Catholic homilies

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Sunday, 7 June 2026 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Church celebrates the great Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, celebrating the great and Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who has given His Body and Blood for us to partake, in Holy Communion of the Church, the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. On this day, celebrating this great and most important aspect of our faith, in the celebration of what is popularly known as Corpus Christi, all of us are brought together and reminded of this great real and spiritual union all of us have as the parts and members of the same Church of God, the Body of Christ, that is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. On this day, all of us are called to remember our belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, as we all believe that the bread and wine offered by the priests at the Holy Mass is truly turned into the real and true essence, material and substance of the Lord Himself in the Flesh and Blood.

All of us believe that the bread and wine while they may seem to appear still like bread and wine, but we believe that they have been completely turn in reality, essence and all things to the very essence of the Body and Blood of the Lord Himself, and this is what we all know as the Real Presence in the Eucharist. We believe wholeheartedly that when we receive the Eucharist in Holy Communion, all of us are not just merely remembering the event of His giving us His Body and Blood, and we are also not just commemorating the event of the Last Supper and the Lord’s sacrifice on His Cross. Instead, all of us truly believe that the Holy Mass itself is the same Sacrifice that the Lord had made on His Cross, through time immemorial and beyond the boundaries of time and space, uniting all Christians, all sharing in the Most Precious Body and Blood of the Lord that has been given to us, for us to eat, drink and share amongst us all as the tangible sign of unity in us all as Christians, members of the same Body of Christ, the Church.

That is why today, as we listened to the readings taken from the Sacred Scriptures and ponder upon the mystery and the important tenet of this Real Presence in the Eucharist, of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord that we have partaken, all of us are called to be faithful bearers of this truth, and to proclaim the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, as our faith has required of us. If we ourselves have not truly believed in the Lord’s Real Presence, His Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood truly present in the Eucharist that we receive, then how can we convince others around us, all those whom we encounter in life, that the Real Presence is the truth? Unfortunately, too many Christians out there have not had a good and proper understanding of what the Real Presence in the Eucharist is all about, and how significant it is that we have received and partaken of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord unto ourselves.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which we heard of the exhortation which Moses, the leader of the people of God, the Israelites, gave to the people not long before they end their long journey and sojourn in the desert after their Exodus from Egypt. Back then, the people of Israel had lived through a long forty years of journey through the desert that lies between the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan, the ancestral lands promised to the Israelites. What should have been a rather short and quick journey from their land of slavery to a land of overflowing abundance, of milk and honey, of great blessings of God, became a great detour and long wait because of the stubbornness and rebelliousness of the Israelites who have frequently tried to walk in their own path and having constantly been refusing to follow the Lord and His commands.

Yet, the Lord still patiently cared for His people, while chastising those who have rebelled and sinned against Him. He truly loved them all much like a father cares for his children. And like a father who truly cares for the well-being of his children, the Lord shows His love and cares for us all while chastising and disciplining us with firm hand whenever it is necessary. That is true love and care, brothers and sisters in Christ, as if God only shows us what is good and enjoyable only, and not showing us proper discipline, we will end up being spoilt and then think that we can do everything as we like it, and not living our lives in the manner that we should have, as the children and people of God. Like those people of Israel, whom God had called and chosen from among the nations to be the first people that He called as His own beloved ones, God made a Covenant with them and expected them to live worthily according to His Law and commandments.

Despite having to put up with all of their rebelliousness and stubborn attitude, the Lord still gave His people providence, sustenance, food and drink throughout their sojourn in the desert. He sent them the heavenly bread, the manna, every morning without fail, and also flocks of birds every evening to keep the people well sustained and provisioned, and also crystal-clear water from the rocks itself, in the middle of the empty, lifeless and burning desert. Many among the people of Israel were indeed ungrateful and wicked, in their desires and their wants, in all the things which they demanded from the Lord. Although they had been fed and been well-taken care of, they still wanted all the things and supposed luxuries that they once had when they were still in Egypt, although they were then living there as slaves under the dominion of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh.

In our second reading today, we then heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians of the account of what happened at the Last Supper that the Lord had with His disciples. At that occasion, the Lord Jesus blessed and broke the bread, and gave the bread to His disciples while saying to them that, it is His Body which He was giving to them, and when He afterwards blessed and passed the chalice filled with wine to the disciples, He said to them that it was His Blood that He was sharing and outpouring upon them, for them to partake and drink, so that through His Body and Blood, all of them may truly be united as One Body of Christ, the Church. It was there and then that the Lord began His Passion journey, as He began His sacrificial offering of His own Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood as the most worthy and perfect offering on behalf of us all, for the atonement of all of our sins.

As the Gospel reading today mentioned to us, on the discourse of the Lord to the disciples and many of the people who followed Him, of Himself being the Bread of Life, He did not mince His words in both cases, when He was telling the people about Himself as the Bread of Life and the Living Bread Who has come down from Heaven, and at the Last Supper to His disciples. He did not say that He was giving them a symbol of His Body or a symbol of His Blood. And even when His own disciples complained that the Lord was making things difficult for them by saying such things that were considered unbelievable and outrageous at best, and which was hard to be accepted by many among the people. Yet, the Lord doubled down and emphasised on what He had just told them, telling them that He is truly the Bread of Life, the Living Bread Who has come down upon us, so that He may feed us all His Body and His Blood, and all of us who share in His Body and Blood will not perish but live forever.

At that time, many of the Lord’s disciples abandoned Him and left Him, because they felt uncomfortable of what He had spoken, in saying that He was giving them His own Flesh as food for them and His own Blood as drink for them to share and partake. Is that not the exact same response from all those in the past and present who refused to believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist? Is that not the same attitude shown by those who lack belief and faith in not believing that the bread and wine we partake in the Eucharist are no longer bread and wine, but are the very essence and reality of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord Himself? This is why today, as we listened to these words from the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are being constantly reminded of this very central and crucial tenet of our Christian faith. We must first treat the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist, His Real Presence with utmost respect and worship, adoration and honour, as we should for our Almighty God and Master.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we look at the state of how many Christians treat the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, and how many actually believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, we will be really alarmed. That is because less and less people, and alarmingly low percentage of believers in the Church still believed in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Some did not understand what the Eucharist is about, the significance of the Lord being truly present within the Eucharist in His Most Precious and Holy Body and Blood. Many of our fellow Christians, and perhaps even we ourselves may have treated the Lord with disrespect, even within the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. How many of us truly and actually spend our whole time meaningfully and well, in dedicating ourselves to the Lord whenever we attend and participate in the Holy Mass? How many of us cannot wait for the Holy Mass to end and then continue with our daily business and actions?

If we cannot even show our faith and belief in the Lord’s Real Presence, how can we expect others to believe in the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord being truly present in the Eucharist as well? If we ourselves have not treated the Holy Eucharist with the utmost respect as the Lord truly deserves it, then how can others around us believe that th Holy Eucharist, the bread and wine that by the power of God through the Holy Spirit, and by the hands of the priests whom He had appointed, to be His representatives, in this world, in persona Christi, transformed, in reality and fullness of essence, the Lord Himself present in the flesh? That is why we have to start with ourselves, by believing more sincerely and more devotedly to the Real Presence of our Lord and Saviour in the Most Holy Eucharist. We have to respect, honour and adore the Lord being truly present in our midst more, and begin doing that by living our lives in a more worthy, Christ-like manner.

May the Lord, truly present in the Eucharist, continue to help and guide us, strengthen us all in our journey throughout life. May He continue to guide and empower His Church, all of us who are faithful in this world and beyond, so that each and every one of us will continue to proclaim His truth and Good News, and may all of us continue to grow ever closer to God and His love, and may He be glorified by our actions and works, in each and every moments. Let us all show that we truly believe in God, Whose Real Presence had been made evident to us by His own Flesh and Blood, which bread and wine had been transformed into, so that we may truly partake in Him and share in His Body and Blood, and become one Body in Christ our Lord, one Church of God. Amen.

