Thursday

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Thursday, 8 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to heed the Lord’s truth and His teachings, and ask Him for help whenever we are needing any assistance and help. We cannot struggle alone in this journey of faith, or else we will quickly realise that we will falter and be easily tempted, falling deeper and deeper into the path of sin, from which we may realise that there is no path out from. Unless we conscientiously follow the path of the Lord and remain firmly faithful to this path, striving to walk as good and devoted Christians, we may realise that we will be drawn into the ways of the world, and be tempted by sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Galatia, the words of the Apostle chiding and the rebuking the people of God there for their erroneous ways and wicked living, for having followed the ways and the teachings proposed and preached to them by the false prophets and by all those who did not adhere to the true deposit of the faith and the truth as preserved by the Apostles. Back then, there existed many variations of the teachings of Christ, with some people likely making use of those teachings as excuses to establish their own school of thought and ideologies, or by syncretising them with the pagan beliefs and customs.

As such, St. Paul reminded the people of God not to be easily swayed by those worldly temptations, and to adhere closely to what they have received, the pure truth as what St. Paul and the other authentic witnesses and missionaries had proclaimed to them. St. Paul reminded the faithful not to allow their desires and the weakness of their flesh to sway them to the wrong paths. Otherwise, they would end up losing their way and might even fell off away from the path towards God and His salvation. That is why, St. Paul told them not to listen to those who proclaimed different messages from what he and the other faithful servants of God had preached.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples about the matter of someone who asked a friend for a favour, and how a father would care for his children in the same way that a friend would have cared for his or her friend’s requests or pleas for assistance. The Lord used that as an example to highlight to His disciples and therefore to all of us that, often times we do not realise that we have such a great opportunity to ask the Lord for help at any moment in time, but for various reasons, we chose not to seek for His help, and preferred to do things our own way, which in the end led to us doing the wrong things and choosing the wrong paths.

And why is it that we did not seek God’s help? First of all, the most often reason was that we allow our pride and ego to get in the way. We let ourselves be swayed by our ego that we refused to allow the Lord to speak to us, and we refused to listen to Him and we chose rather to do things our own way rather than to admit that we can be wrong or mistaken in our ways, or that we want to preserve that semblance of face and strength, and we chose to press on in our erroneous ways of life rather than to submit to God’s will or to look for help from Him. That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, our human pride and ego are such dangerous things that we must be ever vigilant against.

Then, another reason is that we are reluctant to ask, because we are afraid that God will punish us if we ask, and that He will chide and refuse to listen to us for our pleas and prayers. That, brothers and sisters in Christ is yet another reason why so many ended up getting further and further away from God. They rather chose to hide rather than to face the Lord, their loving God and Father. They did not have enough faith in God and in His mercy, that they chose to rather run away from Him and avoid Him, instead of entrusting themselves to His love and care. And this is what we must remind ourselves, that our Lord is our Father, and like all fathers, they will indeed chastise their children when they err, but they do so with love, and not hatred.

Which one should we rather choose, brethren? To be chastised by God and to be reminded to atone for our many sins and wickedness, for an eternity of joy and true happiness, filled with God’s love and grace because we have been reconciled to Him, or to run and hide away, to keep our pride and ego and then suffer an eternity of suffering and regret, because we keep on rejecting God’s ever generous mercy and love? Let us all not forget that all those countless souls in hell, all suffer because they have consciously rejected God’s offer of mercy and love, and chose to remain in the path of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to journey through our respective lives, let us all be reminded of the great love that our Lord and God has shown us, our loving Heavenly Father Who has always and as we continue to do our very best to glorify the Lord by our lives. He has always nudged us gently in our paths, reminding us to remain faithful to Him and to continue walking in His path. Let our lives therefore be testimony and good examples of our faith in God and be the shining beacons of Good News and truth. May God bless us always and be with us, in all the things we do. Amen.

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Thursday, 8 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 5-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is travelling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I cannot get up and give you anything.'”

“But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.”

“If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

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Thursday, 8 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 1 : 69-70, 71-72, 73-75

In the house of David His servant, He has raised up for us a victorious Saviour; as He promised through His prophets of old.

Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of our foes. He has shown mercy to our fathers; and remembered His holy Covenant.

The oath He swore to Abraham, our father, to deliver us from the enemy, that we might serve Him fearlessly, as a holy and righteous people, all the days of our lives.

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Thursday, 8 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 3 : 1-5

How foolish you are, Galatians! How could they bewitch you after Jesus Christ has been presented to you as crucified? I shall ask you only this : Did you receive the Spirit by the practice of the Law, or by believing the message? How can you be such fools : you begin with the Spirit and end up with the flesh!

So, you have experienced all this in vain! Would that, it were not so! Did God give you the Spirit, and work miracles among you because of your observance of the Law, or because you believed in His message?

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Thursday, 1 October 2026 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of all Missionaries and the Missions (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, also known as St. Therese of Lisieux, whose devotion to God and great holiness inspired many others to follow the Lord and to renew their faith in Him. Her famous ‘Little Way’ is inspiration for many up to this day on how each and every one of us can be faithful to God and be good contributors to the good works and missions of the Church through every little things and actions we carry out in our daily living. Today we are all called to reflect upon the good examples and the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus as we also ponder upon the message of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received from the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the great joy which the Lord promised to His people, to the ones to whom Isaiah had been sent to. The context of this message and revelation is that, the people of the southern kingdom of Judah that the prophet Isaiah had been sent to, they had faced a lot of tribulations and hardships amidst their lives and existence of that time among their neighbours and enemies. They and their brethren in the northern kingdom of Israel had not been truly faithful to God, had disobeyed Him and disregarded the reminders sent to them through the prophets and messengers of God, and as such, they had to face the consequences of their sins and wickedness. Their northern neighbours had been crushed and conquered by the Assyrians and were brought into exile in distant lands.

Therefore, the Lord sent His reassurance to His people, the remnants of those who still remained in the kingdom of Judah, that He still loved them nonetheless and wanted them all to be reconciled and reunited with Him. God has always been full of love and mercy for His people, but He waited for all of them to repent from their sins and wickedness, and for them to embrace once again wholeheartedly, His Law and commandments, and the path which He had shown them all. He told them all through Isaiah that if they are faithful to Him and are committed to Him, then all of them shall receive the fullness of His grace, love and blessings. If they continued to put their trust in Him, eventually He would lead them all out of their troubles and sufferings, bringing them back to His loving Presence and bless them.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the disciples of the Lord came to Him asking Him on who would be considered as the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. This was in the context of how those disciples and followers of the Lord had been bickering among themselves, arguing about all these while forgetting the true importance and purpose of their discipleship and obedience to God. They sought for worldly satisfaction and pleasures, fulfilment and achievements, but in the end, all of those things are illusory, temporary and will never last, and no matter what, they would never be truly satisfied by all those temptations and pursuits in life. Each and every one of us must always remember that true satisfaction, happiness can come from the Lord alone.

Now, why is it significant that the faith of young children have been mentioned by the Lord here? That is because the faith of little children had been used as example for everyone as a child’s faith is truly pure and unblemished and uncorrupted by the allures of worldly desires, temptations and all the other things, pursuits and ambitions that often led us astray in our lives, distracting us with all sorts of temptations and other things that prevented us from truly being able to approach the Lord and coming closer to Him and His salvation. If we can believe in the Lord in the manner that children believe in Him, then all of us can truly be closer to God, committed and dedicated to Him despite the challenges, trials and temptations facing us in our path. And we will not be distracted by those many distractions around us.

Now, let us discuss about the life of St. Therese of Lisieux and see how her life and dedication to God reflects what we have just heard in our Scripture passages today. St. Therese of Lisieux was born to a loving family of St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azelie Guerin, whose devout and happy life inspired many of their own children to seek the Lord and devote themselves, as many among St. Therese’s siblings also joined religious and consecrated life as she did. St. Therese of Lisieux was frail in health since young, but this did not stop her to grow ever stronger in her love and devotion to God, as her family spent significant amount of time in prayer, participating in the Holy Mass daily and other important devotions and works of faith, among other things. This eventually led to St. Therese to feel the calling from God to embrace religious and consecrated life.

