Weekday Homily

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Tuesday, 5 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are called and reminded to be missionary and evangelising disciples and followers of God, in carrying out our duties and responsibilities as Christians faithfully in our lives and in doing the will of God at every possible opportunities. The Lord has called on all of us to be His beloved people, to walk in His path and to be exemplary in our lives so that everyone who witness our works and our way of life may truly know that we are the people of God, and that they may also know God Himself through us. Through our Scripture passages today, we have also heard and are reminded that challenges will likely come our way in the midst of our ministry, and trials and hardships may be part of our lives as we journey with faith in God’s path, but we must always persevere and keep up hope.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the continued works of St. Paul and St. Barnabas in their mission in proclaiming the word of God and His truth, amidst the trials and challenges that they had to face, and despite the oppositions and hardships that they had to endure. St. Paul and St. Barnabas were struck at by the provocation of the Jewish people and those who opposed their efforts and works in proclaiming the Good News of God in the region of Lystra. They were stoned and were almost left for dead if not for God’s protection and guidance, which still remained with them throughout their journey. Yet, that did not dampen their spirits at all, and the two Apostles continued to carry on their mission with zeal and commitment, dedicating their time and effort to glorify the Lord and to proclaim His Good News to more and more of the people. They laboured hard and long so that by their dedication and hard work, they might make God known to more people.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord also reassured His disciples, telling them all not to be afraid as He would always be with them, guiding and protecting them on their path, not allowing them to be crushed and destroyed. He would give them true peace and happiness, joy and satisfaction of having walked and being present in His love and grace. The Lord Jesus reminded His disciples that He is truly the manifestation of God’s perfect and ever enduring love, which has often been shown to us, given to us so that we may know that He has truly been with us throughout the way, not leaving us behind despite us and our predecessors having often abandoned and rejected Him. He has come to us so that we may have sure path towards eternal life and salvation through Him, our Lord, Saviour and King.

As we heard in our first reading today, the Apostles continued to carry on their missions and works, reaching out to the various communities of people and ministering to them. To those who have not yet known the Lord, the Apostles proclaimed the words of God’s truth and revealed Him to all of them, patiently showing them the love of God, teaching them about His precepts and ways, and living their lives as good Christian role models, in loving one another and caring for each other, and in building a loving and caring community of Christians, the holy people that God had called and chosen. We heard how the Apostles appointed the elders and overseers, which we now know as bishops, to be the guide for the people and community of the faithful, spreading the joy of the Gospel and leading more and more people to the light of Christ and His salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the same mission which God has entrusted to us and commanded us to do, continuing whatever good works that His Apostles and faithful ones had started and faithfully carried out. The works of the Church, the Apostles and the many other missionaries of the Lord are still aplenty, and there are truly still many areas where the Lord is not yet known, and there are still parts and areas where the faith of the people of God in their Lord and Saviour had become lax and weakened. God has therefore called on all of us, on each and every one of us to follow Him and His commandments. We are all sent out to proclaim His Good News and salvation, to show His love and truth to the whole world, to the people of all the nations, just as how the Apostles like St. Paul and St. Barnabas among others had done.

However, many of us are often too distracted with our many preoccupations and temptations in life. We often spent a lot of time and effort seeking for worldly sustenance and attachments, for worldly comforts and desires, all of which often suffocated the faith and the love for God inside of us. Many of us have not carried out the actions and works that we should have done, and the reason was simple, that is we are too busy with ourselves and our various pursuits and desires in life, our many attachments and other distractions that we simply did not have the time to spend for the Lord. And if we have faltered in our efforts to do what the Lord had asked us to do, or worse still, in doing what are contrary and wicked in the sight of God and others, how can we then call ourselves as true and genuine Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ?

Therefore, that is why during this time of Easter, all of us are reminded to return the focus of our lives to the Risen Lord, our Saviour, to His truth and love, to the Good News and everything that He has brought unto us. Let us all remember the great love by which He has always shown us, in having come down into our midst and reaching out to us with most generous love, and let us recall how He continues to patiently care for us and calls us all unto Himself, sending us many servants and messengers, to help and remind us, and guide us in the right path towards Him. Let us all remember the grace and love that He has shown us, in not letting us all to suffer the persecutions and hardships of this world, the many trials and challenges of this life by ourselves. He is in fact, always there for us, and He has not left us at all, and supported us whenever we needed help and guidance.

Therefore, let us all give thanks to our most loving God and endeavour to do better in living our lives as most faithful Christians from now on if we have not done so. Let us all be good role models and examples to our fellow brothers and sisters, and do whatever we can to glorify the Lord by our lives and works at all times. We are all called to show genuine love firstly towards the Lord our God, wholeheartedly and passionately, and then in the same manner towards our own brothers and sisters around us, just as much as we love God and ourselves. May the Risen Lord, our Saviour and Guide, our King and Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, be with us always and bless our works, in all of our labour of love, and may He always be with His Church and all who have laboured in His Name. Amen.

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Monday, 4 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are called and reminded to be the faithful and humble disciples of the Lord, carrying out our lives and living our Christian faith daily to glorify the Lord and to proclaim His Good News to everyone, and not for our own personal glory and ambition. All of us should get rid from our hearts and minds, the dangerous evils of our pride, ego, greed and other things that can become serious obstacles in our path towards the Lord, His grace and salvation. We ought to heed what we have heard from our Scripture passages today relating to the experiences of the Apostles and what the Lord Himself had told His disciples to help us to remain rooted in our faith in the Lord, and not to fall into the many temptations all around us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the time when the Apostles, St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who were in the midst of a missionary journey, went to the area of Lystra in Asia Minor, where they performed several miracles and proclaimed the Good News of God to the people there. However, as we heard, the many pagan peoples of Lystra mistook this miraculous sign as their own pagan gods, Zeus and Hermes having come down into their midst in the person of St. Paul and St. Barnabas. This was actually accurate as per Greek mythology which believed that their gods occasionally walked down this world in the human form, and hence, those people of Lystra misunderstood what St. Paul and St. Barnabas had done, and treated them as if they were gods incarnate in the flesh, worshipping and honouring them like gods.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas pleaded before the people with little effect, as they told them the folly of their actions and the mistakes in their ways and beliefs, in their failure to recognise the one and true Living God, and in their attachments to the inanimate gods and beings of earth, sea, sky and nature as how their pagan beliefs revolved around. By the way they were treated, St. Paul and St. Barnabas were treated with the greatest honours and respect, and it took great courage for them to resist the temptations of pride, glory and worldly power, and not only that, but even also chiding the people for their false ways and erroneous beliefs. They were not swayed by worldly glory and ambition, and while they could have gained and benefitted from the great fervour and honour they were receiving from the people, but they remained firm in their faith and remembered the mission that God has entrusted to them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Jesus Himself as He spoke to His disciples regarding the matter of obedience and listening to His truth, and how His disciples and followers ought to behave as genuine and faithful people of God. The Lord said that those who loves Him, follows and obeys His commandments, carrying out whatever the Lord has told and taught them to do, and those who did not truly love Him would not obey what He had told and commanded them to do, or that they would not carry out the actions and commandments in the manner and way that they should have been carried out. And this was reflected exactly in how the two Apostles, St. Paul and St. Barnabas had carried out their mission and actions, that despite the many challenges they encountered, they remained firm in faith in God, and persevered through those challenges.

