Martyrs

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Tuesday, 3 February 2026 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard today from the readings and passages of the Sacred Scriptures of the great love that a parent has for the child he has, and also how God has shown us all His great love and kindness, in extending His ever generous love and compassion to all of us His children and beloved ones. We are reminded that we should appreciate this unconditional and generous love we have, which King David has shown in his love for his son Absalom, despite the latter having rebelled against him and wanting to overthrow him, amongst other vile things this wayward son had done to his father. That is why as Christians, all of us are called to show love in the same way too, to our brothers and sisters all around us, especially to all those who are truly beloved and dear to us.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story of the conclusion of the rebellion of Absalom, the eldest son of King David. For the context, Absalom rose up against David after having plotted with some other figures in David’s court and rebelled against his own father by courting support from the people throughout the kingdom, convincing them that he would make a better king than that of his father. Such was the support for Absalom that according to the earlier part of the accounts in the Bible, David and his loyal supporters had to leave the capital, Jerusalem in haste, leaving some of the concubines and other followers of David behind in the city. In spite of his father, Absalom even slept with some of the royal women and concubines, and these showed just how many wicked things this ungrateful son did to his father.

Yet, as we heard in today’s first reading passage, when the final battle between David’s forces and the rebellious forces led by Absalom took place, and Absalom was killed when he was cornered by the guards of David, despite the specific orders from David that his son was not to be harmed. Joab, David’s commander of the guard and his close confidant who had often acted independently on his own whim was the one who killed Absalom against the express orders from his king, likely because he knew that David would forgive Absalom and that would lead to more troubles in the future, but Joab was thinking in practical and worldly terms, and not in the manner of what someone faithful to the Lord should have done in killing a helpless man, no matter what faults the man had done.

When the news of Absalom’s death was relayed to David, we heard the great grief that David had for his dead son, no matter what the latter had done to his own father. And in this we can see the essence of true, unconditional, generous and most beautiful Christian love that all of us are called to have and to commit in our own lives, following the example of God Himself and that of King David. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because similar to how David had loved his son Absalom despite the disobedience, hurt and disappointments that the latter had caused, in the same way therefore God has loved us all unconditionally and most generously, extending His love, compassion and mercy towards us all ever patiently and lovingly despite our sins and rebelliousness, our disobedience and refusal to follow Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the two miracles which the Lord performed as He was asked by Jairus, a synagogue official to heal his sick daughter. And we can already see how Jairus really loved his daughter that he made all the trouble to go and find the Lord, asking Him to heal her from her illness. In this account of the miracles that the Lord performed in our Gospel passage today, we also heard then of the great love and compassion that God has for all those seeking His mercy and healing, as He showed His kindness and love to the woman suffering from haemorrhage and in raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead.

Through the miracles that He Himself had performed, the Lord wanted to show each and every one of us that we are all truly dear and beloved to Him, and if we put our faith and trust in Him, there is nothing that is impossible for Him, and not even death can overcome Him, for He Himself is the Lord and Master over life and death. He wants to show us all how we should love in the manner that He has done, ever more generously and sincerely, in loving Him first and foremost, and then to do the same towards everyone around us, particularly all those whom He has entrusted to us to love. That is why we are reminded today of this important mission we have in life as we heard of today’s Scripture readings.

Today, all of us should also be inspired by the examples of St. Blaise and St. Ansgar, two great saints whose feasts we celebrate this day. St. Blaise and St. Ansgar were both faithful and courageous servants of the Lord, who dedicated their lives to their respective ministries and also led holy and devout lives, as good role models and inspirations for many of us Christians across the ages. St. Blaise was a Roman bishop and martyr, who was also a renowned physician, while St. Ansgar was a Frankish and German bishop well-known for his evangelising missions and efforts to reach out to the pagans and unbelievers in the distant parts of northern Europe, and through whose works many became believers in Christ.