St. Therese began to experience visions and mystical experiences, which gradually drew her ever deeper to her calling, and she was drawn towards the Carmelite sisters, which order her eldest sister had also joined. Then, when she wanted to join the Carmelites after having encountered physical and spiritual challenges, she continued to persevere on despite those difficulties and trials. She was initially not allowed to do so because of her very young age, being only around fourteen years old at the time, but eventually her efforts, perseverance and constant persistence gained the admiration of others, even that of the Pope and her local diocesan bishop, who eventually approved her joining the Carmelite sisters despite her young age.

As a young postulant and member of the Carmelite monastery, St. Therese of Lisieux obeyed her superiors faithfully and lived her life with great devotion and commitment to God, doing whatever she could so that she could live her life ever more worthily of the Lord, spending each time and every moments of her life to glorify God, through every small and little actions she did, which would become known later on as mentioned, as her ‘Little Way’, and as she described herself as the ‘Little Flower of Carmel’. All of us are reminded of this great dedication, faith and commitment which the young St. Therese of Lisieux had for the Lord, who committed herself wholeheartedly to the end of her life, and although she passed away at the young age of barely twenty-four, yet, her faith inspired countless people even to this day.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the life and examples of St. Therese of Lisieux and from what we have discussed regarding the Scripture passages today, we are all reminded that as Christians we need to realise our role and responsibilities in doing our part and efforts in whatever we can contribute to the good works of the Church, even in the smallest things. Like what St. Therese of Lisieux told us in her ‘Little Way’ it is a reminder for all of us that even in the seemingly very small and insignificant things we do, we may be surprised to find out just what kind of impact we may have on those around us, and what we can do for others which may benefit them and touch their lives, inspiring them to come towards the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence continue to do our best to approach the Lord faithfully and with great love and commitment, doing our part to come towards Him like those of little children, truly and wholeheartedly being faithful and dedicated to Him, seeking Him purely out of love and desire to be reconciled and reunited with Him, and not because of any selfish and worldly ambitions and desires. May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our every moments, in everything that we say and do in our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 1 October 2026 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of all Missionaries and the Missions (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 18 : 1-5

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in My Name, receives Me.”

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Thursday, 1 October 2026 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of all Missionaries and the Missions (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 131 : 1-3

O YHVH, my heart is not proud nor do I have arrogant eyes. I am not engrossed in ambitious matters, nor in things too great for me.

I have quieted and stilled my soul, like a weaned child, on its mother’s lap; like a contented child is my soul.

Hope in YHVH, o Israel, now and forever.

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Thursday, 1 October 2026 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of all Missionaries and the Missions (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 66 : 10-14

Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her. Be glad with her, rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her, that you may suck of the milk from her comforting breasts, that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.

For this is what YHVH says : I will send her peace, overflowing like a river;  and the nations’ wealth, rushing like a torrent towards her. And you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap. As a son comforted by his mother, so will I comfort you. At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice; like grass, your bones will flourish.

For it shall be known that YHVH’s hand is with His servant, but His fury is upon His enemy.

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Thursday, 24 September 2026 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded of the limitations of our worldly existence, our human glory and all that we have in this world. We are all reminded that each one of us are mortals who will suffer and go through death at the end of our life in this world. No one can live forever, and sooner or later, our earthly existence shall come to an end. But we are also then reminded that death is not the end of it all, for through what the Lord Himself has revealed to us, we know that death is merely the beginning of a new stage in life, and we have the choice whether we will end up in an eternity of joy with God or in an eternity of suffering and regret away from Him.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth, we heard the author speaking about the meaninglessness and the vanity of the many things present in life, and how everything are truly impermanent and temporary in nature. There is truly nothing which is based on this world which will last forever, and even the many things in this world like the Sun, Moon, stars and others, all the nations and all the various other worldly matters will not last for all eternity. There is nothing that is permanent save for the Lord our God, His eternal kingdom and kingship, His dominion and His glory. And this is what each and every one of us should constantly remind ourselves such that we may always continue to focus ourselves on the right thing that is God and His truth.

