Monday

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Monday, 19 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 49 : 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me. I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens.

What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My Covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.

Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you. Those who give with thanks, offerings, honour Me; but the one who walks blamelessly. I will show him the salvation of God.

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Monday, 19 January 2026 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Samuel 15 : 16-23

Samuel then told Saul, “Enough! Let me tell you what YHVH said to me last night.” Saul replied, “Please tell me.” So Samuel went on and said, “Though you had no confidence in yourself, you became chief of the tribes of Israel, for YHVH wanted to anoint you king over Israel. Then He sent you with this command, ‘Go. Completely crush the Amalekite offenders, engaging them in battle until they are destroyed.’”

“Why then did you not obey the voice of YHVH but instead swooped down on the spoil, doing what was evil in His sight?” To this, Saul replied, “I have obeyed the voice of YHVH and have carried out the mission for which He sent me. I have captured Agag, king of Amalek and completely destroyed the Amalekites. If my men spared the best sheep and oxen from among these to be destroyed, it was in order to sacrifice them to YHVH, your God, in Gilgal.”

Samuel then said, “Does YHVH take as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to His command? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and stubbornness like holding onto idols. Since you have rejected the word of YHVH, He too has rejected you as king.”

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Monday, 12 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us have this wonderful God Who is our Lord and Master, as someone Who has truly loved us wholeheartedly and as One Who has always provided us with what we need and Who has always cared for us all whenever it is, even when we do not realise just how much He had done for us and when we have forgotten about Him and refused to acknowledge His kindness, always taking for granted His ever patient and rich love. But we are reminded today through these passages from the Sacred Scriptures that we should embrace God’s love, care and providence, not taking Him for granted anymore. Whatever it is that we believe in Him, He will provide for us if we trust in Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the beginning of the Book of the prophet Samuel in which the story of how Samuel himself was conceived and born was told to us, with the background of his family, consisting of his father Elkanah, his mother Hannah and Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah highlighted. Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah although the latter had more children, and we heard how out of jealousy, Peninnah treated Hannah badly and often mocked her for her barrenness and childlessness. For the context, in the ancient Israelite community, being barren and unable to conceive a child was considered as a bad omen and even sign of Divine displeasure and sin. That was why Hannah was so distraught at this treatment, and she went to seek the help from the Lord.

We heard how Elkanah tried to comfort Hannah and told her that what mattered was that he loved her more than anything else, even more than all those children that Peninnah had borne to him. And yet, this did not change the fact that Hannah still wanted to bear Elkanah a son, and the constant harassment from Peninnah certainly did not help the situation. It was all of these issues and troubles that eventually led to Hannah choosing to seek the Lord for help, and as she went to pray in the Presence of the Lord that the then Judge of Israel came to her and prayed over her, eventually leading to God answering her prayers and gave her a son, that is Samuel the great prophet, and other sons and children that wiped away the stain of her barrenness. All these are proofs that God truly provides for each one of His people, and that He truly loves us all.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the account of the Lord Jesus, Our Saviour, as He went about carrying out His missions and works, at the beginning of His earthly ministry, when He called upon His very first disciples at the Lake of Galilee. It was there that He encountered the future disciples Simon and Andrew, sons of John, as well as James and John, sons of Zebedee. All four of them were ordinary fishermen working at the place, a truly unassuming and ordinary profession, but God called each one of them to a greater purpose in life. And the Lord called them to become fishers of men, followed by each one of them leaving their boats and works, and dedicated their lives to the Lord henceforth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must not misunderstand the purpose and intent of this passage from the Gospel of St. Mark the Evangelist, lest we may think that God is asking us to abandon everything that we do in our lives and follow the Lord in the manner that the Apostles that He chose had done. Yes, there will indeed be those whom God called for that purpose just as He had done for those whom He called, but He did not intend for everyone to do the same. In fact, those whom He called, principally the Twelve, and also some others, were those who were meant to help Him out in His ministry and mission to the people, in serving them and in preparing His way, and such a calling require a full-time commitment that they could not possibly continue to do whatever work and responsibilities that they had previously.

