Universal Church

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded as always of why we all need to keep our faith in the Lord, dedicating ourselves to His cause at all times, obeying Him and giving Him our very best. That is because God has always been ever faithful in all things, and He has never abandoned or betrayed us, especially in our time of greatest need. He is always ever faithful and true to the Covenant that He has established with each and every one of us. That is why we should never doubt Him, and instead we should continue to trust in Him, believing in what He has promised and reassured us all with. We should always help and inspire one another to remain faithful even in the darkest moments and times.

In our first reading today, we continue to hear from the Book of Deuteronomy the account of the time when Moses exhorted the people of Israel at the end of their journey from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land after they had spent about forty years in the desert, forced to wander off in the wilderness because of their lack of faith in God, as a consequence of their disobedience and sins. Moses himself was at the end of his earthly life, and it was likely that God made this known to him, and hence, this was some sorts of farewell speech that Moses made to the people that he had led throughout all those forty years period, the people that he had toiled, laboured and spent all of his time ministering, leading and guiding, enduring all of their stubborn attitudes, rebelliousness, complaints and ingratitude among other things.

Moses told the people and reminded them everything about God’s great and wonderful works, all of His kindness and compassion, all the love and patience that He has constantly given to them despite the stubbornness and rebelliousness that the Israelites had also constantly shown Him. God did not abandon them and He still continued to love them all nonetheless. God showed His patient love and commitment to the Covenant which He has shown them, and hence Moses told them all to remain obedient and committed to Him in the same manner, reminding them all of how fortunate and wonderful they had been to be loved in such a way by their God, their Lord and Master. They should obey God’s Law and commandments, show love to their neighbours and strangers as well, in the manner that their Lord and God has loved them, and this is what God wanted all of them to do, and hence, all of us as well, because we are also God’s people.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples first of the premonition of what He would have to suffer, the persecutions and hardships that He would have to endure in His Passion, kind of reminiscing of what Moses himself had told the Israelites prior to his own passing from this world. Then, the Lord told the disciples who asked Him about the Pharisees who asked them about whether they and their Lord paid the temple tax or not, and the Lord told them all that actually, as the children of God, those whom He would Himself save from the bondage of sin, they are free and no longer bound to anything, including the burden of tax and all sorts of worldliness, but at the same time, He then told them that they should still obey the law of the land, and He miraculously made a coin to be found in a fish that He told St. Peter to catch, in order to pay the temple tax lawfully.

Through this short passage and exchanges today between the Lord and His disciples, we are all reminded to be faithful and obedient in all things, first and foremost to God’s Law and commandments, to whatever the Lord has taught and told us to do through His Church, through the Scriptures and everything that we have received from Him in faith. At the same time, we should also obey the law of the land, the law of our countries and states, as obedient citizens and members of our communities and societies, and that is how we should continue to live our lives, devoting our time, effort and strength to do what God has wanted us to do in our lives, to be faithful to God and to be good and law-abiding citizens and human beings, those who always show care and love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Clare, holy virgin dedicated to God, who was remembered for her great faith and dedication to God. St. Clare was born in Assisi, the same place where the other famous saint, St. Francis of Assisi was born in. And indeed, she was also attracted to the order that St. Francis of Assisi had established, the Franciscan Order. She was born into a wealthy noble family, a family of devout faith in God, and St. Clare and her sisters joined the religious life, dedicating their lives to God. St. Clare devoted herself to the Lord and following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, becoming one of the first members of the female wing of the order, the Poor Clares or the Order of Saint Clare, known after their founder, St. Clare herself.

