priests

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures the reminders of God’s great love and mercy for all of us, His beloved people, that He has extended for all of us, the generous love and mercy, compassion and kindness that He has always provided to us all, His children, whenever we disobeyed and sinned against Him. God has also always been patient in loving us, and in providing for us at all times, as our most loving and patient Father, Who has never forgotten and abandoned us especially in our time of greatest need. And that is why we should always strive to live our lives righteously and worthily in accordance to God’s ways, and resist the temptations which may lead us astray in our paths in life, and cause us to commit great sins like what King Herod did in the Gospel today.

In our first reading today, we heard of the instructions of the Lord to His people through Moses regarding the matter of the forgiveness of debts and sins, which occurred every fifty years in what is known as the Jubilee, coming from the term Yobel, referring to the trumpet mentioned in that instruction today, made from a ram’s horn, which was sounded at every celebration of the Jubilee year. This Jubilee year took place every fifty years as it happens on the year after seven times seven Sabbath years, seven being a number considered as a holy number by the people of God, and the year after seven times seven Sabbath years being the fiftieth year. And that year marked the moment when one’s debts are forgiven and when the land was allowed to rest from any kind of planting and cultivation.

This tradition of the Jubilee year also continues today in the Church, which happens every twenty-five years, the Ordinary Jubilee Year which also happens to occur this year, the Ordinary Jubilee Holy Year of 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope. During this year, plenary indulgences are extended to all those who carry out faithful pilgrimages to the four Papal Basilicas in Rome, and also to other local diocesan shrines and pilgrimage sites around the whole world. This Jubilee Year is a reminder for all of us of God’s love and grace, His generous mercy and compassion which He has extended to us through His Church. And it is indeed timely that we heard about this reading during this most blessed Holy Year of the Jubilee, that does not occur every year, so that we may be more encouraged to seek God’s mercy, love and forgiveness.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when St. John the Baptist, the faithful servant of God and the one to Herald the coming of the Messiah, to prepare the way for the Lord, was martyred when he was imprisoned in the court of King Herod Antipas. King Herod Antipas at that time had committed a grievous sin by taking his own brother’s wife, Herodias to be his own wife. Historical evidence showed that Philip, Herod’s brother was still alive at that time, and hence, Herod’s actions in marrying Herodias constituted an adulterous relationship, and was morally wrong and a sinful action, which St. John the Baptist courageously spoke up against, rebuking both Herod and Herodias for their sins.

This led to St. John the Baptist being arrested and incarcerated by Herod, and Herodias had a deep resentment and grudge against him. She tried to find a good opportunity to eliminate him and as we heard from our Gospel passage today, she had an excellent opportunity when Herod was intoxicated in a party and made a solemn oath before his guests to her daughter, likely the daughter she had with her previous husband, Philip, that he would give everything to her even half of his kingdom. And that was how St. John the Baptist ended up being martyred through the actions of King Herod Antipas, beheaded in prison because this king failed to control his temptations and desires, and ended up committing great sin after sin against the Lord. It is a reminder for all of us as well that we should not fall into the same temptations as well in our own lives.

Today, in tandem with what we have heard in our Scripture readings, especially the reading on the Jubilee Year, the year of forgiveness from the Book of Leviticus, it is indeed Divine plan and timing that it coincides with this day, the second day of August, which is also a day of celebration for the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, and the celebration of the Portiuncula Indulgence, a practice that began from St. Francis of Assisi, and was known as such because of the place of Portiuncula being the very place where the Franciscan order originated from, as it was where St. Francis of Assisi began his journey upon listening to God’s call to restore His Church. St. Francis of Assisi, then still young misunderstood this as God asking him to literally restore the dilapidated church that happened to be there at Portiuncula.

What God actually wanted was to call on him to help restore the Church to its holy purpose and intentions, and that was what St. Francis of Assisi eventually did. He left his wealth and possessions, his family inheritance and status, becoming fully dedicated to the Lord and living a life with others who followed his examples and inspiration, becoming the first of the Franciscans. For many years, they all served the Lord faithfully, living in their community and serving the needs of the people around them. And through their loving service and commitment to God, they helped to renew the zeal of Christian living and faith, reforming the Church which at that time had been corrupted by worldly influences and corruptions, all of which had led many, both clergy and laity alike, away from the Lord and caused scandals for the Church.

