18th Week of Ordinary Time

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Monday, 3 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are presented with the words of God’s truth and the sufferings that we may have to face as those who faithfully follow and obey God. We are all reminded that the Lord is always and will always be with us, but often we may have to endure difficulties and challenges along the way if we are to follow Him. God shall provide what we need, and if we trust in Him and believe in His providence then in the end, we shall be triumphant with Him, and will share in the glory that He has promised to all of us as His constant and ever enduring love for us have always shown us without fail at all.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah of the clash and competition between that of Jeremiah and Hananiah, one of the false prophets in the court of the king of Judah. Before the assembly of the people of Judah, Hananiah proclaimed that God would break the yoke of the king of Babylon which the latter had imposed on them, and that God would return everything that the people had lost, a happy resolution of their then predicament. Back then, the kingdom of Judah was in its last days, threatened from all sides, and especially from the forces of the Babylonians, and naturally, many people feared those Babylonians and they were trying to do whatever they could to appease those who had overwhelming force and capable of destroying Judah and Jerusalem.

Jeremiah was the only one who had consistently and persistently spoke the truth of God, reminding the people of the upcoming calamity and destruction, as the sins and disobedience of the people had led them into that fate. Judah and Jerusalem would be destroyed and conquered, and the people would be exiled to Babylon, just as the prophets before Jeremiah had foretold, and which Jeremiah himself had also spoken of. But that did not mean that God did not love His people. Rather, they still had to suffer the just consequences of their own choices and actions, in persistently and continuously disobeying God and living wickedly for so long, having refused to listen to the reminders which God had given to them through His many prophets including that of Jeremiah himself.

Hananiah was not speaking the truth when he was speaking about what would happen to the kingdom and people of Judah. He was pandering to the popular sentiments and desires, and like that of the many other so-called false prophets and officials, they all tried to please the king and the people as naturally nobody liked to hear any bad or negative news or prophecies. Historically, there was also pressure by those people to push the king and the people to side with the Egyptians in the regional power struggle between Egypt and Babylonia, in which the people and kingdom of Judah were caught right in the middle of. They were putting more trust in worldly means and powers, machinations and manipulations rather than to put their trust in God as they should all have done.

That was why Jeremiah was sidelined, ostracised and persecuted against as most of the officials and the people favoured siding with the Egyptians in their struggles against Babylon, instead of listening to God and repenting from their sinful ways. They trusted more in man’s ways and worldly means to resolve their problems and troubles. They deluded themselves into thinking that they could do anything they want, and that they could imagine life and everything the way they wanted it to be, and not heeding the Lord’s words and reminders, His constant calling and persistent desire to be reunited and reconciled with His people, those whom He had always loved despite their sinfulness and rebellious nature.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord’s famous miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and thousands of other women and children with merely just five loaves of bread and two fishes. In that occasion, the Lord showed His great providence and love for His people, caring for the needs of those who had chosen to follow Him and devoted themselves to Him, and who had become hungry after following Him. He also wanted to highlight to us that despite our many infidelities and lack of faith in Him, our constant rebelliousness and disobedience, but He has always cared for us and for our well-being, giving us all the tangible examples and evidence of His ever enduring love and kindness.

The Lord fed His people with His own hands, and gave them sustenance both in physical and spiritual manner, strengthening them with miraculously multiplied loaves of bread and fishes, as well as with the words of His wisdom and truth. He calls on us all to follow Him, the Bread of Life and the Hope of all mankind, so that we do not delude ourselves anymore with false expectations and temptations of the world, but instead, turn towards the Lord, our Saviour and King, with full and genuine faith. All of us are called to return towards the Lord and to trust in Him once again, rather than to allow ourselves to be deluded and swayed by worldly temptations and concerns.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all therefore capable of doing what we have been all called to do? To love the Lord our God most genuinely in the manner that He Himself has shown and taught us first? Let us all put our trust always in He Who has never abandoned us especially in our time and hour of greatest need, ever ready to help and provide for us whenever we need help and guidance. It is now therefore up to us whether we want to allow the Lord to help and guide us all in our paths, or whether we are more willing to follow the ways of the world as the people of Israel and Judah had once done. Let us all ponder carefully all these and see in what way we can truly be good and genuine disciples of the Lord in all things, becoming good role models and examples for one another, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 3 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 14 : 13-21

At that time, when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed Him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there, and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.

