Thursday

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Thursday, 14 May 2026 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 15 : 9-17

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

“I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

“I shall not call you servants any more, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father. You did not choose Me; it was I Who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you.”

“This is My command, that you love one another.”

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Thursday, 14 May 2026 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 112 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Alleluia! Praise, o servants of YHVH, praise the Name of YHVH! Blessed be the Name of YHVH now and forever!

From eastern lands to the western islands, may the Name of YHVH be praised! YHVH is exalted over the nations; His glory above the heavens.

Who is like YHVH our God, Who sits enthroned on high, but also bends down to see on earth as in heaven?

He lifts up the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap. He makes them sit with princes, with rulers of His people.

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Thursday, 14 May 2026 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 1 : 15-17, 20-26

It was during this time that Peter stood up in the midst of the community – about one hundred and twenty in all – and he said, “Brothers, it was necessary that the Scriptures referring to Judas be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had spoken through David about the one who would lead the crowd coming to arrest Jesus. He was one of our number and had been called to share our common ministry.”

“In the Book of Psalms it is written : ‘Let his house become deserted and may no one live in it.’ But it is also written : ‘May another take his office.’ Therefore, we must choose someone from among those who were with us during all the time that the Lord Jesus moved about with us, beginning with John’s baptism until the day when Jesus was taken away from us. One of these has to become, with us, a witness to His resurrection.”

Then they proposed two : Joseph, called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. They prayed : “You know, Lord, what is in the hearts of all. Show us, therefore, which of the two You have chosen to replace Judas in this Apostolic ministry which he deserted to go to the place he deserved.”

Then they drew lots between the two and the choice fell on Matthias who was added to the eleven Apostles.

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Thursday, 7 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the reminders from the Lord for all of us to follow His Law and commandments in all things, to be faithful at all times and to live our lives in accordance with what He has taught and revealed to us. But at the same time, we must also remind ourselves not to be fixated at the routines and the practices of faith that we carry out, or else we may end up losing sight on what is truly important in our lives and our faith. We are all reminded to turn towards the Lord once again, refocusing our attention towards Him and not allowing ourselves to be distracted either by the vices and temptations often present around us, and also by growing ever deeper in our understanding about our Christian faith, by knowing the tenets and precepts of our faith well but without exaggerations and overemphasis on the externals without an internalised understanding of the faith.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, all of us heard about the continuation of the events highlighted these past few days of the historic First Council of Jerusalem in which the issue regarding whether the Christian faithful had to follow and obey the extensive and in fact excessive ordinances and the rules of the Jewish laws and customs was resolved by the meeting of the Church leaders and elders. This issue had bitterly divided the early Christian community, with the side of the Jewish converts particularly those who belonged to the group of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law being very adamant in their demands and viewpoint that unless the faithful obeyed the entirety of the Jewish laws and customs, then they could not be saved. Those who belonged to those groups insisted that all the Christian faithful must obey fully the commandments of the Lord as practiced and enforced by them.

However, we must understand that back then, it was very difficult for any of the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles to follow the whole extent of the strict law as practiced and enforced by the Pharisees because some of those laws and customs were abhorrent and alien, repulsive and foreign to those people. With regards in particular to the practice of circumcision for example, it was a practice that was deemed abhorrent and disgusting by the Greeks and the Romans. Hence, if the Church were to require all the faithful to be circumcised as per required by the Jewish laws and customs, then it would have been very difficult for the Gentiles, many of whom found Jewish customs and cultural practices incompatible, to become Christians and to be the followers of the Lord. The strict and outdated dietary restrictions of the Law was another of this obstacle and hurdle which prevented many to come closer towards the Lord.

That is why, guided by the wisdom of the Lord through the Holy Spirit and through the prayers of the Apostles, we heard how St. Peter led the whole assembly of the faithful in the prayerful and careful discussion, discernment and the decision about the path that the Church ought to take going forward then, in the manner of how the faithful ought to be faithful to God. St. Peter related his examples ministering to both the Jewish and Gentile converts to the faith, and told them how everyone were called to follow the Lord, to follow what He Himself had said and taught to them, and to do what the Lord has called them to do. The Church should not make it difficult for all those who seek to be disciples and followers of the Lord, but should instead be most supportive in how they reach out to the people of God, to all those who are marginalised and forgotten, as the source of salvation for many out there, the lost sheep of the Lord’s one flock.

Essentially, all of us are reminded through these Scripture passages today of the need for us all to rediscover our faith in the Lord and to centre our focus and attention on Him, instead of being distracted by the many temptations and false paths, distortions and many other fallacies present all around us. We should not be like those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who spent so much of their time focusing on the nitty-gritty and the specific tenets, rules and regulations of the Law and commandments of God, and ending up forgetting why the Law and commandments were there in the first place. They were meant to help lead and guide the people who have been lost to the Lord so that they might find the path back towards the Lord and towards His saving grace. Unfortunately, that Law and commandments then had been misused to be tools of power and self-justification, as well as self-glorification and pride.