And as we heard earlier in our first reading today, as St. Paul and St. Barnabas were treated like they were gods incarnate in the flesh, and worshipped by the people, they did not give in to the temptation of ego and greed, which had in fact brought down so many people and members of the Church throughout the history of the Church in the past two millennia. There were so many heretics and false leaders who had caused divisions in the Church, and misled many of the faithful into the wrong path because they were swayed by the temptations of worldly glory, desires and other attachments in life. Those people chose to put their own selfish desires, ambitions and worldly pursuits ahead of their obligation and responsibilities in following God and doing what the Lord has taught and commanded them to do.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed earlier on, it is important that all of us have to learn to place the right focus of our lives in Christ, in the truth that God has revealed, shown and taught to us. All of us have been called to follow Him, to be His genuine followers and disciples, with hearts and minds attuned and focused on God’s truth and love. Each and every one of us have received the great bounty of God’s grace and love, and we have been guided to the right path by His providence and patient care. Therefore, we should be careful lest we allow the many temptations and distractions all around us from misleading us down the wrong path in life. We should resist the temptations of worldly power and glory, and remind ourselves that in the Lord alone we have true hope and fulfilment.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all then spend our time discerning our path in life. If we all have been living our lives with the focus and emphasis to seek for our own personal gains and advantages, or in seeking our various ambitions and attachments in life, then it is time for us to strive to detach ourselves from all those and return to the root of our lIves and existence, that is God Himself. All of us should refocus our attention towards Him and remind one another to walk ever more faithfully in the path that He has shown us. We should resist the many temptations of the world just as how the Apostles had done, and be inspired by the courage shown by St. Paul and St. Barnabas, among the many other ones of our holy predecessors, the numerous saints and martyrs whose lives and actions should serve as inspiration and strength, role model and guide for each one of us, and not be swayed easily by worldly desires and temptations.

May the Risen Lord, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to guide us all and help us in our journey, so that we all may come ever closer to His presence, and be inspired to live our lives with ever greater devotion and commitment to the Law and commandments that He has taught and shown us how to do. May we show genuine love and care in our every actions, in our every interactions with one another so that by our most genuine and generous love, the love of God may be manifested in our world today. May all of us be the worthy and great beacons of God’s light, truth and love, in all of our various communities, at every possible opportunities presented to us. May all of us continue to live the true spirit of Easter joy and glorify our Risen Lord by our lives. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 May 2026 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded yet again of why we celebrate most joyfully this holy and blessed season of Easter. We celebrate it because of the ever enduring Love of God Who has sent unto us His most beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Risen Lord, through Whom we have received the fulfilment of the promises of God, and through Whom we have been redeemed and saved from the impending destruction and damnation due to those many sins and wickedness that we have committed. God reached out to us with His love which endured even through the most difficult moments, and He patiently cared for us all and He still loved us despite of our frequent stubborn attitude and rebelliousness, which had often hampered us in the path towards salvation and true grace in God.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord told His disciples that they all have to trust in Him and to listen to Him, and be reassured with everything that He has said and promised to them, as He would do whatever He had told them, and that even though they might not see Him for a little while, as He predicted His own suffering and demise, but He would never abandon them. Not only that, but this Sunday, as we come ever closer to the ending of the Easter season and particularly the celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we are all reminded that God is still there with us, protecting and guiding us throughout our journey. As He Himself said in the same Gospel passage today, that He would go on forward to prepare the places and rooms for us in Heaven, in the presence of God. By His Ascension, the Lord went up in glory, returning to His rightful place and Throne, and is now there reigning gloriously while still remembering each and every one of us.

Christ, our Risen Lord, by His suffering and death on the Cross has lifted us up from the deepest depth of our darkness and misery. He has unlocked for us the gates of Heaven and the path to reconciliation with God our loving Father and Creator, leading us down the sure path to redemption. The Lord has reached out to us with His most wonderful love, loving us most generously and with the gift of His Son, He has shown us all just how beloved and fortunate we are, that despite of our attitude and our mistakes and faults, God’s love still triumphed and overcame even all of those things. He despises our sins and wickedness, but He loves each and every one of us, His beloved children, and there is nothing that can separate us from His love, unless it is we ourselves who have consciously and purposefully refused His love and rejected His mercy.

All of us always have the choice whether to follow the Lord or to turn away from Him. But today we are reminded yet again therefore of God’s love and naturally, because God has loved us so much, then all of us should love Him in the same way as well, and have this love in our lives, in our actions and way of life, in how we interact with one another, in our every words and commitments in life. We are reminded that all of us Christians are a people that God had called and embraced with love, and we have been consecrated and chosen by Him, to be His tools and means through which His light, truth and love may be propagated ever more to our communities and to our societies today in the world that we are living in. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the opportunities and the time for us to show forth the way of the Lord and His truth in our own lives.

As we heard in our second reading today from the Epistle of St. Peter, all of us as Christians are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings, a consecrated nation, and a people that God has made His own to proclaim His wonders. What St. Peter told all the faithful in this Epistle passage is a reminder for us all that through our baptism, in which we have become part of the Church of God, entering into this one community of believers and the faithful in the Lord, we have been sanctified and consecrated, marked with the very mark of the Living God, and all of us have entered into the New and Eternal Covenant that God has established with us through the works and sacrifice that His own beloved Son, Our Risen Lord, had done on the Cross. We have been called and brought into a new existence through Christ, a new life and existence that is full of God’s grace and free from sins.

Again, St. Peter had spoken about how the Lord was rejected by the people that He had been sent to, persecuted, arrested and made to suffer and die, because of the stubbornness of all those who have refused to listen to Him and His truth, all those who have allowed the vices of this world and their pride and ego to get the better of them. Yet, the Lord did not let all these to stop Him, and instead, He gave it all for our sake, by enduring the worst of persecutions and humiliations on our behalf, that through His perfect obedience and love, He might show to us what it truly means to live our lives worthily of the Lord, and to be a good and genuine Christian, full of faith and love for our loving God and Creator. He has become the Cornerstone, the Foundation of His Church, establishing His kingdom and dominion in this whole world, freeing us from the power and dominion of sin and death.

Therefore, each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy people, all of us are called to live our lives well and worthily as how Christians should be like, in doing the will of God and in obeying His Law and commandments at all possible opportunities. Each and every one of us have been blessed and given various talents and abilities, and we have been called to different vocations in life. But all of us are reminded to dedicate ourselves and our lives to the Lord in the manner how our Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord and Saviour, had dedicated His life, work and ministry, in perfectly obeying the will of His heavenly Father, in doing what He had been sent into this world for, even to the point of laying down His life for us, because He truly loves each and every one of us. He is the perfect role model for all of us Christians in how we should live our lives.

Then, in our first reading today, we heard lastly from the Acts of the Apostles of the time when the Church under the leadership of the Apostles decided to appoint holy and devout men as the first Deacons of the Church, instituting therefore the Order of Deacons, which role is to assist the Apostles and their successors in the management and the daily running of the Church in its various ministries. Seven holy and worthy men were chosen from among the followers of the Lord, including the well-known St. Stephen, who would become the Protomartyr, or the very first martyr of the Church, who died in defending his faith in the Lord and in proclaiming the Good News and truth to the people. All of the deacons were appointed and charged with the mission to help in the care of the faithful, and later on in assisting the bishops and priests in their own ministry.