And that also means if we put our trust in the things of this world, then we will end up being disappointed, in all the time we spent in gathering them and seeking them, especially things like money, wealth, possessions, properties, fame, glory, human praise, status among many other things.  There is none among those that will be ours forever, and as we should be aware of, we will not bring any of those with us to the world after our death. There is life and existence beyond death, and our immortal soul will either experience an eternity of happiness and bliss with God, or an eternity of suffering and regret in hell, but again, none of our worldly things will be carried over with us. Naked we have come from our mother’s womb, and hence, naked we shall return to the Lord of life and death.

As we heard in our Gospel passage today, king Herod of Galilee was astonished to listen to the works of the Lord Jesus, and thought that St. John the Baptist, God’s servant, had returned back into life. Contextually, St. John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod on the instigation of his wife Herodias, and therefore Herod must have been haunted by that decision, and thought that somehow St. John the Baptist had returned to life. Actually it kind of served as a poignant and timely reminder for the king, who had lived a debauched and excessive lifestyle, of the limitations of his worldly power and glory. No matter how grand or powerful he has been as king, but ultimately he is still subject to the ever greater power and dominion of God.

It is a reminder that his earthly kingdom and power will not last forever, and he has to account for his sins and wickedness, all that he had failed to do as the leader and guide for his people, and all that he had been responsible for, in slaughtering the man of God, regardless whether it was directly because of his action or because it was actually his wife’s work. But God’s works and power will remain forever, just as the Lord Himself continued what St. John the Baptist had done, in walking down the path of righteousness and in revealing the truth of God’s love and salvation. The Lord has sent His servants like St. John the Baptist into our midst so that He may help us to rediscover our true paths and destinations in life, leading towards the one true God in Whom alone is our salvation.

Today as we listened to these Scripture readings, let us all therefore spend some time to discern carefully about our own lives. Have we thought about how we should prioritise God over all of our many worldly attachments and preoccupations? Have we considered just how much time we have often spent on trying to gain for ourselves more material goods, wealth, glory, fame and more of the things of this world that we crave for? Have we thought of all the time and opportunities that we spent in selfishly trying to enrich ourselves and to gain for ourselves pleasures, satisfactions and rewards, even at the cost to others and their sufferings?

Let us all ponder on our priorities in life, and think carefully on how we ought to proceed forward in life. As Christians, each and every one of us should always remain centred and focused on God in our lives, and we should not allow the temptations of our ego, pride and desires from distracting us down the wrong path. We are all called to be more selfless and humble, more willing to reach out to those who are needy and less fortunate, and we should spend more time in seeking things that bring us true happiness rather than spending hours upon hours seeking things that do not last, like that of wealth, possessions, fame, glory and other things. Unfortunately, so many among us spend our lifetimes chasing after all these impermanent things, even to the point of obsession.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all remember that while people may not remember what our glory and greatness are, and while our money and possessions will not be ours when we pass on from this world, but our memories and our remembrance in the minds of others and those whose lives we have touched remain, and these can be either positive or negative ones. Do we want to be remembered for our good and worthy deeds, or do we prefer rather to be remembered for our evils and wickedness? The choice is ours, brothers and sisters, and we have to realise that every actions do matter and count.

Let us all therefore refocus our lives and attention back towards the Lord. Let us no longer allow the many distractions, allures and temptations of this world from preventing us in finding our way towards God and to be reconciled with Him. Let us all strive to do our best in living our lives ever more worthily so that in all things we will be good examples for one another. May our lives be filled with faith and obedience to God, and may our every actions and interactions be ever more worthy of God, so that we may be exemplary and bring inspiration to others. May God bless us always, in everything and all of our good efforts for His greater glory, and for the good of our fellow brothers and sisters, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 September 2026 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 9 : 7-9

At that time, king Herod heard of all that Jesus and His disciples had done, and did not know what to think, for people said, “This is John, raised from the dead.”

Others believed that Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets, had come back to life. As for Herod, he said, “I had John beheaded. Who is this Man, about Whom I hear such wonders?” And he was anxious to see Him.