holy women

by

Wednesday, 1 October 2025 : Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of all Missionaries and the Missions (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 66 : 10-14

Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her. Be glad with her, rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her, that you may suck of the milk from her comforting breasts, that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.

For this is what YHVH says : I will send her peace, overflowing like a river;  and the nations’ wealth, rushing like a torrent towards her. And you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap. As a son comforted by his mother, so will I comfort you. At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice; like grass, your bones will flourish.

For it shall be known that YHVH’s hand is with His servant, but His fury is upon His enemy.

by

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we must always be truly and genuinely faithful to the Lord our God, and we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the sin of hypocrisy, of professing to believe in a certain way and yet acting and carrying out our lives in the manner that is truly different from what we professed to believe in. If that is how we live our faith as Christians, then we truly have not lived our lives genuinely as those whom God had called and chosen, and we are no better than the hypocrites whom the Lord had frequently criticised and rebuked during the time of His ministry.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Thessalonica, we heard of the continuation of the Apostle’s exhortation to the faithful people of God there, who had been faithful and true to the teachings of the Apostle and the other Christian missionaries. Earlier on in this Epistle, St. Paul praised the faith of the Thessalonian Christians as compared to the lack of faith and difficulties which he and the other missionaries had been encountering in Philippi, in the nearby region of Greece. Nonetheless, as we heard in that passage today, the Apostle still reminded them to remain true to the teachings of the Church as they have received through the Apostle and the missionaries.

This is because it is easy for any one of us to be easily swayed by the many temptations, pressures, coercions and all the trials and challenges that we may have to face in our journey. And if we are not careful, we may end up falling into this trap and be dragged down the wrong path in life, and hence, this is why we should continue to remind ourselves to be ever more faithful to the Lord in all the things that we do in life. Despite all the temptations and challenges present all around us in this life, we should still strive and do our best to live our lives in each and every moments, in our everyday living to be truly good examples of our Christian faith and discipleship, in being the worthy bearers of God’s truth, Good News and love to everyone around us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the continuation of the series of criticisms and rebuke which the Lord Jesus presented against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law before His disciples and all the people who were listening to His teachings. We have heard in the past few days of everything that the Lord spoke up against those supposed elders and elites of the Jewish community, who were highly respected and even feared by the people of God. Those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were the ones that were the most knowledgeable about the Law of God and the teachings and prophecies of the Lord’s prophets, the intellectual elites of the community.

And yet, they did not recognise the Lord and His miracles and wonders, all the signs which He had performed that in fact fulfilled all the prophecies which the prophets had spoken about the Messiah or the Saviour of the world. They were supposed to be the first ones to recognise the signs and miracles of the Messiah, and yet, they hardened their hearts and refused to believe in Him. Not only that, but as we have heard in that same Gospel passage today, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often were hypocritical in their way of living their faith, as they were like whitewashed tombs and bones, looking good on the outsides but they were truly empty inside. This means that in them can be found no true and genuine faith or love for God.

While it is then easy for us to attribute the blame to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, let us all not be quick to point fingers to them, as we should all look upon ourselves and our own actions in life first and foremost. Have we ourselves lived the lives we have in this world in the manner that the Lord has taught and wanted us all to live them, or have we instead lived our lives in the similar way as those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, in hypocrisy and in self-serving, self-righteous attitudes, lacking for true and genuine concern and care for others around us? This is precisely why the Lord criticised those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law because of their selfishness and lack of concern and love for those around them, in them being biased and prejudiced against the less fortunate in their midst.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Monica, who is well-known for her being the mother of another great and famous saint, St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the Church’s most famous early Church fathers. St. Monica was a Christian married to a pagan Roman nobleman named Patricius in the fourth century in the region of northern Africa. St. Monica was a pious Christian who was caring and loving towards others around her, giving alms and other efforts for the less fortunate, and spending time in prayer, amidst her own turbulent family life, as her pagan husband had a violent temper and immoral habits. Their son, the future St. Augustine of Hippo grew up in worldly ways as well, and as he was educated in rhetoric and philosophy, he pursued worldly matters and became a Manichaean, to the great distress of his mother.