St. Blaise was renowned for his great compassion and kindness, as a physician who was able to heal many of their physical ailments, and also were sought by many for their spiritual and mental ailments. He cared for many of them, and healed all of them by the grace of God, some even miraculously. It was told by tradition that he even healed animals as well, and those same animals came to him just like the many other sick men and women, seeking for healing and recovery. He also cared for the spiritual needs of his flock as their bishop, and helped many to find their way to the Lord. Afterwards, Christians were persecuted intensely by the Roman Emperor Licinius, in one of the last persecutions of the Roman Empire period. Many Christians including that of St. Blaise himself were arrested, tortured and martyred. St. Blaise himself was arrested, scourged and beheaded for his faith.

Meanwhile, St. Ansgar was renowned as mentioned earlier, in his missionary efforts and works, traversing many areas beyond the traditional boundaries of Christendom back then, preaching about the Lord among many of those who have not yet known or heard of Him, and as the Archbishop of Hamburg and Bremen in what is now Northern Germany, St. Ansgar dedicated much of his time establishing the Church and its institutions, and expanding the Church’s reach among the people. Many more people came to believe in the Lord through him and through all those whom he has gathered to the same mission of the Church. His dedication, hard work and love for his flock, and for all the people of God, just as what St. Blaise has shown in his faith and life, should indeed be inspiration to all of us as Christians, in how we ought to live our lives faithfully.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the examples of the great saints, St. Blaise and St. Ansgar, in their dedication and love for God and in their love for their fellow brethren. Let us all as Christians be truly genuine in our way of loving for everyone around us so that by our love and exemplary lives filled with true and genuine faith in God, we will touch and inspire the lives of so many others all around us. May the Lord be with us always and may He continue to bless and guide us in everything that we do, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 February 2026 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

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

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake; and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet; and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing around Him. Among the crowd was a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors and had spent everything she had, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.”

Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint. But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around You. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward, trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Tuesday, 3 February 2026 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Psalm)

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

Psalm 85 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Listen, o YHVH, and answer me, for I am afflicted and needy. Preserve my life, for I am God-fearing; save Your servant who trusts in You.

Have mercy on me, o YHVH, for I cry to You all day. Bring joy to the soul of Your servant; for You, o YHVH, I lift up my soul.

You are good and forgiving, o YHVH, caring for those who call on You. Listen, o YHVH, to my prayer, hear the voice of my pleading.

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Tuesday, 3 February 2026 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (First Reading)

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

2 Samuel 18 : 9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 31 – 2 Samuel 19 : 3

Absalom was riding a mule and happened to meet the guards of David. As the mule passed under the thick branches of a big oak tree, his head was caught in the oak tree and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule has was riding went its way. Someone reported to Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging from an oak tree.”

So Joab took three spears in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the oak tree. David was sitting between the two gates. The watchman posted at the roof of the gate, on the wall, saw a man running alone. So he called out and reported to the king who said, “Move away and stand here.” He moved aside and stayed there.

The Cushite arrived and said, “Good news for my lord the king! YHVH has done you justice today and saved you from all those who rebelled against you.” The king asked the Cushite, “How is the young Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you end up like that young man.”

The king was greatly disturbed and, going up to the room over the gate, he wept and said, “O, my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, o Absalom, my son, my son!”

It was reported to Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” So the victory that day turned into mourning for all the people, when they heard that the king was grieving over his son.

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Thursday, 22 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all heard from our Scripture readings today, we are reminded of the danger of worldly temptations of pride, ego and ambition, as well as others, and how we should instead seek to put our trust and faith in the Lord at all times, and we should always focus our attention and lives on God, not on the ambitions we have, the greed and desires which caused us all to do things that are contrary to what God wants us to do in our lives. We should always live our lives with the courage and sincerity of faith, doing whatever we can to live virtuous lives that become great inspiration and hope for others around us, in helping more and more people to come to know the Lord and to desire to seek Him as well.