Through what we have heard today, all of us are reminded to do what the Lord has entrusted to each one of us to do in our own lives as well. The deacons had been called with a particular mission to serve the Church and the faithful, just as the Apostles and their successors, the bishops as well as the priests have their own missions and vocations to carry out throughout their respective lives. Then, there are also those who have been called to religious and consecrated life, dedicating themselves to a life of prayer, virtue, poverty and common life in certain communities and groups, as well as those others called to married life, to give glory to God through their families and by raising up children and new generations of faithful Christians. There are yet others called to holy single life, to the work of missions among others, called to glorify God in their own ways, and there may yet be others with their own unique vocations beyond even what is prescribed and described by the Church, called to live out their lives with genuine love for one another.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask ourselves, what is our own vocation in life? What have we been called to do and what have we committed ourselves to do with our lives? Let us all spend the time today and afterwards to discern carefully how we can live our lives better as Christians, in embracing more fully our various respective vocations in life, and doing the will of God in all things. Let us all do our best to carry out our Christian calling and obligations, our respective missions in life, making good use whatever opportunities, time and chances that God has presented to us. All of us have been entrusted by the Lord to do His will, to do our best in our lives and proclaiming His Good News and truth at all times. Our lives should serve as inspiration and guide for others all around us so that they may be inspired to follow our examples as well.

May the Risen Lord continue to guide and strengthen each one of us, and may He empower all of us to live our lives to the best of our abilities, to glorify Him by our lives and works. May God be with His Church and all of His faithful ones, at all times. May He bless our works and efforts, and remain with us always. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 May 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the need for us all to have faith in the Lord and to be humble in listening to Him and allowing Him to speak to us in the depth of our hearts and minds. Sometimes we have allowed our ego and pride to get the better of us, and those things prevented us from being able to come close to the Lord and becoming His true disciples and followers. We are all reminded to have this strong and genuine faith in the Lord, committing ourselves and our efforts, time and attention to glorify Him in all of the moments of our lives. As Christians, all of us should be great role models and inspirations for others all around us in how we live our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the works of St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who preached and spoke courageously and zealously about the salvation in God which have been made available to all the people, be it to the Jewish people or the non-Jewish ones, also known as the Gentiles among the Jews then. The word Gentile itself came from the Latin word ‘gentes’ which means clan and family, that in the context of the then relationship between the Jewish and non-Jewish people became associated with the non-Jewish people, and that was how the Jews called those who did not belong to their race and to their beliefs, with some considering the Gentiles as being pagans, impure, evil and wicked, being unworthy of God, while they viewed themselves as being superior, better and more worthy of God.

This stemmed forth from the beliefs of some amongst the Jews that being descended from the ancient people of Israel, the people that God had first called and chosen to be His people, then they had exclusive privileges and access to the Lord, while the Gentiles were barred from similar access because they did not believe in the Lord in the same way as the Jewish people had done, especially referring to the way how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done, in their very extensive and strict observance of the Jewish Law and customs as passed down unto them from the time of Moses, and which was modified further with numerous rules and regulations. All those things unfortunately made the Law becoming more and more cumbersome, and losing its initial meaning and purpose of bringing the people of God closer to their Lord and Master.

In truth, God did not want to save only His people Israel exclusively, as it has always been His intent to save every one of us, all the children of mankind, regardless of our race and origins, because He loves each and every single one of us all the same. The Jewish people and their ancestors, the Israelites, were merely the ones who have been called by the Lord first, and it was through them that the salvation of God, made manifest in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, came through from. He wants everyone to realise that His love is ever enduring and universal, and everyone has the same chance to come to His love, to be reunited and reconciled with our most loving God, Father and Creator. And our Risen Lord is the Way through Whom all of us can find the sure path to this salvation and grace, the path of eternal life and redemption.

The Gospel passage today made it even clearer of this love of God that has been manifested and made real for us through Christ, the Son of God incarnate in the flesh, has indeed come into our midst, and He has shown us all the true love that God has always kept for each and every one of us. This same love is carried on all the way to the Cross, promising and guaranteeing for all of us who are faithful to the Lord, the promise of eternal life and grace with God. The Lord has reached out to us through His Son, gathering all of us who have been lost to His Father, because of our sins, as our Good Shepherd and Guide, leading and guiding us so that we may find our path and our way to our loving Father. Through Christ, all of us have received the pardon and forgiveness, and yet, one that requires us to embrace Him and His love and mercy wholeheartedly and fully.

However, the problem facing many of us today, is just like that of the Jewish people in the past, that many of us think that we are all alright and have no need for God or His mercy. Many of us are too preoccupied with our many worldly desires, concerns and attachments, all of our pursuits for fame, glory and worldly pleasures among other things which prevented us from finding our path towards the Lord and His salvation. Worse still, we also tend to become judgmental of others and thinking that we are better and more worthy, while the fact is that many of us are in need of God’s healing and mercy, and many of us have also become lukewarm and wayward in our way of life, as many of us have forgotten about God’s Law and precepts, no longer obeying Him and His commandments as we should, living our lives the way we want it to be. Today hence all of us are reminded to purge from ourselves all traces of this ego and pride barring us from God and the fullness of His love.

Today, let us all be inspired by the great examples shown by the great servant of God, St. Athanasius, a renowned and most faithful disciple of the Lord, a most courageous and fearless defender of the faith, whose feast day we are celebrating on this very day. St. Athanasius was also known as St. Athanasius the Great or St. Athanasius of Alexandria, and was the Bishop of Alexandria, also known as the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, as one of the most prominent leaders of the Church during his time. He led the Church of Alexandria and was involved greatly throughout Christendom for a long period of forty-five years, which was intermittent due to the challenges and trials that he had to face during his ministry, which saw him being exiled and punished several times by those who opposed and oppressed him.

St. Athanasius lived and ministered to the faithful during a time of great change to the Church, as it was the years and decades following after the end of the long state persecution of Christianity by the Romans, with the Edict of Milan by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, ever sympathetic to the Christian cause. However, this joy at the end of the persecution of the Church and Christians was then overshadow by the intensifying divisions within the Church due to various heresies, and most importantly then, was the rapidly rising heretical teachings of the arch-heretic Arius, a very popular preacher that claimed and taught that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Messiah, was not equal to God the Father, but rather subservient to Him and existed after the Father, not Co-Eternal and not Co-Equal, neither Consubstantial with Him.

This heretical teachings gained wide support throughout Christendom and gained the support and belief of even many among the Church leaders and bishops, especially throughout the Eastern part of the Roman Empire, including Alexandria where St. Athanasius himself was Bishop at, with Arius himself hailing from the same region as well. St. Athanasius was very passionate and courageous, hardworking and zealous in his many efforts against the Arian heresy, resisting those who sought to subvert and divide the Church for their own selfish ambitions and desires. St. Athanasius did not give up even when many of the upper echelon of the Roman society and government were swayed by the Arians and some of them even becoming ardent supporters of the Arians and their false faith.

