Monday

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Monday, 26 May 2025 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints! Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance to praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips; this is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

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Monday, 26 May 2025 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 16 : 11-15

So we put out to sea from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace Island, and the next day to Neapolis. From there we went inland to Philippi, the leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony. We spent some days in that city.

On the sabbath we went outside the city gate to the bank of the river where we thought the Jews would gather to pray. We sat down and began speaking to the women who were gathering there. One of them was a God-fearing woman named Lydia from Thyatira City, a dealer in purple cloth.

As she listened, the Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. After she had been baptised together with her household, she invited us to her house, “If you think I am faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us to accept her invitation.

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Monday, 19 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the fact that we serve the Lord not for our own glory but for the greater glory of God, and we should always listen to the Lord and keep His commandments and words. We should always strive to proclaim the Lord’s truth, His love and Good News together, to glorify Him with all of our hearts and might at every opportunities provided to us. We must not be easily swayed by the temptations of worldly glory, ambition and all the other things that may easily mislead us down the wrong path in life. We must always be focused on the Lord and do our very best in our every moments in life so that we will always be firmly rooted in our faith and commitment to Him, to live our lives as Christians each day and every moments to the best of our abilities.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the time when St. Paul and St. Barnabas was cast out from the place they were in because of the machinations of their opponents, some of the Jews and pagans  who were hostile to their efforts at evangelisation and mission, and how they then ended up in Lystra, where they performed more works and miracles, healing a crippled man in the Name of the Lord Jesus. And as we heard, there in that place the deed quickly became known to all the people, many if not most of whom were pagans, who believe in the Greek pantheon, and hence why the people considered the two Apostles as their gods that had come down in human forms, appearing before them.

For the context, for those who are not familiar with the Greek mythology and gods, this was what the Greek gods were commonly believed to do, as they regularly walked among the people in human form, taking up avatars and forms familiar to mankind, and interacting withthem, the mortals in various ways and means. That was why the miracle performed by St. Paul and St. Barnabas was easily mistaken by those people in Lystra as the actions of their pagan gods, and as we heard, they began treating both of the Apostles like as if they were their gods manifesting themselves in human forms, bringing sacrifices and offerings to them. The two Apostles were trying hard but mostly in vain in trying to persuade the people with the truth, that they were bringing unto them the revelation from the true God and Master of all.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas could have also been swayed by the temptations of power and glory, as those two Apostles were treated literally like kings and gods, and with all the adoration and praise from everyone in that place, it was easy for anyone with weak or no faith to succumb to the temptations of worldly power and glory. But they remained firm in their faith and in their commitment to the Lord, and did not let any temptations or pressures to affect them, as they continued to proclaim the Lord and His truth to the people, no matter how they were unwilling to listen to them and acting as if they were really their gods. To do such an action required great amount of faith and dedication, as well as humility and the strong desire to serve the Lord, and not doing things for one’s own glory and personal ambitions.

Then, as we listened from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He and the Father are really one and the same, and that all of them who obey Him also obey the Father, and those who listen to His commandments, the commandments that He revealed and presented to the disciples and all those whom He had taught, have also listened to the same commandments that the Lord has revealed from the time of Moses. Essentially, the Lord Jesus was highlighting that He is indeed the true Messiah, the One Whom the prophets since the ancient days had been prophesying and proclaiming about, and which the people had long awaited for, and yet, when He finally came into this world, many among the people, particularly among the leaders were skeptical and even hostile against Him.

Thus, the Lord reassured His disciples that everything that He had told them all were indeed true, and they were the witnesses of everything that He had done before them, all that He had taught and told them about the truth about Himself and His relationship with the Father, of which He as the Son and the Father are One and the same. Back then, in the Jewish community, there was no understanding and knowledge of the true nature of God that is in fact a Holy Trinity, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and therefore, what the Lord Jesus presented to the disciples must also have been something that was quite difficult for the disciples to understand the words and revelations of the Lord to them, but the Lord kept on slowly and gradually teaching and enlightening their minds about His truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to put our trust and focus on the Lord, doing our very best to let Him be known to everyone we meet and encounter in life, not just through words but also through our actions in being good role models as faithful disciples and followers of Christ. In everything that we say and do, in all of our interactions, let us all be good and worthy bearers of our Christian faith and examples at all times, being the beacons of God’s light to everyone whom we encounter in our lives, to our communities and in our world today. That is what all of us have been entrusted by God to do as Christians, as those whom He has called and chosen, and entrusted with the truth and commandments that He has given us all through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

May the Risen Lord continue to help and guide us all in our journey in life, and may He continue to strengthen us all in our every good efforts, works and endeavours, doing them for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of more souls. May all of us continue to be blessed with the strength and courage to carry out the missions entrusted to each one of us in our various and unique circumstances and opportunities, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 19 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 14 : 21-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever keeps My commandments is the one who loves Me. If he loves Me, he will also be loved by My Father; I too shall love him and show Myself clearly to him.”

