Red

by

Thursday, 4 June 2026 : 9th 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 being reminded of the most fundamental truth of our Christian faith and that is the fact that we are all truly and most dearly beloved people of God, whom He had shown His perfect love in the person of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Love of God made flesh, by which we all have seen the assurance of God’s salvation and the fulfilment of our Hope in Him. We are reminded that God is always with us, by our side, journeying with us and supporting us all even throughout the most difficult moments of our lives and journey. We must never lose hope and we should always trust in the Lord, knowing that He will guide us through even the most difficult and challenging obstacles.

In our first reading today, we heard from the second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to St. Timothy, his protege and one of the first bishops of the Church in which the Apostle continued to encourage St. Timothy and all the other missionaries of the Good News of God to go forth and follow in his footsteps in glorifying God by their actions and works among the people. He reminded them that all the sufferings that he had to endure, he gladly did them for the sake of the glory of God. In addition, he was glad that he did all of those works and endure all those sufferings for the sake of the people to whom that he had been sent to minister, for the sake of their salvation and liberation from the tyranny of sin and evil.

And St. Paul also reminded St. Timothy and the others that the Lord is always ever faithful and loving towards us, regardless of how we have treated Him, and how we might have neglected Him and our obligations towards Him. The Covenant which He had made with each and every one of us endures, and through His offering of His perfect Love to us through His Son, Whom He had sent into this world, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour as mentioned earlier, we have partaken our share in His suffering, death and Resurrection, and just as we do not suffer alone, but suffering together with Christ, we too share in His death to our past sinful and wicked way of life and existence, and delivered into the renewed existence and life, full of God’s grace, in sharing eventually His glorious Resurrection.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and one of the teachers of the Law who came up to Him to ask Him about which Law among all the Law and commandments of God is the most important of all of them. The teacher of the Law might have wanted to test the Lord and see His responses, as many among the teachers of the Law thought that He was teaching and propagating the idea that the Law is to be superseded and overwritten, and hence were quite strong in their opposition and disapproval against Him. Alternatively this teacher of the Law might have also been just genuinely curious to know which among the Law was indeed the most important commandment of all.

For the context, we must understand that the Law of God as it was revealed through Moses during the time after the Exodus from Egypt and the journey of the Israelites in the desert consisted of many laws, commandments, rules and ordinances, all of which were extensive and detailed, and over time, they were expanded by the many rituals and practices that the Israelites, the people of God and their descendants continued to apply in their interpretations and applications of those laws and commandments. According to the Jewish tradition, there are a total of six hundred and thirteen laws all in all, if not even more. And that was why, it may seem to be very difficult and burdensome for the people of God to practice and fuflil all of them.

But the Lord made it very clear that the purpose of the Law was in fact not to burden the people, but to lead them all towards God. The Law was meant to show the people of God on how they ought to live their lives in the manner that is good, worthy and just so that they may truly be able to follow the Lord our God faithfully and worthily at all times. Hence, the Lord Jesus summarised the Law into two main components, under which all the laws, rules, commandments and all the precepts of the Law ultimately came under, that as He mentioned, that we all ought to first of all, love the Lord our God, Who has loved us all unconditionally first, with all of our hearts, might and strength, and then secondly to love the people around us in the same way as well, and this is especially even more so for those whom we love and whom God has entrusted to us to love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore ponder these words of the Scriptures that we have received today so that by appreciating better the love of God and His intentions for us, all the guidance and help that He has provided and shown to us, all of us may grow in faith and become ever stronger in our devotion towards the Lord, and in living our lives worthily in the manner that He Himself has shown and taught us all. Each and every one of us should do our best to emulate Christ’s own examples in loving and obeying His heavenly Father, and in His most generous, patient and merciful love towards each and every one of us. Through this love that we have actively practiced in each and every moments of our lives, may we draw ever closer to the Lord.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to guide us all in our respective journeys in life, helping us all to remain firm in our commitment and endeavour to practice and show the love of God manifested in each and every one of our own actions, words and deeds, in everything we do at every moments in our lives. This is so that we may truly love God in the manner of how He has loved us first, embracing His love for us fully and doing our best to show that same love at all times. May all of us be blessed in our every loving actions, words and deeds, in our loving interactions to all those around us, to bring all people and all things ever closer to God. Amen.

by

Thursday, 4 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 12 : 28b-34

At that time, a teacher of the Law came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is : Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved of this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

by

Thursday, 4 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.

by

Thursday, 4 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Timothy 2 : 8-15

Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, Son of David, as preached in my Gospel. For this Gospel I labour, and even wear chains like an evildoer, but the word of God is not chained. And, so, I bear everything, for the sake of the chosen people, that they, too, may obtain the salvation given to us, in Christ Jesus, and share eternal glory.