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Sunday, 7 June 2026 : Tenth 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 celebrate the Eucharist, all of us are reminded that each and every one of us as God’s beloved people, we are all called to love the Lord with all of our strength and to commit ourselves to Him, as we should have done with our lives. Each and every one of us should follow the Lord and heed His call, which He had made to us at various junctures and occasions throughout our lives. In whatever mission and ministry the Lord has called us to do, we are all reminded to give our very best through what we heard in our Sacred Scriptures passages, so that each one of us, in case we have not yet done so, may indeed embrace the path that the Lord has shown us, that we, who are sinners, may aspire to follow God and be like the glorious and holy saints, who were once sinners like us as well.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which the prophet Hosea exhorted and reminded the people of God, both those in the northern kingdom of Israel and in the southern kingdom of Judah, the people of Israel all the same, to return to the Lord and to reject their past sinful ways and wickedness. The prophet Hosea told the people of the lamentations of the Lord as He spoke to them about all the wicked deeds they had done, in their disobedience and refusal to listen to the words of the Lord, in their stubbornness in following their own wicked paths, in worshipping the pagan idols and gods of their neighbours, betraying the Lord and abandoning His Law and commandments, which He had entrusted and commanded them to obey and follow. They turned a deaf ear towards the prophets that He had sent unto them to remind them and help them to return to the right path.

Therefore, at that time, during the ministry of the prophet Hosea, when both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were facing great calamities and disasters, defeats and humiliations one after another, the Lord was sending His reminders again to His people through Hosea, to tell them that whatever they were doing, were wrong and they were mistaken in their way of life, and they ought to heed His warnings and words, so that they would not end up being dragged ever deeper into the trap of sin and worldliness. It may seem that the Lord was being very tough and harsh on His people, but it was actually necessary, just like that of a father who truly cares for the well-being of his children. If the father were to pamper the child and allow the child to do whatever he or she wanted to do, that would have led the child to become spoilt and might end up becoming unruly and wicked in his or her ways.

That is why, when the Lord chastised His people, and when He punished them, through hardships and humiliations they had to encounter and endure, it was because ultimately of God’s love and care for each and every one of us, without exception. It is such that even the greatest of sinners are never beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love. So abundant and bountiful indeed were God’s mercy and compassion that He has been patiently guiding us, enduring our repeated rebellions and disobedience, our waywardness and wicked ways, all so that by His help and merciful love, we may find our way back to His loving embrace, and be forgiven from our many sins and faults. And all these is due to God’s ever enduring love for us, as He loves each one of us and certainly does not want us to be separated from Him.

Then, in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, we heard of how St. Paul told the faithful people of God in Rome of the faith which Abraham, the father of faith of all Abrahamic faiths and beliefs, had in the Lord, and how he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the Lord. St. Paul used the example of Abraham to highlight to all of the faithful that faith and righteousness come hand in hand, and one is righteous when he or she is not just being faithful, but live their lives in accordance to their faith in the Lord, and in entrusting themselves to His love and care, and follow Him wholeheartedly in the path that He has shown them and led them through, a path of righteousness and justice.

Abraham himself was not a perfect person, as no other human being except for that our Lord Himself, was ever perfect. He made mistakes, erred and fell into sin just like any one of us. He had his moments of weakness and struggles against sin and temptations, just as Moses, David and other great and holy servants of God can attest to us, and like how many of our holy predecessors in the Church, the numerous saints and martyrs can show us through their own lives and examples. But God called them and chose them from among the people, and they responded positively and favourably to God’s call, embracing their calling wholeheartedly, and changed their lives for the better, that they who were once sinners, have become new beings filled with the light and grace of God.

This is echoed by what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, in what we heard about the calling of Levi, the tax collector, who would later on became known as St. Matthew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord and one of the Four Evangelists. Tax collectors during the time of the Lord Jesus were often reviled and hated, ostracised and discriminated against because of the nature of their work, their dealings with the Romans, the overlords of much of the whole region at that time. No one liked to be taxed, and all the more if those taxes ended up filling the coffers of foreign overlords. In fact, there were quite a number of uprisings and rebellions by the Jewish people back then, which explained the rather hated status of tax collectors.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who often viewed themselves as above the rest and better spiritually and in matters of religion and faith than the rest of the people, looked down on the tax collectors like what they had done to others they deemed as sinners and those who could not be redeemed. Hence, they looked negatively and sneered at the Lord Who called tax collectors to be His own disciples and followers, and Him coming into their houses to have meal and interacting with them. Doing such things were taboo for those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, as they considered it unclean and even sinful to mingle with sinners, as if those sins might corrupt them as well.

But the Lord courageously and passionately defended His works and His outreach to sinners, stating that it was exactly what He has come into this world for, to rescue sinners and all those who have been separated from God. Many of us have fallen on the wayside in our journey of faith towards the Lord, and we have often been distracted as we progress on in our lives. But the Lord, our most loving Master and Good Shepherd, loves each and every one of us, and does not want any one of us, His beloved sheep, to be lost to Him. He came to us, to dwell with us and to find us, so that He might lead us all from the darkness and back into the light. He gave it all to save us, and He helped us all so that through His ministry and ultimately by His sacrifice on the Cross, all of us might be reunited with God and His love and grace.

That is why all of us should not be afraid to seek the Lord and to put our trust in Him, in allowing Him to guide us down the right path in life. More often than not it is our own stubbornness and arrogance, of depending on our own means and might that we end up falling deeper and deeper into sin. If we do not allow the Lord to lead the way for us and insist on doing things our own way, we are likely to fall back into the path of sin and disobedience against God. Is that what we want, brothers and sisters in Christ? All of us are reminded that through the Lord alone there is hope and salvation. And not only that, but the Church is truly a hospital of sinners, through which the Lord is calling on all of His beloved people, all scattered around the world and in darkness, to return to Him and to find our path towards His eternal grace and salvation.

We should not be stubborn or proud like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, whose attitude showed bias and condemnation against others, but they failed to recognise their own sins, flaws and weaknesses, all of which became barriers and obstacles in their own path towards God. We should instead be more humble and be more willing to listen to the truth of God, and spend more time to walk in the path that He has set before us. We should learn to resist more the temptations present all around us, the temptations of worldly pleasures, greed and disobedience against God. Each and every one of us are equally beloved by God, and therefore, instead of condemning others and comparing our way of living our Christian lives, we should do our best at all times in order to do what God has called us all to do.

Let us all hence answer God’s call, which He has repeatedly made to us, through His prophets, His messengers, disciples and followers, through His saints and others who work to proclaim His salvation among all of us. May the Lord, our most loving God and Good Shepherd, be with us always so that we may come ever closer to Him and to His ever generous love and compassion towards us. Amen.

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Saturday, 6 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard that as Christians, for us to love God and to devote ourselves to God, we do not need to seek to do ambitious things and achievements, and we do not need to think of the many things we desire and want, as serving the Lord does not mean that we focus the attention to ourselves. On the contrary, to be Christians mean that we ought to give our whole selves to God and to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly and live our lives with the focus on God in everything that we say and do. We are called to be generous in giving and be compassionate in all of our actions, words and deeds, following the examples of the Lord Himself Who has come to serve and not to be served.

As Christians we ought to reflect carefully on what we have heard in our Gospel passage today as we heard of the account of the Lord Who spoke with regards to the people who came to the Temple of Jerusalem, there were the rich people making lots of offerings probably showing off what they were offering to each other and also to the other people around, while there was a poor, old woman who came by quietly and placed in two small coins to the Temple treasury. That old widow or old woman had almost nothing with her, and yet, she had given to the Lord through His Temple, the most generous gift of all, because she gave them with all of her heart, seeking not fame or any potential returns or reward, but she gave them out of her love for God.

