Friday

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Friday, 18 October 2024 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the great St. Luke the Evangelist, one of the four renowned Evangelists who wrote the Four Holy Gospels. Each one of these Four Evangelists wrote their Gospels with specific target and audience in mind, and with lots of shared contents and similarities, being divinely inspired and from the same deposit of faith, but with some differences especially pertaining to the intended audience of each of the authors of those Gospels, where there are differences in the way that the stories and passages of the Gospels were written, with different contexts and explanations to help whoever were listening to the messages of the Gospels to understand better about the Lord and His salvation, His Good News, His truth and love.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy in which St. Paul the Apostle spoke to St. Timothy about the matter of his experiences with the other disciples around him, including with St. Luke the Evangelist, who was one of St. Paul’s companions during his numerous missionary journeys. St. Paul spoke of how some of them including St. Luke had been good companions and were faithful to God and to their mission, while there were also others who were not helpful or even detrimental in how they had probably hindered the works of St. Paul and his other fellow missionaries. Through this conversation and exchanges, coupled with historical evidence and Church tradition, we can see how the early Church grew through the dedicated efforts of the early missionaries, including the Apostles and their companions like St. Luke the Evangelist.

St. Luke the Evangelist himself was a known physician who was a follower of St. Paul the Apostle, and journeyed with the latter in some of his missionary journeys as mentioned earlier. He was of Greek origin from the city and region of Antioch in Syria, and became a disciple of the Lord. Some Church tradition and accounts numbered St. Luke among the seventy-two or seventy disciples that was mentioned in our Gospel passage today. Regardless of the fact, whether St. Luke followed the Lord from during the time of His ministry or afterwards, it was clear that he was closely intertwined with the efforts of the early Church missionaries, the Apostles and the other disciples in proclaiming the Good News of God to many people and communities throughout the region.

St. Luke was credited with not just the authorship of the Gospel of St. Luke, but most Church historians and the traditions of the Church also attributed to him the authorship of the Acts of the Apostles, the Book in the New Testament which gave details on the many actions and works of the Apostles and their companions, the authenticity and accuracy of which is further bolstered by the fact that St. Luke was actively participating in many of St. Paul’s missionary journeys, and therefore can indeed be seen as the various experiences and things that St. Luke the Evangelist himself had experienced and received during his journeys and exchanges with St. Paul, with the other Apostles and missionaries of his time and era, giving us all important insight of the experiences of the early Church and early Christians.

According to Church tradition, St. Luke continued to carry out his mission by following St. Paul all the way to Rome, as attested in the Acts of the Apostles itself, accompanying the Apostle to the last stage of his mission before he was martyred for his faith during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Nero. Then, St. Luke himself according to some traditions was also a martyr, by being hung from an olive tree, while others said that he was not a martyr. Nonetheless, regardless of the detail or fact about the end of his life, St. Luke ended his life at a rather advanced age of eighty-four in Boeotia, in what is today central part of Greece, after a long life of service to God and after a lot of great contributions to the Church and the faithful, through his writings and works of evangelisation, among many others.

Then, in our Gospel passage, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist about the Lord Jesus sending out His disciples, a total of seventy-two of them, in addition to His Twelve, to do their missions and prepare the way and path for Him before He went to the various places He Himself would be visiting. He sent them all in pairs, two by two to proclaim the Good News, to perform miracles and signs, heal the sick and cast out demons, through the authority and power which He had granted to them. He gave them the mandate to do what He has come into this world for, to bring us all out of the darkness and from the tyranny of sin, allowing us all to be free once again and to be reunited and reconciled with God. And each and every one of those disciples were all part of this whole mission, as are all of us as well.

We should continue to remember that each and every one of us are part of the same mission and effort of the Church in evangelisation and proclamation of God’s Good News and salvation. Through us and our good works and contributions, each and every one of us can contribute to lead many more people ever closer to God, to bring them all towards His salvation and grace. The Lord told His disciples to go forth and courageously proclaim His message and Good News to everyone, and not to be afraid to do so, and to entrust themselves to His providence and care as they do so. Therefore, we must also have the same attitude, doing whatever we can so that our every actions will always help others to come ever closer to God and to find their way to the eternal life in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the Scriptures and from the life, works and examples shown to us by St. Luke the Evangelist, let us all therefore recognise our own mission and calling in life to be truly missionary and evangelising in our every words, actions and deeds, in our every interactions with one another. All of us as Christians should always be full of courage and zeal to proclaim the Lord and His Good News at all times and in all the opportunities provided for us by the Lord. We should not be ignorant of all the things which we can do by making good use of everything that we have been blessed with by the Lord, in all the blessings and graces that He has provided to us, and by utilising all the opportunities that He has given us that we may glorify Him by each and every moments of our lives.

