Twelve Apostles

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Friday, 25 July 2025 : Feast of St. James, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6

When YHVH brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then, our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.

Among the nations it was said, “YHVH has done great things for them.” YHVH had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.

Bring back our exiles, o YHVH, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.

They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.

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Friday, 25 July 2025 : Feast of St. James, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Corinthians 4 : 7-15

However, we carry this treasure in vessels of clay, so that this all-surpassing power may not be seen as ours, but as God’s. Trials of every sort come to us, but we are not discouraged. We are left without answer, but do not despair; persecuted but not abandoned, knocked down but not crushed.

At any moment, we carry, in our person, the death of Jesus, so, that, the life of Jesus may also be manifested in us. For we, the living, are given up continually to death, for the sake of Jesus, so, that, the life of Jesus may appear in our mortal existence. And as death is at work in us, life comes to you.

We have received the same Spirit of faith referred to in Scripture, that says : I believed and so I spoke. We also believed, and so we speak. We know that He, Who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us, with Jesus, and bring us, with you, into His presence. Finally, everything is for your good, so that grace will come more abundantly upon you, and great will be the thanksgiving for the glory of God.

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Wednesday, 9 July 2025 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 10 : 1-7

At that time, Jesus called His Twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the Twelve Apostles : first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray Him.

Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instruction : “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near.”

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Thursday, 3 July 2025 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the members of the Twelve Apostles, the innermost circle of the Lord’s disciples and followers. St. Thomas was particularly known as one who often doubted the Lord, and was known as St. Thomas Didymus or the Twin, probably because he might have had a twin brother, and he was always the skeptical one amongst the disciples of the Lord, as if we read through the other parts of the Gospels, we can see how he was always first to question the Lord and His decisions, and this continued on even after the Lord had risen from the dead, just as we have heard from our Gospel passage today.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, the Apostle speaking about how each and every one of us as God’s holy and beloved people have been made to be the Holy Temple of God, the Temple and House of His Holy Presence, and we have become parts of the Church, the stones and foundations of the Church of God together with the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, the saints, the martyrs and all the other holy people of God, past and present. Through this reading we are all reminded that each and every one of us share in the same mission which the Lord has entrusted to His Apostles, in proclaiming the Word of God, the Good News of salvation and in calling all the people of all the nations to God.

We are reminded that just as we celebrate the memory of the great Apostle St. Thomas, celebrating the great faith and dedication by which he had committed himself to the missions entrusted to him, we should be inspired by those same examples and actions, all the love and commitment which St. Thomas and the other Apostles, and the many other holy saints, holy men and women of God have shown us. We must realise that they all did not do their great works alone on their own, but working together with one another in achieving their goals, in supporting one another in the good efforts and endeavours that we are carrying out for the greater glory of God. We have to be active in carrying out our own ministry and works in our respective communities of the faithful, at all times.

Then from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when St. Thomas himself, who at first doubted the Resurrection of the Lord, encountered the Risen Lord in person. He was not there in the room together with the other Apostles and disciples when the Lord first appeared to them in His Risen glory, and he refused to believe when the other Apostles and disciples tried to convince him that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead. St. Thomas, ever the doubter, refused to believe even when everyone else had believed, and challenged the Lord to appear before him and showing him the signs of His Resurrection and how He was indeed truly the One Who had been crucified and then rose from the dead as the others had claimed.

But the Risen Lord appeared before him and the others, and asked St. Thomas to do everything as he has asked and demanded of Him, and that was when St. Thomas, humbled and amazed by the truth, finally broke free from his unbelief and doubt, from his stubbornness and disobedience, and in a powerful public expression of faith, he declared before everyone, ‘My Lord and my God’, and these words if we remember and realise, each one of us also speak of at every moment when the bread and wine, which have been offered at the Holy Mass, have been consecrated and turned into the very Essence and reality of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord Himself, and which we therefore believe without a doubt, as a core and most central tenet of our faith even when we cannot see Him truly as how the Apostles had seen Him.

