27th Week of Ordinary Time

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Thursday, 9 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Psalm)

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

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the man who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the Law of YHVH and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For YHVH knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 9 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (First Reading)

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

Malachi 3 : 13-20a

You say very harsh things about Me, says YHVH, and yet, you say : “What harsh things did we say against You?” You say : “It is useless to serve God. There is no benefit in observing His commandments or in leading an austere life for His sake. Happy are the shameless! Those who do evil succeed in everything; though they provoke God, they remain unharmed.”

Those were the very words of those who fear YHVH. YHVH listened and heard what they said. He ordered at once, that the names of those who respect Him and reverence His Name be written in a record. And He declared, “They will be Mine on the day I have already set. Then I shall care for them, as a father cares for his obedient son. And you will see the different fates of the good and the bad, those who obey God and those who disobey Him.”

The day already comes, flaming as a furnace. On that day, all the proud and evildoers will be burnt, like straw in the fire. They will be left without branches or roots. On the other hand, the sun of justice will shine upon you who respect My Name and bring health in is rays.

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Wednesday, 8 October 2025 : 27th 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 Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the great love and compassion that God our most loving Father and Creator has shown to each and every one of us, all without exception, even to the greatest and most obstinate of sinners. God has always been generous with His mercy and forgiveness, and with all that He has prepared for us, His beloved children and people. God wants us all to come to Him and be forgiven from all the faults and mistakes that had become barriers and obstacles in our paths towards Him. And just as the Lord never gave up on us, but ever constantly reaching our to us and giving us chances one after another, we too should always put our trust and hope in God at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Book of the prophet Jonah, we heard of how Jonah had gone to the city of Nineveh as he had been directed by God, and how he did as he had been asked by the Lord in proclaiming the upcoming downfall and destruction of Nineveh because of the great wickedness which they had committed, all the vile things that the Assyrians carried out throughout their often violent bloodshed and all the destruction which they had brought upon the many nations they attacked and conquered in their pursuit of power and glory. But when the people of Nineveh heard of the judgment and warnings that the Lord presented to them, the whole people of Nineveh, from their king to the lowest among the peasants, all repented their sins, showing publicly their repentance by wearing sackcloth.

And it was for this public and genuine repentance that the Lord showed His generous mercy and compassion on the people of Nineveh, sparing them the destruction that He had wanted to bring upon them. But as we heard from the passage today, Jonah was unhappy with the Lord’s actions, and he was angry and displeased likely because he went all the way to Nineveh after having tried to flee from the Lord and ignore the Lord’s calling and mission, only for his mission to be seemingly invalidated and his efforts wasted, from his perspective, when the Lord forgave the people of Nineveh from their sins and did not carry out what He had warned and declared to them through Jonah. Therefore, Jonah was angered because in his ego and pride, he likely thought that he deserved to see the destruction of Nineveh and its people just as he had announced it.

Yet, the Lord patiently explained to Jonah and told him how He truly cared for everyone, to even the least of the people of Nineveh, and even to the worst offenders and sinners. He considered everyone to be His beloved children, without any exception, and that included even the people of Nineveh themselves. When Jonah grumbled and complained when a sycamore tree that shaded him from the heat died, the Lord therefore referred to that example and showed how if Jonah cared so much about the life of a sycamore tree, then all the more God is ever more concerned about the lives of all of His children, no matter who they are or how sinful they have been. He wants all of them to be saved and reconciled with Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to pray to their Heavenly Father, in the prayer that I am sure all of us know well, that is the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Pater Noster or Our Father, is the prayer that the Lord Himself has prayed and taught us all how to pray as the essence of the perfect prayer, upon which our prayers ought to be modelled after. For in the Lord’s Prayer is contained all that is the essence of our prayer, which is truly our communication with God. In that prayer is contained the essence of thanksgiving, contrition, adoration and supplication to God.

Each one of these aspects are important as they made up our genuine and living relationship with God, which should indeed be characterised by regular and dynamic communication with God through prayer. Prayer is truly central to our lives and actions as Christians, and without prayer we cannot truly be connected to God, or know His will and desire for us all. If we are true Christians then we will always make the conscious effort to keep in touch with the Lord actively and regularly just in the same manner that we are constantly connected to our family members and to our loved ones, even friends and those others whom we care for. That is why we should imitate the examples set by our Lord Himself, in how He constantly spent time in quiet prayer with His Father in Heaven.

But too many of us spent time praying in the wrong way, filling our prayers with demands, requests and thinking that by our prayers we can get what we want and that God will be bent to our wants and desires. That is not what a prayer is truly about. Yes, the Lord knows what we seek and He also genuinely listens to us whenever we ask of HIm. As our loving Father, He certainly cares about us and He wants the best for us. And the Lord Jesus Himself also said in another occasion, ‘Ask and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened for you.’ The Lord, our Heavenly Father is truly loving and generous with us, and if only we develop a strong and genuine relationship with Him through constant prayer, that we will be able to truly grow closer to Him and be more faithful and worthy of Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, as we have reflected from the messages of the Sacred Scriptures, and as we have discussed through our reflection today, let us all therefore have and develop this strong and genuine relationship with God our Father, acting as always with the desire to glorify Him and to do His will at all times. Let us allow ourselves to be guided and strengthened by God our loving Father in all things, and allow Him to guide us through the journey of faith that we have in our own respective lives. May God be with us always and may He continue to bless each and every one of us, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”

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Wednesday, 8 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 85 : 3-4, 5-6, 9-10

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

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

All the nations You have made will come; they will worship before You, o YHVH, and bring glory to Your Name. For You are great, and wonderful are Your deeds; You alone, are God.

