Saints

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Tuesday, 21 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are called to put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, the Bread of Life and Son of God, Who has willingly offered Himself and gave Himself for us, to be the sustenance and the providence through which He shared with us the grace of new life blessed and provided for by His love. All of us have been guaranteed a share of this divine grace and love, and what we need to do is to accept Him fully as Our Lord and Saviour. We are reminded that every time we receive Him in the Eucharist at the celebrations of the Holy Mass and elsewhere, we are strengthen by His Real Presence within us, with the gift of grace and love.

However, as we heard in our Scripture passages today, this is much easier said than done. There are many who still refuse to believe in the Lord or to embrace Him fully, and there were many who had even persecuted those who believed in the Lord. As we heard in the persecution and martyrdom of St. Stephen in our first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles that the Sanhedrin and many of its members who opposed the works of the Apostles condemned St. Stephen to death and stoned him just as they had earlier on condemned the Lord Himself to death. There were many of those who were opposed to the Lord and His teachings, and which was why they persecuted and condemned Him to death in the first place.

Even as St. Stephen spoke most eloquently and wonderfully with the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and even as his arguments and words were most convincing and unrefuteable, those who opposed him still hardened their hearts and closed off their mind, blatantly closing off their ears and covering them to shut the words of St. Stephen, charging at him and stoned him to death. Their pride and ego prevented them from seeing the truth of God. And therefore, just as they had persecuted the Lord, they also ended up persecuting St. Stephen and all those who have spoken up in His Name, proclaimed His truth and teachings courageously against the opposition of the Jewish authorities and the chief priests.

It was a similar attitude showed by the people whom the Lord spoke to in our Gospel passage today. They showed doubt and refusal to believe that the Lord is the Bread of Life when He spoke to them referring to Himself as that. Contextually, the Lord had just fed the multitudes of over five thousand men and thousands of others who were gathered miraculously with only five loaves of bread and two fishes. He revealed Himself as the Bread of Life to pre-empt and show what He would do for the salvation of all. Through the Incarnation of the Son of God in the flesh, God Himself has come and dwelled among us all, reaching out to us, seeking us all to love all of us most wonderfully and generously as He has always intended for us.

But the people still doubted and refused to believe that this Man could have fed them, especially with His own Flesh and Body as He mentioned. And in the end, after the events mentioned in today’s Gospel, many of those who followed the Lord initially left Him and abandoned Him. They could not take the hard truth and reality that He has revealed to them, and chose to walk away from that truth. It was no surprise therefore that St. Stephen faced the same issues and problems when he spoke of the same truth to the people gathered against Him. This is because of their pride and ego, which were holding them back from believing. They either could not accept the fact that what the Lord spoke about was the truth, or that they thought they knew it better.

This is why as Christians, all of us are reminded that it is often our faith will bring us into contradiction and opposition against the world, and what we may face along the way, may indeed be discouraging for us and hard for us to accept. Yet, that is the reality of our Christian faith and what we have been called to do as those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Lord, our Master and our Saviour. We are all called to be His faithful disciples, and to be His witnesses in our daily living, that we may, through our words, actions and deeds truly proclaim that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. We are the ones to continue bearing the truth and love of Christ our Lord into this world, manifesting all these through our own lives and actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, the saints and martyrs, like that of St. Stephen who had devoted himself thoroughly to even suffer and die for the Lord’s sake? As Christians, we are yet again reminded that we cannot remain idle in our faith, but instead our faith must be one of giving, the generous giving of ourselves in reaching out to all those who hunger for the truth of God, and as the beacons of the light of God to those who are still living in the darkness, that through the light we bring forth, we may illuminate the path for many on their way to God. And today we have a good role model and source of inspiration to follow in St. Anselm.

St. Anselm, whose feast day we celebrate today, also known as St. Anselm of Canterbury was a great and dedicated servant of God, who committed himself to the ministry and the calling that he had been entrusted with. The Lord has called him to be His servant, becoming eventually a monk and abbot, and then after years of faithful work and ministry, he was appointed a bishop and was sent to minister the faithful as shepherd, which during his time of leadership and ministry, had become a great centre of learning and many were touched by his dedication and efforts. St. Anselm eventually was sent to England, to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, as the leader of all the faithful in all of England. He faced great trials and challenges throughout his ministry, and even went through exile during his work, having to endure persecution and rejection from his enemies. Yet he continued to dedicate himself and kept on going in his works and ministry regardless, entrusting himself to the Lord wholeheartedly.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all pray that God will guide and strengthen us all with faith, and with the courage so that we may embark ever more faithfully and courageously to live our lives at each and every moments as devout and committed Christians, so that as far as possible, our every actions and our very lives will proclaim God’s truth and show that we are truly God’s children, His beloved and chosen people. May the Lord bless us and our many good works, that through us, He may bring His light and salvation to more and even more people, our fellow brothers and sisters. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 30-35

At that time, the Jews said to Jesus, “Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe You. What sign do You perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says : They were given bread from heaven to eat.”