According to Apostolic tradition, after the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit, St. Thomas was actively involved in the works of evangelisation and the spreading of the Christian faith and the Good News of God. St. Thomas was commonly associated with the evangelisation efforts in India, where the community of Christians that originated all the way from the time of St. Thomas’ ministry remains till this very day, also known as ‘St. Thomas Christians’, in the maritime regions of southern India where St. Thomas had apparently visited and ministered in. St. Thomas spent many years proclaiming the Good News of God to those people who have not yet known Him, patiently reaching out to those who have not been willing to listen to the words of the truth.

And thanks to his great works, many were turned towards the Lord and became believers, no longer walking in the darkness and ignorance of God’s truth, but receiving through the words, actions and works of St. Thomas, the grace of everlasting life and true happiness with God. He endured many trials and struggles just as he encountered many successes, difficulties and challenges just as he has earned many great conversions to the one true faith in God. Eventually, like most of the other Apostles and many of the Lord’s other disciples, St. Thomas also faced persecution and martyrdom, giving up his life in great suffering after he has proven his faith to the very end, from someone who have always doubted the Lord to someone who was willing to die for his faith in Him. His examples and dedication, his change of heart should indeed inspire all of us in our own faith and lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great examples which St. Thomas the Apostle has shown us, all the dedication, commitment and love which he has done throughout his life, in devoting his time and effort to spread the Good News, the Gospel of Christ, His salvation and assurance to more and more people. May all of us be strengthened in our own faith and devotion, doing our best to follow the examples of the Apostles and the saints, particularly that of St. Thomas the Apostle, in serving the Lord at all times, as best as we can. May God be with us always and bless our every good endeavours. Amen.

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Thursday, 3 July 2025 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 20 : 24-29

At that time, Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with the other Eleven when Jesus came. The other disciples told Him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he replied, “Until I have seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were again inside the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into My side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe!”

Thomas said, “You are my Lord and my God.” Jesus replied, “You believe because you see Me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

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Thursday, 3 July 2025 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.

How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.

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Thursday, 3 July 2025 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now, you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house, whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him, the whole structure is joined together, and rises, to be a holy Temple, in the Lord.

In Him, you, too, are being built, to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us celebrate together the occasion of the great Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, the two great pillars of the Church, as two of the most important Apostles in the Church, with St. Peter the Apostle being the leader of all the Apostles, the leader of the Twelve Apostles, the chief servant of God as the one to whom the Lord had entrusted His Church, as the ‘Rock’ of faith upon which the Church had been founded upon. St. Peter the Apostle as the first Pope and Vicar of Christ led the whole entire Church in communion and together with all the whole body of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, together with the whole entire Church, and he was called from his work as Simon the fisherman at the lake of Galilee to be a fisher of man in gathering all of God’s people to Himself.

Meanwhile, St. Paul the Apostle was once known as Saul, a young Pharisee who was very impulsive and zealous in pursuing the ideals and goals of the Pharisees and their version of the Jewish customs, faith and tradition, and was initially very militant in his efforts to attempt to root out the early Christian Church and faith, persecuting and arresting many of the disciples of the Lord. However, God had a different plan for Saul, whom he called on the way to Damascus in attempting to arrest more of the disciples and followers of the Lord. Saul was touched by the Lord and he had a life-changing experience, choosing to follow the Lord henceforth and becoming one of His greatest disciples and defenders, becoming Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles, for his courageous efforts in mission to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people.

And this Sunday’s celebration particularly has a very great importance for all of us as we belong to the Roman Catholic Church and as part of the Roman Rite of the Church, with our Pope, Pope Leo XIV as the Successor of St. Peter as the Vicar of Christ and leader of the whole entire Church being also the Bishop of Rome, as the Ordinary of the Diocese of Rome, which was during the time of the Lord and His Apostles, the heart and centre of the then mighty Roman Empire. And it was in Rome that both St. Peter and St. Paul went to minister to the people of God and proclaim the Good News of the Lord to those who had not yet believed in God and known Him, and they were both eventually martyred there in Rome. Hence, that is why both St. Peter and St. Paul are celebrated this Sunday with this Solemnity as the Patron Saints of Rome, the seat of our Pope.

