power of God

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Thursday, 2 October 2025 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of The Holy Guardian Angels (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, remembering all those faithful and committed servants of God, the Guardian Angels whom God had tasked and committed to us, to protect and to guide us all in our respective paths in life. God has always been concerned with us and our well-being and He does not leave us all alone in our struggles and difficulties in life, especially in our daily struggles against sin and against the spiritual warfare ever always raging around us, the forces of Satan, the evil ones arrayed against us. That is why He sent us all those Angels to stand guard by our side, to provide us the spiritual guidance and support during times of difficulties and troubles.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus we heard of the Lord Himself speaking to His chosen people, the people of Israel, whom He had led with His mighty hands and power out of the land of Egypt, delivering them from the hands of their enemies and protecting them throughout their way. The Lord reminded His people through Moses, His servant that He would never leave them alone, and His Angels would always stand by them, protecting them in their time of need, against all the forces arrayed against them. Therefore that is also the same assurance which the Lord gave to all of us as well, His beloved people, those whom He had called and chosen from this world to be His own people like those Israelites in the past.

Essentially this reminds us all that we are never alone in the struggle against sin and evil, no matter how mighty are the forces of those arrayed against us. There are indeed many of those who seek our destruction, but none of these can stand and last against those that the Lord had sent to guard us, the Angels of God, the Guardian Angels that He has given to each and every one of us. Yes, brothers and sisters, each one of us have a Guardian Angel standing by our side, guarding us as mentioned against all those forces of evil. Our Guardian Angel is always there when we are facing difficult choices in life, as the one gently nudging us to stay strong in our faith and trust in the Lord despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to face and endure.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples, in which He told the disciples clearly about what it truly means to be His disciples and followers. Just as I have mentioned yesterday in a related Gospel passage about the faith and attitudes of little children who came to the Lord, the disciples of the Lord often quarrelled and debated among themselves about who among them was the greatest among them all and who would be worthy of God’s kingdom and glory. However, as they kept on disagreeing and debating among themselves, they missed the point and the truth about what it truly meant for them to follow the Lord.

They ended up focusing on themselves and their desires, their ambitions and wants, all of which would distract them from truly being able to commit themselves to the Lord. They were so engrossed on their desires for greatness and glory that they forgot the true essence and meaning of following the Lord. For the context, so that we understand better the motivation behind those disciples, we must understand that the general perception and expectation that the people had on the coming of the Messiah, the One Whom God would send to His people in order to save and rescue them from destruction, was that this same Messiah would lead them into glorious triumph against their enemies, and would restore the Kingdom of Israel as how it was during the days of King David and King Solomon.

Hence, many of those disciples might have harboured the ambition of being close to the Lord so that they would receive the bounties and the benefits of being trusted associates and collaborators of the Lord, that when He won those glorious victories and triumphs that they expected, they too would share in this glory and fame, and they would have expected worldly comforts, pleasures and glories, but the reality is that this is not what the Lord intended for those who followed Him. The reality was that those who followed Him would suffer the same challenges, persecutions and trials that He Himself would be suffering from. And that was why He reminded all of them that they should be humble and simple like those little children, whose love and devotion to Him were indeed pure and uncorrupted, untainted by worldly desires.

And that is why all of us should always hold firmly to our faith in the Lord and be more like those little children in our faith and belief in God. We should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by various worldly temptations and desired that can lead us further and further away from God and His path. Let us thank the Lord for having been with us throughout all the struggles and challenges that we have to face in our respective parts and areas in life. Let us thank Him for having blessed us in our works and endeavours, and for having given us reassurances, guidance, help and strength, especially by giving us our Guardian Angels to guide and protect us in our path and journey towards Him.

Let us all therefore thank our Guardian Angels at all times, for having been there for us, even in our darkest and most difficult moments. Let us all pray to our Holy Guardian Angels with the popular prayer, ‘Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love entrusts me here, ever this day and night be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.’ Holy Guardian Angels, pray for us always and be with us at all times, in our journey towards God. Amen. 