In our first reading today, we heard from the continuation of the tale of the story between King Saul and his future successor, David, from the Book of the prophet Samuel. In that story we heard how Saul become very jealous at the actions and exploits of David, who was then in the employ of Saul as his servant. David was guided by God and was blessed in his actions, winning many battles for the sake of Saul and the Israelites, and the people praised him even more wonderfully than they praised Saul. And therefore, Saul allowed his ego, pride and all the fear and jealousy to affect him, making him to fear that David would eventually take the kingdom away from him and his descendants. That was why Saul ended up plotting to end David and to destroy him.

This was then when we heard how one of the sons of Saul, possibly even his successor, Jonathan, who happened to be David’s best friend, and even partner according to the Biblical evidences, as both of them were mentioned to have made a Covenant with each other, tried to protect David from harm and the plots of his father, knowing that Saul was trying to kill David. Jonathan pleaded with his father Saul and begged him to reconsider his choice of actions, and saying to Saul that he should not contemplate such vile actions because after all, everything that David had done, were in truth done not for his own selfish glory and ambitions, but for the greatness of Saul and in faithful service to his king, Saul himself. Jonathan managed to get Saul to reconsider and to step away from the fears and jealousy that had clouded his judgment.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, where another account of great success had been told to us, and in this case was how many people flocked to the Lord Jesus and His disciples as they sought Him for His miraculous works and healing, and many people also came to seek Him for His teachings and Wisdom, and His popularity kept on growing, and we heard how the crowd grew to an extent such that they needed to put the Lord on a boat to prevent the crowd from crushing Him, a testament to how great a success the Lord’s works and how great His popularity had become. This can be made parallel to what we have heard in our first reading today regarding the successes of David and the praises he received.

And then we heard how the people praised the Lord and even evil spirits who obeyed Him and spoke out the truth, that He, Jesus, was indeed the Son of God, the Messiah or Saviour Who had been promised by God to His people. We heard then how the Lord expressly forbid them from speaking any further, and also in other occasions where there were those that the Lord healed whom He instructed not to speak about these before others. We must understand that if those people and those evil spirits were to speak out about everything that the Lord had done, that would have made Him even more popular, but at the same time, it might also lead to more difficulties and frictions, as the Pharisees and the Temple authorities had been always against the Lord and His works.

Therefore, this is where we are reminded yet again that like King Saul’s examples, and also that of the Pharisees and the Temple authorities, how we should not allow our pride, ego and insecurities, our jealousies and desires to become a barrier preventing us from recognising God at work and being present in our midst. All those things can lead us to do things that are contrary to God’s will, to His commandments and Law just as what King Saul had plotted against David and all the plots and complaints that the Pharisees always threw at the Lord. All these are examples of how our ambitions and human ego, pride and desires can lead us astray and prevent us from coming closer to His salvation and grace.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Vincent, Holy Martyr of the Church and Deacon, who was a truly great man of God and whose life and actions are great inspirations for all of us to follow at all times. St. Vincent was also known as St. Vincent of Saragossa or Zaragoza because he hailed from the region of Caesaraugusta, now known as Zaragoza in northeastern Spain today. He was an eloquent speaker, entrusted by the regional bishop to help him because of his impediments, in preaching to the people of God and others. When the local governor began launching an intense persecution against Christians in that area, arresting both the bishop, Valerius and St. Vincent, they were persecuted and tortured. St. Vincent refused to save his life by burning the Sacred Scriptures when such an offer was made to him.

