Friday

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Friday, 26 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that if we put our trust in the Lord and follow Him, we shall gain assurance, providence and grace, and we shall be triumphant with Him in the end. Meanwhile, if we place our trust in worldly things and means, then we are likely to face disappointments and defeats handed down to us, as nothing in this world can give us the same assurance and providence as the Lord alone can give us. The examples shown in our Scripture passages today should serve as good examples for us of what will happen to us should we decide to follow the Lord and trust in Him versus putting our trust in the world and all the things it can provide us with, and the choice is ours to make on which path we want to choose in our own respective lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah in which the moments of the final defeat, downfall and destruction of the kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem of the ancient Israelites came to fruition after the people of God had disobeyed Him, disregarded and refused to obey His Law and commandments for a long time, after many of the kings of Israel and Judah had led the people down a path of rebellion and sin, by following and worshipping pagan idols and foreign false gods instead of worshipping and obeying the Lord, their one and only True God, the One Who had liberated all of them from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, and led them to the Promised Land where they had been dwelling in all those times.

Their disobedience and sins culminated in this tragic destruction of the lands of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the many other cities and towns of the land, echoing what had happened about a century and a half earlier on, when the northern kingdom of Israel, the northern half of the kingdom of God’s people, the Israelites, was conquered and destroyed by the forces of the Assyrians, who also destroyed Samaria, the capital of Israel and the many cities belonging to the Israelites, carrying many of its people into exile. Thus, this same fate eventually befell those in the southern kingdom of Judah as well, with this time the Babylonians who came to crush the kingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusalem, also carrying many of its people to exile in distant lands.

All these as mentioned, happened because of the disobedience and sins which were committed by the people of God, in their refusal to follow the path and the Law which the Lord had provided to them, refusing to listen and to heed the words and reminders, the guidance and the help from the many prophets and messengers that God had sent to them to help them in their path. They also chose to trust in man’s power, in worldly powers and means instead of trusting in the Lord, their God. The prophet Jeremiah had warned the king and the people of Judah of the impending destruction, and not to rebel against the King of Babylon, or else Judah and Jerusalem would be destroyed, just as the other, earlier prophets had also predicted and warned the people of Judah about.

Yet, the false prophets and the nobles all encouraged and forced the king to side with the Egyptians to free themselves from the dominion of the Babylonian kingdom, and this led to the rebellion as we heard in our first reading today, and its aftermath, after the King of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar brought his mighty force to besiege and destroy Jerusalem, and how the city was taken, the Temple and its hallowed halls were destroyed, the Ark of the Covenant disappeared, and the last King of Judah and his sons were captured, the former blinded while the latter were killed. All these things happened because of the lack of faith by those Israelites in God and His Divine providence and protection, choosing instead to trust in the worldly powers and false idols, in the gods that they worshipped, hoping that those could deliver them from their predicament.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew of the account of the moment when the Lord Jesus healed a leper who asked Him to help and heal him from his condition. Leprosy was a condition which was then feared and those who suffered from it were ostracised and cast out from the community, forced to wander off into the desert. This was interestingly the fate of the Israelites after both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had been conquered and destroyed by Assyria and Babylon respectively, and many of the people of God had to wander off in exile, away in distant lands and cast out from the Promised Land of their ancestors and inheritance. The people of Judah had to await their deliverance just as the lepers had to wait until their condition had improved and they recovered.

The Lord healed the leper and made him whole again, and told the leper to follow the customs of the Law, by showing himself to a priest as prescribed so that he could be readmitted once again into the community. Through this and what we have just discussed from our first reading passage today, all of us are reminded that first of all, in God we have the sure hope of salvation and liberation from all the troubles and trials facing us, from the corruption and depredation of sin and evil, represented by the leprosy that afflicted the man. And then, we are also reminded that if we allow worldly temptations and allures, corruptions and distractions to affect us, we will end up suffering like what the people of Israel had suffered in the past. But if we put our faith and trust once again in God, then we can have the sure path out of the darkness and into the light of God’s salvation and grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore renew our faith in God and strive to follow His path from now on. Let us all no longer be stubborn and be wayward in our actions, but instead reminding ourselves at all times so that we will always be humbled and touched by God’s love which is always ever present around us, strengthening our commitment to follow Him and to be good examples and role models ourselves in how we live our lives with genuine faith. Let us all be the shining beacons of God’s light, hope and truth, and be the generous and genuine bearers of His most compassionate and wonderful love in our world today. May God be with us always and may He bless all of our efforts and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 26 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 8 : 1-4