St. Clare devoted herself to God and resisted the efforts of her family to try to bring her back to her family and to marry her off to a wealthy nobleman, a common practice at that time. But St. Clare continued to remain faithful to God, and remained adamant of the commitment which she had made. This was true even when her sisters joined the religious life themselves, which caused more uproar from within her family. But even when they tried to use force to try to bring them back, they eventually failed to do. St. Clare continued to minister to the people of the community around her with her fellow religious sisters. And in one occasion, she courageously stood up against invaders that came to ransack the town she was in together with her religious congregation. She famously held up  the monstrance with the Lord in it high as the armies of the invaders came in to the chapel, and a bright light emanated from the monstrance, scaring all the invaders that immediately fled the town.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good and faithful examples of St. Clare of Assisi, her faith, zeal and commitment to God. Let us all not be easily swayed by worldly temptations and all sorts of evils and darkness present all around us. May the Lord continue to strengthen and encourage us all in our every endeavours and good efforts, so that we may always be faithful and committed in everything we say and do, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless our every good efforts and works, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 17 : 22-27

At that time, when Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, He said to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. But He will rise on the third day.” The Twelve were deeply grieved.

When they returned to Capernaum, the temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, “Does your Master pay the temple tax?” He answered, “Yes.” Peter then entered the house; and immediately, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tribute to the kings of the earth : their sons or strangers and aliens?”

Peter replied, “Strangers and aliens.” And Jesus told him, “The sons, then, are tax-free. But, so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it. Take the coin and give it to them for you and for Me.”

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Exalt YHVH, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain. He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word.

It is He, Who tells Jacob His words; His laws and decrees, to Israel. This, He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Monday, 11 August 2025 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Deuteronomy 10 : 12-22

So now, Israel, what is it that YHVH, your God, asks of you but to fear Him and follow all His ways? Love Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Observe the commandments of YHVH and His laws which I command you today, for your good.

See : the heavens, those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to YHVH, your God. Nevertheless, it was on your fathers that YHVH set His heart. He loved them, and after them, He chose their descendants – you – preferring you to all the peoples, as you can see this day.

Purify your hearts, then, and do not be defiant towards YHVH because YHVH is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, the strong and terrible God. When He judges, He treats everyone equally; He does not let Himself be bought by gifts. He renders justice to the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing.

Love the stranger then, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt. Fear YHVH, your God, serve Him, follow Him and call on His Name when you have to make an oath. He is your pride and He is your God, Who has done those amazing things for you. When you went down to Egypt, your ancestors were no more than seventy persons, but now, YHVH, your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.

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Sunday, 10 August 2025 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded to continue to be faithful to the Lord at all times despite the difficulties, trials and challenges that we may be facing in life. We must always remain faithful at all times, persisting through the hardships and trials, all the obstacles and disappointments, all the times when we want to give up due to all those challenges and hurdles. This is because the Lord is always ever faithful to the Covenant that He has made with us, and He will never abandon us or leave us behind, and will always provide us all that we need. In the end, we shall be triumphant with Him and if we have enough faith and trust in Him, then we shall share in the eternal glory and joy that He has promised to all of us.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Wisdom in which the author spoke of the events of the past, and how the people of God trusted in the promises of the Lord, in everything that He would do for the sake of His people, all the love and kindness that He would show, and how He would not forsake everyone who are dear to Him. That was how they endured the hardships and sufferings that they faced, because they believed in the faithfulness of God’s promises and love, referring to the moment when the people of God, the Israelites were enslaved in the land of Egypt for a long period of time, after they had settled there for centuries. God had promised their ancestors that their descendants would be blessed and would return to the land promised to them, and that was what God exactly had done.

They remained hopeful and continued to hope for a deliverer to come from the Lord as they had been promised, and God did send them a deliverer indeed in the person of Moses, who brought God’s consoling words and reassurances at last, and showing the great power and might by which He brought them out of the land of Egypt, the Ten great Plagues which He had struck Egypt and its people with, humbling the mighty Pharaoh and his armies, destroying his chariots and forces, all so that the Israelites could go free, departing from the land of their enslavement and suffering, to journey towards the land that had been promised to them. This is one of the many proofs of God’s great love and faithfulness to everything that He has promised to His beloved ones.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard of the words of the author of the Epistle speaking about the importance of our faith in God, and how the author quoted the examples of our fathers in faith, from Abraham and his wife Sarah, to Isaac and Jacob among others, in how they had been faithful to the Lord, despite the challenges and trials that they had to face in their respective paths and journeys, just as what we have heard in our first reading earlier. For example, Abraham was childless with his wife and was without an heir, and God was calling on him to follow Him to a distant land away from the comfort of his homeland and family. And yet, Abraham believed and trusted in the Lord, followed Him faithfully and did everything that he had been asked to do.

