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Monday, 22 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today through the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy people, all of us are called to follow the Lord in everything that He had told us to do, in everything that He has taught and shown us to do in our lives, in following His Law and commandments among other things that He has revealed to us. All of us should be truly genuine in our faith and trust in the Lord, and not be merely outwardly faithful and yet inside us, we are filled with all sorts of wickedness and evils in us, in our actions, words and deeds, all of which are contrary to what we believe in. Such a faith and way of living our lives are no better than that of hypocrites that the Lord Himself often condemned.

In our first reading, taken from the second Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, we heard of the story of the occasion when the King of Assyria gathered his armies and invaded the land of Israel, the northern kingdom of the once united kingdom ruling over the people of God. For the context, by that time, those living in the northern realm known as Israel had been committing a lot of heinous and wicked acts, in disobeying the Lord and His Law, His prophets and commandments, refusing to believe in them despite the signs, warnings and wonders that they themselves had repeatedly seen through those prophets and messengers of God. The Lord had always been so patient in guiding His people, His beloved ones and flock on their way back to Him, and even though they had been so stubborn, He still sent them help, guidance and prophets to guide them.

But God’s love and compassion, His mercy and kindness also ought to be embraced by those same people, and at the same time, they also still had to account for the actions that they had done, in their disobedience and sins which have caused them to wander ever further away from the path that God had called them to walk through. They indulged in themselves and in the worldly temptations, glory and ambitions, which was why they had to account for all these with the destruction and downfall of their kingdom. The Assyrians defeated and crushed them, conquered their capital Samaria and razed it to the ground, bringing quite a number of the people into distant exile in the lands of Assyria and beyond. All these were presented as the just consequences of the stubborn attitudes of those who have rejected God’s patient love and kindness.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and those who were there listening to Him on what being a hypocrite was all about, referring no less to those people who had frequently and consistently been criticising and blocking His works, such as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin among others, who often liked to criticise everyone but themselves, thinking that they were better and superior than everyone else, especially those whom they were prejudiced against. This was why the Lord used the parable of the splinter to highlight this foolish attitude, all of which had hardened their hearts and prevented them from truly believing in all that God had brought unto them through His Son.

Essentially, by pointing out figuratively that those religious and societal elites of the community had focused so much on the splinter in the eyes of others, that they failed to notice the planks in their own eyes, an attitude which led to them acting in ways that were full of pride and hubris, forgetting the very essence of their role within the community of God’s people. They were supposed to be the ones guiding the people of God towards Him, by showing good examples and being good role models, and yet, they closed the doors of salvation and made it difficult for many others to come towards God by their judgmental and biased attitudes, their preference to criticise others first while not realising their own faults and mistakes. This is something that we ourselves need to be wary and vigilant of, brothers and sisters in Christ. those people 

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of not just one but three great saints, holy men of God who had dedicated their lives and actions to the Lord, giving themselves thoroughly to Him and committing themselves to His cause. All the three of them are truly exemplary in their actions and works, leading a life truly worthy of the Lord, and when they were faced with hardships and tribulations, persecutions and trials, all those things did not dissuade them or prevent them from continuing to live their lives with the same kind of faith and commitment. On the contrary, they kept on going and dedicated themselves even more to the Lord and His cause, and did not mind the sufferings and persecutions that they had to face, with two of these three saints suffering martyrdom for the sake of the Lord and His Church, standing firm in their faith to the end.

This day we celebrate the feast of St. Paulinus of Nola, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, with the first one being a Roman era saint and bishop, renowned for his faith in God and generosity, commitment and dedication to his flock and to all those who have encountered him, while the other two, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher were the most prominent among the many martyrs of the so-called English reformation, in their staunch opposition of the English King’s efforts to break free from the authority of the Pope and the Universal Church, defying even their own liege and king in doing so, in order to stand by their faith and to uphold what they truly and sincerely believed, against the wrong ideas and ways that the king wanted to impose on the faithful people of God, in breaking the unity of the Church.