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Wednesday, 8 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jonah 4 : 1-11

But Jonah was greatly displeased at this, and he was indignant. He prayed to YHVH and said, “O YHVH, is this not what I said when I was yet in my own country? This is why I fled to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and full of love, and You relent from imposing terrible punishment. I beseech You now, YHVH, to take my life, for now it is better for me to die than to live.”

But YHVH replied, “What right have you to be angry?” Jonah then left the city. He went to a place east of it, built himself a shelter and sat under its shade to wait and see what would happen to Nineveh. Then YHVH God provided a castor-oil plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade over his head and to ease his discomfort. Jonah was very happy about the plant.

But the next day, at dawn, God sent a worm which attacked the plant and made it wither. When the sun rose, God sent a scorching east wind; the sun blazed down upon Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. His death wish returned and he said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Then God asked Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the castor-oil plant?” Jonah answered, “I am right to be angry enough to wish to die.” YHVH said, “You are concerned about a plant which cost you no labour to make it grow. Overnight it sprang up, and overnight it perished. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish right from left and they have many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned for such a great city?”

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Tuesday, 7 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, commemorating the Mother of God herself, Mary, in her aspect as the one who has shown and given us all her children the rosary as a means for us to find our way to the Lord through her and the rosary. The history of the rosary dated to the early Middle Ages and is often attributed to St. Dominic to whom Our Lady made her appearance, to save many souls through it. At that time, St. Dominic was involved in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heresy raging in southern France, and the rosary is one of the means through which St. Dominic used to reach out to those who have lapsed from the true faith and leading them back to the Church.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which it was detailed about the Lord’s disciples who had gone to witness His Ascension into Heaven, where the members of the Twelve were highlighted to us, each one by their names. They all went forth praising the Lord and believing in His message of hope and assurance, and Mary has a prominent role among them, as the Mother of God herself and as the one who is the maternal figure among all the Apostles and disciples of the Lord. And they spent their time in prayer while waiting for the arrival of the Holy Spirit that the Lord Himself has promised to them, and we see here the unity between Mary and the other early Church members, which reminds us all of the spiritual unity and bond we have with her as well.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary in Nazareth, in the event known as the Annunciation of the Lord, when God finally revealed the long awaited promise of salvation for His people, the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour which He Himself has reassured His people many times throughout history for. When the Archangel Gabriel brought the Good News to Mary, it was indeed a moment of great rejoicing for the Lord having finally accomplished everything that He had promised to His people. And Mary became the Mother of God, the one to bear the Son of God Most High Himself in her, which is why we are reminded of this fact as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Rosary today.

We are reminded that Mary is indeed our greatest intercessor and the one who can pray for us in the most powerful and effective way because she herself is now in Heaven with her Son, and is seated by His side, at the honoured position beside His Throne as the Queen Mother of Heaven. Therefore, through our devout prayer of the rosary and through our trust in the intercession of Mary, our loving Mother, each and every one of us will be strengthened and empowered to go through the many difficult challenges in life, as we must remember that we are never alone, but Mary herself, and together with the innumerable saints and Angels of God, all of them are always by our side, praying with us and supporting us throughout the way. Through the rosary we can also help focus ourselves on the Lord amidst all the challenges, distractions and trials in life.

This Feast of our Lady of the Rosary itself has been instituted from the origin of the great victory of the forces of Christendom, the Church and God’s faithful people against the forces of those who sought the destruction of the Church and the Christian faith, and those who sought to dominate the world and oppress the ones who believe in the true path of the Lord, our God and Saviour. At that time, approximately four hundred and fifty years ago, the mighty and growing Ottoman Empire had been swallowing many Christian states and dominions, and has set its eyes to attack more of Christendom, threatening many Christian nations and even the city of Rome itself. Hence, the combined forces of Christendom was assembled by the Pope together with the cooperation of several Christian states in a great Holy League.

The mighty forces of the Ottoman Empire did not discourage the combined forces of Christendom from various countries and states then assembled at the site of Lepanto in what is today part of Greece. At that place, a great battle therefore took place, which forever changed the balance of power and marked a major turning point in the then constant warfare and struggle between the Ottomans and the forces of Christendom. According to eyewitness accounts of the battle, there were those who saw a great heavenly vision of Mary appearing on the skies, together with mighty host of Angels, fighting together with the forces of Christendom against the forces of the unbelievers, crushing them and destroying the mighty fleet of the Ottomans.

The great victory and triumph was celebrated by the whole Christendom, and the Pope ordered that all the church bells ought to toil and ring for the celebration of this great triumph, and he also instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, on this very date, which was the date of the Battle of Lepanto, and eventually this Feast of Our Lady of Victory is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, reminding us all of the constant intercession and help that Mary, our loving Mother has always provided for us, and also the power of the rosary and our prayers in our constant and daily struggles with sin and evil, with darkness and all the forces of the evil ones. Let us all not forget to spend the time to pray to the Lord, with the company of His loving Mother, Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, who is also our mother, and all the saints.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, having heard of the history of the rosary and how this celebration of Our Lady of the Rosary came to be, let us all hence make good use of the rosary which our Blessed Mother herself has provided to us to help us in our journey of faith and life. Let us all draw ever closer to Our Lord through His Blessed Mother, and through our devout prayers in the rosary and our other faithful commitments in life. May God be with us always and may He continue to strengthen us each day, in our every good works, efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Tuesday, 7 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant, in her lowliness, and people, forever, will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age, His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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Tuesday, 7 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

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.