holy missionaries

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Monday, 19 October 2026 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the immense love and mercy of God through which each and every one of us have received the assurance of eternal life and salvation, all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us must remember how the Lord cares for us and how He treats us as truly precious people, as His own children, so that we will remember that we should remain focused on Him and not on worldly things and all else which can easily distract us in our way and journey towards His salvation and eternal life.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the words of St. Paul reminding all the people of God there of everything that the Lord had done for them, in their great fortune in having been rescued and redeemed by their Lord, Master, Saviour and Redeemer. All of them have deserved death and destruction, damnation and hell, and yet, God had mercy on them and because He is so full of love, and to all of us this reminder serves the same purpose, because God’s love, compassion and mercy are extended to all of us, regardless of our background and how great a sinner we have been in our respective lives.

St. Paul himself highlighted just how fallen and wretched our human nature and existence were, and yet, because of God’s love and mercy, all of us have received a new lease of life, a new hope and liberation from our downwards path towards destruction. St. Paul encouraged all of us just as he did to the faithful in Ephesus, reminding us of just how great and rich God’s mercy and compassion truly are. But at the same time, we must also not take His love and mercy for granted, or else, we will end up spurning these advances of love and mercy by the Lord, as what had happened to many of our predecessors, who were so caught up in their pride, ego and greed that they ignored the Lord and His love and mercy.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that was precisely the reason why so many had faltered in their journey towards the Lord. They all failed to appreciate and embrace the Lord’s approach of love and compassion towards them. They took His love and generosity for granted and ignored and abandoned Him at their own convenience. In the end, they were all condemned not because God did not love them, but because they had little to no faith in Him, and they rejected Him by their own conscious effort and accord. They refused to embrace God’s love and mercy, and preferring to remain in the state of sin, although God has so generously given them His loving compassion and has always offered them His forgiveness.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples using the example of a rich man who asked Him to judge and support him for his part of the inheritance against his own brethren. The Lord then also mentioned a parable about a rich man who was consumed with worry and preoccupied with his greed and desires, thinking of how he could accumulate more of whatever wealth that he had been gathering up to that point. The Lord concluded that parable and story with the warning of how even that rich man would meet his end, because if God so wills it, his life could end there and then, and nothing of what he had accumulated would accompany him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does the Lord want us to learn from these passages today? Through His Church and the Scriptures today, the Lord wants us to know that we should be vigilant with ourselves and with the many temptations ever present all around us, lest we may be tempted to abandon Him and His love for the sake of worldly glory, material wealth, fame, possessions, human praise, status and many other things in this world which often distracted us and dragged us away from the path of God and into the path towards damnation and destruction. We have often indulged in these worldly desires and ended up forgetting about God, about His love and mercy.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of several great and holy people, whose faith, commitment and devotion to God can serve as inspiration and as great role models for us all to follow so that we may also know how we should live out our lives in commitment to God. St. Isaac Jogues and St. John Brebeuf were French Jesuit missionaries who ministered and worked in the region of what is today part of the province of Quebec in Canada, as they went to the indigenous peoples living in those regions, bringing unto them the Good News of God, the salvation of God to them. Together with several other missionaries, they laboured hard tor the sake of the Gospel. Then, we also honour St. Paul of the Cross, a priest and mystic who was also the founder of the Passionists.

First of all, St. John Brebeuf, St. Isaac Jogues and their fellow missionaries were all very hardworking and committed in their missions to spread the Good News of God in the very harsh conditions of the subarctic parts of North America, in what is now known as Quebec, that was then known as New France. The missionaries had to persevere through a lot of hardships and difficult environmental conditions, in often subzero conditions and afflicted by diseases, while being in the wilderness and facing opposition and resistance from some among the indigenous natives that viewed the missionaries with suspicion or even outright hostility and rejection, and this was what eventually led to their martyrdom in the end, when they were attacked and massacred by those who refused to believe.