First of all, St. Paulinus of Nola was born into a prominent Roman family in what is today part of southern France, and became a Roman aristocrat and statesman, becoming ultimately the governor of Campania, prior to his conversion to the Christian faith. Eventually, he embraced the Lord and the Christian faith, and abandoning his worldly posts, he became the Bishop of Nola, for which he was greatly remembered, in his renunciation of the world and all of its excesses, and in his embracing a holy and ascetic way of life, dedicating himself wholly to God. St. Paulinus of Nola was also remembered for his many correspondences with the other early Church fathers, as well as in his many efforts to build and strengthen the Church in his diocese of Nola and beyond. Through his piety, humility and dedication to God, St. Paulinus of Nola is truly a great example for all of us.

Meanwhile, St. Thomas More was a prominent statesman and also the Lord High Chancellor of England under King Henry VIII. St. John Fisher was the Bishop of Rochester and one influential Church leaders during the reign of the same king. King Henry VIII was infamous in his efforts to beget a male heir to the throne, in his six marriages to six women, and eventually in his futile attempts in doing so, with the male heir that he begotten, passed away in early youth not long after that boy ascended the throne. However, very unfortunately, in his desperate measures, King Henry VIII chose to disobey the Lord and His Church, by divorcing his own wife, who had begotten for him a daughter, and chose to marry another woman, in contravention of the divine and the Church law, hence, triggering the breakaway of the Church in England, resulting in the English reformation.

Amidst such a state, as King Henry VIII demanded that all the people converted to his new establishment and church leadership, while many did so out of opportunism and fear of the king, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher were notable as the highly ranked members of the king’s influential advisors who refused to obey the king’s commands, and in the case of St. Thomas More, he chose to oppose the king’s decision in breaking away from the Universal Church and the decision to divorce his wife, and preferred to remain faithful to the Lord despite the persuasions and coercions for him to follow the king’s orders. St. Thomas More faced suffering and persecution, and eventually together with St. John Fisher, who was a courageous Church leader made a Cardinal for his dedication by the Pope, were martyred for their great and committed faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow the examples of these holy and faithful predecessors of ours, be inspired by their examples and great works, and walk in the path of the Lord ever more faithfully from now on. We are all called to be true disciples of the Lord, in being truly loving towards God and one another, and not be prejudiced or judgmental, and in not disobeying His Law and commandments, as we have heard from our Scripture passages earlier on. Let us all be good examples and role models of our faith, in our every works and endeavours, in our every words, actions and deeds. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide and strengthen us all to be His faithful disciples, ever focused on Him and His teachings and truth, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 22 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 7 : 1-5

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not judge; and you will not be judged. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged; and the measure you use for others will be used for you.”

“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, and not see the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Come, let me take the speck from your eye,’ as long as the plank is in your own?”

“Hypocrite, remove the plank out of your own eye; then, you will see clearly, to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

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Monday, 22 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 59 : 3, 4-5, 12-13

O God, You have rejected us and have broken our defences; You have been angry; but now turn back to us.

You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its cracks, for it totters. You have made Your people suffer; You have given us wine that makes us stagger.

Have You not rejected us, o God? You no longer go with our armies. Give us aid against the foe, for human help is not worth a straw.

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Monday, 22 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

2 Kings 17 : 5-8, 13-15a, 18

The army of the king of Asshur subjected the whole of Israel, coming to Samaria and laying siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, exiled the Israelites to Asshur and made them settle in Halah, at the banks of Habor, the river of Gozan, as well as in the cities of the Medes.

This happened because the children of Israel had sinned against YHVH, their God, Who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, where they were subject to Pharaoh. But they had turned back to other gods. They followed the customs of the nations which YHVH had driven out before them.

YHVH warned Israel and Judah through the mouth of every prophet and seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and precepts according to the laws which I commanded your fathers and which I have sent to you by My servants, the prophets.” But they did not listen and refused, as did their fathers, who did not believe in YHVH, their God. They despised His statutes and the Covenant He had made with their fathers.

So YHVH became indignant with Israel and cast them far away from His presence, leaving only the tribe of Judah.

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Sunday, 21 June 2026 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we gathered together and listened to the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded that we have to remain firmly rooted in our faith in God, so that each one of us will not easily fall to the temptations present all around us, which can lead us astray in our path, and bring us down the path of ruin and sin. All of us as Christians are God’s beloved sons and daughters, His own beloved ones, whom He truly cares about, and we should have no need to be afraid or to fear that we will have nothing as the Lord will always guide us and He will always be by our side, helping us and empowering us. The Lord wants us all to always be faithful to Him, and be vigilant lest we may be tempted and swayed to the path of sin and evil.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, in which the prophet Jeremiah spoke of the predicaments and struggles that he was facing in the midst of his ministry, in all the opposition and the hardships that he had to endure. Jeremiah had been sent to the people of God, the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, at a time of great turmoil and misfortune, during the last days of Judah, when they were facing a lot of struggles and attacks from their enemies. All these came about ultimately because of their own sins and wickedness, in how they had refused to obey the Lord and His Law, in their waywardness and unfaithful way of life. They had spurnt the Lord and His commandments, persecuted and even killed His prophets and messengers.

