Saturday

by

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.

by

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.”

by

Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we continue to be reminded of the greatness of God Who is capable of doing every wonders and good things in our lives, if we only put our trust and faith in Him. For the Lord Who has created this world and the whole Universe in all of its goodness has always intended for us to enjoy the fullness of His love and grace, and He would not want for any of us to suffer or endure all the challenges that we are facing in life now. But it was our own waywardness and disobedience against Him which had led to our own downfall and sufferings, as we end up causing harm and hurt to one another in our quest and pursuit of selfish desires.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard from that passage of the might and power of God as He carried out everything that He has always planned, in leading all of His beloved people to righteousness and to the path that He has prepared for them. He did everything according to His designs and plans, which He has gradually revealed to us through His Spirit and Wisdom provided to us through the same Spirit. He has always been for those whom He has loved, that is all of us mankind, without exception, and He has always patiently provided for us without cease and constantly, ever caring for us and loving us all unconditionally and generously.

God has always shown us all His Providence even through the most difficult moments, sending His help, guidance and protection, companionship and presence through the most difficult moments of our lives. We are therefore never alone in our journey, and whenever we want to give up in this struggle and whenever we fall into temptations to sin, and want to give up the struggles against the pressures of the world, we should remember that God is always ever present around us and supporting us in our daily struggles and challenges. It is often however that we do not realise or appreciate God being there for us because we do not have enough faith in Him and we are so preoccupied with ourselves and the things are busy fussing about instead.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the parable that the Lord Jesus used to teach His disciples, using that of an evil judge who feared neither God or man, and an old widow who constantly went to the old judge and demanded that the latter pursue her case and win justice for her. As expected, of course the evil and wicked judge refused to arbitrate on her behalf or even to take heed of her. But the old widow kept on persisting and insisting daily on the evil judge, kept on pestering her to take up her case until we heard that eventually he gave in to the demands of the old widow if only that he could rid himself of her incessant persistent demands.

As we heard in this Gospel passage, the Lord Jesus was making this comparison and reference to the case between the evil judge and the old widow to highlight just how much more generous and willing for the Lord our God to hear and heed our prayers and requests, if the evil judge himself granted the desires of the old widow. This is an important reminder and encouragement for all of us as Christians that no matter what, we should not lose faith or trust in the Lord because if we continue to have faith in Him and if we put our hope ever always in Him and His Providence, the Lord will be with us and will provide us all that we need, and eventually, while the wait may seem to be long and delayed, everything will be fine for us all. We must keep up this faith in the Lord, always.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great, or St. Albertus Magnus, a renowned man of God and great teacher of the faith, whose life, works and dedication to God should inspire us all to be dedicated and committed to Him ourselves. Each and every one of us should heed the good examples set by this wonderful man of God, so that we may also be always faithful to Him, at all times. St. Albert the Great was born in what is now Bavaria in southern part of Germany, during the High Middle Ages. He was brought up well academically and showed his talents early on. He then became a member of the Dominican Order, and studied to become a theologian, which began his great and long ministry as a teacher and theologian henceforth.

St. Albert the Great later on became one of the provincials of the Dominican Order, and carried out his duties with great obedience and dedication. And while later on he was appointed as a bishop, as the Bishop of Regensburg, he remained humble and committed to the missions entrusted to him, walking all around his diocese on foot instead of riding a horse as he was entitled to. He dedicated himself to whatever missions God had entrusted him with, and despite the honour and respect that many people and his positions entitled him with, he remained very humble and focused on the Lord, not being swayed by the temptations of worldly power and glory. Instead, he committed himself wholly to the Lord and to the people of God, all throughout his life, and this is something that we should be inspired to follow as well. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as we have discussed earlier from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and also from the life and examples shown by St. Albert the Great, let us all therefore continue to strive to live our lives worthily in the Lord, doing whatever we can so that we will always focus and centre our lives in God, and to be constantly faithful in our dedication to Him, remembering that in everything that we do, we should always bring glory to God. We must also continue to have faith in Him, trusting that if we continue to trust Him and seek for His guidance and help through persistent prayer as the old widow in the parable had done, the Lord will indeed move to help us and provide for us all that we need.

May the Lord continue to inspire and strengthen us all such that we can continue to move forward in life with fullness of faith and trust in Him, knowing that He is ever present in our lives, being by our side and constantly journeying with us without cease. He has always been supporting us, loving us and caring for us, and He will never cease providing for us and guiding us through good and bad times alike. Let us all no longer be doubtful and continue to walk forward with ever greater trust in God, now and always. Amen.

by

Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 18 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told them a parable, to show them that they should pray continually, and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge, who neither feared God nor people. In the same town there was a widow, who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Defend my rights against my adversary!'”

“For a time he refused, but finally he thought, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much, I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.'”

And Jesus said, “Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night, even if He delays in answering them? I tell you, He will speedily do them justice. But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

by

Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

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

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 36-37, 42-43

Sing to YHVH, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek YHVH rejoice.

Then He smote all the firstborn, the first fruits of their manhood. He led Israel out of the alien land, laden with silver and gold, and none were left behind.

For He remembered His promise to Abraham, His servant. So He led forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with singing.

by

Saturday, 15 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

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

Wisdom 18 : 14-16 and Wisdom 19 : 6-9

While all was in quiet silence and the night was in the middle of its course, Your Almighty Word leapt down from the royal throne – a stern Warrior to a doomed world. Carrying Your fearful command like a sharpened sword and stretching from heaven to earth, He filled the universe with death.