At that time, when Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. Then a leper came forward. He knelt before Him and said, “Sir, if You want to, You can make me clean.”

Jesus stretched out His hand, touched him, and said, “I want to, be clean again.” At that very moment, the man was cleansed from his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not tell anyone; but go to the priest, have yourself declared clean, and offer the gift that Moses commanded as evidence for them.”

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Friday, 26 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 136 : 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

By the streams of Babylon, we sat; and then wept, as we remembered Zion. When, on the poplars, we hung our harps.

Our captors asked for song. Our tormentors wanted songs of joy : “Sing to us one of the songs of Zion!”

How could we sing YHVH’s song in a strange and alien land? If I forget you, o Jerusalem, may my right hand fall useless!

May my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not, if Jerusalem is not the first of my joys.

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Friday, 26 June 2026 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 25 : 1-12

In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched with his entire army and laid siege to Jerusalem. They camped outside the city and built siege works all around it. The city was under siege up to the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah.

On the ninth day of the fourth month famine became a serious problem in the city, and throughout the land there was no bread for the people. When the city was opened by a breach in the wall, the Judean army fled through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, while the Chaldeans were still around the city; and they fled towards the Arabah. The Chaldeans followed in hot pursuit of king Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plains of Jericho. All his army deserted him and scattered.

The Chaldeans seized the king and led him away to Riblah in the territory of Hamath and there the king of Babylon passed sentence on him. There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah in his presence. He then put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with a double bronze chain and took him to Babylon.

On the seventh day of the fifth month in the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, commander of the captain of the royal guard and servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem and set fire to the House of YHVH and the royal palace, as well as to all the houses in Jerusalem. The Chaldean army under the commander of the bodyguard completely demolished all the walls around Jerusalem.

Nebuzaradan, commander of the bodyguard, carried off into exile the last of the Jews left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the remainder of the artisans. But he left those among the very poor who were capable of working in vineyards and cultivating the soil.

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Friday, 19 June 2026 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to seek the true treasures of our lives, that we cannot find in the world, but in the Lord alone. Through our Scripture passages today, we are reminded that each one of us are called to be righteous and just, and to be good disciples and followers of our Lord, in all the things we say and do in life. We should learn from the past examples highlighted in the Scriptures that we may learn more about how not to live our lives in a sinful manner. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by the temptations and pressured present all around us, then it is likely that we will falter and fall into the path of wickedness like how Queen Athaliah had done as described by our Scriptures today.

In our first reading today, taken from the Second Book of Kings, we heard of the story of the usurpation of queen Athaliah of Judah, the daughter of king Ahab of Israel and queen Jezebel, who seized power unlawfully from the House of David, after her son, king Ahaziah of Judah was killed by the actions of Jehu, the one that God had appointed to be king over Israel. The death of Ahaziah prompted Athaliah to attempt seizing power for herself, and she initiated a great purge and elimination of all the heirs of Ahaziah and his relatives, so that she could secure herself in her position of power as the reigning queen of Judah. She thought that by her machinations and efforts, she had managed to gain the dominion over her kingdom, but she was mistaken.

This is because God had intervened and helped the House of David from extermination as He Himself had promised to David that his house would endure and would sit on the throne of Israel forever. He rescued the son of Ahaziah, Joash, who was then hidden with the help of Ahaziah’s sister, from the sight and knowledge of queen Athaliah. Athaliah was likely driven by greed and desire for power, which became her undoing as she committed great sins of murder and others in order to secure for herself the rulership and dominion over the kingdom of Judah. She would do everything in order to secure the rulership and glory for herself, and was not hesitant to destroy everyone and everything that were in her path.

