Wednesday

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Wednesday, 16 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious or Holy Virgins)

Galatians 5 : 18-25

But when you are led by the Spirit you are not under the Law. You know what comes from the flesh : fornication, impurity and shamelessness, idol worship and sorcery, hatred, jealousy and violence, anger, ambition, division, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I again say to you what I have already said : those who do these things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy and peace, patience, understanding of others, kindness and fidelity, gentleness and self-control. For such things there is no Law or punishment. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its vices and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us live in a spiritual way.

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Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us are parts of the one Church of God and we all share together the mission of the Lord in reaching out to more and more people all throughout the whole world. All of us should continue to follow the Lord’s calling and embrace whatever missions that He had entrusted to us. Each one of us have the shared responsibility to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News of God to more and more people so that they may come to know of the Lord and that they may be inspired to follow Him and be saved together with all of us. All of us are called to continue remembering what the Lord has taught us and to follow Him in all of that. 

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Galatia in what is now part of Turkey, we heard of the continuation of the story which the Apostle had told to the people of Galatia regarding his past experiences and journeys, on how he was sent to proclaim the Word of God to the people of various places together with other Apostles and disciples like that of St. Barnabas, and how he had various encounters and experiences with all those people whom he had met. He also recounted his experiences in meeting the other Apostles of the Lord in Jerusalem and Judea where many of them were based in, and how there were tensions within the early Church and Christian community because of the disagreements among those who sided with the view of St. Paul and the majority of the disciples and those who came from the strict Jewish background on the matter of whether the Jews and non-Jewish people among the faithful should mingle together or not.

Those who came from the strict Jewish background such as from among the members of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law held very exclusivist view of the faith, and demanded that the Jewish customs and practices ought to be followed. On the other hand, St. Paul the Apostle championed the view that in order to reach out to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people, the Church could not demand such unreasonable things from the non-Jewish people and in fact the faithful as a whole because the extent in which the Law of God was observed and practiced by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were very excessive, superfluous and extremely demanding, especially for the non-Jewish people to adapt, and hence St. Paul lightly rebuked St. Peter who was afraid offending those converts from the Jewish people and hence appeared to follow their ways.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord told His disciples how to pray when they asked Him about it, and He taught them to pray the prayer we all well know as the Lord’s Prayer or the Pater Noster. Through this prayer, the Lord wanted to remind His disciples and hence all of us to continue to remain connected and attuned to the Lord, by constantly communicating with Him through prayers and other means, and growing ever stronger in our love and devotion to God. How we pray is also important, as the Lord has also criticised the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for having made long prayers and saying litany of self-praise and glorification, and yet, they did not truly focus their attention and hearts towards the Lord.

This is why, as we all listened to these words from the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that we should always put our faith in the Lord as the focus and emphasis of our lives, and we must be careful that we do not allow ourselves to be misguided by our pride, ego, desires and ambitions around us which may lead us into our downfall and destruction. We should not easily be tempted to follow our own ideals and ideologies, but learning instead to trust in the Lord and in everything that He has taught, provided and revealed to us. We should continue to grow in our relationship and connection to God, spending good and quality time with Him, listening to Him speaking in the depth of our hearts, our minds and our beings, humbly obeying Him and His will.

Today, the Church also celebrate the Feast of great and holy men and women, holy saints and people dedicated to God whose lives and actions can be inspiration for each and every one of us to follow in how we ourselves ought to live our lives with faith and devotion to God. First of all is St. Denis, Bishop of Paris and his companions in martyrdom during the late Roman Empire. At that time, Christians throughout the Empire were under intense persecutions from the state during the reign of the Roman Emperors who were often violent in their attempt to destroy the Church and eradicate Christianity. St. Denis was the Bishop of Parisiorum, what is now Paris, the capital of France. He faithfully and courageously ministered to the faithful during those difficult moments, during the harshest persecutions.

