27 August 2025 (Wednesday) / Saint Monica on Wednesday of week 21 in Ordinary Time / Saint Monica, Married Woman Obligatory Memorial

27 August 2025 (Wednesday)

Saint Monica on Wednesday of week 21 in Ordinary Time.

Saint Monica, Married Woman Obligatory Memorial.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: First Thessalonians 2: 9-13
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 139: 7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab
Alleluia: First John 2: 5
Gospel: Matthew 23: 27-32

First Reading : 1 Thessalonians 2:9‐13

Let me remind you, brothers, how hard we used to work, slaving night and day so as not to be a burden on any one of you while we were proclaiming God’s Good News to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, that our treatment of you, since you became believers, has been impeccably right and fair. You can remember how we treated every one of you as a father treats his children, teaching you what was right, encouraging you and appealing to you to live a life worthy of God, who is calling you to share the glory of his kingdom. Another reason why we constantly thank God for you is that as soon as you heard the message that we brought you as God’s message, you accepted it for what it really is, God’s message and not some human thinking; and it is still a living power among you who believe it.

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 138(139):7‐12

O Lord, you search me and you know me.

O where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your face? If I climb the heavens, you are there. If I lie in the grave, you are there.

O Lord, you search me and you know me.

If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell at the sea’s furthest end, even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast.

O Lord, you search me and you know me.

If I say: ‘Let the darkness hide me and the light around me be night,’ even darkness is not dark for you and the night is as clear as the day.

O Lord, you search me and you know me.

Alleluia: First John 2: 5
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
5 When anyone obeys what Christ has said, God's love comes to perfection in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Matthew 23:27‐32

Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of corruption. In the same way you appear to people from the outside like good honest men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of holy men, saying, “We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our fathers’ day.” So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your fathers began.’

For our reflection today:

There are no secrets before Jesus: he reads them in the heart, in each of our hearts. This ability could be disturbing because, if used badly, it can harm people, exposing them to merciless judgements. Indeed, no one is perfect: we are all sinners, we all make mistakes, and if the Lord were to use his knowledge of our weaknesses to condemn us, no one could be saved. But it is not like this. Indeed, he does not use them in order to point the finger at us, but to embrace our life, to free us from sins and to save us. Jesus is not interested in putting us on trial or subjecting us to judgement; He wants none of us to be lost. The Lord’s gaze upon every one of us is not a blinding beacon that dazzles us and puts us in difficulty, but rather the gentle glimmer of a friendly lamp, that helps us to see the good in ourselves and to be aware of the evil, so that we may be converted and healed with the support of his grace. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 10 March 2024)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)