and St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort are two great servants of God who have dedicated themselves to the service of God, in proclaiming His truth and Good News to many of their fellow brethren. St. Peter Chanel was a renowned missionary, who ministered to the people in many mission areas, which led him to Futuna in distant part of the vast Pacific Ocean region. There he ministered to the people who had not yet known about Christ and evangelised to them, preaching about the Risen Lord to the people of Futuna, which eventually led to the desire for the local king’s son to be baptised, which led to the martyrdom of this good servant of God, persecuted and murdered for his faith and efforts.

Meanwhile, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort was the inspiration and founder behind the many Montfortian organisations present today, known for his dedication and passion for his ministry, in taking care of the needs the less privileged, the poor and the sick, and in the countless hours and efforts that he spent in taking care of them, both physically and spiritually. He was also known for his efforts in the Catholic education, caring for the needs of young boys and girls to be properly educated, establishing schools and institutions in order to allow this to happen. Through all these works, St. Louis Marie brought quite a lot of people from the brink of darkness and destruction back into God’s Light, and helped them to find the path to salvation. We too should be inspired by his great examples to bring more and more people ever closer to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by their good examples, and do whatever we can as Christians, in order to do God’s will and to proclaim His truth and Good News to more and more of those whom we encounter in our daily living. Let our lives and actions, our words and interactions be good and exemplary, worthy and bring inspiration to others who witness our works and interacted with us, that they too may be moved and driven to follow the Lord and to believe in Him as we had done in our own lives. May God be with us always, and be with His Church in our every endeavours and efforts to proclaim Him, the one and only Saviour of all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 28 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr, and St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 10 : 22-30

At that time, the time came for the Feast of the Dedication. It was winter, and Jesus walked back and forth in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him and said to Him, “How long will You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in My Father’s Name proclaim Who I am, but you do not believe because, as I said, you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice and I know them; they follow Me and I give them eternal life.”

“They shall never perish, and no one will ever steal them from Me. What the Father has given Me is above everything else, and no one can snatch it from out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”

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Tuesday, 28 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr, and St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 86 : 1-3, 4-5, 6-7

He Himself has built it in His holy mountain; the Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all of Jacob’s towns. Great things have been foretold of you, o city of God.

Between friends we speak of Egypt and Babylon; and also Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia : “Here so-and-so was born.” But of Zion it shall be said, “More and more are being born in her.” For the Most High Himself has founded her.

And the Lord notes in the people’s register : “All these were also born in Zion.” And all will dance and sing joyfully for You.

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Tuesday, 28 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr, and St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 11 : 19-26

Those who had been scattered because of the persecution over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message, but only to the Jews. But there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene among them who, on coming into Antioch, spoke also to the Greeks, giving them the Good News of the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them so that a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favour, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to the Lord; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

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Monday, 27 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded to put our trust in the Lord instead of in our own prejudices and flawed way of understanding the will of God, and not to blindly just follow the teachings and ways of the Church without properly understanding them, appreciating its context and how they ought to be applied to each and every one of our unique circumstances. We must understand that first of all God’s love for us is universal, most generous and beautiful above all things, and we must realise that God also does not play favourites, as all of us are equally dear and beloved to Him. That is why we must keep this in mind in how we interact with each other and in how we should never think that we are better or more qualified than anyone else.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the time when St. Peter the Apostle came to address the assembly of the faithful in Jerusalem, where the Jewish believers argued with him regarding how he had gone to visit the house of a Gentile and had meal with them in their house. First of all, we must understand the context of this interaction and why those Jewish believers said such words to St. Peter. Those Jewish believers very likely referred to the early Christian believers that belonged to the group known as the Pharisees and their supporters, some of whom were empathetic to the Christian teachings and were willing to embrace Christ as the Lord and Saviour as opposed to the majority who refused to accept Jesus’ claim as the Messiah.