Let us all continue to follow in the footsteps of the holy saints and martyrs, and today especially of St. Luke the Evangelist, the great servant of God who has dedicated his life to glorify the Lord and to proclaim Him through his writings and works, and through his efforts in evangelisation. May our lives be truly holy and worthy of God, so that God’s light, truth, love and hope may be shown to others just as St. Luke and the many other holy men and women of God have been our inspiration and role model. May the Lord, our loving and ever compassionate God, continue to guide us all in our journey of faith, and may He help us to walk ever more faithfully in His Presence, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 18 October 2024 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them, two by two, ahead of Him, to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know.”

“Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

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Friday, 18 October 2024 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom, and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign, and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endured, from generation to generation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Friday, 18 October 2024 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 4 : 10-17b

You must know, that Demas has deserted me, for the love of this world : he returned to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is a useful helper in my work. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, in Carpos’ house, and also the scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander, the metalworker, has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. Distrust him, for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.

At my first hearing in court, no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength, to proclaim the word fully, and to let all the pagans hear it.

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Friday, 11 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we have received, we are all reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and chosen people, we have been called and entrusted with His grace and blessings, the assurance of His love and salvation that He has provided to everyone regardless of their background and origins, reaching out to every one of us, children of mankind, showing His ever patient love and kindness, His desire to be reunited and reconciled with us, His wayward children scattered throughout the world. No one can truly separate us from the love of God unless it is we ourselves who willingly distance ourselves from Him and keep rejecting His ever generous offer of love and kindness.

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 Galatia in which the Apostle exhorted the people of God there to believe truly and wholeheartedly in God and not be confined by the bounds of the Law, which was in fact referring to the Law of God that has been revealed to Moses and passed to the Israelites many centuries earlier.  St. Paul wanted to tell the people of God that the Law as practiced and observed at his time did not bind anymore as it has been made complete and the fullness of its purpose, reality and meaning had been revealed to us through God’s Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Who had taught us what the Law has truly been intended for, that is to teach us all how to love and how to direct ourselves back towards the Lord, our ever loving God.

For the context, this reference to the Law and its observances at the time was meant to refer to the way and manner how the Jewish authorities and influential elites, such as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in particular enforced the Law of God and how they all interpreted these laws, rules and commandments of the Lord. They usually took a very literal, legalistic and strict interpretation of the Law, without fully understanding the context and purpose of those laws and rules in the first place, or why Moses made them in that manner. Not only that, but even worse still, those laws ended up dividing the people and making many of those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law to feel superior and better than the others, proud and judgmental, thinking that they were more worthy of God and His salvation.

And linking to what we have just discussed about the Law as mentioned by St. Paul in our first reading today, it was a reference to how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law having demanded the people to follow them in the manner how they practiced and lived the Law, containing no less than six hundred and thirteen rules and precepts, many of which were additions, interpretations and expansions accumulated throughout the many centuries that the Law had been passed down and interpreted, then re-interpreted again and again by different people, with different agenda and understanding of the purpose and meaning of the Law of God, that they ended up forgetting why the Law of God was given to the people in the first place by the Lord. What was meant to help bring the people towards the Lord ended up being exclusive, to the point that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law alleged that those who did not obey the whole Law in the manner they did, would not be saved, a fact which St. Paul was critical against.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the reading from the Gospel of St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus was accused by some among the people, likely to be Pharisees and teachers of the Law according to the similar account in the other Gospels, that He had performed His miracles and signs, works and wonders by the collusion and collaboration with the prince of demons, Beelzebul. They accused Him of having committed this as well as blaspheming against God in His words, teachings and miracle works. And the Lord patiently responded to all of them, pointing out the folly of their accusation and arguments, which did not make sense at all, as on the contrary to their claims, the devil and all of his fellow forces of darkness, evil and wickedness, all of them are always united in their efforts to strike at us.

