Thursday

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Thursday, 21 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (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, we are reminded that we must have faith in God, trust and believe in Him, and not be doubtful about His Providence, as well as His commitment to make things work for us. We have to listen to Him and to do our best to follow His will, to do whatever it is that He has commanded us to do. We should not let our many preoccupations, the many temptations and distractions present all around us to keep us away from God and from doing His will. God has always provided us His guidance, help and strength whenever we need it, and He would never abandon us in our time and hour of need. But often we allow ourselves to be distracted and pulled away by fear and doubt, and we seek instead other means to satisfy our needs and desires, that lead us away from God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Judges, we continue to hear the story of what happened to the people of God, the Israelites during the time of the intervening years between the time of the Exodus from Egypt and the days of the Kings of Israel. And after several episodes of the rule of the Judges whom God appointed and called to be the one guiding and leading His people, the Israelites, this time, it was the call that He made to one known as Jephthah, in order to lead the Israelites into freedom from the power and the subjugation under their Ammonite neighbours. And we heard in our first reading passage today, Jephthah vowing before the Lord that if He would make him victorious, then He would offer anything or anyone that came out from his house to the Lord as a burnt offering.

The words of Jephthah would come back to haunt him later on after the Lord had led him to a great victory against the Ammonites, breaking their domination over the Israelites and chasing them back to their own lands. His own daughter came out of the house, and Jephthah regretted of making such a foolish vow before the Lord, and he had to fulfil it even if it meant offering his own daughter to the Lord. And the lesson from this passage for us all is that we should never doubt the Lord’s Providence, guidance and power, and we should always trust in Him, having hope and faith that He will always provide for everything that we need. He would never abandon us all to the darkness and to destruction, and instead of doubting Him, we should remember how He has always rescued us from our predicaments and brought us into the light.t

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we are reminded from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist of the parable which the Lord Jesus used to speak to the people gathered to listen to Him, the parable of the wedding banquet, detailing about a king who was holding a wedding banquet for his son, and how those guests that had been invited to the wedding banquet refused to come to his banquet. Those people who had been invited had many reasons and excuses, and many of them chose to attend to their own matters and worldly desires and pursuits instead of coming to the banquet. This wedding banquet is a representation of what God had prepared for all of us, His beloved people, and the king himself is a representation of God.

Those who are invited, are all of us, and those who have not responded to the banquet’s invitation are those who refused to follow the Lord. They refused to listen to the king’s invitation and reminders, and when the king sent his servants and messengers to them, they ignored those sent to them, and in some cases even persecuted and killed them, and this is a representation of how the wicked people to whom the Lord had sent His messengers, the prophets and servants to help and remind them, had treated those messengers badly. And this was followed by the king crushing, punishing and destroying those who have refused to come to his banquet and still stubbornly persecuted his messengers and servants, showing how those who rejected God’s ways would suffer and be punished for their sins.

Then as we heard from the parable, the king patiently sought others to attend his banquet instead, and this is just as how the Lord patiently reached out to all of us, calling on us to come to His Presence, and to enjoy the fullness of His blessings and love. And at the same time, we then heard of how those new guests that the king invited came to the banquet venue, and one of them was not wearing a wedding garment, essentially was not properly attired for the event. We heard how the king confronted the man and then ordered him to be thrown out because he was not attired properly for the banquet. We may think and misunderstand the Lord’s intentions with this, wondering why the king was so cruel in doing so, but this is in fact a reminder for all of us that if we truly want to follow the Lord, then we need to abandon our current sinfulness and embrace wholeheartedly our faith in the Lord, to be holy as the Lord is holy, that we may be worthy to come and be part of His eternal, heavenly banquet.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of one the recently well-known Popes, that is Pope St. Pius X, also known as the Pope of the Holy Eucharist for his role in allowing younger children to access the Holy Eucharist by lowering the age requirement for the reception of the First Holy Communion to the age of reason. Pope St. Pius X, born as Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was born in born into a poor Italian family as Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, the second of ten children. His parents, while poor, was very devout to the Lord and valued education and formation for their family, ensuring that the young Giuseppe was properly educated despite their poverty and situation. Eventually, Giuseppe Sarto continued to do well in his education and eventually received a scholarship to continue with his priestly formation in a seminary, eventually ordained as a priest.