Eventually, the persecutions under the Roman Emperor Decius and his successors caused many of the local Christians to be martyred and lost their lives. The authorities also arrested St. Denis and his companions in martyrdom, and after a long period in incarceration in prison, he and the other Christians were eventually led to the highest hill in Paris, a place now called Montmartre, which literally meant ‘Mountain of Martyrs’ in memory of their courageous defence of their faith and martyrdom. It was told that after he was beheaded, St. Denis did not die immediately and miraculously he continued on preaching, taking up his beheaded head and walking from the place of his martyrdom to the place where now stands the Basilica of St. Denis, the place where he was buried.

Meanwhile, the other saint celebrated today is that of St. John Leonardi, an Italian saint who was the founder of the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca. He was the youngest of seven children and has always been devoted to the Lord since his youth, ever seeking consolation and refuge in God through prayer and meditation. Eventually he was ordained a priest and together with several other priests, he ministered to the people and reached out to many to strengthen their faith in God, especially during the time of confusion, division and hardships in the Church, being part of the Counter-Reformation efforts against the various heresies and the corruptions facing the Church and Christian faithful at the time. He propagated strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and also the popular Forty Hours Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, which he continued on after he had established his congregation, inspiring many to follow in his examples and efforts as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all discussed through the messages of the Scriptures and from the life and examples of God’s holy saints, namely that of St. Denis and his companions in martyrdom, as well as St. John Leonardi, all of us are reminded that we have been called to share in the journey and faith of our holy predecessors, those who had also encountered lots of difficulties, challenges and obstacles in their own lives. Yet, we must remain strong in faith and we must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations and pressures all around us, that we may continue to embody our faith in the Lord ever more worthily by our dedication and commitment to Him. We must be missionary and evangelising in each and every moments of our lives, and even in the smallest and seemingly least significant actions that we do.

May the Lord our ever loving and compassionate God continue to guide us in our respective journey in life, so that we may always continue to be faithful and committed to Him. May He continue to bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours to follow Him and to obey His Law and commandments, and to do what is right and just in accordance with His will. May God bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, and continue to encourage and strengthen us in all the struggles and in persevering through the hardships and difficulties in our journey towards Him. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Luke 11 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”

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Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

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

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

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Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Galatians 2 : 1-2, 7-14

After fourteen years, I, again, went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and Titus came with us. Following a revelation, I went, to lay before them the Gospel that I am preaching to the pagans. I had a private meeting with the leaders – lest I should be working, or have worked, in a wrong way.

They recognised that I have been entrusted to give the Good News to the pagan nations, just as Peter has been entrusted to give it to the Jews. In the same way that God made Peter the Apostle of the Jews, He made me the Apostle of the pagans. James, Cephas and John acknowledged the graces God gave me.

Those men, who were regarded as the pillars of the Church, stretched out their hand to me and Barnabas, as a sign of fellowship; we would go to the pagans, and they, to the Jews. We should only keep in mind, the poor among them. I have taken care to do this.

When, later, Cephas, came to Antioch, I confronted him, since he deserved to be blamed. Before some of James’ people arrived, he used to eat with non-Jewish people. But when they arrived, he withdrew, and did not mingle anymore with them, for fear of the Jewish group. The rest of the Jews followed him in this pretense, and even Barnabas was part of this insincerity.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas publicly : If you, who are Jewish, agreed to live like the non-Jews, setting aside the Jewish customs, why do you, now, compel the non-Jews to live like Jews?

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Wednesday, 2 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures we are all reminded of God’s love and providence which He has constantly provided to us throughout our lives, the patience with which He has called us all to follow Him and to embrace His path once again, and to be loved by Him again, despite our many and frequent disobedience and rebellions against Him. He wants us all to be humble and to realise our shortcomings and sins, to atone for them and to be forgiven from all those stumbling blocks that prevented us from truly being able to come towards Him, while reassuring us always of His loving Presence and guidance, which He has always provided for us, at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Exodus in which God reassured His people, the Israelites during the time of their Exodus and journey from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan, the land which He has promised to them and their ancestors, as a blessed land rich in milk and honey, full of His bounty and blessings. He provided them all with food and sustenance throughout their whole journey, and as we heard in our passage today, He also reassured them that He sent them His Angels to stand before them and protect them from their many enemies, all those people in the desert which were hostile to the Israelites and attacked them, much as how He had shown His power during their time and liberation from the hands of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians beforehand.

