Universal Church

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Sunday, 5 October 2025 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us have been reminded of the need for us all to trust in God, as His servants and followers, that we do not easily give up the struggle and fight for the sake of our faith in Him. All of us should always persevere in our faith even when it may be very difficult for us to endure through the various challenges, trials and difficulties that we encounter daily in our lives. We must continue to do our best each and in every moments to be good role models and examples for everyone around us. We should not allow ourselves to be dissuaded by those challenges and trials that we end up losing our sight and focus on the Lord and on what He wants us to do in our lives.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Habakkuk in which the conversation between Habakkuk and God was highlighted to us. Prophet Habakkuk was sent by God to the people of the kingdom of Judah during the years of its waning and final existence, when the Babylonians were rising as a threat that would eventually lead to the end and destruction of the kingdom of Judah, its capital Jerusalem and the Temple that God had established and built in that city. Prophet Habakkuk delivered God’s words to the people of Judah, and much like his near contemporary, Jeremiah, he faced a lot of hardships, rejection and persecutions due to his efforts and works, as the people resisted what the Lord had wanted to tell them through His prophets.

The Lord revealed to the people of Judah through Habakkuk that if they continued to disobey Him and if they kept on committing what was wicked in His sight, worshipping pagan idols and gods, refusing to follow His Law and commandments and if they kept on persecuting and murdering His prophets, then in the end they would all face the consequences of their actions, where they would be conquered by their enemies, facing humiliation for losing their cities and lands, and they would be exiled from those lands to distant lands. But the stubbornness of those in Judah brought great misery upon Habakkuk, and the prophet sought the Lord’s help, for which he was strengthened and empowered, reassured and reminded that God could do everything for those who are faithful to Him.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, we heard of the words of St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to his protege, St. Timothy, one of the first bishops of the Church and the successor of the Apostles as the leaders of the Church, reminding him and the other Church leaders about the reality of what it is like to struggle and to labour for the sake of the Lord in the works of evangelisation and the proclamation of the Good News of God. While sufferings and struggles, trials and difficulties would indeed be part and parcel of the works and ministry of the Apostles and their successors, all the disciples and the other missionaries of the Lord, but they were not alone in their struggles and efforts, as the Lord was always with them, guiding and journeying with them.

St. Paul encouraged St. Timothy and the other early Christians to remain strongly rooted in their faith in God, to remain true to what the Lord had called them to do, to be faithful to the teachings of the Gospels and the truth of God in all things, never be discouraged and be prevented from doing their good works because of the oppositions and challenges that they had to face. They should trust in the Lord and remember His assurances, just as what He has assured the prophet Habakkuk in the Old Testament. Through their hard works and efforts, firmly entrenched in the gifts of God through the Holy Spirit, they would indeed carry out many good and wonderful works for the Lord’s sake, and touched countless people and bringing many closer to God.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples in the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, in which He highlighted that first of all, if they were to have genuine faith in the Lord, no matter how small it is, then they can do all things in Him, and everything will become possible for them. This is the Lord highlighting to His disciples the importance and the power of faith, one which we ourselves should also have, the trust and faith that we ought to have in God, despite the hardships and challenges that they may have to encounter in their path and endure. The Lord does not abandon His servants and disciples in their hour of need, and even when they suffer, the Lord would always be with them, guiding and strengthening them in their paths, at all times.

Then, the Lord also highlighted to the disciples how each and every one of them should not expect remunerations and benefits from the Lord for what they were doing in carrying out the missions that the Lord had entrusted to them. They were supposed to be doing whatever the Lord had asked of them to do, and the Lord technically did not owe anything to them either. This is an important reminder which the Lord told to His disciples and also to all of us as well, that we should not be faithful merely to seek personal gains or for our own selfish desires and ambitions. We should serve the Lord because we genuinely seek to glorify Him and to do His will, and to carry out His good works in our community and among all those whom we encounter daily and at all times.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remember that following the Lord will likely be full of challenges, trials and difficulties for us. There may be moments when we may want to give up and abandon our missions and even our faith, but we must remember that the Lord is always with us, by our side, ever encouraging us all throughout the way. We should always trust in God and His Providence and continue to do our very best so that in each and every things we do, in our every words and actions, in our interactions and in how we treat everyone around us, we will always be genuine in showing the most Christian love and way of living, so that we may become the powerful inspirations for all those around us, now and always.