The prophet Jeremiah endured many of the same hardships, persecuted and oppressed for speaking the truth, as he revealed the Lord’s intentions to His people, telling them all of the upcoming disasters and destruction that would happen because of their continued and stubborn refusal to believe in God and in obeying His ways. He was persecuted by the powerful members of the aristocracy and the influential ones, who colluded with the false prophets that spoke lies and falsehoods, in saying that God would bless and reward the king and the people of Judah, not speaking what the Lord truly has delivered to them through Jeremiah. Jeremiah dared to go against the majority and all those false prophets and all the powerful nobles, and almost lost his life in the process. Yet, he remained firm in his faith and commitment, and did not let all those things to dissuade him from his mission.

Jeremiah said that it was because God was with him, a mighty Warrior, standing by his side. It means that no matter what hardships that he would have to go through and endure, the Lord would always support him and be with him, even in the darkest and most difficult moments. Jeremiah reminded us all therefore that we are never alone in our sufferings, and we will always have God by our side, journeying with us and fighting with us, and He will lead us all to the ultimate triumph with Him while those who rejected Him and refused to obey Him, will eventually meet their defeat and downfall. Those who hold strongly to their faith in God will be raised and glorified, like Jeremiah and many other prophets who had suffered and been persecuted for their faith, and now glorified as great servants of God.

In our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, we heard St. Paul the Apostle speaking to the Church and the faithful in Rome regarding the matter how the Lord has brought mankind, all of His beloved people out of the darkness of sin and death, by the sending of His own most beloved Son, by His grace, made through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, through Whom, the salvation of God has entered into this world. Through Christ, all of us have been shown the path out of the darkness and into the light of God. All of us have been led out of the darkness due to our own disobedience and wickedness, in our refusal to obey God’s will, His Law and commandments, by the perfect obedience shown by Jesus Christ Himself, which just like Jeremiah and the other prophets and servants of God of old, dedicated Himself thoroughly to the mission that God, His heavenly Father had entrusted to Him.

And this mission is for Him to bear all the burdens and sufferings, all the punishments and the hardships due to us because of our sins and wickedness. He bore His Cross, full of the punishments and consequences due for our sins because He truly loves each and every one of us, and He made Himself into the most worthy offering, because He truly cared for us, and wanted us all to be reconciled with Him, forgiven and cleansed from our many sins, so that through Him, all of us will not perish and be damned into the eternity in hell, but instead, be affirmed and assured of the path of salvation and eternal life. Christ has done all of these because He did not want to be separated from us, and each one of us are truly precious and important to Him.

In our Gospel passage today, that is what the Lord Jesus Himself reiterated to His disciples and therefore to all of us, stating clearly that each one of us are truly precious and beloved by God, and God knows everything in our hearts, our minds and our whole lives. If we worry about following God and do things that are against His path simply because we want to preserve ourselves and avoid hardships and difficulties in life, then we have to know that the consequences for us will not be a nice one. Many of our predecessors themselves were faced with these difficult choices, on whether they ought to remain faithful to God, or to continue to practice their faith with sincerity and commitment, or whether they ought to give in to the many pressures, temptations, coercions and other things that forced, encouraged and coerced them to abandon their faith in God in exchange for worldly satisfaction and acceptance.

What about us then, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we going to surrender our faith in God simply because we do not want to be inconvenienced and to suffer hardships because of our faith in Him? Are we going to abandon the Lord simply because what we believe in supposedly are no longer in tandem with what the world today prefers to believe, or because our faith in the Lord is no longer fashionable and cool for us to keep faithfully in our lives? Are we also going to continue to be lukewarm in our faith and to be ignorant of our calling in life to be faithful and committed Christians, to be filled with true and genuine faith at all times, and not merely just paying lip service or fulfil external obligations of our faith, but inside we do not have true love for the Lord and faith in Him?