Late in the afternoon, His disciples came to Him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to Me.”

Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.

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Monday, 3 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102

Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your Law.

Take not the word of truth from my mouth, for I would also lose my hope in Your word.

Let those who fear You, turn to me; they will understand Your statutes.

May my heart be blameless in Your decrees, that I may not be ashamed.

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I look to Your word for salvation.

I have not departed from Your decrees, for You, Yourself, have instructed me.

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Monday, 3 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jeremiah 28 : 1-17

Early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah spoke to me.

Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon proclaimed in YHVH’s house in the presence of the priests and the people, “This is what YHVH the God of Hosts and the God of Israel says : I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the objects that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from YHVH’s house and carried to Babylon.”

“I will likewise bring back Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all who were taken from Judah and deported to Babylon. For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon – word of YHVH.”

Then Jeremiah replied to Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people, “So be it! May YHVH fulfil the words you have spoken and bring back from Babylon to this place the objects taken from the house of YHVH and all the exiles. Yet hear now what I say in your hearing and the hearing of all the people.”

“The prophets who came before you and me continually prophesied war, disaster and plague to many nations and great kingdoms. So the prophet who prophesies peace will not be recognised as truly sent by YHVH, until his predictions are fulfilled.”

Then Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah and broke it. Hananiah proclaimed in the presence of all the people, “YHVH says this : In the same manner, within two years, will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from the neck of all the nations.” Then Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.

Some time later, a word of YHVH came to Jeremiah, “Go and tell this to Hananiah : This is what YHVH says : You have broken a wooden yoke but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. For this is what YHVH the God of Hosts and the God of Israel says : I am placing a yoke of iron on the neck of all the nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.”

Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, you have not been sent by YHVH and yet you have deceived these people, giving them false hope with your lies. That is why YHVH says with regard to you : I am removing you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counselled rebellion against YHVH.”

And in the seventh month of that year Hananiah died.

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Sunday, 2 August 2026 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us heard one clear message from our Scripture readings today, that God is Love, and God loves each and every one of us so greatly and so wonderfully that we must really appreciate all that He had done for us all these while. Too often we mankind have ignored God’s love, rejected His compassion and mercy and preferring to do things our own way. Imagine how terrible it is for to be so stubborn and to rebel against God Who has loved us all so very much, in doing injustice and causing harm to those around us, even towards those whom we profess to love and care for, out of our selfishness and disobedience against God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord spoke to us all, calling on us to look for Him, that He will provide for us whatever we need, be it food or drink, be it sustenance in other form, as well as love and care, and He will fulfil the Covenant that He had once made with our ancestors, and which He has renewed again and again throughout time, and which He made one final renewal for all eternity in the New Covenant that He has established through Christ, His Son. Yes, God Who truly loves each one of us, His people, will never abandon us and He will provide for us wonderfully, and He did not hold back anything at all, not even His own Son for our sake and well-being.

And in the Gospel passage today, we heard of the well-known miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, as the Lord was faced with five thousand men and thousands more of women and children, their family members, who followed Him as He taught them and spoke to them of God’s truth and love. As we all know, the Lord miraculously fed all the multitudes of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish, blessing them and breaking them for all the people to eat until they were all satisfied. The Lord fed His people who hungered for food, and not just the physical food as we heard how they all ate of the bread and the fish, but in fact also, the food of the Word of God, as the people listened to the Lord teaching to them. The Lord said, that ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every words that come from the mouth of God’. It is there then the Lord, the Divine Word Incarnate in the flesh, became the Bread of Life for all of His people.