The vast majority of people that followed the Lord in fact still continued on with their daily lives, work and responsibilities. They just followed the Lord on occasions and when He came around, with different people having different levels of commitments. It would indeed be chaotic should everyone decided to abandon everything behind, their livelihood and responsibilities, and even the early Church Christians, the Apostles and the Christian communities realised that it is not feasible for them to live in the very idealistic manner that some of them might have thought of, or attempted in the very earliest days of the Church. This is why we have to understand that what the Lord intended for us to know through this Gospel passage is for us to trust in the Lord and to allow Him to lead and guide us in what He wants us to do in our lives.

Each and every one of us have different callings in life, just as diverse as the many and varied gifts, blessings, talents, abilities and opportunities that He has provided and blessed each one of us with. And what we need to do is indeed for us to embrace the Lord and to know His will for each one of us. He has provided us all with the various opportunities and good things for us to contribute in our own unique way to the good works and missions of the Church, in being responsible, accountable and consistent in everything that we do in life, in all that we have been entrusted with by God in our own unique vocations and ministries. All of us indeed should strive to live our lives worthily in this manner and be the good examples and inspirations for all others to follow.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to provide for us and strengthen us all in everything that we do, so that we may always be full of faith and trust in Him, loving Him wholeheartedly just as He has done to us. May He continue to show us His kindness and patient love as He has done all these while, so that we may continue to be inspired to show that same love in our own daily lives and actions. May God bless us always in everything that we do, in our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 12 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 14-20

At that time, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, “The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News.”

As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fish for people.” At once, they abandoned their nets and followed Him.

Jesus went a little farther on, and saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee; they were in their boat mending their nets. Immediately, Jesus called them and they followed Him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men.

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Monday, 12 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 115 : 12-13, 14 and 17, 18-19

How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.

I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. It is painful to the Lord to see the death of His faithful.

O Lord, I am Your servant, truly Your servant, Your handmaid’s son. You have freed me from my bonds. I will offer You a thanksgiving sacrifice; I will call on the Name of the Lord.

I will carry out my vows to the Lord in the presence of His people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, o Jerusalem.

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Monday, 12 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Samuel 1 : 1-8

There was a man from Ramathaim, in the hills of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Tohu, son of Jeroham, of the clan of Zuph. He had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children but Hannah had none.

Every year Elkanah went to worship and to sacrifice to YHVH of Hosts at Shiloh. The priests there were the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas. Whenever Elkanah offered sacrifice, he gave portions to his wife, Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. To Hannah, however, he gave the more delightful portion because he loved her more, although she had no child. Yet Hannah’s rival used to tease her for being barren.

So it happened every year when they went to YHVH’s House, Peninnah irritated Hannah and she would weep and refuse to eat. Once Elkanah, her husband, asked her, “Hannah, why do you weep instead of eating? Why are you sad? Are you not better off with me than with many sons?”

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Monday, 5 January 2026 : Monday after the Epiphany (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the day after the Solemnity of the Epiphany, we are once again reminded of the presence of God in our midst as how He has revealed Himself before us, as the Light of salvation and as a new Hope for us all mankind because through Him, we have received the assurance of eternal life and glory with God if we remain faithful to Him. And as we continue to progress through this time and season of Christmas, we are called to keep on putting the focus and emphasis of our lives in Christ, as we should have always done. Otherwise it is easy for us to fall away from the Lord and His path of righteousness, and it is easy for us to lose our way amidst all the temptations of the world around us.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of how the Lord Jesus went through the ministry that has been entrusted to Him, as He ministered to the people with illnesses and troubles, both the physical difficulties of the body and the troubles of the hearts and the minds. The Lord also cast out demons and evil spirits from the many people who were possessed, doing what seemed impossible before everyone so that they might see His truth. That He is truly the One Whom the prophecies of the past prophets had been speaking and prophesying about. And indeed, one by one, each one of those prophecies were fulfilled by the Lord in each and every one of the things and works which He carried out during His ministry, and through all those, He has restored Hope and strength to everyone who sought Him.