St. Athanasius faced a lot of struggles and hardships, having to endure persecution and even exile from his See of Alexandria, by the order and working of those who were favourable and supporters of the Arians. But he continued to faithfully carry out his works, writing extensively on the matters of the faith, supporting and strengthening all the others who also struggled with the various persecutions, hardships, divisions, heretical teachings and other challenges that they had to face throughout their lives and ministry. Despite the repeated challenges, exiles, hardships and all the other things that he had to endure, St. Athanasius continued to remain faithful to the calling and mission he had as the shepherd of the Lord’s flock, to the very end, and his courage and faithfulness, his persistence and perseverance in carrying out his works and mission should inspire us all as Christians to do the same as well.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the good examples of St. Athanasius, holy servant of God, our role model and most courageous defender of the Christian faith, in believing in what He Himself has taught and revealed to us, and not to fall into false ideas and thoughts that did not come from God. Let us all be good role models and inspirations to one another as well, through our every words, actions and deeds, so that we may inspire more and more people to be ever more committed to the Lord and to follow Him. That is our calling and that is what we should be doing in our daily lives as those who truly believe in the Lord. May the Lord, our Saviour and Good Shepherd, be our guide and help and may He empower us all to be like His servants, like St. Athanasius and others in their faith and commitment. May God bless our every good works and efforts, for the greater glory of His Name. Amen.

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Friday, 1 May 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the Patron saint of all workers and all those who labour in this world, in conjunction with the secular celebration of the Labour Day or May Day. This Feast was instituted by the great Pope Pius XII in the year of 1955, during the time when the threat of Communism was rising everywhere in the world, with many Christians and people all around the world oppressed by Communist regimes and governments, and others yet having dangerous Communist movements and uprisings that were aiming to destroy the Christian faith, the Church and the belief in God. The atheistic Communists thought that they could overcome God and His Church, but the Lord showed them through this Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, that their belief and understanding of labour was truly flawed and inadequate, and one that the world should be wary about.

As compared to the soulless, empty and futile celebration of human and worldly labour in the Labour and May Day commemorations, and the glorification of worldly achievements and desires, which is the way how the Communists and the secular world tend to celebrate this day, and for the former which focused a lot on the matter of class struggle between the workers against the so-called more privileged classes, the true commemoration of labour and work as we celebrate today is not by focusing on ourselves and on our worldly achievements. Instead, St. Joseph as the Patron of the whole Universal Church, the foster-father of Our Lord and Saviour, is also the role model and patron for all the workers of the world. In his virtues and inspirational way of life, serves as a good example and shining beacon to help and guide us down the right path in life.

St. Joseph in his dedication to the Lord, his righteousness and virtues, and in his simple but honest living as a humble and unassuming carpenter in his village of Nazareth, is the perfect role model for all of us as Christians in our work life and ethics. Instead of the endless pursuits of worldly desires, achievements, ambitions and other forms of desires and pleasures of this world, as is common in our world today, as it has been in the past, St. Joseph showed us all what true workmanship is like, and he also reminds us what our labours and works are actually for. Many of us did not understand and realise what we should be doing in reconciling and harmonising our Christian faith with our work life and ethics. St. Joseph, the holy patron of the Church and all workers is our perfect guide to help and guide us down the right path, that we do not end up falling into the wrong ways in this life.

The job of a carpenter is a tough and often unappreciated one. Carpenters were important then as it is today because they made the important tools required in many aspects of life, especially in agriculture and husbandry, in taking care of the crops and the animals. However, despite the importance of the carpenter’s role, nobody usually remembered or thanked the carpenter, and they were usually treated with indifference, or even contempt and disgust. Carpenters were looked down upon and considered as a low-paying job and one that did not bring about prestige and good living. Yet, without them and their works, the society could not have survived or functioned properly as it was. St. Joseph, amidst all these, worked humbly, lived righteously and justly, and became a great role model and father figure not only for Our Lord Jesus Christ, His foster Son, but also to all of us as Christians.

In today’s Scripture readings, we heard of the works that the Lord our God, our Creator and Master Himself had done, in making us and in bringing us to life. In our first reading today, from the Mass of St. Joseph, we heard of the account of the creation of Man, how God made our first forebears and then placed everything under our care, stewardship and dominion, and then rested from all of His labours at the end of His work. In that passage, we can clearly see how the Lord’s own works in creating the world is also likened to that of a craftsman, and a carpenter. God is indeed the One Who had crafted and made the world, and He had patiently created us all, cared for us and provided for us all throughout despite our constant rebelliousness and unwillingness to listen to Him and obey His Law and commandments. Like St. Joseph, who as a carpenter, was looked down upon, we tend to do the same to the Lord as well, ignoring and abandoning Him, and only remembering Him when we have need of Him.

Not only that, but the Lord Himself has willingly then come down upon us as we all know it, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sent into this world. He was born of His mother Mary, and became the Son of a humble and upright carpenter, St. Joseph himself. From St. Joseph, the Lord likely learnt the virtue of obedience and also other good and virtuous values and deeds, which we ourselves should take heed of and follow as well in our own lives. This same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, would go on to bear His Cross, bearing the whole burden of our many and innumerable sins and punishments due to those sins, obediently following the will of His heavenly Father, and doing all just as how His foster father, St. Joseph, the model of all workers, has shown and taught Him earlier on in His life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired as well by the good examples showed by St. Joseph, holy worker and man of God, in all of his righteousness and virtuous life. Let us all commit ourselves to the Lord anew in the same manner as St. Joseph had committed himself, and let us all come closer to the Lord and carry on living our lives in the best way possible, as virtuous and faithful Christians, in doing God’s will and in living our lives to the best of our ability, in proclaiming God’s love and truth in our respective communities, now and henceforth. Each and every one of us have our part to play as Christians, to be exemplary and faithful in our daily living, and to inspire each other to walk ever more faithfully in God’s Presence, to live as how St. Joseph had once lived his life, with virtue and devotion to God.

May the Risen Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, and guide us in our works and ministry, and with the intercession from St. Joseph, His foster father, the patron and model of all workers, may all of us who labour and work continue to be reminded to do our work in accordance with God’s will and in line with our Christian faith and beliefs, and to carry on our works with consideration and care for others all around us. May God be with us all and with His Church, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded again of everything that God has done for us and all that He has accomplished for us, on our behalf because of His love for us and because of His desire to see us all reconciled and reunited to Him. God created us all out of His love and He has always treasured each and every one of us, and He gave us His best and most precious gift, in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Risen Lord and Saviour so that by His coming into our midst, into this world, as our Good Shepherd and Guide, He might gather all of us together and help lead us down the right path. The Lord has given us the most perfect gift and manifestation of His love so that all of us may come to know of His truth and love, and be saved, reconciled and reunited with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the works of St. Paul who went from place to place, preaching about the salvation in Jesus Christ and the Good News of God, His truth and love. St. Paul went on his missionary journey, travelling all around the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, and in this particular mission trip, he was going through the cities and towns of the region of Asia Minor, where he preached about the Risen Lord in cities like Perga and Antioch in Pisidia. What we heard in our first reading today is the speech that he delivered to the Jewish diaspora and faithful in Antioch in Pisidia as he went to the local synagogue. The early Christian missionaries went about teaching the people both from the Jewish and non-Jewish or Gentile origins, and there were quite a large population of Jewish diaspora back then in many cities of Asia Minor and elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean region.

