Saints

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Wednesday, 11 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Barnabas, one of the Apostles of the Lord, and while he was not counted among the Twelve Apostles, the twelve chief disciples of the Lord, but nonetheless, he was one of the very important people involved in the work of evangelisation and ministry in the early Church. He was one of the companions of St. Paul the Apostle in the ministry especially towards the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people, to whom they both had been sent to by the Twelve Apostles and the Church. And in their various works, St. Barnabas and St. Paul had indeed achieved great successes much as they had also encountered significant challenges and trials in their journey and works.

And yet, they trusted fully in the Lord and devoted themselves completely to Him, trusting in His Providence, guidance and help in ministering to the faithful people of God, and in glorifying God and proclaiming Him to all those whom they encountered in their journeys. As we heard in our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of how Christian community was being established in Antioch, which at that time was one of the largest cities of the Roman Empire, and the largest one in that region. Christian missionaries that went there helped to establish the Church, including that of St. Barnabas himself, who discovered the group of believers in that place, even among the Gentiles, the Greeks and others of the local populace on top of the Jewish converts to Christianity.

Antioch also historically held an important significance in the development of the Christian faith as it was there that those who believed in the Lord were first known publicly and commonly as ‘Christians’, or in the original Greek perhaps Christianos, meaning those who believed in the Christ, which was the equivalent term in Greek for the Hebrew Messiah or Meshiach, which meant Saviour. It certainly marked the believers of the Lord as a distinct group as compared to the Jewish believers, those who followed the ancient Law of Moses. Earlier on, Christianity was considered as merely just another sect of Judaism, like those Pharisees and Sadducees, as well as the Essenes among others, but gradually, the practices and ways of the early Christians began to diverge more and more from their Jewish roots.

What was especially important, was the fact that the early Christians accepted those who came from the non-Jewish background, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and other locals who were not so receptive of the Jewish customs and practices. While earlier on in the history of the Church there had been some, especially the converts from among the Pharisees, who wanted to enforce the strict Jewish customs, practices and rites on all the Christian believers, including those from the Gentiles background, but St. Barnabas was among those, together with St. Paul who were adamantly against such an imposition and action, as that would have led to great difficulties in evangelisation and ministry among the Gentiles, which cultures often saw Jewish practices as weird, barbaric and uncultured.

Thus, it was St. Barnabas among others as mentioned in the first reading today, that were sent to evangelise among the faithful in Antioch, after the Apostles had already decided that such an imposition of Jewish customs, laws and practices were unlawful and improper. The Christian population in Antioch grew rapidly and more and more came to become believers in the Lord. The Apostles like St. Barnabas and the other missionaries were carrying out what the Lord had commanded them all to do just as we have heard in our Gospel passage today, as they all went forth as missionaries, proclaiming the Good News and truth of God faithfully and courageously, entrusting themselves to the Lord and doing their best to touch the hearts and minds of the people whom they had visited and encountered in their journey.

Eventually, St. Barnabas would continue on serving the Lord in various missions and works, and according to Apostolic traditions and history, he was martyred in Syria where he was proclaiming the Good News of God, as some Jewish people that came there, envious and jealous of his great successes in gaining many converts from among the Jews and the Gentiles alike, persecuted him when they were disputing with him in the local synagogue, dragged him out of the place and then stoned him to death, much as how St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church had also been martyred earlier on. Despite this, the many great works and efforts which St. Barnabas had done for the greater glory of God had endured, and many were converted because of his hard work.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all recall the works and life of St. Barnabas, Holy Apostle and servant of God, let us all therefore reflect on our own lives as Christians, as those whom God has called and chosen to be His own holy and beloved people. Let us all be true and genuine disciples of the Lord in doing our best to glorify the Lord by our lives, in all that we do in each and every moments, even in the smallest things we do. We do not have to do great and wonderful things as what the Apostles and the disciples had done, but more importantly, we should be always be sincere in following the Lord at all times, in doing His will and in encouraging one another to carry on living our lives each day with greater determination and courage as faithful and committed children of God.

