Roman martyrs

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Tuesday, 25 November 2025 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together and listen to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we should trust in the Lord and put our faith in His power and providence. We should not seek to put more and more emphasis and focus on worldly matters, ambitions and desires, as what many people all around us may be seeking and craving for. As Christians, in fact, we have to continue to do what is right and just in accordance to the ways of the Lord, aligned with His teachings and ways. We have to do our best to be good inspiration, strength and hope for all those whom we encounter in each and every moments of our lives, that we may lead one another towards the Lord, His salvation and righteousness.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, in which we are told about the moment when the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar experienced a particular vision in his dreams, and he became restless after seeing that vision of a great statue made of different composite parts and materials, which was then crushed by a great rock that smashed the whole statue to pieces. This was the moment that Daniel came to prominence within the Babylonian king’s court as no one but him was able to tell the king exactly what he has dreamt about. The king asked of all the wise people in his court, all of his servants to tell him both of what he had dreamt and its meaning, and none but Daniel could do so. Only Daniel was given the Wisdom from God to reveal the king’s dream and vision to everyone and to unveil what that vision truly meant.

Through the great Wisdom of God and His guidance, Daniel revealed to king Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of his dreams, showing him that his kingdom itself, no matter how grand and glorious at that time, having ruled over many lands in Mesopotamia and the Levant, and having conquered many countries, fabulous and rich beyond measure, was ultimately going to be replaced by other powers and kingdoms, foretelling what would happen in the future, in the next few centuries as shown by the vision of the statue with its many parts. That statue and its parts actually represent the future kingdoms and powers that would rise up from the time of Babylon onwards, the Empires of Media and Persia, followed by the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great which was fragmented and divided among his successors, and finally the Roman Empire that became the regional superpower at that time.

Then, that huge Rock which came to crush and destroy the statue actually represents the Lord Himself Whose coming into this world in the Person of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour marked the departure from the dominion of the world to the true dominion of God, Who has finally come at last to restore all things to Himself and through His own actions and works, in fulfilling everything that He has promised to His beloved people from the very beginning of time. Therefore, although no one likely realised it at that time, what Daniel had done was in fact prophesying and foretelling of the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour that God has promised, foretelling His arrival after those great Empires has risen and fallen, and unlike those earthly realms and powers that did not last, the dominion of God is everlasting.

We are reminded that if we put our trust in earthly things we are likely going to be disappointed and dismayed because no matter what, none of those will last forever and none of them will endure. Those who put their faith and trust in the Lord will be firmly reassured because in God alone there is constant and steady reassurance. Those who truly have faith and hope in the Lord will know that with God we can all be strong even in the midst of the greatest challenges and trials in life. We must learn to trust in the Lord and His guidance, in all the providence that He is showing us, in all that He has given and blessed us with, the opportunities and wisdom which He has granted to us. We should never take all these for granted, and we should learn to trust in God guiding all of us in our journey and path in life, knowing that with His guidance everything will be all well and good. 

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was telling those who admired the grandeur and majesty of the great Temple of God in Jerusalem, the one vastly enlarged by King Herod the Great, that the magnificent edifice would not last long and soon the time would come that it would be torn down and destroyed. Everything did indeed come true a few decades later when the Romans came to besiege Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman War about three decades after the Resurrection of the Lord. The conflicts and the violence that followed eventually led to the ransack and the destruction of the great Temple, of which nothing was left save that of the fragments of the walls of its once great compound, what is known today as the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. It is again another reminder of how trusting in worldly power and grandeur is impermanent unlike trusting in God.

