Monday

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Monday, 9 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard from our passages of the Sacred Scriptures the power of God’s healing and mercy, as He has shown to us all, in healing us from our physical sickness and maladies, and even more importantly, in healing us from the sickness of our souls, that is our sins. Through God’s most generous love and mercy, all of us have received from Him the wonderful gift of grace and mercy, forgiveness and healing from all the things that have held us back from embracing Him and His most generous love, His kindness and all that He has patiently given to us through His Son, manifesting His perfect love in the flesh, and extending to us all the powerful healing that can make us all whole again and be worthy of Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, of the story of the healing of Naaman, a powerful and renowned general of the army of the Aramaeans, the sworn enemies of the Israelites, who had been locked in bitter conflicts against the Aramaeans for many years and generations. Naaman was greatly respected and feared, but he faced a great predicament which was him contracting leprosy that disfigured him and made it very difficult for him. For the context, what the Scriptures referred here as leprosy might not necessarily be the same as what we now know as leprosy. Leprosy at that time referred to a rather diverse group of skin diseases, which was nonetheless contagious and hideous, making it difficult for the sufferer to carry on their usual daily life.

Amidst all that therefore, Naaman and the Aramaean king was desperate to find cure for the former, as leprosy was rather difficult to cure, and that was why Naaman went to the land of Israel seeking the help of the famous prophet Elisha, who was at that time ministering to the people of Israel and was well-known for his many miracles and wonders. Naaman eventually managed to find Elisha after some efforts and searching, and the prophet told him to do a simple task of immersing himself seven times in the River Jordan, and reassuring him that if he were to do that, then he would be made whole and well again.

But as we heard, Naaman was proud and became angry at the prophet’s suggestion, thinking of why he had to do such menial tasks in immersing himself in the River Jordan when he could have done that in the river of his own home country. He likely had this expectation that after all the efforts that he made to look for the prophet, that Elisha would perform the miracle healing through signs and wonders directly to him. However, his servant begged him to reconsider and to think that it was indeed a very easy task for him to perform, and as we heard, Naaman eventually relented and did as he was asked, and he was indeed cured from his condition. From this passage, we can see that it was Naaman’s pride that became his stumbling block earlier on.

That is therefore the reminder for all of us that we ourselves must not allow our pride, ego and all those things from preventing us as our stumbling blocks in attaining the grace and mercy of God. Too many times, many people fail to repent from their sins and wickedness, and persist on in their mistakes and problems because they were too proud to admit that they were facing problems and have fallen in their ways and paths. What the Lord asked of us is for us to listen to Him and to allow Him to make us whole again, and to trust Him in whatever He told us and guided us to do in each and every moments of our lives. And unlike the maladies and sickness of this world, which can be cured and healed, none can heal us from the afflictions of our sins, save that by the Lord’s compassionate mercy and forgiveness. That is why we should seek Him to be forgiven from our many sins and to be reconciled with Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the account of what happened at the time when the Lord Jesus came to His hometown of Nazareth to proclaim the Good News of God, and ended up facing rather cold and apathetic treatment and reception from those of His own hometown, as many among those people even doubted and refusing to accept the fact that one of their own could have received such great gift from God, and calling to be a great Teacher of the Faith, and less still what the Lord Himself had claimed, from their perspective, of being the One sent by God, the Messiah or Saviour promised by the Lord through His prophets.

And the Lord therefore lamented the lack of faith which was prevalent among those in His own hometown, which was partly due to their own prejudices and biases, as they all saw Him grew up and knowing and thinking that He was merely just the Son of the town carpenter, St. Joseph, the Lord’s foster-father, as no one but those within the Holy Family and perhaps very few others knew that the Lord was truly Incarnate in the flesh in Jesus, and He was not the biological son of St. Joseph. Hence, compounded with the fact that carpenter’s job was considered to be an honest and yet lowly job, this made the townspeople of Nazareth to look down on the Lord and hardened their hearts and minds against Him.

That was why the Lord mentioned the story of Naaman’s healing and the miracle that happened to him, and highlighted the irony of how it was an Aramaean who was not one of the twelve tribes of Israel who actually believed in God and put his faith in Him, while the Israelites themselves were unwilling to listen to the prophet Elisha and believing in God’s words that he bore towards them. It was then the same at the time of the Lord’s ministry among the people, where many among the Jewish people and their elders and elites of their community in particular, refused to listen to Him and believe in Him, and in fact they made it difficult for Him to carry out His mission. On the other hand, as highlighted in some parts of the Gospels, it was the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people who eagerly sought the Lord and had faith in Him.