Hence, St. Paul catered his message and preaching to the Jewish people and believers, as he spoke to them about the Messiah, the crucified and resurrected Christ. Thus he reminded all of them of everything that God had done for their ancestors, in His mighty deeds in Egypt and henceforth, and how He had promised His people of His salvation and protection, and how He would raise His Messiah or Saviour from the family and House of David, the King of Israel. St. Paul spoke of how Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, born into the House of David as David’s Heir, was indeed the One Whom the Lord had promised His people, and of Whom the prophets and messengers of the Lord had spoken, preached and proclaimed about. St. Paul wanted all of them to know everything that God had done for them, and in how He gave them all His own most beloved Son for their salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then from the Gospel of St. John, of what the Lord Jesus told His disciples regarding His followers and the missions they had in proclaiming about Him and His truth. He predicted that one of His own disciples would rise up against Him, as how it indeed happened with Judas Iscariot the traitor, and the Lord also spoke of those who would accept and listen to His truth and His voice spoken through His disciples. In essence, through what the Lord spoke to His disciples in our Gospel passage today, He wanted each and every one of us to know that we have the calling and the mission to proclaim His truth and Good News just as St. Paul and the other Apostles had done. And yet, at the same time, He also laid out the facts that there would be hardships, difficulties and challenges, just as much as there would be opportunities and good things that would come upon the path of His disciples and followers.

Throughout the history of the Church, we have seen many persecutions and hardships that faced the Church and the Lord’s followers, the Christian faithful and servants of God. We have seen how the Church expanded greatly even amidst bitter persecutions, and at times, divisions and intrigues caused the breaking of the unity of the Church, causing harm to many of the Lord’s faithful ones. Yet, the Lord was always with His Church and He did not abandon us at the time and hour of our greatest need, as He journeyed with us and guided us patiently throughout that journey of faith. Despite those who would destroy and harm the unity of the Church and mislead the faithful into the wrong paths, the ones who betrayed the Lord like that of Judas Iscariot and the many heretics and false teachers throughout the history of the Church till this very day, the Lord’s Church remained firmly united, blessed and guided by God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard these Scripture passages and pondered their importance and meaning, let us all really internalise the messages and the key points that we have just discussed so that we may truly understand what it is that we are all called to do with our lives. We have to realise that our existence here in this world is to glorify the Lord, and to honour Him by our dedication and commitment in life. All of us as Christians are expected and reminded to keep the Law and commandments of the Lord, obeying them and following His will, in all things so that in our every words, actions, deeds and interactions with one another, in our every moments and our way of life, we may truly be the shining beacons of God’s Light, His truth and love. Our lives, work and actions, our genuine Christian way of living are indeed the best way for us to evangelise, to proclaim the Good News of God to more and more people.

We have to realise that the works of the Lord entrusted in His Church are still far from being completed. The same missions entrusted by the Lord to His Apostles, to the likes of St. Paul and many other faithful missionaries, are still ongoing, as many more people out there have not yet known about the Lord, all His deeds, His truth and love, His teachings and ways. Not only that, but even there are many within the Church who have lapsed from their faith, becoming lukewarm and ignorant of the truth, and there is indeed a rapidly growing need to re-evangelise and to re-educate many of our Christian brothers and sisters what the true Christian faith is all about. We all know well how many Christians in the recent decades have stopped going to church and ceased their active participation in the Sacraments and the life of the Church, and some even left the faith and the Church altogether for other things.

Today, we should draw inspiration from one of our holy predecessors, namely Pope St. Pius V, a great and dedicated leader of the Church who led the Church and all the faithful during a particularly difficult period of time in the Church history. He was prominent in his role in the Ecumenical Council of Trent and also his contributions before he even became the Pope and thus leader of all Christendom. He led the Church during the crucial years in which it was fighting both internal divisions and the changes and instabilities caused by the Protestant heresy and falsehoods, among other political conflicts, as well as the external threats from the forces of the Ottoman Turks threatening to conquer the lands of Christendom. It was indeed a very dark time for much of Christendom and for many among the people of God.

Yet, Pope St. Pius V persevered through all those challenges and entrusted himself and the Church to the Lord. He led the Church to implement the many important reforms and changes made at the Council of Trent, and helped to enforce its decrees on the many segments of the Church, rooting out the corruptions and excesses within the Church, while restoring many of the people who had been misguided and misled by falsehoods back into the truth of God in the Church. He also helped to assemble the great Christian alliance that managed to win a great victory over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto. Through his hard works and efforts, many great things had happened for countless people, especially those among the believers, and we too can gain inspiration from the faith and examples of Pope St. Pius V.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the great examples set by Pope St. Pius V and the many other holy saints, holy men and women of God, let us all continue to strive to be faithful to God, to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. Let us all do our best, in whatever way we can, to dedicate ourselves to the Lord and to proclaim His truth and love in our various communities, even through the smallest things we say and do in our lives. Let us always be sincere in living up honestly and ever more courageously in our faith, to be great examples of true faith and dedication to God in our own lives. May God bless us all and may He empower each one of us to be faithful to Him, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 29 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day let us all spend some time to reflect on what we have just heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, in which we are called to have that genuine and strong faith in God, to be passionate and dedicated in how we live our lives so that we may truly be examples and inspiration for each other in our way of living our faith. We are called to devote our time and attention to the Lord in our daily living as best as we can. As Christians, it is an important mission of all of our lives to be the beacons of God’s Light, truth and love in our world today, and we have to do it through our actions and examples in each and every moments of those lives we are living.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard about the  work of the Apostles especially that of St. Paul and St. Barnabas in going to various places in the Eastern Mediterranean region, as they went to the various Jewish and Gentile communities to spread the Good News of God to all of them. The Lord gave them the strength, courage and wisdom to carry out His will and the mission entrusted to them, and the Apostles and other disciples prayed over all the missionaries before they embarked on their journey. It was indeed a difficult and arduous journey that they all had to encounter and experience, but that did not discourage them and with God’s providence and help, they persevered through the many challenges facing them with faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we have heard in our Scripture passages today highlight how all those very dedicated and committed servants of God laboured for the sake of the Lord and His Church during the early days of the Church. Unlike today, at that time, most places that the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord visited were truly places where the Lord, the faith and His truth were still completely ignorant of the truth of God, full of pagan practices and in some cases even immorality. It was indeed very difficult for the Apostles and all the missionaries to carry out their missions, as they had to contend with various obstacles and challenges throughout their journey. They had to risk a lot during their mission and their journey, just as the other Christians also often had to hide and persevere through many persecutions against them. Yet, all of them seemed to be passionate and committed regardless, and there does not seem to be any logical reasons for those many martyrs of the faith who chose to remain faithful even to the point of facing death.

And that is because they know that they belong to the Lord, and the Lord will always be by their side and will be faithful to the Covenant which He has made with all of them. God is always loving and committed to us, and we can indeed trust Him and put our lives in His hands. That was what those early Christians had in their minds and in their hearts whenever they were going through tribulations and difficult challenges. They trusted the Lord and followed Him wherever He guided them to. That gave them the necessary strength and encouragement to keep on going even when they perhaps wanted to give up the struggle and the efforts to continue going forth in proclaiming the Good News of God and in doing what the Lord had entrusted to them to do. We ourselves can gain encouragement from what our predecessors had done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, even till this very day, all these still hold true, as we are God’s people and He is our Lord and Shepherd. And the fact is that the works of the Apostles and the missionaries of the Lord are far from over. In fact, in our world today there remain an even greater need for the Lord’s truth to be brought to all the peoples of all the nations. Many people are still living in ignorance of God’s truth, and this also apply even, sadly, to those within the Church and many of those who call themselves as Christians. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, at present, there are plenty of lukewarm attitude in how many among us Christians are living our lives and our faith. We treat the faith as nothing more important than a side activity, or even as a chore and formality, something that should not have been the case. But this is the sad reality and truth, knowing how so many among us treat the Lord and our Christian faith with such lukewarmness, apathy, ignorance and even disdain. It is sad that quite a few treat their faith as nothing more than a formality.

