Tuesday

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side. Among the crowd was a woman, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.” Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint.

But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around you. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha, kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old). The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 21 : 26b-27, 28, 30ab, 30c-32

I will fulfil my vows before all who revere You. The lowly will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

The whole earth will acknowledge and turn to the Lord; the families of nations will worship Him.

Before Him all those who rest in the earth will bow down, all who go down to the dust.

My soul will live for Him. My descendants will serve Him and proclaim the Lord to coming generations; they will announce His salvation to a people yet unborn, “These are the things that He has done.”

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 1-4

What a cloud of innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

Let us look to Jesus the Founder of our faith, Who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God. Think of Jesus Who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary.

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

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Tuesday, 28 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received today, we are all reminded that we are partakers of the same Covenant which our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour has formed and mediated for us, and which He has established and sealed through the breaking of His own Most Precious Body and the outpouring of His own Most Precious Blood, the Body and Blood of the Holy Lamb of God, the One Who takes away the sins of the whole world, of all mankind, past, present and future. And therefore, as we have been given this great gift from God, the outpouring and sharing of the most generous love of God, we should hence appreciate what the Lord has granted us and learn to obey Him wholeheartedly at all times, doing our best to walk in His Holy Presence and living our lives to the best of our abilities as faithful disciples and followers of God.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the discourse we have heard for the past few weeks from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard the author of the Epistle explaining to the intended audience, the Jewish community and people, likely both the believers among them and also those who have not yet believed in Christ, about the nature of the works of the Messiah, Who has offered Himself as a worthy sacrifice and offering to redeem all of us sinners. The context was that the requirement by the Law of God revealed to Moses obliged the people to offer sacrifices to the Lord regularly for the cleansing from their sins and debts, which they had to offer through the priests at the Temple and House of God.

And by the nature of those sacrificial offerings, they had to be offered regularly and periodically, as the offerings were animals and other earthly offerings that cannot be enough to be offered to atone for the multitudes of our innumerable sins. There is one and only one sacrifice and offering that is worthy and good enough for that purpose, and that is exactly what the Lord Jesus had offered for our sake. He has given freely the offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood, the Immaculate, Perfect and Infinitely wonderful Body and Blood of the Paschal Lamb, the Divine Word Incarnate. There can be no greater offering than the offering of God made Man, God Who loves us all so much that He has willingly embraced us all with His most generous love and mercy, giving us all the assurance of hope and eternal life.

And because of this most wonderful and generous love of God, Christ has offered for us the one only necessary sacrifice and offering for the atonement of all of our multitudes of sins. There is no longer any need for us to bear the burden of sin, as long as we put ourselves, our lives and our faith in the Lord, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, as we all should be doing. That is why the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews mentioned that the sacrifice and offerings which the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of the world has offered on the Altar of His Cross has nullified the need for the regular sacrifices and offerings at the Temple of God as prescribed by the old Law of God, and instead, everyone has been called to embrace God’s love and put their faith in Him.

In that same occasion, we also heard how the author mentioned that the Lord Jesus has obeyed His Father’s will perfectly, to do what He has been sent to do in this world, to show that if by our disobedience and disregard of God’s Law and will we have fallen into sin and destruction, the path to damnation and downfall, then by listening to God and obeying His will, all of us can be restored to grace and be reconciled with God, our most loving Father and Creator. We have been given the free will and the freedom to choose the path that we want to walk in our lives. If we choose to follow the Lord and obey Him, walking in the path that He has shown us, then He will guide us to the sure path towards everlasting life and eternity of happiness and joy with Him. But, if we choose to walk our own path, and allow the temptations of sin to mislead us into the wrong path, we may end up falling into eternal damnation and regret our choice later on.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the people told the Lord Jesus Who was busy teaching all of them that His mother and other family members were there waiting on Him. Then, the Lord immediately told all of them that all those who obey Him and the words and will of God are His mother, brothers and relatives. If we only read this remark from the face value and interpret it literally, then we may think that the Lord had been very rude towards His mother and relatives. However, what the Lord Jesus truly intended by mentioning those words was that everyone are welcome to come to Him and all are equally beloved to Him. There is no favouritism by the Lord, and it does not mean that one has privilege simply by being related to Him.