However, those Jewish believers unfortunately also brought with them their own prejudices and ideals, as they had very strong belief that they, as the direct descendants of the people of God living in the kingdom of Judah, as the members of the Twelve Tribes of the Israelites, were superior as the chosen people of God over all the other people and races, all those non-Jewish people collectively referred to at that time as the Gentiles, which means essentially as strangers and even as foreigners. It is not that the Jewish people consider that the Gentiles could not be saved, but they were very prejudiced against them, and for a Gentile to be saved, they essentially had to follow all the laws and tenets of the Jewish Law and customs, practices and everything that effectively turn them into another Jew.

But St. Peter shared his experiences in the household of Cornelius, whose whole household believed in the Lord and in His message of truth, and showed great faith in God not even found among many of the Jews themselves. And earlier on before that, St. Peter himself received a vision from God before he visited Cornelius’ house, as he hesitated for exactly the same reason given earlier by the Jewish believers. As a Jew himself, St. Peter was hesitant to visit the house of a Gentile as that would have made him, according to Jewish tradition and beliefs, unclean and hence sinful. But God revealed to St. Peter in the vision, a great multitude of animals considered unclean and hence not to be eaten, asking him to eat those animals.

And when St. Peter refused to eat those because they were considered unclean, the Lord told him not just once, but three times that what He had deemed to be clean, St. Peter should not consider to be unclean and not to eat them because of whatever rules and norms were put in place beforehand. This is one of the evidences and revelations which the Lord gave to St. Peter, convincing him and through him, many others of the faithful that His love is meant for everyone and none of His people should ever be biased, prejudiced and judgmental against anyone simply because they did not subscribe or conform to the practices and customs of the Jewish people, and it was exactly what St. Peter shared with those Jewish believers, telling them of the strong and genuine faith that the Gentiles had in the Lord.

He also shared with them how the Lord has sent His Holy Spirit to be with everyone, as he himself had witnessed, regardless whether they were Jews or Gentiles. This is the proof that every one of us should put our faith and trust in the Lord, and allow Him to lead and guide us all, instead of being blinded by prejudice, bias and feelings of superiority over others, which is in fact a kind of pride and arrogance, which unfortunately many of those Jewish believers and the other Pharisees tended to have in them. It is a reminder hence for all of us that we should develop faith that is truly organic, genuine and based on proper understanding and appreciation of God’s Law, His nature and the nature of our faith and existence rather than blindly obeying and rigidly applying the teachings of the Church as many had done even in our present day world today.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, the famous account of the Lord describing Himself as the Good Shepherd, and how all of His sheep, that is representing each and every one of us, knows Him just as He knows all of us. This is a reminder for all of us that God loves every one of us despite our differences, just as the various sheep may have lots of varieties and differences, and not even those sheep that has been lost from Him, He would ever abandon or leave behind. And linking to what we have heard in our first reading passage today, on the matter of inclusivity and trusting in God rather than in traditions, customs and rigid understanding and application of the Scriptures and God’s Law, we are reminded therefore as the Lord said that He is the ‘Gate of the sheep’ while others are the thieves and false shepherds seeking to steal the sheep.

This is a reminder for all of us to not trust blindly in the teachings of the Church, but understand and appreciate them from genuine appreciation and understanding of what the Lord has always intended, as He Himself constantly reminded His disciples, of His ever generous, infinite and unconditional love for all of us, calling on each and every one of us regardless of our background and origins, to come towards Him, embracing His ever generous love, compassion and kindness, while remembering our calling to show that same love to all those around us, our brothers and sisters, especially those whom God had placed in our lives to love us, and to be loved by us. Let our actions, our words and deeds be always filled with the love of God, which we show it to those around us as best as we are able to, following the very examples of our own Good Shepherd, Lord and Master Himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together to reflect on these words of the Sacred Scriptures therefore, let us all hence continue to strive to follow our loving God in all that He has shown us, in everything which He has taught and revealed to us through His most beloved Son, so that we may truly understand His love and His intentions, living our lives in the most genuine and faithful manner, not depending on blind obedience or following of the tenets of our faith, but rather through deep understanding and appreciation of what the Lord has revealed to us. May the Lord our most loving God and Father, our ever compassionate Master continue to bless us all in our every actions, in guiding us throughout even the most challenging moments of our lives. May God be with each and every one of us, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 27 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 1-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But the shepherd of the sheep enters by the gate. The keeper opens the gate to him and the sheep hear his voice; he calls each of his sheep by name and leads them out.”

