22nd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 30.08.2026

Jeremiah 20:7-9 / Romans 12:1-2 / Matthew 16:21-27  

We are quite familiar with the story of the race between the hare and the tortoise.

The hare was always making fun of the tortoise for being so slow and even mocked him by saying that the tortoise will never get anywhere.

The tortoise retorted by saying that he can get anywhere sooner or later, and even challenged the hare to a race.

The hare was much amused that the tortoise is challenging him to a race, and for the fun of it, he accepted.

On the day of the race, from the word “Go!”, the hare was off to a flying start and soon was out of sight.

Halfway through, the hare spotted a vegetable garden, and since he was way ahead and rather hungry, he decided to have a meal and a nap.

The hare slept so soundly that the tortoise caught up and continued towards the finish line.

When the hare woke up, he saw that the tortoise was reaching the finish line.

The hare ran as fast as he could, but it was the tortoise who crossed the finish line first and won the race.

The moral of the story is that slow and steady will win the race.

Other lessons are that persistence matters, and arrogance and bragging will result in failure. 

But let's say, if we had not heard of the story before, we will certainly think that the hare will win.

Because human logic and reasoning will tell us to be on the side of the top dog instead of the underdog.

In the Gospel, Jesus began to make it clear to His disciples that He was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. 

He will be put to death, but will be raised up on the third day. 

While the disciples were trying to understand what Jesus was saying, Peter decided to do something. 

He took Jesus aside and started to remonstrate with Him and said, "Heaven preserve you, Lord! This must not happen to you." 

But Jesus turned round and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God's way but man's." 

We may be just as startled and even just as shocked as Peter was when Jesus said that. 

Jesus is not calling Peter “Satan”. Jesus is pointing out that what Peter suggested is not God's way but Satan's way. 

Satan's way is to tempt us to reject the cross and suffering, and to preserve one's life by being selfish and self-centred. 

As Jesus would ask His disciples, "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?" 

Or as in the story of the hare and the tortoise, do we think that we can win the race of life with our confidence, our resources, and our abilities? 

Or would we choose the way of the tortoise, to be slow and steady, to persevere with faith, and to walk in the humble ways of God. 

We have God-given talents and gifts, but we must know what we really want in life and which way to go. 

That calls to mind Saint Thomas Aquinas, who was brilliantly gifted in writing. 

His greatest work was the Summa Theologica, or the Summary of Theology. 

One day, he had a vision while praying. A voice from the crucifix asked what he wanted as a reward for his many writings about God. 

Saint Thomas Aquinas replied, "Only You, Lord, only You." 

Saint Thomas Aquinas knew even if he has gained the whole world but does not have Jesus in his life, then he is ruined. 

There is nothing that he can exchange for his life. Jesus was all he wanted and all he needed. 

Let us be like the tortoise, to be slow and steady in our faith so that we will know the way towards God. 

Like Saint Thomas Aquinas, let us know that Jesus is all we want and all we need. 

The Passion of St. John the Baptist, Saturday, 29-08-2026

Jeremiah 1:17-19 / Mark 6:17-29  

We may wonder how Jesus felt when he heard about the death of his cousin, John the Baptist.

Not much is said about their relationship, but we can guess they knew each other from their earlier days, probably played together, talked about life.

Both knew they had a mission.

And both also know that the mission cannot be accomplished without putting their lives on the line.

John the Baptist was the first to do it and that line was drawn across his neck.

For Jesus, it was drawn at the cross.

And for us, that line will also be drawn for us.

A line that will cut across the various aspects of our lives when we have to decide between whose side to stand on.

To stand on God's side, will result in some scars and wounds.

But it is through those scars and wounds that God will continue to save the world.

For it is by Christ's wounds that we ourselves have been healed and saved.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 28-08-2026

1 Cor 17-25 / Matthew 25:1-13   

It is not surprising that we are greatly influenced by the thinking of the world.

Not only are we led to follow how the world thinks, we also follow how the world talks.

As a result, we think in terms of immediate results, clear signs, high energy performance and impressive returns on efficiency, productivity and achievement.

So, we begin to imitate what works for the world and how the world talks.

And we also presume that what works for the world would also work for the Church.

And we also think that how the world talks is also how the Church should talk.

But St. Paul reminds us in the first reading that the thinking and the language of Christianity is very much different from that of the world.

The Good News of salvation is not to be preached in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.

The language of the Cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s power to save.

So the world looks for impressive and attractive signs, and thinking is based on logic and reason.

But Christianity preaches a crucified Christ, which is unacceptable and unreasonable to the world.

But for Christians who are called by God to have faith, the Cross and the crucified Christ is the power and wisdom of God.

Christians are called to bring the Cross and the crucified Christ into the world, and not to bring the world’s thinking and language into the Church.