Today perhaps we should then also look upon the good examples set by our holy predecessor, St. Frances of Rome, a holy woman and servant of God, who had dedicated her life to follow and serve the Lord. St. Frances of Rome was a wife and mother who was known in her role of caring for the poor and the sick in her community. St. Frances spent a lot of time and effort in reaching out to the less fortunate all around her, and when she became a widow, she even made part of her own family’s country estate into a hospital for the poor and the sick. She experienced a lot of hardships, challenges and difficulties throughout her life and ministry, but all those things did not discourage her from continuing to carry out her work and mission, and inspiring many others to follow her examples and doing what they could to care for the good of the people of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent let us all reflect on our attitudes in life, in whether we have allowed our pride, ego and other obstacles in our path towards God to prevent us from truly being able to be reconciled with Him. We should reexamine our way of living our lives and do our very best so that we can truly find the Lord amidst all the hustle and bustle of the world around us. Let us all be humbler and realise that each and every one of us are imperfect, broken beings, who are in need of God’s love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. May the Lord our God forgive us all our sins and bring us all into His most loving embrace, and help us to show the same love to our brethren around us, especially to those who are dearest and most beloved to us. Amen.

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Monday, 9 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 4 : 24-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people of Nazareth, “No prophet is honoured in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.

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Monday, 9 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 41 : 2, 3 and Psalm 42 : 3, 4

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?

Send forth Your light and Your truth; let them be my guide, let them take me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You reside.

Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my gladness and delight. I will praise You with the lyre and harp, o God, my God.

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Monday, 9 March 2026 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

2 Kings 5 : 1-15a

Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram. This man was highly regarded and enjoyed the king’s favour, for YHVH had helped him lead the army of the Arameans to victory. But this valiant man was sick with leprosy.

One day some Aramean soldiers raided the land of Israel and took a young girl captive who became a servant to the wife of Naaman. She said to her mistress, “If my master would only present himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would surely cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to tell the king what the young Israelite maidservant had said. The king of Aram said to him, “Go to the prophet, and I shall also send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman went and took with him ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces and ten festal garments.

On his arrival, he delivered the letter to the king of Israel. It said, “I present my servant Naaman to you that you may heal him of his leprosy. When the king read the letter, he tore his clothes to show his indignation, “I am not God to give life or death. And the king of Aram sends me this man to be healed! You see, he is just looking for an excuse for war.”

Elisha, the man of God, came to know that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, so he sent this message to him : “Why have you torn your clothes? Let the man come to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stopped before the house of Elisha. Elisha then sent a messenger to tell him, “Go to the river Jordan and wash seven times, and your flesh shall be as it was before, and you shall be cleansed.”

Naaman was angry, so he went away. He thought, “On my arrival, he should have personally come out, and then paused and called on the Name of YHVH, his God. And he should have touched with his hand the infected part, and I would have been healed. Are the rivers of Damascus, Abana and Pharpar not better than all the rivers of the land of Israel? Could I not wash there to be healed?”

His servants approached him and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had ordered you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? But how much easier when he said : ‘Take a bath and you will be cleansed.’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft like that of a child and he was cleansed.

Then Naaman returned to the man of God with all his men.

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Monday, 2 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together to listen to the Sacred Scriptures and as we continue to journey together through this time and season of Lent, let us all ponder on what the words of the Lord had meant for us, for us to trust the Lord’s mercy, grace and forgiveness and to be merciful in our own way of living and actions. We must not forget the ever generous compassion and mercy which the Lord has always had for His people, that is all of us, just as He has once had mercy and compassion on the Israelites, His first chosen race and people.  We must always do our best to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, trusting that our loving Father will pardon us our faults and mistakes if we sincerely keep on doing our best to live in accordance with His ways.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, we heard of the prayer that Daniel, a prophet of God’s people in exile in Babylon, offered as a collective prayer on behalf of the people of God, the Israelites and their descendants living in exile, seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness. At that time, the Israelites and their descendants had been living in exile for a few decades while others had been scattered longer from their homeland, both from the northern kingdom of Israel that had been destroyed by the Assyrians and also the southern kingdom of Judah that the Babylonians had also destroyed. Daniel was one of those whom the Babylonians had brought to the land of Babylon in exile, away and uprooted from their homeland.