As we heard in our Gospel passage today, we are reminded by the Lord Himself to return to the very roots and origins of the commandments of God, which the Lord Jesus summarised very well into two main categories, that is the love for God, the love and devotion that we ought to show Him at all times, greater than anything else, and then also the love for our fellow brothers and sisters, particularly for all those who are in need of help. We should not think that we are better and more worthy than others simply because we observe more of the Law and the commandments of God, or because we are more stringent and particular in how we carry out living our faith life. Instead, we should remind ourselves that being Christians first and foremost is a call for us all to be loving just as our Lord, our God and Father is loving and kind towards us. Our love ought to be truly genuine and unconditional just as God’s love for us has been shown to us in such a manner too.

That is how all of us can be better and more committed Christians, not by doing things that we think make ourselves holier or better, or worse still by putting others down or by thinking that by our actions and merits, we can gain glory or status for ourselves. We should instead follow the examples of the Lord Himself, Who went to the most marginalised and all those who were most prejudiced against in the community, reaching out to them with love and proclaiming to them all the words of God’s salvation and reassuring them of God’s love and grace. All of us as Christians should do well therefore to love our fellow brothers and sisters as much as we love ourselves, and love the Lord our God first and foremost above all else, above all other things in life. We should renew our commitment to Him and be good examples and role models to each other in how we live our lives as Christians.

May Christ our Risen Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey of faith through life, and may He empower us all to live ever more worthily and courageously in His path. May the truth and the love of God guide us always in our path, that we will always draw ever closer to Him, with each and every passing moments. Let our lives and examples be good inspiration and motivation for many around us who have witnessed us and our efforts, who have been working with us and interacting with us, seeing God’s truth and love manifested in each and every one of our actions, words and deeds, consistently, at all times. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 9-11

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.”

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Thursday, 7 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 10

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.

Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

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Thursday, 7 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 15 : 7-21

As the discussions became heated, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that from the beginning God chose me among you so that non-Jews could hear the Good News from me and believe. God, Who can read hearts, put Himself on their side by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them and cleansed their hearts through faith.”

“So why do you want to put God to the test? Why do you lay on the disciples a burden that neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry? We believe, indeed, that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”

The whole assembly kept silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas tell of all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done through them among the non-Jews. After they had finished, James spoke up, “Listen to me, brothers. Symeon has just explained how God first showed His care by taking a people for Himself from non-Jewish nations.”

“And the words of the prophets agree with this, for Scripture says, ‘After this I will return and rebuild the booth of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again. Then the rest of humanity will look for the Lord, and all the nations will be consecrated to My Name. So says the Lord, Who does today what He decided from the beginning.'”

“Because of this, I think that we should not make difficulties for those non-Jews who are turning to God. Let us just tell them not to eat food that is unclean from having been offered to idols; to keep themselves from prohibited marriages; and not to eat the flesh of animals that have been strangled, or any blood. For from the earliest times Moses has been taught in every place, and every Sabbath his laws are recalled.”

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Thursday, 30 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded again of everything that God has done for us and all that He has accomplished for us, on our behalf because of His love for us and because of His desire to see us all reconciled and reunited to Him. God created us all out of His love and He has always treasured each and every one of us, and He gave us His best and most precious gift, in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Risen Lord and Saviour so that by His coming into our midst, into this world, as our Good Shepherd and Guide, He might gather all of us together and help lead us down the right path. The Lord has given us the most perfect gift and manifestation of His love so that all of us may come to know of His truth and love, and be saved, reconciled and reunited with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the works of St. Paul who went from place to place, preaching about the salvation in Jesus Christ and the Good News of God, His truth and love. St. Paul went on his missionary journey, travelling all around the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, and in this particular mission trip, he was going through the cities and towns of the region of Asia Minor, where he preached about the Risen Lord in cities like Perga and Antioch in Pisidia. What we heard in our first reading today is the speech that he delivered to the Jewish diaspora and faithful in Antioch in Pisidia as he went to the local synagogue. The early Christian missionaries went about teaching the people both from the Jewish and non-Jewish or Gentile origins, and there were quite a large population of Jewish diaspora back then in many cities of Asia Minor and elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean region.

Hence, St. Paul catered his message and preaching to the Jewish people and believers, as he spoke to them about the Messiah, the crucified and resurrected Christ. Thus he reminded all of them of everything that God had done for their ancestors, in His mighty deeds in Egypt and henceforth, and how He had promised His people of His salvation and protection, and how He would raise His Messiah or Saviour from the family and House of David, the King of Israel. St. Paul spoke of how Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, born into the House of David as David’s Heir, was indeed the One Whom the Lord had promised His people, and of Whom the prophets and messengers of the Lord had spoken, preached and proclaimed about. St. Paul wanted all of them to know everything that God had done for them, and in how He gave them all His own most beloved Son for their salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then from the Gospel of St. John, of what the Lord Jesus told His disciples regarding His followers and the missions they had in proclaiming about Him and His truth. He predicted that one of His own disciples would rise up against Him, as how it indeed happened with Judas Iscariot the traitor, and the Lord also spoke of those who would accept and listen to His truth and His voice spoken through His disciples. In essence, through what the Lord spoke to His disciples in our Gospel passage today, He wanted each and every one of us to know that we have the calling and the mission to proclaim His truth and Good News just as St. Paul and the other Apostles had done. And yet, at the same time, He also laid out the facts that there would be hardships, difficulties and challenges, just as much as there would be opportunities and good things that would come upon the path of His disciples and followers.