The Lord pointed out that if the evil ones were divided against one another and attacked each other, then they would have quickly faltered and failed in their efforts to attack us, as they would have warred with each other instead of focusing their efforts and works against us. That was why to suggest that the devil and the other princes of demons would go and compete with each other, colluding with the Lord was truly nonsense, and all those allegations and accusations came about because the jealousy that they were having against the Lord, seeing how there were so many of the people who flocked to Him and listened to Him instead of following and praising the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as they had usually done. In fact, the devil and his forces were busy there at work precisely to divide and confuse the people of God by all those baseless attacks and accusations.

It is a reminder for all of us as Christians not to be easily swayed by these worldly temptations and all the distractions present all around us which can easily sway and distract us from the true path towards God. We must always be vigilant lest the devil and all those who desire our destruction and damnation are striking at us whenever we are at our most vulnerable, and when we are divided one against another, when we are lacking compassion and love for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We must always keep strong in our faith and help one another to remain committed as well to the Lord, doing whatever we can so that we may be ever stronger in our love and relationship with the Lord, and that we may truly understand His Law, His commandments and come to know His will, and not be distracted and swayed by our pride, but continue to remain humble and dedicated to Him instead, at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of a great recent saint and man of God, one of the recent successors of St. Peter the Apostle as the Pope and the Vicar of Christ, the leader of the whole Universal Church. Pope St. John XXIII, born as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was a figure of great importance in the recent history of the Church and Christianity in general especially for his initiatives and decisions in bringing the Church into discussion and reorientation of its role and works in the context of the modern world through the Second Vatican Council that happened about six decades ago. However, many of us might not know that Pope St. John XXIII’s life and exemplary deeds are more than just what is commonly known about him, and we should delve somewhat deeper into these details that we ourselves may be inspired to follow the Lord in the manner that he had done throughout his life.

The young Angelo Roncalli was born to a poor family and he had the help of his uncle who helped to finance his early education, which eventually led to him joining the seminary and felt the calling to follow the Lord and to be a priest. Then later on, after he had been ordained a priest, he experienced a period of encounter as his mentor, Bishop Radini Tedeschi, was confronted by the workers who were striking in demanding their rights and the protection of their beings against those who exploited them. The bishop helped his flock and showed his care for them, standing by the side of those workers and other people who were poor and suffering, and this experience helped to shape the opinions, experiences of the future Pope St. John XXIII.

He was involved in the Great War, later known as the First World War, as a military chaplain, and then the Pope, who has come to know of the qualities and efforts of this young priest, appointed him to be the Apostolic Delegate to Bulgaria, ordaining him as a bishop. During his time in Bulgaria, then Archbishop Roncalli was involved in many good works and outreach especially towards the separated brethren from among the Eastern Orthodox churches and others. He helped to bridge through the divisions that had divided the different Christian churches for centuries, and by the time he left for the next post as Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece, many people were appreciative of his efforts and loved him. In his next post, he would continue to do many great works, including saving Jews who were trying to escape from the Holocaust and genocide attempted by the NAZI regime in Germany throughout Europe.

In his contribution afterwards as the Apostolic Nuncio to France, Archbishop Roncalli also helped to do a similar effort in bridging the gap between the mostly secular French state and the Church, gaining much goodwill and progress in redefining the relationship between the state and the Church, and as Patriarch of Venice afterwards, Patriarch Roncalli continued to do his best in reaching out to more and more people, as a truly good and loving shepherd to his flock, and continued to do so even after he was elected as the Pope, the Successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the Vicar of Christ. He helped to reform the Church and as mentioned, convoked the Second Vatican Council, to bring the Church into the modern era and to help the process of dialogue with the various people and communities in the world, for greater efforts of evangelisation and reconciliation among Christian believers. He was also known for his peacemaking efforts during the Cold War, culminating in his Papal Encyclical, ‘Pacem in Terris’, released at the time of great tensions between the superpowers in the Cold War.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard ourselves from the summary of the life and examples shown to us by the great and faithful Pope St. John XXIII, let us all live our lives henceforth as faithful and genuine Christians, showing true love, care and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters just as Pope St. John XXIII had done. Let us all truly understand the true meaning and purpose of God’s Law, that is the Law of love, so that we may truly learn to love the Lord our God, and also our fellow brothers and sisters, with all of our hearts, with all of our strength and might, at all times and in all circumstances in our every day lives. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, through the examples of His holy saints like Pope St. John XXIII and many others continue to inspire us to live our lives ever more worthily in His Holy Presence from now on. Amen.

