Sundays after Epiphany

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Sunday, 5 April 2026 : Easter Vigil Mass, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 22 : 1-18

Some time later, God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I shall point out to you.”

Abraham rose early next morning and saddled his donkey and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and set out for the place to which God had directed him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance, and he said to the young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He carried in his hand the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, “Father!” And Abraham replied, “Yes, my son?” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham replied, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice.”

They went on, the two of them together, until they came to the place to which God had directed them. When Abraham had built the altar and set the wood on it, he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the wood placed on the altar. He then stretched out his hand to seize the knife and slay his son. But the Angel of YHVH called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.” “Do not lay your hand on the boy; do not harm him, for now I know that you fear God, and you have not held back from Me your only son.” Abraham looked around and saw behind him a ram caught by its horns in a bush. He offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place ‘The Lord will provide.’ And the saying has lasted to this day.

And the Angel of YHVH called from heaven a second time. “By Myself I have sworn, it is YHVH Who speaks, because you have done this and not held back your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the land of their enemies. All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your descendants because you have obeyed Me.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Genesis 22 : 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Some time later, God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I shall point out to you.”

They came to the place to which God had directed them. Abraham then stretched out his hand to seize the knife and slay his son. But the Angel of YHVH called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.” “Do not lay your hand on the boy; do not harm him, for now I know that you fear God, and you have not held back from Me your only son.” Abraham looked around and saw behind him a ram caught by its horns in a bush. He offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

And the Angel of YHVH called from heaven a second time. “By Myself I have sworn, it is YHVH Who speaks, because you have done this and not held back your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the land of their enemies. All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your descendants because you have obeyed Me.”

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Sunday, 5 April 2026 : Easter Vigil Mass, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Psalm after First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 103 : 1-2a, 5-6, 10 and 12, 13-14, 24 and 35c

Bless the Lord, my soul! Clothed in majesty and splendour; o Lord, my God, how great You are! You are wrapped in light as with a garment; You stretch out the heavens like a tent.

You set the earth on its foundations, and never will it be shaken. You covered it with the ocean like a garment, and waters spread over the mountains.

You make springs gush forth in valleys winding among mountains and hills.

Birds build their nests close by and sing among the branches of trees. You water the mountains from Your abode and fill the earth with the fruit of Your work. You make grass grow for cattle and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth.

How varied o Lord, are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all – the earth full of Your creatures. May sinners vanish from the earth, and may the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, my soul!

Alternative Psalm

Psalm 32 : 4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20 and 22

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness. The heavens were created by His word, the breath of His mouth formed their starry host. He gathered the waters of the sea into a heap, and stored the deep in cellars.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole race of mortals.

In hope we wait for the Lord, for He is our help and our shield.

O Lord, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.

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Sunday, 5 April 2026 : Easter Vigil Mass, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Genesis 1 : 1 – Genesis 2 : 2

In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness was over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘Day’ and the darkness ‘Night’. There was evening and there was morning : the first day.

God said, “Let there be a firm ceiling between the waters and let it separate waters from waters.” So God made the ceiling and separated the waters below it from the waters above it. And so it was. God called the firm ceiling ‘Sky’. There was evening and there was morning : the second day.

God said, “Let the waters below the sky be gathered in one place and let dry land appear. And so it was. God called the dry land ‘Earth’, and the waters gathered together he called ‘Seas’. God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants, fruit trees bearing fruit with seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And so it was. The earth produced vegetation : plants bearing seed according to their kind and trees producing fruit which has seed, according to their kind. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning : the third day.

God said, “Let there be lights in the ceiling of the sky to separate day from night and to serve as signs for the seasons, days and years; and let these lights in the sky shine above the earth.” And so it was. God therefore made two great lights, the greater light to govern the day and the smaller light to govern the night; and God made the stars as well. God placed them in the ceiling of the sky to give light on the earth and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning : the fourth day.

God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth under the ceiling of the sky.” God created the great monsters of the sea and all living animals, those that teem in the waters, according to their kind, and every winged bird, according to its kind. God saw that it was good. God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds increase on the earth.” There was evening and there was morning : the fifth day.

