Monday

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Monday, 29 December 2025 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this joyful season of Christmas, we are all reminded through the Scripture passages we have heard today that we must always be true to our faith, fulfilling all the Law and commandments that God had told us to do, the teachings and the path which He has revealed to us through His Church. This means that we should not be merely paying lip service to the Lord, but we must be truly committed to the Lord in all things, doing whatever we can so that we may always be good examples and inspirations to our fellow brothers and sisters, in showing what it truly means for us to be good and devoted Christians, the followers of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We should always be good examples of our faith to everyone around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John the Apostle, the Apostle reminded the faithful of the commandments of the Lord which He has brought into our midst, and which all of us should always follow and embody in our every actions and parts of life. We cannot profess to be Christians and yet, in our way of life, we act in ways that are contrary to the teachings of Christ. The Lord Himself has revealed His commandments to us, showing us that the Law which He has given us, is all about Love, the love which He Himself has shown us mankind, and which we are therefore expected to show to Him as well, and then, the love which we all should show our fellow brothers and sisters all around us, a true, genuine and selfless Christian love. This is the hallmark of our Christian faith and unless we do so, then we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians.

This is why St. John reminded all the faithful that they cannot still behave in a manner that is still not attuned to the path of Christ. The love of God has indeed been generously poured down on us, and in this season and time of Christmas, we commemorate the incarnation of the Love of God, Who has become Man, appearing before all of us in the Person of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour of all. Therefore, if we all believe in Christ, it is imperative that we must really show our faith in Him and not merely just treating our faith as just a formality. In our every actions, words and deeds, in all of our whole lives, we must always radiate and show the genuine and authentic Christian living so that by our lives, God may indeed be glorified. This is what we have been called and reminded to do in each and every one of our lives.

In the Gospel passage today, this is reiterated for us, as we heard of the account of the moment when the Lord Jesus was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem as per the Law and its requirements, and how this led miraculously to the Lord Jesus being welcomed by two elderly figures who had both long awaited the coming of the Messiah, and whom the Lord had told that they would not pass on from this world before they saw and behold the Messiah Who was coming into the world, with their very own eyes and hands. Thus, the prophet and man of God Simeon, as well as the prophetess Anna, in the related passage, both thanked the Lord for having shown the Salvation of the world to them, and foretold everything that this Child was to do for all of us, the Love and Word of God Incarnate in the flesh, the Son of God Most High made Man.

Again, this means that all of us really have to commit ourselves anew to the Lord and we have to centre and focus our attention and lives on Him, reminding ourselves that Christ is our Lord and Master, our Saviour and King. All of us should always strive to live our lives worthily, doing whatever we can so that we may ever always walk in the path of Christ, and be the bearers of the light of Christ to everyone. Each and every one of us should always strive to be the great and inspirational role models in all things, and we should always be like our holy predecessors, the many saints and martyrs, all the holy men and women who have gone before us, and whose lives are great examples for us all to follow in our own lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas Becket, who was remembered for his actions as the Archbishop of Canterbury and hence as the leader and primate of the Church in all of medieval England then, as well as for his resistance and opposition against the irreverent and worldly actions of the then king of England, Henry II. St. Thomas Becket was actually a good friend of the king, whom the king appointed first as his Chancellor, to assist him in the governance of his realm. He was the right hand man of the king, and in the king’s effort to tighten his control over the often independent and troublesome English Church hierarchy and clergy, he thus appointed St. Thomas Becket as the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in that position became the most senior figure amongst all of the Church hierarchy. St. Thomas Becket became the Archbishop of Canterbury and then resigned his chancellorship soon after.

However, if the king’s intention was to subjugate the English church and its members, this backfired greatly as St. Thomas Becket had a moment of conversion and change as he took up the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and when he was ordained as priest and bishop before he was officially installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was as if St. Thomas Becket received a calling from the Lord, which made him to refuse to obey the king’s orders regarding the English Church anymore. St. Thomas Becket stood firm his ground against the king and his nobles in all of their efforts to encroach into the domains of the Church, and he even excommunicated a nobleman close to the king who had caused trouble in the Church. This led to furious remarks and anger from the king, who greatly resented his once trusted man’s opposition to his policies and way of ruling.

All these struggles and conflicts eventually led to the exile of St. Thomas Becket, who continued to resist and champion the rights of the Church even during his time away from his See and from England. He persisted in doing what he could to glorify God and to defend the faith from those who sought to corrupt it, and eventually, when he returned back to England and his See, the matter came to a point that the king, furious and frustrated at all the inconveniences and troubles that St. Thomas Becket had caused him, in a drunken stupor, asked of anyone who could help him to rid this troublesome man of God. This was responded by four of the nobles and knights of the king, who went to seek St. Thomas Becket as he was celebrating Mass, and in his own Cathedral, those four men murdered the holy Archbishop and shed his blood.