That was how Abraham received everything that he had been promised, as were Isaac and Jacob, and all those who had faith in the Lord. And as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews mentioned, they all still believed even though they could not see what it is that they had been promised for, and even when what they had been waiting for took longer than expected. Abraham remained firmly faithful even when he was tested for his faith, such as when he had to wait longer and longer for the promised son, and when the promised son had been given to him, that is Isaac, he obeyed perfectly even when the Lord asked of him to offer and sacrifice his own son. Abraham trusted wholeheartedly in God and did as he was asked, and his faith is truly an example for all of us.

That is why we are reminded that we too should be faithful to the Lord, doing whatever that the Lord has asked of us, because God is the only One Who will never disappoint us, and unlike depending on worldly things which may be fickle and unreliable, we should first and foremost trust in the Lord. And true faith is such that we continue to believe even when we cannot see clearly where the path forward will lead us, and what we shall have in the end, other than knowing that God will be true to all of His promises. To be truly faithful for us as Christians require strong and enduring faith in God, and this is not something that is easy or smooth-going for us. Instead, there will be lots of challenges and trials facing us, but with faith in God, we must remember that there can be no obstacle that is too great for us all to overcome.

Lastly, we heard of the parable that the Lord Jesus told to His disciples in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist. In that parable, the Lord told the disciples of the servants of a household awaiting for the return of their master, and He used that parable to highlight the importance of trusting in God and to be prepared for God’s return one day, as the Lord indeed will return just as He has promised to us. He will not abandon us and He will always be with us, although the waiting may be long and arduous. In the end, if we remain truly faithful to Him, we shall indeed enjoy the fruits of our labours and faith. At the end of our journey, at the very end of time, at the time of the final reckoning and judgment, we shall have to account for our every deeds and actions.

That was what the Lord presented in the parable He mentioned to His disciples, comparing the actions of the servants who ignored their responsibilities and slacked in their duties, thinking that the master was not returning soon, with those servants who faithfully carried out their duties and responsibilities even when the master was not yet returning. Those servants clearly represented each and every of us, God’s holy people, with God Himself being represented by the master of the household. If we do not have faith in God and continue to walk down the path of worldliness, then in the end, we will regret it because when the reckoning comes, we shall be found wanting and lacking in faith, and I am certain that we do not want to end up in this situation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence remind ourselves to be ever more faithful and committed to God at all times. Let us not be easily swayed by temptations and hardships of this world, the obstacles and challenges that we have to face in our path. Let us continue to have faith and trust in God, doing our very best to walk consistently and faithfully in this journey of faith and life, loving God and loving one another, especially those who are dear and beloved to us. Let us all grow ever stronger in our faith and in our commitment to God. May the Lord continue to bless and guide us all, and may He continue to strengthen and encourage us all in all things, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 August 2025 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 12 : 32-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, and an inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

“Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will open the door to him. Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide-awake when he comes. Truly, I tell you, he will put on an apron, and have them sit at table, and he will wait on them. Happy are those servants, if he finds them awake when he comes at midnight or daybreak!”

“Pay attention to this : If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

Peter said, “Lord, did You tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward, whom the master sets over his other servants, to give them wheat at the proper time. Fortunate is this servant if his master, on coming home, finds him doing his work. Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.”

“But it may be that the steward thinks, ‘My lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the male servants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk. Then the master will come on a day he does not expect, and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him off, and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.”

