holy bishops

by

Monday, 23 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures during this time and season of Lent, we are all reminded of the Law and the commandments which the Lord Himself has shown, taught and revealed to us, and which He has also expected all of us as His beloved and holy people to follow and obey faithfully, with good understanding, appreciation and knowledge of what it is that the Law of God has shown and taught us all to do. Each and every one of us should always do our best to live faithfully and worthily in the Lord’s Presence, doing our very best so that by our every actions, words and deeds, we will always be found worthy and good in the sight of the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Leviticus, we heard of the words of the Lord telling His assembled people that they should all heed carefully His words and teachings, and all the Law and commandments that He had placed before them so that they may truly follow them wholeheartedly and consistently in their lives, in each and every moments that they lived, so that they would not just follow the Law without truly understanding its meaning and purpose. Indeed, it is possible for one to merely follow the letter of the Law, in doing the actions and steps prescribed by the Law and yet not doing them for the right intention and purpose. That was why the Lord reminded His people that they all ought to be sincere in following Him.

And He went to great lengths and detail to the people to call them to live in the manner that is truly just and worthy, full of both love for Him as well as for their fellow brothers and sisters around them. To be truly faithful as God’s people one cannot indeed just be inward looking, or to claim to believe and be faithful to God, and yet, at the same time, acting in ways that brought about suffering and misery to others around them. This is therefore a reminder to all of us as well, that we have to be righteous in our way of life as well, in caring for one another and loving them generously just as we love the Lord and ourselves, and we should also uphold justice and truth at all times, be forgiving, merciful, compassionate and kind just as Our Lord Himself had done the same to us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which the account of the Lord’s description of the Last and Final Judgment to His disciples was recounted to us. In that account of the Last Judgment, we heard how the righteous would be separated from the wicked, and we heard how each of them asked the Lord Himself, the great Judge, what it truly means to be righteous or to be wicked according to the Lord. And as we have heard, it all boiled down to whether we all live our lives in the manner that brings about good things, blessings and happiness to everyone around us, caring for the poor, the needy and the sick in our midst, and also in caring for those whom we love and who are dear to us, even more.

On the other hand, if we have been neglecting our responsibilities, acting in the manner that ignores the sufferings of those who are around us, and ignoring those whom the Lord has put into our paths, all the opportunities we have been given, and instead selfishly seeking our own benefit, advantages and glory, then we will be held accountable for all these acts of selfishness and wickedness, and we will suffer the consequences of our lack of faith and action. This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, this time of spiritual renewal, we are reminded to reflect carefully on our actions and direction in life, so that we may truly serve the Lord faithfully in the manner that He Himself has shown and taught us.

Today, we should be inspired by the great examples and faith shown by St. Polycarp, a great Church father and our holy predecessor, who was a bishop of the Church, the Bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor. St. Polycarp was known to be one of the disciples of St. John the Apostle, the last surviving Apostle of the Lord back then, and he was entrusted with the care of many of the faithful in the often persecuted but still thriving Church. He was regarded as one of the three greatest Apostolic Fathers, the successors of the Apostles, together with Pope St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch, each of whom were great role models and sources of inspiration in their own right. St. Polycarp corresponded frequently with the other Church fathers and was a great example to his flock, caring much for their spiritual needs.

And during a time of great and intense persecution of the Church by the Roman state, which carried out many rounds and episodes of persecutions and attacks against the Church and the faithful, St. Polycarp helped to lead his flock to remain faithful to God, and to endure the hardships and challenges that they had to face in the defence of their faith in God. In the end, St. Polycarp himself was arrested and persecuted, when he was already in the advanced age of eighty-six years old. Even then, in that old age, he remained strong in his desire to love and serve the Lord, and in persevering through the hardships and sufferings that he had to suffer, together with the rest of his flock, which was truly an example of them carrying their cross with the Lord. St. Polycarp died a martyr, inspiring countless others to follow the Lord more faithfully and with greater love, and I hope he has inspired us similarly too.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment in God as we continue to progress through this holy and blessed season of Lent. Let us make good use of this time and opportunity that God has given us so that each and every one of us may distance ourselves from the many temptations of sin, the allures of worldly fame, glory, pleasures, and the pressure from our pride, ego, greed, jealousy, ambition, and more. Let us all control all those desires and negative things within us, and help one another to be strong in enduring the challenges and trials of this world, carrying our crosses together faithfully with God. May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, and give us all the courage to continue to live our lives as good and dedicated Christians, blessing our every works and efforts, our every endeavours at all times. Amen.

by

Monday, 23 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 25 : 31-46

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory with all His Angels, He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be brought before Him; and, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will He do with them, placing the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left.”

