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Tuesday, 14 October 2025 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Romans 1 : 16-25

For I am not ashamed at all, of this Good News; it is God’s power, saving those who believe, first, the Jews, and then, the Greeks. This Good News shows us the saving justice of God; a justice that saves, exclusively by faith, as the Scripture says : The upright one shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness, and injustice, of those who have silenced the truth by their wicked ways. For everything that could have been known about God, was clear to them : God Himself made it plain. Because His invisible attributes – His everlasting power and divinity – are made visible to reason, by means of His works, since the creation of the world.

So they have no excuse, for they knew God, and did not glorify Him, as was fitting; nor did they give thanks to Him. On the contrary, they lost themselves in their reasoning, and darkness filled their minds. Believing themselves wise, they became foolish : they exchanged the glory of the Immortal God, for the likes of mortal human beings, birds, animals and reptiles. Because of this, God gave them up to their inner cravings; they did shameful things and dishonoured their bodies.

They exchanged God’s truth for a lie; they honoured and worshipped created things, instead of the Creator, to Whom be praise forever. Amen!

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Monday, 13 October 2025 : 28th 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 Lord, we are reminded that all of us need to have true and genuine faith in God, believing wholeheartedly in everything which He Himself has presented to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who has come into this world to bring salvation upon each and every one of us. We are all reminded that we should not harden our hearts or be stubborn anymore in refusing to listen to the Lord or to obey His will, because we think that we know it better than others and thinking that we are superior in all things compared to those who are around us. Instead, we should grow more humble, even the greater we are and our achievements in life. As Christians, this is what we have been reminded to do.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, we are reminded by the Apostle’s words that each and every one of us as Christian believers, all of us have received the truth and Good News about the salvation which God has promised and reassured us all through Christ His Son, by Whom He has restored us all to grace and brought all of us to redemption. And therefore, as St. Paul himself mentioned, that he and the other missionaries had been entrusted with the testimonies and the other works meant to spread the words of God’s truth to many more people, and therefore, they ought to continue to do great works for the greater glory of God and especially not for their own glory.

That was why St. Paul presented this clearly to the faithful in Rome and also to the other missionaries, reminding them all that they were all truly the servants of God Most High, the ones whom the Lord had entrusted with the mission to reach out to those whom He had been willing to reveal Himself and His truth to, and in all of their actions and works therefore, they ought to keep in mind that they did not do all these things for their own glory and pursuits of worldly power and fame, but instead, as what we all should do ourselves, in our own lives and actions, we should always put God at the heart and centre of everything that we say and do, and we should always walk in the path that He has shown us instead of allowing ourselves to be misled by greed and pride.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus directed to all those who questioned Him and kept on asking Him to perform signs, miracles and wonders before them. Those people had in fact witnessed everything which the Lord had performed, all His miracles, signs and wonders, in all the parts of Galilee where the Lord had often worked and taught to those assembled to listen to Him. But despite having seen and heard everything, and having experienced what the Lord had done and brought to them, they continued to doubt and refuse to accept the truth that had been presented. It was likely that some of those people either belonged to the group of the Pharisees or might have been their supporters.

Why was that so? That is because the Pharisees were back then the religious and intellectual elites of the community of the Jewish people, and they were very rigid and particular in their understanding and application of the Law of Moses and the Jewish customs at that time. They also had a rather elitist and attitude thinking that they were better and morally superior compared to those around them, and that was why they, in their pride and ego, refused to accept that they could be wrong or flawed in their ways, or that anyone else could have known better than them in the matter of the faith and the Law of God. That was why despite having seen so many evidence and signs presented before them, they still doubted and refused to believe the clear truth from God Himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to these readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that we should always strive to do our best in all things to be faithful to God, to trust in Him and to believe in Him beyond the superficials like how those Pharisees and those who doubted the Lord behaved. We should believe in the Lord even when we cannot see His works and miracles, wonders and power directly in our lives, as many of God’s works may be very subtle for us to see and realise. And yet, we must continue to be assured that God has always been by our side, journeying with us and supporting us throughout the way. God will always be there for us as He truly loves each one of us, and He wants us all to know that if we remain faithful in Him, our faith in Him will not disappoint us.