“The servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare and do what his master wanted, will be soundly beaten; but the one who does unconsciously what deserves punishment, shall receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one who has been entrusted with more.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Luke 12 : 35-40

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will open the door to him. Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide-awake when he comes. Truly, I tell you, he will put on an apron, and have them sit at table, and he will wait on them. Happy are those servants, if he finds them awake when he comes at midnight or daybreak!”

“Pay attention to this : If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

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Sunday, 10 August 2025 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 11 : 1-2, 8-19

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. It was by faith that Abraham, called by God, set out for a country that would be given to him as an inheritance; for he parted without knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived as a stranger in that promised land. There he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, beneficiaries of the same promise. Indeed, he looked forward to that city of solid foundation of which God is the Architect and Builder.

By faith Sarah herself received power to become a mother, in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that He Who had made the promise would be faithful. Therefore, from an almost impotent man were born descendants as numerous as the stars of heavens, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

Death found all these people strong in their faith. They had not received what was promised, but they had looked ahead and had rejoiced in it from afar, saying that they were foreigners and travellers on earth. Those who speak in this way prove that they are looking for their own country. For if they had longed for the land they had left, it would have been easy for them to return, but no, they aspired to a better city, that is, a supernatural one; so God, Who prepared the city for them is not ashamed of being called their God.

By faith Abraham went to offer Isaac when God tested him. And so he who had received the promise of God offered his only son although God had told him : Isaac’s descendants will bear your name. Abraham reasoned that God is capable even of raising the dead, and he received back his son, which has a figurative meaning.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Hebrews 11 : 1-2, 8-12

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. It was by faith that Abraham, called by God, set out for a country that would be given to him as an inheritance; for he parted without knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived as a stranger in that promised land. There he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, beneficiaries of the same promise. Indeed, he looked forward to that city of solid foundation of which God is the Architect and Builder.

By faith Sarah herself received power to become a mother, in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that He Who had made the promise would be faithful. Therefore, from an almost impotent man were born descendants as numerous as the stars of heavens, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

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Sunday, 10 August 2025 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 32 : 1 and 12, 18-19, 20 and 22

Rejoice in YHVH, you who are just; praise is fitting for the upright. Blessed is the nation whose God is YHVH – the people He has chosen for His inheritance.

But YHVH’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.

In hope, we wait for YHVH, for He is our help and our shield. O YHVH, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.

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Sunday, 10 August 2025 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Wisdom 18 : 6-9

That night had been foretold to our ancestors, and knowing in what promise they trusted, they could rejoice in all surety. Your people waited for both the salvation of the just and the downfall of their enemies, for the very punishment of our enemies brought glory to the people you have called – that is, to us.

The holy race secretly offered the Passover sacrifice and really agreed on this worthy pact : that they would share alike both blessings and dangers. And forthwith they began to sing the hymns of their fathers.

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Saturday, 9 August 2025 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as God’s holy and beloved people, all of us should always believe in the Lord and put our trust in Him, and not be easily swayed by the many temptations and distractions found all around us in this world. We also need a strong and vibrant relationship with the Lord, and develop a strong commitment in following Him at all times, in our prayerful and faithful living, in doing what God had taught and shown us all to do in being good and dedicated disciples and followers of our God. If only our faith in God is stronger, then we should have remained firm in our conviction to walk in His path, and we will not easily fall into the wrong paths in our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the continuation of the exhortation which Moses, the leader of the Israelites made to the people of God, calling on all of them to keep the Law and commandments of God, and to live their lives faithfully and worthily of the Lord, so that the Lord will continue to bless them and their descendants, for their faith, love and devotion to Him, as part of the Covenant which God had made with each and every one of them. Moses reminded the people that even after they had reached the land which had been promised and assured to them, they and their descendants should continue to worship the Lord and obey Him as they had always done, and not instead be swayed by worldly desires and forgetting what God had done for them.