This statement is true : If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him; If we endure with Him, we shall reign with Him; If we deny Him, He will also deny us; If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself.

Remind your people of these things, and urge them, in the presence of God, not to fight over words, which does no good, but only ruins those who listen. Be for God, an active and proven minister, a blameless worker, correctly handling the word of truth.

by

Wednesday, 3 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures in our passages today, we are all reminded that we should always be courageous and strong in persisting in faith, in doing our best to live our lives in accordance with God’s Law and commandments, in being good role models and examples to everyone around us, so that we may indeed inspire others and be the good examples to help everyone to know what they all need to do in order to be truly faithful and dedicated to God at all times. We are reminded that God is also always by our side, and that we should continue to live our lives in testifying the truth about the Good News and the salvation which He has brought into our midst, in all of our actions each day and at every moments.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, we heard of the words of the Apostle reminding his protege, St. Timothy of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the various other gifts that the Lord has granted to all of them, the spirit of strength, love and good judgment, all of which had been given to them so that they all might go forth and courageously proclaim the truth and Good News of God in all circumstances, even through all the challenging moments and occasions. He encouraged his protege and indirectly many other missionaries of the Lord and messengers of the Good News to remain strong and steady in their commitment to be the bearers of God’s light and truth in a world filled with darkness and sin, so that by their works and ministry, they may bring about God’s salvation to many more people.

St. Paul exhorted St. Timothy to pass on the flame which had been given to him, a reference of the Holy Spirit, reminding him and the other missionaries of the Lord, the bishops, priests, deacons and the ministers of the Gospel to continue to go forth spreading the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the whole world by calling many more people to come to the Lord and to be baptised in the Name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit just as He has commanded all of them to do. And in order to fulfil all these, it was often necessary that those who walk in the path of the Lord had to suffer and endure difficulties, challenges and trials. But St. Paul reminded them all of the power of God’s providence and guidance, and how through His works made evident by their hands, they would indeed do great and wonderful things beyond imagination.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the confrontation between the Lord Jesus and the Sadducees who opposed Him, all those who were doubtful and refusing to believe in the teachings and doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. For the context, the Sadducees were historically the ones who held the reins of power and many of them were belonging to the priestly caste and they were the ones from which the chief priests were chosen from. We may find it quite strange and contradictory that the priests and chief priests were the ones who were most militant in their opposition and refusal to believe in the teachings and beliefs like the resurrection from the dead and the afterlife, or in any other spiritual matter. But this can be better understood from the context of how they were steeply involved in worldly matters and livelihood, in the governance of the people and the Temple.

As such, many among them likely developed strong attachments to the world and to all the privileges that they have enjoyed in life. Therefore, this is why many if not most of them believed that this life in this world was the only one that they would have and which they ought to enjoy, rejecting any notion of the afterlife or another existence which to them is a separation from all the joy, pleasures and the good things which they had been enjoying in life. That was why the Lord showed them all when those Sadducees asked using the example of a woman who had married seven brothers as her husbands, of whose man that she would belong to as wife, that the eternal life that is to come is not like that of this world, and is truly beyond all of those worldly ambitions, desires and pursuits. It is an important reminder for all of us not to seek for things of this world that do not last, but instead we must focus on the Lord and His promise of everlasting life.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and his holy companions in martyrdom, collectively known as the Holy Ugandan Martyrs. They all dedicated themselves to the Lord, missionaries, local priests and faithful laymen and laywomen alike, who were persecuted for their faith in God, and remained firmly resolute and committed in their faith in God to the very end, despite the temptations, coercions and threats that they were facing. Back then, St. Charles Lwanga himself was the chief page and an important servant of the King of the Kingdom of Buganda in what is today Uganda. He encountered the Christian faith through the missionaries who proclaimed the Lord and His Good News among the people there in that region. Back then, the King was a great pedophile who preyed on the young pages of the kingdom, and the opposition from Christian missionaries against such practices caused the king to conduct massacres against them.