As Christians, each and every one of us are called to be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, to be the ones to transmit the faith that we have in Him, true faith that is truly innate within us and faith that is not merely based on external appearances or affirmation from those around us. Instead, we should have faith that truly endures and is truly organic and living, through our faithful and dedicated commitment to God in all things, in how we practice our faith even in the smallest things that we say and do, in loving Him wholeheartedly and also even more importantly, in how we love those whom we love around us and also those whom we encounter each day in our lives. How we carry out our lives reflect on our true nature as Christians and as those whom God had called and chosen.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen each and every one of us in our paths, in all the things we carry out in life, in our every actions, words and deeds so that in all things we may always be good examples and inspirations for everyone around us, to all those whom we encounter each day. May He continue to provide us with the strength and blessings necessary that we may continue to persevere in glorifying Him at all times through our good works and efforts. Amen.

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Monday, 13 October 2025 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 29-32

At that time, as the crowd increased, Jesus spoke the following words : “People of the present time are troubled people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation.”

“The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here, there is greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here, there is greater than Jonah.”

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Monday, 13 October 2025 : 28th 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.

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Monday, 13 October 2025 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 1 : 1-7

From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an Apostle, called and set apart for God’s Good News, the very promises He foretold through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures, regarding His Son, Who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognised as the Son of God, endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead, through the Holy Spirit.

Through Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the sake of His Name, we received grace, and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith. All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved God in Rome, called to be holy : May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

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Sunday, 12 October 2025 : Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all gather together to listen to the words of the Sacred Scripture, we are reminded that each and every one of us have been given such great gifts and opportunities by the Lord, Who has always been very compassionate, patient and kind towards us, in showing us ever more loving concern and in His desire to heal us all from our troubles and faults. That is why we should really appreciate that the Lord has done for us with such great love, persistence and patience, and not take all these for granted because if we allow ourselves to remain distant and separated from Him, then in the end, it is only us that will regret having disobeyed Him and refusing to listen to all the things that He has constantly tried to show us.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Second Book of Kings of Israel and Judah in which the story of Naaman the Syrian and the prophet Elisha was told to us, where this Naaman was the famous general of the Aramaeans, a Syrian kingdom that was bordering the kingdom of Israel. He came to the land of Israel when he heard of the famous deeds of the prophet Elisha and his miracles, through which he hoped to be healed from his problem of leprosy. Naaman went to seek Elisha and eventually found him, and before what was depicted in today’s passage, the prophet Elisha told Naaman to go and immerse himself seven times in the River Jordan, and initially Naaman felt insulted at being asked to do such a trivial task.

He further argued and tried to justify himself by saying that there were better and superior rivers in his own homeland in Aram and Damascus, as compared to the River Jordan in Israel. But his servant was quick to remind him that he should just obey and listen to the words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Elisha if he wanted to be cured of his condition. It was Naaman’s pride and ego which initially prevented him from doing what was necessary in order to find healing and while he wanted to be healed, he initially could not do so because he kept on refusing to follow the Lord and His commands. But eventually he relented and humbled himself, doing exactly as what he had been asked to do, and as a result, he was healed from his leprosy.

We heard how Naaman thanked the prophet Elisha greatly and appreciated everything that God had done to him through the prophet. However, when the prophet Elisha was offered with generous gifts from Naaman, who was full of praise and thanksgiving to God, the former refused to accept those gifts, as the prophet humbly highlighted that he was merely following God’s will and not doing all the things for his own personal gain and benefit. And again we can see here the importance of humility and obedience in our faith, and hence, we need to reflect upon what we have heard today from this passage from the Book of Kings, reminding us that at all times we should always be ready to listen to God speaking to us in various ways, even through those who disagreed with us.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to his protege, St. Timothy in which the Apostle spoke of the matter of what the true Christian faith is all about, and how everything that St. Paul himself had endured and encountered throughout his ministry and works, all of them were done for the greater glory of God, and in full trust of everything that God had called on him and the other disciples and missionaries of Christ to do. Therefore, St. Paul wanted to remind and strengthen his protege, St. Timothy and the other early Christians, that they should not be afraid to continue to do their best for the greater glory of God. They should remember that even as they suffer, they were suffering for the sake of the Lord, and they were never truly alone in their journey and in their struggles.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus encountered ten lepers who were cast out from their community, being forced to wander off in the wilderness as prescribed by the Law of Moses. According to that Law, the lepers were unclean and they could not return to the community until their leprosy had been cured. This definition of leprosy first of all may differ from what we commonly know as leprosy today, as it covered a rather broad variety of skin diseases and infections. But at that time, as we heard, when the ten lepers came to seek the Lord and sought His miraculous healing even from a distance, knowing that if they came to Him they would make Him and His disciples unclean, He did not keep Himself away from them, but approached them and showed them His mercy and love.