It was at Portiuncula that the Franciscan community began and then spread, and continued to maintain their presence, and St. Francis of Assisi himself resided at that place, and where that original church or chapel that he was being called by the Lord being restored and made to be the shrine to which many people flocked to every year, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Angels at Portiuncula. And the Church extended a special indulgence known as the Portiuncula Indulgence for all those who visited this shrine on the second day of August on the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, and extended even to all those who visited related churches and prayed for the intention of the Holy Father, along with the other usual indulgence conditions.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard, holy servants of God who had dedicated themselves to the good works of the Lord and the missions entrusted to them. St. Eusebius of Vercelli was born in Sardinia and his father was martyred for his faith when he was still young. He eventually went to Rome and become a lector, before rising up through the Church hierarchy and becoming the first Bishop of Vercelli, a region in Piedmont in northern Italy today. He dedicated himself to his ministry with great zeal and was known for founding a priestly community that dedicated themselves in a monastic way of living, and also at the same time living together with his fellow clergy, inspiring many with his great piety and zeal. He was persecuted in many occasions, and faced difficulties, but this did not stop him from continuing to be faithful to his mission, working hard to oppose the heresies that were rampant at that time, and dedicating himself in these to the end of his life.

Meanwhile, St. Peter Julian Eymard was a French priest who was especially renowned for his great devotion to the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament, that as a priest, he inspired many and founded the religious order known as the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and also the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for the women. He dedicated himself in ministry to the poor, the marginalised and all those who have lapsed from the Church and was lukewarm in their faith. He inspired many of them through his great dedication and love, his piety and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and his tireless efforts to reach out to those who have been marginalised and broken by the troubles of this life. St. Peter Julian Eymard truly showed us what true Christian faith is all about by his examples and works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the lives of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, St. Peter Julian Eymard and St. Francis of Assisi, and being reminded at their commitment to God, their faithful actions and devotions, all the efforts that they had done to glorify God, as well as what we have heard from the Scripture readings today regarding the Year of the Jubilee, which we are very fortunate to experience in this very year, and also the sins committed by Herod Antipas and Herodias, let us all therefore reflect upon our own lives and see how we ourselves may have sinned against the Lord in the actions that we carry out each day. Let us all remind ourselves that as Christians, we are all called to be truly committed to God’s path, to truly love Him and to show that same love in our actions and interactions towards one another, caring for all those whom we love and even also for others whom we encounter in each and every days of our lives.

May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey, and may He empower us all to live our lives in the best way we can so that our lives may inspire many others to walk in the path of the Lord and that we may be good inspiration to more and more people, being the worthy and shining beacons of God’s light and hope to everyone. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, our every good works, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 14 : 1-12

At that time, the reports about Jesus reached king Herod. And he said to his servants, “This Man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in John.”

Herod had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put in prison, because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had said to Herod, “It is not right for you to have her as your wife.” Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare, because he feared the people, who regarded John as a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced among the guests; she so delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she asked for. The girl, following the advice of her mother, said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist, here, on a dish.”

The king was very displeased, but because he had made his promise under oath, in the presence of his guests, he ordered it to be given to her. So he had John beheaded in prison, and his head brought on a dish and given to the girl. The girl then took it to her mother.

Then John’s disciple came, took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Psalm)

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

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 7-8

May God be gracious and bless us; may He let His face shine upon us; that Your way be known on earth and Your salvation, among the nations.

May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with justice; and guide the nations of the world.

The land has given its harvest; God, our God, has blessed us. May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (First Reading)

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

Leviticus 25 : 1, 8-17

YHVH spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai : “When seven Sabbaths of years have passed, that is, seven times seven years, there shall be the time of the seven weeks of years, that is forty-nine years. Then on the tenth day of the seventh month sound the trumpet loudly. On this Day of Atonement sound the trumpet all through the land.”