“The King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, blessed of My Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed Me. I was sick, and you visited Me. I was in prison, and you came to see Me.’”

“Then the righteous will ask Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and give You food; thirsty, and give You something to drink; or a stranger, and welcome You; or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and go to see You?’ The King will answer, ‘Truly I say to you : just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it to Me.’”

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Go, cursed people, out of My sight, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give Me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not welcome Me into your house; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’”

“They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in prison, and did not help You?’ The King will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you : just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me.’ And these will go into eternal punishments; but the just, to eternal life.”

by

Monday, 23 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 15

The Law of YHVH is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of YHVH is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of YHVH are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of YHVH are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of YHVH is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of YHVH are true, all of them just and right.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour in Your sight, o YHVH – my Redeemer, my Rock!

by

Monday, 23 February 2026 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Leviticus 19 : 1-2, 11-18

YHVH spoke to Moses and said, “Speak to the entire assembly of the people of Israel and say to them : Be holy for I, YHVH, your God, am holy. Do not steal or lie or deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by My Name so as to profane the Name of your God; I am YHVH.”

“Do not oppress your neighbour or rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse a deaf man nor put a stumbling block in the way of the blind; but you shall fear your God; I am YHVH.”

“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor nor bow to the great; you are to judge your neighbour fairly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not go about as a slanderer of your people and do not seek the death of your neighbour; I am YHVH.”

“Do not hate your brother in your heart; rebuke your neighbour frankly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or nurture a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself; I am YHVH.”

by

Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop 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 upon the meaning of what we have heard, we are reminded that we should always be willing to allow God to shape and guide our lives and paths, in everything that we say and do, in following Him and walking down the path of righteousness and virtue at all times. Each and every one of us as Christians are reminded that we should always be trusting in God and in all that He has done for us, in all the Wisdom and kindness which He has generously bestowed upon us. God will not abandon us especially during the darkest and most difficult moments, and we will not be left alone amidst all those challenges because God is always by our side, no matter what.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the Lord’s continued reminder to His people through His prophet, reminding and telling them all to be truly faithful to Him, and not merely paying Him lip service and empty gestures, or actions that were hypocritical in nature, as they had done in their past, and how their ancestors had lived before them. Back then, many of the people of God in Israel and Judah had not truly obeyed the Lord, neglected His Law and commandments, and merely observing the Law out of obedience but without truly meaning what they had done, or understanding fully what the Lord Himself has taught and shown them, and that was why He sent them His prophets and servants like Isaiah to remind them of this fact.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the account of the calling of Levi the tax collector by the Lord Jesus Himself. At that time, as we heard, Levi was at his tax collecting station and when the Lord called on him, Levi without hesitation left everything he had behind, his job and all of his belongings, and decided to follow the Lord wholeheartedly as His full-time disciple. During that period, tax collectors were often hated and reviled by much of the community because of the great bias against them, the hatred which the people of God collectively gave to them as the tax collectors were seen as collaborators, agents and even traitors to the Jewish nation and state, for collecting taxes meant for the Roman overlords.

Hence, Levi and the other tax collectors really had it difficult in their lives and works, and many among the people, especially the Pharisees and the elites of the community deemed them all as wicked sinners and traitors beyond hope and redemption. They were therefore often looked down upon and hated as mentioned, but yet, the Lord reached out to Levi and called him to be His disciple, and also spent time among the tax collectors who were all willing and desiring to listen to His teachings, and shared a meal with all of them, to the surprise, criticism and displeasure of the Pharisees who were observing His actions.

But the Lord made it clear that He came into this world to gather those who have been separated from God through sin, reaching out to those who have been afflicted by sin, and those tax collectors clearly desired to seek God’s forgiveness and grace. Not only that, but in time, Levi himself would become a great and committed disciple of the Lord, known by his new name of Matthew, as one of the Twelve Apostles and one of the Four Evangelists, ministering to the people of God through his works and writings, directed primarily to the Jewish population, hoping to convince more of them to accept the teachings and truth of the Lord Jesus as their guiding principle and accepting Him as their Master and Saviour. He would go on to serve the Lord in many more great ways for many years.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Damian, a great saint and Church father, whose life and works can truly inspire all of us to be faithful to the Lord in many ways, as he himself led a good and devout life, filled with faith and dedication to God. St. Peter Damian was a great intellectual and theologian who gave up the greatness of secular and worldly life to become a Benedictine monk. He was renowned for his great piety and dedication to his mission and works, in his efforts in reforming the Church and Christian faithful, beginning with his own Benedictine community, and then in tandem with the efforts of a few Popes of that time, beginning with Pope Gregory VI and up to Pope St. Leo IX and his friend, Pope St. Gregory VII.

