Sundays after Epiphany

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Friday, 14 November 2025 : 32nd 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 all reminded that we should not be ignorant of the Lord and His Presence, His Wisdom and truth being present all around us. We should always heed in mind of the signs of times and all the teachings that He has revealed to us so that we may truly be committed and faithful to all things that He has taught us to do as His followers and disciples. We must always do our best as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people to bear witness to our faith and commitment to God in all things and in all circumstances, in all of our works and interactions with one another.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the words from the author highlighting the futility of all those pagans and unbelievers who worshipped the elements and aspects of the natural environment around them instead of worshipping the Lord, their God. It was common for the many polytheistic worship at that time to feature many deities, gods and goddesses that had their background in the nature’s diverse aspects and features, like the Sun, the Moon, the sky, the stars, lightning, the sea, earthquakes, volcanoes, nature and many other parts of nature, some of which awed and brought about terror to many, which led them to worship these as their gods and deities.

But the Lord had made it clear and showed His desire to reveal His truth to all the nations, which was exactly what St. Paul and the other Apostles and missionaries of the Lord had been doing. St. Paul went around to the many places where people still had not yet known about the Lord, and he introduced the Lord to them all, not only through words and preaching, but also more importantly through real and concrete actions and how he and the other missionaries lived their lives sincerely and worthily at all times, becoming great examples and role models to everyone who witnessed their works and actions. The way how they had lived their lives sincerely as Christians persuaded many more people than what they had preached.

St. Paul showed great wisdom and courage in revealing how the one and only one ought to be worshipped is indeed none other than the Lord Himself, and not all the other created things and natural phenomena as the pagans had believed and worshipped in. And how does this then relate to us? Essentially, even though many of us do not worship the pagan gods and idols in the present day world, but the truth is that we are all still idolising and even to the point of worshipping worldly things, desires and attachments, all the things that tend to keep us away from the Lord. Examples of these include money, titles, wealth, status, among other things, which themselves are not bad or evil, but our desires for them are what made these great distractions for us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard the Lord Jesus making the speech to the people gathered before Him about what would happen at the time when the Lord will come again at the end of time, the time of the reckoning and the Final Judgment of all things. He spoke of the historical past occasions when God’s judgment fell upon His people suddenly after they had been given many chances one after another. God has always been patient in loving His people throughout time and He has been giving them many chances, again and again because He wanted them all, all of us to be truly reconciled and reunited with Him.

But at the same time, we must also remember that He despises all forms of sins and wickedness, all forms of disobedience and corruptions caused by our sins against Him and against each other. And that is why as Christians it is important that we must always keep in mind how we behave and act in life. We must not take God’s love, mercy and generosity for granted, or else, retribution will come towards us. All those people who perished during the time of Noah, in Sodom and Gomorrah and others that the Lord referred to, shared common traits, namely pride, arrogance, haughtiness and refusal to listen to God and His kind reminders and words, and that was why they all perished.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are therefore reminded by the Lord through these words we have received in the Scriptures today. Are we willing to reflect on our way of life and how we have lived them so far? Have we spent so much time in pursuing for worldly interests and ambitions that we have forgotten to see the bigger picture and realise what it is that God truly wants us to do in life? It is very easy for us to lose sight on the way that the Lord has shown and taught us when we are so busy pursuing many things we often desire excessively in this world, which lead us to the wrong paths away from God and His salvation.

This is why we should continue to do our best to keep our focus in the Lord at all times, striving to glorify Him at each and every moments in our lives, through everything that we say and do. May the Lord also continue to bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 14 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 26-37

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

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

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

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

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Friday, 14 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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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Friday, 14 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Wisdom 13 : 1-9

The natural helplessness of humans is seen in their ignorance of God. The experience of good things did not lead them to the knowledge of Him Who is. They were interested in His works, but they did not recognise the Author of them.

Fire, wind, air, the sphere of the stars, rushing water and the lights in the sky were held as the rulers of the world. If, charmed by such beauty, they took them for gods, let them know how far superior is their sovereign. And if they were impressed by their power and activity, let them understand from this how much mightier is He Who formed them. For the grandeur and beauty of creatures lead us to ponder on their Author, greater and more magnificent.

No doubt these people are not to be blamed severely, for possibly they strayed though they searched for God and desired to find Him. They pondered over the created things that surrounded them and were captivated by the sight of such beauty. Even so they are not to be excused, for if they were able to explore the world, why did they not discover first the world’s Sovereign?