Thus, from what we have heard in today’s Gospel and the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of just how God fulfilled His promises and words, that truly, He meant every single words that He had said, and gave us the ultimate gift and the perfect manifestation of His love in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. For through Him we received the guarantee of eternal life and glory with Him, that by our living and genuine faith, we are to be part of this Covenant He has made with us. As I said earlier on, God is Love, brothers and sisters in Christ, and God’s love is the very reason why the world and all of us exist. God is perfect in all things, and His perfection means that He does not have need for anything. Yet, in the overflowing love that exists between the members of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, God Who is Love created all of us to share in this wonderful love, for that is what love is all about, to show care and concern, passion and desire for the best things for one another.

And God’s love for us is so powerful, great and all-encompassing that St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans in our second reading today said, ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?’ and he also said how no power, no matter how great, be it on earth, in heaven or hell, or from wherever in the universe or beyond, will be able to separate us from the love of God, the wonderful, gentle and all-encompassing love of God. God’s love has been provided for us so generously, and which He has shown again and again through the generations, just as our Gospel passage today is just one small example of this Love. God has always shown us all this Love most wonderfully as He had done throughout all of history, without exceptions to all of His beloved ones, that is all of us.

Yet, the question that often then comes to our mind is that, ‘Lord, if You love me so much, why is it then I have to suffer in this world?’ And this question is often the number one reason why we doubt, why we are unsure of God’s love, why we even become angry at God and refuse to believe in Him. We see suffering all around us, and which we also see in ourselves, and we doubt God’s love and even existence, for after all, if God does love us, then shouldn’t all of us be happy and good? This is then where we need to understand that while God’s love for us have always been genuine, unconditional and true, the same often cannot be said for us. Our love is often conditional, selfish and self-centred, tainted with desire and greed, with jealousy and even with hatred. And that is why we have not been able to experience the fullness of God’s love as all the many temptations and obstacles present in our lives prevented us from truly experiencing this true love.

For example, on the matter of hunger and food, sustenance and providence that we have focused on a lot today, a lot of people may ask, if God truly loves us, then why is it that people are suffering daily from hunger, from famine, from lack of food and from impoverishment? Should all these things be absent if God truly loves us? These are definitely questions that run through our minds if we look at the situation all around us. Brothers and sisters in Christ, the answer is actually simpler than what we think. God’s love has been abundantly given to us, and He has blessed us wonderfully. In the optimal and expected condition, this would have meant that everyone has enough for themselves, and yet, if we look around carefully, don’t we see plenty of inequalities, as some people dined in great excess and how food wastage is common in many countries, just as others suffered from hunger and famine in other countries? It was in fact our greed that had led to this sad and unfortunate situation.

What do I mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It was our misuse and indeed, abuse of God’s wonderful love and also freedom given to us that led to much suffering of all forms all around the world, in the past as it is in the present now and how it will also be in the future. As people succumbed to their greed and the temptations in desiring for more good things for themselves, this led to oppression, manipulation, extortion and even exploitation of others just so that some people can enjoy benefits at the cost to others, those who are less powerful, less wealthy and less privileged. This is why suffering has been perpetuated and continued to happen throughout time and history, and why, despite God’s love and providence, many still suffer in our world today.

Alas, this is exactly what I meant when I said that the way we mankind has loved is imperfect, conditional, selfish and self-centred. We allow our ego and pride to mislead us, and greed to pull us into the trap of selfishness and self-centredness, and we have not loved as God loved us, as we were so preoccupied with ourselves and our desires that we ended up hurting others, being unfair, selfish and wicked in our actions in life. That is why today, all of us as Christians are reminded that as God is Love, and as He has shared His love with us, we too shall love just as the Lord has loved us, in an unconditional, selfless and sincere way. This is true, genuine love that all of us must have within us, and which we must aspire to and spread in our practice towards one another. As children of humanity, and as God’s beloved children, and all the more, as Christians, we need to walk in the path of God’s love.

Therefore, we need to show this love through our every day actions, through every little gestures and interactions we have with one another. We must remember how God fed His multitudes of thousands and everyone had enough, just as in the past, during the Exodus, God fed His people with manna and everyone had enough to eat, with no one lacking or had excess, and as proven by the twelve baskets of leftovers that God had given His people more than enough. As it was our selfishness and greed that caused hunger, suffering and sorrow for many, then it is our responsibility and calling to be the ones leading the way and show everyone the path of God’s love. Are we willing to do that, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to show God’s wonderful love to our fellow brothers and sisters, and are we willing to challenge the customary ways of this world by rejecting the inherent selfishness and greed present in our current way of life?

