Friday

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Friday, 6 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 21 : 33-43, 45-46

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Listen to another example : There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and then went to a distant country.”

“When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another and stoned a third. Again the owner sent more servants, but they were treated in the same way.”

“Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?” They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.” And Jesus replied, “Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it.”

“Therefore I say to you : the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you, and given to a people who will yield a harvest.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realised that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested Him, but they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded Him as a Prophet.

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Friday, 6 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 104 : 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Then the Lord sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; He sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet in shackles, his neck in irons till what he foretold came to pass, and the Lord’s word proved him true.

The king sent for him, set him free, the ruler of the peoples released him. He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions.

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Friday, 6 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Genesis 37 : 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other children, for he was the son of his old age and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. His brothers who saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, hated him and could no longer speak to him in a friendly way.

His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the flock at Shechem.” So Joseph went off after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

They said to one another, “Here comes the specialist in dreams! Now is the time! Let us kill him and throw him into a well. We will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams were all about!” But Reuben heard this and tried to save him from their hands saying, “Let us not kill him; shed no blood! Throw him in this well in the wilderness, but do him no violence.” This he said to save him from them and take him back to his father.

So as soon as Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his long-sleeved coat that he wore and then took him and threw him in the well, now the well was empty, without water. They were sitting for a meal when they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with spices, balm and myrrh, which they were taking down to Egypt.

Judah then said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and hiding his blood? Come! We will sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother and our own flesh!” His brothers agreed to this. So when the Midianite merchants came along they pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the well. For twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph to the Midianites, who took him with them to Egypt.

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Friday, 27 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together to listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and to reflect on all these which we have heard and received from God through the Church, we are reminded that each and every one of us are called to a life of holiness and virtue in accordance with what the Lord has called us all to do, in each and every aspects of our lives. All of us as Christians are always expected to do our best in each and every moments, in our every interactions and endeavours so that we may always be worthy bearers of God’s truth and love. We are all the ones who are supposed to live up to our Christian faith and beliefs in the Lord that all those who witness our lives and actions may truly believe in God through us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard of the Lord speaking to His people, the Israelites, telling them all of how everyone will be judged and have their fates determined by each and every one of their actions and deeds, their words and interactions in life. The Lord essentially told His people that there is no one who is already condemned from the beginning, and opportunity is always provided to all those who seek for reconciliation with Him. God is always ever generous with His love and mercy, and He never ceases to love us all, caring for us and giving us the necessary guidance and help in life, so that by all these, He hopes that each and every one of us may find salvation through Him, and be truly free from our bondage and enslavement by sin. Sin is a great enemy to all of us, and one which we have to overcome in order for us to come closer to God.

The Lord told His people that those who were considered as righteous can fall into sin and be damned for their sins they committed, if those sins truly were serious and were not repented or overcome, forgiven by God and absolved by Him. Meanwhile, all those considered and deemed as wicked, evil and sinful, could be saved if they repented from their sins and change their ways. The Lord will forgive all those who came seeking Him and His forgiveness, with the sincere and real desire to love Him and to return to Him, and this is what the Lord wanted all of His people, including all of us to know. Back then, during the time of the prophet Ezekiel, the people of God had suffered a lot and been humbled and thrown down, for all the wickedness that they and their ancestors had committed, and even so, God still loved each and every one of them, and desired for them to be reconciled with Him.

He called on them to return to Him, and gave them help, reassurance and assistance all throughout their way, sending His prophets, messengers and guides to them, and eventually, even His own beloved Son, the One promised to be the Saviour of all mankind, Our Lord Jesus Christ. In our Gospel passage today, the Lord said to His disciples of how they ought to be truly faithful and dedicated to God, and that they have to be genuine in their beliefs, and their way of life ought to truly reflect of their status as God’s beloved children and people, and that is, they have to be truly good and righteous in all of their ways and actions. Otherwise, if we profess to believe in God and yet act in ways that are contrary to our faith and beliefs, we are then no better than hypocrites and unbelievers in our faith and way of life, and worse still, we can even cause scandal for our faith and tarnish the Lord’s Holy Name.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we are reminded by the Lord Jesus Himself as He told His disciples of the reminder that they all had to believe in the manner that is better and more comprehensive than that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, or else they would not have truly believed in God as they should have. This must be understood in the context that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law having often practiced their faith in God by having a very strict and rigid interpretation of such laws and rules, emphasising a lot on the details and ritual aspects of the Law while neglecting the understanding and appreciation of the true intention, meaning and purpose of the Law.

Not only that, but many among them also had different motive and intention while they were observing the Law and commandments of God. As the Lord often mentioned in other occasions in the Gospels, those people who were the intellectual and religious elites of the community often took great pride in their way of observing the Law, loudly proclaiming their prayers and visibly exhibiting their practices so that they could be seen by everyone around them, and be praised for what they had done and for their piety and devotion. This is not what the Lord had wanted from His people, and especially not those who were entrusted with the care and guardianship of the Law and the people. And that was why the Lord also taught His disciples how they could be truly faithful to God in all of their ways.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Gregory of Narek, one of the Doctors of the Church who was recently declared as such by Pope Francis, our current Pope, hailing from the Armenian Church tradition during the Middle Ages. St. Gregory of Narek lived in the then Kingdom of Vaspurakan, where he was born as the son of a local bishop. His father was suspected of siding with the Chalcedonian beliefs and ways, which is what we Catholics believe in today, as well as many other Christians, but at that time, the Armenian Church refused to accept the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon because of some issues in the dogma and teachings of the Council which did not fit their beliefs. As such, St. Gregory of Narek’s father was excommunicated, and St. Gregory of Narek himself faced those who doubted his faith and beliefs, being suspected of the same faults as his father.

