Sunday

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

I will praise YHVH all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in YHVH; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

Oh, let us magnify YHVH; together, let us glorify His Name! I sought YHVH, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, YHVH hears and saves them from distress.

YHVH’s Angel encamps and patrols, to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of YHVH! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 12 : 1-11

About that time king Herod decided to persecute some members of the Church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword, and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This happened during the Festival of the Unleavened Bread. Herod had him seized and thrown into prison with four squads, each of four soldiers, to guard him. He wanted to bring him to trial before the people after the Passover feast, but while Peter was kept in prison, the whole Church prayed earnestly for him.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound by a double chain, while guards kept watch at the gate of the prison. Suddenly, an Angel of the Lord stood there and a light shone in the prison cell. The Angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him saying, “Get up quickly!”

At once, the chains fell from Peter’s wrists. The Angel said, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” Peter did so; and the Angel added, “Now, put on your cloak and follow me.” Peter followed him out; yet he did not realise that what was happening with the Angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.

They passed the first guard, and then the second, and they came to the iron door leading out to the city, which opened by itself for them. They went out and made their way down a narrow alley, when suddenly the Angel left him. Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know that the Lord has sent His Angel and has rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from all that the Jews had in store for me.”

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us celebrate together the occasion of the great Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, the two great pillars of the Church, as two of the most important Apostles in the Church, with St. Peter the Apostle being the leader of all the Apostles, the leader of the Twelve Apostles, the chief servant of God as the one to whom the Lord had entrusted His Church, as the ‘Rock’ of faith upon which the Church had been founded upon. St. Peter the Apostle as the first Pope and Vicar of Christ led the whole entire Church in communion and together with all the whole body of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, together with the whole entire Church, and he was called from his work as Simon the fisherman at the lake of Galilee to be a fisher of man in gathering all of God’s people to Himself.

Meanwhile, St. Paul the Apostle was once known as Saul, a young Pharisee who was very impulsive and zealous in pursuing the ideals and goals of the Pharisees and their version of the Jewish customs, faith and tradition, and was initially very militant in his efforts to attempt to root out the early Christian Church and faith, persecuting and arresting many of the disciples of the Lord. However, God had a different plan for Saul, whom he called on the way to Damascus in attempting to arrest more of the disciples and followers of the Lord. Saul was touched by the Lord and he had a life-changing experience, choosing to follow the Lord henceforth and becoming one of His greatest disciples and defenders, becoming Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles, for his courageous efforts in mission to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people.

And this Sunday’s celebration particularly has a very great importance for all of us as we belong to the Roman Catholic Church and as part of the Roman Rite of the Church, with our Pope, Pope Leo XIV as the Successor of St. Peter as the Vicar of Christ and leader of the whole entire Church being also the Bishop of Rome, as the Ordinary of the Diocese of Rome, which was during the time of the Lord and His Apostles, the heart and centre of the then mighty Roman Empire. And it was in Rome that both St. Peter and St. Paul went to minister to the people of God and proclaim the Good News of the Lord to those who had not yet believed in God and known Him, and they were both eventually martyred there in Rome. Hence, that is why both St. Peter and St. Paul are celebrated this Sunday with this Solemnity as the Patron Saints of Rome, the seat of our Pope.

Then, as we all reflect upon the Scripture readings this Sunday, we are reminded of the great wonders and things which the Lord had done through St. Peter the Apostle and the other Apostles and disciples, who were merely ordinary men, and yet, they had been given great power and authority, just as we heard in our first reading this Sunday from the Acts of the Apostles. In that occasion we heard how St. Peter and St. John were both at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem and they encountered a man who had been afflicted with paralysis since his birth, and seeing his sufferings and predicament, they told him that they had nothing to give him, not money or help in that manner, but they were giving him an even greater gift, the gift of salvation and healing in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all.

This happened shortly after the Lord had risen from the dead and ascended into Heaven, and after the Holy Spirit had come upon all the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, the whole Church of God. The once fearful and timid Apostles and disciples began going forth most courageously and fearlessly in proclaiming the Good News of God, despite their earlier fears and uncertainties over the threats from the Pharisees and the other members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council, which had threatened action and gave pressure against all those who proclaimed and taught in the Name of the Lord Jesus, or spoke of His Resurrection and truths. However, as we heard in our first reading this Sunday, St. Peter and St. John fearlessly and courageously invoked the Name of the Lord as they healed the man from his affliction.