“Keep holy the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom for all the inhabitants of the land. It shall be a jubilation year for you when each one shall recover his property and go back to his family. In this fiftieth year, your year of Jubilee, you shall neither sow nor reap the aftergrowth, nor gather the grapes from the uncultivated vines. This Jubilee year shall be holy for you, and you shall eat what the field yields of itself without cultivation.”

“In this year of Jubilee each of you shall recover his own property. When you sell something to your neighbour or buy something from him, do not wrong one another. According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy it from your neighbour and according to the number of years left for harvesting crops he shall sell to you.”

“When the years are many the price shall be greater and when the years are few the price shall be less, for it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. So you shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your God, for I am YHVH, your God.”

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Thursday, 31 July 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (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 that as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen from this world to be His own beloved and holy people, we have been gathered to become this one flock of the Lord’s faithful, to share together His blessings and graces, to enjoy His love and kindness, all that He has assured and given to us. At the same time we are also reminded that if we do not belong to Him and are apart from Him, we shall be judged and condemned to an eternity in darkness and destruction. Hence, this is why it is important that we should always strive to live our lives worthily and commit ourselves to the Lord in each and every moments of our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the last chapter of the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered together during the time of their journey from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan, at the moment after the Holy Tent of Meeting, or the Tent of God’s Presence had been completed according to the instructions that the Lord had given to them through Moses. At that time, the Lord has been guiding the people day and night on the journey through the desert, but the journey of the Israelites had faced a detour due to their own lack of faith as they doubted the Lord and refused to believe in Him when He led them to the land of Promise, allowing their fears and uncertainties to overcome them and to make them reject God’s assurance and plans for them.

That was why they were forced to wander in the desert for forty years long to atone for their sins. And yet, the Lord still cared for His people and remained with them, no matter what, as He continued to show His Presence among them, by descending upon them at the Holy Tent, the Holy Tent of God’s Presence, enthroned among the Cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant. This was the Holy of Holies within the Holy Tent of God, which would later be replicated when King Solomon built a great Temple for God in Jerusalem. This Holy of Holies is the epicentre and heart of God’s Holy Presence among His people, a tangible reminder of God Who has always been there for His beloved ones, those whom He had called and chosen. And today we are being reminded of this because all of us as Christians, we have been made God’s Holy Temple, the Temple of His Holy Presence.

Each and every one of us have received the Lord Himself in the Flesh, as we received from Him the ultimate gift of His love for us, the gift of the Most Holy Eucharist, His very own Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood that He has given to us. And because of this, God Himself has dwelled within us, and we have become parts and members of God’s one Church, His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. And God made us all to be the ones in whom He dwelled, in our hearts and in our whole beings, that we are truly the Temple of His Holy Presence, just like the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant once resided, and where God descended in His Holy Presence, to dwell among His people. He is now enthroned in our hearts, and is truly present in each and every one of us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus teaching more to His disciples and followers with the parables and stories to highlight and explain what the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven is all about. And He told them all of how the Kingdom of Heaven is truly open to all, using the comparison to a net that is thrown wide, gathering everyone in, highlighting how each and every one of us, God’s beloved people, all of mankind, have been beloved equally by God, from the smallest to the greatest amongst us, and to even the greatest of sinners, to those whom we may consider to be unworthy of God. Each one of us, though sinners, are called to God’s grace, to embrace His love and compassionate mercy.

However, at the same time, we are reminded that we have to be good, worthy and righteous in our lives and deeds so that we may truly be worthy of everything that God has prepared for us. Unless we heed His words and embrace our calling to live lives that are truly attuned to the Lord and in accordance with His will, we may find ourselves being found wanting because we lacked the faith and the commitment to live faithfully in the Lord’s path. And that is why we are reminded of this, that we should not remain idle in our faith and way of life. We must turn away from the path of sin and wickedness, from all the temptations of this world, from all the unhealthy attachments which we have for the ambitions and the desires of this world, for all sins and wickedness around us.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the famous founder of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits. St. Ignatius of Loyola was born as Iñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola in the castle of Loyola, where he got his epithet from, to a family of minor nobles. His early life was rather turbulent with lots of conflicts, a lot of changes and losses, and he grew through his youth thinking that he would become a great warrior, pursuing ambitions of knighthood and chivalry, as he served in the military, fighting wars and battles that were rampant and frequent at that time. He pursued worldly glory, fame and was ambitious, but he felt something was lacking in his life as he kept on fighting battles after battles, wars after wars.

