holy martyrs

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Thursday, 13 August 2026 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 77 : 56-57, 58-59, 61-62

But they challenged and rebelled against God the Most High, and disobeyed His decrees. They were unfaithful, like their ancestors, deceitful and crooked, as a twisted bow.

They angered Him with their high places; they aroused His jealousy with their idols. Filled with wrath, God rejected Israel.

He lead His glory into captivity, His Ark, into the hand of the enemy. He gave His people over to the sword, so furious was He at His inheritance.

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Thursday, 13 August 2026 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Ezekiel 12 : 1-12

This word of YHVH came to me, “Son of man, you live in the midst of a house of rebels : they have eyes for seeing but do not see; they have ears for hearing but do not hear; for they are a house of rebels. Because of this, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage in their sight, as an exile does; and go as an exile, to another place, in their sight. Would that they might understand, because they are a house of rebels.”

“You will gather your things, an exile’s baggage, by day, to be seen by them; and you will leave in the evening, as for a departure of deportees. While they look on, dig a hole in the wall and leave from there. As they look on, shoulder your baggage and leave in the dark. Veil your face and do not look at the land, for I have made you a sign for Israel.”

I did as I was ordered, gathering my things by day, an exile’s baggage, and, in the evening, I made a hole in the wall with my hand. I left in the dark, in their presence, shouldering my baggage. In the morning, the word of YHVH came to me : “Son of man, did not the Israelites, these rebels, ask you, ‘What are you doing there?’ Answer them on behalf of YHVH : This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites remaining in the city.”

“Say, ‘I am a sign for you,’ for what I have done will happen to them : They will be deported, exiled. The prince among them shall shoulder his baggage in the dark and depart. They will dig a hole in the wall to let him leave by it. He will cover his face because he must not see the land with his eyes.”

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Monday, 10 August 2026 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the Feast of St. Lawrence of Rome, the great man of God who was one of the seven deacons of the city and See of Rome, and hence was a very important and prominent member of the Roman Church at that time. St. Lawrence was also the first among those seven deacons, as the Archdeacon of Rome, a position of great importance as he was indeed the right hand man of the then reigning Pope, Pope St. Sixtus II, whose feast we have just celebrated a few days ago. St. Lawrence of Rome was martyred at about the same time as Pope St. Sixtus and quite a number other Christians, who were persecuted during an episode of attack against the Church under the reign of the then Roman Emperor Valerian.

St. Lawrence himself was born in what is today part of Spain, where the later Pope St. Sixtus II met him in what is today Zaragoza, then known as Caesaraugusta. According to Church traditions, his parents were also Christians and were themselves martyrs, likely prior to the mission and works of St. Lawrence as deacon in Rome. Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Lawrence both travelled to Rome, where the former eventually became Pope succeeding his predecessor, Pope St. Stephen I. And as a trusted friend and member of his close inner circle, St. Lawrence was therefore appointed as the Archdeacon of Rome, responsible for the distribution of goods and for the care of the faithful people of God in the Diocese of Rome. He held the control and key of the treasuries and material goods of the Roman Church, and he did his duties most obediently, committing himself to care those entrusted under his supervision.

Then, at that time, the Roman state under Emperor Valerian began an intense persecution of Christians, arresting Pope St. Sixtus II and many others, who were martyred for their faith. As was customary, all those who were executed by the Roman state had their possessions and property confiscated and gathered to be added to the Imperial treasury. Hence, in order to avoid the property and goods of the Church meant for the people of God, especially the poor and the needy to fall into the hands of those who did not deserve them, St. Lawrence quickly worked to distribute the property of the Church to those who needed them, to the faithful so that they would not be seized. The Roman prefect of the city demanded and ordered St. Lawrence to hand over all the goods and properties of the Church, which was then responded by St. Lawrence who gathered the poor and the needy, and showed them as the true treasures of the Church.

