19th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 12-08-2026

Ezekiel 12:1-12 / Matthew 18:21 - 19:1  

No one can ever say that he has not done anything wrong.

No matter how good we try to be, we will slip and fall and commit some wrong doing.

To do something wrong is one thing, but to admit to the wrongdoing and to be sorry about it is another.

Because of our flawed human nature, we may try to deny our wrongdoing or if we can’t then we may try to justify it.

In the gospel, Jesus gives a process or procedure to address a wrongdoing by someone.

So, it goes from addressing the issue with someone personally, to bringing in two others, to reporting it to the community.

But the essential intention is to win the person back so that the person will realise his wrongdoing.

So, there is the need for the respect for the dignity for the person.

In the Christian context, we must begin by praying for that person.

Jesus says this, “I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”

Let us remember this promise of Jesus before addressing any wrongdoing by another person.

With the power of prayer, God our Father will soften our hearts, and Jesus will be with us to work for reconciliation with the power of love.

19th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 11-08-2026

Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:4 / Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14  

In this world, it is usually the loud sounds and the bright lights that catch the people’s attention.

After all, people are inclined to what is spectacular and impressive.

What is usually overlooked are the simple and the lowly as they are deemed to be insignificant and unimportant.

So when the disciples approached Jesus and asked who was the greatest in the kingdom of God, they had their own expectations.

But what they couldn’t quite comprehend was when Jesus called a little child to Him and set the child in front of them.

And they were also not prepared for what Jesus was going to tell them when He said, “I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

To become like a little child is not to be morally perfect or to be more pious than the rest.

To be like a little child is to be obedient to what Jesus is teaching, and essentially it is to be humble and to trust in God and depend on His providence.

Like Ezekiel in the first reading, it is to believe in the Word of God even if it is a difficult and challenging message.

When we are like little children, then our guardian angels will guide us to understand the Word of God and how to do the will of God.

St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, Monday, 10-08-2026

2 Cor 9:6-10 / John 12:24-26    

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Lawrence, who was only a deacon at the time of his martyrdom in year 258.

In that year, on the 6th August, Pope Sixtus II and four other deacons was captured while celebrating Mass in the catacombs, and subsequently martyred.

The administration of the Church was left to St. Lawrence and he was ordered to surrender the riches and the wealth of the Church in three days time.

He quickly distributed as much Church property to the poor as possible, and on the third day, he gathered the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering and presented them to the authorities and he told them that these were the true treasures of the Church.

Needless to say he was immediately sentenced to death, and tradition has it that he was grilled or roasted to death, hence his association with the gridiron, which was the instrument of torture for grilling people to death.

What was remarkable was that it was a slow painful and horrible way to be tortured to death, and yet St. Lawrence persevered to the end.

His martyrdom portrays the reality of what Jesus said in the gospel: If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.

St. Lawrence served Christ with his life right up till the end. In doing so he gave us an example of giving up his life so that it will yield a rich harvest in the hands of the Lord.

May our lives also be like seeds of love in the hands of the Divine Sower, and wherever we are sown, may we also bear a rich harvest of love for the Lord.

19th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 09.08.2026

1 Kings -19:9, 11-13 / Romans 9:1-5 / Matthew 14:22-33  

Today we celebrate National Day and our country's 61 years of independence.

The most obvious expression of this patriotic celebration is to put up the national flag.

As for our Church, we have put up 15 flags.

(That shows how Singaporean and how patriotic we are.)

So this evening at the National Day Parade, we will sing the national anthem and other National Day songs.

There will also be fireworks and other celebrations.

Yes, we want to celebrate nationhood and unity.

But we also know of the underlying stress, worry, and anxiety.

The cost of living is high, and some even say that Singapore is the most expensive city in Asia.

The students in school are stressed out by the exams and expectations to do well.

So, Singapore may be a rich country, but we also have worries and anxieties.

Because Singapore is like a small boat in the oceans of the world.

And whenever there is a storm somewhere, the small Singapore boat will rock and roll, literally.

In the gospel, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead while He would send the crowds away.

After sending the crowds away, Jesus went up into the hills by Himself to pray.

By then, the boat was far out on the lake and battling with a heavy sea.

So, the boat was rocking and rolling, and the disciples were also terrified and fearing for their lives.

Then, in the fourth watch of the night, which is the darkest hour that is just before dawn, Jesus went to the disciples walking on the water. 

In the Bible, to walk on the waves and to command the storms are acts attributed to God alone. 

So, in the darkest time of the night and in the chaos of the storm, Jesus comes to be with His disciples. 

But in that terrified state of fright, the disciples thought that they were seeing a ghost. 

So, in the darkness and in the chaos, it will be difficult to see where God is and what He is doing. 

And in that terror and fear, human imagination will be wild and dark. 

