31st Week of Ordinary Time

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green 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 and reflect upon the Lord’s words, we are reminded to do what the Lord had told and shown us to do in our lives, to be truly faithful and committed in all things, to be truly obedient to God and to do our parts and contributions as the ones whom God had called and chosen, as those whom God has gathered from among the nations to be His own beloved people. All of us should always be exemplary and do whatever we can so that we may be shining and good examples of our faith to everyone around us.

In our first reading passage today, taken from the last parts of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle, we heard of the gratitudes which St. Paul gave to all of those whom he had collaborated and worked with throughout his various ministries and works, and he also elaborated on all the good things which each one of them had been doing and carrying out in those collaborations he had done with those fellow Christian missionaries and disciples. He has worked faithfully and collaborated with those mentioned in doing the great works of the Lord, which God had entrusted and given to each one of them.

Thanks to their hard works and efforts, the Church was growing fast and spreading more and more throughout the whole known world then. None of those disciples of the Lord were acting alone or in silos, as they all worked and collaborated together for the greater glory of God. They endured many sufferings and challenges from those who have persecuted their faith, those who challenged them and made their lives difficult. And yet, they trusted in the Lord and believed in His ever constant Providence and guidance, as they continued to walk faithfully in following the path which the Lord Himself had led them through in their journey of life.

This is therefore a reminder for all of us as Christians that we should also continue to do our best in living our lives with great and genuine faith, and we should not forget that God will always provide for us all that we need. He will not give us a challenge that is truly beyond our capacity to endure, and with Him by our side, we will be triumphant in the end. And not only that but God also wants us all to work with one another, to live our faith sincerely with each other, in helping and strengthening one another in genuine living of our Christian lives, inspiring one another to be ever stronger and more committed to God at all times.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, in which the Lord reminded His disciples that they must be careful and vigilant in making important choices in their lives, in choosing on what paths they ought to take in their respective lives. This passage follows right after the parable of the dishonest steward that we heard yesterday where the Lord presented the dichotomy and the stark choice between following God and following the ways of the world. The Lord presented this as the choice between God and Money, and showing how the people cannot be half-hearted or divided in their focus, as ultimately, they all have to make a choice between following God and following ‘Money’ which is representative of worldly manners and ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must not misunderstand this as God wanting us to reject all kind of worldliness and money itself, as money in itself is in fact neutral and not evil. Instead, it is the attachment and desires which we have for money and for other worldly desires and ambitions, all of which are leading us further away from God and closer towards the path towards damnation. That is why we are being reminded to keep ourselves focused on the Lord and not be tempted or swayed to move away from Him, exchanging our faith in Him for the pleasures, ambitions and desires of this world. Instead, we should make good use of whatever blessings, good things and opportunities which God has given us for good purpose in accordance with the will of God.

That means each and every one of us should strive to make good use of whatever the Lord has entrusted to us, be it small or large, insignificant or significant. He has given us all these with the aim of teaching and guiding us all on how we can responsibly make use of everything that He has granted to us, so that they may be used for good and worthy purposes, for the greater glory of God and for the good of those whom we encounter in life and for the benefit of those whom we have been entrusted with by God, especially for those who are truly dear, precious and beloved to us. We should continue to do our best to contribute our actions and efforts for the good of the Lord’s Church and all the people of God around us.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and empower us all in each and every moments of our lives in living up to our faith in God. May He continue to encourage us to persevere in faith and remain truly faithful to Him even when we may be facing hardships, trials and difficulties in life. We should not easily give up the struggle or give in to the many temptations present all around us. We should instead continue to inspire our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith, now and always, through our every actions, words and deeds. Amen.

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 16 : 9-15

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “And so I tell you : use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.”

“Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?”

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You do your best to be considered righteous by people. But God knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by God.”

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 10-11

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom; and speak of Your power.

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Romans 16 : 3-9, 16, 22-27

Greetings to Prisca and Aquilas, my helpers in Christ Jesus. To save my life, they risked theirs; I am very grateful to them, as are all the churches of the pagan nations. Greetings also to the church that meets in their house. Greetings to my dear Epaenetus, the first in the province of Asia to believe in Christ. Greet Mary, who worked so much for you.

Greetings to Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and comparisons in prison; they are well known Apostles and served Christ before I did. Give greetings to Ampliatus, whom I love so much in the Lord. Greetings to Urbanus, our fellow worker, and to my dear Stachys. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send their greetings.

I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, send you greetings in the Lord. Greetings from Gaius, who has given me lodging and in whose house the church meets. Greetings from Erastus, treasurer of the city, and from our brother Quartus. Glory be to God! He is able to give you strength, according to the Good News I proclaim, announcing Christ Jesus.