As we all share in the one Body of Christ, let us all remember that we are first and foremost brothers and sisters, one family in the same one Lord, and through Him we have been united and have a share in His infinite and amazing love. Let us share God’s blessings by being more generous in giving, in whatever means we are able to, in order to help those who are less fortunate and suffering in our midst, especially this year as we have seen so many people suffering the effects of the conflicts and instabilities all throughout the world, economic uncertainties and inflation, violence and all the injustice faced by those who are less privileged and those who had been prejudiced against.

Many people have suffered, lost their jobs and getting retrenched, lost their pay or got their wages and salaries cut or suspended. Many people have fallen sick and suffered, from various diseases and problems they faced. And we have seen how during these difficult and challenging times, the stresses and trials caused great friction and conflict within our communities, that we saw all the civil disturbances, riots and troubles that occurred between the divided members of our communities, as people fought one another over matters of racial divisions and prejudices, economic imbalance and insecurities, biases and intolerance. We have seen how people acted selfishly in trying to protect themselves, causing further harm and sufferings to the marginalised and the less fortunate.

Unfortunately, Christians were among many of those who participated in these actions, these selfishness and lack of compassion which caused even greater anguish and suffering for those who have already suffered. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on this and discern in what way that we can share the love of God in our communities beginning from now, if we have not done so yet. Let us all be filled with God’s love and love Him first and foremost, and love one another with genuine love, now and always.

May the Lord, our loving God and Father continue to love us as He has always patiently been doing all these while. May He grant us the strength to continue to show the same love, and the perseverance and compassion in our hearts, to reach out to our less fortunate brethren all around us, to those who were unloved and poor, those who had been marginalised and suffered, especially during these difficult days and times. May God bless us and our good endeavours and works, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 2 August 2026 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 14 : 13-21

At that time, when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed Him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there, and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.

Late in the afternoon, His disciples came to Him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to Me.”

Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.

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Sunday, 2 August 2026 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 35, 37-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be trials, or anguish, persecution or hunger, lack of clothing, or dangers or sword? No, in all of this, we are more than conquerors, thanks to Him, Who has loved us.

I am certain, that neither death nor life, neither Angels nor spiritual powers, neither the present nor the future, nor cosmic powers, were they from heaven, or from the deep world below, nor any creature whatsoever, will separate us from the love of God, which we have, in Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

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Sunday, 2 August 2026 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 8-9, 15-16, 17-18

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

 All creatures look to You to be fed in due season; with open hand, You satisfy the living, according to their needs.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Sunday, 2 August 2026 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 55 : 1-3

Come here, all you who are thirsty, come to the water! All who have no money, come! Yes, without money and at no cost, buy and drink wine and milk.

Why spend money on what is not food and labour for what does not satisfy? Listen to Me, and you will eat well; you will enjoy the richest of fare. Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting Covenant, I will fulfil in you My promises to David.

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Saturday, 9 August 2025 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as God’s holy and beloved people, all of us should always believe in the Lord and put our trust in Him, and not be easily swayed by the many temptations and distractions found all around us in this world. We also need a strong and vibrant relationship with the Lord, and develop a strong commitment in following Him at all times, in our prayerful and faithful living, in doing what God had taught and shown us all to do in being good and dedicated disciples and followers of our God. If only our faith in God is stronger, then we should have remained firm in our conviction to walk in His path, and we will not easily fall into the wrong paths in our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the continuation of the exhortation which Moses, the leader of the Israelites made to the people of God, calling on all of them to keep the Law and commandments of God, and to live their lives faithfully and worthily of the Lord, so that the Lord will continue to bless them and their descendants, for their faith, love and devotion to Him, as part of the Covenant which God had made with each and every one of them. Moses reminded the people that even after they had reached the land which had been promised and assured to them, they and their descendants should continue to worship the Lord and obey Him as they had always done, and not instead be swayed by worldly desires and forgetting what God had done for them.

