April 15, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 19 April 2026 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we enter into the celebration of the Third Sunday of Easter, all of us are reminded yet again of the very reason why we celebrate joyfully during this time and season of Easter. We are reminded that particularly during this time of Easter, all of us should focus our attention on the Risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who has won for us such a great victory through His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross, and then through His glorious Resurrection from the dead. Through all of that, Christ our Lord and Saviour has opened for us the pathway to eternal life, the road to eternal glory and true joy with Him. We are no longer separated and sundered from the love and compassion of God, and we have been brought closer once again to God.

In our first reading today, we heard the testimony of faith by St. Peter who proclaimed to all the people assembled in Jerusalem at that time, of the truth regarding Jesus Christ, the One Who had been crucified and put to death, just weeks prior to that time, and which according to the Apostles and the other eyewitnesses, had risen from the dead in glory, and appeared to them, showing them all the fulfilment of God’s promised salvation, and the triumph that He had shown us in our battle against sin and death. St. Peter told all of the people assembled of the Messiah that the Lord has promised His people, and how everything has been fulfilled through this same Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Crucified One. He and the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord went forth courageously, encouraged and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, proclaiming the Risen Lord to all.

Most importantly, this Messiah’s story did not end with His death. Indeed, many of those same people had witnessed how the Lord Jesus was condemned to death and was crucified by the Romans, with the support of the Jewish authorities, who gave Him off to the Romans in the first place. But, the Lord Jesus rose gloriously from the dead, and His Resurrection has proved to be the fulfilment of everything that God has promised to His people, to all of us. For through His Resurrection, the Lord has cast out and destroyed the chains and the dominion of sin and death over all of us, and He has made His sacrifice and death a most worthy offering to His heavenly Father, for the atonement and forgiveness of all of our multitude of sins. The Lord has become the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of the New and Everlasting Passover and Covenant that God has established with us.

This is what St. Peter himself also testified and spoke of in one of his Epistles, that is our second reading today. The Apostle spoke of how all of us have been saved through the Precious Blood of the Lamb, the Paschal Lamb, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and saved by the One Who has risen from the dead, and Who raises the dead with Him, to share in the eternal life and inheritance meant for all of us from the very beginning. Through this, all of us are reminded of just how important the Resurrection of the Lord is to our faith and belief in the Lord, for without the Resurrection, then Christ’s death on the Cross would have been meaningless. Without the Resurrection, then it would have been proven that no one could escape the power of death, and yet, the Lord’s glorious Resurrection overcame that. Without the Resurrection, the death of the Lord Jesus would just be the sad and tragic death of a Man condemned to death because of the jealousy and political intrigues within the Jewish community back then.

It was truly the Lord’s Resurrection that made it all possible for us to have hope once again, and to be lifted up out of our despair and the darkness surrounding us. This has happened as we heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord appeared to two of His disciples who were travelling on their way to the village of Emmaus, very shortly after the Lord’s Resurrection. Both of those two disciples had been distraught and demoralised by the persecution and the death of the Lord, and despite hearing the words of the women who went to the tomb of the Lord and telling them of the Resurrection, they still could not believe that the One in Whom they had placed their hopes in, would have been crushed and killed in such a way. It was there that the Risen Lord appeared to them, as He came by them on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The Lord discussed the passages of the Scriptures with them, particularly the part where it concerned the suffering and the hardships that the Messiah had to suffer, in referring to what had happened to Himself.

And as we heard in that same Gospel passage, the Risen Lord encouraged and strengthened the spirit and the faith of the two disciples as they went on their journey with Him towards Emmaus, before finally revealing Himself to them at the breaking of the bread with them. That was what brought the two disciples to rush back immediately all the way to Jerusalem, to tell all the other disciples of what they had just witnessed about the Risen Lord appearing to them in the flesh. This amongst other evidence of the Resurrection, and the fact of how many of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord were willing to die and suffer for this truth, are more than enough proofs that the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour, has truly risen from the dead, and did not remain in the tomb, in death. Despite the efforts by the members of the Sanhedrin to silence and hide the truth about the Lord’s Resurrection, even to the point of bribing the guards who were at the tomb of the Lord, they failed to contain the continuously and rapidly growing Christian faith and believers.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard from all the Scripture readings today, let us all be reminded that as Christians, that is as members of God’s Church and as those who belong to Him, as His beloved sons and daughters, we have the responsibility and duty to be good role models and inspiration to one another in our way of life and faith. It means that each and every one of us have to lead lives that are in accordance to our faith in the Lord and not to scandalise the Church and the Holy Name of Our Lord by our inappropriate and sinful actions, works and deeds. This is why, all of us are reminded that we all should be Christians in truth and reality, in all things and not just in name or for formality only. Unless we commit ourselves wholeheartedly and completely to the Lord, to His path and His Law and commandments, we may end up being easily distracted and tempted by the many temptations all around us.

This Sunday, as we have entered into the third week of the Easter season, let us all ask ourselves, whether we have truly made good use of the time we had these past two weeks during this joyful season of Easter, or whether we have squandered the time and opportunities presented to us. All of us are reminded that we are all the people whom the Lord had loved and redeemed from sin, and by our common baptism, all of us have been made partakers of the New and Eternal Covenant that He had sealed by His own Most Precious Blood. Therefore, all of us should follow in the examples of our holy predecessors, the Holy Apostles, the innumerable saints and martyrs, who have courageously stood up for their faith and proclaimed their dedication to the Lord, as they endured challenges and trials, one after another, in their ministry and lives. They proclaimed the Risen Lord, His love and truth to the world, through their every actions, words and deeds.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be missionary and evangelising in our every words, actions and deeds as well, and let our every efforts bring more and more people closer towards the Lord, that all those who witness our works and actions, heard our words and experienced our interactions with them, may experience the truth and love of God through us. Let us all inspire our fellow brothers and sisters much as how the Apostles themselves had inspired us with their courage and dedication to God. May all of us continue to carry on living our lives with zeal, with commitment and devotion, full of love for God and for one another, and may each and every one of us be good role models and examples in our Christian faith and living. May the Risen Lord, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, continue to guide us all and give us the strength and courage to proclaim His truth and Resurrection to the world. Amen.

April 8, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 12 April 2026 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us have come to the completion of the glorious Easter Octave, the Second Sunday of Easter, as we continue to embark on this joyful journey and time, and as we gather together to celebrate joyfully the Lord’s glorious Resurrection, we are reminded as always of the love and kindness that He has always shown us. Through His Passion and death, His glorious Resurrection, the Risen Lord has brought us all from the darkness into the light, and He has rejuvenated all of us, restored hope to all of us who have been suffering in the darkness, so that each and every one of us may once again live with Him in true joy and happiness. This is why, Pope St. John Paul II through his decision, named this Second Sunday of Easter as the Divine Mercy Sunday, in reference to the vision of St. Faustina Kowalska on the Aspect of the Lord as the Divine Mercy, focusing on the merciful and compassionate nature of our loving God and Father.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the early beginnings and the early days of the Church, after we have heard in the past week of the many deeds of the Apostles in proclaiming the truth about the Lord’s Resurrection, and how many people have become convinced that the Lord is the Saviour of the world, and believed in Him. That was the beginning of the Christian Church and community, and we heard how the early Christians lived, sharing their goods and properties, living in wonderful peace and harmony with each other. They lived in God’s grace and cared for each other, living righteously and faithfully in God’s path. They truly embodied the spirit of being true disciples and followers of the Lord. They did what they had been taught by the Apostles and the Christian missionaries, striving to do what they could to glorify the Lord by their lives, by their every actions, words and deeds.

