Sundays after Epiphany

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Wednesday, 18 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18

At that time, “Be careful not to make a show of your good deeds before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be noticed in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by people. I assure you, they have their reward.”

“If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be noticed. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners, in order to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have their reward.”

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father Who is with you in secret; and your Father Who sees what is kept secret will reward you. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face, as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this : they have been paid in full already.”

“When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father, Who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.”

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Wednesday, 18 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 3-4, 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears YHVH, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are for his family; there, his integrity will remain. He is for the righteous a light in darkness; he is kind, merciful and upright.

He gives generously to the poor; his merits will last forever; and his head will be raised in honour.

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Wednesday, 18 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 9 : 6-11

Remember : the one who sows meagerly will reap meagerly, and there shall be generous harvests for the one who sows generously. Each of you should give as you decided personally, and not reluctantly, as if obliged. God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to fill you with every good thing, so that you have enough of everything, at all times, and may give abundantly for any good work.

Scripture says : He distributed, he gave to the poor, his good works last forever. God, Who provides the sower with seed, will also provide him with the bread he eats. He will multiply the seed for you and also increase the interest on your good works. Become rich in every way, and give abundantly. What you give will become, through us, a thanksgiving to God.

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Tuesday, 17 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for us all as Christians to be truly filled with genuine and compassionate love for one another just as we should also have it first for the Lord, our God and Father Who have loved us all so generously all these while. And it is this great love which He has shown us all most perfectly in giving to us all His own Begotten Son that He sent to us to be the One to bear the burdens of our sins and wickedness, delivering us all away from them and showing us all the certain path towards eternal life and true happiness with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth in which he highlighted to the people there about the challenges and difficulties that those in the church communities in Macedonia in northern Greece had been facing. And at the same time, St. Paul shared his experiences ministering to the faithful there, showing how despite the challenges and trials that they were facing, the Church community in Macedonia remained strong in their faith and commitment to God. They did not allow the difficulties and trials to discourage and dissuade them from following the Lord wholeheartedly and courageously. Instead, their great faith and perseverance in loving one another and standing up for their faith brought inspiration to many others.

They continued to care for one another even when facing difficulties and challenges, trials and hardships, not allowing their conditions to be an excuse to become less generous, loving and compassionate. The Lord Himself has strengthened them all by His Holy Spirit and through the examples of the Apostles, and they therefore became good examples and inspirations themselves for others. Through them, their constant generosity and love for each other despite their hardships, they have become the epitome of what Christian discipleship and faith are all about. And that was exactly what St. Paul was sharing to the Corinthians all about as he wanted to encourage and help them all to be faithful as well in all things.

Then, from our Gospel reading today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord telling all of His disciples and followers that all of them must love one another and everyone in an even more radical way than what is usually known and done in the world. He said that all of them as those who believe in Him and follow His path should always love everyone, even those who have not loved them back and persecuted them. And this is contrary to what is common in this world, as we are commonly taught and shown to love only those who can love us all back, and to only care for those who show us care and for whom our ‘investment’ of love and care can be reciprocated and returned.

But the Lord told us all through His disciples that Christian love, the kind of love which the Lord wants us all to know and have, is beyond this love that is common in this world. The love of God is truly pure, selfless and genuine, love that is ever always patient and enduring even when we have not loved Him back, and even when we have hurt and abandoned Him, disobeyed and betrayed Him, again and again. God never gave up on us, His beloved ones, and He kept on loving and caring for us all despite our unworthiness and our stubbornness in refusing to embrace His love and kindness, His compassion and mercy, His care and concern for each and every single one of us, even to the greatest of sinners.

It is indeed much harder and more challenging for us to love those who have not loved us back, and even worse still to love those who have hated, rejected and persecuted us. But we must gain the inspiration from the Lord Himself, Who has shown us all how He loved us all so perfectly, as revealed to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. When the Lord was oppressed, persecuted and rejected by the world, accused falsely of crimes that He did not commit, betrayed by His own people and their leaders, and also even by His own disciple, abandoned by many of those who have followed Him, yet the Lord still kept on loving them, praying for them and forgiving them. From His Cross, He continued to show this love even in great suffering, praying to His heavenly Father to forgive all those who have made Him to suffer in that manner, those who have persecuted Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is all the love that the Lord Himself has shown us, and which the early Christians like those in the community in Macedonia had also done in their own lives which proved to us all that such a selfless, genuine and hence truly Christian love is possible. The love of God had been manifested to us all through Christ, and we are indeed called and challenged to show the same love to our fellow brothers and sisters as well. The question that is present before us now is such that are we all ready and willing to do and to practice on that in our own lives? Are we willing to love unconditionally and to love patiently like the Lord has loved us all, without expecting any returns?

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate God, and Who is always full of kindness and genuine love for each one of us, continue to show us the same generous and ever-boundless love that He has always had for us, which He has always shown and taught to us so that we too may learn and know how the love Him and love our fellow brothers and sisters around us in the same way that He has loved us from the very beginning. Let us all therefore show genuine, Christian love to each other at all times, now and always, so that we may inspire many more people to follow in our own footsteps as well. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 43-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard, that it was said : Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good; and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”

“If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Tuesday, 17 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 145 : 1-2, 5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, my soul! I will sing to YHVH all my life; I will sing praise to God while I live.

