Holy Deacons

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Thursday, 18 September 2025 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Timothy 4 : 12-16

Let no one reproach you on account of your youth. Be a model to the believers, in the way you speak and act, in your love, your faith and purity of life. Devote yourself to reading, preaching and teaching, until I come.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift conferred on you with prophetic words, when the elders laid their hands upon you. Think about it, and practice it, so that your progress may be seen by all. Take heed of yourself, and attend to your teaching. Be steadfast in doing this, and you will save both yourself and your hearers.

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Wednesday, 17 September 2025 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, and St. Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Holy Virgins)

1 Timothy 3 : 14-16

I give you these instructions, although I hope I will see you soon. If I delay, you will know how you ought to conduct yourself in the household of God, that is, the Church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth. How great, indeed, is the mystery of divine blessing!

He was shown in the flesh and sanctified by the Spirit; presented to the Angels and proclaimed to all nations. The world believed in Him : He was taken up in glory!

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Tuesday, 16 September 2025 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Timothy 3 : 1-13

If someone aspires to the overseer’s ministry, he is, without a doubt, looking for a noble task. It is necessary, that the overseer (or bishop) be beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, responsible, judicious, of good manners, hospitable and skilful in teaching.

He must not be addicted to wine, or quarrelsome, but be gentle and peaceful, and not a lover of money, but a man whose household is well-managed, with obedient and well-mannered children. If he cannot govern his own house, how can he lead the assembly of God? He must not be a recent convert, lest he become conceited, and fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must enjoy a good reputation among the outsiders, lest people speak evil about him, and he fall into the snare of the devil.

Deacons, likewise, must be serious and sincere, and moderate in drinking wine, not greedy for money; they must keep the mystery of faith with a clear conscience. Let them be first tried and, if found blameless, be accepted as deacons. In the same way, the women must be conscientious, not given to gossip, but reserved and trustworthy.

A deacon must be husband of one wife, and must know how to guide his children and manage his household. Those who serve well as deacons will win honourable rank, with authority to speak of Christian faith.

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Wednesday, 22 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to put our faith and trust in the Lord, to open ourselves, our mind and heart to His truth and love, and not to allow our pride, ego and stubbornness to prevent ourselves from following Him wholeheartedly. The Lord has shown us all His most generous love which He has manifested through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and each and every one of us should therefore strive to live lives that are truly worthy of Him, giving Him thanks for all that He has done for us, in blessing and forgiving us, ever enduring in His love for us despite us having often disobeyed Him and refusing to follow Him or listen to Him. He has blessed us all through His Son, and we ought to live our lives then as the worthy bearers of the truth and love that Our Lord Himself has revealed to us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle to the Hebrews the account of the author of this Epistle, which many biblical scholars and historians attributed to St. Luke the Evangelist, directed to the Jewish community and population, especially to those who have accepted and embraced Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. For at that time, there were many different opinions and beliefs among the Jewish people on Who this Jesus Christ was. On one extreme, there were those Jewish people who rejected the Lord completely, like many among the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests who viewed the Lord as a False Messiah and even a dangerous blasphemer and sinner because of His teachings and works, and for Him claiming to be the Son of God, some of which were shown in our Gospel passage today about the Lord healing a paralysed man.

On the other extreme, of course there were also those who have fully accepted and embraced the fullness of truth about this person of Jesus Christ, how He is not just a mere Man or Prophet sent by God, but that He is indeed the Son of God, the Divine Word of God made manifested and incarnate in the flesh before us all, conceived and born into this world through His mother Mary. And there were those Jewish people who were receptive to the teachings of Christ but they were still ambivalent, indecisive and unsure about how much or what they would believe in Him. Therefore, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews went on through these series of discourses, discussions and teachings to help them to understand the truth of this Saviour Whom God had sent into their midst, as we all have heard in the past two weeks or so in our weekday readings.

In today’s discourse, the mention of Melchizedek, the King of Salem was a significant one because the person of Melchizedek himself in the Scriptures and in history was a mystery and is still debated till this day on who this Melchizedek truly was. It is precisely just like how the Lord Jesus Himself and His truth and identity were widely debated and discussed among the Jewish people both during and after the period of His ministry and works in their midst. For Melchizedek, him being the King of Salem highlighted his place as the High Priest of God offering the sacrifices and offerings to God at Salem, which name suggests connection to Jerusalem, which is the place that the Lord Himself would offer the ultimate sacrifice and offering through His suffering and death on the Cross.