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Thursday, 2 October 2025 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of The Holy Guardian Angels (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 23 : 20-23

See, I am sending an Angel before you to keep you safe on the way and bring you to the place I have made ready. Be on your guard in his presence and listen to him; do not resist him for he will not pardon your wrongdoing, for My Name is in him.

If you listen to him and do what I say, I will be the enemy to your enemies and the opponent of your opponents. My Angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; all these I will destroy.

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Tuesday, 2 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 4 : 31-37

At that time, Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and began teaching the people at the Sabbath meetings. They were astonished at the way He taught them, for His word was spoken with authority.

In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by an evil spirit, who shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I recognise You : You are the Holy One of God.”

Then Jesus said to him sharply, “Be silent and leave this man!” The evil spirit then threw the man down in front of them, and came out of him without doing him harm. Amazement seized all these people, and they said to one another, “What does this mean? He commands the evil spirits with authority and power. He orders, and you see how they come out!”

And news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area.

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Sunday, 31 August 2025 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sirach 3 : 19-21, 30-31

The greater you are, the more you should humble yourself and thus you will find favour with God. For great is the power of the Lord and it is the humble who give Him glory. Do not seek what is beyond your powers nor search into what is beyond your ability.

As water extinguishes the burning flames, almsgiving obtains pardon for sins. The man who responds by doing good prepares for the future, at the moment of his downfall he will find support.

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Friday, 15 August 2025 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 15 : 20-27

But no, Christ has been raised from the dead, and He comes before all those who have fallen asleep. A human being brought death; a Human Being also brings resurrection of the dead. For, as in Adam all die, so, in Christ, all will be made alive. However, each one in his own time : first Christ, then Christ’s people, when He comes.

Then, the end will come, when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority and power. For He must reign and put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. As Scripture says : God has subjected everything under His feet.

When we say that everything is put under His feet, we exclude, of course, the Father, Who subjects everything to Him. As Scripture says : God has subjected everything under His feet. When we say that everything is put under His feet, we exclude, of course, the Father, Who subjects everything to Him.

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Friday, 15 August 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 15 : 54b-57

When our mortal being puts on immortality, the word of Scripture will be fulfilled : Death has been swallowed up by victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?

Sin is the sting of death, to kill, and the Law is what gives force to sin. But give thanks to God, Who gives us the victory, through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

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Wednesday, 6 August 2025 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 28b-36

At that time, six days after Jesus predicted His own death, He took with Him Peter and James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. Jesus’ appearance was changed before them : His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became bright as light. Just then Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three tents : one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter was still speaking, when a bright cloud covered them with its shadow, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, the Beloved, My Chosen One. Listen to Him.”

On hearing the voice, the disciples fell to the ground, full of fear. But Jesus came, touched them and said, “Stand up, do not be afraid.” When they raised their eyes, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus. And as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had just seen, until the Son of Man be raised from the dead.

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Monday, 4 August 2025 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest and Patron of All Priests (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 14 : 13-21

At that time, when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed Him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there, and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.

Late in the afternoon, His disciples came to Him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to Me.”

Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.

Alternative reading

Matthew 14 : 22-36

At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself, to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.

Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”

Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”

They came ashore at Gennesaret. The local people recognised Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought to Him all the sick people, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.

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Saturday, 19 July 2025 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 12 : 14-21

At that time, the Pharisees went out, and made plans to get rid of Jesus. As Jesus was aware of their plans, He left that place. Many people followed Him, and He cured all who were sick. But He gave them strict orders not to make Him known.

In this way, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled : Here is My Servant, Whom I have chosen; the One I love, and with Whom I am pleased. I will put My Spirit upon Him; and He will announce My judgment to the nations. He will not argue or shout, nor will His voice be heard in the streets. The bruised reed He will not crush, nor snuff out the smouldering wick until He brings justice to victory, and in Him, all the nations will put their hope.

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Monday, 7 July 2025 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 18-26

At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, an official of the synagogue came up to Him, bowed before Him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and place Your hands on her, and she will live.”

Jesus stood up and followed him with His disciples. Then a woman, who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years, came up from behind and touched the edge of His cloak; for she thought, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned, saw her and said, “Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.” And from that moment, the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, He said, “Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!” And they laughed at Him.

But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.