May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours and strengthen us always in faith, in all that we say and do, in our every interactions, to be God’s ever faithful disciples, followers and servants at all times, ever full of devotion and faith in Him. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 October 2025 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 5-10

At that time, the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” And the Lord said, “If you have faith, even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree, ‘Be uprooted, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it will obey you.”

“Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner?’ No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterward.’”

“Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I do not think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.’”

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Sunday, 5 October 2025 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Timothy 1 : 6-8, 13-14

For this reason, I invite you to fan into a flame, the gift of God you received, through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of fearfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in labouring for the Gospel, with the strength of God.

Follow the pattern of the sound doctrine which you have heard from me, concerning faith, and love in Christ Jesus. Keep this precious deposit, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Who lives within us.

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Sunday, 5 October 2025 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.

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Sunday, 5 October 2025 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Habakkuk 1 : 2-3 and Habakkuk 2 : 2-4

YHVH, how long will I cry for help while You pay no attention to me? I denounce the oppression and You do not save. Why do You make me see injustice? Are You pleased to look on tyranny? All I see is outrage, violence and quarrels.

Then YHVH answered me and said, “Write down the vision, inscribe it on tablets so it can be easily read, since this is a vision for an appointed time; it will not fail but will be fulfilled in due time. If it delays, wait for it, for it will come, and will not be deterred. Look : I do not look with favour on the one who gives way; the upright, on the other hand, will live by his faithfulness.”

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Saturday, 4 October 2025 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church reminds us through the message of the Sacred Scriptures that God is truly indeed loving, compassionate and generous in His love, in His mercy and kindness. God has always loved each and every one of us even when we have erred, wandered off and disobeyed Him, and He has always been patient in reaching out to us, in helping us all to find our way back to Him and to be reconciled with Him. He has always been patient and forgiving, kind and compassionate towards us, ever concerned about us and our well-being, and He certainly does not want any one of us to be lost to Him forever. And that is why God has always been active in giving us all His assurances, help and providence in our journey through various means possible.

In our first reading today, from the continuation of what we heard from the Book of the prophet Baruch in the previous day, while we heard of God’s words of warning and chastisement for His people in the kingdom of Judah for having disobeyed and disregarded His Law and commandments, today, in the passage that we heard, the Lord reassured His people, that while His chastisement and punishment indeed would come for the wickedness and evils which they had committed, but the Lord never truly abandoned those whom He loves dearly, and He would always be faithful to the Covenant which He had made with them and with their ancestors. God would always be with those who are precious to Him, and he will not abandon them in the manner that they had abandoned and betrayed Him.

This of course does not mean that God tolerates everything which His people had done, as wickedness and evils are still abhorrent to Him. But this means that God is so rich and generous in mercy and forgiveness, that He is always ready to give and show this mercy to any one of us whenever we come to Him seeking His forgiveness and grace. It is often us who are always dragging our feet in not being willing to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, and it is usually us who have often delayed and took our time in embracing God and His kindness, mercy and compassion. Yet, no matter what, God will always love us, and as we heard from the prophet Baruch, He promised restoration and regeneration for the people who had been facing struggles, rejection, persecutions and humiliations, and they would blessed again as their faithful ancestors had been.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist where the Lord Jesus Himself gave His reassurance to His disciples, telling them all that they have all seen the salvation of God manifested clearly and perfectly in Him, in the Son of God manifested in the flesh as the Son of Man, the Saviour Himself, through Whom God would liberate all of His beloved people, His sons and daughters, from the tyranny and domination of sin and evil. God will not allow His beloved ones to stumble and to fall into eternal damnation by the designs of the evil one. He has planned it all from the very beginning and assured us all of His salvation, which He delivered to us through His Son, Who willingly bore for us all the combined weight of our sins and faults.