They trusted in the Lord and obeyed Him, focusing themselves and their lives on the Risen Lord, and in loving one another in the manner that the Lord Himself has shown His love upon them, that everyone who witnessed them and their works, their lives and actions were indeed touched by the love of God made manifest and real through the actions of His called and chosen people, those who are called Christians. They embodied what we heard in our second reading today from the First Epistle of St. Peter. The Apostle spoke of how Lord has shown all of us, His beloved people the hope and salvation through the Resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord and Saviour, through Whom all of the people faithful to the Lord had been brought to reconciliation and reunion with our beloved Father and God. St. Peter also spoke of how each and every members of the Church ought to put our trust in the Lord, and hold fast onto this faith we have in Him.

St. Peter also mentioned how putting our trust in the Lord is much better and far more important, a wiser and better choice than putting our trust in worldly means, by comparing between gold and faith, and how gold provided something that will not last forever while faith gives us things that the world cannot give and lasts forever. For while gold, wealth, riches and the resources of this world may fail us and may be destroyed and lost from us, as long as we entrust ourselves to the Lord and remain faithful to Him, the Lord will always be by our side, guiding us in our path and providing for us, even in the midst of our darkest and most difficult moments. The Resurrection itself was the strongest proof of this, as coupled with the Passion and death that Our Lord and Saviour endured on His Cross, it proves that God’s love endured even through His death, and through His Resurrection, we have seen once again His love and compassion for us, undimmed and shown to us in all its fullness.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the example of how the Lord showed His beloved ones that He truly remembered all of them and loved them, appearing before them at the moment when they were still confused and lost at what had just happened in the preceding days. Back then, right after the Resurrection, the disciples of the Lord were still filled with fear and uncertainty, as they experienced a great whirlwind of events from the moment when the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem, hailed and glorified like a King, only to be betrayed by one of His own disciples, abandoned by everyone and rejected by the same ones who had welcomed Him with such great joy and festivities. They witnessed how the Lord was persecuted, tortured and broken, forced to carry His Cross to Calvary, pierced with nails and suffered until His death, and His Body interred in a tomb. Then, a most bewildering news were told to them by the women who went to the Lord’s tomb, telling them that the Lord had risen from the dead.

In truth, the Lord Himself has predicted that all these would happen, but none of the disciples realised the truth until everything had happened. The Lord appearing before those same disciples therefore revealed all of the truth that He has been telling them all the while, and relighted the hope in the hearts of those who have been afflicted by fear and darkness. The Lord appeared to all of them except for St. Thomas who have been away during the time that the Lord appeared to His disciples. We heard of how St. Thomas refused to believe what the other disciples had told him, and refused to believe that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead, even to the point of proclaiming that unless he could verify everything right up to touching and putting his fingers into the Lord’s wounds, he refused to believe in the resurrection of the Lord.

It was there then that the Lord proved Himself and His Risen glory to St. Thomas, appearing before him and the other disciples and telling him to do exactly as what he had wanted to do. St. Thomas was awestruck, and he immediately professed his faith in the Lord, with the words that we are now familiar with, ‘My Lord and my God’. These are the exact same words that we usually say whenever the Most Holy Eucharist, the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of Christ is presented before us, at the moment when the Eucharist is elevated by the celebrant, at the Consecration during the Eucharistic Prayer. We utter the same words as St. Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God’ and more significantly, just as the Lord had said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.’ Unlike St. Thomas, who have seen the Risen Lord Himself and believed in Him, we have not seen the Risen Lord and yet we believed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in essence that is what our Christian faith is all about. Our Christian faith is the belief we have in the salvation and eternal life that we have been offered most generously by the merciful and compassionate love of God, the Divine Mercy. This Sunday that is the reason why we commemorate this Divine Mercy Sunday, to remind us all that the Resurrection of the Lord is the proof of the Lord’s ever enduring Love and Mercy towards us, in His ever loving actions and works to reach out to us and to reconcile us to Himself. He has sent us all His own beloved Son after all, to suffer most grievous injuries and hardships, persecution, humiliations and rejection so that by His wounds, pains and sufferings, He might save us all and redeem us from our many sins and faults. By His sorrowful Passion, the Lord, our most loving and compassionate Divine Mercy have redeemed us and healed us from our fallen state of sin.

Now, as we celebrate the Divine Mercy of God and this joyful Easter season, let us all therefore spend our time to proclaim the most Divine Mercy of Our Risen Lord to the whole world, to all those whom we encounter in life. All of us as Christians have the solemn obligation and mission to proclaim the Lord to the world, and the best way that we can do this, is by doing His will, obeying His Law and commandments, and living our lives in the manner that is truly worthy of the Lord, much as how the early Christians mentioned in our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles had lived their lives. We have to show that we truly believe in the Lord, truly present in our midst, and by Whose works of mercy we have been redeemed from our terrible state in life. Do we truly believe in the Risen Lord like how the disciples, the numerous saints and martyrs of the Church, our holy predecessors, had done? Or do we doubt Him like how St. Thomas once doubted Him?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore ask the Lord, our Resurrected Saviour and God, to show us all His mercy and forgiveness, pouring down from His own Most Sacred Heart upon each and every one of us. What St. Faustina Kowalska had seen in her visions, and the words she has received reminded us that the Lord first and foremost loved us all, although He despised our sins and wickedness. He wants us all to change our way of life for the better, so that we may truly embrace His mercy in full. Forgiveness and healing for our many sins can come from the Lord alone, and it is in Him therefore that we should put our full trust in, entrusting ourselves wholeheartedly from now on if we have not yet done so. Let us all draw ever closer to Him, to the Divine Mercy, to the Lord’s Throne of Mercy, beseeching Him to remove from us the blight of these sins we have committed. May the Risen Lord, the Divine Mercy continue to bless and guide us all to Himself, and may He remain with us always, now and at all times. Amen.

April 2, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 5 April 2026 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Alleluia! Christ has risen from the dead, Alleluia! He has been triumphant over sin and death, Alleluia! We have finally arrived at the Easter season after the forty days and six Sundays of the season of Lent, during which time we have prepared ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually, striving to be closer to God and to change our way of life, distancing ourselves from sin and from wicked things that can keep us separated and distanced from the Lord, our God. Now that Easter has finally arrived, we are reminded that the Light that the Lord has brought into our midst, the Hope and Resurrection that He has promised and assured us with, all of these surpass the greatest darkness in our lives.

This Easter is a reminder for all of us of the coming of spring, the advent of a new hope and light for our lives, as Christ our Risen Lord has led us out from the depths of the darkness of evil, sin and death, into the new life and existence blessed and graced by God and His love. By the Lord’s death and resurrection, we share with Him this passage from death into life, from darkness into light, and from despair into hope. That is what each and every one of us have shared through our common baptism. With the Lord, all of us shall together be triumphant, overcoming the obstacles and barriers that had once kept us away from God, and with Him, we shall no longer be lost in the darkness and despair, just as the glory of His Resurrection and His Light sweeps away the darkness of this world surrounding us.

