Roman Catholic Church

by

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

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 2 : 18-22

At that time, when the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist were fasting, some people asked Jesus, “Why is it, that both the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast, but Yours do not?”

Jesus answered, “How can the wedding guests fast while the Bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the Bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the day will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”

“No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear away from the old cloth, making a worse tear. And no one puts new wine into old wine skins, for the wine would burst the skins, and then both the wine and the skins would be lost. But new wine, new skins!”

by

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.

by

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.”

by

Sunday, 18 January 2026 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, and on this first Sunday after the Christmas season we have heard of the words of the Lord calling on each one of us as Christians, as His followers and His disciples to do His will and to carry out the missions and respective opportunities, responsibilities and things that He has entrusted to us all in our various areas of life, be it as members of the ordained, the bishops, priests and the deacons, as well as members of the laity, in our various responsibilities and areas of concern, as those whom God had called to live our lives worthily, in loving those whom He has given and entrusted to us to love, as He has planned it all.

In our first reading this Sunday, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard of the words of the Lord speaking to His people regarding the prophecy about the coming of the servant of God that would bring about the proclamation of the salvation of not just Israel but the whole world, and this prophecy in fact referred to the coming of St. John the Baptist, the one who was the one to prepare the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour of the world. And just as prophesied by Isaiah, this man of God, St. John the Baptist would be prepared from the womb of his mother to become the servant of God, to be the one to prepare the way for Saviour, as he would eventually do, as the one to call on the people of God to repentance and reconciliation with Him.

And through what St. John the Baptist had done, throngs of people came to seek the Lord with renewed faith and conviction to walk in His path, giving themselves to be baptised and at the same time committing themselves to a renewed path of redemption. He had indeed committed himself to the mission he has been entrusted with, allowing God to inspire and lead him in the difficult journey to turn back the hearts and minds of the people of God back towards Him. And at the same time, St. John the Baptist also had the great humility in him, knowing that whatever he had done, all the successes and fame he attained, they were all for the greater glory of God and not for his own personal glory and ambitions.e s

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the beginning of the letter or the Epistle which St. Paul wrote to the people of God in the city of Corinth, one of the larger cities in Greece where at that time a community of early Christians had been formed, and more and more people came to know of the Lord and becoming disciples and followers of Christ. He greeted those who have been his collaborators in the works of evangelisation and mission in the region, and he also reminded the faithful of what they all have been called to do, to be the ones whom the Lord had sanctified and made holy, and hence, in all of their works and actions in life, they all should always be anchored in their faith in God and show their faith through their lives lived in accordance with the will of God and His teachings.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle, we are reminded of the time when St. John the Baptist, the one whom we have been discussing about in our first reading earlier, as he spoke to his disciples and followers, testifying about the experiences he had in encountering the One Whom the Lord had sent him to prepare the way for, that is Jesus, Who happened to be St. John’s own relative, as their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth were also related to each other. It was at that occasion in which St. John the Baptist spoke about this great Saviour, the One Who had been promised, the Lamb of God, Who has been sent into this world to bring about its salvation and deliverance.

St. John the Baptist himself was very famous and renowned, with many people seeking him for his baptism, and he could very well have declared that he was indeed the Messiah that God had promised and sent to be with His people, and yet, he did not do that, and instead, he humbled himself as the servant, guiding his own disciples and the people to the One that they themselves ought to follow, the One in Whom the salvation of the whole world has been made manifest and real, the fulfilment of God’s long promised love and compassion for all of His people. St. John the Baptist is the role model for all of us, God’s faithful, in doing God’s will and in striving our best not for our own glory and ambition, but for the greater glory of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed throughout these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, it is clear that all of us as Christians are reminded of our own respective missions and callings in life, in whatever it is that we can do, in all the opportunities that God has given us, we should always do our best to carry out within our means, even in small and simple actions, things that can inspire others to follow the Lord, to testify all the great things that God had done for us, even in small things, in His faithfulness and in all the love He has constantly shown us all these while. In our shining and most genuine faith, God will be manifested ever more strongly in this world, and everyone who sees our brilliant faith, made evident through our lives and actions, will also come to believe in God as well.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to strengthen each and every one of us in faith, so that in everything that we do, we will always show forth the true faith that we have in Him, and that we may illuminate the path of others through our own good examples and inspirations, so that by our dedication and commitment, by our perseverance to live righteously even through our own imperfect lives and sinful existence, we will strive to be good Christians at all times, and may inspire many more people to come and seek the Lord and His truth, and that by our lives, as small and insignificant it may seem to be, many more people may be saved through us. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

by

Sunday, 18 January 2026 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

John 1 : 29-34

At that time, the next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! It is He of Whom I said : A Man comes after me, Who is already ahead of me, for He was before me. I myself did not know Him, but I came baptising to prepare for Him, so that He might be revealed in Israel.”

And John also gave this testimony, “I saw the Spirit coming down on Him like a dove from heaven, and resting on Him. I myself did not know Him, but God, Who sent me to baptise, told me, “You will see the Spirit coming down, and resting, on the One Who baptises with the Holy Spirit.’ Yes, I have seen! And I declare that this is the Chosen One of God!”

by

Sunday, 18 January 2026 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 1 : 1-3

From Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother, to God’s Church which is in Corinth; to you whom God has sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with those who everywhere call upon the Name of our Lord Christ Jesus, their Lord and ours.

Receive grace and peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord.

by

Sunday, 18 January 2026 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 39 : 2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10

With resolve I waited for the Lord; He listened and heard me beg. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of prayer to our God.

