SATURDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, JUNE 14, 2025

MASS READINGS:

Gospel

Matthew 5:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One."

REFLECTION

Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One."

It is wonderful when we can "take it to the bank" when someone says "yes" and "no" and they mean it. No turning back, no need to be deceptive or devious, but living with sincerity and no dishonesty is the way to deal with one another.

How many times do we offer to help but don't show up, or do we show up but our activity is quite negligible and it would have been best for us not to show up? Do we promise to pray for someone but then forget, or someone invites us to join them on a trip, movies, dinner but then never follow up with the details of the outing--the outing came and went and you never heard back? Or we found something better to do and backed out of a planned event? Purposely leaving out details in a conversation can lead to misunderstanding and confusion in communicating with one another.

We can say we are very busy and forget. But who is busier, God or us? Yet when God says something, we can count on what he says and we can believe because He is Love and love never lies or misleads. Hope does not disappoint. (Romans 5:5). In imitating Him our souls will be infused to make us capable of acting like His children.

Honest words are forceful and they require character. Our conduct and our speech should be honest and truthful. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to this not being true. People of power, influence and leadership have shown us that dishonesty pays off. We small minions have also found that lying and embellishing pays off here on earth in our daily interactions.

God is the source of Truth; there is no dishonesty or deceit in Him. We can count on Him and His promises.

God bless You