The Lord showed the way of His truth, and all who follow Him are following the path of truth. And as we heard from our first reading today from the Epistle of St. John, the true path lies in the Lord alone, from Whom we have been guided away from the enemy, the devil and the false leaders out there trying to pull us away from the path towards God’s salvation. It is a reminder that there are those out there trying to mislead us into false paths away from God. This is why St. John reminded the faithful that all of us must be cautious and test the inspirations of the spirits to make sure that they truly came from God and not from those wicked spirits and forces who tried to mislead us into destruction. But as long as we anchor ourselves on God and His truth, we will not fall into those temptations, and we will be strong despite the challenges and trials, the pressures and desire to follow a path that leads us away from God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in our world today there are just so many distractions present that caused many of us to turn away from the Lord and from His loving gaze. We embrace instead the devil and all those who worked against us for our annihilation, as they plotted against us and seeking to distort the truth by putting lies and temptations in our path, that many would be deceived and turned against God. That is why as St. John has mentioned to us, we must be ready and be vigilant against the attacks of the evil one, who has relentlessly struck against us trying to prevent us from receiving and accepting God’s offer of mercy, forgiveness and healing which He had offered us through Christ, His Son. Certainly we do not want these plots against us to succeed, and that is why we are reminded today of these things arrayed against us.

How do we then resist the attacks and the temptations of evil? This is where we need to deepen our relationship with God, seeking Him and depending on Him to be our source of strength and our anchor in life. If we are alone and separated from God, we are weak and we will be truly vulnerable to the attacks of the devil and his allies. When we feel that we have no one caring about us or supporting us, that is where the devil is working very hard in trying to pull us away from the Lord by telling us that we have no one to support us and that we should seek the consolation and help from worldly means and all the things that keep us away from the path of God’s righteousness and salvation.

This is why he has always been so persistent in trying to distract us and to prevent us from being reconciled with God, as so long as we are separate from Him, the devil has a chance with us. Instead, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all do our best to reconnect with God, to find Him just as we heard in our Gospel passage today, those countless people who came to seek the Lord to be healed from their sickness and maladies, those who wanted help and to be consoled, to be reconciled with God through His Son, Who cared for them and showed the love of God tenderly through all that He had done before them.

Are we able to seek the Lord with a new spirit of love and desire to be reunited with God? Are we able to make the sacrifices and put the effort necessary for us to oppose the wicked works of the devil and reject his many lies, and instead put our complete trust in God and His promise in loving us and in forgiving us our sins and shortcomings? Let us ponder on these for a moment, and think how in our lives beginning today, if we have not done so, to be once again faithful to God in all things, to be good in our actions and in our every dealings so that we may indeed be worthy as good examples and inspirations to everyone as good and devout Christians.

May the Lord our loving God and Father continue to love us and bless us, and may He continue to guide us in our journey of faith and life, that we may eventually find our way to Him, and be reunited completely with Him and be worthy to receive the fullness of His glorious inheritance and love for us. Amen.

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Monday, 5 January 2026 : Monday after the Epiphany (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 4 : 12-17, 23-25

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town by the lake of Galilee, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali.

In this way the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled : Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, crossed by the Road of the Sea, and you who live beyond the Jordan, Galilee, land of pagans : The people who lived in darkness have seen a great Light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a Light has shone.

From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim His message, “Change your ways : the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus went around all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, and curing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people.

The news about Him spread through the whole of Syria, and the people brought all their sick to Him, and all those who suffered : the possessed, the deranged, the paralysed, and He healed them all. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Ten Cities, from Jerusalem, Judea and from across the Jordan.

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Monday, 5 January 2026 : Monday after the Epiphany (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 2 : 7-8, 10-11

I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You. Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession.”

Now therefore, learn wisdom, o kings; be warned, o rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and fall at His feet; lest He be angry and you perish when His anger suddenly flares. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

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Monday, 5 January 2026 : Monday after the Epiphany (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 22 – 1 John 4 : 6

Then whatever we ask we shall receive, since we keep His commands and do what pleases Him. His command is that we believe in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another, as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commands remains in God and God in him. It is by the Spirit God has given us that we know He lives in us.

My beloved, do not trust every inspiration. Test the spirits to see whether they come from God, because many false prophets are now in the world. How will you recognise the Spirit of God? Any spirit recognising Jesus as the Christ Who has taken our flesh is of God. But any spirit that does not recognise Jesus is not from God, it is the spirit of the antichrist. You have heard of his coming and even now he is in the world.

You, my dear children, are of God and you have already overcome these people, because the One Who is in you is more powerful than he who is in the world. They are of the world and the world inspires them and those of the world listen to them. We are of God and those who know God listen to us, but those who are not of God ignore us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error as well.