St. Charles Lwanga himself was convinced of the truth that the Lord had delivered through the Catholic missionaries, the White Fathers who were there, and St. Charles Lwanga along with many others among Buganda’s court members and servants were also baptised together as Christians. St. Charles Lwanga also protected the pages, the young boys under his care from the king’s perverted and wicked actions. It was then that the king and those among his courtiers that had become Christians came to a point of contention, as the former condemned some of them to death, which led to St. Charles Lwanga and the other servants to stand up for their faith publicly, and they were therefore led to be martyred by being burnt alive. At the site where he and others were martyred now stands the great Basilica of the Holy Ugandan Martyrs at Namugongo, where the relics of those faithful martyrs are enshrined. Their fidelity and commitment to God served as great examples and inspirations to all of us Christians in how we ourselves should live up to our Christian calling and mission in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect on these words of the Scriptures that we have heard and received, and also on the lives of our holy predecessors, particularly those of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda, in their most courageous defence of their faith and commitment to the Lord’s truth and righteousness. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves in the same way as well, brethren? Are we willing and able to carry our own crosses in life, in following the Lord ever more faithfully in each and every passing moments? Let us all discern our path forward well and carefully so that we may continue to inspire many others to walk in God’s Presence and to be steadfast in our obedience and commitment to Him.

May the Lord our most loving God and Father continue to guide and strengthen us all in our respective journeys in life. May He empower each and every one of us in living our lives virtuously, in proclaiming His truth and Good News at all times, doing our very best to glorify Him by our lives. May He lead us all into the everlasting life of true happiness and joy that He has promised and reassured all of us with, and strengthen us ever always in our faith. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 3 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 12 : 18-27

At that time, the Sadducees also came to Jesus. Since they claim that there is no resurrection, they questioned Him in this way, “Master, in the Scriptures Moses gave us this law : if anyone dies and leaves a wife but no children, his brother must take the woman, and with her have a baby, who will be considered the child of his deceased brother.”

“Now, there were seven brothers. The first married a wife, but he died without leaving any children. The second took the wife, and he also died leaving no children. The same thing happened to the third. In fact, all seven brothers died, leaving no children. Last of all the women died. Now, in the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife? For all seven brothers had her as wife.”

Jesus replied, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry, but are like the Angels in heaven. Now, about the resurrection of the dead, have you never had thoughts about the burning bush in the book of Moses?”

“God said to Moses : I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is the God not of the dead but of the living. You are totally wrong.”

by

Wednesday, 3 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 122 : 1-2a, 2bcd

To You, I lift up my eyes; to You, Whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master.

As the eyes of maids look to the hand of their mistress, so our eyes look to YHVH our God, till He shows us His mercy.

by

Wednesday, 3 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 1 : 1-3, 6-12

From Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for the sake of His promise of eternal life, in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy. May grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, the Father, and Christ Jesus Our Lord.

I give thanks to God, Whom I serve with a clear conscience, the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. For this reason, I invite you to fan into a flame, the gift of God you received, through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of fearfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment.

Do not be ashamed of testifying to Our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in labouring for the Gospel, with the strength of God. He saved us and called us – a calling which proceeds from His holiness. This did not depend on our merits, but on His generosity and His own initiative.

This calling, given to us from all time, in Christ Jesus has just been manifested with the glorious appearance of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light, in His Gospel. Of this message, I was made herald, Apostle and teacher.

For its sake, I now suffer this trial, but I am not ashamed, for I know in Whom I have believed, and I am convinced, that He is capable of taking care of all I have entrusted to Him, until that day.

by

Tuesday, 2 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we have to continue to uphold our faith and hope in the Lord at all times, remembering that God is never far and distant from us. He has always been with us, supporting, guiding and strengthening us all, empowering us all with the courage and the necessary strength to remain firm in our journey, patiently helping us with the gift of His Wisdom that He has sent unto us through His Holy Spirit. God has always been with us even through the most difficult and darkest moments, and that is why, because of His great love for us, which we may not truly realise the full extent of, we too should strive to love Him and to give our love and focus onto Him as best as we can.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Peter, we heard the continuation of the exhortation of the Apostle to the faithful and the Church, reminding them all to remain strong, firm and steady in their faith in God because the Lord would always be with them, guiding and strengthening them through all the challenges, trials and hardships that they would have to face in their journey, all the trials that they were enduring through at the time. At that time, it was indeed difficult for one to be a Christian, having encountered opposition and oppression from both the Jewish and Roman authorities, as well as from the other local authorities and pagan believers. This was why St. Peter reminded the faithful to remain strong in their faith because in the end, God will vindicate and rescue them all from their troubles.

