10th Week of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 7 June 2026 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all gather together to celebrate the Eucharist, all of us are reminded that each and every one of us as God’s beloved people, we are all called to love the Lord with all of our strength and to commit ourselves to Him, as we should have done with our lives. Each and every one of us should follow the Lord and heed His call, which He had made to us at various junctures and occasions throughout our lives. In whatever mission and ministry the Lord has called us to do, we are all reminded to give our very best through what we heard in our Sacred Scriptures passages, so that each one of us, in case we have not yet done so, may indeed embrace the path that the Lord has shown us, that we, who are sinners, may aspire to follow God and be like the glorious and holy saints, who were once sinners like us as well.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which the prophet Hosea exhorted and reminded the people of God, both those in the northern kingdom of Israel and in the southern kingdom of Judah, the people of Israel all the same, to return to the Lord and to reject their past sinful ways and wickedness. The prophet Hosea told the people of the lamentations of the Lord as He spoke to them about all the wicked deeds they had done, in their disobedience and refusal to listen to the words of the Lord, in their stubbornness in following their own wicked paths, in worshipping the pagan idols and gods of their neighbours, betraying the Lord and abandoning His Law and commandments, which He had entrusted and commanded them to obey and follow. They turned a deaf ear towards the prophets that He had sent unto them to remind them and help them to return to the right path.

Therefore, at that time, during the ministry of the prophet Hosea, when both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were facing great calamities and disasters, defeats and humiliations one after another, the Lord was sending His reminders again to His people through Hosea, to tell them that whatever they were doing, were wrong and they were mistaken in their way of life, and they ought to heed His warnings and words, so that they would not end up being dragged ever deeper into the trap of sin and worldliness. It may seem that the Lord was being very tough and harsh on His people, but it was actually necessary, just like that of a father who truly cares for the well-being of his children. If the father were to pamper the child and allow the child to do whatever he or she wanted to do, that would have led the child to become spoilt and might end up becoming unruly and wicked in his or her ways.

That is why, when the Lord chastised His people, and when He punished them, through hardships and humiliations they had to encounter and endure, it was because ultimately of God’s love and care for each and every one of us, without exception. It is such that even the greatest of sinners are never beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love. So abundant and bountiful indeed were God’s mercy and compassion that He has been patiently guiding us, enduring our repeated rebellions and disobedience, our waywardness and wicked ways, all so that by His help and merciful love, we may find our way back to His loving embrace, and be forgiven from our many sins and faults. And all these is due to God’s ever enduring love for us, as He loves each one of us and certainly does not want us to be separated from Him.

Then, in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, we heard of how St. Paul told the faithful people of God in Rome of the faith which Abraham, the father of faith of all Abrahamic faiths and beliefs, had in the Lord, and how he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the Lord. St. Paul used the example of Abraham to highlight to all of the faithful that faith and righteousness come hand in hand, and one is righteous when he or she is not just being faithful, but live their lives in accordance to their faith in the Lord, and in entrusting themselves to His love and care, and follow Him wholeheartedly in the path that He has shown them and led them through, a path of righteousness and justice.

Abraham himself was not a perfect person, as no other human being except for that our Lord Himself, was ever perfect. He made mistakes, erred and fell into sin just like any one of us. He had his moments of weakness and struggles against sin and temptations, just as Moses, David and other great and holy servants of God can attest to us, and like how many of our holy predecessors in the Church, the numerous saints and martyrs can show us through their own lives and examples. But God called them and chose them from among the people, and they responded positively and favourably to God’s call, embracing their calling wholeheartedly, and changed their lives for the better, that they who were once sinners, have become new beings filled with the light and grace of God.

This is echoed by what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, in what we heard about the calling of Levi, the tax collector, who would later on became known as St. Matthew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord and one of the Four Evangelists. Tax collectors during the time of the Lord Jesus were often reviled and hated, ostracised and discriminated against because of the nature of their work, their dealings with the Romans, the overlords of much of the whole region at that time. No one liked to be taxed, and all the more if those taxes ended up filling the coffers of foreign overlords. In fact, there were quite a number of uprisings and rebellions by the Jewish people back then, which explained the rather hated status of tax collectors.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who often viewed themselves as above the rest and better spiritually and in matters of religion and faith than the rest of the people, looked down on the tax collectors like what they had done to others they deemed as sinners and those who could not be redeemed. Hence, they looked negatively and sneered at the Lord Who called tax collectors to be His own disciples and followers, and Him coming into their houses to have meal and interacting with them. Doing such things were taboo for those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, as they considered it unclean and even sinful to mingle with sinners, as if those sins might corrupt them as well.