And at one moment when he was injured due to being struck by a cannonball, he had to be put out of action for a while, and while healing from his injuries and recuperating, he was seeking for the tales of chivalry and knighthood to satisfy his boredom. But only books on the lives of the saints were available to him, and his experiences reading through them made St. Ignatius of Loyola to go through a moment of conversion, changing his life and path forever. It was from that moment on, that St. Ignatius of Loyola no longer sought worldly glory and ambitions, and instead, he began a new path, seeking for the conversion of hearts and souls. This eventually led to the establishment of the Society of Jesus, as St. Ignatius of Loyola gathered together others who were also passionate about the salvation of souls as he had been.

That was how St. Ignatius of Loyola spearheaded the effort of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits in taking part in the Counter-Reformation efforts, at a time of great upheaval for the Church, when the Church and the whole Christendom was under great threat from external threats and from within, as at that time, the Church was wrecked and divided by the then raging Protestant reformation and other divisions, while the rising forces of the Ottoman Turks were rampaging across Christendom, conquering many countries where Christians were living in, and at times even threatened the heart of Christendom in Rome and Central Europe. The Jesuits were at the forefront of the efforts of the Church in combatting the heresies and also reaching to the many people who had not believed in the Lord, as they were also sent out to many missions around the world to spread the Good News.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the life and examples of St. Ignatius of Loyola and his fellow Jesuits in doing the will of God and in proclaiming the Good News and truth of God, and reminded of the fact that each and every one of us are the Holy Temples of God’s Holy Presence, let us all therefore seek to live our lives worthily in the manner that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us. Let us all continue to strive and persevere in our faith, doing our best to glorify Him by our faithful and worthy lives. May He continue to bless us all in our every good endeavours and efforts, and may He continue to strengthen us in our journey of faith, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 July 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 13 : 47-53

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

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

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

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Thursday, 31 July 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11

My soul yearns; pines, for the courts of YHVH. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o YHVH of hosts, my King and my God!

Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Happy, the pilgrims whom You strengthen, they go from strength to strength.

One day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be left at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

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Thursday, 31 July 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 40 : 16-21, 34-38

Moses did this; he did exactly as YHVH had commanded him. The Holy Tent was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. Moses set up the Holy Tent. He fixed the bases for it, put up its frames, put its crossbars in position, set up its posts. He spread the tent over the Holy Tent and on top of this the covering for the Tent, as YHVH had commanded Moses.

He took the Covenant and placed it inside the Ark. He set the poles to the Ark in place and put the mercy seat on it. He brought the Ark into the Holy Tent and put the screening veil in place; thus he screened the Ark of YHVH, as YHVH had commanded Moses.

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the Glory of YHVH filled the Holy Tent. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the Glory of YHVH that filled the Holy Tent. At every stage of their journey, whenever the cloud rose from the Holy Tent, the people of Israel would continue their march. If the cloud did not rise, they waited and would not move their camp until it did.

For the cloud rested on the Holy Tent by day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night for all the house of Israel to see. And so it was for every stage of their journey.

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Thursday, 24 July 2025 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the revelation of God’s truth and Good News, the love which He has shown most generously to us, and we should not take for granted what God has revealed and shown to us through His Church, as many in the past would have wanted the opportunity and chance to listen to what we have heard and to experience what we all have experienced, and yet, they were unable to do so. We have been blessed with these great graces and blessings from God and we ought to be ever thankful and appreciative of what He has done for us. We must not forget that we are all as Christians, are God’s holy and beloved people, all called to holiness and virtuous lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Exodus in which the continuation of the account of the journey of the Israelites from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan was told to us. And today, we heard about how God brought His people to the mountain that He had made sacred, the Mountain of God at Mount Sinai. It was there that the Lord Himself would make a Covenant with all of the people of Israel, renewing and strengthening the Covenant which He had made with Abraham, the Covenant that God would be the God of all the Israelites, and that all the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, would become the people of God, the people that God had called and chosen, and made to be His own beloved ones.