This is contrasted to the common attitude and actions of many people at the time, and even up to this day, where we tend to give special favours and treatment, over others who are not related to us. Meanwhile, the Lord gives this opportunity of reconciliation between us and Himself generously and equally regardless of our background and origin, and no one is to be excluded from the generous love of God, no matter what. And as we heard from our first reading today and discussed earlier, it was by the selfless and most loving sacrifice of Christ that we have been saved. That is why we are truly very fortunate to have received such great grace and opportunities from the Lord, and we have been reminded of this fact yet again today so that we will not squander these many opportunities and pathways that the Lord has offered generously, freely and willingly to us. It is now up to us to come to Him and to follow Him, to obey the Lord and His Law, to do what He has commanded us all to do.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, a renowned saint and man of God, a holy priest and theologian whose many works and contributions are still well-known even to this very day. St. Thomas Aquinas was born to a powerful noble and landed family in what is today part of Italy, where he was raised with excellent academic preparations and education, and his family definitely had wanted him to pursue a career in the world as was common for his family at the time. However, the young future St. Thomas Aquinas had a different calling, and he wanted to join religious life as a member of the Dominican Order or the Order of Preachers. This was naturally opposed by his family, who attempted to stop him, and St. Thomas Aquinas even had to endure a year being imprisoned at that time, and he had to face seductions and efforts to dissuade him from pursuing religious life and calling.

But none of these eventually succeeded, and in the end, his family, especially his mother, Theodora, relented and allowed him to secretly escape his detention, after which St. Thomas Aquinas eventually went through the preparation and formation to become a member of the Dominicans. And as he went through his religious journey, he began working on many writings and works that would eventually be famous as theological masterpieces and compulsory reading materials for those studying theology centuries in the future, right up to the present day. While St. Thomas Aquinas was known to be relatively quiet as a person, but his understanding, appreciation and efforts in describing and explaining the Divine were truly legendary and amazing, and he dedicated the rest of his life to these theological pursuits and efforts, while ministering to the people of God around him with great love and dedication.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed and spent time discerning earlier on from the words of the Sacred Scriptures, and also from the discussion on the life, ministry and work of St. Thomas Aquinas, let us all therefore do our best in our own respective lives to live a most faithful, committed life to God, putting God at the centre of our lives, and focusing our attention on glorifying Him through our lives. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the responsibility, mission and calling to carry out all that the Lord has entrusted to us, through the various opportunities He has provided to us. We should not squander these opportunities, and instead strive our best to commit ourselves with faith, and to remember always the great and most generous love that God has given us, and thus, commit ourselves to love Him with the same vigour and purpose.

May the Lord be with us all and may He empower each one of us to be the faithful bearers of His love, His truth and hope amongst our brethren in this world today. May each and every one of us continue to be strong and courageous in standing up for our faith, doing our best each day and at every moments to be good examplesand inspirations to everyone around us, much as St. Thomas Aquinas and many other saints had inspired us all through their exemplary lives and faith. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, and may He continue to guide us in our journey in life towards Him, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 28 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 3 : 31-35

At that time, the mother and brothers of Jesus came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call Him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”

He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” And looking around at those who sat there, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to Me.”

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Tuesday, 28 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 39 : 2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 10, 11

With resolve I waited for the Lord; He listened and heard me beg. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

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!”

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

I have not locked up in my heart Your saving help, but have spoken about it – Your deliverance and Your faithfulness. I have made no secret of Your truth and of Your kindness in the great assembly.

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Tuesday, 28 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 10 : 1-10

The religion of the Law is only a shadow of the good things to come; it has the patterns but not the realities. So, year after year, the same sacrifices are offered without bringing the worshippers to what is the end. If they had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have felt guilt and would have stopped offering the same sacrifices.

But no, year after year their sacrifices witness to their sins and never will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins. This is why on entering the world, Christ says : You did not desire sacrifice and offering; You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said : “Here I am. It was written of Me in the scroll. I will do Your will, o God.”

First He says : “Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire nor were You pleased with them – although they were required by the Law. Then He says : Here I am to do Your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the Body of Christ Jesus.