And so, instead of seeing God in something, people will see ghosts in everything. 

And in the darkness and chaos, in that terror and fright, human character and weakness will be revealed. 

Peter wanted to walk towards Jesus on the water, maybe because he was impulsive, but it could also be that he was selfish. 

In such a situation, each one will be for himself, and each one will want to save himself first. 

But out of an impulsive and selfish act came a lesson on emergency prayer. 

As he sank into the water, Peter cried out, "Lord, save me!" 

It was a short prayer, but it was enough for Jesus to stretch out His hand at once to Peter. 

As we think about the gospel passage, we also may think about how it is connected to our country as we celebrate National Day. 

Our country is like a small boat that can be easily tossed and turned by the storms of the world. 

As the Church in Singapore, it is our duty and our mission to pray for the stability of the country and for the government. 

It is our duty and our mission to pray for the well-being and the welfare of our fellow citizens. 

And God has given us the power of emergency prayer for our country when we are in danger. 

Yes, we cry out, "Lord, save us, save our country," when our country is going through darkness and chaos. 

We also cry out, "Lord, save me," when we are terrified, when we are tossed and turned by the waves, by the worries and by the anxieties of life. 

In the darkness and in the turmoil of life, let us listen for that sound of the gentle breeze in the first reading. 

Then, like Elijah, let us go forth to help our brothers and sisters to see God in everything and to see God in everyone.

18th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 0-8-08-2026

Habakkuk 1:12 - 2:4 / Matthew 17:14-20  

One famous proverb is this: Patience is a virtue.

And so indeed it is. With patience, we will be able to stay calm, and not get angry during difficult and challenging times.

But to be patient is essentially to wait.

To wait for the person to come; to wait for the person to finish speaking; to wait for the situation to change.

And when it comes to faith, it means to wait for God to reveal His ways to us.

In the first reading, the Lord God answered the prophet Habakkuk’s prayer with this:

“Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, since this vision is for its own time only. Eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive. If it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.”

So waiting in patience is an essential aspect of having faith.

In the gospel, the disciples were not able to cast out a boy who was possessed by a devil.

Jesus cast it out immediately, and so the disciples came privately to Jesus to ask why they were unable to cast it out.

As Jesus pointed out, it was essentially a faith issue, and the disciples need to let their faith grow and deepen before they can do the work of God.

Our faith is also like a mustard seed.

Let us have the patience to wait for our faith to grow and deepen before doing what God wants of us.

18th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 07-08-2026

Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 / Matthew 16:24-28  

To want to become a Christian is a serious life-changing decision.

So all the requirements of being a Christian disciple must be made clear.

And a careful consideration is needed before making the decision.

In the gospel, Jesus says to His disciples, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Why is Jesus saying this to His disciples when they were already following Him?

It could be that when those disciples initially followed Jesus, they were impressed by His teachings and the miracles that He worked.

Now that they had been following Him around, Jesus wants them to re-consider their intentions and motives in following Him.

Because they would be faced with a contradiction, if they had not faced it yet.

Because Jesus says, “For anyone who want to save his life will lose it, but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Essentially, that is the cost of discipleship if they want to continue being the disciples of Jesus.

The human tendency is to ask “What is there for me to gain from it?” before making a decision or commitment.

But Jesus is asking, “What then will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?”

Jesus is also asking us those difficult questions, especially since we already call ourselves Christians.

But, we already have put our hands on the cross and there is no turning back.

Let us remember that whatever we give up or sacrifice for Jesus in this life can never be compared to the eternal glory that Jesus promised those who are faithful to Him.

The Transfiguration of the Lord, Thursday, 06-08-2026

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 / 2 Peter 1:16-19 / Matthew 17:1-9     

There is a story of a young man who somehow thinks he is a worm, and he would hide under the bed whenever he sees a chicken. (Because chicken eats worms).

So one day, he was hiding under the bed because he saw a chicken roaming around.

His best friend decided to help him overcome his problem by going under the bed and there he told him to repeat after him, “I am a man, not a worm.”

After a few repetitions, his best friend urged him to come out and prove himself a man.

So he came out and walked around confidently. Until he saw a chicken. Then he immediately hid under the bed again.

Hid best friend went under the bed and asked him, “Why didn't you believe you are a man, and not a worm?”

The young man replied，“ I believe I am a man, not a worm, but does the chicken believe that?!?”

Jesus believed that He is the Beloved Son of the Father. Even in His most painful and despairing moments He believed that.

The disciples also kind of believed that Jesus was the Son of God.

However when the trials and persecutions came along, they ran and "hid under the bed". But later on, they truly believed.

The feast of the Transfiguration, reminds us who Jesus is, and also reminds us of who we are.

May we slowly come out of our fears and weaknesses and sinfulness, and show others what we really believe in.