But St. Monica continued to have faith in the Lord and in her family, and she ceaselessly prayed and made efforts to help her son and husband to be reconciled with her and with God. Eventually, her prayers were answered as first, her ailing husband eventually accepted the Lord and was baptised as a Christian, repenting from his prior wayward way of life, and then, her son, St. Augustine of Hippo, eventually came to seek the Lord as well, abandoning his past hedonistic and materialistic way of life, which included even having a child outside of marriage. St. Monica’s great love for her family members is truly an inspiration for all of us as Christians in how we ourselves should show love and concern, care and compassion to our loved ones, and also to others whom we encounter daily in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great faith and love which St. Monica has shown us all so that we too may truly be loving and genuine Christians in all things, in truly loving God with all of our heart and might, and then to do the same with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, to those whom we love and who are dear to us and also to those whom we encounter daily in life. May the Lord be with us all in our journey in faith and may He strengthen and help us to continue living our lives in the manner that is truly both worthy and faithful, now and always. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 27-32

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful in appearance; but, inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness. In the same way, you appear religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the righteous. You say : Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets. So, you, yourselves, confess to be the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.”

“And now, finish off what your ancestors began!”

by

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 138 : 7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab

Where else could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I flee from Your presence? You are there, if I ascend the heavens; You are there, if I descend to the depths.

If I ride on the wings of the dawn, and settle on the far side of the sea, even there, Your hand shall guide me, and Your right hand shall hold me safely.

Shall I say, “Let darkness hide me, I prefer the night as my light?” But darkness, for You, is not dark.

by

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Thessalonians 2 : 9-13

Remember our labour and toil; when we preached the Gospel, we worked day and night, so as not to be a burden to you. You are witnesses, with God, that we are holy, just and blameless toward all of you who now believe. We warned each of you, as a father warns his children; we encouraged you, and urged you to adopt a way of life worthy of God, Who calls you to share His own glory and kingdom.

This is why we never cease giving thanks to God for, on receiving our message, you accepted it, not as human teaching, but as the word of God. That is what it really is, and, as such, it is at work in you who believe.

by

Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures today that we should always be humble and righteous in life, in everything that we say and do, in our every actions and interactions with one another so that we may indeed be truly genuine in being faithful to God. We should not merely be paying lip service of our faith or be superficial in our Christian faith and commitment, but we should instead seek to be wholeheartedly devoted in all things to God’s will, and in committing ourselves to whatever it is that He has entrusted to us and called us all to do in our respective areas and capacities in life, in making good use of the opportunities that God has given to us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Ruth we heard of the story of one woman named Ruth, who hailed from the land of Moab beyond the land of Israel, and hence was a Moabite. She was the wife of one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, two Israelites whose children married Moabite women. When Elimelech and the two sons of both him and Naomi passed away prematurely, both of their wives were widowed, and when Naomi released both of them from their obligations to her, Ruth kept on staying and refused to go, vowing that she would always follow her and take care of her mother-in-law, and that she would have Naomi’s God as her own God and Master. And that was how both Naomi and Ruth returned to the land of Judah.

And then we heard of the encounter between Ruth and Boaz, one of the relatives of Ruth’s late father-in-law, Elimelech. We heard how Boaz was eventually touched by Ruth’s great sincerity and devotion to her mother-in-law, her great personality and beauty, and they eventually fell in love and were married together, becoming the ancestor of the House of David, as their son Obed was the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David, whom God would call to be the great King over all of His people, the Israelites. And we can also clearly see how even among David’s ancestors, there were foreigners like Ruth, a Moabite, whom many of the Israelites often deemed to be wicked and unworthy, and yet, like Ruth has shown it herself, her faith in God and her virtues were greater than many of the Israelites themselves.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and followers regarding the behaviours and attitudes of the Pharisees. In that account of the Lord’s words regarding the Pharisees, the Lord criticised the actions and ways that the Pharisees took in carrying out their daily activities and also their attitudes towards the faith. Those Pharisees often paraded their faith and pious practices, seeking to be praised and adored for their great dedication and piety to God. That was why they often prayed loudly and publicly in the places where many people could see them doing so, wearing their wide prayer bands and headdresses, proclaiming their fast days and other works, and seeking important places in celebrations and feasts.