That was why Moses spent the time and effort to remind the people of Israel, who have already begun to abandon the Lord even as the Lord had continued to show His signs and wonders in their midst. They had shown how stubborn and wicked they could be, in hardening their hearts and refusing the great grace and blessings which God had blessed them with, complaining about their lives and conditions when God had constantly taken care of them, protected them from their enemies, and reassured them that He would fulfil all of His promises and words, without exception. Hence, Moses reminded the people again and again of the great love and faithfulness of God to His Covenant, which He has constantly renewed and reassured us with from time to time.

And since God had made His Covenant with His people, that is why it is imperative that we should remember our part of the Covenant since we ourselves like the Israelites in the past have also been partakers of God’s Covenant, ours being the New and Eternal Covenant which He has made and sealed with each and every one of us through none other than His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. God has always loved us, and He has always been patient in caring for us, even to the point of providing for us the ultimate gift of His love, His own Son, manifested in the flesh, so that by the ultimate sacrifice that He undertook on the Cross at Calvary, He might liberate us all from our sufferings and troubles, from our bondage to sin that had separated us all from Him. He has always wanted us to be reconciled to Him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which a man who had an epileptic son asked the Lord why His disciples could not drive out the evil spirits from his son, and the Lord chided the lack of faith of the people and that of His disciples, and showing forth His power and authority, He healed the man’s son and cast those evil spirits that had made that son to suffer such hardships. And He told His disciples afterwards when they asked Him privately why they could not cast the evil spirits out, that the kind of evil spirits whom they encountered required prayer and indeed, faith in God for grace and power to flow from God and cast out those evil spirits.

It may indeed be a bit difficult to understand the intentions and nuances of the Lord from what we have heard in those words and from the events depicted in the Gospel, but it is quite evident and implied strongly that the disciples did not have genuine or strong faith in the Lord. They had indeed been given the power and authority by the Lord to heal and perform miracles, and to cast out evil spirits and heal the possessed. However, it is important that we realise how this power came from God and it is God Who exercised His power and authority through those disciples. It was likely that the disciples who attempted the healing thought that it was their own power and greatness that allowed them to perform such actions and exercise those powers, and hence, their tenuous connection to the Lord allowed the evil spirits to resist and even attack them back.

This is why it is again very important for us to remember to deepen our faith and relationship with God, in following His Law and commandments sincerely and faithfully at all times, and by spending good and quality time with Him each day through prayer and spiritual connection with Him, and even in whatever we do in each and every days of our lives, because in whatever we do with faith, even in the smallest things, done in obedience and faith in God, that is where we have grown in our connection and relationship with God. As Christians, we should indeed always embody our faith in all of our every words, actions and deeds, so that by our lives and examples we may be good inspiration to everyone around us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also more famously known by her birth name of Edith Stein. She was a convert to the Catholic faith and was born into a German Jewish family in the early twentieth century. After encountering the works of St. Teresa of Avila during his education in her doctoral studies and afterwards, she was attracted to the Catholic faith and eventually became a follower of Christ. She wanted to join the Discalced Carmelite nuns, and despite some setbacks, she eventually managed to do so, during the difficult years at that time because the NAZI regime was rising to power in Germany and began to make many anti-Jewish laws and regulations which also impacted her as well. Nonetheless, she continued to dedicate herself to the Lord through her community of nuns, and despite being sent to a monastery in the Netherlands for her safety, she was eventually arrested by the NAZI secret police, the Gestapo and was martyred in a concentration camp with many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life and examples of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, her courage and faith in the Lord, in standing up to the face of evil and sin in this world, and inspired by the great lvoe that God has always had for each and every one of us, let us all therefore strive to be ever more faithful and dedicated to the Lord at all times. Let us continue to walk faithfully with the Lord, doing our very best to glorify Him and to proclaim His Good News and truth, show His love and compassion to everyone through our own actions, words and deeds. May the Lord be with us all and all of our good works and deeds, in all things and at all times. May God bless our every efforts and bless His Church. Amen.