Nevertheless, the inspirational examples and faith of the missionaries made quite a number of converts among the natives, some of whom were also martyred together with them. In particular, for the example of St. Isaac Jogues himself, martyred during one of his missions among the Iroquois natives, his faith and determination inspired his own killer such that when this killer was arrested and awaiting his execution, he chose to be baptised as a Christian, and took upon St. Isaac Jogues’ name as his own baptismal name, and thus, the curious case of St. Isaac Jogues’ ‘double martyrdom’ happened. As we can see, the examples and efforts of the missionaries like St. Isaac Jogues, St. John Brebeuf and their fellow missionaries and martyrs touched the lives and the hearts of so many, who were called to follow Christ henceforth.

Meanwhile, St. Paul of the Cross was the founder of the Passionists as mentioned. He was a young man that felt the stirrings of God’s call early on, and which continued to vex him throughout his growing years, as he encountered various people and experiences that directed him towards the path of God. Eventually, this inspired him to establish a community of like-minded men who were willing to follow the Lord and to live their lives in commitment to God, in promoting the love of God for each and every one of us, particularly through His Passion, that is His suffering, His endurance of a most humiliating and painful death on the Cross, and His perfect love manifested to all of us through those actions. This was how the congregation that St. Paul of the Cross established came to be known as the Passionists, as they fervently championed the propagation of God’s love and the revelation of that love by calling on all the people of God to remember His Passion and suffering for our sake.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of those holy men and holy servants of God should inspire each and every one of us in how we ourselves should be living our own lives so that in whatever it is that we are doing in life, in our work, in our various efforts and commitments, so that we may truly inspire everyone around us and all those whom we encounter in our daily lives, interacting and working with us. Let us all strive to be always truly faithful and committed to God. Let us all get rid from ourselves, our hearts and minds, the corruption of pride, ego, greed, desire, and all the attachments to the worldly things all around us which can distract and mislead us down the path of disobedience and sin.

Instead, let us remind ourselves always of the Lord’s great love and the Holy Passion that He has endured and suffered for our sake, and thus, commit ourselves thoroughly to His cause from now on. May God bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, in all the things we say and do, so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His love, His grace and kindness. Amen.

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Monday, 19 October 2026 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 12 : 13-21

At that time, someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed Me as your Judge or your Attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do : I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself : My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell Me, who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”

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Monday, 19 October 2026 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (Psalm)

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

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Monday, 19 October 2026 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (First Reading)

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

Ephesians 2 : 1-10

You were dead, through the faults and sins. Once, you lived through them, according to this world, and followed the Sovereign Ruler Who reigns between heaven and earth, and Who goes on working, in those who resist the faith.

All of us belonged to them, at one time, and we followed human greed; we obeyed the urges of our human nature and consented to its desires. By ourselves, we went straight to the judgment, like the rest of humankind.

But God, Who is rich in mercy, revealed His immense love. As we were dead through our sins, He gave us life, with Christ. By grace, you have been saved! And He raised us to life, with Christ, giving us a place with Him in heaven.

In showing us such kindness, in Christ Jesus, God willed to reveal, and unfold in the coming ages, the extraordinary riches of His grace. By the grace of God, you have been saved, through faith.

This has not come from you : it is God’s gift. This was not the result of your works, so you are not to feel proud. What we are, is God’s work. He has created us, in Christ Jesus, for the good works He has prepared, that we should devote ourselves to them.

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Thursday, 21 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we are all called to listen to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that those who remain in the Lord and hold steadfastly to His truth will always be strong and steady amidst all the challenges that they may face, and with God by our side, ever constantly providing for us and for our needs, we will be triumphant in the end, overcoming all of our struggles and hardships, and through His guidance to us all, to His beloved Church and people, we will never falter, and we will continue to be united in God, our one and only True Lord and Master. Meanwhile as history has shown it, those who seek their own worldly ambitions and desires would end up being divided and scattered, and sadly, this has happened to the Church itself, and why divisions remained in the Church and the world up to the present day.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the moment when St. Paul was in Jerusalem to be present in the hearing before the assembly of the Jewish High Council or also known as the Sanhedrin, composed of all the most influential members of the Jewish community, both the Pharisees and the Sadducees and other elites within the community. Many among them were bitterly opposed against St. Paul and all that he had presented and taught, all the truth and witness that he has brought to the many people, both Jews and Gentiles alike, on the Saviour, Jesus Christ, teachings about Whom the members of the Sanhedrin and the chief priests tried so hard to silence and prevent from spreading, but no matter what they did, the Apostles and the other missionaries like St. Paul continued to work hard to proclaim the Lord in all of their missions.