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Tuesday, 21 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Scriptures, we are all reminded and reassured of the constant and ever enduring love of God which He has always shown us throughout time and history, and which He has again and again renewed through His many promises made to us through His own words and through the prophets. And all these promises were not just mere empty words, as they all had been formalised and made complete, fulfilled and accomplished through none other than Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world, Who has come into our midst to reveal to us the fullness of God’s love and grace, His mercy and kindness made tangible and real, approachable to us all.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews we heard of the reminders from the author directed to the Jewish community and people of everything that the Lord their God has promised and reassured to them again and again throughout history, referring to the promises of the Covenant He had made with Abraham and others among His servants and people, and how it was the perseverance shown by Abraham and those who are faithful to the Lord which has earned them all their inheritance and blessings from God. Through God and His love, and their constant and enduring obedience and faith in Him, all of those faithful people of God have been truly blessed and become reminders for us all that God has given us all so wonderful a blessing.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist the arguments between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees who argued that the Lord and His disciples had violated the Law of God on the matter of the Sabbath day because the disciples had plucked on the grains of wheat from the field when they were all very hungry. The Lord rebuked those Pharisees by quoting the example from the Scripture, how the venerated and well-respected King David of Israel and his companions were allowed to eat from the bread reserved only for the priests at the House of God. Neither David nor his companions were members of the priestly order, but they were allowed to eat when they were very hungry.

Those Pharisees belonged to those who very strictly and rigidly interpreted the Law of God, taking the meaning of the Law such as the Law on the Sabbath, to the point that they misunderstood the true purpose, meaning and intention of the Law of God, which were not meant to restrict, restrain or make their lives difficult. Instead, the Law had always been meant to help show and teach the people of God the true meaning of love and how they all can truly love Him wholeheartedly and to be filled fully with faith and trust in this love, because it is by His ever great, wonderful and enduring love that we all have been saved and provided with rich and sure assurance of eternal life and inheritance beyond measure or comparison.

We are therefore reminded through these Scripture passages today that we must always be truly faithful to the Lord and put our whole trust in Him, be filled with true and genuine love in Him and not merely observing His Law and commandments without truly understanding and appreciating their true importance, purpose and significance. If we want to be truly faithful to the Lord, then we must not be like those Pharisees who placed greater importance in their own selfish desires and personal ambitions in achieving their pious actions and practices so that they might be praised by others and be honoured for doing so. This is why all of us as Christians should always put God first and foremost in our lives, as Abraham and many of our predecessors had done before us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Agnes, a renowned martyr of the faith who perished during one of the most intense persecutions of Christians and the Church. She was also known as St. Agnes of Rome, having been born into a Roman noble family and was raised as a Christian by her family during the difficult years of persecution against Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his fellow rulers in the then Tetrarchy. Eventually, due to her great beauty, St. Agnes had many suitors whom she all rejected as she wanted to devote herself to God, and as such, disgruntled suitors reported St. Agnes’ Christian identity to the authorities who then arrested her and forced her to deny God and abandon her faith, which she courageously refused to do.

When St. Agnes was brought before the Roman prefect, Sempronius, he condemned her to be paraded naked to a brothel for her to be defiled by those people who frequented the brothel in mockery of her holy virginity. According to Church tradition, St. Agnes prayed to God and her hair miraculously grew and covered her whole body, and anyone who wanted to rape her were immediately struck blind, and no one could harm her at all. And this included Sempronius’ own son, who was struck dead, and upon the intercession of St. Agnes, the dead son was revived again. Undoubtedly shaken by what he experienced and what happened to his son, the Roman prefect recused himself from the judgment and let another person to judge St. Agnes, who was thereafter martyred by either being beheaded or stabbed on her throat after even flames would not harm her.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the Scripture passages today, and from the life and examples of St. Agnes, holy woman and martyr of the Church, let us all therefore learn to commit ourselves ever more, in each and every moments given to us, in every opportunities so that we may ever be courageous and most dedicated servant of God, with our lives and examples be the shining beacons of truth and the guiding light for everyone around us. May everyone knows the Lord and His love by the love He has shown us and which we have reflected in our own lives, in our complete and trust in God and in our love for our fellow brothers and sisters, for those who are less fortunate and in need for our love. May God, our ever loving Master and Creator be with us all, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 2 : 23-28

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus was walking through grainfields. As His disciples walked along with Him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!”

And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need, when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the house of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.”

Then Jesus said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath.”

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Tuesday, 21 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 4-5, 9 and 10c

Alleluia! I thank the Lord with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of the Lord are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; the Lord is merciful and kind. Always mindful of His covenant, He provides food for those who fear Him.

He has sent His people deliverances and made with them a covenant forever. His holy Name is to be revered! To Him belongs everlasting praise.