Yet, despite all these public display of piety and faith, many among the Pharisees at that time often had condescending attitude against those whom they deemed to be inferior than them, and they often criticised and attacked those whom they disagreed with in the matter of how their faith should be lived and practiced. They sought worldly glory, ambition and influence rather than truly and genuinely being faithful to the Lord, and that was how they ended up resisting the Lord so frequently in everything that He had done, in refusing to believe in Him even when the evidences and reality have all pointed out that what the Lord had done, taught and shown them all were indeed the truth. This is why all of us as Christians should always be vigilant against the temptations of pride, ego and ambition, and seek instead to be humble and truly faithful to God in all things.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Rose of Lima, the very first saint from the New World or the Americas to be canonised as saint. She was born in Lima as Isabel Flores de Oliva in what is today Peru during the late sixteenth century in what was then Spanish colony in the New World, to a noble family of mixed heritage, with her father being an officer in the Spanish Army then, while her mother was a criolla or a mixed-race native of the region. She was more popularly known as Rose because of one of her servants who said that her face was miraculously transformed into a rose upon looking at her. And the young St. Rose of Lima grew strong in the faith and dedication to God, carrying out great acts of penance and devotion to God, resisting all the suitors who came to seek her.

St. Rose of Lima was renowned for her commitment to chastity and dedication to God, and against her parents wishes for her to marry, she was committed to a vow of virginity to God, and she further deepened her devotions, to the Blessed Sacrament in her daily reception of the Lord, and more, as she continued to grow older. She really wanted to become a religious sister, to be a member of the Dominican Order that was attracted to her great piety and dedication to God. However, her parents’ objection prevented that, and St. Rose of Lima chose instead to become the member of the Third Order of St. Dominic, taking a perpetual vow of virginity, and living in a most holy, pious and chaste manner for the next eleven years until her passing, famously wearing a heavy silver replica of the crown of thorns to emulate the sufferings of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have listened from the examples and inspiration of St. Rose of Lima and also from the Scripture readings which we have received today, we are reminded of the need for all of us to listen to the Lord calling on us to follow Him, to be humble in all things and to reject the temptations of worldly glory and desires, so that we may truly be committed and faithful to the Lord, and not to fall into the temptations to sin. As Christians, that is as God’s holy and beloved people, all of us should always strive to be good role models and examples in our faith and way of life. We should proclaim God’s truth, His Good News and salvation through our actions and deeds in life, and not just merely by our words and appearances, like what the Pharisees had done.

Let us all therefore help one another in remaining truly faithful and committed to God, putting Him as always at the very centre of our lives and existence. May God be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen us in faith and in our perseverance to follow Him ever more wholeheartedly, now and always. Amen.

by

Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Matthew 23 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say; but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even lift a finger to move them.”

“They do everything in order to be seen by people : they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called ‘Master’ by the people.”

“But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, He Who is in heaven. Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you.”

“Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.”

by

Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5

Blessed are you who fear YHVH and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots, will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears YHVH. May YHVH praise you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

by

Saturday, 23 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Ruth 2 : 1-3, 8-11 and Ruth 4 : 13-17

Naomi had a well-to-do kinsman, Boaz, from the clan of her husband Elimelech. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to pick up the left-over grain in the field whose owner will allow me that favour.” Naomi said, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. It happened that, the field she entered belonged to Boaz of the clan of Elimelech.

Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go away from here to glean in anyone else’s field. Stay here with my women servants. See where the harvesters are and follow behind. I have ordered the men not to molest you. They have filled some jars with water. Go there and drink when you are thirsty.” Bowing down with her face to the ground, she exclaimed, “Why have I, a foreigner, found such favour in your eyes?”

Boaz answered, “I have been told all about you – what you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, how you have gone with her, leaving your own father and mother and homeland, to live with a people you knew nothing about before you came here.”

So Ruth was taken by Boaz and became his wife. YHVH made her conceive and give birth to a son. The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be YHVH Who has provided you today with an heir. May he become famous in Israel! He will be your comfort and stay in your old age, for he is born of a daughter-in-law who loves you and is worth more than seven sons.”

Naomi took the child as her own and became his nurse. And the women of the neighbourhood gave him his name, saying, “A son has been born for Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, who was David’s father.

by

Tuesday, 12 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we should continue to be faithful to the Lord as we have been reminded these past few weekdays, with reassurances and reminders that God is always faithful and committed to the Covenant that He has made with each and every one of us, His beloved people. He will not abandon any of us to the darkness and destruction, and we are all always precious to Him and beloved by Him in all things and at all circumstances. We have to put our faith and trust in the Lord and be good examples of faith and commitment to Him, our Lord and Master, so that many more people may also come to believe in Him as well.