And the Lord also mentioned of the excesses of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, warning His disciples against their behaviour and how they exercised and practiced their faith. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often prided themselves in their privileged and highly respected position in the community, and showed off their faith, seeking important and privileged positions, basking in the praise and respect from the other people who saw them and their actions. Therefore, contrary to the way how the old woman had behaved, those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had put the emphasis on their own selfish ambitions and desires, seeking glory, prestige and benefits for themselves, rather than truly loving and serving God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, essentially what the Lord had told us all is to be careful and vigilant against the temptations of ego and pride in our lives. We must focus our attention on God and put Him first and foremost in our lives, or else we will be easily swayed and tempted just as many of our ancestors had done in the past. Ever since the time of Adam and Eve in the Gardens of Eden, Satan has tempted us mankind with the temptation of pride, desires of our flesh and with the temptation of knowledge, and our great enemy definitely knows very well our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This is why each and every one of us need to be very careful lest we may be tempted in the same manner as well.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, we also have to understand that God was not against the rich and neither does He have any bias or prejudice against the rich and those who are wealthy, powerful and the elites of the society, and unlike what some would have argued otherwise, the Lord was not only concerned about the poor, the marginalised and the needy. For the truth is that, every single sons and daughters of mankind are precious to Him, and all of us, regardless of our background and origins, are equal before Him, and are equally beloved by Him. That is why what matters is that each and every one of us, be it rich or poor, powerful or weak, privileged or not, all of us must always strive to appreciate this love of God and practice it well in our own lives.

What the Lord is warning us is rather the fact that we mankind are easily distracted and tempted, and the more attachments we have to worldly things and the more concerns we have, the more vulnerable we become. Instead, he wanted us all to develop more trust and faith in Him. He wants us to be like the old woman who entrusted herself to the Lord and gave from her heart, even if she had only very little to live on with. At this, all of us are called to believe in God in this manner. We are reminded that the greater we have been blessed with, then the more that we are called to do to be generous in helping others, not necessarily just in monetary or material terms, but even in the giving of our time and ourselves, our love, because there are many more ways of giving than just that of money.

We heard in our first reading today on the great courage shown by St. Paul, who recounted to St. Timothy, his protege, of the great sufferings he had endured for the sake of the Lord, all the things he had to go through as many opposed his good works and efforts, rejecting him and his message of God’s truth. St. Paul stood by his faith in the Lord and his famous words, ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.’ are reminders to us just how dedicated St. Paul had been throughout his missionary works and efforts to bring the Good News to many peoples, even to all those who have rejected these truths.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Norbert, also known as St. Norbert of Xanten, a German bishop and founder of the religious order known as the Premonstratensian Order of Canons Regular. He was a priest and preacher who was particularly concerned about the lax nature of discipline amongst the priests and the immorality, worldly vices and wickedness that had grown rampant at that time within the Church, among both the clergy and the laity alike. Through his efforts and works, the Premonstre Order of Canons Regular was established, with customs, rules and practices combining aspects of several other more established religious orders, inspiring many people from all origins to come and join his religious order, which soon grew quickly in various places and in different countries.

He was also appointed as the Archbishop of Magdeburg by the Pope, in which role he instituted wide-ranging reforms in his local diocese, in uprooting the many corrupt practices of the Church and the community at that time. Not everyone approved and supported St. Norbert’s actions, and he faced not a few assassination attempts by those who disagreed with him and his reform works and efforts. Yet, all of those did not discourage St. Norbert who continued to carry out his reforms and works, a spirit and commitment that remain inspirational to countless generations of Christians right up to this day. St. Norbert never wavered in his hard work and efforts to lead more and more souls ever closer towards the Lord, and to help many to become more disciplined in how they lived their lives and in how they carried out their Christian actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all therefore reflect on the words of the Scriptures that we have received and the actions and life of St. Norbert that we have just discussed. Let us all always remember to live our lives worthily of the Lord as we should, and learn to discipline ourselves and keep ourselves aligned to the Lord and to His path at all times. Let us all follow the footsteps of the faithful servants of God and be good examples and role models of faith ourselves, now and always, in loving God and in loving one another, doing our best to be ever more generous in giving of our hearts, of our attention, effort and love. Amen.

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Friday, 5 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings which we have heard. We are reminded that the Scriptures are the representation of the Word of God, and while not directly written by God Himself, they were written by the ones whom God had inspired through His Wisdom and the Holy Spirit in order to reveal the truth to the world, the truth which He has wanted to present to all of His beloved people. And through the Scriptures, we are led and guided through the right path and journey so that despite all the distractions, temptations and all the things that have threatened to keep us away from the Lord, we may still end up enduring and persevering through the difficult journey of faith and life with God as our strong anchor.

In our first reading today, we are reminded from the continuation of the Epistle that St. Paul the Apostle wrote to his protege, St. Timothy, one of the earliest leaders and bishops of the Church, where he reminded the latter of the great power of the Scriptures, the Word of God and what the Word of God can do in guiding and helping the faithful people of God to steer their path well in life, to help them to remain steady amidst all the darkness of this world, and so that they will be able to help others to remain faithful and steady in their own journey, by having the Word of God, as it is revealed through the Scriptures to guide them and keep them focused on the path of truth and righteousness of God. That is why it is important for us to have regular access and contact with the Scriptures, and keeping them around in our daily lives.

However, we also should take note that it is easy for us to be distracted and even misunderstand the true meaning of the Scriptures especially if we only try to understand them superficially and literally. There are so many people who have misinterpreted the Scriptures and even misused them for their own selfish gains and benefits, because they chose to follow those words without properly understanding and appreciating the context, the nuances and the historical background of every single moments those Scriptural accounts were written. This is why we are reminded that in order to fully understand and use the Scriptures, we have to first understand of why and how it was written, the context, the intended audience and all the nuances behind every Scripture passages, or else, it may easily lead us to misinterpret and misquote the Scriptures.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist where the Lord Jesus spoke to the teachers of the Law who questioned Him and wondered at His teachings and identity, of how His coming into this world as the promised Saviour or Messiah had been foretold by the prophets and especially so as highlighted in today’s passage, by the much respected King David of Israel, the wonderful and faithful King of Israel, whose faith in God was truly exemplary and whose reign ushered a golden age for Israel and the people of God at that time. The Lord Jesus spoke of how David had received some foresight and knowledge from the Lord of the coming salvation and fulfilment of God’s promise.

And He also pointed out the peculiarity of what David himself had spoken, in saying that the One Who was to come into this world, the prophesied Son of David, to be born into his own family and lineage, was one and the same as the Lord his God, the One Whom He glorified and worshipped, and he called this Saviour, his own descendant, ‘Lord’. This revelation showed that Jesus, as the One Whom God had promised to send into our midst as the Saviour of all, born into the House of David and fulfilment of all the prophecies of the prophets, was not merely just a Man or a mere Prophet, but is also none other than God Himself incarnate in the flesh, the Son and Word of God Incarnate, taking up our human existence and nature to make God’s Love tangible and approachable to us, so that through Him, all may be saved.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Boniface, a great bishop and martyr who had dedicated his life and all of his works for the greater glory of God. He was an English Benedictine monk who was especially remembered for his efforts in evangelising amongst the Germanic people in the northern parts of what is Germany today, proclaiming the Good News and salvation of God to many of the people there who still believed in pagan and false gods and beliefs. He was born in England to a rather prominent family and then against the wishes of his father, learnt theology and eventually became a monk and priest. St. Boniface was then appointed as a missionary to the region in northern part of Germany and what is today Netherlands known as Frisia. In his mission to Frisia, the Pope appointed him as a missionary bishop to establish the Church in that region and to convert the people there to the true faith.