Then, as we heard from our second reading this Sunday, as was mentioned earlier on, in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Galatia, St. Paul the Apostle spoke of his past experiences of persecuting the early Christian communities and how he had been young, impulsive and misguided by wrong upbringing and mistaken perspective as a Pharisee. But God rescued him out of that situation and predicament, and through His guidance, help and strength, what was a great enemy of the Church turned into one of the Church’s greatest champions and defenders, making great use of his talents, energy and enthusiasm for the greater glory of God and for spreading the Good News of God instead of persecuting the Church wrongly as he had done earlier on.

St. Paul received the baptism and was welcomed into the Church, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and was instructed in the faith by the Apostles themselves, the members of the Twelve whom St. Paul mentioned meeting, and despite not being member of the Lord’s disciples when the Lord was still around in the world, he received the same truth that the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord had themselves received and preserved, by the sharing of the experiences and truths which the Lord’s disciples and followers had experienced firsthand. And from this exchange, St. Paul was strengthened through the Holy Spirit to go forth to the many places where he ministered to many of the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people throughout his many missionary journeys, that he became known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, the one spearheading the rapid expansion of the Church beyond its homeland in Judea and Jerusalem.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday Vigil Mass, we also heard the account from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle andLuke the Evangelist where the exchange between the Risen Lord Jesus and St. Peter the Apostle in Galilee was highlighted to us, where the Lord Jesus asked St. Peter not just once but three times, ‘Peter, do you love Me?’, and the significance of these questions must be understood from the context of what happened before between them during the time of the Lord’s Passion, the moment when He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and persecuted. It was at that time, as we all should know that the Lord was also abandoned by all of His disciples, and St. Peter, who earlier on had declared that he would even die for Him, denied knowing Him when confronted by the people, not just once but three times.

Therefore, when the Risen Lord asked St. Peter not just once, but three times whether he loved Him, this was a very powerful symbol and reminder for St. Peter that the Lord has truly forgiven him and everything he had done in denying Him earlier on. The Lord’s love and compassion are truly boundless, and St. Peter, whose love and commitment to the Lord was also truly real and strong, devoted and committed himself totally to the Lord from then onwards. It was this great faith which the Lord saw and knew to be present in St. Peter, and which was why He chose him to be the leader of all of His Apostles and disciples in the first place, to be His Vicar and the first Pope. The Lord entrusted His Church and His entire flock of the faithful to St. Peter and the other Apostles, to be the ones to take care of them and to represent Him in this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as we have heard in our Scripture readings today and in all that we have just discussed, the Lord called both St. Peter and St. Paul from their ordinary and even most unlikely origins, the former being a mere illiterate and brash fisherman from the Lake of Galilee, who had even denied the Lord three times in times of distress, while the latter was an overzealous young Pharisee who persecuted the Church in the beginning. And yet, the Lord transformed them from their ordinary and unlikely origins and beginnings to be His great servants, to do many of His great works and perform many great wonders and miracles, touching the lives of so many people that they had encountered in their missions and journeys.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice greatly in this Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, in honour of these two great saints and servants of God, let us all realise that the Lord has also been calling on each and every one of us to follow in their footsteps as well, and to do our very best in our lives so that by our commitment and good works, by our dedication and faith, our every actions, words and deeds, we will always glorify the Lord at all times and be active parts of the labours of His Church. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us all in faith, in our love for Him, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 21 : 15-19

At that time, after Jesus and His disciples had finished breakfast, He said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these do?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” And Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.”

A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Look after My sheep.” And a third time He said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

Peter was saddened because Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” Jesus then said, “Feed My sheep! Truly, I say to you, when you were young, you put on your belt and walked where you liked. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will put a belt around you, and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

Jesus said this to make known the kind of death by which Peter was to glorify God. And He added, “Follow Me!”

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Galatians 1 : 11-20

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel we preached to you is not a human message, nor did I receive it from anyone, I was not taught of it; but it came to me, as a revelation from Christ Jesus. You have heard of my previous activity in the Jewish community; I furiously persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. For I was more devoted to the Jewish religion than many fellow Jews of my age, and I defended the traditions of my ancestors more fanatically.

But one day, God called me, out of His great love, He, Who had chosen me from my mother’s womb; and he was pleased to reveal, in me, His Son, that I might make Him known among the pagan nations. Then, I did not seek human advice nor did I go up to Jerusalem, to those who were Apostles before me. I immediately went to Arabia, and from there, I returned, again, to Damascus.