Back then, the corruptions of worldly vices, attachments, ambitions and sins have slowly crept up into the Church and into its various communities, affecting both the clergymen and the laity alike. St. Peter Damian helped to reform the Church through his great vision and desire to root out from the Church those worldly corruptions and vices which had caused so many scandals and for so many of the faithful to fall into sin and evil ways. He rooted out corrupt practices and helped to straighten the ways of many of the faithful, in his various capacities as Papal envoy and legate, and as a member of the College of Cardinals, his role as a Cardinal and hence close Papal confidant and advisor was crucial in the reestablishment of order and virtue in the life of the Church of that time. And despite his high office and influential position, St. Peter Damian remained humble and thoroughly committed to his calling, and not swayed by worldly temptations of power and glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all discern what we have just discussed, including the life and examples of St. Peter Damian in remembering that as Christians each and every one of us are also expected to live our lives with genuine faith in the Lord, and root out from ourselves, from our hearts and minds, the corruption of sin and temptations of pride, ego, ambition, hubris, greed and others. Let us all remind ourselves of this as we continue to embark on this journey of reconciliation with God during this time and season of Lent so that we may draw ever closer to Him and receive from His most generous fount of mercy and grace, a full reconciliation and abundance of love He has always lavished on us.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate, merciful and patient God continue to guide each and every one of us in our journey of faith and life following the example of Levi the tax collector and our other holy predecessors, helping us to persevere in walking down the path of righteousness and virtue, doing our best to love the Lord our God and love our fellow brothers and sisters, especially those whom we love the most and precious to us, in a genuine and generous manner, just as much as the Lord Himself has loved us all. Let us all Christians be truly known and recognised by our love, most generous and wonderful, flowing ever more genuinely from our hearts through our actions, words and deeds, just as the Lord has shown and taught us. May God bless us all in our every endeavours and efforts to glorify Him, now and always. Amen.

by

Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 5 : 27-32

At that time, after Jesus healed a paralytic man, He went out, and noticing a tax collector named Levi, sitting in the tax office, He said to him, “Follow Me!” So Levi, leaving everything, got up and followed Jesus.

Levi gave a great feast for Jesus, and many tax collectors came to his house, and took their places at the table with the other people. Then the Pharisees and their followers complained to Jesus’ disciples, “How is it, that you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

But Jesus spoke up, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to a change of heart.”

by

Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 85 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Listen, o YHVH, and answer me, for I am afflicted and needy. Preserve my life, for I am God-fearing; save Your servant who trusts in You.

Have mercy on me, o YHVH, for I cry to You all day. Bring joy to the soul of Your servant; for You, o YHVH, I lift up my soul.

You are good and forgiving, o YHVH, caring for those who call on You. Listen, o YHVH, to my prayer, hear the voice of my pleading.

by

Saturday, 21 February 2026 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 9b-14

If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word. If you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.

YHVH will guide you always and give you relief in desert places. He will strengthen your bones; He will make you as a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fall. Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt, the age-old foundations will be raised. You will be called the Breach-mender, and the Restorer of ruined houses.

If you stop profaning the Sabbath and doing as you please on the holy day, if you call the Sabbath a day of delight and keep sacred YHVH’s holy day, if you honour it by not going your own way, not doing as you please and not speaking with malice, then you will find happiness in YHVH, over the heights you will ride triumphantly, and feast joyfully on the inheritance of your father Jacob. The mouth of YHVH has spoken.

by

Saturday, 14 February 2026 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (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 once again that we should always put our faith and trust in the Lord, and not in the things and ambitions of this world, all of which can seriously lead us away and astray from the right paths in our lives, just as our predecessors themselves had shown us. Those who allowed themselves to be swayed by those worldly temptations and ambitions would end up falling further and further away from the path towards God, and that is not what we should be doing in our lives. Instead we should put our trust, faith and hope ever deeper in the Lord, and remind us all of His constant love and compassion.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, we heard of the story of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel, the same Jeroboam who had been instructed by the Lord through His prophet Ahijah to take ten of the twelve tribes of Israel and rebel against Solomon and the House of David, all because of the sins and wickedness of Solomon, whom while he had been faithful in the earlier years of his reign like that of his father David, but in his later years, he had resorted to worldly ambitions, means and desires to fulfil his ever growing ambtiions and pursuits. All of those things ended up drawing him further and further away from the path of righteousness.