Therefore, this mention of Melchizedek served to highlight the important role that Jesus Christ, as the Saviour had to do in order to save all mankind, just as the prophets had also predicted and prophesied about it. Some among the Jewish people then likely did not understand why the Messiah had to suffer and in fact even die in such a humiliating and painful way, betrayed and rejected by many of the leaders of His own people. Melchizedek here was seen as an archetype and even as a possible manifestation of Christ before the time that was appointed for Him to come into this world, to reveal part of what God intended to do with us, in saving all of us His beloved ones from certain destruction. The mention that Melchizedek was one without a parent, was also yet another reference to Christ, Who was conceived without any human intervention and by the power of God alone.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Vincent the Deacon, a holy man of God and a renowned martyr whose life and examples, dedication to God and martyrdom can inspire us all in how we ought to live our lives as Christians. St. Vincent the Deacon was born in the region of Zaragoza in what is today Spain, also then known by its original name of Caesaraugusta, which made this saint to be also known as St. Vincent of Zaragoza. He was eventually ordained as a deacon by his local bishop, Bishop Valerius who needed St. Vincent’s help as a spokesperson due to his speech impediment issue. And during that time, Christians and the Church was being heavily persecuted by the Roman state under the Emperor Diocletian.

When St. Vincent and his bishop were both arrested and brought before the Roman magistrate, and offered release and safety, comfort and good life if they were to abandon their faith in God and consign their Holy Scriptures to the fire, St. Vincent and his bishop courageously refused this offer and mentioned bravely that nothing that could be done to change their mind or to persuade, coerce or force them to do otherwise, as they would remain firmly attached to the Lord and their faith in Him. This remarked angered the Roman magistrate so much that he inflicted all sorts of torture and pain on the man of God until St. Vincent was eventually martyred, but remaining firm in his faith in God to the very end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard earlier on from the discourses and discussions from the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Gospel about the healing of the paralysed man, and from the courageous faith and life of St. Vincent the Deacon, all of us are reminded that as Christians we may often have to face a lot of disagreements, hardships, and even persecutions and oppressions for our faith in God. But we should not allow these to discourage us from being faithful to the Lord and to follow Him. After all, we must first remember what the Lord Himself has done for us, and the sufferings and hardships He Himself had suffered and endured for us in His Passion and death. When we suffer, we all suffer together with Christ, and we are all united to His death and ultimately to His glorious Resurrection.

If we continue to have strong and enduring faith in God, we will surely not be disappointed and we will receive the fullness of God’s blessings and grace, and be truly worthy of the salvation which He has promised and reassured us all. Let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment to live our lives worthily of the Lord from now on, doing our very best to be the good examples and inspiration to everyone around us, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Mark 3 : 1-6

At that time, again Jesus entered the synagogue. A man, who had a paralysed hand, was there and some people watched Jesus : would He heal the man on the sabbath? If He did, they could accuse Him.

Jesus said to the man with the paralysed hand, “Stand here in the centre.” Then He asked them, “What does the Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?” But they were silent.

Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness, because they had closed their minds. And He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was healed. As soon as the Pharisees left, they met with Herod’s supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus.

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Wednesday, 22 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 109 : 1, 2, 3, 4

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand till I make Your foes Your footstool.”

From Zion the Lord will extend Your mighty sceptre and You will rule in the midst of Your enemies.

Yours is royal dignity from the day You were born in holy majesty. Like dew from the womb of the dawn, I have begotten You.

The Lord has sworn, and He will not take back His word : “You are a Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

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Wednesday, 22 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Hebrews 7 : 1-3, 15-17

Scripture says that Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, came out to meet Abraham who returned from defeating the kings. He blessed Abraham and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.

Let us note that the name Melchizedek means King of Justice, and that king of Salem means king of Peace. There is no mention of father, mother or genealogy; nothing is said about the beginning or the end of his life. In this he is the figure of the Son of God, the Priest Who remains forever.

All this, however, becomes clear if this Priest after the likeness of Melchizedek has in fact received His mission, not on the basis of any human law, but by the power of an immortal life. Because Scripture says : You are a Priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek.

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Saturday, 10 August 2024 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr, who was remembered for his great faith and commitment to the Lord and to His Church, and for his contributions to the needy and the less fortunate in the Church which he called the ‘true treasures of the Church’. Through all the great examples of this holy man of God, all of us as Christians are reminded of our duty and obligations, calling and mission as God’s beloved and chosen people so that we may truly embrace what He has entrusted to us, all the talents, gifts, opportunities and all that He had provided to us so that we may truly be fruitful in all of our lives and actions, in living our lives as true and worthy Christians at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Corinth in which we heard of God’s providence to all of us, the gifts and blessings which He had imparted upon us all, in its many diversity and uniqueness, all that He has endowed and granted to us. He has given us all those things so that we may make good use of them for the benefit of everyone around us. That was why St. Paul mentioned about how those who sow meagrely would also reap meagrely while those who sow generously, they would reap great and rich harvests. This is a reference to how the Lord would want us to make good use of the many blessings and gifts that He has given to us so that by our actions and contributions, many great and wonderful things may happen amongst us and our brethren around us.