During his priestly ministry, he was well-known for his great holiness and care for his flock, and was very dedicated in his ministry as the Archpriest of Salzano, where he helped to restore the church that had been run down at the time and building expansion to the local hospital, which he managed to support from his efforts, including even begging and other things that he had done for his flock. He also showed great compassion and concern for his flock in an epidemic of cholera that struck the area. Eventually this gained the attention of the diocese, and he was trusted as a canon of the Cathedral and then as the Chancellor for the Diocese of Treviso in northern Italy. He continued to do his best to care for the needs of the people entrusted to him, placing a lot of emphasis on the youth, on their education and upbringing, which he would continue as the Pope many years later.

Subsequently, the future Pope St. Pius X was appointed and ordained as the Bishop of Mantua, where he still carried on with his many earlier good works and efforts. He was made a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and then soon after the Patriarch of Venice, entrusted with the care of one of the largest and the most prominent dioceses in the Church at the time. He continued to labour hard for the sake of his beloved flock, being a very pastoral shepherd to his people, reaching out to them and being concerned about their needs, both physical and spiritual. After the passing of Pope Leo XIII, Cardinal Sarto was eventually elected as Pope, taking the name of Pius, in the Year of Our Lord 1903, during whose Pontificate, he was truly well known as mentioned, for his championing of the cause of earlier age for the reception of the First Holy Communion by the young children as long as they have reached the age of reason and received proper catechesis and preparation.

He was also renowned for his hard work against the dangers of modernism that was then harming the Church and the Christian community. He continued to work hard to the very end, dying heartbroken over the terrible wars that began in Europe, which would become the First World War. To that very end, Pope St. Pius X showed us that he was truly a great and loving shepherd to all of God’s flock and people, whom he has always been concerned about, thinking about them at each and every moments, worrying about their well-being and salvation at all times. The courageous and faithful life, work and dedication of Pope St. Pius X, holy man of God should indeed be great inspirations for all of us to follow in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters, through what we have discussed and discerned from the messages of the Sacred Scriptures, and also from the inspiring life and examples shown by Pope St. Pius X, the Pope of the Eucharist, let us all hence do our very best to trust in the Lord and to be ever more faithful to Him, doing our part in proclaiming the Good News and truth of God to everyone, in standing up courageously and staying true to our faith, believing wholeheartedly in Him and not doubting Him, always being firm in our faith in everything that we do. As long as we continue to do so, we will be steadfast and strengthened by God, and in the end, we shall indeed share in the glory of God, just as He has promised for us, to partake in the eternal banquet in Heaven. May God be with us all and bless each one of us, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 21 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 22 : 1-14

At that time, Jesus continued speaking to the people in parables : “This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven : A king gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to call the invited guests to the banquet, but the guests refused to come.”

“Again, He sent other servants, instructing them to say to the invited guests, ‘I have prepared a banquet, slaughtered my fattened calves and other animals, and now, everything is ready. Come to the wedding!’ But they paid no attention and went away, some to their farms, and some to their work. Others seized the servants of the king, insulted them and killed them.”

“The king was furious. He sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is prepared, but the invited guests were not worthy. Go instead to the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.'”

“The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, good and bad alike, so that the hall was filled with guests. The king came in to see the wedding guests, and he noticed a man not wearing a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in without the wedding clothes?'”

“But the man remained silent. So the king said to his servants, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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Thursday, 21 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 39 : 5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10

Blessed is the one who relies on YHVH and does not look to the proud, nor go astray after false gods.

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this, You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

“As the scroll says of me. To do Your will is my delight, o God, for Your Law is within my heart.”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o YHVH, I did not seal – You know that very well.

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Thursday, 21 August 2025 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Judges 11 : 29-39a

The Spirit of YHVH came upon Jephthah. He went through Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and then entered the territory of the Ammonites.

Jephthah made a vow to YHVH : “If You make me victorious, I shall sacrifice to You whoever first comes out of my house to meet me when I return from battle. He shall be for YHVH and I shall offer him up through the fire.”

Jephthah crossed the territory of the Ammonites to fight against them, and YHVH gave him victory. He pursued them from the city of Aroer to the entrance of Minnith and Abel Keramim, seizing twenty towns. So he defeated the Ammonites.

When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him. She was so happy to see her father that she danced to the sound of her tambourine. She was an only child; besides her he had no other daughter or son. When Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and cried out, “My daughter, you have shattered me; you have brought me misfortune. For I have made a foolish vow to YHVH. And now I cannot take it back.”

She answered him, “Father, even if you have made such a foolish vow, you have to do to me just as you promised, for YHVH has avenged you and crushed your enemies. I only beg of you to give me two months to live with my companions in the mountains. There I shall lament because I will never marry.”