In our Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday liturgical celebrations, we commonly celebrate baptisms as we welcome many of our fellow brothers and sisters who have journeyed for some time in their search for their Lord and Saviour, as they come, just like us, in finding our hope and light, our salvation in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world. The Risen Christ has shown us that there is hope beyond darkness and sin, there are way out of the wickedness of this world. While once we have been cast out in the darkness and suffering because of our disobedience and failure to obey the will of God, we have not been left alone, as the Lord truly loves each and every one of us, though we are sinners, and He has always patiently reached out to us, loving us and caring for us, desiring to be reconciled and reunited with us. It was never His desire to punish us or to cast us out into the darkness, but it is by our own conscious and deliberate choice that we have rejected God’s generous love and resisted His constant efforts to reach out to us. But the Lord did not stop trying, and He did all He could so that we can truly regain our state of grace and be reconciled fully with Him.

That is why, He has sent us all His own most beloved Son, incarnate in the flesh, the Son of God and Divine Word of God, Incarnate as the Son of Man. He did all these so that by sharing in our humanity, Christ, the Son of God, Our Lord and Saviour, may come to lead us by His own hands, manifesting perfectly the love of God, to His Father’s loving Presence, reuniting us and acting as the Bridge that leads us mankind back to our loving God and Creator, crossing over the once unbridgeable and unpassable chasm existing between us and God. Our disobedience, wickedness and evil deeds led to sin, and sin became the barrier and obstacle separating and sundering us from the fullness of God’s love and grace. It may seem to be insurmountable but God’s love, grace and forgiveness is far greater than even all of those.

And Christ, as the Son of Man, showed us all what it truly means for us to be faithful and obedient to the will of His heavenly Father, showing us just how much He loved His Father and how willing He was to fully obey His will, that He willingly endured all the sufferings, pain, humiliations, rejections and hardships, bearing His Cross and all the burdens and punishments for our sins, so that we may be saved through Him. By His obedience, Christ has broken us free from the results of the disobedience of Adam, our ancestor, and the disobedience of our forefathers. He has reversed the unfortunate events that led us to suffer in this world, and bringing unto us the sure promise of eternal life that He Himself has won for us through His death and Resurrection. Through these He has restored the Light of Hope to all of us.

Today as we listened from our Scripture passages, each one of us are reminded of everything that the Lord has done for us, in sending us His Son, to bring us up from the depth of our sins, raising us up with Him, that through His glorious Resurrection all of us have the new hope that pierces through the darkness of despair all around us, and He has called us all to be His own people, gathering us and finding us from this world. For He is our Good Shepherd, Who went out all His way to reach out to us, His lost sheep, and having found us, He called us all to follow Him, just as the disciples had done. In our first reading today, we heard of how the disciples went forth out to proclaim the Lord’s Resurrection, and we heard how St. Peter led them all in proclaiming the truth about Jesus Christ, about how the One Whom the people had rejected, humiliated and persecuted, and condemned to die like a criminal on the Cross, was the One Whom God had actually sent into their midst to be their Saviour. St. Peter spoke of this courageously despite the fear that he and the other disciples once had of the Jews and their leaders.

Back then, the High Priest and the other chief priests, as well as the other members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council had declared the Lord Jesus as a Criminal and as a rogue, banning His teachings and works to be spread and published, and for that reason, the disciples of the Lord had been in hiding ever since the Lord rose and then ascended into Heaven, and hence, they were hiding for a while, fearful of the repression and the opposition of the Jewish people and their elders. This happened until the coming of the Holy Spirit, on the day and moment of the Pentecost Sunday, when the Lord sent His Holy Spirit to dwell among His disciples and followers, strengthening them and giving them the courage, Wisdom and strength to carry out whatever it was that He had tasked and entrusted them to do. That was what drove the Apostles, led by St. Peter, to go forth and proclaim the truth about the Lord, everything He had done, His Resurrection and His calling on all of the people to follow the path of the Lord.

Now, as we heard these from our Scripture passages, together with the account of the Lord’s resurrection in our Gospel passage this Easter Sunday, we are all reminded that as the witnesses of the Lord’s Resurrection and glorious triumph over sin, evil and death, all of us are called and have been entrusted with the same mission that the Apostles had been entrusted with by the Lord. All of us have received the same truth and revelation through the Church, and through our teachers of faith, the bishops and priests, that we have also become partakers in the same mystery of the Lord’s Resurrection, and also His Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood, the Eucharist. Since all of us truly believe in these, the very core tenets of our Christian faith, it is therefore important that we have to profess our faith well in our way of life and in our every actions and deeds.

The Church has been entrusted with the mission to proclaim the truth of Christ, His Resurrection and all that He had done, and God’s love for all of us, and we are all missionaries and messengers of God’s truth to the world. If we do not live our lives in the manner that Christians should have done, and if we have not been sincere in our faith and dedication to God, and worse still, if we do things that are in fact contrary to what the Lord had taught us to do, all these will bring about scandal to our faith, to the Church and to the Lord’s Holy Name. How can we convince others to believe in the Lord if we ourselves have not shown true and genuine faith in Him, and if we have continued living our lives in wickedness and evil? That is why, just as we enter into this glorious and most joyful season of Easter, each and every one of us as Christians are reminded to be faithful to the Lord, and we are to believe in Him wholeheartedly in all things.

It means that in everything we say and do, in our every actions and interactions, all of us should truly practice and show our Christian faith and beliefs, in all of our deeds and works. That is what we all should do as Christians, and as those who truly believe in the Lord’s Resurrection and truth, let us all begin from this Easter Sunday henceforth, if we have not yet done so, to be joyful and dedicated disciples of the Lord, proclaiming His Resurrection and glory with great joy and zeal. And let us also remember that this time of Easter, all of our celebrations and joy do not end on this day. Instead, this Sunday is just the beginning of the Easter season, that lasts for a whole period of fifty days right up to the Pentecost Sunday. In fact, it does not mean that our Easter joy and works should end there either, as we are all called to proclaim the Lord henceforth and beyond, in every moments of our lives.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, if our faith in the Lord is still not strong yet, and if we are still filled with fear and doubt, like how the two disciples who were journeying to Emmaus from our Gospel passage for this Easter Sunday evening Mass showed us, then we should let our Risen Lord to come into our midst and to encourage and strengthen us all with the courage and faith, so that each and every one of us may be filled with the conviction and the desire to glorify God by our lives, and to proclaim His truth to all the whole world. Let us all be inflamed and strengthened by the Word and Wisdom of God, just as how the Lord Himself had strengthened those two disciples journeying towards Emmaus, so that like them rushing back towards Jerusalem with great joy, to tell the other disciples of what they had experienced and witnessed, we may also exhibit the same strength and spirit to proclaim the Lord and His truth.