That was why they were so fiercely against St. Paul who had been spearheading the efforts and missions of evangelisation in many communities, especially amongst the Gentiles but also among the Jewish diaspora communities. And while he encountered quite a lot of welcome from many of those, he also faced quite significant opposition from the Jewish communities in some places, the tensions and frictions which eventually led to him being persecuted and harassed by the many Jewish authorities, leading to them lodging an accusation and complaint against St. Paul, who therefore went to Jerusalem to face up against those accusations and complaints, standing up courageously and firmly for his faith in the Lord and for everything which he had proclaimed and worked for.

We heard how then the Pharisees and Sadducees were quickly divided once St. Paul incited them with the statement that he himself was a young Pharisee once and he believed in the resurrection. In order to understand the reason for this great strife and the riot that happened afterwards, we must first understand just how bitterly divided the Jewish community at that time, with the Pharisees and the Sadducees as two of the most influential groups within the Jewish community. The Pharisees represented the intellectual elite of the community, all the learned scholars and many of them were experts of the Law, who were very much strict and rigid in their interpretation and application of the Law, but they also represent the segment of the community that were very much spiritual, believing in the resurrection of the dead and in the spiritual beings like Angels.

Meanwhile, the Sadducees represent the rich and the powerful members of the community, including that of the caste or group forming those known as the chief priests and those elected to be the High Priests, the ones running the Temple of Jerusalem and the rest of the priestly caste. Ironically, while they were the ones who were entrusted with the running of the Temple, but their connections with many worldly matters and pursuits, their entanglements with power actually ended up causing them to be the ones that placed much of their lives’ focus and emphasis on worldly matters and refusing to believe in outworldly matters like the resurrection and life after death. That was likely because they were so focused on the life in this world that they did not want to put any focus on what happened afterwards.

And the divisions that arose and had by then become crystallised between the two groups that they were always treating each other with distrust, perhaps with equal enmity like those that also existed then between the Jews and the Samaritans. Each of them thought that they were the right ones, and that the ideas of the other ones were wrong. While St. Paul was being pitted against both of these groups, both of which were united in their hatred and opposition against him and the Christian faith, he therefore wisely used their divisions against them, and immediately as we all have heard, the two groups’ unity dissolved into their old enmity and bickering, fighting one another and ending up in great quarrel against one another, revealing just how weak their arguments against what the truth of God had been representing.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we continue to hear from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in which the Lord Jesus prayed for His disciples and followers, asking the Lord God, His heavenly Father to protect and take care of them, as the Son was about to be handed over to His enemies and persecutors just before He embarked on His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross. He reassured them all that He would be with them regardless of the challenges that they would face, and that through God’s grace and guidance, they would all be united and strengthened amidst the trials, challenges and difficulties that they might be facing in their faith and journey. This is therefore a reminder for all of us so that we will continue to have trust and faith in the Lord at all times and never to lose hope in Him, because He is always with us.

Today, we remember the great examples set by the faithful servants of God, St. Christopher Magallanes and his companions in faith and martyrdom, as they dedicated themselves to the works of the Lord and in defending their faith against those who sought to force them to abandon and betray their Lord and Master. St. Christopher Magallanes was a priest who ministered to the people of God and carried on his works in Mexico during the time of great persecution against the Christian faith at the turn of the twentieth century, against the Church, and especially against the clergy, priests and religious at a time of great suffering and sorrow for the Church. It was truly a very difficult time to be a Christian, and even more so to be a member of the clergy, actively being oppressed and made to endure various laws that threatened the very existence of the Church in Mexico.

At that time, the Mexican government was very hostile against the Church and its clergy, as well as to any expression of Christian faith and the faithful. Many of the clergy and the laity had to suffer a lot of persecution, being arrested and tortured, because of the government’s opposition against the Church, and the antipathy and disagreements they held over the missionaries and servants of God like St. Christopher Magallanes and many others, both the clergy and laity alike, many of whom were arrested and put in prison, and many were eventually martyred for remaining firmly true to their faith. But many among these martyrs continued being inspiration for many others who were persecuted and their examples of courageous faith strengthened those who were suffering as well.