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Thursday, 13 November 2025 : 32nd 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 not all faith and aspect of the faith can be easily visible or perceived, as in fact the reality is such that much of our faith lies within us, in what is beyond our human ability to perceive and understand. In order to appreciate all these and to understand the power of faith in our lives, we must have this Wisdom with us, and allow the Wisdom of God to guide and lead us all in our actions, in our deliberations and in our works. Wisdom is something that God has imparted upon us and is something that is truly beautiful, allowing us to draw ever closer to God, our Creator and Master.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Book of Wisdom, we heard from the author of this Book another long exhortation on the Wisdom of God and how this Wisdom has been imparted and given freely to each and every one of us, especially as Christians, who have received the gift of Wisdom through the Holy Spirit Whom God had sent into our midst at our Baptism and Confirmation. And by this Wisdom, God has helped us all to journey in this life with His constant yet subtle guidance. By His Divine Wisdom, He has shown us the path forward in life, to find our way to Him once again and to be fully reconciled with Him.

Why this reading is important for all of us today is because with Wisdom, all of us can know the Lord ever more closely and more intimately in our interactions with Him. Through the Wisdom that God has imparted to us, if we truly use this Wisdom well, we can better perceive the true nature of God, His love and all that He has done for us in our midst. Through Wisdom we can see just how much God had carried out His works in our world today, even when we may not immediately realise or appreciate His hands being at work in guiding and strengthening us throughout our respective journeys in life. If we allow God’s Wisdom to lead and guide us in life, we will certainly flourish and grow greater in faith.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist where the Lord Jesus was presented with a question by a Pharisee who asked of Him of when the kingdom of God would come into their midst. We must first understand that in the common understanding and perception of the Pharisee as well as probably most of the Jewish people at the time, the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour Whom God promised to send to His people was closely associated with the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdom of God’s people as how it was like during the glorious and golden ages of the rules of King David and King Solomon.

However, the Lord responded to the Pharisee that the kingdom of God is not something that is tangible in the manner that was understood or perceived by many of the people. The kingdom of God had in fact already arrived with the coming of the Lord Himself, Who brought upon all of us, God’s beloved people, the revelation of truth and Good News of salvation. The kingdom of God is truly all around us, within us and everywhere, for the Kingdom of God is in fact the Church, the same One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church that God Himself has established in this world, and which we are all part of, the part of the same Body of Christ, the Church of God.

The Lord also said that His disciples must be wary if they were to hear anyone saying that the time is at hand, or show certain wonders and signs, calling on others to believe in them, because the coming of the Lord was not immediate at that time. The Jewish people had expected then that the Messiah, the Saviour sent by God would come with great power, authority and with wonderful signs, and that He would lead the chosen people of God to triumph against their enemies and oppressors.  But the Lord spoke the truth and the reality of what would actually happen, that the same people He had been sent to, would in fact reject and persecute Him, and this was a premonition of the things to come, culminating in the Passion and death of Jesus on the Cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all gather together and reflect on these series of readings from the Scriptures, let us all remember first and foremost how dearly beloved and precious each one of us are in the eyes of the Lord. God does not want us to face destruction and annihilation because of our disobedience and sins, and hence that was why He provided us with the means through which we can find our way out of our predicament and into His light. He gave us none other than His own Begotten Son in order to willingly bear the burden of our sins out of love. And in addition, as we discussed earlier, God also gave us all His Wisdom to help and guide us in our journey towards Him.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator continue to bestow us all His Wisdom so that in each and every moments of our lives, and in all of our actions we may continue to be guided by His Wisdom in each and every single things that we do in life. May the Wisdom of God continue to help us lead a life that is truly worthy of Him and help us to be good inspiration for one another, in being truly faithful and committed, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 13 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 20-25

At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”

And Jesus said to His disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.”

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Thursday, 13 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175

O YHVH, Your word stands forever, firmly fixed in the heavens.

Your faithfulness lasts throughout the ages – as long as the earth You created.

Your ordinances last to this day, for all things are made to serve You.

As Your words unfold, light is shed, and the simple-hearted understand.

Favour me with Your smile and teach me Your statutes.

Long may I live, to sing Your praise, may Your ordinances always be my help!

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Thursday, 13 November 2025 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Wisdom 7 : 22 – Wisdom 8 : 1

Because Wisdom, who designed them all, taught me. In her is a spirit that is intelligent, saintly, unique, manifold, subtle, active, concise, pure and lucid. It cannot corrupt, loves what is good and nothing can restrain it; it is beneficent, loving humankind, steadfast, dependable, calm though Almighty. It sees everything and penetrates all spirits, however intelligent, subtle and pure they may be.

Wisdom, in fact, surpasses in mobility all that moves, and being so pure pervades and permeates all things. She is a breath of the power of God, a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; nothing impure can enter her. She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of God’s action and an image of His goodness.

She is but one, yet Wisdom can do all things and, herself unchanging, she renews all things. She enters holy souls, making them prophets and friends of God, for God loves only those who live with Wisdom. She is indeed more beautiful than the sun and surpasses all the constellations; she outrivals light, for light gives way to night, but evil cannot prevail against Wisdom.

Wisdom displays her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things rightly.