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. The Bread God gives is the One Who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.” And they said to Him, “Give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me shall never be thirsty.”

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Tuesday, 21 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 30 : 3cd-4, 6ab and 7b-8a, 17 and 21ab

Be a Rock of refuge for me, a Fortress for my safety. For You are my Rock and my Stronghold, lead me for Your Name’s sake.

Into Your hands I commend my spirit; but I put all my trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in Your love, for You have seen my affliction.

Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me in Your love. In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from human wiles; You keep them in Your dwelling.

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Tuesday, 21 April 2026 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 7 : 51 – Acts 8 : 1a

Stephen said to the Council, “But you are a stubborn people, you hardened your hearts and closed your ears. You have always resisted the Holy Spirit just as your fathers did. Was there a prophet whom your ancestors did not persecute? They killed those who announced the coming of the Just One Whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the Law through the Angels but did not fulfil it.”

When the Council heard the reproach Stephen made against them, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Then he knelt down and said in a loud voice : “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he died. Saul was there, approving his murder. This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem.

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Monday, 13 April 2026 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to realise that each and every one of us have received new lives that are blessed by God’s grace and love through our common baptism, which we have received at the beginning of our journey as Christians, be it as infants or as adults. And with this baptism we share, we have become the adopted children of God, those whom God had given His gift of grace, Holy Spirit and the strength to carry out our lives with faith, showcasing the wonderful truth of God manifested in us, in the promises that God has shown us, and which He constantly reassured us all with, manifested in our daily living and actions.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which we heard of the moment right after St. Peter and St. John, two of the Twelve Apostles, were freed from their incarceration and questioning by the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council for their action in performing a wonderful miracle at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem, where they healed a paralysed man sitting there in the Name of the Risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when the Sanhedrin had expressly made it taboo and forbidden for anyone to utter the Name of the Lord or to perform anything in His Name, after they had condemned Him to death and crucified Him, and especially at that time, as they were dealing with the rumours of the Lord’s Resurrection from the dead.

And yet, the two Apostles remained firm and adamant, full of the Holy Spirit, courage, hope and strength before the whole assembly of the Sanhedrin, standing up firmly for their faith in the Risen Lord, proclaiming the truth about His works, and the undeniable proof of how the paralysed man had been healed and made whole again the Name of the same Lord and Saviour that the Sanhedrin had persecuted, rejected and killed. After they were freed, as we heard, the two Apostles inspired and strengthened the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord, and reminding them of God’s Presence in their midst, and how He would provide for them and protect them amidst all the challenges and trials that they might have to face in carrying out their missions and works.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the encounter between the Lord Jesus and the renowned Pharisee and elder, Nicodemus, who was known to be quite sympathetic of the Lord and His teachings, but who had to come and meet Him at night because he was worried about the reactions and responses of the Jewish people and the other Pharisees, who were often critical and against the Lord. Nicodemus asked the Lord about how mankind can be saved and the Lord told him that unless they all be born again in the Lord through the Spirit, and if they remained in the flesh, then they will not be able to attain salvation in the Lord, because the Lord is with those who have been born again in the Spirit.

This phrase and conversation between the Lord Jesus and Nicodemus had often been misunderstood by many people, among Christians and others, as some interpreted it as being born of the Spirit being a necessity for salvation, and those who have not been born of the Spirit were therefore inferior spiritually or in status as compared to those who so called have received the gift of the Spirit of God. No, brothers and sisters in Christ, being born again in the Spirit is a reference to how we who have received the Lord and accepted Him as our Saviour, and having shared in the gift of our baptism, have become born again anew in the Lord, in becoming the adopted sons and daughters of God, by our common humanity with Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man.

That is why we are all reminded on this day of this identity which we have as the chosen people of God, as those whom He had made to be His own sons and daughters. Let us all remember that with God there is abundance of Hope and strength, remembering that with Him we will not falter and despite all the challenges and hardships that we may be facing, we will be strengthened by Him, encouraged and empowered by His Spirit within us, the same Spirit that He has given us in the life that He has provided us, and then completed through baptism and affirmed in those of us who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation. We should always remember how God is always by our side, and therefore, remain faithful to Him at all times, like the Apostles had been.