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

“As the scroll says of me. To do Your will is my delight, o God, for Your law is within my heart.”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o Lord, I did not seal – You know that very well.

by

Sunday, 18 January 2026 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 49 : 3, 5-6

YHVH said to me, “You are Israel, My servant. Through you I will be known.”

And now YHVH has spoken, He Who formed me in the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, to gather Israel to Him. He said : “It is not enough that you be My servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.”

by

Saturday, 17 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that God chose not the proud and the haughty, but He sees the hearts and minds of those whom He has called and chosen. But in the end, it is really up to us how we respond to the Lord in what He has called us to do, as He has also given us all the means and the abilities, the opportunities and all the chances for all of us to make good of everything that we have been called to do in our respective lives. In our own distinct and unique vocations in life, all of us should always realise that we should use those gifts that God has provided to us for the common good of all those around us and in being good role models for all.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard about the moment when Samuel went to look for the man whom God had chosen to be the new king for His people, the Israelites, that was Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul was great in physical appearance and stature although he hailed from the least of the families of the smallest tribe of the Israelites, the tribe of Benjamin. God chose that man to become the leader over all of His people and Samuel was sent to seek for him so that Saul could be anointed as the King of Israel just as the people fervently and stubbornly demanded earlier on as we heard yesterday in the passage from the same Book of the prophet Samuel.

And Samuel did encounter Saul and sought him where God had led him to, and God revealed to Samuel the man that He had willed and chosen to be this worthy man to take up the leadership over the people of Israel. That was indeed how the days of the kings began in Israel. Surely since we all should know how Saul behaved as king later on in his life, we may be wondering if God had made a mistake in choosing Saul. But then we must also realise and understand that God does not make mistakes in His actions and in everything that He does. Instead, what happens is such that God gives each one of us the free will and the freedom to choose our course of actions and way of living our lives, and that applied to Saul and his actions as king as well.

It is God Who chose men and women to do unique things in their lives, according to the respective gifts, talents and opportunities which He had provided to them. God gives us all the free will and all the freedom to choose what we are to do with these gifts, talents and opportunities, but ideally, we should do what the Lord has gently nudged us to do, in our every moments in life, even in the smallest and seemingly least significant things. The question is now then, are we all willing to listen to the Lord and to pay attention to what He has told us and revealed to us? This is a timely reminder for all of us that we, as God’s holy and beloved people, should always strive to do what is truly good and worthy in the Presence of God and our fellow mankind alike.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus went to call the disciple known as Levi. Levi was a tax collector, which profession at the time were often considered as greedy and self-serving, and not few even treated the tax collectors badly because they were seen as traitors and collaborators to the Roman regime and rule, for their actions and works in collecting the taxes on behalf of these rulers, and some of them might have been corrupt as well, pocketing some of the taxes for their own benefits. And yet, despite all these and other prejudices surrounding the tax collectors, the Lord Jesus did not consider them in whom He called to be His disciples.

Indeed, the Lord called His disciples from the most questionable origins by the standards of the time and even today. He called the illiterate, poor fishermen, tax collectors, intellectuals, a zealot that rebelled against Roman authority among others to be His disciples and followers. Through this, we are shown that the Lord does not have prejudices or favourites of any kind, and everyone are equally precious and beloved to Him, all are called to God’s loving Presence. For the case of Levi, that tax collector left behind everything that he did, his past life and works, becoming a great disciple and one day, he became one of the writers of the Four Holy Gospels as St. Matthew, Holy Apostle and Evangelist.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has laid out His path and His graces upon us, and the choice is now ours whether we want to embrace Him and journey together with Him, or else, if we rather choose the comforts of the world and the temptations of glory and power. And we can also imitate and follow upon the good examples and works set by one famous saint and Church father, St. Anthony the Abbot, also known as the St. Anthony the Great, who was one of the earliest monastics of the Church, and living in the land rampant with bitter persecutions and hardships by the Roman authorities. Modelled by the examples of some others who lived a similar lifestyle like St. Paul the Hermit, St. Anthony devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Lord, spending his every living moments and breaths to glorify God by their work. He had to face a lot of struggles, but St. Anthony remained faithful and patient.

For example, it was well known that the devil and other demons often came to torment St. Anthony, lifting him up and tempting him with all sorts of false and empty promises. He was under constant attacks from the evil one, and had to contend with the sufferings of this world as well as the pressures for us to conform and follow the ways of the world. Nonetheless, St. Anthony remained firm and strong in his faith, ministering to the needs of his community and other people who desired to seek the Lord and His forgiveness and grace. Through his inspirational works, he has become our great model in how we should live our own lives, in being faithful and committed to God, and his writings inspired generations of good and holy priests, and holy people of God. The question is that, are we willing to spend the time and effort for us to change our ways for the better? The choice is ours alone.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have reflected from the passages from the Sacred Scriptures, and as we have heard from the examples in the life of St. Anthony the Abbot, let us all hence realise that all of us are called to specific purposes and meaning in life, in each and every one of our actions in life. We are all partakers of the mission of the Church of God, in reaching out to more and more people all around us, to all those whom we encounter in life, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, we will become good source of inspiration and hope, good role models for everyone around us. And that is how we can fulfil more of the missions which our Lord has entrusted to us.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to guide us in life, encouraging and strengthening us so that by our trust and hope in Him, God will continue to support us all through even the most challenging and difficult moments, giving us all the courage to bear through them with perseverance and faith. Let us all be the worthy bearers of God’s truth and Good News, in our hope in His love and compassion at all times, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Saturday, 17 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 2 : 13-17

At that time, when Jesus went out again, beside the lake, a crowd came to Him, and He taught them. As He walked along, He saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” And Levi got up and followed Him.

And it so happened that, when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with Him and His disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus. But Pharisees, men educated in the Law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them, and answered, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”