God said, “Let the earth produce living animals according to their kind : cattle, creatures that move along the ground, wild animals according to their kind. So it was. God created the wild animals according to their kind, and everything that creeps along the ground according to its kind. God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, to Our likeness. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over the wild animals, and over all creeping things that crawl along the ground.” So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, over every living creature that moves on the ground.” God said, “I have given you every seed bearing plants which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree that bears fruit with seed. It will be for your food. To every wild animal, to every bird of the sky, to everything that creeps along the ground, to everything that has the breath of life, I give every green plant for food.” So it was.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. There was evening and there was morning : the sixth day. That was the way the sky and earth were created and all their vast array. By the seventh day the work God had done was completed, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had done.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Genesis 1 : 1, 26-31a

In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth. 

God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, to Our likeness. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over the wild animals, and over all creeping things that crawl along the ground.” So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, over every living creature that moves on the ground.” God said, “I have given you every seed bearing plants which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree that bears fruit with seed. It will be for your food. To every wild animal, to every bird of the sky, to everything that creeps along the ground, to everything that has the breath of life, I give every green plant for food.” So it was.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.

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Saturday, 17 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that God chose not the proud and the haughty, but He sees the hearts and minds of those whom He has called and chosen. But in the end, it is really up to us how we respond to the Lord in what He has called us to do, as He has also given us all the means and the abilities, the opportunities and all the chances for all of us to make good of everything that we have been called to do in our respective lives. In our own distinct and unique vocations in life, all of us should always realise that we should use those gifts that God has provided to us for the common good of all those around us and in being good role models for all.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard about the moment when Samuel went to look for the man whom God had chosen to be the new king for His people, the Israelites, that was Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul was great in physical appearance and stature although he hailed from the least of the families of the smallest tribe of the Israelites, the tribe of Benjamin. God chose that man to become the leader over all of His people and Samuel was sent to seek for him so that Saul could be anointed as the King of Israel just as the people fervently and stubbornly demanded earlier on as we heard yesterday in the passage from the same Book of the prophet Samuel.

And Samuel did encounter Saul and sought him where God had led him to, and God revealed to Samuel the man that He had willed and chosen to be this worthy man to take up the leadership over the people of Israel. That was indeed how the days of the kings began in Israel. Surely since we all should know how Saul behaved as king later on in his life, we may be wondering if God had made a mistake in choosing Saul. But then we must also realise and understand that God does not make mistakes in His actions and in everything that He does. Instead, what happens is such that God gives each one of us the free will and the freedom to choose our course of actions and way of living our lives, and that applied to Saul and his actions as king as well.

It is God Who chose men and women to do unique things in their lives, according to the respective gifts, talents and opportunities which He had provided to them. God gives us all the free will and all the freedom to choose what we are to do with these gifts, talents and opportunities, but ideally, we should do what the Lord has gently nudged us to do, in our every moments in life, even in the smallest and seemingly least significant things. The question is now then, are we all willing to listen to the Lord and to pay attention to what He has told us and revealed to us? This is a timely reminder for all of us that we, as God’s holy and beloved people, should always strive to do what is truly good and worthy in the Presence of God and our fellow mankind alike.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus went to call the disciple known as Levi. Levi was a tax collector, which profession at the time were often considered as greedy and self-serving, and not few even treated the tax collectors badly because they were seen as traitors and collaborators to the Roman regime and rule, for their actions and works in collecting the taxes on behalf of these rulers, and some of them might have been corrupt as well, pocketing some of the taxes for their own benefits. And yet, despite all these and other prejudices surrounding the tax collectors, the Lord Jesus did not consider them in whom He called to be His disciples.

Indeed, the Lord called His disciples from the most questionable origins by the standards of the time and even today. He called the illiterate, poor fishermen, tax collectors, intellectuals, a zealot that rebelled against Roman authority among others to be His disciples and followers. Through this, we are shown that the Lord does not have prejudices or favourites of any kind, and everyone are equally precious and beloved to Him, all are called to God’s loving Presence. For the case of Levi, that tax collector left behind everything that he did, his past life and works, becoming a great disciple and one day, he became one of the writers of the Four Holy Gospels as St. Matthew, Holy Apostle and Evangelist.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has laid out His path and His graces upon us, and the choice is now ours whether we want to embrace Him and journey together with Him, or else, if we rather choose the comforts of the world and the temptations of glory and power. And we can also imitate and follow upon the good examples and works set by one famous saint and Church father, St. Anthony the Abbot, also known as the St. Anthony the Great, who was one of the earliest monastics of the Church, and living in the land rampant with bitter persecutions and hardships by the Roman authorities. Modelled by the examples of some others who lived a similar lifestyle like St. Paul the Hermit, St. Anthony devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Lord, spending his every living moments and breaths to glorify God by their work. He had to face a lot of struggles, but St. Anthony remained faithful and patient.