Later, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other Apostle except James, the Lord’s brother. On writing this to you, I affirm before God that I am not lying.

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on, throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 3 : 1-10

Once when Peter and John were going up to the Temple at three in the afternoon, the hour for prayer, a man crippled from birth was being carried in. Every day they would bring him and put him at the Temple gate called “Beautiful”; there he begged from those who entered the Temple.

When he saw Peter and John on their way into the Temple, he asked for alms. Then Peter with John at his side looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” So he looked at them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give you : In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, walk!”

Then he took the beggar by his right hand and helped him up. At once his feet and ankles became firm, and jumping up he stood on his feet and began to walk. And he went with them into the Temple walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God; they recognised him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were all astonished and amazed at what had happened to him.

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Sunday, 22 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a very great occasion, a core tenet of our Christian faith, that is the belief in the Real Presence of Our Lord Himself in the Eucharist, in the bread and wine used during the Holy Mass, transformed by the will of the Father and the incarnation of the Son, and by the power and descent of the Holy Spirit, into the very substance and essence of Our Lord Himself, truly present in Body, Heart, Mind, Soul and Divinity before us all. This is the Dogma of the Transubstantiation, our firm belief that the bread and wine has been transformed completely into the Lord’s own Presence and Body and Blood, although in terms of appearance they may seem to still have the appearance, feel and taste of bread and wine.

On this day, we remember the same Sacrifice that the Lord Jesus had done at the Cross at Calvary, which is being celebrated at every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, at every Masses celebrated everywhere in the world, from the time of the Apostles, throughout history and up to the present day, and which will continue to be in the future until the end of time. This Holy Sacrifice that the Lord Himself has offered constituted Him as the Eternal High Priest of all, the One True High Priest Who offered on our behalf the only perfect and worthy offering for the atonement of our sins, as it is only by the breaking of the Most Precious Body and the shedding of the Most Precious Blood of the Lamb of God, Our Paschal Lamb, that we can be saved.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of Genesis in which the story of the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek, the King of Salem was highlighted to us. This happened as Abraham came to settle in the Promised Land of Canaan after he had followed the Lord Who called him to go to the land that He would show him and entrusted to him and his descendants. Abraham trusted in the Lord even though he was childless even until he was close to a hundred years old, and he followed the Lord to where He led him, and in the occasion mentioned in today’s reading, he was just triumphant in a battle against the Canaanite kings in a mission to protect and recover Lot, his cousin that had been captured by those kings.

This figure of Melchizedek, the King of Salem was indeed a mysterious one, as he was described as a high priest of the Lord Most High, and it was told that no one knew his origins or that he was even without a father. In this sense therefore, many saw Melchizedek as a prefigurement of Christ Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, Who would indeed eventually come into this world, to do exactly the same thing that Melchizedek had done in offering the sacrifices to God as the High Priest of all creation. Melchizedek received Abraham’s offerings which the latter made in thanksgiving to God, and offered it on his behalf to the Lord, and this city of Salem that Melchizedek was king of, was indeed likely to be the one and the same as the city of Jerusalem, the city and place where the Lord would accomplish His mission in His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross.

Then, from our second reading today, we heard from the account made by St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Corinth regarding the events that happened at the moment when the Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, this perfect gift from God, the Most Holy Sacrament, the manifestation of His Real Presence in the bread and wine which the priests and the other celebrants of the Mass offer to the Lord on our behalf, much like Melchizedek had done for Abraham, and this is done ‘in persona Christi’, as the priests celebrate the Mass in representing Christ Himself, our One and True Eternal High Priest. They do not offer the Mass on their own accord and their own strength, but representing the Lord Who has given us all most generously His own Most Precious Body and Blood for us.

When the Lord told the disciples at the moment of the Last Supper which St. Paul recounted to us, He truly meant every single words that He said, and He truly meant it when He said that the bread He had broken, blessed and shared with the disciples was indeed His Body, and the wine that He has also blessed and passed to be shared with the disciples was indeed His Blood. The Lord did not say that those were merely symbolic or representative, or a memorial or any of those sorts, replicating or resembling His Body and Blood. What He said, as affirmed further by St. Paul the Apostle and by the teaching of the early Church fathers, is that the bread and wine truly became the very Real Presence of the Lord, and are indeed the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of the Lord, through the actions of the priest, in invoking the power of God to enact this.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord feeding all of the multitudes of the five thousand people in the famous miracle that I am sure we are all well familiar with. Through this miracle we can see how the Lord is so loving and compassionate towards us, realising our physical needs just as much as we have our spiritual needs as well. He blessed the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were presented to Him, breaking them and sharing them, and we heard how miraculously those small amount of food was enough to feed the whole multitude of five thousand people, with plenty of leftovers collected, amounting to twelve whole full baskets worth of food. Many people were happy and satisfied, fully filled by their experience with this miracle.

