by Arnold Troeger | Jan 4, 2026 | Assumption Cathedral, News, schedule, Upcoming
These are the PDF versions of the Sunday programs. The best way to make use of these is to print them using 2 sided printing in landscape mode.
4 January 2026 Epiphany A
by Arnold Troeger | Dec 27, 2025 | Papal Messages
Message for World Day of Peace 2026
“Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace”
“Peace be with you all. Towards an unarmed and disarming peace” is the theme of Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the World Day of Peace 2026 which will be celebrated on January 1, 2026. The Holy Father invites everyone to welcome peace and become witnesses to it because it “exists; it wants to dwell within us. It has the gentle power to enlighten and expand our understanding; it resists and overcomes violence. Peace is a breath of the eternal”. Christians must become witnesses, and quoting St. Augustine, the Pope invites them ” to forge an unbreakable bond with peace”. We are all invited to walk this path traced by the Risen One. He himself embodied unarmed peace because “his was an unarmed struggle”.
Peace is a gift that must be safeguarded, in fact if it “is not a reality that is lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life” and one can fall into the trap of thinking that in order to achieve it, one must prepare for war by embodying the “irrationality of relations between nations, built not on law, justice and trust, but on fear and domination by force”.
The Holy Father recalls that St. Augustine recommends “not to burn bridges or persist in reproach, but to prefer listening and, where possible, engaging in discussions with others ”
In order to achieve disarming peace, we must embody meekness because “goodness is disarming. Perhaps this is why God became a child”.
Peace comes from evangelical humility. A child, in all its fragility, could change hearts, question our choices, and lay down our weapons.
Pope Leo reminds us that peace is possible, it is not a utopia, and that ecumenical and interreligious dialogue are privileged ways to achieve it. Nor must we forget to embark on “the disarming path of diplomacy, mediation, and international law,” which requires mutual trust, loyalty, and responsibility in the commitments we make.
“This is the peace of the risen Christ – a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. It comes from God who loves us all unconditionally ” Pope Leo XIV
by Arnold Troeger | Dec 26, 2025 | Assumption Cathedral, News, schedule, Upcoming
These are the PDF versions of the Sunday programs. The best way to make use of these is to print them using 2 sided printing in landscape mode.
28 December 2025 Holy Family_A
21 December 2025 4th Sunday of Advent A
14 December 2025 3rd Sunday of Advent A
7 December 2025 2nd Sunday of Advent A
30 November 2025 1st Sunday of Advent A
23 November 2025 Christ the King C
16 November 2025 33rd Sunday in ordinary time C
9 November 2025 Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
2 November 2025 All Saints
26 October 2025 30th Sunday in ordinary time C
19 October 2025 29th Sunday in ordinary time C
12 October 2025 28th Sunday in ordinary time C
5 October 2025 27th Sunday in ordinary time C
28 September 2025 26th Sunday in ordinary time C
21 September 2025 25th Sunday in ordinary time C
14 September 2025 Exaltation of the Holy Cross
7 September 2025 23rd Sunday in ordinary time C
31 August 2025 22nd Sunday in ordinary time C
24 August 2025 21st Sunday in ordinary time C
17 August 2025 Assumption of Our Lady
10 August 2025 19th Sunday in ordinary time C
3 August 2025 18th Sunday in ordinary time C
27 July 2025 17th Sunday in ordinary time C
20 July 2025 16th Sunday in ordinary time C
13 July 202515th Sunday in ordinary time C
6 July 2025 14th Sunday in ordinary time C
29 June 2025 Sts. Peter and Paul
22 June 2025 Body and Blood C
15 June 2025 Holy Trinity C
8 June 2025 Pentecost Sunday C
1 June 2025 Ascension of the Lord C
25 May 2025 6th Sunday of Easter C
18 May 2025 5th Sunday of Easter C
11 May 2025 4th Sunday of Easter C
4 May 2025 3rd Sunday of Easter C
27 April 2025 2nd Sunday of Easter C_updated3
20 April 2025 Easter Sunday (ABC) (1)
13 April 2025 Palm Sunday C
6 April 2025 5th Sunday of Lent C
30 March 2025 4th Sunday of Lent C
23 March 2025 3rd Sunday of Lent C
16 March 2025 2nd Sunday of Lent C
9 March 2025 1st Sunday of Lent C
2 March 2025 8th Sunday in ordinary time C
23 February 2025 7th Sunday in ordinary time C
16 February 2025 6th Sunday in ordinary time C
9 February 2025 5th Sunday in ordinary time C
2 February 2025 Presentation of the Lord
26 January 2025 3rd Sunday in ordinary time C
19 January 2025 2nd Sunday in ordinary time C
12 January 2025 Baptism_C
5 January 2025 Epiphany of the Lord ABC
1 January 2025 Mary Mother of God
by Arnold Troeger | Nov 30, 2025 | Bible
Year A: Gospel according to Matthew – Message and Purpose
Matthew longs to have his readers be maturing disciples of Jesus, who is the promised Servant Christ, so that they may enjoy life in His kingdom together forever. The Christ is the Messiah, the Saviour of all.
God’s Son, Jesus, is the “Servant Christ”. Christ or Messiah (1:1, 16:16). Servant (12:17-21 cf. 3:16-17).
As Jesus, comes near, so does God’s kingdom (4:17), which is God’s unopposed, sovereign, saving rule in the world. It may be described as ‘God’s people in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing’.
To be a disciple is summed up in four commands of Christ = turn, trust, travel and tell.
1. Turn to Christ from sin, realign yourself with God’s rule, 4:17b
2. Trust in Jesus, the Son of God, the Servant Christ, 11:28
3. ‘Travel’ with Jesus Christ along the way of the cross, 16:24
4. Tell others the good news about the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, 28:19a
Only Jesus can make discipleship possible. He must serve us before we can serve him.
“He will save his people from their sins’ (1:21 cf. 9:18, 20:28, 26:28).
Matthew re-presents Mark. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of David, the Servant of God.
At the heart of Jesus’ ministry and teaching lie three key concepts:
Fulfilment of Scripture; God as Father; the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew is a book for the not-yet-Christian. For the Christian,the way forward is to learn to obey all
Jesus’ commands and teach others to do the same (28:19-20a).
In Matthew, the disciple is called to share the worldview of Jesus; to live a relationship of faith with someone who is more than a teacher; to community; to mission.
Disciples make up the community called church. Only Matthew, of the four Evangelists, uses the word church, which is used for the assembly of the children of Israel in the OT. In Matthew, the community of the disciples represents the renewed, restored people of God sharing in his mission.
Matthew and faith into the future:
-Focus is on the person of Jesus as the presence of God.
-Focus is on the Kingdom as an expression of God’s will.
-Focus is on community built on reconciliation and mercy.
-Focus is on the connection between faith and life.
Moving from simply believing in Jesus to believing as Jesus believed.
“Peace be with you all. Towards an unarmed and disarming peace” is the theme of Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the World Day of Peace 2026 which will be celebrated on January 1, 2026. The Holy Father invites everyone to welcome peace and become witnesses to it because it “exists; it wants to dwell within us. It has the gentle power to enlighten and expand our understanding; it resists and overcomes violence. Peace is a breath of the eternal”. Christians must become witnesses, and quoting St. Augustine, the Pope invites them ” to forge an unbreakable bond with peace”. We are all invited to walk this path traced by the Risen One. He himself embodied unarmed peace because “his was an unarmed struggle”.
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