In a story still well-remembered to this day, St. Boniface once persuaded many among the pagans as he chopped a great oak tree held sacred by the German pagans, who revered the tree and the spirits. Miraculously a great wind blew upon the oak tree and the whole tree fell down to the ground. Having witnessed the miracle and the fact how St. Boniface was not struck down by their gods and deities for such a supposedly sacrilegious act, many among the pagans believed in God and gave themselves to be baptised by St. Boniface and other missionaries. He went on to establish many churches and institutions in his mission areas, and continued to labour for the good of the Lord and His Church until eventually he was martyred when he and his entourage was beset by a group of Frisian bandits during his last missionary trip to the region.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remember what we have just discussed and pondered about earlier on. Let us remember to put ourselves firmly in the path of the Lord by keeping ourselves immersed in the Scriptures by our regular appreciation and use of its words, but at the same time also understanding its context, meaning and purpose so that we may truly understand God’s will and intentions for each and every one of us instead of having blind obedience and shallow faith. We are reminded that through the Scriptures and the Wisdom that God has given us all through His Church and the Holy Spirit, we will be strengthened and encouraged, just as He had once inspired St. Boniface in all of the efforts that he had shown in devoting his life to the conversion of souls and the salvation of many.

We are reminded that although persecutions, hardships and challenges may be part of our journey and lives as Christians, but we are never alone in these struggles and trials, because God Himself is always by our side, providing for us and strengthening us all throughout our journey. We must never forget that He is always with us and that we are never alone, no matter what. We should indeed thank Him and appreciate everything that the Lord Himself had done for our sake, as He has always supported us through whatever challenges that we may face, so that even if we have to endure difficulties and hardships for a while, but in the end, we know and we can be sure that we will ultimately be triumphant with God in the end.

May the Lord continue to provide for us and strengthen us all in our resolve to live our lives ever more faithfully in His Presence. May He continue to bless our every efforts and good works, so that we may continue to proclaim His truth and Good News, as well as manifesting His love through each and every one of our own actions and efforts in this world. May He help us to understand fully and correctly His intentions for us through careful and guided understanding of the Scriptures, the Word of God manifested in this world. May God be with us always, His Church and His beloved ones, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 June 2026 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Church celebrates the great Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, celebrating the great and Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who has given His Body and Blood for us to partake, in Holy Communion of the Church, the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. On this day, celebrating this great and most important aspect of our faith, in the celebration of what is popularly known as Corpus Christi, all of us are brought together and reminded of this great real and spiritual union all of us have as the parts and members of the same Church of God, the Body of Christ, that is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. On this day, all of us are called to remember our belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, as we all believe that the bread and wine offered by the priests at the Holy Mass is truly turned into the real and true essence, material and substance of the Lord Himself in the Flesh and Blood.

All of us believe that the bread and wine while they may seem to appear still like bread and wine, but we believe that they have been completely turn in reality, essence and all things to the very essence of the Body and Blood of the Lord Himself, and this is what we all know as the Real Presence in the Eucharist. We believe wholeheartedly that when we receive the Eucharist in Holy Communion, all of us are not just merely remembering the event of His giving us His Body and Blood, and we are also not just commemorating the event of the Last Supper and the Lord’s sacrifice on His Cross. Instead, all of us truly believe that the Holy Mass itself is the same Sacrifice that the Lord had made on His Cross, through time immemorial and beyond the boundaries of time and space, uniting all Christians, all sharing in the Most Precious Body and Blood of the Lord that has been given to us, for us to eat, drink and share amongst us all as the tangible sign of unity in us all as Christians, members of the same Body of Christ, the Church.

That is why today, as we listened to the readings taken from the Sacred Scriptures and ponder upon the mystery and the important tenet of this Real Presence in the Eucharist, of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord that we have partaken, all of us are called to be faithful bearers of this truth, and to proclaim the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, as our faith has required of us. If we ourselves have not truly believed in the Lord’s Real Presence, His Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood truly present in the Eucharist that we receive, then how can we convince others around us, all those whom we encounter in life, that the Real Presence is the truth? Unfortunately, too many Christians out there have not had a good and proper understanding of what the Real Presence in the Eucharist is all about, and how significant it is that we have received and partaken of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord unto ourselves.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which we heard of the exhortation which Moses, the leader of the people of God, the Israelites, gave to the people not long before they end their long journey and sojourn in the desert after their Exodus from Egypt. Back then, the people of Israel had lived through a long forty years of journey through the desert that lies between the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan, the ancestral lands promised to the Israelites. What should have been a rather short and quick journey from their land of slavery to a land of overflowing abundance, of milk and honey, of great blessings of God, became a great detour and long wait because of the stubbornness and rebelliousness of the Israelites who have frequently tried to walk in their own path and having constantly been refusing to follow the Lord and His commands.

Yet, the Lord still patiently cared for His people, while chastising those who have rebelled and sinned against Him. He truly loved them all much like a father cares for his children. And like a father who truly cares for the well-being of his children, the Lord shows His love and cares for us all while chastising and disciplining us with firm hand whenever it is necessary. That is true love and care, brothers and sisters in Christ, as if God only shows us what is good and enjoyable only, and not showing us proper discipline, we will end up being spoilt and then think that we can do everything as we like it, and not living our lives in the manner that we should have, as the children and people of God. Like those people of Israel, whom God had called and chosen from among the nations to be the first people that He called as His own beloved ones, God made a Covenant with them and expected them to live worthily according to His Law and commandments.

Despite having to put up with all of their rebelliousness and stubborn attitude, the Lord still gave His people providence, sustenance, food and drink throughout their sojourn in the desert. He sent them the heavenly bread, the manna, every morning without fail, and also flocks of birds every evening to keep the people well sustained and provisioned, and also crystal-clear water from the rocks itself, in the middle of the empty, lifeless and burning desert. Many among the people of Israel were indeed ungrateful and wicked, in their desires and their wants, in all the things which they demanded from the Lord. Although they had been fed and been well-taken care of, they still wanted all the things and supposed luxuries that they once had when they were still in Egypt, although they were then living there as slaves under the dominion of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh.

In our second reading today, we then heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians of the account of what happened at the Last Supper that the Lord had with His disciples. At that occasion, the Lord Jesus blessed and broke the bread, and gave the bread to His disciples while saying to them that, it is His Body which He was giving to them, and when He afterwards blessed and passed the chalice filled with wine to the disciples, He said to them that it was His Blood that He was sharing and outpouring upon them, for them to partake and drink, so that through His Body and Blood, all of them may truly be united as One Body of Christ, the Church. It was there and then that the Lord began His Passion journey, as He began His sacrificial offering of His own Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood as the most worthy and perfect offering on behalf of us all, for the atonement of all of our sins.

As the Gospel reading today mentioned to us, on the discourse of the Lord to the disciples and many of the people who followed Him, of Himself being the Bread of Life, He did not mince His words in both cases, when He was telling the people about Himself as the Bread of Life and the Living Bread Who has come down from Heaven, and at the Last Supper to His disciples. He did not say that He was giving them a symbol of His Body or a symbol of His Blood. And even when His own disciples complained that the Lord was making things difficult for them by saying such things that were considered unbelievable and outrageous at best, and which was hard to be accepted by many among the people. Yet, the Lord doubled down and emphasised on what He had just told them, telling them that He is truly the Bread of Life, the Living Bread Who has come down upon us, so that He may feed us all His Body and His Blood, and all of us who share in His Body and Blood will not perish but live forever.