But the Lord courageously and passionately defended His works and His outreach to sinners, stating that it was exactly what He has come into this world for, to rescue sinners and all those who have been separated from God. Many of us have fallen on the wayside in our journey of faith towards the Lord, and we have often been distracted as we progress on in our lives. But the Lord, our most loving Master and Good Shepherd, loves each and every one of us, and does not want any one of us, His beloved sheep, to be lost to Him. He came to us, to dwell with us and to find us, so that He might lead us all from the darkness and back into the light. He gave it all to save us, and He helped us all so that through His ministry and ultimately by His sacrifice on the Cross, all of us might be reunited with God and His love and grace.

That is why all of us should not be afraid to seek the Lord and to put our trust in Him, in allowing Him to guide us down the right path in life. More often than not it is our own stubbornness and arrogance, of depending on our own means and might that we end up falling deeper and deeper into sin. If we do not allow the Lord to lead the way for us and insist on doing things our own way, we are likely to fall back into the path of sin and disobedience against God. Is that what we want, brothers and sisters in Christ? All of us are reminded that through the Lord alone there is hope and salvation. And not only that, but the Church is truly a hospital of sinners, through which the Lord is calling on all of His beloved people, all scattered around the world and in darkness, to return to Him and to find our path towards His eternal grace and salvation.

We should not be stubborn or proud like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, whose attitude showed bias and condemnation against others, but they failed to recognise their own sins, flaws and weaknesses, all of which became barriers and obstacles in their own path towards God. We should instead be more humble and be more willing to listen to the truth of God, and spend more time to walk in the path that He has set before us. We should learn to resist more the temptations present all around us, the temptations of worldly pleasures, greed and disobedience against God. Each and every one of us are equally beloved by God, and therefore, instead of condemning others and comparing our way of living our Christian lives, we should do our best at all times in order to do what God has called us all to do.

Let us all hence answer God’s call, which He has repeatedly made to us, through His prophets, His messengers, disciples and followers, through His saints and others who work to proclaim His salvation among all of us. May the Lord, our most loving God and Good Shepherd, be with us always so that we may come ever closer to Him and to His ever generous love and compassion towards us. Amen.

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Sunday, 7 June 2026 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 9-13

At that time, as Jesus moved on from the place where He cured a paralytic man, He saw a man named Matthew, at his seat in the custom house; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And Matthew got up and followed Him. 

Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is it, that your Master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”

When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go, and find out what this means : What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Sunday, 7 June 2026 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 4 : 18-25

Abraham believed, and hoped against all expectation, thus, becoming the father of many nations, as he had been told : See how many will be your descendants.

He did not doubt, although his body could no longer give life – he was about a hundred years old – and, in spite of his wife, Sarah, being unable to have children.

He did not doubt, nor did he distrust the promise of God, and, by being strong in faith, he gave glory to God : he was convinced, that, He Who had given the promise, had power to fulfil it.

This was taken into account, for him to attain righteousness. This was taken into account : these words of Scripture are not only for him, but for us, too, because we believe in Him, Who raised Jesus, Our Lord, from among the dead, He, Who was delivered for our sins, and raised to life, for us to receive true righteousness.

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Sunday, 7 June 2026 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 49 : 1, 8, 12-13, 14-15

The God of gods, YHVH has spoken; He summons the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me.

I need not tell you if I were hungry, for mine is the world and all that it contains. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

Yet, offer to God a sacrifice of thanks, and fulfil your vows to the Most High. Call on Me in time of calamity; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.

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Sunday, 7 June 2026 : Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hosea 6 : 3-6

Let us strive to know YHVH. His coming is as certain as the dawn; His judgment will burst forth like the light; He will come to us as showers come, like spring rain that waters the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? O Judah, how shall I deal with you? This love of yours is like morning mist, like morning dew that quickly disappears. This is why I smote you through the prophets, and have slain you by the words of My mouth.

For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice; it is knowledge of God, not burnt offerings.