God truly is always with each and every one of those who have been faithful to Him, keeping them and guiding them in their steps, but it is the temptations and pressures from all around us in this world which often distract us from the path that God has led us through, and which had kept us from truly being able to follow Him wholeheartedly and courageously. Each and every one of us are reminded that we must always trust in God’s Providence and in His guidance even when we may be facing lots of uncertainties and disturbances in our paths. The reality is such that this path that each and every one of us are walking through, are often not an easy one, and in fact, the more that we commit to the path that is truly faithful to God, the more challenges we may face in this path we have. But with God, everything is truly possible for us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the exchange between the Pharisees and the members of the party of Herod, or his supporters, with the Lord and His disciples, in which the former were asking about the matter of paying taxes to Caesar, a truly sensitive and difficult topic to be discussed at that time. The intentions of the Pharisees and the Herodians were clear, that they were working together in order to put a trap to the Lord, in getting Him to give an answer that they could use against Him, trapping Him in a dangerous dilemma designed to discredit Him and to get Him into trouble. In their mind and in what they plotted, they thought that no matter what the Lord answered, they could use His answer against Him.

Why is that so? That is because should the Lord tell them that it was alright to pay the taxes to Caesar, then those Pharisees and Herodians could discredit the Lord among many among the people of God, because many among them despised the Romans and even the rulership of the Herodian dynasty itself as the taxes that they had to pay among other things were considered as humilaiting and oppressive by the Jews. Therefore if the Lord had supported paying taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees and the Herodians could have accused the Lord among the people of being a supporter of the Roman rule and hence losing His credibility, support and popularity among the people of God. On the other hand, if the Lord had told them that they should not be paying the taxes to Caesar, then He could be accused of sedition and treason against the Romans, and He could end up in great trouble.

However, the Lord in His infinite Wisdom responded truly well to this attempt to trap Him, by saying that since as the coins that they ought to be using to pay the taxes with bear the image of Caesar, as was typical of the Roman coins of the time, then it is indeed right and just to pay what is due to Caesar just as one ought to pay what is due to God. Through this perfect and wise answer, the Lord silenced His critics and enemies, preventing them from taking advantage of the situation or His responses for their own benefits. He was speaking the truth, reminding the people of God to give their dues to the state authorities entrusted by God for their leadership and rule, and at the same time, most importantly, not forgetting to give God what is right and due too. This is a reminder for all of us to do the same in our own lives as well.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great saints whose lives, actions and dedication to God hopefully can inspire each one of us to be faithful to the Lord in the similar manner as well. St. Marcellinus and St. Peter were faithful Christians who were persecuted for their faith, and they were, according to the Christian traditions, either priests or ministers of the faith, with St. Marcellinus reputedly being a priest and St. Peter was an exorcist, who were arrested and tortured during one of the most brutal episodes of Christian persecutions under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. According to the same traditions, the two saints gladly faced martyrdom and prepared the site where they were then beheaded and buried, in a place that was purposefully kept hidden so that they could not be venerated by the other Christians later on.

Nonetheless, according to Church traditions, the Lord inspired two women, named Lucilla and Firmina to discover the martyrdom and burial site of the two great martyrs, and they were properly buried, becoming great inspiration for many other Christians of the later era, right up to our time. The tale of their courageous and unwavering faith amidst the intense trials, hardships and challenges that they had to face as servants and followers of the Lord would inspire countless people of God throughout the subsequent years, decades and centuries, and being commemorated even in the Roman Canon amongst the few martyrs listed there highlighted just how influential both St. Marcellinus and St. Peter had been in the history of the Church throughout the ages. Their lives and examples should therefore also serve as inspirations and examples for us all as well.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, our Saviour and King continue to help and guide us throughout our journey, and may the inspiration and good examples showed by His great servants, the martyr saints, St. Marcellinus and St. Peter continue to lead us down the path of faith and righteousness, Christian virtues and dedication so that we may grow ever closer in our relationship with God and in our faith in Him. May our own actions, words and deeds, our every good works and interactions be filled with true Christian faith and way of life, and may we glorify the Lord in each and every moments of our lives, in our obedience to Him and in being good and law-abiding citizens at all times. May God bless us all in everything we do, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 2 June 2026 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Mark 12 : 13-17

At that time, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees with members of Herod’s party, with the purpose of trapping him by his own words. They came and said to Jesus, “Master, we know that You are truthful; You are not influenced by anyone, and Your answers do not vary according to who is listening to You, but You truly teach God’s way. Tell us, is it against the Law to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?”

But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a silver coin and let Me see it.” They brought Him one and Jesus asked, “Whose image is this, and whose name?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they were greatly astonished.