We should not be selfish and keep whatever God had given to us, or else, what we have been given would be taken from us and given to others who would be more deserving of those gifts. God does not want any one of us to be idle and He wants each and every one of us to be ever active in committing ourselves to His cause and to all the missions and works He had entrusted to us. In our Gospel passage today, we heard of this reminder through the account of the Gospel according to St. John in which the Lord Jesus told His disciples that ‘Unless a grain of wheat shall fall upon the earth and dies, it remains alone, and it only bears much fruits if it dies, blessing others with great bounty of its fruits.’ This signifies first of all the premonition of what the Lord Himself would have to suffer, as He would suffer and die on His Cross, at the moment of His Passion, for the salvation of the whole world.

But it also symbolises and represents the need for all of us Christians to be like Christ in obeying the Lord’s will, His Law and commandments, and to follow His examples in doing whatever He had done out of His great and ever enduring love for each and every one of us. As Christians, that is as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us have been called and entrusted with the various missions and opportunities in our respective areas in life that God has led us into, and which He has directed us all to journey through. That is why, as His people, His followers and disciples, each and every one of us should do our best in whatever we can do, so that our lives, our every actions, words and deeds may always be filled with God’s grace and love, and that we will always glorify Him by our every actions, in every moments of our lives.

As Christians, our actions should always embody our faith in the Lord, and we must always be sincere in living our lives as God’s followers and disciples. In all of our interactions with each other, we should always continue to show love and kindness to one another, to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We must always love one another, our fellow brethren, especially those who are less fortunate and troubled, and the more blessed we have been by God, the more we are reminded and called to share our bountiful blessings with one another. This is why we are reminded on this day to be truly loving towards our brethren, to be genuine in our every actions, words and interactions, ever filled with generous love just as the Lord Himself has loved us most generously all these while.

As mentioned earlier, today we mark the glorious memory of St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr. He was born in the region of Valencia in eastern part of Spain today, and was a Christian whose parents were St. Orentius and St. Patientia, which according to the traditions of the Church were martyrs of the faith. He encountered the future Pope St. Sixtus II in Zaragoza nearby from Valencia, and they both moved from there to Rome. Later on, Pope St. Sixtus II was elected as Pope and leader of the Universal Church, and he ordained St. Lawrence as a deacon, entrusting him to be among the seven deacons in Rome, and then as the Archdeacon of Rome, a very important position in the Church at the time, as he was entrusted with whatever possessions, treasury and riches that the Church possessed, and their distribution to the poor and the needy in the community.

At that time, the Roman Empire was launching another round of intense persecutions against Christians during the reign of the Emperor Valerian. All those who were arrested and convicted, made to suffer and condemned to death also had their properties and wealth seized for the state, as a way for the state to gain and enrich itself from the sufferings of the righteous and innocent Christians throughout the Empire. Thus, when the Pope himself and many other Christians were martyred, St. Lawrence knew that sooner or later he himself would be arrested, persecuted and martyred, and thus, he quickly worked to distribute the treasures and riches available to the Church to the poor and the less fortunate, and to others who were deserving of these. When he was eventually arrested by the authorities and ordered to surrender the treasures of the Church under his care, St. Lawrence gathered the poor and the needy of the community and told his persecutors, that they are the treasures of the Church. He was martyred shortly afterwards, a courageous servant of God to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be encouraged and strengthened in our commitment to God, and be active part of His Church and the missions to reach out to everyone in this world, to those who have not yet known the Lord and to those who have been facing hardships and difficulties in life. From the examples, courage and commitment showed by St. Lawrence, Holy Deacon and Martyr, let us all therefore be always active in our lives as Christians, to be truly loving and missionary in all of our actions, words, deeds and interactions with others around us. Let us all be generous in giving and sharing our blessings with one another, helping each other to carry our own crosses in this life and to follow the Lord ever more faithfully. Let our lives be truly enriching and life-giving to everyone around us, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 10 August 2024 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 12 : 24-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world save it even to everlasting life.”

“Whoever wants to serve Me, let him follow Me; and wherever I am, there shall My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him.”

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Saturday, 10 August 2024 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears YHVH, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered and loved forever.

He has no fear of evil news, for his heart is firm, trusting in YHVH. His heart is confident; he need not fear; he shall prevail over his foes at the end.

He gives generously to the poor; his merits will last forever; and his head will be raised in honour.