All creation in its different forms was fashioned anew at Your command, in order to protect Your people. The cloud covered the camp with its shadow, dry land emerged where water had been. A safe passage was opened through the Red Sea, the tempestuous flood became a green plain where the whole nation of those protected by Your hand passed across, witnessing Your astounding deeds.

They were like horses led to pasture, or like frolicking lambs, praising You, their Lord, Who had delivered them.

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and reflect upon the Lord’s words, we are reminded to do what the Lord had told and shown us to do in our lives, to be truly faithful and committed in all things, to be truly obedient to God and to do our parts and contributions as the ones whom God had called and chosen, as those whom God has gathered from among the nations to be His own beloved people. All of us should always be exemplary and do whatever we can so that we may be shining and good examples of our faith to everyone around us.

In our first reading passage today, taken from the last parts of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle, we heard of the gratitudes which St. Paul gave to all of those whom he had collaborated and worked with throughout his various ministries and works, and he also elaborated on all the good things which each one of them had been doing and carrying out in those collaborations he had done with those fellow Christian missionaries and disciples. He has worked faithfully and collaborated with those mentioned in doing the great works of the Lord, which God had entrusted and given to each one of them.

Thanks to their hard works and efforts, the Church was growing fast and spreading more and more throughout the whole known world then. None of those disciples of the Lord were acting alone or in silos, as they all worked and collaborated together for the greater glory of God. They endured many sufferings and challenges from those who have persecuted their faith, those who challenged them and made their lives difficult. And yet, they trusted in the Lord and believed in His ever constant Providence and guidance, as they continued to walk faithfully in following the path which the Lord Himself had led them through in their journey of life.

This is therefore a reminder for all of us as Christians that we should also continue to do our best in living our lives with great and genuine faith, and we should not forget that God will always provide for us all that we need. He will not give us a challenge that is truly beyond our capacity to endure, and with Him by our side, we will be triumphant in the end. And not only that but God also wants us all to work with one another, to live our faith sincerely with each other, in helping and strengthening one another in genuine living of our Christian lives, inspiring one another to be ever stronger and more committed to God at all times.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, in which the Lord reminded His disciples that they must be careful and vigilant in making important choices in their lives, in choosing on what paths they ought to take in their respective lives. This passage follows right after the parable of the dishonest steward that we heard yesterday where the Lord presented the dichotomy and the stark choice between following God and following the ways of the world. The Lord presented this as the choice between God and Money, and showing how the people cannot be half-hearted or divided in their focus, as ultimately, they all have to make a choice between following God and following ‘Money’ which is representative of worldly manners and ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must not misunderstand this as God wanting us to reject all kind of worldliness and money itself, as money in itself is in fact neutral and not evil. Instead, it is the attachment and desires which we have for money and for other worldly desires and ambitions, all of which are leading us further away from God and closer towards the path towards damnation. That is why we are being reminded to keep ourselves focused on the Lord and not be tempted or swayed to move away from Him, exchanging our faith in Him for the pleasures, ambitions and desires of this world. Instead, we should make good use of whatever blessings, good things and opportunities which God has given us for good purpose in accordance with the will of God.

That means each and every one of us should strive to make good use of whatever the Lord has entrusted to us, be it small or large, insignificant or significant. He has given us all these with the aim of teaching and guiding us all on how we can responsibly make use of everything that He has granted to us, so that they may be used for good and worthy purposes, for the greater glory of God and for the good of those whom we encounter in life and for the benefit of those whom we have been entrusted with by God, especially for those who are truly dear, precious and beloved to us. We should continue to do our best to contribute our actions and efforts for the good of the Lord’s Church and all the people of God around us.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and empower us all in each and every moments of our lives in living up to our faith in God. May He continue to encourage us to persevere in faith and remain truly faithful to Him even when we may be facing hardships, trials and difficulties in life. We should not easily give up the struggle or give in to the many temptations present all around us. We should instead continue to inspire our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith, now and always, through our every actions, words and deeds. Amen.

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 16 : 9-15

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “And so I tell you : use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.”

“Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?”

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You do your best to be considered righteous by people. But God knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by God.”

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 10-11

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom; and speak of Your power.

by

Saturday, 8 November 2025 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Romans 16 : 3-9, 16, 22-27

Greetings to Prisca and Aquilas, my helpers in Christ Jesus. To save my life, they risked theirs; I am very grateful to them, as are all the churches of the pagan nations. Greetings also to the church that meets in their house. Greetings to my dear Epaenetus, the first in the province of Asia to believe in Christ. Greet Mary, who worked so much for you.

Greetings to Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and comparisons in prison; they are well known Apostles and served Christ before I did. Give greetings to Ampliatus, whom I love so much in the Lord. Greetings to Urbanus, our fellow worker, and to my dear Stachys. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send their greetings.

I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, send you greetings in the Lord. Greetings from Gaius, who has given me lodging and in whose house the church meets. Greetings from Erastus, treasurer of the city, and from our brother Quartus. Glory be to God! He is able to give you strength, according to the Good News I proclaim, announcing Christ Jesus.

Now is revealed the mysterious plan, kept hidden for long ages in the past. By the will of the eternal God it is brought to light, through the prophetic books, and all nations shall believe the faith proclaimed to them. Glory to God, Who alone is wise, through Christ Jesus, forever! Amen.