28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

For all things give thanks,
because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus. 1 TH 5:18

2 KINGS 5:14-17

My Soul's Beloved, 

This passage about the healing of Naaman the leper is a powerful representation of the wondrous work of grace wrought in the soul through the Sacrament of Baptism. Original sin separates us from the life of God. Cut off from the source of all life, we will slowly wither and die as does the limb diseased from the dreaded scourge of leprosy. 

Naaman the Syrian was informed about the prophet Elisha by a Jewish slave in his household, who told them of Elisha's ability to heal. Accompanied by his servant,  Naaman travelled to Israel to look for the prophet, and the prophet advised him to immerse himself seven times in the Jordan, and he would be healed. He obeyed his instructions, and we are told that his flesh became like that of a little child.

When we are immersed in the waters of Baptism, our soul is washed clean, and we become children of God and heirs to the Kingdom of heaven. Through Baptism, we receive God's free gift of faith, which enables us to walk in the Way of Truth that leads to eternal Life in You, with You, and through You. Naaman wanted to heap riches on Elisha, but he would have none of it, for the power to heal belongs to God; he could take no credit nor reward for doing God's work of mercy. Once Naaman understood this, he did right by asking to take the earth from the promised land to his native country to build an altar, since from then on, he resolved to worship no other god but the one true God. So it is with all the baptized - we who are grafted into Your Body live to love, honor, adore, and worship the Triune God and Him alone to serve always.

Naaman the leper went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.

Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now, please, accept a present from your servant.’
But Elisha replied, ‘As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing.’ Naaman pressed him to accept, but he refused.
Then Naaman said, ‘Since your answer is “No,” allow your servant to be given as much earth as two mules may carry, because your servant will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.’

PSALM 97(98):1-4

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

2 TIMOTHY 2:8-13

My Soul's Beloved, 

St. Paul's letter to Timothy reminds us that being Your followers comes at a price. We, too, have been warned that just as the world hated You, it was inevitable that it would hate us and persecute us as well. The world and those who belong to it hate Christians with a diabolical hatred. In Nigeria, there is a systematic genocide of Christians taking place, but the world's response is deafening silence. In every nation where Christians are a minority, they are crushed into the ground, their rights violated, they are deprived of earning a decent livelihood, and given the most menial tasks that barely hold soul and body together. Despite it all, they survive joyfully, for they have You indwelling in them, and this spiritual treasure no one can steal.

Many first-world nations with solidly Christian roots have sold their souls to the prince of this world. They now compel their people to embrace alien principles that do not, even remotely, resemble revealed truths and doctrine. The lot of the faithful remnant everywhere is the lot of all who, since the first Apostle, disciple, and earliest Christian martyrs who suffered and laid down their lives as the Master did. 

Grant us the courage to hold on to the gift of our faith, which is far more precious than rubies. Let us stand upright, unafraid and unwavering in our faith, and our reward will be the beatific vision of our Lord and our God and a share in Your eternal glory. Amen. 

Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.
Here is a saying that you can rely on:
If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.
If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.
If we disown him, then he will disown us.
We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful,
for he cannot disown his own self.

LUKE 17:11-19

My Soul's Beloved,

Gratitude is the hallmark of the humble soul. Nothing is so abhorrent to the human spirit as one who remains thankless in the face of goodness extended to them. The more we take blessings for granted, the harder our hearts will get, and nothing is as unattractive as those who greedily take the help offered to them as if it were their due.

Today's miracle for our reflection is about the ten lepers who cried out to You to take pity on them while You and Your disciples were on Your way to Jerusalem. St. Luke tells us that they stood some distance away from You and called out to You. From the way they cried out, it is clear that they had heard about You, knew who You were, and the powers You possessed. They called You by Your name, Jesus. They acknowledged You as Master, and they asked You to take pity on them and heal them. Your tender heart was moved the moment You heard their cry, and instantly, without any further pleading, You did as they asked. All ten were cured as they made their way to show themselves to the priests as You had instructed them to, so they could return to their homes and their families.  

Of the ten lepers who were healed, one was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude that he turned around immediately, he threw himself at Your feet and thanked You for his restoration. He was a Samaritan; the other nine were Jews, and You pointed this out to those around You, publicly recognizing that it was the outsider, the foreigner, the alien who returned to give thanks. You said, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ Ingratitude will be the downfall of the proud and the haughty, and on judgment day, when we stand before You the righteous judge, we will become aware of all the times we failed to give You thanks for Your manifold gifts to us and above all for the free gift of our salvation.

The leprosy of sin can only be healed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and unless we make use of this Sacrament of healing, we will perish in our sins.

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’