Throughout the history of the Church, we have seen many persecutions and hardships that faced the Church and the Lord’s followers, the Christian faithful and servants of God. We have seen how the Church expanded greatly even amidst bitter persecutions, and at times, divisions and intrigues caused the breaking of the unity of the Church, causing harm to many of the Lord’s faithful ones. Yet, the Lord was always with His Church and He did not abandon us at the time and hour of our greatest need, as He journeyed with us and guided us patiently throughout that journey of faith. Despite those who would destroy and harm the unity of the Church and mislead the faithful into the wrong paths, the ones who betrayed the Lord like that of Judas Iscariot and the many heretics and false teachers throughout the history of the Church till this very day, the Lord’s Church remained firmly united, blessed and guided by God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard these Scripture passages and pondered their importance and meaning, let us all really internalise the messages and the key points that we have just discussed so that we may truly understand what it is that we are all called to do with our lives. We have to realise that our existence here in this world is to glorify the Lord, and to honour Him by our dedication and commitment in life. All of us as Christians are expected and reminded to keep the Law and commandments of the Lord, obeying them and following His will, in all things so that in our every words, actions, deeds and interactions with one another, in our every moments and our way of life, we may truly be the shining beacons of God’s Light, His truth and love. Our lives, work and actions, our genuine Christian way of living are indeed the best way for us to evangelise, to proclaim the Good News of God to more and more people.

We have to realise that the works of the Lord entrusted in His Church are still far from being completed. The same missions entrusted by the Lord to His Apostles, to the likes of St. Paul and many other faithful missionaries, are still ongoing, as many more people out there have not yet known about the Lord, all His deeds, His truth and love, His teachings and ways. Not only that, but even there are many within the Church who have lapsed from their faith, becoming lukewarm and ignorant of the truth, and there is indeed a rapidly growing need to re-evangelise and to re-educate many of our Christian brothers and sisters what the true Christian faith is all about. We all know well how many Christians in the recent decades have stopped going to church and ceased their active participation in the Sacraments and the life of the Church, and some even left the faith and the Church altogether for other things.

Today, we should draw inspiration from one of our holy predecessors, namely Pope St. Pius V, a great and dedicated leader of the Church who led the Church and all the faithful during a particularly difficult period of time in the Church history. He was prominent in his role in the Ecumenical Council of Trent and also his contributions before he even became the Pope and thus leader of all Christendom. He led the Church during the crucial years in which it was fighting both internal divisions and the changes and instabilities caused by the Protestant heresy and falsehoods, among other political conflicts, as well as the external threats from the forces of the Ottoman Turks threatening to conquer the lands of Christendom. It was indeed a very dark time for much of Christendom and for many among the people of God.

Yet, Pope St. Pius V persevered through all those challenges and entrusted himself and the Church to the Lord. He led the Church to implement the many important reforms and changes made at the Council of Trent, and helped to enforce its decrees on the many segments of the Church, rooting out the corruptions and excesses within the Church, while restoring many of the people who had been misguided and misled by falsehoods back into the truth of God in the Church. He also helped to assemble the great Christian alliance that managed to win a great victory over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto. Through his hard works and efforts, many great things had happened for countless people, especially those among the believers, and we too can gain inspiration from the faith and examples of Pope St. Pius V.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the great examples set by Pope St. Pius V and the many other holy saints, holy men and women of God, let us all continue to strive to be faithful to God, to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. Let us all do our best, in whatever way we can, to dedicate ourselves to the Lord and to proclaim His truth and love in our various communities, even through the smallest things we say and do in our lives. Let us always be sincere in living up honestly and ever more courageously in our faith, to be great examples of true faith and dedication to God in our own lives. May God bless us all and may He empower each one of us to be faithful to Him, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 13 : 16-20

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his master, nor is the messenger greater than he who sent him. Understand this, and blessed are you, if you put it into practice.”

“I am not speaking of you all, because I know the ones I have chosen, and the Scripture has to be fulfilled that says : The one who shared My table has risen against Me. I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may know that I am He.”

“Truly, I say to you, whoever welcomes the one I send, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes the One Who sent Me.”

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Thursday, 30 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

I have found David My servant, and with My holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will be ever with him and My arm will sustain.

My faithfulness and love will be with him, and by My help he will be strong. He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’