Bishop of Rome

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Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together to listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and to reflect upon the meaning of what we have heard, we are reminded that we should always be willing to allow God to shape and guide our lives and paths, in everything that we say and do, in following Him and walking down the path of righteousness and virtue at all times. Each and every one of us as Christians are reminded that we should always be trusting in God and in all that He has done for us, in all the Wisdom and kindness which He has generously bestowed upon us. God will not abandon us especially during the darkest and most difficult moments, and we will not be left alone amidst all those challenges because God is always by our side, no matter what.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the Lord’s continued reminder to His people through His prophet, reminding and telling them all to be truly faithful to Him, and not merely paying Him lip service and empty gestures, or actions that were hypocritical in nature, as they had done in their past, and how their ancestors had lived before them. Back then, many of the people of God in Israel and Judah had not truly obeyed the Lord, neglected His Law and commandments, and merely observing the Law out of obedience but without truly meaning what they had done, or understanding fully what the Lord Himself has taught and shown them, and that was why He sent them His prophets and servants like Isaiah to remind them of this fact.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the account of the calling of Levi the tax collector by the Lord Jesus Himself. At that time, as we heard, Levi was at his tax collecting station and when the Lord called on him, Levi without hesitation left everything he had behind, his job and all of his belongings, and decided to follow the Lord wholeheartedly as His full-time disciple. During that period, tax collectors were often hated and reviled by much of the community because of the great bias against them, the hatred which the people of God collectively gave to them as the tax collectors were seen as collaborators, agents and even traitors to the Jewish nation and state, for collecting taxes meant for the Roman overlords.

Hence, Levi and the other tax collectors really had it difficult in their lives and works, and many among the people, especially the Pharisees and the elites of the community deemed them all as wicked sinners and traitors beyond hope and redemption. They were therefore often looked down upon and hated as mentioned, but yet, the Lord reached out to Levi and called him to be His disciple, and also spent time among the tax collectors who were all willing and desiring to listen to His teachings, and shared a meal with all of them, to the surprise, criticism and displeasure of the Pharisees who were observing His actions.

But the Lord made it clear that He came into this world to gather those who have been separated from God through sin, reaching out to those who have been afflicted by sin, and those tax collectors clearly desired to seek God’s forgiveness and grace. Not only that, but in time, Levi himself would become a great and committed disciple of the Lord, known by his new name of Matthew, as one of the Twelve Apostles and one of the Four Evangelists, ministering to the people of God through his works and writings, directed primarily to the Jewish population, hoping to convince more of them to accept the teachings and truth of the Lord Jesus as their guiding principle and accepting Him as their Master and Saviour. He would go on to serve the Lord in many more great ways for many years.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Damian, a great saint and Church father, whose life and works can truly inspire all of us to be faithful to the Lord in many ways, as he himself led a good and devout life, filled with faith and dedication to God. St. Peter Damian was a great intellectual and theologian who gave up the greatness of secular and worldly life to become a Benedictine monk. He was renowned for his great piety and dedication to his mission and works, in his efforts in reforming the Church and Christian faithful, beginning with his own Benedictine community, and then in tandem with the efforts of a few Popes of that time, beginning with Pope Gregory VI and up to Pope St. Leo IX and his friend, Pope St. Gregory VII.

Back then, the corruptions of worldly vices, attachments, ambitions and sins have slowly crept up into the Church and into its various communities, affecting both the clergymen and the laity alike. St. Peter Damian helped to reform the Church through his great vision and desire to root out from the Church those worldly corruptions and vices which had caused so many scandals and for so many of the faithful to fall into sin and evil ways. He rooted out corrupt practices and helped to straighten the ways of many of the faithful, in his various capacities as Papal envoy and legate, and as a member of the College of Cardinals, his role as a Cardinal and hence close Papal confidant and advisor was crucial in the reestablishment of order and virtue in the life of the Church of that time. And despite his high office and influential position, St. Peter Damian remained humble and thoroughly committed to his calling, and not swayed by worldly temptations of power and glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all discern what we have just discussed, including the life and examples of St. Peter Damian in remembering that as Christians each and every one of us are also expected to live our lives with genuine faith in the Lord, and root out from ourselves, from our hearts and minds, the corruption of sin and temptations of pride, ego, ambition, hubris, greed and others. Let us all remind ourselves of this as we continue to embark on this journey of reconciliation with God during this time and season of Lent so that we may draw ever closer to Him and receive from His most generous fount of mercy and grace, a full reconciliation and abundance of love He has always lavished on us.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate, merciful and patient God continue to guide each and every one of us in our journey of faith and life following the example of Levi the tax collector and our other holy predecessors, helping us to persevere in walking down the path of righteousness and virtue, doing our best to love the Lord our God and love our fellow brothers and sisters, especially those whom we love the most and precious to us, in a genuine and generous manner, just as much as the Lord Himself has loved us all. Let us all Christians be truly known and recognised by our love, most generous and wonderful, flowing ever more genuinely from our hearts through our actions, words and deeds, just as the Lord has shown and taught us. May God bless us all in our every endeavours and efforts to glorify Him, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 5 : 27-32

At that time, after Jesus healed a paralytic man, He went out, and noticing a tax collector named Levi, sitting in the tax office, He said to him, “Follow Me!” So Levi, leaving everything, got up and followed Jesus.