As we all heard, St. Thomas Becket was faithful right to the very end, committing his whole life to the Lord, not minding even sufferings and hardships, and he led by example in living his life worthily of the Lord. Therefore, all of us as Christians should always remember that the centre and focus of our lives should not be all the various sorts of worldly desires, ambitions and attachments, but rather to be truly worthy of God in all things, and to put Him, not our own ego and pride, desires and greed, at the centre of our whole lives and existence. May God be with us all and may He grant us the courage to remain always faithful to Him. Amen.

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Monday, 29 December 2025 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 22-35

When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the Baby up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord : Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the law of the Lord : a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law.

Simeon took the Child in his arms, and blessed God, saying, “Now, o Lord, You can dismiss Your servant in peace, for You have fulfilled Your word and my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You display for all the people to see. Here is the Light You will reveal to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

His father and mother wondered at what was said about the Child. Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, “Know this : your Son is a Sign, a Sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a Sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.”

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Monday, 29 December 2025 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.

Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

YHVH is the One Who made the heavens. Splendour and majesty go before Him; power and glory fill His sanctuary.

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Monday, 8 December 2025 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. On this day, we celebrate one of the four great Marian Dogmas, that is the Immaculate Conception, as defined by the Church in the state of Mary, being the Mother of God and the bearer of the Lord and Saviour as Immaculate or free from the taint of the original sin. And it was also part of the tradition and teachings of the Church that Mary has remained free from sin throughout her life and is full of grace. This is what the Church has always believed from the very beginning days of the Church, from the days of the Apostles.

Let us now go through in detail the meaning and significance of today’s celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. First of all, it does not refer to the birth of Mary, which we celebrate instead nine months from now in the Feast of the Nativity on the eighth day of September. The Immaculate Conception refers to the moment when Mary was conceived in the womb of St. Anne, her mother. It was the moment when she came into existence as willed by God, and it is indeed important that Mary was conceived in such a way by the will of God. She has been kept from sin by the power and will of God, and was made so to prepare her for her role.

How is that so? That is because as we heard from our first reading today taken from the Book of Genesis, mankind fell into sin from the beginning of time when Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, listened to the lies and falsehoods of Satan instead of obeying God and His commandments. God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruits of the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Gardens of Eden, but Satan managed to persuade mankind to disobey the Lord, by saying that if they ate the fruits, then they would become like God, in knowing things good and evil. It is through this temptation and their downfall that our human nature and existence became corrupted by sin and evil.

Through that disobedience, sin entered into Man’s existence, because sin is borne by disobedience. Sin has corrupted our human nature and existence by the fact that this disobedience broke us apart from the perfect harmony with God our loving Father and Creator, and what was all good and perfect by God’s design at creation, had been by this disharmony and rupture of our union with Him, stained by the taints of sin and evil. This was mankind’s original sin, and ever since then, the corruptions of sin had affected man, from generations to generations, enslaving them under its hold and power, just as Satan intended, as he desired our destruction and downfall.

However, as we also heard in our first reading today, the Lord punished Satan and also foretold the coming of His salvation that would come through the children of Man, through a Woman who would crush Satan beneath her heels. Through this revelation, even right from the beginning of time, God already had in mind, all knowing as He is, what He would do for our sake, as we are truly His most beloved ones among all the creation. Later on, He would repeat this again and again through the prophets, particularly the prophet Isaiah, who spoke to the then king of Judah regarding the coming of the Messiah through a Virgin and a Woman, which would then be long awaited by the people of God.

This Woman is indeed none other than Mary, whom God by His special grace hallowed and made holy, immaculate and pure, and free from the taint of original sin. We may wonder how God did this, or if this was possible, but we must not forget, that God is Almighty, all-powerful. What we may think or assume to be impossible, is perfectly possible for God. Mary was special because although she is still a created being, a human person just like us, but by that singular grace of God, she had been preserved from the taints and corruptions of sin. This is because to be the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour, it is necessary for her to be prepared and set aside as such.

That was why the Archangel Gabriel during his time visiting Mary, in the Annunciation and as we heard it in our Gospel today, hailed and proclaimed Mary as being ‘full of grace’. Mary was indeed in a state of perfect grace, bestowed on her by God, and she was completely faithful and obedient to the will of God. She was hallowed and prepared such because of her role, which the Archangel Gabriel revealed, that she was to be the Mother of God, and the Son born of her known as the Son of God Most High, Jesus, the Saviour of the whole world. Through her and her obedience to the will of God, the salvation of this world has therefore come true and came to its full completion just as the Lord has planned it from the beginning of time.