For example, it was well known that the devil and other demons often came to torment St. Anthony, lifting him up and tempting him with all sorts of false and empty promises. He was under constant attacks from the evil one, and had to contend with the sufferings of this world as well as the pressures for us to conform and follow the ways of the world. Nonetheless, St. Anthony remained firm and strong in his faith, ministering to the needs of his community and other people who desired to seek the Lord and His forgiveness and grace. Through his inspirational works, he has become our great model in how we should live our own lives, in being faithful and committed to God, and his writings inspired generations of good and holy priests, and holy people of God. The question is that, are we willing to spend the time and effort for us to change our ways for the better? The choice is ours alone.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have reflected from the passages from the Sacred Scriptures, and as we have heard from the examples in the life of St. Anthony the Abbot, let us all hence realise that all of us are called to specific purposes and meaning in life, in each and every one of our actions in life. We are all partakers of the mission of the Church of God, in reaching out to more and more people all around us, to all those whom we encounter in life, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, we will become good source of inspiration and hope, good role models for everyone around us. And that is how we can fulfil more of the missions which our Lord has entrusted to us.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to guide us in life, encouraging and strengthening us so that by our trust and hope in Him, God will continue to support us all through even the most challenging and difficult moments, giving us all the courage to bear through them with perseverance and faith. Let us all be the worthy bearers of God’s truth and Good News, in our hope in His love and compassion at all times, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 17 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 2 : 13-17

At that time, when Jesus went out again, beside the lake, a crowd came to Him, and He taught them. As He walked along, He saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” And Levi got up and followed Him.

And it so happened that, when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with Him and His disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus. But Pharisees, men educated in the Law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them, and answered, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Saturday, 17 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 20 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

The king rejoices in Your strength, o YHVH, and exults in Your saving help. You have granted him his desire; You have not rejected his request.

You have come to him with rich blessings; You have placed a golden crown upon his head. When he asked, You gave him life – length of days forever and ever.

He glories in the victory You gave him; You shall bestow on him splendour and majesty. You have given him eternal blessings, and gladdened him with the joy of Your presence.

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Saturday, 17 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Samuel 9 : 1-4, 17-19 and 1 Samuel 10 : 1a

There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a valiant Benjaminite. Kish had a son named Saul, a handsome young man who had no equal among the Israelites, for he was a head taller than any of them.

It happened that the asses of Kish were lost. So he said to his son Saul, “Take one of the boys with you and go look for the asses.” They went all over the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah but did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim and the land of Benjamin, but the asses were nowhere to be found.

So, when Samuel saw Saul, YHVH told him, “Here is the man I spoke to you about! He shall rule over My people.” Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, “Tell me, where is the house of the seer?” Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me. In the morning, before you leave, I will tell you all that is in your heart.”

Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head.

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Friday, 16 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we should trust in the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly instead of being entangled in ambitions, pressures and desires of this world, all of which can severely distract and keep us away from the path towards the Lord, which in truth is what we all should be focusing on in our lives. Unfortunately many of us are precisely being trapped in these tangle of web of worldly ambitions and power, all the allures of worldly glory and fame, all the things which have divided our attentions from the Lord and brought us all into disarray in our respective lives in this world because we trusted in our own strength, intellect and power more than we trust in God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel the continuation of the story of the ministry of Samuel, whom God had made to be Judge and leader of all the Israelites, as well as a prophet. By the time frame of what we heard from today’s readings, Samuel was already old and had been the Judge and leader of the Israelites for a long time, but the same issue that happened with his predecessor Eli came back again in a similar way. Just as Eli’s two sons behaved wickedly and without fear of God in being corrupt and greedy, thus as we heard, the sons of Samuel were of the similar behaviour and manners as well. We heard then how the Israelites, their leaders and the whole assembly of the people all begged and even demanded Samuel to ask the Lord to give them all a king to lead and rule over them.