And it was by that act of supreme love, compassion and selflessness, that Christ our Lord and Saviour liberated us from the clutches of the evil one, from the domination of Satan and sin. The Lord Himself predicted the upcoming downfall of Satan, and while Satan’s might and forces indeed seemed to be vast and fearsome, but in the end, he would not be able to stand against God, and would eventually be defeated. And all those disciples and followers were truly fortunate that they lived to witness as everything unfolded, the perfect fulfilment of everything which God had promised and revealed to His people throughout history. Many people in the past, their ancestors and aothers longed and waited to see, witness and hear everything that the disciples of the Lord had heard, and never did.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the renowned St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, also best known as the Franciscans after their founder. St. Francis of Assisi was born as Giovannj di Pietro di Bernardone, as John, son of Peter Bernardone, a rich textile merchant in Medieval era of what is now Italy. He was given the finest education and preparation early on in his life as his father expected the young St. Francis to succeed him in his textile and merchant business. However, God had different plan for this young man, as the young St. Francis encountered the Lord through the poor and the needy, and while he was not lacking anything material, and living the high life of a rich young man, blessed in all worldly matters, but he was not satisfied and truly happy.

He began experiencing spiritual events and also conversion experience, and in one well-known occasion, the young St. Francis encountered the Lord at the ruined church of San Damiano, where he heard the Lord’s voice, telling him to repair His Church that is falling into ruins. St. Francis took it as the Lord asking him literally to restore the church at San Damiano that was in ruins where he was at, and he took some of his father’s textiles and merchandise, selling them to fund the restoration of the church. The priest in charge of the church refused the money as it was obtained from ill-gotten gains by stealing, which upset St. Francis, who threw the coins on the floor. And when St. Francis’ father found out about it and confronted him on several occasions, leading to a settlement before the Bishop of Assisi, St. Francis very publicly renounced both his father and his inheritance, symbolically stripping himself of all of his clothes which he returned to his father.

Thereafter, St. Francis of Assisi went to live with some others, begging for money and living a life of communal care, which eventually became the beginning of the Franciscan order. They lived a holy and pious life, ministering to the people around them, proclaiming God’s words through everyone, and not just through words, but even more importantly, through real and genuine actions. St. Francis inspired many others through his examples, and very soon his Franciscan order grew and gained the attention even from the local bishops and the Pope himself. Through all these works and many others I cannot mention, St. Francis of Assisi has indeed shown us what it truly means to be a committed Christian, to be truly focused on the Lord and wholeheartedly committed to Him, while resisting the temptations of worldly pleasures and vices. To the end of his life, St. Francis of Assisi continued to contribute to the good works and ministry of the Church, reaching out towards and touching the lives of many.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have reflected from the passages of our Sacred Scriptures today and also from the life and works of St. Francis of Assisi, let us all therefore continue to do our best in living our lives so that we may continue to walk ever more courageously in the path that St. Francis of Assisi and our many other holy predecessors had walked in. Let us all be good role models and examples for one another in our faith, in how we live our lives faithfully in each day and at every moments, so that our whole lives may be good examples for everyone around us and for those whom we encounter in life. May God bless us always and bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 October 2025 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 10 : 17-24

At that time, the seventy-two disciples returned full of joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we called on Your Name.” Then Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. You see, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the Enemy, so that nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the evil spirits submit to you; rejoice, rather, than your names are written in heaven.”

At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been Your gracious will. I have been given all things by My Father, so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said to them privately, “Fortunate are you to see what you see, for I tell you, that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

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Saturday, 4 October 2025 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 68 : 33-35, 36-37

Let the lowly witness this, and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For YHVH hears the needy; and does not despise those in captivity. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and whatever moves in them.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. His people shall dwell in the land and possess it; the children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.

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Saturday, 4 October 2025 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Baruch 4 : 5-12, 27-29

Take courage, my people, you who preserve the memory of Israel. You have been sold to the nations but not for your destruction; because you had aroused the anger of God, you were delivered to your enemies. For you displeased your Creator in sacrificing to demons and not to God. You have forgotten the Eternal God, the One Who nourished you.

You have filled Jerusalem with sadness, she who brought you up. For she saw the anger of God fall on you and she said, “Listen, you neighbouring cities of Zion, God has sent me a great sorrow. I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Eternal One brought on them. I had nurtured them in joy; with tears and sadness I saw them leave. Let no one rejoice on seeing me a widow and abandoned by all. Because of the sins of my children I am now alone, because they have turned away from the Law of God.”

Take courage, my children, cry out to God, for He Who sent you into exile will remember you. Thus, as you distanced yourself from God, return to Him and seek Him ten times more earnestly. For He Who caused these evils to fall on you will bring you salvation and eternal joy.