Blessed are they whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in YHVH their God, Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain.

YHVH is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. YHVH sets the prisoners free.

YHVH gives sight to the blind; YHVH loves the virtuous; but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. YHVH straightens the bent. YHVH protects the stranger.

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Tuesday, 17 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 8 : 1-9

Now, I want you to know about a gift of divine grace among the Churches of Macedonia. While they were so afflicted and persecuted, their joy overflowed, and their extreme poverty turned into a wealth of generosity. According to their means – even beyond their means – they wanted to share, in helping the saints.

They asked us for this favour, spontaneously, and with much insistence, and, far beyond anything we expected, they put themselves at the disposal of the Lord, and of us by the will of God. Accordingly, I urged Titus to complete, among you, this work of grace, since he began it with you.

You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel, also, in this generous service. This is not a command; I make known to you the determination of others, to check the sincerity of your fraternal concern.

You know well, the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor, to make you rich, through His poverty.

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Monday, 16 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the great love which we have received from God and how we are then expected to show the same love towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Each and every one of us as Christians should always be filled with great love, firstly for the Lord and then of course for everyone around us, for our loved ones and for those whom we encounter daily in life. As Christians, all of us should also should be patient in enduring hardships and difficulties in life, and especially when facing persecution, hatred and evil around us, we ourselves should not be doing the same to one another, but instead be good examples of love and hope to everyone we encounter in life.

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 reminding the people of God there to be truly genuine and sincere in all of their actions, dealings, in all of their ways and interactions with one another and with all those who have not yet believed in the Lord. It is indeed important because St. Paul said that they should not give anyone any reason to hinder the works of the mission which God has called them all to do by their own actions and deeds, their words and interactions which might be contrary to what they preach and believe in. Indeed, true and genuine Christian faith involve us all walking the talk, that means we really have to put into practice what we have believed in and not merely just paying lip service to our faith in the Lord.

St. Paul exhorted the faithful brethren in Corinth that they all should be good examples of faith to everyone around them, both their fellow brethren and everyone who witnessed their actions and great courage in living their Christian faith with true sincerity and commitment. Otherwise, if they were hypocrites who acted in manner that were contrary to the way they believed, then it could prevent many from coming to believe in the Lord because they would consider us Christians to be dishonest and even immoral, and such things can lead to scandal and harm not only to the Church but even to the Holy Name of the Lord and our Christian faith itself, and such acts are great sins against God.

As St. Paul noted and highlighted to the faithful in Corinth that people around them could notice and see the way that they lived their lives with true Christian charity, generosity and care, with kindness, patience and mercy in all of their actions, in how they have solidarity with those who are suffering and who are poor, and also standing firmly and courageously for their faith in the Lord, not giving in easily to the temptations and pressures of the world that may try to coerce and force them to do otherwise. Indeed, as St. Paul himself also said in another occasion that ‘People will know that we are Christians by our love’ which echo well to what the Lord Jesus told His disciples and followers to be full of love for Him and for everyone around them, to love without limits and boundaries.

This is therefore an important reminder for all of us Christians living in our world today that we should not allow ourselves to abandon our faith or be insincere in following our Christian faith because of our actions which do not show true Christian charity, compassion and care for one another, lacking in kindness, mercy and patience for our fellow brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, the sad reality is such that it is within the Church itself where people, fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, fellow Catholics who are often locked together in bitter struggles, rivalries and competitions with each other, in all the unhealthy and sinister church politics that permeate virtually every aspect of our church life and actions everywhere around us.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself therefore reminded us all through His disciples and His Church that this is not the path that we should be walking in, but rather we should truly embody our faith in Him with genuine, compassionate and boundless love just as I elaborated earlier on. The Lord told His disciples that according to the old Jewish customs and laws, the ones which the Lord had passed down through Moses to His people, any sins and mistakes ought to be paid over in retribution, hence ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for a tooth’. But the Lord was putting an end to all of that and revealed that the Lord’s true intention and desire is for His beloved people to know His love and to be truly loving in all things, especially in how they ought to love their fellow brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us hence consider carefully our actions in each and every moments of our lives so that we may always be loving to each other, be generous, kind and compassionate, especially to those who have need of our care and love. And let us never seek our own personal glory, ambition, satisfaction and personal fulfilment over the sufferings and hardships that others may have to experience because of our choice of actions and ways which may result indeed in even those among us as Christians to lose faith in the Lord by the scandal such actions have caused, whether we intended them or not. We have to keep in mind that as Christians, love and most generous love, kindness and compassion should be at the forefront of everything that we do in life.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father, continue to inspire in us all and strengthen us all in love, that by the imparting of the gift of love in our hearts, we may truly be inspired to love most generously and not be selfish in seeking our own comfort and salvation, but causing hurt and even harm to others around us. As true and genuine Christians, we must always be filled with pure, selfless and boundless love, following the example of the Lord Himself Who has loved us all so wonderfully. May the Lord bless our every endeavours and good efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 16 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 38-42

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard, that it was said : An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this : do not oppose evil with evil; if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well.”

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

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Monday, 16 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.