Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Wednesday, 24-06-2026

Isaiah 49:1-6 / Acts 13:22-26 / Luke 1:57-66, 80

Today the Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. John the Baptist has a special place in the story of salvation because it was he who pointed out Jesus the Saviour to the people.

It was he who also baptised Jesus in the Jordon before Jesus began His ministry.

John the Baptist was like a forerunner who prepares the people for the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ.

If it can be said of John the Baptist, he was like that sharpened arrow that was concealed in the quiver that was described in the 1st reading.

As in ancient warfare, the shooting of a volley of arrows signals the impending attack of an army, John the Baptist was that one single arrow that carried a message of repentance and conversion.

Like an arrow that is concealed in the quiver, John the Baptist was hidden in the desert until the appointed time came for him to be the prophet who proclaimed the message of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.

We too are like arrows in the quiver of God. Concealed in the quiver, we prepare ourselves in prayer for whatever mission that God has for us.

And just as an arrow has only one target, so may we be focused on what God's will is for us just as John the Baptist was focused on what his mission was.

When his mission ended, John the Baptist also gracefully decreased in order that Jesus would increase.

May we too carry out our mission faithfully so that God's love will increase in the hearts of those whom we serve.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 23-06-2026

2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36 / Matthew 7:6, 12-14   

Whenever we get bad news, it is inevitable that we will be rattled.

It may be some bad talk against us, or some complaint against us, or a warning letter against us.

Whatever it may be, we will be anything from being annoyed and upset, to being worried and anxious.

When Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, sent the letter to king Hezekiah, we can imagine how king Hezekiah felt when he read it.

Because the letter read: “Do not let your God on whom you are relying deceive you, when he says: Jerusalem shall not fall into the power of the king of Assyria. You have learnt by now what the kings of Assyria have done to every country, putting them all under the ban. Are you likely to be spared?”’

Instead of giving in to fear, king Hezekiah took the letter, went up to the Temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.

And then he prayed: ‘O Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned on the cherubs, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth, you have made heaven and earth.

Give ear, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib who has sent to insult the living God.

But now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, I pray you, and let all the kingdoms of the earth know that you alone are God, Lord.’

God hear his prayer and God acted. That same night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib struck camp and left; he returned home and stayed in Nineveh.

Yes, God listens to the prayer of the humble and the helpless.

When we have sinned, let us ask for forgiveness.

When we are wrongly accused or threatened, let us pray for God’s help.

Let us be still and keep praying, and we will see the wonderful and loving hand of God upon us.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 22-06-2026

2 Kings 12:5-6, 13-15, 18 / Matthew 7:1-5  

Whenever we talk about time, we usually refer to it as chronological time.

That is to say, we usually think of time as dates and duration.

And then we also talk of time that has a purpose.

For example, it takes time to heal, it takes time to forget, and maybe it even takes time to awaken.

In the first reading, the Assyrians invaded Samaria and laid siege to it for three years.

Three years is a long time to be cooped up and surrounded by enemies.

Yet, during those three years, God sent prophets to give the people warning after warning and to repent.

Yet after three years, the people did not listen, they did not repent, and in the end disaster and tragedy fell on the people.

Out of the 12 tribes of Israel, only one tribe remained, and that is the tribe of Judah.

It may seem incomprehensible that even after three years of sufferings and warnings, the people still did not awaken and repent.

But let us not come to judgement so quickly.

Let us not talk about the plank in their eyes and forget that we too have a plank in our eyes.

Let us open our eyes and be awakened to our sins and repent.

Otherwise we can only blame ourselves when tragedy and disaster fall upon us.

12th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 21.06.2026

Jeremiah 20:10-13 / Romans 5:12-15 / Matthew 10:26-33 

There is a saying that a picture tells a thousand words.

But the world, with the advancement of technology, has moved to more than just pictures. 

By pictures, it may mean just depictions of drawings and paintings.

But with photographs, that have high resolution and vibrant colours, lesser words are needed, compared with drawings and paintings. 

And when it comes to videos, then there is no need for words, because videos usually come with the audio, and so the words are already there. 

So, with videos, we can see moving images and we can hear the sounds and conversations. 

And videos have become a daily part of our lives, so much so that we don't pay much attention to the video cameras anymore. 

In the vehicles, there are dash cams, security personnel wear jackets with body cams, streets and buildings have CCTV cameras. 

Even at home, there are cameras that record and monitor the activity inside as well as outside of the home. 

So, at any one time, we may wonder if we are unknowingly being videoed, and also, who is it that is watching us. 

So, as much as video cameras are for security, they also provide a means for others to scrutinize us. 

In the Gospel, Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: 

Do not be afraid, for everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. 

What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight. What you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops. 