This is why, in these days we are living now, we have this same challenge facing the Church and all of us, to continue the works of the Apostles in being the bearers of the Good News and the Lord’s truth in our world today, even among our own Christian communities. We are all called to be the good and faithful witnesses of our faith to our fellow brothers and sisters, by living our lives with genuine commitment to our Christian faith and following what the Lord has commanded and taught us to do. We have to be faithful ourselves if we want to convince others to be faithful. That is why we are called today to reflect on the faith of our many predecessors, all those Christians who had endured such difficult persecutions and challenges, and all those missionaries and bringers of the truth of the Gospel who had laboured hard for the sake of God and His Church in this world. Are we able to follow in their footsteps, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to commit ourselves and our lives for the Lord?

Therefore, we should follow the good examples of the Apostles and the many other saints, holy men and women of God, including that of St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Catherine of Siena was known for her great piety and dedication to God, in her holy way of life, in her commitment to live a holy and devout life aligned with God and His Law and commandments. She refused the efforts of her parents to marry her off to a man who was her elder sister’s widower. She spent her time fasting and keeping herself pure despite the efforts of those around her to make her to do otherwise. She dedicated herself to the Lord completely, and offered herself as a perpetual Virgin consecrated to God. Her great piety and dedication to God inspired many others to follow her inspiration and examples, and her great intellect and ability to connect to various peoples of different origins led her to be involved in many of the political discussions and struggles during her time.

St. Catherine of Siena was well-known for her involvement amidst the often politically tense situations in the region, acting as peacemaker and bridge builder in connecting the rivals and the conflicting parties. She was even involved in the efforts and was instrumental in bringing the Pope back to Rome after having reigned from the enclave in Avignon for many decades. She helped other parties to work together towards peaceful solutions amidst their conflicts, among many other efforts that she had done. St. Catherine of Siena was also known for her many letters and writings, which influenced many people after her time, and her great and exemplary faith became inspiration for many others as well, inspiring many of the people of God to follow Him more faithfully and to carry out the similar works as what this great and holy woman of God had done.

May the Risen Lord, our God and Saviour Jesus Christ continue to be with us and guide us always, and may He continue to empower and strengthen us so that we may persevere faithfully and continue to commit ourselves to His path, much as how our early Christian predecessors had done, in their missionary and evangelising zeal. May all of us be drawn to love the Lord more and to dedicate ourselves to a holy life and existence much as St. Catherine of Siena has shown us with her great and exemplary life, in loving God with all of our might and in loving others with the same sincerity and intensity. May God be with His Church always, and bless its every works and good efforts. Amen.

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Tuesday, 28 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr, and St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the call and responsibilities that each and every one of us have as Christians in proclaiming the truth of God to more and more people around us, to all those who have not yet heard of Him and those who have yet to know Him. All of us are called to be the bearers of God’s truth and love to the world, through our every words, actions and deeds. All of us ought to proclaim our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord, and everything that He had done for us, in bringing us all out of the darkness and into the light, in saving us all from the threat of eternal damnation and death by freeing us from our sins. As Christians, each and every one of us are called and reminded to be good and faithful missionaries through our lives and our good examples.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the continuing growth of the early Church, as there were more and more people who came to believe in the Lord and became believers, were baptised and welcomed into the community of the Christian faithful. It was told how the Apostles sent St. Barnabas to Antioch upon hearing of the vibrant and rapid growth of Christians in those regions, and despite the many challenges, trials, persecutions and hardships that they faced, it was said that the Lord was with His disciples and faithful ones, as He guided and strengthened them, protected and provided them throughout their journey of faith and life. The Apostles through St. Barnabas ministered to the Christian faithful, spreading the Good News of God and proclaiming His truth, calling on many to turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

The Lord has shown us all His faithfulness and love through this, and through many more examples, as He was with them all through even the most difficult and challenging moments, as a Good Shepherd guiding His beloved sheep in His flock, as we heard in our Gospel passage today. He cared for them, for their needs and provided for them, guarded and protected them, and gave them the love and attention, leading them from the darkness of this world into the true Light of His glory and truth. All of us are reminded that Christ is truly our Good Shepherd, the most loving Lord and God Who has showered and shown us His most generous love and attention, Who knows each and every one of us very well, and Who wants all of us to follow Him and become members of His flock, as Christians, those whom the people of Antioch called as such because of their belief in the Risen Christ.

Now, all of us are reminded today if we have lived our lives as the Lord has taught us to do, and whether we have committed our time and effort to glorify Him by our lives. As Christians, we are all those who have committed ourselves to the Risen Lord, Whom we have taken as our Lord, Master and Saviour. However, if we spend some time to look deep into ourselves and our way of life, very soon we may realise that it was often that we did not act in the way that the Lord has called and expected us to do, and on the contrary, we often acted in ways that were contrary to His teachings and truth. Many of us failed to embrace His path wholeheartedly and not only that, but often through our wayward actions and way of life, we turned people away from the Lord and His Church, because our actions, words and deeds, our way of life were abhorrent and against what our faith truly is.

That is why today all of us are reminded that as Christians all of us must first of all do what the Lord has commanded and taught us to do, to be devoted and committed to Him in all things. Each and every one of us have been given the gifts, grace and blessings, the opportunities and the abilities to carry out our respective parts in doing the work of God, to be faithful and committed in our lives as Christians. All of us should do our best and strive to be good role models, inspirations and examples to one another in our faith and way of life. For we have to realise that it is by our works and deeds, by our words and interactions with others that we may let the world know of the truth and the identity of Our Lord and Saviour, the One Whom we ought to be proclaiming about. But too often we allowed ourselves to be tempted by various temptations, and chose to walk the path of wickedness and evil instead.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore today, all of us are also reminded of more good examples of our holy predecessors to follow, in the two saints whose feasts we celebrate. St. Peter Chanel and St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort are two great servants of God who have dedicated themselves to the service of God, in proclaiming His truth and Good News to many of their fellow brethren. St. Peter Chanel was a renowned missionary, who ministered to the people in many mission areas, which led him to Futuna in distant part of the vast Pacific Ocean region. There he ministered to the people who had not yet known about Christ and evangelised to them, preaching about the Risen Lord to the people of Futuna, which eventually led to the desire for the local king’s son to be baptised, which led to the martyrdom of this good servant of God, persecuted and murdered for his faith and efforts.

Meanwhile, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort was the inspiration and founder behind the many Montfortian organisations present today, known for his dedication and passion for his ministry, in taking care of the needs the less privileged, the poor and the sick, and in the countless hours and efforts that he spent in taking care of them, both physically and spiritually. He was also known for his efforts in the Catholic education, caring for the needs of young boys and girls to be properly educated, establishing schools and institutions in order to allow this to happen. Through all these works, St. Louis Marie brought quite a lot of people from the brink of darkness and destruction back into God’s Light, and helped them to find the path to salvation. We too should be inspired by his great examples to bring more and more people ever closer to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by their good examples, and do whatever we can as Christians, in order to do God’s will and to proclaim His truth and Good News to more and more of those whom we encounter in our daily living. Let our lives and actions, our words and interactions be good and exemplary, worthy and bring inspiration to others who witness our works and interacted with us, that they too may be moved and driven to follow the Lord and to believe in Him as we had done in our own lives. May God be with us always, and be with His Church in our every endeavours and efforts to proclaim Him, the one and only Saviour of all. Amen.

