Wednesday

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Wednesday, 2 July 2025 : 13th 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 Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are being reminded that God and His love for each and every one of us is so great that no one among us will be left out from His most generous and wonderful love, which has always been given to us without limits and boundaries, in His desire to see us all prosper and safe from harm and danger. He has always listened to our prayers especially during times of distress, and He sees the faith that we have for Him. There is nothing that the Lord cannot do for us, especially if it is within His will and desire for us. That is why through what we have heard in our Scripture readings, we are reminded to always have faith in the Lord and to trust in Him wholeheartedly.

In our first reading, we heard from the Book of Genesis in which the story of Abraham and his sons, Ishmael and Isaac, was told to us. Earlier on this week, as we heard from our passage taken from the Book of Genesis, Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham came to be because of the plans laid down by Sarah, his wife, in trying to get a son for herself and Abraham by giving her own slave Hagar to be the mother of the child. According to the customs and practices of the time, if the slave of a woman had a child with her owner’s husband, then that child would be considered as a legal child belonging to her master and not her own. As such, Ishmael was indeed considered as a legal heir to Abraham, who had been childless for a long time and been waiting to have a child that God had promised him and Sarah.

But that was not what God had planned for them, and indeed, God’s promises would be fulfilled perfectly with the arrival of Isaac, the promised son who was born miraculously by Sarah for Abraham. And with Isaac and Ishmael both being the sons of Abraham, that set the stage for confrontation between both of them and also the frictions that arose between them, and also that of Sarah and Hagar, their respective parents. And this eventually led to Sarah asking Abraham to cast both Hagar and Ishmael out, to definitively show that Isaac was the only one meant to be the heir and successor of Abraham, and not Ishmael. God reassured Abraham, telling him to do what Sarah had asked, and that He would also take care of Ishmael and bless him greatly as he was also a son of Abraham.

This is a reminder for all of us of how great God’s love for each one of us are, because even though Ishmael was not conceived and born with the approval of God, but God made all things into good things in the end, and even though it was not ideal, but God was so full of love for each one of us that He turned all things to be good in the end, making everything to be part of His grand design, while giving us the freedom to choose our action and path in life. He took care of Hagar and Ishmael, fulfilling what He had promised to Abraham in turn, making Ishmael to be a father of many nations just as Isaac also did. God did not abandon Hagar and Ishmael when they were abandoned and were struggling in the desert, but took good care of them and blessed them.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, as we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, the account of how the Lord Jesus cast out demons and evil spirits from within two men who had been afflicted and possessed by them was highlighted to us. The Lord ordered those evil spirits to get out of the two men to the herd of pigs that happened to be nearby. Those evil spirits obeyed the Lord and went to those pigs, which therefore were driven crazy and ran towards a nearby cliff and jumped down, all perishing together as a herd. Through what we have heard, the Lord provided for those two men, and extended His help to them when they were so afflicted by those evil spirits, and freed them from their troubles.

And we heard how He did this when no one else dared to come near to them because of the great ferocity of the evil spirits afflicting the two men. The Lord came to those two men, not fearing them and full of love and compassion, knowing that each one of them were truly dear and beloved to Him, and the Lord did not want them to be under the subject and the domination of the evil ones any longer. He reached out to them and saved them, bringing those who have been in darkness back into the light, restoring hope and true joy to those who have been deep in darkness and despair, not allowing evil to dominate us any longer. That is why we have to appreciate all the love we have received from God and all these generous wonders we have received, and not to take them for granted.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore renew our faith in the Lord and remember firmly the love and kindness which we have received from God. Let us appreciate everything that He had done for us, in ever being patient to reach out to us and touching our lives, showing us all His love without cease and without limit. He has never abandoned us even when we have frequently disobeyed Him and abandoned Him, time and again. The Lord has been there for us in our good and bad times, and when things are the darkest for us, He has always helped us, lifted us up and restored us from our fallen state into the renewed existence in Him, full of His love and grace, and strengthened with His light and hope.