And after this event, chronologically in the events of the Lord’s ministry, many people came seeking Him and wanting Him to be their King, and the Lord told them that they desired this because they were happy to get the food from all those miraculous multiplication of the loaves of bread and fish, the food that satisfied the physical self and the body. However, the Lord told them then that what is more important is the food that lasts forever, and the true and real Food which He would share to them which would bring them all to the promise of eternal life and true happiness with Him. This was highlighted in the discourse on the Bread of Life in the Gospel of St. John the Apostle, where the Lord Jesus clearly stated to all those who followed Him that He is that Bread of Life which has come down from Heaven.

The Lord also stated, just as He had done in the Last Supper, that His Body is real Food and His Blood is real Drink, and they were to be given to everyone to partake and share, so that all those who partake in the Body and Blood of the Son of God and Son of Man would have eternal life in them. Again, all these highlighted the undeniable and clear fact that what the Lord Himself has instituted at the Last Supper was truly His Most Precious Body and Blood manifested in the bread and wine which He had transformed into the very Essence and Reality of His Body and Blood, His own Presence with them, which we therefore partake and therefore God Himself dwell within us all. And should we wonder if this is possible, we do not have to look far but the miracle that He Himself performed in feeding the five thousand people. What seems impossible for us mankind, is possible for God, as there is nothing impossible for God.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all consider carefully how we have believed in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist. The sad truth and reality facing our Church today is the ever dwindling faith that many Catholics are exhibiting towards the Real Presence in many parts around the world, especially in the places in Europe and the Americas where the Christian faith used to be predominant and strongly embraced by the people. This is then also linked to the ever rapidly dwindling attendance and participation in the Masses and other liturgical events and activities of the Church. If we start losing our faith and belief in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, then sooner or later, we will also grow detached and be easily distracted by the many temptations and pressures around us in this world.

And in the manner of how we treat the Lord in His Real Presence in the Eucharist is also alarming, as many of us no longer have that faith in this important and core tenet of our faith, in the manner how we act nonchalantly in receiving the Holy Eucharist and even in how we are usually so impatient and cannot wait for the Holy Mass to end so that we can continue with our activities and other busy way of living in the world outside there. This is something that we are constantly being reminded of, especially on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, that there is a need for all of us as Christians to return once again to the root of our faith in the Holy Eucharist, a faith that is truly centred on the Lord truly present in our midst, with sure hope in His Providence and with a heart full of love for Him and for our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek to renew our commitment to the Lord our God, our most loving Saviour and King, He Who has made Himself available to us all through the Eucharist, His perfect gift of love to all of us, ever tied and linked to the ultimate and most loving Sacrifice that He has performed at the Cross at Calvary. Therefore, every time we come and participate at the Holy Mass, let us all renew our faith and commitment to the Lord in what He has shown and given us through the Most Holy Eucharist from now on, and be the worthy bearers of His truth and love by living our lives in the manner that He has taught us to do, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 11b-17

At that time, Jesus welcomed the people of Bethsaida, and began speaking about the kingdom of God, curing those who needed healing. The day was drawing to a close, and the Twelve drew near to tell Him, “Send the crowd away, and let them go into the villages and farms around, to find lodging and food, for we are here in a lonely place.”

But Jesus replied, “You yourselves, give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves and two fish. Do You want us to go and buy food for all this crowd?” for there were about five thousand men. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”

So they made all of them sit down. Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish, and, raising His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them; He broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd. They ate and everyone had enough; and when they gathered up what was left, twelve baskets were filled with broken pieces.

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Sunday, 22 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 11 : 23-26

This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and that in my turn I have handed on to you; the Lord Jesus, on the night that He was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, “This is My Body which is broken for you; do this in memory of Me.”

In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, He said, “This cup is the new Covenant in My Blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of Me.” So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until He comes.