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but rather they will run away from him, because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this comparison, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.

So Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, I am the Gate of the sheep. All who came were thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not hear them. I am the Gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved; he will go in and out freely and find food. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life, life in all its fullness.”

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Monday, 27 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 41 : 2-3 and Psalm 42 : 3, 4

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?

Send forth Your light and Your truth; let them be my guide, let them take me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You reside.

Then will I go to the Altar of God, to God, my gladness and delight. I will praise You with the lyre an harp, o God, my God.

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Monday, 27 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 11 : 1-18

News came to the Apostles and the brothers and sisters in Judea that even foreigners had received the Word of God. So, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, these Jewish believers began to argue with him, “You went to the home of uncircumcised people and ate with them!”

So Peter began to give them the facts as they had happened, “I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when, in a trance, I saw a vision. Something like a large sheet came down from the sky and drew near to me, landing on the ground by its four corners. As I stared at it, I saw four-legged creatures of the earth, wild beasts and reptiles, and birds of the sky.”

“Then I heard a voice saying to me : ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ I replied, ‘Certainly not, Lord! No common or unclean creature has ever entered my mouth.’ A second time the voice from the heavens spoke, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all drawn up into the sky. At that moment three men, who had been sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were staying.”

“The Spirit instructed me to go with them without hesitation; so these six brothers came along with me and we entered into the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an Angel standing in his house and telling him : ‘Send someone to Joppa and fetch Simon, also known as Peter. He will bring you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.”

“I had begun to address them when suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as it had come upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said : ‘John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ If, then, God had given them the same gift that He had given us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to resist God?”

When they heard this they set their minds at rest and praised God saying, “Then God has granted life-giving repentance to the pagan nations as well.”

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Sunday, 26 April 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the Fourth Sunday in the season of Easter, the Church celebrates together the occasion known as the Good Shepherd Sunday, or also known as Vocation Sunday, due to the readings today, which highlighted the Lord as our Good Shepherd, and all of us being the sheep of His flock. The Lord is indeed our Good Shepherd, as the One Who has come into our midst, embracing us all with His most generous love and compassion, to gather all of us into His one flock so that none of us will be lost again to damnation because of our many sins and wickedness. As our Good Shepherd, the Lord has always loved each and every one of us, and we are reminded today of this great love that He has always given us, even when we have constantly disobeyed Him and disregarded His love and kindness.

In our first reading this Sunday, all of us heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the works of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord led by St. Peter the Apostle in their first ever evangelising mission as the Church, right on the day of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended down upon the disciples of the Lord gathered in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit strengthened and invigorated the Lord’s disciples, all of whom had been hiding before that in fear of persecution and oppression by the chief priests and all those who opposed the Lord and His teachings. They went forth out from their hiding places and began to proclaim about the Risen Lord, the Crucified Messiah, through Whom everyone had received the sure hope and assurance of eternal life because of everything that He had done, in obeying perfectly the will of His heavenly Father, and in offering Himself as the perfect and worthy offering for the salvation of everyone’s souls.