He told them all to go and see a priest as prescribed by the Law, even though they had not by then been physically healed from their leprosy. Yet, they chose to have faith in the Lord and trusted in Him, even when He did not perform grand gestures and miraculous powers before them, choosing to trust in God and go forth on their journey back to the priest as asked. They showed obedience and faith, and as a result, as we heard, they were all healed from their leprosy, and they realised it afterwards that they had been made whole again. Yet, none of them except for one among them, a Samaritan, who then went back all the way to the Lord again to thank Him for everything that He had done for their sake. This showed the Samaritan’s great character and virtue, not only that he had obedience and faith in him, but he was also grateful for the Lord’s goodness.

This leprosy is also a representation of an even greater ‘leprosy’ that often afflicts us, which is something that no earthly doctors and means can cure. This leprosy refers to sin, which is often likened to the leprosy that affects us even to the depths of our souls, corrupting and affecting our whole and entire beings. But with God’s help, and if we put our faith and trust in Him, then by His power, grace and forgiveness, we can indeed be healed and made whole again after the struggles that we have with sin. While sin and the temptations to sin against God are always ever around us, but we must put our faith and trust in God, knowing that it is in Him alone that we will be able to overcome the domination of sin and evil, and their hold on us.

Through what we have heard in this Gospel passage this Sunday, and from the other readings that we have discussed and reflected about, we are reminded that each and every one of us as Christians need to have a greater trust and faith in the Lord, and strive our best to do our part, in each and every moments of our lives such that we may indeed truly be obedient in all things to the Lord, ever righteous and virtuous in all that we say and do. Let us all be like the Samaritan leper, who obeyed the Lord and was faithful to Him, and yet at the same time, also know when to give thanks and praise to God when it is due. Let us all be good role models and examples for one another, and strive to be freed from the leprosy of our souls, that is our sins. May God be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen each and every one of us in our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 October 2025 : Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 11-19

At that time, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria and Galilee, and as He entered a village, ten lepers came to meet Him. Keeping their distance, they called to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Jesus said to them, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests.” Then, as they went on their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice; and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave Him thanks. This man was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Did none of them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”

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Sunday, 12 October 2025 : Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Timothy 2 : 8-13

Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, Son of David, as preached in my Gospel. For this Gospel I labour, and even wear chains like an evildoer, but the word of God is not chained. And, so, I bear everything, for the sake of the chosen people, that they, too, may obtain the salvation given to us, in Christ Jesus, and share eternal glory.

This statement is true : If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him; If we endure with Him, we shall reign with Him; If we deny Him, He will also deny us; If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself.

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Sunday, 12 October 2025 : Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

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

The Lord 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 the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

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Sunday, 12 October 2025 : Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 5 : 14-17

So Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft like that of a child and he was cleansed.

Then Naaman returned to the man of God with all his men. He entered and said to him, “Now I know that there is no other God anywhere in the world but in Israel. I ask you to accept these gifts from your servant.”

But Elisha answered, “I swear by YHVH Whom I serve, I will accept nothing.” And however much Naaman insisted, Elisha would not accept his gifts. So Naaman told him, “Since you refuse, let me get some sacks of soil from your land – the amount that two mules can carry. I shall use it to build an Altar to YHVH, for I shall not offer sacrifices to any other god but Him.”