Let us ask ourselves these questions and discern carefully if we have truly devoted ourselves to the Lord in the manner that we should do as Christians, or whether we have chosen to conform to the ways of the world. Let us discern our path forward in life and ask ourselves if we have placed the Lord at the centre and as the focus of our lives and existences. If we have lacked faith and trust in the Lord, then this is the time for us to remember the guidance, help and strength that God had lent and given to all of His servants and faithful ones, and in everything He had done for us, in not sparing for us even His own most beloved Son, not just to dwell among us, but even to suffer for us on our behalf, bearing the burdens and punishments due for our sins and wickedness, and offering Himself as the perfect and most worthy sacrifice, so that through Him all of us may be saved and have eternal life.

Let us then turn over a new leaf in our lives, and abandon our past lives of sin and evil, and return to the Lord with contrite and broken hearts, asking Him to heal us from our many sins, from our brokenness, our disobedience and rebellions. Let us all be exemplary in our lives from now on, no longer being bound by sin and evil in our path, and walking once again in the path that God has shown and taught us to go through, so that we will get ever closer to Him and find our way to His salvation and eternal life. May the Lord continue to guide each one of us and empower us in our lives so that we may be ever more worthy of Him, in all the things we say and do, in our every interactions and actions throughout our lives, becoming great role models and inspirations for one another, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 21 June 2026 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 10 : 26-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops.”

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of Him Who can destroy both body and soul in hell. For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid : you are worthy more than many sparrows!”

“Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven. Whoever rejects Me before others, I will reject before My Father in heaven.”

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Sunday, 21 June 2026 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 5 : 12-15

Therefore, sin entered the world through one man; and through sin, death; and later on, death spread to all humankind, because all sinned. As long as there was no law, they could not speak of disobedience, but sin was already in the world. This is why, from Adam to Moses, death reigned among them, although their sin was not disobedience, as in Adam’s case – this was not the true Adam, but foretold the Other, Who was to come.

Such has been the fall, but God’s gift goes far beyond. All died, because of the fault of one man, but how much more does the grace of God spread, when the gift He granted, reaches all, from this unique Man, Jesus Christ.

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Sunday, 21 June 2026 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 68 : 8-10, 14 and 17, 33-35

Since I am held in contempt for Your sake, and shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s sons. Zeal for Your house consumes me, as fire, and those who insult You, insult me as well.

But I pray to You, o YHVH. At a time most favourable to You, in Your great love, o God, answer me, with Your unfailing help. In Your mercy, o YHVH, give me a good answer; in Your great compassion, turn to me.

Let the lowly witness this, and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For YHVH hears the needy; and does not despise those in captivity. Let the heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and whatever moves in them.

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Sunday, 21 June 2026 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jeremiah 20 : 10-13

I hear many people whispering, “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Yes, denounce him!” All my friends watch me to see if I will slip : “Perhaps he can be deceived,” they say; “then we can get the better of him and have our revenge.”

But YHVH, a mighty Warrior, is with me. My persecutors will stumble and not prevail; that failure will be their shame and their disgrace will never be forgotten. YHVH, God of Hosts, You test the just and probe the heart and mind. Let me see Your revenge on them, for to You I have entrusted my cause.

Sing to YHVH! Praise YHVH and say : He has rescued the poor from the clutches of the wicked!

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(Usus Antiquior) Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 21 June 2026 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : Green

Offertory

Psalm 12 : 4-5

Illumina oculos meos, ne umquam obdormiam in morte : ne quando dicat inimicus meus : Praevalui adversus eum.

English translation

Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Oblationibus nostris, quaesumus, Domine, placare susceptis : et ad Te nostras etiam rebelles compelle propitius voluntates. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Receiving our oblations, be appeased, we pray to You, o Lord, and in Your kindness constrain our wills toward You, even when resisting. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

Communion

Psalm 17 : 3

Dominus firmamentum meum, et refugium meum, et liberator meus : Deus meus, adjutor meus.

English translation

The Lord is my firmament, and my refuge, and my deliverer, my God is my helper.

Post-Communion Prayer

Mysteria nos, Domine, quaesumus, sumpta purificent : et suo munere tueantur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May the mysteries we have received purify us, we beseech You, o Lord, and by their virtue protect us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.