May the Lord continue to grant us His great and most wonderful love, the generous love and kindness, compassion and all the tender mercy which He has always shown us. May He continue to help and guide us to remain truly committed and faithful to Him at all times, even when we are facing lots of hardships, uncertainties and troubles in life, so that by remaining firm and committed to Him, we may be reassured and strengthened, and will not lose our focus and emphasis in Him, and that we may truly be able to walk down this path that He has shown and led us through. May God bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 2 July 2025 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 8 : 28-34

At that time, when Jesus reached Gadara, on the other side, He was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged Him, “If You drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” Jesus ordered them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

The men in charge of the pigs ran off to the town, where they told the whole story; and also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. The whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

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Wednesday, 2 July 2025 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 33 : 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

When the poor cry out, YHVH hears and saves them from distress. YHVH’s Angel encamps and patrols, to keep safe those who fear Him.

Revere YHVH, all you, His saints, for those who fear Him do not live in want. The mighty may be hungry and in need; but those who seek YHVH lack nothing.

Come, listen to me, my children; I will show you how to fear YHVH. If you desire long life; if you want to enjoy prosperity.

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Wednesday, 2 July 2025 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 21 : 5, 8-20

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. The child grew and on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. Sarah saw the child that Hagar, the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, mocking her son and she said to Abraham, “Send this slave girl and her son away; the child of this slave must not share the inheritance with my son, Isaac.”

This matter distressed Abraham because it concerned his son, but God said to him, “Do not be worried about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to Sarah and do whatever she says, because the race which is called by your name will spring from Isaac. But from the son of your servant I will also form a nation, for he too is your offspring.”

Abraham rose early next morning and gave bread and a skin bag of water to Hagar. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She went off and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When there was no more water in the skin, she pushed the boy under one of the bushes, and then went and sat down about a hundred yards away, for she thought, “I cannot bear to see my son die.”

But as she sat there, the child began to wail. God heard him and the Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. Get up, pick the boy up and hold him safely, for I will make him into a great nation.”

God then opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness and became an expert archer.

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Wednesday, 25 June 2025 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures in which we are all reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to be always truly faithful to the Lord in all things, in all of our actions, words, deeds, in each and every one of our dealings with one another, in our every efforts and endeavours, so that we can truly be good role models and examples to each other and to everyone else, in truly being faithful to the Lord in everything, and be the ones to bear good fruits of our faith in God. As Christians, we should always bear rich fruits of our faith, and our faith should truly be lived daily and in each and every moment so that we may indeed embody everything that we have believed in, and not merely paying lip service to the Lord or be superficial in our faith and beliefs.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis we heard of the continuation from the account of the calling of Abram, the man whom the Lord had called to follow Him to the land that He would show and entrust to him and to his descendants, namely the Land of Canaan. And in today’s passage we heard of the very moment of time when the Lord made His Covenant with Abram, promising him not just the ownership of the lands that He had told him about, but even more importantly that he would have a son as promised, and became the father and progenitor of many nations, how his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the grains of sand on the shores of the seas. Essentially, God promised Abram many things, and everything did come true in the end.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, why Abram in particular? Abram was a man close to a hundred years old at that time, still not that old as a hundred is considered today, but was already rather advanced in age, and he was still childless in the marriage he had with Sarai, his wife. He was wealthy and having a lot of possessions, but without a legal heir, all of his earthly goods and possessions would indeed go to a servant. Abram was indeed ready to accept such an outcome, but as we heard, the Lord not only assured him of a son, but that through this son, he would be great and blessed, and his descendants would also be equally blessed, and God would make them all His people as well. And most importantly, Abram trusted fully in the Lord and knew that there is nothing impossible that God cannot do.

That is why as we listened to the story of the Covenant that God made with Abram, later known as Abraham after this Covenant, we are reminded of the great faith of Abraham, and all of his good character and qualities, the faith and love which he had for the Lord, which made the Lord to choose him out of all the others, to make him truly blessed and honoured among all the other people, and to make him the progenitor of many nations. And we are reminded also of the power and might of God, Who can make even the most impossible thing to be possible, as indeed, there is no limit to the power of God, and everything is possible for God as long as it is within His will. That is why we should always have strong and firm faith in the Lord at all times.