That was what eventually led to her downfall, as Athaliah ruled Judah illegally and unlawfully, and continuing to promote the pagan worship of Baal and other idols. The time of reckoning and retribution finally came upon Athaliah when the forces loyal to the House of David, including the High Priest, Jehoiada, launched a counter-coup to restore Joash, the descendant and heir of David to his rightful throne. Athaliah was deposed and later on was executed, a justified end to her unlawful rule and the consequence of her crimes. This reminds us that there is nothing that can escape God’s attention and that God will always be just and caring towards His people, especially to those who have always kept their faith and trust in Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples with regards to finding the treasures that are not of this world. He told them all not to seek the treasures of this world, but to seek rather the true treasures that can be found in the Lord alone. The Lord told His disciples not to seek and store up treasures of this world that can be destroyed by earthly means, and do not last. Instead, the true heavenly treasures that He wanted them all to seek, last for an eternity, and one that will not be lost from them, for those treasures will always be theirs, by God’s assurance. We are reminded that it is much better indeed to put our efforts and trust to seek for the true joy and glory that can be found in the Lord alone, things that will not be found elsewhere or in this world.

This is related to what we heard in our first reading today. The example of what happened to Athaliah, her usurpation, reign and ultimate end are reminders for us not to be swayed and blinded by the pursuits for worldly glory and power. It was her greed and desire for power and glory that led her to her ultimate undoing, and those had also led her to committing sins and wicked deeds, in murdering the innocent children of the House of David. Her desire for power blinded her to reason and made her to be paranoid and afraid of losing her influence and hold onto the matters of the world, which led her to the heinous acts. This is something that we ourselves may end of committing if we continue to walk down this path of wickedness and worldly ambitions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is also a reminder for each one of us that we have to be vigilant against the temptations of our desires, of the many vices and other things that can lead us away from the Lord and His path. These temptations are plenty all around us, and if we are not careful, we may end up being dragged in ever deeper and deeper into the path of darkness and sin, like what Athaliah and many others of our predecessors had experienced. The Lord had reminded us of all these, so that by these reminders we may be more vigilant and have the opportunity to turn away from the often steep and slippery path of sin and darkness. The Lord wants us all to live according to what He had taught us to do, and not in following the whims of our desires and wants.

Today, as we reflect on these words and reminders from the Sacred Scriptures, the Church also marks the commemoration of the memories and the lives of those holy predecessors of ours, who have suffered greatly and perished during an episode of intense persecution of Christians in what is today Vietnam. Today is the Feast of St. Philip Minh and his companions, who have endured intense oppression for being Christians, in their dedication and commitment to God as Christians. The state and the governmental apparatus back then viewed all Christians and their faith, as well as the missionaries who came to Vietnam to preach the Good News of God with great suspicion and fear, considering them as agents of foreign powers and as threat to their existence and sovereignty. Therefore, in consideration of all these, that was why St. Philip Minh and others faced those bitter experiences and hardships. Yet, they all faced those sufferings and hardships with faith and courage, not giving in to those who seek to destroy them or force them to abandon their faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the examples of St. Philip Minh and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam, that we may also aspire and strive to do what we can so that our lives and actions are true reflection of our Christian faith, so that we ourselves may inspire many others around us by our good examples and way of life. May the Lord, our most loving God and Master continue to help and guide us all in our journey throughout our lives, and may He empower all of us to continue living our lives with dedication and commitment, and doing our very best to be the true and shining beacons of His light and truth, His Good News and love, now and always, forevermore. May God bless us in our every good works and endeavours, in all things. Amen.

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Friday, 19 June 2026 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 6 : 19-23

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not store up treasures for yourself here, on earth, where moth and rust destroy it; and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.

