St. Albert the Great

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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.

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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?”

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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.

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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.

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Friday, 15 November 2024 : 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)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us to heed the call of the Lord for us to obey His Law and commandments, to follow His ways and to love in the way that He has shown and taught us because in the end, we will be held accountable for all of our actions and deeds, our show of love to our brothers and sisters around us or any lack of love instead. If we have not loved our fellow brothers and sisters if we should have done, then we shall also be held accountable for our lack of action and love for our brethren. We have to keep all this in mind as we all continue living our lives as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John, we heard of the reminder from the Apostle to the faithful and hence to all of us, of the need for us to show love in al of our every actions and deeds, in our every interactions and works with one another because ultimately, our God is Love, and if He is Love Himself, the manifestation of perfect and most selfless love, then all of us must also be manifestation of God’s love, embodied in our every actions and deeds, in all the words we speak and in every moments of our lives. God Himself has shown His love to us through His beloved Son, Whom He had sent into the world, into our midst so that He may show us all the manifested and most perfect love of God in the flesh, becoming tangible and approachable for all of us.

As Christians, it is imperative that we keep reminding ourselves that we have been called to love most generously and sincerely to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should not ignore those who need our love and kindness, our help and compassion. There are many out there who have not been loved, ignored and ostracised by those who are around them, and if we are in the position to show love to these brethren of ours, then we should really make good use of the opportunities that God has given us so that we may truly love our brothers and sisters in the same way that the Lord Himself has first loved us all, in all the kindness and patient love and care that He has shown us all these while. We should therefore show the same love in each and every moments of our lives too.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus gave truly grim premonition to His disciples about the coming of the time of reckoning at the end of time, when the moment will come all of a sudden, without anyone knowing or realising it, making use of the examples of past catastrophes and events like that of the Great Flood of Noah, which happened suddenly without warning, destroying the whole entire world and civilisations that existed prior to that, and for those people who had rejected the call of the Lord to repent and follow Noah and his family, it was too late for them once the rain poured down and the waters flood the whole earth. Similarly, the example of Sodom and Gomorrah was also presented, when the rain of fire and brimstone destroyed both cities and their people for their wickedness and sins, and their refusal to repent.

Everything will happen in the same manner as the destructions that happened in the past, swift and without warning, and no one save the Lord Himself knows when the exact time of this happening is. No one among us, past, present and future will ever know the time of the Lord’s Second Coming, which He Himself has predicted and reassured us, just as none of us can ever know the exact time of our passing from this world, the end of our earthly life through death. And just like death, which is a certainty that is definitely going to happen, the Lord’s coming into this world and the time of reckoning, of the Final Judgment is something that is a sure certainty, and having been reminded, all of us should make sure that we prepare ourselves and make ourselves ready for that moment.

And how do we do that, brothers and sisters? We should therefore make sure that we practice our faith and whatever it is that we believe in actively in our lives. We should not merely be making lip service of our faith, but we must always be loving and generous just as our Lord and God has always been kind, generous and loving towards us. That is the mark of a true Christian, and one that we have always been reminded of and been challenged to do, to be truly like God in all things, to be loving and compassionate just as He has been towards us. Let us all hence commit ourselves anew to the Lord in our loving actions towards one another, just as St. John the Apostle had exhorted and reminded the faithful back then. Through our actions and efforts, many more people will come to know of the Lord and His love.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great or Albertus Magnus, a great and renowned bishop and faithful servant of God who had devoted his life to the Lord and to all the people and the flock which God has entrusted to him as bishop and shepherd. St. Albert the Great, also known as St. Albert of Swabia or St. Albert of Cologne, was a Dominican priest who dedicated himself to a lifelong learning of all sorts of matter of the faith, involved in the teaching and formation of many other priests and religious who encountered him in his many academic efforts and pursuits, devoting himself to explore more about the Lord, His nature of love and to reveal more about the teachings of the Christian faith to many people who sought to know Him better. Among his students was another famous theologian and saint, St. Thomas Aquinas.

And later on, as he was appointed by the Pope himself as the Bishop of Regensburg in Germany, he was known for his great humility and piety, in his dedication to his flock, traversing the whole of his large diocese not on horse or carriage as was common for bishops of his time, but on foot instead. He resigned after a period of three years, humbly returning to the academic and intellectual pursuits that had made him to be so influential at that time and even long after his time. For his great faith in the Lord and his many contributions to the Church, he was later not only honoured and canonised as a saint, but was also made as one of the esteemed Doctors of the Church, as a great role model and inspiration for many of us as Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the Scriptures and the life of St. Albert the Great that we have just discussed earlier, we are all reminded to commit ourselves to a life of faith and dedication to God. We should always walk ever more faithfully in the Lord’s path, and do our best so that in each and every moments of our lives, we will continue to glorify the Lord by our every actions and deeds, our every efforts and works, like St. Albert the Great and so many of our other holy predecessors had done. May all of us be able to follow them in their footsteps as well, and strive to live our lives worthily as Christians, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 15 November 2024 : 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)

Luke 17 : 26-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. In those days people ate and drank and got married; but on the day Noah entered the Ark, the flood came and destroyed them all.”