Nonetheless, despite all those challenges and difficulties, St. Gregory of Narek, having been raised in a religious family, grew to be God-fearing and faithful, and eventually took up the calling to be a priest and monk. He was a truly humble and pious man, who was very bright intellectually and wrote extensive works such as his renowned Book of Lamentations, showing many others how to connect to the Lord ever deeper spiritually. He also spent a lot of time teaching the other monks and those who desired to seek the Lord, and devoted himself to a life of prayer and seclusion until his passing from this world. Despite his humble demeanour, the great faith and commitment that St. Gregory of Narek has shown brought countless souls to salvation in God, and still inspired many even to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed heart and mind, doing our very best to live our lives ever more faithfully, devoting our time and attention to follow Him like how St. Gregory of Narek and our other holy predecessors had done. Let us all be good role models and examples in how we carry ourselves, in all of our actions, words and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 27 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial.”

“Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister, ‘Fool!’ deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.”

“Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.”

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Friday, 27 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord, o Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.

If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness.

For that You are revered. I waited for the Lord, my soul waits, and I put my hope in His word. My soul expects the Lord more than watchmen the dawn.

O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with Him is unfailing love and with Him full deliverance. He will deliver Israel from all its sins.

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Friday, 27 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 18 : 21-28

If the sinner turns from his sin, observes My decrees and practices what is right and just, he will live, he will not die. None of the sins he committed will be charged against him, he will live as a consequence of his righteous deeds. Do I want the death of the sinner? – word of YHVH. Do I not rather want him to turn from his ways and live?

But if the righteous man turns away from what is good and commits sins as the wicked do, will he live? His righteous deeds will no longer be credited to him, but he will die because of his infidelity and his sins. But you say : YHVH’s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is My position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong?”

“If the righteous man dies after turning from his righteous deeds and sinning, he dies because of his sins. And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes and turned from the sins he had committed.”

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Friday, 20 February 2026 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together and listened carefully to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, and as we continue to journey through this time and season of Lent, we are reminded that as we carry out our Lenten activities and practices, we must do them with the right and proper intentions in our hearts and minds, and we must not do them in vain or with the wrong intentions, such as to make ourselves look better, more pious or superior spiritually before other people, or in seeking praise and glory. Everything that we do in life, particularly in this time and season of Lent, we should always do them with God as the centre and focus.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people through Isaiah telling them all how they ought to be carrying out their observance of the Law and how to live their lives genuinely as the people of God, those whom He has loved, called and chosen from the world. And unfortunately, if we read through the Old Testament, we can see how many of the people of God over various periods and times, failed to obey the Lord and observe His Law and commandments, and hence, God kept on sending His servants and messengers, like the prophets including Isaiah to help and guide them all.

The Lord told the people clearly through Isaiah that they should not practice the Law and commandments without truly understanding what they truly meant and what He had taught and shown them. Many of them practiced all those laws, tenets and rituals with rigour and detail, and yet, as the Lord criticised them, they still persecuted their fellow men and women, causing scandal in the faith and bringing about suffering for those whom they had treated badly. Essentially while they might outwardly look pious and faithful, but in how they lived their lives and faith in God, they did not truly embody what the Lord had wanted them to have in their lives, that is true obedience and adherence to His ways.

The Lord did not want their sacrifices, offerings and empty gestures. He did not want their lip service and all the things they did in vain, lacking genuine faith and love for Him, and not only that, but they had also caused scandal by their hypocrisy, in acting in the manner that was self-serving, selfish and wicked, truly unbecoming of those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His people. That was why the Lord told them all through His prophet Isaiah what it truly meant for them to practice their faith, with examples of in the matter of fasting and others, where they should be showing love, concern and care for their fellow men and women, particularly those who were less fortunate and oppressed, instead of taking advantage and benefitting from them.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the discussion from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist where the disciples of St. John the Baptist were asking the Lord about why His disciples were not fasting or practicing the fasts required by the customs and traditions of the Law of Moses and the Jewish laws as how the Pharisees and the disciples of St. John the Baptist themselves were doing. And the Lord told them all that it was not fitting or right that they fast when the Bridegroom was with them, referring to Himself as the Bridegroom of the Church, and the disciples representing the Church of God just like all of us as well, as Christians.

In this occasion, besides predicting what He was going to suffer from in rejection by the chief priests and the Temple authorities, referred to by the Lord as how the Bridegroom would be taken away from those disciples and henceforth they would fast in grief upon losing the Bridegroom, the Lord was also highlighting how the ways of the disciples would not be the same as how those in the old Law and its interpretations and customs were like. Essentially, the Lord’s coming and revelation of the fullness of truth about God’s Law superseded and perfected the understanding, purpose and application of the Law which God had bestowed upon His people. This was especially in the context of how many among the people, particularly among the Pharisees, who practiced the Law hypocritically.

What this means was that, like the people of God of old, that the Lord criticised and rebuked through the prophet Isaiah, those Pharisees did not truly learn from the examples of their ancestors, but doing the exact same mistakes and committing the same kind of errors and misbehaviours that were particularly unbecoming given their position as the leaders and respected members of the community of the people of God. And that was why the Lord was also equally critical on the way how those Pharisees and elites of the community had behaved, in their failure to practice their faith sincerely and properly as they should have done, and not becoming good examples for everyone around them, seeking for personal glory and fame instead of truly obeying God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, let us all continue to do our best in living our lives as good, faithful and worthy Christians, as beloved disciples and followers of Our Lord, so that our words, actions and deeds, all align together with our faith and love for the Lord. Let us always be focused and centred on God, and not seeking our own personal ambitions and greed in life, but instead striving at all times for the greater glory of God’s Name. Amen.

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Friday, 20 February 2026 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 9 : 14-15

At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast.”

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Friday, 20 February 2026 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 18-19

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart, You will not despise.