At Mount Sinai, God revealed Himself before all the people from the mountain, all covered in the glory of His majesty, with rolling clouds and thunder, to the awe of all the people who had been gathered at the foot of the mountain. But the Lord called on all of them through Moses to come closer to Him and not to be afraid, because despite all the glory of His majesty and power, but God is also a loving and compassionate God, Who truly loves all of His people, showing them all His love and kindness, and wanting them all to be partakers of His Covenant. And that was how Israel came to be marked by God at Mount Sinai, through a new Covenant that He made with them, a commitment and pact between God and His people.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the disciples asking the Lord on why He kept on teaching using parables and stories rather than speaking plainly and clearly, and the Lord responded to them saying that there were many people at that time who had not believed in Him no matter how much He had said and how He had shown the great Wisdom of God through His teachings, echoing and fulfilling everything that the prophets of God had prophesied and predicted before. Christ our Lord did not allow even the opposition and the hardened hearts and minds of those who opposed Him, like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law to dissuade Him from continuing with His ministry and works.

And the point of Him mentioning about the use of parables and how those who have wanted to believe would indeed believe and open their hearts and minds to listen to God, while those who refused to believe would close their hearts and minds to the Lord’s words, teachings, and even miracles and signs before their own eyes because unless they change their attitudes and stop hardening their hearts and minds, blinded by their ego and pride, their arrogance and their obsession with earthly desires and ambitions, all of which prevented them from listening with open minds and hearts. This was why they were so seemingly so adamant in opposing the Lord and even if the Lord spoke clearly and in the manner that was easiest to understand, He would still be rejected and treated with disdain.

At the same time, the Lord also used those parables to educate and reveal His intentions to the uneducated and those who were not learnt in the intellectual ways of the world. And those people were often marginalised because of their seeming lack of knowledge and their occupation in working in the physical labour like agriculture and farming, shepherding of flocks of goats and sheep, fishermen catching the fishes and other marine goods in the lakes, rivers and the sea, and others, to whom the parables which the Lord were using, were in fact relevant and easily understood as opposed to using lots of words and complicated terms and words. And it was in fact many among these people who were supposedly less knowledgeable and educated that in the end, believed in the Lord and had faith in Him.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Sharbel Makhluf, also known as St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Lebanese Maronite saint who was renowned much around the world for the many miracles and wonders that happened through his intercessions and at his tomb, long after he has passed away. St. Charbel Makhlouf was raised in a pious house, and while his biological father passed on very early in his life, his mother remarried with a man who eventually joined the Maronite Catholic priesthood and became the local parish priest. St. Charbel himself also joined the priesthood and became a monk in a monastery in what is today present day Lebanon. As a hermit and monk, he spent a lot of his time living in seclusion, in prayer and contemplation with God, which he did for the last twenty-three years of his life.

While the life of St. Charbel Makhlouf might have seemed very ordinary and uneventful, it was his great faith and dedication to God that made him to be truly extraordinary. In his dedication and commitment to live a truly holy life and life dedicated to prayer, he has become even after his passing an inspiration to many others around them. It was at his tomb that many miracles occurred, and many who had asked for the intercession of St. Charbel Makhlouf saw their prayers answered. Many flocked to seek the intercession and miracles of the saint, even from among those who were non-Christians. Through this great grace that God has granted us, via the intercession of the wonderful St. Charbel Makhlouf, let us all be inspired to follow the Lord as he had done.

May the Lord continue to inspire and strengthen us all in faith, giving us the courage and strength to be His faithful disciples and followers at all times. May He bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, strengthening us with the guidance and help in persevering through all the challenges and trials in life, and remain with us always as He has ever done, all these while. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 July 2025 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 13 : 10-17

At that time, the disciples of Jesus came to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people. For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see; they hear; but they do not listen or understand.”

“In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled : However much you hear, you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back, and I would heal them.”

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.”