Today, we all should be inspired by the examples set by Pope St. Martin I, a courageous servant of God and worthy successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the Vicar of Christ and leader of the Universal Church. Pope St. Martin I was remembered for his strong faith and love for God, his adherence to the true faith at a time when there were those who advocated false teachings and aberrant ways, in which he had to struggle against even the powerful, and no less than the Roman Emperor himself. At that time, the Roman Emperor and the power nobles favoured the heretical teaching of Monothelitism, a heresy which stated that the Lord has only one single will, as opposed to what the Church teaches, which is the Lord having two unique and distinct natures and will, Divine and Human, united perfectly in His single Person.

At that time, the Papacy faced a lot of pressures and challenges from the secular authority, where the Roman Emperor and his bureaucracy held strong away over the Roman church and its governance, and attempting to control the Papacy and its policies. Pope St. Martin I had to endure tough challenges and trials, going even against even those in power and the authorities who openly supported the heretics. As a result, he was arrested, exiled and made to suffer, and eventually died a martyr’s death. Yet, till the very end, Pope St. Martin I held firmly to the faith, and dedicated himself to the Lord and to the flock entrusted to his care, not wanting them to fall into the falsehoods of heresy. Through his examples, we can see the inspiration of a true Christian who remains faithful despite all the trials and challenges he faced, which we can also follow in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore renew our commitment and faith in the Lord, doing our very best to walk in the path that the Lord has set before us. Let us all continue to follow the good examples set by our predecessors in faithfully and help to inspire many others to walk in the same path as well, with courage and hope, knowing that God will always be with us, guarding and strengthening us at every steps of the journey. May the Risen Lord continue to bless us all and encourage us in the path of faith and life that He has been leading us through, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 13 April 2026 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 3 : 1-8

At that time, among the Pharisees there was a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God to teach us, for no one can perform miraculous signs like Yours unless God is with Him.”

Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above.” Nicodemus said, “How can there be rebirth for a grown man? Who could go back to his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you : No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

“Because of this, do not be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again from above.’ The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

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Monday, 13 April 2026 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 2 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-9

Why do the nations conspire? Why do the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth brace themselves and the rulers together take their stand against the Lord and His Anointed. They say, “Let us break their bonds! Let us cast away their chains!”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord looks at them in derision. Then in anger He speaks to them, terrifying them in the fury of His wrath : “Behold the King I have installed, in Zion, upon My holy hill!”

I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You. Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall rule them with iron sceptre and shatter them as a potter’s vase.”

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Monday, 13 April 2026 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 4 : 23-31

As soon as Peter and John were set free, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices as one and called upon God, “Sovereign Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, of the sea and everything in them, You have put these words in the mouth of David, our father and Your servant, through the Holy Spirit : Why did the pagan nations rage and the people conspire in folly? The kings of the were aligned and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Messiah.”

“For indeed in this very city Herod with Pontius Pilate, and the pagans together with the people of Israel conspired against Your holy Servant Jesus, Whom You anointed. Thus, indeed, they brought about whatever Your powerful will had decided from all time would happen. But now, Lord, see their threats against us and enable Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and to work signs and wonders through the Name of Jesus Your holy Servant.”

When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered together shook, and they were all filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

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Monday, 23 March 2026 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, we are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, that the Lord loves each and every one of us and He does not discriminate between any one of us. All of us are equally beloved by Him despite of the sins we have committed against Him out of disobedience. He wants us all to find our way towards Him, journeying together with Him in love, in embracing His most generous mercy and compassion, knowing that He has infinite Love and mercy towards us, extending His loving Presence and embrace and reaching out to us sinners, and be ever willing to forgive us and be reconciled with us. This Lent we are reminded to seek the Lord ever more genuinely and intentionally, doing our best to grow in our connection and relationship with Him just as we ought to do the same to those around us as well.

In our first reading, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, we heard the rather long passage regarding the story of one woman named Susanna, a respected member of the community of the Israelite exiles in Babylon, who was known as being righteous and God-fearing, and at the same time was also charming and beautiful. And as we heard, this brought temptation upon two of the elders of the people of God who were there in the gardens of Susanna’s residence, lusting over her as she was bathing, despite knowing that she was married and was an upright woman, and despite the fact that they were the respected elders of the community of the Israelites. Not only that, but as we heard from the story, when they were foiled in their efforts as Susanna refused to follow them into sin, they were determined to silence her and to destroy her.