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Monday, 27 April 2026 : 4th Week of Easter (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 to put our trust in the Lord instead of in our own prejudices and flawed way of understanding the will of God, and not to blindly just follow the teachings and ways of the Church without properly understanding them, appreciating its context and how they ought to be applied to each and every one of our unique circumstances. We must understand that first of all God’s love for us is universal, most generous and beautiful above all things, and we must realise that God also does not play favourites, as all of us are equally dear and beloved to Him. That is why we must keep this in mind in how we interact with each other and in how we should never think that we are better or more qualified than anyone else.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the time when St. Peter the Apostle came to address the assembly of the faithful in Jerusalem, where the Jewish believers argued with him regarding how he had gone to visit the house of a Gentile and had meal with them in their house. First of all, we must understand the context of this interaction and why those Jewish believers said such words to St. Peter. Those Jewish believers very likely referred to the early Christian believers that belonged to the group known as the Pharisees and their supporters, some of whom were empathetic to the Christian teachings and were willing to embrace Christ as the Lord and Saviour as opposed to the majority who refused to accept Jesus’ claim as the Messiah.

However, those Jewish believers unfortunately also brought with them their own prejudices and ideals, as they had very strong belief that they, as the direct descendants of the people of God living in the kingdom of Judah, as the members of the Twelve Tribes of the Israelites, were superior as the chosen people of God over all the other people and races, all those non-Jewish people collectively referred to at that time as the Gentiles, which means essentially as strangers and even as foreigners. It is not that the Jewish people consider that the Gentiles could not be saved, but they were very prejudiced against them, and for a Gentile to be saved, they essentially had to follow all the laws and tenets of the Jewish Law and customs, practices and everything that effectively turn them into another Jew.

But St. Peter shared his experiences in the household of Cornelius, whose whole household believed in the Lord and in His message of truth, and showed great faith in God not even found among many of the Jews themselves. And earlier on before that, St. Peter himself received a vision from God before he visited Cornelius’ house, as he hesitated for exactly the same reason given earlier by the Jewish believers. As a Jew himself, St. Peter was hesitant to visit the house of a Gentile as that would have made him, according to Jewish tradition and beliefs, unclean and hence sinful. But God revealed to St. Peter in the vision, a great multitude of animals considered unclean and hence not to be eaten, asking him to eat those animals.

And when St. Peter refused to eat those because they were considered unclean, the Lord told him not just once, but three times that what He had deemed to be clean, St. Peter should not consider to be unclean and not to eat them because of whatever rules and norms were put in place beforehand. This is one of the evidences and revelations which the Lord gave to St. Peter, convincing him and through him, many others of the faithful that His love is meant for everyone and none of His people should ever be biased, prejudiced and judgmental against anyone simply because they did not subscribe or conform to the practices and customs of the Jewish people, and it was exactly what St. Peter shared with those Jewish believers, telling them of the strong and genuine faith that the Gentiles had in the Lord.

He also shared with them how the Lord has sent His Holy Spirit to be with everyone, as he himself had witnessed, regardless whether they were Jews or Gentiles. This is the proof that every one of us should put our faith and trust in the Lord, and allow Him to lead and guide us all, instead of being blinded by prejudice, bias and feelings of superiority over others, which is in fact a kind of pride and arrogance, which unfortunately many of those Jewish believers and the other Pharisees tended to have in them. It is a reminder hence for all of us that we should develop faith that is truly organic, genuine and based on proper understanding and appreciation of God’s Law, His nature and the nature of our faith and existence rather than blindly obeying and rigidly applying the teachings of the Church as many had done even in our present day world today.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, the famous account of the Lord describing Himself as the Good Shepherd, and how all of His sheep, that is representing each and every one of us, knows Him just as He knows all of us. This is a reminder for all of us that God loves every one of us despite our differences, just as the various sheep may have lots of varieties and differences, and not even those sheep that has been lost from Him, He would ever abandon or leave behind. And linking to what we have heard in our first reading passage today, on the matter of inclusivity and trusting in God rather than in traditions, customs and rigid understanding and application of the Scriptures and God’s Law, we are reminded therefore as the Lord said that He is the ‘Gate of the sheep’ while others are the thieves and false shepherds seeking to steal the sheep.

This is a reminder for all of us to not trust blindly in the teachings of the Church, but understand and appreciate them from genuine appreciation and understanding of what the Lord has always intended, as He Himself constantly reminded His disciples, of His ever generous, infinite and unconditional love for all of us, calling on each and every one of us regardless of our background and origins, to come towards Him, embracing His ever generous love, compassion and kindness, while remembering our calling to show that same love to all those around us, our brothers and sisters, especially those whom God had placed in our lives to love us, and to be loved by us. Let our actions, our words and deeds be always filled with the love of God, which we show it to those around us as best as we are able to, following the very examples of our own Good Shepherd, Lord and Master Himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all gather together to reflect on these words of the Sacred Scriptures therefore, let us all hence continue to strive to follow our loving God in all that He has shown us, in everything which He has taught and revealed to us through His most beloved Son, so that we may truly understand His love and His intentions, living our lives in the most genuine and faithful manner, not depending on blind obedience or following of the tenets of our faith, but rather through deep understanding and appreciation of what the Lord has revealed to us. May the Lord our most loving God and Father, our ever compassionate Master continue to bless us all in our every actions, in guiding us throughout even the most challenging moments of our lives. May God be with each and every one of us, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 26 April 2026 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the Fourth Sunday in the season of Easter, the Church celebrates together the occasion known as the Good Shepherd Sunday, or also known as Vocation Sunday, due to the readings today, which highlighted the Lord as our Good Shepherd, and all of us being the sheep of His flock. The Lord is indeed our Good Shepherd, as the One Who has come into our midst, embracing us all with His most generous love and compassion, to gather all of us into His one flock so that none of us will be lost again to damnation because of our many sins and wickedness. As our Good Shepherd, the Lord has always loved each and every one of us, and we are reminded today of this great love that He has always given us, even when we have constantly disobeyed Him and disregarded His love and kindness.

In our first reading this Sunday, all of us heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the works of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord led by St. Peter the Apostle in their first ever evangelising mission as the Church, right on the day of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended down upon the disciples of the Lord gathered in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit strengthened and invigorated the Lord’s disciples, all of whom had been hiding before that in fear of persecution and oppression by the chief priests and all those who opposed the Lord and His teachings. They went forth out from their hiding places and began to proclaim about the Risen Lord, the Crucified Messiah, through Whom everyone had received the sure hope and assurance of eternal life because of everything that He had done, in obeying perfectly the will of His heavenly Father, and in offering Himself as the perfect and worthy offering for the salvation of everyone’s souls.