Their argument was that all of their neighbours and enemies were all led by lords and kings, while they alone were led by a Judge unlike those others. The kings and lords of that time, as is still to this day, were succeeded by their own sons and members of their family. Truly we can see the great irony in this demand, as the people of Israel had experienced not just once but more than once having Judges whose family members, especially children who behaved wickedly and unjustly, like that of the son of Judge Gideon, namely Abimelech, who declared himself king of Shechem and massacred his own many brothers and siblings in bitter plotting and rivalry for power. And as mentioned were also the cases of the sons of both Eli and Samuel who were wicked and unworthy of following in the footsteps of their fathers.

But the people were really stubborn and persistent and they demanded that their wishes were met, and no amount of persuasion and all the warnings which Samuel presented to them would change their minds and arguments as they kept on demanding to be led by a king who would rule over them and who would lead them to battle against their enemies. And despite all of these and stubborn attitudes, God still listened to the wishes of His people, and He gave them what they all wanted, as He chose one of them to be King to rule over all of them as the people of God, definitively bringing an end to the days of the Judges who have led Israel for probably a period of several centuries up to Samuel.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, in which the famous account of the healing of a paralysed man was told to us. In that occasion, a paralysed man was brought by his friends who literally climbed up the house that the Lord was in, and opened the roof of the house to lower the paralysed man right in front of the Lord Himself. And as we heard, the Lord had pity on the paralysed man and healed him saying that his sins had been forgiven. This immediately brought about a harsh criticism from the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were present there, all those who were quick to criticise the Lord because they refused to accept the fact that the Lord had the power and authority to forgive sins, and the dominion over all things.

The attitudes of those Pharisees and teachers of the Law were indeed lamentable because they allowed their preoccupation and obsession over human made laws and rules, their customs and traditions to overrule and to close their minds and hearts to the truth of God which the Lord Himself had brought into their midst. Those Pharisees and teachers of the Law put more trust in their own power and might, intellect and wisdom rather than to put their trust in God and in His Good News and truth, His Wisdom and Love which Christ Himself has shown. When God manifested His Love in the flesh and made it perfectly visible and tangible for all to experience, those people allowed their pride, greed and worldly ambitions to lead them astray.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, hence as we have listened to those words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we have discussed in depth through the things we have just talked about earlier on, we are reminded that we should put God’s truth and guidance above our own human wisdom, understanding and conventions. All of those things were what prevented many of the leaders of the people from doing what was right at both the time of the prophet and Judge Samuel, and also during the time of the Lord’s ministry in this world. The Israelites demanded that they ought to be granted a king to rule over them just in the manner of how the other states and nations were ruled, putting worldly customs snd ways above Divine guidance.

Similarly, as we have discussed, the attitudes of the Pharisees and the leaders of the people during the time of Jesus was motivated mostly by their refusal to let go of their pride, ego, greed and ambitions. It is therefore an important reminder for all of us that we should not fall into those same temptations and traps ourselves. We should indeed strive instead to put our faith and trust more in the Lord our God, in His Providence and in the ever wonderful and consistent love which He has always shown us. May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to be with us, journeying with us and strengthening us all in our resolve to live ever more faithfully as His good and devout followers, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 16 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 2 : 1-12

At that time, after some days, Jesus returned to Capernaum. As the news spread that He was in the house, so many people gathered, that there was no longer room even outside the door. While Jesus was preaching the word to them, some people brought to Him a paralysed man.

The four men who carried him could not get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where Jesus was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, He said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now, some teachers of the Law, who were sitting there, wondered within themselves, “How can He speak like this, insulting God? Who can forgive sins except God?” At once, Jesus knew in His Spirit what they were thinking, and asked, “Why do you wonder? Is it easier to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk?’ But now you shall know, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

And He said to the paralytic, “Stand up, take up your mat and go home.” The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out. All of them were astonished and praised God, saying, “Never have we seen anything like this!”

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Friday, 16 January 2026 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 88 : 16-17, 18-19

Blessed is the people who know Your praise. They walk in the light of Your face. They celebrate all day, Your Name and Your protection lifts them up.

You give us glory and power; and Your favour gives us victory. Our king is in the hands of YHVH; the God of Israel is our shield.