That was why Moses spent the time and effort to remind the people of Israel, who have already begun to abandon the Lord even as the Lord had continued to show His signs and wonders in their midst. They had shown how stubborn and wicked they could be, in hardening their hearts and refusing the great grace and blessings which God had blessed them with, complaining about their lives and conditions when God had constantly taken care of them, protected them from their enemies, and reassured them that He would fulfil all of His promises and words, without exception. Hence, Moses reminded the people again and again of the great love and faithfulness of God to His Covenant, which He has constantly renewed and reassured us with from time to time.

And since God had made His Covenant with His people, that is why it is imperative that we should remember our part of the Covenant since we ourselves like the Israelites in the past have also been partakers of God’s Covenant, ours being the New and Eternal Covenant which He has made and sealed with each and every one of us through none other than His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. God has always loved us, and He has always been patient in caring for us, even to the point of providing for us the ultimate gift of His love, His own Son, manifested in the flesh, so that by the ultimate sacrifice that He undertook on the Cross at Calvary, He might liberate us all from our sufferings and troubles, from our bondage to sin that had separated us all from Him. He has always wanted us to be reconciled to Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which a man who had an epileptic son asked the Lord why His disciples could not drive out the evil spirits from his son, and the Lord chided the lack of faith of the people and that of His disciples, and showing forth His power and authority, He healed the man’s son and cast those evil spirits that had made that son to suffer such hardships. And He told His disciples afterwards when they asked Him privately why they could not cast the evil spirits out, that the kind of evil spirits whom they encountered required prayer and indeed, faith in God for grace and power to flow from God and cast out those evil spirits.

It may indeed be a bit difficult to understand the intentions and nuances of the Lord from what we have heard in those words and from the events depicted in the Gospel, but it is quite evident and implied strongly that the disciples did not have genuine or strong faith in the Lord. They had indeed been given the power and authority by the Lord to heal and perform miracles, and to cast out evil spirits and heal the possessed. However, it is important that we realise how this power came from God and it is God Who exercised His power and authority through those disciples. It was likely that the disciples who attempted the healing thought that it was their own power and greatness that allowed them to perform such actions and exercise those powers, and hence, their tenuous connection to the Lord allowed the evil spirits to resist and even attack them back.

This is why it is again very important for us to remember to deepen our faith and relationship with God, in following His Law and commandments sincerely and faithfully at all times, and by spending good and quality time with Him each day through prayer and spiritual connection with Him, and even in whatever we do in each and every days of our lives, because in whatever we do with faith, even in the smallest things, done in obedience and faith in God, that is where we have grown in our connection and relationship with God. As Christians, we should indeed always embody our faith in all of our every words, actions and deeds, so that by our lives and examples we may be good inspiration to everyone around us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also more famously known by her birth name of Edith Stein. She was a convert to the Catholic faith and was born into a German Jewish family in the early twentieth century. After encountering the works of St. Teresa of Avila during his education in her doctoral studies and afterwards, she was attracted to the Catholic faith and eventually became a follower of Christ. She wanted to join the Discalced Carmelite nuns, and despite some setbacks, she eventually managed to do so, during the difficult years at that time because the NAZI regime was rising to power in Germany and began to make many anti-Jewish laws and regulations which also impacted her as well. Nonetheless, she continued to dedicate herself to the Lord through her community of nuns, and despite being sent to a monastery in the Netherlands for her safety, she was eventually arrested by the NAZI secret police, the Gestapo and was martyred in a concentration camp with many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life and examples of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, her courage and faith in the Lord, in standing up to the face of evil and sin in this world, and inspired by the great lvoe that God has always had for each and every one of us, let us all therefore strive to be ever more faithful and dedicated to the Lord at all times. Let us continue to walk faithfully with the Lord, doing our very best to glorify Him and to proclaim His Good News and truth, show His love and compassion to everyone through our own actions, words and deeds. May the Lord be with us all and all of our good works and deeds, in all things and at all times. May God bless our every efforts and bless His Church. Amen.