That enraged the Roman prefect such that he ordered St. Lawrence to be arrested and tortured, and put on a great and hot gridiron, where this holy man of God was put to suffer terrible tortures. Yet, St. Lawrence fearlessly and courageously faced those sufferings and his upcoming martyrdom with calmness and joy, knowing that everything that he and the other martyrs had to suffer, were nothing compared to the true joy and glory that they would receive through the Lord. According to the Church traditions, St. Lawrence even cheerfully commented to his tortures to turn him over as in his own words, ‘I am well done on this side. Turn me over!’ All these showed just how courageous and brave St. Lawrence was in enduring those great persecutions and hardships, for the sake of God and His people. Eventually, he was executed and died as a martyr like many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all the examples which St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr had shown us exemplified what we have heard from our Scripture passages today. In our first reading passage, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in which St. Paul spoke of those who sowed meagrely and how they would also reap meagrely while those who sowed generously would also reap generous harvests. This is showing how our faith in God must be truly filled with true dedication and commitment to God, and not merely an empty faith and proclamations only. Like St. Lawrence, who devoted himself to the cause of the Lord, that he risked his life in doing his mission and in ensuring that the properties and goods of the Church entrusted to his care did not fall into the wrong hands, and faced suffering and martyrdom for those, thus, we should also do our part in living our lives with true dedication and faith.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard a related account of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples using a simple parable of comparing a grain of wheat that ought to fall to the ground and ‘die’ first so that it might bear plenty of fruits as the seed in the wheat would then germinate and grow into a new wheat plant that would bear many new wheat crops, and hence, be truly fruitful. This is related to the famous phrase of ‘the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians’ which reminded us all of the sufferings and hardships that many of our predecessors had to face in the midst of living their faith. Yet, their faith and commitment to God, their courage and bravery, like what was shown by St. Lawrence as mentioned earlier, should inspire all of us to live our lives with great faith and dedication to God, and to be inspirational in our way of life.

This means that in our every moments and in our every words, actions and deeds in life, all of us should do our best so that we may be the shining light of God’s truth and love, the light of hope for many of our fellow brothers and sisters who may be facing a lot of hardships and challenges in their lives. Like St. Lawrence, whose faith and commitment, courage and dedication had strengthened the faith of so many of those who came after him, in how they endured the challenges and persecutions against their faith. All of us should live in accordance to the Law and the path that God has shown us, the path of His righteousness so that we may all walk down this path and not be swayed easily by the temptations of worldly glory and by the fear of sufferings and death. Becoming Christians mean that we have to be prepared to suffer for the Lord, but we must always remember that we never suffer alone, for the Lord is always ever by our side.

May the Lord continue to watch over us and strengthen us in our ways, and may His wonderful saints, St. Lawrence and many of our other holy predecessors continue to inspire us by their great examples and role models, and may they intercede for us sinners, that God may deign to show His mercy and kindness upon us, especially in the moments of our hardships and challenges. May God bless us always in all things and may He empower us all to be His worthy disciples in all things. Amen.

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Monday, 10 August 2026 : 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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Monday, 10 August 2026 : 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.

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Monday, 10 August 2026 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Corinthians 9 : 6-10

Remember : the one who sows meagerly will reap meagerly, and there shall be generous harvests for the one who sows generously. Each of you should give as you decided personally, and not reluctantly, as if obliged. God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to fill you with every good thing, so that you have enough of everything, at all times, and may give abundantly for any good work.

Scripture says : He distributed, He gave to the poor, His good works last forever. God, Who provides the sower with seed, will also provide him with the bread he eats. He will multiply the seed for you and also increase the interest on your good works.

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Friday, 7 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded that we have all been called to follow the Lord and to focus our attention on Him, as those whom He had called and chosen to be His people. And at the same time we are also reminded that to follow God and to be faithful to Him will often require from us dedication and commitment that may lead us down the path filled with obstacles and challenges. That is why the Lord said to His disciples as described in our Gospel passage today, that for all those who want to follow Him must take up their crosses and follow Him. This means that we ought to share in the Cross and the sufferings that He had borne for our sake, and strive to seek the Lord and His righteousness above all other things, and to look beyond the false glory, pleasures and satisfactions of the world, resist the temptations and remaining faithful to God.

Indeed, this will not be an easy task, as just the Lord encountered plenty of opposition and challenges from those who disagreed with Him and refused to believe in Him, was persecuted and forced to endure humiliation, punished for the punishment that He was innocent from, and bore the cross of condemnation, and we heard how these enemies also acted against His disciples, that is why as followers of Christ, we too are likely to suffer the same fate as the Lord, hated and despised by the world. That is why, we are presented with the choice, whether we want to follow the Lord, taking up our crosses in life and walking with Him, or whether we want to follow the path of the world, to embrace the path of disobedience and sins against God. These are the paths and choices presented to us, and unless we have strong faith in God, it is very easy for us to fall into the temptation to walk away from God.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Nahum, we heard of the Lord’s promise to His people that He shall crush the wicked and all those who have oppressed His people. It is the promise that the Lord will be faithful and will stand by His people in the midst of persecution and suffering. He will not abandon them to the darkness, and while for a while they might suffer, in the end, those who have kept their faith in Him will be triumphant while those who opposed Him and rejected Him will be crushed and destroyed. That was why He promised His people with a message of hope and deliverance, that even the great might of those like the Assyrians and their capital Nineveh could not stand against Him, and those would be humbled, crushed and destroyed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is therefore a kind reminder for us not to easily give in to the temptation to sin and disobey God, although the path of faith may seem to be challenging and daunting. In the end, as the Lord said, “What worth is it for man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” This shows us that it is better for man to lose the whole world and yet remain in God’s grace. For the pleasures and glory of this world is all but temporary, while the soul is eternal. What worth is it therefore for us to gain the comforts and pleasures of this world if we end up losing in the battle for our souls? When the souls of the wicked and those who were unrepentant are judged and condemned, they will all suffer for eternity from which there is no recourse or any way out at all.