Then, as we all reflect upon the Scripture readings this Sunday, we are reminded of the great wonders and things which the Lord had done through St. Peter the Apostle and the other Apostles and disciples, who were merely ordinary men, and yet, they had been given great power and authority, with His guidance and providence as we heard from our first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles. In that occasion, we heard of the persecution which King Herod of Galilee carried out against the early Christians including the Apostles, whom he arrested, including that of St. Peter himself, with the intention of persecuting him to please the members of the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and the Sadducees in order to gain their favour and support.

But the Lord was with St. Peter and the other disciples, and He sent His Angel to them to their prison, miraculously freeing them from their shackles and their bonds so that they could continue to carry out their mission, which St. Peter and the other disciples carried out most fervently and faithfully, encouraging the other disciples by the testimony of their faith and that of God’s assurance and providence, as the faithful themselves witnessed how the Lord was with St. Peter and those who had been arrested, freeing them miraculously from the shackles of those who had incarcerated them. Through this and many other miraculous occasions, St. Peter and the other disciples of the Lord continued to labour tirelessly for the Lord and His Church.

In our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, St. Paul the Apostle sent a message of encouragement to his protege, St. Timothy, whom he had set and prepared as a leader and elder of the early Church, that despite all the hardships and trials that he had to face and endure as a servant of God, but the Lord was always with him and all the other missionaries and therefore, St. Timothy and the other members of the faithful should not be afraid to continue carrying out the missions and works which had been entrusted to them. With the Lord by their side, as how He had guided St. Paul in his ministry, they would all surely do great and wonderful things for the greater glory of God and in proclaiming His truth and Good News to many more people.

Then finally, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus asking His disciples on who they thought He was, and they all spoke of what they had heard and what was commonly believed at the time, that Jesus was a Man of God, a Prophet and Teacher that the Lord had sent, but it was only St. Peter, then known as Simon, who had the courage and faith to speak the full truth, that the Lord Jesus was truly the Messiah or the Saviour, which had been promised, and also the Son of God Most High, not merely like any other Prophets and Teachers that the Lord had sent to His people. For this, the Lord bestowed upon Simon the new name of Peter, which means ‘Rock’ knowing that in St. Peter lies a truly strong and enduring faith that would become a steady Rock and Foundation of His Church.

Through what the Lord had told to St. Peter in our Gospel passage today, He clearly established His Church in this world, the Body of all the faithful united in communion with the Apostles and especially to St. Peter and his successors, to the Lord Who is the true Head of the Church. To St. Peter and his successors, the Lord had entrusted the authority and power to govern, guide and strengthen the whole Church, over all the faithful, giving them the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. By this action, He established the Church as we all know it today, which still remain strong even after two millennia, against all the threats and challenges that it had faced, fulfilling what the Lord Himself had said, that not even the gates of hell would prevail against it. St. Peter would go on to Rome, and establish that line of Popes which lasts till today, until Pope Leo XIV, our current Pope, and together with St. Paul, St. Peter would be martyred in that city, the heart of the Roman Empire then.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as we have heard in our Scripture readings today and in all that we have just discussed, the Lord called both St. Peter and St. Paul from their ordinary and even most unlikely origins, the former being a mere illiterate and brash fisherman from the Lake of Galilee, who had even denied the Lord three times in times of distress, while the latter was an overzealous young Pharisee who persecuted the Church in the beginning. And yet, the Lord transformed them from their ordinary and unlikely origins and beginnings to be His great servants, to do many of His great works and perform many great wonders and miracles, touching the lives of so many people that they had encountered in their missions and journeys.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice greatly in this Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, in honour of these two great saints and servants of God, let us all realise that the Lord has also been calling on each and every one of us to follow in their footsteps as well, and to do our very best in our lives so that by our commitment and good works, by our dedication and faith, our every actions, words and deeds, we will always glorify the Lord at all times and be active parts of the labours of His Church. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us all in faith, in our love for Him, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 16 : 13-19

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 Bar-Jonah, 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.”

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Sunday, 29 June 2025 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 4 : 6-8, 17-18

As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the just Judge, will reward me, on that day, and not only me, but all those who have longed for His glorious coming.

But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength, to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to His heavenly kingdom. Glory to Him forever and ever. Amen!