“So it was in the days of Lot : people ate and drank, and bought and sold, and planted and built; but on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven, which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”

“On that day, if you are on the rooftop, do not go down into the house to get your belongings; and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again.”

“I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it might happen that one will be taken, and the other left; though two women are grinding corn together, one might be taken and the other left.” Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this take place, Lord?” And He answered, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.”

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Friday, 15 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 118 : 1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18

Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the law of the Lord.

Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.

I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.

In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my Lord.

Be kind to Your servant, that I may live to follow Your word.

Open my eyes that I may see the marvellous truths in Your law.

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Friday, 15 November 2024 : 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)

2 John 4-9

I rejoiced greatly on meeting some of your children who live in accordance with the truth, according to the command we have received from the Father. And now, I ask you, Lady – I write to you not a new commandment but that which we had from the beginning – I ask you : let us love one another.

This is love : to walk according to His commandments. And this is the commandment : that you walk in love as you have learnt from the beginning. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ Who came in the flesh. They are impostors and antichrists.

Take care of yourselves that you do not lose the fruit of your labours, but receive a perfect reward. Everyone who goes beyond and does not remain within the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

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Wednesday, 15 November 2023 : 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)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded yet again to be righteous, good and worthy in all of our works and deeds. Each and every one of us are called to put our faith and trust in the Wisdom that God has given to us, and place ourselves firmly in the path which the Lord has shown us. All of us as God’s followers and disciples, we are all expected to follow God’s ways, obey His Law and commandments at all times, regardless of our background, nature, occupation or whatever it is that we are doing. And today we are also reminded that especially for those in the positions of power and responsibility, it is even more important that we live our lives in accordance with God and His ways, or else we may end up misleading many others down the wrong path, and the consequences for us will indeed be severe.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the words of the Lord delivered to all of His people, and this time, particularly directed to those leaders, sovereigns and rulers of nations and peoples, reminding them all that all of their power, sovereignty and rule all ultimately came from God. Each and every one of them must always keep in mind that they should not allow the temptations of worldly pleasures, corruptions of sin and desires to mislead and trick us down the wrong path in life. Many people throughout history, especially those who have been entrusted with power and authority, fell into the temptations of sin and evil, abusing their power and authority for their own good, seeking to enrich themselves and to gain good things for themselves by misusing what God had entrusted to them.

What the Lord wants us all to know is that, each and every one of us have been given various distinct and unique blessings, gifts and abilities, talents and opportunities in our lives. How we use them is really up to us, and we have been given the freedom to choose how we want to live our lives. We can use those gifts and opportunities to do what is good, right and just according to God, or to misuse them just as how some of our ancestors and predecessors had done. What the Lord reminds us with is that, for everything we have done, be it good or bad, worthy or wicked, we shall be held accountable for them all, and for those of us who have been entrusted with more, then the more shall be accounted for them, in everything that they and all of us say and do, in our lives.

Then, in our Gospel reading today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke of the story of the encounter between the Lord Jesus and ten lepers, one of whom was a Samaritan and the healing that happened to all of them. All of them begged the Lord to have them healed from their leprosy, which had made them ostracised and cast out from the rest of the community. According to the Law of Moses, the lepers must be segregated and separated out from the community until they recovered from their illness, as this was meant to avoid the disease from spreading rampantly in the close quarters of the people during the time of the Exodus. However, this has also led to the the lepers from being treated badly and looked upon with disdain by everyone, and no one would have wanted that kind of experiences.

Hence, the Lord in His love and mercy, showed them His power and healed all of them from their sickness. He told them to show themselves to the priests as according to the Law of Moses, they had to present themselves being healed and whole to a priest before they could be readmitted into the community. But this happened before they were healed. They were healed as they made their way to the priests, and as we heard, everyone except for the Samaritan among them rejoiced greatly after knowing that they had been healed. Only the Samaritan retraced his steps and sought the Lord again to thank Him for what He had done. This is actually also an allusion and link to what we have heard in our first reading today, as this is yet another reminder that everything we have, and all that we have received, ultimately came from God, and we really should thank Him and keep in mind of whatever it is that He has entrusted to us.

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, as we have heard from the story of the life and works of St. Albert the Great, let us all therefore strive to be good, worthy and responsible in how we live our lives as Christians in this world. Let us all be filled with the desire to love God and to proclaim His truth and love, with humility and faith, much as St. Albert the Great and the many other saints, holy men and women of God had done. Let us all be good examples and role models for one another, in how we live our lives so that we may inspire more and more people to live their lives worthily and to walk ever always in God’s path. May God bless us all in our every good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 November 2023 : 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)

Luke 17 : 11-19

At that time, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria and Galilee, and as He entered a village, ten lepers came to meet Him. Keeping their distance, they called to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Jesus said to them, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests.” Then, as they went on their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice; and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave Him thanks. This man was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Did none of them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”