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Friday, 11 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Luke 11 : 15-26

At that time, some of the people said, “Jesus drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” Others wanted to put Him to the test, by asking Him for a heavenly sign.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.”

“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God has come upon you? As long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on, and disposes of his spoils.”

“Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters. When the evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry lands, looking for a resting place; and finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds the house swept and everything in order. Then it goes to fetch seven other spirits, even worse than itself. They move in and settle there, so that the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

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Friday, 11 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! I thank YHVH with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of YHVH are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are His deeds, His righteousness endures forever. He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; YHVH is merciful and kind.

Always mindful of His Covenant, He provides food for those who fear Him. He shows His people the power of His arm by giving them the lands of other nations.

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Friday, 11 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Galatians 3 : 7-14

Understand, then, that those who follow the way of faith are sons and daughters of Abraham. The Scriptures foresaw that, by the way of faith, God would give true righteousness to the non-Jewish nations. For God’s promise to Abraham was this : In you shall all the nations be blessed. So, now, those who take the way of faith receive the same blessing as Abraham, who believed; but those who rely on the practice of the Law are under a curse, for it is written : Cursed is everyone who does not always fulfil everything written in the Law.

It is plainly written that no one becomes righteous in God’s way, by the Law : by faith the righteous shall live. Yet the Law gives no place to faith, for according to it : the one who fulfils the commandments shall have life through them. Now Christ rescued us from the curse of the Law, by becoming cursed Himself, for our sake, as it is written : there is a curse on everyone who is hanged on a tree.

So the blessing granted to Abraham, reached the pagan nations in, and, with Christ, and we received the promised Spirit, through faith.

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Friday, 4 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded of the greatness of God and how unfathomable and vast His majesty and power is, and at the same time, we are also reassured of His love and generosity in having reached out to us, considering us all as His own beloved children, having always desired to seek for us and reach out to us to help and guide us in our journey towards Him, that we may find Him and be reconciled and reunited with Him through His forgiveness and grace. We must not take God’s love for us for granted, as if we continue to disobey Him and rebel against Him, as the Lord Himself had made it clear that we will have to account for everything on the Day of Judgment, the time when we have to face the judgment for our eternal fate.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Job in which the Lord told Job of everything that He had done, in all the wonders which He has performed throughout all Creation and time, and He showed Job how limited his human perceptions and understanding are, as compared to God’s infinite wisdom, truth and power. This must be understood in the context of how Job, who had faced a lot of sufferings and hardships due to the attacks of the evil one, while he remained fully faithful and firm in his conviction to follow the Lord, and not blaming Him for all of his misfortunes, but he did encounter moments of despair and hopelessness as he continued to be battered by those sufferings and at the same time also attacked and criticised by his own peers who alleged that Job must have committed sin before God to endure such sufferings.

Thus Job himself assumed that it must have been because of his mistakes, faults and blame that he had to suffer such tribulations, sufferings and hardships. This was where God rebuked him lightly with love and told Job that he must not assume such things, as truly, he was beloved by God, just like all of us here today. No one can be separated from the love of God, and we are reminded therefore not to easily give in to despair, to all the temptations to disobey the Lord and to abandon Him despite all the many hardships and obstacles we face. We truly must have faith in the Lord and believe that in Him alone there is hope and salvation. We must not think that there is something that God cannot solve or provide for us, and think that we are beyond redemption.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord’s laments, frustrations and rebuke against the cities of Galilee, those of Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin and others where He had ministered in and performed His many miracles and wonders in. The Lord had done all of that, and yet many among the people, especially those Pharisees and teachers of the Law refused to believe in Him, continually doubting Him and hardening their hearts and minds, opposing His works and continuously questioning and spreading doubts about the authenticity and the veracity of His works, miracles and authority to teach. They did all these likely because they were jealous of the Lord’s great popularity and the great wisdom that He has shown in His teachings and words, while they disagreed with what He had taught and proclaimed.