Levi gave a great feast for Jesus, and many tax collectors came to his house, and took their places at the table with the other people. Then the Pharisees and their followers complained to Jesus’ disciples, “How is it, that you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

But Jesus spoke up, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to a change of heart.”

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Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 85 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Listen, o YHVH, and answer me, for I am afflicted and needy. Preserve my life, for I am God-fearing; save Your servant who trusts in You.

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.

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Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 9b-14

If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word. If you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.

YHVH will guide you always and give you relief in desert places. He will strengthen your bones; He will make you as a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fall. Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt, the age-old foundations will be raised. You will be called the Breach-mender, and the Restorer of ruined houses.

If you stop profaning the Sabbath and doing as you please on the holy day, if you call the Sabbath a day of delight and keep sacred YHVH’s holy day, if you honour it by not going your own way, not doing as you please and not speaking with malice, then you will find happiness in YHVH, over the heights you will ride triumphantly, and feast joyfully on the inheritance of your father Jacob. The mouth of YHVH has spoken.

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Friday, 20 February 2026 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together and listened carefully to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, and as we continue to journey through this time and season of Lent, we are reminded that as we carry out our Lenten activities and practices, we must do them with the right and proper intentions in our hearts and minds, and we must not do them in vain or with the wrong intentions, such as to make ourselves look better, more pious or superior spiritually before other people, or in seeking praise and glory. Everything that we do in life, particularly in this time and season of Lent, we should always do them with God as the centre and focus.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people through Isaiah telling them all how they ought to be carrying out their observance of the Law and how to live their lives genuinely as the people of God, those whom He has loved, called and chosen from the world. And unfortunately, if we read through the Old Testament, we can see how many of the people of God over various periods and times, failed to obey the Lord and observe His Law and commandments, and hence, God kept on sending His servants and messengers, like the prophets including Isaiah to help and guide them all.

The Lord told the people clearly through Isaiah that they should not practice the Law and commandments without truly understanding what they truly meant and what He had taught and shown them. Many of them practiced all those laws, tenets and rituals with rigour and detail, and yet, as the Lord criticised them, they still persecuted their fellow men and women, causing scandal in the faith and bringing about suffering for those whom they had treated badly. Essentially while they might outwardly look pious and faithful, but in how they lived their lives and faith in God, they did not truly embody what the Lord had wanted them to have in their lives, that is true obedience and adherence to His ways.

The Lord did not want their sacrifices, offerings and empty gestures. He did not want their lip service and all the things they did in vain, lacking genuine faith and love for Him, and not only that, but they had also caused scandal by their hypocrisy, in acting in the manner that was self-serving, selfish and wicked, truly unbecoming of those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His people. That was why the Lord told them all through His prophet Isaiah what it truly meant for them to practice their faith, with examples of in the matter of fasting and others, where they should be showing love, concern and care for their fellow men and women, particularly those who were less fortunate and oppressed, instead of taking advantage and benefitting from them.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the discussion from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist where the disciples of St. John the Baptist were asking the Lord about why His disciples were not fasting or practicing the fasts required by the customs and traditions of the Law of Moses and the Jewish laws as how the Pharisees and the disciples of St. John the Baptist themselves were doing. And the Lord told them all that it was not fitting or right that they fast when the Bridegroom was with them, referring to Himself as the Bridegroom of the Church, and the disciples representing the Church of God just like all of us as well, as Christians.

In this occasion, besides predicting what He was going to suffer from in rejection by the chief priests and the Temple authorities, referred to by the Lord as how the Bridegroom would be taken away from those disciples and henceforth they would fast in grief upon losing the Bridegroom, the Lord was also highlighting how the ways of the disciples would not be the same as how those in the old Law and its interpretations and customs were like. Essentially, the Lord’s coming and revelation of the fullness of truth about God’s Law superseded and perfected the understanding, purpose and application of the Law which God had bestowed upon His people. This was especially in the context of how many among the people, particularly among the Pharisees, who practiced the Law hypocritically.

What this means was that, like the people of God of old, that the Lord criticised and rebuked through the prophet Isaiah, those Pharisees did not truly learn from the examples of their ancestors, but doing the exact same mistakes and committing the same kind of errors and misbehaviours that were particularly unbecoming given their position as the leaders and respected members of the community of the people of God. And that was why the Lord was also equally critical on the way how those Pharisees and elites of the community had behaved, in their failure to practice their faith sincerely and properly as they should have done, and not becoming good examples for everyone around them, seeking for personal glory and fame instead of truly obeying God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, let us all continue to do our best in living our lives as good, faithful and worthy Christians, as beloved disciples and followers of Our Lord, so that our words, actions and deeds, all align together with our faith and love for the Lord. Let us always be focused and centred on God, and not seeking our own personal ambitions and greed in life, but instead striving at all times for the greater glory of God’s Name. Amen.