All these for the temporary taste of worldly goodness and joy, and in the end, eternal suffering awaits us all. And the devil and his forces are always active out there trying to pull us away from God’s path, by tempting us to follow the temptations of our desires, by presenting to us many forms of worldly pleasures and false leads, into which if we succumb to them, it will be difficult for us to get out and escape, unless we make the conscious effort to resist those temptations. What shall we do then? This is where we should thus look on the examples set by our predecessors in faith so that we too may also follow them in these good examples in our own lives and actions.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of great saints, holy servants of the Lord whose lives and actions hopefully can inspire us in our own lives and actions, that we may always do our best to live our lives worthily of the Lord, and to thank Him and be grateful to Him for everything that He has always done for us. Today, we honour the glorious memories of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, who suffered during the trials and hardships, the martyrdom at the time of the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Valerian, when many suffered and die died for their faith in God, and then as well as St. Cajetan, a holy priest and man of God, who was remembered for his dedication and love for the Lord, and for inspiring many others to follow in his path and examples, in living lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, good and righteous in all things.

Pope St. Sixtus II was the leader of the Universal Church during the difficult time of the middle third century when there were tumultuous events, conflicts in the world and also divisions among the faithful, due to various disagreements and heresies that were widespread during that time. According to Apostolic traditions, Pope St. Sixtus II devoted his life and efforts to reunite the Church, and led the faithful through those difficult and turbulent years, and brought back many of the wayward to the Holy Mother Church. He and many others, including another great saint, St. Lawrence of Rome, was martyred during the persecution of Christians during the reign of the Roman Emperor Valerian, faithful to the very end. Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was a lawyer and diplomat by profession in his earlier years, and then became a priest, dedicating himself to healing the sick, particularly focusing on the spiritual healing of those who have been separated from God and His love.

St. Cajetan laid the foundations for and established the Theatines, also known by its official name of the Congregation of the Clerics Regular, together with Archbishop Giovanni Petro Carafa, who would eventually elected as the Pope and leader of the Church as Pope Paul IV. He also interacted well with his contemporaries like St. Jerome Emiliani, another famous priest dedicated to the well-being of the faithful and those who were suffering, assisting the latter with the foundation of the Congregation of the Clerks Regular, or the Somaschan Fathers. Through all of his work and dedication, St. Cajetan, like that of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions, they all showed us how we all should respond to God’s call and love, which He has always shown and lavished upon us. Each and every one of us should do whatever we can so that we may truly be faithful and worthy of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore commit ourselves with renewed zeal and faith to the Lord, following the great examples set by Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, St. Cajetan and many other holy men and women of God who had devoted their lives and works for the greater glory of God. May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower each and every one of us so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His love, to obey Him and His commandments, His will and teachings that He Himself has shown to us especially through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. May God bless us all and our every good efforts and endeavours in doing His will. Amen.

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Friday, 7 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Matthew 16 : 24-28

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me. For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life, for My sake, will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world, if he destroys his soul? Or what can a person give, in exchange for his life?”

“Know, that the Son of Man will come, in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels, and He will reward each one according to his deeds. Truly, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death, before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

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Friday, 7 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Deuteronomy 32 : 35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41

Their day of calamity is at hand, and swiftly their doom will come. The Lord will give justice to His people and have mercy on His servants.

Learn this now – that I alone am He; there is no god besides Me. It is I Who give both death and life; it is I Who wound and heal as well and out of My hand no one can deliver.

When I sharpen My glittering sword and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will deal out vengeance upon My foes and retribution upon those who hate Me.

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Friday, 7 August 2026 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Nahum 2 : 1, 3 and Nahum 3 : 1-3, 6-7

See, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings Good News, one who proclaims peace. Judah, celebrate your feasts and carry out your vows. For the wicked have been destroyed, they will not attack you any more. YHVH will now restore Jacob’s magnificence, like Israel’s splendour. For they had been plundered, laid waste as a ravaged vineyard.

Woe to the bloody city, city of lies and booty, o city of unending plunder! But what! Crack of whips, rumble of wheels and clatter of hoofs! See the frenzied chargers, the flashing swords and glittering spears, the heaps of the wounded, the dead and dying – we trip over corpses!

I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make of you a shameful show, so that all who look on you will turn their backs in disgust and say : Nineveh – a city of lust – is in ruins. Who will mourn for her? Where can we find one to comfort her?