St. Christopher Magallanes himself was arrested and accused of helping the rebellion of the government, which was a false charge, and he was eventually sentenced to death, enduring martyrdom for his love for God. Many others shared his fate, dying from the persecution of the Church and the faithful which lasted for more than a decade and resulting in the destruction of many of the Church’s structures and the deaths of countless people to the persecution by the authorities. That however did not dampen the spirit and courage of many among the faithful who welcomed suffering and martyrdom in remaining faithful to God, becoming great inspiration even for us today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all do our best to serve the Lord faithfully, commit ourselves to the great works entrusted to us by God. May God empower us to walk with faith and to be great role models and faithful witnesses in the same manner that St. Christopher Magallanes and his companions in faith and martyrdom had inspired us all. May all of us continue to put our faith and trust in the Lord, believing that He will always provide for us in our time of need, and He will give us the necessary wisdom and strength to carry on the journey.  May God bless us all, now and forevermore, and bring us all ever closer to His throne of grace. Amen.

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Thursday, 21 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 17 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in Me. May they all be one, as You Father are in Me and I am in You. May they be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”

“I have given them the glory You have given Me, that they may be one as We are One : I in them and You in Me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that You have sent Me, and that I have loved them, just as You loved Me.”

“Father, since You have given them to Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, and see the glory You gave Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent Me.”

“As I revealed Your Name to them, so will I continue to reveal it, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and also may be in them.”

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Thursday, 21 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”

I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.

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Thursday, 21 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 22 : 30 and Acts 23 : 6-11

The next day the commander wanted to know for certain the charges the Jews were making against Paul. So he released him from prison and called together the High Priest and the whole Council; and they brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

Paul knew that part of the Council were Sadducees and others Pharisees; so he spoke out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee. It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial here.”

At these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the whole assembly was divided. For the Sadducees claim that there is neither resurrection, nor Angels nor spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all these things.

Then the shouting grew louder, and some teachers of the Law of the Pharisee party protested, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an Angel has spoken to him.” With this the argument became so violent that the commander feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He therefore ordered the soldiers to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him back to the fortress.

That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Courage! As you have borne witness to Me here in Jerusalem, so must you do in Rome.”

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Monday, 6 October 2025 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Jonah 1 : 1 – Jonah 2 : 1, 11

The word of YHVH came to Jonah, son of Amittai, “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach against it, because I have known its wickedness.”

But Jonah decided to flee from YHVH and go to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, found a ship bound for Tarshish, and paid the fare. Then he boarded it and went into the hold of the ship, journeying with them to Tarshish, far away from YHVH.

YHVH stirred up a storm wind on the sea, so there was a sea tempest, which threatened to destroy the ship. The sailors took fright, and each cried out to his own god. To lighten the ship, they threw its cargo into the sea. Meanwhile Jonah had gone into the hold of the ship, where he lay fast asleep. The captain came upon him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God. Perhaps He will be mindful of us and will not allow us to die here.”

The sailors said to each other, “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this disaster.” So they dod, and the lot fell on Jonah. They questioned him, “So you are responsible for this evil that has come upon us? Tell us where you are from. What is your country, your nationality?” And Jonah told them his story, “I am a Hebrew and I worship YHVH, God of heaven Who made the sea and the land…”

As they knew that he was fleeing from YHVH, the sailors were seized with great fear and said to him, “What a terrible thing have you done! What shall we do with you now, to make the sea calm down?” The sea was growing more and more agitated.

He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. It will quiet down, for I know it is because of me that this storm has come.” The sailors, however, still did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea had grown much rougher than before. Then they called on YHVH, “O YHVH, do not let us perish for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. For You, YHVH, have done this as You have thought right.”

They took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm again. At this the men were seized with great fear of YHVH. They offered a sacrifice to YHVH and made vows to Him. YHVH provided a large fish which swallowed Jonah. He remained in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Then YHVH gave His command to the fish, and it belched out Jonah onto dry land.

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Tuesday, 11 June 2024 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 10 : 7-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”