Day: October 27, 2026

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Saturday, 31 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to put the Lord our God at the centre and as the focus of our lives and existences. Each and every one of us are reminded that pride and ego will lead us nowhere, and we may end up falling into the wrong paths that lead us to damnation and eternity of suffering. The Lord wants us to always be vigilant against the temptations of pride and worldly desires, which can be a great bane and obstacle for us in our path towards Him and His grace and salvation. We have to be careful and not be dragged into all these temptations that can bring us into the path towards destruction.

In our first reading today we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Philippi regarding his experiences in ministering to the people of God and to many others as he carried out his mission and calling as an Apostle, in proclaiming the Word of God and His truth, and in all the good things and the challenges that he had to encounter as a disciple of the Lord. He encountered many opposition and hardships, and he had to even risk death and martyrdom in quite a few of those occasions, which we can read up more in the Acts of the Apostles. Yet, the Lord remained with St. Paul and protected him, and called him to do more of His missions and will.

The Apostle related to the faithful in Philippi how he truly desired to be with God, and to be with Him, free from the hardships and struggles that he had to endure as he stood up for his faith in Him, and free from the persecutions and all that he had to face, as a disciple of the Lord and as His champion and defender. Yet, he chose to continue to labour faithfully in this world, even knowing that he had to endure even more hardships and sufferings, all because he cared for the needs of those who were still separated from the love of God, and all those who have not yet known Him. He laboured hard and went on forward always, because he wanted that through his works, he might bring the Lord closer to many of them.

Compare this to the attitude of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law that the Lord Jesus mentioned in our Gospel passage today. In that occasion, the Lord highlighted how those people often sought the most prestigious and important places at events and banquets, just as they were highly respected and esteemed in the community. They sought for glory and fame, for status and acceptance by the world, and they vied for that influence and greatness, and perhaps not realising that they had gradually been tempted and led astray by those pride and arrogance that had blinded them and kept them away from seeing the truth and love of God.

That was why many among them were often stubborn in their refusal to believe in God, and in their many efforts to undermine the good works of the Lord Jesus and His disciples. St. Paul himself was once a young Pharisee, who was deluded and misguided in his ways, and was overwhelmed with that misdirected zeal and anger towards the followers of the Lord. He eventually came to see the errors of his ways after the Lord called him and revealed to him the truth. He was humbled and brought low, and through his blindness upon the encounter he had with the Lord on the road to Damascus, St. Paul, who was then known as Saul, received a new life and vision through the Lord’s love, mercy and forgiveness.

St. Paul through his dedication, life and work, carried out his mission dutifully and humbly, proclaiming the word of God’s truth, love and salvation to more and more people, in all of his missionary journeys and works. And his examples, along with that of the other Apostles and the many other saints and all the holy men and women of God, all of whom had lived their lives worthily of the Lord, should become our sources of strength and inspiration that we too may follow the Lord in the same manner as they had lived their lives and followed Him in all of their efforts and works. Each and every one of us should be inspired to follow their examples and practice them in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect upon these words of the Scriptures, let us all open our hearts and minds to welcome the Lord, His wisdom and truth into our hearts, and let us all allow Him to mould us into whatever tools and means by which He may exercise His will and judgment, His works and efforts in our world today. Let us all allow the Lord to guide us in our path and in our journey so that we may ever be inspired to commit our whole lives to His service, and to do whatever it is that is worthy of Him and the glory of His Name. We should do our best, in our respective areas and in whatever opportunities and abilities that God had blessed and endowed us with.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us always, and may He give us the courage and the perseverance necessary to resist the trials and challenges of this world, the opposition and oppressions that may come our way in our journey of faith. And may He also give us the gift of true humility, that we may grow ever lesser in our pride and ego, and die to them, so that as we grow ever greater in faith, so does our love for God and our desire to glorify Him, and not ourselves. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 31 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Luke 14 : 1, 7-11

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched.

Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for He had noticed how they tried to take the places of honour. And He said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you had been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!”

“Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honour for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

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Saturday, 31 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 41 : 2, 3, 5bcde

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?

I remember all this – how I used to lead the faithful in procession to the house of God, amid shouts of joy and thanksgiving, among the feasting throng.

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Saturday, 31 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Philippians 1 : 18b-26

Christ is proclaimed and because of this I rejoice and have no regrets. I know that all this will be a grace for me because of your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Christ. I am hopeful, even certain, that I shall not be ashamed. I feel as assured now, as before, that Christ will be exalted through my person, whether I live or die.

For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to enjoy fruitful labour. Which shall I choose? So I feel torn between the two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in this life. And because I am convinced of this, I know that I will stay and remain with you for your progress and happiness in the faith.

I will surely come to you again, and give you more reason for being proud of belonging to Christ Jesus.

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Friday, 30 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard the words of the Lord in the Scriptures today, we are reminded that the Law of God is a guide to help us find our way to the Lord, and is in itself a reminder of God’s ever generous love for each and every one of us. God has loved us all and cared for us, and through His love He gave us the Law to guide us, His people that we may find our way to Him. God’s Law is not meant to be used to cause sufferings and difficulties for some and at the same time benefitting others. Neither is the Law meant to make it difficult for the people to be faithful to God. And this is why, the Lord Jesus often came head-to-head against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who enforced a particularly strict and rigid interpretation of the Law on the faithful.