At that time, many of the Lord’s disciples abandoned Him and left Him, because they felt uncomfortable of what He had spoken, in saying that He was giving them His own Flesh as food for them and His own Blood as drink for them to share and partake. Is that not the exact same response from all those in the past and present who refused to believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist? Is that not the same attitude shown by those who lack belief and faith in not believing that the bread and wine we partake in the Eucharist are no longer bread and wine, but are the very essence and reality of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord Himself? This is why today, as we listened to these words from the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are being constantly reminded of this very central and crucial tenet of our Christian faith. We must first treat the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist, His Real Presence with utmost respect and worship, adoration and honour, as we should for our Almighty God and Master.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we look at the state of how many Christians treat the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, and how many actually believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, we will be really alarmed. That is because less and less people, and alarmingly low percentage of believers in the Church still believed in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Some did not understand what the Eucharist is about, the significance of the Lord being truly present within the Eucharist in His Most Precious and Holy Body and Blood. Many of our fellow Christians, and perhaps even we ourselves may have treated the Lord with disrespect, even within the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. How many of us truly and actually spend our whole time meaningfully and well, in dedicating ourselves to the Lord whenever we attend and participate in the Holy Mass? How many of us cannot wait for the Holy Mass to end and then continue with our daily business and actions?

If we cannot even show our faith and belief in the Lord’s Real Presence, how can we expect others to believe in the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord being truly present in the Eucharist as well? If we ourselves have not treated the Holy Eucharist with the utmost respect as the Lord truly deserves it, then how can others around us believe that th Holy Eucharist, the bread and wine that by the power of God through the Holy Spirit, and by the hands of the priests whom He had appointed, to be His representatives, in this world, in persona Christi, transformed, in reality and fullness of essence, the Lord Himself present in the flesh? That is why we have to start with ourselves, by believing more sincerely and more devotedly to the Real Presence of our Lord and Saviour in the Most Holy Eucharist. We have to respect, honour and adore the Lord being truly present in our midst more, and begin doing that by living our lives in a more worthy, Christ-like manner.

May the Lord, truly present in the Eucharist, continue to help and guide us, strengthen us all in our journey throughout life. May He continue to guide and empower His Church, all of us who are faithful in this world and beyond, so that each and every one of us will continue to proclaim His truth and Good News, and may all of us continue to grow ever closer to God and His love, and may He be glorified by our actions and works, in each and every moments. Let us all show that we truly believe in God, Whose Real Presence had been made evident to us by His own Flesh and Blood, which bread and wine had been transformed into, so that we may truly partake in Him and share in His Body and Blood, and become one Body in Christ our Lord, one Church of God. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 June 2026 : 9th 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 being reminded of the most fundamental truth of our Christian faith and that is the fact that we are all truly and most dearly beloved people of God, whom He had shown His perfect love in the person of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Love of God made flesh, by which we all have seen the assurance of God’s salvation and the fulfilment of our Hope in Him. We are reminded that God is always with us, by our side, journeying with us and supporting us all even throughout the most difficult moments of our lives and journey. We must never lose hope and we should always trust in the Lord, knowing that He will guide us through even the most difficult and challenging obstacles.

In our first reading today, we heard from the second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to St. Timothy, his protege and one of the first bishops of the Church in which the Apostle continued to encourage St. Timothy and all the other missionaries of the Good News of God to go forth and follow in his footsteps in glorifying God by their actions and works among the people. He reminded them that all the sufferings that he had to endure, he gladly did them for the sake of the glory of God. In addition, he was glad that he did all of those works and endure all those sufferings for the sake of the people to whom that he had been sent to minister, for the sake of their salvation and liberation from the tyranny of sin and evil.

And St. Paul also reminded St. Timothy and the others that the Lord is always ever faithful and loving towards us, regardless of how we have treated Him, and how we might have neglected Him and our obligations towards Him. The Covenant which He had made with each and every one of us endures, and through His offering of His perfect Love to us through His Son, Whom He had sent into this world, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour as mentioned earlier, we have partaken our share in His suffering, death and Resurrection, and just as we do not suffer alone, but suffering together with Christ, we too share in His death to our past sinful and wicked way of life and existence, and delivered into the renewed existence and life, full of God’s grace, in sharing eventually His glorious Resurrection.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and one of the teachers of the Law who came up to Him to ask Him about which Law among all the Law and commandments of God is the most important of all of them. The teacher of the Law might have wanted to test the Lord and see His responses, as many among the teachers of the Law thought that He was teaching and propagating the idea that the Law is to be superseded and overwritten, and hence were quite strong in their opposition and disapproval against Him. Alternatively this teacher of the Law might have also been just genuinely curious to know which among the Law was indeed the most important commandment of all.

For the context, we must understand that the Law of God as it was revealed through Moses during the time after the Exodus from Egypt and the journey of the Israelites in the desert consisted of many laws, commandments, rules and ordinances, all of which were extensive and detailed, and over time, they were expanded by the many rituals and practices that the Israelites, the people of God and their descendants continued to apply in their interpretations and applications of those laws and commandments. According to the Jewish tradition, there are a total of six hundred and thirteen laws all in all, if not even more. And that was why, it may seem to be very difficult and burdensome for the people of God to practice and fuflil all of them.

But the Lord made it very clear that the purpose of the Law was in fact not to burden the people, but to lead them all towards God. The Law was meant to show the people of God on how they ought to live their lives in the manner that is good, worthy and just so that they may truly be able to follow the Lord our God faithfully and worthily at all times. Hence, the Lord Jesus summarised the Law into two main components, under which all the laws, rules, commandments and all the precepts of the Law ultimately came under, that as He mentioned, that we all ought to first of all, love the Lord our God, Who has loved us all unconditionally first, with all of our hearts, might and strength, and then secondly to love the people around us in the same way as well, and this is especially even more so for those whom we love and whom God has entrusted to us to love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore ponder these words of the Scriptures that we have received today so that by appreciating better the love of God and His intentions for us, all the guidance and help that He has provided and shown to us, all of us may grow in faith and become ever stronger in our devotion towards the Lord, and in living our lives worthily in the manner that He Himself has shown and taught us all. Each and every one of us should do our best to emulate Christ’s own examples in loving and obeying His heavenly Father, and in His most generous, patient and merciful love towards each and every one of us. Through this love that we have actively practiced in each and every moments of our lives, may we draw ever closer to the Lord.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to guide us all in our respective journeys in life, helping us all to remain firm in our commitment and endeavour to practice and show the love of God manifested in each and every one of our own actions, words and deeds, in everything we do at every moments in our lives. This is so that we may truly love God in the manner of how He has loved us first, embracing His love for us fully and doing our best to show that same love at all times. May all of us be blessed in our every loving actions, words and deeds, in our loving interactions to all those around us, to bring all people and all things ever closer to God. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures in our passages today, we are all reminded that we should always be courageous and strong in persisting in faith, in doing our best to live our lives in accordance with God’s Law and commandments, in being good role models and examples to everyone around us, so that we may indeed inspire others and be the good examples to help everyone to know what they all need to do in order to be truly faithful and dedicated to God at all times. We are reminded that God is also always by our side, and that we should continue to live our lives in testifying the truth about the Good News and the salvation which He has brought into our midst, in all of our actions each day and at every moments.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, we heard of the words of the Apostle reminding his protege, St. Timothy of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the various other gifts that the Lord has granted to all of them, the spirit of strength, love and good judgment, all of which had been given to them so that they all might go forth and courageously proclaim the truth and Good News of God in all circumstances, even through all the challenging moments and occasions. He encouraged his protege and indirectly many other missionaries of the Lord and messengers of the Good News to remain strong and steady in their commitment to be the bearers of God’s light and truth in a world filled with darkness and sin, so that by their works and ministry, they may bring about God’s salvation to many more people.

St. Paul exhorted St. Timothy to pass on the flame which had been given to him, a reference of the Holy Spirit, reminding him and the other missionaries of the Lord, the bishops, priests, deacons and the ministers of the Gospel to continue to go forth spreading the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the whole world by calling many more people to come to the Lord and to be baptised in the Name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit just as He has commanded all of them to do. And in order to fulfil all these, it was often necessary that those who walk in the path of the Lord had to suffer and endure difficulties, challenges and trials. But St. Paul reminded them all of the power of God’s providence and guidance, and how through His works made evident by their hands, they would indeed do great and wonderful things beyond imagination.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the confrontation between the Lord Jesus and the Sadducees who opposed Him, all those who were doubtful and refusing to believe in the teachings and doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. For the context, the Sadducees were historically the ones who held the reins of power and many of them were belonging to the priestly caste and they were the ones from which the chief priests were chosen from. We may find it quite strange and contradictory that the priests and chief priests were the ones who were most militant in their opposition and refusal to believe in the teachings and beliefs like the resurrection from the dead and the afterlife, or in any other spiritual matter. But this can be better understood from the context of how they were steeply involved in worldly matters and livelihood, in the governance of the people and the Temple.

As such, many among them likely developed strong attachments to the world and to all the privileges that they have enjoyed in life. Therefore, this is why many if not most of them believed that this life in this world was the only one that they would have and which they ought to enjoy, rejecting any notion of the afterlife or another existence which to them is a separation from all the joy, pleasures and the good things which they had been enjoying in life. That was why the Lord showed them all when those Sadducees asked using the example of a woman who had married seven brothers as her husbands, of whose man that she would belong to as wife, that the eternal life that is to come is not like that of this world, and is truly beyond all of those worldly ambitions, desires and pursuits. It is an important reminder for all of us not to seek for things of this world that do not last, but instead we must focus on the Lord and His promise of everlasting life.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and his holy companions in martyrdom, collectively known as the Holy Ugandan Martyrs. They all dedicated themselves to the Lord, missionaries, local priests and faithful laymen and laywomen alike, who were persecuted for their faith in God, and remained firmly resolute and committed in their faith in God to the very end, despite the temptations, coercions and threats that they were facing. Back then, St. Charles Lwanga himself was the chief page and an important servant of the King of the Kingdom of Buganda in what is today Uganda. He encountered the Christian faith through the missionaries who proclaimed the Lord and His Good News among the people there in that region. Back then, the King was a great pedophile who preyed on the young pages of the kingdom, and the opposition from Christian missionaries against such practices caused the king to conduct massacres against them.

St. Charles Lwanga himself was convinced of the truth that the Lord had delivered through the Catholic missionaries, the White Fathers who were there, and St. Charles Lwanga along with many others among Buganda’s court members and servants were also baptised together as Christians. St. Charles Lwanga also protected the pages, the young boys under his care from the king’s perverted and wicked actions. It was then that the king and those among his courtiers that had become Christians came to a point of contention, as the former condemned some of them to death, which led to St. Charles Lwanga and the other servants to stand up for their faith publicly, and they were therefore led to be martyred by being burnt alive. At the site where he and others were martyred now stands the great Basilica of the Holy Ugandan Martyrs at Namugongo, where the relics of those faithful martyrs are enshrined. Their fidelity and commitment to God served as great examples and inspirations to all of us Christians in how we ourselves should live up to our Christian calling and mission in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect on these words of the Scriptures that we have heard and received, and also on the lives of our holy predecessors, particularly those of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda, in their most courageous defence of their faith and commitment to the Lord’s truth and righteousness. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves in the same way as well, brethren? Are we willing and able to carry our own crosses in life, in following the Lord ever more faithfully in each and every passing moments? Let us all discern our path forward well and carefully so that we may continue to inspire many others to walk in God’s Presence and to be steadfast in our obedience and commitment to Him.

May the Lord our most loving God and Father continue to guide and strengthen us all in our respective journeys in life. May He empower each and every one of us in living our lives virtuously, in proclaiming His truth and Good News at all times, doing our very best to glorify Him by our lives. May He lead us all into the everlasting life of true happiness and joy that He has promised and reassured all of us with, and strengthen us ever always in our faith. Amen.

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Tuesday, 2 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we have to continue to uphold our faith and hope in the Lord at all times, remembering that God is never far and distant from us. He has always been with us, supporting, guiding and strengthening us all, empowering us all with the courage and the necessary strength to remain firm in our journey, patiently helping us with the gift of His Wisdom that He has sent unto us through His Holy Spirit. God has always been with us even through the most difficult and darkest moments, and that is why, because of His great love for us, which we may not truly realise the full extent of, we too should strive to love Him and to give our love and focus onto Him as best as we can.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Peter, we heard the continuation of the exhortation of the Apostle to the faithful and the Church, reminding them all to remain strong, firm and steady in their faith in God because the Lord would always be with them, guiding and strengthening them through all the challenges, trials and hardships that they would have to face in their journey, all the trials that they were enduring through at the time. At that time, it was indeed difficult for one to be a Christian, having encountered opposition and oppression from both the Jewish and Roman authorities, as well as from the other local authorities and pagan believers. This was why St. Peter reminded the faithful to remain strong in their faith because in the end, God will vindicate and rescue them all from their troubles.

God truly is always with each and every one of those who have been faithful to Him, keeping them and guiding them in their steps, but it is the temptations and pressures from all around us in this world which often distract us from the path that God has led us through, and which had kept us from truly being able to follow Him wholeheartedly and courageously. Each and every one of us are reminded that we must always trust in God’s Providence and in His guidance even when we may be facing lots of uncertainties and disturbances in our paths. The reality is such that this path that each and every one of us are walking through, are often not an easy one, and in fact, the more that we commit to the path that is truly faithful to God, the more challenges we may face in this path we have. But with God, everything is truly possible for us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the exchange between the Pharisees and the members of the party of Herod, or his supporters, with the Lord and His disciples, in which the former were asking about the matter of paying taxes to Caesar, a truly sensitive and difficult topic to be discussed at that time. The intentions of the Pharisees and the Herodians were clear, that they were working together in order to put a trap to the Lord, in getting Him to give an answer that they could use against Him, trapping Him in a dangerous dilemma designed to discredit Him and to get Him into trouble. In their mind and in what they plotted, they thought that no matter what the Lord answered, they could use His answer against Him.

Why is that so? That is because should the Lord tell them that it was alright to pay the taxes to Caesar, then those Pharisees and Herodians could discredit the Lord among many among the people of God, because many among them despised the Romans and even the rulership of the Herodian dynasty itself as the taxes that they had to pay among other things were considered as humilaiting and oppressive by the Jews. Therefore if the Lord had supported paying taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees and the Herodians could have accused the Lord among the people of being a supporter of the Roman rule and hence losing His credibility, support and popularity among the people of God. On the other hand, if the Lord had told them that they should not be paying the taxes to Caesar, then He could be accused of sedition and treason against the Romans, and He could end up in great trouble.

However, the Lord in His infinite Wisdom responded truly well to this attempt to trap Him, by saying that since as the coins that they ought to be using to pay the taxes with bear the image of Caesar, as was typical of the Roman coins of the time, then it is indeed right and just to pay what is due to Caesar just as one ought to pay what is due to God. Through this perfect and wise answer, the Lord silenced His critics and enemies, preventing them from taking advantage of the situation or His responses for their own benefits. He was speaking the truth, reminding the people of God to give their dues to the state authorities entrusted by God for their leadership and rule, and at the same time, most importantly, not forgetting to give God what is right and due too. This is a reminder for all of us to do the same in our own lives as well.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great saints whose lives, actions and dedication to God hopefully can inspire each one of us to be faithful to the Lord in the similar manner as well. St. Marcellinus and St. Peter were faithful Christians who were persecuted for their faith, and they were, according to the Christian traditions, either priests or ministers of the faith, with St. Marcellinus reputedly being a priest and St. Peter was an exorcist, who were arrested and tortured during one of the most brutal episodes of Christian persecutions under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. According to the same traditions, the two saints gladly faced martyrdom and prepared the site where they were then beheaded and buried, in a place that was purposefully kept hidden so that they could not be venerated by the other Christians later on.

Nonetheless, according to Church traditions, the Lord inspired two women, named Lucilla and Firmina to discover the martyrdom and burial site of the two great martyrs, and they were properly buried, becoming great inspiration for many other Christians of the later era, right up to our time. The tale of their courageous and unwavering faith amidst the intense trials, hardships and challenges that they had to face as servants and followers of the Lord would inspire countless people of God throughout the subsequent years, decades and centuries, and being commemorated even in the Roman Canon amongst the few martyrs listed there highlighted just how influential both St. Marcellinus and St. Peter had been in the history of the Church throughout the ages. Their lives and examples should therefore also serve as inspirations and examples for us all as well.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, our Saviour and King continue to help and guide us throughout our journey, and may the inspiration and good examples showed by His great servants, the martyr saints, St. Marcellinus and St. Peter continue to lead us down the path of faith and righteousness, Christian virtues and dedication so that we may grow ever closer in our relationship with God and in our faith in Him. May our own actions, words and deeds, our every good works and interactions be filled with true Christian faith and way of life, and may we glorify the Lord in each and every moments of our lives, in our obedience to Him and in being good and law-abiding citizens at all times. May God bless us all in everything we do, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 1 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that we should always be vigilant in living our lives, in striving to be always living with virtue, temperance and moderation, in following what the Lord Himself had taught us to do, and in resisting the many pressures, temptations and many other worldly desires, ambitions and all the things that can leaf us astray in our respective paths towards the Lord. As Christians, all of us are reminded that we should always do our best in showing good examples of our actions, words and deeds, rooted firmly in our faith in God so that by our each and every one of them, we may inspire many more people to follow God and to know Him through us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle in which the Apostle spoke about the fact of how the faithful people of God, those to whom the Apostles and the missionaries had proclaimed and introduced the salvation in Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour, had received the revelation of God’s love and truth, as well as the guidance and wisdom through the gift of the Holy Spirit that had been imparted to them at their baptism, so that each and every one of them might indeed know how they all ought to live their lives according to the way and manner that God Himself has shown and taught them, and inspired them all through the Holy Spirit. And each one of them were indeed called to put their trust and faith in God, and to live virtuously.

Therefore St. Peter encouraged the faithful in the various communities that he addressed this letter and epistle to, in order to encourage and strengthen their faith, to be willing to walk ever more courageously in the path that the Lord had led them through. There would indeed be plenty of trials and challenges, hardships and difficulties in their paths, but they need to continue to uphold their beliefs and what they had been called to do, to be truly righteous, virtuous and just in everything that they do, in doing what is right for them as the people of God. And this is therefore a reminder to all of us as well so that we may also do our best in living our lives in this way so that we may touch the hearts and the lives of others around us, by our faith and our dedication to God, and by the love we show to those whom we love and care for.pe

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples with the parable of the wicked and evil tenants, in which story was highlighted how the tenants who were entrusted with the care of the lands and fields that the landowner had put in their care and responsibilities, acted up against him and refused to fulfil their part of the obligation, refusing to pay their fees and dues unlike what they had already agreed and likely had signed contracts on as part of their tenancy agreement. It was likely implied that their greed, ambition and desires had led them to commit such heinous and wicked actions as described in that parable.

We heard how they refused to listen to the servants sent to them to remind them, persecuting, attacking and even murdering them. And it culminated in them committing an even greater error in attacking and murdering the son of the landowner whom the latter had sent to them, thinking that they would at least respect and listen to his son. If we carefully look through the parable again, we can see how the Lord Jesus used this parable to highlight what had happened and how the people of God themselves had treated the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them to remind them, represented by those servants, while also predicting at the same time how they would treat the Son of God, referring to Himself, in how they would persecute Him and crush Him with sufferings and death.

Through what we have heard in today’s passage from this parable of the evil and wicked tenant, we are reminded that it is also by our own wickedness and evils, our attachments to worldly ambitions, greed and desires that we have behaved like those evil and wicked tenants. And yet, God still sent to us, again and again so many help and reminders, despite our rejections and attitudes in refusing to listen to Him. God’s love for us is truly unconditional, especially in how He has loved us all and gave us all the best and ultimate gift in His own Son, Whom He had given us all to be our Saviour. Through His wounds, all the hurts and sufferings that He had endured, Christ our Lord and Saviour had brought us all the assurance of eternal life and salvation, opening the path to Heaven itself.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Justin, a great saint and man of God and a holy martyr of the Church and the Christian faith. St. Justin is a great example for all of us in how he completely dedicated his life to the service of God and in his persistence in enduring all the challenges and persecutions he faced, even right up to the moment of his martyrdom, always full of faith and commitment to God. St. Justin was a Greek man who converted to the Christian faith when he encountered an old man, who was likely a Syrian Christian by the seashore, and engaged with him in a dialogue about God, convincing him that the faith in God, His prophets and messengers are far better and superior than engaging in the wisdom and debates of the philosophers, as St. Justin was searching for the meaning of life and truth back then.

Afterwards, St. Justin dedicated himself wholly to the pursuit of the Good News, convinced fully of the message of the truth which Christ Our Lord has brought unto us, and which the Lord has revealed to us with His coming, and through the Holy Spirit that has been sent unto us all. St. Justin proclaimed the Lord henceforth, all of His truth and Good News, and began teaching as a Christian philosopher, gathering quite a number of people who were convinced by what he has been preaching about the Lord, with great wisdom and zeal. St. Justin and some of his students, according to Church traditions, were persecuted and martyred by the Roman authorities during one of the episodes of the persecution of Christians. He remained firm and resolute in his faith right up to the very end, inspiring countless generations of Christians afterwards.

May the Lord continue to guide each and every one of us, and may He empower all of us to live ever more graciously and with greater commitment in His Presence, according to His will, and be inspired by the great examples of our holy predecessors, His great servants, like St. Justin and many others. May He help us to overcome the temptations of worldly greed, ambitions and desires, and help us to follow Him wholeheartedly and faithfully at all times, in each and every one of our words, actions and deeds, at all times. May He bless our works and efforts, and all of our endeavours for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 31 May 2026 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Sunday after the Pentecost Sunday, all of us, the whole Church celebrates the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, also known as Trinity Sunday. This Sunday marks a very important celebration for the Church as it commemorates one of the most crucial, distinctive and central tenets of our Christian faith. It is our belief in the Holy Trinity that sets us apart from any other monotheistic faith and beliefs, because while we truly believe in the Oneness of God, and that there is no other God besides Him, but at the same time, we believe that our One and only God exists in Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That is what our belief in the Most Holy Trinity is all about, and which we focus on in this Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

It is also interesting that we always celebrate this Trinity Sunday at the Sunday immediately following the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday that marked the descent of the Holy Spirit on the people of God, on the Church. This is a reminder that all of us as part of the same Church of God has always been guided by the Lord all the same, willed into being by our Father and Creator, and with the Son having dwelled amongst us and walked with us, touching us all with His Presence in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and finally, the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the Giver of life, have descended upon us, giving us the Wisdom, strength and courage to live our lives with great faith and commitment to God. Thus, in all aspects and parts of our lives, we always have God ever present by our side, with us, the same one and only True God.