May the Lord our God give us lighted lamps of faith to bring the Good News of salvation into the world.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 27-08-2026

1 Cor 1:1-4 / Matthew 24:42-51   

It cannot be denied that we tend to look for excitement in life.

Excitement makes us alive and we go holidaying, shopping, eating and socializing.

And we may also want to create some excitement to express ourselves and what we can do.

So, to sit around and do nothing may not seem useful and productive.

And it can be dull and boring to be doing nothing, or doing what is mundane and ordinary.

But in the gospel, Jesus says that the faithful and wise servant is one who is faithful to his duties like giving the master’s household their food at the proper time.

A faithful and wise servant is not one who looks for excitement or goes around creating excitement.

Rather he stays awake, waiting and listening for the master’s instructions, while doing the mundane and the ordinary.

Jesus is our Master and we are His disciples and His servants.

We may not be called to do great and exciting things, but we are to do ordinary things with great love for Jesus.

We stay awake, waiting and listening for our Master’s instructions.

And when Jesus calls us to a task, let us be obedient and faithful in carrying our His will.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 26-08-2026

2 Thess 3:6-10, 16-18 / Matthew 23:27-32  

In life, we are exposed to many external influences.

We are shaped and formed by what we read, from what we hear and from what we see.

And we are also influenced by the people around us.

So if the people around us live good and upright lives, then we tend to live likewise.

But if the people around us are bad examples of life, then we may tend to be like them.

In other words, proximity leads to conformity.

In the first reading, St. Paul urged the Thessalonians to keep away from those who refuse to work or live according to the Christian teachings.

He even goes on to say that who refuse to do any work should not be given any food.

Those people are bad examples of Christian living and so it is better to keep away from them so as not to follow their bad examples.

Because the danger is that it is easier to copy bad examples than to live virtuous and holy lives.

In the gospel, Jesus warns against hypocrisy, which is the act of pretending to have moral standards, beliefs, or virtues.

The truth is that hypocrisy will eventually be exposed and then others will avoid and stay away from us.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

When we follow Jesus and be faithful to His teachings, we will grow in holiness and be witnesses to Jesus for others to follow.

21st Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 25-08-2026

2 Thess 2:1-3, 14-17 / Matthew 23:23-26  

Sitting in a car that is travelling at a high speed, we won’t be able to notice or observe much of the surroundings.

We will be too thrilled and distracted by how fast the car is going and also fearing for our safety.

Similarly when life is moving fast, we won’t notice or observe what is happening to ourselves or to others.

That may also lead us to only think for ourselves and whatever is coming up next.

And we also won’t have time to stop and think about where we are going and what we are doing.

In the first reading, St. Paul warns the Thessalonians not to get excited or alarmed by any predictions or rumour or any letter claiming that the Day of the Lord has arrived.

Instead he tells them to stand firm and keep the traditions that they were taught.

To do that would mean that they have to stop, think and reflect about who they are and what God is saying to them.

In the gospel, Jesus says that the Pharisees are caught up with paying tithes on the weight of the herbs but forgetting about the weightier of the Law, like justice, mercy and good faith.

It is like washing cups and dishes quickly, but only washing them on the outside and not cleaning the inside.

So, it is about slowing down and even being still, so that we know what we are doing and also listening and seeing what God is saying and showing us.

To pray is to stop and be still and to reflect about what is happening to us and what God is saying to us.

When we listen to the voice of God in prayer, our souls will be cleansed and we will know what God wants us to do.

St. Bartholomew, Apostle, Monday, 24-08-2026

Apocalypse 21:9-14 / John1:45-51  

St Bartholomew was from Cana in Galilee, and he was often identified as Nathaniel in the gospel of John but the other gospels listed him together with Philip as one of the first apostles chosen by Christ.

From the gospel, we can make a presumption of what kind of character he was.

For one, he was a straight-forward and a straight-talking person, who says what he means and means what he says.

We can make that presumption when he made that statement: Can anything good come from Nazareth? That was indeed a raw and cutting frankness.

Nonetheless, he was an open-minded person because he followed Philip to see who that person Jesus was.

He was also a person of prayer, as attested to by Jesus, because to sit under a fig tree means to be under its shade of coolness and to pray and meditate on God's righteousness and a longing for the coming of God's kingdom.

So in effect, Jesus was affirming Bartholomew about his character. It was like He knew what kind of a person Bartholomew really was.

Similarly, Jesus also knows each of us through and through and He also wants to affirm our goodness.

Like St. Bartholomew, let us continue to follow Jesus as He reveals Himself to us.

May we also come to know ourselves deeper and be strengthened in our goodness.

May we also always meditate on God's righteousness and on God's kingdom and proclaim it in our lives.