Those Apostles and disciples of the Lord spoke courageously, without fear and with determination, reaching out to all the people who were then assembled in Jerusalem for the Pentecost, explaining about the Lord and His teachings to them, and thanks to the great courage and the wisdom that the Lord had passed to them, as we heard in our first reading today, a total of three thousand people at least gave themselves to be baptised and henceforth became the earliest members of the Christian Church, together with the Lord’s Apostles and disciples. This was why Pentecost Sunday is also celebrated as the ‘birthday’ of the Church as it was on that day, that the Church began to manifest itself to the whole world, as the tangible Body of Christ, the Communion of all those who believe in God and follow Him wholeheartedly, belonging to this same community, and this same flock that the Lord has assembled.

The Apostles and the other disciples were indeed shepherds, called and chosen, and made to be shepherds in the image of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Himself. They were called to follow in the examples of the Good Shepherd, in caring for the well-being of the Lord’s flock, all of the sheep that has been lost and scattered away from the Shepherd and His flock. Those three thousand who were baptised that day at Pentecost were the lost sheep that had been found, and had been led to return to the one flock of the Lord. This is what we are all reminded of this day, of the Church which we are part of, being the flock of the Lord and all of us His beloved sheep, whom He had called and gathered from among the nations, through His servants, His disciples and their successors, especially all those who have been appointed as shepherds responsible in taking care of the sheep of the Lord’s flock.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the reading which gave this Sunday its name, as the Good Shepherd Sunday. We heard the Lord telling the people about the sheep in a flock and their shepherd. He told them about how the shepherd knew his sheep and vice versa, and the sheep will not respond to a robber or thief. This means that all those who have kept their faith and belonged to the Lord, they will not respond to the falsehoods and the wayward things of this world, and they will only respond to the Lord, their one and only Shepherd. The Lord also told the people and His disciples that He is the Gate of the sheep, and therefore the only way for one to enter into the flock is through Him and not through others. This in fact is a revelation and premonition of what He Himself would do as our Good Shepherd, in enduring the sufferings of the world so that by His suffering and death, He might rescue us from our own destruction.

This is related to another passage regarding the Good Shepherd which the Lord Himself told His disciples, in which He said that ‘The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep’ and this is a reminder that all of us, the sheep of the Lord’s flock, has been gathered by Him from all over the whole world, called by Him and He has willingly embraced us with His great love because all of us are precious to Him, without exception. All of us have been separated from the Lord because of our disobedience which led us into sin, and because of sin, we have been sundered from God and His love and grace. Yet, our Lord, as our Good Shepherd cares for each one of us, and to that extent, He went all the way to look out for us, finding us amongst the dark crannies and nooks of this world, especially those among us who have been ostracised and rejected, cast aside and lost in the darkest corners and parts of the world.

He went forth looking for all of His lost sheep, and went between us and the Enemy, who have waited and was ever ready to strike us down through our sins and wickedness, dragging us with him into the eternal darkness and damnation. Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Good Shepherd therefore suffered for us, just as St. Peter had mentioned in one of his Epistles that we heard as our second reading today. We are reminded of everything that the Lord had experienced and endured because of His love for us and His desire to see us freed and liberated from the bondage and tyranny of sin and death. He took up His Cross, was tortured and endured the worst of humiliations and punishments, all so that we do not have to suffer all those punishments due for our own mistakes and faults, and through His wounds and pain, we have been healed of our own wounds and stripes.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we focus our attention on the Lord, our Good Shepherd this Sunday, on everything that He has done for us, remembering the sacrifice and the hardships that He had gone through in order to reach out to us and find us, His lost sheep, let us all therefore do our part as members of the Christian faithful, the flock of the Lord, first of all to remain truly faithful to our Lord, to His Law and commandments. Though all of us have been saved and brought together by the Lord into His Church, to become part of His flock, but it does not mean that we can be idle and ignorant of our calling as Christians to be missionary and evangelising in our lives, and to always be vigilant and careful in our lives so that we do not end up falling again and again into the path of sin.