However, Jeroboam himself did not do any better than Solomon. After he had secured the kingship and rule over the ten northern tribes and broke the kingdom of God’s people in two, he became afraid and fearful that the people and kingdom that he had secured would end up falling back to the hands of the House of David when they all flocked to the Temple that King Solomon built for the Lord in Jerusalem, then the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. That was why as we heard in our first reading today, he decided to built two shrines in Bethel and Dan, at the northern and southern parts of his dominion, to serve as rival temples and national shrines of the northern kingdom. Further still, he even made golden calf idols in each places to serve as the ‘gods’ that the people ought to worship.

And all of those things were directly contrary to what the Lord has taught and shown His people, and was not what God intended for Jeroboam to do. Jeroboam led the people into sin by leading them astray with worship of idols in those shrines he established, and in not following the Law and commandments that God had placed before all of them to follow and obey. All of these happened because of the same insecurities, worldly desires and ambitions which afflicted Solomon beforehand, and which also afflicted Jeroboam as well, that led them astray down the wrong paths. Therefore, it is an important reminder to all of us as well as Christians, that we should be vigilant and careful that we do not end up walking down the same path.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the well-known miracle of the multiplication of the loaves of bread for at least four thousand people if not more, and there were only seven loaves of bread available to feed all of them. Like the similar miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves of bread and two fishes for the five thousand in another occasion, in this time, the Lord miraculously multiplied those bread loaves after praying and blessing over the bread, showing the power of God’s Providence and Love for all those people who had come to seek Him, for His guidance, healing and miracles. God did not abandon His people in need, and He showed it all through His Son.

This is the wonderful manifestation of God’s ever generous love and compassion towards all of us. He has shown us the perfect manifestation of that love through Christ, His Son, the Saviour Whom He has promised and sent into our midst. Despite our sins and wickedness, and all that we have done against Him, the Lord has always been merciful, compassionate and kind towards us all. That feeding of the four thousand was yet another example of just how loving and kind God has been towards us, and we should never take it for granted. We should always remember that we should love the Lord in the same manner as well, and love our brethren in the similar manner too. That is what we are all called to do as Christians at all times.

Today we can also look upon the great examples set by two of our holy and faithful predecessors, namely that of St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the two great servants of God and missionaries of faith, who are also the Patron Saints and Protector of the heart of Christendom in Europe. They were remembered for their dedication and great works in bringing the Christian faith to the people in Central and Eastern parts of Europe, the areas inhabited by the Slavic peoples, which by the efforts of St. Cyril and St. Methodius became Christians, which remain so until the present day. These two saints had travelled through many parts of the then still pagan Slavic lands, calling on many people to come to believe in the Lord.

St. Cyril and St. Methodius dedicated themselves to the Lord and to the mission entrusted to them, and they both spent their lives to minister to the people among whom they had been sent to proclaim the truth of God, and they were also remembered for their role in translating the texts of the Sacred Scriptures into the local Slavic language and in the development of the Cyrillic alphabet which are still in use until this day, helping many people not only in the matter of the faith but also in the development of their statecraft and nationhood. Their contributions and hard work were truly inspirational and all of us Christians can do well to follow in their footsteps and heed their examples, to be truly good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord in all things.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed the examples of the saints, particularly those of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in everything that they had done, and also from whatever we have just discussed about earlier in the Scripture passages we received, so that we may truly realise how we can truly be obedient to the Lord faithfully at all times and not merely paying lip service to Him, and be ever more genuine at all times in everything we say and do, so that we may lead more and more people towards God and be the good role models and inspirations that we are supposed to be as Christians. May the Lord bless our every good endeavours and efforts, now and always. Amen.

by

Saturday, 14 February 2026 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 8 : 1-10

At that time, soon afterward, Jesus was in the midst of another large crowd, that obviously had nothing to eat. So He called His disciples and said to them, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with Me for three days and now have nothing to eat. If I send them to their homes hungry, they will faint on the way; some of them have come a long way.”

His disciples replied, “Where, in a deserted place like this, could we get enough bread to feed these people?” He asked them, “How many loaves have you?” And they answered, “Seven.” Then He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves and giving thanks, He broke them, and handed them to His disciples to distribute.

And they distributed them among the people. They also had some small fish. So Jesus said a blessing, and asked that these be shared as well. The people ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand in number.

Jesus sent them away, and immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and went to the region of Dalmanutha.