Then, as we heard from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, what was highlighted was the Lord’s teaching to His disciples and followers using a parable, the parable of the good fruits and bad fruits, and the associated trees that produced them. By using parables as the Lord had often done, He wanted to explain His thoughts and intentions to His disciples and followers, many of whom were relatively uneducated, and yet knowledgeable about the experiences of the world such as in the field of agriculture, where this parable of the trees and their fruits would make good sense to those whom the Lord had spoken His words and teachings towards.

Therefore, as the Lord Himself highlighted, that the good trees would bear good fruits, and how the bad and unhealthy trees would produce bad and spoilt fruits, therefore, in the same manner that if they were not truly genuine in their faith and commitment to God, they would indeed be like the bad trees, producing bad fruits, and even though the tree might have looked good on the outside, yet the rottenness of its core could not be truly hidden, as if the tree is truly bad and rotten inside, then the fruits it produces will also be rotten and bad as well. Conversely, a good tree, even if it does not look very well from the outside, will certainly produce good fruits. Essentially, what the Lord told His disciples and followers is that, they all must be truly genuine in their faith and trust in the Lord.

This means that for all of us as Christians, as the disciples and followers of the Lord, we must also be genuine in our faith and belief in the Lord, and we should always be sincere in our desire to love Him and to follow His path as Abraham, our father in faith had done in his great and ever enduring faith and commitment to God despite the challenges and trials, all the uncertainties and difficulties that he had to face amidst his journey. All of us should learn to live our Christian life and faith sincerely and to the best of our abilities so that in all of our actions, words and deeds, and indeed in our every interactions we will always bear rich and good fruits of our faith, and not the rotten and wicked fruits of evil and sin. And all these require us to put into practice what we believe in.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence renew our commitment to the Lord, the same Lord and God Who had made the Covenant with Abraham, and Who has renewed this Covenant with the New and Eternal one through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. By the most loving and selfless sacrifice on the Cross, Christ has shown us the perfect love of God manifested to us. Let us all also love the Lord in the same manner then, and love one another similarly as well, manifesting this great and loving Covenant that we have with God, in all of our whole lives, in everything that we say and do, at all times. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 June 2025 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 15-20

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Beware of false prophets : they come to you in sheep’s clothing; but inside, they are voracious wolves. You will recognise them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thorn bushes; or figs, from thistles?”

“A good tree always produces good fruit. A rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit; and a rotten fruit cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruit.”

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Wednesday, 25 June 2025 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

Give thanks to YHVH, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds.

Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek YHVH rejoice. Look to YHVH and be strong; seek His face always.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is YHVH our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

He remembers His Covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the Covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

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Wednesday, 25 June 2025 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 15 : 1-12, 17-18

After Abram met with Melchizedek, the word of YHVH was spoken to Abram in a vision : “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great!” Abram said, “My Lord YHVH, where are Your promises? I am still childless and all I have will go to Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no children, so a slave of mine will be my heir.”

Then the word of YHVH was spoken to him again, “Eliezer will not be your heir, but a child born of you (your own flesh and blood) will be your heir.” Then YHVH brought him outside and said to him, “Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that.”

Abram believed YHVH Who, because of this, held him to be an upright man. And He said, “I am YHVH Who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.” Then Abram asked, “My Lord, how am I to know that it shall be mine?” YHVH replied, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove and a young pigeon.”

Abram brought all these animals, cut them in two, and laid each half facing its other half, but he did not cut the birds in half. The birds of prey came down upon them, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep came over Abram, and a dreadful darkness took hold of him.