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Friday, 20 February 2026 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 9 : 14-15

At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast.”

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Friday, 20 February 2026 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 18-19

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart, You will not despise.

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Friday, 20 February 2026 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 1-9a

Cry out aloud for all you are worth; raise your voice like a trumpet blast; tell My people of their offences, Jacob’s family of their sins. Is it true that they seek Me day after day, longing to know My ways, as a people that does what is right and has not forsaken the word of its God?

They want to know the just laws and not to drift away from their God. “Why are we fasting?,” they complain, “and You do not even see it? We are doing penance and You never notice it.” Look, on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress your labourers. Yes, you fast but end up quarrelling, striking each other with wicked blows. Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high.

Is that the kind of fast that pleases Me, just a day to humble oneself? Is fasting merely bowing down one’s head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes? Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to YHVH? See the fast that pleases Me : breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke.

Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the glory of YHVH your rearguard. Then you will call and YHVH will answer, you will cry and He will say, I am here.

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Thursday, 19 February 2026 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we embark on this journey of the Lenten time and season, we are reminded that all of us as Christians, that is all those whom God Himself has called and chosen to be His own people, we are all caleled to live our lives in the manner that is truly worthy and pleasing to God. This means that we should always do our best to walk in the path that God Himself has revealed to us and led us through. We should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly temptations, glory, desires and all the things which can lead us astray in our path towards God and His salvation. Each and every one of us as Christians should be good role models in living our lives with great and genuine faith at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the words of Moses, the one whom God had sent to the midst of His first chosen people, the Israelites, to be the one to lead them out from the land of Egypt to their Promised Land of Canaan where they would dwell in true happiness and satisfaction after many years and decades at least living under the tyranny of the Egyptians. The Lord Himself had led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt through Moses, and defeated their enemies before them, and He also made a Covenant with every one of them at Mount Sinai, putting His Law and commandments to them.

And with those Law and commandments in place, the Lord revealed that as His people, each and every one of them ought to live their lives faithfully in the manner that He has taught and shown them through those same Law and commandments, which in essence were meant to guide and help them all in their manner of living so that their lives and actions, all of those would always be aligned to God and His ways and that they would always live their lives with God at the very centre of their existence as they should all have done.

The Israelites often disobeyed the Lord and rebelled against Him, if we read through the whole account of the Exodus from the Old Testament, and many among those same Israelites perished and died in the desert because of their rebelliousness. They perished and died because of their disobedience and refusal to follow the ways of the Lord, allowing themselves to be swayed by worldly desires and temptations that led them to sin against God. But at the same time, God also revealed that He has always been full of love and mercy towards His people, and wanted them all to be reconciled with Him.

Therefore, Moses as he gathered the people in the latter part of his ministry and towards the end of the long Exodus journey from the land of Egypt to Canaan, he told them all very clearly and bluntly that they all had been given the freedom to choose their course and path in life, and that if they were to choose to obey the Lord, then they would be blessed and receive the bounty of God’s grace. However, like those who had perished earlier on during their sojourn in the desert, should the people of God choose to disobey God, then they would suffer for their disobedience and lack of faith.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers on how He would be betrayed by His own, handed over to His enemies and made to suffer grievously for the sins and mistakes of the people, all of which were due to the wickedness and the ego, pride and greed of those who have frequently opposed the Lord and His efforts to minister to the people of God, such as many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the Temple authorities, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin and many others.

The Lord also told His disciples and followers that if they want to be His true disciples, then they all ought to take up their crosses and follow Him. Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, what does it really mean by taking up the crosses? It is a figurative speech representing the need for all of us as the disciples and followers of the Lord to follow Him wholeheartedly and confidently, in resisting the temptations of sin and worldly vices, which is a path that is more difficult to take and walk in as compared to following the worldly ways and manners. Hence, this is the cross that all of us have to bear as Christians.

But, we must also remember that we do not carry these crosses alone, by ourselves, as the truth is that, we carry them together with the Lord, and we never suffer alone, as the Lord Himself is always often by our side, providing for us and giving us the strength necessary for us all to persevere and to walk faithfully in the ways that He has revealed to us. When He is calling on us to follow Him, He is not putting unreasonable demand from us, and He is there with us, journeying together with us, as we walk side by side towards His salvation and grace as one people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, having been reminded of our calling and obligation as Christians, as those whom the Lord had called to be His disciples and followers, let us all live our lives worthily from now on, in obedience to His will, to follow faithfully the Law and commandments that He has passed down to us and taught us all through the Church. Let us all continue to observe this Lenten season faithfully and meaningfully, doing our very best to practice our faith and our Lenten practices with good appreciation and understanding of their importance in our lives. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 February 2026 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 9 : 22-25

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and be put to death. Then after three days He will be raised to life.”

Jesus also said to all the people, “If you wish to be a follower of Mine, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow Me! For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for My sake, you will save it. What does it profit you to gain the whole world, if you destroy or damage yourself?”