And then, St. Vincent’s great faith and eloquence in proclaiming the truth of God angered the governor greatly, who ordered the former to be tortured with various sufferings, and eventually, in what he was well-known for, he was put on a grid-iron and tortured. Yet, St. Vincent remained firm in his faith and continued to proclaim the truth of God, even joking with his persecutors according to some tradition, when he said to them, asking them to turn him over because he was ‘done on that side’. St. Vincent eventually met his death in martyrdom, but his example of great courage and bravery, his exemplary and inspirational faith continue to become great inspiration for many Christians all throughout history.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect upon what we have just discussed and discerned from these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, doing our very best together with the examples and courage showed by St. Vincent the Deacon, that we may always be truly faithful to God in all things, and strive to put Him at the forefront of everything that we do in our lives. May our actions be ever consistent with our faith in God, and that we may ourselves be good inspirations and role models for everyone around us. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 22 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Mark 3 : 7-12

At that time, Jesus and His disciples withdrew to the lakeside, and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him. A great number of people also came from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and from the region of Tyre and Sidon, for they had heard of all that He was doing.

Because of the crowd, Jesus told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him, to prevent the people from crushing Him. He healed so many, that all who had diseases kept pressing toward Him to touch Him. Even the people who had evil spirits, whenever they saw Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, “You are the Son of God.” But He warned them sternly not to tell anyone Who He was.

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Thursday, 22 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 55 : 2-3, 9-10ab, 10c-11, 12-13

O God, show Your mercy to me, for my foes are in hot pursuit; they press their attack on me all the time. My accusers pursue me all day long; many attack me.

You have a record of my laments; my tears are stored in Your wineskin. Are they not written on Your scroll? My enemies turn back when I call on You for help.

Now I know, that God is for me. In God, Whose word I praise.

In God I trust, without fear. What can mortals do against me? I am bound to You by vows, o God; I shall offer my thanksgiving.

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Thursday, 22 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

1 Samuel 18 : 6-9 and 1 Samuel 19 : 1-7

When they arrived after David had slain the Philistine, the women came out from the cities of Israel to meet king Saul singing and dancing with timbrels and musical instruments. They were merrily singing this song : “Saul has slain his thousands, and David, his tens of thousands.”

Saul was very displeased with this song and said, “They have given tens of thousands to David but to me only thousands! By now he has everything but the kingdom!” From then on, Saul became very distrustful of David.

Saul told his son Jonathan and his servants of his intention to kill David. But Jonathan, who liked David very much, said to David, “My father Saul wants to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning and hide yourself in a secret place. I will go out and keep my father company in the countryside where you are and I will speak to him about you. If I find out something, I will let you know.”

Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said, “Let not the king sin against his servant David for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, what he has done has benefitted you. He risked his life in killing the Philistine and YHVH brought about a great victory for Israel. You yourself saw this and greatly rejoiced. Why then sin against innocent blood and kill David without cause?”

Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore, “As YHVH lives, he shall not be put to death.” So Jonathan called David and told him all these things. He then brought him to Saul and David was back in Saul’s service as before.

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Wednesday, 21 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that we should place our trust in God and not in man, or in the means or ways of this world. If we trust more in our own strength and worldly support and comforts, then sooner or later we will be disappointed and falter because ultimately, no worldly means or support can last us forever, or be truly dependable like that of the Lord. It does not mean of course that if we trust in the Lord that we will not endure difficulties or challenges, but rather, with God by our side, we can be truly assured that He will never abandon us or leave us behind, no matter how hard or difficult the challenges may be like.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard of the account of the famous battle between David and Goliath, a story which I am sure many of us are very familiar with. In that occasion, Goliath, the great champion of the Philistines was mocking the Israelites and their God amidst the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines, and Goliath was challenging the Israelites to send their champion against him, uttering many blasphemies and vile words especially against God. It was this action which led to David, who was then in the service and employ of King Saul, to be enraged and to want to rise arms against Goliath and challenge him to a duel. David went up against Goliath, not as a fully armoured soldier as the latter was, but with merely just a few stones and a sling.