May the Lord continue to guide and bless each and every one of us so that by our commitment and dedication to Him, following the good inspiration and examples of St. Barnabas the Apostle, we may continue to glorify Him through our actions and deeds, in everything that we say and do, for His greater glory. May the Lord continue to bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, and may He strengthen us all with the resolve and the desire to proclaim His Good News and truth at all times, through our own exemplary lives and faith as Christians, in our own respective communities and areas of life. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 10 : 7-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”

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Wednesday, 11 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Wednesday, 11 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 11 : 21b-26 and Acts 13 : 1-3

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

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

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul. On one occasion, while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.”

So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

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Monday, 9 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady, Mother of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on the day after Pentecost Sunday, the beginning of the second half of the Ordinary Time of this current liturgical year, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady, Mary, the Mother of the Church, or also known in her Latin title as ‘Mater Ecclesiae’. On this day we recall Mary’s important role as the Mother of the Church and our Mother, as the Mother of all the faithful, because the faithful themselves form that visible Body of the Church, the Body of Christ. And through Mary, the Church has been made manifest, in her instrumental role in the earliest days of the Church, when the Christian faith was still in its infancy. It was Mary’s faith and steadfastness which allowed the Church to remain united and strong against all those who sought to destroy it.

For Mary was always there throughout the times after the Resurrection just as she has always been there throughout the time of her Son’s Passion, patiently following Him even though seeing Him in great suffering and persecution must have pained her Immaculate Heart greatly. And yet, she remained faithful and committed, patient in her perseverance and endurance, and followed Him all the way to the Cross. The Church also teaches that the moment of the Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross marks the very occasion and moment when the Church itself was born into the world, when the Lord instituted His Church, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, was born from the side of the Lord, from the wounds of His Body, from the Precious Blood outpoured from His broken Precious Body.

Therefore, Mary, the Mother of God and of Our Saviour, having been there at the moment of her Son’s suffering and death, which we have heard in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, is truly indeed the Mother of the Church, witnessing through every events, and most significantly because the Lord Himself has entrusted her to all of us, and at the same time also entrusting all of us to her as well, in a reciprocal manner. This was done as the Lord entrusted His beloved Mother Mary to His beloved disciple St. John from His Cross just before He was about to accomplish perfectly His sacrifice and die for all of our sins. He gave His mother to all of us so that we can be loved by her in the same way that Mary had loved her Son, and we too may love her as well, as our Mother.

Mary herself is both the Mother of the Church and also a part of the same Church, as the Church of God consists of all those who believe in the Lord, which Mary is also a part therefore of. But why she is truly very special and revered so in her many important roles, most important of all as the Mother of God is due to her great and ever enduring faith by which she obeyed God’s will so perfectly and allowed Him to make use of her life for His purpose and plans, that she has indeed become for us all the perfect example of faith and obedience, as the greatest of all the saints, and as the New Eve, the Woman through whom the Lord would restore all things to Himself, by her willing acceptance of the part that she was to play in the history of salvation.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis the account of the moment when mankind first fell into sin, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when Satan managed to tempt them to eat of the fruits of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. At that time, Satan tempted our first ancestors with the temptations of knowledge and power, which was enticing enough with the sweet words and lies which promised to man that they would become just like God, to know all things good and evil and to be like Him. In contrast after their disobedience and sins had come into light, they ended up blaming each other and Satan for having tricked them into eating of the forbidden fruits and therefore disobeying and sinning against God.