Let us ask the Lord to strengthen us with the grace of His Wisdom and the power of His Holy Spirit, so that all of us who have placed ourselves in the trust of the Risen Lord, may continue to shine forth as the bright beacons of His light, proclaiming His love and truth to our fellow brothers and sisters, so that each and every one of us may indeed become most faithful disciples and followers of Our Lord, in all things. May our actions, words and deeds, our interactions and works be exemplary and be inspirational to each other, and to all those who witness them, so that we may truly be good and worthy missionaries of our faith, and that many more will come to believe in the Lord through us, by our love for God and for those around us, especially those who are most beloved and dearest to us. Let us all renew the promises that we have made at our own baptism, be it recent or long time ago, that we will resolutely reject and resist the temptations of evil, Satan and the worldly desires, and strive to do what the Lord has asked us to do. Let us remember that our baptism is not the end of our journey of faith, but instead was just the beginning of a new journey of our lives, a journey blessed by God.

May the Lord, our Risen Christ, risen gloriously from the dead continue to inspire and strengthen us. May He bless us and strengthen us so that we may always be committed and ready to live our lives wholeheartedly, dedicated to Him and to proclaim His Resurrection, His truth and love to all those whom we encounter daily in life. May all of us continue to live with faith and with the joy of the Risen Christ in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us all and may His light shine upon us, illuminating our path forward in life. Wishing all of us a most blessed Easter season, and may the Risen Christ be with us and our loved ones always. Alleluia! Amen!

March 25, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 29 March 2026 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, also known as Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord marks the beginning of the Holy Week and the entry into this most solemn and important period of time when we commemorate the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world, the moment when He suffered for us all, bearing all the burdens of our sins and mistakes, our faults and iniquities, all the wickedness and evils we have committed, so that by His most generous and selfless love, shown to us in His loving sacrifice on the Cross, all of us may be saved and be brought into the assurance of eternal life and glory with Him. The Lord has willingly done all of these, in obedience to the will of His heavenly Father so that by His sacrifice offered most worthily on our behalf, each and every one of us may find the path to eternal life by the full reconciliation and the New and Eternal Covenant that He made, as our Eternal High Priest, all of which we commemorate during this most Holy Week.

In our Gospel reading today, which was read at the beginning of the Holy Mass, we heard the passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew detailing the time when the Lord was about to enter into the city of Jerusalem for His upcoming Passion as we all certainly well know of, that moment when the Lord rode on a donkey and welcomed into the city of Jerusalem with the people waving palm branches and putting their clothes for Him to pass through, as if He is the King that came in glory to enter into His City. This is why we call this Sunday’s celebration as Palm Sunday in the first place. It marks first of all the commemoration of the glorious entry of the King of Kings and the rightful King of Israel, the Son and Heir of David, entering into the City of His glorious inheritance and dominion, as the Lord has revealed in advance through His prophets and messengers, like that of the prophet Zechariah, who prophesied that the King and Messiah would come to His City riding on a humble donkey.

All of that had been fulfilled in the actions of the Lord Jesus that day, Who chose a donkey with its colt, or its young one, which had not borne any burden before. The donkey that had been tied on the pole itself is rich in symbolism, as it represents the first-called among God’s people, the Israelites, that had been burdened by many of the sins of their ancestors and by their enslavement in the hands of many rulers and oppressors, and the Lord freeing the donkey from its bondage has the symbolic meaning of His coming that is meant to bring true freedom to the people of God, beginning with the descendants of Israel, and then the colt, which represents the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people, who followed along as the Lord rode on the donkey, representing His dominion and rule over not only the Jewish people, the descendants of the Israelites, but also over the Gentiles and hence over the whole world. His Kingship is Universal and inclusive, and all encompassing instead of just ruling over the Jewish people only.

Then, there is the symbolism of the donkey itself, as a humble beast of burden typically used as the means to carry the weight of cargo and objects that were not usually meant for carrying a human being, less so for One Who is a King, and less still supposedly for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the King of all the whole Universe, coming upon His City and people. Yet, the fact that the Lord rode into Jerusalem on a humble donkey and not on a mighty warhorse or other extravagant rides that other worldly rulers often rode on, highlighted the true nature of His Kingship and His mission in this world. He did not come to this world to conquer and to destroy, unlike what earthly and worldly kings usually do, and He did not come to lead His people in a war of liberation and resistance against the Romans or any others, unlike what many of the Jewish people in the past often mistakenly believed.

Instead, He came into this world and into our midst to bring His Peace upon us, to show us the love that He has always had for us from the very beginning, real and tangible in the flesh. He came into this world to serve and not to be served, to reach out to the least amongst us, and to every single one of us without exception. He does not discriminate against us, and He wants each and every one of us to be reconciled with Him, and that is why He came into our midst, to dwell and walk amongst us, and to show us His most generous love, so much so that He was willing to pay the ultimate price in order to do so. And that leads us to the second part of our celebration today, that as we proceed triumphantly with Christ to the Altar, entering with Him to the Holy City of Jerusalem, we then enter into a new phase of this Sunday’s events, as we remember what would take place within merely days after that glorious event.

That is when we remember how it was likely that many of the same people who have cried out with great joy and enthusiasm, ‘Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord’, were the same ones who later on cried out on Good Friday, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’ and ‘We have no King but Caesar!’. Through that we can see just how the mood and the attitude of the people so quickly changed within just a matter of a few days, from one of jubilation and adoration to one of disgust and rejection. No doubt that there must have been some coercion, persuasion and jockeying going around back then, as the members of the Jewish High Council or the Sanhedrin, which were mostly against the Lord and some were even openly hostile, must have encouraged, coerced and persuaded many of the people that the Lord Jesus was the False Messiah and a traitor to the Jewish nation and people, for His supposedly blasphemous teaching and actions against God.

All of these had been predicted beforehand by God Himself as He revealed it through His prophets, in what we heard from our first reading today, as we progress from the glorious procession of palms into Jerusalem towards the true nature of our Lord’s ministry and what He would do for each and every one of us. The prophet Isaiah spoke curiously on the Suffering Servant, the One Whom God would send to be with His people, and how this Servant of God would suffer and endure grievous beating and hardships, torture and trials, as He obeyed perfectly the will of the One Who had sent Him to us. He would be humiliated and made to suffer for the sins of the people of God, a reading that we shall further explore on Good Friday, in which that passage refer to the same Servant, Who would be lifted up high and exalted, that by His wounds and stripes, all of us would be healed, a clear reference to what the Lord Jesus Himself would do for our sake.

We heard how the Lord humbled Himself and emptied Himself of all glory, as we heard from our second reading passage from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Philippi. The Apostle St. Paul spoke of how the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, obeyed His Father’s will so perfectly, and humbled Himself such that He was willing to endure a most humiliating and painful death on the Cross, so that by His most selfless offering of Himself, and by His obedience, He became the Source of Hope and Salvation for all of us mankind, for the whole entire world. Through Christ, all of us have become sharers and partakers in the New and Eternal Covenant that He has established with all of us, as He is the Mediator of this Covenant, through which He has brought us into full reconciliation between us and the Lord God, our loving Father and Creator.

This is what we have essentially heard through the long Passion narrative this Sunday, reminding us all of everything that Our Lord had done for our sake, in Him enduring the worst of punishments for us. He has not ignored or abandoned our plight and suffering, and by His ever enduring love and compassion towards us, He willingly took upon His shoulders and embraced us fully, and in His sharing of our human nature and existence, He took it upon Himself to offer on our behalf a most worthy offering, the offering of His own Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood, as the Paschal Lamb of God, crushed and sacrificed for us, that He offered Himself on the Altar of His Cross at Calvary, He brought upon us the certainty of salvation and eternal life. All of us who believe in Him and in the truth that He has revealed to us, will receive from Him the gift of everlasting grace and life.