David was given armour and all the other equipments by the king earlier on, but he chose to take them all off and trust wholeheartedly in the Lord instead, in the wisdom and strength, courage and power that He had given to him. And despite the even more intense taunts and mockery by Goliath, David did not flinch or lose faith, and he went up with great courage against Goliath, and just as we all well know, although he was very lightly armed, but the sling and the stone was accurate, and hit Goliath right in the head, despite all of his heavy armour, and he was defeated and killed. The triumph of David against Goliath is indeed not just merely the triumph of the underdog against someone significantly more powerful, but also as an important testimony of God’s providence and the importance of trusting in God.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus healed a man who had paralysed hand on the Sabbath, only for Him to be severely criticised by the Pharisees who were there observing and following His works. Despite knowing the Law, the Scriptures and the Prophets, all that had been fulfilled in the actions and miracles that the Lord Jesus Himself performed, those Pharisees were so preoccupied by their very strict and rigid interpretation and understanding of the Law that they hardened their hearts and minds, and even though they had witnessed all those signs, miracles and wonders, all of which pointed out clearly that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Saviour that God had promised to send into their midst, they refused to believe.

Instead, they accused the Lord severely and harshly of blasphemy against God because He simply did not act and behave in the manner that they expected. They allowed their own ego, pride and arrogance to overcome their sense of faith and wisdom, trusting in their own human judgment, understanding and knowledge rather than trusting in God and His truth. That is why they kept on making it difficult for the Lord to carry out His mission, and the Lord in turn rebuked them all for their lack of understanding and appreciation of the meaning and purpose of the Law of God, which the Lord had given to His people not to make their lives difficult, but rather to show them all how they ought to love God and love their fellow men as they should in a world full of greed, selfishness and ego, and the Lord did exactly all of that.

All of us as Christians should devote our time and effort to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and commit ourselves thoroughly to His cause. We should dedicate ourselves to work for the glory of God and for the proclamation of His truth in our world, just as what the saints and martyrs had done. And today we can refer to the good examples set by St. Agnes, a great and renowned martyr of the Church, whose dedication to God and commitment to purity and righteousness can inspire us that we may live a better and more Christian lives in our existence in this world. St. Agnes, also known as St. Agnes of Rome was a young Roman noblewoman who lived and suffered, died during the terrible years of the Diocletianic Persecution, also known as the Great Persecution for its particularly intense episode of persecutions against Christians.

St. Agnes was a faithful young woman who had dedicated herself thoroughly to God, committing herself to a holy virginity and dedication to God. However, her great beauty attracted many suitors, who were enraged by her refusal to engage them. Hence, St. Agnes was arrested upon the reports from those men who sought after her, accusing her because of her Christian faith. The Roman prefect, named Sempronius, attempted to get her to be defiled in a brothel, but miraculously St. Agnes was protected by God, and everyone who attempted to defile and rape her were struck blind or were prevented from doing so. And when she was put on the stake to be burnt to death, again even the fires and the heat refused to harm her, and they parted from her. In the end, she was martyred by being stabbed and beheaded. Yet, her inspiration and faith in God lived on, and many were touched by her faith, courage and examples.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard and discussed from the Scriptures and from the life of St. Agnes, holy martyr of God, let us all therefore strive in our own respective lives to be truly committed to God, and to trust in Him amidst the trials and challenges that we may be facing in our own lives. Let us all not be discouraged by the opposition and the difficulties we may have to encounter in our paths, just like that of the Lord Himself and St. Agnes, but rather, we should always believe that with the Lord by our side, we can eventually overcome all those challenges and trials. And no matter what, we will be vindicated in the end, when we share the ultimate triumph with the Lord and eternity of true joy with Him. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours in our lives, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 21 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 3 : 1-6

At that time, again, Jesus entered the synagogue. A man, who had a paralysed hand, was there; and some people watched Jesus : would He heal the man on the Sabbath? If He did, they could accuse Him.”

Jesus said to the man with the paralysed hand, “Stand here, in the centre.” Then He asked them, “What does the Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?” But they were silent. Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness at their hardness of heart. And He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”

He stretched it out, and his hand was healed. As soon as the Pharisees left, they met with Herod’s supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus.