Doctors of the Church

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Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we continue to be reminded of the greatness of God Who is capable of doing every wonders and good things in our lives, if we only put our trust and faith in Him. For the Lord Who has created this world and the whole Universe in all of its goodness has always intended for us to enjoy the fullness of His love and grace, and He would not want for any of us to suffer or endure all the challenges that we are facing in life now. But it was our own waywardness and disobedience against Him which had led to our own downfall and sufferings, as we end up causing harm and hurt to one another in our quest and pursuit of selfish desires.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard from that passage of the might and power of God as He carried out everything that He has always planned, in leading all of His beloved people to righteousness and to the path that He has prepared for them. He did everything according to His designs and plans, which He has gradually revealed to us through His Spirit and Wisdom provided to us through the same Spirit. He has always been for those whom He has loved, that is all of us mankind, without exception, and He has always patiently provided for us without cease and constantly, ever caring for us and loving us all unconditionally and generously.

God has always shown us all His Providence even through the most difficult moments, sending His help, guidance and protection, companionship and presence through the most difficult moments of our lives. We are therefore never alone in our journey, and whenever we want to give up in this struggle and whenever we fall into temptations to sin, and want to give up the struggles against the pressures of the world, we should remember that God is always ever present around us and supporting us in our daily struggles and challenges. It is often however that we do not realise or appreciate God being there for us because we do not have enough faith in Him and we are so preoccupied with ourselves and the things are busy fussing about instead.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the parable that the Lord Jesus used to teach His disciples, using that of an evil judge who feared neither God or man, and an old widow who constantly went to the old judge and demanded that the latter pursue her case and win justice for her. As expected, of course the evil and wicked judge refused to arbitrate on her behalf or even to take heed of her. But the old widow kept on persisting and insisting daily on the evil judge, kept on pestering her to take up her case until we heard that eventually he gave in to the demands of the old widow if only that he could rid himself of her incessant persistent demands.

As we heard in this Gospel passage, the Lord Jesus was making this comparison and reference to the case between the evil judge and the old widow to highlight just how much more generous and willing for the Lord our God to hear and heed our prayers and requests, if the evil judge himself granted the desires of the old widow. This is an important reminder and encouragement for all of us as Christians that no matter what, we should not lose faith or trust in the Lord because if we continue to have faith in Him and if we put our hope ever always in Him and His Providence, the Lord will be with us and will provide us all that we need, and eventually, while the wait may seem to be long and delayed, everything will be fine for us all. We must keep up this faith in the Lord, always.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great, or St. Albertus Magnus, a renowned man of God and great teacher of the faith, whose life, works and dedication to God should inspire us all to be dedicated and committed to Him ourselves. Each and every one of us should heed the good examples set by this wonderful man of God, so that we may also be always faithful to Him, at all times. St. Albert the Great was born in what is now Bavaria in southern part of Germany, during the High Middle Ages. He was brought up well academically and showed his talents early on. He then became a member of the Dominican Order, and studied to become a theologian, which began his great and long ministry as a teacher and theologian henceforth.

St. Albert the Great later on became one of the provincials of the Dominican Order, and carried out his duties with great obedience and dedication. And while later on he was appointed as a bishop, as the Bishop of Regensburg, he remained humble and committed to the missions entrusted to him, walking all around his diocese on foot instead of riding a horse as he was entitled to. He dedicated himself to whatever missions God had entrusted him with, and despite the honour and respect that many people and his positions entitled him with, he remained very humble and focused on the Lord, not being swayed by the temptations of worldly power and glory. Instead, he committed himself wholly to the Lord and to the people of God, all throughout his life, and this is something that we should be inspired to follow as well. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as we have discussed earlier from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and also from the life and examples shown by St. Albert the Great, let us all therefore continue to strive to live our lives worthily in the Lord, doing whatever we can so that we will always focus and centre our lives in God, and to be constantly faithful in our dedication to Him, remembering that in everything that we do, we should always bring glory to God. We must also continue to have faith in Him, trusting that if we continue to trust Him and seek for His guidance and help through persistent prayer as the old widow in the parable had done, the Lord will indeed move to help us and provide for us all that we need.

May the Lord continue to inspire and strengthen us all such that we can continue to move forward in life with fullness of faith and trust in Him, knowing that He is ever present in our lives, being by our side and constantly journeying with us without cease. He has always been supporting us, loving us and caring for us, and He will never cease providing for us and guiding us through good and bad times alike. Let us all no longer be doubtful and continue to walk forward with ever greater trust in God, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 18 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told them a parable, to show them that they should pray continually, and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge, who neither feared God nor people. In the same town there was a widow, who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Defend my rights against my adversary!'”

“For a time he refused, but finally he thought, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much, I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.'”

And Jesus said, “Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night, even if He delays in answering them? I tell you, He will speedily do them justice. But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

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Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

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

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 36-37, 42-43

Sing to YHVH, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek YHVH rejoice.

Then He smote all the firstborn, the first fruits of their manhood. He led Israel out of the alien land, laden with silver and gold, and none were left behind.

For He remembered His promise to Abraham, His servant. So He led forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with singing.

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Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

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

Wisdom 18 : 14-16 and Wisdom 19 : 6-9

While all was in quiet silence and the night was in the middle of its course, Your Almighty Word leapt down from the royal throne – a stern Warrior to a doomed world. Carrying Your fearful command like a sharpened sword and stretching from heaven to earth, He filled the universe with death.

All creation in its different forms was fashioned anew at Your command, in order to protect Your people. The cloud covered the camp with its shadow, dry land emerged where water had been. A safe passage was opened through the Red Sea, the tempestuous flood became a green plain where the whole nation of those protected by Your hand passed across, witnessing Your astounding deeds.

They were like horses led to pasture, or like frolicking lambs, praising You, their Lord, Who had delivered them.

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Monday, 10 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us are called to be truly and genuinely faithful to the Lord in all things, in embracing the fullness of God’s wisdom and guidance, through the Holy Spirit that He has sent upon us. And through this Wisdom we have received important guidance and strength to carry out our activities and our works with faith, to do what God has called us to do and to fulfil everything that He has entrusted to us, to lead others towards Himself through our good examples and by being inspiration for everyone around us.

In our first reading today as mentioned, we heard from the Book of Wisdom how God’s Wisdom has come to dwell in us through His Spirit, and how this Wisdom has guided us through this journey in life, showing us the path going forward and how we ought to navigate the various twists and challenges in life. If we allow God to show us the path going forward, then surely we will be able to find the right path through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the Wisdom which He has imparted to us through the same Spirit which inspires us and moves us gently along in life towards what God wants us to be, and where He wants us to contribute as members of His Church.

We are reminded that as Christians we should not easily allow ourselves to be swayed and misled by the temptations, pressures and the coercions of worldly desires and ambitions, attachments and all the other negative things surrounding us. We must not let ourselves be led by the currents of this world, but instead through our firm faith in God, we ought to have that very strong anchor in faith, in doing whatever is needed to resist the many temptations and pressures from all around us to conform to the ways and manners of this world. But we really need to put our full faith in the Lord, in trusting His Wisdom and guidance at all times and circumstances.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples about the dangers of those who have not truly been faithful and had been hypocritical in their faith, all those who have caused scandal for the Lord and the faithful by their actions and way of life, which is wicked and unworthy, which lead to others falling into sin as well. God does not look kindly upon those who have lived their lives in such a manner and hence, He reminded His disciples that they all ought to live their lives with genuine faith and dedication, committing themselves and each moments of their lives with true sincerity in their faith in the Lord at all times.

It is an important reminder to all of us as Christians that we should not take lightly our responsibility to live our lives in each and every moments ever more courageously and with great dedication as genuine Christians. We should continue to live wholeheartedly at all times and in all circumstances showing what our faith truly is all about, and how we can be better Christians, better disciples and followers of the Lord, by showing this faith through real and concrete actions in our daily lives. We should not be ignorant of those whom God had placed in our lives and in our paths for us to care for, especially more so those who are precious and dear to us, as they are indeed our responsibilities as good and faithful Christians, to love as God has loved us.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Leo the Great, one of the great leaders of the Church and a renowned Pope, whose contributions and deeds were so great that he was indeed one of the very few Popes known with the epithet, ‘the Great’. Pope St. Leo the Great was one of the longest reigning Popes in the Church, reigning over the whole Church over a period of over two decades, during an important and tumultuous time both for Christendom and in the secular world. His efforts, works and deeds had inspired many and helped many people to remain firmly faithful to the Lord despite the many trials and challenges facing them at that time. Pope St. Leo the Great helped to lead the Church through those difficult times, and his leadership, actions and numerous writings, which made him to be honoured as a Doctor of the Church, should inspire us all to be ever more faithful to God as well.

Pope St. Leo the Great led the Church through a divisive time in Christendom, as there were numerous heresies and disagreements which had not been completely resolved and settled by the preceding Ecumenical Councils, such as the ones at Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus. Pope St. Leo the Great wrote extensively and sent his ambassadors and legates to the Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in the Year of Our Lord 450, ten years into the reign of Pope St. Leo the Great, condemning the heresies of monophysitism that were rampant in the eastern parts of the Roman Empire. Then, in the secular side, Pope St. Leo the Great was also well-renowned for having led the Church and the city of Rome through two difficult time periods, first was when the King of the Huns, Attila, came to the city, and the Pope came to see him personally, and managed to make the Hunnic king to turn away back to his lands, sparing Rome from destruction. He was less successful with the Vandals that came few years afterwards and sacked Rome, but he managed to reduce the extent of the destructions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life and contributions of Pope St. Leo the Great, as well as from the words of the Sacred Scriptures earlier, we are reminded that we are called to be genuine, faithful and loving Christians at all times and circumstances. We should not be merely outwardly faithful or pious but lacking in genuine and deep understanding of the faith or genuine love for God. Let us all continue to walk in faith at all times, inspiring one another to become ever better disciples and followers of the Lord by doing our best to do so in our own lives. May God bless us always in all of our endeavours and good works. Amen.

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Monday, 10 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 17 : 1-6

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Scandals will necessarily come and cause people to fall; but woe to the one who brings them about. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck. Truly, this would be better for that person, than to cause one of these little ones to fall.”

“Listen carefully : if your brother offends you, tell him, and if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he offends you seven times in one day, but seven times he says to you, ‘I am sorry,’ forgive him.”

The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” And the Lord said, “If you have faith, even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree, ‘Be uprooted, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it will obey you.”

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Monday, 10 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 138 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-10

O YHVH, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand, You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is formed in my mouth, You know what it is all about, o YHVH. From front to back You hedge me round, shielding me with Your protecting hand. Your knowledge leaves me astounded, it is too high for me to reach.

Where else could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I flee from Your presence? You are there, if I ascend the heavens; You are there, if I descend to the depths.

If I ride on the wings of the dawn, and settle on the far side of the sea, even there, Your hand shall guide me, and Your right hand shall hold me safely.

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Monday, 10 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Wisdom 1 : 1-7

Love justice, you who rule over the world! Think rightly of God, seek Him with simplicity of heart, for He reveals Himself to those who do not challenge Him and is found by those who do not distrust Him. Crooked thinking distances you from God; and His Omnipotence, put to the test, confounds the foolish.

Wisdom does not enter the wicked nor remain in a body that is enslaved to sin. The Holy Spirit Who instructs us shuns deceit; it keeps aloof from foolishness and is ill at ease when injustice is done. Wisdom is a spirit, a friend to man, and will not leave the blasphemous unpunished, because God knows his innermost feelings, truly sees his thoughts and hears what he says.

For God’s Spirit has filled the whole world; and He Who holds together all things, knows each word that is spoken.

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Wednesday, 15 October 2025 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that God will reward those who are faithful to Him, and He will punish all those who are wicked and who oppress and manipulate those who are around them. The Lord is never blind or ignorant of everything that we have done, or have not done, and He always knows our hearts, our minds and thoughts, everything that we say and do and how we interact with each other. God knows everything about us and He wants to lead all of us to Himself, showing us how we can be truly holy and worthy of Him, through what He has taught us and through the good inspirations that His saints, our holy predecessors that had shown us the way to be truly devoted and faithful to God in our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Rome, in which the Apostle continued to speak about how one ought to live his or her life as a Christian, that is as a disciple of Christ, the Saviour of all, Whom St. Paul had reminded the faithful in Rome as being sent for all mankind, regardless whether one was a Jew or whether one was a Gentile or a non-Jew. All of them are equally beloved by God and all have the same chance at salvation and eternal life, because all of us are created by God out of love, and He loves all of us without exception, even to the greatest of sinners. He has given us all many opportunities to return to Him and to be reconciled with Him, ever ready to forgive us our sins.