In other words, Jesus is telling us not to be afraid because God is watching over us. 

Yes, God sees, God hears, God knows, and God will act. 

In the first reading, God sees the danger that the prophet Jeremiah was in, and He heard the prayer of Jeremiah too. 

Jeremiah was surrounded with terror on every side.

But he placed his trust in the Lord, who will deliver him from his enemies,

Jeremiah then says this of the Lord: 

But You, Lord of hosts, You who prove with justice, who scrutinize the loins and the heart, let me see the vengeance that You will take on them, for I have committed my cause to You. 

Jeremiah believes that God sees, God hears, God knows, and God will act.

And with Jeremiah, we too believe that God also watches over us. 

God watches over us because He loves us and He wants to protect us from danger and harm. 

God watches over the good, so that they can continue to believe in the goodness of life. 

And God looks at the bad and the wicked, and He, the Lord of hosts, the Lord of the heavenly armies, will also stop the bad and the wicked from causing more terror and evil. 

So, God watches over us, and we should be consoled and comforted by that. 

And with that, we don't have to worry about who is watching us. 

And when we walk and live under the watchful eyes of God, there is nothing to hide and there is nothing to fear. 

But there is a video camera in our minds that records the moments of our lives when we walk in the light and when we hide in the dark. 

For the moments, when our lives were in the light, we give thanks to God for His love and blessings. 

But there are moments when we are covered by the darkness of sin, covered by anger, resentment, bitterness, jealousy, lust, and other immoral desires. 

We want to hide these moments. 

But we must bring these moments to the Lord in prayer. 

We let the Lord see and hear, we let the Lord know what we want to hide or even what we want to forget. 

But the Lord of love will shine His light into those dark moments of our lives. 

God wants us to hide no more, and to fear no more, and to sin no more, because He comes to heal and save us. 

So that like the prophet Jeremiah, we can say:

Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of sin and evil.

11th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 20-06-2026

2 Chronicles 24:17-25 / Matthew 6:24-34

When someone tells us that what we are doing is good, we will certainly feel happy about it.

But when someone tells us what is good for us, we may not feel that happy.

Because what is good for us may not be what we like to hear.

We would rather listen to someone who praises us and says good things about us, even though what they say may not be true.

In the first reading, when king Joash ascended to the throne, the court officials of Judah came and paid respects to him, and he turned to them for advice.

They could have praised the king and found favour with him.

But when Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, spoke up about the sin of the king and the people, they went against him.

Zechariah was stoned to death in the court of the Temple of the Lord.

Both, king Joash and Zechariah, made their choice and they had to accept the eventual consequence.

In the gospel, Jesus told His disciples that they cannot be the slave of two masters – they cannot be the slave both of God and of money.

With money, we will get praises and we will be pleased.

But when we listen to God, we will understand the truth of life and that love is what will make us truly happy,

11th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 19-06-2026

2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 / Matthew 6:19-23

In life, we have possessions and belongings.

When we look at what we have, some thoughts may come to our minds.

There are some things that we yearn to get our hands on.

But after we had gotten it, the excitement lasts a while and now it is left around or forgotten in the storeroom.

Some things were pleasant surprises, and though it may not mean that much to us initially, yet we have kept it close to us and we admit that it has become precious to us.

So it can be said that what belongs to us will come to us.

On the other hand, what does not belong to us will never be ours.

In the first reading, the wicked Athaliah seize control and took power by killing all those of royal stock.

But ill-gotten gains will never last and the final price to pay for it was death.

In the gospel, Jesus said to His disciples: Do not store up treasure for yourselves on earth, but to store up treasures for yourselves in heaven.

Whatever we need, God will give to us. It is not a belonging but a blessing from God.

And the greatest blessing is when we know we need only Jesus.

We belong to Him and it is with this blessing that we will be happy on earth and eternally happy in heaven.

11th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 18-06-2026

Ecclesiasticus 48:1-15 / Matthew 6:7-15  

What often disturbs our peace of mind are resentment and bitterness.

When our minds are disturbed, so too will be our hearts.

And the resentment and bitterness are often about other people.

Those people annoy us, irritate us, upset us, and so we react against them.

We may not express our resentment and bitterness openly against them.

But in our minds and our hearts, the fire of resentment and bitterness rages against them.

And that fire also burns up our energy and our love.

Even in prayer, we may not find the peace that we long for.

In the gospel, after Jesus taught His disciples about the prayer of the Our Father, He also added the teaching about forgiveness.

If we don’t forgive, then we can’t expect to be forgiven either.

If we don’t forgive, the resentment and bitterness in us grow deeper and destroys us.

Let us turn to Jesus in prayer, asking for forgiveness and healing for ourselves, as well as forgiveness and healing for others.