That was how the two elders ended up conjuring up false evidences and false accusations against Susanna, accusing her of having committed what they themselves sought to impose on her with another man. And amidst all that, Susanna, powerless in all the accusations brought up against her, with the two most respected figures of her own community plotting against her, could only pray to the Lord, surrendering everything to God’s will, protection and providence. That was precisely the very moment when the Lord chose to act, to intervene for the sake of those who have trusted wholeheartedly in Him. He spoke through the Holy Spirit that He aroused in Daniel, who acted and spoke with Wisdom, trapping the two elders in their own lies and exposing their deceitful actions before all, saving the life of the righteous.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the well-known story of the contention between the Lord Jesus and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees who brought unto Him a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. In that well-known story we heard how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were all trying very hard to trap the Lord with the case of the adulterous woman, as through their inquiry on what the Lord would do, they hope to get something out of what He would respond to them, be it that He supported the choice of actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in stoning the woman according to the Law of Moses, or whether the Lord opposed them and wanted them to free the woman.

If the Lord supported the course of actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, then they could have used that to their advantage, by saying that the Lord was after all no different from the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law themselves, and use that to further support their position and their way of doing things regarding the Law and its application. On the other hand, if the Lord opposed the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, they would have then been able to accuse Him of wrongdoing, of trying to defend sinner and therefore going against the Law of Moses. Either way, if the Lord responded, that would have led to Him suffering losses against those Pharisees and teachers of the Law.

However, the Lord calmly waited for all of them to state their arguments, and patiently waited it out until then He wisely spoke the truth and reality, that every single one of them there were sinners, just like the adulterous woman, and none of them in truth had the right to condemn or to strike against the woman when they themselves had their own baggage of sins and disobedience against God. And that’s how we heard that one by one, starting from the oldest ones, who likely had committed the most sins, began to leave and soon there were nobody left to condemn the woman. In this then, we are all reminded that as Christians, we should not act in haughty and prideful manner, thinking that we are better than any others, even against those who do not believe in God. We are reminded to be always humble and to trust in God’s love and mercy, such as what He has shown to the woman.

That is why during this time of Lent, all of us are reminded to refocus our lives and our attention on the Lord. We should not allow the many distractions all around us from pulling us away from the path of the Lord. We should therefore also follow the good examples set by one of our holy predecessors, whose feast we are celebrating today, with the hope that we all may be inspired by his life and good examples. St. Turibius de Mogrovejo was a Spanish priest that eventually became a missionary and appointed as Archbishop of Lima in the then New World, what is today Peru. St. Turibius de Mogrovejo was truly a humble and committed servant of God, whose personal piety and obedience to God, love for Him and love for his fellow men inspired many who followed in his footsteps and examples. St. Turibius de Mogrovejo spent a lot of time reaching to his flock, teaching them about the faith and catechising them, and according to history and records, baptised no less than half a million of them, including the saints St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres.

St. Turibius de Mogrovejo was also very staunch in his dedication to the reforms of the Church, and launched a campaign of reform and reorganisation of his Archdiocese, to ensure that the clergy and the members of the faithful lived their lives in accordance to what the Lord has taught them, to the Church teachings and Apostolic traditions. He spent a lot of time in prayer and reflection, and dedicated himself to the betterment and help for his flock, to his fellow brothers and sisters, especially to those who were less fortunate and who were suffering. The dedication of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, his faith and love both for God and for his fellow men should inspire us all that we may also live our lives well and in righteous manner, that we may truly be found worthy and good by the Lord our God, and worthy indeed to inherit the great things that God has prepared for us.

May the Lord hence guide and help us in our journey of faith through life, particularly during this blessed season and time of Lent. May He continue to strengthen our faith in us and encourage us all to continue carrying out our lives with great sincerity and desire to walk in the path that the Lord Himself has shown us. Let us all be reminded that our actions, our words and deeds, our every moments in life may be either good or negative examples for everyone around us, and if we truly consider ourselves as Christians, then we ought to live our lives sincerely and genuinely as how Susanna and St. Turibius de Mogrovejo had lived theirs. May all of us be good role models and exemplary Christians, bearers of God’s truth and Good News to all, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 23 March 2026 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 8 : 1-11

At that time, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak He appeared in the Temple again. All the people came to Jesus, and He sat down and began to teach them. Then the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone.

“Master,” they said, “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now the Law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to death; but You, what do You say?” They said this to test Jesus, in order to have some charge against Him. Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with His finger. And as they continued to ask Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who has no sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And He bent down again, writing on the ground.

As a result of these words, they went away, one by one, starting with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Then Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go away and do not sin again.”