Those people were blinded by their own pride, ego and arrogance which they had due to their sense of superiority from their supposed better knowledge and understanding of the Law of God, and which led them to think that they were better than any others in matters of the faith and the Law, and that was why, they refused to believe that anyone could have been present or available to point out their own errors and shortcomings. Thus, the Lord criticised and rebuked them for their lack of faith, and showed how others whom they deemed to be less worthy and condemned publicly as sinners, such as those afflicted with diseases and illness, possessed by evil spirits and demons, as well as the tax collectors and prostitutes, those were closer than they were on the way to the Lord and His salvation, as they were humble and willing to listen to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are therefore reminded today that each and every one of us as Christians must always strive to be faithful to God in all things, to be humble and willing to listen to Him, and not to be easily swayed by our desires and the temptations of pleasure all around us. We must not allow those worldly temptations and evils, attractions and attachments from deluding and misleading us down the wrong path in life. Instead, we have to remember the faith of our holy predecessors, like that of Job and many other faithful servants of God, and keep in mind God’s love for each one of us, which He has shown us most wonderfully through His own beloved and begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the renowned St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, also best known as the Franciscans after their founder. St. Francis of Assisi was born as Giovannj di Pietro di Bernardone, as John, son of Peter Bernardone, a rich textile merchant in Medieval era of what is now Italy. He was given the finest education and preparation early on in his life as his father expected the young St. Francis to succeed him in his textile and merchant business. However, God had different plan for this young man, as the young St. Francis encountered the Lord through the poor and the needy, and while he was not lacking anything material, and living the high life of a rich young man, blessed in all worldly matters, but he was not satisfied and truly happy.

He began experiencing spiritual events and also conversion experience, and in one well-known occasion, the young St. Francis encountered the Lord at the ruined church of San Damiano, where he heard the Lord’s voice, telling him to repair His Church that is falling into ruins. St. Francis took it as the Lord asking him literally to restore the church at San Damiano that was in ruins where he was at, and he took some of his father’s textiles and merchandise, selling them to fund the restoration of the church. The priest in charge of the church refused the money as it was obtained from ill-gotten gains by stealing, which upset St. Francis, who threw the coins on the floor. And when St. Francis’ father found out about it and confronted him on several occasions, leading to a settlement before the Bishop of Assisi, St. Francis very publicly renounced both his father and his inheritance, symbolically stripping himself of all of his clothes which he returned to his father.

Thereafter, St. Francis of Assisi went to live with some others, begging for money and living a life of communal care, which eventually became the beginning of the Franciscan order. They lived a holy and pious life, ministering to the people around them, proclaiming God’s words through everyone, and not just through words, but even more importantly, through real and genuine actions. St. Francis inspired many others through his examples, and very soon his Franciscan order grew and gained the attention even from the local bishops and the Pope himself. Through all these works and many others I cannot mention, St. Francis of Assisi has indeed shown us what it truly means to be a committed Christian, to be truly focused on the Lord and wholeheartedly committed to Him, while resisting the temptations of worldly pleasures and vices. To the end of his life, St. Francis of Assisi continued to contribute to the good works and ministry of the Church, reaching out towards and touching the lives of many.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, let us all therefore reflect well and carefully upon our own lives as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. Let us all remember that we should always put the Lord as the first and most important One in each and every one of our lives, as our focus and the emphasis of our lives in everything that we say and do. Like Job who has trusted in the Lord in all things despite the challenges and struggles that he faced, and that of St. Francis of Assisi, who gave up on everything, on status and material wealth to follow the Lord, let us all therefore do the same in our own lives as well, to do God’s will in all things and at all times and opportunities.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to watch over us, strengthen us in our faith and help us in our journey towards Him, so that we all, having been inspired by the great examples of His saints, may continue to grow in holiness and love for Him, and that we ourselves may be good role models and examples for everyone around us, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 4 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 10 : 13-16

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! So many miracles have been worked in you! If the same miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would already be sitting in ashes and wearing the sackcloth of repentance.”

“Surely for Tyre and Sidon it will be better on the Day of Judgment than for you. And what of you, city of Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead. Whoever listens to you listens to Me, and whoever rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me, rejects the One Who sent Me.”