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Friday, 3 October 2025 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we are reminded of the need for all of us to turn away from our disobedience and sins against God, from all the wicked and dark ways we have done in our respective lives. We are reminded that as God’s chosen and beloved people, all of us ought to do what we have been shown by the Lord Himself, in being exemplary in our words, actions and deeds, to do what the Lord Himself had taught us to do, in all His Law, commandments and precepts. And this is what we are constantly being reminded of as we listened to the words of the Lord contained in these Scripture passages, reminding us that we should be good examples and inspirations for our brethren around us, and not to bring scandal to our faith instead.

In our first reading today, we heard from the passage taken from the Book of the prophet Baruch where the Lord spoke to His people through Baruch, His prophet, whom He had sent to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah at the same time of the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. Biblical and historical evidences pointed out to the prophet Baruch being a good friend, follower and secretary of Jeremiah, another great prophet who had been sent by God to warn His people in Judah for their wickedness and lack of faith in God. The prophet Baruch stated clearly this very fact before the people, stating how the people of Judah had veered off from the path that they should have walked, and they had disobeyed and disregarded the Law and the commandments of their Lord and Master.

That was also why the people of Judah were facing such difficulties and predicaments, reminding them of the blessings and curses which the Lord had made to His people since the days and times of their Exodus from Egypt, as recorded in the Torah, where the Lord would bless His people if they were to obey and follow His Law and commandments, and on the other hand, curses and sufferings would be their lot should they disobey and disregard what the Lord Himself had placed before them. And by the time of the ministry of the prophet Baruch and Jeremiah, the kingdom of Judah was already in the last days of its existence, hammered all around by its enemies and was on the last moments before Judah and Jerusalem itself would be destroyed by the Babylonians.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the passage where the Lord Jesus was famously berating and criticising openly the cities of the region of Galilee where He often ministered and performed miracles in, such as Capernaum, Bethsaida and Chorazin. All those cities were the cities where the Jewish people, the descendants of the Israelites dwelled in within the land of Galilee. The Lord had performed many miracles in those places, and yet, still despite all of that, He still often faced a lot of obstacles, challenges and stubborn oppositions to His teachings and works, particularly from among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, those who rigidly adhered to their version and interpretations of the Law that they refused to listen to what the Lord brought upon them.

It was the pride, arrogance and haughtiness of those Pharisees and teachers of the Law which had prevented them from truly being able to listen and to appreciate what the Lord had wanted to tell them all through His miracles and actions. Those Pharisees and teachers of the Law were so preoccupied and so fanatical in their beliefs and in their way of observing the Law of God, that as another extreme against what the people of Judah had done in the time of the prophet Baruch and Jeremiah, they had ended up idolising their own version of the Law, and even their own piety and sense of superiority over the others, that blocked and prevented them from truly understanding what the Lord actually wanted them to do with His Law and commandments.

Instead of making the Law and commandments of God more accessible and understandable by the people as they should have done, and instead of helping God’s people, especially the most marginalised ones, those who have been neglected and lost to Him, to be able to come back to the Lord’s loving Presence and embrace His mercy as He intended them to be, as the shepherds of the flock of the Lord. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law ought to help guide and lead those who have been lost to the Lord to Him, and instead, they made it even more difficult for those people to come seek the Lord and to be reconciled with Him as they ostracised those people even more and were even more biased and prejudiced against them.

And the Lord pointed out the contrast and the irony, that the people of the places where the so-called pagans and unbelievers lived in, like in Tyre and Sidon, they would actually believe in the Lord, in His signs, miracles and works, when the Jewish people and their leaders refused to do so. That was indeed the reality, as many among the followers of the Lord, both in the early Church and afterwards, came from among the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people. Some of the Jewish people including the Apostles themselves and their companions did convert, as were quite a number among the Pharisees themselves, but vast majority of the early Christians came from many non-Jewish origins. They all believed in the Lord and put their trust and faith in Him, as we all also have done this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, let us all consider carefully our paths forward in life so that we may indeed be worthy of what the Lord Himself has entrusted to us, all that He has promised and assured us with. If we are truly faithful to Him in the most wholesome way, and not merely being superficial in faith, then surely and eventually, we will be blessed by the Lord and we will be worthy of Him, unlike those leaders whom the Lord Himself had criticised for their hypocrisy and lack of genuine faith. May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen each and every one of us in faith, in each and every moments of our lives, and may He continue to bless us all in everything that we do, now and always. Amen.