If we are to understand the importance of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, then let us all look upon the Ark of the Covenant. Mary is often referred to as the New Ark of the (New) Covenant. Why is that so? That is because her Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, is the One Who made the New Covenant between us and God, sealed by the sacrifice He Himself offered on the Cross and by the Precious Body and Blood that were broken and flowing down from the Altar of the Cross. Mary bore Jesus in her womb for nine months before He was born into this world, which we celebrate at Christmas. And He was borne within that perfect and hallowed womb, that His Divine nature is not in contact with the imperfections and taints of sin that existed in all other mankind.

In the old Ark of the Covenant, God commanded Moses to order the people to make the Ark from the finest and most precious materials, from the finest gold and wood, as well as other worthy shapes and materials. God hallowed it and the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the manna and the staff of Aaron were placed inside that Ark. And the Ark was considered so holy that no one was allowed to touch the Ark. In one occasion, during the transfer of the Ark back to Jerusalem, one of the priests touched the Ark when it slipped. He was struck dead almost immediately.

Then, in the case of Mary, as the New Ark, she bore not just a mere tablets of the Commandments that God had written, but God Himself in the flesh, the Law personified, and not just the bread of manna, but the Bread of Life, the Lord, the Giver of Life. Mary also bore the Good Shepherd and Saviour of all, and as such, if the old Ark was so revered and so hallowed, then how can one who was to bear God Himself in her not be hallowed and made immaculate as well. Unlike the old Ark, made by the hands of men, the new Ark, Mary, was made by God to be worthy of His Presence. The Sinless One and the Perfect God could not have been contained in a womb tainted by sin. 

That is what the meaning of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and its importance to us is all about. Unfortunately there are still many among us, even among us Christians who still did not know what the Immaculate Conception is, and many of us are still ignorant of the importance of the Immaculate Conception. That is why today, as we celebrate this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have to realise first of all, that God’s love for us has made our salvation possible, as He resolved to save us through His coming into this world, through the womb of His Immaculate Mother.

And then, the Immaculate Conception of Mary shows us how we have been originally intended to be, as creatures that are perfect and free from corruption, perfect and all good as God had intended us to be. We were never meant to suffer in this world and from the consequences of our sins. But, our inability to resist the temptations of sin, its allures and power caused us to end up in this predicament. But God has shown us the way out, through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. And His mother, Mary, the Immaculate Conception is our inspiration and guide to Him.

Let us all resolve to commit ourselves anew to God, in the footsteps of our Blessed Mother, Mary, the one conceived without sin, the Mother of God, of Our Lord and Saviour. Let us do our best to remain faithful to God and to keep our trust and faith in Him. Let us all do our best to resist and reject the temptations to sin, living our lives to the best of our abilities in our obedience to God, inspired by the faith, dedication and obedience that Mary has shown in her actions and commitment through life in the mission entrusted to her, even to the foot of the Cross.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower us all with the courage to serve Him, and to strive to be always worthy of Him. May God bless us and all of our good efforts for the greater glory of His Name. Holy Mary, Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, conceived without the taint of sin, pray for us sinners, now and always, and lead us to your Son. Amen.

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Monday, 8 December 2025 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Monday, 8 December 2025 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 1 : 3-6, 11-12

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, Who, in Christ, has blessed us from heaven, with every spiritual blessing. God chose us, in Christ, before the creation of the world, to be holy, and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us, in love, to be His adopted sons and daughters, through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving-kindness, which He granted us in His beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

By a decree of Him, Who disposes all things, according to His own plan and decision, we, the Jews, have been chosen and called, and we were awaiting the Messiah, for the praise of His glory.

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Monday, 8 December 2025 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.

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Monday, 8 December 2025 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 3 : 9-15, 20

YHVH God called the man saying to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you not to eat?”