And the reason for their misfortune was their wickedness and sins, their disobedience against God and refusals to obey His Law and commandments despite repeated reminders, help and guidance from the many prophets and servants He had sent into their midst. They had abandoned the Lord their God Who has always provided for them and guided them so patiently, and as a result, they had to face the consequences of their actions and lack of faith, which had led them all to be defeated and crushed by their enemies around them, and trampled upon by their neighbours and eventually having their cities destroyed, their homes overturned and burnt, and nothing was left in the end of what was once glorious kingdom of the golden age of David and Solomon.

Daniel gathered the prayers of the people, and prayed on their behalf, interceding for them and their elders who have lived in exile and in shame, in the loss of their homeland and the Temple of God in Jerusalem, which was once the centre of the whole community of the people of God. Daniel asked for the Lord to have mercy and compassion on all those scattered people, who were indeed like lost sheep without a Shepherd, without the guidance of God. He reminded the Lord of the love which He has always had for each one of His people, and how those people had come to regret their sins and those of their predecessors and ancestors, desiring once again to worship the Lord their God, and to gather once again as one people.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard the Lord Jesus exhorting His disciples and followers to be merciful and compassionate in their actions and way of life so that they may truly embody their faith and everything that they believe in, and not to be contradicting what He and the disciples were preaching about. As those whom God had called and chosen, they ought to be like their Father, Creator and master in all things, and this includes being merciful and forgiving for all those who have wronged them. That is why we are reminded of this today as during this time of Lent, we are called to be more forgiving, kind and compassionate on each other.

Let us remember that before we despise others or be angry at those around us, and those who have hurt us, we have done the same to the Lord Himself through our actions and way of life. And yet, God still patiently loved us and He has always been kind, forgiving and merciful towards us, ever ready to welcome us back to His loving presence and embrace. And we should never take His love and kindness for granted, because God has always been considerate to us and gave us all so many opportunities again and again, for us to seek Him and to embrace His love wholeheartedly. We should remember that we are truly beloved, and therefore, we too should be loving, compassionate, considerate and caring for everyone around us, even those who have despised and hated us first.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians all of us are called to be the bearers of God’s love and truth in our world today. The question is then, are we truly able to embody His love in our world today? Are we able to live our lives full of love and compassion, generosity and mercy towards all those who have wronged and hurt us? Or do we rather seek revenge and show our anger and hatred towards those who hated us, and therefore perpetuating the cycle of hatred, vengeance and violence? Let us all break this cycle and chain, brothers and sisters, and start behaving and acting in the manner that is truly worthy for all of us as true and genuine Christians, so that everyone may know that we are indeed Christians and followers of the Lord by our lives.

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and forgiving God continue to show us His great love and mercy at all times, helping us all to seek Him and His forgiveness whenever we erred and made mistakes, and whenever we fell into the trap and temptations to sin. May God continue to show us all the path forward in life, in entrusting ourselves to His guidance and providence even when we face the greatest hurdles and obstacles in our journey of life and faith. Let us all continue to draw ever closer to God during this blessed time and season of Lent, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 2 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 6 : 36-38

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”

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Monday, 2 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 78 : 8, 9, 11 and 13

Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let Your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.

Help us, God, our Saviour, for the glory of Your Name; forgive us for the sake of Your Name.

Listen to the groans of the prisoners; by the strength of Your arm, deliver those doomed to die.

Then we, Your people, the flock of Your pasture, will thank You forever. We will recount Your praise from generation to generation.

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Monday, 2 March 2026 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 9 : 4b-10

Lord God, great and to be feared, You keep Your covenant and love for those who love You and observe Your commandments. We have sinned, we have not been just, we have been rebels, and have turned away from Your commandments and laws. We have not listened to Your servants, the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings, leaders, fathers and to all the people of the land.

Lord, justice is Yours, but ours is a face full of shame, as it is to this day – we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in all the lands where You have dispersed us because of the infidelity we have committed against You. Ours is the shame, o Lord for we, our kings, princes, fathers, have sinned against You.

We hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, because we have rebelled against Him. We have not listened to the voice of YHVH, our God, or followed the laws which He has given us through His servants, the prophets.

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 25 : 31-46

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

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

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

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

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