The Lord also told His disciples to be careful and not to be deceived by those who claimed to know of the exact time and the signs which accompanied those claims, all the wars, conflicts and other things that people often associated with the apocalyptic moments and end of times predictions. The Lord warned His disciples and followers, and hence all of us that we should not easily give in to the allure and temptations, pressures and coercions of the false prophets and leaders who could then mislead and bring many of us into the wrong paths in life, when we do not discern carefully our path forward, in what we have been truly called to do by God. This can even happen when those leaders manipulate us into thinking of our calling and mission in a certain way, but not allowing us to discern our paths properly, as is unfortunately common today, especially in our Catholic youth communities.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great martyr and servant of God, a great woman whose faith and dedication to Him served as great inspirations and strength for many Christians during and even long after her time. According to Church tradition, St. Catherine of Alexandria was the daughter of the Roman governor of Alexandria, who lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his successors. At that time, Christians were treated with disdain and contempt, and a particularly intense and bitter persecution was carried out against them. Many Christians had to suffer and die amidst that brutal persecution, and many of them had to choose between remaining faithful in God and suffer, or to betray and abandon the Lord and live.

St. Catherine of Alexandria courageously went to the Emperor himself, the Emperor Maxentius who ruled in Rome and Italy, during one of these episodes of brutal persecutions, rebuking him for his actions and evil deeds. St. Catherine won over the fifty over philosophers that the Emperor set up against her to debate her on her faith and other matters, so much so that some of them converted to the Christian faith and were martyred. St. Catherine also convinced many others to become Christians, including even the Emperor’s own wife, when they visited her during her time in prison. The Lord Himself visited her, and Angels tended her wounds during her incarceration and period of suffering. The Emperor, who grew increasingly desperate in trying to subdue St. Catherine, tried to woo her by proposing marriage to her, which was also rejected by the saint. In the end, she was martyred by beheading, after other methods had failed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we remember the dedication and commitment which St. Catherine of Alexandria has shown in her life, in what she has committed to the Lord, and as we reflect upon what we have heard from the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that all of us should always put our focus and emphasis in life on God and not on all the various temptations, desires and pleasures of the world, all of which are ultimately fleeting and temporary in nature. We should not spend so much time and effort to seek and gather for ourselves all those worldly wealth, desires and ambitions to the point that we forget the main reason why we exist in this world, that is to glorify God and make our lives truly worthy of Him in all of our every actions, words and deeds, in our every interactions with one another.

May the Lord continue to strengthen us all in our efforts and endeavours to continue to be good role models and inspirations for one another in faith so that by each and every one of our actions, words and deeds, we may truly be the shining examples of our genuine faith in God. May all of us help one another to draw ever closer to the Lord our God, and encourage each other to remain firm and strong in our faith, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 November 2025 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 21 : 5-11

At that time, while some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that it was adorned with fine stonework and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, “The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire; all will be torn down.” And they asked Him, “Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

Jesus said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am He; the time is near at hand!’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and troubled times, do not be frightened; for all these things must happen first, even though the end is not so soon.”

And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen.”

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Tuesday, 25 November 2025 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Daniel 3 : 57, 58, 59, 60, 61

All the works of the Lord, bless Him, praise Him, exalt Him forever.

Angels of the Lord, bless Him, praise and glorify Him forever.

Heavens, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him forever.

All the waters above the heavens, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him forever.

All the powers of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him forever.

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Tuesday, 25 November 2025 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Daniel 2 : 31-45

Daniel said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “In your vision you saw a statue – very large, very bright; terrible to look at. Its head was of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. As you watched, a rock cut from a mountain, but not by human hands, struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay; smashing them.”

“All at once the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold crumbled into pieces, as fine as chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind swept them off and not a trace was left. But the rock that struck the statue became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.”

“That was the dream. Now the interpretation. You, o king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given dominion, strength, power and glory, and into whose hand He has placed humankind, the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, making you ruler over them. You are that head of gold.”

“After you, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise. Then a third kingdom, of bronze, will rule the whole world. Last shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; and just as iron breaks and crushes everything else, so will it break and smash all the others.”

“The partly-clay and partly-iron feet and toes mean that it will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of the iron, just as you saw iron mixed with clay. And as the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak. Just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, the people will be a mixture but will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.”

“In the time of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, never to be destroyed or delivered up to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and put an end to them; and it will endure forever. This is the meaning of your vision of a rock cut from a mountain not by human hands; the rock, which struck the statue and broke into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold. The great God has shown the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation reliable.”