Therefore if the first Eve, the first woman led all mankind into sin by her willing disobedience against God and embracing of sin, then Mary as the New Eve has shown us the example of true faith and commitment in God, leading us all towards God. By her total commitment and trust in the Lord, her willing acceptance of the role that she has played in the story of our salvation, Mary has shown us all the example of faith and obedience, which all of us should also be following in our own lives as well. And as our Mother and the Mother of the Church, Mary is indeed the figure that we all can turn towards especially during difficult and challenging moments in life. If we seek her help and intercession, Mary will surely be there for us, ever ready to intercede and pray for us all, her beloved children.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remind ourselves that we have this most wonderful Mother in Mary, our loving Mother and the Mother of the Church. Let us all ask her to intercede for us and for the whole Universal Church. Through Mary, our Mother we can find the surest and straightest path to Our Lord and Saviour, and as one Church we should strive to emulate her example and faith to live a most wholesome and faithful Christian living as well, in our every moments in life, within our every words, actions and deeds, in our every interactions with one another so that we truly will show this faith we have within us to everyone whom we encounter in life and in all the opportunities that God has provided to us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother and the Mother of the Church, please pray for us all sinners and intercede on behalf of God’s Church, all of us the faithful and holy people of God. Please help us in our journey towards your beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Our Master and King. May you, beloved Mother, continue to help and guide us in our journey towards His loving mercy and embrace, and assist us in our respective journeys and struggles in life. May the Lord be with us all and may He bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 9 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady, Mother of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 19 : 25-34

At that time, near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister Mary, who was the wife of Cleophas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw the mother, and the disciple whom He loved, He said to the mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “This is your mother.” And from that moment the disciple took her to his own home.

Jesus knew all was now finished and, in order to fulfil what was written in Scripture, He said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of bitter wine stood there; so, putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a twig of hyssop, they raised it to His lips. Jesus took the wine and said, “It is accomplished.” Then He bowed His head and gave up the Spirit.

As it was Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross during the Sabbath, for this Sabbath was a very solemn day. They asked Pilate to have the legs of the condemned men broken, so that the bodies might be taken away. The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other man, who had been crucified with Jesus.

When they came to Jesus, they saw that He was already dead, so they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced His side with a lance, and immediately there came out Blood and water.

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Monday, 9 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady, Mother of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 86 : 1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7

He Himself has built it in His holy mountain; YHVH prefers the gates of Zion to all of Jacob’s towns.

Great things have been foretold of you, o city of God. But of Zion, it shall be said, “More and more are being born in her.” For the Most High Himself has founded her.

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

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Monday, 9 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady, Mother of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 3 : 9-15, 20

YHVH God called the man saying to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you not to eat?”

The man answered, “The woman You put with me gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it.” God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”

YHVH God said to the serpent, “Since you have done that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”

The man called his wife by the name of Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

Alternative reading

Acts 1 : 12-14

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is a fifteen minute walk away. On entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Present there were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus; Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.

All of these, together, gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women, and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

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Friday, 6 June 2025 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the mission for all of us as Christians to do our part in proclaiming the Good News and the Gospel of the Lord at all times. All of us as Christians have been entrusted with the responsibility to proclaim the Lord in all of our various places and communities, in the many opportunities that we have been given by the Lord all these while. The Lord has provided us with the means to carry out His many good works, all the things that we can do for our fellow brethren, in showing them all the love of God manifested through us and our actions in our daily living. Therefore we should always be courageous in loving Him and in doing our best to follow Him in proclaiming His truth and Good News to all the people of all the nations.

In our first reading today we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of what happened in Jerusalem in the aftermath of the hearing and judgment session by the Sanhedrin against St. Paul, which ended up in great division between the Pharisees and the Sadducees among the members of the Sanhedrin. This led to a significant limbo and delay in the case which St. Paul stood as a defendant against the accusations which were placed against him by the Sanhedrin. We heard how his case was stalled between two governors, Felix and then Festus who took over his case, and we heard how Festus discussed with King Agrippa also known as Agrippa II, the last Herodian ruler of the lands of Israel, with his sister Berenice regarding St. Paul.

And we heard how St. Paul chose to be judged and to stand before the presence of the Emperor himself instead of allowing himself to be judged and put to task by the local authorities. In this manner therefore, the Lord led St. Paul to the path towards his martyrdom, by which he would help to establish the firm foundation for the Church in Rome and elsewhere along his path. St. Paul trusted in the Lord’s providence and guidance, and he allowed the Lord to lead him to wherever He would lead him to. St. Paul did not fear the persecutions and hardships that he might have to face because he knew that the Lord would always be by his side, and all his enemies and those who persecute him cannot harm him beyond his physical body, and his soul will always be with God and safe with Him.