That is because although we have indeed become part of the Church and become a member of God’s flock, but as long as we still remain in this world, we are still susceptible to the temptations and pressures to commit sin against God. The devil is still busy trying to lure us away from the Lord, through his various temptations and efforts, through various means such that we end up falling deeper and deeper into the wrong paths. That is why, all of us are reminded to keep our faith in the Lord strongly and resist the many temptations and coercions all around us, trying to lead us astray and pull us away from the salvation in God through His Church, His one flock of the faithful. That is why, as we recall our identity as Christians, each one of us are reminded that we have to do our part in maintaining the unity in the Church, in doing the will of God and in living our lives worthily of the Lord.

Each and every one of us should also help and take part in the works of the Church, and pray for all those whom God had called to be shepherds like Him, those whom He has entrusted with the daily care of His flock, namely our priests, bishops and all others who have been entrusted with the role of shepherds in our community. That is why this Sunday is also known as the Vocation Sunday, in reminding us in particular of those who have been called especially to the vocation of priesthood and dedicated themselves fully to the Lord, to the care of the Church and the Lord’s flock. Being a priest requires not just a lot of dedication and efforts, but also a great perseverance and courage, and the constant ability to resist the many temptations and things that are always threatening to pull them away from their path.

The devil, our great Enemy and all those who seek our destruction know this all too well, and that is why, the harder they have tried, are trying and will try to destroy our shepherds. That is because if they strike at the shepherd, and manage to destroy the shepherd, the sheep may end up getting scattered and lost, and it is then easier for the enemies of the faithful to strike at them and leading us into our downfall with them. On the other hand, if we remain strong in our solidarity and support for our priests and all the shepherds that the Lord had given us, then as one strong and committed body of disciples and followers of the Lord, there will barely be any means or avenue for those wicked ones to come and strike at us. Our Pope, bishops and priests all need our support and prayers, as their roles as our shepherds and guides are truly a very challenging one.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, first of all we pray for more vocations among us all for those who are called to the priesthood, that those who have been called may grow more discerning to consider and discern carefully the Lord’s calling for them. However, not only that, we also pray for those whose family members and relatives have been called as well, as it is often that the biggest obstacles to the vocation of priesthood and also consecrated life, is the opposition from our family members and those who are close to us. Let us all pray that each one of us can understand better what it means for each and every one of us to have our own vocations in life, and that some among us can indeed be called to serve the Lord in the way of being priests and religious, dedicating their lives wholly to the Lord and to the service of the people of God.

But let us also not forget that each and every one of us amongst the laity, all of us also have our own responsibilities and obligations as members of the Church, and it does not mean that the laity is any less important than the members of the clergy. Each and every parts of the Church are important as without the laity or those in the presbyterate, the works of the Church cannot be fully completed and carried out. All of us have our own calling and vocation in life, and that is why, although we focus our attention and prayer to support our priests and those who have dedicated their lives to the Lord, at the same time we cannot ignore or put aside the role that the laity has in the works and mission of the Church. This Vocation Sunday is a reminder for all of us to embrace our various respective vocations and mission in life, not restricted only to those defined by the Church in doing what the Lord has uniquely called on us to do with the gifts and blessings that He has granted us.

May the Risen Lord, Our Good Shepherd and guide, continue to be with us and guide us all, strengthen and encourage us with the power and strength needed for us to endure through the challenges and trials that we may have to face amidst our lives as Christians in this world today. Let us all be good role models for one another, and be good sources of inspiration that through our role model and examples, many more people may come to believe in the Lord through us. Let us all do our part, in our respective vocations and callings in life, to glorify the Lord by our lives, in each and every one of our works and dealings. Amen.

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Sunday, 26 April 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 1-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But the shepherd of the sheep enters by the gate. The keeper opens the gate to him and the sheep hear his voice; he calls each of his sheep by name and leads them out.”

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but rather they will run away from him, because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this comparison, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.

So Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, I am the Gate of the sheep. All who came were thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not hear them. I am the Gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved; he will go in and out freely and find food. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life, life in all its fullness.”