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the halves of the victims. On that day YHVH made a Covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this country from the river of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”

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Wednesday, 18 June 2025 : 11th 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 Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us should always do our best to practice our faith in our daily living with true and genuine intentions, with sincerity and love for God and for our fellow brethren. This means that we should always live up to our faith in the faithful and genuine manner, and not in pursuing our various desires and ambitions for worldly things and matter. Once we begin to seek acclaim, praise for from others and all the other things we often crave for in life, we are likely going to be distracted away from our true faith in the Lord, and instead we will end up looking for all those worldly desires and ambitions instead of seeking what is truly good in the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the region of Corinth, we heard of the words of the Apostle speaking to the faithful there about the matter of being generous in giving and sharing one’s good blessings and gifts from God with one another because that is what the Lord Himself had done for us. We must always be generous in giving our love, care and attention to others because it is being generous in giving and in being compassionate, in sharing our blessings to those who have less than us or even none, that we will truly be faithful to the Lord and be found worthy. The Lord has indeed called us all to be generous in giving, to be loving and dedicated in our care and concern for each other.

And St. Paul also said that if we are generous and cheerful in giving, then God will also be generous with us as well. He always remembers all those who have shown love to one another, those who are always generous in giving and in being kind to everyone, and this is what He wants all of us as Christians to do in each and every moments of our lives. Therefore, just as St. Paul exhorted to the faithful people of God in Corinth, therefore all of us should also do the same in our own daily living and interactions with one another as well. We should always ever be ready to love those whom God had put in our path, and we should also love unconditionally and most generously, never seeking to hurt or harm anyone through our actions. And this is what the true measure of our Christian faith is all about.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which the Lord Jesus was telling His disciples on how they all can be truly and be more genuinely as His disciples in this world in the manner how they all carry out living their lives with true and genuine faith, rather than merely paying lip service to His teachings and ways. This is because true faith and love for God is more than just merely maintaining apperances and impression of holiness, and it is indeed easy for us to end up being misguided and misled by these desires and ambitions that we have, as the desire for fame, glory and acclamation can indeed lead us to be focused more on ourselves and our ego rather than on God.

That was precisely the attitude carried out by those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, the chief priests and elders of the people at that time, during the Lord’s ministry. Many among them went around parading their piety and faith, praying audibly in public places and wearing the prayer shawls with large tassels, wanting to be praised and adored for their supposed piety and obedience to God’s Law, when in fact, many of them did not even have strong and genuine faith in the Lord. They imposed heavy demands and obligations on the people of God when they themselves could not and failed to observe the very strict set of laws, rules and regulations that they themselves had interpreted and demanded that everyone ought to obey and follow.

Therefore, the Lord wants each and every one of us to remember that to be faithful to God, we must be more than all that, and we must not make grand gestures to proclaim our faith and piety for everyone to witness and see, or else, we may instead invite the spirit of ego and pride, the temptations of Satan and the other evil ones that may lead us astray into our downfall and destruction. Hence, we should keep reminding ourselves that we must remain focused and attentive to the Lord, to make Him as the centre and focus of our whole lives, our entire actions and everything that we say and do, or else we may end up losing sight on the true treasure and joy that we can find in the Lord alone, and end up chasing after worldly justifications and desires.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as those who follow the Lord and believe wholeheartedly in Him, and as those who have dedicated themselves to walk in His path, let us all therefore be committed anew to the Lord, reminding ourselves that our primary aim in this world is to glorify the Lord by our lives. And hence, in everything that we say and do, in our interactions with one another, with our loved ones and all others whom we encounter in life, let us all be the bearers of the love of God manifested through our works and actions, our words and interactions that are truly full of love and compassion for those who are in need of them. Let us all be true and worthy bearers of the Lord’s Good News, love, truth and hope to the world around us.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and empower each and every one of us so that in all of our efforts, good works and dealings, we will always strive to do what is right and just according to the will of God, and that we will continue to glorify Him at all times through our exemplary actions and good works, all grounded on faith and commitment to God, our true Master and Lord, the One to Whom we will always commit ourselves in faith, hope and love, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18

At that time, “Be careful not to make a show of your good deeds before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be noticed in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by people. I assure you, they have their reward.”

“If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be noticed. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners, in order to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have their reward.”

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father Who is with you in secret; and your Father Who sees what is kept secret will reward you. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face, as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this : they have been paid in full already.”

“When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father, Who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.”