In our first reading today, we heard of the conclusion of the exhortation and reminders which Moses gave in a speech to the people of Israel, as some sorts of a farewell speech towards the end of the Israelites’ forty years of journey through the desert towards their Promised Land of Canaan. Moses had already spent those forty years guiding, leading and shepherding the people of God and including the time that he spent earlier on in Egypt in liberating God’s people from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh. And throughout all those challenging years, Moses had to face a lot of hardships and grievances, from all the stubborn attitudes of the Israelites and their constant rebelliousness and disobedience against God, their constant complaints and refusals to obey God’s Law, and even to personal betrayals such as those by his own siblings, Aaron and Miriam, who openly contested the leadership of the Israelites with him before God.

Moses had remained firm in his conviction and commitment to lead the people of God, and even though he himself also committed mistakes that prevented him from entering the Promised Land of Canaan, but he lived to see the moment when the people of God finally was about to enter to the lands promised to them. And it was at that very time and moment that Moses made this speech before the whole assembly of the Israelites, telling and reminding them to keep in mind everything that God had done for their sake, with all of His love and kindness, compassion and mercy, and all that God had done in protecting them from their enemies and providing them with all their needs. That is what we heard being mentioned by Moses in our first reading passage today.

God had cleared the path for His beloved ones, and prepared everything just as He has planned it, and the people of Israel should indeed appreciate and be thankful of the great blessings and graces which they had indeed received from God, and which they had often taken for granted. Like the Israelites, who had been instructed to pass on their knowledge of God and everything that God had done for them to their next generations, so that even with the passage of time, God’s works and deeds might still be known, hence, this is also something which we ourselves ought to be doing in our own lives today. We should be good role models and inspirations for everyone around us so that in everything that we say and do, we will inspire many more to believe in God as well.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist reminding each and every one of us that we should be truly faithful to the Lord and be truly committed to His paths and ways in each and every things that we do in life. All of us as Christians have been called to have a genuine faith and strong relationship with God beyond what is superficial and mere formality. This is highlighted by the Lord when He first mentioned how all of His disciples and followers ought to be like the little children in their faith and trust in Him, and this is significant because if we truly understand what the Lord meant, it means that He was calling on all of them to have a faith that is truly genuine and heartfelt, and not one that is conditional and burdened by our many desires and temptations.

The faith of a child is truly pure, brothers and sisters in Christ. When a child believes in something, he or she truly believes from all of his or her heart. This is exactly what the Lord wants us all to do, that we ought to have genuine faith and true, enduring love for God, with all of our strength, with all of our hearts and with all of our might, or else our faith is one that is merely superficial and meaningless. Therefore, unless we have this strong, enduring and vibrant faith in God, it will be difficult for us to continue to follow the Lord faithfully and in a genuine manner. Unfortunately for many of us, our faith are often intermingled with all sorts of veiled interests and desires, as we have allowed these worldly corruptions to affect us and distort our faith in the Lord.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, who was born in France in the late sixteenth century, and eventually married Baron de Chantal, from whom she got her surname, becoming a dedicated wife and mother of the household, caring for her husband and for her father-in-law, while at the same time also spent a lot of time and effort in caring for her neighbours and those who were needy in her community and surroundings. When her husband was killed in a hunting incident almost a decade after their marriage, St. Jane Frances de Chantal continued to dedicate herself to her family and caring for her children. Eventually, she felt the calling to religious life, and despite rejections and discouraging remarks due to her widow status and age, she kept on persevering.

Eventually, she founded the Congregation of the Visitation, gathering together women of similar conditions as hers, those who have been rejected by the other religious orders on grounds of health and age. They all were unlike most other religious orders for women that tended to remain sequestered in cloisters and monasteries, but they openly went out to the public spaces and the community to minister to the people of God, which is their charism and calling. The great generosity and sanctity shown by St. Jane Frances de Chantal inspired many people both from within her congregation and from outside, showing the kind of faith, love and dedication that each and every one of us as Christians ought to have for the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the life examples of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, and having also discerned what we have just discussed from today’s Scripture readings, let us therefore develop a strong, genuine and vibrant faith in the Lord, doing all that we can so that in everything that we say and do, we will always be ready to proclaim the Lord and His Good News to all, through even the smallest things that we do daily in our lives. May our actions, words and deeds truly show our Christian faith, and that we may always be genuine in our belief in the Lord, in all circumstances and in all things. May God bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.