For where your treasures are, there, also, will your heart be. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light. If your eyes are diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

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Friday, 19 June 2026 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 131 : 11, 12, 13-14, 17-18

YHVH swore to David a promise, and He will remain true to it : “I will keep your descendants on your throne.”

“If your sons keep My Covenant and the decrees I have taught them; their sons, too, will sit forever upon your throne.”

For YHVH has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling : “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer; here, will I dwell.”

From here, a Saviour shall come forth, a Son of David; here, shall shine forever, the lamp of My Anointed. In shame will I clothe His enemies, but upon His head a crown shall shine.

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Friday, 19 June 2026 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Kings 11 : 1-4, 9-18, 20

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom.

Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. And Joash remained hidden in the house of YHVH for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land. In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the house of YHVH. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king’s son.

The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had told them to do; and they showed up with all their men, those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath as well as those who were to come on duty on that day. Jehoiada entrusted to the officers the spears and shields of king David which were in the house of YHVH. And then the guards stood from the southern corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the house of YHVH.

Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king’s son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying out, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the house of YHVH.

The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason, treason!”

Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, “Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to defend her.” He gave this order, because he thought, “She should not die in the house of YHVH.” They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of the king, by the horses’ entrance, there, they killed her.

Jehoiada made a Covenant between YHVH and the king and the people so they would be the people of YHVH. All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before his altar. Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the house of YHVH.

All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king’s palace.

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Friday, 12 June 2026 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in which we celebrate the great love of God that has been shown to us firstly through His Son, Who has come down into our midst in the flesh, as the perfect manifestation of the love of God, and then, the most loving and wonderful Heart filled with love that Christ has shown us. The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus shows us the greatest love that ever exists, the pure love that God has always had for us, that He has always had for each and every one of us without exception. This very popular devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is similar to the other popular devotion to the Divine Mercy, in which both of them showed unto us the loving Heart of the Lord, that has ever been shown and directed to us, in God’s desire to reach out to us, healing us and loving us most tenderly as He has always intended.

Today all of us are reminded that God has never abandoned or forgotten about us, despite us having done the same again and again, many times, in our constant and persistent rebellions against Him, and in our refusal of listening to His words and reminders for us, which He has done for us again and again. The Lord has always ever been patient towards us, and yet, we have always spurnt His love, rejected His kind and most compassionate approaches and efforts, hurting Him again and again, making His Most Sacred Heart to be wounded because of our many transgressions, sins and disobedience. This is what the Lord has shown to some of His servants, through whom the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus became popular from. It all began from the popular devotion to the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the devotion to the Sacred Wounds of the Lord, which became popular after the Crusades and after the efforts from the saints like St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Francis of Assisi in calling the people of God to deepen their spiritual lives.

As many of the people had great affinity and connection to the Sacred Wounds of the Lord, this devotion naturally develops into the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, that became concrete and in the form that we are familiar with the revelations which St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received a few centuries later. Beginning with St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who spoke of the piercing of the side of the Lord during the crucifixion, in which the Most Sacred Heart of the Lord was pierced, pouring out the love that He has always had for us, and the heart being always associated with love amongst us, it therefore deepened our appreciation and understanding of just how beloved and dear each and every one of us are by the Lord, ever patient and ever generous with His kindness and compassion towards us, desiring us all to be reconciled with Him, by turning away from our wicked and sinful ways.

Many other saints like St. Bonaventure and St. Gertrude the Great also alluded to the Most Sacred Heart of the Lord Jesus, and spoke of His love, with the latter having received vision of the Lord’s loving Heart. But it was only after St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received series of visions from the Lord that the current form of the devotion became finalised, and as we recognise it today. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received the vision of the Lord and His Most Sacred Heart, in which He spoke of His Heart that had loved mankind so much, His bleeding and wounded Heart that had been rejected and abandoned by mankind again and again, and of all the sufferings, pain and persecutions that He had endured and faced in the midst of His desire to heal us and to be reconciled with us. Through all these visions and all that the faithful had received in revelation from the Lord, all of us gained greater knowledge of the love of God that had been made manifest to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard from our Scripture passages today, all of us as Christians, as the beloved children of God are all expected to embrace God’s love, obey His will and to love Him most sincerely and genuinely. The Lord has always waited for us, and endlessly reached out for us in His efforts to call us to return to Him. In our first reading today from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard the words of the Lord delivered to His people through His servant Moses, reminding all of them that they have all been chosen and consecrated to God as His holy and beloved people, and how they have received His Law and commandments, through which the Lord wanted all of them to follow Him and the path that He has led them all into, the path of righteousness and justice, the path of goodness and love, by obeying those Law and commandments.