Jephthah said to her, “Go then.” And he sent her away for two months. She and her companions went to the mountains and wept because she would never marry. At the end of two months, she returned to her father and he fulfilled the vow he had made.

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Thursday, 14 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together and listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded to be compassionate and merciful, loving and kind in all of our dealings and actions. As Christians, that is as those whom God had called and chosen, we have to strive to follow the Lord’s own examples in love and compassion, in truly caring for those who are around us, especially to those who have not experienced love and care, those who have been abandoned, ostracised and treated badly by their society, all those who need our love, care and attention. And all those things are what we should be doing as Christians, as those who have been called to follow Christ in all things that we say and do.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Joshua detailing for us the events that happened as the people of Israel were about to cross the River Jordan and enter the promised land of Canaan. We heard of God’s reassurance to Joshua, the successor of Moses as the leader of the Israelites, and the instructions on what they all had to do, bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the middle of the River itself so that the river can be passed through by the whole nation of the Israelites. God Himself is present through the Ark of the Covenant, leading His beloved and chosen people into the land that He has promised to them, and for which they had laboured and waited for a long time in the wilderness.

From what we heard in today’s reading of that account, we can clearly see the power of God in guiding His people, as He continued to bless them and help them throughout their journey, stopping the flow of the River Jordan itself to allow His people to safely cross through to their promised land, just as He had done earlier with the sea that He had split open to allow them to escape the Egyptians and their armies and chariots. God reminded His people that whatever He has revealed and promised to them, He would continue to honour and fulfil, and if they remain in faith in Him, then they shall truly be blessed and happy, in the land that He has promised to all of them. He will never abandon them even though they themselves had frequently abandoned Him for the pagan idols or all sorts of worldly pursuits and desires that they had.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the parable of the ungrateful and unforgiving servant who had not treated his fellow servant in the manner of how he had been graciously treated by his master. In that parable, we heard of how the ungrateful servant had owed his master a large sum of money, and when he begged for mercy and patience from the master, his master showed that servant compassion and forgiveness, forgiving that servant everything that he had owed him, even though it was a rather large sum of money. And then, we heard of how this same servant then went to another fellow servant who owed him money and demanded that fellow servant to return him his money that the latter had borrowed, even though it was a far lesser sum than what he owed his master.

This parable is a reminder for all of us to show compassion and mercy to one another, to be kind and not to behave like that ungrateful servant. The servants themselves represent each and every one of us, while the master is a representation of the Lord, our God Himself. The debts which the servants owed to the master and to each other represent the sins which we have committed both against God and against one another. By looking at the master’s action in forgiving that ungrateful servant of the great amount of debt that he had owed him, and how the master expected his servants to do the same for one another, which the ungrateful servant obviously did not do, it is a reminder for all of us that God Who has forgiven us all our sins, despite how great they may be, also expect us all to forgive each other’s sins too, every faults and mistakes we did to one another, and to love one another as He has loved us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, do we remember the line from the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Forgive us all our trespasses, just as we have forgiven those who trespassed against us?’ This is precisely what we are reminded to do as Christians, to be loving, compassionate and forgiving to each other in all of our actions and dealings, in our interactions and in every moments of our lives. And unless we do so, we cannot truly call ourselves as genuine and true Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. We must be compassionate and merciful as God has been that way towards us, ever generous and compassionate with His love and mercy. This is how we should live our lives as Christians, as the ones who should embody our Christian faith not just merely in words, but also through real actions, in each and every moments of our lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a great and renowned saint, a faithful martyr and servant of God who had dedicated his whole life to the service of God, and whose love and compassion for others inspired many people who heard his stories and experiences. St. Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland to a mixed German-Polish family towards the end of the nineteenth century, which at that time was part of the Russian Empire. He and his elder brother joined the Conventual Franciscans when they were teenagers and eventually going through the professions and was ordained as a priest after a tough experience in the First World War where his own father was caught and hanged as a traitor by the Russians during that war.

St. Maximilian Kolbe founded the popular Militia Immaculatae, a Catholic evangelisation movement that emphasised on evangelisation and conversion of sinners through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whom St. Maximilian Kolbe had a deep devotion for. That popular organisation and its popular publication continued to grow as St. Maximilian Kolbe continued to work hard for the Lord and His people, gathering more and more followers. Then, St. Maximilian Kolbe himself endeavoured to go on missionary works in distant lands, proclaiming the Good News of God to more and more people. This came true when he went to the Far East in the early 1930s, ministering to the faithful in Asia as far as Japan, where he spent several years in missionary works.