Thus, this Sunday as we mark the beginning of this most Holy Week, the Week celebrating and commemorating the most important events in the history of our salvation, let us all therefore immerse ourselves more deeply into the Lord’s Passion and all that He had done for us, as we remember how He began the final week of His most important mission, that is to offer and sacrifice Himself for our sake. Let us all remember the actions of our great and most loving King, Who has come into our midst to be with us, and to redeem all of us. Let us remember how He came humbly riding on a donkey into Jerusalem, hailed and adored by the people only to be cast out and rejected just barely a few days later, betrayed by His own disciple and condemned to death for sins and faults that He Himself did not commit. Yet, He had borne all of that upon Himself because He loves each and every one of us, and He wanted that by His selfless offering and sacrifice, and by His suffering and death, all of us may be saved, and has sure path to eternal life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we enter into this most solemn and important week, the holiest of all the weeks of the whole entire year, let us all spend some time to reflect on our Lenten journey thus far and how we have lived our lives in this world. Lent is a time for us to rediscover our true path in life towards God and to recalibrate and reconnect ourselves with God and His path especially if we have erred and wandered down the wrong path. And as we enter into this Holy Week of Our Lord’s Passion, each one of us are called to remind ourselves why our Lord has done all these for us, and that again, first of all, is because of His love for us. We have sinned against the Lord, and we should have deserved damnation and destruction for our faults and sins, and yet, God willingly came to us, and through His Passion, He showed us the path to a new life with Him, and by His sufferings, He shouldered the punishments of our own sins meant for us.

Let us all remember how God has been so patient with us and how much He has loved us, that He came into our midst to live amongst us and to suffer with us and for us. Let us all no longer harden our hearts and minds, and be no longer stubborn as many of our predecessors who have frequently and constantly rejected the Lord and His generous offer of love and mercy. Let us all look upon the Crucified Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and see His loving gaze, ever always directed at us, so that we may indeed be ashamed by our many sins and wrongdoings, all of which had inflicted the many injuries and wounds that He had to painfully bear for our sake, and yet which He bore willingly and lovingly nonetheless because He truly and really loves us very much. Therefore, let us all deepen our appreciation of everything that Our Lord and Saviour had done for us, and deepen our relationship with Him.

May the Lord, our King and Saviour, our High Priest and our Paschal Lamb, He Who has done so much for us for our salvation, continue to be with us and guide us patiently as He has always done, so that we may grow ever more in faith in Him, and learn to love Him more and more, especially as we enter into this time of most solemn commemoration of His Passion, His suffering and death during this Holy Week and the upcoming Easter Triduum. Today, let us not just acclaim Him with our words and mouth only, but let us all acclaim Him from deep within our hearts. May He help us all to remain focused on Him and may He empower each every one of us so that we may persevere ever more against the many challenges, trials and temptations in life. May God bless us all in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, so that in everything we do, we may truly be ever more faithful to Him and be exemplary role models and good examples for others to follow, that through us and our actions, many more may come to believe in God and be saved. Wishing all of us a most blessed, holy and fruitful Holy Week. Amen.

February 11, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 15 February 2026 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we come to the sixth and the last Sunday before the beginning of the season of Lent this coming Wednesday, each and every one of us are reminded of the need for all of us as Christians, as the Lord’s faithful disciples and followers, all of us need to truly obey the Lord in the Law and the commandments that He has given to all of us, His beloved people, in the manner that we truly understand, appreciate and know the full meaning and purpose of all that He has laid before us. We must not be those who merely pay lip service of our faith and belief in the Lord, and at the same time we must also not be like those who obey the letter of the Law but fail to truly appreciate and understand its spirit.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the passage taken from the Book of the prophet Sirach, in which the prophet spoke of the matter of obedience to the Law and the commandments of God as I had just mentioned, and how God has given His people, the Israelites back then and now also all of us, all of us who have chosen Him as our Lord and Master, believing in His truth and teachings. We should always believe in Him wholeheartedly and with true understanding of His Law, His ways and all of His precepts. As prophet Sirach mentioned, God has given us all the freedom to choose our paths and choice of actions in life, but He has also made it clear that if we side with Him and follow Him, we will be blessed while those who choose to go against Him will face their just consequences in the end.

We are reminded that we should not be merely literally understanding the Law of God without truly appreciating and understanding what He has placed in our lives, the Law and the commandments by which He wanted to teach us all on how we can be His better disciples and followers with each and every moments we have. We should not blindly follow Him without truly understanding His intentions, how He wants each and every one of us to understand His most wonderful, genuine and pure love, so that we ourselves may love Him in the same way, in loving our fellow brothers and sisters around us as well, and especially in how we love those whom He has given us to love, those who are truly precious and beloved to us in our lives.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, the words of the Apostle to them all regarding the matter of the wisdom which God has given to all of us which far surpasses any kind of worldly wisdom, intellect and understanding. God did not give us all the spirit of confusion or ignorance, but rather the Spirit of Wisdom and clarity, in proclaiming His truth and love, His Good News and revelation to all of us without exception, as He has always revealed His love and gentle presence in our midst, calling on all of us to follow Him wholeheartedly and with great and true faith in Him.

Through what we have heard, we are reminded that we should not put our trust only in our worldly understanding and finite wisdom and knowledge of this world. It is not that the wisdom of the world has no merit or virtue, as they can indeed be good and wonderful sources of insight and knowledge, but we must always fall back upon the wisdom of God, the great and Divine Wisdom and truth which He has provided us, and which He has bestowed on us through His gift of the Holy Spirit and the revelation that He has passed onto us. All of these have made us all to be capable of understanding and appreciating His Divine design and will for us, and it is therefore important that we should all discern carefully our paths in life.

Finally, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples and followers, and all those who followed Him of the need for all of them to truly appreciate and understand the meaning, purpose and intention of the Law of God which they had been given and entrusted with by the Lord. He spoke about all these in the context of how the people of that time had not been practicing the Law in the manner that the Lord has intended them to, especially their leaders and those entrusted with the guardianship of the Law, like the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees.

Instead of obeying the Law faithfully as they should havem they allowed themselves to be swayed by worldly concerns and matters, and focusing themselves so much more on the literal aspects and details of the Law, the customs, practices and the ways that were added over the many centuries since the Law was revealed and passed down to the people of Israel through Moses. They bothered themselves and focused so much on the minute details of the rituals and practices of the Law, and was so rigid and unbending on its implementations that they ended up forgetting about why those laws and rules were established and given by the Lord in the first place. Not only that, but they were also arbitrary in the manner how they exercised those laws and rules to suit their preferences.