Now is revealed the mysterious plan, kept hidden for long ages in the past. By the will of the eternal God it is brought to light, through the prophetic books, and all nations shall believe the faith proclaimed to them. Glory to God, Who alone is wise, through Christ Jesus, forever! Amen.

by

Friday, 7 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded to be truly faithful in all the things that we do, in doing what God has entrusted to us to do, and not be dishonest in our dealings, in our every actions, efforts and works. We are challenged to make good use of everything that God has entrusted to us and blessed us with, so that everything that God has given us can be utilised for the greater glory of His Name and also for the good of those whom the Lord had placed in our paths and respective journeys in life. 

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, we heard of the words of the Apostle to the people there regarding what he had done in carrying out the missions which had been entrusted to him, in ministering to the people of God and in proclaiming the Good News to more and more people who have not yet known God and His truth. St. Paul also had done so many things to deliver this truth and Good News of God to more and more people, both among the Jews and the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people, in everything that he had done.

He laboured for many years and even decades, patiently showing what the Lord had taught through both words and actions, through his every interactions with those he had encountered during all those journeys. In fact, he also laboured with collaborators and fellow workers and servants of the Gospel, working and growing with them as they journeyed together. They encountered many hardships and challenges, and they even fell out at times, disagreed and quarrelled with each other. But God was always with St. Paul and the others, helping and encouraging them through all the challenges and trials that they faced. The Lord has always been kind and supportive to all of those who have been faithful to Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which the story of the Lord to His disciples using the example of a dishonest steward and his master has been told to us. The dishonest steward had been accused of dishonest actions and behaviours to his master, and he was hence confronted by the same master who then told him that he would soon be out of employment. In this story, the dishonest steward then did all that he could to secure for himself a way out of his predicament by carrying out even more dishonest actions. In case we did not get what he was trying to do as described in the Gospels, he was in fact cheating even more against his master.

Why was that so? That is because he manipulated the debts of those who were indebted to his master, by rewriting their debts to a lower value, essentially helping them to reduce their debt load, doing so without consulting his master. This was great help to those who were indebted to the master, and hence, it would have made them to be in turn indebted to the dishonest steward, and as he had planned, this would have given him some lifeline to secure himself when he became unemployed. This is what he had done in even further dishonesty to secure for himself his own selfish desires and ambitions.

All these are reminders for us Christians that we should not allow ourselves to be tempted and corrupted by all these worldly ambitions and desires, all of which can lead us to even further dishonesty and sins, just as the dishonest steward had done. We may also be confused on why the master praised the dishonest steward for his dishonest actions, for his supposed astuteness and selfish deeds, but this is in fact a reminder for all of us that we should resist these worldliness and selfish desires, and use this example as a lesson for us to make good use of our lives and means in this world to aim for more worthy and righteous way of life, manner of life that is in accordance with God’s will in all things.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to these words of the Scriptures and all that we have discussed and discerned earlier on, we are reminded that each one of us have been entrusted by God with the unique responsibilities, opportunities and callings, in making good use of these opportunities, blessings and paths that God had provided to us. Now what remains is for us to embrace these opportunities and blessings, all these things that God had put in our path so that we may indeed be truly dedicated and fruitful in all the things that we say and do, in our every actions, words and deeds.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen each and every one of us in all of our every good efforts and endeavours. May He continue to provide us all for everything that we do, in our every efforts and works such that we will keep on glorifying God by our lives and actions, even in the smallest things that we do. In each and every moments of our lives, let us all be good role models and examples for everyone around us, showing our genuine Christian faith in all things, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 7 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 16 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him because of fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question, ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light.”

by

Friday, 7 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

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

YHVH 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 YHVH, break into song and sing praise.

by

Friday, 7 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 15 : 14-21

As for me, brothers and sisters, I am convinced, that you have goodwill, knowledge, and the capacity to advise each other; nevertheless, I have written boldly in some parts of this letter, to remind you of what you already know. I do this, according to the grace God has given to me, when I was sent to the pagan nations. I dedicated myself to the service of the Good News of God, as a minister of Christ Jesus, in order to present the non-Jews to God, as an agreeable offering, consecrated by the Holy Spirit. This service of God is, for me, a cause of pride, in Christ Jesus.

Of course, I would not dare to speak of other things, but what Christ, Himself, has done, through me, my words and my works, with miracles and signs, by the power of the Holy Spirit – so, that, non-Jews may obey the faith. In this way, I have extended the Good News to all parts, from Jerusalem to Illyricum.