Eventually, St. Maximilian Kolbe returned to his native Poland just before the beginning of the Second World War, which began approximately two decades after the end of the previous World War. He ministered to the people of God faithfully even during the years of the German occupation, when the NAZI regime conquered his native Poland and caused a lot of atrocities in the region. He was eventually arrested when his monastery was forcefully closed under the NAZI regime, and was brought into prison before being transferred to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. At that concentration camp, St. Maximilian Kolbe continued to minister to the faithful inmates, strengthening and encouraging them all amidst the difficult and challenging times.

Then, in one occasion, the escape of several inmates from the concentration camp led to the camp commander ordering the deaths of several prisoners as a punishment for those that escaped. And when one of the Polish man to be condemned to death cried out for his family and children, St. Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take his place among the condemned. That was how St. Maximilian Kolbe was then put into the cell meant for those condemned to death, deprived of food and water for two weeks, and eventually, when the guards found that St. Maximilian Kolbe and three others were still alive, they were killed by lethal injection of carbolic acid. That was how St. Maximilian Kolbe encountered martyrdom for his faith in God, his endless dedication to God and his love and compassion for his fellow brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples, faith and love shown by St. Maximilian Kolbe, and from what we have discussed earlier on through the Scripture readings, that we will always practice our faith in the manner that God Himself has shown, taught and reminded us, to be truly genuine in our love for God and for one another, reminding ourselves of God’s ever generous and patient love, and doing our best to show that love in each and every one of our actions as well. May God bless us all and strengthen us in our journey of faith in life, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 18 : 21 – Matthew 19 : 1

At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

“This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. Among the first of them was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.”

“The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the throat and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!'”

“His fellow servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ But the other did not agree, and sent him to prison until he has paid all his debt. Now the servants of the king saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord.”

“Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed me when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry. He handed the wicked servant over to be punished, until he had paid the whole debt.”

Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.” When Jesus had finished these sayings, He left Galilee and arrived at the border of Judea, on the other side of the Jordan River.

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Thursday, 14 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 113A: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! When Israel came out of Egypt, the family of Jacob, from a people of foreign language. Judah became His Sanctuary; Israel, His possession.

At His sight, the sea fled and the Jordan retreated; the mountains skipped like rams, the hills frolicked like lambs.

Why is it, sea, that you flee? Jordan, that you turn back? Mountains, that you skip like rams? Hills, that you frolic like lambs?

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Thursday, 14 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Joshua 3 : 7-10a, 11, 13-17

Then YHVH said to Joshua : “Today I will begin to make you great in the eyes of Israel and they shall known that I am with you as I was with Moses. Give this order to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant : As soon as you come to the banks of the Jordan, stand still in the river.”

And Joshua said to the Israelites : “Come nearer and listen to the words of YHVH, our God. Do you want a sign that YHVH, the living God, is in your midst? See, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to cross the Jordan before you. When the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord of all the earth put their feet into the water of the Jordan, the water coming from the upstream shall stop flowing and stand in one single mass.”

When the people set out from their camp to cross the Jordan, the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant went before them. There was much water in the Jordan, for it was overflowing its banks at this time of the barley harvest. Nevertheless, when those who carried the Ark went down to the river and their feet touched the edge of the water, the water from upstream stopped flowing.

The water stood still, forming something like a dam very far from that place, near Adam, the neighbouring city of Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Dead Sea was completely cut off, and so the people could cross opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant remained in the middle of the river which dried up, until all the Israelites had crossed the Jordan.

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Thursday, 7 August 2025 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to put our faith and trust constantly in the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God, remembering that it is by His love and providence that all of us have managed to survive and thrive even amidst the hardest challenges and trials in life. There will likely indeed be trials, difficulties, obstacles and hardships that we may have to enconocunter in our paths in life, but we must not lose faith and hope in the Lord, believing that with the Lord our God, all of us can overcome all things, together as one united flock of the Lord, God’s holy and beloved people, His Holy Church which He has established in this world in our midst.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the time when the whole congregation of the people of God, the Israelites grumbled, complained and rebelled against the Lord at the site known as Massah and Meribah. This was one of the worst occasions of the rebelliousness of the Israelites because it affected Moses so much with their lack of gratitude, their constant complaints and refusal to listen to him and in refusing to obey the Law and precepts that Moses had spent so much time explaining and enforcing among them, that even Moses himself was fed up, and when the Lord asked him and Aaron to gather together the Israelites to show His Providence and power, Moses himself disobeyed the Lord by striking the rock with his staff instead of commanding the rock to bring forth water for the people to drink.