Ever since the very beginning of the Church, the Apostles and the earliest Church fathers, bishops and priests and other Christians have testified and recorded the belief in the Triune God and in the Trinitarian nature of the Lord. While there were those who debated on whether the Lord Jesus was truly the Son of God or whether He was equal to the Father, or whether He was just like us, any other human beings, but most of the Church fathers and early Christians subscribed to the teachings and path that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was truly born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, and yet, is not merely just the Son of Man, but also the Son of God in the flesh, assuming our human existence and our form so that He might make His love to become tangible, real and approachable by us. By the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit, dwelling within Mary, the Divine Messiah was conceived in her, as the Son of God Most High made Man.

If there were indeed many of those who refused to believe that this was possible, or that the historical Man named Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God, Equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, then we must remember that everything is possible for God. If He could make the blind to see again, restore the sick and those who were dying, casting out demons and evil spirits, and raising the dead back to life, and if He could make the barren ones like Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth to bear a child in their barrenness, and for Mary to have a Son without any human intervention and action, then everything is truly possible for God. Not only that but the Lord Jesus Himself has mentioned the Holy Trinity most clearly in the Great Commission that He entrusted to His disciples and followers, the mission of His Church which still continues to this very moment.

The Lord said, ‘Go and make disciples of all the nations, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.’ Through this simple and direct instruction, the Lord has made it truly clear of the connection and the equal nature between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus has often referred to the Father in Heaven as His heavenly Father, and referring to Himself as the Son. If the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are referring to different beings, how can we then reconcile our believe in the one and only true God as the Church fathers and the old Jewish and Israelite faith and customs had believed? Therefore, each of the members of the Holy Trinity must indeed be referring to the same God, that has manifested in Three Divine Persons, namely the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the Scriptures, we can find clear indication how the Lord has revealed Himself in His identity as the Holy Trinity, the Triune God, One God consisting of Three distinct Persons, and Three Persons united indivisibly as One God. At the very beginning when God created all things, the three members of the Holy Trinity were already present, highlighting our belief in the Co-Equal and Co-Eternal nature of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and also their consubstantial nature, having the same Divine essence and substance, with the Father being fully God and Divine, and so is the Son and so is the Holy Spirit. At the beginning, God the Father willed all things to be created, from nothingness into being, and He did so, as we read in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, through His Word, and this was referred to at the beginning of the Gospel of St. John.

St. John began his Gospel with ‘In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be.’ Through this part from St. John’s Gospel we are reminded that the Word of God was the means through which God created all of us, and this Word of God is the Son, just as St. John further continued on with, ‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.’ which highlighted to us that the Word of God, the Divine Logos Himself, has become Man, taking up our existence and appearance, becoming fully Divine and fully Man in the Person of Jesus Christ, the One through Whom God’s love and truth have been made tangible and approachable to all of us. The Lord Jesus Himself said to Nicodemus, that God so loved the world, that He sent unto us His beloved Son, to save the world, and He did indeed save the world, by His death on the Cross.

Then, the Holy Spirit, in the Book of Genesis was described as being present throughout the whole thing before existence and before creation, and through the Holy Spirit, the world has life, just as we said in the Creed, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the Giver of Life’ and the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son, as the Holy Spirit came unto us from the Father, Who willed that His Spirit came unto us, and by His Word, everything came to be. At Pentecost, which we have just celebrated last Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, strengthening them and empowering them just as the Lord Jesus, the Son, has promised that the Father would send them the Holy Spirit. It was through the same Spirit that all of us have received life as well, and those who have received the Holy Spirit, that is all of us, have received more fully the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Now, we can all see how the Holy Trinity has always worked together, in perfect harmony with each other. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all worked together and were united in purpose and action, as although They are Three distinct Persons, but They are indivisible and inseparable from each other, and is part of one Godhood. It is wrong to say that the Father is the Son, or the Holy Spirit, or vice versa as They are all distinct from each other. But They exist together in one perfect union of love that cannot be separated, by anyone or anything. The Father is fully God, just as the Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is also fully God, all sharing the same Godhood, the one and only True God. This is something which some people find hard to accept or to understand, and some failed to believe it because they thought that they knew things better. But God and His mysteries are far more than what we can comprehend with our minds alone.

There are many ways for us to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity better, one of which is the famous shamrock or three-leaf clover that St. Patrick used in his missionary work in Ireland, as he utilised it to explain better the mystery of the Holy Trinity to those whom he was evangelising and preaching the Good News so that they may know God and His truth and identity better. The shamrock or the three-leaf clover is a leaf composed of three leaf blades conjoined together as one leaf. We can clearly see that there are three parts of the one leaf, that are distinct from each other and yet each of them are inseparable from each other without diminishing and changing the whole leaf. In the same way therefore, each of the members of the Holy Trinity are distinct from each other while at the same time being indivisibly united as One, and we cannot take One out of the Three without diminishing or changing the nature of God.

Another way is to use the symbolism of a flame, which can also be used to represent somewhat the concept of the Holy Trinity. Flame has three dimensions just as the Holy Trinity is composed of three Members or Persons. Flame consists of its heat, its light as well as its appearance and shape, all three of which makes up a flame as we all know it. We can feel the heat from the flame of a burning object, and we can see the illumination from the light given off by the flame, and we can see the shape of the flame itself as it burns brightly. If we are to remove the heat from the flame, it will indeed be very strange to be able to see a flame and yet without its heat, or if we remove the light instead, to see a flame with its heat, but not being able to see the light that it should have illuminated the room with. Through this comparison, we can see that each aspects of the flame are distinct from each other, and yet, each one of them describe what the whole full flame is all about, and we cannot subtract one from the whole or else we diminish or make the whole unrecognisable and different.

In the same manner therefore, the Holy Trinity is indeed composed of Three Divine Persons, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, each of Whom are equally Divine, equal in their substance and essence, equal in their Lordship and Existence from time immemorial, before even time and existence themselves began. They are Co-Equal and Co-Eternal, distinct from each other and yet at the same time, being perfectly united as the One and only One True God of all. That is what we believe in as Christians, in God Who is One but Three, and Who is also Three but One. One God, One Godhood but Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each of the Three Divine Persons show the different aspects of the One Godhood, and which are perfectly united and are in harmony with each other in the perfect union of perfect love that is found in God alone.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, while we may try to make the concept of the Holy Trinity better understood, as how the Church fathers and others like St. Patrick had done, and as I had attempted to explain and elaborate on ways to understand the Holy Trinity mystery better, but the reality is that, this most important tenet of our faith is indeed a mystery that can never actually be fully understood by our minds and intelligence alone. We have to understand and appreciate the Holy Trinity through the eyes of faith, and by listening to God Himself speaking to us through the Wisdom He has given us through the Holy Spirit. That is how we can truly understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity, guided by the Lord and His love, His Wisdom and His providence.

And we should not try to seek to know the fullness of the truth behind the Holy Trinity, as St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the most brilliant among the Church fathers and a Doctor of the Church can show us, in how when he was pondering about the mystery of the Holy Trinity, he encountered a young boy by the seashore, pouring the water of the sea into a small hole using a seashell. When St. Augustine asked the boy, the boy responded saying that he was pouring the whole entire sea into the small hole, which was impossible, and when St. Augustine mentioned that to the young boy, it was when the young boy, which was a vision for St. Augustine to remind him, responded that the same applies therefore to his attempts to understand the Holy Trinity, as it is impossible for the limited human mind and intelligence to be able to contain and understand the full nature of the Holy Trinity.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect carefully on our faith in our God, the Most Holy Trinity of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us all do whatever we can to believe wholeheartedly in Him, and entrusting ourselves to His Providence so that we may truly live our lives worthy of God, guided by the will of the Father, led by the examples of the Son, and encouraged by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. May our lives be the shining beacons of light and truth of God to many others who journey together with us and encounter us at each and every moments. May our Lord, the Most Holy Trinity, continue to bless us and guide us throughout our lives, now and always, forevermore. Amen.