I have been very careful, however, and I am proud of this, not to preach in places where Christ is already known, and not to build upon foundations laid by others. Let it be as Scripture says : Those not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

by

Thursday, 6 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the passages from the Sacred Scriptures in which the Lord reminds us all that we should not be quick to criticise one another and think that we are more worthy than those around us or those we encounter. Unfortunately, this attitude is quite common within the Church and many among us may have encountered attitudes and behaviours, actions and ways which might have scandalised us because all these actions and attitudes are in contrast to what the Lord Himself has told and taught us. And if we do not truly believe and live our lives in the manner that we have been expected to do, how can we then expect others to believe in Him as well?

Worse still, instead of bringing people closer to God, our actions and attitudes might push people further away from Him as these things we have done convinced people that we are no better than hypocrites and as all those who are not sincere about their faith in the Lord. As Christians, each and every one of us must always put the Lord at the very centre and as the very focus of our lives, and yet, as many among us Christians, we have caused hurt, scandal and hardships on others around us, both towards our fellow brothers and sisters in the same faith, and also to others who have not yet known or believed in God. In all these, we are reminded that we should not be only outwardly faithful but instead we should truly embody our faith in every breaths and actions we take.

In our first reading today, from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Rome, we heard of the Apostle telling them all not to be judgmental against their own brothers and sisters in faith, their fellow men and women, because ultimately, each one of us have our own flaws and imperfections, and none of us can truly claim to be better than the others around us. At the same time, the Apostle also said that God’s love has been freely extended and given to everyone, and therefore, because God Himself has loved each and every one of us equally and most lovingly, we should not be biased or prejudiced against anyone simply because we think that we are better or more righteous than others.

It is this attitude of being self-righteous, prideful and arrogant which had led so many, like the Pharisees and the chief priests among them, that many of these people failed to see the truth and reality of God, to whom they had all been intended to receive. All those pride and arrogance prevented them from humbling themselves that they might truly appreciate and understand what God had taught, revealed and wanted to show to them. That was why those people ended up hardening their hearts and minds, refusing to believe in God and His works, His teachings and truth, despite their own understanding of the Law and the Prophets affirm all the things that the Lord Himself had done among His people through His Son.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus encountered some Pharisees who harshly criticised Him and His actions, simply because He often enjoyed the company of the tax collectors, who often invited Him to speak to them and to share their meal with them. Contextually, we must understand that the Pharisees were the religious and intellectual elites of the Jewish community, with the main preoccupation and focus on the preservation of the Jewish Law, commandments, customs and practices. As such, they were very highly respected by the community. Meanwhile, tax collectors were often viewed negatively back then, as they were often seen and considered as traitors to the people because of the nature of their work.

The tax collectors worked to gather the taxes meant for the local kings like Herod, as well as the Roman overlords who ruled over the whole region. Due to the demands placed on the people who were already suffering from hardships, challenges and difficulties, it was no surprise that the tax collectors were very much hated by many among the people. They were reviled, hated and rejected by much of the community, being ostracised and literally everyone avoided and hated them. Yet, the tax collectors themselves were the very ones who were in fact closest to the Kingdom of God, because they had regret and strong desire to be reconciled with God. That is why the Lord also wanted to reassure His people of His providence in all things.

The Lord used the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin to highlight His points and ideas, as in both parables, two important possession of a person had been lost, and the one seeking those lost possessions went all of the way to find and rescue the lost sheep, and also to find the lost coin. This is a reminder to all of us that the Lord Himself put the same efforts and sincerity in reaching out to us, to find and discover us, and to bring us all back towards Himself. Are we even aware of all the love and patience that the Lord has always shown us? Or have we often taken His love and generosity, His patience and compassion for granted? These are the questions we are constantly being reminded to consider carefully as we ponder on our paths going forward.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do whatever we can, as we have just discussed in the Sacred Scriptures, in doing what God has shown us all, in being truly faithful to Him, and not in merely paying lip service to Him. We are reminded that we should all be genuine in our faith in the Lord, in doing what He has commanded and entrusted to us to do, living our faith in life with sincerity and with clear effort, knowing that in each and every moments of our lives, we are always called to be good examples and role models to one another, and to be the ones to deliver the light and truth of God to this darkened world, so that 

May the Lord help us all to remain strong in our faith, conviction and dedication to glorify Him in each and every moments of our lives, in how we should carry out ourselves and our behaviours and attitudes so that we may truly be good, worthy and genuine disciples of the Lord, His holy and beloved people, to whom He had entrusted His teachings and truth, which He has passed down onto us through His holy Church. May God continue to bless each and every one of us such that in our every good endeavours and efforts, our every good works and contributions, we will continue to do the great works of God, for His greater glory. Amen.

by

Thursday, 6 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 15 : 1-10

At that time, tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what He had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable :

“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbours together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.”

“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp, and sweep the house in a thorough search, till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbours, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the Angels of God over one repentant sinner.”