Judas – not Judas Iscariot – asked Jesus, “Lord, how can it be that You will show Yourself clearly to us and not to the world!” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him; and We will come to him and make a room in his home.”

“But if anyone does not love Me, he will not keep My words; and these words that you hear are not Mine, but the Father’s Who sent Me. I told you all this while I was still with you. From now on the Helper, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I have told you.”

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Monday, 19 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 113B : 1-2, 3-4, 15-16

Not to us, o Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, for the sake of Your love and faithfulness. Why should the pagans say, “Where is their God?”

There in heaven is our God; whatever He wishes, He does. Not so the hand-made idols, crafted in silver and gold.

May you be blessed by the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. Heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth He has given to humans.

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Monday, 19 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 14 : 5-18

A move was made by pagans and Jews, together with their leaders, to harm the Apostles and to stone them. But Paul and Barnabas learnt of this and fled to Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued preaching the Good News.

Paul and Barnabas spent a fairly long time at Lystra. There was a crippled man in Lystra who had never been able to stand or walk. One day, as he was listening to the preaching, Paul looked intently at him and saw that he had the faith to be saved. So he spoke to him in a loud voice, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to stand up on your feet!” And the man stood up and began to walk around.

When the people saw what Paul had done, they cried out in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come to us in human likeness!” They named Barnabas Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Even the priest of the Temple of Zeus, which stood outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gate; together with the people, he wanted to offer sacrifice to them.

When Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their garment to show their indignation and rushed into the crowd, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are human beings with the same weakness you have and we are now telling you to turn away from these useless things to the living God Who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them.”

“In past generations He allowed each nation to go its own way, though He never stopped making Himself known; for He is continually doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, providing you with food and filling your hearts with gladness.”

Even these words could hardly keep the crowd from offering sacrifice to them.

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Monday, 12 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we continue to progress through this joyful time and season of Easter, listening to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are constantly being reminded of God’s wonderful love and kindness to all of us His beloved people. We are reminded that all of us, regardless of our background and origin, all of us are equally beloved and precious to God, Who has willingly loved us all, given us His attention and time, His ever present concern and care for all of us, His beloved children and people. Therefore, that is why He has always shown us His patient guidance and leading us all tirelessly towards Him, as our most loving and patient Shepherd, the Good Shepherd Who knows all of His sheep and flock by name, Who truly cares and loves for all of us without any exception.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the story of how there were some disagreements between the early Christians in the community in Jerusalem and Judea, as some of them belonged to the group of the Pharisees, the ones who were particularly rigid and strict in how they observed the Law of God, and who were also often prejudiced and judgmental against the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles, seeing themselves being the direct descendants of Abraham and the Israelites to be superior to that of the other people. As such, because of the disagreements and divisions, which saw the Pharisees accusing those who mingled and interacted with the Gentiles as being mistaken and sinful, thus St. Peter told them all about the moment when he received a vision from God while he was at Joppa, in the land of the Gentiles.

In that vision which St. Peter received, shortly before he met and encountered a family of believers from among the Gentiles, likely influential Romans named Cornelius, St. Peter saw all sorts of animals which the Jewish laws and customs considered as unclean and impure, and which therefore should be avoided. However, he heard the Lord asking him to eat from those unclean animals, which St. Peter hesitated, and the same thing happened three times, as the Lord told him that what He deemed as clean, he should not deem as unclean. This, together with the encounter with Cornelius and his family which happened immediately afterwards served as an example which St. Peter presented to the assembly of the faithful that everyone are truly equal before God, without the need for distinction and prejudice between the Jews and the Gentiles.