Then, we heard of the passage from our Gospel reading today according to St. Matthew in which we heard how the disciples were asking the Lord who among them presumably would be considered as the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Many among the disciples of the Lord were likely under the impression that the Lord Jesus as the Messiah or the Saviour had come to liberate the Israelites and to lead them to victory and triumph against their oppressors like the Romans and other rulers, and that He would reestablish the Kingdom of Israel much as how it was during the glorious days of the reigns of King David and King Solomon. As such, not few among them would likely have desired for power and prestige by following the Lord, and thought of gaining those things for themselves.

But the Lord rebuked them gently and told them that this was not how they ought to follow Him or believe in Him, as to be His followers and disciples, they all should focus their attention on the Lord, be humble and committed to His cause, and not to be distracted by the many worldly desires and ambitions being present all around them. That was why He told them all that He would want them to have the faith like the faith of the little children, because all those children truly and joyfully had great faith, trust and love in Him, and not being tainted, corrupted or tempted by the various desires, ambitions and all the other worldly things all around us which may often distract us from our path towards the Lord, towards His salvation and grace.

The Lord essentially reminded us all that we must truly be sincere in our faith in Him, and we should reflect upon our lives if we have truly lived our lives faithfully in His path or whether we have been swayed and tempted by the various temptations, coercions and pressures from the world and from the evil ones, all of those who seek our destruction and downfall as they all desire our defeat. We must not be afraid of all these, and we must not allow ourselves to be easily pulled by the various currents of worldly matters and pursuits. Instead, we should continue to deepen our faith in God and grow in our loving relationship towards Him at all times, helping one another to come ever closer to Him and His salvation.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, the day when we remember and commemorate all of our Guardian Angels, the ones whom God had placed around us and in our midst, His own Holy Angels sent to us to guard and protect us. These Guardian Angels protect us against the attacks from the evil spirits, demons and all the forces of those who sought our destruction and damnation with them. As we heard the Scripture passages earlier, the Lord is always by our side, guarding and protecting us all at each and every moments in life, and one of these ways is through the Guardian Angels He has placed around us, always ever ready to protect us and guide us in the right path.

Today, we remember every time our Guardian Angels laboured to protect and guide us in the right path, as they were always ever at the forefront of the ever raging spiritual battlefield that exist all around us, the devil and his forces on one side, and the Lord our God with His Angels on the other, with the price being the state and salvation of our souls. Every time we struggle with sin and the temptations to sin, our Guardian Angels are always there to help us and to guide us, to lead us in our conscience to follow the right path in God and not to be easily swayed by the temptations to disobey and sin against God. Whenever the devil and all the tempters, the evil spirits all around us are always active, striking at us and tempting us to go down the path of sin, our Guardian Angels are always there to guide and protect us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today thank the Lord for His kindness and love, in His patient love for us and for providing us with His Guardian Angels and all the other Angels and spiritual forces and protection to help and protect us against the evil ones, and let us also thank our Guardian Angels for the constant vigil and efforts all around us. Let us all pray the Guardian Angel prayer together, ‘Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.’

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Wednesday, 2 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in My Name, receives Me.”

“See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their Angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father.”

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Wednesday, 2 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 90 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 10-11

You, who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to YHVH, “My Stronghold, my Refuge, my God in Whom I trust!”

He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions and give you refuge under His wings.

You shall not fear the terror of the night nor the arrows that fly by day, nor the pestilence that stalks by night, and the plague that destroys at noonday.

No harm will come upon you; no disaster will draw near your home. For He will command His Angels to guard you in all your ways.

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Wednesday, 2 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 23 : 20-23

See, I am sending an Angel before you to keep you safe on the way and bring you to the place I have made ready. Be on your guard in his presence and listen to him; do not resist him for he will not pardon your wrongdoing, for My Name is in him.

If you listen to him and do what I say, I will be the enemy to your enemies and the opponent of your opponents. My Angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; all these I will destroy.