And it was also there that God told us how His love was truly wholesome and patient, pure and sincere, and He is truly caring towards us, ever concerned of our overall well-being. It is also where we are reminded that God’s love for us, His mercy and compassion is always comprised of not just His generosity and kindness towards us, but also His desire for us to turn away from our wickedness, evil and sins. That is why God has always chastised and punished those who have committed rebellions, sins and wrongdoings, as mentioned, and as He has shown us all from time to time, again and again. That is because He truly cared for us, and He does not want us to continue to walk down the path of evil and wickedness. That is because if all of us keep on doing those wicked things, we will end up being separated forever from the Lord forever, and fall into eternal damnation, something that the Lord certainly does not want to happen to us.

In our second reading today, the Apostle St. John in one of his Epistles reminded all of us of how God made His perfect love manifested to us through His Son, the Divine Word Incarnate. Just as mentioned, the love that God has shown for us is so wonderful, magnificent and wholesome that all of us really ought to realise that we have received the most wonderful and amazing love of God through Christ, and all of us have been shown and taught what Love is truly all about, and therefore, we should do our best to show that same love in our own respective lives, by loving one another, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way, and of course in loving God just how He has loved us all first. All of us have received God’s love and known the boundless grace and compassion of God, just as we have also heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus told His disciples, of Him calling all of His beloved ones, to come to Him, because through Him alone there is hope and true joy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard and been reminded of the great and most generous love that God has always shown us, let us all therefore spend some time to reflect upon our lives and how we have lived them. Have we truly been committed to the Lord and His love for us? Have we taken His love for us for granted? Have we been so stubborn and unreasonable in continuing to disobey Him and in committing whatever is evil and wicked in His sight? That is what many of us have often done, in rejecting His ever generous offer of kindness and compassion, in having betrayed Him and chosen to follow the path of sin and evil instead. Then, we must truly remember and realise that for every sins and wicked things that we have committed, each one of these are the cause of the many wounds, hurt and pain that made His Most Sacred Heart to bleed and to be wounded, all for our sake.

That is why all of us should remind ourselves to turn away from sinful and wicked ways, and we should strive from now on to do what is right and just in our lives, remembering as always God’s ever generous mercy and kindness, His love and mercy that has always been given to us. Let us all look upon the Lord, at His Most Sacred Heart, full of wounds and hurt because of our every transgressions and sins. Let us all look at Him Who has been crucified for us, and ask ourselves, if we have deserved all that He had done for us, to the point of enduring the worst sufferings, humiliations and pain for our sake? The Lord has patiently loved us all these while, and what many of us had done to Him, is to keep on inflicting hurt upon Him whenever we continue to sin, disobey and disregard His love and kindness towards us, and whenever we also cause hurt and suffering upon others around us by our selfish actions.

May the Lord in His Most Sacred Heart, continue to love us and care for us, as He has always done, and may all of us then continue to do what is right and just, worthy and appropriate for us all as Christians, as all those who have been called and chosen by the Lord, and all beloved by the Lord all the same, with the love overflowing from His Most Sacred Heart. Let us all turn towards Him with renewed faith and commitment, with love and dedication from now on, so that we may truly be good and faithful disciples worthy of His love. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless all of our good works and efforts, our every endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 12 June 2026 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 11 : 25-30

On that occasion, Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise You; because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this was Your gracious will.”

“Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For My yoke is easy; and My burden is light.”