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that all of us should continue to live our lives in the manner that is worthy of the Lord, doing our best in putting God at the centre and as the focus of all of our lives. We should not put so much emphasis and focus on worldly ambitions and desires which can lead us astray and further from the Lord. Instead, we should always keep in mind that whatever greatness, glory and possessions that we build in this world can easily be destroyed and lost in an instant, and we may end up with nothing and eternal regret if we have spent so much efforts in trying to win the approval of the world but lost ourselves from the Lord and His grace.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the Maccabees, we heard the continuation of what happened during the Maccabean Rebellion against the Greek Seleucid kingdom led by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. As we have discussed in the previous few days, the actions of this Greek king was motivated by his desire to unite the very diverse nature of his kingdom’s subjects and dominion, ruling over a vast kingdom with people from different cultures, practices and beliefs. According to historical evidences and records, this did indeed happen, and this king was infamous for his megalomania and tyranny which led him to carry out such terrible actions against his own subjects. And eventually rebellions like what happened in Judea and Galilee happened, as was elsewhere.

We heard then therefore how retribution came for this wicked king who had made the lives of so many of God’s people difficult, causing many among them to face persecutions and hardships for continuing to hold firmly and strongly to their faith in God. And the Lord did not forget about His people, and neither did He abandon them, as He proved that His retributions for those who have wronged His people would be swift and severe, as king Antiochus himself experienced. Everything that he had designed in his grand plans and efforts came to waste, as detailed in that passage from the Book of Maccabees. His efforts to eradicate the beliefs and faith of the Jewish people had been largely overturned, as the Jews defeated his armies and reestablish the worship of God on the same Temple that king Antiochus had ordered to be defiled.

And the king’s efforts to gain more glory and power from his campaigns to the eastern lands of Persia and Media also came to naught as he lost the battles, and even he himself had become afflicted, sickened and was dying. It was only after all of these things had happened that the king finally realised the folly of his efforts and actions. He repented for those deeds and died in sorrow at the end of his ultimately failed campaign and efforts at self-aggrandisement and self-glorification. And this also then becomes a reminder for all of us not to seek for similar worldly glory and renown at the expense of our relationships with God and with one another, and in neglecting our important obligations and responsibilities to those whom the Lord had entrusted to us.

From our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was confronted by the Sadducees who questioned Him and tried to test Him with the riddle on what would happen to a woman who had been married to seven brothers that all passed away one by one, and what their status would be in the life that is to come, in the afterlife that the Sadducees did not believe in. First of all, we should know and realise that the Sadducees were one of the major and most influential groups in the Jewish community of that time together with the Pharisees. While the Pharisees were the religious and intellectual elites of the community, the Sadducees were the societal elites and those who held worldly power, such as the chief priests, the supporters of Herod and the king’s people, the nobles among others.

The Sadducees were also known for their rejection of spiritual things and beliefs, and were very worldly in their actions, approaches and beliefs. They did not believe in the resurrection from the dead, the afterlife, Angels and other spiritual beings and matters. As such, while the Pharisees took issue and offence at the Lord and His disciples for their way of practicing the Law of God, the Sadducees took offence at the Lord for His preaching and teachings about the resurrection and the new life that is to come, beyond the confines of this world. The question which the Sadducees asked of the Lord came from a purely worldly perspective, as if we understand what they asked of the Lord, they clearly did not believe that existence beyond this world that we know of and are familiar with can be a reality.