The man answered, “The woman You put with me gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it.” God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”

YHVH God said to the serpent, “Since you have done that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”

The man called his wife by the name of Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

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Monday, 1 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we embark on this journey during this Season of Advent, entering into this appropriate time of contemplation, reflection and preparation, each and every one of us are called to reorientate our lives and rediscover that path towards the Lord and His salvation, especially if we have been so busy and distracted in life that we have forgotten what it truly means for us to be Christians, to be God’s holy and beloved people. Each and every one of us should always be prepared to welcome the Lord when He eventually comes again in glory, whenever it may be, as no one can know the exact timing of His Second Coming, but we know with certainty that this will definitely happen in the future. Therefore, all of us as Christians, we must 

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard the message of reassurance and encouragement from God to His people in the kingdom of Judah where He had sent Isaiah to minister at, reminding all of them that their sufferings, humiliations and struggles all would not last forever, and that eventually they would all be vindicated and rescued if they continued to walk faithfully in the presence of the Lord and commit themselves to follow His Law and commandments. In the first place, it was the disobedience and sins of the people which had distanced them away from the Lord and from His path and blessings, and due to this, that is why they had faced challenges and trials, and like their brethren in the northern kingdom of Israel, whose disobedience were even greater, they had to face defeat and destruction at the hands of their enemies.

Back then, at that time, during the beginning of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah, the forces of the Assyrians came up to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, besieging it and thereafter destroying it, and this led to the downfall of the northern kingdom, with many of its people being brought off into exile in the lands of Assyria and even beyond, and throughout all those challenges and trials, God still wanted to remind His people that He was still with them, patiently guiding them and encouraging them even through their darkest and most difficult moments. Even though the people of God had been stubborn in refusing to listen to His words and reminders which He had made to them through His many prophets and messengers, but He still patiently sent to them more reminders and help nonetheless.

This is why each and every one of us must realise just how fortunate we all are to have been loved by God in such a manner, and we should no longer take His most generous and patient love for granted. If we take God’s love, compassion and generous mercy for granted, in the end, there will only be regret for us all. We have been blessed by many opportunities which God has presented to us, again and again, as He calls on us to return to Him and to embrace His love once again, love that has always been made available for us even after we have continually disobeyed Him and disregarded His kindness and compassion. We should continue to strive to embrace God’s love and mercy, devoting ourselves anew to serve Him wholeheartedly from now on.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when an army captain or centurion came to the Lord Jesus in Capernaum in Galilee, requesting and beseeching Him to take pity upon his servant who had fallen very sick at home, firmly believing that the Lord could heal his servant and make him whole again. And the faith of the army centurion was such that he was willing to believe and trust in the Lord that even without making Him to go to his place to heal his servant, and merely by the command and power of His words alone, everything would be accomplished and his servant would be healed. This kind of faith was then highlighted by the Lord as a truly great and exemplary faith for all the people to follow.

In order to better understand the significance and importance of what this event entailed, we must first understand that this army centurion or captain was likely to be a Roman, or at least a Gentile or non-Jewish person, and at that time, the Jewish customs and practices were mostly limited to only those of Jewish descent, and hence, the army centurion was likely to be considered as a pagan or non-believer. And at that time, for a non-Jewish person to interact with a Jew like the Lord Jesus and His disciples was often considered taboo, and in fact, why the army captain was reluctant to let the Lord to come to his house and mentioned that he was unworthy to have Him under his roof was because of the common practice at that time, in which for a Jew to enter into the house of a Gentile would have made them ritually unclean.

That was the reason why the chief priests and the Pharisees did not enter into the Praetorium where Pontius Pilate resided as the governor of Judea during the time of the Lord’s Passion, and it was in fact specifically mentioned that this act would have made them to be ritually unclean and therefore would be unable to eat the Passover that was to happen that moment soon. Hence, not only that the army centurion had great faith in the Lord but he was also very humble and considerate, knowing the local customs and not wanting to cause hassle and difficulties on the Lord and His mission. And for his great faith in the Lord, his faith was rewarded and everything came true just as the Lord deemed it to be, with the servant being healed the very moment the Lord Himself declared it.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter into this season of Advent and progress through it, let us all therefore realise that each and every one of us are in need of God’s love, mercy and compassion, and we should no longer take all these for granted. Every opportunities that He has presented to us should be cherished by us, and we should always do our best in each and every one of us our actions, words and deeds, in our every steps in life so that we may draw ever closer to our most merciful and loving God. Let us make great use of this time and the opportunities that the Lord has presented to us such that we will not squander them and that we can continue to grow ever stronger in our faith as true and genuine Christians moving forward.

May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey of faith and life during this time and season of Advent, so that we can continue to grow ever stronger in our faith and commitment to God. Let us all do our very best to glorify the Lord by our lives and actions, in everything that we say and do. Let us all continue to be good and worthy bearers of our Christian faith, and do our very best to shine forth with the light of God, showcasing what we truly believe in the Lord, in His love for us, and in the hope that we have for Him. May the Lord be with us always and bless our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 1 December 2025 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 8 : 5-11

At that time, when Jesus entered Capernaum, an army captain approached Him, to ask His help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralysed and suffers terribly.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have You under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, He was astonished; and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.”