That was why the Lord made it clear before all that they ought to truly understand what the Law of God had been meant for, to lead and guide all of the people of God towards Him and to teach them all to love Him and one another wholeheartedly. And it is meant to show how they should live their lives with virtue and righteousness, with sincerity of heart and mind, living worthily at all times and following the commandments with true understanding and appreciation, doing their best to walk in the path of God’s righteousness and grace. That is why the Lord was very critical of those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who often made use of the Law and the commandments to glorify themselves in the eyes of the people, and failing to apply them properly and worthily.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we conclude our reflection for this Sunday and prepare ourselves ever more wholeheartedly for a truly fruitful upcoming season of Lent, let us all therefore continue to strive to lead a truly holy and worthy life before the Lord. May the Lord continue to bless us in our lives and guide us all in our respective paths so that we may continue to walk ever more faithfully in His Presence, becoming good role models and inspirations for one another. Amen.

February 4, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 8 February 2026 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as God’s people, each and every one of us are called to be ever faithful and committed to the commandments and Law that He has shown and taught us, and to follow Him and to trust Him in whatever that He is leading us all into in our respective lives. Each and every one of us share the responsibility as disciples and followers of the Lord, in doing whatever we can, even in the smallest and seemingly least significant things so that by our actions, examples and our every deeds, we may indeed inspire in many other people the hope and faith that we all share in the Lord.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the Lord told His people the Israelites clearly through Isaiah of what they were all expected to do as His holy and beloved people, to be exemplary in their way of life, righteous and just in dealing with one another. They should not cause harm and hurt to others around them and they should not act unjustly, in exploiting and benefitting from the sufferings of others unlike what people always commonly do in this world. At that time, during the time of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah, the people of God had been facing lots of sufferings because of the sins of their predecessors and their own, as they lived their lives in according to worldly ways, in not following God’s Law and commandments.

Hence, that was why God sent His prophet Isaiah and many others to help remind the people of what they ought to do as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own, and with whom God had made His Covenant out of His ever enduring and patient love for each and every one of them. God wants each and every one of His people, and therefore all of us included, to follow and obey what the Lord Himself has shown and taught us all to do, in offering ourselves and our actions, our everyday moments in life for the greater glory of God. We should live our lives worthily that we may truly be

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, in which the Apostle spoke of everything that he had done among them as a missionary for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour Whom God has sent into this world to reveal all about His salvation and grace. St. Paul told the people of Corinth that he came to them with no other intentions or any other missions than to proclaim the truth and Good News of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to show all of them what He has brought into this world, the promise of salvation and eternal life which God has gracefully revealed to us all through His most beloved Son.

And through this short passage from the Epistle to the Corinthians, all of us as Christians are reminded that we too share in the same mission of St. Paul and the other Christian missionaries, in our own unique and distinct ways, in the various means, opportunities and paths that God has provided and shown to us. All of us should strive to do our best to embrace God’s calling, in doing our best to be good role models for one another as God’s beloved people, and as the shining beacons of His truth and love in our communities today. We must realise that our every actions, words and deeds do matter and they truly embody what it is that we believe in, and we should always mean what we believe in that our faith may truly be alive and well, at all times.

Finally, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord to His disciples and followers, and the people who were listening to Him that they all ought to be like salt of the earth and light of the world, using these parables comparing salt and light and their importance to how all of us as the followers of the Lord should not be lukewarm but be truly active and committed in living our lives as Christians. These are the two commodities that are still important and crucial today, but which were even more indispensable and important back then. For without salt and light, the world at the time of the Lord Jesus cannot operate much, as salt and light both played very important roles in the communities of the people, in everyone’s homes and in many activities involving daily living and actions, in work and more things, more than what we may need of those two things today, that is salt and light in our lives.

First of all, salt is used as an important flavouring agent, which is necessary to impart taste and flavour to food which could usually be rather bland tasteless. Salt is also important for the body in order to replenish certain ions and substances that our bodies require in order to function properly. While salt may be easily available these days and many even have problems of excessive consumption of salt, back then, many people did not even have steady supply of salt, as salt production was rather difficult, labour intensive and tightly controlled by the state back then, and without modern technologies that allowed mass production of salt, salt became a rather expensive commodity that was widely sought and desired, and was truly a precious item back then. Salt was also used in the preservation of food, which was important in the era before the advent of effective refrigeration as is present in our world today.

Meanwhile, light was also something very important as although light is abundant from the Sun during the daytime, but at night time, light was often lacking, as even the full brightness of the Full Moon and the stars of the sky paled in comparison with the brightness of the Sun. Night time was therefore often dark, particularly during the time when the Moon was not visible. The roads and the areas outside towns and villages were often very dark and treacherous, filled with all sorts of wild animals and predators, and nobody dared to travel alone or in the dark without the guidance of any light, in the form of lanterns and torches, which could provide assurance and protection for anyone who wished to travel in the dark times. Otherwise, people would rather wait until the morning before they continued to travel. And this was the reality of a world before the advent of electricity and easily available lighting from electricity, a world that we may not be truly familiar with.

Hence, imagine just how useless it is for salt to lose its taste and flavour, its saltiness and hence the ability to give flavour and to prevent food from spoiling and becoming bad. How useless and pointless it is also therefore for light to be hidden without been used to dispel the darkness wherever they are needed, for this light to be hidden and not used as a source of inspiration, hope and assurance, in the times of darkness. What the Lord wanted to say to us in providing this parable to us all through His disciples is that, our lives have to be meaningful, virtuous, righteous, good and just, filled with the virtues and righteousness of God, with Christian values and goodness, with all the things that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us to do. However, many of us as Christians are still ignorant of this calling and this mission which each and every one of us have in this life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we are therefore called and reminded yet again by the Lord to be active in living our Christian lives, full of commitment and devotion to God, and full of the sincerity and the desire to serve the Lord, and to do what He Himself has taught us to do, and to make it such that our every words and actions in our respective lives truly become great sources of inspiration and good examples for others to follow, just like the salt of the earth and light of the world. God has provided each and every one of us with so many distinct and unique sets of gifts, talents, abilities, blessings and opportunities, giving us many chances to make good use of them for everyone’s benefits and for the greater glory of God. Now the question is, are we willing to embrace God’s call and are we willing to follow Him and walk in His path, faithfully and with conviction?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence help one another to remain firm in faith and to be ever more active in reaching out to our fellow men and women, in our respective communities and in whatever areas that we are able to contribute in. Let us no longer be ignorant of the many opportunities and chances that God had provided us in being able to live up to our Christian mission and calling. Like the Apostles, St. Paul and many other holy men and women of God, let us all truly be the flavourful salt of the earth and the ever wonderful light of the world, proclaiming the love and truth of God, in our daily living, in our every words, actions and deeds, at all times. May God be with us all and may He bless us all in our every good works and endeavours, as salt of the earth and light of the world. Amen.

January 28, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 1 February 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded through the passages of the Sacred Scriptures which we have heard and received, that each and every one of us as Christians, as the holy and beloved people of God, those who have been called and chosen by Him, all of us should live our lives in the manner that the Lord has shown and taught us Himself, and also which He has guided us all through His Church and our Christian faith. All of us have been taught what it means to be good disciples and followers of the Lord, in loving God first and foremost and then applying the same love to our fellow brothers and sisters, and especially more so to the ones that God has entrusted to us to love.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah, in which we heard of the prophecy of the coming of good and blessed days for the people of God, the Israelites, whom by the time of the prophet Zephaniah’s ministry had been facing a lot of hardships and struggles. The prophet Zephaniah himself according to Biblical and prophetic evidences was supposedly active during the reign of the last kings of the southern kingdom of Judah, particularly that of King Josiah, the last of the righteous kings to rule over God’s people. The northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed and its people brought into exile, the lands and cities desolated and inhabited by foreigners for about a century by that time, all because of their disobedience and sins.

And amidst that background and context, the prophet Zephaniah delivered a reassuring promise from the Lord Himself that He would find bring them all to justice and those who were meek and lowly, the poor of the land would be vindicated, and they would all indeed receive the assurance of God’s ever enduring love and grace, which He has always committed to them, through the Covenant that He had made and constantly renewed with them and with their ancestors. This is a reminder also for all of us that God always loves each and every one of His people, and He never abandons them even when they themselves had constantly disobeyed and disregarded Him and His Law. He always reached out to them and giving them hope and reassurance of His constant presence and guidance in all things.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, we heard of the words of the Apostle St. Paul speaking to the people of God there about how God has chosen those whom the world has considered to be ordinary, unimportant and without the qualities that many in the world deems to be better and worthy. This does not mean that God never chose anyone who is deemed wise, good and worthy by the world to be His followers, disciples and to be Christians like us, as that was not what St. Paul or the Lord Himself intended. Instead, what the intention truly was is that the Lord is the One Who made us worthy and He is the One Who empowered us all to be the better version of who we are.

It is not us who deem ourselves worthy, and worse still, we should not think that we are in any way superior to others simply because of our faith or our way of living our lives as Christians. Ultimately, each and every one of us are equally beloved and dear to God, and every one of us are precious to Him. And what St. Paul made in comment in today’s passage from his Epistle was intended also to educate the people of God, especially those from the Jewish origin as at that time, there were those like the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and others who deemed themselves better and superior, spiritually better and more worthy than others whom they deemed to be sinful and unworthy, such as the tax collectors, prostitutes and those who were suffering from diseases.

This is not what the Lord wanted from His people, and something which St. Paul and the other Christian missionaries therefore highlighted in their message and preaching of the Christian truth and Good News in their missions and works among the people. God loves everyone regardless of their origins and backgrounds, and He does not have any favourites, and neither was He judgmental or biased against a certain group simply because they were seen to be less than worthy and more likely to commit sin because of their circumstances and way of living their lives. God loves everyone equally and He wants us all to know that there is no one that is excluded from His love and grace, His compassion and mercy.

Finally, from the Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was preaching to the people gathered to listen to Him with the famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’ or also known as ‘The Beatitudes’, which was a series of eight blessings or beatitudes which the Lord pronounced to those people who have lived virtuously and worthily in accordance to what God had called them to do in their lives. And through those, we are reminded yet again that the Lord is not calling the mighty and the glorious, but rather the meek, the humble and all those who are truly worthy of the Lord and His kingdom. The Lord uplifts and honours those who have been truly faithful towards Him as He has highlighted it, and we should hence take note of this in our own actions in life.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we should strive to be like what the Lord mentioned in His Beatitudes, firstly being ‘poor in spirit’, which does not mean being physically or materially poor, but rather having an attitude of humility and desiring fulfilment in God, something which many of us tend to lack in a world full of ego and ambition. And also those who have faced hardships, sorrows, persecutions, those who hunger for justice, and those with pure intentions and pure hearts, full of love for God and for others, as these are the qualities that God is seeking in us. All of us are also called to work for peace in this world, for harmony and love between people, and for righteousness among the nations.

These are all that the Lord has entrusted to all of us as His disciples and followers to do, in living our lives to the best of our abilities as good and inspirational role models and examples. This is why as Christians we should always strive to live our lives with great faith and trust in the Lord, in doing whatever we can to follow the Lord faithfully at all times. We should not worry whether we are good enough or worthy of the Lord, because it is the Lord Himself Who will make us worthy of Him, strengthening, empowering and encouraging us with His blessings, opportunities, talents and the many other things He has given us all so that we may make good use of them in bringing forth His love, truth and Good News into this world.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen us all in faith, now and always so that by our actions, words and deeds, we will always be the worthy examples and inspirations for many others all around us, in following God’s will and in doing what is right and just according to what the Lord Himself has shown and taught us. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

January 21, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 25 January 2026 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all gather together to glorify the Lord and praise His Name, we remember how important and central the Word of God is to our lives and faith as Christians. That is because God’s Word as contained within the Sacred Scriptures, from both the Old and the New Testaments, and how they are interpreted through the Wisdom and Magisterium of the Church, together with the faith of the faithful people of God or the ‘Sensus Fidei’ all form together this important foundation of the Church and everything that we believe in as Christians, as the pillar of our belief and something that can truly anchor is amidst all the volatility and uncertainty in this world. That is why as Christians, all of us are always reminded to read regularly the Word of God in the Scriptures and truly understand the meaning and intentions of God’s Words for each one of us in their unique ways.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the prophecy passed down through Isaiah to the people of Israel had been presented to us, reminding us all of the fulfilment of the great salvation and liberation which God had planned and accomplished through none other than His own Beloved and Begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, He Who is the Son of God and Son of Man both, and the Divine Word Incarnate. Yes, on this Sunday of the Word of God, it is indeed timely, apt and perfect that we hear about how the Word of God has been manifested to us, not just through the Scriptures, but in an even better and more tangible form, in Christ Himself, the Logos, the Word of God made flesh.

That is why, by the coming of God’s salvation manifested in the Incarnation of the Logos, the Word of God, we can see clearly how God’s Words are truly real and true, and not merely just empty words, all of His promises having been fulfilled and accomplished, all the promise that Light and Salvation would come to all the nations from the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, which was a prophecy about where the Messiah or Saviour would be born, as Nazareth, the Lord’s hometown, was indeed located between those two lands. And through His coming into this world, dwelling in our midst, the Divine Logos has imparted on us not just His love and presence, but also His Light, the Light of Hope that dispelled the darkness surrounding us, giving us renewed hope and strength to come towards Him.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, we heard of the exhortation of the Apostle to the people of God in Corinth regarding the serious matter of division which happened quite recently at that place. The context was that even during those earliest days of the Church and the early days of the community of the faithful in Corinth, there were already factionalism and divisions between the members of the Church community between those who supported the charismatic and famous preacher named Apollos, and those who supported St. Paul himself, and also other groups and divisions that existed back then in the community of God’s people.

That was why St. Paul told the faithful people of God in Corinth not to become divided and split among factional lines, between those who favoured a certain preacher or missionary, but rather to work together and stay firmly united as one people of God, as members of the one, united and indivisible Church of God, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, all believing in the same God, the same Messiah and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the manifested and Incarnate Logos, the Word of God. And all Christian believers, those in Corinth and elsewhere, and all of us here living in this world today, we all share the same faith and the same mission and calling to proclaim the Lord and His Good News to all the nations, to everyone whom we encounter in our everyday lives, and we should be united in our purpose and efforts, and not be divided by any worldly divisions.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus and His ministry among the people of God, and the clear reference from what we heard in our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the prophecy of the coming of God’s salvation from the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, and how the author, St. Matthew, who wrote his Gospel with the primary audience and target being the Jewish people living in Judea and Galilee, reassured them all that God’s promises and prophecies had been accomplished and perfectly fulfilled in that same person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour, Whom the Christian believers have believed as the One Whom God had sent into this world to save it.