But the Lord told them the truth that there is indeed Resurrection from the dead and those who go on to the life that is to come, and are found worthy no longer live in the manner of this world, of getting married and seeking worldly fulfilment, achievements and accomplishments. Instead, their lives and existence will be focused and centred on God, as they will no longer suffer the lack and the imperfections of this world, and in fullness of joy they shall all glorify the Lord together as one people, in perfect harmony, happiness and joy. Of course this does not mean that relationships are no longer important for us, or that our faith and existence become individualistic, lest we misunderstand the Lord’s intentions, but rather, as per the theme of what we discuss today, we should always seek beyond what is material and worldly in our lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great woman and servant of God, whose faith and devotion to God, and the dedication to Him, to the point of suffering and enduring grievous tribulations for His sake, should be a great inspiration for all of us Christians to follow. St. Cecilia was well-known as the patron saint of musicians, but she is also a great martyr of the Faith, as she had to bear great sufferings for the sake of the Lord, in her obedience to Him and in her steadfastness in refusing to abandon her faith in Him. She was born into Roman nobility and despite her vow of virginity before God, as a Christian, was forced by her family to marry a pagan nobleman named Valerian. St. Cecilia according to tradition, warned Valerian that an Angel of the Lord watched over her and if he tried to violate her sacred virginity, he would be struck down.

Hence, that was also how St. Cecilia managed to convince her husband to become a Christian himself, as when he asked to see the Angel mentioned by St. Cecilia, he did see the Angel of God after he was baptised by the Pope at that time, Pope St. Urban I. At that time, the Christians in Rome and elsewhere throughout the Roman Empire were persecuted for their faith, and this eventually led to the martyrdom of St. Cecilia and her husband, together with other Christians that had been arrested and made to suffer and die, when they refused to betray the Lord and abandon their faith in Him, just like those of the seven brothers mentioned in our first reading passage today. St. Cecilia was one of those great martyrs of the Church, whose courage and dedication to God, and whose commitment to virtue and holiness, and the purity of her sacred virginity, inspired countless Christians throughout history, right up to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples of St. Cecilia in her courageous faith and commitment to God, doing our very best so that our lives may always bring glory to God, and that we may always ever be focused on Him and not on our personal ambitions and worldly desires. Let us all continue to be exemplary and be courageous in living our lives wholeheartedly in the Lord’s Presence, and by our every words, actions and deeds, let us all show forth the love of God, His hope and Good News to all those whom we encounter each days in our lives, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 20 : 27-40

At that time, then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the Law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.’”

“Now, there were seven brothers : the first married, but died without children. The second married the woman, but also died childless. And then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”

And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the Angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.”

“Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to Him everyone is alive.”

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, You have spoken well.” They did not dare ask Him anything else.

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 9 : 2-3, 4 and 6, 16b and 19

Let my heart give thanks to YHVH, I yearn to proclaim Your marvellous deeds, and rejoice and exult in You; and sing praise to Your Name, o Most High.

For my enemies fell back in retreat, they stumbled and perished before You. You have turned back the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their names forever.

The feet of the pagans were ensnared by the trap they laid. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

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Saturday, 22 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Maccabees 6 : 1-13

When king Antiochus was making his way through the upper regions of Persia, he received news about Elymais, a city renowned for its wealth in silver and gold. They kept in the wealthy temple of their city golden armour, breastplates and weapons, left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander, the son of Philip, the first sovereign of the Greeks.

So Antiochus went there. But the inhabitants came out armed against him when they learnt of his intention, so his attempt to take the city failed. He had to turn back; and he returned much embittered to Babylon. While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews, who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighbouring armies.

He heard, too, that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem; and had rebuilt the Temple walls to the same height as before; and had also fortified the city of Beth-zur. When he received this news, he was terrified and deeply upset. He fell sick and became greatly depressed because things had not turned out the way he had planned.

So he remained overcome by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt he was dying, so he called his friends and said to them, “Sleep has fled from my eyes and I am greatly crushed by my anxieties. And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me – I who was generous and well-loved when in power – and now I am so discouraged.”

“Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all. I now know, that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me; and I am dying of grief in a strange land.”