It is also an important reminder for each one of us as St. Paul mentioned it in that same passage we heard today, that we do not judge and condemn others especially because we think that we are better or more deserving of God’s grace and blessings than those whom we are judgmental, biased and opposed against. All of us are sinners and we all have disobeyed God in some way or form or another, and we must be humble and willing to be open-minded and to listen to others speaking to us, lest we think that we can do no wrong or that we are in any way better or more deserving than the others. It is this attitude among other things which had caused so many divisions and problems in the Church even up to this day, pushing people away from the Lord and His Church instead of towards Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the continuation of the rebukes and woes which the Lord Jesus pronounced against the Pharisees, who were back then one of the very influential groups within the community of the people of God, the Jewish people, together with the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the intellectual and religious elites of the community, where they took great pride in their supposed superiority in piety and way of living their faith and lives, in the manner how they observed the Law and commandments of God. The Lord Himself rebuked the Pharisees for their great pride, ego and superficial faith, as well as their desire and craving for power and worldly glory.

Not only that but through their actions and attitudes, many among those Pharisees had also pushed people away from God, just as we have discussed earlier from our first reading passage today. They made it more difficult for those that they discriminated and were biased against to come towards the Lord, and they made it more difficult for many others as well for them to come towards God because of the excessive requirements and their very stringent and rigid application and interpretation of God’s Law and rules, the regulations and other things that made it hard for many people to be faithful to God. And in doing so, they have also forgotten and overlooked the fact that God gave His Law to His people to show them how they ought to love Him and to make it easier for them to come towards Him.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa of Jesus, also better known by her other appelation of St. Teresa of Avila, named after her birthplace in Avila in Spain today. Her life may indeed be good source of inspirations and hope, strength and encouragement for all of us in how each and every one of us ought to be living up our lives. All of us are reminded that we are all called to follow the good examples of the saints, like that of St. Teresa of Jesus, who was the founder of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites. Together with St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Jesus was credited with the very important reform within the Carmelite Order, seeking to lead a more committed and virtuous religious life and observance, as compared to the then increasingly lax standards of the Carmelites.

St. Teresa of Jesus sought to reform the Carmelite order, and was also involved in the arbitration of certain other issues facing both her order and the wider Christian communities around her convent. St. Teresa of Jesus together with her companion, St. John of the Cross, continued to labour hard and well for the sake of the glory of God and the salvation and well-being of God’s people. They faced a lot of opposition from both within the Carmelite Order itself and from the community, but they pressed on with the reforms, and their hard works and efforts eventually bore fruit, for the benefit of both the religious order and the general Christian community.

St. Teresa also wrote very extensively on many articles on the faith, and all those writings and publications, books and works were what eventually led to her canonisation, and also the declaration that she was to be made one of the Doctors of the Church. Her many contributions and good works should serve as source of inspiration for all of us, in how each and every one of us should behave in our lives, and in what we should do as Christians, in doing the will of God and in putting our efforts in every moments of our lives to glorify God by our actions, words and deeds. This is what we have been called to do, brothers and sisters in Christ, to be 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect on what we have just discussed from both the life and works of St. Teresa of Jesus and also from our Scripture passages today, particularly with regard to how we ought to live our lives faithfully and genuinely as Christians. Let our actions, words and deeds at all opportunities and circumstances truly show that we are indeed Christians, the ones whom God had called and chosen to be His own, that through us many more people may come to believe in God as well. May the Lord bless our every efforts, good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 October 2025 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 11 : 42-46

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “A curse is on you, Pharisees! To the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These ought to be practiced, without neglecting the other obligations.”

“A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you, for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people do not notice them, and make themselves unclean by stepping on them.”

Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, “Master, when You speak like this, You insult us, too.” And Jesus answered, “A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves do not move a finger to help them.”