And we heard also how the Lord began His work and ministry, and called to Himself several disciples and followers, the first of those whom He had chosen to be His Twelve Apostles. He began from the region of the Lake of Galilee, where He encountered the fishermen there, calling upon some among them to follow Him. There were two sets of brothers, Simon and Andrew, as well as James and John, whom He called and promised that they would no longer seek for the fishes of where they used to work at, but they would become the ‘fishers of men’, and that was indeed what they had been called to do, to help the Lord in His mission to gather all the lost and scattered children of God, becoming the fishers of men, in their ministry as Apostles and leaders of the Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we have heard and reflected from these readings and passages of the Scriptures this Sunday, let us all ponder upon how we can better attune ourselves to the Word of God in our daily lives. In fact, honestly, how many of us even spent some quality time to read the Word of God and ponder on their importance, relevance and meaning to our lives? Unless we spend some time and effort to read the Word of God contained within the Scriptures and make the effort to understand them through the teachings of the Church and also the understanding of the faithful, the ‘Sensus Fidei’, and the context of our present day world as compared to what it was like during the time the Scriptures were written, how can we then grow ever stronger in our faith?

In fact, the reality is likely that part of the ongoing crisis in our faith across the world, particularly where many are leaving the faith stemmed from the lack of knowledge and understanding of the Word of God and what our Christian faith and God is truly about. But at the same time, on the other extreme, we must also realise that there are also those who sought to misuse the Word of God to their own selfish purposes and ambitions, and also those who misunderstand the true intention of God’s words and commandments, not unlike how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law once behaved and acted, in how they interpreted the Word of God and His Law to their liking and preferences, without understanding at the heart of the Word of God of the immensity of God’s ever present love for each and every one of us.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we should always let our faith in God develop organically and genuinely at all times, growing ever stronger in our faith and understanding of God’s will, His love and compassion towards us, and that we should show the same love and kindness to everyone around us as well, especially more so for those whom we love and care for. Let us all therefore be genuine and faithful Christians at all times, not just merely in words but also in our every deeds and actions, that we may be true and faithful witnesses of the Divine Logos, the Word of God, made manifest even more in this world through us all. Lastly, this Sunday, as we are at the conclusion of this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, let us also pray and work for the unity of all Christian believers, as well. Amen.

January 14, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

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.

January 7, 2026 by petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Sunday, 11 January 2026 : Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on this day we mark the occasion of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord which also marks the last day of the entire Christmas season in our liturgical calendar and year. It means that after the more than two weeks of celebrations since Christmas Day, beginning tomorrow, we shall enter into the Ordinary Time of the year. Of course traditionally Christmas is still being celebrated all the way up to the second day of February, the fortieth day since Christmas, marking a traditional forty days of Christmas season. But this day marks that transition from our focus and emphasis on the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, and into His ministry and works in this world, with the moment of Baptism marking that significant new beginning and change.

If we recall our Scripture readings of the previous days, it was leading up to this moment of the Baptism of the Lord, when the early life stage of Our Lord, growing up from a Child to adulthood ended, and then, the Lord finally entered into the beginning of the mission and works that He had been sent into this world for. That Baptism at the Jordan marked the moment when He was also revealed yet another time, to St. John the Baptist and those present at His baptism, Who He really is. The Lord Jesus indeed had no need for purification or baptism, but yet, He still shared in the same Baptism that all of us as members of the Church had gone through, not because of His sins or impurities, which He had none, but because He wanted to share with us His death and Resurrection, to bring us into the promise of eternal glory and life.

The Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Jordan symbolically marks the beginning of His ministry of bringing all of us, the lost sheep and flock of God back to Him, because Christ is our Good Shepherd, Who has come into this world to seek for us and to gather all of us back into God’s loving embrace. He has gathered all of us, and shares with us our human existence and life, so that, by also sharing our common Baptism, He may lead us all through the waters of death and rebirth, just the way the people of Israel went through the Red Sea, walking through the water, from their slavery in Egypt and the desolation they had there, into the freedom that God had promised them, and the promise of happiness and joy in the Promised Land that God had promised them and their forefathers.

Now, as we celebrate this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are all called to remember the moment of our own baptism, when we were received into the Church whether as infants or as adults. If we were too young to remember any details because we were baptised as infants, then we should go and find out more about that important moment from our godparents and/or those who were there to witness our baptism, especially while they are still around us. The moment of baptism is something that is essentially as important as our own birthdays, just as the Lord Jesus said in one occasion to Nicodemus, the faithful Pharisee, that to be His followers and disciples, is like one that is born again through the Spirit, and baptism is that moment marking our rebirth into this new life and existence.

How about us? Do we remember our baptism and do we keep it as an important event in our lives? Do we celebrate it the way we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord today in this Feast day? Or do we just let it be a mere footnote and another event in our lives, and not paying more attention to its significance and importance to us? All of us as Christians must recall our Baptism with the same vigour and zeal just as we rejoice and celebrate this Feast today, and also remember the baptismal promises that we have made then, and renewed every year at Easter. Many people could not even remember the date and time of their baptism, and this tells just how little importance we assign to that moment which should have been a truly groundbreaking, memorable and watershed moment in our lives and existence in this world.

The reason why we remember our baptism is also not just so that we recall what we have promised, but also a reminder that we have to continue carrying on the way of life that is expected of us as baptised Catholics, as members of the Lord’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Baptism is not the end of our journey as Christians, especially for those of us who went through the process of initiation into the Christian faith through a period of discernment and catechumenate, and it is not the pinnacle of our Christian journey. Rather, baptism marks that new beginning in our lives in which we have begun a new path of life and existence, dedicating it all to Christ, and striving our best to follow Him in our path of life. Just as the Baptism that the Lord Jesus experienced at the Jordan began His ministry formally, our own baptism should be the point marking the new beginning of our lives.

It means that we are all called towards a better and holier existence, one that is more attuned to the Lord and to His ways and His truth. We are all called to answer God’s call in our lives, making good use of whatever provisions and gifts, blessings and graces that He has given to each one of us. As Christians, we cannot be idle believers, as those who are idle and do nothing at all, are those whose faith are lukewarm and without sincerity, and in the words of St. James, faith without good works and deeds is essentially a dead and useless faith, the faith of a hypocrite that does nothing for the person, and is of no use when we have to account for ourselves on the Day of Judgment. The Lord has given us all His blessings, graces, various talents and abilities so that we may make good use of them for the benefit of others, our fellow brothers and sisters all around us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice today in this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us all spend some time to reflect on whether we have been truly faithful to God in our actions and deeds, in our way of life and believing in Him. If we have not been truly faithful and devoted to Him, then the time is now for us to really consider and discern our path going forward in life, and we should spend the time to think of how we can better glorify God by our lives and actions, in each and every daily moments and at all opportunities. Let us all strive to draw ever closer to God and to remain firmly committed to walk the path towards His salvation and grace, fulfilling and ever being mindful of our baptismal promises. May the Lord, by Whose Baptism we have been saved, through His suffering and death on the Cross, and by His glorious Resurrection, empower us and strengthen us that we may always ever be faithful to Him, now and always. Amen.

petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang

Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam – That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God

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

Sunday, 11 January 2026 : Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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