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Friday, 26 September 2025 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we should always put our trust and faith in the Lord, in all the things that we have committed to Him in life, in every aspects and parts of our lives. We must also not think that our lives will be smooth sailing and easy if we are to follow the Lord faithfully and if we walk in His path, but what we can be assured of is the fact and reality that the Lord Himself will always be with us, journeying and walking with us in our paths towards Him. We should not be afraid but we should instead be renewed and strengthened in our faith and conviction, knowing that God will never abandon those who are truly beloved and dear to Him, and if we continue to hold on to faith and hope in Him, we will never be disappointed.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Haggai in which we continue to hear about the the words of the Lord directed to the leaders of the people of Israel in Judah, consisting of the leader of the House of David, Zerubbabel who was also the Governor of Judah, the High Priest and others, reminding them of the Lord’s will and the obligation they had in reestablishing the Temple of God in Jerusalem, after they had rebuilt the city and settled in nicely back in their homeland. King Cyrus of Persia and his successors had allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland and to resume their worship of their Lord and God, something which the Babylonians had not allowed them to do, and which they had been oppressed for decades and suffered for.

The Israelites had been humiliated, faced great sufferings and challenges in their exile in Babylon and those distant lands, uprooted from their ancestral lands and made to be a nation without a home and having had their city of Jerusalem and its once glorious Temple, the one built by King Solomon for God, destroyed, ransacked and plundered. And at that time, since the Lord had finally led His people back to their homeland, and restored their dignity and status, their blessings and grace, it was time for them all to rebuild the House of God, the place of worship where the Israelites ought to centre their attention, focus and their whole lives upon. That Temple at the time was the place where God’s Holy Presence descended and dwelled among His people.

However, as mentioned by the prophet Haggai, the leaders of the people delayed and tarried in not hurrying to rebuild the Temple of God despite having the means and the resources to do so. The prophet Haggai told those leaders of the people that they must not indulge themselves with pleasures while the people of God was without the House and Temple of God’s Holy Presence where they could worship Him and focus their attention to Him in their lives. And the Lord also reassured them all that if they were to carry out this mission, they would be blessed and strengthened by God, and He would restore the glory of Israel, the joy and happiness that they would enjoy once again with their Lord and Master being by their side.

Then from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the exchange and conversation between the Lord and His disciples in which He asked them about His identity, and what the people said Who He truly was, and they then said all those things which the people said, that He was one of the Prophets, or a great Teacher of God, but St. Peter, the one who led the Twelve and the other disciples courageously said before the whole assembly of the disciples that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God Who had been sent into the world, to be the One to redeem and free all the people of God from the tyranny and domination of sin and darkness, the One Who had been promised for many ages, and been long awaited by the people.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard ourselves from this Gospel passage today, we are reminded of God Who is always ever present among His beloved ones, His holy people, just as He has constantly shown to us all mankind throughout our whole history and existence. God has always been with His people, ever since He led them all out of the land of Egypt, journeying with them and staying with them in the Ark of the Covenant, which then resided at the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And afterwards, when the Temple was rebuilt once again in Jerusalem, God renewed His assurance and presence, and then, made His Presence amongst us most tangible as He came Himself in the flesh, in the Person of His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the One sent to be our Saviour.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, two martyrs who were twin brothers and renowned physicians in the region of Asia Minor, where they were well-known for their dedication to the people there, who came to seek them for help with their various physical maladies. They also helped minister to the people of God spiritually, and were courageous in their faith in God as always. At that time, the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his fellow Co-Emperors enacted a very harsh campaign of persecution against Christians throughout the Roman Empire, and as a result, many of the faithful were persecuted and martyred, and this included that of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, who were arrested and tortured, before finally martyred for their faith. But their courageous faith and dedication to God, their piety and worthy lives still inspired countless others throughout the history of the Church till this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, and everything that they had done for the sake of the Lord and His people, their courageous faith and martyrdom, in defending their faith in Him. Let us also remember our responsibilities as Christians to walk ever more faithfully in God’s Presence and to be good role models and examples for one another. May the Lord continue to help and guide us all in our respective journeys in life so that we may always inspire others in each and every moments of our lives, even in the smallest things that we do, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 26 September 2025 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 9 : 18-22

At that time, one day, when Jesus was praying alone, not far from His disciples, He asked them, “What do people say about Me?” And they answered, “Some say, that You are John the Baptist; others say, that You are Elijah; and still others, that You are one of the Prophets of old, risen from the dead.”

Again Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. And He added, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, and be put to death. Then after three days He will be raised to life.”