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Wednesday, 25 September 2024 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened in the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the mission which we have been given as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. All of us are reminded that we have been entrusted with various gifts, talents and abilities which we all should make good use of so that we may truly be good and worthy disciples and followers of His, in proclaiming His Good News and wonders at all times, by our exemplary actions, words and deeds. The Lord has given us all these gifts and opportunities so that we may touch each others’ lives and inspire more and more people to come towards Him with faith, and to be more committed and dedicated to His cause, and not to depend on our own strength and might, but rather to trust in Him ever more wholeheartedly from now on.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Proverbs in which the author spoke of the assurances of God’s Providence and help for His people, for those who are faithful and committed to Him. The author also spoke of seeking the Lord for His help and guidance, to provide us with just what is necessary for us lest we allow ourselves to be tempted by pride, desire and ego, all of which would end up leading us down the slippery slope of sin into our downfall and destruction. Each one of us are reminded not to give in to the temptation of evil all around us, of worldly pleasures and ambitions, of all the pursuits of fame and glory, and all the other things which can lead us into the path of damnation because of our desires and ambitions that may cause us to commit acts that are sinful against the Lord our God.

Instead, we are all exhorted through what we have heard to be ever more committed to the Lord and to be faithful to the commandments that the Lord has given us. We should strive to resist the various temptations present around us so that we may not falter in our efforts and desire to follow the path that the Lord has put us to walk through in life. All of us as Christians have been called and expected to embrace wholeheartedly this path in life, to be always firmly rooted in our faith and obedience to God, to our trust and belief in His providence, love and grace. Without this strong faith and conviction, 

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke in which the Lord spoke to His disciples as He sent them all out to minister to the people, that they all should not bring excessive things with themselves during their missions. This is meant to prevent them from thinking that it was by their own power, abilities or might that they had all done their works, wonders and efforts, and that any successes that they had gotten was because by their own performance and efforts alone, and not due to the guidance and strength from God. They are reminded to trust instead in God’s providence, His love and grace, and everything that He would provide fo them through the people and the circumstances they might encounter in their respective journeys and ministries.

All of us are essentially reminded that we must not allow ourselves to be swayed by worldly glory, pride, ambition and all the things which might distract us from the path towards God and His salvation. We must always remind ourselves that all those things are ultimately illusory and impermanent, and we must not allow ourselves to be easily attached and swayed to follow those ambitions and all the things that can derail us in our path towards God and His salvation. This is why we must always get our focus and attention correct, and our lives ought to have the right bearing, intention and direction, or else we may easily be dragged into the traps of sin and all the efforts which Satan and all of his fellow forces of evil and wickedness have always put up against us, in trying to bring us to our downfall.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians are reminded that we have important missions and directions in life which the Lord has entrusted to each and every one of us. And if we think that we are incapable or unworthy to take part in such occasions, efforts and works, the reality is that no one can truly be worthy of the Lord in this manner. Yet, the Lord takes the unworthy and makes them to be good and worthy, blessing and empowering each and every one of us in various unique ways so that each and every one of us may be able to give our own respective contributions for the good and benefits of many of our fellow brothers and sisters all around us. Each and every single one of our efforts do matter and we should not underestimate them, as they are all important parts of the works of the Church, in bringing mankind ever closer to God and His salvation.


Let us all continue therefore to do our very best at each and every moments in our lives, so that by all the things we do, by our every words and interactions with one another, by our commitments and dedications in the Lord’s path and commandments. Let us all spend more and more time to do our part to be faithful and committed disciples and followers of the Lord, to fulfil whatever it is that the Lord has entrusted to each one of us, making good use of the various blessings and opportunities that He had provided to us. We must no longer be idle or ignorant of our calling and mission, the parts that we can do in order to be the worthy bearers of God’s Good News to the world. Each one of us have been given this important mission in life, so that we may truly glorify Him by our lives.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to help and strengthen us in our respective journeys, paths and efforts all throughout life. Let us all continue to do our best to follow His path, and may He continue to encourage and strengthen us in all the things we do, so that by our hard works and efforts in doing His will, and in proclaiming His glory and truth, His love and compassion towards each and every one of us, we may continue to be exemplary and inspirational examples for everyone around us, helping more and more people to come ever closer to the Lord, now and always. Amen.