Those Apostles and disciples of the Lord spoke courageously, without fear and with determination, reaching out to all the people who were then assembled in Jerusalem for the Pentecost, explaining about the Lord and His teachings to them, and thanks to the great courage and the wisdom that the Lord had passed to them, as we heard in our first reading today, a total of three thousand people at least gave themselves to be baptised and henceforth became the earliest members of the Christian Church, together with the Lord’s Apostles and disciples. This was why Pentecost Sunday is also celebrated as the ‘birthday’ of the Church as it was on that day, that the Church began to manifest itself to the whole world, as the tangible Body of Christ, the Communion of all those who believe in God and follow Him wholeheartedly, belonging to this same community, and this same flock that the Lord has assembled.

The Apostles and the other disciples were indeed shepherds, called and chosen, and made to be shepherds in the image of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Himself. They were called to follow in the examples of the Good Shepherd, in caring for the well-being of the Lord’s flock, all of the sheep that has been lost and scattered away from the Shepherd and His flock. Those three thousand who were baptised that day at Pentecost were the lost sheep that had been found, and had been led to return to the one flock of the Lord. This is what we are all reminded of this day, of the Church which we are part of, being the flock of the Lord and all of us His beloved sheep, whom He had called and gathered from among the nations, through His servants, His disciples and their successors, especially all those who have been appointed as shepherds responsible in taking care of the sheep of the Lord’s flock.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the reading which gave this Sunday its name, as the Good Shepherd Sunday. We heard the Lord telling the people about the sheep in a flock and their shepherd. He told them about how the shepherd knew his sheep and vice versa, and the sheep will not respond to a robber or thief. This means that all those who have kept their faith and belonged to the Lord, they will not respond to the falsehoods and the wayward things of this world, and they will only respond to the Lord, their one and only Shepherd. The Lord also told the people and His disciples that He is the Gate of the sheep, and therefore the only way for one to enter into the flock is through Him and not through others. This in fact is a revelation and premonition of what He Himself would do as our Good Shepherd, in enduring the sufferings of the world so that by His suffering and death, He might rescue us from our own destruction.

This is related to another passage regarding the Good Shepherd which the Lord Himself told His disciples, in which He said that ‘The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep’ and this is a reminder that all of us, the sheep of the Lord’s flock, has been gathered by Him from all over the whole world, called by Him and He has willingly embraced us with His great love because all of us are precious to Him, without exception. All of us have been separated from the Lord because of our disobedience which led us into sin, and because of sin, we have been sundered from God and His love and grace. Yet, our Lord, as our Good Shepherd cares for each one of us, and to that extent, He went all the way to look out for us, finding us amongst the dark crannies and nooks of this world, especially those among us who have been ostracised and rejected, cast aside and lost in the darkest corners and parts of the world.

He went forth looking for all of His lost sheep, and went between us and the Enemy, who have waited and was ever ready to strike us down through our sins and wickedness, dragging us with him into the eternal darkness and damnation. Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Good Shepherd therefore suffered for us, just as St. Peter had mentioned in one of his Epistles that we heard as our second reading today. We are reminded of everything that the Lord had experienced and endured because of His love for us and His desire to see us freed and liberated from the bondage and tyranny of sin and death. He took up His Cross, was tortured and endured the worst of humiliations and punishments, all so that we do not have to suffer all those punishments due for our own mistakes and faults, and through His wounds and pain, we have been healed of our own wounds and stripes.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we focus our attention on the Lord, our Good Shepherd this Sunday, on everything that He has done for us, remembering the sacrifice and the hardships that He had gone through in order to reach out to us and find us, His lost sheep, let us all therefore do our part as members of the Christian faithful, the flock of the Lord, first of all to remain truly faithful to our Lord, to His Law and commandments. Though all of us have been saved and brought together by the Lord into His Church, to become part of His flock, but it does not mean that we can be idle and ignorant of our calling as Christians to be missionary and evangelising in our lives, and to always be vigilant and careful in our lives so that we do not end up falling again and again into the path of sin.

That is because although we have indeed become part of the Church and become a member of God’s flock, but as long as we still remain in this world, we are still susceptible to the temptations and pressures to commit sin against God. The devil is still busy trying to lure us away from the Lord, through his various temptations and efforts, through various means such that we end up falling deeper and deeper into the wrong paths. That is why, all of us are reminded to keep our faith in the Lord strongly and resist the many temptations and coercions all around us, trying to lead us astray and pull us away from the salvation in God through His Church, His one flock of the faithful. That is why, as we recall our identity as Christians, each one of us are reminded that we have to do our part in maintaining the unity in the Church, in doing the will of God and in living our lives worthily of the Lord.

Each and every one of us should also help and take part in the works of the Church, and pray for all those whom God had called to be shepherds like Him, those whom He has entrusted with the daily care of His flock, namely our priests, bishops and all others who have been entrusted with the role of shepherds in our community. That is why this Sunday is also known as the Vocation Sunday, in reminding us in particular of those who have been called especially to the vocation of priesthood and dedicated themselves fully to the Lord, to the care of the Church and the Lord’s flock. Being a priest requires not just a lot of dedication and efforts, but also a great perseverance and courage, and the constant ability to resist the many temptations and things that are always threatening to pull them away from their path.

The devil, our great Enemy and all those who seek our destruction know this all too well, and that is why, the harder they have tried, are trying and will try to destroy our shepherds. That is because if they strike at the shepherd, and manage to destroy the shepherd, the sheep may end up getting scattered and lost, and it is then easier for the enemies of the faithful to strike at them and leading us into our downfall with them. On the other hand, if we remain strong in our solidarity and support for our priests and all the shepherds that the Lord had given us, then as one strong and committed body of disciples and followers of the Lord, there will barely be any means or avenue for those wicked ones to come and strike at us. Our Pope, bishops and priests all need our support and prayers, as their roles as our shepherds and guides are truly a very challenging one.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, first of all we pray for more vocations among us all for those who are called to the priesthood, that those who have been called may grow more discerning to consider and discern carefully the Lord’s calling for them. However, not only that, we also pray for those whose family members and relatives have been called as well, as it is often that the biggest obstacles to the vocation of priesthood and also consecrated life, is the opposition from our family members and those who are close to us. Let us all pray that each one of us can understand better what it means for each and every one of us to have our own vocations in life, and that some among us can indeed be called to serve the Lord in the way of being priests and religious, dedicating their lives wholly to the Lord and to the service of the people of God.

But let us also not forget that each and every one of us amongst the laity, all of us also have our own responsibilities and obligations as members of the Church, and it does not mean that the laity is any less important than the members of the clergy. Each and every parts of the Church are important as without the laity or those in the presbyterate, the works of the Church cannot be fully completed and carried out. All of us have our own calling and vocation in life, and that is why, although we focus our attention and prayer to support our priests and those who have dedicated their lives to the Lord, at the same time we cannot ignore or put aside the role that the laity has in the works and mission of the Church. This Vocation Sunday is a reminder for all of us to embrace our various respective vocations and mission in life, not restricted only to those defined by the Church in doing what the Lord has uniquely called on us to do with the gifts and blessings that He has granted us.

May the Risen Lord, Our Good Shepherd and guide, continue to be with us and guide us all, strengthen and encourage us with the power and strength needed for us to endure through the challenges and trials that we may have to face amidst our lives as Christians in this world today. Let us all be good role models for one another, and be good sources of inspiration that through our role model and examples, many more people may come to believe in the Lord through us. Let us all do our part, in our respective vocations and callings in life, to glorify the Lord by our lives, in each and every one of our works and dealings. Amen.