11th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 14.06.2026

Exodus 19:2-6 / Romans 5:6-11 / Matthew 9:36 – 10:8  

Whenever we communicate with others, we compose statements in our minds.

And when we know what we want to say, then we speak. 

So, the process is the mind thinks and then the mouth speaks. 

It is certainly not the other way around. 

And it cannot be. 

But if the mouth says something that is illogical, irrational, or irresponsible, it only expresses the state of the mind. 

So generally, when we speak, we make statements that either convey facts, or information, or opinions. 

We make statements that are an assertion, or a claim, or to give an account. 

In the context of religion, we also make statements of faith. 

In the Mass, we make these statements of faith: “I confess”, “I believe”, “I am not worthy”, “my soul shall be healed”. 

And outside of Mass, we also make other statements of faith. 

The more common ones are, “God is love”, “God will forgive”, “God will help us”, “God will provide”. 

In the Gospel, Jesus said this to His disciples, “The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few.” 

Jesus tells His disciples of the reality, and that is, there is a labour shortage in the harvest of the Lord. 

This is often quoted in vocation promotion, where the emphasis is on the need for more priests to serve the people of God. 

But as much as Jesus pointed out the problem, He also presented the solution. 

And it is not just a solution. Jesus made a profound statement of faith. 

Jesus said, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” 

Jesus reminds us that everything belongs to God, the harvest, as well as the labourers. 

We just need to ask, and God will provide. 

There is this famous bedtime prayer from St. Pope John XXIII. 

The prayer is this: Lord, this is Your church. I am going to bed. Good night. 

St. Pope John XXIII learnt how to let go of worry and anxiety by reminding himself that God is ultimately in control. 

So, at the end of the day, his simple and comforting act of surrender is this, “Lord, this is Your church, I'm going to bed. Good night.” 

Yes, the Church belongs to God, the harvest belongs to God, the labourers belong to God, the whole world belongs to God. 

So, if everything belongs to God, then God will provide for everything. 

When we say that God will provide, it is a statement of faith. 

And we are also echoing what Abraham said to Isaac when Isaac asked where is the lamb of sacrifice because they did not bring along the sacrificial lamb. 

Abraham told Isaac: God will provide. 

And when the angel stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, Abraham saw a ram that was caught by its horns among the bushes. 

Abraham sacrificed that ram and called the place “Jehovah Jireh”, which means “God will provide”. 

And that is also our faith statement, “God will provide”, because Jesus tells us to ask and we will receive. 

So, we ask that God 

- send labourers to His harvest, 

- that God calms our worries and anxieties and - grants us a good night's rest, 

- that God will grant peace to the world and to our families and to the Church, 

- that God heals us from our pains and illness, - that God will protect us from harm and danger. 

For anything and for everything, let us turn to God because everything belongs to God. 

In His time and in His way, God will provide for us and grant us what we need. 

And when God has provided for our needs, let us also bear testimony to God by telling others about the goodness of the Lord.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Saturday, 13-06-2026

Isaiah 61:9-11 / Luke 2:41-51   

The heart of a mother is a heart that is so loving and understanding, and yet it is also so mysterious.

We may think that we understand our mothers, but they actually know more about us that we can ever imagine.

After all, we were conceived in the womb of our mothers, and hence we are a part of them and nothing can ever eradicate this mother-child relationship.

And it can be said that nothing can ever separate a mother from her child. A mother's bond to her child is something that goes beyond logic and explanation.

In today's feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the gospel reading gives us a good reflection of the heart of Mary.

Mary made it a point that Jesus had a religious upbringing and that was why she and Joseph brought Jesus to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.

Mary had a heart for God and she wanted Jesus to have what she treasured most - a heart for God.

When Mary and Joseph lost contact with Jesus, Mary would have felt that void most deeply.

Yet when they found Jesus, Mary was like a typical mother reprimanding her son. That makes her so lovable and understandable.

Yet when she did not understand the reply of Jesus, she kept quiet and stored it in her heart. Mary knew how to respond in the face of mystery.

May we too have a heart like that of Mary, lovable and understandable by others. And may our hearts be also open to mystery and to store and reflect in our hearts what we cannot understand immediately.

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday, 12-06-2026

Deuteronomy 7:6-11 / 1 John 4:7-16 / Matthew 11:25-30  

The human heart is an important and an amazing organ.

It pumps blood throughout the circulatory system to deliver vital oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body.

That is essentially the physical function of the heart.

But the heart also has a spiritual function.

Spiritually, the heart is considered the core of a person’s being, serving as the bridge between the physical body and the divine.

On the Cross, when the Heart of Jesus was pierced with a spear, blood and water flowed out.