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Saturday, 14 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people that we must always ever be genuine in our faith in God and in how we live our lives so that our every actions, words and deeds may truly reflect what we believe in, or else we are no better than hypocrites who claim to believe in this way and yet, practice our lives, show our actions and deeds in a completely different and even contradictory way. All of us must always embody our Christian faith in each and every moments of our lives, and we must never take our faith just as a formality or merely paying lip service to the Lord, or mere externalities. It is important that we have to be truly genuine in our Christian faith at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the Apostle St. Paul speaking to the faithful people of God there regarding the matter of how Christ, the Lord and Saviour, had indeed died for everyone’s sake, and therefore, all of us members and parts of the Church, just as all those faithful in Corinth to whom St. Paul had addressed his Epistle to, are also partakers in this same New and Eternal Covenant that the Lord had established with us all, His holy and beloved people through His Son, the same Jesus Christ, Who has taken upon Himself the weight, burden and sufferings of the Cross, which is no other than all the weight and burden of all of our sins and wickedness.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have gained great grace and forgiveness from God, the atonement for our many sins and wickedness through what God had done in sending His most Beloved Son to us, Who willingly bore upon Himself and putting it all on His shoulders, the weight of our innumerable sins and evils. He has done do so that we may indeed be freed from them, and that we will not have to suffer the consequences of the sins which we have committed, that is death and destruction. And the Lord did so because He truly loves each one of us genuinely and tenderly, with His generous love, compassion and mercy ever flowing from His Most Sacred Heart, ever bleeding and wounded by our sins, and yet, His infinite compassion, mercy and love have been poured upon us, always.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, we must always follow the examples of Our Lord Himself and be inspired by His great, ever wonderful compassionate love for us which He has never stopped giving to us, no matter what. We should therefore also show that same love which we have received generously from God, in our own love for Him and also more importantly, in how we love one another, how we act towards each other, our care and compassion for those whom the Lord had entrusted to us, even to the strangers and acquaintances we meet daily in life, in whichever circumstances and occasions we have encountered and received. We are all challenged and called to be the ones to bear the love of God to everyone around us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples and followers reminding them that while it was written in the Scriptures that one ought to make good and fulfil what one made in oath and commitment to God, but He told them that they ought not to make such oath and vows as they should not swear by the Lord or by anything in this world and beyond. Yet, this must be understood in the context of what the Lord had in mind when He told the disciples and followers of these words and teachings, as what He actually wanted to tell them is that as His disciples and followers, they must all truly be genuine and sincere in all of their words, actions and deeds, and not to say things or do things that they themselves may not mean or contradict later on.

That means as Christians all of us should always be true in our words, speech, actions, interactions and everything, and we should truly mean every single thing that we say, and not to make empty promises and commitments without honouring them. We are all challenged to be truly honest, loving, caring and compassionate in everything and to everyone. This is why we must always work on ourselves and our care and concern for everyone around us, and we must not allow ourselves to be swayed by our selfishness and desires, all the things that may lead us astray into the wrong paths, and worse still, may cause hurt and harm for those around us, especially to those whom we love and who love us all. This is what we must not do as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all heard from our Scripture passages today, let us all therefore reflect on what we have heard and consider, discern and think carefully on what we should do in our lives and how we should truly embody our faith in our daily lives. It is indeed important that as Christians, we are all truly practice our faith in the manner that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us, and we should always be ready to commit ourselves to the Lord whenever He calls us to do what is right and just in every moments in our lives. By our faithful action and truthful words, our genuine commitment and love for God and for our fellow brethren around us, that is how we can truly show that we are truly good and faithful Christians.

May the Lord continue to provide us His strength, wisdom and guidance so that in all and everything that we say and do, we will continue to be truly genuine, righteous and worthy of Him, and that we may always be truly faithful to Him in all things. May He also continue to bless us greatly and wonderfully in everything that we do, in our every actions, good deeds and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 14 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 5 : 33-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have also heard that people were told in the past : Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this : do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God’s throne; nor by the earth, because it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.”

“Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white of black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything else you say comes from the evil one.”

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Saturday, 14 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His Holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.

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Saturday, 14 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

2 Corinthians 5 : 14-21

Indeed, the love of Christ holds us, and we realise, that, if He died for all, all have died. He died for all, so, that, those who live, may live no longer for themselves, but for Him, Who died, and rose again for them. And so, from now on, we do not regard anyone from a human point of view; and even if we once knew Christ personally, we should now regard Him in another way.

For that same reason, the one who is in Christ is a new creature. For Him, the old things have passed away; a new world has come. All this is the work of God, Who, in Christ, reconciled us to Himself, and Who entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Because, in Christ, God reconciled the world with Himself, no longer taking into account their trespasses, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

So we present ourselves as ambassadors, in the Name of Christ, as in God, Himself, makes an appeal to you, through us. Let God reconcile you; this, we ask you, in the Name of Christ. He had no sin, but God made Him bear our sin, so, that, in Him, we might share the holiness of God.