This is why as Christians, it is important that we must not be prejudiced or judgmental against anyone, or adopt an attitude that is elitist and exclusivist in nature, thinking that we are somehow superior and better than others around us simply because we are the chosen people of God or because we have known the faith ahead of others. We must not be proud or arrogant because of this, but rather, we have to be like the Lord Himself, Who has loved each and every one of us equally, even the greatest sinners in our midst. God has always loved us and He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him, and that was why He has always kept the doors of His mercy and compassionate love open for us, reaching out to us through various means in calling us to return to Him, and we ourselves therefore should follow in His examples in how we help our fellow brethren around us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of the Gospel of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist about the Lord referring to Himself as the Good Shepherd, the One Whom God had sent into this world to gather all of His scattered children and people, who have been lost to Him due to the sins we have committed, the darkness of evil and all the distractions and temptations of the world which had kept us away from the Lord and His love. The Lord referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd because He truly knows us all as His sheep, many of whom have been lost to Him, and which He patiently guided towards Him. The Lord also referred to Himself as the Gate of the sheep, and His sheep recognised Him, and would not respond to those false shepherds and all those who did not truly care for the well-being of the sheep and the flock.

This reminds us again of the great love of God that He has shown to all of us, in His patient and ever enduring love that He has generously poured out on us, His disciples and followers. He has reached out to us and tried to find us in places where we have been lost at, all those places where darkness had misled us to, the forces of evil and sin misleading and coercing us into, that we become lost from our Lord’s loving and tender care. But God did not give up on us and He still constantly sought us out, reaching out to us and tirelessly trying to be reconciled and reunited with us, giving us so many opportunities for us to return to Him by various means. And we should not take this great and most generous love and compassion from the Lord for granted.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of several saints, holy men and servants of God, whose lives and dedication to God can serve as good inspiration and role models for us all as Christians in our own lives in this world. They are St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, who were martyred during the early decades of Christianity, being the eunuchs and chamberlains of a niece of the Roman Emperor Domitian, who was well-known for his intense persecution of Christians. According to the Church tradition, they accompanied this niece of the Emperor, named Flavia Domitilla, who became a Christian, and altogether they were martyred for their faith after they were sent into exile. Meanwhile, St. Pancras, also known as St. Pancratius, was a young Christian man who was beheaded for his persistent faith in God during the terrible years of the intense Diocletianic Persecution.

We can see how from the examples of these great martyrs of the faith, that they had dedicated themselves to God and loved Him to the point of suffering even martyrdom for their faith in Him. They should inspire us all to be good and worthy role models for our fellow brethren, imitating the examples of Our Lord and Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ Himself. Let us all hence strive to do our best in each and every moments of our lives so that our lives, our every actions and words, our deeds and interactions may truly bear witness to the Lord, showcasing His love, truth, hope and Good News to everyone whom we encounter daily in life. May our lives be truly full of the love of our loving Good Shepherd, so that by our generous love, everyone may know God through us, and share in the same love that He has given us. Amen.

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Monday, 12 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 10 : 1-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But the shepherd of the sheep enters by the gate. The keeper opens the gate to him and the sheep hear his voice; he calls each of his sheep by name and leads them out.”

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but rather they will run away from him, because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this comparison, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.

So Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, I am the Gate of the sheep. All who came were thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not hear them. I am the Gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved; he will go in and out freely and find food. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life, life in all its fullness.”

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Monday, 12 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

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 an harp, o God, my God.

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Monday, 12 May 2025 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs, and St. Pancras, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 11 : 1-18

News came to the Apostles and the brothers and sisters in Judea that even foreigners had received the Word of God. So, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, these Jewish believers began to argue with him, “You went to the home of uncircumcised people and ate with them!”

So Peter began to give them the facts as they had happened, “I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when, in a trance, I saw a vision. Something like a large sheet came down from the sky and drew near to me, landing on the ground by its four corners. As I stared at it, I saw four-legged creatures of the earth, wild beasts and reptiles, and birds of the sky.”

“Then I heard a voice saying to me : ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ I replied, ‘Certainly not, Lord! No common or unclean creature has ever entered my mouth.’ A second time the voice from the heavens spoke, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all drawn up into the sky. At that moment three men, who had been sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were staying.”

“The Spirit instructed me to go with them without hesitation; so these six brothers came along with me and we entered into the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an Angel standing in his house and telling him : ‘Send someone to Joppa and fetch Simon, also known as Peter. He will bring you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.”

“I had begun to address them when suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as it had come upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said : ‘John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ If, then, God had given them the same gift that He had given us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to resist God?”

When they heard this they set their minds at rest and praised God saying, “Then God has granted life-giving repentance to the pagan nations as well.”