From what we have heard in that occasion, we can see clearly the intention for us all to remember that we should not allow ourselves to be swayed and distracted by our desires and emotions, all the things that can keep us away from the Lord and leading us down the same path that the Israelites had once walked through. We have to be vigilant and careful lest our actions and preoccupations with ourselves, our desires and emotions, our fears and uncertainties, our doubts and other things cause us to stumble and lose our way. We have to keep in mind that the Lord is always by our side, guiding and providing us all with what we need, and we should not lose faith in Him. No matter how tough or difficult the conditions may be, ultimately, with God by our side, we will be triumphant in the end, if not in this world, then in the world that is to come. 

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the account of the time when the Lord asked His disciples about Himself, about His identity and what people said about Him. And the disciples spoke of what they had heard and believed about the Lord Jesus, with only St. Peter courageously speaking up the truth, stating that he believed that Jesus is none other than the Son of God Himself, the Holy One of God, the Messiah sent into our midst to save us all, and not merely just like any other prophets or teachers of the faith. The Lord praised St. Peter for this answer, and He told everyone that He would establish His Church in the firm foundation of the Rock of faith that is St. Peter, with the name Peter meaning ‘Rock’.

Through this, we are reminded that it is indeed important for us all to trust in the Lord and have faith in His plans, in all that He has shown and given to us through Christ, His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. And at the same time, right after that event, when the Lord Jesus told the disciples that He would face sufferings and persecutions from His enemies, St. Peter immediately pulled Him aside and complained against Him saying such words, and the Lord rebuked Satan who was speaking thrugh St. Peter. This is a reminder that if our faith in the Lord is not strong, and if we allow ourselves to be swayed by worldly considerations, attachments, and desires, by our fears and doubts, as the Israelites and even Moses and St. Peter experienced, then we may end up allowing Satan to strike against us and bring us to our downfall. We have to be truly careful and vigilant in how we live our faith then.a

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Sixtus II, a holy martyr of the Church, and his companions in martyrdom, as well as St. Cajetan, a holy and devout priest and servant of God. Pope St. Sixtus II reigned as Pope during a difficult time in the Church as the faithful were facing many persecutions from the Roman state at that time while also facing divisions over several heresies and disagreements among the clergy, such as what had happened earlier due to the supporters of one Novatian, which divided the Church in the Western part of the Roman Empire, in the area of northern Africa and the Eastern churches. Pope St. Sixtus II played an important role in bridging the divisions and mending the relations between the churches. He helped to unite the Church and lead the faithful through difficult times in their lives. He was martyred together with several others who shared his martyrdom during the intense persecution under Emperor Valerian in the year 258.

Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was the renowned founder of the Theatines, the religious order also known as the Congregation of the Clerics Regular. He was born in the region of northern Italy, in the area of Thiene, where the Theatines eventually got their name from, and he grew up being educated in both civil and canon law, and as a diplomat working for the Pope. He only became a priest later in his life, once he reached his mid-thirties. He ministered to the faithful in his home region, caring for the needs of the sick and those who suffered from maladies by helping to build a hospital there. But her longed to cater to the needs of the people’s spiritual troubles and healing more than their physical ones, and that was how he gathered together a group dedicated to a prayerful life modelled by the monasteries, and yet remaining in active life and ministry in the world, which inspired the foundation of the Theatines, that he founded together with another saint, St. Jerome Emiliani.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, recalling what we have heard and discussed from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, and being inspired by the examples, courage and efforts shown by Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, and by the faith of St. Cajetan, let us all thus continue to do our best to live our lives worthily in the Lord, doing whatever we can to glorify the Lord by our lives, and to carry out God’s will and trusting in Him at all times. Let us all continue to be good role models for our fellow brothers and sisters around us and do whatever we can to proclaim God’s truth and Good News, now and always. May God be with us all and may He strengthen us in our resolve to live truly worthy and faithful lives, in accordance with God’s will. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 August 2025 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Matthew 16 : 13-23

At that time, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They said, “For some of them, You are John the Baptist; for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven.”

“And now I say to you : You are Peter; and on this Rock I will build My Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven : whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

Then He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. From that day, Jesus began to make it clear to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem; that He would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law; and that He would be killed and be raised on the third day.

Then Peter took Him aside and began to reproach Him, “Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle in My path. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.”