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Friday, 13 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to reflect upon what we have just heard from the Lord speaking to us through His Word, reminding each and every one of us that as Christians, we are all called to be truly genuine in loving the Lord and His people, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, to be truly compassionate and kind, full of grace and love of God manifested in us and our actions in daily life. All of us should truly embody what we believe in, and we should not merely just believing outwardly and externally only. Instead, we should be truly genuine in our faith, commitment and dedication to God, and we should be the great examples of how beautiful our Christian faith is in all the things we do.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the reminder from the Apostle to us all that we should not be disheartened should difficulties and challenges come to us and become barriers in our path. Instead, we should continue to trust in the Lord and in His Providence, entrusting ourselves to His loving care and compassion. God has given us all His assurances that we will always be taken care of and that we will never be alone. He has also given us the Holy Spirit to help and guide us all in our journey throughout life. And therefore it is indeed important that we should make good use of what God has granted to us at all times, by using them for good purposes.

Then, from the Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord’s reminders for His disciples and followers, and all of those who were listening to Him, and hence all of us of the dangers of sin and why we must therefore strive to keep ourselves from sin and from the corruptions of this world. In the language that the Lord used in delivering His ideas and teachings, it may indeed bring about discomfort for some of us as He used a rather blatant and direct language, telling all of them that if any parts of their bodies should lead them to sin, then they should discard and cut them off from their bodies. This is actually one very good example why we should not take every words of the Lord and the Scriptures literally without understanding the context behind them.

What the Lord wanted to highlight in using such a language and terms is that sin is something serious and harmful to us, and sin separates us from God and His love, His grace and compassion. Yet at the same time, the mercy of God is so great and boundless, that He is capable of healing us of all those troubles. At the same time, those limbs and parts of our bodies themselves are not to blame for our sins. Rather, it is our desires that had led us to disobey the Lord and therefore leading us into sin and evil. In fact, what God has given to us, our body and all are capable of many great and wonderful things just as they are capable of evil and sin. That is why what we need to do is rather to focus on using them for good things instead of evil.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, a renowned saint and dedicated servant of God who had been born into a wealthy noble family in Portugal, and he was eventually joining the Order of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross and was ordained a priest at a rather young age, which then led him on a journey of encounter with several Franciscan friars that inspired him to join their order. St. Anthony of Padua adopted his well-known name from the name of the patron saint of the friary, St. Anthony the Great. He went to various places like Morocco and then Italy in pursuit of his vocation and mission, and in Italy, in one well known occasion, when the Dominicans and the Franciscans in the town of Forli could not agree on who to preach in an ordination ceremony, it fell onto St. Anthony of Padua, whose homily moved the heart of the entire audience with his wisdom and eloquence.

St. Anthony worked together with the founder of the Franciscan order, St. Francis of Assisi himself, convincing the latter of the importance of theological and spiritual preparation, studies and all related matters for the Franciscan friars, and he was tasked to take care of this matter henceforth for the friars. And in what happened in Bologna would later inspire the popular tradition and devotion that St. Anthony of Padua is often invoked for his intercession in finding lost items as it was told that a Franciscan novice stole the psalter that belonged to St. Anthony of Padua, and the latter prayed that the book be returned to him, and indeed it happened, as not only that the thief returned the book but he also returned to the order as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect upon the words of the Sacred Scriptures and look upon the inspiring life and examples of St. Anthony of Padua, remembering how he dedicated his life in service to the Lord and in his commitment for the betterment of the lives of those who were around him. As Christians, let us all always be full of faith in the Lord, full of hope and trust in Him, and then also full of love firstly of the Lord but also full of the same love for our fellow brothers and sisters as well. Our love and care for one another, just as our strong and enduring faith in the Lord are hallmarks of our Christian faith, and it is what we are all challenged to do in each and every moments of our lives.

May the Lord continue to strengthen our faith in Him, giving us the courage and inspiration to remain firm in our path as we walk and journey together towards Him, and to remain holy and worthy of Him at all times, distancing ourselves from sin. Let us all continue to encourage one another that we may always strengthen each other and support our fellow brethren around us as much as we are able to, that all of us may find the path towards the Lord and remain fully committed to Him at all times despite the many challenges in life. May God bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.