In its long development and use, the Law of God as revealed through Moses had been interpreted, reinterpreted and modified, to suit the purposes and circumstances of the contemporary time. And as these laws were passed down from generations to generations, they came to forget why those laws were enforced and used in the first place. They failed to appreciate the context in which God placed those laws in the very beginning. God gave His Law at the time when the Israelites and their stubbornness, their constant bickering and complaining, and lack of faith were threatening to lead many, even the whole nation away from God and into the path of rebellion and sin. Had they been allowed to walk down that path, they would have perished and been condemned by those sins they had committed. God’s love for each and every one of His people did not allow Him to let this happen just like that.

That is why, the Law as He described to Moses, and written in the Torah was in fact measures to keep the people in check and to discipline them, to help them to keep themselves in track and not lose their way. And all of these were done with the ultimate goal of reconciling God and His people, to recall all of the people of God back to His loving embrace. As we can see, it was the love of God behind everything, and love is the reason for the Law. But over time, the Law’s intention and use have been twisted and misunderstood, as showed by how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law imposing the harsh laws to glorify themselves as those who obeyed those regulations and rules, while excluding, ostracising and being prejudiced against those whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy of God than themselves, for people like tax collectors and prostitutes, those who were infirm and afflicted with diseases.

They portrayed the image of a fearsome, angry and wrathful God Who was always ready to punish His people for any wrongdoings, and that the grace of God was reserved only for those like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. And therefore, the Lord’s different approach, set to remind all of the people of the true intention and purpose of the Law, led to great frictions between the Lord and all those who refused to listen to the truth. The Lord sternly told those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law that their stubbornness and refusal to accept the truth of God that He Himself had brought before them were indeed horrible. He presented before them that the Lord would want to heal the sick, and those who needed His help, even on the Sabbath itself. For many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, interpreting the Law strictly to the letter out of context, they would rather leave the suffering to suffer and perish rather than to reach out and help.

This is what all of us must not behave like, brothers and sisters in Christ. We must not allow such legalistic thoughts and elitist behaviour to influence or dominate us. Instead, through what St. Paul told to the people in Philippi in our first reading today, all of us ought to live in the love of God, and share that love with one another. God’s love is equally shared with all, even with the most wicked ones, and so long as they are willing to repent and turn away from their sins, they will be forgiven all the same. That is just how generous the Lord is with His mercy and kindness, with all of His love and compassion, that no matter how great our trespasses might have been, the Lord will always be ready to welcome us back to His loving embrace and Presence.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians are called to reflect on this to see how we can live our lives in a more Christ-like manner, to be true Christians in how we live, and in how we interact with one another. Indeed, all of us are called to love in the same way as just how God has loved us. But many of us had not been able to do so. And we must then remember that the Law of God, especially His Ten important Commandments, is all about love, loving God first and foremost, and loving our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way. It is ultimately what the Lord has meant His Law to be, to guide all of His beloved people in the manner of how they ought to learn to love Him the way He has loved them.

Are we able and willing to do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to show care, love and compassion on our fellow brethren, especially those who need our love and care? Let us all discern carefully what we can do as Christians, to dedicate ourselves and our efforts for the benefit of our brothers and sisters. When there is a need for love, let us show it to them and do what we can to bring God’s love to those who need it the most. It is our Christian duty and obligation to show the genuine love of God to all those who are around us, those whom we love and all those who need our love, those whom God has placed in our paths and respective journeys so that we may truly share the genuine love of God among us just as the overflowing love of God has been shown in the Most Holy Trinity.

May the Lord bless us all and may He strengthen us all with the resolve to show care and concern for our fellow brethren, at all times, to love God with all of our hearts and to be faithful always. May each and every one of us continue to live earnestly and genuinely in faith, in all the actions that we carry out, even in the smallest things we do, in all of the interactions that we do to everyone around us. May the love of God continue to illuminate our paths and inspire us all to do our best for His greater glory. Amen.

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Friday, 30 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 1-6

At that time, on one Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched.

In front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy; so Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

But no one answered. Jesus then took the man, healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, “If your lamb or your ox falls into a well on a Sabbath day, who among you does not hurry to pull it out?” And they could not answer.

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Friday, 30 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! I thank YHVH with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of YHVH are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are His deeds, His righteousness endures forever. He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; YHVH is merciful and kind.

Always mindful of His Covenant, He provides food for those who fear Him. He shows His people the power of His arm by giving them the lands of other nations.

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Friday, 30 October 2026 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Philippians 1 : 1-11

From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to the saints in Philippi, with their bishops and deacons; to you all in Christ Jesus : May grace and peace be yours from God, our Father, and Christ Jesus the Lord.

I give thanks to my God, each time I remember you, and when I pray for you, I pray with joy. I cannot forget all you shared with me in the service of the Gospel, from the first day, until now. Since God began such a good work, in you, I am certain, that He will complete it in the day of Christ Jesus.

This is my hope for you, for I carry you all, in my heart : whether I am in prison, or defending and confirming the Gospel, you are with me and share the same grace. God knows, that I love you dearly, with the love of Christ Jesus, and in my prayers, I ask that your love may lead you, each day, to a deeper knowledge and clearer discernment, that you may have good criteria for everything.

So you may be pure of heart, and come, blameless, to the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of holiness, that comes through Christ Jesus, for the glory and praise of God.