The Heart of Jesus was revealed; the Heart of God was revealed.

For those who see that it is the Heart of God, they will understand what the blood and water means.

It is the love and forgiveness of God that flowed out of the broken Heart of Jesus.

It was the Heart of Jesus, flowing with love and forgiveness, that saved us.

On this feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, may God’s love and forgiveness flow into our hearts.

May the love of God make our hearts love God and neighbour.

May the forgiveness of God make us also forgive others.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus make our hearts like His.

St. Barnabas, Apostle, Thursday, 11-06-2026

Acts 11:22-26; 13:1-3 / Matthew 10:7-13 

St. Barnabas was not one of the twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus, but the book of the Acts of the Apostles named him as an apostle (Acts 14:14).

Together with St. Paul, they preached the Good News to the gentiles. But there are some distinct characteristics about them.

St. Paul wrote epistles but there was none from St. Barnabas in the New Testament. There are quotes from St. Paul in Acts and in other passages in the New Testament, but there seems to be nothing written of what St. Barnabas said.

Yet it can be said that St. Barnabas was as much a man of words as he was of action.

His name means "son of encouragement" and he was given that name when he converted to Christianity and sold his goods and property and gave the money to the apostles.

Indeed he lived up to that name as he was the first to take in St. Paul after his conversion when others were still suspecting him.

In the 1st reading, we heard that St. Barnabas was sent to Antioch to look into the great numbers of conversion, and when he was there, more people were won over to the Lord.

He then went to look for St. Paul to help out in the work in Antioch and it was there that the disciples were first called "Christians" and that became the most identifiable term.

In word and in deed, St. Barnabas was a sign of encouragement for others in their faith and in their lives.

May we follow the example of St. Barnabas and be for others an encouragement and consolation in word and in deed.

10th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 10-06-2026

1 Kings 18:20-39 / Matthew 5:17-19

When we go to a restaurant, there will be a menu of what food is available.

Salt is not on the menu, but it is taken for granted.

But when it is missing from the food, we will immediately notice it.

And we won’t be silent about it. We will call for the waiter or even the chef and ask for an explanation.

In the first reading, the prophet Elijah asked the people:

“How long do you mean to hobble first on one leg then on the other? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.’ 

But the people never said a word. 

They were like eating tasteless food but not saying anything about it.

The people forgot about the taste of the goodness of the Lord.

Jesus came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to complete them.

He came to give us the taste of the goodness of the Lord.

When we know how good the Lord is to us, we won’t want the tasteless life.

With the goodness of the Lord in us, we will be the salt of the earth that will give others the taste of the goodness of the Lord.

10th Week. Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 09-06-2026

1 Kings 17:7-16 / Matthew 5:13-16   

There are times when we say things out of desperation without really knowing what it can mean.

It could be just an utterance of desperation and we say it because we don’t know what else to say.

So it can be an utterance like “Oh my God!”, though we do not intend to use God’s name in vain.

It seems like we want to tell God something, but words fall short, and we are also not sure what we want God to do for us.

In the first reading, the prophet Elijah asked the widow at Zarephath for water and food.

But it was a time of famine, and the widow said to Elijah, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no baked bread but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug.”

She was going to prepare the last meal for her son and herself and then they will wait for death to overcome them.

She may have said “As the Lord your God lives”, just like how we say “Oh my God”

But the God of life heard her, and even gave her the miracle of the jar of meal shall not be spent and the jug of oil shall not be emptied.

So, in desperate moments, when we say “Oh my God”, let us also finish the sentence by saying:

“Oh my God, save me” or “Oh my God, help me” or “Oh my God, protect us”

When we use God’s name, then let us also say what we need from God.

And our God who lives forever, will hear and answer our prayer.

10th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 089-06-2026

1 Kings 17:1-6 / Matthew 5:1-12  

We have often heard it said that this is a beautiful world.

As much as it is true, the contrary may also be true.

Because there are some creatures that could hardly be called beautiful.

So when we say that the world and creation is beautiful, we are just looking at the nice and pretty side of the world.

We can’t really explain why some creatures are not that pretty or pleasant to look at.

In the first reading, when the prophet Elijah was taking refuge from the famine, it was the ravens that brought bread to him in the morning and meat in the evening.

Ravens are unsightly birds and they make a sound that is not pleasant to the ears, and they are also scavengers.

Yet it was these lowly and unfavoured birds that brought food for Elijah and sustained him.

So, it can be said that the ravens brought God’s blessings to Elijah.

God’s blessings often come in unexpected forms and ways.

But when we accept to be poor in spirit, to be gentle and humble, to be kind and generous, then we will be blessed by God.

And may we be a blessing for others by showing them the ways of God.