This is why we are reminded today of the great courage of the Apostle St. Paul and are reminded of how the Lord has always provided for us and our needs, and as long as we put our trust and faith in Him, we truly have no need to be afraid or fearful, as the Lord Himself will always be by our side, guarding and providing for us, strengthening us in our journey and in our every actions. As Christians we must always remember that the Lord is our Shepherd and Master, and with Him ever providing for us, we shall never face ultimate defeat and destruction. We must not fear what can only harm and destroy our bodies but not our eternal souls. That is why we have to be strong in our faith and courage, to embrace the various missions and opportunities that God had provided to us so that we may truly be evangelising and missionary disciples of Our Lord at all times.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the time when the Risen Lord, soon after His Resurrection, appeared to the disciples in Galilee, and after having shown Himself to them and had meal with them, He had a private time with St. Peter, the leader of the Twelve Apostles, and in a very symbolic moment as we heard in today’s Gospel, He asked St. Peter not just once but three times, ‘Peter, do you love Me?’. For those who did not see the link with what happened earlier on, then they may miss the significance of these three repeated questions, which was in fact the Lord showing St. Peter that He has always loved him and had forgiven him for his earlier triple denial of Him.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, at the time of the Lord’s Passion, when He faced His great sufferings and persecutions, being betrayed by one of His own closest disciples, Judas Iscariot, another member of the Twelve, He was also denied not just once but three times by St. Peter himself, who was likely afraid of being found out that he was a disciple of the Lord, at the time when all the disciples were scattered and alone by themselves. And this was despite St. Peter himself having made promises and proclamations that he would even die for the sake of the Lord, previously at the time of the Last Supper and earlier on. And despite having been abandoned by St. Peter and the other disciples, the Lord still loved them and cared for them, and He reached out to them, and especially to St. Peter, knowing that despite his denial, ultimately, his faith and love for Him were really genuine and true.

That is why all of us as Christians have to remember this great love of God, the call that He has in calling us all to love Him wholeheartedly and to follow Him, as St. Peter had done. We are all sinners, but God has called us all and gathered us all from being scattered all over the world, from the darkness, bringing us back to His light and grace. Hence, we need to continue to remind ourselves this calling to love the Lord and to focus our lives and attentions, our efforts and works on the Lord, glorifying Him by everything that we do, carry out and perform in each and every moments of our lives. We should always strive to inspire one another in faith, through our exemplary living and our commitment to follow the teachings of the Lord in the Gospels and His Church, to be missionary and evangelising at all times.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Norbert, also known as St. Norbert of Xanten, a great and holy man of God who had lived in a state of worldliness and pursuit of worldly desires early in his life, and then went through a conversion experience in which he encountered a life-changing experience that led him to lead a more devout life. St. Norbert henceforth devoted his time and efforts to the poor, caring for the needy, and upon the request of the Pope himself, St. Norbert established a community of religious order in the Diocese of Laon in France where he ministered to the people, becoming known as the Canons Regular of Premontre, also known as the Premonstratensians. Later on, through the rapid expansion of this order and his role as the Archbishop of Magdeburg in northern Germany, St. Norbert continued to lead a life of great evangelising and missionary zeal, proclaiming the Good News of God to many more people that he encountered through his life and mission, which he faithfully carried out to the end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great courage, faith and examples of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Holy Apostles in seeking the Lord and dedicating themselves and their efforts to serve Him faithfully, and also from St. Norbert, the great and holy servant of God, and our many other holy predecessors, so that in everything that we do in our own respective lives may truly be holy and dedicated to God, that we may be truly missionary and evangelising, in our own exemplary faith and actions, in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions with each other. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen us in each and every moments of our lives, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 6 June 2025 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 21 : 15-19

At that time, after Jesus and His disciples had finished breakfast, He said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” And Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.”

A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Look after My sheep.” And a third time He said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

Peter was saddened because Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” and he said, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” Jesus then said, “Feed My sheep! Truly, I say to you, when you were young, you put on your belt and walked where you liked. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will put a belt around you, and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

Jesus said this to make known the kind of death by which Peter was to glorify God. And He added, “Follow Me.”